Year of Yes - October to January

Back in October, I decided I was going to start saying "yes" more - to new things, to different opportunities, etc. I call it my Year of Yes - check out the original post here - and the goal is to do 40 different things. Different for me, anyway. I know a lot of people might see these things and think "big whoop" but for me, any step outside of my comfort zone - no matter how small! - is progress.

So, here are a few of my Yes moments:

* I decided not to do National Novel Writing Month - the first time I haven't done it in many years - and instead said "yes" to continuing writing and revising a previous manuscript.

* I stopped the Off The Shelf Challenge 2012. This was not easy because once I say I'm going to do something I try very hard to, you know, actually do it. But this challenge started to feel too much like homework.

* I took an art class called "Discover the World of Collage Art." This was something I wanted to do for awhile now and I finally just did it - and I'm so glad I did!

* I tried some new Thai food - fried tofu. I've had tofu before and never cared much for it, but I figured how bad could it be fried and dipped in sweet and sour sauce and topped with chopped peanuts? Yeah, well, I figured WRONG. 

* I usually stay up past midnight on New Year's Eve, even if it's only until 12:05 am, and watch the ball drop in Times Square. This year, I stayed up - my husband and I were finishing up a Harry Potter movie marathon - but I did not watch the ball drop. Did. Not. I have watched that thing drop every year since I was first allowed to stay up. I felt like a rebel. I felt sort of like Hermione Granger when she starts breaking the rules in one of the earlier HP movies.

* I watched ice cream being made right in front of me using the power of liquid nitrogen. It was very cool - ha ha! Get it? - and something I'm definitely going to remember when the temps reach the upper 90s this summer. 

And there you have it. Nothing too exciting or extreme - no jumping out of planes or shaving my head. And, although I'm happy with my progress overall so far, I'm also a little disappointed. I've been very focused on writing these past four-five months and keeping my head down and plowing through some other things. But I think I need to look up once in awhile and get out there a bit more. Hopefully my next update will be more exciting.

How about you all? Have you done anything different so far this year? Are you planning on it? Taking a class you've always wanted to try? Going somewhere different? Saying "no" to something when you usually say "yes"?