Sort of.

It might be the lamest excuse for one ever.  I used my iphone for more photos than I would like to admit.  And I messed up the dates and skipped at least 4 days, since it ended several days after the date I originally started on.  (Perhaps a bit of that could be blamed on the confusion of going abroad for a while.)  All of the pictures aren’t great.  Maybe only a few are good.

But I did it.

Project 365 is getting crossed off the life list and my camera is going back to being a special use item.  The pressure, not that there was any, is off.

For me it’s less about the pictures and more about all the wonderful things that happened while I was trying to document my life over a year. Sure, a lot of boring “oh no i forgot” pictures are in there. But there are also pictures from trips to Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. and New Zealand and more. There are pictures of friends getting married, blogging conferences, living in Vermont, vacationing with my mom and meeting the love of my life. It’s been an interesting and unpredictable year for me and this project reminds me of that fact.

So here are the 365 photos that managed to make it into the final slideshow of Project 365 greatness.

Apparently Memphis ranks low for those wanting to find love, or so The Memphis Blog has informed me.

I suppose that’s why I had to fall in love with someone who lived outside of Memphis. Maybe I could have picked someone closer to home, but falling in love with a boy who lives in New Zealand does have its perks.  New Zealand is pretty awesome.

It’s a very strange thing, falling for someone before you’ve technically met them.  But that’s what happened to me in a little weight loss blogging love story that took me across the globe to meet the person I fell for.   In the end it worked out like I imagined and I couldn’t be happier.

Need proof?

Even though it was on my list of things to do, I never really thought I would get around to doing it.  But I did!!

I was super nervous about it when we got there, because it’s something I’ve never done and it’s jumping off something HIGH with only a cord attached to your ankles. In the video you can see that I was slightly freaking out in the beginning. That was partly because I must have looked nervous so the guys working started joking about being drunk and accidents and how nervous they were. Ah! But really the worst part is slowly waddling your way to the edge of the platform so you can jump. The cord is hanging off the platform and pulling at your feet like it is going to pull you off – it’s scarier than actually jumping. But once I got in place and they told me you just fall forward I knew I could do it… and I did!! I screamed for like a second and then realized it was fun and laughed during most of the jump. If you have three-ish minutes you should totally check out the video because it is freaking awesome.

Yeah. That’s how it is.

We also went to The Honey Hive where I bought some honey, took a little excursion to see Huka falls, and we went kayaking, then got caught in a storm, camped out for a bit with a super nice family from Auckland, and then hauled ass back so as not to get electrocuted. Maybe not the best kayaking adventure, but definitely a unique one.

Just another reason why Taupo, and New Zealand in general, is awesome.

I hadn’t realized before then that 1) it wasn’t on there and 2) I haven’t done it yet.

I spent the weekend hanging out with friends in various parts of Vermont.  I went on a little travel adventure and toured Meredith’s apartment and then Mallory’s as well and realized I wanted to have my own space too.   They both had such cute apartments full of things that spoke to them and represented them so well.  I realized that I wanted the same thing.  I want my own space filled with things I like that no one else has control over.

I’ve always lived with someone else.  Whether my family or roommates, there has always been someone else involved in making the decisions involved in my living space.  At most I’ve only had a single room and bathroom where I alone called the shots.  It’s not enough. I need to live on my own.

Financially speaking, having a roommate is the smart thing to do usually.  It has been for me in the past.  But I’m done with that.  I want to have my own small kingdom to rule.  I want to buy furniture I like and not care if someone else appreciates it in the same way.  I want to share my space and my things with no one else, except maybe a cute puppy.

So it is on my list now.

I will live alone somewhere, somehow.

As I was writing it I went exploring online and found a lot of amazing life/to-do/bucket lists from other bloggers.  Since reading all of these lists and recreating my own I’ve been pondering the idea of life lists.

Are life lists really necessary?   Can’t you just do the things you want to do without having a list to check off?

Why write a life list?

Life is short. Figure out what you want to do and then do it.  You don’t have the time to mess around.

Lists make you focus. The reason we write to-do lists is so we can focus on what needs to get done without getting distracted and forgetting tasks.  Life is very distracting at times and those awesome, fun, creative things we want to do can be forgotten in the midst of daily living.

Progress is fun. Creating a life list can give you a sense of progress and accomplishment as you look back at the things that have been finished and marked off.

Accountability. You know what is on my list now.  Remind me.  Let’s do some together.  It is out there for all the world to see and follow as I make it happen.  Writing out a list gives you more accountability to make things happen, even if that is just accountability with yourself.

I mentioned that I’ve written out my life list before.  Several times, once even on individual post-it notes.  So I’d like to share some of the experiences that were previously on my life list but have been completed before the list became digital in its version 2.0.  Progress at it’s best – the COMPLETED LIST:

Study abroad. Go paragliding. Visit California. Visit Mexico.  Graduate college with honors.  Win at intramurals.  Stay up all night.  Complete my thesis.  Present at an academic conference.  Learn how to snowboard.  Snowboard in the Rockies.  Visit Jessi in Orgeon.  Swim in the Pacific Ocean.  Sing Karaoke.   Ride a moped.  Eat deep dish pizza in Chicago. Go to BlogHer.  Meet blogging friends in real life. Go ziplining.  Spring break trip with the girls.  Visit Paris; Rome; Athens; Vienna; Brussels; Prague; Budapest.  Go to Puerto Rico.  Get a job through Twitter.  Kayak in Spring River; Lake Tahoe.  Backpack around Europe.  Take a train ride in the US; Europe.  Take a Greyhound bus.  Blog for over a year. Inspire someone.

I’ve done a few cool things already and have plenty of things left to experience.

How about you?  Do you have a life list out there somewhere?