30 Days of 30

I've officially been 30 for 30 days now, so I thought I would list 30 things that I hope to see (as the song goes) "in my next 30 Years". You've already read 100 things about me currently, but this is forward thinking only. These aren't necessarily goals (although some are), but they also include hopes, dreams and just random thoughts regarding my future from age 30 to 60.

1. Own a mini van. I want one really bad, but Garet says we can't until we have more than two kids, which leads me to #2.
2. Add one maybe two kids to our family. Not sure how we will expand our family - birth or adoption.
3. Celebrate 37 years of marriage with my best friend, Garet. I haven't spent a lot of time talking about him on here, but I honestly am one of the luckiest girls in the world. As cliche as it sounds, he really is my better half and I am a better person because of him.
4. Have enough money saved for retirement so that we can retire early. We are seriously stuck on this number in the Dave Ramsey plan. We need motivation if we are going to see this come to fruition.
5. Be a part of my children coming to know the Lord in their own time and watch them be baptized.
6. Get another degree in business - maybe finance. maybe accounting. Those both interest me. I've learned from my dad that it is never too late to get another degree!
7. Travel, travel and do more travel. I probably don't save enough for retirement because I have to save monthly for my travel habit. As I've mentioned before, this is a hobby. I really hope that I will have all 50 states in the next few years.
8. Visit at least 6 continents (I can skip Antarctica because I'm too much of a planner and I'm not sure I could handle not knowing whether or not we could fly in on any given day). Of particular interest to me are Africa (because my parents lived there for 2 years), Hong Kong (where my cousins grew up) and Australia (just because). Of course, there are 100's of places to add to that list (mostly due to the Amazing Race), but that's what I'll put for today.
9. Learn to sew. I'm not afraid to just jump in and try things, so this is something I stumble through, but I would like to be good at it.
10. Be present for my children's weddings. I love the fact I'll get to be a mother of the groom and a mother of the bride. I know they will be completely different scenarios.
11. Follow that with becoming a grandparent (God-willing they will be in that order), which is hard to visualize with two young kids right now!
12. Move somewhere new. Garet has only lived in Alabama and I would love to experience a new state (or country) with him. We dream of someday living on the ocean.
13. Actually finish a scrapbook. I have too many ideas and so I start new ones before I finish the old ones.
14. Maybe have a job in finance or accounting (see #6)
15. Go on a cruise. This really could go under travel, but it seems like it is something I'm always trying to plan, but never really do. Not sure why. I have extreme motion sickness, so maybe it's better that I haven't been, but I'd like to see for myself, good or bad.
16. Renovate a house, top to bottom. I love seeing houses completely transformed. Of course, this would not be while we have young children at the house and I would have to have the full support of my husband. I'm not allowed to talk about this for at least a year though - Garet has grounded me from discussing any and all home improvement projects after our current flooring job.
17. Learn to ski downhill without snowplowing every corner. I can keep the skis parallel at the cross sections, but I freeze up on the turns and turn the ends in every time. Therefore, it takes me an eternity to get down a slope!
18. Have a true friendship with my children. I know they are young, but I'm hoping this is something I can begin to experience now.
19. Tailgate at more Auburn Football Games. I have no desire to buy an RV with all the fixins, but there is nothing better than hanging out on the plains in Orange & Blue on a beautiful fall day grilling hot dogs and spending time with friends. We really want the kids to experience this growing up since we have so many great memories at Auburn. War Eagle!
20. Teach aerobics. I figure if I'm going to go to the gym anyways, why not get paid for it. I'm really not sure why I haven't pursued this yet. Must be a time thing. As you are reading, there are a lot of things I want to do.
21. Overcome my fear of flying. Thankfully this fear has not stopped me from traveling, but it still terrifies me and I wish it didn't.
22. See every member of my church in a Life Group. I honestly believe that God has given each of us a need to surround ourselves with other people who can walk through this life with us (even introverts). I struggle to understand why people don't exercise this need and prefer to stay in the confines of their own home/life.
23. Read more. I loved to read growing up - I read all the time. I am sure this is just a priority issue and so hopefully one of these days I will make it one.
24. Become a better public speaker. A regret from college is that I didn't take Comm100. I'm too wordy, don't make clear points and I'm a "low talker". Knowing my weaknesses is a start, right!?!
25. Complete a tri-athalon. This doesn't have to be long, in fact, a sprint one will suffice. I had this as a goal last year, but then had an awful pregnancy with Kara and this was put on hold. So, as long as I do it in the next 30 years, I'll be happy.
26. Be positive. I have a hard time being positive. I don't like hanging around negative people, so I contradict myself. I'm slowly coming around, but it will take time.
27. Hire a housekeeper. I've decided that I just need to do this at some point.
28. Do mission work in a third world country. I know that I don't fully realize how good I have it.
29. Go on more dates with my husband. Having children can hinder this at times. It seems that every time we get a babysitter, it is to do things with other people. I need to make this a priority.
30. Maintain my weight. So far, I have been pretty fortunate with a decent metabolism, but I know this will not last, so I need to make sure I keep up with it.

This post was supposed to go out yesterday, but it took me a lot longer to do than I thought. I usually limit my blog writings to 10-20 minutes, but I figured this one needed a little more thought. These items are in no particular order, just what came out of my head.

Now it's your turn. What do you want to see in your future?