New Year's Resolutions

Ok, now is the time that we turn our thoughts to new beginnings. New year. New administration. New me. Let's see how we did on last year's resolutions.

December 31st, 2007

OK, here we go. With the best of intentions, I make up this list every year. As with all things, I tend to do better at the beginning than at the end.

1. Workout regularly.
2. Make time to go to Chicago or anywhere else I'd like.
3. Get some funding for my research.
4. Publish, or at least prepare a paper for publication.
5. Learn to make a really great home cooked pizza (cheese optional!)
6. Get out there and meet someone special.
7. Exercise the dogs more.
8. Try at least one new recipe a month.
9. Go out more often, especially to the movies.
10. Finish all existing house projects before starting any new ones! Yes, that means installing the bathroom ceiling fan.

Results:

1. Failed.
2. Didn't make it to Chicago. Did make it out west for research on Liz and Liv's Kick Ass Wild West Adventure despite failing at #3. I went to my mother's for Christmas. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but travel-wise I guess not too shabby for the year.
   
3. Failed spectacularly despite numerous and persistent effort.
   
4. Failed, primarily due to #3 above.
5. Succeeded. For those interested in learning to make pizza, I recommend going here, following the directions carefully, and then when you have perfected crust, you go here and make the salad dressing. Then use the salad dressing as your pizza sauce and add cooked chicken, onions, green peppers and a spattering of mozzarella cheese. Don't overdo the cheese. Bake and enjoy. I call it my Curried Chicken, Onion, and Pepper Pizza. You can call it The Pizza That Daktari Won't Share.
   
6. Succeeded. Possibly. Don't know yet, but trying anyway. Have to say, a little disappointed he has to work on New Year's Eve night, but...hey! At least the man has a job.
   
7. Failed. Although, that may more to do with Nevada getting old than anything else. We're picking up at the end of the year.
   
8. Probably did. Only have details from January and February. If you want a kick ass raspberry-lime sorbet (January), see me. If you want a kick-ass chocolate chili ice cream (December), see me. Weird that I tend to make cold desserts in the winter months. I've already told you where to get great homemade pizza. Interestingly enough, I didn't learn to bake bread this year, nor did I bake as many cakes as I usually do.
   
9. Success. I went on one date. I went to the Cellar many times with school mates. Bek and I went out to eat a lot. Probably too much. I went to see a lot of movies, maybe not once a month, but I do think I went about six times, which is plenty more than I went the year before. I remember seeing Wall-E with Bek and Matt. I saw The Dark Knight with Liv. I just saw Seven Pounds with my mother and sister. I saw No Country for Old Men, but honestly, I think I saw that and Charlie Wilson's War in 2007. I saw Iron Man and Quantum of Solace, my first Bond movie since 1979's Moonraker. I saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I rented a lot of Netflix movies, too. Not bad for a chick who doesn't watch TV. I was hampered by the lack of interesting films, and movies I was interested in seeing didn't always come to C-dale.
   
10. Sorta finished. I finished the pantry project, but the ceiling fan still isn't on the bathroom ceiling. Lucky for me, it has now been integrated into the "new" bathroom project and shouldn't go up until all the other work has been completed. Like the new bathroom ceiling. Ouch.

So I'm 5.5 or a squishy 6/10. Let's say 50% success rate. Sure, I had other successes that didn't make the list. For instance, In October of 2007, I vowed not to purchase any more shampoo or conditioner until I had used every last bottle I had in my house. (I would conservatively estimate that when I made that resolution, I had about 14 unopened bottles in my bathroom.) I am on the next to last bottle of conditioner now and I had to purchase shampoo (for the first time in 14 months) in November. Chalk one up for discipline. I also sold unworn socks in my garage sale and limited myself to my "best" 30 pairs.

But back to the resolutions I actually made. Unfortunately, two of those have to do with food and not in a good way. So I'm a little leery about making any resolutions for 2008. But I'm daring if nothing else, so here goes.

1. Make significant and meaningful progress toward finishing my phylogeny and my breeding system studies.
2. Finish the shower stall installation, complete with new drywall, ceiling, tile work and ceiling fan.
3. Paint the front porch.
4. Get to Chicago for fun and adventure. Anyone want to join me?
5. Get in shape to climb a mountain. Then climb it.
6. Limit eating out to twice a month for lunch, and once a month for dinner. Oh wait a minute, does Dollar Pitcher Wednesdays at Quatros count? Sheesh. I see my first fail for the new year.
   
7. Clean out the backlog in my freezer.
8. Take Jake hiking at least once every two weeks.
9. Enjoy sightseeing close to home and a weekend trip now and again with friends. I'm thinking Nashville, Chicago, Memphis, Louisville, Kansas City, New Orleans, etc.
10. Make new friends. Quit being a hermit and get out and expand my circle, meet new people and cultivate new friendships.

There are things I'd like to do this year, but think it would be challenging, shall we say, to put on this list. Like a new front entry to the house. (With Nevada gone, no real reason to keep the wheelchair ramps around.) Presently, it is sitting on broken moorings--the victim of two drunk people running into it. A deck on the back. Some little thing where I could have a table and chairs and my little bbq. Someplace nice to have friends over. You know. A lovely new flower garden plot. Ok, that will happen for sure, so no need to put it on the list anyway.

Let's hear yours.