2013 Bucket List - Recap

I feel like just yesterday, I was sitting in this exact same bed in my parents' house writing this bucket list. I can't believe how fast this year came and went. It certainly was a good one. 

You can expect a lot of sentimental-ish posts in the next few weeks. Recapping the bucket list, 2013 year in review, my 2014 letter to myself, a 2014 bucket list, and who knows what else will come out of my sleeve. The truth is, I live for the sentimental stuff. It's kind of my favorite, getting all sappy, taking those sweet walks down memory lane. Because with those walks down memory lane, you can't help but venture into a dream of what 2014 will look like. 

And 2014, I've got a good feeling about you. 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves now. 

***

2013 bucket list:

 

1. Run at least 3 races (any distance 5K or more)

-10K Coronado Valentine's Day Race: Feb 17th / DONE! 54 min, 8:30 mile pace

-5K Los Angeles Run or Dye: March 9th / DONE!

-15K San Diego Hot Chocolate Race: March 24th / DONE! 1hr 26min, 9:14 pace

-Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon: May 11th / DONE! 2hr 3min, 9:18 pace

-5K Nite Moves: May 15th / DONE!

-5K Nite Moves: July 10th / DONE!

-5K Bubble Run: September 7th / DONE!

-10K She.Is.Beautiful Run: September 22nd / DONE!

-City to Sea Half Marathon: October 13th / DONE! 2hr 7min, 9:41 pace

***

I think it's safe to say that this one was most definitely a success. I've never run so much in my entire life, and boom. It just kind of happened. 

I love that each race was a huge spiritual experience for me. Running that first 10K for sweet Daisy Love who had just passed away was incredibly moving. And each race that was farther felt like a challenge that I wasn't sure my legs could handle. I felt myself relying on the Lord to get through the last leg of each race, and I loved that feeling. 

***

2. Read 30 books

1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

2. Strength in Weakness by Andrew Comiskey

3. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

4. A Confident Heart by Renee Swope

5. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

6. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

7. Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic 

8. The Insatiable Quest for Beauty by Tiffany Dawn

9. Pure by Rebecca St. James

10. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

In progress:

1. Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist

2. The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller

3. Sex Is Not The Problem, Lust Is by Joshua Harris

***

This one was not as much of a success. I have to be honest, and say that reading just didn't take priority this year. And that's okay. Bible studies took priority, small groups took priority, blogging took priority, working out took priority, and let's keep it real: catching up on my favorite tv shows took priority.

I've always been more of a one-book-at-a-time kinda girl, and this year, that totally changed. I think it came from reading different books with different people, and having my own going at the same time, but all of a sudden I'm finding myself with three books sitting by my bed. 

Things seem to be changing in the last few weeks, and I can feel reading slipping back up on the priority scale. I'm looking forward to getting plenty of good reads in in 2014. 

***

3. Get passport

Done, done and done. 

***

4. Travel outside of the country (preferably missions related)

So this wasn't crossed off, but it will a mere 8 days into the new year. Totally counts, right? 

{Africa, here I come}

***

5. Cross off at least 2 states

Indianapolis, Indiana: Influence Conference!

Chicago, Illinois: Trip with Annie!

Loved both of these states! Probably because of the amazing company that was had in both. I have to say that I liked Indianapolis better than Chicago, but I would love to visit both again some day. 

***

6. Meet a blogger friend IRL

May: Met Julie from An Anchor for the Soul (recap here)

September: Met sooo many blog friends at Influence Conference (recap here)

This one was also definitely a success. So thankful for these blogging friends!

***

7. One spontaneous trip

January: Tahoe!

I would love to do more spontaneous trips in the future. Feeling the urge to go somewhere on a whim? You know who to call. 

 

***

8. One random act of kindness per month


I'm so glad this was on my list this year. Every month was different, and it helped me see how many different ways you can perform a random act of kindness. Some were a big deal, it seriously felt like I was hearing the big Man upstairs pointing with a giant red arrow: "HERE IS YOUR RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS."


Other months? Not such a big deal. I would get to the end of the month and think "dang, did I forget?" Only to think back on the time I offered to pay for a friend's coffee or lunch. Boom, random act of kindness. 


Maybe it's giving a candy bar to a homeless man outside of a grocery store, maybe it's anonymously blessing a friend with something you know she wouldn't buy herself. Maybe it's giving someone a $5, $10, $25 dollar giftcard. 


It doesn't have to be big, all random acts of kindness make a difference.

***

9. End the year with zero balance on credit card

Revision: Maintain zero balance on credit card

My credit card has a zero balance on it right now. Boom. 
 
***

10. Double my savings

Revision: Rebuild my savings

Aaaand here's the whammy. This goal was so not accomplished.

I guess one financial goal out of two isn't too shabby, right? 

{Savings, I'm coming for you in 2014. Don't you worry}
 
***

11. Cut and donate my hair

Honestly, as scared as I was to have short hair, I loved it! It's crazy how long it's gotten since I cut it in January. I definitely will be donating again {tempted to add the word soon here}.

***

12. Take Milissa on a sister weekend getaway

Palm Springs (recap here)

This will definitely be a yearly tradition. 





***

13. Get a blog makeover!


This was done earlier in the year, and I loved the result! This girl is so great to work with, and considering I'll probably need a new design next year (and I have yet to teach myself), she can probablyyy be expecting an e-mail shortly. :)

***

Overall, I would say this was a very successful year. I loved having a Bucket List to track to, even if I wasn't always spot on track to accomplishing my goals. I'm looking forward to getting some goals together for 2014!

What are some of your goals for the new year?

2013 Bucket List - Progress Check

I skipped this back in July, but a lot has happened in August. So let's recap how this 2013 Bucket List is going, shall we?

1. Run at least 3 races (any distance 5K and over)

Done!! 

-10K Coronado Valentine's Day Race: Feb 17th / DONE! 54 min, 8:30 mile pace

-5K Los Angeles Run or Dye: March 9th / DONE!

-15K San Diego Hot Chocolate Race: March 24th / DONE! 1hr 26min, 9:14 pace

-Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon: May 11th / DONE! 2hr 3min, 9:18 pace

-5K Nite Moves: May 15th / DONE!

-5K Nite Moves: July 10th / DONE!

-5K Bubble Run: September 7th / registered!

-10K She.Is.Beautiful Run: September 22nd / registered!

-City to Sea Half Marathon: October 13th / registered!

If you want to hear more on running, check out this post.

2. Read 30 books

So far, I've completed 6 books.

...

So may need to adjust that goal to 15, but hey, I'm enjoying reading and that's what counts, right?

Keep up with my recent reads here.

3. Get a passport

Cue major happy dance with the completion of this one!

4. Travel outside of the country (preferably missions related)

You probably already know this, but I'm so happy to report that I am planning to go serve in Uganda in January of 2014!! So that's basically this year, right?

If you want to find out more about that, you can check out these posts, or my fundraising page!

5. Cross off at least 2 states

This is for my 50 State Challenge.

I'll be crossing this one off next month when I go to The Influence Conference! Illinois & Indiana, here I come!

6. Meet a blogger friend IRL

Crossed this one off when I met the wonderful Julie from An Anchor for the Soul. 

Recap can be found here.

7. One spontaneous trip

Tahoe: Back in January

8. One random act of kindness per month

These have definitely been happening, but not quite how I imagined it. In the beginning of the year, these seemed to be big, drastic things. It really felt like the Lord was leading me to bless specific people in specific moments. 

In the past few months, they have seemed less drastic, and more natural. Blessing a friend by treating them on our lunch or coffee date, grabbing an item from the grocery store for the homeless man sitting outside, these have become regular occurrences. And at first, the end of the month would come and I would think shoot! I haven't done any big random act of kindness!

But I think this has taught me the beauty of incorporating random acts of kindness into my lifestyle. And that, is something that I truly hope to continue in all of my future years to come. 

9. End the year with 0 balance on credit card

Revision: Maintain 0 balance on credit card

This is definitely happening! I am keeping my credit card balance to a manageable level, always paying it off as quickly as possible. It feels mighty good :)

10. Double my savings

Revision: Rebuild my savings

If you're confused about the change in these last two bucket list items, check out this post. 

Last month, I had my savings account at 70% of what it used to be. Goal: get that number to 100% by the end of the year. At the end of August, I have 83% of my account back! 

There have been so many random expenses popping up these days, between car trouble, needing new contacts, all that fun stuff. So I know there is a chance I may need to dip into my savings in the near future, but Lord willing, I know I can get it back to where it was in January by the end of the year!

11. Cut and donate my hair

Crossed off in January.

12. Take Milissa on a sister weekend getaway

This was a mighty fun one to cross off :)

13. Get a blog makeover!

Amy, from the Charming blog, designed this beauty, and I have nothing but amazing things to say about her! If you're ever considering doing a blog makeover, I'd highly recommend this girl!

So there you have it!

I now have 7 out of 13 items crossed off! Not too shabby :) This has been so fun, and I can't wait to make this a yearly tradition. Thanks for following along with me!

{Bucket List progress tracked here}

In other news, Happy Tuesday!

Reed Sister Vaycay

I probably should have warned you that I would be blowing up your Insta and Twitter feed this weekend. Some weekends just deserve the obnoxious over-social-media-fying, and the possibility of losing a few followers. 

This was one of them. 

It was also a weekend that doesn't require much words, because the pictures do the talking.

What the pictures don't show is how much I learn from this little 8 year old. 

I am fairly certain that God gave me Milissa to give me a glimpse into the wonderful, challenging world of parenting. And while I know I am soooo far from understanding it all, I also know that I'm thankful for what I've learned through my sister. 

I've learned that you need grace. The moments where you get frustrated, where you say the wrong thing, and what grips the heart the most: when you walk away feeling like you didn't love the way that they deserve to be loved, there is grace. 

I've learned that most of what you teach, you still need work on too. I preach the importance of patience, and before I know it, I'm losing mine. I emphasize that your worth and value come from who God made you to be, and not what you look like. And two seconds later, that self consciousness is creeping up on me because I ate too much and feel gross. The learning never stops. 

I've learned that the most important thing, more important than teaching or having fun or providing, is to love. And love well. The fact of the matter is, we'll never get this loving thing down pat. We're human, we mess up all the time. But that doesn't mean you stop trying. You keep trying, because the love will shine through the mess ups. 

And I hope this does not sound like parenting advice, because I fully understand that having an 8 year old sister does not make me a parent. 

But I also understand the importance of documenting what you learn, and this is what I've learnt from my relationship with my beautiful baby sister, Milissa. 

This was so much more than a Bucket List item checked off. 

2013 Bucket List - Progress Check

Ah! It's (almost) June! That means I'm almost 24, which is crayyy-zee. Seriously, I'm convinced that somehow when you turn 21 you simultaneously push a fast forward button that nobody warns you about. 

Time speeds up, I tell ya!

So here we are, 5 months into the year. Let's check out those bucket list goals:

1. Run at least 3 races (any distance 5K and over)

Done!! 

-10K Coronado Valentine's Day Race: Feb 17th / DONE! 54 min, 8:30 mile pace

-5K Los Angeles Run or Dye: March 9th / DONE!

-15K San Diego Hot Chocolate Race: March 24th / DONE! 1hr 26min, 9:14 pace

-Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon: May 11th / DONE! 2hr 3min, 9:18 pace

-5K Nite Moves: May 15th / DONE!

-Bubble Run 5K: September 7th / registered!

If you kept track, that's 5 races done so far! And this past month, I officially ran my first half marathon! The plan is to run another by the end of the year :)

2. Read 30 books

So far, I've completed 4 books.

...

Totally on target right? Safe to say I've exchanged all of my reading time for running time. 

Keep up with my {minimal} reading progress here.

3. Get a passport

This one is still on the back burner, just looking for a month where I've got the money to drop on the application. 

Which really means I have to pick a month to suck it up and just drop the money on the application, already. 

It'll be one of the next 7, promise.

4. Travel outside of the country (preferably missions related)

No updates here (still). Honestly, this one is in God's hands. I've officially decided that if I'm meant to go out of the country this year, He will make it clear to me. 

And if not, 2014's where it's at.

5. Cross off at least 2 states

This is for my 50 State Challenge.

I've officially booked a flight! And looks like I'll be crossing off not 1 state, but 2 states when I go to The Influence Conference in September. 

Illinois & Indiana, here I come!

6. Meet a blogger friend IRL

Yahoo! Get to cross one off! I met the wonderful Julie from An Anchor for the Soul this month. 

Recap can be found here.

7. One spontaneous trip

Tahoe: Back in January

8. One random act of kindness per month

January: gas station

February: check! 

March: check!

April: check!

May: check!

This is probably one of my favorite things on this bucket list :) 

9. End the year with 0 balance on credit card

Revision: Maintain 0 balance on credit card

Definitely been keeping my credit card paid off every month! I've got a balance on it right now from paying for my Influence airfare, but you bet it will be back down to zero by the end of June!

10. Double my savings

Revision: Rebuild my savings

If you're confused about the change in these last two bucket list items, check out this post. 

Last month, I had my savings account at 59% of what it used to be. Goal: get that number to 100% by the end of the year.

At the end of May, I have 70% of my account back! 30% more to go! 

11. Cut and donate my hair

Crossed off in January.

12. Take Milissa on a sister weekend getaway

I'm gonna aim to have this happen in August! Really excited for this one :)

13. Get a blog makeover!

My new look was revealed last month, and I am still loving the final product!

Amy, from the Charming blog, designed this beauty, and I have nothing but amazing things to say about her! If you're ever considering doing a blog makeover, I'd highly recommend this girl!

What do you think??

So there you have it!

I'm loving tracking my progress each month, hope you guys aren't getting too sick of it!

{Bucket List progress tracked here}

In other news, Happy Friday!

My First Blate!

This weekend, I went on my first blate (blogger date, copyright: this gal).

I feel like I am officially a blogger now. Hooray! 

I had the privilege of getting together with the wonderful Julie, who blogs over at An Anchor for the Soul. And I don't think it could have been more perfect. 

Quick back story of how I "met" Julie in Blogland. I found her over in the comment section of The Williams Post (thanks, Kerrie!). One click of a button, a few glances at her blog, and I was sold. 

It only takes reading a few posts to know if you share the same heart as someone, am I right? And this girl? Well her words could have come straight out of my mouth. And that's how I feel with every single one of her posts. 

You know those blogger glasses that we all wear? The ones you put on before you read someone's blog, that blocks out all of the bad and illuminates the good? They either leave you feeling super dang inspired, or super dang jealous? 

Well, the closer Julie and I have gotten, the more and more we realized that both of us were wearing those glasses at first. Reading each other's blogs and thinking 'dang! this girl's got it all figured out. this whole shining for Christ thing.'

And usually I would curse those blogger glasses, because of all of the comparison, self-doubt & envy that they bring. But this time, the glasses didn't bring any of that. They brought encouragement, inspiration and motivation to shine brighter for Christ. 

And I will always be thankful for Julie and her example that she set for me, without even realizing it. Because of her, I have learned (and am still learning!) to be a confident witness of Jesus. 

***

Things I learned about Julie:

1) She is beautiful. Hands down, stunning. 

2) She has the cutest accent. I heard it in a vlog, but hearing it in person is even better. 

3) We have really similar back stories, and our families have a lot in common. 

4) She is incredibly easy to talk to. The conversation was flowing from first hug. 

5) We have the same taste in coffee. (Both ordered iced non-fat mochas, her's decaf and mine white mocha). 

6) Her and Matt really do shine for Christ. It's not just words on a page, they truly are in a Christ centered relationship. 

7) I swear we are the same age. Even though I'm 4 years older. When did that happen?

8) We really would be bffs if we lived closer. But I'll settle for Blogger bffs :)

***

Julie, I had so much fun with you this weekend. Thank you for being my first official blate! I couldn't have asked for a better one :)

I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation with your fam! And can't wait until the next time we get to meet up!