Six Months

I don’t know how many of you were reading my blog six months ago. If you were you might remember my 30 by 30 post. The list by itself is also a page in the upper right hand corner if you ever just want to look over it. So far I think I’m doing pretty well. I’m working on several of my goals. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I have 6 years and I don’t have to do everything at once. Here’s an update on my progress so far. I won’t go through every number, just the ones I’ve been thinking about or have made progress on.

1. Travel to India. This is so close to becoming a reality I can taste it. Really it deserves it’s own post and I will work on one in the near future. Basically it’s been my dream to go on a mission trip to India since I was 12 (half my life) and we have one set up to go in October.

We are working on fundraising right now. We’ve had some very generous donations from some amazing people. We’re still a ways off from the total needed though. If you have any ideas for fundraisers please send them my way. You can get more info at HelpSend.Us

2. Become a mother: Still not ready for this one. I have time ::grin::

4. Read all books on Time 100 best novels list: I have a few books marked off but honestly they’re ones I read prior to making the list. I need to step up on this one.

5. Run a marathon: I’ve taken the first step. Or steps. Check out Running Between Tweets for updates on mine and all my fellow tweeps progress.

9. Visit every US state: I have 12 more to go. I still have my flight benefits so getting to the states isn’t a problem. The main thing is having a place to stay once I get there. I don’t have tons of cash but I have so many wonderful blog/Twitter friends spread all over the country.

Would any of you from the states that I’m missing be willing to host me? Even just over night so I could meet you and buy a spoon (yes I collect spoons. What?) I don’t need anything fancy. A floor and a blanket would be more than enough. Who’s first? ::wink::

10. See all movies on Time 100 best movies list: I’ve gotten about a quarter of the way through the list thanks to our Blockbuster online membership. I’ve loved some and been bored to tears on others.

14. Earn an award with Phoebe: I’m entering us in our first rally obedience trial the middle of this month. I’ll let you know how it goes!

16. Join a book club: I get to mark one off! Woot! I’ve written about my book club a few times so you already know I have met some really neat girls there including the one who invited me to be on the soccer team.

I don’t know that I expected to have so much fun. I love reading but the book club is so much more than just discussing books. In fact, as we’ve gone on I could almost care less about the books that I’ve read. None of them are probably ones I’d pick out myself. The great part is, it doesn’t matter because the group of friends we’ve built is priceless. It’s just what I didn’t know I needed.

26. Keep a blog or journal daily for one year: That is where the title of this blog comes in. As of today I have successfully completed six months of that year on SkyWaitress.com. I’m actually really impressed that I’ve come this far.

Before this I was always a sporadic blogger. I would post several times a week for awhile and then go for months with nothing. I felt like if I didn’t have anything big to blog about I couldn’t post.

Now I’ve realized that isn’t the case. Granted, all of my posts haven’t been stellar but I feel like I’ve learned so much and improved as a writer and blogger by making this commitment. There are days when I have no idea what to blog about but I sit down and start writing anyway. And sometimes? Those are some of my best posts. Apparently my brain has a lot rolling around in it.

I don’t pretend to be a professional blogger or to have everything figured out. I am having fun though. I’ve also gotten more involved with Twitter and have made some wonderful friends out of it. I seriously wonder what I did without all you guys. I look forward to the next six months of blogging and beyond.

I am so excited about how far I’ve come. I have a long ways to go and a lot to accomplish in the next 5 1/2 years but I’m confident I can pull it off. I’m doing really well. Working through this list has already improved who I am as a person. I am much more focused and excited about life. I have goals and I am working towards them. I highly recommend everyone make a list similar to this. It can fit where ever you are in life and drive you to where you want to be. You’ll be surprised how inspiring it is.

Letting myself dream and get excited is the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s already taken me places and I can’t wait to see where I’ll be in six months, a year and on my 30th birthday. I have a feeling, it’s going to be somewhere amazing.

Cuteness En Masse

Once a month there is a papillon play group at the dog training facility I take Phoebe to. She always has such a blast and comes home exhausted (bonus!). I’m fairly certain there is nothing cuter than a herd of papillons. They’re so fun to watch. See for yourself.

Wordless Wednesdays: Rainy Summer Days

Wordless Wednesdays: Curious

Help!

I need some outside opinions. We loooove Phoebe to death. She is such a sweet, good tempered, pretty puppy. The breeders we got her from are great. Ever since I fell in love with her I’ve debated getting another one. If I do I’d love to get it from the same breeder because I’d be more assured it would have a similar temperament to Phoebe. Here is my list of pros and cons:

Pros:

• A buddy for Phoebe: I’ve been out of work almost the entire year we’ve had Phoebe. She’s used to having me around all day almost every day. In a couple of weeks I’m going to be (FINALLY) starting a new job. If Phoebe had a little buddy to keep her company she wouldn’t be as lonely when Joel and I are both at work.
• A new member of our family: I never knew I could love a little creature as much as I love Phoebe. I would love to add to our little family.
• Another dog to train: I loved training Phoebe. It was a lot of hard work and it was a lot of fun for me. Phoebe has all the basic commands and a lot of tricks down. It would be fun to start fresh on another little puppy.
• This is the breeders last litter: This is the very biggest reason I feel so much pressure to get one now. I want one from this breeder because I can be confident I’d be getting another great dog.
• Look at these face!

How can you resist that wittle face?

Cons:

• $$$$: This is the biggest one. It isn’t just the initial cost of the dog. It’s also the vet bills, the spaying or neutering, the extra accessories and the puppy classes. We don’t have a lot of extra cash right now. I am finally starting a new job so we’ll have a second income again. It’s still hard to think about spending that much money on something we don’t actually “need” right now.
• Early puppy phase: I did not enjoy being woken up several times in the middle of the night to whining and crying. I’m not a nice person when I don’t get enough sleep.
• Housebreaking: The housebreaking sucks. We finally have Phoebe reliably housebroken. Not loving the idea of starting over from scratch. Although we would know better than to try and liter box train it this time. That would probably make things go a lot faster.

So yeah, I’m completely torn. The hugest thing is the money. We probably shouldn’t. But there are a lot of good reasons to get it now. Have I mentioned it’s the breeder’s last litter?! Ugh. Please weigh in and tell me if I’m being totally crazy here.

Also? Look at the adorableness!

WANT!