May Day and Beyond

It's officially May. Call me Captain Obvious, but I felt it needed to be mentioned. As an educator, this is the time of year that suddenly feels like a slippery slide has sloped its way down toward the end of the school calendar (for better or for worse). For me, that means, among other things, hunting down overdue books and a complete inventory of the elementary library (partial of the high school), all while in my 8/9th month of pregnancy. I'm lucky to have an incredible library assistant, but as it is we're spread between two libraries, so it should get interesting. Majorly interesting. *prays for the nesting instinct to kick in ASAP*

Of course, the other "big" thing about May is the simple fact that...well...I turned 30. Yep, only a few days into May and I've already fit my birthday snugly into the schedule. May 1st was the big day, to be specific, and between the hubs treating me like a queen and some friends checking in, it was a pretty darn good day. Of course, the major heartburn and slight nausea didn't help, but if nothing else it grounded me. ;-)

So, this also means that my "deadline" for my 30 Before 30 has passed. I really thought I heard a huge, old-school game show buzzer go off in my head and everything. I'll admit: I didn't get 'em all done. There are several reasons, but let's see how I did, shall we?

1. Try a yoga class. Woohoo! This is the most successful (not to mention fulfilling; see why here) achievement off the list so far...although I skipped this past Friday, but sometimes time with a hubby needs to be a priority. Oh, and I'm thinking of adding a yoga DVD to one of my registries for some post-baby activity (I love that it's physical, mental, AND spiritual). Unfortunately, the class is at risk of being canceled due to low attendance - so if anyone knows of any local pregos who may be interested in trying it out, send 'em my way!
2. Start adding to savings. I've been adding a bit each month (sometimes $50, sometimes $200, but every little bit helps! Especially when I consider that I won't be working this summer), plus I have yet to utilize my overdraft in 2012. That, in itself, makes me feel better 'bout myself.
3. Organize the office. But it's STILL, admittedly, not done. D'oh. It looks lots better, though.

4. Go for a walk. FINALLY! After helping a bit at the theater last Saturday morning, I called the hubs to see if he'd like to take advantage of the gorgeous (albeit a tad windy!) day. It wasn't by any means a long walk, but we felt good about getting out and about. I'm hoping to become a "walker" when the baby comes. Oh, and of course Dave had to show me up by then going outside to do the first mowing and weed whacking of the year. Talk about a workout! 

5. Go antiquing. Yay! I did this, too!! A couple of weeks ago, Dave and I went for a cheap but delish breakfast at Ann St. Deli in Little Falls - which just HAPPENS to be quite close to our go-to antique center. We were able to get out without spending much - in fact, Dave bought a co-worker look-alike action figure, and I didn't get ANYTHING. I can't believe it. I'd like to have a SUCCESSFUL antiquing adventure, but it's good to just say that I crossed it off the list.

6. Get some more Etsy goodies posted. I was admittedly okay with not getting this done by the big 3-0, in hopes that my nesting instinct would work towards this. HOWEVER, I'd consider this one at least halfway done. I ordered some high quality prints of some photography I've always been proud of, so I just need to write up my posts and we'll be in business! Pretty good for lacking in the energy department. :-)

7. Organize the ol' blog. Some of this is done - have you noticed my "Archive" tab lately? I've got more to do, but it took a weekend just to organize those links...sooooo, let's call this baby DONE-ZO!

8. Get rid of 25% more of my wardrobe. Not sure if it's 25%, but lots is gone! I'm currently wearing maternity pants (or sweatpants when I know I'm not leaving the house - hello, spring break!), but still have some tops that are long enough to cover the bump. I'm in the midst of some spring cleaning, so I'll be organizing and purging a tad more. Isn't it weird that I still don't wear 100% of my clothing, even with the maternity clothes?? 

9. Organize/clean out my laptop (pictures & iTunes -- need room for the baby's music, after all). Eh, not s'much. Not yet. This is one of those "I can probably work on this during my ninth month of pregnancy" procrastinations. BUT, I did completely empty out my old tablet computer to pass along to my father-in-law, which was quite the task (as well as a trip on the ol' way-back machine). 

10. Do some major curb appeal work (spray paint the shutters, kill the ivy , paint the side door, paint the "porch", hang the numbers, plant some pretties) Nope. None of this got done. Lots of it had to do with bad weather. At least we've got our deck relatively ready for folks to hang out. :-)

11. Switch the living room from red accents to... As the Beatles would say, "It's getting better all the tiiiime." Just gotta work on ADDING some OTHER color. We're getting there!

12. At least organize the craziness that is The Basement Monster. This one's kind of reliant upon us finally picking out some cheap paint to do the walls. It's totally waiting on us. Sorry, Basement Monster!

13. Find someone to take the bed in order to change "guest room" into "nursery." As I said before, it sounds like we've achieved this! *crosses fingers* Now, to actually get the deed done!

14. Get a hairstyle. Up in the air on this one...and it seems a tad frivolous right now. I've got lots more on my mind (like, y'know, baby names...baby classes...the baby's room...and about a million other things, many baby-related - running theme much?) I'm fine with switching this out for other priorities.

15. Make some paper cranes (or other awesome origami art). I've got some ideas, but am currently working on a different mobile project...and I've found some art ideas to "recreate" - e.g. steal - to use in the nursery. I <3 Pinterest. So, again, this one's being "switched".

16. Do some painting...not in the home improvement way. This has been another frivolous possibility. *sigh*

17. REDO. THE. BATHROOM. (And I MEAN it!) (I'm workin' on it!) When the energy strikes me, I promise, I'll be sanding/painting up a storm in there.

18. Learn how to use a plain ol' digital camera in the best way possible. Eh, what better way to practice than on a baby? ;-)

19. Try to post more original pictures on the blog. Haven't been posting much, but I'd say I've had 50% more original pics. It's a work in progress. :-)

20. Gain weight, but not too much. (Seriously, I haven't gained a pound yet, even though my stomach's gotten a bit bigger. How is that possible?!) Definitely happening, but healthily. By no means "over-gaining" but big enough to show that I've got a healthy (hopefully happy) baby growing.

21. Make some DIY soap -- be it hand soap or laundry soap. I've bought the ingredients for diaper- and baby clothes-washing. I'm calling this one done.

22. Go through all my dust-collecting books and donate/sell what I'll never read/didn't like. Hmm...gotta get on this one. We DO need more space.

23. Go some place new with the hubs. I'm gonna call this "Mission: Accomplished". We checked out an incredible restaurant in Cooperstown with our awesome friends, B+B, called Alex & Ika. Mmm...fingerling potatoes with chipotle aioli. Need I say more? ;-) 'Twas an awesomely fun, delicious time. 

24. Plan a smaller, but manageable garden. Planting will have to occur well after May 1st. We also need to amend the soil in our two raised beds since they've become kitty potties for our beloved backyard cats. *sigh* So, this has been delayed until we know the weather is settled. 

25. Pick some baby names that we both can live with. (It'd be nice if we both LOVED them, but live with is the current goal.) Working on it...still!

26. Set up Amazon Affiliate. Dude. I'm just happy that we finally set up our two registries!

27. Take a road trip. This has been put off several times, so a short one will have to do. But, honestly, other much more important, family-related occurrences have taken priority, so it's all good.

28. Find enough room to actually be able to have every piece of my wardrobe put away simultaneously. Then follow through. The "following through" part is tough, but it's a continual process.

29. Reupholster the wine chair and slipcover/paint the ottoman. This is another one that relies a lot on a) my energy level and b) the weather outside. We'll git 'er done! But, again, I have a different priority: the dresser that will work as storage and a changing table in the nursery.

30. Pick up the house once a week. Sure, there are still messy parts to the house, but I'm picking up the already-livable spaces once a week. Woohoo!
I'm thinking of revamping my list a bit to replace the items on the list that were frivolous or just didn't mean as much to me. If it meant a lot, I would've done it, I suppose - right? Then there are those that I'll just keep plugging away on (y'know...like baby names ;-)). Keepin' it simple, keepin' it simple. And I'm continuing with the list mostly because they a) keep me somewhat accountable and b) organize me. :-)

Ending on a good note, we'll have a tad more "yay, I'm 30!" festivities this upcoming weekend with some close friends (some of those friends including family - isn't it great when you can put them in both "categories"??), then baby and I will be "showered" next weekend - just in time for Mother's Day! It's looking to be an uplifting month.