Let’s do a quick recap of where things stand, as I sit about halfway past 31 (WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?) and actively working on the rest of the items on my list. I realize as I made this, I was being pretty ambitious. But I think it’s possible.
In other news, the fam is good and business is chugging along nicely. Here are some of the latest pics from life – can you believe my baby is almost 2?
Yeah, I friggin’ saw Obama and yeah, he friggin’ waved at me!
Kathleen’s bachelorette party in Vegas!
TRAVEL A LOT
40. Machu Picchu. Duh.
39. Go to Australia.
38. Go to Africa.
37. Complete Handstands Across America. (To date, I’ve hit GA, SC, NC, TN, PA, WV, VA, FL, AZ, NY, NJ, CT, AL, CO, IL, and WY.)
I’ve added Nevada – check it out! I need to get MD because we went there and I forgot to take a pic. We have family up there.
36. Take Cameron to a place that’s non-English-speaking.
We will be going to Mexico City and Oaxaca as a family in March!
35. Take my mom on a vacation.
MAKE SOME MONEY
34. Increase my income by 10% at least one year.
I doubled my income this year.
33. Attend at least 5 networking events each year.
I think I’m on track with this. It’s amazing how small and incestuous my industry is!
32. Take a continuing education course in a related field.
I’m knocking this out for sure. And I’m learning a ton.
BE A GOOD MOM
31. Help Cameron with his homework. Even when I don’t understand it.
30. Log at least one solid moment where I go, “My kid made the choice to do the RIGHT thing.”
29. Tell Cameron EVERY SINGLE DAY that I love him.
BE A GOOD WIFE
28. Show Brandon at least once a month how much I really appreciate him – even when he’s driving me COMPLETELY INSANE for whatever reason.
I think I’ve been pretty decent at this one!
27. Have a date night alone with Brandon at least once a month.
We haven’t been great about this but we’re working on it!
DISCONNECT
26. Give up Facebook (or whatever the hot thing of the moment is) for a SOLID month.
I already did this, but I’m taking another couple months off for the holidays, and it’s been LOVELY.
25. Go on at least 10 family outings completely without my phone.
24. Turn off the TV for a month. Before 30, I struggled to do this for a week. Let’s up the game.
STAY HEALTHY
23. Run another 15k.
22. Take fitness classes at least once a week for 6 months – jazzercise, dance, Zumba, kickboxing, yoga… whatever.
Um yeah, probably need to get on this.
21. Go a month without alcohol.
This one too.
20. Go a month without bread.
BE ADVENTUROUS
19. Participate in a big cultural event (like I wanted to before 30 :).
18. Run for a public office.
17. Learn another new skill (welding, embroidery, calligraphy, etc).
CHILL OUT
16. Do absolutely nothing for a full weekend.
15. Write in a journal every day for a month.
14. Read a few more classic books.
13. Go on vacation somewhere that’s purely relaxing, not necessarily an “adventure” destination, just to enjoy it.
BE A GOOD FRIEND
13. Send care packages to 10 friends for no good reason.
12. Check in more often on friends who are going through crappy times.
Really trying my best to do this. I probably need to get better, though.
PROTECT MY INVESTMENTS
11. Get my retirement savings to $500k by age 40.
On track for this, at least early on. We added about $40k this year.
10. Diversify my investments – BitCoin? International real estate? Etc?
We have some solid cash in crypto, and I don’t love how it’s doing, but we’re in it for the long haul. Also hoping to move into real estate in the next couple years.
9. Keep 6 months worth of savings in the bank “just in case.”
I don’t know that we’ve hit this (other than if you count our savings for a basement renovation and our retirement, which I don’t), but we have maybe 3 solid months right now.
8. Keep, and stick to, a freakin’ budget for 6 months (to start).
7. Start a trust fund for Cam, and keep his college money saving.
6. Get smarter about investing – take a class in stock trading or similar.
5. Donate $10k to charity/a good cause.
We’re at $1k at this point to the Stacey Abrams campaign, plus a variety of different charity donations, but we probably need to up this.
WOAH, BUDDY
4. Flip/renovate a house.
3. Own chickens.
2. Move internationally for a period of time.
1. This one is my secret. But I expect to reveal it next year.
30 Before 30 