I don't do resolutions...

....but as my coworkers and boss can attest to, to-do lists and I are friends. Very good friends.

So instead of 2011 resolutions, I'm crafting a to-do list for 2011. I'm picking 10 things and writing them out -- in a public place where hundreds of people my mom can keep me honest. We'll see how I do. I'm aiming for a 100% success rate; knowing me, 50% will be worth celebrating.

The first item on my to-do list: Update my blog more than once a quarter. Ideally, once a week. So to get started, I'm going to post each of my "to-do" list items as its own blog post. That guarantees at least a few more posts in the next couple weeks. YAY! See, I'm making progress.

So now that to-do item #1 is taken care of, let's move on to to-do list item numero 2:

Stop reading crap (um, hello Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and trade up for some real literature. Think AP English, albeit 10 years later. There are a million lists of "Top 100 books" you can find online, and on average, I've read anywhere from 10 to 50 of the books on the lists. Yes, this is a depressingly low number for a liberal arts educated chica like myself.

But we're gonna fix this travesty! A few books I hope to cross off (and a couple I want to reread) this year include:

- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by the great James Joyce. Technically I read this my junior year of HS, but by reading I really mean laying in bed, reading a couple lines and then falling asleep. So yeah, I want to read it for real this year. It's a bitch of a book, but its a lot shorter than Ulysses, so I think I can do it. (DISCLAIMER: I'll bet you 10 bucks I don't make it past page 5 of this book. Just putting that out there now.)

- Native Son. Another book I read -- this one for real -- but I can't remember much about it. I do remember it making an impact on me when I finished it at 16, so I think rereading it 12 year later would be even more powerful.

- A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. I LOVE Forster, which makes it all the more ridiculous that I haven't read this book. My high school thesis was even an analysis of his earlier work (A Room with a View, Where Angels Fear to Tread, I think Howards End...). Anyway, I really don't think I've read A Passage to India, which I must read this year.

- A Farewell to Arms. I have nothing to say about this one except how sad it is that it's on this list.

- The Catcher in the Rye, 1984 and Animal Farm. See above comment about Hemingway. I have no idea how I reached the age of 28 without reading these books, but I did.

- The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton. I love NY, I love the 19th century, I love societal tragedies. Done, done, and done.

- Slaughterhouse-Five. Looking back, I think all of my ex boyfriends owned this book. And since they are all pretty smart dudes with good taste (after all, they did all like me at one point!) I'm gonna trust that this is one book I should read.

- War and Peace, by Tolstoy. I think this book is buried somewhere in my bookshelf. All 1,500 pages of it.

- Les Miserables -- but not in English! I wanna read it in French. (However, given that I can barely read a French newspaper now, I think this book will remain on the list for 2012.)

There are about a million other books I should read -- but we'll start with the ones above. Any others I should definitely add?

Halloween!!!

It's Halloween and per usual, I don't have a costume yet. Last year I was Mary from There's Something About Mary -- it was awesome. And before that, I was a Doublemint twin -- again, awesome.

What should I do this year? Feel free to provide new ideas in the comments section. My brain is fried and not being very creative...

What should I do for Halloween?
	Go as a Greek Goddess. I'd go as Aphrodite, duh!!
	Don something cheesy and sleazy -- think "sexy nurse." Yawn.
	A flapper. Again, yawn.
	Betty and Veronica...but I need a brunette to join me.
	Screw it all and just go camping!
pollcode.com free polls

Muscle Milk Does Thanksgiving

In honor of my Puritan and Mayflower roots. Who needs turkey when you have Muscle Milk! (Kudos to Adverblog for the link!)

Rich people are still, well, rich

Interesting post that came in through one of my LinkedIn groups. Not the most statistically sound study, I am sure (agh! My days at MaPS won't stop haunting me!) but it is interesting nonetheless.

http://tinyurl.com/cmq7xy

According to Peter Yesawich, chief executive officer of Ypartnership, "Although affluent travelers have also been adversely affected by the financial turmoil that has emerged in recent months, particularly as it relates to the degradation of the value of their investment portfolios, they remain rather optimistic about their intentions for both leisure and business travel."

Yesawich concluded, "While affluent travelers intend to spend more on travel services in the year ahead, other insights revealed in the survey suggest they will still demand far more for their travel dollar."

Side note: affluent is described as an annual income of $150K or more, which isn't actually that much money. (OK, it's a hell of a lot more than what I make, but these are not the Trumps we're talking about....)

What do you think? Are you cutting back on your travels -- or are you still enjoying lavish voyages? I am cutting back. I may have spent a month in Argentina, but the $1 US = $3.5 Pesos made that possible. And as for my trip to Alaska in July -- I spent most nights camping or crashing on Gloria's floors. (HI GLORIA!) But I'm not technically affluent, so I don't really count anyways.

I do, however, get the very affluent Travel and Leisure magazine, courtesy of my lil' bro. Too bad I can't afford anything in the mag other than the mag itself.....

I'll win the lottery one day, right?

Resolutions.....

I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions. Why? Because I, like most people, can never seem to keep them. Don't believe me?

Resolution 1999: Get a boyfriend. And what better way to catch a cutie then to spend the next four years at an all-women's college in rural Massachusetts. Strike one.

Resolution 2004: Run a marathon. I'm not even going to comment on this one. Strike two.

Resolution 2006: Read a book a week. This one started off well...for two weeks. Then I realized that surfing the net for celeb gossip was more fun. Strike three.

I haven't decided if I am going to make any resolutions this year. If I do they'll be simple, no-fail ones, like "get a job" (because if I can't make this resolution work, then we have a major problem) and "be nice" (which I already am...sometimes.) I think I'll also try to be even more green. Indoor compost bin, anyone?

What about you? What is your New Year's resolution?

Missing in action

Sorry I have been missing for the last few days. I came down with an AWFUL cold on Saturday, so I have been living on the couch with Kleenex, Tylenol and Airborne. I am feeling better today, but I'm still pretty snotty and sneezy. Yeah, its gross. And I have to fly back to Houston today, which means I'll probably infect the plane with my cold.

Btw, the photo I posted is of my family on Christmas. I am also posting some of the glacier pics I promised I would post a while back. Aren't they great? I love my camera!

Tomorrow's post should be interesting...will be discussing new years resolutions!














And the trek begins!














Walking on water isn't that hard!














Love this pic. This was my guide leading the way as we trekked away.














Once again, it was windy....one of the Aussie girls took this shot. You can't tell but the glacier behind me is HUGE!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We have a fake tree at my house, and I LOVE it. First, as many of you know, I have HORRIBLE allergies. In fact, they are so bad that I have to shoot myself up with allergy drugs once a week. Even so, real Xmas trees + me = non-stop snot fest. It's gross. Second, it's so much easier to clean up once the holidays are over. No annoying bristles to contend with and no water spills that stain my parents' hardwood floors...and we can keep it up WAY past January 1st, which is perfect for a procrastinator like me. Third, I'm saving a tree...well, not really, given that the tree we didn't buy will probably end up in some NNY dumpster, but it makes me feel better imaging some little bird building a little nest for its little family in the little tree that I so kindly let live.

Btw, Christmas was great this year! Among my gifts: a digital photo key chain (very grandma, and VERY cool), a bunch of sweaters for the three cold weeks in Houston, and a new hiking backpack. My brother Robby came bearing a few Penn State tee-shirts and even a "Penn State Girl" bumper sticker. We didn't actually start opening presents until about 11, so I was also able to catch up on some much needed shut eye. On a more negative note...I'll be heading to the gym with my bros in a few minutes. For some reason, the gym on post is open on Christmas. Totally bummed since my entire "sit-on-my-butt-and-pig-out-since-the-gym-is-closed" argument is now moot. Bleh.

I hit the ski slopes tomorrow, so maybe I'll post some pics of me tackling the Double Black diamonds...most likely on my ass.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!!

P.S. A couple of people have asked about my NYE plans. I know, I am so popular. I am trying to get Christian to stay a couple days in H-town on his way back from the Garcia household in Laredo....so hopefully I'll be home in Texas. Yeehaw!

Facebook addiction

It is official. Signing up for a Facebook was a mistake, because I am now a full-fledged addict. It is seriously like crack (well, I assume...I'm not on crack, so I can't be sure. Anyone with any hardcore drug experiences is welcome to comment though.)

Anyway, just wanted to share my new obsession with you guys. I am sort of delirious today, so apologies for the lame post. I got back from BA today and am absolutely exhausted, but I am somehow going to wake up at 5:45 tomorrow AM and get my booty to a spinning class. Ugh...

I'll post more tomorrow or on Christmas...maybe even some photos of me opening up my new Rebecca Minkoff bag (hint, hint)

Texas Merry Xmas!

You guys need to check this out! Merry Christmas!