Resolutions…Better Late Than Never

Well, here it is…January 20…and I’m just now sitting down to think about my resolutions for the new year. I saw this graphic on Pinterest and it seemed to sum up things up pretty well:

Last year, I put a different spin on my resolutions, and I feel like it was a good change. I wasn’t trying to force myself to do things that I didn’t like or that weren’t me. Instead, I just vowed to do more of the things that I like to do and less of the things that I don’t like to do.

As I look back at 2011, it’s hard to remember past the last few months of the year, with the challenges of pancreatitis and all of the pain and disruption that it caused. The pain has mostly subsided.  And with the exception of a pile of medical bills that I’ll spend most of 2012 chipping away at, things seems to be getting back to normal.  I still worry when I start to get a little pain, and I’m concerned about the possible long-term effects; I’m hoping these worries will pass as I continue to heal.

Last year definitely had its struggles. I over-extended myself more than I should have, and the stress affected me physically and emotionally. Job stress was a big issue in the fall as I learned to balance a new set of responsibilities in addition to all of my old ones.  But I know that there were great times in 2011 too. I traveled to visit family in July, October and December.  I taught several classes through SEU, including a face-to-face speech class. I competed in several races, spent time with friends and took the LCS seniors on a missions trip to Georgia. I also hit the milestone of turning 30, although I haven’t decided yet how I feel about that yet.

So for 2012, I’d say that in general, most of my resolutions will be the same. I want to do what I like, and like what I do.

But if I had to pinpoint one specific area of my life that I want to work on, I would have to say that I want to slow down and focus more.  During the busyness and loudness of each day, I don’t ever really take the time to think deeply about my life as I live it.  I go through the motions of crossing things off my ever-present list and then gauge the success of my day on whether I crossed everything off…or at least all of the important things.

These menial tasks often get in the way of relationships…though I’ll admit that sometimes it’s on purpose. Busyness is one of my defense mechanisms. Under the guise of being busy, I hunker down at home on evenings and weekends instead of spending time working on more important things, like meaningful relationships. I think it’s because I’m pretty good at being organized and efficient and task-oriented, but I’m not always very good at relating to people. I’m not always a very good friend.

And while I genuinely am busy, I know that my focus on tasks over relationships isn’t how I want to live my life. It makes me think about the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. Martha was focused on the tasks…the details…the small things.  Mary was focused on the relationship. Martha was frustrated, and Mary was worshipping. Martha was reprimanded, and Mary was rewarded.

Sure, there are the resolutions about wanting to lose weight and get in shape and set new race PRs and cut down our debt. I’m always going to have those goals; they’re good goals to have.  But they aren’t going to make me a better person, a more likable person, a more godly woman.

It’s a new year. It’s a fresh start. I think that’s what I like so much about this time of the year, about resolutions in general.  I’m hopeful about the year ahead, and I love this quote by C.S. Lewis and think it’s a great reminder that looking ahead is always better than looking back.

Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks for reading.

Oh, Christmas Tree

My lack of domestic skills (and lack of interest in domestic skills) is no secret.  Cooking and cleaning just aren’t things I enjoy.  We can add decorating and craftiness to to that column too.  Since we moved back to our condo 14 months ago, I’ve ignored the screws and nails protruding from our bare walls where things could (and should) be hung.

My recent addiction to Pinterest has encouraged me to find simple and cheap ways to spruce things up.  There are so many cute ideas, and most of the things will likely stay just that…ideas.  But every once in a while, I get the hankering to try one of the ideas and it’s not a disaster.  For instance, over Thanksgiving break, I got some new things for our bathroom to add some character. I bought a new shower curtain, towels and rugs to add some bright colors. I found some nice frames on sale at Hobby Lobby and put scrapbook paper in them, hung them in a column on the wall, then using dry erase markers, wrote something on the glass of each one.  Using dry erase markers on the glass allows me to change out the sayings from time to time. Right now, one frame says” Rejoice in Hope,” one says “Be Patient in Tribulation” and the final one says “Be Constant in Prayer.”  (Romans 12:12).  Finally, I added one of those sticky vinyl wall sayings that says “Be your own kind of beautiful.”  It looks pretty nice, and I’m proud of myself.

The one time of the year that I don’t mind decorating is at Christmastime. I love Christmas. Each year on the day after Thanksgiving while all of the crazy people are out shopping, I hole up in my house and spend the day putting up our tree and other decorations while Christmas music plays all day long.

There’s nothing fancy about our tree. After a few years of paying crazy Florida prices for a real tree (and yes, paying $80.00 for a tree is crazy), we bit the bullet and switched over to artificial. I don’t love fake Christmas trees, but I do love that it’s pre-lit and I don’t have to mess with strings of lights.

But what I love most about our tree is that it has a lot of our personalities in it. It’s not all “matchy-matchy” with colorful glass bulbs, bows and ribbons.  Instead, our ornaments are a collection of figurines and bulbs that describe who we are, both individually and as a couple. As I put up our tree each year, I reflect on how we’ve changed and grown. We’ve discovered new interests along the way (running and diving, for instance), but some things haven’t changed at all.  There are a lot of other things on our tree that have meaning (and some that have no meaning at all), and there are many very important aspects of our lives and personalities that don’t have Christmas ornaments to represent them. Here are a just a few things that represent us:

1.) We are runners.  A lot of our free time is spent running/racing and cycling. 

2.) I love Notre Dame football. Ben tolerates it for me, but mostly doesn’t care. And that’s okay. 

3.) We’re both kinda techy.  At any given time, you can be pretty certain that one of us is on our iPhones, our laptops or my iPad.  It’s not always a good thing, but it’s the truth. 

4.) Being from Indiana, I have a couple of John Deere ornaments that remind me that I’m a Northern girl at heart. 

5.) We love Gus, our Yorkie. He’s incredibly spoiled and gets a lot of our attention. 

6.) Ben’s the main gamer in our house, but we do love to play games together. 

7.) I LOVE dill pickles. Love them. 

8a.) I also have a slight addiction to coffee. 

8b.) As my coffee of choice, Starbucks is a big part of my coffee addiction. 

9.) Ben is a certified scuba diver. Thankfully he doesn’t dive in a glittery blue Speedo. 

10.) We are huge Boston Red Sox fans.  There are probably no less than 15 ornaments on our tree dedicated to the Red Sox. 

Yes, our tree is a random hodge podge of mis-matched ornaments, but I prefer it that way. I like the timeline of our relationship and the growth it represents. I like that we add new ornaments each year–some that reflect old interests and some that reflect new ones. I hope that when we’re 80 years old, our tree is so jam-packed with ornaments that you can’t even see the tree! And I hope that every single one of them says something about us, our faith, our family, our lives together and our interests.

 

 

Pancrea-What?

The last two months of my life–my actions, my conversations, my thoughts, everything–have been consumed by a tiny little organ in my body that most people pay little or no attention to unless they are forced to. I was forced to very suddenly and with no warning.

 

Here’s the background:

It started on a Thursday morning in mid-September. I woke up with really bad stomach pains, which I attributed to a late meal from Tijuana Flats the night before. I’ve always had a sensitive little tummy, so stomach pain has been a pretty normal part of my life. Mexican food and sensitive stomachs are a bad combination, but I, unfortunately, L-O-V-E Mexican food.

But the stomach pain got worse, and it was constant. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and an aversion to seeing doctors for things like a stomach ache, plus I was extremely busy at work and with teaching. So I did my best to ignore it. Except for when I couldn’t ignore it and was tempted to have Ben take me to the emergency room. After nine days of pain, I finally made an appointment with my doctor on a Friday morning, and she ordered blood work to see if it gave us some answers.

It was later the same afternoon when my doctor called me. I figured it was kind of serious when the doctor herself called, because typically the nurses do the calling. My blood work showed pancreatitis, a severe and very painful inflammation of the pancreas. Typically caused by excessive alcohol (which is not my problem) or gall stones (which turned out to not be the problem either), pancreatitis is a pretty serious thing. The doctor wanted to admit me to the hospital, but agreed to let me stay home since she was on call that weekend. I was restricted to clear fluids for several days before going in for a cat scan on Monday morning.

That weekend sucked. Let’s just say this: I am a big fan of food. I am not a big fan of chicken broth and Jello for 4 days.

After the initial diagnosis, I was referred to a GI specialist. He wasn’t really convinced it was pancreatitis, so he ordered more tests which went on to confirm that it was, in fact, pancreatitis. Since then I’ve had a cat scan, an endoscopy, an MRI, a gall bladder nuclear scan and lots of blood work. I’m on a low-fat diet, so I can’t eat anything greasy, fatty or spicy allowed. I’m technically not supposed to be drinking coffee, but those of you who know me know that I have a small coffee addiction. I have been limiting myself and sticking to decaf only.   I know very quickly if I’ve eaten something that I shouldn’t have. And there have been a few times when I’ve knowingly chosen to eat something that I shouldn’t (i.e., Chick-fil-A nuggets). And I always regret it afterwards.

 

So that brings me to the now:

The pain has diminished considerably, which is a huge blessing. It’s now a mild discomfort that is tolerable. It’s frequent, but not constant. The diet is inconvenient and pretty much limits me from eating all of my favorite foods (pizza, tacos, Chick-fil-A), but I have dropped a few pounds which is one positive thing about it.

This past Thursday, Ben and I went to see the GI doctor again to get the results of my MRI.  When I was on vacation in Michigan and Indiana a couple of weeks ago, I called the office to check on the results, so I already knew that the MRI was “unusual,” which is not really what I want to be when it comes to my body. I want to be usual. Normal. Run-of-the-mill. I was hoping for answers, but I really only ended up with more questions.

The MRI showed a small oval mass in/on my pancreas. I’m glad Ben was there to pay close attention to the doctor, because when the doctor said “mass on your pancreas,” my mind automatically went to “I have a tumor,” and I got a little distracted. I checked back into the conversation after an initial moment of panic. The doctor doesn’t know exactly what it is. It could be a mass of fatty tissue. It could be a cyst. It could be some other things that I can’t pronounce or remember. When I asked if it could be a tumor, the doctor said that he would be very shocked and that it was highly unlikely. I wanted him to say that it was a complete impossibility, but he didn’t. I guess if he definitively said it wasn’t and then it turned out to be, there would be some serious issues to deal with.

 

So here’s what’s next:

I have an endoscopic ultrasound scheduled for next Tuesday.  While under anesthesia, the doctor puts the endoscopy camera back down my throat and through my stomach to the pancreas. It will have an ultrasound probe attached so that the doctor can get a better look at the mass. He may or may not put a needle into it to draw out some cells for a biopsy. After that, I spend more time waiting on results. The waiting part is very frustrating.

So when I said that this pancreatitis deal has consumed my entire life, I wasn’t exaggerating. I have to think about every single bite of food I put into my mouth. I have to figure out what I can eat at restaurants and what foods to buy at the grocery store. I have to deal with daily discomfort. I have to miss work for appointments and procedures. I have to work through the frustration of having my life completely interrupted and inconvenienced.  People ask me daily how I’m feeling, what the test results showed, etc. I’m extremely grateful for how encouraging and supportive people are, but so many conversations in the past 8 weeks have centered around this topic.

I want normal. I want routine. I want to eat Mexican food.

When I have a problem that I can’t fix, I get very frustrated.  I like to figure out the problem and remedy it as quickly as possible. But I can’t really fix this, and I find it extremely frustrating. It’s been eight weeks!  It’s very discouraging. All I can do is eat the right foods and wait. Patience is not one of my strengths.

Right now, I’m trying my best to stay rational and not to worry. I’m trying not to let my mind wander to the worst thing it could be. I’m trying not to make a mountain out of a molehill. I’m trying to carefully balance the advice of friends and families with the wisdom of the doctor.  I’m trying to get back to normal as much as I can. Last night, I ran the weekly Fit Niche Pub Run (5K) for the first time in 8 weeks. That was huge for me, because exercise is such an important of my life. I wasn’t fast and I had to walk a little bit, but it felt great in the end.

I can’t ignore my angry pancreas. I can’t pretend like everything is fine. But I can do my best not to let my whole life revolve around it for now.  Not to let the word “pancreatitis” creep into every conversation. Not to complain when I want pizza instead of salad. Not to let my mind wander to the “what ifs.”

In the meantime, I would appreciate your prayers. Prayers for complete healing. Prayers that the doctor will get this settled soon. Prayers that there is an easy solution. Prayers for patience.

Poor, Neglected Blog

Has it really been 5 months since I updated my blog? I’m sorry, loyal readers. I’m pretty sure that Mike Brandes is the only one who noticed, because he tweeted about it recently.

So here I am, feeling relatively uninspired and completely unmotivated to come up with something worth reading. So what you’re getting is an uninspired life update. I’ll try to come up with something better and post soon.

1. Ben got accepted to grad school, which is great news. He’ll get a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology/Kinesiology. I don’t really know what that means, but he does want to end up doing research and being a college professor and working with athletes.
2. I’m still teaching courses at Southeastern. I’ve been teaching online classes since January, but in a few weeks, I’ll be teaching my first face-to-face, traditional classroom course. It’s a Fundamentals of Speech class, which I think is so fun. I’m pretty excited. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4-4:50 PM, I will be teaching young adults the importance of learning how to speak without using “um,” “uh,” “like,” and “you know.”  I’m thinking of blowing an air horn each time they use one of these annoying verbal ticks it in a speech.
3. I got a much-needed weeklong getaway in July up to Indiana and Michigan to see my family. It had been too long since we’ve been all together–although we weren’t really all together because Ben wasn’t there. I’m saving my second week of summer vacation time for late October after Syndi has my new niece. It makes for a long summer of work, but it will be worth it in October.

That’s all for now.  I promise my next post will be better.

Kicked Out of Girl Scouts

As I was walking out of Publix this afternoon, the most adorable group of Daisy Girl Scouts were  selling their cookies right outside the door. Dressed in their little blue smocks, the five and six year old girls were shyly asking each grocery shopper if they would like to buy some Thin Mints or Samoas (my two personal favorites), or whatever other kind there are to buy.  The little girls were cute, but easy to resist since I don’t ever carry cash. (Ok…and because I already have a box of Samoas in my kitchen cupboards…whatever.)

Once upon a time, I was a Daisy Girl Scout. I remember the blue smock. That’s one of the few things I remember about the Daisies.  That, and that I got kicked out.

Yes, you read correctly:  I got kicked out of Girl Scouts.

I wasn’t really old enough to understand, and I know that I eventually ended up back in Girl Scouts because I had the ugly brown sash with patches on it, but I had to hang up my blue smock as a five year old. I know now that it’s because I didn’t talk.

Again, you read correctly: I didn’t talk.

Actually, I did talk. Quite well, actually…and a lot. But you wouldn’t have heard me talk unless you were my mom, my dad, my sisters or my brother.  And I would whisper to my friend Tracy.  Again, I was pretty young and don’t know all the background. I’m not sure when or why I stopped talking to people who didn’t live in my house, but I did.  I didn’t talk to my grandparents, my aunts or uncles, cousins, Sunday school teachers…no one.  I didn’t talk through two years of preschool, which must have been really frustrating for my teacher. Finally, I was “forced” to talk as a kindergartener when, as I remember it, my teacher Chris Hulse told me that I couldn’t go to recess unless I talked. She made me tell her the colors on a miniature basketball I had.  Now I may not have talked, but I wasn’t stupid. As a five year old, missing recess feels a lot like the end of the world. So I told her my colors. I don’t know how much I talked after that, but at least people knew that a) I could, in fact, form words and b) I knew my colors.

A lot of people called me shy. I don’t think that’s what it was. I’m certainly not shy now, and I don’t know if shyness is something that people grow out of very easily.  (More than anything, I think I was just stubborn; I know that’s one of my character traits.)

I didn’t talk a lot through my early elementary years, but by middle school, I’m pretty sure I talked all the time. My high school teachers probably wished I would talk less. Fast forward to my college years: my dad was watching the Today Show and they were doing a segment on selective mutism. He called me up and told me that it sounded a lot like me as a child. I did a little research and thought the same thing.

According to Wikipedia, selective mutism is:

“a communication disorder in which a person, most often a child, who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations, or to specific people…Children and adults with the disorder are fully capable of speech and understanding language, but can fail to speak in certain social situations when it is expected of them…They function normally in other areas of behavior and learning, though appear withdrawn and some are unable to participate in group activities. As an example, a child may be completely silent at school for years but speak quite freely or even excessively at home.

I doubt the term “selective mutism” had even been coined in 1987 when I was in kindergarten, so I’ll never know for 100% certain that it’s the reason I didn’t talk. Regardless, I’ve come a long way since then. People who knew me as a young child still tell me that they can’t believe I’m that “little girl who never talked.”  Now I have a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in communications. I’m completely comfortable speaking in public, which is actually ranked as one of most people’s biggest fears (even greater than the fear of death).

So there’s another part of  my unique story–a part that seems so insignificant to me now, but a part that helped shape who I am.

Not many girls can say that they were kicked out of Daisies. I think that helps me resist the cookies a little bit too.

Balancing My Time

In my resolutions post from a couple of weeks ago, I talked about doing the things I love more and trying to minimize the nonessential things that I don’t like doing. I’ve gotten some good feedback, which at least assures me that a few people are reading this!

This week my thoughts have turned to balance. Here’s something that I know about myself: When I’m busy, I want things to slow down. But when things are slow, I crave busyness. I feel better about myself when I’m productive. This past Saturday, I literally did nothing from about 9 AM to 6 PM. With the exception of a trip with Gus to the dog park, I sat on my couch flipping channels on the TV. And by the end of the restful day, I was in an unbelievably crabby mood. In my mind, I had wasted an entire day that should have been spent cleaning, doing laundry, running errands, exercising, planning out the next week, or whatever. I felt guilty for being “lazy.” And I really shouldn’t have felt guilty at all!  I was still recovering from a nasty sinus infection that had me sidelined for about 10 days, and I was just worn out.

Was I being too hard on myself? Yes, definitely. That’s a theme in my life right now.  I set unrealistic expectations for myself and then feel guilty for not measuring up to them. I’m setting myself up to fail which in turns sets me up  for a lot of stress. Stress that manifests itself as high blood pressure, stomach problems, tension headaches, neck pain, trouble sleeping, general irritability and really unflattering comments from people about how tired I look. (Note: Don’t ever tell a girl that she looks tired. That translates as: “Wow, you look awful.”)

So…back to the main point of this post. In an effort to work at my goal of being less of a perfectionist and more carefree, I’ve decided that the goal is to find balance.  This means finding the balance between productivity and rest.  Between want to do and have to do (option versus obligation).  Between being involved with things I love and being overcommitted. Even between what I think I have to do and what I actually have to do (putting unrealistic expectations on myself).

It’ll take some time to sift through and evaluate the ways that I spend my time and decide which direction to go. It’s not going to be easy and it might involve some tough choices.  I wish I knew what this balance will look like, but I’m pretty sure that this is going to be a lifelong process that will involve constant evaluation and adaptation.

Bottom line: I’m an adult, and I’m certainly not the only one thinking about how to better balance my life. I do some things really well, and other things I don’t.

With all of that said, I lead a very blessed, very full life. And I thank God for that.

Bumper Sticker Resolution

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday, and I think it pretty much sums up all of my resolutions for 2011.

Do what you like, and like what you do.

Now, as a 29-year-old woman, I know that I have to do a lot of things that I don’t want or like to do. I have to do laundry. I have to clean my house and cook meals. I have to wake up early everyday. I have to go to the doctor and take my blood pressure medicine. I have to watch what I eat. I have to balance my checkbook. I don’t like any of these things, but I don’t have a choice.

BUT…there are a lot of things that I don’t like to do that I can work on cutting out of my life this year.

I don’t like unrealistic resolutions.  Last year I set the resolution to read one intelligent/challenging book each month. The problem is, I don’t like reading challenging books!!! I like reading fiction, running and fashion magazines and the Bible. If I don’t like something, why should I set myself up for failure or to just be miserable? Why make myself feel guilting for breaking that resolution by February?

I don’t like “domestic” household responsibilities: cooking, baking, decorating, keeping my house clean, being the good little wifey in my apron and perfectly coiffed hair. I don’t like doing any of those things! The kitchen is my least favorite room in my house. I know that I have to do some of it, but I certainly don’t have to stress myself out if there’s some dust on my bookshelves or dishes in my sink.

I don’t like feeling like I have to be perfect all of the time. I do this to myself and all it does is stress me out. I’d love to be one of those people who lets everything just roll off her back, but that’s not who I am. I’d like to try to be less of a perfectionist and more carefree, but this will be my biggest challenge this year. But it is also the thing I need to work on the most.

So what do I like?

Well, I like my job. I’m good at it, and I like the people I work with. I resolve to keep doing my best work for LCS.

I like running and cycling and Pilates and yoga. I’m going to do more of those things this year, because I like feeling healthy.

I like spending time with Bennie. (I mean, have you seen him? He’s hot!)

I like my church, my church family, teaching the cute little three year olds every week in Sunday school, worshipping God, studying His Word and serving in any other way that I can. I resolve to do more of this.

I like teaching undergraduate communication classes, so I hope to keep doing even more of that this year and to keep looking for more opportunities to teach.

I like being organized. This year, I resolve to simplify, de-clutter and organize.

I like being with my family and friends. I resolve to spend as much time with these precious people as possible.

I really like to write, and I haven’t done much since my graduate study. I resolve to write this year.

I like pedicures and massages.

I like watching TV.

I like walking Gus.

I like being at the beach.

I like blogging.

I like writing cards and letters.

I like singing Taylor Swift songs really loudly in my car.

I like going out for Taco Bell or ice cream at midnight, just because I don’t have kids and I can!

I like euchre and board games.

I like Starbucks coffee. I like any coffee, really, but I LOVE Starbucks.

I like watching college football.

I need to do more of these things this year!!!

So there you have it. That’s my resolution: to do what I like and like what I do. When I stop liking it, I’m going to do my best to stop doing it.

Just one of those general life updates…

Back in late May, I wrote a blog post about all of the changes that were going on in the lives of Ben and Sandy Johnson.  Then in July, I posted about how these changes were a cause of some major stress in my life. In mid-October, I gave a quick update of some of the things that were going on without going into much detail.

So here’s some more detail.

• On October 9, Ben and I officially moved out of our house at Camp Gilead and back into our condo.  We had the help of a great group of guys who didn’t complain hardly at all about moving some really heavy stuff up a flight of stairs and into our condo. Having grown accustomed to a four bedroom house with lots of extra space, adjusting back into a two bedroom condo has proved a little bit challenging. However, for the most part, things fit without looking too crowded. We did manage to downsize our stockpile of possessions. It took Gus about two weeks to get used to living in the condo again, but he seems happy now and has a couple of places where he can lay down and look out windows. That’s all that he requires to keep him happy. And since we’ve moved back, I feel a lot more connected to family, friends, and our church. We get to see people more often, which is really nice.
• The same week that we moved, two fairly significant things took place.  First, Ben got a job. He’s working at a local running store that has three different locations; right now he’s working at two stores – one about 10 minutes from home and the other in Tampa. It’s not full time, there are no benefits and the pay isn’t great, but he really likes it. I guess I would rather he love a job that doesn’t pay well than absolutely hate one that does. He’s getting more than 30 hours a week and he’s supplementing our income by substitute teaching.   The second thing that happened in early October is that I started teaching online undergraduate classes through a local Christian university. I’m teaching Media Ethics right now and will teach the same class in January. In March, I’ll start teaching an Intro to Mass Comm class. It’s a little bit of extra money but a great experience and way to get my foot in the door to do more teaching at the college level.
• After we moved out to camp in May of 2008, it took several months to get our finances situated. That was one of the most stressful times of my adult life.  Leaving camp has put up right back in that same place again. August through the end of October were extremely stressful months as we figured out (and continue to figure out) how we can make ends meet. We’ve had to ask for help, which is much harder for me than for Ben. My prideful and independent nature make it really hard for me to accept things from others. Fortunately, things are starting to look more positive right now.  I said back in July that I can’t think of a single time that God hasn’t provided exactly what we needed when we needed it. That is still true.  The way we get what we need isn’t always what I want (i.e., accepting help from others), but someone once told me not to rob others of the blessings they want to give.

On a less serious note, we have a lot of things to look forward to in the upcoming months.  This coming Sunday I am running in my 2nd half marathon in beautiful St. Petersburg. We’re going to spend a couple of days with my parents in northern Florida during the Thanksgiving break and will celebrate with Ben’s family on Thanksgiving Day.  Over the Christmas holiday, my oldest sister and her family will be visiting Florida. This will be my first ever Christmas that isn’t spent in Indiana and when I haven’t seen my entire family. It’ll be different and a little sad, but I’m thankful that I had 28 Christmases in Indiana and with my family. Many aren’t that lucky, which helps me keep things in perspective.

Well, that’s all for now. Have a great Thanksgiving!

My 30×30 Update

You can follow my 30×30 progress at this new blog, devoted entirely to the project.

http://sandy30x30.wordpress.com/

30×30

Today, I successfully reduced all three of my email inboxes to just five messages total. So now I will turn my attention to my much-neglected blog. Has it really been over 2 months since I last blogged? In my defense, things have been really busy and I just haven’t had time to blog. Or when I’ve had time, I’m at home where I don’t have Internet access. So anyways…there we go.

A ton of stuff has happened in the last couple of months. Here’s a quick recap:

1. July – As Ben’s birthday gift, our friend Eddie treated us to a trip to Boston to see the Tigers play the Red Sox at Fenway. Boston is one of my new favorite cities.

2. Ben finished at Camp Gilead and is currently still looking for a job.
3. School started, so my job got a whole lot busier.
4. I got hired as an adjunct professor and will be teaching undergrad online communications classes. I have one class now and two classes lined up for the spring semester.
5. Syndi, Josh and Caleb came to visit me for my birthday.

6. I booked a last minute trip (thanks to a flight voucher that my mom-in-law gave me) to Indiana in late September. I got to see my family and go to the Notre Dame/Stanford game. I also got to see my high school BFF briefly at the game.

7. I went the entire month of September without Starbucks. I decided to challenge myself to see if I could do it, and I did. I didn’t buy or drink Starbucks (my favorite place ever). I was trying to teach myself self-control while saving money. I didn’t stop drinking coffee (that would just be crazy), but I made it at home.
8. We’re packing and getting ready to move back to our condo this weekend.
9. Oh yeah, and one other little thing…I turned 29 on September 11.

Which brings me to the title of this blog post…30×30.  Since my “Starbucks-Free September” challenge is over, I came up with my next challenge: 30 things I want to do/accomplish before I turn 30. The idea of turning 30 doesn’t really freak me out, but there are things that I’d like to do while I’m still young. I just started working on the list late last week and it’s not complete yet, but I have 25 of the 30 things. I’m open to ideas and thoughts for the remaining few items.  I am NOT, however, open to negativity, pessimism, judgment, etc. I’m not trying to cure cancer…it’s all in fun.

Here it is…my 30×30:

1. Run a marathon.
2. Skydive.
3. Teach college classes.
4. Get down to my goal weight. (10 more pounds)
5. Take yoga classes.
6. Go to the Grand Canyon.
7. Race in a duathlon.
8. Pay off a credit card.
9. Read a nonfiction, challenging book each month.
10. Start writing the book I’ve always wanted to write. (step 1: figure out what i want to write about)
11. Ride my bike from my house to my parents’ Florida house (about 75 miles)
12. Do a 100-mile bike ride.
13. Participate in a women’s Bible study
14. Go to the Salvador Dali museum in St. Pete.
15. Run the Ragnar Relay.
16. Go to Key West (If I run the Ragnar Relay, it starts in Miami and ends in Key West…2 birds, 1 stone.)
17. Get another tattoo. (Sorry parents…)
18. Go parasailing.
19. Pay back a loan that paid for a new (and absolutely necessary) air conditioner for our condo.
20. Get new living room couches.
21. Buy a really great pair of jeans.
22. Buy some nude heels. They always look so good, but I’ve never bought a pair.
23. Take golf lessons.
24. Learn how to cook – preferably diverse and healthy stuff.
25. Go on a hot air balloon ride.
26. ?
27. ?
28. ?
29. ?
30. ?

So there it is. If you have connections to help me achieve some of my goals, I’d love to hear about it.

I’ll try to blog again before December.