Here I am, 50 or so minutes away from the end of my 20s. I don’t mean to sound all dramatic, but somehow the first sentence of this post does. I’ve accomplished quite a bit of this list. I still didn’t finish everything, and you know what? I AM OKAY WITH IT. More to look forward to in my 30s.
- 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. **Recent update- I have now been working as a school nurse in Salem since the end of September. Let me tell you, those 2 hours back in my day I used to spend commuting are GLORIOUS.
- Run another 5K. Fun runs make exercise much more enjoyable. Color Run in Salem with some church friends. Covered head-to-toe in cornstarch-y color. Super fun. Looking forward to my next one!
- Start paying my student loans. This girl has some debt. I’d like to make it smaller. I’ve thus far paid off 2 loans, and I am working toward paying off a big chunk in this next year or so. Thanks Mum & Dad for letting me live at home so I can tackle the monstrosity of school debt I have accrued.
- 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. Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware … East Coast travels this past summer.
- Make it over to NJ to visit my 30-year-old brother & my sis-in-law. Went in August with Mum & Pops. Had a great time exploring with Luke & Ash. Jersey isn’t so bad after all. Also, Luke is now 31. Brother, we are getting older!
- Regularly check the oil level on my car. I forget too easily. My poor car. I’ve kept an eye on my oil. She’s had some major hiccups lately though. Some of us don’t age so well.
- 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 read several. Naturally, I didn’t write the titles down. But they were mostly good. However, I stopped reading 2 books half way through- life is too short to read bad books.
- Write to my Grandma in England every month. I don’t write enough. — Work on this.
- Send out 5 handwritten notes to friends or family. — I sent out some thank you notes sometime during the year. Not sure if this counts. Try again.
- Go out on a fancy date- the kind where I get all gussied up. It just sounds fun. — If getting dressed up to go out with girlfriends counts, this can be crossed off. I never clarified, so it’s up to my discretion.
- Master the art of baking a cake from scratch. Made chocolate caramel cupcakes from scratch for my friend Karly in January. Homemade salted caramel too.
- 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. Hmm, do my schools count that I have at my school nurse job?
- Figure out how to work my Nikon camera. — Nope. Work on this!
- Try a snow sport, other than tubing. Snow shoeing, skiing, snowboarding. Never have! — Sadly no, but now I have proper snow boots, I think a snowshoeing trip is in order.
- Get out and use my kayak at least 5 times. When the weather is decent, of course. I went 3 times. ‘Twas fun!
- Perhaps follow through with my tattoo I’ve always been meaning to get. Will do eventually …
- Learn to crochet. And I have more projects I’ve completed. It’s my new favorite granny-esque activity!
- Go out to eat at Portland City Grill during happy hour. I want to see those views. No. Still want to!
- Discover a new band/artist to listen to. Yep, lots. Thank you, Pandora.
- 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. I’ve been serving in two-year-old’s classroom 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. I’m hoping to continue this!
- Refinish my coffee table that is currently sitting in my parents’ attic. — I actually donated it to my friends Matt & Keri for their adoption garage sale fundraiser. It sold, so yay!
- 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! I went with my parents, to Willamette Valley Vineyards. It’s practically in our backyard.
- Pick out and print some of my thousands of digital pictures. I forgot! Try again.
- Be motivated by faith, not fear. Be prepared to give an example of this somehow. I’d say accepting my job in Salem was motivated by faith. I received a phone call just prior to resuming my position in Eugene. I knew that if it were God’s plan, all the little details would work out. And boy, did they ever. God is faithful, that’s for certain.
- Write this blog with intention. Share what God has been sharing with me. In my few posts, I think I have. I love to write, and I know there are many more experiences and thoughts I’ll share in the near future.
So there we go. 20-21/30. Lists are fun, huh? Now I’ve got to start writing down what I want to accomplish before turning 40. 40! Cripes. Where does the time go …
