2024!

 Welp, I haven't been the best at keeping to my goals, but I did finally try acupuncture. I think it's helping a bit with my trouble sleeping. I did almost weekly for the last 4-5 months of 2023, and am trying to do at least monthly, to every 3 week visits for the year.

I've been pretty good about getting facials on a regular basis. I wish I could get them all the time because I do really like how my skin feels after getting one. I've been toying with doing a monthly facial subscription type place, but the vibe is definitely not as relaxing as I wish it was.

I had dinner at Season to Taste and it was really delicious. Obviously it was expensive, but everything tasted very yummy. I have missed going out to restaurants, so I want to try to make it a priority to go out at least monthly, if not twice a month. It's just tough because everything is so freaking expensive!!

I've probably picked up flowers once or twice more than I think I have, but I am hoping to make a concerted effort to pick them up monthly. They do bring happiness that I should make the effort for.

I still haven't taken my bike in to get put together but hopefully I get my butt in to do that soon!

Updated List of Restaurants to Try!

 I have copied over a few from the old list that are still around and that I haven't tried yet. I am woefully uninformed of what's cool and new, so this may be a short list for now:

-bar volpe

-batifol 9/23 yummy food, expensive, nice but new staff

-brassica

-celeste

-comfort kitchen

-dear annie

-deuxave

-field and vine

-hecate

-gufo

-gustazo

-krasi

-la brasa

-loco taqueria and oyster bar

-marseille

-mei mei

-mooncusser

-myers and chang

-ostra

-o ya

-season to taste 2/24 delicious, small plates, some interesting cocktails

-saltie girl

-silver dove afternoon tea

-spoke wine bar

-social club

-sycamore

-tres gatos

-urban hearth 10/23 delicious food, sat outside, spent a lot

-the wig shop

September!

 Last month wasn't the greatest for getting things done, unfortunately. I still haven't purchased a bike or started on some of the monthly tasks that are supposed to be enjoyable like doing a puzzle and taking a bath. It's been hard to be motivated on anything.

However, I did make progress on empties including 2 FS products and11 DS/foils. I think September will have even more FS empties. We saw Twilight, which while it was very tough subject material, I am glad I saw it. I went to a couple new restaurants: Colette and Geppetto. 

I killed a bottle of Bombay, but still need to take inventory of the collection to keep better track. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with work, so I held off on registering for a PM class. I need to get a better rhythm and schedule to be productive.

Goals for September include: getting a facial, going to the dentist, going to Brimfield, hitting up a late season Sox game, schedule vet appts, schedule acupuncture intake, and spend some time reading/relaxing outside before it gets too cold.

August Update

 A few updates on July:

I didn't buy a new bike yet, so that is still on the list for August.

I ponied up for fitness classes, but have yet to take any. My goal is to try one online class a week this month.

I got a haircut! I saw 1776! I had dinner at Faccia Brutta (and Mex Taqueria)! I tried a fancy wine (2017 Jean-Marc Pillot Rully Premier Crus Les Raclots)! I did a day without social media!

No bath, candle burning, post crossing, flower buying, or book finishing happened. So the goal is to get some flowers this month, burn a candle once it cools off a bit (it was too damn hot to have any additional heat sources!), finish Can't and Won't the book I started last month, plus at least start another, and I just registered a postcard to Germany. I don't know this bath thing is going to happen anytime soon.

In terms of beauty empties, I kicked 2 FS products (Ulta Body Scrub, and the Ordinary Copper Peptide Serum), and 9 DS/foils, so that feels pretty good so far. I'm working on 13 DS/foils and 4 FS during the month of August, so I hope to average things well.

Restaurant of the month: I may try to hit up Celeste since that's really easy, but other places to keep in mind are Oleana, Little Donkey, Urban Hearth, and Gustazo.

Other big goals for August:

All the doctors appts to schedule!

15) find a therapist
16) get a mammogram
17) get a vision exam
18) get acupuncture monthly

60) Shakespeare in the park yearly (0/3) Need to do this before Aug 7th!

62) get a certificate in project management (register for a fall semester class by Aug 25th!)

First things first

 Alright! Here are the things I'd like to focus on for my first month in July:

26)    buy a bike I'm hoping to buy myself a new bike for my actual birthday. I haven't ridden one in years, so I'm going with cheapish and cute. We'll see how that goes.

28) join and go to the gym each year I already joined the gym for the year. The school runs on a June - May yearly schedule, so I went ahead and got a year membership...for $24 😂 I generally am not the type who just goes to the gym to lift weights or run on a treadmill, so I'll need to pony up for the classes as well. But I think that's like $160 for the year. Seems not horrible when averaged over the year.

33) biannual haircuts (0/6) It's baaaaadddd. I need a cut ASAP. Have an appt at Ulta for early July.

39) monthly baths (0/33) I need to do a deep clean of the bathtub, but this will be a nice reward for doing so.

43) pan 12 FS beauty products/year + 10 samples/month (0/33) + (0/330) I'm hoping I'll have at least 3 products finished by the end of the month: both toners, copper peptide serum, and potentially a sunscreen. In terms of samples I'll be working on the following: Sunday Riley Good Genes, a couple face moisturizers, a couple sheet masks, and a PTR pumpkin mask, but that leaves 4 more!

49) Postcross quarterly (0/11) I reactivated my profile and probably have plenty of cards to chose from.

51) try a new fancy wine monthly (0/33) Hoping our wine tasting will be back, but if not, maybe it's time to open one of the bottles I've been holding on to for a few years.

52)    try a new restaurant monthly (0/33) Already have reservations for Faccia Brutta for my birthday. I'm really excited to try it out! It's not only new to me, it's new to the Boston restaurant scene.

54) go to every ART offering for a season (0/3) We have tickets to see 1776 again with friends, so might as well count it.

63) get physical Somerville and Boston library cards I'm so close to the library. I literally just need to get off my butt and walk the 5 minutes to get it taken care of.

64) read 33 books (0/33) What book do I want to read??? I've started The Gift of Imperfection and The New Jim Crow, but neither are reallllly sparking my interest. So I might do something fluffier like Paulo Coelho's The Spy or Bossypants or Nobody Is Ever Missing. 

68) buy self flowers semi-monthly (0/17) Birthday is a perfect excuse to buy flowers.

77) pan 10 candles (0/10) I have like 3 candles that are close, but maybe I'll chose a more summery smell.

98) finish 3 liquor bottles yearly (0/9) I think it might be helpful to make an inventory of what I have so I can keep track a bit better.

5th try for my 5th decade

It was unending, and thus is starting again. You guys, I'm turning 40 in a week and I feel shitty about my life. I'm generally unfulfilled, have fallen away from any hobby I ever enjoyed, and feel like I have zero friends and motivating factors in my life. So. What's the best way to change that? Another attempt at doing a 101 goals in 1001 days? OK! 

There are some longtime favorites that despite never achieving, I still put on the list. I *think* they are still things that will bring me joy or something.  There are some newish things. We'll see how it all goes, but hopefully, I am slightly more committed to this one than the last one. So here goes:

Begin Date: July 1st, 2022

End Date: March 28, 2025

I honestly can't even imagine being alive in the year 2025; it's so much in the future, but I guess it's nice to have something to look forward to. Some of these things are discrete accomplishments, but others are hobbies I hope to develop over the coming months, which I will be giving myself space and grace to accomplish.

Travel
1) travel to Europe
2) visit 3 new MLB ball parks (0/3)
3) visit Buzz
4) visit Jess✅ (May 23)
5) visit New Orleans
6) visit NYC

Local travel
7) go on a whale watch
8) visit 3 NE towns a year (0/9)
9) visit Brimfield flea/antique market
10) visit Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket
11) visit the beach yearly (0/3)

Health
12) be down to a size 6
13) biannual dentist visits (3/6) (Sep 22, Mar 23, Oct 23)
14) complete happiness workbook
15) find a therapist✅(started Oct 23, we'll see how it goes) 

16) get a mammogram
17) get a vision exam✅
18) get acupuncture monthly (Started 8/23)(9/33)
19) go 1 week each month without drinking for 6 months (4/24) (1/6)
20) go on an ashram retreat
21) replace IUD
22) try EMDR
23) yearly physical (1/3) (Apr 24)

Physical Activity
24) walk to work weekly in season (2/64)
25) 30 days of 10k+ steps
26) buy a bike ✅ (bought a bike 12/23, assembled 2/24)

27) complete a 30 day fitness challenge each year (0/3)
28) join and go to the gym each year (0/3) (joined for 22-23, 23-24)

29) take a dance class
30) take a kickboxing class
31) take a yoga class
32) try rock climbing

Beauty/Fashion
33) biannual haircuts (3/6) (Jul 22, Jan 23, Dec 23)
34) biannual massages (2/6) (Mar 23, Nov 23, Mar 24)
35) buy new underwear✅
36) complete 100 days of eyeshadow challenge
37) create a capsule work wardrobe
38) fix/sanitize palettes
39) monthly baths (0/33)
40) pan an eyeshadow palette
41) quarterly facials (8/11) (Sep 22, Dec 22, Mar 23, May 23, Aug 23, Oct 23, Feb 24, Apr 24)
42) shower every other day
43) pan 12 FS beauty products/year + 10 samples/month (31/33) + (47/330)

Social
44) Bruins game each season (0/3)
45) Celtics game each season (0/3)
46) go fruit picking yearly (0/3
47) host the Derby party yearly (0/2)
48) join a club/group
49) Postcross quarterly (1/11) (8/22)
50) Sox game each season (2/3) (2023, 2024)
51) try a new fancy wine monthly (8/33) (2017 Jean-Marc Pillot Rully Premier Cru Les Raclots, Il Mostro Longana Rosato Frizzante, Piper Heidsieck Champagne Cuvee Brut, Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose, Legras and Haas Intuition Champagne, Champagne De Sousa Blanc de Blancs, Pol Roger Reserve Brut, Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut)
52)    try a new restaurant monthly (14/33) (Faccia Brutta 7/22, Colette 8/22, Gepetto 8/22, Giulia 9/22, Coquette 9/22, Daddy Jones 10/22, Vera's 11/22, Nash Bar 12/22, [Riverhouse (Palmetto FL), Sea Salt (St Pete) 3/23] Stoked 3/23, Southern Craft (Johnson City TN) 5/23, Condesa 7/23, Sloane's 8/23, Batifol 9/23, Urban Hearth 10/23, Article 24 12/23, Season to Taste 2/24, )

Cultural
53) find three new musicians you like (0/3)
54) go to every ART offering for a season (1/3) (2023 Twilight, Life of Pi, The Wife of Willesden, Evita) (2024 Half God of Rainfall, Real Women Have Curves, Becoming a Man, Gatsby)
55) go to the aquarium
56) go to the ICA
57) go to the MFA
58) see a show on Broadway
59) see the ballet yearly (0/3)
60) Shakespeare in the park yearly (1/3) (8/22, missed 2023,)

Educational
61) do a crossword each Sunday (0/143)
62) get a certificate in project management
63) get physical Somerville✅ (7/22) and Boston library cards✅(4/24)

64) read 33 books (2/33) (Where the Crawdads Sing, Atomic City Girls)
65) take a French class
66) take a Spanish class

Spiritual/Self-care
67) 100 days of gratitude on IG
68) buy self flowers semi-monthly (5/17) (8/22, 4/23, 7/23, 12/23, 2/24)
69) cook dinners semi-weekly 
70) create a self-care schedule/routine
71) fill a journal
72) find 10 new go-to dishes (0/10)
73) get 7.5 hours of sleep/night for a month
74) get my fortune read yearly (0/3)
75) go to bed by midnight Sun-Thurs
76) one day each month w/o social media (1/33) (7/28/22)
77) pan 10 candles (0/10)
78) practice Wicca

Financial/Organization

79) buy a car or scooter
80) cats to the vet yearly (2/3) (N 9/22, C 4/23, N&C 10/23)
81) contribute 5% of salary to Roth IRA or bump 401k to 10% (bumped to max 2023 and 2024)

82) create a monthly budget (and stick to it) (doing poorly as of 01/24)
83) donate/recycle/throw out old shoes/clothes yearly (0/3)
84) file taxes each year (2/3) (Fed/MA 23, Fed/MA 24)
85) get rental insurance
86) hang all pictures
87) organize 2nd floor room
88) pay off school loans
89) renew passport
90) save $10,000 (6286/10000)
91) shred papers yearly (0/3)
92) update and keep track of accounts/pwds

Hobby/Fun Shit
93) buy an original piece of art
94) buy one piece of unique jewelry yearly (0/3)
95) collect all 8 Four Roses blends (2/8) (OBSF, OESK)
96) color monthly (0/33)
97) do one puzzle monthly (0/33)
98) finish 6 liquor bottles yearly (9/18) (Bombay Sapphire, Redemption Rye, Bitter Truth Violet Liqueur, Luxardo Maraschino, Green Chartreuse, Campari, Noah's Mill, Sauza, Four Roses)
99) have an urban food garden
100) make a fun new dessert each year (0/3)
101) volunteer (with BBBS/the Children's Room)

viale outing

i'm excited because i finally made it to a new restaurant. i checked out viale with the swede and the boat engineer. we pretty much tried everything on the cocktail list (minus a hot toddy) and then had some small bites. i tried a mezcal/beer cocktail that wasn't too smokey buho mezcal); also tried a scotch cocktail that was good (pig's nose scotch). i tried a cocktail with denizen rum that was delicious. it was their white rum, which is much less funky than their aged rum. the boat engineer had an amazing cocktail with oloroso, green chartreuse, and lime. and my favorite of the evening was the 1919; rittenhouse rye, old monk rum, punt e mes, and benedictine. we just got some small bites: a cheese plate, fried polenta, roasted beets, some pasta. it was a good night.

the boat engineer and i continued the night and stopped by curley's. we did a lot of experimenting. i had a drink with batavia arrack that didn't suck, which is kind of amazing to me. anyway, hopefully i can continue checking out at least one new place a month on thursdays. we shall see!