20 things to do before I'm 20

Last week boyfriend turned 20 years old (happy birthday H!). I will be turning 20 on the 5^th of December this year and I decided I would like to set some goals to achieve in the last year of my teens – just an excuse for late new years resolutions! The goals are not all life-changing things, this isn’t a bucket list – some are just small things I would like to during the course of the year.

Without further ado, here are 20 things I would like to do before I’m 20:

1. Visit the dentist – I know, I know, I should be visiting the dentist ever 6 months or so but, shamefully, I haven’t been to the dentist in years. I don’t enjoy the whole experience and my teeth look and feel in pretty good condition. Having said that I want to make it more of a habit to go for regular check ups to ensure everything is A-OK

2. Cook my grandparents a meal – This is just a small gesture that I would like to do, maybe more than once during the year. My Nan (mums mum) comes around to our house every Sunday for a roast but I think it would be nice to cook a different meal myself. My Dad’s parents, my Gran and Grandad, don’t often come around for dinner so I thought it would be nice to cook a meal for them – they even bought me some Jamie Oliver cook books for Christmas last year so it’s only fair.

3. Learn more BSL (British sign language) – towards the end of last year I started to learn some sign language with the aid of a DVD and a ‘teach yourself’ styled book. Just a few basic words, phrases and the alphabet. During the Christmas period I stopped for a while and haven’t really picked it back up again so hopefully by the time I’m twenty I will be able to have a basic conversation with a Deaf person.

4. Get my eyes tested – in my 19 years I have never had an eye-test. Although I am pretty positive my eyesight is absolutely fine I think it would be wise to get an eye-test just to be sure. I’m trying to set a good example for my parents who both refuse to get their eyes tested despite the fact they desperately need glasses! (Don’t kid yourselves).

5. Save money – one of my main goals in life is to travel the world and this year I want to save money on a monthly basis. Since working full time for 6 months now I feel I have had my fun with the money I’ve earned and now I am ready to really start putting the pennies away for the future.

6. Lose some weight – In the last 6 months I’ve put on roughly a stone (which is NOT okay with me), which I blame partly on the medication I’ve had and missing out on volleyball because of work. Before I’m 20, preferably in the next 6 months, I fully intend on losing this weight again!

7. Read more books – I love reading but last year I rarely took the time to sit down and enjoy a good book (except for when I was in Cyprus with my girl friends – we read A LOT of James Patterson that holiday). I am currently already on my 3^rd book since being 19 and I have so many more I want to read including Gone Girl, The Thorn Birds and the Girl on the Train.

8. Grow my blog & enjoy doing it – This is a new thing I’ve been doing this year and I fully intend on continuing. I feel blogging is a very ‘teenage’ thing to do but if I enjoy writing blog posts and sharing with whoever wants to read I don’t see why I should stop!

9. Progress in my job – I have now been flying for 6 months (it’s flown by – pardon the pun) and in that time I have learnt so much. Before I am 20 I would like to progress further in my job, not necessarily working my way up the ladder (becoming a senior cabin crew member) but just continue to learn more and enjoy it just as much.

10. Volunteer – I would like to make it my goal to volunteer somewhere this year to give back to the community. I love animals so perhaps the GSPCA would be a good idea.

11. Make ‘healthy’ a habit – It would be awesome to enter my twenties living a healthier lifestyle. Having a habit of eating clean, nutritious meals, cutting out the crap and drinking plenty of water.

12. Wake up earlier on days off – I LOVE having a lie in but sometimes I feel like I’m just wasting the day if I get up anytime after 10am. So I’m going to try to wake up earlier on my days off, save the lie-ins for days that I’m working late shifts. This way I can really take advantage of this time, get to the gym, do what needs to be done and just enjoy my days off.

13. Go out more – sometimes I feel 90 rather than 19. I think this year I need to let my hair down! I’m still a teenager so I should go out and enjoy myself while I can. I’m old enough to know better but still young enough to do it anyway!

14. See my girl friends on a regular basis – Since leaving school all of my friends have got full time jobs and we don’t see each other near as much as we used to. Obviously at school we saw each other every weekday then also some weekends but now it’s not very often we get to be together. I really want to make that extra effort to see my girl friends more regularly because I MISS THEM!

15. Improve my volleyball skills – I’m always looking to improve my volleyball skills but the Island Games are in June so I’m trying extra hard to develop. Hopefully, if I get selected to play in the Natwest Island Games this year I will have competed in an international competition before I’m 20 too!

16. Try new foods – It’s no secret that I love food. I’m not a particularly fussy eater but when I find something I like, I tend to stick to it. In my last year of my teens I want to extend my palate and try new foods I wouldn’t normally.

17. Go to a concert – Going to a concert is such a cliché teenage thing to do. I was fortunate enough to receive tickets to go watch U2 at the O2 for Christmas from my parents so I cannot wait to do that!

                               

18. Go on a shopping spree – I’m a sucker for a good shopping spree and living in Guernsey doesn’t allow me to reach my full shopaholic potential so I think a huge shopping trip is in order, why not?

19. Enjoy a weekend away with friends – I already have a trip planned to go to Jersey with my boyfriend Harry, my friend Hannah and her boyfriend Sam. Although it’s only across to the other island I think it will be fun. It would also be great to go away with my girl friends too so we’ll have to keep an eye out for an opportunity to do so.

20. Spend more time with my family – I am very family-oriented but I don’t often see my grandparents, cousins or aunties as much as I would like. When I do see them I have the best time but those days a few and far between. I hope to see my little cousins more, especially in the school holidays when I can spend days with them on my days off or after an early shift.

So it turns out actually thinking of 20 things to do before I’m 20 was harder than I thought but I am happy with my goals! I hope you enjoyed reading todays blog post and maybe you will set some achievable goals for yourself to achieve within the next year.

Thank you for reading.

Bye for now x

Alpe d'Huez Ski and Snow Trip 2015 - Day 8

14/02/15

Happy Valentine’s Day!

We woke up this morning to a much whiter Alpe d’Huez. After 7 days of brilliant sunshine the snow mounds were beginning to look a little brown and the snow on the trees on the mountains was beginning to melt. The weather forecast shows it is meant to snow for the next 3 days, so the skiers and snowboarders will have some fresh powder to play on soon.

Today we just travelled back home. We waited outside in the heavy snow for BensBus to pick us back up again. The coach was so late we ended up waiting over an hour - the novelty of the snow wore thin after half-an-hour and we were all freezing. Finally the coach arrived and we made our way to Grenoble Airport. The drive there was excruciatingly long.

When we arrived at the airport we had to check-in and rush through security because the bus was so late. Security at Grenoble Airport was painfully slow but we got through and ready to board the flight. After all that, the flight was delayed for half-an-hour so we were able to grab a quick bite to eat. I slept the majority of the flight home.

I have enjoyed our holiday so much and I cannot wait to come snowboarding again soon. I would highly recommend visiting Alpe d’Huez, particularly if you are a learner as the green and blue runs are fabulous. There is plenty to do there – which I fully intend on doing next time I am there – including Husky sled rides, paragliding, driving snowmobiles and even a zip line. I am leaving with amazing memories with great company, a lot of bruises and even a horrendous goggle tan line (despite wearing sun-cream) but I wouldn’t change any of it.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the daily blogs of our Alpe d’Huez ski and snow trip as much as I have enjoyed writing them!

Thank you all, until my next blog post…

We woke to a much whiter Alpe d'Huez

We finally got to see some snow fall!

Bye for now x

Alpe d'Huez Ski and Snow Trip 2015 - Day 7

13/02/14

Friday the 13^th… No bones were broken, we all made it through the holiday in one piece!

Today was our last day snowboarding and skiing; it was a sad, sad day for all (although our bodies are in need of a well deserved rest). It was rather overcast which was a change after being beautiful sunshine all week but it was nice to have a day where we weren’t swamping after putting our boots on. The cloud did make it a bit harder to see the grooves and turns on the slopes though – we do have some goggles designed for the overcast weather but getting those would require too much effort so we just made do.

After brekkie we went straight to the slopes and got going. We ventured over to the other side of the mountain for a few runs before stopping off for lunch at Marc and Marie’s local (they stopped there at least 6 times for a drink and/or something to eat during the holiday – the waiter even knew their drink order off by heart). Aimee, Richie, Mum, Dad and I then continued boarding for a couple of hours, even heading to the practice stunt park. Come 2 o’clock we decided to call it a day, after a great final run. We didn’t want to push ourselves to do too much more because it would be Sod’s Law that we would seriously injure ourselves on that ‘one last run’.

Instead Marc, Zak, Aimee, Richie and I all bought some ‘bum-boards’ and had a play around sliding down a man-made hollow in the snow – we must have been the oldest ones playing on the slope but it was such a laugh and worth the €2.50 for the bum-boards.

This evening we browsed around some shops, popped into O’Sharkey’s for a drink and made our way to Smithy’s for our dinner reservation. Again the food was absolutely phenomenal – if anyone reading this is going to Alpe d’Huez you NEED to eat at Smithy’s Tavern, there is no faulting it. While we were in Smithy’s it started to snow for the first time since we’ve been here. This was the first time Richie has seen snowfall and it was rather exciting.

One of the nicest runs, mum stalking

Zak falling off the bum-board

Richie also had a go

Nope, I didn't know I was that flexible either...

Marc was the biggest kid having the most fun!

Bye for now x

Alpe d’Huez Ski & Snow Trip 2015 - Day 1

07/02/15

I thought it would be a fun idea to blog each day of my ski and snow holiday to Alpe d’Huez in the French Alpes as a record of my time here and a way my family back home can keep up to date with what we’re doing (hi Gran & Grandad!)

Day 1 had an early start with the Thorne household up and ready early (for once), keen to get to the airport and get away. After waiting for the rest of our party to arrive – Richard, Aimee, Marc and Marie – we checked in and headed through departures and to the duty free shop – priorities. Once purchasing copious amounts of alcohol we then headed through to the café to get a bite to eat then onto the plane. The flight with Aurigny was direct to Grenoble from Guernsey and was only 2 hours long.

After arriving in Grenoble we got on a BensBus coach without any waiting around. The coach journey was roughly 2 hours long as well and took us right to our hotel. The coach meandered through the mountains and up through and out of the clouds to reveal brilliantly blue sky and thick glistening snow – the scenery was absolutely stunning.

Once checked into our hotel, Le Pic Blanc, we went and collected our ski passes, skis and snowboards in a shop that was far to cramped for my liking and smelt like BO. Never the less we gathered our gear, all prepared for tomorrow and headed back to the hotel.

The night ended with a couple of drinks in an Irish bar called O’Sharkeys in the centre of the village, a pizza from a small café named Chicken Roll and a frosty    (-6^oC) walk back to our home for the next week, Le Pic Blanc. Although today was mainly travelling and sorting ourselves out it lovely to see the snow and the ski runs we will soon be snowboarding (rolling/falling/tumbling) down. It is Marc and Marie’s first time skiing so they are having lessons in the morning and Richie’s first time snowboarding – in fact, today was the first time Richard has seen proper snow, not just Guernsey slush that we endured last week, so that was exciting in its own right!

Come back tomorrow to see what we get up to on the slopes…

It was an early start for Zak at the airport

Mum and I are sharing a room and it was a royal mess just five minutes
after opening the door - whoops!

The view at night from our balcony - Mum and I in our matching beanies

Our home for the next week - Hotel Le Pic Blanc

Bye for now x