With my day of birth coming up on Monday, I am reflecting
overthinking the on the past 365 and going on a week long road trip trip down memory lane.
I remember shortly after I wrote
this twenty-six post, I attempted at making a "25 before 26" list. I had seen them around on a few blogs so I tried my hand at writing my own list. A list of 25 fun and thrilling things to accomplish before turning 26. It didn't matter how big or small, they were meant to be things that I felt would help me grow as a person. Full transparency: I wrote about half of the list, closed the file and forgot about it until about 8 months later. Oopsie daisy. BUT! But. When I did finally remember it, I opened it up and had myself a mighty fine chuckle. Why you ask? Because I managed to accomplish a variation of each and every single thing on the list without even realizing it. Allow me to share:
1. Buy a new computer. This deserves half of a check mark. I was given a new computer through a freelance company I work with, so though I didn't buy it, the idea was accomplished!
2. Take more photos with my camera. I rocked this for a few weeks { see here, here and here }, but reading this encourages me to pick up my point and shoot more often!
3. Mail more homemade cards. Check! And my mom is the greatest inspiration for this little goal. She sends homemade cards every few weeks and it makes me happy.
4. Get serious about exploring Etsy. Check! : >
5. Take a trip solo. Okay, I didn't see this one through. I still think it would be fun to do a mini solo getaway, but the good news is I have my adventure partner to take weekend trips with now. : >
7. Become a pro at cooking for 1. I can successfully say I mastered this! Between Jaime's master chef tips she passed along to me, in addition to purchasing this cookbook, I grew to feel so comfortable in the kitchen. Though now I'm lucky enough to have graduated from cooking for 1, to cooking for 2 { hi, babe! }, I did manage to master the cooking for 1.
8. Become an expert Yogi, and become a regular at my studio. I had about 3 weeks where I was rising before 6am daily to get into my yoga studio. Somehow that faded, but again - this is a great reminder to gitty up and get back in those early morning classes!
9. Do more frequent secret Random Acts of Kindness. : > Check.
10. Spend significantly less time texting. One of my New Years Resolutions this year was to remain more present and be in the moment. In order to accomplish that, I really do have to put the phone away more often to focus on who I'm with, and what I'm doing. It is still a balance I'm learning, but I can say I'm making progress.
11. Build up my savings account. Weeee - this may be the biggest accomplishment of them all. I don't need to get into boring details here, but as I sit here and type this, I feel 100% confident the massive strides I made in comparing my 2011 savings account to my 2012 savings account..
12. Send out Christmas cards! (homemade Christmas cards ;) Great reminder! I need to get thinking about what I want them to be...
13. Plant a tree. Another half a check mark. That half a check mark goes to a weekend in early Spring when Hunter and I spent hours fixing up his backyard, and also helping him with his growing and flourishing garden! Though I didn't actually plant any of the plants, I like to think my efforts count for something.
14. Crotchet a blanket! Pschhhhh - get outta my face 'crochet a blanket' How about 1 baby blanket, and about 3/4th's of an adult afghan?! Thought so. BAM.
Though I love this idea, and I'm sure it works for most, my accomplished goals were more of a fluke. I do have an idea in mind, thanks to an inspiration from one of my favorite bloggers, to accomplish more little monthly goals for the big 2-7. Stay tuned!
