25x25

I've been thinking about doing this for a while now even before I started blogging I thought I should come up with a list of things I wanted to do before I turn 25 but I kept putting it off and honestly wasn't sure I wanted to commit. But I was browsing the October Daily posts and noticed that the topic for today was sharing goals and dreams. I took it as the final kick in the pants that I needed and got started on making a list.

I decided to do 25 things by 25, which by my calculations (i.e. the app on my phone) that gives me 460 days to accomplish everything. Some of the things on my list are totally out of my control and I debated whether or not to include them because I am potentially setting myself up for failure. I decided to go for it anyway, call it "The Secret" or public prayers, I'm putting it out into the universe and we'll see what happens.

So without further explanation my 25 x 25 List!

1. Be in a committed relationship with someone I could potentially marry.
2. Host a dinner party.
3. Open an Etsy shop or sell something on eBay.
4. Read 150 books.
5. Become a regular volunteer with an organization.
6. Complete NaNoWriMo.
7. Complete at least a week of the 100 Mile Diet
8. 30 Days of Yoga Challenge.
9. Reach 100 blog followers.
10.Go on a mission trip.
11. Complete a 365 Day Photo Challenge.
12. Complete a Sims Legacy Challenge.
13. Plant a herb garden.
14. Send 25 Christmas cards via snail mail.
15. Be part of a church community with other young adults.
16. Try 10 new foods.
17. Watch a sunrise.
18. Answer 25 of the 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind
19. Keep a notebook of favourite quotes & verses.
20. Go TV Free for a week (including Netflix and YouTube)
21. Read the Bible cover to cover in chronological order.
22. Bake homemade gingerbread men.
23. Go camping with friends.
24. Compile a recipe book.
25. De-Clutter donating/throwing away at least 5 large bags of 'stuff'.

Blogtember Challenge!

Tomorrow is the first day of another blog challenge hosted by Jenni at Story of My Life! I participated in her Blog Every Day in May Challenge...up until I went off to camp and fell off the face of the blogging world. This time around it's a Monday-Friday challenge and is the perfect way to stay motivated and keep up the blog.

Here's a preview of the topics I'll (hopefully) be blogging about this month and the "rules" of the challenge. 

Here are the rules:

1. There really aren't any rules. If you miss a day, you can make it up or skip it. The blog police will not come knocking.

2. I will be including a linkup option at the bottom of my post each day, so you are welcome to leave your links here for others to peruse, as well. 

3. You can still post other things every day, too. I plan to do normal outfit posts, life posts, around-Austin posts, and sponsor posts just like usual.

4. I'd seriously love you if you also include the "Blogtember" button (below) either on your sidebar or at the end of your posts, but again, the blog police will not come knocking. My main goal here is to get us all back to the basics of blogging, not to gain a million new readers (though I wouldn't mind that). 

5. Here are the topics. You can be as creative and awesome or as boring and bland as you like with these. Take 'em and run with it. Use creative post titles. Interpret each "prompt" however you like. There's no wrong way to do it. Have fun.

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!)

Thursday, September 5: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered. 

Friday, September 6: A story about a time you were very afraid.

Monday, September 9:  short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

Tuesday, September 10: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

Wednesday, September 11: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.

Thursday, September 12: Discuss ways that blogging or social media has changed you.

Friday, September 13: A self portrait

Monday, September 16: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

Tuesday, September 17: A memory you would love to relive.

Wednesday, September 18: Only photos

Thursday, September 19: Creative writing day: write a (very short) fictional story that starts with this sentence: "To say I was dreading the dinner party would be the understatement of the century."

The story does not necessarily need to have a conclusion - you can leave your readers wishing for more!

Friday, September 20: React to this term: comfort. 

Monday, September 23: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. Bonus points for great photos!

Tuesday, September 24: Review a book, place, or product.

Wednesday, September 25: Write about a time you screwed up - a mistake you made. 

Thursday, September 26: Go to a coffee shop. Order a favorite drink. Write about what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Or write about anything you'd like! Bonus points for including a photo from the coffee shop. (I recommend downloadingOmmwriter and bringing headphones along!) *if you can't make it to a coffee shop, at least leave your usual space and write someplace new.

Friday, September 27: An anonymous letter to your Facebook friends. Be as snarky as you'd like. (but don't include people's real names.) 

Monday, September 30: Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it's special.

Menu Meltdown

The topic for today's Every Day in May is What makes you uncomfortable? I won't lie a lot of things make me uncomfortable but I'm going to focus on the thing that both annoys me, angers me and makes me uncomfortable! Food. Specifically people judging others for what they eat.

I'm what people consider a 'picky eater', which is fine, I'll be the first to tell you that I am in fact a 'picky eater'. The problem is that when most people hear 'picky eater' they automatically assume I eat nothing but french fries and chicken nuggets. Which is totally false. I do like chicken nuggets, but I also know that they're not the healthiest things going and I don't even eat them once a week, never mind once a day. 

One of my favourite meals is salad made with baby spinach, feta cheese, red onion, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinaigrette and it never fails that when somebody sees me eating something like that they feel the need to comment "Oh, I thought you were a picky eater.".  Its as if the minute I mention something about being picky suddenly everyone watches my eating habits with a magnifying glass and it makes me so uncomfortable. 

Just because there are lots of things I don't like (green peppers, sandwiches, deli meats, casseroles...) there are still lots of things that I do like and I would really rather not discuss everyone of my food choices with you. I don't inquire about your protein needs as a vegetarian/vegan or make fun of you for asking about gluten-free options in a restaurant so I would appreciate if you didn't ask me where I get my vitamins or mock me when I ask for my meal with green peppers. 

Trust Me, I'm An Expert...?

Today's "Blog Every Day in May" Challenge is to educator my reader(s) about something I know a lot about. I think just about the only thing I know a lot about is camp but I'm not sure how my knowledge of soothing homesick campers and living with your co-workers for 3 months without bloodshed is of use to anyone else.

Also, the finale of Big Brother Canada is coming on and I need to focus all my attention on that and not blogging. 

The End.

A Confession

I LOVE reading. I was always that kid reading under the covers with a flashlight and have been known to finish whole books in under 8 hours. But, I've got a confession, the past few months I have been horrible at finishing books. One of two things keep happening: I buy the book, take it home and it sits on my desk/bookshelf/bedroom floor for all of eternity or, I buy the book, read a few chapters and for whatever reason never get around to finishing. I'm determined to change my ways though and summer is the perfect time to make that happen!

I don't have much free time over the summer but last summer during session breaks when there weren't any campers around I read a lot. There's nothing else that melts away a stressful week quite like sitting on in the sunshine on the dock with my feet in the water and a book in my hand.

So far my summer reading list looks like this:

• A Year of Living Biblical Womanhood - Rachel Held Stevens
• The Patron Saint of Butterflies - Cecilia Galante
• Crazy Love - Francis Chan
• Bumped - Megan McCafferty
• The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
• 7 - Jen Hatmaker
• In The Land of the Blue Burqas - Kate McCord
• The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

I'm sure that there will be more to add, and I always love book suggestions!

I also love suggestions about what to blog about so starting tomorrow I'll be joining in at Story of My Life for the Blog Everyday in May Challenge! You can read the rules and the topics here. I'm not sure how well the blogging everyday thing will work out once I move to camp, but I'm going to try anyway!