So, I am 3, er almost 4, months into my ’30 Before 30′ challenge. Some items I have already accomplished/checked off, others are a work in progress. Some I may not end up following through with … I have approximately 8 months to complete the list, so here’s hoping! I’ll re-post my list and then cross off/explain what I have completed, etc.
- Get a nursing job. Completely realistic, not to mention necessary! Started a school nurse job January 13th, 2014! My first real job, with benefits and everything. The kiddos are adorable, I love working with community resources, and my coworkers are wonderful. I still can’t believe how good God is to provide me with a job that perfectly suits me.
- Run another 5K. Fun runs make exercise much more enjoyable.
- Start paying my student loans. This girl has some debt. I’d like to make it smaller. I’m 3 months into some payments, soon to start paying on all of them. It’s a slow process, but I’m really looking to tackling some debt this next year. One payment at a time.
- Think before I buy clothes, makeup, shoes. Time to wise-up on my spending habits. Work-in-progress. I gave up buying clothes for Lent. I’m not Catholic, but I love a good challenge. Let’s not talk about makeup. If I had been really daring, I would have given up buying makeup for Lent too, or lip products for that matter. I digress. It’s a problem. I’ll readily admit it.
- Travel somewhere new. Always on my list.
- Make it over to NJ to visit my 30-year-old brother & my sis-in-law.
- Regularly check the oil level on my car. I forget too easily. Work-in-progress. I’ve checked once. It needed it. Poor little sassy red car. She really takes a beating from me. I should check this again very soon.
- Read a really interesting biography. I read Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. A 20-something woman has a bit of a rough upbringing, struggles with relationships, drugs, etc., and decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. This book was fascinating. I admired her tenacity, as I’m pretty certain I would never hike the trail all by my lonesome. Reese Witherspoon is starring in the movie, so I shall be watching when it comes out on screen.
- Read an intriguing fiction novel. I’ve read several works of fiction so far, but I won’t name my top pick until later in the year, particularly because I’m always reading some sort of fiction.
- Write to my Grandma in England every month. I don’t write enough.
- Send out 5 handwritten notes to friends or family.
- Go out on a fancy date- the kind where I get all gussied up. It just sounds fun.
- Master the art of baking a cake from scratch.
- Learn to cook something tasty and new. I made the Pioneer Woman’s Tequila Lime Chicken. Oh, wow. I’ll be making it again.
- Explore Salem more. Find somewhere new to enjoy in my hometown.
- Figure out how to work my Nikon camera.
- Try a snow sport, other than tubing. Snow shoeing, skiing, snowboarding. Never have!
- Get out and use my kayak at least 5 times. When the weather is decent, of course.
- Perhaps follow through with my tattoo I’ve always been meaning to get.
- Learn to crochet.
- Go out to eat at Portland City Grill during happy hour. I want to see those views.
- Discover a new band/artist to listen to.
- Find a devotional and delve in. If you have suggestions, let me know. I read Beth Moore’s Believing God. It was free for Kindle, so I downloaded the Kindle app for iPad and read it. I loved it because it was free, but more importantly, Beth Moore has the ability to speak such wisdom and encouragement through her words, without feeling lecture-y (making up a word here).
- Serve at church regularly. Tithe regularly. Work-in-progress. I’ve been serving in the nursery at church and tithing every month. God calls those who love Him to obey Him, and this is one step of obedience I am making an effort toward.
- Refinish my coffee table that is currently sitting in my parents’ attic.
- Go to a brewery I’ve never been to before. For my 29th birthday party, I gathered up some of my very dearest friends and family and went to the Lucky Lab Brewery in Portland. I still want to discover more breweries though.
- Go wine tasting again. It’s been a few years. Take some girlfriends, and go!
- Pick out and print some of my thousands of digital pictures.
- Be motivated by faith, not fear. Be prepared to give an example of this somehow.
- Write this blog with intention. Share what God has been sharing with me.
As you can see, the items are slowly being crossed off. It’s been a fun list to create and see accomplished, and I’m looking forward to crossing off more items as the months pass by. Perhaps I’ll update again in another 3 months.
