Heroes & Villains Character List

Hello, my friends! Here is a running list of all characters in my Heroes & Villains series. This includes villains, heroes, and everyone in between. This post will be regularly updated to add new characters or character information. If you ever think this post is missing something important about a character, leave it in the comment section below and I'll get it entered in. Thanks!

Last Updated: November 26th, 2017

BENJAMIN BAKER, 
AKA THE KNIGHT DRAGON

-Ben is the main protagonist of this series. He is first seen as himself in "Eleanor Washington vs. the Interview" or as the Knight Dragon in "The Knight Dragon."

-Ben was born and raised in Apple Creek and grew up in the Baker family, the richest family in the city and owner of the largest technological and engineering company in the nation, Bakersfield. Ben grew up just outside the central city skyscrapers in a large mansion with his older brother Brian, and younger siblings Kacey and Bradley. His dad, Brandon, is the owner and CEO of Bakersfield. Ben's mother, Reese has always been a stay-at-home mother but has continually helped in running Bakersfield.

-Ben is currently the next in line to run Bakersfield and works alongside his father as a second, though lesser, CEO.

-Ben works his nights as the Knight Dragon, a hero with the power to produce fire from his body. He works many high profile cases and is known as one of the stronger, more successful heroes in the city. His father, a retired hero, trained Ben in becoming a hero. Ben's father is the only member of the Baker's family who knows of Ben's powers.

-Ben is single, though has a city-wide reputation of dating many women, though he often protests that this reputation is based only on the year after his high school graduation when he went on many dates with multiple women, some of whom were already in relationships. The press often portrays Ben as the city's most popular bachelor due to his good looks and money, though in recent years, mostly due to his secret hero identity, Ben has tried to stay out of the press and the limelight.

ELEANOR WASHINGTON

-Ellie is our other main protagonist in the series. She is first seen in "Eleanor Washington" though her character isn't really introduced until "Eleanor Washington vs. the Interview."

-Ellie was born and raised in Apple Creek in the southern part of the city known as the Island. Ellie's parent's died in a bombing when she was nine years old, and not much else is known about her parents. After their deaths, Ellie moved in with her grandpa, Carl. Ellie considers Carl more of a parent than her real parents ever were. She grew up without much money and bullied by many of her classmates, but she never once lost her positivity or enthusiasm for life. She suffered a massive crush on Benjamin Baker in middle school and covered her bedroom walls with pictures of him cut out from newspapers and magazines.

-Ellie grew up with a desire to learn and build. She graduated from Apple Creek University with a degree in both mechanical and electrical engineering. During college, she invented the Wonder Key, a device inserted in a key meant to assist when lost, though she had her name taken off the patents and blueprints. She currently works for Bakersfield as a data entry worker, entering information into their systems.

-Ellie also works as the personal tech assistant to the Knight Dragon. She built his suit, creating a new fabric to do so. The Knight Dragon has often used Ellie as part of his cases and depends on her as part of his team.

-Ellie is dating Arthur Wallace, and they have been dating since their senior year in high school. Ellie sees marriage in their near future and hopes to spend her life with him.

ROGER ADAMS,
AKA THE SPEEDSTER

-Roger is the best friend to Ben and sidekick to the Knight Dragon. He is first mentioned as the Speedster in "The Knight Dragon" and introduced in "The Knight Dragon vs. His New Suit."

-Roger grew up in the central city in an apartment with his parents and twin brother Kevin. His parents divorced when Roger was fourteen years old, and despite the apparent riff between his parents, Roger has maintained a good relationship with both of them.

-Roger is a hero known as the Speedster with the power to run quickly. Despite the Board of Supers offering Roger a full-time solo hero position, Roger elected to work alongside his lifelong best friend. The Knight Dragon and the Speedster as a team work well together, and while they consider themselves a partnership, the majority of the city considers the Speedster to be a sidekick.

-Roger is engaged to Karen Warner, a woman he met in college through a friend. They were inseparable since the beginning and Ben is quoted saying he knew the moment he saw them together that they would get married.

-Roger works as his old high school as a history teacher and track coach. He loves the ability he has to control his power enough to show up all his students on the track, while also training them to become faster. His students love him and work hard for him.

OTHER MAIN CHARACTERS (In order of appearance)

-WILMA is the executive secretary who sits outside Brandon and Benjamin Baker's office doors. She monitors any visitors for the CEOs and is a personal family friend to the Bakers. First seen in "Eleanor Washington vs. the Interview."

-RYLIE BLACK is Ellie's team lead, AKA, her boss. She is first seen in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Mortician Part 1." Rylie attended the same high school as Ellie as the two have never gotten along well, as Rylie was one of Ellie's bullies. Rylie is one of the many Apple Creek females with a crush on Benjamin Baker.

-CARL WASHINGTON, Ellie's grandpa, is first seen in "Carl and Ellie." Carl is the man who raised Ellie after her parents died. Carl's wife left him shortly after their marriage and died of cancer years later. He lives on his own in the Island and works for a small production factory for small wages. He has weekly morning game parties with Ellie every Sunday.

-LIONEL THOMPSON is the police chief in Apple Creek first seen in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Farmer." Lionel is best friends with Brandon Baker and sees Ben as another son. Lionel has three kids of his own, two boys and one girl. He is happily married.

-KACEY BAKER is Ben's only sister, first seen in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Evil Santa." Kacey is the twin of the youngest Baker child, Bradley. The Baker family has a long-standing tradition that all boys have a name that starts with the letter "B" and occasionally Kacey feels left out that her name doesn't fit in with her siblings. Kacey idolizes her brother, Ben (though she has no knowledge of his hero career) and gets along with him better than her other brothers.

-ARTHUR "ART" WALLACE is Ellie's long-term boyfriend. He is first seen in "Benjamin Baker vs. the New Years Party" and is immediately despised by Ben, despite Ellie's adoration for him. Art works at his family's hardware store. He grew up in a different state and is still not used to being in a city filled with superheroes and villains. When he first moved to Apple Creek his senior year of high school, Ellie immediately caught his attention, and despite their classmate's un-approval, he knew he had to date her. They love each other fiercely and plan to spend their lives together.

-REESE BAKER is the mother of the Baker children and husband to Brandon Baker. She is first introduced in "Benjamin Baker vs. the New Years Party" as the party planner. She loves and supports each of her children and raised them as a stay-at-home mom.

-BRADLEY BAKER is the youngest Baker child and twin to Kacey. Introduced in "Benjamin Baker vs. the New Years Party" as a boy very aware of his family's wealth and sees himself as better than others. He is a senior in college without much of an idea of what he will do with his life.

-BRANDON BAKER is the father of the Baker family first seen in "Benjamin Baker vs. the New Years Party." Brandon is the CEO of Bakersfield, his family's company for generations. Brandon is a retired superhero, The Golden Man. He was the city's most popular and successful hero. He retired from hero work shortly after defeating his nemesis, the Master. His choice to retire was because of his kids. His family knew of his hero work and stared at the news every time he had to battle a villain. Brandon decided he didn't want his kids living in fear anymore and retired. He trained his son, Ben to be the Knight Dragon and encouraged him to keep his hero identity a secret from the family.

-CASSANDRA EVANS is the leader of the B.O.S -the Board of Supers. First introduced in "Eleanor Washington vs. the Board of Supers," Cassandra is in charge of all the supers in the city. She decides who is classified as a hero or a villain and arranges any confrontations between supers. The B.O.S., while funded by the government (and mostly by Brandon Baker), is a secret from the citizens of Apple Creek.


VILLAINS (In order of appearance)

-"SANDY" BURTON is the first villain we see the Knight Dragon face in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Sandstorm." This villain has the power to turn into sand, produce sand, and control the sand, dirt, and dust around him.

-THE MORTICIAN is featured in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Mortician Part 2." The Mortician, real name unknown, has the power to control corpses, waking them from the dead.

-MELANIE BOLTON is not necessarily a villain, though she makes the list due to her appearance in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Power Outage." Melanie has the power to produce and control electric currents.

-MATT WATERS is the villain seen in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Farmer." He has super strength and is one of the hardest matches for the Knight Dragon and the Speedster, so much so that Lionel and Ellie both assist.

-OLIVER TOTEM is a physics professor at Apple Creek University, though in "The Knight Dragon vs. the Invisible Man" we see him use his powers of invisibility to help him obtain pieces to a weapon.


LOCATIONS:

APPLE CREEK - The city in which these stories take place.
BAKERSFIELD - The company started and owned by the Baker family. A technological and engineering company.
THE ISLAND - The poor part of town where most villains come from.

Is your favorite minor character missing? Was a new detail added that changes a character's profile? Remind me in the comment section below and I'll continually update this page with new information! Thanks in advance for your help! 

Why Fashion Friday Posts Are Difficult To Do In Winter

One of my unwritten New Years Resolutions was to never miss a Fashion Friday post. I left it unwritten because I know that sometimes it is honestly impossible to go out and take fashion photos, especially during the winter time. I was right to leave this goal un-written since here we are, the last Friday of January and I've done one fashion post so far this year.

My lack of fashion posts doesn't go without trying. I tried. I promise I tried. You can ask my husband about my almost crying when the weather and daylight hours would not work with my schedule.

See, I work a full-time job. 8-5. During all daylight hours. Now, if I had a home with good lighting, or could purchase good photography lighting, then maybe it wouldn't be such an issue. But in all honesty, the fashion posts that get the most attention, are always done outside, and I completely agree that outdoor pictures look and feel the best. Lighting is better, backgrounds are better, and there are so many more opportunities instead of just a blank wall.

Winter is such a beautiful time of year. Fashion photos in the snow can be absolutely gorgeous... Can be. Winter can also be the ugliest time of year. Gray mounds of snow piled up on the sides of every street, gray skies, fog, no sunlight, as bleak and depressing as the beginning of a Charles Dickens novel.

During the winter no one WANTS to leave their home. We only leave because we're forced to. Getting an outfit together, driving to a decent location and standing in the cold doesn't ever sound fun, but we do it anyways. Sometimes.

But there's such an unpredictability during the winter. Weather is constantly changing. This past month we had temperatures in the single digits which jumped up to 40℉ and rain in a single day. The wind is almost constant and makes it feel even colder. It snows whenever it feels like, which is hard to predict considering the clouds are really talented at covering any sight of the sun.

I want to be a fashion blogger... part-time, only on Fridays. But during the winter it's just so incredibly difficult! So while fashion posts are still a goal for this blog, it may still be a while before the consistency starts. But I'm excited for when they do!

There Is No Pain

There is no pain

Like the tears in your eyes

The lump of air in your throat

There is no pain

Like a broken bone

Being idle your only antidote

There is no pain

Like a cut in your skin

Turning cloth red with your blood

There is no pain 

Like the throb in your head

Cured only with too many drugs

There is no pain

Like a miscarriage

The heartbreak of losing your child

There is no pain

Like never meeting them

Never knowing the way that they smiled

There is no pain

Like waiting on end

For something good to come your way

There is no pain 

Like monthly tests

That only end in tearful dismay

There is no pain 

Like fighting a fight

And never knowing when you might win

There is no pain

Like doing your best

But being caught on what might have been

There is no pain

Like smiling in a crowd

Pretending your pain doesn't exist

There is no pain

Like feeling defeated

By a darkness you can't resist

There is no pain

Not physical at least

No pain anyone else can see

There is no pain

Yet everything hurts

And you think this is how it will always be.

How To Become A Fitness Junkie With Kaylee Farnes

STEP 1: Join a gym. Preferably a real expensive one with all the amenities of a resort and a cost that will never be worth the few times you go.

(They don't all have to be expensive. My husband and I go to Vasa Fitness for a reasonable price.)

STEP 2: Weigh and measure yourself to get a starting point. Then cry over ice cream because you really let yourself go.

STEP 3: Create a workout playlist of all your favorite songs. Spend as much time as you can on it, probably during the hour that would be best spent at the gym.

(You can check out my Spotify playlist of workout songs by CLICKING HERE.)

STEP 4: Download all of the fitness and dieting apps and buy all the products so you're well prepared.

(Got to get those Fitbit steps in. Also, the above Gif is from "The IT Crowd" which is on Netflix, go check it out.)

STEP 5: Create a Pinterest board with hundreds of workouts and dieting tips that you'll forget about and never use.

(I'm compulsively on Pinterest every night before bed. You can look at my fitness board by CLICKING HERE.)

STEP 6: Start a new Instagram account for all your #GymSelfies.

(I'm guilty of this for sure and you can view them all on my second Instagram account @kayleeshealthylife)

STEP 7: Share all your weight loss and fitness goals on social media so everyone else can know how good you are.

STEP 8: After a good workout reward yourself with some chocolate. You earned it.

(Can I just be Taylor Swift in a crown? Please?)

STEP 9: Tweet about your workout. If it's not on social media, it didn't happen.

(Shameless Twitter plug, @cowgirl_kaylee)

STEP 10: Repeat the above steps over and over again until your magically fit.

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Yes, yes, I'm very funny. But in all honesty, this has been my understanding of health goals. Health and fitness goals are hard. So ridiculously hard. We make goals that seem possible in the beginning, but the work and time we have to put into it can be overwhelming.

Mondays on this blog are now all about health and fitness. This doesn't just include physical health. As someone who has depression and works to raise more awareness about the seriousness of mental health, my Monday health posts will include mental, emotional, and physical. We should always be growing our brains as well as our bodies, and learning to help our emotions work for us instead of against us.

All my life I have wanted to help people and I've decided that now is the time to do something about it. I am not perfect. I have many struggles, insecurities, and make mistakes daily. But I know I'm not alone. We are not alone and if we work together, we are capable of anything. We are a team, the Dancing Cow Team, and together we can help make ourselves and the world better.

Monday health posts are not all set in stone, they may not start immediately, but by the end of the year, they should be a consistent thing. As always, I'm grateful for my amazing blog readers because, without you, this idea would never have happened. I love you all, more than I can express.

This post contains affiliate links.

The Knight Dragon vs. the Invisible Man | Heroes & Villains 1.10

Previous Story  |  About Heroes & Villains

Ben carried a large cardboard box in his arms, following Ellie into the warehouse connected to the ground level of the Bakersfield office tower. She flipped on the lights and glanced around as Ben set the box down on the ground.

“What are you thinking?” Ben asked, placing his hands on his hips and watching her.

“I’m thinking that there is a lot of stuff in here,” Ellie replied. “And it’ll take him a while to find what he’s looking for. I’d say that’s an advantage on our end.” Ellie turned to him grinning.  Ben nodded in agreement.

Two men walked into the warehouse, catching sight of Ben and directing their course to him. Ellie watched them as the crossed the room. One was tall and gangly, wearing large rimmed glasses. The other was of medium height and bulky, his wide blue eyes scanning all over the room. They reached Ben and Ellie and the bulky man stared down at Ellie, his eyes connecting with hers.

“Hey Ben,” The tall man said grinning.

“Dexter,” Ben nodded to him. Ben turned to Ellie. “Ellie this is my friend Dexter, he’s the White Owl.”

“Illusion shattered.” Ellie groaned. “I wanted to believe the White Owl had no secret identity.” She stuck out her lower lip in a fake pout, turning to Ben. Ben laughed.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Dexter said, eyeing Ben. “I’m sorry for breaking the truth to you.”

“You can fly,” Ellie stated looking over Dexter. Dexter nodded, causing his glasses to slide down his nose. Ellie glanced towards Ben. “Do you two go flying together sometimes?”

“It’s not like we’re dating, Ellie,” Ben replied with a grin. “And this is Dexter’s intern Seymour.” Ben gestured to the bulkier man, whose eyes had only gotten more intense while he continued staring at her.

“Superheroes have interns?” Ellie asked, feeling squeamish under Seymour’s unbroken stare.

“It’s more like I’m his mentor,” Dexter spoke up. “He just graduated high school and he’s looking to get into the superhero program so he’s following me around for a while to get some experience in.”

“Oh, so it is kind of like an intern,” Ellie said. “Do you fly too?” Ellie asked him. Seymour shook his head, his eyes lifting up to meet hers.

“No, I can see in every direction,” Seymour replied. Ellie frowned slightly. “It’s literally like I have eyes on the back of my head. And also have x-ray vision.” Ellie’s eyes widened having never heard of that power before.

“Wow,” She said slowly. “That’s…” Ellie paused, regarding the way his eyes dropped, still staring at her. She bit her lower lip and folded her arms across her chest. “That’s very cool.”

“Anyways,” Ben spoke up, stepping forward between Ellie and Seymour. “Cassandra sent them over to help. Since Dexter flies, he may have an easier time with the anti-gravity machine, and they haven’t tested Seymour’s x-ray vision on invisibility yet. There’s one more hero coming as well but he may not get here until it’s time to work.”

“What hero?” Ellie asked.

“A newer one, he doesn’t have a codename yet but his current nickname is the Lizard,” Ben replied. “Real name, Javier. He’s a good guy. Though Dexter is in charge on this mission.”

“Right,” Ellie muttered turning her full attention to Ben. “You know, you fly too. Has she changed her mind on if you’re one of the heroes helping on this case?” Ellie asked him with a frown. Ben chewed for a second on the inside of his cheek.

“She still only wants me here to supervise you.” He replied. Ellie glanced to Dexter and Seymour.

“I don’t mean offense to either of you,” She told them before turning back to Ben. “But I’m pretty sure you and Roger can handle this on your own. You’re a good team and I wouldn’t let you fail.”

“Well, Cassandra’s the head of the board, so that’s not happening,” Ben said calmly. “So, Ellie, what can we do to help set up?” Ellie sighed and glanced back towards her box.

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Ellie muttered as she began pulling out her invention from the box. She handed a black square device, only slightly larger than her hand and relatively flat, to each of the men around her. “We need to put these on the ground across the room to create a grid. You can each place them against the walls, I’ll watch from my computer to make sure we have full coverage.”

The men set to work as Ellie moved to her laptop, pulling up a new program she had designed, giving her sight of where the laser grid was across the room. Ellie watched, instructing them every now and then with where to place one of the devices. It didn’t take long for Dexter to get bored and wander over to her. He stood, peering over her shoulder and watched the grid growing across the room. As Ben and Seymour continued moving, each point in the grid detected their mass and located their exact location.

“This is incredible,” Dexter said, reaching up to pull off his glasses, tapping one of the arms against his upper lip. “You really created this yourself in a couple of hours?” Ellie glanced back at him, unable to hide her smile.

“Yes.”

“Incredible,” Dexter breathed. Ellie bit her lower lip and turned back to the laptop, not wanting him to catch her blushing. Despite her preference for the Knight Dragon, the White Owl was one of the most popular heroes in the city and she couldn’t help but admire his work. He wasn’t like Ben, he could only fly and had no other abilities, yet he was clever and resourceful enough to defeat some of the city’s worst villains.

“You’re a great hero,” Ellie blurted. She winced and brought her fist up to her forehead, tapping her knuckles in frustration. “Sorry, I just mean, you’re really good at what you do.”

“That’s what happens when you’re a full-time hero.” He replied, flashing her a wide smile.

“You work as a hero full time?” Ellie frowned.

“Yeah. This way Cassandra knows I’m available anytime she needs me.” Dexter replied. “It’s similar to what the Golden Man did in his heyday and I’m sure you caught sight of his statue in the BOS.”

“How could anyone miss it?” Ellie laughed. “So you’re into being a hero for the fame?”

“Of course.” Dexter shrugged. “What else would it be for?”

“Helping people,” Ellie replied quickly.

“Yeah, that’s a part of it, I guess, but if I’m going to stick my neck out for someone I think I deserve to take the credit for it,” Dexter said. Ellie’s eyes narrowed involuntarily. “That’s why I don’t understand Ben and the Knight Dragon. He only does stuff at night, people rarely get to see what he does. Sure he does a lot and is quite popular but unless he allows people to see what he’s capable of in daylight then he’ll never get a statue.”

“Fire doesn’t glow as brightly in daylight,” Ellie muttered, typing in a few commands to get a different view of the grid on her laptop. “I don’t think Ben cares about everyone seeing what he does as the Knight Dragon, he already gets enough of that just being Benjamin Baker. And perhaps Ben doesn’t want a statue of himself.”

“How long have you known him?” Dexter scoffed. Ellie continued to stare at her computer, clenching her jaw. “Ben’s been spending his whole career trying to live up to the hero his father was. The Golden Man is like an idol to the entire city. He rid the world of the worst supervillain to ever live. Ben wants to do something just as great and get all the fame for it.” Ellie turned to glance at Ben across the room, working with Seymour on one of the devices.

“I don’t think he has to,” Ellie said. “The Knight Dragon is already just as wonderful as the Golden Man.”

“Ben will never agree with that statement.” Dexter shook his head. “Besides, he wants to be better.” Ellie continued to watch Ben, thinking back over everything they had done together in the few short months since they met. She had seen him do wonderful things, without thinking about others seeing him do it. He had helped Lionel arrest a sexual predator. He had helped save her grandpa simply because she asked. Ben couldn’t be a hero just for the fame, could he?

Eleanor Washington vs. the Board of Supers | Heroes & Villains 1.9

Previous Story  |  About Heroes & Villains  |  Next Story

“Ellie,” Ben said breathlessly as he ran over to her desk. She glanced up from her computer, a pen in her mouth. “I need you.” Ellie’s eyes narrowed and she reached up to grab the pen.

“Is something wrong?” Ellie asked. Ben opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. He bit his lower lip and glanced around at Ellie’s coworkers, all staring towards them, a few even standing at their desks to get a better look at their boss’s son. Ellie’s supervisor Rylie was standing at her desk, arms crossed, staring towards them with a pout.

“I don’t think I’m supposed to give you all the information just yet,” Ben said, still cautiously glancing around. “But it’s very time sensitive and I need your help now.” Ellie lifted an eyebrow.

“Is it BS?” She asked. Ben smiled at Ellie’s nickname for the Board of Supers, her comment allowing his body to relax, but only a bit.

“Yes,” Ben replied. Ellie looked back down at her computer and tapped a few keys on her keyboard to lock the screen. She stood and pulled her purse out from under her desk, pulling her coat off the back of her chair.

“Where are we talking?” Ellie asked.

“I’ll drive,” Ben replied turning and walking back towards the exit. Ellie frowned, surprised they weren’t going to his secret lair beneath Bakersfield and ran along behind his large strides, trying to ignore the many eyes watching them leave and not think about what was most likely on their minds.

My Favorite Winter Accessories

I found it so beautifully ironic that during a photo shoot for winter accessories it began to snow. Going through the pictures you can see the snow slowly getting heavier. So sorry for the random white blurs, but I personally love it.

Let's go through each detail one by one. Everything was bought years ago (except one item) so there aren't any direct links to products, but I'll do the best I can to find matches.

RED HAT: Given by a friend

RED STRIPED GLOVES: Rue 21

EAR HAT: Pac Sun (Similar)

BLACK AND GRAY GLOVES: Rue 21

HEADPHONE HAT: Old Navy

I love all my winter hats but I'm particularly fond of the ear one. I had been asking for it and Chris gave it to me for Christmas! It's new, but I've worn it a lot. I also love the one with headphones. I was listening to the Heroes & Villains playlist on my Spotify account. A new song was added to that playlist this week in honor of tomorrow's story so go check it out! 

I loved creating this post, I love winter accessories even if I don't always love winter, and I hope you all loved it as well. Don't forget to shop for your own winter accessories below, because if you live in Utah, like me, we still have cold weather for a while. I included a cow hat below because I do own a cow hat, and I'm a huge fan of it.

2017 Goals & Resolutions

Hello friends! It's 2017. A new year. A new opportunity. Anything could happen. Time for new goals.

Back in November (because I was completely ready for a new year back then) I wrote down over two pages in my notebook of the goals I had for the new year. A lot of them will not make sense to you, but they mean something to me personally.

And while the majority of you already have your list, if you need a bit more inspiration, here's my lengthy list of goals and resolutions for 2017 by category.

HEALTH

-Eat healthier
-Get to sleep/rise early
-Workout 4x per week
-Run a 5k
-Lose fat, gain muscle
-Dance

HOME LIFE

-Cook more
-Move into an apartment
-Clean home daily
-Craft more
-Sew four projects
-Grow a plant

BLOGGING

-Find my style
-Work on the Chris & Kaylee Show
-Find my voice
-Be myself
-Become a #BossBabe
-Blog at least 2x per week
-Get 2 blog sponsors
-Learn how to make money blogging
-Start vlogging
-Take video editing course
-Be more active on social media
-Work on photography skills

SPIRITUAL

-Pray daily
-Read the Book of Mormon
-Visit the temple monthly
-Become more Christlike
-Give service daily
-Have family home evening

WRITING

-Weekly writing prompts
-Find my voice (again)
-Learn more
-Go to a writing conference
-Take a writing course
-Publish a short story on Amazon
-Write 30 minutes a day
-Read more

FINANCIAL

-Pay all bills on time
-Save up money for a trip
-Become financially stable

FUN

-Find 1 new city event a month
-Explore everywhere
-Visit museums
-Sing more
-Dance more
-Plan a trip

PERSONAL

-Think positively
-Be a warrior
-Become pregnant/learn what my body needs to have a baby
-Be a better wife
-Love more
-Work with passion
-Find my voice (third time)
-Tell my story
-Be myself


Now I'm well aware that having this many goals makes it more difficult to acheive them all. So the main goal is to follow my theme song of the year, "The Weight of Living: Part II" by Bastille, which asks this question: "DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU'VE BECOME?" And if the answer is ever no, then it's time to stop what I'm doing and make a change.

These are all goals to help me become the person I want to be, the person I know I'm capable of becoming. I've gotten lost so many times along the way, but I know I'm capable of so much more. I know it's a lot, but if I can even just acheive half of them, then I'll be changing myself for the better.

If you're still reading this, I want you to know that I will have one monthly specific goal for myself as well as challenging my readers to do as well. For this month my goal, that I challenge you to do too, is to find 5 quotes that speak to you. Whether they are song lyrics, scripture verses, or spoken by a parent or friend, it doesn't matter. Anything that's important to you is elligable.

My first quote was included in my Theme Song post, the quote above is my second, but I still have three more to find. Pinterest is where I find mine, but go searching the internet for what speaks to you.

At the end of the month I will do a whole post on all 5 quotes that I picked out and in the comment section of that post we can discuss all our quotes and why they specifically speak to us. I want this blog to be more of a community, and that what these monthly goals are for.

Good luck with all your goals and resolutions this year! Hopefully you don't have as many as me...

______________________________________________________

What are some of your goals? Let me know in the comments below!  

Guiding Eyes | COTM January 2017

Hello friends! Welcome to a brand new year of Charity of the Month! This year will be bringing in a lot of new things, but hopefully one of the main things is consistent Charity of the Month posts to bring awareness and money to many different and wonderful charities.

Today's post will, however, be fairly short, but will, hopefully, get the point across.

The Charity of the Month for January 2017 is Guiding Eyes for the Blind. This is a charity that breeds, trains, and distributes guide dogs to the visually impaired, free of cost.

I've only had one encounter with a guide dog. I had a class my first semester of college that had a blind man who always brought in his dog with him. It was a beautiful golden lab and the most obedient dog I've ever seen. I also will never forget the man himself, though his name is lost to me.

It was a class called "Media Through the Ages" and we focused on the different types of ways news and media has progressed through history. It was a fun and interesting class where we were able to learn about and experience different forms of media.

One class, in particular, we learned about silent film. We had the opportunity to watch one of the first silent films and experience something we're not used to. After the film ended, our teacher asked us about it and the blind man raised his hand and said jokingly: "I don't think those were made with the blind in mind."

He had such a humor about him and once even told us all about his dog, which I also don't remember the dog's name. He was an inspiring person to me. I'm sure we all take advantage of our sight, but there are people out there, good and wonderful people, who don't have our same luck, and many of them need help to get through, what are for me, simple, everyday tasks.

Guiding Eyes helps people without sight to find a friend and a support. These dogs are well trained to guide and assist the visually impaired, and Guiding Eyes happily gives these dogs to the blind for free.

But while it may be free for the blind, it is not free to train these dogs, which is why they deserve our help. It takes a lot of money to care for these dogs, but if we all contribute what we can, Guiding Eyes will have some extra help.

What Guiding Eyes is doing for the blind is incredible and we need to help them to continue doing their incredible work.

You can read more about Guiding Eyes and give your donation by CLICKING HERE. Remember, you don't have to give outside your means. Just give what you can and the combination of all of us together should do the rest.

Thanks for your support of Guiding Eyes! 

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