The 13 Project

Remember in 2011 when I had a white board with goals and I had a totally awesome year?  And remember in 2012 when I didn’t have a white board and I didn’t have a totally awesome year?  Clearly, 2013 requires a white board.

Before you roll your eyes and say, man, this girl is way into gimmicks and should just try to be content with life – stop.  Yes, I’m way into gimmicks.  And, for the most part, I’m pretty content.  In fact, I’m so content that I could pretty much camp out in front of my new big-screen TV down in The Lady Den (it’s my version of a Man Cave, except, it’s a den and it’s for a lady) and I could do absolutely nothing for days on end and be absolutely happy and content.  Even more so if my On Demand worked.

But I need to get motivated.    

So, I sat down and took stock of my life and thought, yeah, I need some goals to stick to this year.  And since my mom gifted me with framed quotes about perseverance for Christmas, I should have no problem sticking to all my goals, right? 

Since it’s 2013, there are, wait for it… 13 goals.  But there’s a twist this year’s I have to do 13 of them!  I told you I like gimmicks.

Here’s this year’s board – (there would've been a picture...but I can't seem to upload it!)

1.  Try 13 new foods – it’s time to bring New Food Friday back but without the pressure of trying something new every single week.  That’s eating responsibly right?

2.  Do 13 things that I’ve never done before – I want to live it up in 2013 and there’s lots of new experiences that I should try.  Unless it involves jumping out of a plane.  Or bungee jumping.  Actually, anything that involves jumping is out.  Otherwise, I’m completely open to whatever comes down the pike. 

3.  Cook 13 meals at home – Seriously, I need to cook at home more.  And since my mom gave me the handy recipe calendar from Woman’s Day for Christmas (it was a banner gift year, lemme tell ya!) I already have 30 meals scheduled.  Except I swapped out all the taco and salmon nights.

4.  Do 13 random acts of kindness – A friend of mine did this recently and I thought it was great.  The world can be a pretty crappy place sometimes and I want to do my part to make it a little better. 

5.  Read 13 books – I hardly read anymore which is nutty because I love reading.  So, I’m rededicating myself to great-ish literature…and the Babysitters Club.  I’m going to participate in a BSC reading challenge.  Who says you can’t go home again?

6.  Go to 13 museums – I need more culture in my life so I want to visit some excellent museums.  Here’s the thing though, I don’t like art museums or nature museums or museums with bones in them – unless we’re going to the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.  I’m picky about my museum-going experiences.  I already have two on my must-go-to-list!

7.  Go on 13 trips – I got this idea several months ago and told my friends that I was going to go on a trip a month in 2013.  So now, it’s a trip a month plus one.  Except without an actual plus one because I don’t have a plus one – unless you want to come.  It might be far away, it might be close by, it might be planned out, or it might be wherever a whim and a gallon of gas take me.  It’ll be a new feature on the blog called “Where in the Continental U.S. (and that one time in Canada maybe) is Denise?”  No one knows where I’ll be until I post it!  Or until someone asks me and lists every single city on the Eastern seaboard and my coy smile gives it away.

8.  Cross 13 bridges – So, before I became known as the bridge at work and it took on a life of its own, I actually liked taking pictures of bridges.  I want to cross 13 bridges and take pictures – the more unique, the better.

9.  Strike up a conversation with 13 random people – My mom will talk to anyone.  And I mean anyone.  Me?  Not so much.  But maybe that person sitting next to me at the bar at the Red Robin has an interesting story.  This will be, by far, the hardest thing for me.  Because, and this might shock some of you, I’m not a big talker.  And yet, some days, I have so much to say!

10.  Adopt 13 cats – I’m just kidding.  Honestly. 

10.  Go to 13 ice cream parlors – I love chocolate ice cream and I love ice cream parlors.  And I read an article about the 50 best ice cream parlors in America.  I want to go to them.  And this year, I will go to 13 of them.   

11.  Have lunch or dinner with 13 cousins – So, I don’t really have an opportunity to get together with my cousins, yet the few times that I’ve been fortunate to have lunch or dinner or go to Hollywood cemeteries with them one-on-one, I’ve had awesome times with them.  I’m the youngest cousin on both sides of my family so it’s interesting to get know my cousins as adults.  I’ve got 36 cousins between my mom and dad’s side, so I think I’ll be able to find 13 of them to get together with.  If not, I’ll just look up the second cousins.

12.  Visit the 13 original colonies – I’m a history geek and there are 13 original colonies.  It was a match made in heaven.  How hard can it be?  For the record, the 13 original colonies were Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.  Gosh, I will never, ever get to Vermont.  Or will I?

13.  Do 13 home improvement projects – I’m continuing to focus my energy on my house.  The Lady Den will be done in a few weeks; the new walk-in closet in my living room is freshly painted; and I’m accepting spring reservations for the redecorated guest room.

There it is.  How I’m going to make 2013 really awesome.  And since I really do love gimmicks – and have an active Zazzle account – there might be a tee-shirt or button in the works.

13 in ’13.  Everything’s possible. 

Especially when you have perseverance quotes in your back pocket!