A Year of Living Without

When I read this post on Zen Habits I thought it was such a wonderful idea. It seems like quite the challenge to me. Especially since I have issues with long term goals and planning. I think I would love to give it a try.

For those who didn't feel like clicking the link and reading the blog post this is the deal. For one year you choose something to give up each month for the entire month. It can be anything really, but it has to be something that is a frequent part of your life already. The point is to see if it's really something you need in your life or if you can do without it.

I'm not entirely sure what sort of things I would give up for each month. It's something I would have to think about. I have a few ideas. Coffee, refined sugars, meat, watching TV are a few things I'm sure I should try living without for a month. That is only 1/3 of a year though. Perhaps give up driving for in town trips? Alcohol would be doable as well. Maybe giving up my gluten-free bread and rice cakes as well - do I really need all those carbs or can I live without them?

Suggestions anyone? What can I try to give up for a month? Also, anyone want to join me in this challenge? I was thinking of starting in October or November this year.

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Also, just a note that I have posts scheduled to post on a regular schedule till August. M,W,F at about 8AM mountain time. I know, this will be a first for me when I'm not doing a blogging challenge. And of course, once August hits there are no scheduled posts because I'll be posting about my time in England!

More 365! Days 23 - 25.

May 21, 2013 - Day 23



So I was laying in bed and realized that I hadn't taken a picture yet today. I thought my blinds looked interesting so that is what you get!

May 22, 2013 - Day 24



I learned how to wrap my hands so I could kick that boxing bags butt!

May 23, 2013 - Day 25



Played a new game at games night. It was a lot of fun!

101 Things in 1001 days - Update Time!

So way back when I made a post about 101 things to do in 1001 days and I haven't really talked about it since. We're somewhere around the halfway mark (a little past it I think) and it just occurred to me that I ought to post a little update on how all these goals are going.

If there's nothing written beside it than it's just plain not completed yet. In progress will ne in red (and sometimes with a note) and finished will be crossed out.

1. Get a piece of my writing published
2. Achieve my goal weight- 20lbs to go
3. Run a marathon
4. Get my driver's license
5. Paint a canvas and hang it on my wall
6. Take a creative writing class
7. Finish a story - first to final draft
8. Go backpacking in the mountains
9. Learn to play a ukulele
10. See the Northern Lights
11. Make an effort to dress better
12. Travel outside North America (note: Not actually yet, but August 1.)
13. Save a 3-month emergency fund
14. Complete a 365 day photo challenge
15. Go away for a weekend on my own
16. Make a successful soufflé
17. Make sushi from scratch
18. Make pizza from scratch including the dough
19. Do the 100 pushups challenge (onehundredpushups.com)
20. Do the 200 sit-ups challenge (www.twohundredsitups.com)
21. Fast for 3 days
22. Buy (& at some point wear) lingerie
23. Get a passport
24. Become debt free
25. Get my own vehicle
26. Go cross-country skiing
27. Plaque mount and hang my favorite photos
28. Wear all my shoes at least once or get rid of them- I did get rid of quite few!
29. Learn another language
30. Attend a cooking class
31. Visit at least two new provinces and a territory
32. Get rid of my clutter
33. Learn how to and create a scrapbook
34. Get my nose pierced
35. Go on a picnic
36. Have an un-birthday birthday party
37. Get renters insurance
38. Attempt meatless Mondays for a month
39. Write down my recipes
40. Go vegetarian for a week
41. Donate blood regularly
42. Do NaBloPoMo again
43. Pay myself $5 for every task completed (to be added to my rainy day fund) (note: I'm crossing it as a fail because I just didn't have the money all the time)
44. Find and buy a real watch
45. Do the Hypothermic Half Marathon
46. Take a hot air balloon ride
47. Grow an avocado tree - I did and it died in the move. Time to start over?
48. Open a TFSA to save for a down payment on my own place
49. Stick firmly to my budget for one month
50. Fly a kite
51. Make my own wine
52. Catch up on my webdesign work and resolve to stay up-to-date
53. Take a photo to commemorate the completion of each of these goals (note: harder to do than I thought. This is a fail)
54. Keep a list of inspiring quotes
55. Learn to shoot a gun
56. Organize my spare room so it's useable
57. Donate $5 to charity for each task I don’t complete
58. Take an unplanned road trip
59. Create 5 new recipes
60. Write 20 short stories
61. Learn to change a tire
62. Don't complain about anything for a week
63. Talk to myself with respect for a week - no name calling (note: it's almost a habit to be nice to myself now!)
64. Go one week without hitting snooze
65. Go one week without swearing
66. No junk food for a month
67. Buy a dress and wear it
68. Take myself out for a fancy meal
69. Write down something that made me happy everyday for 30 days
70. Run 10K straight
71. Send out Christmas cards
72. Dress like a professional for one work week
73. Organize my paperwork/bills and shred what I don't need
74. Try snowboarding
75. Learn to make cheesecake
76. Follow a strict skin care regimen for 2 weeks
77. Keep up with ALL my laundry for one month
78. Get involved in a sport
79. Take a weekend bike trip
80. Try 5 new foods
81. Make homemade marshmallows
82. Replace my mismatched dishes with a full, nice set
83. Start taking vitamins
84. Make my own jam
85. Learn to make 5 new desserts
86. Make my own GF bread
87. Maintain my goal weight for one year
88. Buy a nice/expensive pair of shoes
89. Inspire someone else to make their own list
90. Learn to sew
91. Pre-plan my meals and actually eat what I planned to for a week
92. Watch all the movies I am ashamed to say I haven't actually seen, though often pretend I have
93. Listen to 30 new-to-me artists
94. Own more than one dress
95. Find my perfect red shoes
96. Do the 200 squats challenge (www.twohundredsquats.com)
97. Have a mole check done
98. Finish a full first draft during NaNoWriMo
99. Clean my fridge top to bottom
100. Clean out my freezer
101. Post this list somewhere I will see it everyday

Final count: 69 tasks still to attempt. That's actually a lot better than I thought it was. Sure, 31 tasks done or in progress really doesn't seem like a lot, but considering a lot got put on hold when I ran over my leg I don't think it's going too badly.

I'm sure there is a lot that I won't get to and I'll just have to try it another time, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

365 Days 20-22 (I'm on a roll!)

I've got nothing to say here today. Just enjoy the pics.

May 18, 2013 - Day 20



I spent the day helping my friend Cindy choose new flooring for her house. It was quite fun actually. These were the final two she was trying to decide between.

May 19, 2013 - Day 21



Nap time!

May 20, 2013 - Day 22



Got a free standing boxing bag from my boss. Her daughter didn't want it anymore and so she gave it to me! It's fun to have something to hit instead of the air.

365 Revised - Days 16-19

You know the funny thing about having a good phone with a good camera is that I end up taking some sort of a picture almost everyday. Sometimes it's a pic I take just for this and sometimes you get a pic I would have taken anyway!

May 14, 2013 - Day 16



Just taking the dog for a walk as I do every day - three times a day. 

May 15, 2013 - Day 17



Walked to work today. This is one of the main streets that leads into downtown from my apartment. In fact, my office is really only 8 blocks away from where I live.  

May 16, 2013 - Day 18



Got my first ItWorks shipment today. I was really excited to get my Greens, Fat Fighters and ThermoFit.

May 17, 2013 - Day 19



No, I didn't get to go see the new Iron Man movie (and I still haven't!), but I did go to see new Star Trek movie (loved it) and the movie theater had these awesome Iron Man cups. I enjoyed playing with my little Iron Man.

OMG, I think I'm organized.

So, my mind has been entirely wrapped up in my upcoming trip to England (postcards sent on request only, just email me your mailing address and you'll get a postcard too!). I've planning and plotting and preparing for my very first overseas trip. I even have somewhat of an itinerary.

Anyway, three weeks to go before I take off and there is just one thing left on my to do list. This, for those who know me, is amazing. Not only that, but I even created a handy little checklist for packing. I am organized. Seriously organized.

I am amazed with myself. I want to confidently say I haven't forgotten anything, but I'm not brave enough for that. I'm even still creating a checklist of things to be done before I leave as well. This is a huge thing for me. I haven't procrastinated. Not one bit.

As for that itinerary? Well, I can give you a breakdown of what my epic (for me) trip will consist of:

Aug 1 - Fly baby and arrive first thing on Aug 2 in Gatwick.
Aug 2 - 10 - In Chesterfield sight-seeing, wedding stuff, just hanging about and having fun!
Aug 11 - 13 - Broadstairs, meet the cousins, see the beaches and have fun!
Aug 13 - 19 - Staying in Birmingham with 2 day trips to London, 1 day trip to Cardiff, 1 day trip to Strathford-Upon-Avon, and 2 mystery activity days! And of course, having fun.
Aug 20 - Time to go home. Not so much fun.

Despite how it looks I'm trying not to squeeze too much into my time. I mean, I took kidnap David Tennant off the list of things to do.

So, so excited.

Aurora Borealis

Have you ever done a road trip at night? If not, maybe you should. Some of my most memorable drives have been overnight trips. And this weekend past long weekend was one of them.

We got a much later start than any of us wanted on Friday. There was just too much to get done before leaving for Saskatoon. We had all been up since early and there was no doubt that this would be a hard overnighter for all of us. We entertained the thought of pulling over somewhere and catching a few Z's on the side of the road, but we were going to haul ass as far as we could before giving in.

It must have been about 1am that I noticed the northern lights. I was exhausted, but I don't sleep well at the best of times and in a moving vehicle it's nearly impossible for me to sleep. So I leaned against the window and watched the sky tell me a story through pictures of light.

At about 2am our fearless driver called it a night. We were just outside of a small place called Unity at this time. It was a more or less empty highway on the prairies. We all got out for a few minutes to stare up at the sky. None of us had ever seen the Northern Lights take up so much of the sky before. I stayed outside as everyone else went back in to sleep.

I laid on the back of the truck and watched the lights dance and flow through the night sky. It was a performance that could not be matched by man. Lights dancing to the song of the crickets and frogs. The mournful howl of a coyote every now and again. It was something incredible to experience.