24th Year Wrap-Up

Last year on my birthday I made a list of 24 things to do while I was 24. Now that 25 is quickly approaching I decided to go back to my list and see if I made any progress.


1. Graduate with my Master's degree. - Check!
2. Find a job. - Done!
3. Move closer to the White Mountains and find a (2 bedroom) apartment. - Did that too! I should have added, "Re-do 2 bedroom apartment" as well. What a relief that the painting is over.
4. Cook more meals/ be more adventurous in the kitchen.- Well, sort of. We've been trying out new recipes a lot lately. 
5. Read for fun. -Negative. I did get two new books for Christmas and have started reading one.
6. Make outfits/clothing for myself.- Now that I have a dress form, and a serger, I should be making more clothes for myself....
7. Run a long race (more than a half marathon, but less than a marathon.)- Ha! This is funny to read. I did the wapack race, 21 miles up 8 mountains, and also a marathon. Pretty good for a girl who didn't think she could ever run over 5 miles.
8. Be more appreciative of what people do for me. - I am trying. The goals about doing things are so much easier than the goals about thinking or realizing things. When I get frustrated I try to remember all of the nice things that Charlie does for me; cook me dinner, go to quilting stores with me, hang out with me even when I am sick, addresses Christmas cards so I don't have a panic attack, etc.
9. Stop complaining about my parent's divorce; it's been 5 years, I should probably get over it.- Practically done.
10. Draw and paint. -Does painting rooms count? I have painted a few things besides walls this year, nothing to brag about though.
11. Go to farmer's markets.- Welp, not so much. There's always next year.
12. Be more aware of what I eat and where it came from.- Oops.
13. Be nicer.- I am trying. I would say that I am thinking more before I speak in order to be a nicer person.
14. Start an etsy shop.-No. I decided it wasn't for me. 
15. Learn how to and execute the refurbishment of my dresser. (A project I have been meaning to do since I got the dresser 4 years ago.)- Drats. Maybe with the sander I got for Christmas this will happen.
16. Volunteer. Double drats.
17. Accept my nose, it's big, oh well, it's mine. Like my dad says; "If your nose was any smaller I wouldn't know you were coming into the room."- Done. I can honestly say that I have not complained about my nose in a year.
18. Make at least 1 more quilt, and experiment with new quilting techniques. (But let's be honest, this will probably turn into about 3 quilts.)- Yep :) I only made one, but I have started another one.
19. Be more giving with my sewing projects, who really needs 43 purses? -  I am trying. Giving handmade gifts is really fun so that makes giving away something I spent a lot of time making easier. 
20. Have confidence in the things I do, say, and wear. - Part of my job is knowing what I am talking about, or being able to fake it really well. I am getting there.
21. Organize and simplify. -  Organize, yes. Simplify, no.
22. Learn more about having good credit, saving money, stocks, just money in general, since sometime soon I will have some. - Well....I do have some money, and I am trying to save some to buy a house/ car someday in the future. I am very wary of stocks.
23. Watch less TV.- Done! We don't even have one. Pretty hard to watch lots of TV when you haven't got one. I was worried that when I went to visit people who have TV's I would get sucked in, but the opposite is true. I have no patience for commercials or boring shows. I consider this one of the biggest successes of my 24th year.
24. Find something enjoyable to do, and something to be happy about everyday. -  I'd say so. During dinner I have started asking Charlie what the best part of his day was and thinking of the best part of my day. Usually it's something small or silly that I might never have shared unless I was really thinking about the day.

I think I have made some good gains and changes. I'd say that complaining less is probably the biggest one followed by drastically minimizing the amount of TV I watch. Now I'm off to think of 25 things to do while I am 25, and also enjoy the last day of being 24.

Lauren