26 before 27: 9 month update

I can't believe that I only have 3 months left to wrap up my 26 before 27 goals! I thought I'd share my list with everything that I have accomplished crossed out. I do have a few things left; some which I don't know how or if I'll be able to finish. I've made little notes next to some of the goals, because there are some that I've officially taken off of my list.

See my first post [HERE].

First update [HERE].

Six-month update [HERE].

Friends & Social           

1. Meet Amanda in real life

2. Visit my Seattle girls

3. Attend Ignite Boise

4. Reach over 600 followers on twitter - I'll be happy if I reach 500, I'm 14 away.

5. Blog consistently and increase my blog followers [100+] - I have 35 followers. I'm fine with that. :)

6. Host a giveaway on my blog - maybe when I reach 50 :)

7. Meet one or more twitter/blogger friends in real life

Faith

8. Read the Bible cover to cover - I'm almost done!

9. Participate in the Women’s Bible Study at church and be prepared for each class

Finances

10. Get out of debt and save money, create a monthly budget

11. Move out of my parent’s house

Photography

12. Get current on my photo albums

13. Take photos with my Holga and get them developed via the Darkroom

14. Be the top seller for Bella Baby Photography in Boise - I'm no longer working for Bella, so this is no longer relevant.

15. Become a certified Bella Life Photographer - Ditto (see above)

16. Brainstorm photography concepts and create two personal photo series

17. Take a photography class

18. Expand my personal photography business through senior portrait sessions and family sessions

Fun

19. Go on a date

20. Make a dress

21. Have a movie marathon

22. Build a fort/tent inside on a rainy day

23. Develop my personal style, do the 30x30 challenge

24. Complete Red Velvet’s Blog E-Course & Dream Job E-Course

Life/Misc.

25. Maintain organization in my life, personally and work-related

26. View the following documentaries: Beyond The Bottle [Miir] and Finding Kind [Kind Campaign] and donate to each organization

Holga

One of my goals was to get the film from my Holga developed by The Darkroom.  About a week ago I sent in three rolls of film from last year.  There were two from our roadtrip and then one from last fall.  Unfortunately the first roll from the roadtrip was blank and then half the pics on the last roll didn't work either.  I'm wondering if they somehow got exposed or something.  As bummed as I was about the ones that didn't turn out, I was really excited with what I got back.  Film is a BIG change from digital!  I haven't used film for photography projects in YEARS!  I'm excited to get more into my film and experiment in the future.  Here are a few of my favorites from the two rolls I got back.  Check out my facebook album [HERE] to see a few more.

Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah, Kentucky

Springfield, Missouri

Nebraska

Laramie, Wyoming

Utah - Idaho border

Flying to Seattle

Flying to Seattle

Whistler, BC

2010 Olympic rings - Whistler Village

Whistler Village

Whistler Village

Flying to home to Boise

26 before 27: 6 month update

I have 6 months left before my birthday and I thought it’d be a good time to do an update on how my goals are coming along.  You can see my first update HERE.

These are a few things I’ve accomplished since then and ones that I’m currently working on.

2. Visit my Seattle girls: I was able to take two trips to Seattle last fall, in both September and October.

October trip - with Megan & Aimee at a Sounders game

3. Attend Ignite Boise: I went to IB7 with my parents, faux aunt and cousin in October.  I’m looking forward to IB8 in April.

7. Meet one or more twitter/blogger friends in real life: So far I’ve only met one twitter/blogger friend in real life and that’s Brandy [blog / twitter].  We were lucky enough to meet after Ignite Boise.  It was about time!  I hope that I’m able to meet a couple other twitter /blogger friends in the next 6 months.

8. Read the Bible cover to cover: I mentioned this in my last goals post, but I’m excited to say that I’m on track to finish in 6 months.  I highly recommend THIS plan to read the Bible in a year.  It’s been going great.  I’m pretty sure this goal is going to be on my list again next year.  Right now I’m reading The Message translation and I think I’ll go through the NIV translation next.

12. Get current on my photo albums: My sister and I have been attending my mom’s monthly crops to work on our albums.  We finished our 2007 albums and I’ve been slowly working on wrapping up all my traditional albums.  There’s a lot left to journal, but I’m getting through it.  In two weeks we’re going up to Camp Perkins for a women’s crafting retreat.  I’m looking forward to getting away and hopefully getting 2008 done.  Check out Creative Memories HERE to learn more about digital solutions for your photos.  It's not about "scrapbooking" it's about getting your pictures in albums to enjoy.

13. Take photos with my Holga and get them developed via the Darkroom: I shouldn’t have spent the money, but I finally bit the bullet and sent in some rolls to get developed by the Darkroom.  It was so fun to see my images.  I’ll be sharing some of my favorites on here next week.

14. Be the top seller for Bella Baby Photography in Boise: This is something I've been struggling with and is one of my top priorities.  I get paid solely on commission and I've been struggling financially.  I'm putting steps in place to become better at selling.  In the next week or two I'll hopefully be shadowing some of my fellow photographers to learn all I can from them about improving my selling techniques.

15. Become a certified Bella Life Photographer: I’m “pre-certified” as a Bella Life Photographer.  There are a few steps left to become officially certified, like shadowing the lead photographer and then submitting a few more sessions for critiques.

17. Take a photography class: I’d like to take [this portrait class] online via Improve Photography.  I’m hoping to save enough money to take it in the next month or two.

20. Make a dress: I didn’t make a dress, although it’s still on my list.  This past weekend Heather and I had the house to ourselves and deemed it “craft time.”  I drafted a pattern for a skirt and then made it with some gorgeous fabric that a friend gave me.  I'll share pictures of the skirt in an upcoming Wardrobe Wednesday post.

26 before 27: Monthly Update

I’ve been busy the past 6 weeks working on my 26 before 27 goals. I created this binder to help me organize my goals.

I wanted to give you all a little update as to how I’ve been doing on them. It’s been a little hard to prioritize because I want to get them ALL done NOW. Here are a few goals that I’ve been working on:

1. Meet Amanda irl – We’re trying to schedule a good time for her to fly out here to Idaho. Tentatively scheduled for December.

5. Blog consistently and increase my blog followers [100+] – Yikes! This one is hard. I’ve been trying my best to plan out and schedule my blogs. I’m starting with blogging consistently and then will work on increasing my blog followers.

8. Read the Bible cover to cover – I’m really excited about this one! I’ve been reading my Bible every day since July 31. I’m using THIS PLAN I found online. In order to keep it organized I used 7 different paint samples as bookmarks and labeled them with the days of the week. I keep a copy of the plan folded in the front of my Bible to refer to specific chapters for each day. It works great! I love the plan because I get to read different passages everyday.

12. Get current on my photo albums– This is extremely challenging, but I did attend my mom’s crop this month. I have a lot to catch up on, but I think that I need to wrap up my traditional albums first. This might take some goals and planning to make sure I complete this goal.

14. Be the top seller for Bella Baby Photography in Boise– While I wasn’t top seller for Bella Baby in Boise last month, I did reach my highest sales ever. I honestly don’t think that I will be able to become the top seller without being a certified Bella Life Photographer.

15. Become a certified Bella Life Photographer – I am making plans to [hopefully] submit a gallery [or galleries] this month to be approved as a Bella Life Photographer. The gallery that I submit will be critiqued and it might take a few rounds before I’m actually approved.

18. Expand my personal photography business through senior portrait sessions and family sessions – As you may know, I launched a facebook page for my photography. This was something I was very nervous about. I’m very self conscious about my work, so this was a huge step for me. I photographed my first Senior Rep last month. I have a tentative senior session this month and will hopefully book some more sessions from those. I also have two family sessions that need to be scheduled in the coming months!

25. Maintain organization in my life, personally and work-related, via filing system – I put this off for most of the month because I knew it’d be challenging. I got a whole bunch of new file folders and organized my existing files, cleaning them out as I went. I have a new system for my files, including an “In Progress” folder where I stash the things I need to go through, rather than piling them on my desk. I think it’s going to work very well! I’ve also been trying to use my planner in a more efficient way. I also just downloaded the Wunderlist app on my MacBook Pro. I think it’s going to be awesome in helping me get organized! 

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26. View the following documentaries: Beyond The Bottle [Miir] and Finding Kind [Kind Campaign] and donate to each organization – I was able to see Beyond The Bottle documentary TWICE! You can view it HERE. I might be able to see Finding Kind if/when Amanda comes to visit, because she has a copy of it. It might take me a while to be able to donate to either cause but I’m excited that I’ll be able to cross it off my list in the next couple months. 

SexyBack Challenge - Week 11 & 12

I can't believe this challenge is over! Has it really been 12 weeks?

The past couple weeks have been really good. I've been trying to finish this challenge strong and I think I did just that. I've been trying to get back into a workout routine. I tried Body by Bethenny and Crunch - Super SlimDown: Pilates Yoga Blend. BBB was challenging because I don't have a ton of experience with yoga, so I ended up not doing the whole thing. I think that I might go back to it when I have more experience. SSD was a great workout. I felt a lot more comfortable with it and had fun with it. The great thing about it is, is that it's on instant Netflix!

I'm so happy I was able to participate in the SexyBack Challenge, even if I didn't have weight loss in mind. I was able to get out of the rut that I was in as far as my health and fitness go.

Just to recap, here’s a list of my goals for SexyBack:
- 45 minutes minimum of physical activity or exercise 5-7 days of the week
- Utilize workout dvds (30 Day Shred, 6 Week six-pack, BL Cardio)
- Nightly walks/runs
- Use RunKeeper app
- MORE water (3+ miir bottles/day)
- Eat healthier
- MORE veggies, utilize the garden
- Less processed food and more fresh food
- Homemade meals
- Less pop and coffee, green monsters, fresh fruit smoothies or tea instead
- Use MyFitness app & website to track calories & exercise

Overall I feel like I've been very successful in meeting the goals I set for myself during this challenge. I am much more physically active than I was when I started. As I said in one of my last posts, I haven't been "working out" as much lately, but have been doing a lot of physical activity. I ended up not using the apps to track different things, but it seems like one more thing to have to deal with. I am drinking a lot more water [love my MiiR bottles]! I am definitely eating much healthier than I was before. I can proudly say that's one thing I did great on, especially in the last couple weeks with all the fresh veggies that have been around the house lately. As far as the pop and coffee go, I think it might always be a part of my life, but all in moderation of course! I am really confident that even as this challenge is ending, I will be able to keep this all up!

Finally, I'd like to say thanks to Carlos and Grant for starting this challenge!

Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
Week Seven and Eight
Week Nine and Ten

SexyBack Challenge - Week 9 & 10

The last two weeks have been insane! I would have to say that I've spent about 80%-90% of my waking hours doing physical activities. When I started this challenge my goal was to find my abs, but instead I've found some guns, haha. But seriously, it's kind of awesome.

I've been pretty good with food. Eating LOTS and lots of vegetables! I've also had some not so healthy stuff, but all in moderation. I probably haven't been drinking as much water as I should have, but hey, I'm a work in progress.

My only hope is when I'm done with the projects I've been working on that I'll easily be able to get into a regular workout routine again. Maybe that's what I'll focus on during the last couple weeks of this challenge. Anyway, here are a few pics from the last two weeks!

Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
Week Seven and Eight

SexyBack Challenge - Week 7 & 8

I didn't get around to posting my update last week, so I figured I would combine it with this week.

The past two weeks have been awesome! I'm definitely on track with my weekly goals and I actually feel FIT. I'm doing great with my water and food. There have been a few splurges here and there, but everything in moderation.

The sister and I have been doing a great job of shredding everyday [or almost everyday]. This past Sunday we went boating and this next Sunday we're going to Roaring Springs waterpark. So we've had a little more incentive to get our butts in gear the past two weeks.

I've also been helping my mom with a special project and I'm getting a lot more physical activity in. I spent most of yesterday afternoon and today working. Needless to say, my arms are like noodles and my whole body is sore.

My picture for the week is from our outing on Sunday. I hope I'll be able to get one from this coming Sunday for next week's post!

Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six

26 before 27

I must admit my last year’s goals kind of stunk. Okay, they weren’t THAT bad, but I don’t think I was very thoughtful when I came up with them. I was coming up with stuff to put on my list because I had blanks to fill in. Maybe that’s why I only completed like a third of them. I wasn’t SUPER excited about crossing them off my list.

This year I couldn’t be MORE excited about my list of goals! Maybe I got wiser this past year. ;) I feel like I was genuine when I came up with this list. I asked myself WHAT I wanted to accomplish, WHY I wanted to do it, WHERE do I want to be next year and HOW can I get there? I've tried to answer sincerely.

I’ve broken them up into different categories. This was done after-the-fact so that I could be more organized when I’m working on them.

Note: I kept some of my goals from last year on my list, because I really do want to do them.

To make my goals more attainable I’ve included brief notes [mostly for myself] on ways I will be able to achieve them. I’m going to create a binder with my goals and evaluate monthly to see how I’m progressing, as well as see if I need to make any changes. I might even do a blog update once a month to share how I’m doing; a little accountability doesn’t hurt, right? I’m aiming to work on [some goals are on-going] or complete 2+ goals a month.

Friends & Social
1. Meet Amanda irl
2. Visit my Seattle girls [happening October 2011]
3. Attend Ignite Boise [October 2011]
4. Reach over 600 followers on twitter
5. Blog consistently and increase my blog followers [100+]
6. Host a giveaway on my blog [when I reach 100 followers—ideas: photography prints, photography session, etc.]
7. Meet one or more twitter/blogger friends irl [Amanda, Ignite Boise, Seattle tweeters in October]

Faith
8. Read the Bible cover to cover [tentatively following THIS plan, printed & kept in Bible or by my night stand]
9. Participate in the Women’s Bible Study at church and be prepared for each class [Starting September 2011, with Becoming a Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald]

Finances
10. Get out of debt and save money, create a monthly budget [Live like no one else. cc: Dave Ramsey—see #14]
11. Move out of my parent’s house [Spring 2012, plan & budget expenses—see #14]

Photography
12. Get current on my photo albums [attends mom’s monthly crops & scrapbook events, finish traditional album then become strictly digital]
13. Take photos with my Holga and get them developed via The Darkroom
14. Be the top seller for Bella Baby Photography in Boise [become “The Closer” & maintain a consistent income]
15. Become a certified Bella Life Photographer [contact Dina & Stacey]
16. Brainstorm photography concepts and create two personal photo series
17. Take a photography class [lighting? portrait? studio? where?]
18. Expand my personal photography business through senior portrait sessions and family sessions [Senior Reps & Family session add-ons to Senior Sessions]

Fun
19. Go on a date [I don’t know how this will happen. Are you there God? It’s me, Ashlee…]
20. Make a dress [design & sew, make my own pattern, create a muslin sloper first]
21. Have a movie marathon [Steve Martin movies – re: Heather's goals]
22. Build a fort/tent inside on a rainy day [even better if it coincides with #21]

23. Develop my personal style, do the 30x30 challenge [Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer—at least one time, possibly two]
24. Complete Red Velvet’s Blog E-Course & Dream Job E-Course [create binder with all info, complete lessons bi-weekly]

Life/Misc.
25. Maintain organization in my life, personally and work-related, via filing system [clean out old files, new filing boxes—personal & work, monthly folders, research organization methods, systems. find what works best for me.]

26. View the following documentaries: Beyond The Bottle [Miir] and Finding Kind [Kind Campaign] and donate to each organization

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SexyBack Challenge - Week 6

Is this challenge really almost halfway over?

I may not be doing this challenge to lose weight or for any of the other reasons other people are. But I am thankful for it because it helping me to make my fitness, food, lifestyle, etc. a priority in my life. Maybe I'm not taking it as seriously as I should. I don't even want to tell you how many times I did [or didn't] workout this week. But I'm thankful it's there to remind me of my goals every week.

In the next week I'll be posting my 26 goals before 27. I'm very serious about achieving them and I'm excited to see how incorporating them into my life will hopefully help me achieve my SexyBack Challenge goals. I want to live a well-balanced life: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I'm excited to share them with you [on Monday]. Overall, I want to be more disciplined in my life and give everything I have into accomplishing the goals I set for myself.

I don't have a picture this week, but I do want to share this video.



Xiomara is incredible! Her current goal is to lose 25 lbs a month so that she can go to New York in December. She is inspirational! If she can complete 3-4 workouts a day, I should be able to do one, RIGHT?!

Follow Xiomara on Twitter

Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five

2011

Happy New Year friends! I can't believe 2010 is over. It was a challenging year, but overall it was pretty good to me. I feel blessed that I was able to see my friends and travel as much as I did. I had a job (briefly), I was able to spend time with my family and work on paying off debt.

I feel like I should make a tangible list of resolutions for this New Year. I'm not really sure what this New Year is going to look like. It'll start off with a new job (!!!), but besides that I have no idea. I hope it's a year of happiness, faith, family, friends, fitness, laughter, learning and love.

What are some of your New Year resolutions? Do you have any big goals or special things happening? Who do you want to be in 2011?



Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson


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Meredith-isms

Heather and I have been watching Grey's Anatomy lately as part of my list of 25. I've missed watching this show sooo much! I haven't watched it in about two years. One of the things I love the most is the Meredith-isms.

Here are some of my favorites:

"We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?"

“I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope..."

"You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true."

"At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. Its like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And its not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away."

"Maybe we like the pain. Maybe we're wired that way. Because without it, I don't know; maybe we just wouldn't feel real. What's that saying? Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop."

"Okay, here it is, your choice... it's simple, her or me, and I'm sure she is really great. But Derek, I love you, in a really, really big pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me, choose me, love me."

"A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying."

"Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victoris. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate."

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25 before 26

You may have seen Heather's post yesterday, which makes me not even want to post because hers is so awesome. We also have a lot of the same things on our lists (I'm such a copier). Anyway, I posted back in December my list of goals, 24 before 25. I might have done about half of it, I admit I didn't try very hard. I really like my 25 goals before 26 and will definitely try harder to get EVERYTHING done.

1. Take a trip (or two) to Georgia to visit Jenny

2. Meet Amanda irl

3. Read the complete works of Jane Austen

4. Get out of debt and save money

5. Move out of my parent's house

6. Get another tattoo

7. Get current on photo albums

8. Run a 5k

9. Go on a date

10. Re-watch and catch up on Grey's Anatomy

11. Go to Coachella in Indio, California

12. Have some of my pictures on display at a store, coffee shop or library

13. Schedule one photoshoot each month (total of 12+)

14. Get A's fall and spring semesters

15. Work on my thesis proposal and find my emphasis for the remainder of my grad program

16. Get a more permanent job

17. Maintain a good workout routine, 4-5 times/week

18. Go to a Barcelona show (it's been too long)

barcelona source

19. Read all of Jodi Picoult's books

20. Read the Bible cover to cover

21. Go to Tablerock

22. Go on a hike

23. Work on two personal photo series outside of school

24. Start a vintage camera collection

25. Live simplier and greener by repurposing, diy-ing and thrifting

Some of these things are obviously a little more challenging, but I'm up for it. I don't know what this next year is going to bring, but I'm going to make the most of it!

photo source