26 while 26

I saw on A girl and her Mutts blog about her annual 33 while33 and 32 while 32 lists. Since I recently turned 26, I feel like I should try this. So here is goes:

26 while 26

In no particular order 

1.   Volunteer – somewhere! They really make some forms of volunteering really difficult. I went on a rampage of wanting to volunteer at an animal shelter, but none of the ones near me were taking volunteers or they required a ridiculous time commitment at impractical times. So, I am still on a mission, if anyone has any good ideas let me know

2.  Hold a baby. Babies kind of scare me, but alas people seem to keep having them, and as I get older those people seem to be closer to me. I think I need to get over this fear!  -- This past weekend I held my friend Melissa’s new baby. She pretty much cried the whole time, so it did not help to alleviate my fear but on the positive side she cried when anyone held her not just me so I did not feel as bad.

3.  Do a 365 photo challenge. This is going to be tough. I am terrible at taking pictures, I do not even know where my camera is. They may wind up being very crappy cell phone pictures and there is a good chance they will all be of Leo and Ghreylin. Almost a month into 26 and I have not started this yet so It might not be an official 26-27 documentary.

4.   Start looking into doctoral programs. Going along with my quarter life crisis, I felt I needed a change and that I may want to become a PhD to get more involved in research. Thus far that is as far as I have gotten on that mission.

5.   Do a girls trip. Beach trip, adventure trip, whatever I just need some time with the ladies.

6.   Go camping.  I go hiking on a regular basis but I have not done an over night wilderness adventure in a few years and I think that needs to be amended. Ironically right after making this list Jordan decided we need to go camping. I have enlisted the help of my father who goes backpacking frequently to help us plan a trip. We even discussed getting Leo a puppy backpack! I think he would do great with it. He is a fabulous hiker.

7.   Become at least conversationally competent in Spanish. I bought Rosetta stone to learn, but no it is a matter of actually doing it. It seems effective, but every time I do it Jordan makes fun of me!

8.   Learn to knit or sew. I have a ball of yarn and some knitting needles on my dresser that I have attempted to do something with via several websites, you tube videos and tutorials, but I still cannot seem to get past that first row of knots.

9.  Plan a trip (and ideally go on one…) We have discussed going to Colorado where Jordan’s sister lives or to Florida where a lot of his family is.

10. Read at least 12 books. I just finished The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Taking recommendations on books to read.

11. “Blog with intention” I am stealing this one (though I now cannot recall the source!) but it is very pertinent. I have a running list of these “BIG” things I want to write about, I get 2 sentences in and put them on the back burner.

12. Try a new recipe. As much as I like cooking I tend to just throw things together and Jordan refers to it as shlop.

13.  Stay better in touch with people. I have done a decent job at this the past year but it has definitely taken effort. When left to my own devices I am perfectly content with being by myself and not seeing any friends for weeks at a time. That being said I love seeing my friends and family and hate having to do the once every 6 months catch up. I know I need to make a conscious effort to contact people and make plans in advance.

14. Organize and minimalize! Donate/Throw Out/Give Away 100 items. I have the constant goal to become a minimalist but I am just so bad at it! We just have so much stuff. I feel like I do a good job about cleaning up, donating and minimalizing in the short term but as MissMinimalist would say, I am a bad “gatekeeper.”  Things seem to keep making their way into our house!

15.  Monthly workout challenges such as the 30 days of yoga and 100 push up challenge. They keep things interesting and keep me accountable.

16.  Go on a spending diet.

17.  Get out of some debt. I have no delusions I will be debt free in the next year but maybe try to be in less debt than I am now would be nice.

18.   Do a date night at least once a month. Nothing fancy, just some quality time.

19.  Submit something to be published. Ideally a science type of paper but I will take anything!

20.  Calm down – meditate. It is funny how some people describe me as so mellow and even keeled and others think I am completely crazy. I would like to be mellow and even keeled, but I have anger management surrounding certain issues, namely noise. I discovered there is a name for my “condition” – Misophonia. My goal is to be less tightly wound about the little things.

21.  26 random acts of kindness- hopefully more but at least 26 very intentional ones.

22.  Try a new kind of work out. Last year I tried trx, cross fit, barre, bikram yoga.. what will be next? Accepting suggestions!

23.  Be able to do the splits again. It is amazing how inflexible you can become without effort.  This seems like an attainable goal within the next year.

24.  Make my wedding scrapbook. I have the album. I have the pictures. They just need to go together.

25.  Attempt to make myself look acceptable at least once a week. I wear scrubs to work and come home and put on sweatpants, I tend to not try very hard. I do not feel the need to suddenly become fashionable but I think putting some effort in every no and again may be good for me.

26.  Watch the star wars movies… I have never seen them. I have been told for years this needs to be amended.