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Life List: Walk cross the Brooklyn Bridge
July 16, 2014
in Life List, New York, North America, Round the World, travel, United States

Life List #183: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The one touristy thing I had on my New York to-do list was to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was planning to go solo, but, when my friend Kristin told me that she'd never done it before either, we decided to meet...

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2014 Nathan's Famous July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest
July 10, 2014
in competitive eating, Life List, New York, North America, Round the World, travel, United States

Life List #206: Compete at the Nathan’s Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest.

I was a celebrity. Being approached on the street for photos. Getting asked for an autograph at a bar. Receiving random high fives from the crowd. Being told by a mass of self-proclaimed groupies that they were rooting for me. For me. A self-proclaimed groupie myself. I...

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2014 Nathan's Famous July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest
July 7, 2014
in competitive eating, Life List

Thank you to all my amazing fans!

I'm still recovering from my totally awesome last place finish at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest. So, check back later for a full contest recap. But I just wanted to check in and say a big gigantic THANK YOU to...

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Baby Sitters Club
June 30, 2014
in books, Life List, Val Reads the Baby-sitters Club

Val Reads (and watches) Baby-Sitters Club #4: cats, camps, and cartilage.

Mallory gets a steady job baby-sitting for a couple of twins. And boy are they cute: they dress alike and look alike. There is no way to tell them apart! But soon Mallory learns that just because they are cute on the outside, doesn't mean...

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The Signature Room at the 95th / John Hancock Center
June 25, 2014
in Chicago Life, Life List

Life List #179: Go to the top of the John Hancock Tower.

After running the 5K together, my friend Emily looked over my life list and suggested a girls night out at the Signature Lounge — the bar at the top of the Hancock Tower. At 100 stories — 1,127 feet — the John Hancock Tower is...

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Life List: Run a 5K - Bacon Chase 5K
June 13, 2014
in Chicago Life, Gym Time, Life List

Life List #55: Run a 5K. (With bacon…)

"How is the couch to 5K going?" a friend would ask me every week when we hung out, to which I'd reply, "I've got the couch part down." Ten weeks ago I signed up to run my first 5K and immediately downloaded one of those "couch...

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Baby-Sitters Club Books
May 19, 2014
in books, Life List, Val Reads the Baby-sitters Club

Val Reads Baby-Sitters Club #3: Tricks, Tourists, and Tantrums

I'll admit, I started reading the book once before. I'd found a copy on a take one leave one shelf in a Medellin hostel and grabbed it without replacing it. I got maybe 100 pages in before giving up and the paperback spent the next...

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Baby-Sitters Club Books
February 10, 2014
in books, Life List, Val Reads the Baby-sitters Club

Val Reads Baby-Sitters Club #2: Boys, Brains, and Bad-Behavior.

After a year-long hiatus, I'm back in business with my life goal of reading every Baby-Sitters Club book ever written. In order. From the start. I was stuck for a while because, while I had a few books in the series, I didn't have number...

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New York 1999 - Statue of Liberty
January 17, 2014
in Life List, New York, North America, travel, United States

New York, circa 1999.

I've been so busy working a temp job the past two weeks that all I want to do when I get home is curl up with Food Network. So I haven't had much time to write. And I'm certainly not traveling at the moment. But,...

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Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier
December 30, 2013
in competitive eating, Life List

Buns ‘n’ All (Or, that time I won a hot dog eating contest by default) (Or, I’m going to Coney Island, bitches!)

Eight minutes had already passed and the meat sweats were kicking it. My fingers were sticky with strawberry lemonade and grease. Crumbs of pink soggy bread rolled down my cheek. A near empty paper plate in front of me held just a few more bites...

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Hi, I’m Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the teal couch. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. I lived my life in limbo. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job and bought a one-way ticket to Europe. After 3 years on the road I’m back in Chicago, exploring the city, learning guitar, decorating my apartment in too much teal, cuddling my cats, and planning my next adventures.

            

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2006 –

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR LIFE?


Feeling stuck? Sick of living your life in limbo? Want to finally do all those things you always say you're going to do? Sign up for the Choosing Figs newsletter now to get a FREE e-book with tips on starting your own life list, inspiration for things to do in life, and worksheets to get your life goals out of your head and into action!


Your information will be used to send you our Life List e-book and subscribe you to our bi-monthly newsletter. View our full Privacy Policy.



            


MEOW | Is Val in Chicago?