Oh hi.

I tried to tell you I'd be back. See? Here I am, with a snazzy new blog and a nagging sense of purpose.

Allow me to introduce the Doing Stuff Blog. A blog about setting goals and accomplishing them. Or, really, about getting off my ass and doing stuff. And while I'd never say that I want to "inspire" people, because that just sounds so silly, I will say that I hope I can be a motivator in the way Yelp is a motivator. "Oh that seems fun, maybe I'll try it too." I don't think I could ask for anything more.

So why the sudden urge to live it up? I think, honestly, it has something to do with the fact that my wedding day has come and gone. I spent a good, hearty portion of my life --particularly in my 20s--trying to snag myself a soulmate and legally tether myself to him. And once that was accomplished I was confronted with a peculiar sense of "now what?"

And I think we all know the answer to that question: start a family. Eep. All of a sudden the imaginary kids we always talked about are becoming very real. I can practically hear them screaming in the other room and running up to me with their sticky little hands.

But to them I say, "Hold up, I need a minute." While I was working long hours and passing out every night at 9:30, my young adulthood quietly slipped away. I feel as though more was to supposed to have happened by now. I think this lofty idea of an adventurous existence is owing to my dear parents who, up until I was born, led the most fascinating, world-traveling lives. To support this statement, I should tell you that after Christmas dinner my mother told the story of the time she had a job going out to buy hamburgers for patrons of an underground gambling club. My father then told us of the time when he and Mom, shortly after meeting, worked together on a tomato farm in rural Australia.

And what of my life story? I went to college, graduated, and since then have worked full time at a series of respected companies with 401k plans and medical benefits. I may be the only child whose stability has been something of a let down to her parents. "Why don't you take some time off and travel?" they ask. And to them, I respond, "If I do that, how will I ever make my car payments? And who will look after the dog? Come on, be reasonable."

Oh brother. It's a sad state of affairs. And so, in short, it's time to get my kicks.

Hence, the Doing Stuff Blog. I will have at least one entry a week. And no entries where I just yammer on about my feelings. More verbs, less adverbs.

I'm going to try to do as many different things as possible. To be clear, when I say I'm going to do more, I don't mean living life like it's a Mountain Dew commercial. There will be no base jumping or shark tanking. There may be craft projects, and I apologize in advance if you don't agree that paper mache can be thrilling.

Lastly, I'm not going to do anything that costs more than $50. (Unless I come across $100 round trip tickets to Amsterdam.)

So I hope you stay tuned!