Despite the fact that my goals get a little bit harder, I beat last year’s tally by eleven for a grand total of 61. Despite limping to the finish (whoa is me), 2014 was a great year.

1. Ring in the New Year
2. Grow LA Fashion Insider
3. Charleston, S.C.
4. Drive a Race Car
5. Prepare 12 meals at home
6. Eat at Hakkasan
7. Weigh 175
8. Performance at Disney Hall
9. Off Roading
10. Go to New York without any luggage
11. Take the top off the Bronco
12. Fish
13. Full work up with a cardiologist
14. Annual fashion show
15. Stay at Chateau Marmont
16. Attend a LA Magazine Calendar event once a month
17. Marquette game in Milwaukee
18. Small Town Festival
19. Swin in a lake
20. Eat at Nikita
21. Palm Springs
22. Bears game
23. Out of State Concert
24. See Brittany Score a Goal
25. Baseball game at a stadium I’ve never been to
26. Bespoke shirt
27. Visit a civil war battlefield
28. Reroof the garage
29. New closet doors
30. Garage Sale
31. Ski Trip
32. Sleep in a tent
33. See Five Bar Bands
34. Bet on the long shot
35. See an Opera
36. Frame festival posters
37. Draft our wills
38. Don’t buy a watch in 2014
39. Eat at Jose Andre’s secret Cosmo Restaurant
40. Watch a sunrise
41. Watch a Sun Set
42. Have a drink in a Hemingway Haunt
43. Complete Safari Album
44. Star Gaze
45. Nap in a Hammock
46. Eat at Fishing with Dynamite
47. Lounge by five hotel pools
48. Attend a Music Festival
49. Complete 10 Nagging Home Reairs
50. See a classic movie on the big screen
51. Design a sports coat
52. Enjoy Three New Beaches
53. Cross a Bridge
54. Host a Party
55. Sell our home
56. Trade in a car
57. See 10 new movies in the theater
58. Visit something ancient
59. Set my watch to 6 timezones
60. Take a Class
61. Wine Refrigerator
62. Stay at one of Conde Naste’d gold list hotel
63. A New Workout
64. Eat at a top restaurant in the world
65. See an SEC Football Game
66. Hockey Game
67. Company Day Retreat
68. See Basically Me in a Magazine
69. Train Ride
70. A Better Closet
71. Build an iPhone app
72. Write a letter
73. A Forever Pen
74. Kayak
75. Try a top 10 Zagat burger
76. Have a Picnic
77. Boat Ride
78. Movember
79. Enjoy a waterfall
80. N’awlins
81. Try a Zagat Guide Top 5 Pizza
82. Eat at Dan Tana’s
83. Make Xmas great for someone I don’t know
84. Go to a Giants Game
85. Have a pint in a bar over 200 years old
86. Eat a NYC street dog
87. Kentucky Derby
88. Certified wine professional
89. Commission a Pearl Jam/MU Concert poster from 92′
90. Eat at Bestia
91. Weigh 170
92. Weigh 165
93. Weigh 160
94. Read Ten Books
95. Complete a photography project
96. Maximize credit card rewards
97. Become TSA rechecked and Global entry approved
98. Eat at Providence
99. Jet Pack
100. Find a regular barber

#59 Done: Set my watch to 6 time zones.

Always a challenge, but we just made it.

Pacific Coast Time: Home, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Las Vegas
Central Time: Chicago, Dallas
Eastern Standard Time: New York, Atlanta, Charleston, S.C, Savannah, GA, Monroe, L.A., Baton Rouge, L.A., Nassau, Bahamas, New Orleans, L.A.
Hawaiian-Aleutian: Oahu, Kauai
GMT/UTC: Puerto Rico
Central European Time: Budapest, Vienna & Prague

#40: See a Sunrise

Amazing how something so simple, is so hard to make time for.

#72: Write a Letter

Wrote it to myself. Cheaper than therapy.

Fake smiles. Crapped out on the tables.

#2 Grow LA Fashion Insider, Inc.

We thought we would have a chance this year, but Ebola wiped out our fourth quarter and contributed to our own poor efforts to beat last year’s mediocre numbers. Other than luxury brands, apparel continues to drag through the mud of this new economy. We may fail again in 2015, but we are determined to fail better.

A little R & R in Nassau, Bahamas.

We’re days away from 2015. Here are a few more of my “failures”.

#8. See a Performance at Disney Hall (Next Year)

#13. Full work up with a cardiologist (Too Young. Just Need a New Workout)

#15: Stay at Chateau Marmont (Next year)

#16: Marquette game in Milwaukee (Next Year)

#17: Attend a LA Magazine Calendar event once a month (Some months were too uninteresting)

#19: Swim in a lake (Next Year)

#22: Bears Game (May be years away)

#26: Bespoke shirt (Next Year)

#30: Garage Sale (Definitely Next Year)

#31: Ski trip (May not be on the horizon)

#32: Sleep in a tent (Next Year)

#36: Frame festival posters (Next Year)

#37: draft our wills (Next Year)

#51: Design a sport coat (Next Year)

#63: A new workout (Next Year)

#67: Company Day Retreat (Next Year)

#68: See Basically Me in a Magazine (Next Year)

#70: A better closet (Next Year)

#81: Try a Zagat Guide top 5 pizza in US (The #1 spot is in Long Beach)

#89: Commission a Pearl Jam/MU Concert poster from 92′ (Next Year)

#95: Complete a photography project (Next Year)

#97: Become TSA rechecked and Global entry approved (Next Year)

#94: read ten books

11/22/63. An entertaining Stephen King historical time traveling fiction tale.

#83: Make X-mas great for someone we don’t know

After a fabulous Christmas Eve and Day, we stopped off at a grocery store in the valley to give a little back. Devin took the lead and gave away gift cards to people shopping for food on X-mas day. Driving home, it became clear that this no longer needs to be on the list to be completed.

I only remembered to take a few iPhone pics of x-mas day. Nevertheless, it was a great reminder to all of us that we are truly blessed.

Tight jeans bro.

A new hot dog joint opened by the house. That puts a nail in the coffin of #7, #91, #92 & #93. Will end the year at my heaviest.

#57 See 10 new movies in the theater

Brittany and I took in the stellar, Interstellar.

#9: Off Roading

Turns out we only needed one horse under the hood to traverse the back roads of the Hollywood Hills. Thanks to our dedicated brethren at LAFI for making it happen.

Seeing a classic movie in Burbank is literally like stepping into a time machine. Nevertheless, It’s a Wonderful Life was the perfect movie to see to get into the holiday spirit. Thank you, Tomiko, for the tickets.

#43 Complete Safari Album

” I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy” ~ Ernest Hemingway

Caught a Clipper win with my Dad. Not as rare as it used to be.

Dinner at the newly opened BBQ joint, Barrel & Ashes. One of the best dishes was the chili served in a bag of Fritos.

#78: No Shave November. Most of my sweaters match my beard.

Lunch and X-mas shopping in the Hills of Beverly.

Enjoyed this beef tongue and the 10 meat dishes that followed at Totoraku.

Love is way more complicated than quantum physics. Excellent movie.

Asenabo. Best sushi we’ve had in LA. And we’ve known that for years. It’s a shame we’ve only been here a few times.

Landon Donovan’s last professional game was a good one. LA Galaxy win the MLS Cup final 2-1 in double overtime.

The whole band was back together again. They killed it.

Hate to judge a book by its cover, but I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed hanging out with my great, great, great grandmother, Letitia Youmans.  She’s the one on the right on the cover of her autobiography, Campaign Echoes. I actually toasted her last night, rather her husband Arthur, my great, great, great grandfather for having the good sense not to have any children with her. You see, Letitia was also known as the Apostle of Temperance and one of the leading players in prohibition.   Here are a few words from the Canadian encyclopedia.

Letitia Creighton (Youmans) was born in a log cabin in Hamilton Township, Upper Canada. Raised in the Methodist Church, she became a school teacher and married widower Arthur Youmans. Her concerns about the evils of alcohol led to her involvement in the temperance movement, and Letitia Youmans became a prominent speaker and campaigner. She was the first president of the Dominion Women’s Christian Temperance Union

Youmans believed in temperance and prohibition. She called for individual discipline to fight the evils of alcohol and legislation to prohibit its sale. Visiting prison inmates, she declared them privileged to be in an environment free from accursed beverages.

Youmans excelled on the platform, where her long, turgid, but emotionally inspired speeches based on biblical themes were enthusiastically received.

When Arthur’s first wife, Sophia “the baby maker” Youmans passed away, he needed someone to help raise his eight children while he tended to the farm.  Letitia got the call and was quick to accept Arthur’s proposal ensuring that there would be an ironic branch on the Youmans family tree. So, in honor of repeal day, I say nice try grandma. Cheers.

An after work bite in the concrete treetops of LA.