23 for 23 // LOOKING BACK.

Last year, on my birthday, I decided to pick 23 things I wanted to accomplish over the year. Some were really simple and others weren't so simple. And, let's be honest, I didn't get a lot of them finished.

I fully intend on keeping some of them on for my 24 for 24 list -- which I should probably finish getting ready considering my birthday was last week, but oh well.

1) Run a 5K - Done and Done. I ended up running two!
2) Travel outside the states - This one didn't end up happening because of financial reasons.
3) Read 50 books - 23/50. I didn't even get halfway there. Whomp.
4) Take the GRE's - Nope. I honestly was considering this and that was "the plan," but plans have changed and I'm not quite sure that's what I want to do right now.
5) Take a yoga class - Nope.
6) Ride a mechanical bull - No and I don't think this is something I necessarily really want to do either. Sorry.
7) Play in the snow - Does it count for that time in snowed in Scottsdale and I took a million pictures of it? Yeahhhh, I didn't think so.
8) Drop everything one weekend and go to the beach - No. I wish though.
9) Take a pole-dancing class - I forgot about this one.
10) Take a wine tasting class - Sort of. I did a flight up at a winery and talked to the people there - they were super knowledgable and nice about me having no idea about anything.
11) Visit 5 New states - Philadelphia, D.C., and New Jersey this year. 3/5 ain't bad.
12) Get another tattoo - Once again, financially couldn't swing it.
13) Attend the ballet - Nope.
14) Ride a horse - No. This is something I keep asking Mike to do and he is very reluctant.
15) Go through my closet and get rid of things I don't need/want - I do this so frequently, but no real dent has been made.
16) Visit Lowell Observatory - I wanted to and we were honestly thinking about going up to Flagstaff and then the Grand Canyon, but it never worked out.
17) Shoot a gun - Also something I keep asking to do, but we haven't done yet.
18) Karaoke - 3 am, in Korea Town, Neil Diamond.
19) Go hiking - We want to do it more actually. Mike really enjoys it and so do I.
20) No more soda - I am officially as close to soda-free as I'll ever be. I have had it probably less than 10 times and most of those times it has been used to fight a hangover.
21) Finally go to Times Square - And it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
22) Actually dress up for Halloween - But we don't talk about last year's Halloween, guys.
23) Ride a Segway - Why hasn't this happened yet?

Final Tally = 7/23.

As I'm finishing up my 24 for 24 list, what goals/things do you want to accomplish?

23 for 23: Run a 5K

I did it! I ran my first 5K and I'm so proud of myself. Training was difficult because of my knee, but I managed to do it and I actually finished.

I can't contain my excitement.

This was a great first 5K to run. It was right down the street from my house. And, we had a very chilly morning - so I couldn't even feel if my legs were hurting. 

And, the best part was that after I finished - I got a big thing of chocolate! 

It was a great experience and I feel so accomplished. I thought that the goal of having to run a 5K would motivate me to run, but the 5K has motivated me to run more. 

Goal #1 of my 23 for 23.

Happy Halloweenie!

Halloween weekend was kind of a bust for me.

I was really excited about my costume - which, for the record, is incredibly weird because I do not ever dress up. (Last year, I was Frank from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. So, I carried around a Coke can of red wine and wore my glasses).

This year, I was Harry Potter. These are the only pictures to survive (Which is also very typical for me).

But, I actually dressed up and I didn't totally half-ass it, which was one of my 23 for 23 goals.

The costume part was a letdown. And, so was my pumpkin carving.
No one ever told me how hard it is to carve a pumpkin, but I made do.

I obviously wish it came out better, but not bad. And for those that can't tell - it says Feminist KILLJOY.

And, here's Nate's pumpkin.

Tonight, I'll be drinking beer, eating pizza, trick-or-treating with my family, and checking out all the haunted houses in my neighborhood - I've seen two so far.

This popped out at me and I had a bunch of firemen laugh at me for jumping.


Have a safe and happy Halloweenie!

23 for 23.

Today is my 23rd birthday. And this is a list of 23 new-ish things that I want to do this year.

1) Run a 5K

2) Travel outside of the U.S.
3) Read 50 books in a year.

1. The Casual Vacancy
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
3. Bossypants
4. Gone Girl
5. Here's the Story
6. Loose Girl
7. Sharp Objects
8. Under the Banner of Heaven
9.  John Adams
10. Dark Places
11. This Is How You Lose Her
12. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
13. How Did You Get This Number?
14. The Fault in Our Stars
15. Drift
16. The Road
17. Breasts
18. Space Chronicles
19. In the Garden of Beasts
20. Maphead
21. World War Z
22. Orange is the New Black
23. How to be a Woman

4) Take the GRE's.
5) Take a yoga class.
6) Ride a mechanical bull.
7) Play in the snow.
8) Drop everything one weekend and drive to the beach.
9) Take a pole-dancing class.
10) Take a wine tasting class.
11) Visit 5 new states in the U.S.
12) Get another tattoo.
13) Attend the ballet.
14) Ride a horse.
15) Go through my closet and get rid of things I don't wear/need.
16) Visit Lowell Observatory.
17) Shoot a gun.
18) Do karaoke.
19) Go hiking.
20) No more soda.
21) Finally go to Times Square.
22) Actually dress up for Halloween.
23) Ride a segway.