2011 - my year in review

At the start of 2011, I set six goals for myself (don't call them resolutions!) with the overall goal of making 2011 better than 2010 by "taking care of myself, and striving for happiness in my life and the lives of those close -- and not so close -- to me." I accomplished 3.5 of them, which isn't bad... although two of them I totally failed at. Let's review :)

• Get Healthy: I will eat better and utilize either my Wii Fit or the treadmill -- that I plan to "borrow" from my parents' garage -- at least three times per week, in addition to continuing Pilates. I also want to resume hiking when the time changes.
• Check! This was my biggest accomplishment this year. I met my weight loss goal (25 lbs) plus some by completely changing my eating habits -- no more fast food except for special treats, very little bread, and lots of salad, chicken, lean cuisine, fruit and yogurt. I also worked out a minimum of 2 times per week, sometimes up to 5 times using the Wii Fit starting in mid-January, keeping up Pilates once a week, hiking/running 1-3 times per week at Runyon Canyon from March-October, and adding Pop Physique classes, which are a mix of Pilates, ballet barre work and light weights. It kicks your butt and shapes it up at the same time :) I also started taking my multi-vitamin everyday again and added an extra 2000 mg of Vitamin D since Vitamin D deficiency is thought to be a cause of MS.
• Write More: I will not put my journal in a drawer. I will keep it in eyesight and use it to brain dump feelings and ideas not for public consumption here.
• Fail. I wrote in the journal a few times, mostly about tracking my weight loss goals/successes, but it was in the drawer most of the year. And I only updated this blog 21 times all year. Bad, bad, bad!
• Read Actual Books: A minimum of four this year. One per quarter. That's doable, right? (Sub-goal: I will not let my magazine pile deter me from this goal, no matter how tall it gets.)
• Check! I actually read five books this year, all of which were excellent: Tina Fey's Bossypants, The Help, and The Hunger Games trilogy.
• Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Fail. I didn't volunteer once this year. I thought about it a lot, but never did. I did increase my charitable donations this year though, especially to the National MS Society, LA Mission, amfAR, and Smile Train -- I helped four kids have their cleft palates repaired so they could smile again and live a normal life. That makes ME smile. 
• Host More: I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more (see goal #1 ;)
• Check! In addition to poker nights and my annual July BBQ and Christmas Cocktails, I also had Grilled Cheese Night again this year and started "Summer Grillin' Saturdays." Oh, and I also co-hosted a baby shower for my dear friend Hilda in August (And she welcomed baby Yevah in September :)
• Travel for Me: I will go to Portland this year to spend time with friends -- I've made that promise. I also hope 2011, one way or another, will finally be my Italian vacation year. I'm thinking either April for someone's birthday, or a solo tour in the Fall.
• Half Check/Half Fail: I did go to Portland and had a fabulous time with my dear friend Jenny and her family. Also went to San Fran in May to see Hugh Jackman's show and visit with my friends Jason and Josh. And went to Orlando for a rainy trip to Disney World and an awesome night at Harry Potter World. But the Italy trip still hasn't happened. I did do a little research on it though... and got a new big suitcase for Christmas ;)

I think those goals were overall good ones so I'm sticking with them for 2012, with minor adjustments. For instance, this year I want to read the classics sitting on my bookshelf that I've never read... The Hobbit, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Jane Eyre. If I get through half of those, that will be a good accomplishment, considering three of them have been on my shelf since high school ;)

And for posterity/since I apparently don't write in my journal anymore, here are some of the memorable things from my 2011:

January:

• Burke Williams trip #1
• Pre-hockey meal at delish Bottega Louie
• My mom and dad celebrated their 41st Anniversary
• Get healthy goal achievial begins
• Game Night #1

February:

• Burke Williams trip #2
• Finally ate at Ford's Filling Station (my 4-years-in-the-making bday dinner with Diana, Daryl and James)
• Stars on Ice in Anaheim

March:

• Hmmm....

April:

• Grilled Cheese Night
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs for the 2nd time since 2002! Lose to friggin' Sharks

May:

• Trip #1: San Francisco for Hugh Jackman in concert
• The 2011 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season
• Trip #2: (work) Hackensack NJ (yuck) and Chicago (yay) for focus groups
• Afternoon tea at Chado with mom and dad

June:

• U2 at Anaheim Stadium
• Pop Physique starts

July:

• Met my weight loss goal
• Hosted my 2nd 4th of July BBQ (on July 3rd)
• Burke Williams trip #3
• Dolly Parton at Hollywood Bowl, with Mom, Dad, Daryl and Diana
• Summer Grillin' Saturdays begin

August:

• Hairspray with John Stamos at Hollywood Bowl
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl, with narrator James Taylor
• Bella the crazy, adorable puppy joins our family

September:

• Trip #3: Portland to see the Z's

October:

• Trip #4: Orlando for party at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Foo Fighters at the Forum
• Clinton Foundation 10th Anniversary concert at the Bowl with Bono, The Edge, Lady Gaga
• Apple and pumpkin picking in Oak Glen
• The Kings season begins...

November:

• Dinner at Little Dom's ... delish
• Sophie the cocker spaniel joins our family

December:

• Christmas Cocktails
• 12 days of vacation kicks off
• Christmas with siblings and Granny
• Burke Williams trip #4
• Tea at Rose Tree Cottage in Pasadena
• New Year's Eve dinner at The Melting Pot in Pasadena (too much food!)

And here's what I did this year, according to some of my favorite Facebook status updates:

grace

I received some great smelling Philosophy lotion and bath gel from my friend Niki for Christmas. And while I normally don't read packaging, the photo on the gift set was so cute that I read this one, which I find extremely poignant...

How you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain, and so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. In the end, it all comes down to one word: grace. It's how you accept winning and losing, good luck and back luck, the darkness and the light.


Sadly, not a lot of people seem to know how to be graceful these days. When I think of that word, I picture Audrey Hepburn. Many know of her as an iconic actress, but towards the end of her life, she was a selfless humanitarian. This poem she quoted, when asked for her beauty tips -- originally written by Sam Levenson -- is one of my favorites:


"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
    For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
    For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
    For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
    For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
    People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed.
    Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
    As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."

2010 -- the year that was

It's New Year's Eve, my most hated of holidays. People put way too much emphasis on going out, drinking, and cheering when the clock strikes 12. Any time I've tried to "celebrate" this "holiday," I usually regret it... I get in a fight with someone, or the evening doesn't live up to the artificially manufactured expectations that it be awesome, and I feel like I've failed the Party Gods. So this year, I'm sitting on my couch watching movies, with a vodka cranberry in hand. This has been a not-awesome year, and I prefer to just let it slip quietly into the past.

The year 2010 actually started off really well. I was the happiest I'd been in a long time... for about six days. Then things went awry. Sadness, worry and stress took over my personal and professional lives. I'd like to say those feelings lessened as the year went on, but alas, they did not. My mom was diagnosed with MS in June. Work got all re-org-ish over the summer, some people I loved working with are no longer there, and it now seems more in flux than it's ever been. And since July, four colleagues, all under the age of 50, have passed away, three from health issues that took them from this earth way before their time; and the fourth was killed the day after Christmas at the hands of a drunk driver in Vermont. (RIP Johannes, Leslie, Wayne and Kaye.) So sad.

The year was not all bad though. I traveled a lot, (although most of it was for work) and went three places I'd never been before. I also saw a lot of great shows and concerts, participated in three great volunteer events, and made a great home improvement. This year also saw me convert from PC to Mac at home, and I must say I love the freedom of my light, easy to use, virus-free MacBook now, even though converting all my files (or not, as the case may be) was a pain. I got my awesome Droid Incredible phone. And I went to Pilates almost every week of the year. (But went on only one hike due to my knee problems, finally diagnosed in May as runner's knee... although I do not run). Here are some of the highlights of the year:

January:

• My mom and dad celebrated their 40th Anniversary

February:

• Bon Jovi Concert #1 in Anaheim
• Saw Cast and Producers of LOST at PaleyFest

March:

• Bon Jovi Concert #2 in Los Angeles @ Staples Center

April:

• I started blogging (here) again!
• Michael Buble Concert @ Staples Center
• Trip #1: Seattle, WA, for the first time
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2002!

May:

• Trip #2: San Francisco for Web 2.0 Expo
• The 2010 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season
• Renoir in the 20th Century @ LACMA, with Mom, on Mother's Day
• Trip #3: Boulder, CO
• Upgraded to the Droid Incredible
• Trip #4: New Orleans (my one non-work, just for fun trip, for Jason & Nora's wedding!)

June:

• Sting's "Symphonicity" @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Jonny Lang @ House of Blues, Hollywood
• Grease Sing-Along @ the Hollywood Bowl
• I got my new, gorgeous back patio installed!

July:

• Hosted my first 4th of July BBQ
• Went to the Grammy Museum

August:

• RENT @ the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris
• Trip #5: St. Louis, MO, for the first (and hopefully last) time ever
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Goo Goo Dolls @ the Greek Theatre

September:

• Trip #6: Raleigh, NC, for the first time... at the same time as Hurricane Earl
• Trip #7: Palo Alto, CA
• Southern California Coastal Cleanup Day
• Trip #8: San Francisco, again

October:

• Trip #9: Phoenix
• Trip #10: New York City & Hackensack, NJ
• Apple and pumpkin picking in Yucaipa, CA
• The Kings season begins... awesomely. 

November:

• Volunteering for Operation Gratitude
• Disneyland with The Z's 

December:

• My first year with outdoor Christmas lights!
• Volunteering @ LA Regional Foodbank
• Christmas Cocktails
• 12 days of vacation kicks off

And here's what I did this year, according to some of my favorite Facebook status updates:

As 2011 nears, I'm thinking about what I can do to make it better than 2010 was. I think my overall goals are to take care of myself, and strive for happiness in my life and the lives of those close -- and not so close -- to me.

To that end, I want to:

• Get Healthy: I will eat better and utilize either my Wii Fit or the treadmill -- that I plan to "borrow" from my parents' garage -- at least three times per week, in addition to continuing Pilates. I also want to resume hiking when the time changes.  
• Write More: I will not put my journal in a drawer. I will keep it in eyesight and use it to brain dump feelings and ideas not for public consumption here.
• Read Actual Books: A minimum of four this year. One per quarter. That's doable, right? (Sub-goal: I will not let my magazine pile deter me from this goal, no matter how tall it gets.)
• Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Host More: I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more (see goal #1 ;) 
• Travel for Me: I will go to Portland this year to spend time with friends -- I've made that promise. I also hope 2011, one way or another, will finally be my Italian vacation year. I'm thinking either April for someone's birthday, or a solo tour in the Fall. 

That's six things, some more complicated than others. But I was quite amazed with everything I got done in December simply by planning my month, day by day, and checking things off a list. Tomorrow is the start of a new calendar and I can start filling it in right away :)

wear your music

Saw a tweet about this organization -- Wear Your Music -- earlier this week and wanted to share... some pretty well-known musicians (Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Jonny Lang, Keith Richards) are donating used guitar strings to be turned into eco-friendly jewelry (bracelets, necklaces) that then get sold for charity. I'm just waiting on Richie Sambora to donate, then I will make my purchase :)