30 Before 30

Many women dread the day they turn the BIG 3-0 but I’ve chosen to embrace it. Of course, I say that now because that day won’t come until 2015. Perhaps I’ll change my mind.

While making this list, I realized that I have already done A LOT in my life. I needed to be reminded that I'm truly blessed. I’ve also decided to list the thing that I have done (at the bottom) in case I ever need that reminder again later. Now without further ado, my list of things I pledge to do before my 30th birthday, in no particular order:

1. Run a full marathon Completed 10/21/2012 (4 hours, 11 minutes, 3 seconds)
2. Learn how to drive a stick shift The hubs just bought a stick shift to tool around with, so I'll be learning soon!
3. Renew my passport (and use it) Done, and trip taken!
4. Have my makeup done professionally
5. Go back to New York City
6. Learn how to actually use Photoshop
7. Go skydiving (a staple on anyone's list)
8. Stick to a workout regimen Did P90X!
9. Get my teeth professionally whitened My dentist just told me they're already "whiter than most" so that totally counts. I don't want to end up looking like Ross on that one episode of Friends.
10. Learn to play the guitar
11. Go to a drive-in movie
12. Send a secret to PostSecret (I just have to think of one)
13. Have a baby... maybe
14. Get lasik eye surgery
15. Take pictures like a professional, if not BE a professional
16. Learn how to use the lawn mower (probably not though)
17. Hike the Appalachian Trail (at least a section, but Georgia to Maine before I die)
18. Clean out my crawl space (garage sale anyone?) Success!
19. Attempt snowboarding again
20. Master baking cookies without burning them (this may never happen)
21. Organize pictures into albums instead of piles Bought an external hard-drive and organized them on the computer instead. That totally counts!
22. Be happy with the way I look
23. Have professional pictures taken of Brandon and me (Sears doesn't count)
24. Go to another Sara Bareilles concert
25. Learn how to fold a fitted sheet (good grief) Mastered!
26. Volunteer for something, anything in the community
27. Go to dinner in a formal dress (not like prom, I’m too old for that)
28. Sit the audience of the Ellen DeGeneres show
29. Bury a time capsule
30. Attend an Ohio State football game (I know, hard to believe I’ve never been) Did it!

Already completed:

1. Went to Africa (mission work in Rwanda & safari in Kenya)
2. Been to London
3. Taken a hot air balloon ride
4. Graduated from 4 years of college
5. Bought a house
6. Got married
7. Celebrated New Years Eve in Times Square
8. Been to Disney World
9. Ran 2 half marathons
10. Vacationed in Las Vegas
11. Wrote a check for a car
12. Paid off my student loans
13. Backpacked in the Grand Teton mountains
14. Been on a cruise
15. Saw the Grand Canyon
16. Visited Mount Rushmore
17. Went to Niagra Falls
18. Rode the tram to the top of the Saint Louis arch  
19. Helped rebuild houses on an Indian reservation
20. Lived in another state (Denver, Colorado but only for 3 months)
21. Went rock climbing in Wyoming
22. Been white water rafting twice
23. Learned sign language
24. Swam with stingrays in the Grand Caymans
25. Visited Cozumel, Mexico
26. Honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
27. Made a scrapbook of 1 entire year of my life (4 inches thick)
28. Been to Canada
29. Learned to speak Kinyarwandan (Muraho! Amakuru? - Hello! How are you?) 
30. Traveled to 28 states (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio (live here), West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada and California)