30. Digially scan Chris and I's childhood photos, print them in a book

Finally, #30. Writing these posts has definitely been a bit brutal. I started them in November, and did a good chunk then. Then finals came and I didn't have time. Then I started up again in January, attempting to take a daily break from bar studying to watch Grey's Anatomy and write some posts, but then I quickly got too busy with the bar and stopped. The last batch was done during and after our big move (which I will post more on later . . .) so that is why they were so sporadic. But now, they are finally done and I can get to the fun stuff, completing the list. While writing these was kind of a pain in the butt, I think having them to look back on will be great so I can remember why I choose each one! So with out further ado . . .

#30. Digially scan Chris and I's childhood photos, print them in a book

This one sounds hard, but it won't be that bad. The various deal sites (think Groupon/Living Social) are always having great deals where you can pay $20-40 to send in 1000 printed photos and the company will digitize them for you. The hard part will be tracking down the photos.

The reason I want to do this is because (as you can probably tell by the last 3) I love photos. I hope for my house to always be filled with may photos of my family and friends and all of the memories that we share together. I think it would be nice to digitize the old photos, not only so I can use them throughout my house without worrying about ruining the originals, but also so my, bound to be curious, future children can look at them down the road to see what mom and dad looked like.

The plan is to scope out the deal sites until one of these deals comes up. Then I will try and get my hands on all the photos (from my mom and Chris's dad) so that they can all be digitized!

So there you have it, all 30 of them. Here's to completing them by the time I'm 30 . . . let the adventures begin!!

29. Digital scrapbook every year and print out the pages into books

This one will be pretty easy. I used to love paper scrapbooking, but never had the time or resources to make them look as good as my perfectionist self wanted them to be. Enter the digital era. Now they have digital scrapbooking where you can do just about everything you can with paper, but it is so much easier! If you don't like the color, you can change it with the click of a button. If you want a different background just go into the background and pick a different one. Digital scrapbooking also means not having to print and then cut up all of the digital photos.

I have this software that I bought last year:

So far I love it! Last winter I worked on (and almost completed) all of 2010. My hope is to catch up by doing 2011 and then one book with 2007-2009 (which will likely be less detailed). Then I hope to make time about 4 times per year to scrapbook the last season. I think getting in this habit will hopefully allow me to continue scrapbooking even after I turn 30. Then I can have beautiful picture books to look back on one day.

28. Buy a DSLR camera and learn how to use it

This one is one of my favorite on the list. I have always loved having cameras, and my parents never failed to give in to my ever-growing camera wish list every Christmas. I had a really nice SLR for a while, then came the digital age and I had a GIANT digital camera with something like 2 or 3 pathetic megapixels. After that I continuously got better and better point and shoot cameras. I liked them for their portability and I felt like I took more photos with them because they were easy to carry with me.

Enter the cell phone camera era. I waited and waited to upgrade my iPhone until it had the much promised better camera, and then it came out. The iPhone 4s with an 8 megapixel camera, and I bought it immediately. I haven't used my point and shoot since.

So I think it is time to enter the world of the DSLR. I think with the new stage in Chris and I's life we will be wanting to take more nice pictures, so it will be nice to have one around.

But the most important part of this one . . . learn how to use it. I don't want to be using the manual settings and taking normal pictures, that is what my iPhone is for. No, I want to take some classes or read some books and actually learn how to use it. That way, I can have beautiful pictures to capture all of the memories.

Now I just need to save up for the big purchase . . .

27. Complete 5 pinterest DIY projects

Ah, pinterest. What would I do without it?? It is like my file of great ideas that I hope to do/make/have one day.

However, if I never do/make/have anything that I have pinned, then I will have wasted half of my life away on pinterest for no reason.

So my hope is to to do at least 5 of the DIY projects I have pinned within the next four years. Hopefully I will do more, but you have to start somewhere . . .

26. Find 10 delicious freezer meals

When I was busy in law school I was always looking for quick meals to make. I kept reading on blogs about how freezer meals were the way to go for quick and easy meals, but I just didn't have the time and energy to devote to researching good meals and finding some that worked for Chris and I.

Well now that I am done with law school and will have a little bit of time on my hands while I will be job searching, I hope to find some good freezer meals that will work for Chris and I. That way when we hit our next busy season (both of us working + kids is bound to be busy) I will be ready with an arsenal of freezer meals.

25. Play halo with Chris, and try to enjoy it

When my husband and I met he wasn't a "gamer." He didn't have any game consoles nor any interest in obtaining any. Then we got married, and he stayed the same. Why game when you can play in the garage with tools and wires?

Enter my best friend Jill, and her husband Phil. You see Phil and Jill are gamers. They play all sorts of games, but they especially love halo (they call their x-box the halo machine . . .) So one night when we were bored at their house they brought out the halo machine and we all played. It was super fun (minus my less than ideal playing ability). After that, Chris was hooked.

The next day we went out and bought our own halo machine. And while Chris's love for halo continued to grow (he got really good at it!) I was not as much of a fan. I preferred playing Lego Star Wars (aka any game that takes no skill). Mostly because I am really horrible at games that require skill. In fact, I am so bad a halo that when the four of us play together they have special "laura" rules, like you can only kill me with a certain gun after the game is half way over. Yeah, I'm that bad.

But Chris enjoys the game so much, and so do Jill and Phil. So I would love to get better at it so I can play with them and enjoy it as well. But getting better requires playing. So that is why I put this on the list, I need to play and try to enjoy it, in hopes of actually getting good and having fun :)

24. Go without technology for a week (computer, phone, television, etc . . .)

Oh technology, what would I do without it? I can't remember the last time I didn't wake up and

check my e-mail, blogs, and Facebook. And then check it again an hour later, and so on and so forth throughout the day.

I think sometimes we get so consumed with technology that we forget that there are other things to do. Walks to be taken, books to be read, people to be met.

So with that, I am going to spend at least one day in the next four years (if not more) without any technology. And then I am going to subsequently blog about . . . oh the irony :)

23. Spend a day without doing anything productive

Two words could easily describe me: busy body :) I always have to have something productive to do, or I go crazy (and drive my husband crazy). So I always fill my days with things to do. Lists and projects and other things to fill my days. Chris is constantly trying to teach my how to just relax, so that I won't fill our entire weekend with things to do. So in an effort to try and learn to relax, and just be, I would like to spend an entire day doing nothing productive. I can read books and watch movies, and do whatever I want (so long as it is not something that would ever be on my to-do list!)

22. See a play at a small community theater

Chris and I love going to plays. He took me to my first one for my birthday one year and I have been hooked ever since.

We try and see one traveling broadway play a year, and when we lived in Minnesota, we went to the Guthrie a lot.

However, I have always wanted to go to small community play. I always think it sounds like fun, but I never make a point to seek one out. So I put it on the list to force me to find a good one for us to see. Who knows, maybe we will like it so much we will start going to more!

21. Find a new disc golf course in Texas

I seem to be finding a theme with my list.

Something I love and used to do a lot (disc golf)

But life has gotten in the way and I no longer do it (I blame law school).

Since we are now in a new location I think a good way to get myself back into playing disc golf would be to search out a new favorite disc golf course.

I think this is the one I will have us try first, it looks like lots of fun!

20. Go surfing again

I've only been surfing a total of three times in my entire life. The first time I didn't get up. The second time I took professional lessons and got up a ton of times (with the help of my instructor). The third time I rented a board and went out on my own and got up twice by myself. Each time (even the failed first time) I loved it.

I think it is the mixture of being in the ocean (I have always loved the water) and doing a sport where I can be competitive with myself (can I get up? how long can I stay up?) that makes me love it.

Since it has been a while since I surfed I put it on the list so I would be forced to search out a board rental and go again.

Looks like the list is going to be bringing us to the beach a lot, yay!

19. Canoe 2 new rivers/creeks with Chris and the puppies

Chris and I used to canoe a lot when we were dating, and we really enjoyed it. Then life got busy and we weren't able to do it as much.

However, last summer we decided to take the puppies out canoeing for a fun family adventure (and to try and wear Arty out, because he loves to swim!) We drove out to the St. Croix and set out. We were shocked at how much Arty swam. We kept pulling him into the boat and he would just jump back out and keep swimming next to us. He would head to shore and run a little, and then swim some more. I would say that he swam for about half of our 12 mile trip, it was crazy, and awesome!

Despite running into some crazy headwinds that made for a grueling last half of our trip, we still had lots of fun. So I put this one on the list because I would love for us to go on more adventures like this in the next couple of years.

18. Try stand up paddle boarding

This one has been on my "bucket list" for some time now. I love the water and I love surfing, so I think that stand-up paddle boarding would be really fun, especially on the ocean!

Hopefully Chris and I's new location will make beach weekends a regular thing so I will have more opportunities to try.

17. Conquer a mountain

I'm not exactly the outdoorsy type. I HATE camping. Sleeping on the ground while drenched in sweat because you are unable to shower, no thank you! However, I do enjoy a good hike. I'm always up for an adventurous day in the fresh air . . . so long as a good shower and a bed are waiting for me at the end of the day :)

However, I feel like I haven't been on a good, mountain-climbing hike in a really long time. The last one I can remember is the backpacking trip to Michigan that I took in 10th grade!

So with that in mind #17 came into being. It's time for me to go on a good mountain conquering hike again!

16. Take a Trip with my Dad

My dad and I are a lot alike in many ways. One thing we both enjoy is a good trip to a museum. We can wander with the best of them, reading up on every bit of history that can be taken in. This makes us good traveling buddies. While my sister always wanted to hang out in the sun and go shopping, my dad and I were always up for a good museum . . . or adventure to the Grand Canyon (that's not to say I don't enjoy shopping and sun with the best of them!)

Our most resent trip was a really awesome trip to New York. We wandered around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Took the subway from our Queens hotel to hang out in the beautiful Botanical Gardens. We even ate dinner at a fancy restaurant where I met Harold from Top Chef (he was always my favorite . . . I may have had a little crush on him :)). It was such a fun time, just hanging out with my dad and seeing the sights.

Since it has been 4 years since that trip, I wanted to make it a point to go on another in the next four years. I think #12 (Washington D.C.) would be an excellent one for us, but we shall see where we end up.

15. Visit old friends (Kentucky or Oklahoma)

Growing up we move a lot. I was born in Tulsa, OK only to move to Lexington, KY when I was 5. Three houses later we headed back to OK when I was 10. Then at the age of 12, and two houses later, we headed up to Minnesota where we stayed for a while (in one house, thank goodness). Then I went back to KY for my first year of college. Safe to say I made a lot of good friends along the way. Some were pen pals for a while, but as I got older, and life got busier, Facebook became the only way I stayed connected to them (thank goodness for Facebook).

In comes #15. I would love to head back to either Oklahoma or Kentucky and reconnect. Whether it be Jennifer and Jamie Hall in OK or Natalie and Mallory in KY, I want to make it a point to head back and reconnect.