10. Leave the country again

A report on one of my items from my 30-before-30 bucket list.

Well, this one hasn't happened, but it will soon. I feel like it counts since I have booked and pretty much completely planned a trip to the UK that I leave for on April 24. During my birth month totally counts.

So, bring on England, Scotland and Ireland!

I'll post photos when I return.

Birthday Advent + Theme Songs

My wonderful cousin Jessie put together this amazing birthday advent that has been gracing my bar for the 30 days leading up to my 30th birthday (coming soon).


Each card include an amazing quote, question or challenge.

One question asked about a theme song for my 20s. And another about the theme song for my 30s. It took me a while to determine them, but here they are with the selected lyrics that speak to me:

Theme Song from my 20s:
"Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas

 

Let it go,
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in,
Let your clarity define you

In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

 

Our lives are made
In these small hours

These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away some how

But I can not forget
The way I feel right now

 

When I look back on my 20s, I think of all the little unplanned things that happened in my life. The things that really made me who I am today. While some of those are stupid decisions, I learned from them. But truly, many of them were amazing! Amazing adventures that I remember, specifically, I remember how they felt. Addititionally, those adventures were amazing because of the multitude of tremendous individuals in my life. Thanks for creating those amazing little wonders in my life!

 



 

 

Theme Songs for my 30s:

"Drive" by Incubus

 

Sometimes I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear

And I can't help but ask myself
How much I let the fear take the wheel and steer

It's driven me before
And it seems to have a vague, haunting mass appeal
But lately I'm
Beginning to find I should be the one behind the wheel

Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes, yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there
I’ll be there

It's driven me before
And it seems to be the way, that everyone else gets around
But lately I'm
Beginning to find when I drive myself, my light is found

 

I have no idea what my life will be like in my 30s. It's a whole new decade and that brings both excitement and total uncertainty. But I am the one to control that. I decide to be proactive. I decide how I will react. So, here's to setting goals, moving into the unknown and finding my light.

 

 

*Yes, I recognize that "Drive" is 15 years old, and "Little Wonders" is a throwback to Matchbox 20 goodness, but really, early 2000s alternative rock songs are always my anthems.

 

 

18. Unplug for 48 hours

A report on one of my items from my 30-before-30 bucket list.

This one was hard. Mostly finding the time I could sacrifice to do it. So here are my rules:

No Internet. For anything. Not even the random question my friend and I are debating. Or yelping restaurants.

No Smartphone. I recently found my old dumb phone, so, I wanted to switch over to that, but my sim card is not liking it. So, I will be technically be using my smartphone, but only for original phone abilities (i.e. calls). I need to communicate with people so that's allowed.

No TV. This includes netflix, hulu, and all other TV-like things.

No Computer. Most of the above would include this, but this is a rule too.

No Radio/Music. Even in the car

Electronic Things that are OK:
Household appliances. I'm not giving up electricity here.
Kindle. all my books are on there, so what would I read.


*********************************************************************************

So here I am, back online after unplugging for 48 hours. I started on Friday, January 30 at 4:15 p.m. after I shut down my computer at work, turned off my wi-fi and 4g and went out to my silent car. And here I am after plugging back in just in time to watch the Super Bowl for a bit and blog :)

Here is what I learned: I am way too attached to my phone. I use it to store a lot of information, including random tidbits that make all my stories sound much better. I was excited to be able to wikipedia random things in the car this afternoon. But really, it was pretty nice. I realized that emails and texts could wait. There was nothing (this weekend at least) that would have required my immediate attention. But also, my friends text me, and I do care about them. So sorry on the delay there. We just aren't a phone-talking generation anymore.

Mostly, the biggest thing I learned, is that I am lonelier plugged in. Being unplugged forced me to get out; to accomplish things, and mostly just be. Sometimes I spend my time online wishing for something different or finding things I should, make, do or be, but not actually doing any of them. Instead, I got to do some of those things. I got to read a book. I got to be with family. I got to be me.

I will not be unplugging to this same extent in the future, but I will definitely be limiting my screen time. 

One Hundred

This is my 100th post. I felt like it somehow needed to be epic, so I've avoided posting anything lately because of all the pressure I put upon myself.

So, alas, it won't be epic. Just posting this quote. I've heard a lot about Tony Robbins lately (randomly) and this quote is quite fitting in my life right now. And hopefully it can help you too.