Week 1 of 101 in 1001

I’m excited to announce that I have completed 8 goals this week! (read as: I’m an overachiever and wanted to start off with a bang. Following is a report on those goals and updates on how this is going.

#54: Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find. This was hard only because I had to pick the book, and it really was an easy decision. I went with The Book Thief because it is my favorite. I wrote a small note on a piece of paper and I’m going to leave it in the copy at the library for someone to find! (See bottom picture in collage)

#57: Write a letter to myself to open when the 1001 days is over. This was actually kind of fun to do. It was cool to think about where I will be in December 2016 and imagine what I will be doing. I wrote things that I wanted to remember. Things that God is doing in my life, things that I have been learning and experiences that I am going through. I wrote it to be encouraging and hopeful. I’m looking forward to reading it again. (See top picture in collage)

#58: Start a Bullet Journal. I LOVE THIS. I am so glad that one of my sleepless nights recently led me to discover Bullet Journals. This system of journaling is so easy to use and it cuts down on my ridiculous amount of journals that I keep. I have been using it as my planner and to-do list, and I have also been keeping track of this challenge in it! It’s lovely. I use a Moleskin that I’ve decorated with some washi tape and a black pen. So simple. So wonderful. I love it.

#60: Complete 7 goals in one week. Let’s be real. This is why I did so many goals this week.

#69: Clear out my email inbox. This was surprisingly easy to do. I just sat down one day and deleted and filed away. So mindless and so satisfying. A win win.

#72: Write a “if anything happens to me” letter. Having just experienced the death of my father, this task was really important to me. Life is short and anything can happen. Just last night, I witnessed a car accident, luckily no one was hurt, but it got me thinking…why wait? So I wrote this letter. It’s in my Bullet Journal, so it should be easy to find. The main thing I wanted to get across to those who will read it is that I am confident in Christ and in all circumstances I know that He has got me in the palm of His hand.

#73: Blog about 101 in 1001. I did this last Saturday! And also today! My hope is to blog regularly about my progress on this challenge, so it’s one in progress, but I did do it. 🙂

#76: Subscribe to a magazine that I love. It’s hard to describe my obsession with fashion and beautiful things. I have wanted a Vogue subscription f.o.r.e.v.e.r but have never gotten around to it. Well, now I have! So excited to receive the first issue in a couple weeks.

Well, there is my first week. If you look back to my first post, you’ll notice that most of these are in the For Me section. I’m hoping to branch out into other areas soon. This challenge so far has been so fun. It gives me something to put on my to-do list besides papers and school assignments, so it gives me something to look forward to. I hope this gives you a little insight into my 101 in 1001. I always appreciate questions or comments or advice!

Blessings,

Brianna

101 in 1001

As I celebrate my 19th birthday today, I am looking forward to some a new season in my life, a season of growth and change and in many ways, searching. I am still unsure about where God is going to take me in this life, but I do know that sitting around and playing 2048 in my free time isn’t necessarily the best way to do things. 🙂 So in an effort to make the next 1001 days a little more meaningful, and kick off my 20th year on this earth with a challenge, I’ve decided to combine two of my favorite things (lists + goals) and work on completing 101 goals in 1001 days. I am super excited about starting this and documenting my progress! So, without further ado, here is my list.

101 in 1001 (8/101)

Starting date: March 29th, 2014

End date: December 24th, 2016

Family + Relationships (0/7)

• Send Christmas cards
• Surprise my mom with flowers
• Make a list of what I’m looking for/ what is important to me in a relationship
• Write my grandparents a letter yearly (1/6)
• Take flowers to my dad’s grave
• Have a Skype date every semester with my best friends
• Apply for The Amazing Race with Megan

Create + Learn (0/23)

• Tie a note to a balloon and let it go
• Find an inspirational quote and work it into a craft
• Send a message in a bottle
• Open a cookbook to a random page and make whatever is on it
• Make a list of 101 quotes that inspire me
• Take a picture of myself every first day of the month for a year (1/12)
• Make a list of 101 things I love
• Start a pressed flowers notebook
• Make a playlist of 101 of my favorite songs
• Make a list of 50 favorite movies
• Make a playlist of 26 songs (each starting with a different letter of the alphabet) and listen to them in alphabetical order on a road trip
• Learn to play at least one song on the guitar
• Learn to juggle with three balls
• Learn how to say “I love you” in ten different languages (4/10)
• Learn how to surf
• Learn how to change a tire
• Learn how to drive stick shift
• Learn how to shoot a gun
• Ask 20 friends to suggest one book, and read them all
• Read a biography every year
• Finish 10 Pinterest projects
• Make a photo album
• Complete a coloring book

Entertainment + Travel (0/17)

• Visit Hollywood (California)
• Go to Universal Studios
• Go to Six Flags (USA)
• Go to a convention
• Visit Disneyland (California)
• Go on a road trip
• Go on a picnic
• Attend a live taping of a TV show
• Go for a hike in the woods
• Go paddleboarding
• Go downhill skiing
• Watch 26 movies I’ve never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet
• See a drive-in movie
• Go on a train trip
• Listen to every song in my iTunes library (1562 left)
• Visit five new cities
• Spend a weekend in San Francisco

For Others (1/9)

• Make a list of the top 5 people who have positively influenced me and write them letters
• Host a dinner party
• Donate blood
• Pay for someone else’s food behind me at the drive-thru
• Anonymously send a card or flowers to someone going through a tough time
• Leave a 100% tip
• Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find
• Volunteer at an event
• Flip through the phone book and mail five people $5 each

For Me (7/23)

• Write a letter to myself to be opened when the 1001 days is over
• Start a bullet journal
• Write a personal mission statement
• Complete 7 goals in a week
• Go to college
• Make a list of 100 things I want to do before I die
• Go a month without buying anything that isn’t a necessity
• Save 10% of my income
• Save a 3-month emergency fund
• Buy a car
• Quit Facebook for a week
• Spend a day without technology
• Clear out my email inbox
• Back up my laptop once every three months
• Make my bed every morning for a month
• Write a “if anything happens to me” letter
• Blog about my 101 in 1001
• Drink eight glasses of water a day for a week
• Go to the gym twice a week for three months
• Subscribe to a magazine that I love
• Put $10 in savings for each goal accomplished
• Get a full body massage
• Run a 10K race

For God (0/15)

• Read through the Bible in a year
• Lead someone to Christ
• Pray for someone every day for a month
• Tithe 10%
• Memorize a chapter of the Bible
• Give up coffee for lent
• Give someone a Bible with my testimony inside
• Pray for my future husband every day for a month
• Spend a day alone with God
• Find a church home near school
• Leave 10 sticky notes with Bible verses on them in public restrooms
• Sponsor a child for a year
• Spend a day in silence
• Fast for a day
• Do quiet time every morning for a month

For Fun (0/7)

• Get a henna tattoo on my hand or foot
• Build a blanket fort and sleep in it
• Dance in the rain
• Sleep under the stars
• Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
• Go swing dancing
• Learn a dance from a music video

So here goes! 1001 days with purpose. Let me know your thoughts on this and if you decided to start this challenge yourself, I’d love a buddy!

My Newest Obsession

Polyvore is definitely my latest obsession. I love looking at clothes and putting them together and seeing what new and exciting things I can do with them. Follow me over on Polyvore and stay up-to-date with my latest creations!

This is definitely inspiring me to plan my outfits ahead of time. It’s nice to be able to play around with something before actually committing to try it on!

In Loving Memory

My dad died last month, surrounded by family. The death was expected, but there are still many little daily adjustments to living life without him. We continue to trust in God and put our faith and hope in Him at this time. My hope is to better articulate my thoughts about this time in a future post, but for now here is a picture and a life update.

“A biography of where he was born, educated and job history does not really convey the true underlying human being, mere words can never capture the true measure of a man’s life. Reed would tell you that his real life was revealed after he was baptized into the body of Christ in 1998. He saw how God had sovereignly guided his life even before he believed in the one true God. His relationships soared. He was gradually transformed to the husband, father and friend that God intended. Reed’s ability to cope with his cancer and death was because he had complete faith in the sure hope of a resurrected life through the sacrifice on his behalf of Jesus Christ. This complete confidence came from his commitment to absolute truth and his 12 years of systematic bible study through the international organization Bible Study Fellowship (BSF).” – an excerpt from his obituary

It has been such a blessing having a dad who was so committed to living out his life the way God would have him live his life. I am thankful for every single day I had with him and I continue to live in the hope that we have through Christ that we will someday see each other again in heaven.

Bloglovin’

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Thanks for following!
-Brianna

Dress Drama

My high school’s formal is coming up this week. As I was looking for a dress to wear, it was really important to me to not just find a cute dress (that fits under our extensive dress code rules), but to find a special dress. If I didn’t love it, it wasn’t going to happen. I went shopping one day but wasn’t finding anything that worked for me. As I got home that night, I remembered a dress that my mom had hanging in her closet. The dress was my grandmothers and it was the dress she wore leaving her wedding reception to go on her honeymoon. I went upstairs and tried it on and it was perfect! Well….almost perfect. Due to the dress being so old, it had some tears and the fabric was worn through around the shoulders. So on Wednesday of this past week, I went to a local seamstress to see if she could fix it. (She couldn’t fix it, but luckily we came up with another plan that will hopefully make it work for next week). During this whole process though I was getting really stressed out. Lots of things are going on in my life right now and it’s amazing how each little thing causes me to fall apart. (Also my laptop completely died, so my weekly roundup posts might be extremely delayed).

The point of this story:
The day after I had all of this dress drama, I went to my Psychology class and we talked about stress. Appropriate, right? According to my Psychology textbook, stress is a,

Nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it; the arousal, both physical and mental, to situations or events that we perceive as threatening or challenging. (Psychology in Action Tenth Edition by Karen Huffman

The main thing that stuck out to me about stress is it is not necessarily the event that is stressful, most often it is our reaction to the event that makes us stressed. So when I thought my dress was not going to work out, my reaction was to go straight to panic mode, but if I had responded rationally, the event would not have been as stressful as it was.

The rest of the week had some slightly stressful situations in it, but my reaction to them was better. Knowing that I am in control of my stress level makes me calmer in these situations. (Having faith in God helps a lot also, when He is in control, I don’t have to be). Hopefully next week my dress will be done, formal will be amazing, and I will have figured out a good way to share my pictures with you and at least those stressors will be out of the way. Until then, I’ll just be here taking things one step at a time and hopefully not letting myself get too stressed out by the little things in life.

A Little Delay

There will be a little bit of a delay sharing my weekly roundup of pictures due to my laptop charger deciding to start sparking. Yeah, I threw it away. So while waiting for my new one to show up here are some recent Instagram shots to keep you happy. 🙂

1. Playing with TitleFx (which is free right now!) and loving it. This is one of my senior pictures taken by my lovely friend Jennette.
2. Heading off to Presbyterian Heritage Sunday wearing my Smith tartan scarf. Lots of haggis, lots of kilts, and some Irn Bru (I don’t like Irn Bru at all)
3. A shot from my morning run last week. So blessed to live in a Navy Town.
4. My ootd featuring my cut-off trouser shorts that one of my loving aunts hemmed for me because I was too lazy to do it myself. So thankful and I love the result!

Follow along on Instagram (briesmit) for more.