My Updated Cradle List

Last year I made a cradle list of things I wanted to attempt to do before having kids. After looking back through all of my old posts from this past year, that post really stuck out at me. It's been almost a year since I wrote it, and we've actually managed to accomplish most of the items on the list. I decided it's time to review what was on the list and see if there's anything to add.

1) Travel as much as possible and visit friends that live out of town.
On my last cradle list I said that my hypothetical travel list includes: New York, DC, Vegas, Chicago, North Carolina, and somewhere to go skiing. Oh and of course Italy and Greece...but I’ll keep wishing on that one.

We've been so blessed to be able to travel to a lot of amazing places in the 5 years we've been together. We've been to Cozumel on a cruise, St. Lucia on our honeymoon, San Francisco and Napa Valley for our one year anniversary, and the Bahamas on a family trip this past summer. We are also blessed to have friends that live in interesting places. We've visited friends in Nashville and West Palm Beach (both very awesome places to travel!).

This year we have definite plans to go to Cabo for one last all inclusive beach vacation as well as Annapolis, MD for my cousin's wedding. My mom has been talking about a trip to New York or DC while we're in Maryland to visit my good friends Allison and Amelia. Hopefully one of those will come true! :-)

For now, I guess most of the items on my hypothetical travel list will have to wait. Maybe they can move to a bucket list in a few years.

2) Buy a house.   Make a few renovations to our home.

Check! It's probably not our forever home, but it's absolutely perfect for now. We've lived here for over a year and haven't done a thing except paint our bedroom and fix up the garden. We want to put down new laminate floor in the spare bedrooms, move our horrible shed to the side of the yard instead of the middle, and create an herb garden (among other things I'm sure).

3) Do something crazy and spontaneous.   Learn to go with the flow.
I guess I need to do a better job defining this one. In my world, spontaneous is more along the lines of trying a new recipe rather than something like going skydiving. Maybe there's a happy medium...like doing things I'm not 100% comfortable with and trying new things. I'm a big planner, so it's difficult for me when plans change unexpectedly or are out of my control. I guess this is more of a personal goal to learn how to go with the flow.

Zip lining on our honeymoon was definitely a test of my ability to go with the flow!

4) PUPPY!   Spend as much time as possible with our puppy.

Check! Adopting Buster was seriously the best decision we ever made. If there's anything that makes you feel more like an adult, it's being fully responsible for a life (even if it's a dog's life). He makes our life so happy and I honestly can't even remember what this house was like before him! Especially our wiggle butt greetings every time we come home.

5) Sit courtside at a basketball game.
Since the Hornets season just started, I have high hopes of accomplishing this goal this year. My dad's company seats are amazing regardless, but it would be nice to actually sit on the court for a game. Who knows, maybe this year is the year!

6. Continue to strengthen my relationship with my husband, family, and friends.

It seems as if my cradle list stayed just about the same as before. Guess I better get cracking on accomplishing all of these things before we have kids! :-)

Uncharted

I love this video. I love Sara Bareilles (which I've mentioned before, I'm sure). And I love this song.

I can't stop listening to Uncharted this week. I'm not sure why, but it's helping me through a lot of craziness that goes along with the beginning of the new school year.

PS: Sara is absolutely amazing live. If you ever get the chance to see her, DO IT! I might be slightly obsessed, but I just connect with her music so much.

Changes

Well, I did it. I chopped off my hair! I've been wanting to do this for a really long time, and I'm so glad I did. I had short hair about three years ago and then I decided to grow it long for my wedding. After the wedding I cut it a little shorter and have kept around that length ever since.

Before

After

Short hair, how I've missed you! Ok, I know it's not THAT big of a change (and also not the best picture). My hairdresser has been wanting to cut my hair short for a while now. I think I made her day when I said I wanted it short and that she could do whatever she wanted. She said she wanted to do something similar to the Jennifer Aniston haircut - a very slightly inverted bob. I'm not sure I look much like Jennifer Aniston, but I CAN say that I feel like this haircut is very "me."

What do you think? Did my hairdresser get it right?

She must have done a pretty good job. Right after I got my hair cut, I went to The Educator (a teacher store) and was approached by a photographer. He said he wanted to take pictures of me shopping for an article in the paper. Good thing I didn't look like a hot mess! Now I know I could never make it was a celebrity and be followed around by cameras all of the time. He really felt like a paparazzi - it was creepy! I'll definitely post something about that if it actually comes out.

Anyone else?

If I hear one more thing about Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan, I'm going to scream. Especially now with so much going on in the world. My goodness.

The only bit of this madness I've enjoyed is Jon Cryer, Charlie Sheen's costar on Two and Half Men. These two videos crack me up!