Hey, guys!
It has been a WHILE, huh? I could look up exactly how long, but let's just say a while. And then you can all internally sing "it's been a while." GUESS! WHAT? I'm going to be writing on here ONCE A MONTH! Potentially even MORE than that, but PROBABLY NOT! What a fun treat for you!
"But why has Abby spontaneously decided to write more on her blog, at least once a month?" you MIGHT be asking yourselves. Well, my dear reader. It's because I have chosen to challenge myself each month a la my friend, Esther. This morning after ringing in the New Year I talked with Esther about how much I would like to challenge myself in 2016. See, in 2015 she did a new challenge each month. And I've decided to follow in her footsteps because she's basically an inspiration.
"But what are Abby's challenges?" you're probably asking yourselves now. You certainly are a CURIOUS bunch, aren't you? Well. I will list them for you... in a moment. First I must explain that some of these challenges are meant to last the whole year through. But some of them are only for the month. I'm also going to list two extra challenges. These are meant to be swapped out if I don't think I'll be able to complete a challenge during a certain month. Or maybe if I want to UP THE ANTE and do a double challenge. I will (hopefully) label the different challenges clearly.
Yearlong Challenges:
1. Read 50 books in a year. This is a challenge that I've been trying to complete for about four years? I started it because I learned that if you read 50 books in a year you're a Bibliophile. I've been striving for that title ever since.
2. Have monthly board meetings. I'm hoping to start a non-profit organization this year. And part of that is having board meetings with the Board of Directors. The main hope for these meetings is to become an official 501(c)3 by the end of the year.
3. Vlog every day for a year. I just think it'll be really cool to have an entire year of my life documented. Esther said that she loved having done a picture a day for a year. She said it was cool too see so many different opportunities documented. And while I'm not the best photographer, I do know how to edit videos. I'm not guaranteeing that they will be top notch vlogs, but I hope to post something every day!
Monthly Challenges:
January - Finish a scarf. A few days ago Nancy and Emily actually challenged me to finish a scarf in January. It only made sense to make it part of the challenge. You might find this easy. But follow through has never been a strong suit of mine. So this is actually quite tricky for me. I'll be chuffed if I finish one scarf, but I might push myself to finish TWO! (I say finish because I've definitely STARTED a number of scarves. It's the pesky finishing bit that I can't complete)
February - Four winter activities. This year I want to push myself to enjoy winter instead of simply endure it. My activities right now include: ice skating, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and building a snow man. These are subject to change depending on availability of friends (Esther) who have the equipment necessary.
March - Four new craft projects. I'm not the most craft-y person. I admit it and I'm okay with it. Which is why this month is the perfect opportunity to try some new ones. I only have two ideas right now, so feel free to suggest something new for me. My crafts to try right now are: painting and cross stitching.
April - File taxes, get a Roth IRA, and make a comprehensive budget. Seeing as April is tax month it felt fitting to focus this month on financial goals.
May - Walk every day. I hope to walk at least 20-60 minutes a day. I think it'll be good to push myself to get outside every day, even if I'm going solo. Ideally I could find friends to join me.
June - Eat no sweets. I was supposed to try this for the month of January, or even all year long. But I unintentionally broke this when I had a mini donut with my toast for breakfast at Esther's house this morning. Hopefully I'll still be walking from May and will want to embrace a healthier lifestyle. Probably not.
July - Drink 3 Nalgenes every day. I do not drink as much water as I should. 1 Nalgene is 32 oz. of water. Esther drank 4 of them every day for a month, which is a GALLON a day. I originally said 64 oz., but compromised with her on 3 Nalgenes a day. I'm going to have to pee so much.
August - No TV or YouTube. I called this "no screen time" and Esther assumed I meant literally no looking at a screen. But I will still have to edit my videos and I'll still use social media. I just won't watch TV or YouTube videos. I gave myself a break and said I could watch one movie a week. However, watching movies in August must be a social activity and not something I do by myself.
September - Try a new cocktail each week. I enjoy an adult beverage. So I thought I should try to expand my horizons and become the cocktail connoisseur I've always wanted to be. The catch for this challenge is that each drink must include more than two ingredients.
October - Make a costume by hand. I've never made my own Halloween costume. In fact, I've hardly ever put thought into a costume. I don't need to sew something together. But I would love to at least put effort into it. More often than not I just scramble at the last minute until I've found something that might work. This past October I was 1. A cat out of the bag (I had cat ears and carried a small paper bag around all night) and 2. a Basic white girl (I wore jeans with boots, a long sleeve t-shirt, and a vest that I already owned. My mom had also just bought be Starbucks a few hours before. The cup and my iPhone were props to complete my costume).
November - NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. Look it up at nanowrimo.org. I've tried multiple years in the past. This year I hope I can make it happen. I might not vlog every day this month, but instead I might film a little bit each day. I'll be focused on writing at least 1,6667 words a day so I can make my goal of 50,000 words for the month. So you can see how vlogging, editing, and uploading a vlog every day this month might get a bit exhausting.
December - Commit to an advent calendar. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I have a bit of an issue with follow through and commitment. I've always wanted to buy an advent calendar, whether it be chocolate or something else, and actually open each day on time. This might seem like a light challenge for this month, but I think it might be appropriate considering how hard I've worked all year. And I will remind you again of my inability to follow through and commit.
Extra Challenges JIC:
1. Donate 2 articles of clothing and one thing each week. Esther spent a month or two doing similar challenges and I think it's very admirable. While I don't think minimalism is the key to happiness, I do think it can help in focusing yourself on the important things in life. Life is not about what you have, but about what or Whom you serve (you knew I had to bring this to God at some point, right?)
2. Read one book a week. One of my favorite YouTubers (italktosnakes) has done quite a few readathons. Whether the list is her own creation or one that's circulating online, she will select a certain number of books and decide to read them within a certain time limit. I'll probably come up with the books the month of, but I've only got that month to read them.
January Challenge: Tonight I knitted a few lines of a scarf I started two years ago.
50 Book Challenge: Not even reading a book right now.
Monthly Board meetings: Still haven't put together all of my board of directors. Working on it!
VEDFAY: I've already filmed the day. I just need to get the ball rolling. WAHOO!
