2014 is off to a pretty great start, considering how shitty 2013 was for me.

I’m reading for pleasure.  I’m exercising.  I’m working on a craft (Bargello!).  My ear infection is gone.  I’m making incremental progress with setting up some consulting work with other professionals.  I’m meditating daily.

I’m starting to think about what I want down the road—what sorts of experiences I think will enrich my life.  And I think I want to travel.  I’ve been reading up on landscape architecture, and I’d love to see more of the work of the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, which of course means taking a trip to New York City to visit Prospect Park.  And if I’m already in New York, I may as well go visit the Guggenheim and the MoMA.  I’d also like to see some live theatre, and on a future childless trip to NYC, I’d like to see some live comedy.

I’d like to visit Chicago.  I’d love to go the Museum of Contemporary Photography.  And as far as photography exhibits go, I MUST see the work of my two favorite photographers, Ruth Thorne-Thomsen and Robert Frank, if they happen to have some of their works on exhibit.  I also would love to take a tour of some of Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic masterpieces.

I’d like to explore areas that are completely foreign to me—like the desert.  Maybe a trip to Utah is in order.  Can you imagine the hiking that is to be had in a place like that?

The Pacific Northwest also calls to me—the rough coastal areas, the towering conifers, the culture that their cities have to offer.

A childless trip to Savannah, GA sounds sublime.  Walking underneath clouds of Spanish moss, strolling through carefully-planned gardens, enjoying an architectural tour of the city, eating the scrumptious Southern cuisine.

I’d love to travel internationally as well.  We are a little less than 2 hours from Montreal, where we can visit the Biodome and also the botanical garden (jardin botanique!)

I want to travel to Greece to visit a friend and former colleague, and also to sample the amazing Greek food.

I think about trips to Shanghai, Lisbon, Marrakech, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Belfast, and London— and I have to see Machu Picchu of course.

But I don’t just want to travel.  I want to learn new things.  I want to become a better photographer.  I want to take dance classes on a regular basis (and also perform in dance recitals).  I want to go to the urban planning meetings for our town and start participating in the discussion around the future of our community.  When Emery is in preschool, I want to start working as a paraeducator in our wonderful school district.

Lots of things to do and learn.  Time to start planning.

And I STILL want to learn to cross-country ski.