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.

1. 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.
2. 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!
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Travel somewhere new. Always on my list. Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware … East Coast travels this past summer.
6. 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!
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Write to my Grandma in England every month. I don’t write enough. — Work on this.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. Learn to cook something tasty and new. I made the Pioneer Woman’s Tequila Lime Chicken. Oh, wow. I’ll be making it again.
15. Explore Salem more. Find somewhere new to enjoy in my hometown. Hmm, do my schools count that I have at my school nurse job?
16. Figure out how to work my Nikon camera. — Nope. Work on this! 
17. 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.  
18. Get out and use my kayak at least 5 times. When the weather is decent, of course. I went 3 times. ‘Twas fun! 
19. Perhaps follow through with my tattoo I’ve always been meaning to get. Will do eventually …
20. Learn to crochet. And I have more projects I’ve completed. It’s my new favorite granny-esque activity! 
21. Go out to eat at Portland City Grill during happy hour. I want to see those views. No. Still want to! 
22. Discover a new band/artist to listen to. Yep, lots. Thank you, Pandora.
23. 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).
24. 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!
25. 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! 
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. Pick out and print some of my thousands of digital pictures. I forgot! Try again.
29. 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.
30. 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 …

Original blog post dated 12/25/14