Life

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The only really awesome thing about turning 25 is getting to rent a car without the “under 25 tax” and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go out and just rent a car right now.

To celebrate the occasion, I’m sharing my 5 birthday fun facts and 20 things on my bucket list for 25!

5 Birthday Fun Facts

1. The doctor who delivered me was Irish.
2. 2 years ago I went to the hospital for the first time as a patient. It was also my first time in an ambulance. Let’s just say that my birthday wasn’t the best day of the year to figure out a new allergy.
3. I’m going to confuse everyone by saying that my “American birthday” is technically the 16th since the time of day that I was born in Australia would technically have been the 16th in the US. But since I was born on the 17th where I was, I’m happy to keep it that way 🙂
4. My mom used to get me a few special St. Patrick’s Day goodies for my birthday each year. I still have a few of them including the shamrock socks I got probably 10+ years ago that I loved.
5. Today is also Katie Ledecky’s birthday!

A photo from my last birthday with my mom (turning 19)

Bucket List

1. Go backpacking — I wanted to do this last year and it didn’t work out.
2. Go to Australia — or at least start saving for a trip. It’s been over 5 years since the last time and I haven’t seen much of my family since then.
3. Volunteer — I was really excited about an opportunity for volunteering last fall but it fell through so I hope to find a great place locally to volunteer.
4. Host a summer picnic party — just because.
5. Bike the GAP trail in the fall — another one I was hoping to do last year that fell through.
6. De-junk home — I’m really trying to get rid of all the extra stuff we’ve accumulated that we don’t need. I hate holding on to so much stuff.
7. Run a half marathon — still planning on the Chicago half in September!
8. Regularly share recipes on the blog — I have so many great recipes that I love and I really need to get around to sharing because I know you’d love them too!
9. Go natural — this may be a weird way to put it, but I really think that all these chemicals we’re lathering on our skin and cleaning our home with are disruptive/harmful to our bodies. I want to make more products to use at home and phase out the chemical filled store bought junk.
10. Go stand-up paddleboarding — I’ve wanted to do this for a few years.
11. Gain the upper hand on sugar — this has been a long time coming and is an ongoing battle.
12. Attend a Michael Buble concert — I don’t know if this will be possible before my next birthday since his son is dealing with cancer and it’s unlikely that he’s going to be touring but I’m still going to put this here.
13. Share music videos on YouTube — My hubby and I are always singing and making music together and since I already have a channel with a lot of my high school/college music, it’s about time to start sharing more music.
14. Kayak down the Potomac — We went on a river cruise from Georgetown to Alexandria for my bachelorette party a few years ago and I keep thinking how gorgeous it would be to paddle through that area.
15. Achieve weight goals — My birthday present to myself next year is to feel amazing, healthy, and be carrying around a lot less physical baggage.
16. Run on the beach — I’ve kind of fantasized about this one and I’ve love to get to cross this off my list this year!
17. Watch a meteor shower — I’ve never actually had the energy to wake up and get out of bed to see one of these and I really want to do this!
18. Take a dance class with Brady — I don’t know how he’d feel about this, but we’ve talked about and joked about it before and I think it could be a lot of fun!
19. Pick up a new hobby.
20. Sell a painting — I almost said paint more but I decided to challenge myself. I don’t know who would buy my painting, but it’s going to happen.

This is going to be a year full of happiness and lots of personal growth! Have a great weekend everyone!