30 by 30: My 27th Birthday Update

Earlier this year I made a post listing 30 things I wanted to do by the time I turned 30. With the recent passing of my 27th birthday, I thought it'd be a good idea to update the list, seeing what I've accomplished in the last few months...

1. Participate in 6 craft fairs with my crochet stuff
   I've done one craft fair. It wasn't very successful, but I did manage to come out in the green.
2. Don't let others get me down and remember this every day, "You is kind, You is smart, You is important"
   This one is still hard, but I'm working on it every day.
3. Read 30 new books (yes Sabrina I stole this)
   I've read 4 new books so far, and I've got 2 others started. (Damn you Harry Potter for trapping me in and making me want to reread you. You don't count!)
4. Remember the little things and don't fight over money
   Another continuous effort, but significantly easier than #2.
5. Learn Italian or Spanish
6. Get 10,000 fans on my Facebook model page
   I haven't worked on this much, seeing as my modeling is at a hiatus, but I am up to a little over 1200 fans.
7. Run a marathon
   I was halfway through training last spring and had to quit. A later blog post will reveal those details.
8. Remember to send out birthday/anniversary cards to my family/closest friends without them being late
   I've actually done a pretty good job of this one. I've sent out more than I ever have, and only one or two have actually been late.
9. Join a crochet/scrapbook/women's group (or 2) here in PA
10. Continue learning how to fix my '71 Camaro by myself
    I learned how to fix the secondary fan attached to my radiator and I will soon be learning how to touch up small paint chips and surface rust.
11. Reach 300 blog followers
    So far I have increased my followers from 3 to a whopping 8, but with so little blog activity, that's not surprising.
12. Have an official date night at least twice a month
    We have an official date night once a week!
13. Fill the 4 journals I have sitting on my bookcase
    I'm half way through the first one; my journaling took a vacation around the same time my blogging did.
14. Crochet 4 afghans
    I've finished two afghans, and am over halfway through with my third. I've also done a 3x3 baby blanket.
15. Be old fashioned "pen pals" with my Grandma and Sabrina
    I continue to do this.
16. Build a clientel for my hair styling work
    Still working on this one, but as long as I'm a stylist, there's always room for my book to grow. I'm off to a good start.
17. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or nursing home
18. Take enough pictures to fill my two Christmas/Winter scrapbooks
19. Finish Grandma Molly's memorial scrapbook album
20. Remember to take photos with Nate, friends and family year round so I can scrapbook our memories
    Got my camera charger back from Oklahoma, and have been doing better for vacations, but not smaller events. Of course this means I need to pull my scrapbook stuff out of the closet...
21. Start my own racing scrapbook
22. Reread Writing Down the Bones and follow her suggestions for writing topics in my journals
    I've got my own copy, and started...
23. Remember to share good news, not just the bad news
    This I've gotten much, much better at doing.
24. Get some legitimate, paid modeling work
    I've had a several offers for around Christmas!
25. Sign up for 30 modeling contests
    I signed up for three. I didn't win them, but on a different note,  I have been published in a magazine! That is definitely better than a contest :)
26. Attend pilates or yoga classes
27. Run the NYC marathon
    Maybe in 2014?
28. Take a cake decorating class
    Honestly not sure if I still want to do this one. I might need to come up with something new.
29. Take up ballroom dance lessons again
30. Visit the top 10 places to go in Pennsylvania as listed here: http://midatlantic.choicehotels.com/pennsylvania-hotels/top10attractions
    I've only hit one place on this list: Falling Water, but I've also been to Kentuck Knob (Frank Lloyd Wright's second house in the same area). While I didn't get to Kennywood, I was able to make a trip over to Sandcastle, the water couterpart.

Of course some of these things will never be finished. They are continuous works in progress, but everyone should have a few guidelines in their life. What are some of your goals? Are they bucket lists or things to do before a certain milestone?

30 Goals by 30 Years

I've been trying to think of how to pick my blog back up. My main problem is that I want it to be more focused. I follow blogs that are all about cupcakes, writing a book, wedding ideas, etc. and their entries are nice and focused. I've come up with a few ideas and think I have it narrowed down, but for now I thought I'd try this...

I completely stole this idea from my bestie over at Sabrina's Writing Reflections who is turning 30 in the fall, but I thought it was such a great one. Lately I've been so focused on all the things I can't do, when what I need is to focus on all the things I can do. My 30th birthday will be October 12, 2015, so I've definitely got a little bit of time. Maybe I'll finish early and have a whole new set in a year or two...but for now, here's my list and I'll probably repost it with stuff crossed off every 6 months in order to see how I'm doing. In no particular order:

1. Participate in 6 craft fairs with my crochet stuff
2. Don't let others get me down and remember this every day, "You is kind, You is smart, You is important"
3. Read 30 new books (yes Sabrina I stole this)
4. Remember the little things and don't fight over money
5. Learn Italian or Spanish
6. Get 10,000 fans on my Facebook model page
7. Run a marathon
8. Remember to send out birthday/anniversary cards to my family/closest friends without them being late
9. Join a crochet/scrapbook/women's group (or 2) here in PA
10. Continue learning how to fix my '71 Camaro by myself
11. Reach 300 blog followers
12. Have an official date night at least twice a month
13. Fill the 4 journals I have sitting on my bookcase
14. Crochet 4 afghans
15. Be old fashioned "pen pals" with my Grandma and Sabrina
16. Build a clientel for my hair styling work
17. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or nursing home
18. Take enough pictures to fill my two Christmas/Winter scrapbooks
19. Finish Grandma Molly's memorial scrapbook album
20. Remember to take photos with Nate, friends and family year round so I can scrapbook our memories
21. Start my own racing scrapbook
22. Reread Writing Down the Bones and follow her suggestions for writing topics in my journals
23. Remember to share good news, not just the bad news
24. Get some legitimate, paid modeling work
25. Sign up for 30 modeling contests
26. Attend pilates or yoga classes
27. Run the NYC marathon
28. Take a cake decorating class
29. Take up ballroom dance lessons again
30. Visit the top 10 places to go in Pennsylvania as listed here: http://midatlantic.choicehotels.com/pennsylvania-hotels/top10attractions

Okie dokie, now I've got 3 years and 7 months to get it all accomplished!