Day 174 and The 2014 List of 52 Things!

Yippie!!  Happy New Year 2014!!! I did my favorite "New Year" thing this morning and that was to wake up to a clean house. I wouldn't call the house perfect, but it is nice and tidy; dusted and vacuumed and fresh. We live in this house, so it is unlikely to ever be spotless. If I were a stay-at-home Mom and had the opportunity to be here all the time, maybe, just maybe it would be spotless. I'm happy with just plain old clean! We still have too much stuff around here, but we're working on our collective (there are 3 of us living here) tendency to hold on to things. We're getting better.

Every year I put together a list of 52 things I'd like to make happen in the next year. Since I'm a person who believes that things get done or organized when you break them down into workable units, I've just taken that same approach with putting together a list of things to get done in the next year. With only one thing to focus on in a week, I'm more likely to get these done than if I hadn't made the list. I've never actually gotten all 52 things done in a year before, but this could be my year to finally make that happen. The list contains a mix of fun and productive things. I see the list as a way to ensure I'm productive, but also see about my personal enjoyment of life. Here is my 2014 list:

List of 52 Things - 2014!

1. Take down the Christmas tree and decorations.  1/1/14
2. Deep clean the living room.
3. Deep clean the dining room.
4. Deep clean the kitchen.
5. Deep clean the master bedroom.
6. Deep clean the master bathroom.
7. Deep clean the laundry room.
8. Detail the car (labor by me).
9. Take a weekend trip to somewhere remote and just have peace and quiet. (i.e. a cabin somewhere.)
10. Visit Enchanted Rock and blog about the experience.
11. Take a day trip to Fredericksburg, Texas and blog about the experience.
12. Clean out and reorganize my makeup area.
13. Enjoy a James Bond movie watching week.
14. Dream up a new recipe and blog about the creation.
15. Select a new book and read it.
16. Prepare a spring/summer wardrobe that is flexible for weight loss.
17. Enjoy a week of 7 classic movies, one for each night.
18. Select and install new outdoor lighting.
19. Research new hairstyles and have my hair cut.
20. Spend a week reviewing finances and budget and make adjustments for the coming year. 1/4/14
21. Watch a week of favorite Christmas movies.
22. Test drive a Corvette and a VW Beetle.
23. Put up the Christmas tree and decorations.
24. Have a picnic at Lake Georgetown in Georgetown, Texas.
25. Recreate a magazine outfit for myself for $100 or less.
26. Clean out the bedside table drawer.
27. Select a cookbook and make supper from the book each night for a week.
28. Go to a concert.
29. Wear only black with a pop of color everyday for a week and blog about it.
30. Plan and wear a fantastic Halloween costume.
31. Visit the Cowgirl Hall of Fame museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
32. Spend a week goal setting and working out a specific plan of action.
33. Have a home spa week. (i.e. give myself a spa night in someway every night for a week!)
34. Have my very first massage.
35. Take a week of yoga lessons.
36. Plan and hold a progressive dinner.
37. Plan and enjoy a night out with dinner and a show.
38. Reorganize all of the drawers in my dresser.
39. Rethink my shoe and handbag storage. 01/11/14
40. Take a long weekend trip to Ft. Lauderdale.
41. Go through all of the linens and discard or repurpose worn out items.   01/25/14
42. Complete a fall cleaning of the house.
43. Spring clean my office.
44. Work from home one week in the spring.
45. Cook the meals for a full week on Saturday and package/freeze for the next week. 01/18/14
46. Complete a full week of daily Walk-Away sessions.
47. Sketch a picture of the scene from my front porch.
48. Have a professional manicure.
49. Have a professional pedicure.
50. Buy myself a bottle of Chance by Chanel perfume. (I have to save up for this!!)
51. Plan and take a trip to the Texas coast and enjoy the beach.
52. Plan and take a trip to Palo Duro Canyon.

That's it!  Of course, these things don't have to be done in any certain order and I will update the list throughout the year with what I've gotten done. As I finish something I'll color it red and strike it through.  That's one of the many fun things about a good list. When you finish something you get to strike it off!  Ahhh...I feel better already. As you can see, I've already done the first thing on the list. That's customary, as I always take down the Christmas Decorations on January 1, each year!

The rest of today will likely take the form of resting, relaxing and just enjoying the nice, mid-week day off. I hope you're having a lovely January 1, 2014!! One thing that will change for 2014 is my blog closing. I think I'd like to change it each year. Why? I don't really know, but it probably is the same reason I keep moving the furniture in the house around. *smile* This means that you lovely readers will now have a new name (i.e. changing from "Sweeties" to what you see below) and a new wish (i.e. changing from "Sweet Dreams" to what you see below). So, until tomorrow when I'll likely share some crazy nonsense, Godspeed, Voyagers!!