Day 11 - What do you wish you'd done more of in 2011?

What do you wish you’d done more of in 2011?

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I have a whole list of things I wish I’d done more of. It includes exploring Ottawa, consistently working on getting healthier, and several of the items on a long-ago bucket list.

I have crocheted some, but not nearly enough - I’d really like to finish the scarf I’ve been working on for Brandon for almost two years now.

I’ve gotten completely off the rails with practicing photography. That makes me sad. Part of the reason is my kit lens limitations. The 50mm I got for Christmas last year is fantastic, but also limiting. I’m finding I really want something like this now. Oy. (It’s never going to end, is it?)

Sign Language…yeah, I’ve barely even tried. It’s harder now that Brandon’s talking. 

I’ve had a lot of practice with Photoshop and Illustrator this year. I’ve also added Lightroom and InDesign to my list of software that I’m learning. I get to use them often for work, so that helps a great deal.

Blogging has put my creative writing interest on the back burner. One day I’ll try to get back to it, but for now I know it just isn’t where my heart or my head is at.

I’m never going to be a Web Designer by trade, but I’m progressing in what little I know. I can’t do anything exceptional, but I’m mostly happy with the results of what I am able to do. 

Cooking is something I wish I’d do a lot more of. It would certainly save us money as a family and that’s never a bad thing. I just wish I could derive some enjoyment from it. I don’t like it and I’m not sure how to change that.

Somewhere in here there are goals for 2012, but I haven’t a clue which ones I’d like to pursue yet. I’m still hopeful that I can finish that scarf before the end of this year. I should go work on it right now.

Saturday night me-time rituals

When I was younger and still living at home, Saturday nights were a time I got to spend with my mom - just the two of us most of the time. We stayed up really late a lot of the time. When I moved out of the house, I lost those times with Mom, but I continued the tradition of unwinding on Saturday nights. I read, I watched TV, I just did whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted to do it.

I remember one particular Saturday night when I was living alone: I started reading Kiss the Girls by James Patterson. BIG mistake. That book is all about a guy who targets women who live alone. I can only assume that I hadn’t seen the movie before I read the book, which is my preference. Or maybe I had seen the movie and because it’s so watered down (it really is), I didn’t think it would scare the bejeezus out of me late on a Saturday night.

I laid in bed, fully awake and heart racing during every one of those scenes where you just know that the bogeyman is going to jump out at you, until 5:00am when I finally read the last word on the last page. I had to know that the bad guy was really gone and not in my side yard waiting for me to turn out my light.

Another Saturday night ritual was born when Walmart opened a 24-hour superstore in Tallahassee. I might have gotten into the habit of going grocery shopping at 1:00am. It’s actually a really nice place to be that time of night!

After Matt and I got married, I got away from my Saturday night at-home/retail rituals until Matt took a job at Blockbuster to make a little extra money. During that time, my new ritual tended to be sitting in front of the television for hours watching movies that we got to rent for free, thanks to his employment. Ten a week, thank you very much. Thankfully, that period of him working two jobs didn’t last long. It got to be pretty lonely. 

Brandon’s birth and my return to work led to yet another shift. The alternating sleep-in days. Matt was bound and determined to sleep-in on Saturdays. I think he needs to gird himself to survive the weekend and I can understand why. Keeping a child entertained gets a little harder the older he gets. I sort of wanted the Saturday sleep-in, but over time I’ve realized that I have my Saturday nights back! Matt goes to bed at a decent hour so he can get up early to take care of Brandon and I can stay up or go to bed at will.

Tonight, I realized that I have never really gotten over the fear of that bogeyman. I had to go down to the basement after Matt went to sleep and going through our house (alarm on) and seeing all the shadows and occasional light from the street lights filtering in through the windows made me feel so exposed and vulnerable. As they always do. 

Just writing that last paragraph made my stomach flip again about another ten times. I am such a wuss.

But I wouldn’t change my Saturday night rituals for anything. When else am I supposed to read/blog/explore (the Internet)? :)

When do you get regular alone time? How do you spend it?