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

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