101 in 1001

Yes dear friends, I jumped on the 101 in 1001 bandwagon. I figured why not set some goals and try to cross some things off of my bucket list! So here it is, my list of 101 things I want to do within the next 1001 days. If you are like me you want to know how long that is in layman's terms- it's 2.47 years. So between today, January 17, 2014 and October 13, 2016 I hope to accomplish these 101 achievements!

101 in 1001

For the Goal Setter

1.     Learn to cook fresh meals with no recipes

2.     Host 5 dinner parties (0/5)

3.     Make a budget and stick to it for three months

4.     Land my first real world job

5.     Go without social media for a week, do this three times (0/3)

6.     Don’t eat out for one month

7.     Watch at least 25 of IMDB Top 100 movies (0/25)

8.     Read 5 NY Times Bestsellers (0/5)

9.     Learn to cook 10 of my Grandma’s best recipes (0/10)

10.  Become financially independent

11.  Finish reading the Harry Potter Series

12.  Make a meal plan and stick to it for a month

13.  Learn to sew

14.  Learn about stocks and invest in three (0/3)

15.  Read 10 of the BBC Top 100 Books (0/10)

16.  Make 5 desserts from scratch (0/5)

For the Adventurer

17.  Start a small garden of herbs and common veggies and maintain it for one growing season

18.  Make someone feel awkward in an elevator

19.  Go skydiving

20.  Dance like crazy with my Ipod in public and film it

21.  Hit on a guy

22.  Do the Portland, Seattle Vancouver trip with my dad

23.  Have a staycation in Lexington or Cincinnati

24.  Go to 10 new (non-chain) bars or restaurants in my home towns (0/10)

25.  Eat only locally grown/ raised foods for one week, do this three times (0/3)

26.  Go to 3 states I have never been to

27.  Explore another country with a friend

28.  Visit 5 new countries

29.  Road trip with no destination

30.  Go on a multiple destination road trip with friends

31.  Ski out West

32.  Buy a pair of designer jeans

33.  Take a picture in 10 Once in a Lifetime moments (0/10)

34.  Show a friend around Kentucky

35.  Go to Napa Valley

36.  Complete the Bourbon Trail

37.  Go to the Kentucky Derby

38.  Do the Oscar Nominated movie marathon in theatres

39.  Join a Fantasy Football League for a season

40.  Do 3 completely spontaneous things (0/3)

For My Relationship

41.  Write a journal of scripture, thoughts and prayers for a future husband

42.  Pray for my future husband

43.  Study Proverbs 31 in depth

44.  Pray for my heart to be ready to share

45.  Prepare myself to be ready to get to include someone else in life

46.  Talk in-depth and realistically with a faithful married woman about a Godly relationship

47.  Kiss in the rain

48.  Make a list of 50 Things You Should Know to Understand Me for my future husband

For My Faith

49.  Memorize 30 verses (0/30)

50.  Get plugged in at a church when I move after college

51.  Join a new bible study after college

52.  Read the whole bible

53.  Devote 30 full minutes to God a day for a month at least 3 times (0/3)

54.  Find a Godly mentor for this time in my life

55.  Read 10 faith based books (0/10)

56.  Journal everyday for a month, do this twice (0/2)

57.  Complete the K-Love 30 Day Challenge

58.  Get an accountability partner

59.  Invest deeply in a friend’s prayer requests every week for two months, do this twice (0/2)

For Others

60.  Send a friend flowers who won’t be expecting them

61.  Help plan a wedding other than my own

62.  Go on a mission trip

63.  Pay for a stranger’s coffee

64.  Have 10 meaningful conversations with long-distance friends (0/10)

65.  Serve others on Christmas Day

66.  Make a meal and deliver it to someone

67.  Buy something meaningful for a loved one

68.  Surprise a friend or loved one

69.  Invest in someone else’s dream

70.  Leave a 100% tip

71.  Do something special for my parents

72.  Pay for a meal for my whole family

73.  Send my brother and sister-in-law something special for their 1^st Anniversary

74.  Make dinner for The Cottage

75.  Make breakfast in bed for a friend

76.  Leave 101 inspirational notes (0/101)

For My Career

77.  Move to LA

78.  Pay for headshots with a well known, professional headshot photographer

79.  Get an agent

80.  Get an internship in LA in the entertainment industry

81.  Begin my own network with my own professional contacts

82.  Land my first on screen roll

83.  Subscribe to Hollywood Reporter

84.  Subscribe to IMDB Pro

85.  Watch every movie in which an actress won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Roll (0/86)

86.  Research directors and screen writers and keep up with my 3 favorites in each category

87.  Study 10 different actor/actress’s work in depth (0/10)

For My Health

88.  Do a detox three times (0/3)

89.  Go without sweets for one month

90.  Go on a three hour hike at least three times (0/3)

91.  Join a yoga studio

92.  Work out for at least 45 minutes, 5 days per week, for 3 months, do this three times (0/3)

93.  Do two a days for two weeks, do this twice (0/2)

94.  Rehab my knees and hips everyday for a month

95.  Run a race with friends

96.  Get sponsors to run a race for a good cause

97.  Meditate for 10 minutes per day for 1 month straight

98.  Shop only the perimeter of the grocery store or the organic section for 1 month

99.  Drink a cup of herbal tea every night for two weeks, do this five times (0/5)

100.                 Drink 60 ounces of water per day for 30 days, do this three times (0/3)

101.                 Read for 30 min for 30 days straight

Boundaries Series!

Friends! I am so excited to have been asked to be a part of Taylor's Boundaries Series! She is a dear friend and had the wonderful idea to do a series on all kinds of boundaries with a new blogger/ friend each week! This week was my week; you should check out the link and the writings of all of the other wonderful women thus far!

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(*sings*) The Circle of Life

Friends, as some of you may know, I turned 21 yesterday and I am over the moon about it, but also have a really weird, kind of sad feeling about it. I spent the last 3 months in Scotland, so the whole buying alcohol thing wasn't new, but it does make me feel different being able to legally buy it in the States now. In my mind it is like the cut off of youth. They say at 18 you become and adult, but at 21 I feel much more adult than I did at 18, and being able to purchase alcohol makes me feel as if the innocence of childhood is really over. That where the sad comes in; the end of my youth and the beginning of adulthood is a bit scary: I will soon be finished with school and have to step out into the real world, I will need to be more independent than ever, I will (maybe) have a real job, there will be bills to pay, rent to owe, the list goes on and on. With this scary also comes excitement though if I look at in a different light: I will finally get to venture out into the real world, a point I have been gearing up for the whole first 20 something years of my life, I am lucky enough to have parents who love and support me and will be there to guide me into an independent life, I will get to pursue my dream career, I will be lucky enough to have insurance, a roof over my head, a car and so on that require bills. So friends if I look for the silver lining, 21 is scary but also igniting the fire in my heart to do big things with the life God has granted me!
In addition to the above silver lining, over the last year there has been another silver development that occurred to me right before my 21st. Throughout the last year or so I have become pretty close with my dad's mom, my Grandma Stone. Now, if you were to tell anyone on his side of the family, or even family friends, 3 years ago that the two of us would be best friends come 2013 they would have laughed hysterically. I must say, while in Scotland she was one of the people I missed most and most wanted to see upon arriving home. There was something about her that made her so much cooler than everyone else.
Well, on Christmas Eve as we were sitting at dinner I finally put my finger on it, she has so much wisdom. She has the kind that only comes with old age, but in that old age it is also like she has that same amazing innocence that most people only see in children; its like life comes full circle at her age. She just knows so much about life and how to live it, but she is also a piece of history and lived through things that I can only read about. Listening to her talk about the good ol' days (WWII and the Great Depression) and see a spark ignite in her when she gets to tell the stories of her youth is invigorating. It gives me hope that someday I will get to do the same with my grandkids.
In her old age, Grandma has also become a bit of a smart a%$! She loves to joke around like never before, but she can also get away with not using a filter and even ignoring people when she feels like it. Along with this, her imagination has become quite sharp! She gets to be so innocent and it is so much fun.
So although I feel as if my childlike innocence and youth are gone, I am choosing to look forward to the wisdom I get to continue gaining as I grow older and eventually coming full circle right back to the innocence I feel as if I have lost with my new age. Thanks for showing me that Grandma!

My New Year: Matthew 7:7

Time for another little post friends! In the spirit of the New Year this post will be my take on New Years Resolutions....but lets clarify a few things first.
I am not the biggest fan of New Years, in fact, I loathe NYE. There is just so much hype for something pretty anti climactic if you ask me. Its just another day, another year. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there is the whole fresh start thing, but I try to do life not needing a fresh start. I'm not saying that in a way to give off a vibe that I am a saint or I do everything right, but I try to do life looking at the silver lining of the bad things and the ones I screw up. Without the negative parts, I wouldn't be who I am; I don't want to erase those pages in my story. Along with this, I am also not big on New Years Resolutions because I make resolutions for myself all year long to stay in check with my health, friends, reality, and life in general.
This year, instead of being anti New Years Resolutions like normal, I decided to take a different spin on them. I revolved them around Matthew 7:7- "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." I have compiled a list of things that I feel my heart asking for. These are things that I will need to work really hard at, but they will also require me to deepen my relationship with God to be accomplished in what ever manor he feels appropriate. Here they are:

• More/ deeper fellowship in St. Andrews
• Accountability
• A calm and settled heart that is better at exuding His love to others
• More trust in the Lord to have peace over the future and joy for what is to come
• Deeper knowledge and wisdom in the Word
• The courage and strength to fight my worldly desires
• To learn how to become more dependent on others and learn how deep love can be for these people, which is not even a fraction of His love for me
• All to be well with my soul

This list will definitely be challenging, but I am prepared to fight myself and this world to hopefully gain more insight and dependence into a greater one.

Happy New Year, friends!