29 today...

I am turning 29 today! One more year left in my 20s. Pretty sure this has been the fastest decade yet.
Last year I made a list of 30 things I wanted to do before I turned 30. I thought it was time to measure my progress. I’ll admit that I have revisited this list one time in the past year. Let’s see how I did…Progress is in pink.


1. Go to confession - it's been a long time people...like 8th grade long time...like last time I was forced to go long time. Still. Haven’t. Gone. Lent is coming up…I will go during Lent.

2. Take a real family vacation...besides our Honeymoon and memorial day weekend at Table Rock with friends one year, we have never taken a vacation on our own that we planned. The past couple of years have been spent visiting my family in NC and now Chicago. While we've had a great time on each trip, we want to start making some memories with our little family and see places we've never seen. No immediate plans. This is really difficult to do with 2 weeks of vacation and parents that live in another state. Heath and I did make the trip to Phoenix for my friend Kelli’s wedding in September!

3. Complete both kids baby books...I never bought a baby book for Brody because I was determined that I was going to scrapbook his babybook. I mean, I was a scrapbooker, why would I settle for a pre-made layout. Well...here we are 3 years later, and Brody has nothing. There are sheets of paper with things jotted down. I have a blog that had 16 posts in his first 3 years. I have been HORRIBLE! I'm so thankful that I discovered digital scrapbooking because there is hope that both kids will have a completely custom babybook. Brody’s first year is as complete as it’s going to get, and I have Madelyn done through 6 or 7 months. I’ll get her caught up soon!

4. Get a sewing machine...I don't know if I am detailed or patient enough, but I want to make some of the cool things I see online. Not yet, but I’ve sent Heath a link to the one I want.

5. Learn to sew...my experience goes as far as 7th grade home ec. See #5.

6. Volunteer at the food kitchen...our church does it twice a month and I always want to do it, but I never have. Heath won't do it with me...any volunteers? Still haven’t done it. Now that I’m in charge of the nursery, I don’t see it happening anytime soon. I did make casseroles, though!

7. Lose 10 lbs...sigh. I lost 5 so far in my first 2 weeks of substituting the gym for going home and eating at lunch! I’m pretty sure that I am right where I was this time last year. I stopped going to the gym over lunch since I now take Brody to school during that time. I did buy Jillian Michael’s new dvd on Friday, so I’m hoping to get going on that this week. I did try a lot during the past year…the gym, P90X, and even worked with a personal trainer…2012 is my year…I can feel it!

8. Grow my own herbs...I love the idea of walking out to the back yard to grab some of my home-grown herbs. I have the perfect pots for them, too. Doing it this Spring!

9. Finish decorating Madelyn's room...budget constraints have kept me from getting too far in here. She needs curtains, and fun stuff on the walls. And I *may* be second guessing the Pepto pink paint I chose for her room. (Heath...are you seeing this?) Well, her crib was recalled, so we traded it in for a white crib and bought her some curtains. It’s progress, but we do need to paint the walls. Brody never climbed out of his crib, but I bet that Madelyn will sooner than later. I’m sort of holding off on doing much until we see if she’ll be in a twin bed soon.

10. Finish decorating Brody's room...his is ok, but I have these baseball mats that I need to get frames for. And I *might* want to paint the walls in here too. (I mean, it's going to have to be done before we put the house on the market anyways...) While cleaning out the basement, we found this really cool old-time baseball picture (it's one of those successories things) that Heath got for Christmas one year from his parents. It was still in the box and is waiting to be hung in B's room. Still haven’t done anything with those mats, and haven’t painted the walls, but I’m ok with his room for now.

11. Re-decorate our room...it's been 5 years and I'm just sick of it. Ready for a change. That's all. I have picked out a couple of bedspreads that I like, just waiting for some funds to open up.

12. Put back splash in the kitchen...I have wanted this for a long time. It just doesn't look right without it. I figured out what I want...plain white subway tile. Love the look! Not sure if this will happen or not, but it’s still on my radar.

13. Have a garage sale. Come look at our basement and you'll understand. We did! Basement is in pretty good shape. Starting a pile for another one this spring.

14. Have Heath build some long floating shelves for the dining room so that we can display more stuff. Our house is really lacking surfaces and there is no room for a hutch or buffet, so these will help. And I really like the way it looks. Not done, but he did paint and added the wainscoting! Final pictures coming soon.

15. IF we stay in the house...FINISH THE BASEMENT. We need a space for all of these toys and guests when they come to visit. And now that I just saw that a 4-bedroom house in our neighborhood dropped to $150,000 we won't be putting ours on the market any time soon! Probably not going to happen in the next year, but it’s on my radar…we only want to finish about 400 square feet and add a sink and toilet in the laundry room, so it’s definitely doable!

16. Read at least 4 books. I know it's not much, but I cannot find the time to keep up with my magazine subscriptions. I will wait for months on the waiting list at the library for a book to come out and then it will take me a week to pick it up and then I will have to return it before I've had a chance to read it. And then I have to return it because it has other holds. I think I need a Nook. Woo Hoo! I got a Kindle from my mom and dad for my birthday last year, and I’ve finished 2 and a half books. So, 4 is totally within reach. I have a lot on my wish list. If I could just manage to get off pinterest, facebook, twitter, etc in the evenings, I might actually get some more books read. I am truly busy with stupid stuff sometimes!

17. Do the once a month cooking thing. At least try it to see if it works for us. I did it! It has been so nice, and I will do it again.

18. Pay off my car. This will happen...just like to see it in writing! Should happen after we get our tax return, or not long after!

19. Take an adult ballet class. I told my friend, Mandi, that I will be signing up for the class she teaches through the parks and rec! Still haven’t done it, but I will!

20. Get all of my photos backed up on CDs! DONE! And they are all backed up on an external hard drive.

21. Make Maddy some bows. I’ve made 2.Want to make some more.

22. Go visit at least 3 friends who don't live here. They are always coming to see me and I am never going to see them. Not fair. We went to Kelli Budd’s wedding in September, stopped by Blythe’s house in Lincoln for about an hour in June (doesn’t count). Laura bought a cute little house in Salina that I am planning to go see this summer!

23. Start and stick to my daily cleaning to do list that I put on the cork board in the kitchen a month ago. I did it for a couple of weeks and it worked well. Would love it if I could stick to it!

24. Start a chore chart and commission for Brody (a la Dave Ramsey, bien sur) He got the Financial Peace Junior kit for Christmas and we’ve paid him twice. He’s not really into it, so it’s been hard to remember to keep up with it.

25. Redo deck. Maybe this summer???

26. Make and hang wreaths on my front door for every holiday/season. Have not done this. I have a wreath pin board going on Pinterest, but I have yet to make one. I did make this though…it counts, right?

27. Keep up with monthly date night (we've been slacking). Yeah…still slacking.

28. Make an effort to support only local businesses (when budget allows...sometimes Price Chopper can't compete with Aldi, Walmart and Target. And we're getting Trader Joe's soon) I would say that I’ve made an effort. But, that’s about it.

29. Jar some salsa. I’ve made a lot, but haven’t jarred any…we’ll have to do that one Saturday!

30. Take a cake decorating class. Nope, not yet. I’m so into cupcakes, that I’m not sure I’m interested in this anymore.

So, I am doing better than I thought I would be. I’m halfway thorough, and I think I’m well on my way to getting most of these done! Happy Birthday to me!