this originally posted at embrace your life but since my 30th birthday is a mere days away i wanted to share it here also! 🙂
as my impending 30th birthday draws nearer and nearer (yes – i am singing the jaws theme song in my head when i think about it. da-dum. da-dum. DA-DUM. DA-DUM.DA-DUM.DA-DUM. AAAHHHH) i’ve been thinking a lot about those lists i see everywhere – things i want to do before i turn 20, 21, 25, 30 and other milestone age markers. (psssst – it is may 1st in case you were wonderin!!)
i’m not really good at those lists to begin with and seeing as how there are roughly only thirty days until my 30th birthday, i doubt very seriously i’d get many life changing events out of the way between now and then what with my insanely hectic schedule in april. so i though i’d focus on what i in fact have accomplished in my first 29 years on earth. 🙂
graduated college
might’ve taken me eight years to do it but i have happily checked this off my list. i have an associate’s in journalism, my cosmetology license and a bachelor’s in business. i still have no idea what i want to be though.
got married
there was a point in life where i thought it would be 30 before i found anyone worth of marrying! but God blessed me with the perfect husband and i’m so thankful for that.
got a tattoo
sadly this was marked off the list before anything else.. and it was pretty quickly followed by another, then another… and then another. i am up to six now and each time i say it will be my last. but i’m running out of places to hide them so i’m pretty sure i’m done. but maybe one more.
bought my own car
i purchased my first car in 2006. it was a blue honda civic. i nearly had an anxiety attack when i signed the papers. but let me tell you – i loved that car. it was absolutely perfect for me. it got great gas mileage and carried me back and forth to dallas to hang out with my friends, put me through my final years of college and moved me to west monroe. we ended up trading it in for our truck. i tell chris all the time how much i miss that little car!
i cannot for the life of me find a picture of my car! this makes me sad. 🙁
became an auntie
this sweet baby is probably the closest thing i will have to giving birth to my own child for at least a few years. and yall – he is the coolest baby ever!
reached godparent status
quite possibly the neatest privilege or responsibility that i have been given is the parental rights and full guardianship of these two handsome fellas. their parents are very close friends of ours and they have (for some unknown reason) entrusted us with their kiddos should anything ever happen to them. talk about a humbling dinner conversation.
ate a hot dog (or 2) at the varsity
this is something everyone should have on their bucket list. the environment, the chili, the orange cream slush… and top i t all off with a friend peach pie. yummmmmmm….
took this super cool picture
this is one of my best friend’s kiddos playing in the water park for his first birthday. i am in LOVE with this picture
visited spain
there are still a ton of european countries that i’d like to visit but i have got one crossed off the list!
danced with my hubby
this has definitely happened on more than one occasion but this is documentation that my hubs and i look great and dance great together.
bought a house
there for a while i was quite sure this wasn’t going to happen either. but we did it!
cooked a chicken on a beer can
without the fancy beer can chicken cooker or a blazing hot gas grill, we actually cooked a chicken with a beer can up her bottom. and it worked. and it was delicious!
seen all of my best friends get married or engaged and thrown showers and bachelorette parties for them
i get to see the last of my best friends get married in michigan later this summer and i’m very excited!
ate a beniet at cafe du’ mond
yes, that would be me on the far left, tearing into that beniet like a starving velociraptor.
went to a college bowl game and visited “jerry world” a.k.a cowboy football stadium
we went to the cotton bowl in 2011 and cheered on our beloved cowboys. while they did lose to ole’ miss (gag!) we did at least get to watch it on the biggest tv screen i have ever seen.
pin a boutonniere on my father
i don’t think i had ever done this before my brother’s wedding but it was a pretty neat moment. 🙂
hosted my first thanksgiving
full thing – start to finish – from the bird to the pie. we had the entire family around one table and let me just say – it was totally worth all the hard work.
looking back over the small handful of years that this covers reminds me that i have done A LOT. why focus on the things i haven’t done yet when i have already accomplished so much?
what are some things that you have done in this crazy ride of life you have had so far?
I think I like this better than a bucket list! This is celebration of all that you've accomplished and how much more time you ahve to cross off those other things.
Big milestones for me are pretty similar… but I have one more that I hope to hit before I hit 30 in July, so we'll see!
I think that this IS better than a bucket list! 🙂 Why focus on things we haven't done rather than what we have? It reminds me I have had a much more fulfilling life than I realize!!
What a beautiful, wonderful life you've had so far… I imagine it gets even better from 30 and beyond!
Thank you friend! I hope it gets better at 30!
Girl you are amazing! You have made so many memories and who cares if you are going to be the big 3-0 (it is the new 20 anyways) – right?! 🙂 BTW – I LOVE your hair in the picture from the college bowl game!
You are too sweet! I'm holding on to that "30 is the new 20" bit. I hope that its true!
You have had a very full life! I am sure that there is so much more to come in your 30's, at least that is what I keep telling myself. Only a few short weeks for me unitl I hit 30.
I like what Kelsey said above – 30 is the new 20! Let's go with that! 🙂
Those are some awesome accomplishments. What a full and love-filled life you are living! It's funny how it's not always the huge moments in life that we feel the best about, it's also the little ones that are worth celebrating!
That is so very true Mackenzie! It helps to remember the small moments just as much as the big moments when we need to be lifted up! 🙂 xoxo Thanks for stopping by!
Congrats on achieving your goals.
Thank you Tranae 🙂
You've done some amazing things so far! How exciting to think about what the next 30 years will hold, right? 🙂 Happy early birthday!
I'm super excited about the next 30! 🙂 Thanks for the birthday wishes!
Great list! Great job accomplished!
What tops my list of crazy things is having kids, riding in a hot air balloon … and a few things I cant tell you 😉
Oh riding in a hot air balloon would be so much fun!! 🙂
Happy (early) birthday Friend!
xo
Thank you dearest! 🙂 xoxo