11.

Run a 5K 

          Up until this past year I never considered running. It seemed way too daunting. And then all my friends started doing it. I know, I know I shouldn't jump off a bridge if they all do it. :) While visiting Alaska my friends Casey and Megan really encouraged me to try out running. And they told me even I could do it. I love those girls, so encouraging.

          Megan told me about the "Couch to 5K" program that she used. It is an app on the iPod touch. So putting a good gift (thanks Mom and Dad for the iPod) to great use I downloaded the program. And started running. I really loved it in the beginning, I only had to run one and half minutes at a time. Even I could do that! But then it got hard.

          Really hard. It is a nine week program and in the seventh week the program instructs you to run twenty minutes. WHAT!?! But I did it. It was invigorating. I could not believe that was my body doing it.

          After I had been running awhile a family at my school invited me to run a 5K with them. Now this was getting real. And they are real runners, not the pretend kind like me. I was really concerned that I would just look like a fool. Not that looking like that would be a new concept for me.

          On September 17th I woke up early. Met up with my great friends Stephanie and DW to make the drive to Prior Lake. We were a bit early. So we went out for coffee. Waiting for the race to start was so cold. Fortunately the family from my school had brought their children. The three year old served as my heater.

          My only goal running the race was to not walk. Well, I almost completed the goal. The hills were huge. I just took it slow going up. But going down was a whole other mess waiting to happen. I had to walk down two of the biggest hills on the course fearing that I would trip over my own feet. Oh well.

          And the most important part: I finished.

          (And I can now say I LOVE RUNNING)

Progress Points.

          Alright, I have not lost sight of my list. Just been busy doing life. You know the good stuff. The real stuff. Have I mentioned I love my life? I do. I really do.

          8. Send a friend a random gift.

                    I am working on the gift. Still need to pick a friend.

          9.  Successfully grow pumpkins.

                    Failure for the 2011 season.

          10. Take a Community Ed class.   

                    Signed up for a class on November 17th with my friend, Ann.

                    Stay tuned to see my new talent.

          11. Run a 5K.

                    Just need to blog about this one. (Whoops.)

          21. Grow out my hair and get highlights.

                    My hair now fits in a ponytail. That is major progress in my world. :)

          24. Start journal/blog.

                    Check!

          29. Do dishes everyday for a month.

                    I was doing good for the month of October. Then I burnt my hand. 

So there you have it. Some failures, some progress.                        

7.

Send a package to a special person serving in Kuwait.

          Through my position at school I meet a lot of families. I love families for the distinctive relationships they have within them. One family in particular captured my heart fairly early in my time as a preschool teacher. When I met them they were a family of four and have since added another kiddo to the bunch. They are a WONDERFUL family and some of the most genuine people I have ever had the chance of knowing. And, they actually remind me a LOT of my own family growing up.

          Both the mother and father serve in our military forces! How great is that?!? This adds to their awesomeness ten times over. These people with fantastic careers, a good home, a beautiful family actually choose to serve our country selflessly. About a year ago they found out Dad would be deployed starting this summer....

          He is currently serving in Kuwait. He left in June, and will return sometime in the December time range. I cannot comprehend how this has changed their family dynamics. I see glimpses of it, but really I know the scope of it all is so much larger than I could ever imagine.

          So I am doing what I can...Which honestly will never feel like enough. The care package I was able to send was just a small token of all the gratitude I feel. Now, here is where a picture of what I sent would be nice. Yah, I forgot to do that. So instead, a list.

Something from my kitchen: Sunflower Seeds

Most awkward to buy: A magazine- how in the world am I supposed to pick out good reading material for a man???

Sports Illustrated NFL Preview Edition will hopefully not let him down.

Most fun: Pictures of his family I had randomly captured one evening.

Ridiculous Worry: Did the granola bars melt on the way there?

          In all, I am so grateful that I was able to do this. This is not about me. This is about a family.

4.

Buy a new (used) car.

          This was not supposed to be one of the first things I crossed off my list. Really, I thought I could procrastinate another couple years on this one. But, life had other plans for me. Best laid plans... yeah that is going to be the theme of this adventure.

          My old car was always in the shop. The mechanic knew when I called that it was going to be ridiculous problem. But I kept fixing it because I was not ready to buy a new car, i.e. didn't have a big enough down payment saved and did not want to make car payments. Mid-July that decision was taken out of my hands. I happened to get in a bit of a fender bender. Not terrible, car was still completely intact and mechanically sound.  I drove it to LaCrosse and back no problem.

          That all changed when I got it to the auto body shop. Apparently, I hit the exact point on the bumper/frame called the crumpling point. Long story short. My old car was called a total loss. High point of this story is the insurance company wrote me a check for much more than I would have ever been able to sell the car for or get for trade-in. I was a happy woman.

          Then came car shopping. I am not meant to do this. But I attacked full force. I searched the internet and newspaper for days. I made a list (actually a spreadsheet). I printed a map. I had all the cars info on individual pages printed and ready to go. Yes, I know I have issues.

          My A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. dad came up to help me shop for a car. I had the car info and he had the dealing ability. Wednesday morning we headed out early to the car I thought was calling my name. It was far away. We arrived at the lot early. Apparently, too early. You see the salesperson did not show up. It was very discouraging. Off we drove to meet the sister of the car we left behind. That car was not available and the salesperson was extremely rude. I wanted to go home and cry at this point.

          Dad is persistent, he saw the Toyota dealership next door and told me it was not on my list but we should have a look. That is where I met Jacques....First words out of his mouth to me, "Girl, why you look so sad?" My (not so polite) response, "I am hot and cranky." He proceeded to find out what I was looking for in a car. Jacques said because I was hot I should drive my car and he would run along side and point out the hatchback cars to me. It was quite humorous.

          We test drove three Toyota Matrix vehicles and Suzuki hatchback. I was in LOVE with the first car I drove. But it was out of my determined budget, or so I thought. Have you met my dad? I am not kidding when I say I cannot say enough great things about him. And he was willing to fight for me. Talk about being a privileged daughter.

          Jacques suggested Dad and I go get a bite to eat and discuss our options. We went to lunch at Cracker Barrel. My mom sent money for us to have lunch, she is great too (in case you were wondering). My dad set up a rating system for the cars. It was obvious which car was the one I wanted. Do not worry I let Dad enjoy his lunch too!

         

Back at the dealership Dad went more than three rounds for me. In the end I have a GREAT car!!!

Here are the specs on it for you:

2009 Toyota Matrix

22,724 miles

Gray Interior

Certified Drive Train Warranty (4 years/100,000)

Bumper to Bumper Warranty (1 year/12,000 miles)

Those last two points are major points for me. Now, maybe my mechanic will not roll his eyes (not kidding, he does this) each time I walk into the shop.

     As for naming rights I have had the suggestion of Cecil and Neo. I personally like Hatch, but that has been voted down. Do you have a name for my new ride? 

13.

Figure out how to download music.

          For some time I have had this amazing iPod Touch. It was a gift, a really great gift. But I was lacking in the downloaded music section. You see, I had an iTunes account, sorta. It belonged to my ex-husband. We shared it, I no longer have the password. So I started a new account and yet somehow his music was still on my computer. Some of which would play, other selections did not. It was frustrating. This all should have been taken care of YEARS ago. But it has not been resolved, until now.

          I took the time to go through ALL of the music on my computer. I deleted what did not play and/or I did not want. Then I figured out how to put all my music together and organize it. A friend show me how to download music. After that, I figured out how to transfer the new music to my iTunes account. And finally synced my iPod to my iTunes account. It was all quite simple. Just procrastination on my end (story of my life). But that is what this blog is about, actually doing the things I say, "Well someday, when I have time, I will..." 

12.

Transfer Files From Old Computer to New Computer.

          This may not seem like a lofty goal to some. It really is not. It was just a matter of stopping the procrastination and buckling down. You see all of my school files are saved in "Works" format, while my new computer only has "Word". So while I did upgrade it came with an inconvenience  factor. My first free Saturday in forever  a month was dedicated to this mission. I originally thought I needed some tech support help. Turns out I am perfectly capable of doing it on my own.

          All it took was a Google search and I was on my way. I found a program to download from Microsoft. After that it was a few formatting issues to take care of that only required me to walk away from the computer once.

          So I can now say I have crossed the first milestone off my list. Albeit, a boring one it is so worthy of my time. I promise from here on out this will become a bit more entertaining of a read (hopefully). 

Why I need a list

I am list maker. Period. End of story... I make lists everywhere: scratch paper, my iPod touch, the desktop on my computer screen. I make lists about everything: what to do on my day off, grocery shopping, packing for the weekend, what not to forget to bring to school. The list goes on and on (pun intended).

Awhile back my dear friend Becca made a list, "101 in 1001." I loved it. I was inspired by her courage to put it all out there. But not really for myself. The true inspiration for this blog came from when I was traveling Alaska with friends. I was shocked I was in Alaska, let alone the fact I hiked a mountain. I wondered what else I was capable of accomplishing. So naturally, I started a list.

This list is 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. For the record I turn 30 on October 7, 2013. So a few years to go. I can do this. I want to do this. And like any list, I am motivated to cross things off.

Check out my list. Laugh at my list, cringe at my list, be in awe of my list, be shocked, or think I am pretty lame for needing to put those things on a list. I hope to find fun and adventure with this blog. Moreover, I hope to continue to set high goals (and some just plan ridiculous ones) for myself.

Disclaimer: Some of you (Mom) may think some items on this list are far fetched and dangerous, or just plan dumb. That is okay, it is my list...for me.

I want to journey through the successes and the failures of these goals. And I hope to learn, explore, grow, and get up, dust myself off and keep trying.  

30 Before 30

30 Before 30 List

For my soul...

1.      Read through the entire Bible

2.    Pray more, worry less

For my wallet..

3.  Double contributions to ROTH IRA

4.  Buy a new (used) car

For my fellow humans...

5.  Send my mom flowers on MY birthday

6.  Make an Advent gift for a spirit in need

7.  Send a package to a special person serving in Kuwait

8.  Send a friend a random gift

For my brain...

9.  Successfully grow pumpkins

10.  Take a Community Ed class

11.  Run a 5K

12. Transfer files from old computer to new computer

13.  Figure out how to download music

14.  Eat sushi

For my wandering feet...

15. Take a vacation to a warm destination

16.  Swim in an ocean

17.  Visit Stacey in North Carolina

18.  Ride a train

For the girl inside of me...

19.  Throw a party

20. Buy a pair of nice jeans

21.  Grow my hair out & get highlights

22. Sell wedding ring

23. Give away wedding dress

For the creativity juices...

24.  Start journal/blog

25.  Make painted wall art

26.  Sew a skirt

For the unexpected...

27.  Sleep past noon

28.  See a concert

29.  Do dishes everyday for a month

30.  Skydive