10 things on the 10th

It's the 10th of February, so it's time for another 10 things on the 10th.  I thought since today is Rachel's birthday, I would talk about my 10 favorite memories and believe me, I had a hard time narrowing it down.

These are in no particular order - how could they be when you've shared so many important moments.

1.  Our vacation drive from Maryland to Maine - we got in the car without a destination in mind.  We knew we wanted to see Salem, MA; but beyond that, no hotel reservations, no idea where the path would lead us.  We just drove and saw the sights until the money ran out.  We stayed in some crazy weird motels - we slept inside our sleeping bags one night because the room only had electric heaters and they didn't look like they would turn on without starting a fire.  We, okay Rachel, had lobster in Maine.  She took a million pictures of water.  We threw fake tea into the Boston Harbor, we walked the paths of Salem learning about the witch trials.  We saw the wondrous Acadia National Park.  We talked.  We laughed.  We sat in traffic in New York because it was the same day as Princess Diana's memorial service.  We went to small shops in Vermont.  Stopped at road side stands.  It was one of the best vacations ever.

2.  Trips to Disney - once with her parents, once on our own.  My first plane ride.  Incredible.  Flirting with the Disney Princes, eating awesome food, going on amazing rides, sharing awesome times.

3. Our treks to Jarrettsville on cold winter nights to see these guys we had crushes on.  Getting stuck on the side of 95 with one coat between us and the keys locked in the car after the Grand Am broke down.

4.  Concerts - most of which we shouldn't reveal that we attended:  NKOTB, Marky Mark, and yes, Vanilla Ice.

5.  Late night runs to 7-11.  We must have looked like pot heads out to get our snack on.

6.  The drives to WaWa for sandwiches and sitting in the parking lot across the way eating our sandwiches and talking.

7.  Rummy battles with her mom.  Or Skippo, or Uno.

8. Sharing an apartment and trying to combine our outlooks on life.  I'm uptight.  She's laid back.  I'm a neat freak, she's more easy going.

9.  Tuesday afternoons and the mad dash to the magazine rack for the latest editions of the teenybopper magazines.

10. Hooking school to meet Brady Anderson or to tour Oriole Park or just about any time we hooked school. 

There's so many more things. The list is endless!

10 things on the 10th was created by Shimelle.  Head over to her blog to see what it's all about.

10 Things on the 10th

Shimelle started the activity of blogging about 10 things on the 10th of each month.  The subject matter doesn't matter as long as it is 10 things.  Now that I am starting my own blog, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring and start participating.

This month, my 10 things include the 10 activities I want to focus on and achieve for the year 2012.  I'm not calling them resolutions.  I'm calling them commitments.  My One Little Word for the year is commit.  I make plans and more plans.  I make a plan to make a plan.  It's the follow through that isn't always there.  So my focus this year is to commit to those things that I find important in my life and to finally see some of these plans I have coming to fruition. 

In that same vein, I have picked 10 things I want to focus on committing to.  This list could have gone on for days, but I forced myself to narrow it down so as to not get overwhelmed.  Here's something funny, I haven't yet planned on what steps I will take to commit to these goals.  For now, I have the goals in mind.  In the coming weeks, I will determine what I need to do, what small steps I need to take every day, week or month so that at the end of this years rotation of the earth around the moon, I will have crossed some of these things off the list.  (They're in no order - prioritization may come into play later, as well.)

1.  Run in the Memorial Day 5K race to support Veterans.
2.  Complete project life for the year.
3.  Incorporate my One Little Word into my everyday life.  Commit.  Commit.  Commit.
4.  Determine career goals and the actions necessary to achieve them.
5.  Submit craft projects for publication - stop thinking that my work isn't good enough.  It may not be, but you will never know until you try.
6.  Reconnect with old friends and be present in their lives.
7.  Put 10% of our income into savings.
8.  Lose 25 pounds by July 1st and a total of 50 pounds by January 1, 2013.
9.  Become an active member in our church.
10.  Focus on photo taking - take a minimum of one photo every day.


I also plan to blog about the journey I'm about to take to commit to these goals.  That will hold me accountable.