Well, I turned thirty on the 11th, so let's revisit my 30 Before Thirty list. I completed 14 out of 30 items. That doesn't sound that great but most of the projects were pretty big jobs, so I feel good about it. I'm going to keep working on it too and maybe complete all of them before I turn 31.
1. Blog at least once a week.
I was good about sticking with this one until the past couple of months due to the Potato. Blogging one-handed is not for me. Sam is currently enjoying his activity gym so I am sneaking in some computer time.
2. Take a wheel thrown pottery class at the Southwest School of Art. (Done!)
This was fun even though I wasn't very good at it. I have a ton of misshapen bowls now. I think I would eventually like to have my own pottery wheel and small kiln, but that is for the next house.
3. Print digital photos and put in albums.
I'm in the process of working on this. I've uploaded a bunch of my digital pictures to Snapfish. I can't have them all printed at once though since it would be expensive to do a 1000 pictures. I plan to do a couple scrapbooks for wedding and trip pictures and put the rest in regular photo albums. With luck, my scrapbooks will look as good as this one...
Perhaps not.
4. Start a small home business.
I've made some progress on this but it will be put on the back burner for awhile until Sam gets a little older. It's hard for me to find time to shower during the day so a home business is out of the question right now. Still, I've set up an Etsy store, started gathering stock, and Jimmy designed a awesome logo for me for my birthday.
5. Give birth to my baby! (This should count for more than one.) (Done!)
The biggest change and love of my life right here. He's also a big time suck so I have not gotten much done lately. I'm lucky be home with him though and here to see all the little changes he makes each day.
6. Finish mini-renovation of master bathroom. (Done!)
This project took a lot longer than I liked to complete. I hope the other bathroom reno goes a bit faster.
7. Start and complete mini-renovation of guest bathroom.
I'm hoping to get it done in one weekend this fall while my mom is visiting. She's the best motivator to get home projects completed.
8. Turn office into nursery. (Done!)
I still need to take pictures of the nursery, but it turned out really cute. Sam hasn't spent too much time in there yet since he sleeps in our room, but he will soon once he is more interested in toys.
9. Get and actually like a haircut. (Done!)
I needed an easy one so that I could feel good about checking something off my list quickly.
10. Clean out the garage and help my husband set up his workshop.
I feel bad that this didn't get done because now Jimmy is on his own with this one.
11. Teach the dog to go to the bathroom outside (only paper-trained, which does not mix with future baby).
Okay, I have until Sam starts crawling to get Reeses trained.
12. Organize magazine tear-outs.
Another time-consuming job that will most likely be put off for quite a while. At least I have all the supplies I need (big binders, page protectors, etc.), so once I get started, I won't have to stop and run out to Office Max.
13. Create another blog about the process of starting a home business.
I need to start the home business first...
14. Dress more like an adult and less like a college kid (may need to wait until I lose the baby weight).
I have been dying for some new clothes. I wore the same 5 shirts during my pregnancy and I have only been able to wear some of my bigger tees since having Sam since I'm still 20 pounds over what I used to weigh. Hence, I'm sick of pretty much everything I own that I can actually fit in. I can't even fit in my old jeans yet, so I'm really sad about that. I have been buying some cool accessories lately though. I actually managed to get all the shoes from this post from saving for them and my mom bought me the Nikes, which are awesome and so comfortable. I also got a new purse and a necklace for my birthday.
J. Crew Darlington pursette. I like it more than a friend.
15. Create and actually use a planner/calendar. (Done!)
I was good about using this and schlepping the huge thing everywhere with me. However, once Sam came along, carrying the planner made the diaper bag way too heavy. I don't really have anything to put on my schedule lately anyway, except for pediatrician appointments.
16. Buy maternity clothes. (Done!)
17. Find the perfect, non-flaky, inexpensive mascara. (Done! Not really inexpensive, but perfect anyway.)
18. Make a home index.
I've typed up all the information I want to keep in this binder, but I've misplaced the jumpdrive that it is saved on. Once it's found, I can print it all up and be done.
19. Organize and catalog contents of archive boxes in the office closet. (Done!)
I stayed up late the night before my birthday to finish this project. I was regretting it the next morning, but at least it's done!
20. Re-plant and expand vegetable garden. (Done!)
Unfortunately, the garden is dead now. Extremely hot summer + no time to water = carnage. Oh well, there is always next year.
21. Transition my cat from living solely in the bedroom to living in the rest of the house. (Done!)
This was easier than I thought it would be and my cat seems a lot happier now, even though she does have to deal with the dog.
22. Rearrange master bedroom and living room to accommodate everything that is moved out of the office/soon-to-be nursery. (Done!)
This took forever and I'm glad it's done.
23. Take a small trip with my husband before the baby comes.
I'm sad that this one didn't happen.
24. Finish the kitchen by painting one accent wall and putting up curtains.
This should only take one weekend day, I just need to find the time.
25. Catalog my rock/nature collection. (Done!)
This one was fun for a nerd like me.
26. Do creative projects more often - paint, draw, etc.
I did some creative projects for Sam's nursery, but not really for myself.
27. Finish the living room by painting one wall and all trim.
There is a lot of furniture to move around in order to do the trim, so this will probably be a long way off.
28. Get all paperwork filed. (Done!)
This was the longest and most mind-numbing job. Plus, I still have a pile of mail from the last two months to take care of.
29. Once all work is complete, submit my home for a tour at Apartment Therapy and DesignSponge.
I still plan to do this once the house is in better shape.
30. Give soap making a try.
I would like to do this on my mom's visit in the fall. Jimmy plans to make me some soap molds and I think I have all the other supplies already.
(I'll cross them off of the list as I complete them.)
Items that I finished that were not on the list:
-Organized coin collection.
-Projects for Sam's nursery, like stenciling the wall, making cardboard horses, and making the bat art.
-Organized kitchen pantry, cabinets, and spices.
-Started a compost bin.
-Did some canning.