Goals


GOAL: 50 hours of yoga from September 2020 - September 2021

Progress: Incomplete, but life-changing and valuable anyway. Read about it here.

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Something a little different this time around! Because the next chapter of my life is fairly uncertain, I'm going to work on one big goal over the next two years. Here it is: by the time I turn 35, on September 8, 2020, the goal is to have read, watched, or participated in all 37 of Shakespeare's plays.

Progress: 
COMPLETE! 
as of September 7, 2020

Antony and Cleopatra
Read with some friends at the "Sigh Away Sundays" club in 2018
Classic story of obsessive love, with a classic death by asp bite for our heroine.

Coriolanus
Watched the 2011 film 
OMG so much war, with one badass mama tries to convince her son to stop doing so much war.

Hamlet
Watched lots of films and productions, read lots of times
Hamlet can't decide whether or not to kill his uncle (or himself?).

Julius Caesar
Read during undergrad at BYU-Idaho
Ancient Greek story of ambition and betrayal.

King Lear
Read during undergrad at BYU-Idaho
Which of the three daughters loves their father, the king? Who knows, he'll go mad.

Macbeth
Watched a handful of productions, played a Witch in a production at BYU-Idaho in 2009
Witches and ambition and battles and Scotland!

Othello*
Read in high school, played Bianca in a production in Salt Lake City in 2018
Racism and rumors cause PROBLEMS.

Romeo and Juliet
Read lots and lots, seen a few productions
Young teenagers from feuding families fall "in love" and everything goes terribly.

Timon of Athens
Watched the 2017 Stratford Festival production online
Money can't buy you friendship.

Titus Andronicus
Watched the 2017 Royal Shakespeare Company production online
Romans (and Goths) are bloody and cut off hands and heads in revenge.

All's Well That Ends Well
Watched the 2013 Shakespeare By The Sea production
The ole bedroom bait-and-switch will cure marital displeasure. 

As You Like It
Watched the 2017 Shakespeare's Globe production online
Rosalind dresses as a boy and falls in love with Orlando the poet in the forest.

Comedy of Errors
Played a servant in a production at BYU-Idaho in 2004
Twins cause hilarity and chaos.

Cymbeline*
Watched the 2016 Royal Shakespeare Company production online
War, mistaken identities, wagers on virtue.

Love's Labour's Lost
Watched the 2014 Royal Shakespeare Company production online
Studying is more important than women. Right? RIGHT?!

Measure for Measure
Read during undergrad at BYU-Idaho
Corruption vs purity, morality and mercy in Venice! Starring Angelo the creepy lecherous priest!

Merry Wives of Windsor*
Watched the RSC 2018 production online
Falstaff tries to seduce two different women, but together they outsmart him multiple times. 

Merchant of Venice
Read during undergrad at BYU-Idaho
Antonio owes Shylock a pound of flesh.

Midsummer Night's Dream
Played Mustardseed in a production at South Medford High School
Fairies and lovers and actors in the woods!

Much Ado about Nothing*
Watched the film in high school
Benedick and Beatrice are secretly IN LOVE, and rumors both cause problems and solve them.

Winter's Tale*
Watched the Shakespeare By The Sea 2018 production (on YouTube)
A king freaks out over the virtue of his wife, and Hermione is a living statue.

Two Gentlemen of Verona*
Watched the 2014 Royal Shakespeare Company production online
Male friendship rivalry in romantic Italy.

Twelfth Night
Watched the 1996 film
Twins cause romance and hilarity.

Troilus and Cressida*
Watched the 2018 Royal Shakespeare Company production online (post-apocalyptic!)
Greeks and Trojans (Helen and Achilles and all them) freak out about war and lechery.

The Tempest
Watched a production in high school, played Caliban and designed sound for a children's production at BYU-Idaho, played Gonzalo in a production at BYU-Idaho
Prospero is magical and rules an island. His former betrayers show up and things happen.

Taming of the Shrew
Watched multiple productions and films
Petruchio "tames" the headstrong Kate and marries her so that her younger sister can get married.

Pericles
Watched the 1984 BBC film
Pericles guesses a riddle about incest and then goes on a lot of adventures that involve shipwrecks. 

Henry IV, Part I
Watched the 2014 Royal Shakespeare Company production online
Hal is Prince of Wales but mostly wants to hang with Falstaff.

Henry IV, Part II
Watched the 2014 Royal Shakespeare Company production online
More of Hal hanging with Falstaff, and more of Falstaff and his gang in general.

Henry V
Watched the 2014 Royal Shakespeare Company production online
Hal is now officially royal and beats France in a battle on St Crispin's Day, even though the odds are against him.

Henry VI, Part I
Watched the 2013 Globe Theatre production, performed on the battlefield of Barnet
Joan of Arc fights for France, and people wear red and white roses to show their varying allegiances. 

Henry VI, Part II

Watched the 2013 Globe Theatre production, performed on the battlefield of Barnet
Women and commoners all seek to take over. 

Henry VI, Part III
Watched the 2013 Globe Theatre production, performed on the battlefield of Barnet
Bloody revenge and we meet Richard III. 

Henry VIII

Watched the 1979 BBC film adaptation. 
Everything was the corrupt Catholic Church's fault and Queen Elizabeth and her dad are actually awesome. 

King John
Watched the 2015 Stratford Festival production online
France vs. England, starring a witty bastard

Richard II
Watched the 2013 Royal Shakespeare Company production online (starring David Tennant as Richard)
Spending money on Irish wars leads to the rebellion of nobles, especially when they think the king is weak.

Richard III
Watched the 1995 film 
Tyrant with back problems.

BONUS: Two Noble Kinsmen 
Watched a production by Grassroots Shakespeare Company in Salt Lake City, 2018
Brothers in jail fall in love with the same woman.


*Plays in which men FREAK out about the "virtue" of the women they love based on RUMOR
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Okay, look. So this was the year I got divorced. I was just in survival mode for a lot of this year, so I'm going to cut myself some slack. 


As of September 9, 2017:
1 complete
incomplete

1. Read 1 script per month 
I want to write more scripts, and I'm a big believer that you should read the types of things you want to write. And I know there are thousands (TENS OF THOUSANDS) of amazing scripts out there that I just haven't gotten to yet. I want to have read 12 new scripts by the time I'm 32. They can be TV episodes, screenplays, plays, etc.
INCOMPLETE (10/12)

September 
X-Files: Season 3, Episode 3 "D.P.O." by Howard Gordon
The Nerd by Larry Shue

October 
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Simon Stephens (adapted from the book by Mark Haddon)
Trifles by Susan Glaspell
The Stronger by August Strindberg

November
Okay, so I didn't quite read one entire script this month. But it was because I was busy memorizing one, writing another, and workshopping a dozen more. So I'm gonna still count that, because I was surrounded by scripts all month. 

December
Uhhhhh...

January
To Kill A Mockingbird by Christopher Sergel, based on the novel by Harper Lee

February
Uhhhhh...

March
Uhhhhh...

April
Punxsutawney by Larry West
The Heart of Robin Hood by David Farr

May
Uhhhhh...

June
A Bundle of Trouble by Ruth Hale

July
Uhhhhh...

August
The Red Bike by Caridad Svitch

September

Uhhhhh...

2. Write a spec script
I have zero intention of publishing or sending out said spec script. I consider it purely an exercise in writing. It's a good way to start--it's kind of like fan fiction. The characters, world, and format already exist...I'm just creating a different story. I'm bowling with the gutter bumpers up, so to speak. I'm thinking "The X-Files"? I'll keep you posted.
INCOMPLETE

3. Complete 1 painting
I've had this on my list before, and I've had a few different ideas for paintings floating around in my head lately. I think I'd like to make one of them a reality this year.
DONE! A few times, actually. Painting of an anatomical heart, a big pink jellyfish, an abstract painting about wonder. 

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As of Friday, September 9, 2016:
1 complete
2 modified
2 partially complete
5 incomplete

1. Create and distribute a zine!
Remember zines? I've been digging the idea of mixed media lately, and as a child of the 80s/90s, this seems like something I should do.
INCOMPLETE. 
I did the brainstorming. I did the research. I did the planning. I just didn't quite get to the execution of this project. 

2. Non-paper Poetry Project (at least ten poems)
A month ago or so, I was sitting in a restaurant with a few friends, and a poem came to mind, so I scribbled it onto a napkin. The imperfection of it appealed to me...the unfinished nature of it, and how it captured both the poem and the setting in which I wrote it. So here's my idea: write at least 10 poems on anything but regular paper--napkins, cardboard, trash, cloth, etc. Then take a picture of it and at the end, put all the pictures together in a collection.
PARTIALLY COMPLETE!
Poems complete: 5
This was a fun project. I'll do a separate blog post with the results.

3. Reduce BMI (body mass index) from 23.2 to 19.7 (goal weight = 115…down 20 pounds from current weight of 135)
My current BMI is totally in the healthy range. So is my goal BMI. So why bother with this goal? My reasoning is this: I spend a lot more time on camera nowadays, and it really does add ten pounds. Also, most of the work out goals I've had are things like "complete this many things." And after I complete them, I stop working out. I think it will help me to have an end goal...to make my goal "results-based." PLUS, this goal combines both exercise and diet.
MODIFIED. I made decent progress on this one: 

Oct 2: 23.1% BMI/135 lbs
Oct 10: 22.7% BMI/132.8 lbs
Oct 15: 22.5% BMI/131.2 lbs
Oct 31: 22% BMI/128 lbs
Nov 12: 21.7% BMI/126.8 lbs
Apr 12: 21.1% BMI/123 lbs

My FitBit was life-changing. And I learned that I CAN do things like diet and exercise and get a certain result. But at a certain point, the goal weight just became...less important to me. I'm still interested in living a healthier lifestyle, and the things I learned during this time were really valuable. My biggest lesson was that I CAN change my lifestyle. But I decided not to follow through all the way down to 115 lbs. Partly because I got mad about the fact that I felt like I HAD to in order to get jobs, and partly because I didn't want to have to buy new clothes. 

4. Run a 10-minute mile, 3 separate times
I know I just talked about these kinds of goals, but look, this is sort of PART of the above goal. And I want to do it. I know a 10-minute mile seems absurdly slow. But I'm absurdly slow.
PARTIALLY COMPLETE. 
The last recorded time I have is from Nov 12 - 14:57. And I really started to love running. (Between my FitBit and the Zombies Run 5K app, running became REALLY fun.) And I think I'd still like to reach this goal someday. I just didn't make it this year. 

5. Go without soda for 1 month
Bleeeeggghhh. I hear this is really good for you. I just really like the carbonation. I don't even drink soda very often...maybe once or twice a week? Still. Maybe worth giving up.
DONE! Month of October. 
As of October 10th, I'm still going strong. 
October 15th, half-way there! The cravings are still strong, but I'm still on the wagon.
November 1st: BOOM! MADE IT! (Now time to celebrate with some soda!)

6. Go on 5 new hikes
Every time I go hiking, I think to myself, "I've got to do this more often." And now that I live in a place where I'm surrounded by HUNDREDS of hiking opportunities, I'm going to hike more often.
PARTIALLY COMPLETE.  
1. Living Room Trail, November 3 - Hella windy and steep. Amazing views, but too close to the city. I could still hear and see construction work going on. Oh well.  
2. Thayne Canyon, August 21 - Lovely! Steep going, but gorgeous.  
I've still got lots of time to keep exploring, and that's just what I'm going to do. (I MUST go to the Timpanogos Cave!)

7. Nude modeling
I never got to this goal for my 29th year, but I'm still interested in it. I want to be a model for a figure-drawing class.
INCOMPLETE. 
One day. Someday. 

8. Get paid to write at least one thing (published online, in a magazine, etc)
I have no idea how this is done. But I want to figure it out and do it.
INCOMPLETE. 
I'll be honest...I didn't really try. 

9. Complete temple work for 3 family names (baptisms, confirmations, initiatories, endowments, sealings)
Hooray for the spirit of Elijah!
INCOMPLETE. 
I have no excuse. 

10. Go stargazing
I do this all the time, just in the sense that I look up every time I'm outside at night. But I want to actually go out to someplace with little light pollution with the express purpose of looking at the stars.
MODIFIED. 
I didn't go star gazing. But I DID go up into the mountains to watch the lunar eclipse, and did some star-gazing while I was up there. 

Notably, while I didn't reach a lot of the goals on my list, I DID do a lot of important, awesome things that WEREN'T on my list. I started grad school. I got a speaking role in a film for Lifetime, which made me SAG-Eligible. I played a romantic lead in a comedy at a major Utah theatre. I joined an improv troupe. I landed a speaking role in an HBO mini-series directed by Stephen Soderbergh. I watched the entire series of the X-Files, while personally making over a dozen cross-stitched gifts. I completed another year of NaNoWriMo, bringing my list of novel manuscripts up to three. I got a new job...two new jobs, actually. I made new friends and new connections. I redecorated our living room with a teeny tiny budget. I braved LASIK surgery (which is one of the best decisions I've ever made). I deepened my relationships with important people in my life.

Because it's been such an unexpected, unusual year, my instinct is to change the way I do these birthday goals. I didn't accomplish a lot of the goals on my list simply because I was busy pursuing others. But those other goals aren't as easy to track in the same, tidy ways...things like "make progress in my career" can sometimes depend on the decisions of other people, and those don't make good specific goals, although they make great general goals. I'm wondering, too, if maybe I should change how I number things. The "9 Things While 29" format was cute, but it's becoming a little impractical. Maybe I'll just do three things each birthday year.
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Tuesday, September 8:
6 done, 1 in progress/incomplete, 2 incomplete

1. Write thank you letters to 10 people who have influenced me for good.
I've always been a believer in giving compliments. There's this quote that kind of drives my philosophy on this: Don't say "I love you" unless you mean it, but if you mean it, you should say it. And I've been really aware of the good people in my life lately, so they deserve to know it.
DONE. This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I wrote this goal, but I'm going to count writing thank you notes for the cast of Damn Yankees. Because there were more than 10 of them, and they definitely influenced me for good. And I wrote them thank you letters. 

2. Complete all of the required Value Experiences for each of the Young Women Values in the Personal Progress program.
A few weeks ago, I was thinking, "I wish there was some sort of spiritual program for personal development in the Church, that's really specific." And then I realized that there is one! I completed Personal Progress over 10 years ago, but the program has changed since then and I'm excited to give it a go, and see what new things I can learn and experience.
DONE! 
Faith #1 - Establish pattern of consistent prayer (three weeks) DONE
Faith #2 - Thoughts on motherhood DONE
Faith #3 - Plan an FHE lesson DONE
Divine Nature #1 - Thoughts on developing divine qualities DONE
Divine Nature #2 - Interview mothers, develop attributes (two weeks) DONE
Divine Nature #3 - Improve relationship with a family member (two weeks) DONE
Individual Worth #1 - Thoughts on Heavenly Father's love DONE
Individual Worth #2 - Study patriarchal blessings DONE
Individual Worth #3 - Acknowledge worth of others (two weeks) DONE
Knowledge #1 - Thoughts on knowledge DONE
Knowledge #2 - Learn a new skill to help family DONE
Knowledge #3 - Memorize Article of Faith number thirteen, attend artistic/cultural event DONE
Choice and Accountability #1 - Establish pattern of regular scripture study (two weeks) DONE
Choice and Accountability #2 - Study For the Strength of Youth and live by it (three weeks) DONE
Choice and Accountability #3 - Discuss blessings and responsibilities of agency DONE
Good Works #1 - Acknowledge service in others (two weeks) DONE (see blog about it here)
Good Works #2 - Plan meals and share mealtimes (two weeks) DONE
Good Works #3 - Comfort and uplift others DONE
Integrity #1 - Establish and live by standards (one month) DONE
Integrity #2 - Self assessment DONE
Integrity #3 - Study integrity and record experience in journal DONE
Virtue #1 - Study and record thoughts on chastity DONE
Virtue #2 - Study and record thoughts on Holy Ghost DONE
Virtue #3 - Study Alma 5 and answer questions DONE
Virtue #4 - Focus on sacrament DONE

3. Get $2300 into savings.
This is about 3 months worth of living expenses. One thing I'm learning as we plunge into the world of professional acting is that while the money can be decent, it's not often consistent. Having some money in savings to help through the lean times is a good idea no matter what, but ESPECIALLY if you're acting for a living.
INCOMPLETE! *whomp whomp*
Deadline = June 15th
$210.02 as of February 25th
$260.03 as of March 2nd
$500 as of May 23rd
$1000 as of June 14th
But it will be okay! Another plan is in place! 

4. Some sort of work out goal. 
Okay, I know I'm being vague, which is lame sauce. I just don't know exactly what kind of work out goal I want to pursue yet. I'll update you as soon as I decide.
DONE! I came up with the 30/30/30 challenge. Here's the idea. You and one other person each agree to do 30 crunches a day for 30 days. If either of you misses a day, you owe your challenge partner $30. Exceptions to missing a day include grave bodily injury/illness. I challenged my sister-in-law, Camilla. And totally won. 

5. Do 3 PBS Art Assignments.
The Art Assignment is a weekly youtube show through PBS, hosted by Sarah Green. It highlights different contemporary artists and their work, and then they give you an "assignment" to participate in art inspired by their own work. You can post responses on youtube, or just enjoy the experience.
IN PROGRESS!/INCOMPLETE! 
1. "Stacked Books" 
2. "The One That Got Away" (Here's a link to the assignment video. I've chosen not to share my contribution to this project here. I didn't use any names, but since it involves another person, I felt it was best to keep it anonymous. You can watch an update video about future plans for the project here, and you can listen to a preview of the planned podcast here.)
3. INCOMPLETE! *whomp whomp* But 2 outta 3 ain't bad! 

6. Finish editing my YA novel and submit it for publication
Uuuugggghhhhh I don't want to. I want to work on my NEXT story. But I'm almost done editing the YA novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo, and then I want to send it out into the world. Ideally, I want to have a final draft before this November, so I can do NaNoWriMo again without having TWO stories running around my head.
DONE. Submitted to one Salt Lake City-based literary agent as of 10:46 pm on July 1st. If they choose not to take me and my little story on, I'll keep submitting to other agencies, local and remote. Now the waiting game. 
Mansion Street Literary Management - submitted July 1, 2015 (rejected July 11, 2015)
Gateway Literary - submitted July 20, 2015 (still haven't heard back as of September 8th, 2015)

7. Poem a day for a month
I'm a big believer that regular practice will improve your skills in something more than anything else. I haven't been writing a whole lot of poetry for the last couple of years, so I want to give this a shot. I know that some of the poems will not be great. But that's not the point. The point is to just do it!
REVISED AND DONE. I'm counting NaNoWriMo for this one. Because that's a helluva lot of writing. And besides, I wrote a lot of poetry on my own anyway. I just wanted to have a writing goal. 

8. Take a community class in something (fencing, aerial silks, painting, etc)
I live in a place with community classes available! So I want to take advantage of them!
DONE! I took an awesome Intro to Aerial Arts class, which included aerial silks and trapeze. I loved the aerial silks, but trapeze was tough. Actually, all of it was tough...I was so sore sometimes after classes. But it was such a blast. I feel like I could barely do most things, but I really enjoyed myself. 

9. Pose nude for an art class
This is something that's been on my bucket list for a long time. And I debated for a really long time about it. As a member of the LDS Church, I wasn't sure how "okay" this was. But after doing a lot of thinking and researching and reasoning, here's why I want to do it. I want to experience the vulnerability of it. I want to use it as an exercise in courage. But I also want to do it because art students need bodies, and I've got one. And here's why it's okay. Figure drawing classes are not about sexuality. And as much as the media begs to differ, the naked body is not purely sexual. I'm not posing for pornography. I trust the men and women in any figure drawing class to be focused on their art. And I believe it's important for artists to learn figure drawing from the nude body...it's an important skill in creating good art. (For a great perspective on the LDS Gospel and nudity in art, check out this blog entry from an LDS artist.)
INCOMPLETE! *whomp whomp*
But I am still interested in doing this, so I'm going to add this to my things to do during my 30th year. 


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1. Save up $1000 for a car. 
The goal is to be vehicle owners by April.
DONE!!!! It feels amazing to look at these numbers! Pay your tithing, people, because looking at this progress, I don't even really know where this money came from. Pretty awesome. We essentially saved $1000 in about a month and a half. Which is awesome. 
$165.06 as of November 30
$265.06 as of December 13
$255.06 as of December 20
$305.06 as of December 21
$380.06 as of December 26
$680.06 as of January 3
$840.06 as of January 8
$1000.00 as of January 10!!!
(And we got a car!)

2. Go an entire month without paying for eating out once. 
Eating out is one of my biggest weaknesses, and I'd like to slow down. And if we want to pay off debt, I'll have to. Notice, however, I just said without "paying" for eating out. If someone else wants to take me out to eat, that doesn't count.
DONE! Ugh. That was the WORST. January was the month I tackled this goal. Here were my thoughts as it happened: 
January 5th: It's already been tough, but it's gratifying to learn that you can do tough things...like writing a draft of a novel in a month, or completing a jigsaw puzzle, or getting money into savings. So I know I can do this, too.  
January 13th: Omigosh this is actually really hard.
January 24th: I hate this. I did this in an effort to prove to myself that I can live without eating out, which I can, but I hate it. I don't think my eating out habits will change very drastically as a result of this experience. 
January 28th: So close. Getting so close. I can make it.  
February 1st: Omigosh. Ugh. Never again. I'll probably eat out LESS than I used to, but ugh. 

3. Face a fear. 
This is a hard one to measure, and I have a few in mind, but it's something I want to do. I originally wanted to "overcome a fear," but that's a lot of pressure to put on yourself within just a year, and how do you know when you've actually "overcome" it? So I'll just face one down this year, and if I also "overcome" it, more power to me.
DONE! I want to continue to do this throughout the year and I have a few other fears in mind to face, but check this out. I've never in memory had blood drawn without passing out. Partly out of anxiety and partly out of having weak veins. But this fall, I was at the doctor's for a possible kidney infection. They told me they needed to draw blood and I freaked out a little. But I didn't want to call Jacob to have him hold my hand...that would only reiterate that this was something to be afraid of. I did cry for about 20 seconds before pulling myself together. I asked if one of the nurses would be willing to just talk to me or distract me during the draw. And I did it! Didn't pass out! Didn't freak out! Woot! 

4. Do a paid voiceover, television, or film gig. 
The time has come, people. I've done plenty of live theatre, and it's time to expand my horizons a bit more.
DONE! I was cast in a website geared towards kids, with a secret agent theme. I play the matriarch of the spy family in the interactive videos. Principal photography wrapped in April, and it was a ton of fun and I learned so much. It's in post-production right now, and should be ready by the end of the summer. Visit the website for more info. (Also, done again! I was a paid extra for a production in Salt Lake City called "Under the Bed." It was kind of a big deal. Maybe I'll blog about it sometime.)

5. Do a "photo-a-day" or "video-a-day" project to document one month of my life. 
Maybe it's a little self-centered, but it's always seemed like a cool project. So I'll do it.
DONE! During November. I was totally inspired by this video. Watch my own version of a similar concept here

6. Visit someplace new in Yellowstone Park.
We spent the ENTIRE summer right next door to this amazing park, and I didn't explore it nearly as much as I wanted to. I did discover a few new spots, but whether we live next door to the park or not this summer, I want to discover something new there this year.  
Not so much. But in my defense, our move to Provo got bumped to mid-July, when we were originally planning on moving in September. So we lost a month and a half of time being near Yellowstone. 

7. Save up $1000 for our next adventure. 
We don't really have a plan for fall of 2014, but whatever it is, we'll need a little cash for moving costs, housing deposits, etc. Even if we end up staying in Rexburg this fall, I'd love to have that cash on reserve for when we DO move.
DONE! It was a little tough there for a while...we had to keep taking stuff back OUT of savings for other things. But by golly, we did it! 
$20.06 as of January 14th
$70.06 as of January 16th
$25.00 as of January 26th (we had to use a little for our car purchase)
$125.06 as of January 28th (back on track!)
$225.06 as of January 31st
$125.07 as of February 12th (sigh--we'll get there!)
$0.00 as of February 19th (dammit)
$400.00 as of March 2nd (on our way again!)
$1000 as of March 7th!

8. Visit an art museum. 
I've been having a love affair with art lately, like...even more so than usual. So I'd like to spend some time among some art.
Also a fail. And this one I have no real excuse for. Some other time! 

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SEPTEMBER 8, 2013: 7 done, 2 in progress, 6 incomplete

1. Do an street art installation of some kind. Rules: Must be impermanent! No damage to property allowed.
I'm gonna count this. Not exactly a "street art installation," but it was fun and whimsical and public. And no damage to property. 

2. Self-publish a book of poetry and sell it (online, local stores, etc.).
DONE! Officially available for purchase as of January 26th. You can buy your copy here

3. Complete the T-shirt quilt project that's been languishing in various closets for over ten years.
It's still languishing. 

4. Become a certified secondary school teacher and receive my Bachelor's degree.
DONE! Although I still haven't actually seen a physical Bachelor's degree, so it doesn't feel real. I have my teacher's certification though. 

5. Eliminate red meat from my diet (uuggghhh...I love it so much! I don't even eat that much! Oh, this is going to be hard.)
Ha ha ha!

6. Eliminate the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags (shopping = reusable canvas, trash = biodegradable).
Do you have any idea HOW HARD it is to find biodegradable trash bags? 

7. Learn to juggle. (Shout-out to Carrie Chapman!)
In progress? I can kinda do it, but not consistently. 

8. Travel to a place I've never been before, and be cool about it. (Sometimes I suck at traveling...I get stressed out. I want to live life more stress-free anyway!)
DONE! I'm gonna say our Mediterranean trip was a success...I was relaxed and cool about things the whole time, even when our trip back home took 27 hours. 

9. Do yoga outdoors.
DONE! At the last minute...at 10:30 pm on September 7th, I ran into my inlaws' front yard and did a few brief poses. 

10. Build a bookcase. A sturdy one. One that shall stand for many years. But also be affordable and easily rearranged and transported.
In progress, but will need to be put on hold for a little while. Possibly a few years. Materials for this are expensive, and we need to pay off some debts first. So our books will just sit on the floor, driving me crazy, for a while. 

11. Go on a hike. (I didn't hike AT ALL this past year! How silly!)
DONE! I lived in West Yellowstone all summer, after all. My parents and I hiked the Riverside Trail in August. 

12. Attend a Parson Redheads show.
Nope. But I do get to see Brette in a week at our 10-year high school reunion! 

13. Do the temple work for at least 5 family names.
Nope. But I'm slowly making progress on genealogy. 

14. Complete reading the entire Book of Mormon with Jacob.
DONE! Finished on December 30th! We started reading roughly a year ago--right before we moved into our new place, our home teacher challenged us to read the entire Book of Mormon over the next year, and we're pleased to say we've done it.

15. Go on a spontaneous road trip.
Nope. Partly because the best time to do this is the summer, and we couldn't exactly leave the Playmill. 

_______________________________

26 THINGS TO DO WHILE 26

1. Personal goal. (Sorry, readers, you don't get in on this one.)
Didn't make it. But we will!

2. Attend a Parson Red Heads show.
Retired. The opportunity just didn't present itself. We were even in Portland! But they weren't playing. It's still a goal, though!

3. Read 26 new books. (Plays, poetry collections and short story collections count if I read the whole thing, cover to cover) 
DONE - Last book finished on Tuesday, May 8th! (I'm going to keep reading books, of course. Check out which ones on goodreads if you're interested. Just click on "reading!" up at the top)

4. Hike Inspiration Point at Jenny Lake.
Never made it!

5. Learn to cook 5 new things (dinner things). 
Completed July 1st. This one has helped me discover that I actually like cooking! When I know what I'm making ahead of time, and have some time, I really like cooking.

6. Finish the current volume of my journal, with more than just notes from Church. 
Final entry written on Saturday, January 29th, 2012. On to Volume #18!

7. Go through the temple for 5 family names.
In progress - 1 out of 5 I'm going to keep working on this one.

8. Learn to ride a motorcycle bigger than 110 cc’s. 
May 19th - 20th: Took the Idaho motorcycle safety course. Learned on a Suzuki GZ 250.

9. Finish writing the first draft of the “Kirby Novel.” 
At 10:17 pm on Monday, November 28th. There's still so much to do that it doesn't feel done, but I'm thrilled to have at least a complete draft!

10. Anonymously pay for a stranger's meal. 
September 5th. I did this at a drive-through! This is cool because it also coincided with my friend Carrie's birthday. She's the one who came up with the "26 Things to Do While 26" thing anyway, and for her birthday, she asked that people do random acts of kindness. Bam.

11. Get a 3.4 GPA each semester. 
Fall semester 2011 - 4.0
Winter semester 2012 - 3.9 (Including an A- in Hyrum Conrad's Directing I class!)
BAM.

12. Give someone a copy of the Book of Mormon. 
August. This was part of a group effort, and it was awesome.

13. Sleep under the stars.
 I guess you're technically ALWAYS sleeping underneath the stars, but I had intended to do so without a roof in between me and them. Oh well.

14. Travel to someplace I've NEVER been before. 
Weekend of April 14th - 16th, 2012. I'm counting Cannon Beach, Oregon. Because while I've been to Oregon, including the coast, I'm 99.9% sure I've never been to Cannon Beach itself. And I'm not made of money, you know.

15. Go sledding.
RETIRED. There was never a combination of enough snow and time to accomplish this. (Remember this?) Which is AWESOME. This goal had to do with making the most of my least favorite season, but I didn't even have to! Oh global warming, how I love you. (Not really.)

16. Bake a pumpkin pie. 
I've modified this one. Maybe I'll actually make a pumpkin pie someday, but in the meantime, on Sunday, March 25th, I made a apple pie. And it was really good. So I'm counting it.

17. Complete the scrapbook for the trip to Germany my family made in high school. 
Done! As of December 17th, around 10 pm. Just in time for Christmas!

18. Finish the New York City travel diary.
Yeah, that might not get done. Maybe ever.

19. Learn Hindi basics. (I might modify this one...I've been focusing on ASL lately...)
I actually don't really know much more Hindi OR ASL than I did a year ago.

20. Read 5 Shakespeare plays I haven't read before.
In progress - 1 out of 5 Twelfth Night

21. Go horseback riding. 
Friday, Sept. 30th, through the BYU-I Outdoor Resource Center. Sunset ride through Harriman State Park, coming back under the stars and listening to elk call all around.

22. Sew a skirt or dress for myself. 
Ah, heck, I'll count this. I didn't sew a skirt or a dress. But I did modify like, three shirts, and sewed some curtains and some slipcovers for couch cushions.

23. Build an online acting resume. 
Done! As of Friday, May 18th. Check it out.

24. Ride the carousel at Porter Park. 
Wednesday, June 13th. Twice in one day! With Beckah once, and then again with Beckah AND Jacob.

25. Run a mile in under 15 minutes.
I think I might have done this, but I didn't actually time it. I ran/walked a 5K in 25 minutes, so...

26. Make a painting. 
I think this counts. This is my final for scene painting. It's a little rough, but from 30 feet away, it works. And I did it in two and a half hours.

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