Helloooo!

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2014 Oscar Predictions

BEST PICTURE
12 Years a Slave

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

BEST ACTOR
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze, Her

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave

Favorite Movies of 2013

1. 12 Years a Slave

2. Philomena
3. Her

4. The Great Gatsby

5. Frances Ha

6. Blue Jasmine

7. Star Trek Into Darkness

8. Captain Philips

9. Saving Mr. Banks

10. World War Z

[Movies I'd still like to see: All is Lost, American Hustle, August: Osage County, Blackfish, Don Jon, Drinking Buddies, Frozen, Lee Daniels' The Butler, Prince Avalanche, Rush, Upstream Color.]
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Resolutions for 2014

1. Take a tour of the U.S. Capitol building.

2. Create and prepare an original food recipe.

3. Support someone's artistic expression.

4. Patronize a bed and breakfast on vacation.

5. Grow a robust beard.

6. Read a graphic novel for the first time.

7. Learn to use advanced video editing software.

8. Successfully complete the 30 Day Plank Challenge.

9. Focus on long-term, big-picture perspectives.

10. Convince someone else to complete one resolution.

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Revisiting 2013 Resolutions

1. Travel to a new state.
[Hoped to use our summer travel time to head to Austin, Seattle, or Portland - all of which would have qualified here - but a return visit with friends in Tampa was in order.]

2. Learn to cook a perfect homemade veggie burger.

[Disappointing, mostly because I simply let this slip my mind throughout the year. Ready the black beans and oats, I'm revisiting this one soon.]

3. Make faster decisions.

[Did I feel more decisive in 2013? Sure. But it took me, like, ten minutes to decide if I achieved this resolution, so...]

4. Visit the American Museum of Natural History in NYC.

[A perfect birthday present from my love. Also...DINOSAURS!]

5. Volunteer or donate to a new cause each month.

[This is the one resolution I changed midyear (see #10 below). I adapted the sentiment to focus on sorting through our excessive clothing collection and donating a significant portion to charity. Dozens of clothes-filled shopping bags later, resolution complete.]

6. Purchase a musical instrument.

[Why didn't I just purchase this harmonica and call it a day?]

7. Mail a hand-written letter to President Obama.

[This was a cute idea when I thought of it last year, and then I remembered I have terrible handwriting. I'm sure the President was very disappointed.]

8. Take a photo from the top of a mountain.

[No hiking in 2013, unfortunately.]

9. See Mumford & Sons live in concert.

[Nope. And given the recent announcement that they're taking an indefinite break from touring, this one hurts.]

10. Change one resolution in the middle of the year.

[As #5 elaborates above, check.]

(Original Post: 'Resolutions for 2013')

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