Moorea Seal // 52 Lists Project // Weeks 1-6

A jewelry designer and inspirational blogger that I love to follow is, Moorea Seal. She has great ideas for making 2013 the best year, yet, and a fun jewelry shop on Etsy...full of amethyst rings and chevron necklaces! Swoon. Moorea is such a great inspiration, so I am excited to share her latest project with you all.

Her latest project is The 52 List Project.  A list per week for the entire year with prompts like your current and future goals and dreams, the ways you can show love to others and things you are proud of.  A fun, free printable with the prompt is available each week, along with her list for the week and a place to link up your own list to share. Oh, I do love a good list!

We are now on week 6 and I have finally caught up on the prompts, so instead of sharing all of my lists in this one post, I will give the you the best from each week and the full list for this week at the end. Enjoy!

52 Lists Project

Weeks 1 - 3

Week 1
Words that touch your soul.
(side note: I absolutely loved this prompt and I think it is still my favorite.)
family
home
light
depth
adventure
play
create

Week 2
Your greatest comforts.
traveling to a favorite place.
coming home.
my pillow.
the sound of waves.
the warmth of the sun on my skin.
being embraced in a huge Jimi bear hug.

Week 3
Things you should be proud of.
myself.
the people closest to me.
my business progress.
the adventures I have had.
the time I have taken to learn.

Weeks 4 - 6

Week 4
Current and future goals and dreams.
start my own business, quit my day job.
find a creative community that I can be apart of.
grow old with Jimi, but first marry my best friend. :)
travel when I get the opportunity - more adventures.
create and learn new things everyday.
run another half marathon...I think I am crazy...

Week 5
What you are grateful for.
my family and childhood.
my passion for art, design, and history - knowledge.
the people closest to me.
the taste of rootbeer.
the ocean.
my adventures.
my pets.
paddling.

Week 6
The ways I can show love to others.
say I love you.
send them a note.
listen. care. be there.
be responsive.
smile. laugh. reward.
be grateful.
give praise and affection.
acceptance and understanding.
be kind. be thankful, grateful.
open my mind and my heart.
accept love from others.
spend quality time.
compliment. take interest.
communicate. connect.
be authentic.
thoughtful gestures.
practice patience.
pray. hug. kiss.

I love my lists in a notebook, so this is my 52 lists project book!

If you love lists (who doesn't?) and would like to participate head on over to Moorea Seal!
Happy listing!

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I finished my first half marathon!

Yep, I did it. 

Not that I didn't think I couldn't do it, but I didn't think I would actually have that much fun doing it.  So am I crazy that I will be continuing my training to do another half marathon in May? I don't know yet, but I do know that I can do it now.

 I never doubted myself, but I have to say the 13.1 miles was a little daunting and I had no idea what to expect. We were standing at the start line and my friend Kelly gave us some encouragement that came from our friend Bobbie.  "Are you kidding me? Of course, you can do it! If you can paddle 42 miles for 8 hours, you can do 13 miles!" Yeah Bobbie, thank you! :)

We had a good group of girls..all different levels and all good friends. We go by team #nac4life! We did group workouts, and we have a great workout schedule created by the fabulous Eden, our supportive leader!  I tried to keep up with the schedule as much as possible, but through Christmas, New Years and getting sick, I fell off quite a bit. I made sure to reach 6 miles of running at one point in my training which is the suggested minimum you need to be able to run to be prepared for a half marathon. I felt super under prepared but I was still going to do it. And I am glad I did.

Doing it with a group definitely helped...I had support, workout buddies and even though we didn't all run together the day of the race we were still all there in it together, cheering each other on along the way. Not only did we have a great group, but we had a beautiful day and gorgeous scenery! We participated in the Surf City Half Marathon that goes out of Huntington Beach, Ca.  It runs mostly along PCH with the sun soaking through, the sound of the waves, the smell of sunscreen and salt, and stretches of beach to look at while running. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

It took me 17 minutes longer than the goal that I had put in when I registered months ago...but I wasn't totally attached to that number because, one, I did not train as much as I had anticipated and, two, this was my first race...I just needed to do it and get through it. Now that I have done it I see what all the hype is about. Holy cow, were there a million people down there. That alone was probably the biggest eye opener of the day. We took over PCH, and instead of lanes of cars, we were a sea of people weaving in and out of PCH like we owned the place. It was kinda cool being in the middle of a highway I have driven on most of my life, but running it, with not a car in site.

What? Like it's hard?

In January, I joined an online running group started by Raechel Myers, who writes at her blog, Finding My Feet, which I follow.  The online running team consists of about 50 or 60 people from all over the US training for half marathons, or just needing help staying accountable. #TeamFMF really helped me keep up miles through the last month of training and even helped me get in some of my longest runs.  Really supportive group there as well.

You wont see me doing a full marathon, probably ever, but I am going to tackle another half or two this year.  The next one coming up in the San Diego Wild Safari Park Half Marathon which takes place in the park so you get to run and see all the animals.

I know what you are thinking - Maddie support a place full of "captive" animals? I know but, this park is far different from any zoo you have ever been to, and it is the only animal park I have supported in the past 5 years. What makes it different? According to a San Diego Travel website they are "a conservation facility. This establishment is designed for the study and preservation of wild animals and endangered species. The main goal of this facility is to provide a wildlife sanctuary where animals can live in a protected environment." They home a lot of endangered animals that are close to extinction...they are setup to re-populate these species, and have separate facilities for this. They have acres of land and most of the animals have a ton of room to roam...they are not in a normal cage you would see at a zoo.  The animals are partnered up, they try to have two or more of each species for companionship. Although I still disagree with captivity, this park is set up for the right reasons, ones that I can support.

Thanks girls for a great first half marathon, would not have wanted it any other way! And here's to a few more!! ;)

xo,

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Dream Big

We all dream big, but what is the one thing that we all have that can compile all of those dreams into one?

That would be...the Bucket List!

 
I recently found Kate Conner's Blog where she has her Life List...a wish list of sorts for her life. I have this list, you have this list, we all have this list.  This is a list that lets you dream without limits, plan for the future, find inspiration, and it can be a great reminder about what life experiences are really all about!

The best way to make it a great reminder is to write it down, share it, and LOVE IT! By writing it down...not only is it the perfect page to come back to year after year, but it will become a reminder for what you really want in this lifetime.

This is a great time of year to be putting your bucket list into writing.  We are recovering from turkey, dusting off the Christmas decorations, and ramping up for the new year, making this a wonderful time for reflection. At this time of year we become aware of what it is we love, what makes us happy, what we are thankful for and what we want in the new year, which makes writing this list a bit of a breeze!  Then when the holidays are gone and the hustle and bustle of the new year takes us by storm, we have our bucket list to remind us of what we want to really accomplish, not just during the holidays, but throughout our entire life.

This list does not have to be long, but it should be big, as in dreaming big.  What are your wildest dreams, what do you want to find, and what sounds like so much fun?  These are the things you should be writing down, these are not your goals for the year (even though the bucket list is a great place to start when you sit down to set your 2013 goals!), but the goals that you might not always believe you will accomplish or find the time for...but you want to do it anyway.

Now, this list should not be a ball and chain.  This list is completely for fun, it about dreaming, and creativity.  This list will change throughout your lifetime, it will evolve and that is what makes it even better.  It can be added to, it can be changed and it has a life of its own.

Once you have written your list, share it with someone.  I would like to share mine with my boyfriend, Jimi, and see what we can go accomplish together. If you are not comfortable sharing it, that is okay! Writing your bucket list down, alone, sends it out into the universe for you!  You may come to realize, that without even noticing in the first place, you start to pick things off of that list just because you wrote them all down!

Here are a few from my Bucket List:
1. Start my own business.
2. Travel to the 7 Wonders of the World.
3. Go to the Baja 1000 with Jimi. (This is on his list!)
4. Go on a volunteer expedition in another county.
5. Teach art to children. (could be in another country :))
6. Paddle in another country. (This is probably on his list, too)
7. See every kind of whale, dolphin, and porpoise possible, from a boat in the ocean.
8. Experience the love and gentle nature of elephants in their natural habitat on a safari.
9. Drive from northern Alaska to the southern tip of S. America with Jimi. (This is on his list!)
10. Marry my best friend!

Now write a few of your dreams down and start that bucket list..it's fun!

Enjoy!

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