Sevens

Courtesy of PigsTales circa 2005.

7 things I plan to do before I die

1.       Road trip the United States (visiting every state goes along with this dream)

2.       Live “somewhere else” for a summer…or two.

3.       Go skiing

4.       Travel to at least 4 continents

5.       Own a house

6.       Get married

7.       Never live without the ocean

7 things I can do

1.       Jigsaw puzzles.

2.       Read aloud well

3.       Tell a good story

4.       Use wild hand gestures when speaking

5.       Get an excellent tan

6.       Remember the words to many songs

7.       Complain

7 things I cannot do

1.       Say no

2.       Resist my obsessive/compulsive personality

3.       Play sports that involve a ball or any type of coordination

4.       Eat quickly (or at a normal pace)

5.       Listen to music in the car without singing along

6.       Walk in heels

7.       Choose

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex/another person

1.       A perfect ratio of nerdiness to normalcy

2.       Good spelling and punctuation (must have better grammar than my high school students or else it’s weird)

3.       Humor that aligns with mine

4.       Nice teeth

5.       Decent style (or generally positive awareness of what they wear)

6.       Nice hands (not too rough, not too girly, appropriately sized to mine)

7.       Not ugly shoes (a weird deal breaker, bad shoes and you’re out)

7 things that I say most often

1.       “Medium”

2.       “Yo”

3.       “We’re going to die”

4.       “Wildly.” Or “Mildly”

5.       “Bitch ass hoe”

6.       “Really?  Because I thought…” (Said in a deeply sarcastic valley girl voice in response to most obvious statements)

7.       “Safety”

7 celebrity crushes

1.       Joseph Gordon-Levitt

2.       Alec Baldwin

3.       “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson (Loooooooveeee him)

4.       Adam Brody

5.       Jesse Williams

6.       Ryan Gosling

7.       Pauly D

Napoleon Chronicles - Part 4

All photos courtesy of Nicolas Johnson

Location - Port Townsend

Taking Action

So I've been joking over the last few weeks about my "life makeover" and how I want to start improving myself and my life physically, emotionally, etc.  Then last weekend I was in BC for the weekend visiting some old friends and while we were used book shopping I stumbled across a book titled "Life Makeovers". Obviously I bought it and concluded that I will work my way through it.

The book is organized in a series of 52 chapters, one for each week, with topics and action plans to go along with each week.  This week's lesson was all about starting off by acknowledging any successes I have already experienced.  The goal was to make a list of 25 things that I am proud of or that I have accomplished in the last 12 months.  Here goes -

1. I graduated from five years of university with two Bachelors Degrees.
2. I built and strengthened some of my closest friendships this year.
3. I took a risk and went on a blind date :)
4. I grew and developed as a teacher and educator.
5. Re-discovered a love of learning.
6. Redecorated and painted my room.
7. Began raising a happy, healthy puppy.
8. Built positive relationships with young adolescents.
9. Invested in my relationships with my parents.
10. Kept the "new car smell" in my car for at least 8 months!
11. I am learning to be responsible and good to myself.
12. I have continued to journal regularly since I was 15.
13. I became a person who enjoys drinking tea.
14. I made more than 10 new friends.
15. I have maintained the ability to laugh at myself.
16. I can be funny on occasion.
17. I have weathered a storm with my family and within my family.
18. I helped out a friend in need.
19. Began to make fitness a priority in my life.
20. I was asked to be in three weddings.
21. Kept in touch with many of my students from Hansen.
22. Had a successful interview.
23. Taught slang to a Japanese exchange student.
24. I got straight A's in my final year of university.
25. Decided that I want to live my best life.