Last February, shortly after my 34th birthday, I put together a list of things I want to do before I turn 35. Not to put more pressure onto myself, but more to remind me of things that are really important to me. Big things and small things. Easy tasks and hard ones. Now 1 month before my 35th birthday it is time to look back and see what I can tick off my list of
34 things to do before I turn 35:
1. take more photos of everyday life (not only of ‘special events’) – DONE, e.g. here, here, here, here , here, here, here and here
2. embrace change – DONE as best as I could
3. have a healthy, happy little daughter – DONE see here
4. think more about what I want and act accordingly – I made a good start but need to practise more
5. cycle a lot – aehm, maybe next year
6. have more parties – DONE
8. invest in art – DONE, e.g. here and here
9. be less impatient – well mostly, my little one is a great teacher for patience though
10. go to Italy – not just for the food, but also... – NOT YET, but planned for next year
11.make my first pork roast – oh well I still have a month left
12.spend more time outside – DONE
13. find an alf (alternative living form/ alternative Lebensform), which makes work and life and love and baby compatible – still working on that one
14. wear high heels more often – maybe next year?
15. become a child again – DONE
16. move back to Berlin – DONE see e.g. here
17.keep the love magic – well, if I would have more sleep and feel more sexy, but I keep trying
18. manage to be a happy person with less sleep (see no 3) – DONE somehow
19. pay someone to do my taxes for me – a must for next year
20. enjoy living near the beach while it lasts – DONE, e.g. here, here or here
21. realise more of the amazing craft ideas I am collecting – well, another thing I have to keep on trying
22. keep on blogging – DONE (with the exception of September)
23.spend more time with my family – DONE
24. cook an amazing polenta –nope, I haven’t even tried it :-(
25.buy less, recycle more – yeah, but there is still room for improvement
26. turn my new apartment into a beach house – hmmm, working on that one, but first I have to finish unpacking the boxes
27. be more open to (justified and constructive) criticism – hard one, but I keep on trying
28.enjoy the pleasures of ‘real ‘winter – DONE see here
29. live more in the now and worry less about the future – DONE, surprisingly my little one helped me a lot in achieving this goal
30. make more fashion myself – sew & customise – oh well, top on my to-do-list for next year
31. travel to countryside Japan – not yet, but still dreaming about it
32. finish my baby quilt BEFORE the little one is born – DONE, I will show it too you soon
33. be more courageous – sometimes yes, sometimes not
Actually I am surprised how many things I really have changed and achieved in the last year. The power of birthday-to-do-lists . It still works ;-)
Showing posts with label to-do-list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label to-do-list. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Crazy bookworm
I have been to the public library this week to stock up on reading material. And boy, after I had all these wonderful books at home...
... there was no stopping me.
I finished the first book in one long night of reading...
... all 511 pages. The thriller was just too exciting and I just loved that feeling of getting lost between the covers.
So, hurray, I had a wonderful time and I ticked off no1 of my mat-leave-to-do-list:
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover DONE and DONE again!!!
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut DONE
5. Make a dummy band DONE yesterday
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one DONE, DONE and DONE
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach DONE
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to DONE and DONE
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
I have to say, I am really impressed on how many things I was able to tick off my list. Well, it wasn’t too difficult
a) because they were all nice things
b) because I had so much time and energy in the last couple of weeks.
Hope you got around to do some things you wanted to do for ages as well!
... there was no stopping me.
I finished the first book in one long night of reading...
... all 511 pages. The thriller was just too exciting and I just loved that feeling of getting lost between the covers.
So, hurray, I had a wonderful time and I ticked off no1 of my mat-leave-to-do-list:
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover DONE and DONE again!!!
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut DONE
5. Make a dummy band DONE yesterday
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one DONE, DONE and DONE
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach DONE
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to DONE and DONE
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
I have to say, I am really impressed on how many things I was able to tick off my list. Well, it wasn’t too difficult
a) because they were all nice things
b) because I had so much time and energy in the last couple of weeks.
Hope you got around to do some things you wanted to do for ages as well!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tick! Tick!
Today I managed to tick two more things off my mat-leave-to-do-list. A couple of strong contractions this morning really helped to kick my ass. They went away without anything major happening, but they were kind of warning shots that anytime now the real deal can happen. So I better get all the things done NOW...
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover STARTED TODAY
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut DONE
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach DONE TODAY
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to DONE and DONE
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
No 1
I went to the local library and brought two books home. Not 400 pages each, but at least together 400 pages. The amazing thing is – they are German although the topic is Australian. So what, you might say, but for someone who gets German books about once every 6 months (if a dear friend or family member sends some from Germany or if an extravagant order from Amazon arrives) this is something special. Of course I can read English books and my reading speed has increased immensely over the past 3 years, but there is nothing more relaxing than bedside reading in your mother language. Ahhhhh, I cannot wait to go to bed today ;-)
No 7
The weather was amazing today and since my lovely husband wasn’t under the pump today, he took me for a wonderful Thai takeaway to our favourite spot on the beach. The weather was amazing – sunny but cool and the sea calm as a mirror. 1 hour lunch break that felt like a week of holiday.
Have a beautiful Tuesday everyone!
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover STARTED TODAY
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut DONE
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach DONE TODAY
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to DONE and DONE
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
No 1
I went to the local library and brought two books home. Not 400 pages each, but at least together 400 pages. The amazing thing is – they are German although the topic is Australian. So what, you might say, but for someone who gets German books about once every 6 months (if a dear friend or family member sends some from Germany or if an extravagant order from Amazon arrives) this is something special. Of course I can read English books and my reading speed has increased immensely over the past 3 years, but there is nothing more relaxing than bedside reading in your mother language. Ahhhhh, I cannot wait to go to bed today ;-)
No 7
The weather was amazing today and since my lovely husband wasn’t under the pump today, he took me for a wonderful Thai takeaway to our favourite spot on the beach. The weather was amazing – sunny but cool and the sea calm as a mirror. 1 hour lunch break that felt like a week of holiday.
Have a beautiful Tuesday everyone!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
More Movies
I finished No 8 on my mat-leave-to-do list today. Right on time because I had to give the movies back to the video rental today. But I managed to watch them all in the last couple of days...
... and I loved them all – more or less passionately.
‘Young Victoria’
What an amazing movie! In my opinion it would have deserved more academy awards than ‘just’ for best costume. The actors are all amazing, the story is gripping, sad, happy and just wonderful. I learned what a lonely life the queen that gave our state its name had before meeting the love of her life. And my current hometown was named after the prime minister of England Lord Melbourne.
‘Rabbit Proof Fence’
Maybe not the best movie to watch when you are pregnant. So sad. So real. And so focussed on the loss of children. The stolen generation in Australia to be precise. Up till the 1970 children of Aboriginal descent were taken away from their mothers to teach them the white way of life. Absolutely unimaginable! Highlights are the young actors and the powerful images of the Australian outback. Lots of crying involved on my end, but so worth watching. Incredibly touching!
‘Slumdog Millionaire’
I know it is hard to believe that I hadn’t seen this movie before. After all the hype when it won 8 academy awards. Well-deserved, I have to say. All the key ingredients of a bollywood drama minus the dancing. A hero from the slums. A beautiful girl. Some gangsters who do anything for money and power. A view in the backyards and slums of Mumbai. Wow!
‘Pricilla’
A very different kind of road movie. Two drag queens and a transsexual travel with their pink bus through the Australian desert to get on stage in the middle of nowhere (aka Alice Springs). Crazy, colourful, over-the top, lots of sequins and highheels. Very very lavender!
‘The September Issue’
A documentary offering an interesting view behind the scenes of the editorial department of the American Vogue. Anna Wintour is as unfriendly and stiff as you imagined her to be after watching ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. I am really surprise she approved this documentary, but maybe she wasn’t aware about how revealing it would be.
‘Young Victoria’
What an amazing movie! In my opinion it would have deserved more academy awards than ‘just’ for best costume. The actors are all amazing, the story is gripping, sad, happy and just wonderful. I learned what a lonely life the queen that gave our state its name had before meeting the love of her life. And my current hometown was named after the prime minister of England Lord Melbourne.
‘Rabbit Proof Fence’
Maybe not the best movie to watch when you are pregnant. So sad. So real. And so focussed on the loss of children. The stolen generation in Australia to be precise. Up till the 1970 children of Aboriginal descent were taken away from their mothers to teach them the white way of life. Absolutely unimaginable! Highlights are the young actors and the powerful images of the Australian outback. Lots of crying involved on my end, but so worth watching. Incredibly touching!
‘Slumdog Millionaire’
I know it is hard to believe that I hadn’t seen this movie before. After all the hype when it won 8 academy awards. Well-deserved, I have to say. All the key ingredients of a bollywood drama minus the dancing. A hero from the slums. A beautiful girl. Some gangsters who do anything for money and power. A view in the backyards and slums of Mumbai. Wow!
‘Pricilla’
A very different kind of road movie. Two drag queens and a transsexual travel with their pink bus through the Australian desert to get on stage in the middle of nowhere (aka Alice Springs). Crazy, colourful, over-the top, lots of sequins and highheels. Very very lavender!
‘The September Issue’
A documentary offering an interesting view behind the scenes of the editorial department of the American Vogue. Anna Wintour is as unfriendly and stiff as you imagined her to be after watching ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. I am really surprise she approved this documentary, but maybe she wasn’t aware about how revealing it would be.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Movie Marathon
Another thing ticked off my mat-leave-to-do list. No 8 to be precise.
-----------------
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut – already done
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
--------------------------
Today I went to the video rental and picked up not one, not two... but 7 movies!
I started by watching ‘Coco avant Chanel’. A great movie, if you are into independent women, fashion and a bitter-sweet love story. I am and therefore I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it was entirely in French (luckily with English subtitles because my French is more than rusty), which somehow added to the whole elegant, nostalgic atmosphere.
Then my husband and I watched ‘Catch me if you can’. A real surprise. I am not that into Leonardo DiCaprio, but I absolutely loved this movie. It is funny and also a bit thoughtful, exciting and full of twists, somehow unrealistic but based on a real story, fast but not mind-blowing and it is full of great actors. Highly recommended, especially if you after a movie both you and your husband enjoys.
-----------------
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut – already done
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
--------------------------
Today I went to the video rental and picked up not one, not two... but 7 movies!
I started by watching ‘Coco avant Chanel’. A great movie, if you are into independent women, fashion and a bitter-sweet love story. I am and therefore I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it was entirely in French (luckily with English subtitles because my French is more than rusty), which somehow added to the whole elegant, nostalgic atmosphere.
Then my husband and I watched ‘Catch me if you can’. A real surprise. I am not that into Leonardo DiCaprio, but I absolutely loved this movie. It is funny and also a bit thoughtful, exciting and full of twists, somehow unrealistic but based on a real story, fast but not mind-blowing and it is full of great actors. Highly recommended, especially if you after a movie both you and your husband enjoys.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
One thing crossed off my ‘34 things to do before I turn 35’-list:
After I finished my mat-leave-to-do-list yesterday, I realised that I already have a wonderful to-do-list full of things which I promised to fulfil before I turn 35. 2 months of the 34-years-year have already past and I wasn’t able to cross anything off ;-( Until now!
--------------------------------------------------------
...
7. be more eco-conscious
8. invest in art
9. be less impatient
...
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Yes, it is true. I invested in an original, authentic piece of art. Gone are the days where my walls were filled with posters and IKEA prints of famous masterpieces. Now I am a serious art collector. And I promise you this is just the beginning. Whenever I have a bit of money to spend I will buy a new piece. I will constantly look for artists and their work that really connect with me – because I think this should be the only reason to buy art. Because it inspires you. Because you love to look at it. Because it is special to you. Not because it is by an upcoming artist. Not because it would make a great investment. It is art, for god sake, not a bond!
--------------------------------------------------------
...
7. be more eco-conscious
8. invest in art
9. be less impatient
...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it is true. I invested in an original, authentic piece of art. Gone are the days where my walls were filled with posters and IKEA prints of famous masterpieces. Now I am a serious art collector. And I promise you this is just the beginning. Whenever I have a bit of money to spend I will buy a new piece. I will constantly look for artists and their work that really connect with me – because I think this should be the only reason to buy art. Because it inspires you. Because you love to look at it. Because it is special to you. Not because it is by an upcoming artist. Not because it would make a great investment. It is art, for god sake, not a bond!
Water Dreaming by Sally Clark
I absolutely love it!!! The way she combined a treaking with the dotting technique. It is so vibrant! So powerful! So colourful! So abstract! So routed in nature! So special to me – it will always remind me of the wonderful land I saw here in Australia and the wonderful people I met here and the amazing stories I heard.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Mat Leave To-Do-List
Ah, I feel much better now. As promised (link) I sat down with a coffee and paper and pen yesterday and thought long and hard about what I want to do during my mat leave. And guess what I came up with? A top-ten-list of things I am really looking forward to:
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
I am really excited about the next few weeks now. So please keep your fingers crossed that my little one stays a bit longer in my big belly and let her mama do all these wonderful things.
1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
I am really excited about the next few weeks now. So please keep your fingers crossed that my little one stays a bit longer in my big belly and let her mama do all these wonderful things.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
My Birthday to-do-List
34 things to do before I turn 35:
I know my birthday was more than a week ago, but it still counts, doesn’t it? So hurray for the power of birthday-to-do-lists!!!
- take more photos of everyday life (not only of ‘special events’)
- embrace change
- have a healthy, happy little daughter
- think more about what I want and act accordingly
- cycle a lot
- have more parties
- be more eco-conscious
- invest in art
- be less impatient
- go to Italy – not just for the food, but also...
- make my first pork roast
- spend more time outside
- find an alf (alternative living form/ alternative Lebensform), which makes work and life and love and baby compatible
- wear high heels more often
- become a child again
- move back to Berlin
- keep the love magic
- manage to be a happy person with less sleep (see no 3)
- pay someone to do my taxes for me
- enjoy living near the beach while it lasts
- realise more of the amazing craft ideas I am collecting
- keep on blogging
- spend more time with my family
- cook an amazing polenta
- buy less, recycle more
- turn my new apartment into a beach house
- be more open to (justified and constructive) criticism
- enjoy the pleasures of ‘real ‘winter
- live more in the now and worry less about the future
- make more fashion myself – sew & customise
- travel to countryside Japan
- finish my baby quilt BEFORE the little one is born
- keep my plants alive
- be more courageous
I know my birthday was more than a week ago, but it still counts, doesn’t it? So hurray for the power of birthday-to-do-lists!!!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Power of Birthday-To-Do-Lists
Today I finally had a quiet relaxing Saturday again, no garage sale, no almost birthday bash, no shopping, no plans at all… just me, my computer and a wonderful café au lait. While browsing through my old favourite and a couple of new blogs, I came across this wonderful birthday-to-do list of Susannah from Ink on my Fingers.
And I decided that this year I need to have one as well…
… because I love to-do-lists in general!
and
… because I believe in the power of birthday-to-do lists!
That might come as a surprise, because I am generally a rather rational person who doesn’t believe in too many super-powers, but…
… I have already done a birthday-to-do list when I turned 30 and so many things actually happened in the following year and a half that even I couldn’t explain them with coincidence anymore.
And the really surprising thing was that not only the do-able and easy things became true…
e.g. Robbie Williams concert, Salsa dancing, my first professional manicure, more James Bond movies
…but also the aspirational and crazy things happened, which I wished for but actually didn’t really believe in.
e.g. going live to a World championship soccer game, driving through Australia and LOTS of love
So, now I am a true believer in birthday-to-do lists. And now I should really start thinking about what I put on my new birthday-to-do-list. Because, you know, it might come true soon… So beware of what you wish for...
I’ll show you my list tomorrow.
And I decided that this year I need to have one as well…
… because I love to-do-lists in general!
and
… because I believe in the power of birthday-to-do lists!
That might come as a surprise, because I am generally a rather rational person who doesn’t believe in too many super-powers, but…
… I have already done a birthday-to-do list when I turned 30 and so many things actually happened in the following year and a half that even I couldn’t explain them with coincidence anymore.
And the really surprising thing was that not only the do-able and easy things became true…
…but also the aspirational and crazy things happened, which I wished for but actually didn’t really believe in.
So, now I am a true believer in birthday-to-do lists. And now I should really start thinking about what I put on my new birthday-to-do-list. Because, you know, it might come true soon… So beware of what you wish for...
I’ll show you my list tomorrow.
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