30 goals

 2 years ago I wrote a list of 30 goals I wanted to complete before I turned 30.  Wellll, this coming Saturday I turn 30!  Here are the things I did get done...

* Alllllmost returned to pre-babies weight.
* Made a First-year baby book for each of the children.
* Got family photos taken.
* Hung curtains all throughout the house (except for dining room yet).
* Cleaned out all our old baby items and other "to go" items.
* Ran 3 miles without stopping.
* Started singing on worship team at church.
* Played French horn for church special music.
* Updated my "mother ring" to include all 3 children.
* Took a picture of sun rays breaking through clouds.
* Volunteered to help at local library.
* Got a full-length mirror for my bedroom.
* Explored nearby state parks.
* Went tent camping as a family.
* Learned how to grill.
* Got in the habit of getting up before kids.
* Have been serious clothes shopping with girlfriends.
* Bought a pair of cute shoes.
* Started but didn't finish my Europe scrapbook.

I got just over half of my list done!  Things I still want to do sometime but not before Saturday...

* Go white-water rafting.
* Tube down a river.
* Read through entire Bible.
* Go for a bike ride.
* Finish wedding scrapbook.
* Get a bedroom lock.
* Invite the neighbors over for dinner.

Things I no longer care about...

* Plant a flower garden.  I have NO green thumb, and I'm kinda okay with that.
* Register to receive local newspaper.
* Commit to 30 Day Shred. Not a big fan of Jillian.
* Surprise a mom friend with a dinner. Just not sure about this one because I know a lot of moms start their dinners earlier in the day, and I'd hate to mess that up.

I can't believe how fast these 2 years went!  But I'm decently satisfied with what got done.  Not sure what's in store next and that's okay. Just gonna enjoy the ride...  Here's to the next decade!

3 MILES!

So I just started running a couple months ago, not really following any sort of plan.  I'd heard of the Couch to 5K program but I thought I'd just try things on my own.  Having a treadmill I'm able to run to music or how we have it set up in the basement with our old TV and DVD player I'm also able to watch movies, and for me having that distraction makes a huuuuge difference!  Plus I still keep it set at zero incline, which also makes a huge difference in these states of rolling hills.  I was able to knock out my goal of 1-mile no-stopping right away, I couldn't believe myself!  When I DID used to run back in the day (high school) I was just a sprinter and the most I did was one lap (1/4mile).  Then pretty soon I did a full 2 MILES without stopping (!!!), and the new goal was to run 3 miles.  And guess what y'alls!!  I did that last night!!!  I RAN 3 MILES WITHOUT STOPPING! After having done several runs with music I went back to a movie and was nearly done with 2 miles before I even knew it, so I kept going to see how far I could get and made it all the way to 3 and then stopped, and still felt GOOD!  Tired but not gasping for air--I finished with a half-mile walk as I continued to watch my movie and was sooo proud for accomplishing such a big goal for myself!  And guess what,  5K is only 3.1 miles, and I can SO do that!  Doesn't it just sound cool to call it 5K instead of 3.1??  LOL  Now no, I will not be signing up for tons of races--remember I run at zero incline zoned out to a movie or music in perfect weather conditions.  I'm not there yet, but maybe someday...

So there we have it, #11 is crossed off my 30 Before 30 List!!

The best book EVER.

A story of love and redemption. Struggle, promises, and hope. Faith and prayer. Sacrifice. Forgiveness.

The Bible.

You see, I'm a Christian, a live-it-out-daily (or at least I try) kind of Christian.  My faith is personal, not just a church service.  BUT I am not very good at sitting down and reading my Bible.  The biggest reason is not because I don't want to or because I don't have time, because I DO.  There's ALWAYS time, even when we don't think there is. The biggest reason I don't read my Bible very often is because I don't have a clue what to read!  It's a big book, where do I begin? I always find myself in the New Testament because that's what speaks most to us in this day.  I often use Bible Gateway.com to look up a specific topic area, writing down all the verses that apply to it.  I love that.  It is helpful.  It does speak to my heart. But, as I've been learning recently, the Bible is more than that.

"We mistakenly treat the Bible as if it were arranged by topic--you know, the world's best compendium of human problems and divine solutions.  So when we're thinking about marriage {for example}, we run to all the marriage passages.  But the Bible isn't an encyclopedia; it is a story, the great origin-to-destiny story of redemption.  In fact, it is more than a story.  It is a theologically annotated story.  It is a story with God's notes.  This means that we cannot understand what the Bible has to say about marriage by looking only at the marriage passages, because there is a vast amount of biblical information about marriage not found in the marriage passages. In fact, we could argue, to the degree that every portion of the Bible tells us things about God, about ourselves, about life in this present world, and about the nature of the human struggle and the divine solution, to that degree every passage in the Bible is a marriage passage." (Paul David Tripp, What Did You Expect?)

SO.  I've always wanted to do this and now I'm more motivated once again to read the Bible, the ENTIRE Bible, cover to cover.  To tie together the origin-to-destiny and everything-in-between story.  I've got my chronological Bible reading plan printed and I will plow through it bit by bit.  I don't care if it takes me a few months or more than a year, I just want to read every word. But it's all part of the great story.

30 Before 30

I saw on someone else's blog (was it you??) a list of 30 goals to complete before she turned 30.  And since I AM approaching the big 3-0 in TWO years, I thought it was a fun idea (easier than 101 goals in 1001 days) and figured I better get started already!  So here's the list, in no particular order...

1. Lose 15-20 lbs so I'm back to pre-babies weight. (I'm almost there, about 3 lbs to go)
2. Go white-water rafting.
3. Tube down a river.
4. Make a 1-year baby book for each of the children. (YAY!!!!)
5. Get photos taken as a family.  I have several friends who have started GREAT photography businesses! Completed Fall/11
6. Scrapbook my Europe trip I took in college.  Nothing fancy, just want to get the pictures and memoirs out of the shoebox they're currently in! (this is STARTED!)
7. Get curtains hung throughout the house (dining room, downstairs bath, upstairs bath, master bedroom, guest room)
8. Read through entire Bible.
9. Go for a bike ride.
10. Clean out old baby items and other "to go" items we no longer use.  Completed 6/12
11. Run 3 miles without stopping. (my previous goal was 1 mile and I made it 2 instead.  So now I'm shooting for 3) Completed 4/23/11!!!

12. Start singing on worship team at church. Do this regularly now in 2012
13. Play French horn for church special music. Also do this regularly in 2012
14. Plant a flower garden.
15. Update my "mother ring" to include Carter's birth stone instead of mine. 3/13
16. Take a picture of sun rays breaking through clouds.
17. Register to receive a local newspaper.
18. Volunteer to help at local library. (it's NEVER open because it's only volunteer-run! or something like that. Would love to help it BE something more, and if it means bringing my kids along, so be it!) I did and it doesn't seem to need help!
19. Finish wedding scrapbook.
20. Get a full-length mirror for our bedroom.  I never know WHAT I actually look like from head to toe! Completed 6/12/11
21. Commit to 30 Days of The Shred.
22. Explore the nearby state parks. Completed Summer 2012
23. Go tent camping as a family. Completed August 2011
24. Get a bedroom lock. (I feel so embarrassed to say that publicly.  But seriously, having little kids changes everything.)
25. Learn how to grill. Completed 5/11

26. Surprise a mom friend with a meal delivered to them, just because, not because of a new baby.
27. Invite our neighbors over to dinner.
28. Get in the habit of getting up before the kids.  School definitely did that for me!
29. Go serious clothes shopping with a girlfriend. 6/12
30. Buy a cute pair of shoes.

I'll link to this post on the sidebar and you can check back occasionally to see how I'm doing with my completions!