20 Seconds of Courage

To be honest, I don’t feel like I accomplished a whole lot this week.  It was a long week at work with a few late nights, although Wednesday night was late because we went to a movie!  A group of girls from work and I went to see “We Bought a Zoo.”  Now, I will admit that I got a little teary eyed a few times – it is a pretty emotional movie.  I am not going to spoil it for you, but I will tell you that they bought a zoo. J I do feel that I was able to learn a lesson from the movie.  He was explaining to his son that sometimes you just have to find the courage, 20 seconds of courage.  It made me think about my “30 before 30” list in a way.  There are several things on there that I am terrified of and to be honest I think I may have used my 20 seconds of courage just putting them on the list, but I know I am going to have to dig deep for some more courage to get those tasks accomplished. 

Saturday night we went to a fundraiser at our church.  A 6 year old girl passed away from a brain tumor last month and they had an Italian dinner to raise money to help with the medical expenses.  We decided to go, well I decided that we would go, as a way to try and get to know some other people from our church as well as I am always up for a cause involving children.  The Hubby and I also had the pleasure of getting to know a couple from the church that sat at our table.  They too had a young daughter that had been through much of the same medical treatments for her brain tumor and today she is a happy and beautiful five year old girl.  Sometimes I am amazed by the turns that life can take and only hope that there is a plan in it for all of us.

I really have not made any progress on anything from my list this week.  I did officially sign up for the Cooper River Bridge Run and I found a 10K training program.  It is an 8 week program, but I have 10 weeks so I am going to warm up to the program – ha ha.  My plan is to start going back to the gym on a regular basis tomorrow and next week I will be staying at a hotel all week for a training and I made sure that it had a treadmill so I can continue to prepare.  I did go to church again this weekend – third weekend in a row so I am on my way to becoming a regular. I signed up to help with the Youth Program because I am not around teenagers enough as it is… (what was I thinking?!?!?!) I took some more pictures today and I think this week went a little better than last. Well, now that I look at it I did get a lot done this week! 

My precious...

As you may have noticed, my Hubby is not even a follower of my blog. I have decided to let that one slide as he has agreed to get me a Coach purse for my birthday.  Now, I am not a very fashionable person and this will be the most expensive purse I have ever owned.  I just don’t want you to think that I go around demanding these types of things on a daily basis – typically I only demand to be fed! J

It was a busy week at work, so I do not feel as if I had the opportunity to make much progress on my list.  We did attend mass last Sunday and again this Sunday. I suppose you could say that I am on my way to becoming a “regular” as there are now people that I recognize.  I will admit there was some added stress during mass last week as there have been some updates to the service since my last attendance (shows you how long it has been since I went) and I did manage to say the wrong responses a few times.  I was better with the “flow” this week and felt more comfortable overall.  I will admit that I was kind of overwhelmed last week by not knowing that I missed most of the messages.   This week was much more comfortable and I left there feeling uplifted and excited for the rest of the day. 

The Hubby had his first mountain bike race of the year on Sunday and it gave me a good opportunity to practice with my camera.  I got a few good shots in and hope to do some reading and practicing this week so I can get some better ones next weekend! He didn’t do as well as he would have liked (24 out of 31) but he did improve over last year and I am sure that he will continue to get better. 

I did officially decide on a race with some heavy persuasion from a friend.  I will be participating in the Cooper River Bridge Run - http://www.bridgerun.com/ - on March 31, 2012.  Yes, I do realize that it exceeds my goal of participating in a 8K, but there are not may 8Ks out there and I will be able to work on my fear of bridges at the same time! Double Bonus! 

I have also been working on my goal of becoming a “hugger.”  We have a group of friends that we are with almost every weekend and it seems as if everyone hugs each other upon arrival and exit.  It has become a known fact that I am not generally a “hugger” and I have been skipped over on greetings due to that fact.  I don’t think it was intentional by any means, but it made me aware.  This past Saturday night before I left I initiated a hug with everyone that was there and was told that me hugging them was like getting a hug from a little kid – not sure what that meant exactly, but I think it means my hugs are precious. 

Run Forrest Run!

I went for a run today… well I guess technically it was a jog/walk/run.  I have a few different routes I could take when I leave my front door and I chose the 2.2 mile route today – it took forty minutes. No good. Still have a lot of work before I can get to that ten minute mile. Lesson learned: Don’t stop running. A year ago I was not a great runner, but I had made some definite progress.  In order to achieve this goal of my list I will need to become more like Forrest Gump and less like Fat Albert. 

I made some other minimal progressions on the list this week.  I did do some volunteer work… I kept score at the Hubby’s volleyball game.  Not quite what I had in mind when I put that on the list, but it is a step in the right direction. J I spoke with a friend of mine that teaches a pottery class and he has agreed to assist me with that goal.  Now I just have to find the time to attend his class! It will be done!

 

The Hubby and I had a conversation last night about some projects we want to tackle around the house as well. I would like to “finish” the basement and get some new furniture down here.  When the boys were here for the Hubby’s bachelor party they were shocked and amazed to see our current couches and said something like “If you only knew what has happened on those…”  Needless to say I swiftly disinfected them, but now it is time to start fresh.  We have some other changes planned to include a ceiling fan in the bedroom, maybe some painting and new carpets.  I will keep you posted. 

 

I do want to say thank you for all of the words of encouragement and all of the offers of help in achieving my list.  I appreciate the encouragement and am sure that I will need the continued encouragement throughout the next year. As for now, time to get ready for work.

It's just the beginning...

I decided to start writing a blog again and my hubby informed me that a blog needs to have some sort of theme.  He also said that it needs pictures, but that might be because he is illiterate.  I took this into careful consideration, as I do everything that he says, and have come up with a plan. I am terrible at making resolutions because I just feel guilty in the end when I am not able to keep the resolution.  I tried making broad resolutions, but then I feel unaccomplished.  I like to cross things off a list. Yes, I am that person that will write something on the list simply to cross it off.  I thought I was being clever with the idea of making a list of thirty things I wanted to do before I turned 30; however, through extensive research I have found it to be cliché.  None the less, I am making the list and we will see what I can get accomplished in the next 14 months.  (Drum roll please) In no particular order…  

1)      Visit New York City.

2)      Decorate a “fancy” cake, - This one might require a little more effort, like attending a class.  I love to bake and would like to be able to decorate a cake with sugar flowers, animals, roses – you know, all that “fancy” stuff.  

3)      Learn to play “Wonderwall” by Oasis on the guitar. - I looked up “easy songs on the guitar” and this one came up.  I am not hoping for a miracle, just want to play.

4)      Cross the “Mile High Swinging Bridge” at Grandfather Mountain. - For those of you that know me, I have a fear of bridges that I can see through. Odd I know, and there is not a technical name for this fear, but it exists.  This particular bridge is high on the list of fear due to the height, the swinging, and the fact it is “see through.”

5)      Drive a convertible. - Maybe even a “fancy” one. J

6)      Shoot a gun.

7)      Run a 10 minute mile.

8)      Learn how to use my DSLR camera on the manual setting. - The camera was a wedding present last year from the hubby.  I have taken one class and learned a little, but there is a lot more to learn!  

9)      Take a dance lesson. - This one might require the hubby as well. 

10)  Try acupuncture.

11)   Be able to do thirty push ups in a row.

12)  Stop drinking soda.

13)  Read Atlas Shrugged. – The hubby’s favorite book.  It looks like such a daunting task I have not been able to pick it up.

14)  Get my scrapbook up to date and keep it up to date.

15)  Sing a song of karaoke by myself in a public setting. – Sobriety optional.

      16)  Learn to play Chess.

17)  Complete an 8K.

18)  Learn to Crochet.

19)  Cook an “involved meal” – over 10 ingredients. J

20)  Volunteer.

21)  Take a wine tasting course.

22)  Find/Take pictures to create our last name. – This one might not make sense to all, but you know those creative pictures where they make an object look like a letter – that’s what I mean.

23)  Watch/Photograph the sunset from somewhere incredible.

24)  Make a difference in someone’s life.

25)  Become a “hugger.” – I am not a “hugger” and it has become obvious to me lately that I am in the minority in my small cluster of friends. I want that to change.

26)  Go apple picking and bake an apple pie from scratch with said apples.

27)  Make a piece of pottery on a pottery wheel.

28)  Become a “regular” at church.

29)  Keep up with this blog and writing.

30)  Use my entire stash of stationary by sending out “snail mail.” 

Let’s see how this goes. This list may change over time and may require some altering if we are able to accomplish one other thing that is on our list. ;)