52 in 52 List Check-In

If you've been around these parts for awhile you might remember that last year I decided to take a new approach to the 101 in 1001 or 30 by 30 type lists. Instead I came up 52 things I wanted to go/see/do in the 52 weeks of 2016. With three weeks left in the year I can definitively say I won't be accomplishing but there are a few more things I should be able to squeeze in. I know I want to do this approach next year but make the list a little more realistic/manageable. So I thought I'd go through the list and make a few notes about each item and start the process of making a new list for 2017.

Fair warning this might be a long one and is mostly for my benefit. If you want to stop reading now I'll understand but would be forever grateful if  you'd leave an idea for 2017's list in the comments! 

Completed

In Progress

1. Complete 12 months of Project Life. (10/12) This was probably my favourite task on the list, the only change I'm going to make for 2017 is trying the weekly approach opposed to the monthly.
2. Document my One Little Word for the whole year. Fell off the wagon on this one. I might choose a word for next year but I won't pay to participate in Ali Edward's class again. It just wasn't for me. 
3. Read 52 Books. (8/52) Ugh, I don't know what happened here. It's embarrassing. 
4. Fill three Notebooks. (0/3) Looking back this was a weird goal. I kept a journal and prayer notebook and a daily question book but none of them are really full. 
5. Try 12 new foods. (12/12)  This ended up being easier than anticipated. I do wish I had kept better track of what those foods were rather than just a little tally every time I tried something. 
6. Cook 12 new recipes. (12/12) Same as above. 
7. Try 12 new restaurants. (12/12) I ended up knocking this one out pretty early in the year, again I wish I had kept an actual list. 
8. Spent 10 nights sleeping in a tent. (7/10) I was on track to finish/exceed this and then all of my fall camps were cancelled because of the weather.
9. Visit six museums/National Historic Sites.(4/6) Again, better notes. I might have finished this? 
10. Participate in a "Photo A Day" Challenge. There are no excuses as to why I haven't gotten around to this yet. 
11. Add a stamp to my passport. 
12. Plant a garden. Even though this was a camp program, I'm giving myself full credit. 
13. Write a "1000 Gifts" inspired list. I forgot about this one and then just never started. It'll go on the 2017 list. 
14. Invest in a custom piece of jewelry. I'm so excited about this one and would gush more but I can't because I bought multiple for Christmas gifts. 
15. Mail Valentine's Day Cards. This was fun and I'll do it again!
16. Mail Christmas Cards. They are addressed and just waiting for me to take them to the post office to mail. 
17. Mail post cards during a vacation. Nope. 
18. Publish 152 blog posts. (70/152) I didn't blog at all during June, July & August which totally derailed this goal. 
19. Take a photography or cooking class. I looked into photography class but it didn't fit with my work schedule. 
20. Volunteer for a total of 52 hours. (52/52) Thanks to a week long Girl Guide camp in August I surpassed 52 hours. 
21. Visit another province. Went to visit H. and hit all the major tourist attractions in Southern Ontario! 
22. Buy fresh flowers 'just because'. This was a good idea until I realized the cats would try to eat them. 
23. Write the rough draft of a novel. I started this but then consciously stopped participating in NaNoWriMo because it wasn't fun. 
24. See my blog reach 100 followers. This happened in November and I was super excited! 
25. Watch 12 TED talks. (9/12) Surely I can fit 3 more in before the end of the year!
26. Read the Bible cover to cover. I started this and never finished. 
27. Complete 12 Pinterest Projects. (12/12) There's a theme here...the theme is I wish I had kept better track of exactly what I did. 
28. See a play.  I'm cheating a little here but I assure you I watched a lot of plays performed by campers as part of drama programming at camp. 
29. Complete six jigsaw puzzles. (2/6) I'm sad about this one. Hopefully Santa brings me some puzzles and I can do this in 2017. 
30. Sew all my patches on to my camp blanket. Not even attempted
31. Save $2 each week and use it to celebrate completing all 52 things. This is still in progress, although I won't be completing 52 things so I'll probably just put all my change into my bank account at the end of the year. 
32.  Attend an NHL game.  I knew this one was going to happen when I put it on the list, but it seemed like a noteworthy thing to add. 
33. Have a girls' weekend. We all went to H.'s parents cottage in September and although the lead up was chaotic once we all got there it was fun. 
34. Choose a good habit to start during Lent. Nope.
35. Build a snowman. I should have managed my expectations on this one. 
36. Complete two "Day in the Life" posts. (0/2) I really wanted to do this during camp season and I didn't blog at all. I'm legit sad about it but lesson learned. 
37. Invest in an external hard drive and back up my photos. This is on my Christmas list! 
38. Visit a Farmer's Market 6 times. (2/6) I thought this would be an easy one but as it turns out it wasn't. 
39. Purposely learn something new everyday for a week. I'm not sure browsing the 'Today I Learned' thread on Reddit was what I originally had in mind, but I'm counting it. 
40. Watch a fireworks display. This is a sore spot because I envisioned this happening at Disney and it didn't. 
41. Meditate once a day for a week. (0/7) Yeah, no. 
42. Complete a crossword puzzle without help from Google. Not even attempted.
43. Listen to a full album of classical music. I talked about this one with multiple people, but haven't actually done it. 
44. Do the Clean Sweep test and improve my score in six months. This got thrown on here because I wanted to get to 52 things. I had no real interest/motivation/commitment to this. 
45. Watch the sunrise.  Done! I watched it on the first day of fishing this year.
46. Spend an hour outdoors in silence.  I'm sure I did this at some point, although I'm not sure when. 
47. Try three different types of wine. (3/3) Tried more than 3, but not sure how many more than 3
48. Enjoy a guilt free afternoon nap. This was harder than I thought, but it happened. 
49. Join a club. I should have been more specific with this because I'm still not really sure what I had in mind. 
50. Enjoy a bonfire with friends. Done on multiple occasions during the summer!
51. Follow through with decluttering and the KonMari method. I decluttered my clothes this way and some knickknacks but wouldn't say I went all in.
52. Make cards using my photos/scrapbooking stash and sell them.  This happened very last minute but I ended up making a few cards to fill a spot at the church's Christmas tea & sale. 

As of now I'm on track to complete about half of the list, not ideal but okay for a first attempt. 

Do you have a list of things you want to do? Have you ever completed a full list? 

Show & Tell Tuesday: Want, Need, Wear, Read

Want: I'm always happy with scrapbooking supplies or stationary, particularly I am eyeing stickers from the Etsy shop Abundance of Erica. In terms of less tangible things, I would really like a full time, year round, permanent camp job. 

Need: I have a really hard time with this category because honestly there's nothing I NEED. To me a need is something that I can't function without and I am functioning quite well. In the interest of preserving my photos I do need an external hard drive so I can back up my photos. 

Wear: Here's a fun fact about me, I take really good care of my things. I buy pretty plain/basic articles of clothing and don't often buy new stuff unless I absolutely love it or genuinely need it. Up until last week I was rocking the same three pairs of black yoga pants I've had since university (we're talking 5+ years here). And then two pairs ripped within two days. One had to go directly in the garbage, the other is acceptable for wearing around the house but is in rough shape. All that to say I'd like some black yoga pants. Technically, this might be more of a need but I'm opting for wear. 

Read: Simply Tuesday, The Wilder Life: Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie, The Tao of Martha. Or any of the other 200+ books on my Goodreads "To Read" list. I'd also like to have The Pioneer Woman's recipe books. 

I've been told I'm a very hard person to shop for, which could very well be the case but I happen to think I'm pretty easy to please. Give me a big bag of pretzels, a notebook and a new pen and I'm a happy person. What's on your list this year? Are you easy to buy for or do you fall into the hard to buy for category like me?

Linking up with Show & Tell Tuesday.

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Ten on Tuesday: Things I Like Learning About

I genuinely enjoy learning. Maybe that makes me nerdy, maybe that means I'll will never be diagnosed with dementia, maybe that makes me weird and maybe I don't find any of those consequences particularly motivating. Learning is just something that makes me happy. I don't like learning about just anything though. You won't ever find me reading up on complicated math formulas or surgical procedures but my interests can definitely be summed up in a top ten list, which leads me to this week's edition of Ten on Tuesday...

Things I Like Learning About

1. Countries & Cultures. Specific shoutouts to Nepal, Cambodia, Northern Canada, Norway and Russia.

2. History Mysteries. Roanoke, Franklin Expedition, The Mary Celeste, Dyatlov Pass Incident, Oak Island...It's all fascinating in my book.

3. Disability. I'm always interested in reading up on the newest therapies and I love seeing cool things people are doing to make the world a more inclusive and accessible place.

4. Food. Beyond learning new recipes I like the history of food, why certain foods are eaten (or not eaten), how food travels from one place to another, farming, access to food.

5. People. This is maybe one of the reasons I enjoy blogging. I genuinely like learning about people. It relates a little to the countries & cultures thing but on a more personal level. I love reading day in the life posts and currently posts. I'm always curious about how people live their day to day lives.

6. Animals. Currently I'm into sled dogs.

7. Marketing/Advertising. This is kind of intertwined with food because food packaging fascinates me.

8. Religion. This could, in theory get lumped into countries/cultures because often so much of a person's culture is related to their religion.

9. Adoption. Ever since I read about Karen's adopted sister from Vietnam in the Baby Sitter's Club Little Sister books I've been fascinated by the idea. I'm always curious to read adoption stories, books on adoption and watch documentaries.

10. Socio-Economics. The ties in to a lot of different topics I've already mentioned but I think it also deserves it's on category. Inequality plays such a huge role in society and I find it interesting to read about why things are the way they are and how they can be changed.

Ten on Tuesday: Questions I'm Asking Myself

April isn't a month I've ever given a whole lot of thought to, it comes and goes. It usually snows and there are a few sunny days thrown in for good measure. By April I know what my work schedule will look like until September and it's generally a peaceful, uneventful month. This year the weather is the same but the peacefulness is lacking. There are some things still up in the air and it means that I'm struggling to balance optimism and reality with an extra dose of anxiety for good measure. 

So I'm going to take the opportunity to link up with Karli and share ten of the most pressing questions I'm currently asking myself. Maybe some of you have answers, if so please share. Maybe next week I can avoid writing a 'Ten Reasons Why I've Lost My Mind' post. 

1. How often is too often to check my e-mail? Every 10 minutes? 15 minutes? Maybe just once an hour. I can't help myself so I'm opting for 15 minutes. 

2. How long to I keep checking my e-mail before I cut my loses and get on with life? Three days? A week? Two weeks? I'm saying a week, but I'm not sure that's the right answer.

3. Is it selfish to pray for good things to happen to myself? How does that balance out in the scheme of the world? It feels impossibly to balance hopefulness and being graceful. 

4. Is it too soon to plan a second trip to Disney World? I want to go back and do a full out Disney trip but I also recognize I am in my mid-twenties and childless so maybe that's weird?

5. When am I going to make time to organize the quantity of 'stuff' that I have been saving for the past few months under the guise of using it for a Sparks craft or camp craft or 'this might come in handy someday'? 

6. Why are people on the internet so passive aggressive? I know people are also passive aggressive in real life but it just seems so much worse on the internet.

7. What am I going to wear to work? I was busy working on Project Life album all day Sunday and neglected to do any work prep for the week. 

8. Where did all my motivation to read go? I used to easily read a book a week and now I haven't read anything since January. Nothing seems to peek or keep my interest. And that makes me sad.

9. Are there really people out there who don't feel stressed/anxious about deadlines and what happens next? What's it like to identify with the Type B personality? Teach me your ways. 

10. Where do people find the answers to their questions? Does wikipedia still hold all the answers or are folks resorting to Facebook and Twitter?

Ten On Tuesday - Posts I Haven't Published

There was a time when I never had more than six half written blog posts sitting in my drafts. I currently have 39 posts waiting to be finished or edited so in the spirit of Karli's Ten on Tuesday link up I present to you the title of ten of those posts along with a brief synopsis of what I was planning on writing about.

Ten Things On My Mind

I identify as being a multi-tasker which means I generally have at least ten thoughts bouncing around in my head. This was originally going to be my post for today, and then most of my thoughts were related to trying to be be patient and weren't necessarily an accurate representation of my usual sate of mind.

Bloom Where You're Planted

I first came across this phrase a few years ago. I think it was on a Mormon blog about preparing for their Young Women's Program, but I can't really remember. I'm not Mormon but the concept stuck with me. Last year I found a sticker with that phrase and stuck it to my clipboard in plain sight and this time of year when flowers are starting to push through the soil I think about it even more. 

Experts & Extremists

I'm not sure how it happened or why it happened but it seems like everyone and their dog needs to be an expert on something these days. And if they're not declaring themselves an expert on the topic they seem to be an extremist on the matter. I have a pretty strong belief and value system but that doesn't mean I think my way is the only way. This ever growing society of experts and extremists has made the world a little more hostile to each other, which is not what we need. 

Plans & Progress

One Year Plans, Two Year Plans, Ten Year Plans...I've got them all. And some of them I've made progress on and others I've changed my mind about how I want life to look. 

It's Alright To Be Itty Bitty

Small is an adjective I use to describe almost everything in my life. Small town, small statute, small voice...and in a society where bigger is better sometimes being small is hard, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Day in the Life

This is self-explanatory. I love reading other blogger's Day in the Life posts and I always mean to write my own but in the four years I've been blogging I think I've only ever finished one. I'd like to make this more of a priority and complete one every six months or so. 

Prayer Journalling

Blogging is great but it's not the same as putting pen to paper. I always have a regular notebook journal to write out my thoughts but I also always have a sketch book. I use my sketchbook to doodle, write quotes and verses and prayer requests. 

Things I've Never Done (And Probably Never Will)

There are some things that the vast majority of the population does on a regular basis that I have no interest in doing and have never done before. One of those things include getting a mani/pedi which I think might get be kicked out of blogland.

Confessions

I always have a Confession post in my drafts. I usually add to it as things happen and when I feel like I have enough content for a post I link up with Kathy's Humpday Confessions.

Weird Questions People Have Asked About My Job

I had a running list of weird things people have asked me about my job working in the camp industry. And then a few weeks ago some well meaning person asked if I had ever applied to work at the bank. After that doozy I was a little lost for words.

What posts do you have sitting unfinished in your draft folder?

10 on Tuesday - Things You Might Not Know

Today I'm linking up with Karli for her inaugural Ten on Tuesday link up! I can't pass up the opportunity to make a list so I'm sure this will become a staple in my blog posting routine. Since it's the first week I'm starting off with....

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

1. I didn't start drinking coffee until I was 22 before then I loved the smell but didn't like the taste. Then I had a particularly challenging summer at camp and coffee seemed like a good option. Now it's one of my favourite daily rituals and the occasional trip to Starbucks makes my heart very happy. 
2. I could eat pizza for days on end without getting tired of eating the same thing. There are so many options for toppings and crust it would be like eating a different meal every time even if it's all technically the same. 
3. Budgeting is not something I struggle with. When I see people posting about all the things they spent money on in any given month I'm constantly in awe of how much money people spend on stuff and eating out or how much credit card debt they have (I didn't get one of those until I was 25). I'm incredibly thankful my parents made teaching me good money sense a priority. That's not to say I don't eat out occasionally or spend $20 on stuff I don't need at Michael's every now and again but in the big picture I know my stuff.
4. My knowledge of football basically ends at being able to identify the correct ball. I never attended a school with a football team and it's only been in the past 2-3 years that there's even been a football field within our municipality. I think the culture around football (especially college football) is fascinating but it's not something I've ever taken a keen interest in learning more about. 
5. If you asked my mother or grandmother or a selection of close friends what my worst habit is they would immediately reply with "nail biting". I've tried every trick in the book to stop, including putting gel nails on, but nothing has worked. At this point in my life I've kind of embraced it. 
6. I used to write all the time. I was never without a notebook and a pen and would spend hours writing every day. In high school I had writing published in a national literary review and writing was generally considered something I was good at doing. I more or less stopped in university because I didn't have time and although I've tried to make writing more of a daily habit in my life it's something I struggle to make time for on a regular basis.
7. I am a 'verbal learner' I learn best by reading something, taking notes while someone else talks and re-reading things. Physical learners are my nemesis...I hate being in a class that involves a lot of up and down and movement games, it totally distracts me from what I'm trying to learn. 
8. I strongly identify as being a cat person. I think puppies are cute and some dogs are lovely but I don't trust strange dogs and the responsibility of being a dog owner is so unappealing to me. 
9. I took painting lessons for years and years...it has now been years and years since I picked up a paint brush and to be honest I don't really miss it. 
10. I was in French Immersion in school and once I graduated high school never took another French class. Last week I downloaded an app that's supposed to help you learn a second language and I've been practicing my French for 15-20 minutes a day. I'm surprised with how much I retained when it comes to reading and writing. 

Now that you've learned some new things head over to September Farm and share your Tuesday list! 

Twenty-Six

This morning I went searching through my photos to find one of birthday cake or candles or balloons but I didn't have one. So instead I put a party hat on a squirrel and I'm calling it a birthday win. And if anyone presents me with an actual squirrel wearing a party hat at any point today you will win some big bonus points. Last year I posted 25 things about me at 25 and I've decided to continue with the tradition.

1. Squirrels are my favourite animals, they have been for a long time and in the past few months it seems like they're becoming more "main stream". The woodland animal trend that's happening right now is great, my second favourite animal is the magically raccoon.
2. Speaking of raccoons, I got to 'meet' Meeko when I was at Disney and I could hardly contain my excitement. We danced, I got his autograph and J. took multiple photos. 
3. My maternal grandmother is my very favourite person. H. & R. are a close second and J. is also pretty great.
4. I don't like violence but I love Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU. I've determined it's because I like figuring out the mystery.
5. The older I get the more importance I place on wearing comfortable pants. 
6. I enjoy being somewhere new and exploring a different place, but I hate the act of travelling. If teleporting was a thing that would be great.
7. 75% of my bad habits are acquired during the summer while I'm at camp. 
8. I love photography and scrapbooking and anything that involves paper, scissors and adhesive.
9. Broccoli is my most favourite vegetable. 
10. I got new flannel sheets for Christmas and they are my favourite thing ever. I had forgotten how much I love flannel sheets. 
11. Cooking is my favourite. I think I would enjoy a career as a chef, except that I would be so stressed and anxious about feeding other people that it would over shadow the enjoyment.
12. I generally don't pay any attention to celebrity gossip but every now and then I can't help but read things about reality tv stars, mostly the teen moms and the Duggars.
13. I prefer my drinks to be ice cold, except for water. I like to drink water at room temperature.
14. My phone is always on silent. I don't even know what sounds it makes for alerts.
15. Supper is my favourite meal of the day. 
16. I think gummy bears are the best frozen yogurt mix in because they are the perfect texture when they are a little cold.
17. I thrive on organization and routine. Lists and detailed schedules are my favourites.
18. I would enjoy winter more if it didn't involve winter driving. 
19. Instagram is my preferred social media platform.
20. I prefer to eat multiple snacks between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. opposed to one big lunch meal.
21. I still bite my nails. 
22. I make my bed every morning and it really bugs me when beds aren't made.
23. This past year I've realized that 9 hours of sleep is the magic number for me and anything less than 7 leaves me feeling tired.
24. Lime green is my favourite colour.
25. I sort of wish I could play an instrument but I'm also very happy with the hobbies I currently have.
26. It's only halfway through the first month of the year but so far I am super happy with how well I've been keeping up with all the things I want to do in 2016!

52 Things in 52 Weeks

Some of you observant folks may have noticed that over the weekend my 25x25 list transformed into a 52 in 52 list. I've been 26 for almost a year now and have thought many times about needing to do something with my 25x25 list but couldn't decide on a plan. For a while I thought about doing a 101 in 1001 list that seem to be popular among bloggers but 101 things is a lot of things and 1001 days feels like a long time! A 30x30 list didn't interest me because it felt cliche and four years is a long time to do 30 things. So after some thought I decided to create a list of 52 things I want to do over the course of the 52 weeks that make up 2016.

1. Complete 12 months of Project Life. (0/12)
2. Document my One Little Word for the whole year. 
3. Read 52 Books. (0/52)
4. Fill three Notebooks. (0/3)
5. Try 12 new foods. (0/12)
6. Cook 12 new recipes. (0/12)
7. Try 12 new restaurants. (0/12)
8. Spent 10 nights sleeping in a tent. (0/10)
9. Visit six museums/National Historic Sites.(0/6)
10. Participate in a "Photo A Day" Challenge.
11. Add a stamp to my passport.
12. Plant a garden.
13. Write a "1000 Gifts" inspired list. 
14. Invest in a custom piece of jewelry. 
15. Mail Valentine's Day Cards.
16. Mail Christmas Cards. 
17. Mail post cards during a vacation.
18. Publish 152 blog posts. (0/152)
19. Take a photography or cooking class.
20. Volunteer for a total of 52 hours. (0/52)
21. Visit another province.
22. Buy fresh flowers 'just because'.
23. Write the rough draft of a novel.
24. See my blog reach 100 followers.
25. Watch 12 TED talks. (0/12)
26. Read the Bible cover to cover.
27. Complete 12 Pinterest Projects. (0/12)
28. See a play.
29. Complete six jigsaw puzzles. (0/6)
30. Sew all my patches on to my camp blanket. 
31. Save $2 each week and use it to celebrate completing all 52 things. 
32.  Attend an NHL game. 
33. Have a girls' weekend.
34. Choose a good habit to start during Lent.
35. Build a snowman.
36. Complete two "Day in the Life" posts. (0/2)
37. Invest in an external hard drive and back up my photos.
38. Visit a Farmer's Market 6 times. (0/6)
39. Purposely learn something new everyday for a week.
40. Watch a fireworks display.
41. Meditate once a day for a week. (0/7)
42. Complete a crossword puzzle without help from Google.
43. Listen to a full album of classical music.
44. Do the Clean Sweep test and improve my score in six months. 
45. Watch the sunrise. 
46. Spend an hour outdoors in silence. 
47. Try three different types of wine. (0/3)
48. Enjoy a guilt free afternoon nap.
49. Join a club.
50. Enjoy a bonfire with friends.
51. Follow through with decluttering and the KonMari method.
52. Make cards using my photos/scrapbooking stash and sell them. 

I plan to blog about all (or at least most) of the things and am pretty optimistic I'll be able to complete the whole list. Have you started thinking about New Year's Resolutions yet or am I way ahead of the game!? 

Oh Hey, Blog!

The last few weeks have totally gotten away from me. We've had two more full sessions of campers and as of 11:07 a.m. this morning when the last camper was picked up we are officially half way through the summer. How crazy is that? (I assure you it's crazy.)

Anyway, it's Friday, it's Day 7, J. is on his way to visit for the break AND R. and I picked H. up at the airport last night! Her flight got in at 10:25 p.m. and we headed back to H.'s for wine, Oreos and hot tubbing. We completely lost track of time and when we came inside it was 4 a.m., we quickly made our way to bed and and then got up this morning and returned to camp. H. had to be back in time to surprise her boyfriend before he left site and we ended up on a wild goose chase all around town trying to find him. H.'s arrival was a bit of a surprise for her boyfriend. He was under the impression that she was arriving tonight at 10:25 p.m. The whole thing went off without a hitch and now I am happily blogging until J. arrives. 

I have every intention of getting back to a regular blogging routine and getting fully caught up with all the unread posts on Bloglovin'. For today though I'm going to enjoy supper with J. followed by a movie and early bedtime. My 4 a.m. bedtime and 9 a.m. wake up time didn't exactly leave me feeling well rested.  I guess the point of this was to say I'm still here and I haven't forgotten or abandoned my little corner of the internet! 

Totally Awesome

We got another 10 cm of snow last night and are forecasted to get another 10-15 cm tomorrow night. It's time to forget about the cold and celebrate some awesome things happening right now. Join Rebekah  and Anne and share what's awesome in your life!

{one}

Salted Carmel. I don't know who I have to thank for this trend but they are an awesome person. I recently discovered Lindt Sea Salt & Carmel Dark chocolate bars and no other chocolate bar will ever be the same. And Tim Horton's has Salted Carmel donuts right now, so yummy. Rumour has it they have salted carmel Timbits too, but I haven't tried those yet. I've always been a salty over sweet type of gal and this salt trend is right up my alley. I hope it continues for a very long time.

{two}

J. is not the inventor of salted carmel (in fact he thinks the concept is weird and not at all delicious), but he is still a seriously awesome person. He gives me butterflies and makes me feel the best combination of feelings. I'm so excited to go on our first vacation together! Only 45 days until sunshine, sand and adventure!

{three}

These Julia Child quotes/philosophies on life & cooking. Someday when I have my own kitchen I want these quotes displayed somewhere where they are always in my eye sight.

Pinterest

(What would be even more awesome is if I could find the original source and get my hands on these. I think they might have been a limited edition print though and are long out of stock.) 

{four}

Sundays. Specifically Sunday evenings. Lately my Sundays have involved planning for the week ahead, enjoying supper with the family and cuddling with J. while we watch Friends. It's the most awesome way to start the week.

{five}

Coffee. This needs no further explanation. Coffee is awesome. Always. 

{six}

Spring rain is on it's way! I hate snow but I love rain. I can't wait for spring rain to wash away the snow and give me a reason to wear my rain boots!

{seven}

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I've been feeling sort of run down lately, tired and overwhelmed a little more anxious than usual. Spring is just around the corner though. A new season, new camp year, time to step back and evaluate some long term goals. Knowing all that is on the horizon is an awesome feeling.

{eight}

I've recently become borderline obsessed looking at home decor for mudrooms/porches and kitchens. I'm not sure why this interest has developed, but I have an ever growing love for browsing Pinterest searching for ways to make kitchens feel warm, welcoming and homing. And how to organize mudrooms and still keep them functional. 

{nine}

Having time to cook. I love cooking and with my crazy work schedule I don't have time to cook and prepare food the way I used to. My cooking is limited to prep work on the weekend and quick meals during the week. I can't wait to get back to making real suppers and cooking the family!

{ten}

The number ten spot is reserved for all of the awesomeness that is hoodies, jogging pants, comfort, relaxation, reflection and blogging.

Happy Tuesday Friends! What's awesome in your life today?

Stuff & Things

I didn't have anything worth writing an entire post about today. It's been a weird week. I am definitely feeling the effects of a winter slump. In an attempt to connect all of the random thoughts in my head I'm linking up with Joey and Kristin. 

- I haven't done a lot of travelling (or any compared to some people) but J. really wants to plan a trip so I'm trying to squash my over abundance of travel anxieties so that when the time comes to do less talking and more actual planning I'll be prepared. Luckily, there won't be any trips until fall at the earliest because camp life is not conductive to summer holidays. 

- I am so excited to be partnered with Elizabeth from This Savy Life for the first Blogging Elite swap. I picked up a few things to send yesterday while I was browsing through Target. I can't wait to put it all together and send it off. I love sending (and receiving mail). I miss the days of pen pals! 

- 98% of the time I keep my phone on silent. I'm not entirely sure how I got into that habit but I did and I don't see anything wrong with it. Sure it means I might not answer messages 30 seconds after I receive them but I do check my phone and if I'm having a conversation with someone via text I carry on that conversation. I just don't want to be that person whose phone is constantly dinging or vibrating or being a distraction. 

- I'm way behind on TV shows. I made the effort to watch Book of Negroes as it was airing but it's been over a month since I've caught up on any of my favourites. When I do have time to watch TV I've just been rewatching Friends, How I Met Your Mother and What Not to Wear. 

- Most mornings I watch Live with Kelly & Michael while I drink my coffee and scroll though blog posts. I am almost embarrassed to admit how often I have to Google the guests to figure out who the guests are and why I'm supposed to know who they are. Celebrities don't interest me, I can't be the only one who has no concept of celebrity culture? Does this mean I'm getting old? 

Twenty Five

I turned 25 yesterday and I thought a lot about how to mark my 25th birthday here in blogland.  I  debated replacing my 25x25 list with a 30x30 list, and I might do that at some point just not right away. I thought about sharing 25 things I've learned, 25 things I haven't learned, 25 things I've accomplished. The number 25 really begs for a list to be made. Since I feel like 25 is somewhat of a turning point in life I decided to go with a list of 25 things about me in this moment. 

1. My favourite colour combination right now is orange & coral. 
2. My favourite comfy outfit is black leggings, warm socks & a hoodie.
3. I love photography, writing and scrapbooking. 
4. Summer is when I'm happiest.
5. I've been trying really hard to get into the habit of eating 3 meals a day (I always skip breakfast).
6. I have a long list of places I'd like to travel, travelling makes me anxious though so I haven't travelled far. 
7. I'm still afraid of being alone, and I'm growing increasingly fearful of 'losing control' and ruining plans.
8. I need 8 hours of sleep every night, but I really function the best when I get 9.5 hours.
9. I prefer dark roast coffee and like it with about half a teaspoon of sugar. Every so often I'll drink it with a splash of cream as well.
10. I enjoy interacting with other people, being active and having good conversations. I need my alone time though. At minimum 15-20 minutes each day to be alone with my thoughts, read a book, write, doodle, even watch a television show by myself. There is no doubt I am an introvert.
11. I love animals, squirrels, whales, cats and polar bears are my favourites.
12. I don't eat fast food very often but when I do Wendy's is usually my top choice. 
13. H. & R. are my best friends and I'm so thankful that they came into my life in the most unexpected of ways. Now I can't imagine doing life without them.
14. I watch a lot of legitimate documentaries but I also have a soft spot for terrible TLC 'reality shows'. (90 Day Fiancé, Sister Wives, 600 lb. Life, 19 Kids & Counting...)
15. I love cooking. Trying new recipes, experimenting with things to make them better.
16. Broccoli is my favourite vegetable.
17. I don't wear a lot of jewellery. I stick to earrings and a handful of necklaces, I don't see the appeal in owning tones of costume jewellery. I'd rather own a few really nice things than drawers of $10 necklaces.
18. History fascinates me, I love reading historical fiction books, autobiographies, random wikipedia articles I like learning about the past.
19. Sometimes I can accumulate clutter and drawers and closets might be chaotic but I like my surroundings to be tidy. Clear desk, nightstand, dresser is essential to my productivity.
20. I don't like calling people on the phone.
21. If I could change anything about my appearance I'd make myself 5 inches taller.
22. I can spend hours browsing/shopping at Michael's and Chapters.
23. Even though I'm an introvert I don't particularly like doing stuff alone. I would never eat at a restaurant or see a movie by myself. The one except is that I enjoy getting groceries alone and strolling through Target or the mall. 
24. Although I don't consider Friends to be my favourite show I have watched the entire series from start to finish more times than I can even begin to count and it still makes me laugh. 
25. I have a weird mix of emotions about the next 25 years. On one level I have no idea where I'll find myself a year from now, I have some thoughts about what I'd like to accomplish but I also feel very comfortable with having so many unknowns. 

Linking up with Tuesday Talk!

The Week That Was

I'm not sure if it was the time change or the weather transitioning from "crisp fall days" to "winter blah days" but this week was LONG. There were some bright spots among the daily routine (most of which  are related to yesterday's trip to Target).

{One}

Via Target

I bought this sweater yesterday at Target and I can't wait to wear it to work with leggings & boots. Our office is generally about a million degrees though, so I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to wear the sweater without sub coming to heat stroke but I will make it happen. 

{Two}

Via

I am late to party on this one but I was pretty loyal to Soft Lips lip balm so I never did get around to trying EOS. It happened to be on sale yesterday at Target and I've only used it a handful of times but I am hooked. I bought the Honeydew and it so wonderful. My lips have been brutally dry lately, I am constantly applying lip balm and using pure vaseline on them at night hopefully this will be the solution I've been looking for.

{Three}

I cannot stop singing this song! In the car, getting ready for work, at work. I think it's the shout out to Train/Drops of Jupiter that really seals the deal for me. I have a deep love for songs that mention other songs. Plus it's catchy and happy.

{Four}

I've been reading The Kitchen House and at first I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and was totally enthralled with the characters and their story. I'm almost at the end now though and I've gotten a little less interested in the whole thing. I'm a few chapters away from the end and I'm sad that I don't love the characters the same way I loved them in the beginning. I'm leaning towards the thought it would have been a better story if the author had of turned the story into a series and not rushed through seasons and jumped ahead five years all over the place. 

{Five} 

My last though is entirely devoted to how excited I am for bedtime to crawl around. 

25x25 (Revisited)

If you've spent any time hanging around these parts you may have noticed the little '25x25' tab along the header. You might have even taken a minute or two to read though the list. It occurred to me this past week that I have a little over three months until I turn 25 so I thought I should revisit my list and make some appropriate updates & progress reports.

Be in a committed relationship with someone I could potentially marry. Unless God has some seriously big plans up His sleeves this isn't something that's going to happen any time soon. I wouldn't say I'm 100% okay with the situation but I'm 90% okay with the situation.

Host a dinner party. I'm calling this a win. I guess I could have  should have blogged about it but I made the staff banquet meal this summer, wasn't exactly a dinner party, but it involved preparing salad, chicken, corn on the cob, rice and death by chocolate triffle for 20 people so I think it counts. 

Open an Etsy shop or sell something on eBay. This is one of these things that goes on a list because you need 25 things and it sounds like a good idea but then after the fact you realize it's not something you actually want to do. So I'm not going to do this.

Read 150 books. This one I should have kept better track of. I need to go through my GoodReads account and bookshelf and figure out how many books I've read in the past two years. This is an attainable one though!

Become a regular volunteer with an organization. I was really involved with Girl Guides but work made weekly meetings impossible. I still help out at camps & special events when I can and eventually I'll have my own unit again but it won't be this year. I guess that's a half-accomplished goal?

Complete NaNoWriMo.  Everyone keep your fingers crossed that this happens next month! I'm pretty determined and I've started thinking about story lines and characters. It is well within my grasp as long as I stay motivated and excited.

Complete at least a week of the 100 Mile Diet Yeah…I forgot this was on here. Really should have done this in the summer…

30 Days of Yoga Challenge. I have completed about 10 days of yoga in a row…several months ago. I really enjoyed what I was doing though so I should totally make myself do the full 30 days.

Reach 100 blog followers. The last time I checked my Bloglovin' followers were somewhere around 50. Realistically I probably won't reach 100 by the middle of January but I'm 100% okay with that. If I really wanted to get aggressive about it I could sponsor a bunch of blogs and sign up for giveaways but that it's my style. 

Go on a mission trip. Still something I would like to do, but it hasn't happened yet and I don't think the opportunity for it to happen will present itself anytime soon.

Complete a 365 Day Photo Challenge. Maybe in 2015.

Complete a Sims Legacy Challenge. I got close enough, I don't have the hours of time to devote to playing computer games to follow this one by the book.

Plant a herb garden. I am really glad I specified 'plant' and not 'grow' or 'harvest', because I planted and then watered a dish of soil on my desk for over two months before I accepted the fact nothing was going to grow. This is a success! (Sort of.)

Send 25 Christmas cards via snail mail.  By the time Christmas rolls around this year I'll reach my 25 goal. I've sent quite a bit of snail mail over the past year and now that H. & R. are so far away my mailing as only increased.

Be part of a church community with other young adults. Sadly, this isn't something that's happened (yet).

Try 10 new foods. I have tried quite a few new foods and even discovered I like some of them! I'm sure I'll try one or two more things over the next few months and this goal will be totally accomplished.

Watch a sunrise. Well…there was the one time I saw the sunset during a laundry emergency at camp and another time when I was awake all night with a camper, and a third time when I was dealing with another camp situation. I haven't "watched the sunrise" in the traditional/romantic sense that I'm sure I had planned when I wrote this but I have definitely watched the sunrise!

Answer 25 of the 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind I didn't blog about all of them because some of them weren't very blog worthy but a friend and I passed away an evening discussing our answers to a bunch of these questions.

Keep a notebook of favourite quotes & verses. This is totally done. It's one of my favourite things. 

Go TV Free for a week (including Netflix and YouTube). Done. I think I may have went even longer than that but there may have been a movie involved during that time so it evens out.

Read the Bible cover to cover in chronological order. I've read the Bible and I've completed a couple of Bible studies focused on books that I really hadn't paid much attention to before but I just can't seem to make it through starting with Genesis and finishing with Revelations. 

Bake homemade gingerbread men. This will get done, just closer to Christmas. 

Go camping with friends. We didn't end up doing the traditional camping in tents thing but we did go away for the weekend and stay at my families bungalow. The only thing that made it not a camping trip was we didn't sleep in tents. 

Compile a recipe book. This is in progress. I think a recipe collection is something that's always in progress but I would like to add in a dozen more recipes or so before I consider it a true success. 

De-Clutter donating/throwing away at least 5 large bags of 'stuff'. Done & Done. And if we're being honest I could probably downsize by another 5 bags. 

That makes 9/25 things on the list totally completed and another 7 that are on track to be completed by my birthday. 16/25 is far from perfection but when I look at that list I realize there are a number of things there that I really have no control over. Making it less of a  goal list and more of a "things I would like to happen by the time I'm 25" list. 

All the same, a lot can happen between now and mid-January so we'll see where life brings me.