30 Before 30 List

I created this list just before my 26th birthday. I do believe that four years is sufficient to complete these items. I intentionally made some of them very easy or ones that I knew I would be completing soon, but there are others that I don't have any plans for yet. A month into this year and I already have two done. I'll most likely link back to this list as I complete them and give updates every so often. I admit that I read several other people's 30 before 30 lists and was influenced to include a few of the items from them. That's ok I think. Maybe my list will inspire you to try something too? It was a great exercise to just narrow down the things that I wanted to do. I encourage you to try it!

1. Become a mom

2. Buy a house

3. Leave the continent

4. Bring a neighbor something I baked

5. Plant a tree

6. Read 10 more books on the College Board List

7. Be a Maid of Honor

8. Ride in a hot air balloon

9. Throw a baby shower

10. Get my concealed handgun license

11. Join a gym

12. Watch Gone With Wind

13. take ballet again

14. Join the Junior League

15. Host a theme party

16. Wear something I sewed myself

17. Learn to play golf

18. Have a 6 month savings account

19. Get a job I love

20. Find a dentist I trust

21. Meet a blog friend IRL

22. Go strawberry picking

23. Make over a piece of furniture

24. Own a Corgi

25. Visit a national park

26. Print our wedding album

27. Attend my 10 year High School reunion

28. Go on a mission trip

29. Get season tickets for the Aggies

30. Attend the the Republican State Convention

one other thing I did! Learned how to strike through text. It's like this with whatever the text is that you want crossed out in the middle of > these <

I'm ALIVE!

I've been catching some serious flack for abandoning my blog the way I did! I had no idea I'd be away for so long. If you were wondering where I was and if I'd ever be back, I'm very sorry I left you dangling like that. If you hadn't even realized I was gone, you might just keep that to yourself. So what was I doing while I wasn't writing?

• Well, my computer fritzed out during a lightning storm and I was without one for almost a week!
• Then we had a super awesome weekend with our new friends, Neely and Chad. Go read Neely's recap, she summed it up great!
• Then all of the sudden a huge flood happened and I didn't dare turn on the replacement computer for fear it would get struck too. I spent a day or two checking on damage. No water got in our house, we were very lucky!
• After that I went to South Padre with Brian because he was a groomsman in his friend's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and a terrific long party weekend. Sadly, the secondary reason for going down there was that my grandfather was very ill and in the hospital so I spent a lot of time visiting with him and wondering if it might be the last chance. He's doing quite a bit better now and is at home healing.
• I spent the following week and searching desperately for teaching jobs. The whole submit an online application and wait for them to call you thing was not working out. No, not at all. So I had to get aggressive about it and show up on school steps. That really wasn't working so well either because it's so late in the game.
• Then last weekend I went up to Denton to help host a Bridal shower for my best friend Allie! It was a success and I loved meeting more of her friends and getting to spend a weekend with such a wonderful couple!
• These last couple days have been mighty frustrating because it's back on the job hunt. A principal in Jazzercize gear who actually told me at the door to the school "you are not coming in here" made me cry, but she said sorry later. As of today, however, things are looking way up! There might be a job in the works for me and I'll let you know more when I know more.

So you see, I haven't exactly been idle lately. I have a pretty busy rest of the summer remaining but I don't plan on disappearing again. I really do hope you won't hold it against me and will keep reading! I had to clear out my Google Reader because there were over 1000 unread posts (I think it was actually over 2000), but I'll get right back to reading and commenting on your posts now.

By the way, I think I left off right as I was about to announce a giveaway winner. The competition was lacking- only 5 people entered. Maybe yall didn't think the prize was as good as I did? But without further ado, the winner is....... Brittany Garcia! She'll be getting her Southern Belle t-shirt soon!