On being 30 for Nearly a Week. . .

I thought those of you who know me (and read this blog) would enjoy this as much as I have!  I looked back at my blog from when I turned 25. I wrote about what I had done by the age of 25, and then what I wanted to do before I was 50. It made me laugh.  I cannot believe how different I am from the woman I was five years ago.  And, for the most part, it's for the better. . . but there are parts of that version of myself that I miss. But that's another blog for another day.

So, in honor of being 30 for nearly a week (and actually -- for the most part --  really loving it) I thought I would check off the things on my "To Do Before I'm 50" List that I have already accomplished!

So, here we go:
To Do By the Time I'm 50 (In No Particular Order and highlighted in green means I've accomplished it!  The side notes in Blue are just little interesting bits of information):
1. leave the country

2. go to graduate school (MA in Literature from Tech!)

3. get another dog (a friend for Jonah)-- Tried this, but couldn't keep the dog because of time/space issues.

4. get something I have written published -- a book review counts, right?

5.  take a dance class

6. run in another half marathon (Going to run in a 10K soon, and that's half-way there)

7. see a Broadway play (Broadway in Houston counts, doesn't it?)

8. buy a house
9. have a window seat in a big bay window
10.  dance the night away

11.  invent an amazing recipe that everybody loves. (This has become one of my greatest life skills! I am a great cook, and love to invent different dishes).

12.  help the homeless (I hope to continue to keep this a consistent part of my life).

13.  go rock climbing (Nothing Serious or steep, but I've done a little and would love to do even more!)

14.  spend the day reading in a hammock
15.  sleep out under the stars

16.  ride a horse along the beach (In retrospect, this is one made me laugh out loud.  Not sure where the whim came from )

17.  see the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago. (I came very close to this one! Maybe for my 31st? See my next blog post to read some of the highlights of my trip).
18.  learn how to "throw" pottery
19.  go to Hawaii
20.  marry the man who loves me every bit as much as I love him
21. have three kids (The older I get, the more likely I think it will be two, rather than three, if any at all. )
22. write a book

23. teach college classes (Great. Lots of fun. But not quite the perfect world I thought it would be).

24. see a baseball game in all the old major league fields...(Been so several, but still have a few more to go.  Bummed that I've been to Chicago twice now and have yet to catch a game).
25.  spend a week on a tropical island

26.  live a life that matters! (I am still working on this one.  I know my life has mattered and I know it will continue to matter, but I want to make it more about loving others and less about loving myself).