#21: Go to Tablerock

Last week two of my friends came to visit. Jenny and Megan's trips overlapped one day so we made the most and explored Boise. I thought going to Tablerock would be a great way for the girls to see the city and I could also cross it off my 25 before 26 list. Luckily the fog lifted just for us and then it settled back in after we left. Heather and Jenny didn't enjoy the trek up to the top (the road was partially closed), but I thought it was worth it.

Meredith-isms

Heather and I have been watching Grey's Anatomy lately as part of my list of 25. I've missed watching this show sooo much! I haven't watched it in about two years. One of the things I love the most is the Meredith-isms.

Here are some of my favorites:

"We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?"

“I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope..."

"You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true."

"At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. Its like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And its not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away."

"Maybe we like the pain. Maybe we're wired that way. Because without it, I don't know; maybe we just wouldn't feel real. What's that saying? Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop."

"Okay, here it is, your choice... it's simple, her or me, and I'm sure she is really great. But Derek, I love you, in a really, really big pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me, choose me, love me."

"A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying."

"Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victoris. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate."

source

25 before 26

You may have seen Heather's post yesterday, which makes me not even want to post because hers is so awesome. We also have a lot of the same things on our lists (I'm such a copier). Anyway, I posted back in December my list of goals, 24 before 25. I might have done about half of it, I admit I didn't try very hard. I really like my 25 goals before 26 and will definitely try harder to get EVERYTHING done.

1. Take a trip (or two) to Georgia to visit Jenny

2. Meet Amanda irl

3. Read the complete works of Jane Austen

4. Get out of debt and save money

5. Move out of my parent's house

6. Get another tattoo

7. Get current on photo albums

8. Run a 5k

9. Go on a date

10. Re-watch and catch up on Grey's Anatomy

11. Go to Coachella in Indio, California

12. Have some of my pictures on display at a store, coffee shop or library

13. Schedule one photoshoot each month (total of 12+)

14. Get A's fall and spring semesters

15. Work on my thesis proposal and find my emphasis for the remainder of my grad program

16. Get a more permanent job

17. Maintain a good workout routine, 4-5 times/week

18. Go to a Barcelona show (it's been too long)

barcelona source

19. Read all of Jodi Picoult's books

20. Read the Bible cover to cover

21. Go to Tablerock

22. Go on a hike

23. Work on two personal photo series outside of school

24. Start a vintage camera collection

25. Live simplier and greener by repurposing, diy-ing and thrifting

Some of these things are obviously a little more challenging, but I'm up for it. I don't know what this next year is going to bring, but I'm going to make the most of it!

photo source