16 Before 2016

I'm really into setting goals (and celebrating when I achieve them!), so I love the idea of 16 before 2016, a goal setting challenge created by Lisa Jacobs. So here's my list:

1. Launch our holiday project at The Selectively Silent Child. I'm so excited about it!

2. Wear more hats.

3. Eat more avocados. Part because they're delicious, but mainly because I just learned that avocados help relieve arthritis pain.

4. Rewatch Les Miserables (1935). Today I rewatched the 2012 musical version, so now I have such an urge to watch my other favourite film version.

5. Make plans to visit my step dad in January or February. 

6. Get referred to a hematologist, psychiatrist, gynecologist, and a new endocrinologist, and make appointments with my other specialists. The life of a spoonie is so much fun! Not.

7. Rearrange my home office.

8. Make falafel.

9. Write about PCOS.

10. Write about the relationship between medication, weight gain and body positivity.

11. Find more fat acceptance, fatshion and body positivity blogs to follow.

12. Take outfit photos at least once. It's been ages!

13. Pitch an article.

14. Moisturize daily! So important, especially during Canadian winters.

15. Look into CBT and/or DBT for 2016.

16. Write about 2015. Between Fibro fog and simply living a busy (and mostly productive) life, 2015 feels like a whirlwind. I want to take some time to focus on my accomplishments and cherished memories, and consider how to make next year even better than this one.

*Italics = in progress & struck out = completed

What do you have planned for the rest of 2015? Share in the comments below!

5 Goals for 2013

As 2013 begins, setting goals is on my mind. I don't believe in resolutions, but mapping out an idea of what I want to work towards this year? That's an idea I can get behind! Here are my 5 main goals for 2013:


1 A 365 project. I tried the 365 self portraits project in 2011 and only got to 70 before losing motivation. This year, I'll aim to take one photo each day, of anything: myself, my friends and family, my projects and surroundings. Here's hoping I'll beat my previous accomplishtment.

2 Earn more income from freelancing. I know (and know of) freelancers who are making 5- and 6-figure salaries! I'm relatively new, especially to charging for my work (I've done quite a few unpaid, but worthwhile projects as well as some paid projects), but I feel 2013 is the time to really make a leap in terms of supporting myself creatively.

3 Buckle down and get my other projects, like my mental health coaching, and Stars and Stripes Eh on their feet.

4 Travel! This is obvious, but I feel the need to list it, all the same.

5 Get healthy. I often feel hopeless about this, because it seems I have the odds stacked against me-- chronic fatigue, PCOS, Panic Disorder-- but I'm determined to fight for my health. I want to eat more fruit, vegetables and whole grains, and exercise more. Weight loss isn't my goal; fitness is. And I'm determined!

What are your goals for 2013? 

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Setting Goals: 25 Before 25

Last year I completed my 20 Before 20 bucket list... this year I'm going to begin a new one: 25 Before 25.

Lots of bloggers have their own spin on the bucket list, like Goddess Leonie's 100 Things To Do In 2012 (which I emulated), and Nubby Twiglet's simple list of goals. I'm going to make my own and blog about each goal I reach.

Just shy of 21 years of age, I feel it's time for me to embark upon my 25 before 25.

1 Spend a winter in Florida.

2 Earn a degree.

3 Be published in a glossy magazine.

4 Visit Canada's maritimes.

5 Pay off my credit card debt.

6 Interview Amanda Palmer.

7 Learn Finnish

8 Find my body's healthy weight and learn to embrace it

9 See a country concert in Nashville

10 Get a waist training corset

11 Make at least my personal annual financial goal from my freelance writing business alone

12 Memorize a favourite poem

13 Learn to make black forest cake, casserole, cornbread and gnocchi from scratch

14 Visit another continent

15 Swim in the ocean

16 Improve my sense of self worth

17 Drink a manhattan in Manhattan

18 Perform a burlesque routine

19 Visit New Orleans

20 See My Chemical Romance live

21 Visit the Smithsonian museums

22 Spend a day at Disney Land.

23 Perfect my Elevator Pitch.

24 See the Aurora Borealis

25 Take part in a professional pinup photo shoot

Do you have a similar list of goals?

100 Things to do in 2012

I love lists. I love goals. And I love Goddess Leonie's Goddess Guidebook, which totally advocates both of these things. Leonie shared her 100 Things To Do In 2012 list & that inspired me to do the same.

Some of these things are frivolous and fun, while others are more goal-oriented or related to self-improvement or career. All of them are important to me. Let's go!

1. Find the best lip stain for me & wear it beautifully
2. Figure out what 'my drink' is
3. Go for a long hike in High Park
4. Moisturize more often
5. Find the perfect pushup bra
6. Visit a few of my favourite cities
7. Go to the ocean!!!! I haven't been in years and I crave it like nothing else
8. Get over my ex completely
9. Spend more time and energy on loving myself
10. Kiss a girl
11. Kiss a boy
12. Publish an article on Selective Mutism in a magazine or newspaper
13. Have a fantastically indulgent "staycation" with my Maman
14. Get my eyebrows done professionally
15. And a manicure
16. Interview Emilie Autumn when she comes to Canada this year (!!!) 
Read the article here!
17. Meditate more
18. Bake muffins
19. Bring sandwiches to the homeless gentlemen near my favourite library
20. Go to a musical (preferably on Broadway!)
21. Go to a concert (Emilie Autumn). Maybe another?!
22. Dance in moonlight, say spells & be more spiritual overall
23. Get my ears repierced
24. Start a savings account
25. Apply to a college or university program. Probably Journalism.
26. Learn basic typography
27. And html
28. And graphic design
29. Write a short story
30. Try yoga
31. Visit another country
32. Take the train
33. Paint something beautiful
34. Work on my passive streams of income
35. Become more fluent in French
36. Start learning Finnish (again!)
37. Declutter my bedroom
38. Invest in a DSLR
39. And a better tripod
40. Set up my etsy store
41. Write an article on Trichotillomania
42. Perfect the art of the casserole!
43. Send a PostSecret
44. Tell a stranger she's beautiful
45. Go swimming
46. Finish an entire tube of lip balm
47. Go to an opera
48. Share a popsicle (the kind that break in half!) with a friend when it's really hot out
49. Leave a huge tip
50. Visit the Niagara Hershey's Factory
51. Have a slumber party with my best friends
52. Visit Stacy in Ottawa
53. Visit Kayla in CT
54. Ride a ferris wheel
55. Ride a carousel
56. Spend a day at the ROM
57. Spend a day at the library
58. Spend a day writing at Second Cup
59. Buy some fabulous high heels
60. Try quilling
61. Make a cross-stitch sampler
62. Acquire a classic circle skirt to wear with my crinoline
63. Treat a friend to cupcakes at Sweet Escape or Dufflet's
64. Treat myself to dinner in Little Italy
65. Give something fabulous away on RebeccaEsther.com... for free :)
66. Join LinkedIn Rebecca Esther on LinkedIn.
67. Join Flickr
68. Condition my hair more frequently
69. Practice making prints (block prints, letterpress, etc)
70. Print out a bunch of my photos and fill a photo album
71. Improve my photography skills
72. Work on Living Creatively (a new project that's in progress!)
73. Support more independent artists, more often
74. Memorize a beautiful poem
75. Volunteer at a burlesque show (I haven't in ages and I miss that!)
76. Flirt with someone cute :)
77. Get business cards printed
78. Take part in an LGBT/Pride event
79. Do something political, like volunteer for the NDP
80. Eat some chocolate-dipped cookies from Steeles Bakery
81. Not ready to talk about this one, but it has to do with my friend Veronica.
82. Celebrate Shabbat
83. Be my own valentine
84. Celebrate Easter
85. Celebrate Samhain
86. Celebrate Christmas
87. Get all dolled up and go to a bar (solo!)
88. Ace my Human Sexuality course
89. Visit the Smithsonian museums
90. Buy a corset
91. Do something wild & fabulous with my hair
92. Make sea salt or sugar scrub
93. Go sledding
94. Write a guest post for someone's blog
95. Be hired to help a business with copy writing or editing
96. Read a really great memoir
97. Make handmade sachets
98. Buy a huge tote bag or carry-on luggage (for day trips)
99. Find amazing Canadian companies with whom to work
100. Make someone smile every single day

The ones I've done are struck out. .

What's on your 2012 To Do list?

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How To Make & Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

1 Set measurable goals. Instead of resolving to eat healthier, try eating at least 4 servings of veggies each day. If you're able to see the improvements, you'll be more confident in your ability to stick with your resolutions.

2 Make your resolutions challenging, but keep-able. Giving yourself a challenge pushes you to become an even better you. Having attainable goals means your goals are likelier to be met.

3 Make sure your resolutions are YOUR resolutions. Don't pledge to lose weight just because your self-conscious aunt says you should. Don't promise to cut down on watching TV if it makes you happy & you lead a productive life. Do be sure to make resolutions that will impact your life positively-- forget others' ideas of what makes a good resolution.

What are your new year's resolutions for 2012?