life challenges

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35 Before 35 Update

Another month has come and gone.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves at least once a year (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

2. Do a photography challenge

  • This time next month, I will have completed my year challenge! Here are some that I haven’t shared somewhere on the blog yet.

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3. Visit 5 cities I have never been to before (7/5)

4. Tour at least one a winery, brewery, or distillery

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

6. Become a “professional” photographer

7. Run at least 10 races (any distance) (4/10)

  • I did Kicks in the Sticks this weekend. It was a 3.5 trail run. It was definitely all trail and not much run.

8. Go camping with Tom

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

10. See Tyrone Wells live as many times as possible

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

12. Water ski with my dad

13. Do a 5K with my mom

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

17. Do one new recipe each month

  • I made Zucchini Blueberry Bread. I received so many compliments for this bread. Compliments like, “This is better than my grandma’s.” Pat myself on the back.
  • I tried a one pot recipe. It was super easy and quick. AND MADE SO MUCH. Go try this recipe now. Tom’s only recommendation is more sausage.
  • We made this casserole this weekend while my mom visited. It was pretty tasty, but I would recommend more cheese.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

19. Find a place to volunteer on a regular basis

20. Go hiking

  • That trail run was pretty much hiking.

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. Go to at least 20 “new to me” restaurants. (27/20)

  • International Cafe-small greek cafe here in town that has great gyros!
  • Ingredient-restaurant downtown with great burgers (my mouth is watering thinking about that bleu cheese burger I had), but it seemed a little over-priced for what they were offering.

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

25. Do something unique and new for my birthdays

26. Explore Nashville while we live here

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 20 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (2/10); Documentaries (7/20)

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

29. Do a personal devotional/bible study on my own

30. Be a mascot for an event

31. Go on our honeymoon (preferably somewhere tropical)

32. Host an annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

  • George started walking this last month! Big milestone!

I would say I didn’t do too bad this month considering we were moving practically the whole month. Here’s to another month of living!

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35 Before 35 Update

Here we are, another month later.

Let’s see how I did this month.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves at least once a year

2. Do a photography challenge

3. Visit 5 cities I have never been to before (5/5)

4. Tour at least one of the distilleries in the KY/TN area

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

  • Done.

6. Become a “professional” photographer

7. Run at least 10 races (any distance) (1/10)

8. Go camping with Tom

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

10. See Tyrone Wells live as many times as possible

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

12. Water ski with my dad

13. Do a 5K with my mom

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

  • I am making my way through a fun book, but I only get through about 2 pages before I fall asleep since I normally read before I go to bed. I am hoping to carve out more time once I am not working to reading outside of bedtime.

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

  • I looked up the schedule for the stained glass class, but decided that being 8 months pregnant it probably isn’t best to be working with welding tools and cut glass. So I am thinking maybe this will be a good date night after George arrives.

17. Do one new recipe each month

  • We actually have done a couple. We had banana pancakes (just bananas and eggs as the ingredients) and my mom’s recipe of green chili chicken enchiladas. Both were pretty delicious! We have started meal planning so hopefully we will have at least one new one each week…hopefully. We’ll see how long it lasts.

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18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

  • Can you believe college football starts this month?!?!?

19. Find a place to volunteer on a regular basis

20. Go hiking

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. Go to at least 20 “new to me” restaurants. (16/20)

  • We went to China King Buffet, and it was so so. The commercials definitely lied when they said it was the best buffet in town.

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

25. Have a Kentucky Derby themed 3oth birthday party

26. Explore Nashville while we live here

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 20 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (1/10); Documentaries (5/20)

  • I watched a few Oscar nominated films, but only one who won Best Picture. We watched Schindler’s List a couple weekends ago. I have also been making my way through the Ken Burns Civil War documentary. It is a series, so I am still counting it since I have made it through a couple episodes.

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

29. Do a personal devotional/bible study on my own

30. Be a mascot for an event

31. Go on our honeymoon (preferably somewhere tropical)

32. Host an annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

  • I signed paperwork for George this week for the first time. Nothing like signing your name as “parent” on hospital paperwork to make you realize this is happening.
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35 Before 35 Update

I didn’t do so hot this month…I blame it on all the travel.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves at least once a year

2. Do a photography challenge

3. Visit 5 cities I have never been to before (5/5)

  • We went to Broken Arrow, OK for a wedding. Donsies!

4. Tour at least one of the distilleries in the KY/TN area

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

  • Yep.

6. Become a “professional” photographer

  • My pictures were featured in a local magazine for the art auction that I did back in March. So exciting! I also did another newborn shoot a little while ago. So fun! Anyone have any photographer needs? I would love to help you out!
Glinn Photography

This kid had the best hand expressions. Loved capturing this little guy!

7. Run at least 10 races (any distance) (1/10)

8. Go camping with Tom

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

10. See Tyrone Wells live as many times as possible

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

  • Done last month

12. Water ski with my dad

13. Do a 5K with my mom

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

17. Do one new recipe each month

  • I made another breakfast casserole. This one was so much better than my last attempt. I am not good at doing recipe posts so click here for the recipe. It was pretty good and lasted a long time since I froze half of it.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

19. Find a place to volunteer on a regular basis

20. Go hiking

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. Go to at least 20 “new to me” restaurants. (15/20)

  • We went to an ice cream place called Sparky’s in Columbia, MO this past weekend. They have the most random flavors of ice cream and make everything in house. Pretty decent!

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

25. Have a Kentucky Derby themed 3oth birthday party.

26. Explore Nashville while we live here

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 20 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (0/10); Documentaries (4/20)

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

29. Do a personal devotional/bible study on my own

30. Be a mascot for an event

31. Go on our honeymoon (preferably somewhere tropical)

32. Host an annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

I know I still have a lot of time to chip away this list, so in reality I didn’t do so bad.

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Do you have any personal challenges that you are working on?

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35 before 35 Update 6

Another month down! I am officially 29 now as well with celebrating my birthday this past weekend.

I am only going to comment on ones where I feel I have an update from now on.

So let’s see how I did in April.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves at least once a year

2. Do a photography challenge

3. Visit 5 cities I have never been to before (3/5)

4. Tour at least one of the distilleries in the KY/TN area

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

  • This is done, but postage is expensive folks!

6. Become a “professional” photographer

7. Run at least 10 races (any distance) (1/10)

8. Go camping with Tom

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

10. See Tyrone Wells live as many times as possible

  • I went to his “Closer Than Ever” tour last week. It was AH-mazing.

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

12. Water ski with my dad

13. Do a 5K with my mom

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

  • I did read a fun book this month, which I will post my review soon. I picked out a Nicholas Sparks book to get me out of my rut. (Some people don’t like Sparks, but he can always get me out of a bummer book time.) I am also working on a professional development book.

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

17. Do one new recipe each month

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

19. Find a place to volunteer on a regular basis

20. Go hiking

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. Go to at least 20 “new to me” restaurants. (11/20)

  • I went to the Rockbottom Brewery in Nashville. I think anything I would have eaten there would have tasted good because I as so hungry. We went there after the race expo, but there was a huge wait because of all the tourists. The pizza there is awesome. I also went to The Alley here in Clarksville, who makes a wicked burger. They are also really cheap so that is a double win in my book. After the half marathon, we went to Richard’s Cafe which is a small hole in the wall place outside of Nashville that has live music and awesome food.

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

25. Have a Kentucky Derby themed 3oth birthday party.

26. Explore Nashville while we live here

  • I got a huge dosage of this when I did the half marathon since it went all over Nashville.

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 20 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (0/10); Documentaries (4/20)

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

29. Do a personal devotional/bible study on my own

30. Be a mascot for an event

31. Go on our honeymoon (preferably somewhere tropical)

32. Host an annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

  • I just celebrated my first Mother’s Day, even though it is odd since George isn’t here yet.

 

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30 before 30 Update

One month down since I decided to do this 30 before 30 thing.

So here is my first update. I think it has been a good start to this 18 month challenge.

1.      Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves-so something that isn’t straight lines.

·         I have some ideas for Christmas presents, so I may have an update next month.

2.      Do a 30 day photography challenge

·         I need to do it in a month where we aren’t traveling a whole bunch. The hardest part is making a commitment to get the camera out ever day.

3.      Visit 3 cities I have never been to before

·         Well, I went to Russellville, MO for a wedding, but I am not sure it counts because we didn’t really “see” the town. But I guess I am the one in charge of this challenge so I can make my own rules.

4.      Tour at least one of the distilleries in the area

·         Nothing.

5.      Send at least 5 snail mail a month

·         I actually sent 9 letters! Also, this was a great excuse to buy new stationary.

6.      Become a “professional” photographer

·         This is in the works! Anybody have any photography needs? I am for hire!

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One of my favorites from my most recent family sessions.

7.      Run at least 5 races (any distance)

·        I have plans in the works.

8.      Go camping with Tom

·         We have plans for this for next summer for our anniversary.

9.      Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

·         Not yet.

10. See Tyrone Wells live again

·         Nope.

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

·         This is more of a summer thing.

12. Water ski with my dad

·         Also summer.

13. Do a 5K with my mom

·         Nothing.

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

·         I am still trying to convince Tom to do this with me. This may come near the end of the challenge.

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

·         I have no excuse for this one. I am still in a reading rut, but I did start the last in the Castle series this week, so hopefully I will catch up in December.

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

·         Things have been too crazy schedule wise to make this happen yet.

17. Learn how to make sushi

·         No plans yet.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

·         This will have to wait until fall.

19. Volunteer with MCFOTS and Special Olympics on a regular basis

·         I am still waiting on some paperwork from Special Olympics. This week, I started at MCFOTS (the animal shelter we got Crosby). I love it so much! It is a good thing there is a limit on how many pets we can have on base because there were two dogs that I almost took home with me. Grace is not very happy with me doing this though. She is so mad that I have cheated on her. I will deal with her hateful stares though because this is seriously awesome!

20. Explore Land Between the Lakes

·         Summer plan.

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

·         This will take some work and research.Tom hates heights, so either this will take some convincing or I will need to find other people to embark on this journey with me.

22. Go to at least 10 “new to me” restaurants in Clarksville.

·         We have been to two:  China One and King Mao. Tom and I love Chinese restaurants, and they usually are part of our weekly date nights. It was no surprise that these were our new places, however I still think our online ordering is the best out there. Any of my Clarksville friends have suggestions?

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

·         Working on it.

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

·         I am thinking about doing it a day over winter break.

25. Go to the Kentucky Derby

·         I would really like to do this for my 30th birthday since it is a week before my day. This would be enough time to save money too because it is expensive!

26. Go to non-touristy parts of Nashville

·         I did this weekend! My supervisor from grad school was in town! We had a mini Clemson reunion downtown with dinner.

nashville trip

We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory and then walked around downtown for a little bit. Tom got 2 pounds of taffy from a candy shop there, which he promptly ate half of on the way home.

27.Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 10 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning)

·         I need to do some research and make a list of the Best Picture films I would want to watch and put them on our Netflix queue. As for the documentaries, we tried watching one on Zombies. Yes, this is true, but we only made it through 10 minutes before we couldn’t take it anymore. It was so absurd.

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch.

·         We think our sewing machine is out for the count, so this may be on hold or need to be changed on whether we can get it fixed or get a new one.

29. Find a church home here in Clarksville

·         I believe we may have found a church that we both like. Tom and I have different tastes in how we like to enjoy worship, so this is an adventure trying to find a good mix for both of us. 

30. Become a mom

·         Working on it. *wink wink*

So there you have it. Not too shabby for my first month. We’ll see what I can mark off this month. December is going to be pretty nuts since we have so many things planned for the holiday time. Wish me luck!

Anyone want to join me on any of these excursions?