my 30 in 30 {personal goals}

This month, something extraordinary happened. And when I say extraordinary, I mean life-changing!!

Yes, I turned the dreaded 3-0!

At first, I was really intimidated by this birthday, but as it drew closer, I started to get excited about it. I kept hearing women around me say that 30 was a liberating year for them, and that they felt confident and more secure than ever. And that’s when I made the decision to choose to enjoy this year.

Because I want this year to be full of personal growth and fun memories, I’ve created a list of 30 things that I would like to accomplish, my “30 in 30,” you could say. If you know me personally, please read over these, and help hold me accountable to crossing these off of my list! I want to look back on this year and feel excited about what I’ve accomplished!

So here goes. I’m putting this out there. I’ll keep you updated on my progress, and hopefully, I’ll have some fun stories (and photos) along the way!

(Things that are completed or in-progress will be highlighted in purple!)

1. Run at least 2 5ks and improve time from last year {Bass Pro 5k Nov 4 & Turkey Trot Nov 22!}
2. Get my ears pierced again
3. Go to a movie by myself {May 25, Hunger Games}
4. Travel for a weekend by myself, taking my camera, guitar, and journal for company
5. Go to as many live concerts as possible (at least 10), and photograph them all. I love concert lighting! {ATTENDED: 1. Rock & Worship Roadshow Feb. 16; 2. Kelly Clarkson Mar. 14}
6. Take guitar lessons and eventually play for worship at church {Took lessons with Miss Kacey Dotson and played/sang for a women’s conference at church}
7. Go to a photography workshop {Sal Cincotta Senior workship in St. Louis in April}
8. Write and complete a song {ack! just haven’t been motivated by anything to write…}
9. Actually make a project that I’ve pinned on Pinterest! {Earring holder from frames and wire}
10. Journal several times weekly, even about the small things
11. No more Mountain Dew!! {MD sober since Memorial Day weekend in May!}
12. Go to an art museum {Nelson-Atkins Museum in KC 8/31/12}
13. Send encouraging cards & letters at least once per week :) {Do emails and Facebook messages count?.. :) }
14. Budget for one massage per month! {Oh yeah.. this one’s easy to commit to! Debra is amazing!}
15. Pay off remaining credit card debt, so I can be debt-free… {still in progress… thanks to hospital bills!}
16. Keep a list of all the books I read this year {didn’t read as much as I wanted…}
17. Early morning gym time at least 3 times per week {4x week 5:30 am personal training started July 9}
18. Lose 20 lbs.. {25 and counting… and feeling great!}
19. Go on a date with someone who does not have a mullet, is not missing teeth, and who does not have an angry wife (since those are the ones who pursue me…) haha  {Done, but no winners yet…}
20. Channel my inner Picasso and do an oil painting
21. Cook a new recipe once per month {so far so good.. the only bad part is all the extra dishes I have to wash!}
22. Record a video for YouTube (photography and/or music related)
23. Take as many self-portraits as I can. (I’m only 30 once! One day I’ll need to remember what it looked like.) ha
24. Learn to tread water without dying
25. No more girlie pushups! {Bam!}
26. Organize, print, and put albums together of my personal photos
27. Go to a theater performance
28. Go to an orchestra performance
29. Go on a picnic
30. Watch some classic movies from the AFI’s greatest American movies list

And since no post is complete without some photos, here are some pictures recently taken of me by my good friend from Tiffany Kelley Photography.  Here’s to 30 and Flirty!

~Jen