Monthly Update

Today is August 23, 2013, exactly two months since my 29th birthday and the beginning of my 30x30 Challenge.  So here's an update on my progress so far!

1. Attend Sunday night church at least one night a month - This happened last month and will happen again this upcoming Sunday.  So far, so good!
2. Clean out and organize the office closet - Taylor and I did an initial round of this a few weeks ago.  So while the closet is not totally cleaned out, much less organized, progress has been made in this area.
3. Complete the coursework for my doctoral program - My last semester of coursework officially started this week.  I'm already counting down the weeks until I am finished with it!!
4. Complete the gallery wall in my house - After at least a month of neglect, I actually plan to work on this again this weekend.
5. Create an implement a safety "plan" for the house - Nope, nothing has happened here yet.  Maybe I'll start thinking about it this next month?
6. Defend the proposal for my dissertation - Still hoping to do this in Spring 2014!
7. Deep clean and purge the house of extra junk - Haven't started working on this either...
8. Finally finish watching "Lost" (Accomplished July 27, 2013)
9. Find and buy the perfect little black dress - Again, I have not done this either.
10. Get pedicures with my sisters - Maybe before Christmas or Valentine's Day?  Or for Anna's birthday?
11. Give blood (Accomplished August 9, 2013)
12. Go on a fancy dinner date with my husband - We'll probably do this for his birthday.  Anyone have suggestions of places we should visit?  I was thinking about Vast, at the top of the Devon Tower, but the more ideas, the better!
13. Go to a midnight movie - This is so happening in November!  Catching Fire, whoo-hoo!!
14. Go to Six Flags with a group of friends - Someday?  I have no idea when...
15. Have a certain amount of money in my retirement fun - Wow, I am 89% of the way to accomplishing this goal!  I'll definitely achieve this in another month or so...
16. Have a certain amount of money in our savings account - And I am 56% of the way to accomplishing this goal.
17. Hold a newborn baby (Accomplished July 10, 2013)
18. Keep a regular prayer journal - Oops, haven't start this yet!  Definitely need to get on it.
19. Make extra payments on my husband's student loans - We are still going strong with this.
20. Make extra payments on our mortgage - And we are doing well with this too.
21. Participate in/practice "Meatless Mondays" - This is also going well.
22. Pass my qualifying examination (Accomplished July 23, 2013)
23. Read the entire Bible in one year - I am actually about two weeks behind on my reading plan, so this is something I should really try to catch up on this weekend.
24. Run five 5K races - Two out of the five are done!  And I may be doing the Color Run in October?  Whatever the next one is, it should be fun!!
25. Run a 10K race - Still not sure when I am going to do this...
26. Run a half marathon - I'm hoping to do this in about four weeks.  Eek!!
27. Start a blog (Accomplished June 23, 2013)
28. Take a Barre 3 exercise class - I have everything I need to do this, I just need to actually get it done!
29. Teach a Bible class at my church - Oh, this will be finished in about a week.  I'll be sure to make a post about what we taught and how it went once the class is over.
30. Volunteer at Breakfast on Boulevard - Maybe I should try to do this around Thanksgiving time?

So while there are several things that I still need to think about and plan for, I have actually accomplished almost 17% of the items on the list.  I'd say that's probably right on track to get everything accomplished before my 30th birthday!

And happy weekend, everyone!

Second 5K: The Midnight Streak

Last Saturday, August 10, 2013, I ran my second 5K race of the 30x30 Challenge.  This race was called the Midnight Streak.  And yes, it was a late night race (starting at 11 p.m.), but no, we did not run naked.  In fact, the tee-shirt that was given to each registrant was a very nice DriFit shirt, so that made the decision to register that much easier. 

To my delight, my husband Taylor and our friend John said they would run it with me!  So we all signed up, I picked up our packets, and we headed to the fairgrounds all decked out in our Midnight Streak garb.

Shortly before 11 p.m., Taylor, John, and I found spots close to the starting line.  But as soon as the gun went off, I ran ahead of the boys and didn't look back.  I don't know if it was all of my half marathon training, or the fact that the sun was not beating down on me, but it was my best-feeling race to date.  I set a good, quick pace from the beginning and stuck with it until the end.  And when I finally crossed the finish line, I was thrilled to see a brand new PR - 30 minutes and 11 seconds!  That's a pace of 9:43 per mile, so I was very excited to get a time that was below a 10 minute mile.

I saw the boys a few minutes later when they crossed the finish line together.  Taylor looked great - tired, of course, but not like he was going to pass out or anything.  So that means he didn't hate me as much the next day when he was sore and could hardly walk!

My next race is the half marathon!  It's scheduled for Sunday, September 15 at 6:30 a.m.  Taylor and John want to run again, but not a half marathon, so I think they are going to sign up for the 5K.  And we've already started talking about our October race.  John wants to do the Color Run on October 5.  Anyone out there thinking of/interested in doing the same?  I've never really done a "novelty run," so I'm not sure if it's my thing.  But it's worth a try, right?

#8: Finally finish watching "Lost"

Well, I did it.  After (what seemed like) years of watching the TV show "Lost," I finally finished it on Saturday, July 27.  So I guess I can officially cross that item off the list.

8. Finally finish watching "Lost" (Accomplished July 27, 2013!)

So why am I just now writing a blog post about it?  Well, I think I needed some time to process the finale before I felt like I could write about it.  See, when I started the 30x30 Challenge a little over a month ago, I was an episode or two into the final season of the show.  (I know, I was about four years behind the rest of the world and didn't even start watching "Lost" until it showed up as a live streaming option on Hulu Plus and Netflix).  And you know what's funny?  When I told people that I had started watching it, almost everyone said, "Oh, don't bother" or "Just stop now" or "There's no need to watch it after season one or two."  But I didn't listen.  I watched.  I got sucked in.  I cried during nearly every John Locke and Jin and Sun episode.  I finally understood the meaning of "Not Penny's boat."  And I grew fascinated with the elusive characters of Desmond Hume and Benjamin Linus. 

So I kept watching.  And I kept wondering.  Would they ever get off the island?  What would happen if they stopped pushing that button?  Would Desmond and Penny ever be reunited?  Was Ben Linus a good guy or a bad guy?  Was John Locke a good guy or a bad guy?  How did the island keep moving and traveling through time?  What happened to Claire?  Why did they have to come back to the island?  Was John Locke really dead?  How did Sayid come back to life?  Who/what the heck was the Smoke Monster?  WHAT ABOUT THAT DARN POLAR BEAR?  And again, would they ever get off the island??

As I got closer and closer to the end of the series, I hoped these and more questions would be answered.  But fortunately, I didn't hold my breath.  Enough people had told me that I would be disappointed by the finale that I wasn't really sure what to expect.  Then, finally, my husband (who had already seen the whole series) and I pushed "play" and started watching the last episode of the last season.  And it seemed pretty good.  But with 15 minutes of the episode left, as Kate was sitting in the car with Jack and telling him that he can go into the church whenever he is ready and that everyone else is waiting for him inside, Taylor paused the show.

Me: "Why did you pause it?"
Taylor: "Well, before we watch the end, I just want you to remember how good the show has been so far.  And remember how much you have loved the characters."

Uh-oh.  That sounded like a disclaimer to me.

Taylor: "In fact, we can stop it right now.  You don't even have to watch the last 15 minutes."
Me: "What?  Honey, I have to watch it.  I mean, I can't watch six seasons of the show and not watch the last 15 minutes.  Besides, it's on my 30x30 list to finish it."
Taylor: "Okay, I just wanted to be sure..."

And he pushed "play."  In disbelief and total confusion, I watched.  I listen closely.  I tried to take in all of the information I could to figure out what was going on.  But then, it ended.  It ended with little explanation or conclusive evidence of what all had really happened on the island.

Taylor stared at me as my jaw hung open and my brow grew furrowed.

Taylor: "Well...?"
Me: "Uh... well... I have no words."

Almost a week later, I still don't have many words.  I won't say that I hated it, or that the ending was downright horrible, but I will say that I am frustrated.  There were so many questions left unanswered, and what bothers me the most is that I feel like the writers really didn't have any answers for many of those questions.  They just kept creating mysteries to keep the show interesting, then finally realized that they had to end it, but had no explanation to end it.  So they just ended it.

Regardless, I'm glad I watched the show.  The scenery and special effects were great.  I loved the acting and the character development.  And I was intrigued by the mystery and the storytelling.  But it will be a while before I jump into another relationship with a J.J. Abrams TV show.  Because let's face it... when it comes to TV shows, that man just breaks my heart.

For those of you who have watched "Lost," what do you think about the series?