Oh Micheal, said I loved you but I lied

Last year I resolved to listen to the Avett Brothers...no, I mean really listen. In their song "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise," Scott Avett simply states: "decide what to be and go be it." I know this doesn't seem like a big deal, some sage advice that only the most clever or insightful could come up with; however, it resonated with and inspired me. I stopped doubting myself. I stopped questioning what I knew I wanted. I stopped settling for the gray. I decided what to be...And, I am better for it.

So, for any of you who feel lost - in whatever shape that takes in your own life - I encourage you to download I and Love and You and put #3 on repeat.
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I am grateful this year to be in a place - both literally and figuratively - where issues of identity are fleeting, if existent at all. I love my life, the people in it, the jobs and responsibilities that keep me busy, the house I share with the boy I love, and the goals that now seem like viable possibilities. So, with that being said, here are a few of my much less significant, but fun-to-think-about, resolutions for 2011...

1. Make cheese. 8 different kinds in fact. Caroline Kraft, this was quite possibly the most exciting Christmas gift I have ever received.
2. Host a Murder Mystery Dinner at our house.
3. Run a half-marathon.
4. Attend a concert, play, or lecture every month. Upcoming events: February - Peking Acrobats; March - Michael Bolton (Mom's birthday gift. That's right, I said Michael Bolton.)
5. Do CLT proud - try to break a horse by myself.
6. Learn how to make Mom's sourdough bread. And actually feed the starter when I'm supposed to.
7. Submit at least one poem and one essay to one state and one national publication.
8. Read at least 3 works of fiction. Finish the Sandra Brown book Vickie and Terry picked out for me by the end of January.
9. Save enough money to go to Europe with Caroline!!
10. Visit friends who I enjoy so much and miss tremendously, but with whom I have not spent quality time in years: Trina, Melinda, Meredith, get your couches ready.

Happy 2011!