Twelve Things I’m looking forward to in ‘12

1. The following movies…

I get chills every time they start singing. I cannot wait!
 

 

This one looks comical and I’m not sure about it but I’m still seeing it anyway.

I’ll overlook Kristen Stewart's presence because this movie looks so intense and Charlize Theron looks like such a badass.

2. Books – Insurgent by Veronica Roth (sequel to Divergent). Hooray for dystopic young adult series with alliteration!

                                          


3. Downton Abbey Season 2, which starts on Sunday (I could not be more excited!) I only watched the first season 4 times.

4.. Getting a fantastic teaching job in the same town Zach works in. I really want to be back in the classroom.

5. Reading and going to workshops to improve myself professionally. Pinterest has really given me a lot of ideas!

6. Moving. Into a different house and hopefully closer to where we work. Because right now we’re about 30 minutes from everything. Lame.

7. Visiting my Louisiana family. It’s been too long since I’ve been back and I miss everyone. Hopefully Zach and I will both be able to get down there this summer.

8. Spending more time with friends and family. I tend to keep to myself for the first few months after moving to a new place, just to get my bearings. But I hope to get out more in the coming months and enjoy the relationships that are close by :)

9. Improving my blogging skills. I have a lot of plans and want to put a lot of work into it.

10. Finally having my hair the length I want. I’ve been growing it out for over a year and I’m almost there. I hope to get it cut soon and then I just know I’ll look exactly like this:

                                                      

Which will be super awesome.


11. Getting a bike…and a camera. Not sure which order this will happen in. But I’ve been wanting/needing both for a while. This is similar to the bike I want:



Which I know is totally hipster and not suitable for hardcore biking. I’ve always had this problem with the bikes with the gears and handbrakes. I don’t understand how to work the gears and every time I try to use the hand brakes I end up being thrown forward off the bike. So much easier just to pedal backwards like the good ole days. Plus it keeps the phrase “backpedaling” alive and relevant.

(Sidenote: Does anyone have an opinion about which camera is better, Canon vs. Nikon? Apparently in some circles it’s a very heated discussion. I’m not a professional, just a curious amateur.)


12. I’m excited to learn more and study new things. I’ve made a goal to read a book a week and actually keep track of what I read (I’ve been reading a LOT these past few months and recording none of it, terrible shame) and I’ve also got a gold key membership with Livemocha so I’m hoping to learn at least one language fluently this year.


Anyway, I make resolutions all the time, so I didn’t really want to make “New Year’s Resolutions”. And while some of these are goals that I can actually work toward I just wanted to write a post about things I’m looking forward to because 2011 was a very tough year. Zach and I agreed that 2011 was a year in which exactly only 6 things happened: he went on a road trip to Vegas, we got married, honeymoon in Chicago, he got to work for a Homebrew story, I got to be a nanny, and we learned to make Chicken Tikka Masala. Other than those things and the time we spent with friends and family, 2011 is a year we’d rather erase. So if future generations ever ask me what I did in 2011 I’ll say that was the year I got married and learned to make Chicken Tikka Masala.


Here’s to 2012!

Rules to Live By

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. - Buddha

One of the unique things about your 20s: that is the decade when most of us decide how we will live our lives. Being a teenager is fraught with drama and misunderstanding. Anything can be everything by which I mean whatever you're stuck on at the moment (whether it's a boy, a problem with friends, or your grades/tryouts etc) is everything to you. There is nothing else.

As if that wasn't bad enough, then you go to college. Which is fun but you begin to realize that you have to start making some decisions about how to spend your time, who to spend it with, and (slightly more important) how to get and spend money. Ay there's the rub.

By the time you graduate (which is now typically 4.5-6 years later) you've lost the padding of a college class schedule and not only are there bills there are Loans to be paid. Loans with a capital L.

On top of all this you're still trying to figure out who you are, what you want to do with your life (and now the new question, what you can you do with your life and actually get paid for it) who to fall in love with, where to live and on and on and on. Try googling this topic (see Title above) and you'll get thousands of hits from funny to bucket lists you name it. Everybody has ideas on how to have the life they want.

An interesting piece of advice was given to me when I was twenty, that I should not get married until I'm 25 because you don't really know who you are until you are 25.

Well I got married (very happily so) at 25 and I think they were right, I do know who I am. I may not have figured out what I'm going to do with my life, but I have figured out certain truths or, let's just say they're "Really Good Ideas" about how to live my life.

And since everybody else is or will soon be in the same boat (you know, the one with all the giant question marks) I figured I'd share these ideas with you and see what you think. They vary from the seemingly ordinary to the big life affirming kind of ideas but I think you'll find them all to be, as I said, really good.

Remember these are just guidelines and remember what Buddha said. We'll start with seemingly ordinary:

Wherever you go, always bring a book and a sweater. Because you never know when it's going to be cold... or boring.

Memorize it, memorize it, memorize it, it's one of the truest things I've ever told anybody.

This phrase (that I made up myself) has proven to be some of the best advice I have ever given to me. The other day I put my library book in my purse and sure enough, I found myself caught in a boring situation so I whipped it out and continued reading. Alas, I did not heed all of it and was shivering in the ridiculous AC this place had because I had left my cardigan behind. Other times I'm comfy cozy but bored to tears having forgotten my book. If you had to your smart phone would, I suppose, work in a pinch but I prefer books.

The point being before you walk out the door, no matter where you're going, make sure you have a book (check) and a jacket (check). Try this for a week or so and see if it doesn't prove to be true.

Just use your best judgement and don't read just because you're bored, a lot of things can be really boring. Especially if you're still in high school or college. Trust me, professors and teachers like to think you're listening and (voice of experience) reading a book under your desk does not give this impression.

More "Really Good Ideas" to follow.

If you have any guidelines of your own leave a comment and let me know what they are!