26 in 26.

I hate New Year's Resolutions, but I do love lists.
I had made a list of 25 things that I wanted to complete in my 25th year, and wanted to create a whole new list in honor of my 26th birthday.

Pay it forward.

Read 26 books.
Go to a concert.

Leave a 100% tip.

Donate to a charity.

See 12 new movies.

Visit my alma mater.

Travel to a new state.

Visit Popop in Florida.

Visit an amusement park.

Complete a half marathon.

Redesign/rebrand my blog.

Set a budget, and stick to it.
Visit my best friends in DC.

Take a girls' weekend road trip.

Move out of my parents' house.

Send little brother a care package.

Take a 24 hour social media detox.

De-clutter my bedroom and bathroom.

Bring in surprise treats for my co-workers.

Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day.

Try 26 new recipes (and share them with you!).

Learn to give myself a decent at-home manicure.
Start and finish a television series in one weekend.

Visit little brother at his school for a siblings weekend.

Take a photography class (or other creative class) just for fun.

What do you want to complete before your next birthday!?

December Goals!

Working retail during the holidays is rough. The hours are insane, there are so many unhealthy temptations just lying around, and with tons of social commitments, sleep is definitely not a priority. I want to take this month to keep myself healthy, mostly so that I can make it to the end of the year without being deathly ill.

|| one ||

Christmas Shopping (and budgeting) done by mid-month.

There is no reason to leave Christmas shopping to the last minute, and I certainly have enough people to shop for. I have a rough list already made, so I just need to budget out the gifts and actually buy them.

|| two ||

S T A Y  H E A L T H Y

Pretty self-explanatory. I plan on pre-planning my meals at work, and am in the process of joining a gym. If I can combine that with getting somewhat regular sleep (no less than 6 hours/night), then I should make it to December 31st unscathed.

|| three ||

Get aggressive on the Half-Marathon training.

This is no joke. I have my flights booked, and I really can't look like an idiot (ha, in my tutu) with two of my best friends probably way more prepared than I am. Hopefully goal two (joining that gym) will motivate me more to move my butt than getting outside in these frigid temperatures.

|| four ||

Enjoy the holidays.

For the last 3 years, work has taken the fun out of taking a step back and actually enjoying the Christmas season. I'm determined to not be a Scrooge this year. I want to be excited about baking cookies, decorating the house, watching Elf incessantly, spending time with my family, and wrapping gifts.

My November goals weren't so bad. Here's how I did with those...

|| one ||

Establish a Routine.

Eh. I have different routines based on which shift I work, but I have definitely been better about getting to bed at the same time each night, and waking up around the same time each morning. 

|| two ||

Read 3 books.

CHECK!

I finished "How to Eat a Cupcake," read "Catching Fire" for a 2nd time, and just finished "Divergent," also for the 2nd time. 

|| three ||

Save half of each paycheck.

CHECK!

I have double in my savings account than I did at the beginning of the month! Yay for being a smarter shopper!

|| four ||

Christmas shop early.

Well, I have a list, but I keep checking it and checking it and checking it before I commit to buying anything. There are just so many fun presents that I want to buy, and I have to decide what makes the most sense.

How did you do on your goals?

What goals do you have for December?

November Goals.

October was an epic fail at reaching any sort of goals that were set. I can blame it on going on vacation, working crazy hours, finally having a social life again, but that still doesn't change the fact that some of these things need to get done. I mean, I'm running a half marathon in February, and I can barely run 2 miles straight. Not okay.

After September, I think that my October goals were unrealistic. I seem to think that just by putting them on the internet, that will generate the motivation to actually achieve them. Clearly, I am wrong about that. Putting them out there just makes me feel worse when they're not done.

This month I want to focus mainly on doing things that make me happy. Last summer while I was doing Weight Watchers, I was happy. I was refreshed, energized, and able to work harder than I ever had before. November is back to basics.

|| one ||

Establish a routine.

It only takes two weeks to get into a routine, and I need to start easy. Getting in bed at a decent hour and reading for a while will make me sleep much better. With more sleep, I'll be able to wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day.

|| two ||

Read 3 books.

In October, I read 3 and started a fourth. I find that I sleep so much better after only 30 minutes of reading per night. I've got a long list of books on my "to-read" shelf on GoodReads that I'd love to make a dent in!

|| three ||

Save half of each paycheck.

With the impending holiday season, and hopefully a move in the near future, there is no reason to be spending a ridiculous amount of money on unnecessary things.

|| four ||
Christmas shop early.
With Thanksgiving falling so late this year, I have a feeling that the holidays are going to creep up really fast. My goal for the first half of the month is to make a list of the perfect gifts for the fam, just so that I have enough time to get them all together and wrapped by Christmas.

What are your goals for November!?

October Goals.

So here's the thing.
I used to set goals every month and actually follow through.
And then I stopped putting them on the blog so I wouldn't feel terrible when I couldn't check one single thing off my list. The reason I'm getting these out there (even if it is 10 days late), is because I need to hold myself accountable somehow, and this is the only way I can think to do it.

October 2013 Goals;

|| one ||
Run 40 miles this month.
Luckily, I finally downloaded the Nike+ App and have been logging miles through DailyMile after my runs. Who else has a mileage goal that they are working towards? Let's be running buddies!

|| two ||
Read 4 books.
So far on my list;
Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close (already done)
The Smart One by Jennifer Close (I loved GIWD)
Any other suggestions?

|| three ||
Continue with No Spend September.
I still have only purchased one outfit with this paycheck, so that is going really well, but with vacation this month I know that my "eating out" budget is going to be stretched to the limit!

|| four ||
Lose 5 pounds.
This one will depend on goal #1 as well as how vacation goes. If we eat out every single night, it will certainly be tough to reach this.

What are your goals this month?

Twenty Five in Twenty Five -- An Update

I posted here about the twenty five things that I wanted to accomplish before I turn 26.

I certainly crossed a few things off of my list this month!

bold are in progress.

crossed out are finished.

Write two snail mail letters per month.

Visit my Grandfather in Florida (April, 2013)

Move out of my parents' house.

Develop my blog.

Complete 3 classes through Coursera (1/3 complete).

Travel to Denver to visit my cousins and their babies (May 2013).

"Unplug" for an entire weekend.

Run a 10K race.

Donate to charity (Donated to UnitedWay for the Tornado victims: May 2013).

Visit Blacksburg.

Read 25 books (4/25 read).

Visit my friends who live out of state.

Meet some of my blog friends in real life.

Travel outside of the U.S.A.

Volunteer at the ASPCA or the Humane Society.

Make new friends.

Land a promotion or my dream job.

Take a road trip with my boyfriend.

Start to build a "real" big-girl wardrobe.

Spend an entire weekend lounging in bed with coffee, movies, and books.

Take a photography class.

Get rid of all of the "junk" in my life. Both stuff and people.

Pay it forward.

Be thankful for something every single day.

What do you want to accomplish before your next birthday?