Max and Ringo, the dynamic duo

I feel like every post on my blog begins with "I'm a horrible blogger and haven't posted in forever." Well, it's my early New Year's resolution to become a more frequent presence in the blogosphere :) I went home to Fredericksburg, Virginia for Thanksgiving. It was my first time home since last Christmas. It was great to be back and spend time with family and friends. And of course eat way too much delicious cooking of my Dad's. But the highlight of the trip had to have been introducing my dog Max, now two and a half, to my parents' new puppy Ringo, almost a year old. It ended up that boarding Max would be twice as expensive as flying with him, and I was going to be gone 6 nights. So, I made the last minute decision to fly him home with me. He flew with me last Christmas, so I knew he'd do alright. Gave him some cherry flavored children's Benadryl (vet reccomended of course) and he was good to go, and slept like a baby. But he didn't like being crammed under the seat, but either would I!

As soon as I walked in the door of my parents' house (where I grew up since I was 2 years old!) Max and Ringo instantly hit it off. They ran around like crazy, wrestled non-stop and competed for who was the Alpha dog. When they finally stopped to take a rest they looked like this hanging out together on the couch. Um, couldn't get any cuter than this.

Thanksgiving was super relaxing and low-key. Watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, got some visits from friends, had a fabulous dinner and played board games. And of course a post-turkey induced coma nap. Even the dogs passed out from the scraps of turkey they managed to get. 

And it was hard to move these sweet pups when they took over my bed... 

Max and Ringo got along so famously that my parents' convinced me to leave Max with them for a month until I came home again for Christmas. I miss the little guy like crazy, but know he's having a great time and getting spoiled rotten. I'm heading back to Virginia in 12 days for Christmas - YAY! I've almost gotten all of my shopping done, only stocking stuffers left to get. I'm looking forward to a week at home and getting see my family again and lots of friends that weren't home Thanksgiving. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed holiday season! 

To get you in the holiday spirit, I leave you with She and Him's version of I'll be Home for Christmas - this is Zooey Deschenel's band. (From Elf and the show New Girl) Merry Christmas! 

Wednesday Wishlist

I decided to start a weekly post called "Wednesday Wishlist" to document all the things I lust after. I'm not an extremely material person, but I'm a girl therefore I like pretty things :) I recently joined the site pinterest which has led me to many items to add to my wishlist. It lets you easily bookmark pictures of things you like into categories like fashion, home, crafts, products, etc. I'm obsessed. Check out my page by clicking here. It's like having a collage of all the things you love. When I was a kid, I used to cut out pictures of things I liked from magazines and catalogues and glue them to foam boards to make a collage. I loved putting these up in my room. I also would cover my walls in magazine pictures, which I know drove my mother crazy. In my pre-teen/teenage days this consisted of JTT (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), Hanson (oh yes, I was a HUGE fan) and N'Sync/Justin Timberlake pictures from the likes of BOP magazine. Don't judge, if you're a girl you know you did the same ;)

Now I found a way to still make collages, but without the messiness of the glue and scraps of paper. And I can share with all my friends - ahhh technology is a wonderful thing. So, here are my top 5 wishlist items for this week.

Source: mystylefest.wordpress.com via Jessica on Pinterest

I want this dress from French Connection so badly! It's sold out, and nowhere to be found on ebay! I will keep hunting though... I think it's such a great combination of vintage and modern. It's so classy and elegant.

Source: anthropologie.com via Jessica on Pinterest

I was able to find several of this beautiful corset top on ebay from one of my favorite stores anthropologie. It's a pretty good price, so I think I'm going to have to snag it before they are gone forever. This would be the perfect top for a night out in San Diego!

Source: savvyhousekeeping.com via Jessica on Pinterest

I think this lamp would look so perfect in my bedroom. It's also from my beloved anthropolgie. It's on sale from $388 to $200. Still very pricey! I think I could probably make this myself. The lamp shade is made from pages of a dictionary. I'll let you know if I attempt this project, or just opt for buying it :)

Source: us.christianlouboutin.com via Jessica on Pinterest

What girl doesn't need a pair of hot pink patent leather pumps? I've wanted a pair of louboutins forever, and these are so adorable! Too bad they are WAY out of my price range. *tear* One day....

Source: sundayevening.net via Jessica on Pinterest

I want the teal pencil skirt! I can't find where it's from, but I have a feeling it's J.Crew!

So that concludes the first installment of my Wednesday Wishlist. Check back in next week :)

Jessica

One year ago... I became a Californian!

One year ago today, I arrived in San Diego, California! Last Friday marked one year since I left Charlotte. CRAZY! That week long cross country adventure with my family and Max has so many wonderful memories. Somehow we didn't drive each other totally insane :)

This year has FLOWN by and I honestly can't believe it's been this long since I became a Californian. (Well, an honorary one, because no matter where I live I'll always be a Southerner at heart!) I miss home a lot and everyone there, but it has been a wonderful year out here with so many new experiences.

And during this record breaking heat wave back East, I'm pretty darn lucky to live in a place with cool temperatures in the 70s year around! It was actually a bit chilly yesterday... not to brag or anything ;) I heard that the DC area is the "heat epicenter" with the highest heat index in the country. My brother's in DC for a conference, and my hometown where my parents live is 45 minutes from DC in Virginia. Hope y'all are staying inside and cool!

Here's a picture of me leaving Charlotte right after we finished packing up my U-Haul. It's crazy that your whole life can fit into one of these things! I think next time I make a big move I'm going to leave all my furniture behind. Or hire movers. Bless my Dad's heart for driving the U-Haul the whole way coast to coast for me! Those things are not easy to drive! I'm so lucky to have such an amazing family who helped me make the move out here. That road trip was definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

Nick and I at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville

Elevation 10,378 feet at Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Painted Desert in the Petrified National Forest, Arizona

This is how Max slept in the car for most of the trip

Relaxing at our hotel in Sedona, Arizona where we rested for 2 days - Love this place!

Last stop before San Diego - Las Vegas! Nick and I at the new Aria Hotel

A Carolina Wedding Weekend

For starters, I must acknowledge how bad of a blogger I've been for not posting anything in three months! It's crazy to me how quickly the first 6 months of 2011 have flown by. I'm approaching a year of being a California resident in July. WOW! I love it out here, but I definitely miss the Carolinas. Fortunately, I got to go back for a short trip earlier this month to see my sweet friend Laura get married. Laura and I met our freshman year of college at Clemson. We both played violin in the Symphony Orchestra and joined the same sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. Sophomore year we were neighbors on the sorority hall and then roommates in a house off campus for junior and senior year. Laura is one of the most genuinely nice people you will ever meet and has a heart of gold. I am so happy for her that she found her perfect match Russell.

The weekend began with meeting my dear friend Amanda in downtown Greenville for lunch on Friday. I have missed southern food so much, so I was excited to go to Smoke on the Water which is known for their barbeque. I had a delicious pulled pork bbq sandwich, cornbread, and mac n' cheese with sweet tea of course.

I then headed to my friend Kelly's house in Spartanburg (Laura and Kelly's hometown) where I stayed for the weekend. Kelly was also a Gamma Phi and another roommate in our house. Kelly and Laura were friends in high school and I was so lucky to find friends like them in college. Kelly got married 3 years ago to her high school sweetheart and Laura and I were bridesmaids. It was so great to all be together again for Laura's wedding, it had been a year since I saw them!

The rehearsal dinner that night was so much fun and reminded me of why I love the South. Minus the heat and humidity (which did not agree with my hair!) I love summer in the Carolinas. We drank spiked lemonade out of mason jars, ate barbeque sandwiches, mac n' cheese, cornbread and baked beans (yes I had that too for lunch, but once wasn't enough!) all while listening to country music.

Then there were "roasts" from friends and families including a hilarious slide show of pictures of the happy couple made by the sisters of the groom Russell. Then the sweetest part of the evening came when Laura and Russell made a heartfelt speech and then surprised us all with a duet. Before starting to date, Laura and Russell just played music together. Laura plays violin and Russell the guitar. They played and sang Wagon Wheel, which they dedicated to the thousands of miles they drove back and fourth from Atlanta (where they live now) and Nashville (where Laura went to graduate school for the past two years) to visit each other. So sweet!

Me, Laura, Kelly and Emily - Clemson roommates!

On Saturday morning I drove to Columbia to have brunch with my good friend Virginia who is now living in Charleston. Columbia was a good midway point to meet, and we had a great time catching up! I then raced back to Spartanburg to get ready for Laura's wedding that afternoon. The ceremony and reception were absolutely beautiful. It was so much fun to reunite with my college friends and made me miss them so much more. Laura was a gorgeous bride, and it was so wonderful to see her so happy in and love. She married a wonderful guy who is so perfect for her. I couldn't be more happy for them!

The beautiful bride Laura and me

Me and Amanda

Sunday morning I went to see my "Clemson parents" Bridget and Mark. Bridget was my mom's friend at Clemson, and they looked after me when I was in school. We had coffee on the porch and it was so great to see them! I then had brunch at Cracker Barrel (Can you see a theme of me eating as much southern food as possible on this trip?) with Amanda, her husband Adam and their boys John Dickson and Henry. I hadn't seen Henry since he was a day old! Now he's about to turn 1 in July! He was born right before I left North Carolina for San Diego. It was so fun to see them, and again made me miss them even more! I was sad to leave, but hopefully I'll be back again soon!

A Bittersweet First Day of Spring

Yesterday marked the first day of Spring. It was a chilly (by San Diego standards) 60 degree day. It rained on and off most of the day, at times pouring. The weather fit my mood pretty well. March 21st was my Grandmother's birthday. She would have been 79 years old. Up until 2 years ago she was the picture of health. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't have her around for the majority of my adult years. Then we got news that changed all of that. My Grandma had a stage four brain tumor. There was nothing that medicine or surgery could do to cure it. We had 7 more months with her, as the tumor progressively got worse. There were times when she was just like her old self and others when she was really confused. It affected her short term memory the most. She had to be reminded often what was happening to her and why she couldn't go home. She lived in a nursing home with around the clock care, and my Aunt took her home to her house nearby on the weekends. She had been an independent woman living by herself for almost 15 years since my Grandpa passed away. So this was really hard for her - she was a stubborn lady!

I visited from North Carolina as much as I could and called often. Sometimes the conversations were just like ones we'd had before she got sick. She'd tell me everything was going to be okay. Our whole family spent one last Thanksgiving together in Georgia. I'll never forget all of us playing Trivial Pursuit, and Grandma beating us all! Right before Christmas my brother and I went to see her before heading home to Virginia. At that point she was unresponsive and slipped in and out of being lucid. We held her hand and said our goodbyes as we knew the time was near. Even though she couldn't talk I felt she knew it was us there. She passed away December 30th, 2009. Even though it's been more than a year I still get the urge to pick up the phone and tell her good news. Like when I got the job in San Diego and decided to move here last summer. When I did my internship out here in the summer of 2007, my Grandma drove here with me. We called ourselves Thelma and Louise :) We had an amazing week long cross country trip seeing all the sights along the way. I'll always treasure those memories and the time we had together. I know that she'll always be with me.

~Irma D. Burger - March 21, 1932 - December 30, 2009 ~

As if yesterday wasn't a hard enough day for my family, it was the anniversary of my Grandpa's death. (From the other side of the family, my mom's Dad) I was only 13 when he passed, so I didn't have the strong relationship with him as I did both my Grandmas. But I still miss him all the same. He was a very accomplished Colonel in the United States Army serving 28 years and earning a Silver and Bronze Star. He had a traditional military funeral at Arlington National Cemetary with a 21 gun salute.

~Colonel Charles H. Curtis, 1923 - 1997~

Sorry for the somber post. Losing loved ones is never easy and no matter how much time has passed that void still remains. I heard this song awhile back that rings so true.

Save a Place for Me by Matthew West

Don’t be mad if I cry
It just hurts so bad sometimes
‘Cause everyday it’s sinking in
And I have to say goodbye all over again

You know I bet it feels good to have the weight of this world
Off your shoulders now
I’m dreaming of the day
When I’m finally there with you

Save a place for me
Save a place for me
I’ll be there soon
I’ll be there soon
Save a place for me
Save some grace for me
I’ll be there soon
I’ll be there soon

I have asked the question why
But I guess the answer’s for another time
So instead I’ll pray
With every tear
And be thankful for the time I had you here

And I wanna live my life
Just like you did
Make the most of my time
Just like you did
And I wanna make my home up in the sky
Just like you did
Oh, but until I get there
Until I get there

Happy Mardi Gras!

Laissez le bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll! A year ago I took a road trip with friends from Charlotte to the Big Easy. It was my first time to New Orleans, and I'd never experienced anything like it! We spent 4 nights (including Mardi Gras) full of parades, hurricanes, jazz music, cajun food, dancing - and adorned ourselves with an excessive amount of feathers and beads. It's definitely something everyone should do once in their lives!

I'm proud of the headdress! They cost a fortune at the costume stores so I bought feathers and sequins from a craft store and made it myself! And it somehow got out of New Orleans in one piece! I still have it. You know, incase I have an occasion calling for a headdress again - you never know!

I think the history of Mardi Gras is fascinating, and all the different kinds of celebrations around the world celebrating the day before Ash Wednesday - the start of the Lenten season in the Christian Church. Besides New Orleans, celebrations in Venice, Italy and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are also extremely elaborate. "Fat Tuesday" is traditionally when we eat all the fatty foods in our home before beginning the ritual fasting of Lent. A last time to have what you will give up during Lent - whether it's chocolate, soda, coffee, sweets or any other bad for us vice. I'm still deciding what to give up this Lent, something I haven't given up in years past.

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

Oscars 2011 - The good, the bad and the ugly

Last Sunday I attended my first Oscars Watch Party hosted by a friend and her husband. They went all out and even rolled out a red carpet and took "papparazzi" shots as everyone arrived. Dang, I should have dressed up more! Snacks included popcorn, candy and hotdogs - to fit the movie theme. We all filled out Oscar ballots as we arrived as to who we thought would take home each award and put in $5 to enter. There was a prize to be won, as well as money, so I had done my research! I'd watched the Golden Globes and read some blogs online to know who were the favorites to win.

This was the first year I'd watched the Oscars on West Coast time, so it was a little weird that they started at 5pm instead of the usual 8pm on the East Coast. But the plus was that they were over at a reasonable time! I've always loved watching award shows, mainly for the fashion! And this year didn't dissappoint. Here are a few of my favorites.

Halle Berry looking flawless as ever in a champagne Marchesa dress. She never makes a Red Carpet mistake. I love the tulle train and detail at the top. It's so elegant and she gets an A+ from me!

Reese has been my girl crush forever, and I always love her style on the Red Carpets. I think she pulled off the vintage look beautifully with the teased ponytail and simple Armani Prive black dress. I actually wore a very similar dress to a formal before.

And who could take their eyes off Mila Kunis in this gorgeous Elie Saab Haute Couture lacy gown?!?! That must of involved a lot of body tape to keep everything in place. The Black Swan star looked stunning!

As far as the show goes, it was kind of a bore. Anne Hathaway had some funny moments and was charming as ever. But what the heck was up with James Franco? He looked so uninterested and almost annoyed about being there. He also seemed like he may have had a little Pineapple Express before getting on stage. The Opening bit spoof of the Best Picture nominees was cute, and it was somewhat amusing to see James Franco in a dress, but otherwise the show lacked comedy.

King's Speech was the big winner with Best Picture, Best Actor to Colin Firth and many others. I need to see this film! I liked Social Network but I'm glad it didn't win. It was an amazing film, but not of the Academy Awards Best Picture caliber. I saw 5 out of the 10 Best Picture nominees. I didn't think I'd like True Grit but I loved it! I was surprised that it didn't win anything.

All in all, I guessed 12 out of 20 winners right. The hosts got the most right at 14, but they didn't want to keep the prize :) Three of us tied for second place, and then drew names to who got the grand prize. I won!

Now it's time to see all the other Oscar nominees!

Little Miss Sunshine's VW bus pulls into the Playhouse!

So first, I need to acknowledge the fact that I'm a horrible blogger. I keep wanting to write, and then I either can't think of something interesting to write about or I'm exhausted from work. So, since my life has centered around work lately that's what I'll write about. This past month has been insanely busy around the La Jolla Playhouse. Not only are we 34 days from the end of our fiscal year with a LOT of money left to raise in development - but we started previews last week of the biggest (and last) show of our season. It's argueably the biggest musical we've done in four seasons.

It's the world premeire musical Little Miss Sunshine, adapted from the Academy Award-winning film of the same name. It has a top notch creative team and a stellar cast of Broadway actors. The musical is a collaboration between James Lapine and William Finn, whose previous collaborations include Tony-winning hits Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. William Finn is also the composer of In Trousers, Romance in Hard Times and A New Brain. James Lapine is the Pulitzer and three-time Tony Award-winning book writer/director of the musicals Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Passion, among many others. Needless to say, the show has STAR potential. I was a little star struck meeting James Lapine a few months back in a meeting. He's a theatre genius.

Two weeks ago Sunday was the final dress rehearsal, and my friend Mike and I headed into the packed theatre to witness the first "public" performance of the world premeire. The director James Lapine came in front of the audience to welcome everyone and tell us that we have "bragging rights" to have been the first people to ever see the show. This is pretty exciting as it has plans to move to Broadway. Something the La Jolla Playhouse is known for - producing shows that have a life on the Great White Way after leaving the sunshine (no pun intended) of Southern California.

The show begins with Richard Hoover, played by Hunter Foster, addressing a crowd at a self help conference entitled 10 Steps to Success. Hunter originated the role of Bobby Strong in Urinetown, was in the original cast of the Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors and was most recently in Million Dollar Quartet. And he just so happens to be the brother of another big Broadway name, Sutton Foster, who originated the role of Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie. That's another show that has La Jolla Playhouse roots, and had it's world premeire here a decade ago in 2000.

The 10 year old girl who plays Olive Hoover is absolutely perfect for the role! Her name is Georgi James and is the cutest thing since sliced bread. She was in Billy Elliot and A Tale of Two Cities on Broadway. She has one heck of a career ahead of her! It's hard not to compare the character to that in the movie, played by Abigail Breslin who was nominated for an Oscar for the role, but Georgi puts her own stamp on Olive Hoover and makes the character as loveable as ever.

The rest of the stellar cast includes Malcolm Gets (Caroline in the City) as Frank, Dick Latessa (Hairspray) as Grandpa, Jennifer Laura Thompson (Footloose, Urinetown and Wicked) as Sheryl Hoover, and Taylor Trensch (National tour of Spring Awakening) as Dwayne Hoover.

What is so cool about this show is that it takes place mainly in the infamous VW yellow bus. How the show portrays driving across county on stage is pretty awesome! The doors and roof detach and are carried off stage by the chorus members when the Hoover family departs on their trip from Albuquerque, NM to Rodando Beach, California. The roof is flipped over when taken off stage to reveal a road sign. Then the characters are fully visible to the audience while they are "driving." The driving is really the characters moving the bus with their feet - Flintstone style. It's pretty hilarious. The stage has tracks across it used for moving scenery. Different road signs are moved across stage at different times to give the illusion of the bus driving. The backdrop is a horizon that moves to also give the illusion of driving. Clouds also move up and down from the "sky" ie. the fly system. The scenery is pretty simplistic but beautifully done.

I won't describe in detail what the play is about, since I'm sure most people have seen the movie. But if you haven't seen it go rent it!! It's so funny and also a story about family that is really heartwarming. In a nutshell it's about a family with its share of problems that embarks on a road trip to enter their daughter Olive (a spunky girl who doesn't fit the traditional mold of beauty pageant girls) in a pageant called Little Miss Sunshine. 

So, we have one more week of previews before our official Opening Night on March 4th. We have a swanky pre-party with hor d'oeuvres and cocktails for donors and VIPs, and a fun after party with desserts and dancing - where the cast joins. It should be a blast! I promise to post soon with pictures from the event.

Happy Friday everyone!  

Summer in January?

It has sure felt like summer this week in San Diego! Not to brag to my East Coast friends and family who have been battling snow and ice, but the weather has been AMAZING here. It's nicer than when I got out here in July! It's been hovering in the 70's since middle of last week, except for one "chilly" day on Wednesday when it only got to 61 degrees - haha! Californians definition of "chilly" is a bit different than what is is back East :) Last weekend I stayed outside as much as possible soaking up the vitamin D from the sun. It was in the high 70s all weekend and absolutely gorgeous! Saturday I got up early and headed to the Mercato Farmers' Market to meet a friend from work and her husband who also live in Little Italy. This is the most amazing Farmers' Market I've ever been too... fresh California produce, beautiful flowers, crepes, coffee stands, fresh herbs, crafts, musicians, homemade pastas, meats, pastries, breads... I feel like I'm in Italy! I had a delicious chocolate and banana crepe for breakfast while listening to street musicians... can't get much more European than that!

It's also such a dog friendly neighborhood, and everyone brings their furry friends to the Mercato on Saturday mornings. There's a few dog booths with treats and toys. There's even a place to get portraits of your pet made by an artist. Don't make fun, but I'm considering getting one made this Saturday. They were also selling "Dogs of Little Italy" calendars... too funny! Max loves walking around and seeing all the other dogs. He wants every single person to notice and pet him, which he normal gets them to do - I mean, he's just that cute :)

A few more friends met me at the market, and we had fun wandering around and trying samples of everything. The cheese booth is one of my favorites, I love cheese! I stocked up on lots of fresh food. The prize of the week goes to the homemade lemon pepper fettuccine and fresh pesto. DELICIOUS! I also found beautiful purple orchids, two stems for $5! We then ate lunch outside and by the time I got home weighted down with bags, I'd been out at the market for 5 hours. Such a great way to spend a Saturday!

Monday I had off work for MLK day, and it was the most beautiful of the 3 days off. Max and I headed down to Mission Bay for a long walk. Tons of people were out riding bikes, jogging, having picnics, sunbathing, playing tag football... it really did feel like a summer day! There was not a cloud in the extremely blue sky!



So, it's been a struggle to see the palm trees swaying and the sunshine from my office window all week, and not want to head to the beach! As I'm writing this a hummingbird just landed right outside my window. Could I live in a more perfect place, I don't think so :) 

My New Year To-Do list

Wow, it's 2011. It's hard to believe that another decade has passed us by. I remember the hype over New Years 2000 when I was sixteen and it doesn't seem like it has really been 11 years. Do you ever find yourself wishing that time would just slow down for awhile?!? Why was it that when we were sixteen it moved so slowly and it felt like we'd never be out on our own and a "grown up." Not to say that I'd want to be sixteen again (no thank you) but being all grown up is hard! Sometimes I long for the days when my biggest worries were passing a test, who I was going to the dance with, and finding the perfect dress. Then again, I still worry about finding the perfect dress, but now it's for all my friends' weddings :) 

This year instead of resolutions that I will most likely break by the middle of January, I decided to make a to-do list for the year. I did this at the beginning of 2009, and found the list today. So, let's see how I did on fulfilling my goals in the past 2 years...

1) Find a job that I love - Check! I love the Playhouse! Only took me a year and half from writing that, but patience paid off!

2) Start writing again - I wrote theatre reviews in 2009/2010 for an online website. And I guess this new blog counts too :)

3) Find more time for playing violin, maybe a community orchestra - Ehhh, not so much. It's on my to-do list for this year too.

4) Get out more in Charlotte - I definitely accomplished this one. At New Years 2009 I had only been there 4 months. The following year and half was great, and I had so many fun adventures in Charlotte and met some really great people. I miss you Queen City!

5) Be healthier - Hmmm.... let's move on from this one. Let's just say that's an ongoing resolution ;)

6) Expand my cooking skills - When I do cook it's still the same few recipes I've perfected. So, I guess I failed on this one. What can say, cooking for one is tough. I prefer the whole take-out thing. Dinner tonight was take-out from the Italian place down the street. Can I just say how much I love the restaurants in Little Italy - ahhhmazing!

7) Not be afraid to take risks - Well, I think I definitely accomplished this one career wise in the past 2 years. I took a risk in walking into the Charlotte Symphony in early 2009 and handing them my resume. It led to a great year and a half with them where I learned a lot. And then I took a risk in moving across country for my job now.

8) Get involved in my favorite charities again, Relay for Life and Habitat for Humanity - I did volunteer at the Habitat Restore offices (like a Goodwill) in Charlotte for awhile in 2009. But I'd like to get involved in both organizations out here in San Diego. 

So - here's my 2011 to-do list... yes they do look like resolutions, but if I call it a to-do list instead, maybe I will actually follow through with them :)

1) Get out and network! Not just because it's important to my job in fundraising, but because it's a great way to expand my social circle in my new city of San Diego. I started by joining Association of Fundraising Professionals today, and registering for an event at the end of the month for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of San Diego.

2) Take more time out for the things I love to do. I keep saying, "I should get back into this or that," but months keep passing by and those once loved past times get more and more neglected. Tonight I dusted off my violin, changed the strings to new ones, and played. It felt good. So, this year I will start playing the violin more, even it's just for myself. Music is such a big part of me, and I never want to get so caught up in the day-to-day that I don't take the time for it.

3) Try new things. I have a long list of things I've always wanted to try. Well, I think it's about time I started checking things off that list. Some include learning to surf and taking ballroom dancing classes. So, if you know of good places to take those, let me know!

4) Read more. I've loved books even before I could read them. My Mom told me that when I was really little, I would memorize the words to the stories she read me and recite them back with the book in hand pretending to read. I had her fooled when I was three or four and she thought she had a genius daughter.

The smell of an old book is like an old friend. I could spend hours in Barnes and Noble perusing the aisles. Even more I love used books stores. It's like those old books have stories to tell besides what's written in them. Like where they've been and the hands they passed through. I've filled my bookshelves with countless books I keep wanting to read (and moved them all across country), but they stare down at me unread. So, this year I will take the time to read all those neglected books that looked so intriguing to me in the book store.

Well, there it is. A list that I really hope to accomplish. I have a feeling 2011 is going to be a great year :) I look forward to what lies ahead.