It's 2011? Did I sleep through 2010?

I've always heard that, as you get older, the years go by faster. Given that I blinked and damn near missed 2010, I'm guessing it's true. 2010 was a completely insane, unsettled year, and is mostly a blur. So with the beginning of 2011 here, the last year of my 20's <pouting>, I have decided that I will push myself to actually achieve the goals that I have successfully put off nearly every year since I began making resolutions, and to achieve them before I hit 30. Those goals would be:

-Get in better shape (no eye-rolling, I'm really going to do it this year!)
-Learn to play the piano. I can play a mean Mary Had a Little Lamb, but since I'm not six years old, no one's impressed.
-Volunteer more – or, to be honest, just plain volunteer, period.
-Get a hobby. Painting? Sewing? Photography? I'm not really sure yet, but I'll let you know when I figure it out.
-Learn a foreign language – probably Spanish...or Italian if that will convince the hubby to take me to Italy.)
-Finally print the six or so years-worth of digital photos that I have saved on the computer and organize them into albums.

I initially was extremely motivated to acheive my little list of 2011 to-dos. How hard can it be? Right? Well, the minute my plane left New Orleans the day after Christmas, I already felt that motivation draining away. Maybe it's because my motivation was already being replaced by homesickness, or because I managed to pick up what I can only describe as the NOLA sludge (because I seem to come down with it everytime I've visited a quarter bar since I left) while I was home – sinus infection, cough, clogged ears, sore throat – you get the pic. Maybe it's because the energy of being surrounded by family and friends while I was home was quickly replaced with quiet day-to-day life when I got home, or because I spent New Year's Eve sick on the couch watching everyone else having a blast (I know it's supposed to be fun, it at the time, it really felt like rubbing-it-in)? Regardless of the reason, the fact is that I suddenly didn't feel so motivated anymore.

Just when I was wallowing in my self-inflicted homesick, stuffy-headed, motivation lacking misery, something happened that completely changed my mood: It started snowing!


If it can snow in the desert, surely I can learn to play piano!

Given that I lived through Snowmageddon, snow should not be something that excites me. But this is snow in the desert - one of the hottest places in the US, and here we are, covered in a blanket of white, fluffy smile-inducing, giggle-inciting snow.  I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. After the bizarre excitement subsided, I had that AH HA! moment, where I felt like a new-age freak waiting for a sign. I should always expect the unexpected. The last thing I expected was to actually get blanketed by snow in the desert. I thought that I surely left that behind when I left DC. So, after having a moment of feeling like a kid again, I sit here suddenly feeling excited to go after my list again...as soon as I can completely shake the sludge. And come September, when I bid farewell to my 20's and set forth on the journey into the fourth decade of my life, I will do so with six-pack abs and wearing my original self-designed and sewn clothes. And when my adoring husband compliments me on my amazing achievement as a pianist, I will simply reply "Grazie, amore mio" and he will be so impressed, he'll book our Italy trip on the spot. And, when I wake up from that amazing dream, I'll hit the gym and head to Children's Hospital to fulfill my volunteering resolution. I may be motivated, but I'm not unrealistic :) Happy New Year my friends!