101 things is over!

Hey All 

So last week, our 101 things ended! I can't believe how quickly those 1001 days have gone. A lot has changed and after some chats with L I'm going to be taking more of a back seat on the blog. At the moment I just can't find the time to give to blogging as much as I'd like. Last week I started my certificate of competence in work so as well as uni I have a portfolio to now complete as well as working full time and everything else. I will miss blogging as regularly but hopefully stepping back means I can really enjoy blogging again and it will come across in my posts!

So today I though I'd share how I got on with my 101 things.

1. Learn to drive - this didn't happen I have no desire to!

2. Read 5 classic novels (The Best of Everything Rona Jaffe, The picture of Dorian Grey) So only two. That's not great!

3. Get the dream job (either go back to uni or find another) Starting back at University in Sept which should lead to the dream job!!

4. Sell a cake to someone  ( 3 cakes sold last week, huge smile)

5. Visit Paris- I had the opportunity but a lack of leave from work meant I had to turn it down. GUTTED

6. Try 10 new foods (1. Sushi 2.wasabi peas 3. hollandaise sauce, 4. seabass, 5. black pudding 6. kippers, 7. Taramasalata 8. Pate 9. Lava Bread 10. Creme Brulee )

7. Go on a girls holiday

8. Ring to my grandparents more often (ringing them fortnightly, it's hard as neither of them can hear me, now ring on fridays to have a quick chat)

9. Give Star Wars a chance and watch all the films 

10. Start a hobby or exercise class (Half there on this one, I now regularly run, I also do kickboxing and the gym)

11. Volunteer in a homeless shelter

12. Get out of my overdraft -I am technically out of it but paying back the debt regularly

13. Get extensions (my hair never grows past shoulder length :( boo) (they are now fitted and I love them, post found here)

14. Watch 100 new films (1. The Vow, 2. 500 days of summer 3. Avengers 4. The Midnight Meat Train 5. Hard Candy 6. The Lazarous Project 7. Spy Hard 8.Horrible bosses 9. XMen origins 10. Usual Suspects 11. Passengers 12. Basketball 13.The mothman prophecies 14.Nightwatch 15. Flightplan 16.The Mist, 17. Peacock 18. Borat 19. American Pie Reunion 20. 2 days in New York 21. Magic Mike 22. Spiderman 23. Batman 24. Ted 25. Friends With Benefits 26. Twilight 27. Casino Royale 28. Quantum of Solace 29. Skyfall 30. Silver Linings Playbook. 31.LOTR 1 32. LOTR 2 33 LOTR 3 (really wasn't interested in them so don't know the names but I sat through them. 34. Star Wars iv 35. Star Wars v 36. Star Wars vi 37. Avengers Assemble 38. Django Unchained, 39. Wreck it Ralph, 40. Antiviral, 41. The Campaign, 42.Taken 2, 43. Les Mis, 44. Anchorman 2 45. Hunger Games Catching FIre 46. Star Wars 1 47. Star Wars 2 48. Star wars 3 49. The Impossible 50. White house down 51.  I'm sure there is more. I watch them and forget to add them. I gave up adding these to the list! )

15. Get down to 10 stone (Eating healthy and exercising now. Got below it for holiday but haven't maintained)

16. Visit 5 new places in the UK (1. Stratford upon Avon, 2. Brighton 3.Southhampton 4. Lake District 5. Ogmore by Sea

17. Have a BBQ on the beach like old times

18. Have organised storage for my make up and nail varnish (make up now sorted out and stored better but still not how I want it. Post on it here.)

19. Continue blogging

20. Get a new piercing (I got a surface piercing by my tragus)

21. Go to go ape (tree top adventure) - The boy has promised to take me here now!

22. Be a tourist in my own town (go on the red bus) (I have now been to the museum) L and I decided the bus was too exprensive!

23. Purchase a food processor (seems a random one but I love cooking and baking) just haven;t been able to afford one. One day I will.

24. Win a competition (I'm yet to win a competition) (won a necklace from Adorning Ava a competion hosted on http://www.theagoraphobicfashionista.com/, whooo)

25. Purchase a Mulberry (I got myself Mulberry shoes so I'm counting this)

26. Visit the science museum (L and I went in February)

27. Buy a high end foundation (after being thoroughly disappointed by Chanel Perfection Lumiere I purchased Mac Pro long wear and I love it, full review here)

28. Purchase my first item of Mac (eeeek, I love it all already, here is my haul)

29. Own over 100 nail varnishes (With the addition of my Ciate Mini Mani Month I've reached this)

30. Do my third half marathon

31. Actually train for it (the other two I've done with out training and that ended in pain) I trained a bit but let myself down the 8 weeks before!

32. Go to a Roller Disco / Derby 

33. Learn a language

34. Get first aid qualified

35. Donate platelets 10 times (providing I test ok to do it, if not give blood every 3 months) (It turned out my viens weren't suitable for platelet donations but I have given blood as regualry as I can!)

36. Host a Dinner Party

37. Go to 3 weddings (this I can't control but I love weddings) As of June this will be done and I have one in september so technically that's four

38. Be in the audience for a tv show - brother took me to x factor

39. Watch the sunrise on a beach - another one the Other half has promised to take me! Next sunday we should be doing this!

40. Visit a food festival

41. Go to newt beer fest

42. Go to V fest

43. Go to Glastonbury

44. Actually meet up with a friend I've not seen for 4 years (whooo saw her on 18.5.12, will be doing this more)

45. Reach 100 blog followers (whooo we have recently done this withint the past week 5.9.12 so happy to have reached this)

46. Ride a mechanical bull

47. Inspire someone else to do this list

48. Stop biting my nails and get them strong and healthy (By using nail envy for almost a month and painting them less they are definitely better, haven't bit them in ages either. Started biting them again this week (10.8.12) so annoyed at myself)

49. Sell 50 things on ebay (15.2.12 15 items sold, 29.2.12 5 items sold 19.4.12 10 items sold, 1.8.12 sold 8 items, 3.7.13 3 items sold)

50. Go to a gig  I've been to quite a few! It's great to be back listening to music!

51. Make a three course meal for my family 

52. Say yes to 20 things you'd normally say no to (I am really trying to do this and have lately definitely been putting myself out there and going to occasions where I only know one person which usually is the birthday person)

53. Learn the flute

54. Grow a plant from a seed  Whooo grew some herbs!

55. Knit a scarf (yay I completed this and I'm pretty inpressed)

56. Go to a comedy show (went in bristol on 30th June 2012, was really funny)

57. Do 10 outdoor things/ country walks (1. Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly Mountain, Lake district weekend camping. More walks!)

58. Kiss at the top of the London eye

59. Spend new years eve in a place I've not spent it before and a different place each year (this one is now sadly not able to be completed! Personally I hate New Years Eve and set this to make me enjoy it more which hasn't happened and this year L and I decided to have an quiet night in after spending way too much the weekend before)

60. Attend a midnight première (L and I went to see Twilight)

61. Take a pole dancing class

62. Start saving for a house deposit  (this could be happening. I have the option to buy a house but since breaking up with the Ex and moving into a houseshare I'm now happy living with people so I'm unsure what to do.)

63. Take a sleeper train

64. Go to a national park  Breacon Beacons and the Lake District!

65. Watch wiked - my brother has given me vouchers to make this happen!

66. Watch a live rugby match - I still want to go to the millenium stadium but i have seen some now!

67. Identify 10 constellations

68. Buy a homeless man a meal

69. Drink 10 cocktails I've never tried (1. French Martini 2. Vodka Moonshine 3, Flirtini 4. 10 Feet Tall Grog 5.Summer Fruit Soother, 6.Del Boy, 7.Missippi Mudslide 8. ) 

70. Make a bar area in my house /  flat

71. Take a road trip  Went to the lake district!

72. Bake 10 new things (lemon roulade, profiteroles, pannacotta)

73. Sort out my music collection and regularly add to it. (I'm now using spotify and making playlists all the time.)

74. Watch a ballet

75. Go to a burlesque show

76. Get a fish pedicure   Never again!

77. Create a tumbler and do project 365 (take a photo everyday for a year) (again I've now missed the opportunity to complete this. Maybe I'll start soon and just aim for 6 months) I did 100 happy days! That's enough for me!

78. Go skiing (can be a dry ski slope)

79. Read 50 new books (1. mini shopaholic by sophie kinsella 2. book of the dead by patricia cornwell 3. James Patterson Private London, 4. 50 shades of grey, 5. 50 shades darker, 6. 50 shades freed, 7. the hunger games, 8 catching fire, 9 the mocking jay 10. James Patteron 11th Anniversary 11.We bought a zoo Benjamin Mee, 12. Blue Monday Nicci French, 13. James Patterson Kill Alex Cross, 14. The People Next Door Christopher Ransom, 15.Jamer Patterson Merry Christmas Alex Cross, 16. Salmon fishing in the Yemen Paul Torday, 17. Chris Carter The night Stalker, 18. Chris Carter The Executioner, 19. Silver Linings Playbook David O Russell, 20. The lucky one Nicholas Sparks,21. A Walk to Remember Nicholas Sparks, 22. The Help Kathryn Stockett, 23. Rojer Stelljes The St Paul Conspiracy, 24. Roger Stelljes Deadly Stillwater 25. again not updating this regularly means I've missed out on lots of books. At least 6 more books were read on the exs kindle. I'm back reading regularly which was what I wanted and I forgot to add so many books! )

80. Get engaged (hopefully this will happen as by then I'll be 25 and I would like to be engaged by then ) This is another one now off the list after me and the Ex broke up as it definitely won't be happening in the next 10 months but I'm also happy it won't be. A friend said something to me on her wedding day that really hit home about how much I had settled for something that wasn't right for me. It was hard to hear but she was 100% right. Now I'm doing what makes me happy!

81. Give up alcohol for a month I did this before tough mudder! I'm not sure it made any difference

82. Send 20 handwritten letters to loved ones

83. Make my own skirt

84. Send a shoe box to Africa at Christmas

85. Go without chocolate for a month   I did this in February. I don't think it made any difference 

86. Take an evening class / short course

87. Have a friend choose a complete outfit and you have to buy it

88. Bake 5 celebration cakes ( 5 baked, brothers vw van, mums flower cake and cupcakes and boyfriends hockey jersey, 30th birthday cake and baby shower cake)

89. Send anonymous flowers to someone having a bad day/week

90. Sleep on a beach

91. Make my own wine

92. Go to the driving range This was so fun! I want to do it more!

93. Learn basic household DIY (plumbing etc)

94. Dress up for Halloween and have a party (L and I did dress up and go out but no party!)

95. Go go-karting or zorbing

96. Go on a camping trip  I really actually like comping!

97. Do 5 random acts of kindness (bought a homeless man some food, will be doing more often seeing how grateful he was)

98. See the Northern Lights This is booked!! I'm so excited!!

99. Learn to surf

100. Volunteer abroad

101. Be happy with what I have at the end of this

51 things complete in that time!! Half started and some not attempted!! A lot has changed for me but I'm so much happier now. I have made another bucket list but one without a deadline! Having a list with things to tick off definitely helps!!

Do you have wishlists?

Love M

xxx

101 Things in 1001 Days

Hello there! Just a quick extra post from me today after I realised that me and M both have only ONE more month to complete as many things as we can off our 101 things in 1001 days lists....eek!

What an absolute panic that was! Especially as being realistic I have no money and something planned on almost every weekend between now and the 21st of October.

You can see my full list on this link, 101 things in 1001 days.

Here's some things that I still have to complete and hope to in the next month:

1. Read. Dear Lord I have been quite shocking at reading books. I have one more left in a trilogy series I'm reading then it really is time to get started on the classics. My aim was 20 and I've so far read 1, what a poor effort!
2. Watch. I've almost finished my 60 films target, I only have 5 more to go so I can definitely complete this over the next couple of weeks.
3. Antiques. Next weekend is the Vintage Fair in Cardiff and I'm supposed to be going with my mum which would be lovely after she's been in hospital.
4. Cook. I need to learn to cook one more new thing to complete my target of five items, I'm sure I can find one more thing to cook or bake.
5. Debt. This week I am due to be paid for the first time in a few weeks, my plan is to pay my parents back as much as I can between now and the 21st and almost clear my debt.
6. Stash. Work my way through my stash as much as possible. I have a pile of sample sachets that need to be used and anything that's half empty it is time for it to go!
7. Decluttering. In life. It's time to get rid of the people that no longer support me or provide any kind of encouragement. I also need to declutter generally and I really quite enjoy getting rid of the excess crap that I don't need or use any more.
8. Creative. I'd love to do something creative, a painting or a scrapbook or something. I have a scrapbook at the ready, so maybe that should be  where I start though I have no idea when!
9. Pilates. Completing a pilates or yoga class should be easy, I will have to find out when they are on at my gym and get to one asap!
10. Complete my original list of questions from this site (link here) and compare the answers.

Hopefully I can complete 5 of them and get a few more crossed off. It's disappointing that I haven't completed them all but a lot of it has been down to lack of money and not going travelling like I'd planned.

Shows how much life can change from what you think it might!

Do you have any challenges lined up for the next few weeks? Any tips to help with completing them?

L xxx

25 Before 26 Update

As a list lover I've been writing a fair few of them recently in order get my ass in gear and get things done. Not only are lists a vital part of my every day life, i.e. the boring reminders to pay bills and phone people, I try and get things crossed off my 'bucket list' in a timely manner.

Or not as it may seem!

I turned 26 last week and had a few tasks I was trying to complete to tick off some in my 101 things in 1001 days list (see here). I chose 25 tasks and tried to get them ticked off by my 26th birthday, lets see how well I did shall we?!

1: Visit another place in the UK, my aim is 5 and I've ticked off 2 - Visited a friend in N.Wales. Edinburgh and Glastonbury booked to complete my 5! 

2: Read 4 Classic Books. 20 was my aim and I've only read 1 so far. First is Robin Hood

3: Second is Frankenstein, I've heard its a great story and a complete classic

4:I also plan on reading the real Beauty and the Beast

5: The real Jungle Book

6: Wuthering Heights

7: Treasure Island

8: Dracula

9: and lastly the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is quite a list.....fingers crossed I get some time off soon! -

So I read the Hobbit, and also Beauty and the Beast which was a lovely 20 pages or so! Absolutely failed the rest.

10: Try 2 new foods. My aim is 10, surely 2 more can be done over Christmas! - Mushroom Pate and Watercress done!

11: Visit an art gallery; cannot think where this will be but I'll have to find one - this has not happened!

12: Give blood - did not happen, feel awful.

13: Work harder at toning up - Lost 3lbs of fat at my weigh in, hurrah!

14: I'd like to try rock climbing - Money killed this plan, maybe in a few months.

15: Start yoga/pilates - Never got round to it.

16: Gorge walking - Also didn't happen.

17. Running 10k - I ran 5 miles the other day,  I feel like this is good enough!

18: Go ziplining - booked for April!

19:Go to a gig - Nothing specific planned, apart from Glastonbury.

20: Learn to cook something new, one of each sweet and savoury. This won't happen any time soon, I'm so awful in the kitchen

21: Continue to plough through the excess of 'stuff' in my possession - Progressing!

22: Learn basic things to fix on a car - I think i can tick this one off now after running out of oil, lesson learnt!

23: Go to London over Christmas - This was AWESOME! Me and my mum had such a great time having an indulgent wander, we will definitely be going again next year.

24: Visit an Antique or Vintage Fair - Need to find one!

25: Write a short story. Not happening either!

Time has been a serious issue for me in completing these, not to mention I seem to have thought I'd won the lottery somewhere along the line to afford it!

But I have completed around 10 of these so at least I've progressed slightly!

I think training for Tough Mudder has taken over my life, I'm far too tired to read in the evenings any more after exercising for 5 of them.

Do you have any tasks you'd like to complete in the near future? Do you have any 101 things in 1001 days lists?

I'd love to see them!

L xxx

100 Happy Days

Evening all!

Hope you've all had a great weekend. As some of you may have seen L and I started 101 things in 1001 days list when we started the blog. They come to an end this October. One of the things on my list was to do a project 365. I've run out of time to complete this now so when I saw 100 happy days I knew it was something I wanted to do.

I'd seen the hashtag on my twitter, facebook and instagram but it wasn't something I'd looked into. When the link for 100happydays.com popped up on my facebook yesterday I had a read.

I love the idea of finding at least one thing each day, no matter how insignificant it is, that makes you happy. I think sometimes we can let life get in the way and stop to appreciate the small things. I let weeks pass and cross them off as a bad week and let myself be moody. 

On the site it states 71% of people don't complete it. Many stating being too busy. This made me think it's time to step back and really start appreciating the little things.

Day 1 for me is Bristol Temple Meads train station. After a lovely weekend at home it's great to travel back to Wales to catch up with friends!!

Day 2 is leaving the gym. My Monday gym sessions are one of my favourites. I love the classes and they always make me feel better.

The final point of my 101 things was to be happy with where I am, for me this is the most important of the list and I finally feel like I'm getting there. I feel like I'm starting to find myself again and what makes me happy and this little project will only help me along the way.

I already feel more positive. I know happy on a Monday just isn't right!

Can you find a little thing each day for 100 days to make you? Let me know if you decide to do this. 

Love M

xxx

25 Before 26 Update

Good morning!

A few months ago I wrote a post about me wanting to get a load of things off my 101 things in 1001 days list checked off. I've been a bit rubbish and now that there's only a few weeks of March left (my birthday is on the 26th) it's time to panic!

I've copied my list below and crossed off what I've done and edited a few things....

Here's my 25:

1: Visit another place in the UK, my aim is 5 and I've ticked off 2 - Visiting North Wales next weekend to catch up with friends. She's just bought a new house up there so technically I've not been there before, this can be checked off!

2: Read 4 Classic Books. 20 was my aim and I've only read 1 so far. First is Robin Hood

3: Second is Frankenstein, I've heard its a great story and a complete classic

4:I also plan on reading the real Beauty and the Beast

5: The real Jungle Book

6: Wuthering Heights

7: Treasure Island

8: Dracula

9: and lastly the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is quite a list.....fingers crossed I get some time off soon! - Basically I've read none of these, but I have read the Hobbit which counts as a classic!

10: Try 2 new foods. My aim is 10, surely 2 more can be done over Christmas! - Mushroom Pate and Watercress done!

11: Visit an art gallery; cannot think where this will be but I'll have to find one - this has not happened. I'm going to have to find one near me!

12: Give blood - this is simple and I have to fit this in somewhere; maybe on a week off - Week off at the end of March I will make sure this happens.

13: Work harder at toning up - Attending the gym 5 times a week and have my weigh in at the end of March with my trainer....eek!

14: I'd like to try rock climbing, it's supposed to be a great way to tone your upper body and I'd love to give it a go. There's an indoor climbing centre in Cardiff so I think I'll start there - Money is an issue here, think I'll have to drag my family along and maybe they'll pay...if only!

15: Start yoga/pilates - Still haven't tried a class now either! Easy to rectify this though.

16: Gorge walking - a fun day out that my dad and brother also want to do, winner! Family time will always be a good thing. Think this one is for the summer instead of February!

17. Running 10k is something that terrifies me but i have to get there to complete other challenges! The original challenge for this got cancelled but by the end of March I plan on running more than once a week as it will be light enough when I get home from work.

18: Go ziplining - courtesy of a Groupon deal me and M have bought tickets and will be booking in for April / May time.

19:Go to a gig - Still nothing planned but fingers crossed something fun will come along.

20: Learn to cook something new, one of each sweet and savoury. This hasn't happened yet but I plan on learning to make lasagne and a kind of cake that I can take into work for my birthday.

21: Continue to plough through the excess of 'stuff' in my possession - This a slow and painful process, it's not going well!

22: Learn basic things to fix on a car - The winter has been a learning curve with my first car; snow, ice, window chips, torrential rain, flooding and fallen trees. Still learning....a lot!

23: Go to London over Christmas - This was AWESOME! Me and my mum had such a great time having an indulgent wander, we will definitely be going again next year.

24: Visit an Antique or Vintage Fair - am yet to attend one of these too, maybe one of my friends who has just bought a house would like a wander.

25: Write a short story. I don't think this will ever happen if I'm honest but I would still love to do it.

What do you think of my list? Achievable?

Do you have a list of tasks you'd like to achieve by a certain date?
Do you have an tips for achieving them all??


Send me any links you have to your own lists, I love reading them!

L xxx

25 Before 26

Morning!

Bit of a lifestyle and list post for you today.

I keep seeing lots of these doing the rounds, they're like mini bucket lists and as lover of lists I think they're awesome. I have quite a large list of things I'd like to do/complete over on my 101 in a 1001 page here, but most of these are expensive and probably completely unachievable in the time I have left; things didn't go quite as I'd thought.

Instead I'm going to start breaking it up and aiming to tick off a few things in smaller installments. I'm 26 in March next year, so I'm giving myself the target of ticking off one task for every year that I've existed so far.

Here's my 25:

1: Visit another place in the UK, my aim is 5 and I've ticked off 2. Another one should be achievable in this time; suggestions below please!

2: Read 4 Classic Books. 20 was my aim and I've only read 1, I can surely manage to get a few of these read over the next few months as I have a lot on my kindle for free. I'm going name a few specifically to ensure they're read and fill up more of my 25! First is Robin Hood

3: Second is Frankenstein, I've heard its a great story and a complete classic

4:I also plan on reading the real Beauty and the Beast

5: The real Jungle Book

6: Wuthering Heights

7: Treasure Island

8: Dracula

9: and lastly the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is quite a list.....fingers crossed I get some time off soon! 

10: Try 2 new foods. My aim is 10, surely 2 more can be done over Christmas!

11: Visit an art gallery; cannot think where this will be but I'll have to find one

12: Give blood - this is simple and I have to fit this in somewhere; maybe on a week off

13: Work harder at toning up - I've put on a few pounds recently and am feeling a bit too pudgy for my liking. Need to drop 7lbs and I'd be happy, this sounds easy but my diet is pretty good and I exercise 3/4 times a week as it is. If I work harder though it can happen!

14: As a sub list I have a number of new things I'd like to do to make this happen. Firstly, I'd like to try rock climbing, it's supposed to be a great way to tone your upper body and I'd love to give it a go. There's an indoor climbing centre in Cardiff so I think I'll start there

15: Start yoga/pilates - still haven't tried a class and I think it's about time I tried one. Body Balance is the class at my gym that combines a number of stretching and poses so I think I will try one of these and start there!

16: Gorge walking - a fun day out that my dad and brother also want to do, winner! Family time will always be a good thing

17: Run 10k - Initially my aim was to run 5k but I do that regularly now. Running 10k is something that terrifies me but i have to get there to complete other challenges! My friend has recently signed me up to do a 10k at the beginning of March. I have no excuses now...

18: Go ziplining - there's a Go Ape near me that does this kind of thing, definitely need to go!

19:Go to a gig - no idea what one yet but something!

20: Learn to cook something new, one of each sweet and savoury

21: Continue to plough through the excess of 'stuff' in my possession. Capsule wardrobe be mine!

22: Learn basic things to fix on a car - this is ongoing having just bought my first car. The winter will bring lots of issues that I'm sure will be a learning curve for me!

23: Go to London over Christmas - this might seem easy for some of you but I've never wandered around London at Christmas just to soak up the festive spirit and see the shop windows in Harrods and Selfridges. I've booked my train tickets for December so will definitely be going!

24: Visit an Antique or Vintage Fair - hopefully I can find one of these in the next few months. It would be great to wander around one of these and see what gems can be found!

25: Write a short story. I'd love to write a book but it is such a mammoth task involving so much free time that I just don't have at the moment. I'm sure I can stretch to writing a short story, even if it's something based on my own experiences!

What do you think of my list? Achievable?

Hopefully I can get a load of them done over Christmas and then I can check off more! I have a week off coming up so fingers crossed I can get some reading etc done then, and maybe an outdoors task.

Do you have a list of tasks you'd like to achieve by a certain date?
Do you have an tips for achieving them all??


Send me any links you have to your own lists, I love reading them!

L xxx