30 Before 30 Update

I made a list when I turned 25 (over two years ago) of things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. I have a little under three years to go. I have achieved some of my goals, but I do still have a long way to go for some. What do you think?

PS - I did mean to post this on or near my 27th birthday. That was over three months ago now... in July. Oops.

completed = green
in progress = yellow
not there yet = red

1. Get Married (accomplished on 05/30/2014)

2. Travel to Europe (We went to Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, France, and Germany on our honeymoon!)

3. Get something published somewhere

4. Take a photography class

5. Finish writing a second novel (will be writing for NaNoWriMo this November!)

6. Skydive

7. Paint walls inside a house

8. Travel to South America

9. Sell *more* items on Etsy (sold 267 as of 10/23/2014)

10. See a movie alone in a theater (saw The Book Thief in Denver on 11/23/13)

11. Have a baby

12. Run a marathon  (completed the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon 26.2 miles on April 27, 2014)

13. Learn how to sew (simple things)

14. Host a Christmas dinner for more than three people

15. Travel to Africa

16. Create a cookbook of my favorite recipes (I am in the middle of putting this together - finally!)

17. Visit 10 states I haven’t been to (working on it: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Alaska, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia)

18. Travel to Australia or New Zealand

19. Start learning German

20. Go out to dinner (at a real restaurant) alone

21. Swim with fish (terrified)

22. Cook dinner for Dan every night for a month - no eating out!

23. Pay for a stranger’s meal

24. Participate in a Bible study with other women

25. Go on (another) hot air balloon flight

26. Ski a “blue” run (accomplished on "Heavenly Daze" at Steamboat Springs on 12/16/13)

27. Adopt a dog - We took in Dan's childhood dog, Smudge, on 10/12/14 and love him to pieces!

28. Travel somewhere alone

29. Teach in a state other than Colorado

30. Live in (at least) three different states (two down: moved from Colorado to Ohio on 07/17/14)

I have accomplished seven tasks, am in the middle of four tasks, and have an overwhelming 19 to get started on! Eek!

• Do you have a 30 Before 30 list or something similar?
• What's on your "bucket" list? 

30 Before 30 Re-Visit {How I'm Doing}

With about three and a half years to go until I turn 30 (oh my gosh - that sounds crazy), I wanted to look over my "bucket list" of sorts. These are all items I want to accomplish by the time I'm 30. I set these goals on my 26th birthday (last July)... here's an update!

My List to Complete Before July 22nd, 2017:

1. Get Married (less than three months!)

2. Travel to Europe (less than three months!)

3. Get something published somewhere

4. Take a photography class

5. Finish writing a second novel

6. Skydive

7. Paint walls inside a house

8. Travel to South America

9. Sell *more* items on Etsy (sold 50 as of 12/21/13)

10. See a movie alone in a theater (saw The Book Thief in Denver on 11/23/13)

11. Have a baby

12. Run a marathon - registered for Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on 04/27/14

13. Learn how to sew (simple things)

14. Host a Christmas dinner for more than three people

15. Travel to Africa

16. Create a cookbook of my favorite recipes

17. Visit 10 states I haven’t been to

18. Become fluent in French

19. Start learning German

20. Go out to dinner (at a real restaurant) alone

21. Swim with fish (terrified)

22. Try going vegan for a month

23. Pay for a stranger’s meal

24. Participate in a Bible study with other women

25. Go on (another) hot air balloon flight

26. Ski a “blue” run (accomplished on "Heavenly Daze" at Steamboat Springs on 12/16/13)

27. Adopt a dog (hopefully a high-energy large breed)

28. Travel somewhere alone

29. Teach in a state other than Colorado

30. Live in (at least) three different states

It appears that I am not doing too great. I have sold more items in my Etsy shop (up to 87 sales now), saw a movie alone in a theater (The Book Thief - well worth it!), and skied a blue run at Steamboat Springs. 

In the next few months, though, I'll also be knocking off running a marathon (April 27th), getting married (May 30th), and traveling to Europe (honeymoon in June/July). Who knows - maybe I can sneak a couple other items in before the summer too!

New Year; New Goals

As I venture into 2014, I’ve decided to create six resolutions I can stick to this year. The resolutions are simple and to the point, but they will require strength that comes in physical, mental, and/or emotional form.

1. Read 25 Books

Yes, last year my goal was to read 36 books. I almost reached that goal by reading 33. I was ahead for a while, and I lost some steam toward the end of the year. Since my wedding (and five-six week honeymoon) is this summer, I’m sure I won’t have quite as much time to read as normal, so I lowered my standards for 2014. Don’t worry, though. 2015 will be here soon, and I’ll play catch-up!

2. Run a Full Marathon
Luckily, I’ve already jumped the biggest hurdle by simply signing up for one. I’ll be running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on April 27^th with one of my best friends, and I am absolutely stoked! I’ve run several 5Ks and a half marathon, but it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to run a marathon… what better time to run 26 miles than when I’m 26 years old, right?

3. Blog Twice {or more} Per Week
I’ve been blogging for two full years now (but only one year on this blog; I ditched my old one after my “blog-every-day-for-a-year” challenge because that one was so cluttered, but my hope is to have a regular posting schedule. My goal is to plan better for posts and take the time every week to type out two or three posts. I also want to pre-write topics to post while I’m on my honeymoon (and schedule them to post automatically since I’ll be without Internet). Here’s to the year of writing!

4. Grow Spiritually
Last year, I started going to church regularly with Dan. In fact, we actually joined our church, which we love. It’ll be difficult to leave it when we move for Dan’s pilot training. Rather than simply going through the motions, however, I’d love to grow more spiritually. I’m not exactly sure what that means yet, but I’m going to work on it.

5. Complete Seven {or more} Items from 30 Before 30 List
When I turned 26 last July, I made a list of 30 things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. I have three and a half years left to complete my list, and this year, I want to cross off at least seven more items. I’m not sure which ones will happen this year, but you can check out my list by clicking here.

6. Continue Living Fearlessly
In 2013, I made a goal to not be afraid to try new things and to always focus on what I can do rather than what I cannot do in given situations. I think I did a pretty good job, but I know I still have lots of room to grow. I’d like to focus on new endeavors without all of the “what-ifs” that run through my mind. There is no time like the present!

Well, those are my resolutions for the year. Here's to hoping I can conquer them all!

What do you think? Do you have any resolutions of your own?

My 26th Birthday Today (and 30 Before 30 List)

Today is my birthday! I am 26. It feels weird, but this year has definitely been better leading up to my birthday than last year. When I turned 25, I panicked. It did NOT feel okay to hit that "milestone", and I had a small quarter-life crisis. 26 is different because THIS IS MY YEAR. This is the age I will finally marry my handsome fiancé. This is the year for all sorts of exciting things!

Just for funsies, here are two pictures of my on my REAL birth day and one from last year when I turned 25 (at my favorite restaurant in Colorado Springs, Amanda's Fonda (superb Mexican, EXCELLENT margaritas, and fantastic rum cake):

In honor of my birthday, I decided to compile a 30 Before 30 List. Basically, these are 30 things I want to accomplish BEFORE I turn 30. Get it? I've got four years to achieve the following.

30 BEFORE 30 List

1. Get Married (less than a year!)

2. Travel to Europe

3. Get something published somewhere

4. Take a photography class

5. Finish writing a second novel

6. Skydive

7. Paint walls inside a house

8. Travel to South America

9. Sell *more* items on Etsy

10. See a movie alone in a theater

11. Have a baby

12. Run a marathon

13. Learn how to sew (simple things)

14. Host a Christmas dinner for more than three people

15. Travel to Africa

16. Create a cookbook of my favorite recipes

17. Visit 10 states I haven’t been to

18. Become fluent in French

19. Start learning German

20. Go out to dinner (at a real restaurant) alone

21. Swim with fish (terrified)

22. Try going vegan for a month (already vegetarian)

23. Pay for a stranger’s meal

24. Participate in a Bible study with other women

25. Go on (another) hot air balloon flight

26. Ski a “blue” run

27. Adopt a dog (hopefully a high-energy large breed)

28. Travel somewhere alone

29. Teach in a state other than Colorado

30. Live in (at least) three different states

So, what do you think of my list? 
Would you have anything similar on yours? 
Have you done any of these things?
Do you have any advice for me?