Lists, lists, lists...I love making lists.

I make lists of things to I have to do—pay bills, pick up dry cleaning, call mom, clean kitchen.
I make lists of things to buy —bananas, apples, cucumber, cilantro, yogurt.
And, lists of things I want for the house—juicer, bean bag chairs, composter, new computer desk.

Once I write something on a list, it becomes my focus, my obsession, and I must GET IT DONE. Unfortunately, I have a nasty habit of making impossible lists with a flurry of bullet points and a dizzying array tasks, which I then stress over completing.

Since I don't expect to change anytime soon, I've decided to embrace and exploit my OCD this minor character flaw by making a new list. This list will not feature errands to be run or necessities to purchase, instead this list will contain things I have been wanting to do but have not had time to do. I figure that if I make the list, I will make the time.

»» My List

• Speak Spanish more often. I used to speak Spanish fluently, but it's been years since I've used it on a daily basis so my vocabulary and pronunciation are suffering. More importantly, I have lost confidence in my language skills and find myself too shy to speak with Spanish-speaking people. I will suck-it up and shell out the $400+ for Rosetta Stone, levels 4 & 5, and get my practice on and my confidence up.
  
  
• Explore a different neighborhood of Charm City each month and takes lots of photos for my other blog.
  
  
• Design and launch a Web site for my friend Lora's up-and-coming nonprofit Wednesday Spaghetti. A couple of weekends ago I bought a brand-new 24-inch imac and the entire Adobe Web Premium Creative Suite—I've got the tools, so it's time to get crack-a-lackin' on this project!
  
  
• Quit my gym membership and use the monthly savings to justify purchasing an iphone to accompany my new imac. They will play so nicely together!
  
  
• Prepare to "break ground" on my public art mosaic project by the end of next summer or early next fall. The wheels are churning and the ideas flowing. I will write about some of my ideas for this project later this week, so be sure to stop back by!
  
  
• Finish remodeling the basement. Jack and I completely gutted the basement last year, but have done nothing since. We are planning on creating a laundry/mud/storage room, building a bathroom, and having a TV/exercise/dance floor and turntable area. There will be bold color paint and glitter involved.
  
  
• Put together a professional digital portfolio of my Web- and graphic-design projects.
  
  
• Cook one new dish a week. Maybe my Scrumptious Saturday! ladies will volunteer to be my guinea pigs?
  
  
• Make time to practice yoga and pilates more often.