New Year

Well, as I mentioned in the fall, the back half of 2015 has been a bit rough for me. Christmas, as is typical for me, only made it worse. But now it's New Year's Eve! My and Husband's 4 year anniversary is tomorrow! And un-typical for most people, NYE is usually a pretty fun time for me. Maybe it's because I keep my expectations low (the opposite of my Christmas problem) but as long as I make to midnight with tasty snacks and alcohol, I'm happy!

In any case, I've been feeling the itch to post and thought I should definitely do an end-of-year post. But my anxiety is the kind that tells me "it's been too long since you've posted! You'll never be able to catch up! Just quit!" Fuck that, brain. I'll take a short cut: 30 before 30 check in! Bonus: Resolutions!


1. Get married. As I've mentioned before, this is done! Although I still haven't had a wedding, it is now planned for next April, so I still hit it before the 30 mark. We have reserved a venue and a photographer and everything! 

2. Have a kid. We want to wait til after the wedding, mostly because I already have a dress that I definitely wouldn't fit into preggo, but also because I plan on switching jobs/moving after the spring semester and it'd be nice to be settled a little before bringing a little one around. Nevertheless, I'm confident we'll hit this goal.

3. Sell my crafts. I'm still calling this one DONE, but just moments ago I got an idea to start an Etsy side-business with a friend of mine... so we'll see!

4. Learn to sew. So I was supposed to work on this during the break and completely spaced since, you know, anxiety and depression. We'll get there! I plan on making my own Rey cosplay for SDCC this summer, so I'll probably learn then. 

I'd actually prefer her costume from the end of the film,
but I can't find a good picture of it.
(source)

5. Learn more about my car. DONE (for the current car)

6. Own a newer car. Another reason we're waiting a little bit on kids. I definitely want something safer/more reliable before I start carting around an infant in it. My next car will be my kids' car so I'm planning according. Hopefully I can do this sometime in 2016. WE HAVE A PLAN I SWEAR!

7. Stop renting. I mean, we're not I technically renting even now, but we also don't own the place. This is another one I'd like to check off before having kids (though not necessarily before getting pregnant) so we're looking at 2016 sometime for home-ownership also. It'll all depend on how the job situation plays out. Once I get my CCCs in January, I anticipate (and really hope) that a lot of this will get a little easier to pull together. 

8. Get a pet (or pets). We now have a Moose and an Echo! DONE!

9. Blog. CHECK! DONE! I know I'm not super consistent, but I always come back eventually!

10. Keep a journal regularly. Much like the blog, I'm not super consistent, but I am doing it!

11.Write every day. DONE. I definitely didn't have it in me to do NaNoWriMo this year, but maybe 2016? Even numbered years always seem to go a little better for me...

12. Finish a book. NaNoWriMo! Next year, SIGH.

13. Read the Bible. Kinda forgot... hello resolution 2016! Lots of lists out there for getting it done in year!

14. Create art. I'm considering some of my homemade decor, craft projects, and writing all to be art. I declare this DONE! Though I'd still like to do one of those painting classes eventually. 

15. Start a bonsai. I started a vegetable garden this year, that counts, right? SIGH, I'll do it. 

16. Get close to someone. I'm calling this impossible as either my personality or my environment won't allow it. 

17. Let go. Another one that is really an ongoing, life-long thing, but I'm making progress! I'm probably/hopefully going to start seeing a therapist for my anxiety. However, I'm calling this done, since the original thing I wanted to let go of, I have!

18. Take a course in ASL. I actually have been studying up on this both at work and through youtube videos. DONE-ZO! (Although I'll continue to learn.)

19. Travel. We've been all over the U.S., though not yet Hawaii. This is a life-long thing, and I'm calling it done since I'm pretty satisfied with the amount I will have done by 30.

20. Attend Comic Con/BlizzCon/cons in general. We've attended MTAC, GMX, and Blizzcon. We went back to Blizzcon this year and our honeymoon will be SDCC! I'm so excited! I'm calling this DONE!

We're gonna do it! We already have the money saved!
(source)

21. Start taking violin/voice lessons. I forgot how many of these require an actual monetary investment. I definitely still want to do it, but damn violins are expensive!

22. Diet and exercise. As I may have mentioned a few times before, Husband and I keep pretty low carb, plus I've done P90X3 once already, and I'm doing it again in the new year! Though I'm focusing on yoga and pilates X only because I feel like those will help with my stress and well as my fitness level. I definitely want to keep this up for... well, ever, but I'm calling it DONE!

23. Become a cook. Also DONE! I'm always going to be learning new recipes, but I know my way around the kitchen and am comfortable just throwing things together and making it a meal.

24. Work as an SLP. DONE! I've submitted my final forms to ASHA so I should have my CCCs come in any day now!

25. Pay down student loans. Yeah, this was naive. They won't be gone by 30, but I consistently pay (well over) the minimum, so they should be significantly reduced. And we'll see. Maybe we'll come across some random inheritance and I can just pay it off.

26. Build up savings. We've done really well with this! We have a ton saved (though a significant chunk will go toward paying taxes since mine are not auto-withdrawn) and no debt except student loans. Of course we'll be adding more debt in the form of a house and cars... but such is life. 

27. Tattoos! I'm planning to get another for my birthday and many more after that, but I have 6 now so I'm counting this done.

28. Gaming. I am playing more video games these days (Hello Xenogears, my old friend!), but I've really discovered a passion for table top gaming. We even have a weekly group! Plus a D&D campaign, and no more shelf space! So I'm calling this DONE.

Our holiday haul!

29. Learn how to style myself. DONE! I took an online course about this while unemployed last year and even started a blog feature around it.

30. Cut my hair. Again, happening after the wedding. It'll either be pixie or, more likely, an undercut!

Many of these won't be done until that 30th birthday (like paying down as much of my loans as I can) but I've only got 9 left! Hooray me! And some of them are resolutions for the new year, like no more renting, buying a new(er) car, writing a book, working out, and reading the Bible. So this time next year, I should be able to check off at least half of those remaining. Huzzah!

You might have notice that even though many were done last time, I've continued with the activity so make sure you still read the little update paragraph for new info. What will you be working on this coming year?