30 for 30 - Things for the Next 30 Years

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 1. Get another college degree
2. Take a swim class
3. Ride a train (again)
4. Take Tigger to swim with manatees
5. Go horseback riding
6. Finish my novel(s)
7. Go to Australia
8. Be quoted by someone
9. Stay up all night reading (figured I’d better include some easy ones!)
10. Organize something for someone else
11. Get (and use) a nice camera
12. Cook through a cookbook, though probably nothing by Julia Child
13. See Wales (I missed it on our first UK trip)
14. Re-learn French
15. Brush up on my American Sign Language
16. Drive a convertible
17. Go to Cedar Point and ride everything
18. Consult on something
19. See all my daughters marry godly young men
20. Spoil some grandchildren
21. Teach a class
22. See all 50 states
23. Be completely debt free & "live like no-one else"
24. Have a car of my own
25. Attend a Broadway musical. On Broadway.
26. Make some new friends and keep all the old ones
27. Write a non-fiction book
28. Serve a short term mission work
29. Grow ever closer to God - always seeking His plan & will for my life, no matter how long this life may be
30. Throw a huge 60th birthday bash!

30 for 30 - Things I've Learned

1. Always make a list
2. Pray first, during and after
3. Laughing is contagious
4. It’s Not About Me
5. Sing Loudly
6. Loyalty may be misplaced but it’s never wasted
7. Brush your teeth
8. Call your sisters
9. Use the good stuff
10. Color outside the lines if you want to
11. Pursue improvement, not perfection
12. Practice makes better
13. Go to England
14. Live within your means
15. Give generously – you won’t regret it
16. God always provides, although not always in the expected way at the expected time
17. Don’t wait until you “have enough money” to have a child
18. Eat dessert
19. All haircuts eventually grow out
20. Stupid doesn’t have to be permanent
21. Always defend the weak and defenseless
22. Tears are temporary
23. Ask for help
24. Say “I’m sorry.” Mean it.
25. You can always re-paint
26. Wear red
27. Don’t smoke or drink and you won’t regret it
28. Go outside every once in awhile
29. Write something every day
30. Take a lot of pictures

30 for 30 - I'm Thankful For:

1. Roses or
2. Weeds, lovingly picked and carried in, "Just for you, Mom!"
3. Someone else cooking me a meal
4. Sunshine after rain
5. Mail that isn’t bills or circulars
6. Rainbows
7. Umbrellas and rain boots
8. A frosty glass with vanilla coke and crushed ice
9. Cinnamon scented candles
10. Puppies. Other people’s puppies.
11. New babies. Especially my own, but just babies in general, too.
12. Long hot showers or
13. Bubble baths
14. Hot chocolate not made from a mix
15. Cotton t-shirts
16. New notebooks
17. Fine point ink pens
18. Well tuned pianos
19. Hot cup of tea on a cold morning
20. Dancing to swing music with my daughters when we’re supposed to be cleaning
21. Heated swimming pools
22. Winning a card or board game
23. Watermelon in July
24. Concerts in the park
25. Swinging as high as possible at a playground
26. Crackling fire in a fireplace during the winter
27. Cards and poems from the girls
28. New book smell. (Some folks like “new car smell”, I like new books)
29. Roller coasters
30. Late night talks

30 for 30 - Things I Wish

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Or, things I might be wishing when I blow out the candles on my cake but you'll never know because if you tell, it definitely won't come true:

1. I was taller
2. We had a grocery store within walking distance
3. I wasn’t shy
4. I always knew the right thing to say
5. I could speak flawless French
6. Money grew on trees. In my yard.
7. I had enjoyed my older children’s younger days more
8. I had a book ready to publish
9. I could sing high notes
10. Our house wasn’t on this street
11. My political nominees would always win
12. There would never be another “news” story about anyone named Hilton, Kardashian, or Lohan.
13. I could have twice as many kids. (I suppose, technically, I could. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.)
14. I was more of a morning person
15. Firefly was still on TV.
16. Philip and I could have more “just us” time when we could go out together. (I know that this will eventually come true. It’s just this season of life can occasionally be discouraging in this respect)
17. All the people I care about lived within an hour or two of my house.
18. I didn’t have to explain horrible things to my children. (The Holocaust, Abortion, Sin in general)
19. Women & men still wore hats in public. Or at least, you know, something nicer than their pajamas.
20. I owned a Steinway grand and
21. Had room in my house for aforesaid grand piano
22. Houses were self cleaning
23. I actually enjoyed sewing
24. We had an in-ground heated swimming pool
25. I could spend part of every year in England
26. I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound (actually, I do pretty much eat whatever I want but it’s not without certain consequences)
27. Someone would invent a reliable personal printer where the ink didn’t cost an arm and a leg and paper never jammed
28. Working outside didn’t make me itchy
29. I was slightly more athletic. I say slightly because I don’t actually want to be an athlete or anything.
30. I had accomplished more by this point in my life. I’m not saying I feel like I’ve wasted my time but I certainly thought I would have done more by the time I turned 30.

30 for 30 - People I Love

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And now, the sappy list:

1. Philip. My favorite-ist human being ever. It still amazes me that I get to be married to him and be his favorite person too.

2-5. My girls. The greatest blessing in my life and they are indescribably precious to me.

6&7. My parents. No, they weren't (and aren't) perfect.Which is just as well because I was not (and am not) a perfect daughter. So that works out just fine: they are the perfect parents for me.

8-10. My sisters and brother. I'm crazy about this crew. They're my best friends, my cheering squad, my humility enforcers. (After all, they know me better than most.)

11. My nephew, Fen. He makes me smile; he keeps me jumping. He shows me just how much I can love a child to whom I did not give birth.

12-15. My grandparents. The four wisest, kindest, most helpful and funniest people I know. Plus, I get the impression they are all kind of crazy about yours truly. {smile}

16&17. My in-laws. I have to admit: I don't always understand them and they don't always understand me. But that, ultimately, doesn't matter. I hit the in-law jackpot and I know it. (This includes my in-law grandparents. I'm so lucky to be a member of their family and I really appreciate Philip sharing them with me!)

18&19. My brother & sister-in-law. I've known my brother-in-law since he was 18 months old, so our friendship is one of long duration. He did a wonderful job of finding me a new sister (OK, I think God helped) She is a fantastic addition to our family and I anticipate many fun years ahead of us.

20. My newest nephew. I'm not saying he's always happy, but he's almost always happy. Another smile bringer is always a welcome thing. I apologize in advance for all the spoiling I intend to do. After all, I don't see him often, so I'm going to have to make my Aunt-ing experiences count in a big way.

21&22. My two brothers-in-law. I've known both of these guys almost all of their lives. I can't imagine our family without either one of them. (Plus, anyone who would take my sisters off our hands deserves a little praise. I kid, I kid.)

23. My aunts & uncles. I don't have many but those I do have are dear to me. I respect and admire them and I always enjoy their company. Besides, once you start counting the greats and great-greats, I am abundantly blessed with aunts and uncles.

24. Cousins. I only have 3 first cousins and I'm thankful for each one of them and their families. As an adult, I'm getting to know some further removed cousins and I'm increasingly thankful for them. It turns out that once removed or second cousins can make great friends, too.

25. Mentors. I had several extremely important mentors growing up. I can't say any of them are actively involved in my life now, but God used them in my life at just the right time.

26. Childhood friends. Thanks to the wonder of Facebook, I'm in contact with many of the people who grew up with me.I haven't always been the best about staying in touch, but it's definitely easier now. This goes for my childhood pen-pals and Church Camp friends, too.

27. College (High school) Friends. These were Philip's friends first and then they became mine too. I can't imagine our lives without them. We make an effort to stay in touch, to let our kids spend time together and to keep these relationships strong because they are so worth it. Definitely some of my favorite people!

28. Church friends. God has always led us to the church we needed to be in at the time we needed to be there. In our current church, God has blessed us with a great church family. We never thought we would be here this long (11 years this year!) but I'm really glad it's worked out this way. We enjoy some truly sweet relationships that have grown up here.

29. Blog friends. My favorite thing about blogging has been getting to know some new people. This medium has enabled me to build some new relationships that are no less real or important to me for their distance. I’m thankful for those of you whom I’ve met thanks to blogging.

30. New friends. Yes, I'm almost 30 years old. No matter how introverted I may be, I anticipate making some new friends in the coming years. It's crazy to think about, but when I re-write this list as an almost 60 year old woman (because, of course, I will write a list) someone that I don't even know right now will be on there. How exciting!

30 for 30 - I Prefer

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30 random preferences off the top of my head:
1. Showers to baths
2. Fruits to vegetables
3. Snow to ice
4. Skirts to pants
5. Silver to gold
6. Steak to chicken
7. Silence to noise
8. Email to phone calls
9. Phone calls to texts
10. Ink pen to typing
11. Walking to running
12. Staying up to getting up
13. Reading to watching
14. Homemade to packaged
15. Vintage to new
16. Saving to spending
17. Kelly to Astaire
18. Sarcasm to slapstick
19. Target to Wal-Mart
20. Dogs to cats
21. Libraries to malls
22. Pages to pixels
23. Peanut Butter to jelly
24. Escalators to Elevators
25. Sun to rain
26. Green to Black (tea!)
27. Elephants to Donkeys (ahem)
28. Baseball to Football
29. Singing to dancing
30. Laughing to crying

What would your list look like?

30 for 30 - Pet Peeves or Annoyances

The first 1-10 are book related and can be found in this list.
11. Typos on store signs. Especially price tags.
12. Cursing, especially in casual conversation where I don't have the choice of "muting" the offender.
13. Long fingernails tapping on piano keys.
14. Turn signals left on.
15. "Pudding skin" (you know: that film over a bowl of pudding. Gross!)
16. Treating church as optional.
17. Robo-calls
18. Poor customer service
19. Car radios so loud that my windows rattle while you drive by
20. Blog posts posted on over 2 carnivals. Sure, I get that you want to increase your viewers. But when you link one post to 17 different blog carnivals or parties, I look down on you.
21. Library magazines missing pages
22. Consistent misuse of the word "literally"
23. Persons who drench themselves in perfume
24. Gross out humor (also: comedy built on hurting others)
25. Grown men or women acting like adolescents or toddlers (The world doesn't need any more Princess Drama Queen Divas.)
26.TV commercials with bears advertising toilet paper
27. Loud cell phone talkers at the library or grocery store
28. Litter (especially cigarette butts. So gross.)
29. Line jumpers
30. Misapplied scripture or over-dependence on proof texts

As Philip said when I told him I was writing this list, "Only 30? That's only going to scratch the surface for you." No kidding. Now, after Blogger's massive shut-down of the past day or so, I'm adding:
31. Blogger. Which wouldn't let me post or comment, wouldn't publish scheduled posts and, worst of all, ate my scheduled post for Sunday which was a long one. Bah!

30 for 30 - Color Words

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Yesterday's list was just words. This is a list of my favorite color related words:
1. Azure
2. Crimson
3. Scarlet
4. Indigo
5. Sage
6. Silver
7. Sable
8. Periwinkle
9. Violet
10. Poppy
11. Beryl
12. Navy
13. Ruby
14. Emerald
15. Cherry
16. Teal
17. Coral
18. Burgundy
19. Lilac
20. Lavendar
21. Ochre
22. Saffron
23. Amber
24. Chartreuse
25. Jade
26. Verdigris
27. Cocoa
28. Ecru
29. Bronze
30. Citrine

I don't know about you but this list makes me want to go color a picture or something.

30 for 30 - Words

Some words are just better than others, whether because of their meaning, their sound, or the fact that they're just plain fun to say. Here are the first 30 that came to mind:

1. Glisten (unlike the word "moist" which is just gross)
2. Sparkle
3. Mossy
4. Tapestry
5. Verisimilitude
6. Adore
7. Cherish
8. Whisper
9. Zebra
10. Calliope
11. Giggle
12. Sonorous
13. Celerity
14. Vertiginous
15. Pusillanimous
16. Reminiscent
17. Progeny
18. Fascination
19. Synecdoche
20. Mirth
21. Melody
22. Eternity
23. Infinity
24. Heroic
25. Pulchritude - this word's meaning doesn't fit its sound at all
26. Froideur
27. Salubrious
28. Iridescent
29. Cynosure
30. Encyclical

30 for 30 - Movies

No real surprises on this list:
Sci-Fi or Fantasy (othewise known as the Star Wars & Lord of the Rings Category)
1. Star Wars: A New Hope
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Return of the Jedi
4. The Fellowship of the Ring
5. The Two Towers
6. The Return of the King
 I love the costumes in the Star Wars prequels but that's pretty much the only praise I can offer them.

Classics or Mysteries (The "Movies Were Better Then" category)
7. Casablanca
8. The Adventures of Robin Hood
9. North by Northwest
10. The 39 Steps
11.Notorious

Literary or Historical (The Jane Austen Category)
12. Amazing Grace
13. A Room With a View
14. Pride and Prejudice - yes technically a miniseries
15. Emma
16. Persuasion
17. Sense & Sensibility
18. North and South Yes, another miniseries
19. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Musicals (The Rodgers and Hammerstein Category)
20. Carousel
21. Oklahoma
22. The Sound of Music
23. State Fair
24. Singin' in the Rain
25. Meet Me in St. Louis
26. Cover Girl
27. Mary Poppins
 So, can anyone name the R&H musicals that didn't make my list? At least one of them is one of my favorite soundtracks to listen to but I do not enjoy watching it. Go figure.

Other:
28. The Man from Snowy River
29. While You Were Sleeping
30. Groundhog Day
All of the above are nostalgic favorites. The last two are recommended viewing if you want to have any idea what my family is talking about over Sunday dinner and why we're laughing about such seemingly innocuous statements. "These mashed potatoes are so creamy..."

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