30 before 30

I feel like a kid most days!  I feel like I am on top of the world, ready for any adventure, and that I am not only invincible, but I have the rest of my life to live.

or am I?

25.  It's older than 24.  But is it old?  Mini-crisis of feeling like life is passing by and reminding me to take advantage of every day that I have to live, love, and laugh to the max.
So it's about time I scrub up my bucket list a little bit (You may have seen this posted in my blog a few times in the past).

1- Ride an elephant in the Jungle (Indonesia)
2- Skydiving May 2011
3- Missions trip in a foreign country
4- Hike to the peak of a mountain Spring 2010
5- Take a sailing trip
6- Go on a cross country road trip
7- Learn to drive stick shift (I CAN drive a stick shift, but I want to feel comfortable at it)
8- Kentucky Derby with a big hat
9- Ice skate at Rockefeller at Christmas
10- Ride on the back of a motorcycle
11- Give everything I have to someone (can be everything I can give, everything I have at that moment… I’ll know when it happens)
12- White Water raft on the CO River
13- Run a ½ marathon OR do a sprint triathlon (Signed up for one in October.  It will be a run/walk, but still a 1/2 marathon nonetheless!)
14- Worship with a different culture
15- Dance freely in front of at least 10 people Enter the Haggis concert January 2010
16- Take a helicopter ride
17- Go rock climbing
18- See the Northen Lights
19- Visit and explore Rio de Janerio
20- See Victoria Falls
21- Visit all 50 states
22- Ride the biggest roller coaster in the US
23- Make my own wine
24- Read all 100 books (I have a list of 100 books to read)
25- Not be in control 2010 - the whole year
26- Spend a weekend, just me and God
27- Do God’s will, not my own Younglife again this year!!  Whoooo
28- Help build a habitat for humanity home
29- Spend Christmas at a shelter
30- Make a difference in someone’s life
31- Write and publish a book
32- Watch the 50 Greatest American Movies of all time
33- Be a loving mother and wife
34- Go on a safari
35- Spend mornings with my husband and coffee on the porch
36- Attend a professional tennis tournament
37- Create an art project I can proudly display
38- Live in the now
39- Start a collection of willow angels
40- Watch the mummers parade – live
41- Send my parents to a YL camp as adult guests Northbay Camp June 2010
42- Drop everything to help someone
43- Have a life changing conversation with a stranger about faith
44- Go back to school
45- Stand out of the sunroof of a moving car
46- Grow a garden
47- Sleep under the stars
48- Build or fix something
49- Explore the beaches and ocean of Australia
50- Learn to surf
So since I made this list a year and a half ago, I  have gotten rid of 6 of the 50.  That's not bad momentum, until you realize that most of them were done a year ago.  I am ready to tackle a few more.  And narrow down the list of my life to the list of 30 things to do before I turn 30.  (Some are new and some are borrowed from the list above)

1.  Build a recipe book
2. Spend a whole weekend with just me and God
3. Sleep under the stars
4. Take and survive a yoga class
5. Start my willow angel collection
6. Refurnish/re-upholister a peice of furniture
7. Ice Skate at Rockafeller Center
8. Move out of Rockville, MD
9. Grow a beautiful garden
10.  Lose 20 lbs.
11. Learn to surf
12.  Break 100 bowling
13. Take a gorgeous photo
14. See the Mummer's parade live
15. Join a book club
16. Take a dance class
17. Go to Indonesia or Thailand
18. Do a missions trip in a foriegn country
19. Carve a great jack-o-lantern
20. Fingerpaint with kids
21. Get married (I don't think I get to choose when that happens...?)
22. Do a photoshoot with balloons
23. Go white water rafting on the CO river
24. Wake up looking at the water
25. Manage my time and relationships better
26. Have a real snow day
27. Have a great date day with just my mom and sister
28. Get paid to be creative (even if it's a one-time thing)
29. Take a trip on a whim
30. Buy a house

wanderlust...

I am a Philly girl, tried and true. I bleed green from Sept-Jan, and I will always argue that your cheesesteaks are subpar. I can be kind and gentle, but will not hesitate to get in your face if you piss me off. I have done the Rocky steps, seen the liberty bell countless times, and taken a picture in front of the LOVE statue. I will always hold my nose down at other malls that lack prestige in comparison to my beloved King of Prussia mall, I will never turn down a good soft pretzel, I will smile from ear to ear anytime I see a Wawa or get my hands on some Herr's potatoe chips, and I will always fondly recall my daytrips down to the Jersey shore. It's just who I am, and that stuff will never change.

I am also the first to admit that I am afraid of change. I am afraid to blaze my own trail and move away from my family, although sometimes I feel that pull in my heart to set out on my own adventure. Somewhere between the fear of setting out and the instilled wanderlust in my heart, I find myself not terribly far from home, working hard, and daydreaming about days to come when I finally take that big step. Sometimes that call hits me hard day in and day out, and sometimes that call is rather quieted. But I still struggle with that restlessness. This has found me visiting google maps quite frequently and attempting to plan out trips, and also consider moving out west somewhere. For now, all of these dreams have been kept to domestic dreams, although in the search for adventure and the beauty of God's creation, I would not argue being swept somewhere completely foriegn, but one thing's first.

Really, the only point of this posting is to let myself know where I want to go. To keep focused on that goal of following my heart and maybe this will help me stay motivated to save some money and take a nice vacation... for myself. Here's my golden list in no official order (and by no official order I mean the first 4 are the important ones, and then after that, it's whatevs):
Phoenix, Albuqurque, Tuscon, Sante Fe, Las Vegas, Reno, Seattle, Denver, Memphis, Topeka, San Francisco, Houston, San Jose, Portland (Oregon and Maine), Amarillo, Spokane, Seattle, Providence, Missoula, Sioux City, Tulsa, New Orleans, Boulder, Madison, Haleiwa, Fairbanks, Birmingham, Grand Rapids, Chicago, Lexington, Nashville, Savannah, Boca Raton, Pittsburgh, Charleston, Charlotte, Buffalo, and Manchester.

Quite an extensive list, and one that I don't expect to exhaust. However, it is nice to have listed out for my next big adventure...