a little more than halfway in...

So yesterday marked 7 months into my 29th year so I thought it was about time to see how I'm doing on this little list of mine. I will say I've forgotten about it a little lately, but I've had bigger fish to fry. So let's take a little look:

1. Start taking an exercise class at least once a week
   - I have actually been pretty good about this and have even been taking 2 or 3 most weeks! Now that I have even more motivation coming up, I'll hopefully stick to the pattern. ;) Loving pilates pro/reformer classes.
2. Go on at least 2 hikes
    - I've gone on one official hike so yay me! I'll have to ask Bettina what that place was called. I think it was maybe in the Palisades? Regardless, it was certainly pretty!

3. Cook at least 3 different recipes from 3 different cultures...ideas welcome!
4. Work on my writing at least 4 days per month
5. Try at least 5 foods I've never tried before

   - 1. Fried green tomatoes (verdict: pretty good, but I mean, c'mon, it's fried.)

   - 2.

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6. Successfully plant a variety of veggies in my vegetable garden and reap the "fruits" of my labor...
   - This one is sort of a fail. I meant to plant some new ones this year, but just haven't gotten around to it. However, this random bell pepper plant that I gave up for dead last season, pulled through not being watered or even remotely taken care of and now has a large pepper growing on it! That is some serious determination to live. Either that or it's some freaky sub-species that subsists on smog and dust...maybe I should leave the little tyke alone and see what mutant form it takes on next...
7. Go Vegan for one week
   - DONE! This was a total success.
8. Eat at (at least) 10 new places in LA
   - 1. La Provence in Brentwood - love this place. An adorable French cafe with delicious brunch choices, but I even go just for their amazing lattes and macarons now.
   - 2. Bigg Chill - froyo place that always has a line out the door. Not good! I don't understand. Give me Pinkberry or Yogurtland anyday.
   - 3. Scoops - now this is what I'm talking about! An ice cream shop that sells amazing flavors - made fresh every day so you never know what you'll get. We've sampled quite a few now and they have all been delish! Not the cutest spot so I won't say go for the decor, but definitely worth stopping by for a yummy treat.
   - 4. Bouchon - now this is gooood eats. Sash took me here for our anniversary dinner and not only is this place beautiful, but the food is fantastic and the bread...oh the bread. I think they've since opened a bakery and I can hear it calling my name.

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9. Paint at least 2 paintings
   - Hmm, not yet though I do have some ideas!
10. Visit at least 10 new cities
   - 1. Atlanta, Georgia
   - 2. Savannah, Georgia
   - 3. Charleston, South Carolina
   - 4. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

   - 5. Wilmington, North Carolina 

   - 6. Raleigh, North Carolina

   - 7. Temecula, California

   - 8.

   - 9.

   - 10.

11. Try acupuncture as a remedy for my allergies and acid reflux in hopes that I can ditch the pills
   - Yup! I've gone to one appointment and have another coming up soon. Don't know if I can confirm it yet, but I went in for the first one during a particularly painful bout of acid stomach and by the end of the hour long appointment, I was feeling much better. Oddly, the acupuncturist said that the areas to treat allergies and acid reflux are quite similar. Coincidence?
12. Learn how to more professionally use my camera in manual mode
13. Study my family's genealogy and learn more about my own personal history
   - Yes. In a big way. This is probably a post of its own...
14. Study Farsi and learn a little more than food terms and good manners ;)
15. Send 15 hand-written cards/letters in the good, old-fashioned post
16. Visit some sort of farm (thinking maybe cherries) where I can pick my own fruit off the trees
   - Oddly, I did visit one (nearby a potential wedding venue), however, I forgot this was on my list and didn't pick anything! Shoot!
17. Watch the sun rise...honestly, I don't know the last time I saw one.
   - Have been up early enough to watch the sun rise three times already. I wouldn't say that it's a practice I like in general. ;)
18. Leave 10 anonymous "smiles" in 10 library books for future readers to find
19. Give five people one of my favorite books and tell them why I love it and why I hope they will too
20. Read at least 20 books in 2011
   1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

   2. The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

   3. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

   4. Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

   5. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

   6. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

   7. Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi

   8. Bossypants by Tina Fey

   9. The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

   10. Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

   11. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

   12. The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace

   13. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

   14. My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

   15. Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

   16. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

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21. Refurbish an old piece of furniture and turn it in to something beautiful
22. Take the hundreds of printed recipes I have, organize them and create a cookbook with my favorites
23. Go on a hot air balloon ride
   - Oh did I ever! See the post entitled "engaged." ;)
24. Watch every movie that has won the Oscar for Best Picture
   - This is definitely taking more time than I thought, but I've made a dent.
25. Find a new way to store and organize all of my books so that they don't succeed in their plan to take over our house.
26. Go horseback riding
   - Yup and soooo fun! Definitely would love to go again.

27. Redecorate our bedroom
28. Pay off any looming credit debts
   - Pretty good on this front though I just somehow managed to get myself a red light traffic ticket notice that was sent to an address I haven't lived at in 3 years! Thus accruing unnecessary fees. Ugh...I'm praying the photo evidence they are sending me will not be sufficient and I can somehow contest. Ridiculousness...
29. Go to the movies at a drive-in theater
30. Volunteer at least 50 hours in 2011
   - I need to count these up, but I am definitely much more than halfway there! I've volunteered on two school murals and continue to volunteer weekly at the elementary school with The Young Storytellers Foundation.

29 is turning out to be a pretty awesome year in life. :)