Don't you love lists?

A random list of things I did in 2005:

Visited Alabama for the first time (an actual visit, not just driving through).

Got a puppy who now weighs 70-75 pounds.

Worked a job I hated.

Found a new job I really like.

Wrote a second draft of the novel. (God that sounds lame. It took a whole year to do that?)

Made some new friends.

Met some famous authors.

Bought a second car.

Spent the first year in a house I co-own.

Bought a refrigerator, washer and dryer, dishwasher, lawn mower, television, dining room table, and too many other household things to mention.

Did not reduce my credit card debt, but didn't add to it. (Reason? See above.)

Painted the three bedrooms and the hallway in the house.

Started taking a yoga class fairly regularly.

Found two favorite bars.

Went to a Texas Rangers game with my parents and Nate.

Spent a lot more time with family.

Tried to throw a surprise birthday party for Nate he found out about.

Got addicted to The Shield, Deadwood, and Lost.


Some things I'd like to do in 2006

Bump yoga from "fairly regularly" to "regularly."

Start running again.

Learn how to make my own candles and/or soap.

Finish a third draft of the novel and then a fourth.

Go to New York for a visit.

Apply for a few writing fellowships and retreats.

Submit excerpts from the novel to a few literary magazines.

Consider joining a writing group. (I have mixed feelings about this.)

Paint the living room and Den. The Den is going to be a whopper, thus the capitalization. It's a multi-phase project. Retexture the ceiling, get two new ceiling fans, add a skylight (maybe), get new French doors, paint walls, paint fireplace, saw some decorative scrolly crap off bookshelves and built-in desks, maybe get a new carpet. Looking at that list, this project might bleed over into 2007.

Sod the back yard.

Find a good spot for an herb garden. (Good spot = a place where Walker can't eat the herbs. That dog eats everything.)

Have more fun.

Have more fun with clothes. I used to wear some pretty funky outfits when I was younger. Somehow I've gotten more conservative with my dress as I've gotten older. You have to ask yourself, what's the point of that?