Helloooo Out There!

Holy cow, it's been a really long time since I updated this thing! I was able to cross a few more items off the list, but definitely not as many as I'd like. I'm just gonna come right out and say it: I don't think I'll be finishing this thing before next July. And that's okay. It was never really about finishing it, but about pushing myself to try new things. I still want to make another one when this one expires, but with a lot of modifications. :)

Here's the main reason this list, as well as blogging in general, haven't gotten a lot of attention. You see, when I first wrote this list in 2011, there was one thing that I wanted to put on it, but didn't. I didn't include it because it seemed like something I couldn't put a time limit on. It would happen when it was meant to, not necessarily in the 1001 days I designated for it. I'm happy to say that I really should have included it, because I would have been able to check it off.

This little guy is joining our family in just 11 weeks! We are so overwhelmed with joy at the idea of becoming parents, and while it means a lot of adjustments for us over the next few months, it also means a lot of opportunities for new experiences. Rest assured this blog will be getting an overhaul next July (or maybe sooner, if I decide to just abandon the current list in favor of a new one).

Looking forward to new adventures! :)

J

Six Months Later...

...I'm married, and almost a third of the way through the list! That's a lot better than I thought I'd be doing, honestly. I have about a year and a half left to complete as much of this as I can, and if we're being realistic, I probably won't finish. There are some things on here that are just shy of impossible, but that doesn't mean I can't reach for them anyway. :) It's not the finishing that's important...it's the life transformation I'm going for.

That said, I've crossed off a bunch of stuff that I accomplished over the last few months. I might find some time to come back and blog about some of it...eventually. But most of my time is dedicated to my writing blog (which you can find here). Book reviews will go up there, at least once a month, for this whole entire year. I might start tackling the 50 Questions to Free Your Mind next... :D

What have YOU been up to?!

J

Finally, some progress!

I've been such a slacker! I haven't been dedicating as much time to my list as I've wanted to, what with wedding plans picking up speed. Less than four months to go, people! :) Anyway, this last weekend C and I celebrated our two-year anniversary, and there was some progress on the list. :P First and foremost, both of us made it through the whole day without any negativity! We made a promise to each other to do that, since it was our anniversary and all. :)

We had a home-cooked Mexican dinner (courtesy of a friend's little sister), and then went to see Harry Potter 7.2...in IMAX! It was incredible, and (in my opinion) the best movie in the series. As far as how my first IMAX experience went, I loved the giant screen and 3D. It felt like we were immersed in the movie, which is exactly how I like it. :)

The movie finished at 1 in the morning, and rather than heading home right away, we hung out with our friends and played a board game. By the time we made it home and fell asleep, the sun was just starting to come up, so we fulfilled the "pull an all-nighter" item on my list. :P

I've also spent a lot of time teaching people how to make fabric flowers recently, which satisfies another item on my list. I made the bouquets and boutonnieres for our wedding, and I had some friends helping me with them. Essentially, I've taught myself something new as well as teaching other people. :)

Hopefully I'll be able to cross a few more things off my list soon, but I'm not making any promises. The next few months will be chaotic, so I'm just going to do what I can. I hope you're all well!

J

Oh my word!

I've been gone for sooooo long! Actually, I've been posting more on my writing blog now than I have on this one. I'm going to have to consult my list and find something to check off soon.

C got a new job, so now we get to have lunch together on a daily basis. We're even thinking of carpooling sometimes, since he only works ten minutes away from me. It's pretty freaking awesome! We also just got new tattoos, which I'll have to post pictures of at some point. His is a half sleeve on his right arm, mine is a two-inch one on the inside of my right forearm. Yeah, we're cool. :P

Anyway, hope you're all well, and I'll try to be more diligent about my posts!

J

Before I Fall

I finished another book for my 26 Books list. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver filled the B spot on my list, and was a bit of a deviation from my usual selections. I'm not a huge fan of contemporary fiction, purely because it has the tendency to strike a little too close to home. However, Delirium, Lauren Oliver's second novel, has been getting a lot of buzz lately, so I thought I'd try her debut first.

I was completely blown away by the intensity of this book. For those of you who don't know it, it's about Sam Kingston, a popular girl who is content to sit at the top of the social pyramid and doesn't really care who she has to step on to stay there. She's killed in a car crash, and relives her last day of life seven times. Sam herself compares her experience to the movie Groundhog Day, and I have to say I agree with that comparison. Nonetheless, it was incredible to see Sam's transformation from cold-hearted ice queen to a normal teenager with insecurities over the course of the novel.

There were so many layers to the story, and Oliver did a wonderful job of not giving too much away too soon. Sam really needed seven repetitions of her last day to learn all her high school's secrets, and the reader needed seven repetitions of her last day to be able to empathize with Sam and her group of friends. I'll admit, by the end of the book I was tearing up during some of Sam's revelations, something I didn't think would happen based on my first impressions of the character.

Overall, I enjoyed Before I Fall, and look forward to reading Delirium. I would definitely recommend giving Lauren Oliver's books a try, even if you aren't a huge fan of contemporary fiction.

J

I believe in miracles

Oh miracle of miracles! C and I found a church that actually supports, and embraces, our belief system. It's an interfaith church that mixes the teachings of Jesus and Buddha, which makes us Buddhist Christians now (I suppose). We only caught the last fifteen minutes of the service, but what we saw was wonderful, and we're really looking forward to going back next week. If all goes well (which I think it will), we've found a church home, as well as an officiant for our wedding. :)

It's been a while since I was genuinely excited about attending church. It's a wonderful feeling! I'm off to read our welcome packet. :D

J

New things to entertain myself with

Well, Sunday is winding down now, and I can honestly say that I've been pretty productive this weekend. Yesterday, C and I spent most of our time in our creative zone. He's currently working on a painting of one of my characters, and I'm currently working on the novel said character lives in. I spent the majority of yesterday outlining in my notebook. I did backstories on all my characters, developed my villain (and learned where her intense rage/jealousy comes from), and worked out the general story arc.

After Creative Time was over, we went out to dinner with some friends of ours. It was the second time eating out yesterday, since we went to Cheesecake Factory for his dad's birthday lunch earlier in the day. We're fatties. We know this. We had grand plans to bring everyone back to our house after dinner and play Thunderstone (an epic deck-building game which I kicked severe tail at), but sadly, Baby O wasn't feeling well and we lost half our group because they had to go home and tend to her fever.

Today, we returned to our Creative Cave (also known as the loft above the living room where all our electronic equipment is located) to do more work on our projects. I researched medieval weapons for the different characters in my story and found landscape reference photos for those times when having a visual is way more helpful than plucking stuff from thin air. C painted. We're still here, 6 or 7 hours later (I honestly can't remember how long we've been up here).

I've been getting a little sidetracked in the last few hours though. I started a new blog for my writing progress, which you can check out at concretepiecesofsoul.blogspot.com if you feel so inclined. It only has one post so far, but that will all change. I've also been reading the archived posts of Kiersten White's blog, which is amazingly funny. I recently read Paranormalcy, which I may have talked about in a previous post because it fills the P spot on my alphabet-of-books list. Now I've become her latest internet stalker, because I'm finding that she has a lot of really great advice for aspiring writers. She inspires me to be better at what I do (and also to wish that I were as hilarious as she is).

Anyway, I really should get back to working on my story. Or reading more of Kiersten's posts. Whichever one calls to me first. :P

J