Resolved

I haven't had much luck with New Year's Resolutions in the past, so I thought instead I'd make a giant to-do list (completion date: death), focused on living a more lovely life. I'm publishing it here because now you've seen it, I will have to be held accountable for my actions. So, here goes:

JUST FOR FUN
Make more, buy less
Take a picnic with Champagne and candles to Glyndebourne or Ravinia
Make a dollhouse for Isabelle
Go someplace dressed up with a fancy hat
Make Isabelle an "A is for Annabelle"-type doll complete with wardrobe
Ride a roller coaster with my hands up
Beat Tetris
Attend an event or an opening night in a proper evening gown

EXPERIENCES
Live in another city for a year
Fly long-haul in business class
Fly long-haul in first class
Take an overnight train journey in a sleeper car
Move back to the United States
Live in New York City for a year
Spend an entire week without electricity
Sleep in a tent by the oceanside
Shake the President's hand
Learn to ride a Vespa
Go to the Chelsea Flower Show
Raise chickens
Live for a year on my own home-grown produce
Surprise someone in a big way
Plant a specimen tree
Be completely debt free
Have a cherry blossom picnic at Kew
Give a vocal recital
Read something I wrote to an audience
Go sightseeing on a bicycle
Go white water rafting
Run a half-marathon
Host totally amazing Halloween parties
Have a pet
Meet Oprah
Meet Martha Stewart
Meet Gloria Steinem
Ride in a Critical Mass bike ride
Have a portrait painted of myself as a grown up
Be able to mix a top-notch cocktail
Throw a block party
Write a million dollar check to a charity
Do a two-finger whistle for a cab
Attend a black-and-white ball
Celebrate New Year's Eve at the Drake
Swim with bioluminescent plankton

PLACES
See the sun rise from the steps of the Taj Mahal
Look out over Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower
Drink Champagne at the top of the World Trade Center
Eat canapes at the top of the Sears Tower
See a performance at the Sydney Opera House
Drink a Singapore Sling in Singapore
See a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford
See a performance at the Royal Opera House
Get on a plane to a foreign country with no real idea what I was going to do or where I was going to go once I arrived
Visit the Robie House, Fallingwater and Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio
Visit the Farnsworth House
Visit Chatsworth
See a performance of a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre on the South Bank (*NB I have already seen a performance there, but it wasn't Shakespeare)
Take the Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise
See the Pacific Northwest
Visit Japan during cherry blossom season
Take Isabelle and Billy on a road trip across the USA on the Lincoln Highway
Take Isabelle and Billy to the top of the Hancock Tower
Visit Italy
See a performance at La Scala
See the Grand Canyon
See Yellowstone

FAMILY
Have a child
And another
And another?
Have a completely natural labor and childbirth *NB this is not something I EVER wanted to do, but, there you go, I've done it. Twice.
Say "I love you" to Billy and Isabelle at least once a day
Say "I love you" to Jules at least once a day
Never make either one of the kids sit at the table until all the peas are gone, especially once the peas have turned cold
Take Isabelle to high tea at the Ritz
Take Isabelle to the Nutcracker at the ROH
Take Billy to a Cubs game. Or to the Nutcracker. Or a monster truck rally. Whichever would be more fun for him.
Take both the kids sledding
Make awesome Halloween costumes
Take the kids to Disney World
Make Jules a Christmas stocking
Make Isabelle a Christmas stocking
Make Billy a Christmas stocking
Have a cute family photo taken
Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
Read Little House on the Prairie with Isabelle
Read all the Harry Potter books with Billy and Isabelle
Make sure both of them learn to swim

HOME
Replace and upgrade our dining room furniture
Redo the bathroom
Make a fun bedroom for Billy
Make a fun bedroom for Isabelle
Replace all the carpets in our house, especially the dining room carpet
Make the garden more fun for the kids and friendly for adult entertaining
Live in a house near water
Make a fairy garden for the kids
Install a water feature in the garden
Build a sunroom/conservatory
Have and keep a room of my own

STYLE
Only wear lovely undergarments
Edit my closet down to only my favorite things
Pare down my makeup collection to only my favorite things
Determine a wardrobe's essentials, then buy them in the best quality I can
Throw out/give away all my ugly shoes
Wear perfume regularly
Find my perfect hairstyle, find my perfect hairdresser, and do my hair nicely every day

SKILLS
Take voice lessons regularly again
Master "rhapsody in blue" on the piano
Master Copperplate calligraphy and use it
Learn to confidently order a meal in French
Learn to do a tango/foxtrot/any respectable ballroom dance
Learn to sharpen a knife well and chop vegetables like a chef

PROFESSIONAL
Make money a non-issue
Publish a novel
And another one
Publish a kids' book
Have a column in a magazine
Be a keynote speaker
Collaborate with someone on a cool creative project
Redesign my website
Make my "night job" my "day job"
Make an appearance in five forms of media: book, magazine, television, radio, internet
Win a major award

PROJECTS
Start new family traditions (like the doll's fair in "A Time to Keep")
Cook one new recipe per week
Get down to my best pre-baby weight so that I can wear that spangly skirt again
Write one page per day