25TH BIRTHDAY CHALLENGE: ONE YEAR LATER

Last year for my 25th birthday, I made a list of goals I wanted to accomplish within the year. I had a wonderful year and loved having these goals to keep me occupied and to challenge myself. Although not every goal was accomplished, I learned so much about myself in the days I spent exercising, exploring San Diego, and trying to fulfill myself in both mental and spiritual ways. So, let's check in and see how I did... I'm pretty darn proud of myself! Oh, and cheers to 26! Let's see what this year has in store for me!

• send a hand written note to someone once a week
• I actually did pretty good with this task! Not all of them were handwritten, but I tried to text, call, FB message, e-mail, someone every week with just a fun memory I had about them, or just to see how they were doing. It was really fun, and I hope to continue with this! 
• participate & journal a 3-5 day juice fast/cleanse
• So, this did not happen. I am planning to do a cleanse in December of this year though after the holidays. 
• take an overnight trip somewhere in Southern California
• Does Carlsbad (ahem-- my parents house) count? We could NOT justify spending money on a hotel to get away when our own bed is right here in the city near everything. We did discover a lot of San Diego this past year, and you can see some of our favorite places on this list.
• read the Book of Mormon 3 times 
• I'm really sad about this one, but I only read it once. I need to be better about reading my scriptures on a more regular basis. I am going to start a new rule-- I cannot read my book until I read my scriptures! We will see how this goes and if I am a more dedicated personal scripture reader.
• eat & journal a list of favorite local San Diego restaurants 
• Yes. Yep. Done & done. I could eat my way through this city! Here is our growing list of favorite San Diego restaurants. 
• host a dinner party once a month
• This is another success! Whether it was with friends, family, parties, or as simple as hosting the missionaries, I was able to accomplish this goal. But, really? I can think of ANY and EVERY excuse in the book to host a party! 
• complete & journal 5 exercise "challenges" 
• This was one of my favorite goals to accomplish! I participated in two Jillian Michael's exercise programs (30 Day Shred & Cardio Crush). I started stretching again every night, and have noticed some flexibility come back from my years of dancing. I also did home yoga for a couple of weeks and really loved that. I still do some of the moves in my nightly stretches. And, my most accomplished was running and finishing my first 10K in July!
• practice new photography/Photoshop techniques
• I don't know if I really improved, but I can see a difference in my photos from the past year. I'm gonna chalk this one up as a success!
• bake a pie from scratch 
• I am hoping to accomplish this goal sometime this Fall. I am dying to bake a pie, but this summer has been too hot for the oven, and I just lost track of time!
• attend the temple once a month
• We were pretty good with this one as well. It might not have been every month, but it was every 4-6 weeks or so we got a temple date in.