So a few years back I decided to give myself a 30 Before 30 Challenge where I have to do as many things on my list as possible before I turn 30.  Well, I'm 30 now so let's see how much of those 30 things I accomplished by highlighting some of the best ones! You can see the original list in the original post but here are my proudest accomplishments:

Buy A House - Completed June 2015
I couldn't be more proud of myself for being a homeowner.  My house brings me SO MUCH JOY!

Become Debt Free - Completed April 2015
One of my major goals in life was to become debt free with my credit cards. And I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Run a 5K - Complete August 2014
Never in a million years did I think I'd enjoy running enough to participate in a 5k.  Lo and Behold... I did!

Attend Lucky FABB Blog Conference - Completed October 2013
I had always wanted to attend a blog conference and boy am I glad I did.  It changed my life. I made so many new real life friends that I didn't even know existed before and some that I knew online and now I'm close with in person, including my best friend Monica of Jersey Girl Texan Heart!

Embrace Minimalism - Completed August 2013
I always wanted to embrace minimalism and I did.  My life is a lot better thanks to that. I always embraced the KonMari Method and can't even put into words how truly life changing it is.  Google it... read the book... whatever, just trust me.

So I also have a new challenge for my 30's.  It's called the 30 in my 30's challenge and I'll be posting about it later this week so make sure you check it out!!

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Um....So This Happened....

So, as many of you may already know, my plans after paying off my debt was to buy a house.   We have been looking for several weeks and it was so discouraging. Great homes were going off the market so fast and it was becoming nearly impossible to find a house with our main needs (and a few wants) and the perfect location.  So as of last Thursday evening I told my realtor, Amanda Marzella of Exit Realty,  that I was going to take a break for a little and give it some more time to wait for new houses to come on the market.  

Then Friday at work, a coworker asked me how the house search was coming and I explained that we just couldn't find anything "just right" for us so we were kind of putting it on hold for now.  Then I said "I know something perfect will pop up just for us."   Then I thought to myself "I bet I just jinxed myself."

So lo and behold I get back to my cubicle and I have an email notification from Amanda.  It's a house in my DREAM neighborhood.  Yes, back when I had my apartment I used to take walks in the surrounding neighborhood and imagine myself living in those houses. It's always been an ideal location and I've told people numerous times that my dream neighborhood would be that one.   I was so scared so I clicked into the listing and WOW - it had a 2 car garage AND new hardwood floors AND central air!!! I sent it to James right away, keeping in mind what Amanda had said just days before (If we find one we like we need to act FAST).   He agreed to a showing and Amanda had one set up for 6:30 that day. I was seriously thrilled and could barely focus at work.  The price of the house was a steal as well!  

We fell even more in love after the showing.   The inspection was yesterday (Thursday) so I wanted to wait till today to make sure everything was still going to go through.   Settlement is mid June... it's so true that "Life comes at you fast." These next few weeks will be a whirlwind but I can't wait. And I am so excited because I will have tons more posts from now on about the house, decorating, organizing, etc.   


So stay tuned.....

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I'm DEBT FREE | How I Did It

Yes, that's right.... I did it!!!! If you've been following my debt snowball posts over the years you'll remember that I was chipping away at my credit card debt HARDCORE! It has finally paid off.

In September 2012, I had $20k in credit card debt. In October 2014 I had it down to $10,169 and as of April 17th, 2015 I am 100000% DEBT FREE!!!

It is an amazing feeling.   But I wanted to answer the question everyone has been asking (besides how I got into debt, which I explained here)... how did I do it?  I've written before about how to pay off your debt but here is how I did it.

Also - all of the links in this post go back to articles I wrote about my journey and some advice on the whole process.

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Bucket List Check// Finished My Tattoo

One of the things on my 30 Before I'm 30 Bucket List was to get my paw tattoo finished. I already had Pixie and Grace's pawprints so I wanted to get Stella and Rocky's added.

I went to Anali Delaney at Never Say Die Tattoo in Harrisburg, PA.   It was super fast and she did a great job!   I even had her touch up the 2 pawprints I already had.

This tattoo means a lot to me because my dogs are obviously like my children.  And I want to have them with me forever wherever I go, so this is just one symbolic way of doing that.


Do you have any tattoos? What do they mean to you?

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I RAN MY FIRST 5K!!!!

Me and my friend (James' sister) Vicki, one of the organizers.

AHHHHHH! I did it I did it!! I ran my first 5K and I'm checking it off my 30 Before I'm 30 Bucket List!  It was for the Central Pennsylvania Free to Breathe Lung Cancer Awareness Run/Walk in Harrisburg, PA on August 23, 2014. 

Below is my time and ranking. I came in 52 overall, 7th in my age group, and 11th in my gender!!

OMG

I am so stoked and proud of myself.  A year ago, I never thought I would ever ever ever run a 5K.  It was super nerve-racking. The night before I was so wound up and excited that I could barely sleep!   The morning of, my alarm didn't go off so I woke up an hour later than I wanted to but it kin of helped kickstart me. 

It was a rainy day and I was worried that would affect me or even make me slip going over the bridge which was part of our route. 

At the starting line!

I had my playlist all ready to go so once I hit play there was only a few seconds before we all took off.  Initially I freaked myself out because I was running towards the front which I guess I didn't think I would be doing that.  For the first 15-20 seconds I remember my gut feeling as if it was twisted and shaking inside of me.  I kept thinking "Am I going too fast?"  or "Am I on the right side of the path?"  "Can I do this?"  I finally just told myself to shutup and just run and go with my feelings. 

I had to take a few second walk breaks to catch my breathe but it wasn't as bad as I thought. 

This was what I initially planned to wear, but then I switched into my Bella Capris!

Oh and I packed my inhaler, an ice pack for my achilles tendon, and a brace which I had to put on afterwards!

My leggings were the Bella Ladies Capri Fit Legging from ApparelnBags.com which I had got free from the company for a review!  They were so comfortable and breathable so it really helped me run to my best ability!

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I Learned to Meditate!

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photo by caucas	via PhotoRee

One of the things on my 30 before I'm 30 bucket list was to learn to meditate. And thanks to Zen180 I've done that!

Zen180 is a collection of CDs for different aspects of meditation. It also comes with an informative booklet! The CDs are:
Relaxed Mind: Meditating to this helps you reach a serene and relaxed state of mind. I found it very soothing and it wasn't hard to relax with the lovely sounds!

Creative Mind: This helped heighten the sense of creativity and inspiration. I found it very inspiring and it's hard to describe, but in a way it helped me feel happier when I was done.

Focused Mind - This helps with serious focus and experiencing the ability of super-learning!

Awakened Mind: This is for a boost of energy and positivity!

Compassionate Mind: This helps build a sense of kindness and compassion.

I have to say that this was amazing. I loved that there was a checklist in the back of the booklist to use to track your daily meditation activity. It's true that meditation isn't the easiest thing but you can master it with practice. For the first two weeks it was primarily 5 minute meditations. It was definitely difficult to keep a clear mind in the beginning...lots of thoughts crept in even when I tried hard to focus on my breathing or an object in my mind.

I really loved that this gradually builds up to longer and longer meditation session times and while I haven't completed the entire program just yet (I'm half way through I'd say), I love that I have pretty much tamed my mind to allow me to meditate and focus!
So here's what I'll break down for you..because I always wondered what exactly is involved in meditation...You don't even need music to do it, but it's easier when you are learning....But what you really do is just sit comfortably somewhere....make sure you have no distractions like cell phones or the TV. Close your eyes, and focus on your breathing..... or if that's not helping you can just imagine an object, like a tree, or falling rain. Anything that makes you zone out in a sense to wear you aren't thinking any thoughts but just kind of "pausing" your brain. At first it's hard and if thoughts creep in don't get frustrated, just kind of imagine yourself dusting them away.

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Photoshoot with Me & the Dogs!

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One of the big deal items on my 30 Before I'm 30 Bucket List was to get a photoshoot in this year with me and all 4 dogs. I have some good quality photos with the 3 girls but none really with Rocky since I got him. I was so elated when a friend agreed to do a simple shoot with me.

It was quite the workout, trying to get all 4 dogs to calm down and focus simultaneously. Here are some shots from the shoot:

I hope you enjoyed them!  And thank you to Leslie for taking these!

Bucket List Item: Embracing Minimalism

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I got to cross another thing off my Bucket List recently!  I have embraced minimalism!  Before you start shaking your head, let me explain that minimalism doesn’t mean having nothing except, like 4 items in your home…it means making more with less.   Do I really need all the stuff I have?   No!  After having to move several times over the past couple of years, it really put in to perspective how much crap I had that I didn’t need or use.

photo by emdot	via PhotoRee

Here are some ways I began to embrace minimalism.

I sold my dvds and my dvd rack.  I didn’t even watch them all and some were unopened from when I bought them on sale.  

I haven’t bought any new clothing and I got rid of the excess of what I already had.   I used ebay to sell handbags and shoes and some nice clothing items I had barely worn (if at all).  I also cut down on the amount of duplicates I had with, for example, black tshirts….do I really need 5? No, so I got rid of the 3 rattiest ones and kept 2.

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My Carrie Bradshaw Moment! (& a check off my Bucket List!)

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So in case you missed my photo of it, the other day on my Wine & Cheese Cruise I had my very own Carrie Bradshaw moment!! This also happened to be something on my 30 Before I'm 30 Bucket List and I got to cross it off! Woohoo!!

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My 30 Before I Turn 30 List

1. Go to a museum
2. Stop Smoking - July 2012
3. Buy a house - (June 2015)
4. Visit another country (even Canada)
5. Building up a decent savings fund
6. Sponsor a child - September 2012
7. Go camping overnight
8. Have my own Carrie Bradshaw moment (July 2013)
9. Get wisdom teeth removed  - March 2013
10. Get published in a print magazine - (December 2013)  
11. Visit the World Trade Center
12. Learn to meditate - October 2013
13. Buy a gun - February 2013
14. Run a 10K
15. Go Whale Watching
16. Pay off all my credit cards (Or at least all but one) - March 2014
17. Get professional photos done with my pups- September 2013
18. Pay off my car - December 2012
19. Attend BlogHer Conference
20. Attend IFB Con
21. Go to a shooting range - February 2013
22. Get 5,000 blog followers
23. Run a 5K- August 2014
24. See Jerry Seinfeld - November 2012
25. Get Rocky and Stella's paw prints added to Pixie and Grace's on my tattoo - October 2014
26. Attend Lucky Fabb - October 2013
27. Embrace Minimalism - August 2013
28. Visit Kentucky/Tennessee
29.  Lose 10 pounds and NOT gain it back again  -(March 2013)
30. Go to Fashion Week in New York