Twelve for 12: Project Planning

We are a mere week plus days into the new year, and after looking at my list, I think that it will be a helpful tool for me to plan out my strategies to make sure I end the year with all 12 agenda items:

1. Run a half marathon (considering I already signed up, I felt that it was best to put this as Thing #1)
2. Begin painting the house (interior)
3. Continue collecting my china pattern
4. Participate in at least one new run/race event
5. Declutter the master bedroom (or at least start)
6. Begin my masters
7. Start and finish at least 2 knitting projects (although in a post to be named later, I may carry one "start" from 2011 over)
8. Take HRH to one, new, exciting Thing each month
9. Obtain a post-race massage (this is not indulgent; studies show they help runners recover)
10. Read a book that is not intended for the 3-year-old crowd
11. Donate blood 4 times
12. Spend more high-quality less-TV time with The Husband

crossed off with a flourish.

Think of it as (English teacher nerd alert!!!!!) an outline as a precursor to the first draft, the final draft of which won't be revised until December.

Like writing an essay, things will have to change, and the order that I placed my objectives above are most certainly not going to be the order in which I complete them.  

Some of those items are not going to appear in the outline below.

Yet.

Number 1 - the half marathon - I ran 10 miles this weekend as I prepare for London's Run.  I also got myself a new pair of running shoes, which I'll begin breaking in on tomorrow's morning run.  Am I nervous?  You betcha!  Am I excited?  Duh!  Am I worried that I'll have a potty emergency? More than anything else.

Number 3 - the china pattern - I've found an eBay seller, and I was actually just about to order four place settings when the brakes on the Buick (yes, we have a Buick - our house single-handedly brings down the median age of LaCrosse drivers by tat least a decade) decided to start going, so we had to transfer funds to that.  However, I'm hoping to get going on that next month.  I have my list of what I have and what I "need" (The Husband keeps reminding me that this really is a "want"), so I'll be working through that to check those off.

Number 5 - decluttering the master bedroom - since this upcoming weekend is a three-day weekend for me, I have reserved Monday as my "find all my shoes and put them back in their appropriate boxes so that I can find them next time" day.  My goal is to get the closet taken care of, including pulling out clothing items to donate.  If I am really ambitious, I might also tackle the top of the bookshelf, which is the knitting/craft area, although it currently looks like the yarn section of Michael's exploded.

Number 7 - two knitting projects - our school's principal should have, by this time, have had her baby (she was due last week), and I have committed to making Baby Girl a blanket.  I have to finish this one by our March workshop, as that's when I'll next see our principal.  After my next pay day, I'll be obtaining the yarn, as I already have a pretty little pattern.  The other project is (still) a blanket to be donated.  As you may know, I didn't follow up on my Knitting in Knovember.  I had friends send me some pics, but after being sick all of December, I never got my project (a blanket for someone going through chemotherapy) finished, so I need to get that done.

Number 8 - taking HRH to a new, exciting Thing - well, we've already technically crossed this month's Thing off the list.  Last week we took her to Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo (it was also The Husband's first experience, so I think it can count for part of Number 10 as well, don't you?).  She was into it, but not as much as I thought she would be, considering her affinity for driving down "the sparkle street" (the two block of Historic Downtown Chandler, which, like many cities, was lit up at Christmas time).  However, the actual Thing I had figured would count for this month is taking her to see the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast, which is still her favorite Disney flick.  I've got big plans - she'll wear her Belle dress (under which she'll have her Belle underpants, unless I determine that training pants may, due to excitement reasons, be in the best interest of all involved) and probably have one of her many Belle dolls.  Photo opportunity?  Totally.

Number 10 - a book with me as an audience, as opposed to HRH - I'll be honest: there are so many choices on my own bookshelf that I can't currently decide.

Number 11 - donate blood 4 times - a healthy person can give blood every 8 weeks.  My plan is to give blood for the first time in this year after the half marathon is over, although just this morning, as I put this post together, I saw a short story on the news about how blood is needed here in the Valley right now.  Guilt trip.  But I know that there is always a need for blood - for people with cancer, for mothers and babies involved in difficult births, for accident victims, for dialysis patients, and more - and I need to keep my health before my race.  Thus, part of my post-race "celebration" (for finishing) is to go to United Blood Services to pay that euphoria forward.

Number 12 - non-television time with The Husband - this is going to be tough, as TH is a big fan of The Television.  Big, big fan.  I think that we'll use some of the Things that we do with HRH as quality family time, but we may try to really utilize HRH's overnights at Nana's house more effectively so that we can maybe see a movie that isn't animated.  TH has also said that he wants to do Pat's Run this year, so perhaps we can include a bit of training for that.  Finally, I'm going to test the "Turn of Your TV Week" waters here to try to have a bit more fun in the evenings.  After all, there are absolutely no shows we need to watch - even the news can be obtained via radio and the internet.

Whew - that's a bigger outline than I thought I would have at this point.  OK, Internet; I have told You my tentative plans.  Let's see how this goes.