And 30.

"At 20 years of age, the will reigns. At 30, the wit. At 40, the judgement."

"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."

Wit. Wit. Humor. Humor. Laugh. Laugh. Joke. Joke. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I have found that laughter flows quite easily from its buried place the instant the pressure cooker is moved from the hot burner to the cold. The boiling over moments somehow become humorous because the peace arrives that all paths, whether they be wayward or narrow, lead to the same fountain.

I wrote recently about some tweaking that I would like to implement into the ways in which I interact with the world around me. I believe whole-heartedly that one should be at peace with who they are. While I may be at peace with who I am...with the thoughts that swirl and the phrases that compute...I do believe it imperative to evaluate my actions every now and again in an effort to avoid stagnation.

And so....a list is born. This, an evolving list. Each item is committed to by yours truly for one calendar year from today with the hopes that many will be maintained leaps and bounds past the November 9, 2011 mark. In an effort to chronicle my progress on various items, I will be writing it out, hashing with verbal discourse, the falls and stand-ups from particular items.

1. Consumerism

I am going to aggressively tackle my urge to consume needlessly in a handful of ways which I hope will conclude with my hands open and not clutched tightly to the merry-go-round of "ooo...that's new and shiny."

*For this particular item, I am committing to buying "new" only those items which I cannot buy used. The rest... thrift stores and garage sales, folks. This particular decision will reduce my spending, consumption and strain on the environment.

*I also want to learn to sew. Since moving to Florida, the size I'm wearing has changed and I have a lot of clothing that is just sitting here. I have some ideas on what to do with the clothing to recycle it and make it usable again but I don't have the know how regarding the sewing side of things. This is something I would like to learn.

2. Food Sources

Due to my interest in all things culinary...I have read, listened and talked much about all things food for the better part of my adult life. One of my interests lies in the way that food production effects our environment negatively. I find it interesting that something we truly need, not just something we've convinced ourselves we need, has the potential to harm not only our earth but our bodies as well.

*I will attempt to purchase as much from local farmer's markets as possible - see you Saturday in downtown St. Pete!

*I will only eat meat that is raised free range, locally. With my budget...this pretty much means....no meat! I have been phasing meat out of my diet for a few weeks so I feel fairly prepared for this particular element of the dietary changes.

*I will make as much from scratch that I can in order to know exactly what I am putting in my body. For the past month, I have been making all my bread from scratch on Sundays for the coming week. Making bread is amazingly easy and it tastes much better too! I'm not going to be churning my own butter, mom, don't worry....I am attempting to be rational about this :).

3. Smoking

Many people know that I smoke and although I know it may seem like a small thing to some people, it's a very big thing to me. There are scads of personal reasons why I want to quit. Simply said, I respect myself and who I am and my smoking habit directly conflicts with that notion. (other factors include environmental impact of smoking as well as my general frustration towards the fact that someone somewhere is wealthy by the minute because I am choosing to ingest something that could very well make me sick.)

*This one is easy to describe. I am no longer going to smoke. Recognizing that I am far from perfect, I will use assistance (patch etc.) if I feel necessary. My one motivation for not using the patch is that many patches are produced, in part, by the same companies that produce cigarettes.

4. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

This section may be the most nondescript of all however, most likely, the most important. When I moved to Florida, my TV stayed in Indiana because I didn't have room to move it. While originally, the issue was spacial, I have yet to purchase a TV because I didn't notice its absence in my life. Due to this, I have read for leisure and written frequently since moving.

*I would like to finish the book. Finish the book in the next calendar year. Whew! Just writing that made me weak in the knees. I have been working on a book for the past two years. It's time for the mamajama to be finished.

*Read more for leisure. I would like to read, on average, three books a month.

*The Arithmetic part was a joke....come on...seriously?

The deadly combination of no television and an introspective personality is that lists like this one can multiply quite quickly. For now...the sun has set and rest is calling.