26 By 26

Isn't the blog world interesting? You read one blog, then read the comments. You like one of the comments and it's by someone you don't know, so you go check out their blog.

I did this a couple weeks ago. The blog I "found" is written by Emily Jane and the phrase "26 Before 26" to the left caught my attention immediately.

This could not have happened at a more perfect time. I had been feeling a little blue about turning 25 - not the getting older part. The "it's been a year and still nothing's changed" part is what was bugging me. So when I read her list of things to do before turning 26, I knew I had to try my own.

It took a lot longer to come up with these than I thought it would. I have a problem with ambition. We're great friends when I am thinking up goals; but when it comes to accomplishing those goals, she completely abandons me. So you just might have to hold me to this list because ambition is cruel to me.

Anyways, on with the list. Some of these are from this list, but hey that's allowed in my books. I have to get them done at some point.

1. Get to my goal weight. When I'm there (or close) I'll tell you what that is and how much I have/had to lose. Until then I am WAY too insecure to post my weight on the internet.
2. Dye my hair - even just a little. I never felt the need to do this since my hair used to go super-blonde in the summer and reddish in the winter. The perks of being a farm kid working in the sun. Now that's not the case, it just stays normal-blonde. And after having virgin hair for 25 years, I'm ready for a change.
3. Read the Bible cover to cover. I'm doing this as of the 24th, but just started yesterday. I have some catch up work to do, but that's never a bad thing when it comes to reading the Bible :)
4. Play piano more. I used to take lessons. Then I moved away from home and talked about how I wanted a piano so I could play again. I've now had one in my house for nearly 2 years. I never play it. So my goal is to learn one new song a month starting in April.
5. Keep my bedroom clean & organized for at least 1 month. I'm good at keeping it clean for about a day. I need to learn the art of "maintenance" not "where's the shovel, I need to clean my room".
6. Stick to my budget for 6 months. I used to be really stingy. Then I realized I need to be more generous. That's all well and good, I just need to go back to being stingy when it comes to myself. I treat myself way too much.
7. Pay off all or most of my student loans. Ideally it will be all of them. But I know firsthand how life seems to get in the way of financial gain. Car accidents sound familiar? Let's not do that again, ok Edmonton drivers?
8. Finish a C.S. Lewis book (that isn't a part of the Chronicles of Narnia). Love C.S. Lewis. He's just hard to take in a whole book. It feels like an enormously large meal. But this is one meal it's probably ok to overindulge on.
9. Run a 10k race. This might be one of those things ambition is telling me will be no problem. Life is probably going to laugh at me for it. Oh well, it's on here.
10. Sew a quilt. I have been seeing quilts everywhere that are so beautiful I want to cry. For sure this fall I'd like to sew a full size quilt. If you see a nice simple one, feel free to send the pattern my way ;)
11. Defeat Photoshop. It's more complicated than I thought. Partly because I thought by opening the program I would just "get it", because I am just that brilliant. Turns out I'm not.
12. Organize my house & get rid of anything I do not regularly use. If my brother ever reads that, he will probably jump up and down with glee, clapping his hands like an organ grinder monkey. That'd actually be funny to see.
13. Make some new friends in Edmonton (does that sound pathetic?). Y'all keep leaving this here wonderland (or you never lived here to begin with), I have to get over my new-people phobia and meet some people.
14. Visit a new city I've never been before. I'm cheating by adding this because I know I'm going to be doing this in May. But some of this has to be easy, right?
15. Be more dedicated to this blog. I have a blog. I've waffled on whether to keep it or scrap it. Since I haven't scrapped it, I need to embrace it and move on.
16. Read Pride & Prejudice. I have no idea why. It's a classic? Because I'm a female and it's a requirement for our kind? I don't know.
17. Buy a plant. Because my roommate will be taking all of hers when she moves and I will miss the one that sits on the piano.
18. Keep said plant alive. I am notorious for killing plants. You should have seen the plants when my other roommate went on vacation; they were very thankful for her return.
19. Go away by myself out of the city. I was going to tack on the end of that "without telling anyone", but my wise roommate pointed out that she's seen 127 Hours and to please tell at least one person.
20. "Put myself out there" and go on a date. Here's a fun fact: I've never been on a date. I've been told repeatedly that I need to "put myself out there". People, I have been single for 25 years, do you think I know what that means?
21. Memorize the book of James. I've always wanted to memorize a book of the Bible and James popped in my head. Why couldn't 3 John pop in my head?
22. Plan my meals - and stick to the plan. I know I can plan, I just have a hard time sticking to said plan. I waste too much food, which wastes money. I need to get better at planning healthful meals. It helps that my brother likes to eat healthy too.
23. Never complain - give thanks instead. This one is pretty obvious. There is so much negativity in this world, why do I add to it with all my whining? I'm making a conscious effort to be thankful in all things.
24. Learn more about photography past just pushing a button. My friend once tried explaining aperture and ISO to me. It made my brain hurt.
25. Finish 2 crafty projects. I'm bad for starting projects and never finishing them. Just ask my elementary art teachers.
26. Roast a chicken. It's a necessary skill.