It hit me about a few months ago that I had completely forgotten about my 33 before 33 list. I suppose impending parenthood can sort of take over your life in that way. That list wasn’t a total bust, but because I forgot about it so thoroughly, I don’t think it’s really fair to consider it done. Some years, I plan my lists for weeks ahead of time, but today is my 33rd birthday, and I still want to do all those things I thought up last year. So I decided to start a new list for my new year. The first 19 items are from 33 before 33, and the rest are new or just slightly revised for this year. When I turned 32, I was a newlywed who had a lot of high hopes, and adding them to a list helped me feel a bit like they weren’t as crazy as they felt. Now I’m 33, and we bought that house and I had that adorable baby, and I need a list like this more than ever, as I’m learning how to be BOTH the new me who’s a mom and the old me who really needs to create. So here we are. And even if I forget about this list by January, I think it’ll be a pretty good year.

1. go on dates with Dan
2. host a party of some sort (dinner party, housewarming, football party) for more than 4 people
3. shoot at least one roll of film each with the AE-1, instax, polaroid
4. make a wedding album
5. make wedding albums to give to our parents
6. visit the ocean (at least 5 times)
7. walk across a bridge in NYC
8. visit a new local brewery
9. make pom poms
10. eat at Pete and Elda’s
11. make quote wall art
12. crochet a giant scarf
13. get another tattoo
14. hang a photo gallery wall in our new place
15. go to a Patriots game with Dan to celebrate six years since our first spark
16. make a new dessert
17. get a sewing machine
18. and sew something simple
19. make a wreath for each season (summer, fall, Christmas, winter, spring) for our front door
20. decorate the living room and the dining room
21. write in a paper journal three times a month
22. blog more
23. learn how to be a mom
24. try NOT to overthink things so much
25. go on a photo excursion (by myself or with friends)
26. thoroughly purge my closet (again)
27. start building a new wardrobe
28. collect more bracelets for an arm party
29. grow out my hair
30. plan an awesome first birthday for Benjamin
31. eat healthy food and exercise (and okay, also lose weight) to really stave off diabetes
32. keep up with Project Life and Ben’s baby album
33. choose a positive outlook even when things are hard
34. laugh more. feel the wind. go for walks. read books to Ben. savor the snuggles. tell Dan how awesome he is. love big. breathe deep.