Thank You, Amy Cunningham.

My friend Amy recently created a to-do list of sorts for 2011. I was inspired by that, I'd like to share with you my working to-do list. It is probably not complete, but I'll share with you what I have.

2011 To-Do:

1. Trust God.
2. Love and be loved by a good man.
3. Finish reading all partially read books.
4. Read and return all borrowed books.
5. Make a baby blankets for Jerry & Carrie’s little one and Dan & Rachel’s baby too.
6. Watch as much Eddie Izzard as is available to me.
7. Learn some basic guitar.
8. Finish going through my books and giving away/selling as many as possible.
9. Make mixes for more people.
10. Send more postcards. (And seriously consider buying literary postcards from barnesandnoble.com)
11. Write more thank-you’s.
12. Keep stamps on hand.
13. Read 365 Thank Yous by John Kralik, The Venetian’s Wife by Nick Bantock, and A Well-Kept Home by Laura Fronty.
14. Send someone a telegram via telegramstop.com.
15. Create my own God Box.
16. Do something nice for someone else every day.
17. Give more away.
18. Hang the Swan in the apartment.
19. Find a job.
20. Give more money.
21. Visit the ocean.
22. Less bad words, more positive statements.
23. Get to know the Barton’s a bit better.
24. Make Eric Callaway his long ago promised Green blanket.
25. Pay for the next car at a toll booth.
26. Try Bailey’s.
27. Live on just bread and water for 3 days.
28. Do a 3 day green tea detox.
29. Write a long letter to the pope.
30. Write a letter to a famous person I admire.
31. Give more toasts.
32. Buy a sarong.
33. Pay Dad at least half of what I owe.
34. Write my own obituary.
35. Wine and dine someone who deserves it.
36. Buy/receive/inherit/collect an external hard drive.
37. Take EGWTBTE pictures.
38. Take pictures of pirate Ned.
39. Have a completed emergency fund.
40. Watch “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist” with Regina
41. Write and send a letter to Santa Claus.
42. Lose some weight so that when I’m called upon to do it, I can look good in a bridesmaids dress.
43. Call people back and call when I say I will.
44. Try to encourage Cynthia.
45. Tell people I love them more often.
46. Practice radical honesty on a more regular-esque basis.
47. Watch Avatar on RiffTrax.
48. Burn more candles.
49. Take trips whenever possible.
50. Visit Nikky.
51. Buy foam swords and have sword fights.
52. Own “Hadestown” album by Anais Mitchell.
53. Write in my blog more. (Hey look! I'm doing that right now!)
54. Believe it when someone tells me that I’m beautiful or that I look nice or really any compliment at all.
55. Take better care of my hands.
56. Try new recipes.
57. Finish organizing quotes.
58. Teach Amber how to make Cheesecake.
59. Exercise (at minimum) 3 times a week.
60. Acquire Munchkin.
61. Learn to make granny squares.
62. Do more to encourage my fellow students (and the staff too).
63. Argue and deal with confrontation (and confront, if necessary) in a biblical way.
64. Take pictures.
65. Say “yes” more often.
66. Take a Sabbath from the interwebz.
67. Shred whatever old financial junk that is feasible and safe to shred.
68. Call home more.

Well, it's a work in progress. There will probably be additions to this list as the year goes by, but for now, this is what I have. It's long, but I have 363 days to do these (including today, oh yes). I think I might just be able to do this.

Be encouraged this year, my friends. 2011 is going to be a good year. A great year. I have no idea where God is going to lead us, but I'm excited to find out.

Love,

J