twenty four

I’ve been feeling inspired by Kyla Roma’s birthday list all week long, and have been adding to my own list throughout my not-so-surprise birthday weekend visit from my BFF and her fiance. It was a fantastic weekend, filled with farmers markets, beers and board games, and a LOT of delicious snackables. And a tiny smattering of girl talk, of course :)

Anyhow, here goes. My list is in no particular order, but hopefully, I’ll be able to cross a few of them off before twenty five.

See more stuff 

Since moving to the ‘Peg, I’ve seen some pretty amazing things. Unforgettable concerts by some of my favourite bands (The Weakerthans, Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, Sloan… to name a few). Beautiful old neighbourhoods and quirky small towns that are responsible for shaping some of my new best friends. I have seen amazing art, hanging in galleries and draped around telephone poles, painted onto crumbling walls and hidden in secret, hard to find places. I’ve seen eclipses, sunrises and sunsets, and was completely blown away by my first prairie meteor shower. In the next year, and for the rest of my life, I’d be a fool not to open my eyes and take in as much as I can.

Bonjour… comment ça va?

Against my will, I was subjected to french class throughout my learnin’ years, from kindergarten to grade 10 dix. As a result, I can recite conjugation charts from memory, but can’t carry out an actual conversation en français to save my life. I can understand french movies without relying on subtitles, but if I bumped into a very sexy French man, needing directions to the airport, I’d be completely unable to seduce him into skipping the flight to make me breakfast in bed instead — CREPES PLEASE! With so many magical and revolutionary devices at my disposal, I’m sure I can fill in the blanks in my French education with the help of an interesting App or two (or ten… crap I mean dix)

Say No to No!

When I was a little girl, I may have been the pickiest eater in existence. Even before I could talk, I still found ways to express my dislike for “yucky” foods — there are dozens of pictures of Toddler Emily scrunching up her nose while looking down at the plate, a facial expression I still make today, if the occasion arises. I’ve grown out of a lot of my picky eater ways (I now eat onions, soup and even pasta! FYI, I refused all three until I was about 18 — seriously) but there are still a handful that I am stubbornly refusing to let go (No seafood, no mushrooms — EVER). I can’t promise that I will ever actually eat or enjoy those few remaining Picky Eater-isms, but as a general rule of thumb, I want to stop hesitating and start jumping in, to whatever options I’m given. Instead of turning down a chance to try something new, I want to adopt a Sure Bring it ONNNN attitude. Because when life gives you lemons, you shouldn’t say “No thanks”, you should say “Heck yes! Thanks! Now what kind of awesome thing can I do with these lemons!?”

Dress Up for Me

For most of my life, my fashion style consisted largely of Graphic tee + Jeans + Converse. Before I moved away, I tried to get out of my fashion rut, but friends/other douchbags would say things like “What are you so dressed up for?” or “Why are you wearing THAT?”, which made me feel uncomfortable and wildly overdressed. (Take it easy, folks, it’s just a casual skirt, not a prom dress. Sorry for making an effort to dress better!) Anyhow, the New Me has a pretty well-stocked closet, filled with basics and not-so-basics, but now my work “uniform” is a T-shirt. And, usually, Jeans. Go figure. I would so love to be one of those stylish ladies, who look casual and comfortable and effortlessly fashionable, that whole “Oh this? I just threw it on, I’ve had it forever” look. I want to put more thought into my everyday outfits, and kick my lazy/hesitant fashion habits to the curb. No more“But I have nowhere to wear this!” or “Why bother with an outfit on a lazy day off?”. Going forward, I will wear whatever I’m in the mood to wear, regardless of who I’ll see or where I’m headed. 

Quit whining and get off my hiney

(See what I did there? I’m such a sucker for things that rhyme..) Having a fairly consistent schedule means that I spend a lot of evenings alone, puttering around the house, re-watching Gilmore Girls for the zillionth time, basically killing time until Jory gets home to entertain me. As a result, I often find myself mind-numbingly bored and restless. It’s about time I took responsibility for my own entertainment. Why sit on a couch, watching chick tv (albeit, TOTALLY AWESOME chick tv) when I could be outside, enjoying the sun? Or in the winter, when it’s bleak and hellishly cold, I will make a better effort to find something indoors to keep my mind from entering Cabin Fever Mode. As someone very wise once suggested, I need to use my environment to keep myself occupied/entertained. Although, good company/conversation always helps too :)