30 for 30 update

Hey peeps! Sharing an update on my "thirty for thirty" bucket list. 30 things I'd like to accomplish before the big 3-0. The original post is here. 

Having this list of goals has been SO fun. I highly recommend it for anyone. It's different than New Years "resolutions" and I plan to keep doing this "bucket list" type of goal-setting every year. For me personally, it's nice to have July as a finish line, because several items I've already adjusted to do in 2016 instead of before my birthday in July. Six months extra cushion helps. 

I've had several friends talk to me about doing their own, and I want to encourage you that you don't have to have a silly public crazy blog to do this. Making it public has been HUGE accountability though, so I recommend you share your list with others - the more, the better. Not just your spouse or mom, but make a list of people close to you and maybe email it to them. You never know who you might inspire to make a bucket list of their own! It's contagious. 

Thirty for Thirty

1) Go "off the grid" for a full weekend (no phone, no social media, etc.) 

-Haven't done this one. It's easy to make excuses why I need my phone. This is happening, though, promise. 

2) Have 15  minutes of quiet time outdoors each month 

-Haven't done this one, either. Not sitting still. I do cherish my almost daily walks with Thomas as outside time to think/slow down/get fresh air, but not quiet time to sit and be still outside. 

3) Mentor a student for 1 year (minimum monthly contact) 

-Okay so we're 0 for 3 here, ha! After I made this list, I decided I would mentor a teacher at our nearby elementary and mentor a teacher at my old TFA placement school instead of a student, because I'm a former teacher and know that teachers can use some extra high-fives and "room mom" type volunteers who aren't going to get in the way. Great intentions while I was on maternity leave. Hasn't really been feasible. I've been to visit the nearby school twice, but honestly trying to work and balance Thomas this way of volunteering is just not happening regularly. I did learn though that it's really SO EASY to volunteer at a school - I just got our neighborhood principal's email address from google, contacted her, and she welcomed me! There doesn't need to be a formal program in place - if you are passionate about something, the way that public education gets me fired up, go out there and do something. You'll be glad you did. 

4) Research running for school board (we live in HISD district 6, and the seat is up for election in November 2017.) 

-Finally, something I have done. Had a few training calls with a Teach For America public policy/politics guru. A successful school board member in HISD would need to plan on devoting a minimum of 10-15 hours per week on campuses, getting to know school leaders, PTA meetings, etc. It's a volunteer position and with young kiddos not something I can commit to at this time. Buuuut I would love to revisit this when I have school-age children. Also a great reminder that I can be involved at the local schools even if my kids are not school aged. "It takes a village to raise a child" and I'm living in the village, right? 

5) Read the New Testament in its entirety 

-oooooh my gosh. forgot this item was on the list. i'll get right on that. 

6) Take beach vacation!!! (Nothing personal but Galveston Island doesn't count)  

-Yes! Done! Drew and I went to Cabo for our third anniversary in December. We found super cheap flights over the summer and at the time it sounded so easy and reasonable to leave Thomas for 3 nights. It was very hard but very, very rejuvenating. We booked our hotel through Costco, which was amazing, highly recommend. Also, my Costco membership is still under Courtney Robinson (through Robinson Benefits) and so they called us Mr. and Mrs. Robinson throughout the trip. I couldn't stop giggling. Drew wasn't offended because he said they'd never have been able to say Prochaska anyway. Score. 

7) Camp outside for one night with Drew (Drew loves camping.) 

-TBD
8) Hike a 14-er in Colorado 

-TBD
9) Complete a 10k at a legit pace (definition of legit is TBD)

-TBD

10) Complete half marathon (I haven't done much running since I tore my ACL beginning of 2013, so if I have to adjust this one, so be it. But for now, I'm coming for ya, 13.1) 

-Ummmm I would really really like to make this happen but my 1.5 mile jogs are going to need to get much more serious. 

-No dessert for 30 days...Yea right! Life is too dad-gummed short. My dad's last meal was chocolate pie at the infamous BlueBonnet Cafe. Can I get an amen. 

11) Eat "clean" at least 80% of the time for as long as possible - til Renzas wedding in October? Til the 30th bday? So far, 5 weeks in and going strong!

-For sure have fallen off this wagon, but overall I'd say I eat "clean" and healthy much more regularly than ever before in my life. If only the size of my jeans reflected that. 

12) Get a library card, and use it at least 2 times. 

-Thomas and I have been to our local library but I owed them $4 so I paid my late fees from back when I was a teacher, and now I need to go back! 

13) Read non-fiction more - suggestions welcome. So far I've got: Bonhoeffer, greatest generation, Ben carsons book

-working on it. read most of The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw and it's very inspiring. Good read during an election year, too. Murica. 

14) Budget and actually be aware of my spending for the year. (monthly spending review)

-um, i've printed my credit card statement and reviewed it once. does that count? 

15) Still working on a specific "green" goal - recycling, less water/elec usuage, etc. 

-right after I shared this list, I designated an area in our laundry room to collect all paper. I take it weekly to a school recycling dumpster (there's one on my way to work) and sometimes it fills up most of the back seat of my car. It is SUCH a good feeling to feel as if I'm doing something for the planet. It might sound cheesy but I love it! Highly suggest you recycle, too. It's crazy to think as I chunk boxes or bags of paper into the recycling dumpster that I saved all of that from a landfill. 

16) Send more snail mail. 2 notes/week (or 10 notes per month, if weekly is too hard to do. Thank you notes do not count.) 

-This has been one of my most favorite things!! I love snail mail and making it a "goal item" makes me feel less silly for sitting down with some fun stationary and writing notes to people. 

17) Train my heart to be more thankful. Keep a journal weekly of things I'm grateful for and ways the Lord has provided. 

-nope. i think about this item a lot and never write anything down. 

18) Learn and confidently identify 10 constellations.

-nope
19) Bake an apple pie from scratch with my grandmother.

-nope
20) Visit a Bush Presidential Library - either 41 or 43. I'm so embarrassed that I live in Texas and haven't been to either of them! 

-planning to visit 43 in april 
21) Get in 3 public fountains where it is not acceptable to get in said fountain. 

-i plead the 5th. 
22) Publish two blog posts per month. 

-actually, yes! I thought two would be too few but I barely get this done. 

23) Do something nice/generous for someone when I really do not want to. IE  I do not want to talk to someone for fear of being awkward (only example I can think of now is a homeless person, who is easier to avoid than speak with and show compassion.) 

24) Create a list/map of significant places in the Heights where my grandfather grew up (church, house, first job, etc) 

25) Finish real estate license. Honestly, dreading this one. I'm a great procrastinator. 

-ha, yea right! procrastinator central! also not quite sure how to schedule this with all we have going on at work. TBD. 

26) Girls weekend w/ my mom, sister in law, cousin/pretend sister, and grandmother. (One night stay at least)... and plan tentative girls weekends for the next 10 years. Seriously. Honey is 76 and all signs indicate that she may out last us all.

27) Learn to saddle a horse with no assistance. 

-I've watched Gentry do this. Can that count? 

28) Do 30 real push ups consecutively on July 16, 2016 (if this sounds easy, please note I can currently do 6.) 

-currently can do about 17 real ones. I'd say that's a big improvement! only halfway there, though. yikes. 

29) Reread 7 by Jen Hatmaker, and act on it. Such an honest, funny book with great perspective on how wasteful we are. 

30) Do something fun/meaningful each semester for me, and something fun/meaningful each semester for Thomas, and continue this way past year 30. 

I'm incredibly thankful to have the chance to work 3 days/week and be home with Thomas 2 days/week, but it makes my work days sometimes feel super packed and makes me want to really focus on Thomas on the other 2 days. I think it'd be nice to set a goal to do something, even short-term, that's for me, and something that we do for Thomas. For example, this semester we're doing a 6 week music class that's on Fridays, and it would have been so easy to say, nope, I work on Fridays, but instead I've spent a few hours each Thursday focusing on work while he naps, and working a bit longer on M/W. And, I did a women's bible study led by Pam Thompson, on Tuesdays. Childcare was provided and it felt pretty crazy loading him up and getting us there on Tuesdays, but Pam's teaching was so powerful and I am SO GLAD I made the time to do that for me. I learned  a lot about scriptures I've never studied and felt very "poured into" as a woman. Oh, cliche Christian lingo, check! :) More on that study later. 

Thanks so much for goal-setting with me! Would love to hear what's on your bucket list or 30 list or 25 list or 60 list or whatever!! 

Lots of love, 

CRP