Today is the day

 

Well out of 30 things I challenged myself with last year I have 12 left over. Some of the hardest things to complete were the year long items. I didn’t sketch everyday but I did draw and make more things this year than I have the past two years. I did not write a letter every month. I probably wrote a letter every other month.  Buying a piece of artwork was harder than I expected, I was very picky and still have not found anything that I really really want. I have to say I watched a lot  of movies this year, I didn’t make it to 200 but I did manage to watch 163 movies in 365 days which I think is quite an accomplishment.  I had a hard time deciding what and how to monogram something. I have finally decided on what I am going to monogram. The process alone is going to take quite a while, 7 inch letters made of entirely French knots is going to take me a couple weeks! I never got around to doing the self portrait or thinking about how I want to work on it, but that is definitely something I want to continue thinking about.

There are a lot of things that are not on this list that I did this year too.  I finally convinced Scott to get rid of our old ugly uncomfortable couch!!!! I have a new position at work, I made our advent calendar and few other things along the way. Just in cade you were wondering here is what I managed to do this year and what I still have left to do.

       12 months, 30 tasks, 1 big birthday

1. Complete a daily sketch, EVERYDAY, no matter how big, small, complicated or simple. This has not been completed. I may not have sketched everyday but I certainly sketched and created more this year than I have in the past 5 years.
2. Visit at least 4 local museums/art centers or galleries. Virginia Museum of Fine Art, The Chrysler, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, The Anderson Gallery  (if you want to go let me know) Done!!! 
3.   Continue taking Lula’s  weekly picture and writing her weekly updates so that I can put them all together in a book at the end of her first year. Done. Hands down the best thing I did this year. I will never regret doing this and having it to look back at.
4. Make French macaroons. Done and delicious.
5. Monogram something myself.   Here is an example of what I am going to do….
6. Find a new home, color  and use for an old piece of furniture. A beautiful blue side table. 
7. Buy one piece of art directly from the artist.  Still looking for this, I’ve seen a few things but nothing that I really needed to have.
8. Learn a new technique/skill.  Done… if you need bacon I am your girl.
9. Sew something from a pattern.  I have drawn up numerous patterns this year to sew things from but I never went out and bought a pre-made pattern to sew with. 
10. Teach someone something new, outside of work. Done, taught my sister how to knit and how to draw a pattern for stuffed animals.  
11. Read 6 new books. DONE and now I am on my 8th 
12. Complete a self portrait.
13. Go through that closet full of that stuff that I will use one day and get rid of the stuff I will never use any day.  Done. everything has been sorted and donated or given away.
14. Make something with a material that I have never used or that I am afraid of. Done. Glass tiled our fireplace!
15. Go to a movie by myself.
16. Write an original recipe. Done.
17. Make a magnetic felt alphabet and paint a wall with magnetic paint. I have the alphabet but I think we will be using something other than magnetic paint.
18. Use my punch bowl and glasses.
19. Condense our CD library and update our digital music library. Done finally and Pandora is set too.
20. Make pickles and jam..   Done…twice! Strawberry jam and apricot jam, Asparagus pickles and pickled jalapenos.
21. Make one meal with only the items in our garden. This one did not happen since all we really had was jalapenos this year… but I definitely made use of them.
22. Scan in  all of our old photos  and finish our photo albums. DONE! Now I am getting them ready to archive on DVDs
23.   Write one letter a month, not an email, not a text and not a thank you note- a real letter with an envelope and a stamp. This one didn’t stick either. I wish it had.. but it didn’t.
24. Really celebrate New Year’s Eve for the first time in 4 years. No going to sleep before midnight. It may not be glamorous or exciting, but we are going to actually plan a lovely evening in.
25. Genuinely make an attempt to enjoy oysters in all forms, even raw. I have tried them raw, fried, roasted and grilled. I don’t hate them anymore but I don’t love them either. I even cooked them several times on my own. I think an honest attempt has been made.
26. Spend a day or two  in Williamsburg rediscovering a place I haven’t spent much time in for almost 7 years.
27. Watch all the movies on AFI’S 100 Years 100 Movies List and  EW’s New Classics Movie List  I am making my way through this one…. only 37 more left.
28. Bake cookies/cupcakes every month for birthdays at work.   Done.
29. Have tea with someone, at a tea house or my house. I have the place just haven’t had the time.
30. Celebrate my 30th birthday actually doing something I really want to do, not just what is easy and no baking my own birthday cake!  Done!! A day  at The Chrysler.