my to do list

now that i'm done with school and have loads more free time, i'm creating a stock pile of things i want to do!

1. Get back in the groove of trying restaurants I haven't been to yet - Ruxbin, Telegraph, Cantina Laredo, Volo, Lillie Q's, and Smoque just to name a few.

2. Get back in shape! Before the last push in grad school, I was hitting the gym 3-5 times a week. I'm slowly getting back into that groove and already took 2 spin classes and a cardio reshape class this week!

3. Read for fun! I've been so happy to read for pleasure rather than for studying. I am wrapping up a pretty bad chick lit book and have another one waiting and then my brother insisted I read Hunger Games. I'm open to other suggestions though!

4. Invest more time in friends I don't see very often and make more frequent trips to the suburbs to see friends and family there.

5. Volunteer more! Before school got really overwhelming I used to volunteer at other places in addition to weekly bingo. I especially liked re shelving books at the Disney Magnet School Library with Chicago Cares and soon I'll be ready for another foster kitten!

6. Do arts and crafts again. I was a pretty avid scrapbooker before school got started and I always cherish the end result so I hope to start those again soon. I also miss drawing so I'm picking up some charcoal this weekend.

7. Cook! I've been having fun trying recipes or making some tried and true dishes now that I have more time. It's so nice to have proper meals :)

8. Have more quality time with my fiance - I have put a ton of date nights on our calendar and we have a little getaway coming up in January. Can't wait!

9. Relax. I have a tendency to overbook myself but I'm going to try to keep some time clear for myself to relax and rest so that I don't get burned out.

10. Wedding plan!!! Now that I have more time, I can invest a lot more time into planning our wedding that is now about 300 days away!

This is a short list - there are so many more things I want to do and places to visit. The best part is, there's no timeline - this new freedom is the rest of my life! No more school ever again! Yay!