30 before 30 update

Today to celebrate a great friend turning 30, I'm going to update by thirty, no wait, seventeen, new and improved, eighteen before 30 list. She's the reason I even made this list to begin with!!! Thanks Rach!

1. Chop it off!! - I have to laugh at the fact that I included this to begin with since it was already done when I posted. It's like when I make a "to-do" list and include "take a nap" so that I can for sure strike one thing off my list!

2. Finish 2 stockings (Derek's and baby's) - No idea when this will happen. I can't imagine finding time to do this... but I will still try! I remember from Grant's baby days that this is easier when the baby isn't mobile, so I need to get on it QUICK!

3. Organize the office weekly - Whoopsie! The "office" is now just a desk and it's still not pretty.

4. Go camping - Hoping to do this soon while it's still relatively cool. New rule - if Derek and Grant go camping and I stay home with Abby, this still counts. It also counts if I join but Abby doesn't.

5. Go to church once a month - Again - whoopsie!!

6. Teach Grant the Lord's prayer - When we say "forever and ever," he says "AMEN!" So he's learning! Anytime Julie prays, she starts with the sign of the cross and Grant will drop what he's doing to hold his hands together. Awwww.

7. Take a family vacation - Miami!

8. Finish our Italy scrapbook - When the hell was I thinking this would get done?! I see a photobook in our future. I wanted to keep several things from the trip, which is why I did a scrapbook to begin with, but I'm thinking I'll take photos of the things I wanted to include and just add a photo of them to the photobook instead.

9. Make photo albums (or photobooks) every other month - Huh-uh. New goal - along with Abby's baby book (produced from this blog), I want to start an annual family yearbook (ala YHL). It will be fairly easy to convert this blog into said yearbook. I LOVE the "Highlights" page that YHL added to the beginning of their book. Stealing that fo' sho'. New goal is to work on that every other month so it's not such a headache at year end. Both Abby's baby book and the annual yearbook will go thru December so "finishing" the book isn't on my 30 before 30 list. I'm sure there will be lots of duplicate material, but this will be the only year I have to do 2!!

10. Have a spa day with the girls - Had a massage with my sis while I was still on maternity leave. It was glorious. And the consignment store find of the DECADE ($40 for a brand new $300 dress) was the cherry on top!

11. Go to work without makeup - I found myself without a powder brush one day and thought it must've been a sign!

12. Plant a garden - I picked up some Rosemary and Basil yesterday (but haven't planted them yet). And the Cilantro from last year is already THRIVING!! An herb garden TOTALLY counts!

13. Make a blog book - A pregnancy book & Grant's baby book. I get extra points for this one - I did TWO!

14. Get a new fence

15. Take 1 day off of work - Ummm... yeah. I did this one. A couple times. Sent both kids to Julie's while I was still on maternity leave to get stuff done! SO glad I did!

16. Get a great pair of red heels - My $13 red heels are actually comfortable and ridiculously cute!

17. Take a hand-made sign to a sporting event - WHAT?! I must've been on crack when I made this list. The only way this is possible is if the kids don't go bc we wouldn't have a free hand to carry in the sign if they go! Baseball season is about to kick off, so maybe this one will play out!

And I'm adding one more item:

18. Learn to use my DSLR - Hopefully for CHEAP! Surely someone has put a dummy's guide on YouTube. Hell - I haven't even read the manual yet! That may be a good place to start...

30 before 30 update

Here's a quick update on my progress on my 30 17 before 30 list (which is now 12 before 30):

1. Chop it off!!

2. Finish 2 stockings (Derek's and baby's) - I need to add Derek's name and the back of his stocking. I have purchased Baby Hicks's stocking and it only has 75 steps. But I really think I need to add another snowman to my stocking.

3. Organize the office weekly - Whoopsie!

4. Go camping - Fall 2011

5. Go to church once a month - Again - whoopsie!!

6. Teach Grant the Lord's prayer

7. Take a family vacation - Miami!

8. Finish our Italy scrapbook

9. Make photo albums (or photobooks) every other month

10. Have a spa day with the girls

11. Go to work without makeup
I'm working on this. I'm now regularly going with only powder and mascara.

12. Plant a garden

13. Make a blog book - My pregnancy book is great and Grant's book arrives on Saturday! Have I mentioned how much I love FedEx tracking?

14. Get a new fence Does it count as done if we're still fighting over the bill?! I would NOT recommend Condor Fencing.

15. Take 1 day off of work

16. Get a great pair of red heels
Today, I got an email reminder from DSW telling me I NEEDED to use the $5 birthday gift card. I had another gift card from some shoes I returned previously, so I ventured over at lunch. After thoroughly reviewing the sale rack, I moved into the full price arena. And then I heard it.

Angels were singing. The heavens were parting. I followed the light and found these! Full price, yes, but they called to me. IN MY SIZE! I wound up out of pocket $13. I'm itching to pair these with a regular boring suit.

17. Take a hand-made sign to a sporting event

30 before 30

Several of my friends have 30 before 30 lists, and I've had mine in the works for some time. The problem is that - I can't think of 30 meaningful things that are possible to do in that timeframe. I refuse to fill it with fluff or things that I don't REALLY want to accomplish. So - my 30 before 30 list is a few shy of 30. I've delayed publishing it this long because I thought I at least wanted to get to 20. In the meantime, I accomplished some of the items.

Really this list isn't quite fair. I mean "finish law school" and "have 2 children" are HUGE goals that should totally count. I could easily come up with 13 other items that I accomplished in my 20s that should count, so I'm not going to rename this "17 before 30". It's still 30 before 30 - I just wanted you to know my justification (and to assure you that I can count).

So I really have 15 items left to accomplish in 1 year and 44 days. It won't be easy, especially when we're juggling 2 little ones. Here's my list:


1. Chop it off!!
Inspired by my cousin Jenna, I've decided I need a hair goal. This one is easy because I've been planning it for awhile anyway. In about a month, I'll chop off my hair and donate it to Locks of Love - again. UPDATE - I did chop off my hair. I wrote the above when I wrote my original list. I'm counting it.

2. Finish 2 stockings (Derek's and baby's)

3. Organize the office weekly
I think this may be the only way to tame the paper mess. Our office is the black hole in the house, and I'm vowing to change that!

4. Go camping
Come on FALL! Let's knock this out when it's cool and I only have 1 baby to chase around. Camping when I'm 7 months pregnant - SURE, why not!

5. Go to church once a month
Exceptions may be made for football season - God will understand.

6. Teach Grant the Lord's prayer
When I turn 30, he'll be 2 years and 2 months. Is that even old enough to say the Lord's prayer?

7. Take a family vacation
Vegas, New York, or somewhere else fabulous is calling!! UPDATE: We are going to Florida!! Trip is booked so this is almost off the list!

8. Finish our Italy scrapbook
I tried to do this before I had Grant, but other things like building a crib, shopping for baby gear, painting, etc. got in the way.

9. Make photo albums (or photobooks) every other month
I MUST get in this habit!!

10. Have a spa day with the girls

11. Go to work without makeup
I'm not sure I can accomplish this.

12. Plant a garden
Peppers, onions and tomatoes are at the top of my list… after spices. We had cilantro and basil last year - I LOVED having fresh spices (even if I didn't use them all the time)

13. Make a blog book
I need to make 1 for pre-Grant, and 1 of his first year. I LOVE my cousin Amy's!

14. Get a new fence
Ours is surely going to fall over any minute. UPDATE - The fence DID in fact fall over, and the new one is up!

15. Take 1 day off of work
I prefer to take my days off when we are traveling (and when I have to - when Grant or I are sick). I would love to take a day off and do as much or as little as I want to all day! UPDATE – I sort of did this already. On June 1, I had to see my doctor, Grant’s doctor, take my car in and get my hair done, so I took off the entire day. I want to do it again though, so it’s staying on my list!

16. Get a great pair of red heels
It's one item my wardrobe definitely needs - not too hookerish and not too uncomfortable. I've already started the hunt.

17. Take a hand-made sign to a sporting event
I want to try to get on TV!!

NO!

Grant is learning the world "no". He hears it most often when he reaches for cords or Lola's toys. Lola is also hearing the word "no" a lot. I'm sure it's confusing for both of them.

Grant didn't hear "no" at all last night though. Derek was gone, so I put together dinner while Grant played in the kitchen. He was an angel. He stayed very busy with a pan, a pitcher, and an apple in a mesh feeder. He didn't follow me around or chase after Lola and her toys. It took me a solid 30 minutes to shred a chicken and put a pot pie together. Considering his recent protest against naps, I thought he wouldn't last 10 minutes without pulling on my leg. Grant had his first boo-boo this week. He hit just below his eyebrow while pulling up on a chair at daycare. His teachers said he was continually clumsy after that (he couldn't see past the tears). It doesn't help that he's got his daddy's clumsiness either. I'm glad they called so I didn't show up to a surprise - even if my poor baby was crying in the background on the phone when they called.

I started making a 30 before 30 list. #1 on the list was to chop off my hair. I can go ahead and mark that off. My list is incomplete and may just be a 20 before 30. I'd rather have 20 good goals and not worry about 10 throw aways. I'm just thankful I've got 16 months and 29 days left before "dooms day". My sis only has 16!!! Here's the hair-cutting process:

And the result: Yes - chop your hair off and you too could have a cheesey, crooked smile.

I haven't had bangs since 3rd grade. And like my mom pointed out on facebook, even then I paired them with a mullet. Thanks, mom - for the initial mullet and also for never letting me forget about it! ;) The verdict: so far I love the way they look, but they really can get in the way. I DO read all day (unless I'm blogging).