30 before 30

It's not so far off...my 30th birthday is approaching like a runaway train. I only have a little over a year to accomplish everything on my list and there are some biggies! Then again, I might just stay 29 forever. It would be nice to stay under 30 forever right?! No wrinkles, no body aches or joints popping when I get out of bed, no early bedtime....wait. No. That's me at 28. Nevermind. I haven't really decided yet. But that's not the point. Where was I? Oh yeah...the point is that 30 is quickly approaching and I have a few goals I'd like to see happen. Some are silly, some are serious, some are close to impossible. The due date? January 3, 2012.

1. Cook at least one recipe from each cookbook I own
   (I counted...that's 11 cookbooks, 25 if you include the magazines I've saved and marked recipes in. I just said "books" right?)
2. Donate to Beautiful Lengths (I'm getting there...I'm officially tired of long hair, tangles and getting hair pinned under my bag straps or in the car window- yeah, that hurt. I think a few more months and I'll have 8 inches without having to go too incredibly short.)
3. Buy a DSLR Camera (Nikon S3100)
4. Bake croissants from scratch
5. Graduate with an MBA 
6. Consolidate and organize student loan payments
7. Visit Washington DC with Noel
   (He's never been! Can you believe it?!)
8. Move out of Birmingham, AL
   (yes please!)
9. Keep a plant alive longer than 6 months
   (I may have to invest in a cactus. Seriously. It's bad.)
10. Switch to Truvia or Splenda in my coffee
11. Run 20 minutes straight without dying
    (Yes- literally, dying. I see it as a very real possibility.)
12. Create travel map display
    (Done! I started writing this list a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to finish this one.)
13. Sleep in until 9am I slept until 9:03am over Christmas break- then got up and did a happy dance! :)
    (It's harder than it used to be. I'm usually up no later then 7:30 when I try to sleep in.)
14. Sell something(s) I own for at least $200 (to be used for #3!)
15. Take my nephew on an outing
16. See a ring on my sister’s finger
    (No pressure here! Just want you to know that I wholeheartedly approve. So Andrew- make it a big one!)
17. Buy a party dress Received one for Christmas and wore it out for New Years!
    (I don't think I've ever really owned a fun party dress. Sad, I know.)
18. Get Noel to take me to Ikea
    (This is the one that seems impossible-but I'll make it happen! Just wait and see!)
19. Read a book of Noel’s choosing
20. Visit 3 places in our travel book
    (We have a travel book we leave on the table in our living room. Anytime we see a place we want to visit on TV we write it down. It's mostly restaurants from the travel channel! What can I say? Food inspires us.)
21. Visit Janine & Josh and meet Keagan
    (He's the cutest rollie pollie kid ever! I mean Keagan, not Josh. :) Check out their blog here.)
22. Have a couponing trip where I save at least $25 and spend less than $5
23. Create my own home management notebook
24. Get a massage…make that 2 massages
25. Sell something on Etsy
26. Organize the office closet (It's scary in there.)
27. Host a party in our little apartment
28. Update address book and send Christmas cards
29. Complete a Rubik’s cube without removing the stickers
30. Buy multi-colored Christmas lights
    (I like white lights, Noel likes colored lights. I told Noel we can buy colored Christmas lights when we have kiddos.)