Update: 30 before 30

It has been almost 6 months since the big 2-9 and I thought it was time for an update on the 30 before 30. Looking back at this list, I laugh because I was already preggo and didn't know it. That saying about making God laugh is coming to mind......

Anyway, here is an updated and slightly revised 30 before 30.

1. Hike a 14er - This is still a possibility as Rufus* will hopefully come at the beginning of April and would give me 4 months.

2. Read 30 non-fiction books - Slowly but surely, I'm making it there. Being pregnant has helped. The books I've read so far are:
a. Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan
b. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
c. I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
d. Bossypants by Tina Fey
e. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
f. 1776 by David McCullough
g. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (still reading)
h. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Sharon Mazel, Heidi Murkoff and Arlene Eisenberg
i. 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time by Jennifer Griffin
j. The Everything Baby Names Book by June Rifkin
k.  The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenberg
l. Beyond Ava and Aiden by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran
m. What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff

3. Memorize 30 Bible verses - I'm lucky if I can remember where I put my purse these days. This has been challenging.

4. Find my birth parents - Paperwork has been submitted to agency. Now it's a waiting game.

5. Take a class - When I wrote this, I thought it would be something fun like pottery. Not a child and birth preparedness class.

6. Hand-write 5 cards/letters each month - Yeah, I've averaged about 2 a month. Something about wanting to sleep for 16 hours a day really keeps you from writing cards, even though I know I should and it wouldn't take that long.

7. Go to a concert at Red Rocks - Again, still a possibility. But, we did go to a concert at the Gothic Theater in December, which was awesome and I am totally okay counting that.

8. Do a month-long photo challenge on Instagram - Again, still have time. And let's be honest, it will probably happen after Rufus* is here, because who doesn't want to see daily pictures of what I'm sure will be the cutest baby ever? 

9. Run a 5k - DONE!! Finally, something I've actually accomplished on this list. I did the Color Run back in September and it didn't kill me. 

10. Hold a Pinterest party and actually complete the projects - Yeah, this one is probably a long shot unless it involves people coming over to help me with the nursery. Or the baby. 

11. College roomie reunion - I refuse to rule this one out just yet.

12.Take Eric skydiving - Surprisingly, sky diving is not recommended while pregnant so this one will probably not be happening.

13. Find and/or create a signature drink - Might happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

14. Travel to a new state - It could happen. The Four Corners isn't that far away and I've never been to Arizona. A baby can totally make that trip, right?

15. Go to a Bronco Husker football game - The Bronco game was always a long shot BUT thanks to the best brother and sis-in-law in the world, I did finally get to go to Husker game and It. Was. Awesome!! Excited to take Rufus to one someday!

16. Find an organization to volunteer with - This got pushed to the back burner, but I've been doing some research and hope that after Rufus has arrived I can volunteer my services with a yet to be decided charity.

17. Get another stamp in my passport - This will most likely not happen.

18. Finish family tree - Maybe. But doubtful.

19. Actually print off pictures from study abroad - I could print them off, but at this point they would just end up in a pile in the office.

20. Pay off car loan - Yeah, this whole having a baby thing is expensive so while it probably won't happen before I'm 30, the goal is by the end of year.

21. Have a baby - Since it's going to happen anyway, I might as well add this so I can feel like I accomplished something during this year.

*Rufus is what we call the baby inutero. It is NOT what we are naming the baby.

Pregnancy - My thoughts thus far

Being pregnant has definitely not been the most fun thing I've ever done. But I am healthy and the baby is healthy so I try to focus on those things.

And the questions/stories/advice! It is absolutely astonishing to me, how once people find out you are pregnant, it somehow gives them license to ask very personal questions, tell you their horror stories and give unwanted advice. And by people, I mean strangers and people I would consider acquaintances. If you are a friend and have asked me these questions/told me stories/gave me advice, you get a pass.

Some of my favorites have been, in no particular order:

"Are you excited?" - Come on people, there is only one socially acceptable answer to this question and it is yes. Can you imagine the reaction if we said no?

"Did you plan it/Was it planned?" - I never know how to answer this question. And why is it important to know this? Does it somehow change the situation if it wasn't planned? Planned or unplanned, there will be a baby coming.

"How many are you going to have?" - During this pregnancy? In my lifetime? Again, what is it with the family planning questions? Here I thought my marriage only included me and Eric. Oh, how wrong I was. And let's just see how we do with one before making plans for more. I may be growing a holy terror in there.

"Oh, my pregnancy was great!/I loved being pregnant!/Being pregnant was awful!" - I'm glad that your experience was wonderful. I'm sorry that you had a rough time. But telling a pregnant lady how your experience went is really not that helpful, unless she has asked you. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that literally every pregnancy is different. You had tons of gas? Great! You swelled up like a balloon? Fantastic! I haven't had any of those, but it sure has been wonderful talking to you about it!

"Are you making preparations?" - Ummm.....like what? Again, I never know how to answer this as I feel the only socially acceptable answer is yes. "No, we're just going to wing it once the baby gets here. It's totally cool to put them in a shoe box to sleep, right?" will probably solicit a call to DHS.

"I haven't seen any baby bump pictures. When are you posting those to Facebook?" - I know that I am in the minority, but you will not see a "bumpie" from me on social media. Family and close friends who live far away and have asked for one will get one in a text message, but I have chosen to not clutter up your news feed with weekly shots of my ever burgeoning belly. There are some things that I would prefer to not live on for eternity in the cloud and my pregnant belly is one of them. However, if you live close to my mom she will be more than happy to share the pictures I send her. :)

30 Before 30....Or 20 Before 30

29 doesn't feel any different than 28.

Except that my Y membership increased. Apparently 29 is when you become an actual adult and are no longer a young adult. Whatever.

I've been holding out on putting my 30 before 30 out in the world, mostly because I don't have 30 things.

Not for lack of trying. It's just that I've done more than I thought I had. It was good to see that I haven't been a bump on a log for the last 29 years or so.

So without further ado, here is my 20 before 30. If I come up with 10 more things, I'll add them on here.

1. Hike a 14er

2. Read 30 non-fiction books

3. Memorize 30 Bible verses

4. Find my birth parents

5. Take a class

6. Hand-write 5 cards/letters each month

7. Go to a concert at Red Rocks

8. Do a month-long photo challenge on Instagram

9. Run a 5k

10. Hold a Pinterest party and actually complete the projects

11. College roomie reunion

12.Take Eric skydiving

13. Find and/or create a signature drink

14. Travel to a new state

15. Go to a Bronco football game

16. Find an organization to volunteer with

17. Get another stamp in my passport

18. Finish family tree

19. Actually print off pictures from study abroad

20. Pay off car loan

At the Manchester United vs Roma AS soccer match for my bday.

Real family

I'm going to be totally honest. I love the show Who Do You Think You Are.

If you've never seen it, it's a show that takes celebrities and helps them trace their lineage, to find out their familial beginnings. There are usually tears and this sap is usually crying right along with them. 

Off and on, I have traced my own ancestors on Ancestry.com. I started back up again a few weeks ago and let me tell you, I have learned a lot.

Sidenote: Eric's family has been here since the dawn of time. And by dawn of time, I mean dawn of what would one day become the U.S. of A. For a history nerd like me, I am in heaven! No lie people, we're talking the mid-1600s here. But I digress.....

My family is a family of immigrants and have really only been in America for 150 years. Five of my eight great-grandparents were first generation Americans, one was a second generation American, and one was born in Norway. The last great-grand had family that had been here since the early 1700s. There are at least two surname changes (ironically, they both changed their names from the highly popular Peterson/Pederson to the highly unique Swanby and Schow surnames) and more variations of spelling of first names than I care to count. 

This is my heritage.

I was talking with my hair stylist? dresser? guru? about it and she knows that I am adopted. When I finished telling her about what I had learned she said to me, "But that's not really your family, is it? I mean, that's not really where you came from? Don't you want to find your real family?"

I have heard some uncouth things before about adoption, being adopted, etc, but this might take the cake.

At first, I was angry. Lyle and Paulette and Michael are my real family. Irvan, Lila, Myron and Amy are my real grandparents. To say they aren't my real family is to deny 28+ years of love, care, discipline, teasing, spankings, birthday parties, and lap sitting. I am no less a daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin just because the blood that runs through my veins doesn't carry the same genetic material that runs through theirs.

And then, I felt sorry for her. If her definition of family only includes those whose blood is the same as hers, she is missing out on how awesome and wonderful family can be.

The word adoption comes from the Latin word adoptio which when translated means "to choose". The definition of choose is "pick out or select (someone or something) as being the best or most appropriate of two or more alternatives".

It brings to mind the quote from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. "You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family." In my case, you can choose your family.

I have been blessed beyond measure with my family. I can't say what my life would have been like had my biological mother not given me up for adoption, but I am grateful every single day that she made that choice.

I am chosen. My brother is chosen. My parents chose us. We were selected as the best option. You can't get more "real" than that.

July, July!

How is it already July?

It certainly doesn't feel like it here. It has been overcast, cool and a little gloomy. It's like Colorado is sad the year is half over.

Since I've been burning my sick time, I've had some time to ponder. I've seen a lot of my friends on Facebook posting about "30 before 30" recently. I like this idea.

Too often we get complacent with where we are. We forget about the things we once said we would do or the things we wanted to accomplish. Life happens. But the desire to push ourselves out of our comfort zone or the zeal to try and learn new things shouldn't fall by the wayside.

Eric reminded me of this a few weeks ago when we discussed a list we had made before we were married and how we hadn't accomplished much on that list. It was kind of sad to realize how far we were from those ideas/dreams/thoughts.

So I'm coming up with my own "30 before 30" list. I have a few ideas, but am definitely open to suggestions! These things must be accomplished before July 28, 2015. I'll write about the things I do and post it here. This will be my accountability. Feel free to heckle, cajole, cheer, encourage, embolden, inspire or any other adjective you feel appropriate.

A few ideas I have had.....

1. Climb a 14er. I know, I know, how have I not done this yet? One word? Fear.
2. Take a class of some kind to learn a new skill. I'm thinking either a language class or a crafty class.
3. Read 30 books that aren't fiction. Fiction is my go-to, always. Suggestions welcome!
4. Snail mail handwritten letters of encouragement each month. This is a lost art, no?
5. Make at least 1 new friend. I've been described as outgoing, but have noticed that I am more reticent of late.
6. Memorize 30 scripture verses. I used to do this a lot in college, but not so much lately.
7. Find my birth parents. I feel like this whole topic is a post or two of its own, but short answer: I have questions and it's time to be a grownup and not be afraid of what I find. Or don't find.

I'll post the final list once I have it. Again, I am open to suggestions!

Love or fear?

This last week has been interesting, to say the least.

Today, I'm sitting at home, burning off sick time because I honestly don't know how much longer I will have a job, or if I will even get paid for this sick time. You see, I work for a company that just got its hand slapped by the government, in a big way. In a they-no-longer-have-hands way. Or arms. Or legs. Or really any part.

It is unsettling, but I am at peace about it. Mostly because I was working towards leaving anyway. Since March, I've been working part time in addition to my full time job. In May, I decided I wanted to pursue that full time. But it seemed scary. And daunting.

Start my own business? I know nothing about that.

I started talking with people, asking questions, trying to make informed decision. I made a goal that by the end of August, I would have everything in place. All my ducks in a row. A perfect plan and timeline.

And then last week happened.

I worked crazy hours. I drank copious amounts of coffee. At one point, I had a small breakdown where I was laughing and crying at the same time because I had no idea which way to react. All for a company that I didn't really like.

And I realized, I can't wait until the end of August. Not because we need the money, but that is a motivating factor. But because too long I lived in fear. In practicality. My job was secure. Safe. I could "play" at starting my own business, because deep down inside I knew that I had a safety net. In short, I lacked faith that God would see us through.

I no longer have that safety net. And yet I know without a doubt in my body that this is what God has called me to. Just since yesterday, doors have opened that I didn't even know existed. He is blessing this and in His time. Not in my perfectly crafted timeline. Funny how that happens.

It's at this point that I have to give a shout out to my dear friend Karen. She has been praying for me, and specifically my job situation since last fall. That has meant so much to me and I know God listened to her petitions on my behalf.

So where does this leave me? Currently at my kitchen table in sweats. But good things are coming.

I leave you with a video I'm sure you've seen by now. Its applications are greater than just a job situation. And while it is very apropos for me at this moment, I think it applies to everyone. Are you living in love or fear?

Mi casa es su casa

It has been a year since we bought our first house. What?? 

I love our house. Of course there are always things I want to change, but we've come a long way baby!

This is how each of the three bathrooms looked. Boxed lighting = hideous. They were also the only rooms not painted white in the entire house. 

This is the guest bathroom. I let Eric pick out the shower curtain.

I've decided to embrace the facial hair theme for the bathroom. I have not embraced the facial hair theme on Eric.

So much white! And the light was a hazard. Apparently very short, color-challenged people lived in this house before we did.

Still too much white for my liking, but I can deal. Shout out to Pinterest for the photo display idea.

The dining room. Again, so much white!

Much better!