29 Things I Want to do This Year

I'm such a strange introvert. I enjoy going out with family and friends and having a good time, but then I'll just want to spend a week at home not being around people. So when I decided I wanted to write a list of things that I wanted to do this year, I realised that a lot of the things are stuff that I can do that is a good mixture of out and about and hiding in seclusion.

Before I show you the list, I want to say that a couple of things on there are things I have talking about in my goals for the year in January, but not all of them are on there. The reason for that is that most of the things on those lists I did were just things that I would like to get done but I'm not going to feel bad if I don't. These are things that I really want to do this year.

1. Read 26 books

I wrote about this on my Reading Goals for this year but I wanted to put it down here as well just so I had the complete list. This is something that I really want to complete because I do like to read a lot.

2. Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge

I've had this on my bucket list for a long time. I've lived in Sydney on and off for years and I have never actually gone ahead and done this. So before I turn 30 I want to climb all the way to the top.

3. Write a book

I don't know what it is, but I'm really feeling inspired to write this year. With all this inspiration, I feel like I can actually complete the first draft of a book this year before I turn 30.

4. Go see a show at the theatre

There are so many great shows out at the moment. One of my Nephews recently went to see Willy Wonka and it looked like so much fun, so with or without T, I want to go see something.

5. Eat at Zumbos

Last year T and I binge watched Zumbos Sweet Deserts on Netflix. It's really made us want to go into the city and eat at his restaurant. At some point this year we're going to do it... maybe for T's birthday?

6. Start learning to play the piano

When I was 11 I started to learn, but I didn't have the want to practice. For the past 5 years, I've been wanting to start up once again. Only this time I'm thinking more of teaching myself more than going out and getting a teacher.

7. Start learning Australian Sign Language

I have always loved Sign Language. When I was 8, we had a teacher choreograph a sign language performance for our end of year concert. It was one of my most favourite things that I ever learned. Since then, I've forgotten the performance but I do want to get back into it because I think it's a language that is very useful throughout life.

8. Do Blogilates 3 times a week

I am not an overly physical person and I don't like doing group classes. It's why I love Blogilates. It's portable, I can do it easily and if I only have twenty minutes to do a workout, I can find some space in the house and a video that fills in that time.

9. Do the ghost tour at Quarantine Station

This is another thing that I have had on the back burner for the past few years. Quarantine Station is this place near Manly that used to be where you would go back in the day to be quarantined before being let out into the general public. Many people died there because of disease and supposedly the place is haunted. I love a good ghost tour, so this place as been on my list for a long time. The added bonus to this whole thing is that you can actually spend the night in cabins there if you want to. I'm not sure if I can talk T into that, but who knows.

10. Go to the Justice and Police Museum

I discovered Sydney had this place a few months ago and have been wanting to go ever since. It's only open on the weekends though so I haven't been able to make the trip into the city like I want to. However this year, with or without someone, I'm going to make the trek and go into the city and have a wander through!

11. Ghost Tour and sleep over and Monte Cristo

Monte Cristo is the first truly haunted place that I have ever stepped into. I went there for a school excursion with my Mum and she still says that in one of the rooms, she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. I haven't been back since, but I've recently learned that they do night tours and you can sleep over in the house, so it's been added to my bucket list.

12. Visit a medium

If you haven't already guessed, I do kind of love the supernatural side of things. I've been learning how to read tarot cards recently and the place that I go to get a lot of my "hippy" things as T calls them has mediums. Sometime this year I want to go in and talk to one.

13. Learn to crochet

I can knit. Knitting is easy. I just never have been able to crochet. So that is my next challenge.

14. Go to the Gold Coast to ride rollercoasters

This has been on the list for a while, since they opened the new Superman rollercoaster up there. T and I love roller coasters and rides like that in particular. I swear through the whole ride, but I enjoy it so much.

15. Loose 10kgs

I am fully aware that at this point in my life I am obese. I look in the mirror and do feel like I'm overly so, but I'm also aware that I'm larger than what I should be. Last year I managed to go from 102kgs to 93.5 kgs and it was a hard slog on my own. This year, I'm going it with a group and I'm so ready to start losing the weight to get it off, both for health reasons and for other reasons that have already been mentioned.

16. Pierce my ears and nose

My goal since I was a teen was to have my ears pierced 3 times and this year, I want to complete that goal. For the past 3 years, I have been putting a lot of thought into getting my nose done and I think I'm going to go ahead with it.

17. Do treetops at Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo is an amazing place, and they have this above ground obstacle course that you can run. It looks like so much fun, so I'd like to give that a go.

18. Hold a koala

I have felt a koala, but I have never held one. As much as I'm aware that they can be cranky, I still want to cuddle one!

19. Go to the snow

I hate the cold. I really do. But T hasn't been snowboarding in over a year and I know he is desperate to go back, so I'm willing to brave the snow for him. Plus I want to build a snowman.

20. Finish the legacy challenge on the sims

I have had poor Averie Thorne sitting unplayed on my computer for about a month now. The poor woman just wants to live her life and become an evil mastermind. It's only fair that I allow her and the generations after her to complete this legacy.

21. Watch a horror movie

I'm not a fan of horror movies. I don't see what is fun about being scared. T, on the other hand, loves them and I think I'm going to allow him to choose one movie that we watch together that is horror related.

22. Assemble a large puzzle

I love puzzles. They're a lot of fun, I just haven't done a huge one in ages!

23. Assemble a lego creator package

Lego for me is on the same level as puzzles. I just find it fun to put everything together.

24. Watch every episode of Supernatural

From episode 1 right up until their current season, I'm going to be watching the Winchester brothers!

25. Throw a surprise party

This is kind of already in the works. Shhh!

26. Go to Vivid

Vivid is this light show that is put on every year throughout Sydney. Last year, T and I went and saw it on the Harbour and it was beautiful. This year I'd like to go and check out Taronga and maybe go a big earlier and tour the zoo at the same time.

27. Go to Madi Gras

They're not far off and it's something I've been wanting to go in and see for so long!

28. Go watch the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Last year, T and I got the chance to go and watch the Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform while we watched Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back. We've recently discovered that in August they're doing Return of the Jedi, and I really want to go!

29. Donate Blood

When I was in high school, we had the chance to sign up and donate blood and I did it for the last two years I was there. Since then I haven't done it because after one donation I was really light headed and didn't want to do it again for a while. Well, it's been nearly 10 years and I'd like to go and do it again!

So there we go, the full list of things that I would love to do this year. Do you have anything that you want to do this year? I'd love to hear about them!

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Reading Goals 2019

I'm a bookwork. I'm not ashamed to say it. One of my favourite things to do is to sit with a cup of tea and read for a couple of hours. Every year I join in on Goodreads Book Reading Challenge and I never make it to my goal.

Mainly because I expect myself to be able to read one book per week.

This year is different because I'm setting myself a different set of parameters and sharing them here so I can be held accountable.

1. Read 26 books
1 book every two weeks - this is a little more attainable than one book every week.

2. 6 out of 26 have to be Non-Fiction
I don't read a lot of Non-Fiction, unless you count true crime. I need to branch out a little more and include these just for a change.

3. I want to read 5 books off the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge list
I love this challenge! You can find a link to the book list above but the idea is to read the books that are mentioned in the TV series Gilmore Girls (one of my favourite shows!)

4. Three of the books have to be books from a genre that I don't normally read
I'm very guilty of sticking to crime and thriller style books. Branching out to new genres may allow me to find some new authors.

5. Three of the books have to be Romance
I'm not a fan of Romance books. Nothing personal but they're just not my thing but I need more variety so I'm going to have a go.

6. I have to 3 books from my to-be-read pile
Like any bibliophile, I have a large pile of books that are just waiting to be read. I need to bring them down a little bit so I can grow it once more.

If you're interested in seeing the full list of books that I've chosen then you can seen them down below

2019 Reaching Challenge

Sophie's favorite books »

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Goals for 2019

I'm not a fan of "resolutions". For me a resolution is something that you either succeed or fail at. There are no other ways for you to look at it and think "Ok, I didn't do as bad as I originally thought".

Instead I like to make goals.

Goals are a lot more attainable. You can work out a game plan and if you don't hit that goal, you can look at it and see what you did and feel as though you didn't 100% fail on attaining it.

1. Complete 6 Units this year
If you don't know, I'm currently studying a Bachelor in Social Science (Psychology). It's been a long road because I had to cut down on my study load and beef up my workload over the past two years. As a result, I'm kind of a year behind where I wanted to be when I first started. I'm starting this teaching year with 11 units that I need to complete - two of which I am currently doing. My plan is to complete 6 of these remaining units by the end of 2019, leaving me with 3 to complete in 2020. This means that I'm going to be going part-time with work, but the results of taking this year to complete everything is going to be worth it. Thankfully I have a very supportive boyfriend who totally understands my reasoning behind this and a family who are behind me as well.

2. Lose weight
This is a pretty common goal for many people at the beginning of the year. I started 2017 off at 100kgs, the heaviest I have ever been. I've slowly been picking away at it over the year but this is the year that I'm going to get my head in the game and lose those extra kilos. Now, I'm not looking to become super duper skinny. That's just not me. I like my food too much. However, I do want to go down two dress sizes from a 16 to a 12, which is a lot more realistic for me. Losing weight is also a health-related goal. I have PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) and a way to help manage it is to loose 5%-10% which adds up to 5kgs or 10kgs. PCOS also effects my fertility as does my weight which leads into goal #3.

3. Fall Pregnant
This is not to say this is actually going to happen (and I'm speaking directly to you Mum and T's Mum if you happen to read this) but I would like to fall pregnant this year. I've always told T that I don't want to be having a baby for the first time when I'm turning 31 and he's aware that ideally, I would like to start trying mid-2019. That being said, this particular goal is very much up in the air and may not happen in 2019. If it does then we'll be very happy but if it doesn't then I'm not going to be too upset.

4. Build my blog and channel
As I said in my intro post, the reason why I started this blog was to document the last year of my 20's. I started a little earlier just to get into the rhythm of things but starting the 6th of Feb I'm going to be posting every day. On top of this blog, I also have a YouTube Channel where I share some gaming things. Right now it's mostly Sim's stuff, but I'm looking to go into streaming once I go part-time, which will also be shared on YouTube. I don't think I'm going to share much more than gaming stuff on that channel, but who knows what is going to happen as the year goes on.

5. Write a Book
I've always been a writer. I can remember writing short stories about my favourite doll and showing them to my Mum as a child. This hasn't changed. As a teen and adult, I have written fanfiction about various things that I like to watch or read (*cough* Harry Potter *cough*). Not much of it survives now, but now I'm ready to start getting into something more original. In 2017 I tried sharing something on Wattpad, only to find that I personally didn't like the story and took it down. I still love the characters, however, so I just have to work them into a different plot I think. This year, I'd like to get a rough draft done at the least.

And thats about it for my goals for 2019. Do you have any goals for the year?

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)