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Brainstorming Thoughts for 2012

Well, it's almost the last month of 2011. What a bunch of crazy this year has been. Not graduating school as expected, quitting my government job, going to Alaska for six months, coming back and starting a new job...all of this has happened this year. I am also not affiliated with The Green Coffee Bean Company any more, which makes me sad, but I think the break was good for both of us. I wish Steve all the best and hope he does great in the new year!

Speaking of the new year, these are the things I am looking forward to:

*Learning more at my new job. I really like it and want to do good there. There is a lot to learn and I am really liking what I have learned in the past month! Everyone has a story and there is a lot of community spirit in the Mississippi District! I'm really amazed that a few blocks of street can have such a "together" feeling and it makes me feel really good promoting it and being part of it. Not to get too mushy on you, but I kinda have a crush on the Mississippi District.

*I am going to kick SO MUCH BUTT on statistics for the third freaking time. New teacher is a plus. Not having the last teacher is a plus. Not having to take statistics via distance is a plus. I will do GOOD, darn it.

*I am graduating in June!! I plan on walking at my graduation in Eastern Oregon, a place I've never been! How cool!

*Camping, camping, camping, and a little sprinkle of more camping. I didn't get to camp ONCE this year and I don't want either of my beloved Gunnison tents to hate me. (There's a reason why they win awards. It's because of sheer awesomeness.)

*I look forward to getting back to my Brittany roots. I was all over this year. In Ketchikan, in Portland, in Ketchikan in ten different houses, in Portland. Now that I'm back I have been going through a lot of stuff and getting rid of it. My goal for this next month is to be completely done getting rid of stuff before 2012 starts. I want to start the year with a clean slate and a clean house. It is truly amazing how many full garbage bags of stuff I have donated to the Arc, how many things I've given to friends, how much I've sold on eBay and CraigsList. I just have had it with having a ton of stuff. What's crazy is that I feel like I have gotten rid of a bunch of stuff but it still doesn't seem like it's much more empty in here. There is still stuff I'm working on getting rid of, but I just thought maybe it would seem more "free." We'll see what happens.

*Not having a set schedule right now makes me feel a little uneasy at times. I have days where I'm super productive and can spend hours cleaning and sorting things or working on projects and then there are days where maybe I only go outside to take Artoo out and I spend a large part of the day watching World War 2 documentaries on Netflix. Maybe this is just my new normal. I don't know if I will ever not feel weird not having more of a set schedule. I think I will be okay, though.

Okay, so now I have been thinking of what I want to accomplish in 2012. I've already updated the list on the left of my blog with this stuff, but I know there is more I want to do.

Here's some of my new things I want to accomplish in 2012:

*Ride bike to work at least 50% of the time. I like riding my bike but it is obviously way easier to be lazy and drive to work. Work is 5.5 miles away, so this makes out to be a good 11 mile round trip bike ride, nothing to shake a stick at. (I dunno, I feel pretty good about that. Double digits, yo!) The trip is even relatively flat, so I really have nothing to complain about. I just need to (wo)man up and do it.

*Start doing yoga at least three days a week, whether it is at home or at Sprout. I have been wanting to go to yoga classes at Sprout for almost a year now, I think? They're donation-based and they're a 15 minute bike ride away from me. Why haven't I gone? Whether I go there for yoga or do it at home, it needs to happen. Even if I do ten minutes of yoga it is better than no yoga. And I LIKE yoga. Why am I having to talk myself into doing it?!

*Read at least one new book a month. I really, really like to read. I haven't had a whole lot of time to read books for fun since I've been in school and then that whole "working four jobs" thing, but now that I'm back in town I really want to start reading more. I have already gone to the library and checked out three books. Of course, they are about food politics, history, and poisons. This is what I do.

*Go to a sauna once a month. Again, I like saunas! I had access to a sauna when I worked at the fire department and I used it ONE TIME in four years. SAD. Now I have to pay for it. I think doing a sauna is really good for you and is a good addition to the sweating I already do when I am riding my bike. But this is like kicking the sweating up a notch. It cleanses your pores. It's $14 for a one hour visit. I think I can handle that once a month. I'd love to go more often, but baby steps.

*Do a 5 day cleanse. When I get off hormone birth control in a couple months I am really looking forward to doing a cleanse for the first time ever. I've been wanting to do one for years, but have never been able to because I'm on the depo shot and the point is to keep the synthetic hormones in your system. It feels kinda silly to be all, "I want to eat organic food, make eco-friendly choices, ride my bike, and, oh, get injections of who-knows-what in me every three months." Well, it's stopping in the next few months. (No, that doesn't mean we are trying for kids. We WILL be adopting another kitty after Christmas, though!!!!!! I am dying for feline companionship! I practically grabbed the vet receptionist's cat and ran today, but he was on a leash and she is a nice person and it just wouldn't work.)

*I know I have mentioned it before, but I really, really want to start taking Russian and Spanish classes again. I watched a tv show today that was almost completely in Spanish and I could pick out words, but not understand what was happening as a whole unless I looked at the subtitles. I want to go to a restaurant and order my own food! I want to shop at markets! I just want to be able to talk to people and exercise my brain.

*I want to take Indian and Greek cooking classes. This has been surprisingly hard to come by in Portland, but I am keeping my hopes up. These are my favorite ethnic foods and I want to learn how to make some of them!

*I want to take a cocktail class, because I think liquors are interesting. I would love to take some sort of "liquor history" class. I don't know if that really exists, but I think it would be neat. I'm pretty excited about the cocktail class House Spirits has to offer and I know that I will do it sometime in 2012!

What are you all going to be working toward to better yourself in 2012? I'd love to hear your thoughts. This is just what I've have rattling around in my brain, but I *know* there is more I want to do and I'd love to get some new ideas or at least be remembered about things I may have thought about in the past!