More Me Than I Have Ever Been

I found this quote the other day and I really felt like it summed up exactly why I am doing this project.

It took me longer than I thought it would to come up with a list of 29 things (especially when I discovered that I had skipped the number 12 on my list and had to think of another task. So intelligent...). I wanted to choose things that I'd actually be able to do, things that meant something instead of just writing things down for the sake of filling out my list. These are things that I've wanted to do for a while but didn't have the motivation to do. Some may seem silly, but sometimes the silly things are the hardest, the things that teach us a lot about who we are. Although, admittedly, I don't expect many earth-shattering revelations to follow the completion of number 11, but I'm determined to do it none the less.

And so, without further adieu, here is my list. Some things will be done fairly quickly, but others I can foresee taking me some time. But I WILL do them all!

1. Become Financially Mature; Without going into too much detail, I suck with money (mostly due to a lack of will power) and have more debt than I am comfortable with. This is the primary reason I currently live with my parents.
2. Treego; Swinging through the trees sounds like a good time to me!
3. Learn to Play a Musical Instrument; 'Piano!' I hear some of you cry. 'Guitar!' I hear others say. No, my friends. I have chosen a much more interesting instrument, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out which one...
4. Move Out of my Parents' Spare Bedroom; Even if it's only to their basement.
5. Cook a Beef Wellington; Chef Ramsey does it all the time.
6. See Every Movie I Want to See in Theatres; Even if I have to do number 10 at the same time.
7. See the Calgary Stampede; Maybe I'll also pick up a cowboy!
8. Sleep Under the Stars; Clearly this will need to be done soon...
9. Yoga; Possibly in the privacy of my bedroom. I am not particularly graceful...
10. Go to a Movie by Myself; Probably the only way I will get number 6 done.
11. Find a Piece of Yellow Clothing That Suits Me; I am pale. Yellow makes me look jaundiced, but it's so bright and pretty. This may be my hardest task...
12. Help Mom Organize Her Craft Room; Because let's be honest, most of that crap is mine.
13. **Take a Photography Class; My artsy pictures of flowers aren't fooling anyone. I have no idea what I'm doing.
14. Investigate a Masters Degree; No idea what in. Hence the investigation.
15. Make a Piece of Pottery; By myself, not like in 'Ghost'.
16. Harry Potter Movie Marathon; All eight. I literally don't think there are enough hours in the day.
17. Learn to Cook a Steak; My ex used to do it, but, well, he's my ex so he isn't around to do it anymore.
18. Hike in the Mountains; Probably done around the same time as number 7.
19. Finish Making a Piece of Clothing; I have 3 pieces started in Mom's dining room. I think they're feeling abandoned...
20. ***Take a Solo Mini-Vacation; Just me, myself and I in a hotel, doing whatever I want.
21. Help Mom and Dad Clean Out the Basement; And perhaps thereby also accomplish number 4.
22. Have Professional Photos Taken of Myself; So many people are getting beautiful engagement, wedding and baby photos taken. I have none of those things. And I have no patience so I don't want to wait until I do.
23. Get a Tattoo; It's time to finally do what I've been threatening to do for 6 years.
24. ****Watch all Classic 'Dr. Who' From the Beginning (1963); All the episodes I can find, that is.
25. *Pierce the Top of my Ear; Only one I think. Not sure which one, but they each have a 50/50 chance of being the lucky ear.* 
26. Dance More; At my friend's wedding reception I remembered how much I love to dance. This may also take place primarily in my room...
27. Hand-make as Many Gifts as Possible; Thanks to Pinterest I have lots of ideas!
28. Drink More Water; I have a Dietitian for a sister. It's about time I started listening to her.
29. Go on a Date; I'm only committing to one and I have 11 and a half months to do it. No pressure.

*As of February 4, 2013 I no longer want to pierce the top of my ear, so I'm changing this item to Plant and Take Care of a Big Garden* 

**As of April 14, 2013 I no longer want to take a photography class. I'd have to get a new camera, and that would kind of spoil the Become more financially responsible thing. My new list item will be Make My Own Pasta**

***As of June 15, 2013 I no longer want to take a solo mini vacation. More accurately, I don't have time to take a solo mini vacation and it wouldn't be very financially responsible of me. My new list item is Get Caught Up on My Reading Challenge List. I have a goal of reading 55 books in 2013, and I'm a little bit behind right now. My birthday will be about 56% of the way through the year, which means by that point I will need to have read about 56% of my books. That will be 30 books. I'm currently at 23, which means I have 4.5 weeks to read 7 more books. Not sure this will make my life any easier...

****As of June 27, 2013 I am going to focus on finishing all the Classic Doctor Who (to the end of the 8th Doctor), so that I don't have to rush as much and can enjoy them.

And there it is. Sometimes I look at this list and feel a bit overwhelmed, but many of them tie in to each other. I'm really looking forward to the journey I'm starting. And when I do feel a bit discouraged, I can think of this quote that I found by the amazing Neil Gaiman;

Let the games begin!!

This is the Valancy Stirling Project

Life never seems to go the way you expect it to, does it? At the age of 28 I had already learned this, but I didn't know just how wildly off-track life can sometimes go. After spending 6 years with a man I was planning to spend my future with, life struck again. He broke up with me. Gave me the old "I love you, but I'm not IN love with you anymore". And a month later he had moved on, while I was still having a hard time getting out the door in the morning.

Add to this delightful experience the fact that my finances were, well, not optimal, and I had to move back in with my parents. Now, my parents are great and living with them has been wonderful, but no grown woman wants to have to live with her parents, especially after she'd been out on her own for years.

To top it all off, my job, which I love, had reached entirely new levels of stress and insanity. It was a hard 5 months. And then, somewhere around the beginning of July, things started to look less cloudy. My stomach didn't drop when I thought of my ex. Laughter started to come easier, tears came less frequently, and I started wanting to spend more time with my friends and family than alone in my room watching Netflix for hours on end.

With my new attitude and my 29th birthday fast approaching I started to think of things I could do to make my life my own again. This happened to coincide with my turn to choose a book for my book club, and I chose my favourite book, "The Blue Castle", by Lucy Maud Montgomery. For those of you who don't know (which is probably most of you), "The Blue Castle" is about Valancy Stirling, a woman from a stern and oppressive family who, as her 29th birthday dawns has been relegated to old-maidenhood. Upon receiving news that she has only a year to live, Valancy sets out to live her life by her own rules and seek out her own happiness. Valancy's decision inspired me to do the same thing for myself as I began my 29th year (minus the threat of imminent death).

So here it is; The Valancy Stirling Project. My goals for this, my 29th year. All 29 of them, some of them big, some of them small, but all things that will benefit me in various ways and set me on a path for the life I want to live. My next post will lay them all out and I'll post as I go to keep up with my progress. Maybe by the end of this I will have found my own Blue Castle. Wish me luck!