My challenge, my rules

I must say that 25 Before 25 has created some extra stress in my life. Some of the items are meant to happen  fairly regularly, and trying to add these things to my routine has been tough so far. Yes, I've only just started, but this list is not meant to cause any more frustration than is healthy (for example, I'm feeling a healthy frustration over fitting exercise into my week).

So, I'm adding a disclaimer to my list: It's okay to fall behind and then catch up! You might think this is cheating, but this is my list, so I make the rules. My challenge, my rules!

And so, an update:

This week was the first of twelve vegetarian weeks this year. I realized that I actually am fairly close to being vegetarian already! Meat is expensive and takes time to prepare, and so I don't each much of it to begin with. I could try vegan weeks, I guess, but I think I'll just challenge myself with more interesting vegetarian recipes. I did learn that I actually really like chickpeas.

I have two Pins almost finished as well. These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars taste just like the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies we make at home: DELICIOUS. My sister suggested using whole wheat flour and less sugar, and they still turned out great. Success again! My second Pin is this Spinach Dip which looks pretty amazing.

 

Two challenges are in progress: My church has started an Eat This Book series that involves reading the entire Bible, and the weekly readings even correspond with Sunday's message. I have enjoyed feeling a little bit like I'm in school again, having an assigned reading and then a lecture. No exams though! And speaking of being in school again, my Master of Music application is in progress, and due by the end of this week. I'm very excited by the possibility of starting classes again in September. 

This has been your 25 Before 25 Week 2 Update!

One Great Day

Today was one of those days that I'm going to store away and think of during some future terrible day. May this list serve to jog my memory on that day:

I had a day off, and I love the freedom of days off.
I had pancakes for breakfast.
I finished the laundry before noon.
I brought the recycling away, and felt all environmentally friendly.
I didn't need too many groceries and spent less than $30 stocking up for the week.
I had a delicious FREE Starbucks coffee.
I overheard one Starbucks barista say to the other (sounds like the beginning of a hipster joke) that my Pike Place to-go mug was the coolest she'd ever seen.
I got a piece of tumbleweed stuck in my wheel well and had to laugh at the prairie-ness of it.
I went to the university and submitted the first part of my Master of Music application.
I had a meeting with my horn teacher/mentor/friend to talk thesis topics and play through some audition repertoire.
I had time to practice alone for a while and feel confident that my audition pieces will come together in time.
I made couscous (...from a box...) and a chickpea salad for supper and feel so healthy!
I chopped a lot of vegetables for lunches this week.
I played my ukulele.

And it begins: Pinterest-Per-Week 1

Number 3 on my 25 Before 25 list is to choose a Pin to try every week. This week I've chosen Martha Stewart's Oatmeal Crisps. (The tagline says "Bake these delicate cookies during the weekend, and enjoy them throughout the week." Right. If by "throughout the week" you mean "tomorrow," then yes.)

Verdict: They don't look quite right (who's patient enough to let butter "soften" anyway?) but they're still delicious. Pinte-success!

Martha Stewart's Oatmeal Crisps

Sarah's Oatmeal Crisps

25 Before 25

Today is my twenty-fourth birthday.

A few weeks ago I came across the blog Seventeenth & Irving, specifically this post entitled "30 Before 30." In it, Lauren lists thirty things she's going to do in the year before her 30th birthday. They are job-related, food-related, fitness-related, and all unique. Some are free, some are expensive, some can be done in an afternoon, and some will take months, but all are attainable.

As someone who has few well-defined goals but adores lists, I decided to put together a list of my own 25 Before 25. Inspiration came from a lot of places, but they're all uniquely mine. Here's to 24!

1 Read 5 books in French
2 Apply for the Master of Music program at U of L
3 Pinterest-Per-Week (in which I will choose a Pin to try every week)
4 Host a dinner party and make everything myself
5 Exercise in some way at least once every week (At the moment I exercise ZERO.)
6 Go on an overnight climbing/hiking/mountain trip
7 Make something I can wear
8 Read the Bible, cover to cover (Eat This Book with E-Free Church)
9 Read 25 books I haven't read before
10 Purge and simplify (inspired by The 100 Thing Challenge and Conquer Your Closet)
11 Have a picnic lunch in the middle of nowhere
12 Get certified in first aid
13 Get recertified in Camp Evergreen's challenge course procedures
14 Leave a note on a stranger's windshield
15 Take piano lessons
16 Write a story, and let friends read it
17 Write a song, and let friends hear it
18 Learn some Spanish in order to write a basic letter to our family's sponsored child in Colombia
19 Have a Vegetarian Week every month
20 Take an art class
21 Make a photo album of my undergraduate years at U of L
22 Volunteer at least twice a month
23 Cross the US border in a car (I have done this only by bus so far.)
24 Take a dance lesson
25 Wild Card! Something spontaneous and adventurous that defies such a list as this.

January 27, 2013: It's okay to fall behind and then catch up!

The spoils of Christmas

This Christmas I received a ton of really great gifts! Taking stock:

1 ride to Calgary with a willing friend

1 overnight stay with generous relatives

1 pain-free flight to Kelowna

1 afternoon of Christmas decorating

1 gorgeous nightly view of the Okanagan sunset

1 afternoon of gingerbread house construction

2 Christmas Eve church services complete with carols, drama, and pop culture references

1 morning of excited gift-giving

1 morning of thankful gift-getting

1 giant turkey dinner made by and eaten with extended family

3 awkward ukulele duets with Mom

1 "fast-flipping family game" with cousins

1 afternoon skating at an outdoor rink

1 tour of city Christmas lights

1 beautiful, exhausting day of downhill skiing

1 lunch date with a guitar-playing, dog-loving, drywall-installing friend

1 breathtaking drive through the Rockies

2 nights spent at Camp Evergreen

1 morning of snowshoeing

1 stunning midnight homemade fireworks show