Saved by my savings

This year, I've decided to challenge myself to complete a list of 31 things that will challenge, inspire, and renew me. I hope you'll let me know that you're following my adventures by clicking on the link to the left that says "Join this site" or by entering your email. I appreciate having you here and always read every comment!

It’s a new day folks. A wall has fallen, a line has been crossed <...drumroll...> my savings account is now larger than my ATM balance. Yippee!!

In fact, of all the goals on my 31 Things list, #26. Grow my savings account, has quietly, steadily snuck up as my top success story.

This what I did to start saving: 1) I put $100 into my savings account each month; 2) I started following the 52-weeks Money Challenge; and of course, 3) I don’t take out any money (that should be a given, but a former version of myself wasn’t too keen on that rule).

That’s the practical side of things, the hands on money side of things; and while it’s a success story, it’s not *the* success story.

See, I’ve always told people that I’m no good with money. I just can’t save a dime. A credit card for me? No way -- I cannot be trusted. And yet I’ve always been good at math. I’m generally good at stepping back, seeing the big picture, and planning for future goals. At work, I have always understood and even enjoyed the details of budgeting and accounting.

So here it is folks, for its first unveiling -- I AM good with money. Yeah. I said it. I can add it, subtract it, budget it, plan for it, make it, spend it, and -- get this -- I can even SAVE it. Why then have I been spending all.these.years. telling everyone who would listen that I am so bad? That, my friends, would be because of my favorite love-to-hate-it word: S-H-A-M-E.

Shame wrote its name all over my bank account. And my savings and credit cards and checkbook. I spent almost 8 years thinking that *I* was bad, just because I had made some bad mistakes. I took the misuse of a credit card (okay, a few credit cards) and claimed them as badges of dishonor: Stupid. Untrustworthy. Immature. I wore them for a really long time.

The first step to crawling out of my money pit was to get help. Please hear me when I say this -- Get Help. A shocking but true reality is this: there are people out there who have gone to school just to qualify themselves for getting me out of the trouble that I spent all of school getting myself into. (Yeah; read that ten times fast.) And there are equally qualified people out there who can help you climb out of whatever your pit is. Sometimes the Get Help step seems overwhelming, but just start talking to someone you trust. Together you will conquer step one.

The second step to crawling out of my money pit was to be sorry and to say sorry, but then to move on. Thanks to a friendly and patient credit consolidation counselor, I was able to “apologize” for my overdue bills and create a plan to eventually pay back what I owed. But even before saying sorry to the MasterVisaExpress, I had to actually be sorry. I had to stop saying -- mostly to myself -- that it was someone else’s fault. I had to stop being a victim and start handling my business.

Also, the part of step two that I missed the first few times was the last part -- Move On. Sometimes creditors still called. Sometimes they were wrong, sometimes they were just mean. But until I could decide that I didn’t care what they thought of me, that it was more important what I thought of me, I couldn’t really move on. It was a good three years after I stopped owing money that I finally started answering my phone for numbers I didn’t recognize. Moving on is hard. But it’s so worth it.

The third step to crawling out of my money pit was, and is, what the final step always is: Show Love. For me, that was about showing love to my parents, who kept bailing me out each time I was on the edge. It meant showing gratitude to friends who loaned me large amounts of money when I just couldn’t go back to my parents again; especially to those friends who forgave the debt I owed them, long before it made any sense for them to do something like that. And, of course, I had to show love to myself.

It is incredibly easy to make the leap from “I made a mistake” to “I am a mistake.” Or “I did something wrong” to “I am something wrong.” It’s the story of the human experience, or at least, it’s the story of mine. And overcoming that takes daily work, daily reminders, and regular interaction with the Spirit that connects us all.

So that’s my story.  A lot of details are missing, but the important stuff is there. Get Help. Be Sorry. Move On. Show Love.

And why has this been on my mind? Well, I think maybe that same Spirit has been helping me see that there is one more step. -- Give More.

Give more help.

Give more forgiveness.

Give more love.

My savings? It saved me. And not because I’ve patched together a financial safety net, but because I patched together a net of hope and redemption and newness. I can breathe again. I can trust myself again. When the phone rings, I can answer it -- even if I don’t know where it might lead.

And that side of things is a freedom worth saving for.

What are you saving for? Is there a place in your life, a label you've been wearing, that you can start to redefine?

May ... a 31 Things update

This year, I've decided to challenge myself to complete a list of 31 things that will challenge, inspire, and renew me. I hope you'll let me know that you're following my adventures by clicking on the link to the left that says "Join this site" or by entering your email. I appreciate having you here and always read every comment!

Almost half way through the year and I almost can't believe it. Sometimes the months pass slowly but this year they have been flying by. A few weeks ago I celebrated my 31st birthday, a special marker this year in light of my 31 Things list. My fabulous friend Amy helped me by going through each item; here's my update as well as a few plans for the coming months.

#2. Lose 31 pounds

This is, as it always has been, a difficult challenge for me. But the days are a little longer and the weather is a lot warmer, which means getting back to a regular routine of walking and biking. The plan is to walk at least once a week with a friend (and a few more times by myself) as well as bike to work 2-3 times each week. Not much progress so far, but if you want to walk with me, I would LOVE to meet up!

#3. Make one new recipe a month

Success! Since I'm playing catch-up, I have three new recipe stories! In February I made an easy baked ziti recipe that I absolutely LOVED and have actually made a couple different times now. In March, I made a strawberry-vanilla cake (and two variations of the same recipe: blueberry-lemon & chocolate-cherry). Last, but far from least, I made foil-wrapped salmon over lemon slices in April which was one of the best dishes ever! 

Here is what I'm finding - cooking is not so hard! I have long been afraid of food, due to the ways that I tend to abuse it when I feel emotional or afraid. I guess I had come to believe that food was the enemy, and the thought of purposefully putting food together in new ways on my plate was pretty daunting. But using these recipes this year, and searching for new recipes using my criteria of 1) easy to make, 2) minimal ingredients, and 3) small enough for one (or at least freezer friendly), has made me feel more powerful over food. 

#7. Read 12 "real" books

In my last post I wrote about "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin, which I'm still making my way through. But in addition, I recently finished "Impossible to Please" by Neil J. Lavender and Alan A. Cavaiola. I chose it primarily for research on the topic of dealing with critical people. I recommend it if you are in a relationship or working closely with an extremely critical person. My one critique, however, was that the book seemed to make the assumption that there isn't one glaringly obvious response to living with an unfairly critical person -- get out. It's not an option for every situation I know, but if someone is treating you as if you don't matter... Well, you do. 

#11. See a show on Broadway.

It was somewhat off Broadway, but my friend Bill was pretty fantastic as Amos in a community performance of "Chicago" last weekend. I'm not sure this one "counts" in true 31 Things fashion, but I'm putting it anyway. :-) 

#15. Increase my blogging audience to 25 followers

We're almost there folks! I'm up to 23 "official" followers -- thank you so much! This goal is really more about motivating myself to write and post more regularly. One of my "review" goals from my birthday is to get back to writing every Monday. So if you haven't become an official follower or subscriber yet, would you consider becoming one? (Even if just to give me the satisfaction of crossing something off my list.)

#26. Grow my savings account

I already updated you on this one, but I just have to say again how surprised I am that I've been sticking to this one. Saving money has long been a challenge for me, but I am grateful for a steady job I love that allows me to set money aside. And this process has reminded me that I really do have "enough". It has also convicted me of my desire to tithe and give regularly in a more purposeful way. I'm still working toward that, but will update as I go.

That's pretty much it for now, although I've got some fun plans in the works for #9. Spend a day in downtown Detroit, and #18. Do a 5K run/walk. I can't wait to see what else the year brings! Thanks for sharing, supporting, encouraging, and joining me in all my random adventures!

What adventures or challenges are you looking forward to in the coming months? Leave a comment below!

Just Do You

This year, I've decided to challenge myself to complete a list of 31 things that will challenge, inspire, and renew me. I hope you'll let me know that you're following my adventures by clicking on the link to the left that says "Join this site" or by entering your email. I appreciate having you here and always read every comment!

I'm in the midst of reading my second book as part of my 31 Things... List. This one is called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin.

To be honest, it was a little hard for me to get into another book for a few reasons. In January, when I first began my small adventure of compiling a list of things to accomplish, I was already in the midst of reading Brene Brown's "Daring Greatly". To say this book had a profound impact on me is putting it mildly. Reading through that book was like searching for a splinter; you poke and prod around a localized pain, until finally - "Got it!" It was painful, but ultimately freeing.

Reading "Daring Greatly", with its honest assessment of the effects of guilt and shame on our decision-making and self image, was like receiving a life evaluation and having to face up to all that stuff I'd been hoping to keep hidden. Basically, it was an intense experience for me and contributed, in part, to my making the 31 Things... List in the first place.

So really, to be honest - poor Gretchen Rubin. It isn't her fault that I had just had this huge life awakening! It took me a couple months of building up my nerve to even crack another book for two reasons - 1) how could it possibly measure up to the first book and 2) how would I survive if it did!
Lucky for us all, this book has a different tone and approach, and it doesn't feel quite as intense (which, in this case, is a good thing). The idea behind the book is basically that we can all be happier. And through a number of her own systems and hours of research, Ms. Rubin is able to walk us through her own year of The Happiness Project.

I am in a kind of pendulum phase of happiness at the moment. I'm a naturally extroverted person, with a certain degree of trust issues, in the midst of a somewhat isolating time. I've been working to combat that by staying in regular communication with my "inner circle" of friends and family, and by listening to my own sense of boundary-setting in new relationships. I also tend to want an unhealthy amount of recognition, like the "gold stars" Ms. Rubin admits to needing. The day-to-day reality of that massive stew of dysfunction is that I float in and out of happiness depending on how well I'm listening to myself that day.

Maybe the number one thing I've been taking out of the book so far is Ms. Rubin's first rule of happiness - Be Gretchen. Or in my case, Be Katy.

Last summer I came to Detroit for a week to volunteer at Cass Community Social Services, not knowing it would soon become my home, and while I was there spent time with a volunteer supervisor named Willie. Whenever Willie would give one of us a task, we'd always want more direction, to which Willie always replied - Just do you!

How should we stack these cans, Willie?
Just do you!

Do you care if we clean out this back cabinet?
Just do you!

Cheese first or bologna?
Yep - do you!

I loved this about Willie, because it reminded me that we can get really lost in the details. Am I doing it right? Is someone noticing what a good thing I'm doing? Will I get my gold star? What if I don't do it perfectly?

But Willie was more interested in the big picture. He let go of control to serve the bigger need, and allowed us to have a deeper impact by being ourselves. Even now, after I've shared that story with other colleagues, I often say or hear someone say: Just do you. And I'm reminded to let down those walls of perfectionism or fear that I'm not enough, and to instead lead from my own strengths.

So I'm trying to take that advice to heart at the moment. Trying not to fill my days with fear of failure - I even picked up one of The Happiness Project's sayings: "failure is fun!" I'm working at taking chances that could have big rewards, without worrying overmuch about their chances of flopping. I'm trusting myself to discern and make decisions in the moment, knowing that worrying is really only affecting my stress level and not creating solutions.

And at the beginning and middle and end of each day, I try to check in - are you being Katy? And if not, well, let's say it together - Just do you.

Becoming Familiar

Wow, six months. Somehow it's been six months since I left the most familiar place in the world, the most familiar people in my life, and the two most familiar "grown ups" I know (that would be Mom & Dad).

Since then, life has been filled with a lot of really unfamiliar stuff. And while I've had moments of feeling like I'm really on to something here, I've got to admit that there is a good chunk of time on a good chunk of days when I'm still kind of wondering how this happened; how I ended up in this brand-new, unfamiliar place surrounded by lots of friendly, but still unfamiliar, faces.

Of course, I do know how it happened, it wasn't like I woke up one day in a new apartment. I weighed the options, did the calculations, prayed for wisdom; I asked my parents and close friends for their input. By complete happenstance, I even had a quiet week in the woods to ponder it. But moving can be a little bit like death - even when you know it's coming, it's still a shock.

When I first got to Redford, that shock felt a lot like those first few hours of freshman dorm life. I cried a little as my parents and friends drove away, but tried to remember that I'd survived freshman year, and I would survive this. I would survive the missed electrical appointments, and the stop and start internet hook up. I would survive the first phone call to my dad, and would even be able to hide the fact that I started to cry when I heard his voice. And I would survive the newness of a place that would hopefully start to feel like home.

In some areas I didn't just survive, but thrived. I jumped into work with both feet, and managed to keep a healthy balance with personal time - even if I didn't have a clue what to do with that time. But I feel good at my job, and I love the possibilities and flexibility of the work I do. In those first few months, I did some of the most balanced work I've ever done.

Especially compared with these last few weeks leading up to Easter, which were the most stressful since I've been here. Tight time frames and expectations around church traditions - ones I'm learning by the seat of my pants - it had me a little on edge. But as I've been reflecting on my constant exhaustion, and the number of times my friend-slash-boss asked if I was okay, I'm thinking that something else was at work in me.

And now that I've crossed that six month marker, I think I can admit it - I've been missing the "familiar" something fierce.

I miss turning left at the one way heading into downtown. I miss opening that back door and smelling three different kinds of coffee. I miss silent writing sessions with a partner, musicians who can read me by the way I take a breath, and Wednesday nights with my best friends.

But what falls into the "familiar" and "unfamiliar" camps has also sort of shifted over the past months. My friend Amy, who I didn't know existed six months ago, is now a cornerstone of my little support system. Falafel sandwiches whenever I want them have become a nice habit. And I couldn't imagine going back to my bat-infested rental in Midland. I'd even miss these bright yellow walls of my apartment that I thought I'd hate by now!

In a couple days, I'm going home to get a little dose of the familiar, and I could not be happier. But I also know that a few days after, when I head back again, I'll feel just as strongly that home is here too. I guess that's just how it is for now - home is where the heart is, even when the heart is in more than one place.

February ... a 31 Things update

This year, I've decided to challenge myself to complete a list of 31 things that will challenge, inspire, and renew me. You can find the complete list here. 

I hope you'll let me know that you're following my adventures by clicking on the link to the left that says "Join this site" or by entering your email. I appreciate having you here and always read every comment!


February... the month of love, Mardi Gras, and paczki. Not, however, a month of great "list-crossing-offing-ness". But nevertheless, here is an update of my not so stellar February:

#4. Perform at a poetry open mic
I did this! Yay! :-) And it was an amazing night. I've written more about my experience and also shared my final poem in "Thirsting".

As the year goes on, I may try to come at this one again. If there were a rule-keeper of my list (which there is NOT), it could be said that helping to organize the poetry night where I spoke might not make this as much of a challenge as say, going to a regular open mic event in front of other poets and strangers. But still, I'm counting this one as done.


#25. Watch a film at the Detroit Film Theatre
A couple weeks ago, I went with a friend to see the Oscar-nominated short films (animated & live action) and it was SO worth it! I meant to write a longer entry about this, and might still come back to it, but this was one of the highlights so far of living in metro Detroit.

One reason for my list of 31 things was to find some interesting, challenging things that I could write about here. And of course, it's just nice to fill my life with interesting, challenging things. But I also wanted to use the list as a way of exploring and enjoying my new city. After watching this collection of incredible short-films, I drove back to my apartment feeling lucky to live in a place that celebrates art and beauty and diversity in the midst of difficulty.


#26. Grow my savings account
This is ongoing, but I'm still (attempting) to follow the 52-weeks Money Challenge AS WELL as a $100/month plan. I've had to dig into it once already, but my savings is still more than it has been before, so I'm counting it a win! (...for now...)


And that's pretty much my update... as I said, February didn't quite pack the punch I'd hoped it would in terms of my list, but there's still a lot of year left!

I have plans to make TWO new recipes (#3) this month (to catch up...) and to get started on some reading (#7). The books are on my iPad, I just have to sit my butt down and do it! I'm also toying with an online Photoshop class or possibly a one-day art class (#12). (Unfortunately, it's been difficult to find a class that doesn't conflict with other work responsibilities.)

Thanks to everyone who has been encouraging me in my adventures, either by sharing them with me or throwing new ideas my way. I love (and need!) the encouragement, because as you know, it is so easy to let the mundane parts of life swallow us up.

Check in next month to see how March goes... and in the meantime: 

What new adventures or challenges are you facing this year? Leave a comment below!

Thirsting

Thanks for checking out my blog! I love to read your comments and try to reply to each one. You can join this site and let me know you're reading by clicking on the links to the left.


In my "real life" I get some amazing opportunities to be creative with words, which is one of my favorite things to do. This is a poem written for my new church community's first spoken word poetry event, held in the basement on a Friday night. (I'm not sure the last time that church has been rocking at 10:00 pm; we're shaking things up!)

The room was filled with people of all ages, races, places, and experiences. During the open mic, poetry came from pastors, students, strangers -- one woman came up in a walker to present her poem. It was a truly beautiful thing.

But what drew people to that place was the dream-child of my pastor and friend, Jeff - a poet's interpretation of the Seven Last Words of Christ. Each poet took one of those last sayings, and soaked in it, until a new thing rose out of it.

I felt lucky and phony all at the same time when I was asked to contribute a poem. (Which, incidentally, is one of my 31 Things...) I'm not really a poet, I like to say. I'm a writer who happens to sometimes choose poetry. 

But the real reason I can't quite claim "poet" is because it is a terrifying thing to be, to do. Poetry (specifically spoken word poetry) thrives in vulnerability; it rises to life when it's given hot air and moving lips. The best poetry comes from honest and humble and heartbreaking places. Even humor is actually rooted in this vulnerable truth.

When I write for my blog or for my work, I'm able to pad the hard truths or little bits of shame with softer words or humor. I'm allowed, even expected, to make the difficult things easier to swallow, for myself and others.

Poetry is pads off, increasing the risk of pain and injury and bruising.

So yeah, I try to stay away from poetry, and I often succeed. Then something like this poem happens, and I realize that it's been forming itself in me even without my intent. To be honest, this is my darkest poem to date. Maybe one of the darkest things I've written because the visual pieces came first and the words followed. And the process of writing it was excruciating, sometimes leaving me shaking and without sleep.

I hope you find some of your own truth in its words, and as always, I hope you'll share those thoughts with me. Because this poem is its own creation, I just gave it some words to ride...

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished...Jesus said, “I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. (John 19:28-29)

I have been hung dry
Wrung out by sweat-soaked parade palms

I am cracked canvas of creation
Raped of resource, of consequence, of circumstance

I am but a memory of ancient waterways
I float, flakes of white ash in the wind
Burned up, burnt out
Blazing remains of apathy

ignorance

arrogance

Fleeting fancies of fire bugs

I am the long black train crossing heroin tracks
I am the twisted spine riding sweatshop backs
I am thirsty

I am the empty shell of man-hurled mortar rounds
I am the piercing smell of mass grave undergrounds
I am thirsty

I am the spaces within skin-lined sidewalks
Flash bulb imprint on a black and white portrait
Low hanging fruit of a Polish prisoner camp
A face forgotten

I am the sun-soaked pavement under whittled down stiletto heels
Stuck to a concrete corner
Lap dancing for dogs

I am the dehydrated souls of children sold across borders
Stolen childhoods, hung to wither in back pages of magazines

I am dry
I am deeply dry

Desperate for a day of harvest, for a reaping of the vineyard
I thirst for the wine of foot-crushed grapes
For the stain on a new community
Forged not in blood but in Living Water

I am the Living Water
And I am so thirsty

Into Silence

DUSK IN THE FOREST by Roberto Nieto

When I was a girl I went to an overnight camp in northern Michigan. Year after year I went, until I was too old to go back. I considered applying to be a counselor, but never did, and now the camp has shifted locations and doesn't look at all like it used to when I was younger.

But back then, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It taught me reinvention and self-discovery. Camp brought me experiences that were beyond any I would have imagined for myself -- love, heartbreak, travel, adventure, laughter, leadership, silliness, restfulness -- camp helped me become more than I was.

I remember one night standing a ways outside of my cabin. I was one of the older campers by this time, and we had a smaller cabin with more freedom and privileges than others. It was late at night, past the final bell, and the cabins had gone dark. They were spread out across a large wooded area, so far I couldn't even see them all. But on those nights when the air was clear, you could hear everything. And those were the nights I would sing.

"Amazing grace… how sweet the sound…." 

I stood on a small bridge, maybe three large steps across, and sang into the night. It wasn't always the same song.

"Scarlet ribbons… scarlet ribbons… for her hair…" 

But I always sang. And looking back I don't know why I was never nervous or anxious. We were a fairly large camp, maybe a hundred heads laid down those nights. But when I sang it was just me, on a bridge over a stream, singing to the night.

I miss that girl. That girl I was on those early evening nights. Those camp years blur together; I don't even remember how old she was, much less how she managed those moments. How she always found a song, always sang into the silence.

One of my 31 things this year is to spend a whole day in silence. To be honest, I haven't given that one much thought since I first put it on my list. Even now, I'm surprised to be writing about it. But I think that the girl might have added that one to the list. One day for us to be together on a bridge over a stream, listening to the wind while the lights go out.

Life will always have an audience. Music and ministry have taught me that. But the moments that change us, that carry us from one shore to the next, are the times when we speak into the silence first. Standing on a stage, in an airport, at a chalkboard, under a spotlight, in the beat of silence--that is where the discovery happens, where we reinvent ourselves.

What memories from your childhood do you carry with you? What experiences helped you become who you are today? 

Leave a comment below - I read every one!  You can let me know that you're reading by clicking on the link to the left that says "Join this site" or by entering your email.

January ...a 31 Things update.

This year, I've decided to challenge myself to complete a list of 31 things that will challenge, inspire, and renew me. You can find the complete list here. 

I hope you'll let me know that you're following my adventures by clicking on the link to the left that says "Join this site" or by entering your email. I appreciate having you here and always read every comment!


One of the goals around the "31 Things..." list is to help me re-engage with my blog; to give me a few things to talk about and get me back into the writing routine.

You have no way of knowing this (so you'll have to take my word for it) but I've been writing a lot lately without posting it. Nothing is quite finished... nothing is quite good enough... I can't make the point I want to, or I follow some tangential thought until it doesn't make any sense any more.

But in an effort to live out both the spirit and the details of my "31 Things..." I thought I could at least give you an update on how the list is going!

Here are a few areas where I've made some strides:

#3. Make one new recipe each month
January's recipe was Broccoli/Mushroom Casserole from the "Moosewood Cookbook" by Mollie Katzen. My lovely friend Meredith (who has a few more culinary "gifts" than I) gave me this for my birthday TWO years ago and I finally put it to excellent use. 

One of the best dishes I've ever made, and one of the best casseroles I've ever tasted. Lots of fresh veggies, "healthy" sauce using sour cream & cottage cheese (all things are relative folks), and lots of yummy leftovers.

Not sure what next month's dish will be... but I know I'll be coming back to the Moosewood Cookbook again before the year is up.

#7. Read 12 "real" books
I just finished "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown, and if we've had a conversation even once in the last few weeks, you probably already knew that. I loved this book. I've been talking about it with everyone I know. One way I've described it is that it is filled with a truth that you realize you have always known; and yet no one else is saying it! 

This book has helped me to think more clearly about my own sense of vulnerability and has given me some tools to live more fully in the moment -- even when the moment feels really scary, and I'd rather be defensive or hide away.

I'm sure I will be writing more about this book in future writings. More books up for consideration are "Tattoos on the Heart" by Gregory Boyle and "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin.

#26. Grow my savings account
Late last year, right before I moved to Redford, I re-opened a savings account and starting contributing small amounts. Up until a couple years ago, I was spending a lot of energy at getting out of debt, which I did (yay!) But I wasn't giving any attention to a savings account.

My friends Jeff & Bridget introduced me to a savings plan they've recently adapted called the 52 Week Money Challenge. Each week you put away that week's amount in $$$. (Ex: Week One = $1, Week 18 = $18, Week 43 = $43) Each week's amount is added to the amount already collected, and at the end of 52 weeks, you will have accumulated $1,378.

It's a pretty pain-free start... but check in with me around November and we'll see how I'm feeling then. ;-)

Those are the three areas I have actually "done" something, but I already have plans to fulfill #4. Perform a poetry open mic; and #25. Watch a film at the Detroit Film Theatre; as well as offers for a few more! 


How are your goals for the new year going as we wrap up the first month? Are you keeping your resolutions, or thinking about re-starting again?

31 Things To Do... the Final List.

The List is complete!! 

I put a couple screen shots below so you can see it in all it's glory. (I even picked out a new font just for the occasion.) But in case you can't read it or open the pictures -- I also included the list below:

31 Things To Do In 2013:

1. Parasail over one of the Great Lakes
2. Lose 31 pounds
3. Make one new recipe each month
4. Perform at a poetry slam
5. Unpack - boxes, bags, bins, and all!
6. Visit Steve in Virginia Beach
7. Read 12 "real" books
8. Get my bachelor's degree
9. Spend a day in downtown Detroit
10. Get a physical
11. See a show on Broadway
12. Take an art or photography class
13. Create some "Found Letter Art" with Allison Kyro
14. Dye my hair a neon color (pink, purple or aqua)
15. Increase my blogging audience to 25 "followers"
16. Make some art for my apartment
17. Go on a date
18. Do a 5K run/walk
19. Right a wrong
20. Sleep outdoors
21. Volunteer 31 hours
22. Watch Titanic, Braveheart, and Singin' in the Rain
23. Simplify my 'stuff' (give it, sell it, toss it)
24. Have something published
25. Watch a film at the Detroit Film Theatre
26. Grow my savings account
27. Spend a whole day in silence
28. Go canoeing
29. Drive to Canada
30. Go to the Detroit Zoo with a kid (parents welcome)
31. Visit my grandparents' grave sites

31 things... the idea

Happy New Year!

If you’ve been missing my blog posts, let me first say: Thank you! And I’ve been missing you too!

This year is possibly the ‘newest’ New Year that I’ve had in quite some time. Three months ago I packed up, gave away, or threw out most of my worldly possessions (minus some odds and ends hidden away at Mom & Dad’s house). I moved downstate to a small town in the big area of metro Detroit and started a new job. And so far it has been quite a ride.

Now, I usually *hate* the tradition of making a New Year’s Resolution, but this seems to be a season of all things ‘new’ and I just can’t resist.

But here’s where I need your help… For the year 2013, I’ll be making a list of 31 things to do before the year is up. (One of those things will be – turning 31!)

So far I have 18 19 things that include (in no particular order):

• make one new recipe a month
• perform at a poetry slam
• get a physical
• take an art or photography class

 And lots of other things...

But I could really use some help because as it turns out, the first thing on my list is already stumping me: #1 -- Come up with a list of 31 things to do in 2013.

I’ve already received some great suggestions from friends, and I’ve been able to add quite a few to my list. So if you have suggestions, I’m looking for challenges! The idea is to step out of my comfort zone in a variety of ways from the mundane to the terrifying, and to give myself permission to be vulnerable and emotionally aware in these new experiences. And of course -- to get some great pictures and crazy stories.

I’ll be posting my completed list by the end of this week and then blogging about some of my experiences as the year goes on. Here’s to a year of taking chances, opening up, and telling everyone all about it!