All about Lists!

"To Do" or "Already Done"? That is the question.

I know I want to start my very first post (!) with a list that sets the tone for this blog. Most people write out their "to do" lists: adventures they want to have, things they want to accomplish, groceries to buy, hopes and dreams they have. At first, it seemed like the only real way to start this blog. If you had read the original first version of this first post, you know that I did start my blog with a simple list of things I wanted to accomplish in the next few years.

I've made a few changes to the original version, though! Okay, I know it's kind of cheating to edit my very first post over four months later, but I felt like now that I know the tone/ quasi theme of this blog, that I really wanted to start with a more thoughtful opening! Also, I didn't want to merely stop at my "to do" list. I think that my "Already Done" list from my diary tells just as much about me. (Plus, it makes me feel pretty damn good to list things I've already accomplished. I'm 28, after all! I have to show something for all these years I've been alive.)

I'm not sure why I'm sitting here writing or who will be my audience. I'm not planning on giving this address to friends or family until I know if it will simply be a fleeting idea, or if it will eventually become a full-on hobby. I think of a passage from the book Eat, Pray, Love where the single author bought herself an entire new lingerie wardrobe, the whole kit and caboodle: filmy bras, silk nighties, and lacy thongs, but had no idea why she was buying them. There was no man in her life, no appreciative and horny audience member to admire those delicate articles. As you may have already figured out, she ends up deciding that she's bought them for herself, so maybe that's why I'm writing too...

Although, it would be nice if other people eventually read this! :)

About the title of this blog: Since I love lists (my journal is full of them, ranging silly secrets to ideas that I want to try with my kids someday), I decided to title this blog "Livin' la vida lista". Unfortunately, the full title wouldn't fit at the top of my screen, so it became "La Vida Lista," which I like. It rolls off the tongue, even if "lista" isn't a real Spanish word.

Without further ado, here are two of my many lists:

THE "TO DO" LIST

One of my closest friends started her blog in this way, and I really loved it! She's way more organized than me (has cute sub-headings for each type of goal, color codes her progress and always puts dates, and actually has finished several), but I thought I'd still attempt to start one. Enjoy!

Charity:

* Participate in heifer project
*give blood

* Spend a Saturday working for Habitat for Humanity
X Run a 5K for charity- I've run two of them now

Self-improvement:
X Jog a 10K- finished this March!!
* No TV for one week
X Take a creative writing class
X Start a blog and post writing that I usually just scribble in "no rules" book
* Meditate for ten minutes a day for one week straight

Home improvement/ getting organized:
X Paint the guest room
X Create beautiful, relaxing space in guest room- pictures coming soon!
X Create a decent, organized office space
* buy a piece of furniture to put clean, dry towels so they are not all over floor
* Clean up backyard
X plant new bush in front along walkway
X Herb garden (even in pots would be okay)
X Get rid of enormous tree limb that fell during ice storm
* Kitchen: new fridge that does not leak, X new hardware and X coat of paint on cabinets
X Finish dining room! Have several options for tablescapes.

Random kindness:
* Mail a letter or card to each of my friends "just because"
X Send flowers to grandmas- sent roses after a hospital visit during 5/09
X Take the grandmas out to dinner
* Give a treat to friend from work to brighten day (a co-worker recently bought me a bagel before work and it literally made my entire morning!)

Marriage:
X Surprise Dan by making him a favorite food after he's had a hard day
X Attend another one of his classes
X Get away for anniversary
X Some kind of fun surprise for birthday

Becoming greener:
X Incorporate more green lightbulbs
* Consistently use cloth bags when shopping

Financial:
* Create file system
* Create budget
X Try one new cost saving technique this summer: automatic thermostat, bottle in toilet to save water, more green lightbulbs, spaghetti night, get hair cut somewhere cheap

Whimsical/fun:

1/2 See a Broadway musical

X Make breakfast in bed for Dan

* Stomp grapes (a la' I Love Lucy)
X Make-out at a drive-in movie
* Send out a Christmas card (with a silly photo of Dan and I in matching sweaters or elf hats or something)
X Host a murder mystery dinner party
* Double date somewhere new (Dave and Buster's perhaps, now that it's opened nearby)
* Ride in a hot air balloon
X Try cooking five new recipes before the end of the summer

My bigger goals:
X Tour Italy or another new European country
* Get Master's degree
* Continue to write
X participate in writing group
* new fence for backyard
* get a dog and train it too
* start to plan out baby stuff... which brings us to an entirely new, longer list that I won't bore you with right now.

More to come...

THE "ALREADY DONE" LIST

28 things I've accomplished before turning 28

I wrote this list when I was feeling low before turning 28, and it actually really helped me to shake off my funk! I changed a few items to things that I think the blog community might find interesting. Please know that I don't consider all of these to be my greatest accomplishments; they are just random items that stuck out to me. Enjoy!

1. Wrote/ made a commitment to writing in my "no rules" book

2. Been a supportive sister, friend, daughter, and wife (a bit vague, but this is my list, and I can be vague if I want to)

3. Thrown a themed Sex and the City mini- party with delicious treats and girly drinks

4. Gone parasailling over a crystalline ocean

5. Met and talked intimately with a Holocaust survivor

6. Passed National Board in first year (and made a perfect score on one entry!)

7. Painted six rooms in our house, and put together a pretty great living room

8. Traveled to London, toasting with a pint in the same bar Voltaire used to frequent

9. Hiked over thirty miles in snowy weather with a twenty pound pack on my back (yes, I'm very impressed with this one!)

10. Inspired children (and had about twenty that have written me letters saying how I've impacted their lives.)

11. Danced at a club in Vegas

12. Met Tim Kaine in my mother-in-law's back yard (true and funny story!)

13. Seen Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting (see picture at top of screen- this was from same trip)

14. Planned a pretty great wedding (best night of my life)

15. Attempted to ski :)

16. Traveled to New Orleans and had my first Long Island iced tea under the stars

17. Ran up the "Rocky Steps" and pumped firsts in the air

18. Ran a 10K!

19. Survived a car wreck that totaled my car (okay, maybe not an accomplishment, but I still wanted to include it)

20. Rock climbed a cliff

21. Graduated magna cum laude from Longwood

22. Did my teaching practicum in Ireland

23. Learned to cook a few specialties

24. Seen many amazing concerts (including recent Tom Petty and Coldplay shows)

25. Prayed (almost) every night

26. Survived teaching at a title one school

27. Been loved by an incredible man
28. Gotten a hot stone massage

28 1/2. Started a blog!