Tomorrow (today, by the time most of you read this) is my birthday. Last year, when I turned 28, I made a list of 30 things I wanted to accomplish before I turn 30. As Iooked over that list again today, I realized that I haven’t accomplished many of them — and there are some that I don’t care that much about anymore. Funny how much difference a year makes.
(By the time I finished this post, I was feeling unaccomplished, so I put in this picture to remind myself that sometimes I do meet goals.)
Here’s a check-in on my 30 Before 30 goals:
- Learn to can and freeze fruits and veggies. Nope, haven’t done that. And we didn’t even plant a garden this year, so I won’t be learning this summer, either.
- Attempt to get published in an education journal. I haven’t submitted any articles yet, but I have worked on some this summer. So that’s progress.
- Run a 3-hour marathon. Ha. Hahahahaha. I think it’s safe to say that this is not going to happen in the next year. Three hours is 13 minutes faster than my PR, and while I’d still like to keep that goal on the (nearly impossible) horizon, it’s a horizon that’s MUCH more than a year away.
- Visit the ocean at least twice. We went to Myrtle Beach this May, so one visit down, (at least) one to go.
- Save money and get better at sticking to a budget. Well, we were doing better on this one until everything we own decided to start breaking. There’s definitely still room for improvement here.
- PR in the half-marathon. I guess that would require me to run a half marathon, wouldn’t it? I haven’t run one in the past year, and I don’t really care if I run one in the coming year, either, since I’m seriously considering a venture into the ultra world. We shall see.
- Put in a beautiful backyard.We’re working on it. We didn’t make as much progress this summer as we’d hoped to, since we were never home, but we got the tree trimmed, we’re getting a shed delivered next week, and we plan to get in sod and sprinklers this fall.
Since there’s no real yard yet, I drew you a picture. It’s okay to be amazed by my Paint skills. - Visit my grandparents more. Fail. I saw them at Thanksgiving and Christmas and once this summer. I’m bad at familying.
- Make more local friends. Also bad at friending.
- And continue growing the friendships that I have. See above.
- Hang out with our neighbors. Bad at neighboring, too.
- Volunteer. I took a baby step in this direction, giving the local Hospice my information… but they never contacted me and I never pursued it. Add “volunteering” to the list of things I’m bad at.
- Run the stairs at Red Rocks. Hey hey, I accomplished one! This was when I ran with Amy, and neither of us took pictures, but I promise it happened.
- Go white-water rafting. Still haven’t. Still want to.
- Get a new computer. Two goals done! I finally had to break down and buy one, because I couldn’t get anything accomplished on my old laptop.
- Go on a girls’ trip. Half-successful. Three of us went wine tasting in Palisade last spring, but we were missing our fourth wheel Lindsey, so it wasn’t complete. With everyone having babies and such, I’m not sure that it’ll happen this year, either.
- Go to California. Not done yet. Maybe next spring or summer. If not, I’m okay with it…. as long as I get to see Lindsey somehow.
- Buy a china cabinet. Still something I want to do, but I doubt it will happen in the next 12 months (See #5).
- Run a race with my brother.Guess what? I haven’t done this one either. I’m the worst.
- Get a massage. Nope. But my awesome mother-in-law bought me a spa day for my birthday. The salon recently lost their massage therapist, but they might have another one hired by the end of the month, when our appointment is. So maaaybe I can cross this one off, too.
- Restain our deck. DONE! Boom. No picture to prove it, because who wants to look at a deck picture, but it’s done.
- Eat at Fruition. This is another one that I haven’t accomplished and don’t really care if I do. I think I was getting desperate to get to 30.
- Find or invent a tofu recipe that my husband will eat. I’m not sure which is more far-fetched: this goal or the 3-hour marathon.
- Visit the wildlife sanctuary in Hudson. Steeee-rike. .
- Hike into the Roubideau Canyon with my family. No, and I still REALLY want to. Dad and I were just reminiscing about the first time we did this hike, when I was just a little kid.
- Take our nieces on a mini-vacation. People are over-scheduled these days. Also, excuses are easy.
- Go rock climbing either outdoors or on a wall. Can someone please teach me to rock climb? Pretty please?
- Go for a trail run. DONE. Several times, in fact. And I plan to do more and more and more.
I even ran a trail RACE! At NIGHT! Photo credit: Chris Boyack of Colorado Photo Company - Stand up on waterskis. At least I tried this one. Waterskiing is hard, apparently.
- Go to Pawnee Buttes. The Buttes are still about and hour and a half away. I still haven’t gone. I fail. Again.
So, that’s embarrassing. I have a LOT to do this year!
Are you ever bad at accomplishing goals you set for yourself?
Can you help me do any of these things? Please?
Rural Running Redhead 
Glad to see you are willing to forego the half PR for the ultra! It’s funny how goals shift. If you are loving trail running, it’s a move that makes sense!
Too funny about the tofu recipe! I would have to put it in chili with meat in order to disguise it well enough to pass my hubby.
Oh, that’s a good idea. Maybe I will succeed yet!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!
I like how you reassessed your goals. I’ve have definitely reassessed my goals in the past couple of years. Sometimes we add things and delete things. We are the same person we were a year ago!
I can’t wait to learn more about the ultra venue you may be taking 🙂
Have a great birthday!!! 🙂
Thanks, Heather! And the ultra is still just something I’m toying with, but we’ll see!
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! this is an awesome list of goals. as someone who just turned 31, i would like to tell you a secret us 30-somethings arent supposed to tell 20-somethings…. life gets better in the 30s- shhh:) you suddenly get better at life, and care less about the little things and just get happier. its amazing. you’ll love it. also- there’s plenty of time to do all these things once you get here too you know 🙂
Thanks, Charlotte! I keep telling my husband I’m having a third-life crisis because I feel like I need to do ALL THE THINGS… even though the number of my age is actually not going to change anything.
Happy Birthday! And yes, I can verify that you ran Red Rocks, even without a photo. I don’t make these lists, really, because, well, no good reason. But I end up doing cool stuff that I never would have thought about doing so I am always happy I do things after the fact, rather than look at it in anticipation, if that makes sense?
That does make sense! Maybe that’s what I should do, since clearly making the list hasn’t made me do anything different.
Happy Birthday!!! If I lived in CO I’d do basically all of these with you. This make me want to go waterskiing again… it’s been years!
Maybe you should come back to CO so I can cross some things off my list!
Twist my arm! 😉
Happy Birthday! Those are awesome goals, and you still have a year!
Happy Birthday! 🙂 hey at least you stained your deck, lol. Mine looks like a crummy mess!
We should’ve done ours a year earlier, but at least it’s done now.
Happy happy happy birthday! I think you should kill two birds with one stone and come to California and visit the ocean for a second time! Come visit me and we will run on the beach.
Okay! Let’s do it!
We seem to be on the same wavelength, as I just wrote a post yesterday about how I’m having trouble defining goals that really matter to me. Like you, I think it’s easy to come up with them… but if they aren’t meaningful to you, you’ll never do them.
Hope you had a FABULOUS birthday!!!
I thought the same thing when I read your post!
Happy Birthday!
And you know I’m all over enabling ultras + trail running! 🙂
I will definitely be seeking your advice and run-abling if I decide to do an ultra!
I want to help!! I haven’t been to Pawnee Buttes either, so I see a road trip coming on this fall! Maybe after your race?
Yes, we definitely need to go out there! I don’t think there’s much hiking and such, but we should at least go see it!
Happy Birthday, Cassie!! It is amazing how goals can change and get reprioritized over time. Although you did not meet a lot of your goals, it’s really neat to see you reflect on them a year later and see where you are (and whether the goal is still important). Would you take any of these goals off your list for this next year? Are there any you would add?
Thanks! I think I’d get rid of some of them — the half-marathon and the restaurant, for instance. And I’d add quite a few things, as long as I give myself more than a year to accomplish them!
Happy birthday! I love how you made this list… I thought about doing this before I turned 30 but never got to it… maybe now I need to make a before 40 list ( I have 10 years to work on it!) I also need to work on saving money… I’m the worst. You deserve to get more massages… they make such a difference!
Massages are just so expensive, and there aren’t many places to get them around here. There are a lot of things on my more long-term list, so maybe a before-40 list would’ve been more realistic.
Happy (belated) Birthday! Even if you haven’t hit those goals, at least you have some and are making progress on most of them. Also, I am bad at friending too.
Thanks! Why is friending so hard once you’re past 22?