may goals

April was kindof a big month. I taught a week of blogging classes, hiked through a gorge, turned 29, and hit 500 bloglovin followers. with all of that, I didn't quite complete last month's goals. [I was, perhaps, a bit over-ambitious.] the book made it up over 50,000 words but definitely not to 75,000. I started my 10k training plan, but the past week I've been replacing a few runs with long hikes and sightseeing days. I finished one washi tape wall project but not quite the second. and though I tweaked the blog design, I'm already itchy to change colors.

but I still accomplished a lot that was not related to these goals [that in truth was more important] so I feel like April was jam-packed and productive. even if it wasn't quite what I had pictured. my unread blog post count is insane and I'm so behind on commenting on other blogs... and it's going to stay that way until the end of this week when my friend leaves. I'm mostly just dropping by to schedule this post because my brain gets all kinds of disorderly if I don't write something every now and then.

I'm almost hesitant to set any goals for May. my friend has been here for the past week and we've been traveling and touring like crazy... and there's not much of a breather between more travels and more visitors before I fly back to the states in a month.

um... a month? holy cow.

so my goals this moth are hopefully a little more realistic:
+ enjoy the time with visiting friends and family +
+ soak up as much Taiwan as possible before leaving +
+ let go of trying to do everything, and just do what I can +

I hope your April was as awesome as mine, and that your May will be full of adventures!

linking up with Melyssa for weekly wishes

twenty-nine // birthday reflections

I kicked off my twenty-ninth birthday by soaking in a rooftop hot tub, surrounded by misty mountains in the middle of Taroko Gorge. not a terrible way to begin the end of my twenties.

people say a lot of different things about your twenties. they're amazing and they're awful. it's a time of self-discovery... or maybe self-depreciation. it's when we're told we will all figure out our lives, but much to our surprise - most of us don't.

at twenty-one, I thought I knew everything. I had a plan. I knew where I was going and how to get there. I had it all mapped out and it seemed so simple. [oh, the joys of youthful confidence.]

at twenty-five, I thought I had it all. things were running right on schedule... my job, my marriage, paying off my car and having the two fluffiest cats around. I either had or was well on my way to getting everything I thought I wanted.

at twenty-seven, I realized I knew nothing. except that what I had was not right for me. I was stressed out, frustrated, and unhappy. what I wanted? I didn't have a clue, but I knew it wasn't the life I was living.

and now at twenty-nine, I think I've figured it out: you don't ever figure it out. there is no one plan and there won't ever be a day where everything falls into place forever. each and every day is a choice, and you have to make that choice each and every day. what to wear, what to eat, what to do. to be happy and healthy, to be a good wife/sister/daughter/friend. it's both a burden and a blessing, because every day it's all in our own hands. there are days when we choose right and there are days when we choose wrong.

but making mistakes is part of learning and growing. changing your mind and deciding to take a new path can be the best decision you've ever made. growth is essential to life - only living things grow. they breathe and they change. if you stop changing, it means you're dead. [and I'm far from that.]

the life I'm living now is completely different than anything I had imagined, but I'm completely in love with it.

the thought of twenty-nine used to freak me out. but not anymore. I'm ready to embrace this year and give my twenties the send-off they deserve. I mean, how bad can twenty-nine be when red wine and a bowl of m&m's and gummy bears is your birthday dessert after spending the day hiking and climbing through one of the most beautiful places on earth?

not bad at all.