29 Things to leave in my 20's

In the spirit of making lists, and thanks to the idea from Debbie at On the Refrigerator Door, I have made a list of things I want to declutter from my life and leave behind in my 20's when I turn 30. Some of these items are wishful thinking but some are things I really hope, and will strive to, part with. (I will let you be the judge of which one is which!)
At any rate, these are definitely things I can live without when I hit my 30's!

1. Allergies
2. Fake "Friends"
3. What if's
4. Doing it my way (verses God's way)
5. Ironing
6. Bad relationship choices
7. Shoes that hurt my feet
8. Migraines
9. Holey underwear
10. Lint attracting dress pants
11. Procrastination
12. Split ends
13. Door dings
14. Negative influences
15. Know it all's
16. Bad hair days
17. Itchy sweaters
18. Odd socks
19. Sinus Infections
20. Dust Bunnies
21. Dropped calls
22. Junk mail
23. Cases of the Mondays
24. Impulse buys
25. Excuses
26. Old ghosts
27. Unwanted belly fat
28. Regrets
29. Ramen Noodles

And just as a side note, I was telling my mom about this list last night and the first thing she said was "Bad Relationship Choices". Thanks mom, already on the list!

Awesome Girl Award

Thanks to Danielle over at Delightfully Sweet, I have received an Awesome Girl award! With that I need to share 10 things about myself. Danielle used the list from the person before her but I think I will just list some random things about me!

1. I love marshmallow Peeps. Especially at Easter. I have been known to make special Peeps creations such as these from this past Easter. I also like to eat them stale. My mom and friends who buy me Peeps, always open the package in advance so they can crisp up a bit for me.
2. I like to play with my hair and do what my mom likes to call, fluffing my face with it. Some say it's a nervous habit which at times it is, but I also do it when I am bored, sitting in traffic, reading a book, etc.... It's soft. I like it.
3. People who whistle in my office drive me nuts. If you have a song stuck in your head fine, but I don't want to hear it. Seriously, this is one of the things I find most annoying ever.
4. My favorite food is artichokes. They are yummy. Steamed and dipped in clarified butter... mmmmm....
   
5. Back to Peeps. I sleep with a purple plush one. Although my dog loves plush toys and likes to chew them up, she doesn't dare go near my Peep!
6. I think LOST is the best show ever.
   
7. I am not a morning person. My old roommate and I used to co-exist in the kitchen each morning, getting breakfast or whatever, and wouldn't speak the entire time.
   
8. I am horribly afraid of snakes. Even a small garden snake will make me scream.
9. I have a little dog named Mollie and I like to think that she enjoys when I carry her around like a baby.
   
10. I love Costco.

Okey dokey, now I get to pass the award on to five bloggers I think are awesome girls and they get to write 10 things about themselves. I choose....

1. Debbie @ On the Refrigerator Door
2. Megan @ Newly Wed, Newly Bred
3. Mandy @ Mandy's Life After 30
4. Suzy @ 30 Before 30 List
5. Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields
   

Random thoughts on my next goal

So I am trying to decide what to do next on my list. As my friend Tara pointed out a week or two ago, I have to complete 2.5 items a month to be finished with my list by my birthday. So far, I have completed 2. That's not to say I'm not working on anything else. I am reading the bible (trying to catch up to where I should be), doing push ups (um, sometimes), and of course, watching Harry Potter movies. Those all take more time and effort though and I am looking to do a couple of quickies.
Last week I went down to Husker Hounds on 84th and Center to get a shirt to wear to the game on Saturday and afterwards I stopped at McDonald's to grab some lunch. The place was absolutely overflowing with old ladies! Too bad the drive thru line was so incredibly long that I opted to walk in instead. That place would be awesome to buy the lunch for the car behind me due to the odds of having an old lady behind me. If you haven't read my commentary, I am hoping to buy lunch for a little old lady verses a family of 20. Economics here people...
I keep thinking I need to start teaching Mollie to shake too. I just keep forgetting.
One thing I have been looking at is the art project. I have an old Pottery Barn catalog with a picture of a cluster of framed art that I have always liked. Just today, I found an even better picture than what was in the catalog, online.
The part I think is really cool is where they use the riser for the smaller frames. Much more interesting than just being flat on the wall.
My mom took a bunch of close up pictures of her flowers in the back yard prior to moving out of the house and my friend Tara has some pictures too. I am thinking I want to do black and white or the black and white photos of flowers were one little piece of the picture is color. Not really sure yet. Placement is the other decision. In the picture from Pottery Barn, they put it above the bed. I don't think that would work since my bed is so tall. I am thinking I could do it on the wall the sectional sits on in the basement. Problem here is that the room is done in red and gold tones. I think the black and white would be ok, but if I bring out color in the photos, I feel like it would need to be golds, yellows, reds, etc. and I wouldn't be able to do pinks, purples, etc. I suppose I could change the color if photoshop, however I don't even know how to do the black and while with a little bit of color as it is. I really don't even know much about photoshop but I have a really old version that my dad gave me a long time ago.(Sorry for the crappy photos taken with my phone, this room really isn't this yellow looking.)
The other factor in placement is wall space. All of the rooms upstairs have high ceilings. Vaulted in the living room, dining room, kitchen, and then high ones in the bedrooms (9ft I think) so a larger display like this might be better upstairs. I have large blank walls between the windows in the living room and in the dining room.
(By the way, the chaise will soon go to the office since I FINALLY ordered a real sofa and chair last weekend. Going this weekend to by my curtains and coffee table and end tables at - none other than - Pottery Barn)
I definitely want to do square frames, but I suppose they don't have to be as large as the ones in the Pottery Barn display. I plan on shopping around to see if I can find some more cost effective frame as the Pottery Barn ones are pretty pricey. I can see spending money on certain items at Pottery Barn like furniture, most most of the decorator items I can find for less elsewhere.
So that is my rambling for the day. Any placement or design suggestions are welcome!

My love affair with Costco

I admit it. I have an obsession with Costco. I don't want to call it unhealthy because there is nothing unhealthy about Costco (other than the fact that you can buy gigantic bags of candy and other junk food in bulk) but I admit that it is kind of odd that a 29 year old single gal who doesn't have children, roommates, or dependents (other than Mollie, my dog) of any kind does a good portion of shopping there. I'm not really sure what the cause of my obsession is though I do like to buy things in bulk. I like knowing that I'm not going to run out of toilet paper or paper towels. Plus I have plenty of room to store stuff, so what does it matter! I don't even know if I save money buying in bulk verses the regular size at the grocery store. Never took the time to do a comparison!
I love how the Costco Triscuit box dwarfs the regular size of (generic) Triscuits!

I almost made Costco part of my list. The only things I thought of were to 1) spend and entire day at Costco and eat all my meals there from the sample stations, or 2) refrain from going to Costco for a month. I was afraid with #1, I would get really bored and have wasted a day or that they would throw me out of the store for loitering. Can't have that. And #2, well, that's just out of the question.
I would like to say however, that although it is a warehouse store, there ARE items you don't have to buy in bulk. A list of non-bulk items I have purchased at Costco:

• Pink fuzzy bathrobe
• Winter coat
• Hibiscus tree
• 47'' flatscreen tv
• Roomba
• Toaster
• Kitchenaid mixer
• Wine
• Comforter
• Mattress and box springs
• Cuervo Gold margarita
  
• Bathroom rug
• Air mattress
  
• Tires for my car
• Lighted magnification mirror
  

Look at that selection! It is a one stop shop! Who else can say that they can sell you tires for your car, a mattress, and liquor! (Well, Walmart I guess...) I buy food there too of course though the fun of Costco is seeing what new things they have in the center area of the store. That is where they suck you in. I would say a third of the items on my list are impulse buys...
Ah, Costco my friend. What would I do without you! (probably save a lot of money!)
Just to prove that I am not a freak, here are a few others that have Costco obsessions:
http://costcoblog.wordpress.com
http://addictedtocostco.com
http://www.costcob.com
http://www.ilovecostco.com

I've been a lazy slug...

Ah, shoot. I am already behind. I knew that this was going to happen but today I realized how extremely behind I am. First I am behind on my bible reading. I picked a 365 day plan that I have actually started a couple of times in the past. Given I wanted to "do this right" I started once again at the beginning. From day 1 I was behind as I didn't actually start on my birthday but a week or so later. I have had a couple of days where I read multiple day's readings at a time, but sadly I have found that I am 23 days behind! Ahhh! How did this happen?! I am only just over a month past my birthday! Well, given I am on day 12, this is definitely believable.
The really sad part is last night, I spent from 9:30-11:30 reading the 2nd Harry Potter book. That's right, 2 hours of reading Harry Potter when I could have been catching up on doing my bible reading. I admit it, that is sad, and I do feel kind of bad about it. Given each day's bible reading takes about 10 minutes, I could have almost been caught up in the time I took to read Harry Potter. Maybe I should go whack myself in the head a couple of times as Dobby would...
I definitely need to get back on track and put down the Harry Potter books - at least until I get caught up. My plan of attack is to read at least 3 day's readings each day until I am caught up. That would take me a few weeks to get back on track. Ooohhh, don't know if I can go that long without Harry Potter! (Just kidding :) ... or am I)
The second thing I am off track on is my push up program. It all started the week grandpa died and I haven't gotten back on track since. This means I am 2 weeks behind as I didn't do any of it while I was in South Carolina (by the way, I didn't do any of my bible reading while in South Carolina either). When I came back from South Carolina, I actually tried to get back on track right away but when I got to my 5th set, I couldn't hit the minimum number of push ups you are suppost to do so I gave up. Well, I didn't give up for good, just for the day. Unfortunately, I have never picked back up. I am hoping my weaklingness (I may have just made up that word) was due to being so tired after the trip. I was seriously exhausted for most of the week and didn't really get back to feeling myself until around Friday. Saturday though, I went to the 9:15am Muscle Madness class at the gym and sucked royally when we did push ups. I was ok for the first few but my arms started to give way after a while and especially when we did the "around the world" push ups. Prior to "around the world", we did a bunch of regular push ups and then a bunch with one hand on your step and one on the floor (each side got a turn). For "around the world", you started on one side of the steps we were using and did a push up beside it, then you did a push up with one hand on the step and one on the floor, then both hands on the step, and then back down the other side with one hand on the floor and then both hands on the floor.... and then reverse..... 8 times. It didn't help that the teacher went super fast. My push ups are slow as it is so I didn't keep up at all. The teacher is really good and really kicks our butts, I just wish she taught on a day (at a later time) that I wasn't half asleep like I am on Saturday morning.
So tonight, along with doing my bible reading, I plan to get back on track with the push up plan. I will just start back where I left off on week 4 and hope I can hit the minimum for the 5th set. Wish me luck!

A Harry Potter Obsession?... Noooo....

I must admit, I have become quite intrigued by the Harry Potter series. Finally, I see what all the hype is about! They are all good but I must say, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has been the best so far. First of all, the pace is much faster. Sometimes it even seemed a little too fast to get everything and I am guessing the book gives a lot more detail. It was a little odd to see the kids having changed so much between the second and third movies, but I guess there was a 2 year gap in between.
I see the trend now that the Professor of the Dark Arts changes each time. Guess I will expect that trend throughout the rest of the series. Maybe they should just give the job to Snape. He seems to want it pretty badly and he likes to stick around! I really liked the professor who had the role this time though. You could tell he was a good guy from the beginning and trying to help Harry. So sad he was a werewolf and had to leave...
There were a couple of things I found really odd about the movie though. First when they finally come in contact with Sirius Black, he seems like a deranged maniac that is going to kill Harry. Quickly we find, he is really after Scabbers the rat who really is Peter Pettigrew. He was shaking and acting erratic however a few minutes later when they are back outside the whomping willow, he seems like a normal guy and wanting Harry to come live with him. The switch was just really odd for me. Even the way he carries himself seems to change far too quickly. If you have been in prison for 12 years, you don't just get over it in 5 minutes.
The second thing I though was odd is that when Harry and Hermione go back in time to save both Harry and the crazy bird/horse thing, they don't also capture the rat! Why not? They changed other things. Why not be hiding with a cage where the rat ran off to and grab him! Given this fact, I don't think we have seen the last of Peter Pettigrew.
Although the movie was action packed, I think my favorite scene was when Harry filled his aunt with hot air and she flew away. So glad he got to get away with that one!
So, I have a confession to make about my Harry Potter goal. I know that I said I had no desire to read the books, however when I was in North Carolina last week, Becca lent me the first three. I actually read the first one in one day when we were traveling back to Omaha. I am almost done with the second one. I really like the books and they seem to give a lot more detail and depth to the story. I am thinking before I watch the 4th movie, I might read the book first. I might also watch the 2nd and 3rd movies again after I read the books. I know, I am becoming obsessed...

A Trip to the Zoo

I've been slacking. I checked an item of my list well over a week ago and never wrote about. This is partially due to how absolutely boring this particular item ended up being, and the fact that I was out of town for a week. Oh well, excuses aside (as I know you are just soooo excited to find out what I checked off - HA!), Saturday before last I made a little trip to the zoo and visited the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion. Yippee!
To be honest with you, this was kind of a filler item on my list. When I was looking for things to put on it, I went to a Nebraska tourism website and looked for random things I hadn't done or places I hadn't been to. I really did think the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion would be cool. (Incidentally, "Go to the Wildlife Safari in Ashland" is also an item I added randomly when trying to find things on the tourism site. Hopefully it isn't as lame as the butterfly pavilion though.) I don't mean to bad mouth the zoo or anything as the pavilion was a nice exhibit, it just wasn't all that exciting. Ohhhh, butterflies - done. Really though, there weren't as many butterflies as I though. For the first section of the exhibit, you walk in to a tiny glass room that has a door on each side. This is to keep the butterflies from escaping the exhibit. After walking in the room and they close the door, they give you some brief instructions like not to touch the butterflies. Then the door leading to the exhibit opens and you can walk in. It was pretty short and there really weren't many butterflies flying around. Most of them were up against the window, clamoring to get out!At the end of the exhibit, you went in another room with 2 doors but this one had mirrors on the walls. You had to check yourself for hitch hikers. It also had fans blowing from the ceiling to blow off any potential escapees. Again the door on the other side was opened and you were let out. The other part of the exhibit had other types of insects but these were all contained in displays. Nothing all that interesting and we breezed through and got out pretty quickly.
There was one BIG highlight to this exhibit though. The fact that there were NO STROLLERS ALLOWED! If you have ever been to Henry Doorly Zoo on a Saturday, you know that many exhibits are bottle necked with strollers. The Aquarium in particular was a real pain to get through. I really appreciated the people that opted for the baby backpack thing rather than ramming their tricked out stroller into the ankles of innocent bi-standers. Totally understand the convenience of the stroller at the zoo, but some areas are just too small to have 50 strollers crammed in to at once... (I reserve the right to retract my statement someday when I have kids and want them to ride in style as they look at the fishies...)
So that's it. #16 successfully checked off. I actually thought of replacing this one with something more interesting or challenging but I think I will just play the lazy card and consider it done! Plenty more to go anyway!

Photo of me in the exhibit for posterity's sake.