Commence Operation: Marathon Bridesmaid.
29 things to do before… gasp… 30
January 3, 2012 By 1 Comment
My life has been crazy these past few months. I even forgot to tell you about my 29th birthday. Or that this blog is 2 years old! GASP. Iknowright?
I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions per se. I prefer to make life goals. A goal is easier to accomplish, in my mind. A resolution seems so rigid. But a goal… a goal can change… morph… evolve.
Therefore, here are the 29 goals I would like to accomplish before I turn 30. Because I waited almost 2 months to write this up, I am giving myself an extension for most of these goals to December 31, 2012. I have divided them into categories.
Health/Fitness
- Continue to work out, eat better, get healthy.
- Run a marathon.
- Run a half marathon without walking.
- Run 100 miles in a month. (I have done 100 miles of activity in a single month, but never ran 100 miles in a month).
- Run/walk/bike/elliptical/etc 1000 miles in 2012.
- Run a race in at least 3 different states – any distance (I’m fairly certain this will happen, so I have an extended goal of 5 different states).
- Do a duathlon, triathlon or “extreme” race.
- Complete my work’s Get Well Incentive Program. And get a HSA bonus for 2013!
- Go vegetarian or vegan at least once a week. Unfortunately, I can’t do much more than a couple of times a week. Remember? Last year I found out I can’t digest fiber very well. Stupid lazy stomach.
Personal/Professional Development
- Write more (Start that book. Blog more. Write letters to friends and family.)
- Take a class (or attend a conference).
- Network with education professionals (bonus if they specialize in social media, web communications and technology).
Creative
- Complete a 365 project. I have an iPhone app that should help remind me to take a photo every day. I will be sharing the photos via social media. You can also see them in this Flickr set.
- Document 2012 weekly using my Instax. I’m going to take at least one photo a week all year long and compile the Instax mini photos (think polaroid) into a scrapbook.
- Make pretty things.
Financial
- Pay down debt (working on this, but I have a long way to go).
- Create a budget. And stick to it.
- Support local and/or small businesses. Buy local when possible. Support small businesses.
Others
- Family time. Continue to make an effort to spend time with family – even if it is by phone, text or skype.
- Help people. Whether it’s donating time, talents or money, help others. Doesn’t have to be charitable.
- Friends. Make time for those who truly matter. Reconnect.
Life/Personal
- Faith. Pray. Worship. Devotion.
- De-Clutter (this is going to be a big theme for me in 2012).
- Find and settle in to an amazing apartment.
- Get a tattoo (I made a pact with peeps to get one if I raised money for charity. I just have to get around to making the appointment!)
- Read. Catch up on RSS feeds. Read books. Read the paper. Read blogs. Avoid JSOnline comments.
- Travel. Bonus points if travel involves any of the following: Road trip, Besties, Running, Airplanes, Booze. Super duper bonus if travel involves a passport.
- Make time for me. I have been getting better at this over the past couple of years, but I still overcommit and say “yes” to things I’d rather not do. I need to learn to say no to others and yes to me.
- Laugh. It’s the best medicine.
Hey, remember me? It’s Amy. I haven’t been blogging. Or Tweeting. Or Facebooking. Or doing much of anything. Besides working and working out.
Let’s take a look back at 2011 (and we’ll throw in the ol’ 28 before 29 wrap up as well. Because clearly, I need to consolidate). Here are some highlights of 2011. Read ‘em and weep.
Extreme Races
2011 marked the second year in my quest to reclaim my life. And as such, I decided to be stupid and put my life in danger. I lost an hour of my life on a ski hill in 90 degree July heat Dancing With Dirt. I RAN THROUGH FIRE at the Warrior Dash. And I would do it all again. And I probably will.
RAGNARRRRRR
File this under “Other crazy running shit I did this year.” Ragnar was one of the craziest, most amazing experiences of my life. And I got to do it with my friends – and with my dad as a driver. It was BALLER. Epic. Etcetera and so forth.
Family Time
2011 was hard for me. My baby sister (and roommate) moved to Minnesota. I missed her something fierce. I still do. But I made the most of our time together this year, and have spent more time with my parents and brother as well. Of course, part of that is due to my living with my parents (just a few more months), but we are trying to have a family dinner/game night once a month. My family loves board games. It’s hard not to have Emily here, but I’m happy knowing she’s happy with her boyfriend. We spent the holidays with them and I look forward to many more special times with them and the rest of the family.
Running
While I didn’t accomplish my goal of running a marathon this year, I did run 3 half marathons, a handful of 5ks, a 10k and two relays. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I PR’d at the St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and the Run Into the New Year 5k. I ran a half marathon in a friggin’ tutu (see above). I finished up the year with 633 miles (some walking and biking, but mostly running). I have some big goals for 2012. But more on that later.
Cheerleading
Once again, I was able to be an obnoxious amazing cheerleader for my friends. I’m pretty sure that if I could get paid to cheer for people at races, I would make a career switch. I had the most amazing time cheering for friends at races all year long. Half Marathons, Marathons, 50ks, 50 milers… I have some crazy friends and I look forward to much more cheering in the future. AND MORE MEGAPHONES.
Besties
I’ve been blessed with a great group of close friends. While we are all on different schedules, we try to get together as often as we can. We’ve had cookouts, game nights, fancy nights out, coffee dates, book clubs, slumber parties, races, road trips and quite honestly, more fun than people should be legally allowed to have. I could write a novel about these people (you know who you are)… I can honestly say I would be lost without these girls! #bestiesforever
Career Change
Three months ago, I started a new job. That’s right. I left the TV/News biz. I was ready for a change. I’ve worked in television news since 2003. I’ll be honest – it was wearing me down and I lost some of my passion for it. I also felt like I wasn’t going anywhere career-wise, so when a friend told me about an opportunity with Milwaukee Public Schools, I applied. Six months later, I was hired. (The process was exhausting!) I am now the Web Communications Specialist for MPS. It’s a new position for the district and I’m in charge of building, training and implementing new websites for the district’s 175 schools, along with managing the district’s social media presence along with numerous other “new” media tidbits. The new gig is hard work, but I’m loving the challenge. I feel like I’m right where I’m meant to be. Oh, and I HAVE MY VERY OWN OFFICE. WITH A DOOR. AND WINDOWS.
So, there’s that. A quick overview of 2011.
And let’s take a look at my 28 before 29… My latest recap was in October. You can read it here. Rather than rehash it all, I am going to condense it to the things I want to roll over into my 29 things to do before 30, rather than just the things I didn’t accomplish. My life has changed in the past year, and as such, my goals have changed. (29 before 30 list coming soon. Even though I turned 29 in November. Deal.)
- Continue to work out, eat better, get healthy.
- #2-3 are morphing into “Find and settle in to an amazing apartment.”
- Run a marathon.
- Get a tattoo (I made a pact with peeps to get one if I raised money for charity. I just have to get around to making the appointment!)
- Write a book (or at least start).
- Run 100 miles in a month. (While I accomplished 100 miles of activity in a month last year, this is still something I want to accomplish!)
- De-Clutter (this is going to be a big theme for me in 2012).
- Pay off debts (working on this, but I have a long ways to go).
I hope you had a great 2011. I’m looking forward to a fresh start in 2012.
Warrior Dash 2011
