Post-Vacation Wrap-Up

My roommates should be getting back any time now. I can't exactly remember when they will be arriving, but in the spirit of the end of my "vacation" I've decided to do a list enumerating my accomplishments. I was thinking about this on the way home today and it seems I've accomplished quite a bit:

1. painted living room
2. painted kitchen
3. painted picket fence on kitchen wall
4. got a new sofa (this REALLY deserves its own post. hopefully I'll do that eventually).
5. learned that it's okay to have needs
6. practiced expressing my needs and desires in appropriate ways
7. celebrated my birthday
8. hosted a Christmas party
9. practiced piano almost every day (after setting it as a goal)
10. accidentally made about 4 gallons (literally) of koshari and ate all of it (except the half gallon I froze for later)
11. narrowly avoided being kissed against my will (that hasn't happened since high school)
12. went and saw a movie in the theater by myself for the first time ever
13. came to the sad, sad realization that despite my ardent devotion to him, Hugh Jackman has never been in a good movie (with the notable exception of XMen I & II). the London production "Oklahoma" (which was AWESOME) doesn't count since it wasn't technically a movie.
14. rearranged my bedroom (the chi keeps getting better and better!)
15. sorted out ANOTHER three trash bags of stuff to take to Goodwill (seriously, where does all this stuff come from?)
16. after months of trying not to be suspicious, the facts refused to be ignored any longer and I realized that someone I respect and like a lot (no one any of my blog readers know) is most likely having an affair. am very sad about it.
17. bought a hat to keep my ears warm. I think I might not have to wear a coat EVER this winter, although I realize this is not true.
18. dragged a 10-foot Christmas tree down four flights of stairs by myself. Swept four flights of stair immediately thereafter.
19. accidentally stole a yucca from the grocery store (I am going to take it back)
20. got a pair of ice skates. still need to use them
21. finally cleaned the cookie jar that had that incredibly moldy muffin in it. I think it had been there at least two months.
22. made two separate trips to Trader Joe's on two separate days and STILL didn't manage to buy their house brand of pasta. I didn't think they'd be out at 4:30. I was wrong. (Why, oh WHY, can we not get a second Trader Joe's in Manhattan?!! preferably on the west side. I'm tired of shlepping all the way to the lower east side every time i run out of peanut butter. and the cashiers always ask questions when I buy more than 10 jars at a time.)
23. Have you heard the expression "there are two seasons in housekeeping-- Easter grass and pine needles"? I have learned for myself that ridding the house of pine needles really does take an entire season.
24. bought my plane ticket to London! Yay! Feb 12-25!
25. once again rejoiced in my decision to leave the non-profit sector when my end-of-year bonus unexpectedly arrived in my checking account. I LOVE working in the for-profit industry!
26. stayed up until 5 am watching episodes of Jem on YouTube
27. successfully proposed the idea of an inauguration day party at work. Got myself put in charge of said party. (i'm not an obama fan, but i'm trying to be a good sport)
28. gave myself a rather nasty cut with a butter knife (yes, a butter knife)

Well! That turned out to be quit a list! I could probably think some more and come up with other accomplishments, but I'll end now.

And, because every good blog post should have one--a picture: For New Year's Eve I went to a great party in a neighborhood much more trendy than I usually haunt. this is us in the elevator on our way to the roof to see the fireworks. It was very windy and cold. But totally awesome fun.