Happy birthday to me, and happy Valentine’s Day to the rest of you!

I’m not much for making New Year’s resolutions. Maybe because I find them a bit trite, and cliché, but when my friend Dani started posting a list of things she wanted to do by her next birthday, I found myself really liking the idea. It is far more doable for me to set attainable, quantifiable goals than to just resolve to “be better” or “get in shape” without any sort of plan how to do so. And I liked the idea of doing it by my next birthday. Because isn’t that how our calendars should run anyway? With birthdays as our own personal new years? Plus I love lists. So anyway, here are some things I’d like to accomplish before next February 14.

1. Read the Bible at least 6 days a week.
2. Update my Quickbooks. (Why is this so hard?)
3. Get a new computer/phone/life technology.
4. Donate $10,000. (Obviously, not all at once or all to one place.)
5. Travel to Greece.
6. Photograph the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque.
7. Read at least 25 books.
8. Cook at least two times per week.
9. Keep my photo turn-around time to three weeks or less.
10. Blog at least once a week. Come on. I can make this happen, right?
11. Submit my work something. Somewhere. To something I’ve never submitted to before.
12. Send birthday cards to my friends and family. Via snail mail. So they are received BEFORE their actual birthday.
13. Give myself one day off a week / Say “no” more.
14. Learn things. This means watching more Ted talks instead of the Bachelor while I edit.
15. Survive the toast I have to give at my BFF’s wedding. Literally survive it. That’s my only goal. And to never watch that part of the wedding video.
16. Call people more. Call people back. Basically, I’ve really sucked at keeping in touch lately.
17. Visit Longwood Gardens at Christmastime.
18. Make myself nice return address labels. Like with cameras on them or something.
19. Learn how to spell boutonniere without spell check. (Strange that I find myself typing this word as often as I do.)
20. (Finally) revamp my blog.