#4 #24 #12 #2 #7 #18 #17 complete!!!

I know I haven’t blogged for a while and that’s because I’ve been too busy trying to actually get my

list complete!!! And I’ve actually been doing a brilliant job, if I do say so myself…I was meant to

post this blog last week...but life got in the way *sigh*

















4. Buy shares in a company

I am a proud shareholder of BT. I really should I have bought shares in my company when I 1st

joined…I would have made a tidy profit…but I didn’t see the benefit and now people have raked in

some serious cash. So I’ve now jumped on the bandwagon and hoping that my investment will pay

off in the long run! It feels like such a grown up thing to do…loving life as a shareholder.

24. Be less than 10 mins late for meetings

Hasn’t been easy, but I just about made it. Even though the month is over, I’m going to try and keep

this up as it has helped with my credibility and the way I’m perceived. I don’t even know where my

lateness started from but maybe one day, I’ll be able to aim for being less than 5 mins late…lol who

am I kidding?

12. Get dressed up and go for a house viewing far out of my (current) price range

This deserves its own blog post – I did with it Isaac and it was the funniest thing we’ve done all year.

If I do it here, I won’t do it enough justice…so will post on this later this week. I’m actually lol’ing

whilst thinking about it! Too much jokes…WOW! What a day!

2. Volunteer at a homeless shelter

This was extremely fulfilling and I’m so happy that I put this on my list. It was good to give back to

the community, meet really cool and different people and not to mention the 3 course meal! It was

really weird because when I walked in, I struggled to tell who was homeless and who was a

volunteer because in my head, I had a preconceived idea of what a homeless person would look

like…either that or some people were just lying and came for the meal! Either way, I heard some

interesting stories, played my famous clapping game and made friends with the sexiest 39 year old

woman I’ve ever seen! This experience has made me so much more aware of the homeless and their

struggle! It really had been an eye opener and I would encourage you to help out asap!

7. Attended a pole dancing class

Awesome, Brilliant, Fantastic are words that don’t even come close to expressing my feelings

towards this class. It was the one!!!! I was actually able to spin around the pole, which I thought I

would never be able to do. The next day my arms hurt like mad…but I still want to attend at least a 6

week course because by the end of it my body will be so toned, I’ll be looking like:

18. Learn how to cook a new 3 course meal

Also, needs it’s own blog post. I basically did a “Come dine with me” with my family….they rated me

on all 3 courses…after this experience I actually want to apply for the show. I’d be awesome!!!

17. Wake up @ 6am, 21 days in a row

Let’s just say my alarm went off everyday at 6am, 21 days in a row…what I did most of the time was

get up, attempted to pray, checked my email, went to the toilet and got back in to bed. On a few of

the days I went to the gym and did other productive things…I should have been more specific on this

one to really push me. I’ll probably re-word this and add it to my 25 whilst 25 list because it’s a habit

I really want to form!



If you made it all the way to the end of this blog post...

Homeless Stripper TV Show!!! #2 #7 #16

Hey peepz...to be fair I should have written this post yesterday...but all this travelling is starting to take it's toll on me. So far, I've been to France, Germany, Amsterdam, Spain, Italy, Budapest, Sweden and Switzerland...in the past 2.5 months...I is tired!!! It's been fantastic - I've tried numerous new foods, taken loads of pics and met some great people...But it's not everyday flying...so I'm going to try and stay in the country for the next couple of weeks to get things ticked off the list!

2. Volunteer at a homeless shelter

I went for training at the homeless shelter on Wednesday and my 1st session will be on 5th Nov!!! I've always wanted to do something like this and I hope it's as rewarding as I imagine.  However, I know it will be challenging for me as I am very emotional and I know their personal stories will get to me...All I know is:

7. Attend a strip aerobics class

I've also booked my strip aerobics class and hoping not to  look like this:

Jess is coming with me and I know we have serious potential because in Turkey we were looking like this:

16. No TV shows for 25 days

Woop woop! This one is actually complete...and I made it!!! I haven't watched any of the new season of Scandal, how to get away with murder, greys anatomy...NOTHING! I needed this detox though, I've been able to be so productive since cutting it out and going cold turkey. I'm not going to go crazy, I'll probably limit myself to watching shows on the weekend.

I really also want to avoid having this feeling as much as possible:

Ok, I'm over and out...next week, I'm going to have done an epic amount of my challenges...#djfocus....if you know then you know!

#It'salloverJackie #dontcrydontbeg

Why is he such a mug??? #8 #21 #10 are done!!!

I would like to introduce you to my brother Isaac. I think this picture pretty much sums him up but I'll continue anyway... This mug is constantly making me laugh, but he actually takes the piss out of my life on a regular basis! He's the only brother I have but I imagine "normal" brothers are supportive, caring and trustworthy!!! When my brother found out about my list of 25 things I wanted to do before I was 25...he laughed and then started cussing me out! He said, "You've been trying to lose 1 stone for years and have failed...You've been trying to write a book for years....All together you've started 83 stories and finished none...Poetry thing make sure I'm there to witness so I can laugh @ you in public...and the only school that will let you do a motivational talk is ***  University. (Had to take out the name of the university coz don't want anyone to get offended!!!) LOL!

However, despite his negativity I've been able to tick some more things off my list. #haha

8. Treat my parents to a nice dinner

#doubledate

They were really proud of me for taking the initiative to reward them for being such good parents! We joked about and spoke about lots of interesting things whilst we waited for our food to arrive...

 Prince wasn't happy because he had to eat his food in a small bowl! The challenge wasn't treat Prince to a nice dinner...so he had to know his place!!!

The food arrived and it was sizzling!!! Best food I've had in a while...And we were all having a fantastic time until...my dads phone started ringing...it was my darling brother Isaac! And like the good sister I am, I said, "Dad, pick it up...it could be an emergency."

Who knew that he was just calling to say, "Hannah is only taking you out because it's on her list of things to do before she's 25!!!"

#mug #runinedaperfectlygoodeveining #hedoesitwithease

Look at him in this pic...he thought he was a badman!!! With a lollipop in his mouth!!!!!????? #imdone

I had to revive the evening by telling my parents, I had taken them out because I had important news to tell them. I'm pregnant!!!! Unfortunately for my dad he believed me and expressed his excitement whereas my mum was not having any of it!!! Prince tried to convince her by saying, "Hannah stand up and show her the bump!" Erm what now? Do I look pregnant??? The side argument with Prince gave it away and my dad said and I quote, "Next time I won't believer you!" *sigh*

21. Skinny dipping:

I completed this in Budapest!!! I was with my uni friend Chidera who kindly took pictures...which Prince will not permit me to post! So you can look at this instead:

I put skinny dipping on the list simply because it was way out of my comfort zone and just scary!!! I'm happy I did it because it felt amazeballs! I've never felt so free and scared at the same time!!! Awesome combination. I did a couple of lengths so that I could soak up the moment #abitweird

10. Write an article for a magazine:

My long lost cousin Efua has an amazing magazine - Adinkra Magazine  and I was sooo excited to write an article about being young and married. You should check it out asap as there are lots of great pieces in the mag...

This article was a personal piece from me and it was good to tell it how it is. I hope you check out the magazine to read the full article.

So I've managed to tick another 3 things off my list and others are in progress. This list will get done by force!!!

#9 #20 #22 are done!!!

I've finally ticked some things off my list and kick-started some of the other ones.

The first challenge I completed was re-organising and cleansing my closet. Now for most people this activity may take a couple of hours...it took me 8 hours!!! The reason is very simple. I have been roughly the same size since I was 15 so hardly throw anything away...which means I've had some of my clothes for approx 10 years! Therefore this wardrobe cleanse was essential. I don't want to post the before pic because I don't to disgrace my husband and family but basically it was a mess and the doors wouldn't even shut!


After this cleanse, I was able to donate over 25% of my clothes to charity and finally see what my room looked like with my wardrobe closed... Prince was a huge help, he supported me by lying down looking pretty and every now and then lifting his head up from the football match to share some words of encouragement. LOL

All the hard work paid off in the end and now my wardrobe is looking so good that I just want to stay in my pyjamas all day because I hate the idea of messing it up!!!

The next challenge I completed was walking 2.5km in 25 minutes. The reason I set myself this challenge is because since I passed my driving test 7 years ago, I don't walk anywhere. Apart from the brief period of time when I was unfortunate enough to go to uni without a car. And when I do walk anywhere it's at a ridiculous ant pace most of the time because I'm fighting the urge to walk back home instead of making it to my destination. After being on this earth for nearly quarter of a century, I want to start walking more...it's good for my health and it also gives me time to think and reflect.

To be honest, I thought I was extremely unfit and it would take me a couple of tries but I smashed it with ease...and style. (The dip in pace is when I started day dreaming)

The 3rd challenge I completed was something I've wanted to do for a long time...go to the cinema alone. On Sarah's recommendation I went to see....

I strolled up to the ticket counter by myself on Orange Wednesday and bought a ticket for one!!! It was soooooo embarassing. There were sooooooooo many couples and friends and I was just standing there like billy no mates #peak. So anyway, got my ticket and walked towards the screen...I felt people were watching me so I tried to pretend I was waiting for someone and they were running late...LOL.

To be brutally honest, going to the cinema alone wasn't the worst thing in the world...I was able to fully concentrate on the movie, every word, every action, everything....and it was sooo peaceful!!! It was so peaceful that I feel asleep towards the end of the movie. But I'm sure I was awake for all the best bits... Funny thing is, Prince and I always argue about popcorn but coz he wasn't there with me and there was no-one to fight with, I didn't even buy any....#foodforthought

In summary, happy with my progress...focussed on finishing. #djfocus

Not very S.M.A.R.T

After looking at my challenges that I need to complete before I'm 25, I realised that two of my goals were not  S.M.A.R.T

Therefore, I'm going to be rewording some of my challenges so I know when they are completed and can tick them off my list.

17. Make waking up @ 6am a habit - Clearly I can't measure whether it's a habit or not...so I'm going to change this to : Wake up @ 6am for 21 days in a row

24. Be punctual to every meeting/appointment - For me this is simply not realistic..so changing this to...Be less than 10 minutes late for every meeting/appointment for a month.

I feel much better about my targets...at the moment I'm one down, 24 to go...

Baby Steps

My journey of 25 before 25 has finally began. I thought I would be able to dive in head first and start ticking things off the list straight away...but with the timescales I have, I need a solid plan. I'll always remember a quote I heard in high school..."If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." With this in mind, I've decided to do some research and put together a diary of events before I make a start on my list.


My 1st task is to write a short book/play. Most people will think this is unachievable,but this is something I've wanted to do for such a long time and if I don't take the opportunity to do it now, it will never get done. Before I'm 25 I would at least like a solid draft that I can edit and refine. I've decided to go for the book instead of the play and I've also chosen the genre. Baby steps...

I've seen many of my friends raise impressive amounts of money for charities and it's something I would love to do at some point but I didn't put it on my list because I wanted to do something where I could get closer to the people in need. Volunteering at a homeless shelter where I'll be able to help with cleaning the facilities, serve food and interact with people will be amazing! I may not be giving them my money but to me my time is more precious. I've emailed a homeless shelter and requested to help on a weekday evening/weekend so waiting to hear back...

With my new role I've been travelling around Europe which is fantastic! Unfortunately, with free flights and hotels comes free food!!! And like the pic says...one does not simply say no to free food. This is not going to help with the "stone" I need to lose... so for the next 2 months my self control needs to be on point! I also took my first steps and went back to the gym for a session with my trainer and a spin class. Hopefully my 6am starts will give me more time to exercise and food prep.




All things considered, I'm relatively pleased with my progress and will build momentum over the weekend. All of these tasks are really just a ploy to stop me from concentrating on the fact that I'm going to turn 25! However, one thing I've realised is getting older is not a big deal - when you are accomplishing things and making your life count.

The List

In 2 months time I'm going to be officially old. Not like when I turned 18 and I thought I was woman...but actually mid-20's married woman old! It's crazy because I behave like I'm young most of the time and my sister (Sarah) thinks I'm constantly "begging it"! The simple reason I don't act like an adult sometimes is because I don't feel like one!!! Even when I'm at work, I feel like I'm a kid playing dress up...using big words and hoping that nobody realises...


This past week has been eventful to say the least...I travelled to Madrid, Barcelona and Milan for work and even though it was a madness, I had a few moments of contemplation and clarity. I have made some good, bad and questionable choices over the years but one thing that was a trend was an incredible ability to think of ideas on a constant basis and my inability to follow them through and actually take one of my ideas to completion. The longest thing I committed to was www.chocolatebridezilla.blogspot.co.uk and that was only for 100 days!!! I'm turning 25 now soon and it's time for a change, I'm going to use this period of time to build up some good habits and drag myself out of my comfort zone which is holding me back from my full potential.

The List - in no particular order: (I have 2 months to complete)

1. Write a short book/play

2. Volunteer at a homeless shelter

3. Lose 1 stone

4. Buy shares in a company

5. Learn 25 phrases in french

6. Perform poetry at an open mic night

7. Attend a hot yoga/stripaerobics class

8. Treat my parents to a nice dinner

9. Go to the cinema alone

10. Write an article for a magazine

11. Contact 25 people I've lost touch with

12. Get dressed up and go for a house viewing far out of my (current) price range

13. Attend a make-up masterclass

14. Motivational talk in a secondary school

15. Buy something special for myself

16. No TV shows for 25 days

17. Make waking up @ 6am a habit

18. Learn how to cook a new 3 course meal

19. Hip hop kareoke

20. Walk 2.5km within 25 minutes

21. Skinny dipping

22. Re-organise and cleanse my closet

23. Speak to someone new about God every week

24. Be punctual to every meeting/appointment

25. Do whatever Prince wants for 48 hrs (within reason)

I'll be expanding on these as I write my blog posts and explain why I chose these 25 things specifically and why they'll be challenging for me. I have exactly 2 months to get through this list and I can't wait...If I get it done, I want only to be referred to as wonder woman....