So naturally i have just a few updates about all that is going on around here! The date for the tea party is set. it will be March 9th from 2:30-4:30! I am very excited to see how it all turns out and will happily attempt to upload pictures of the oh so cute invitations! Most of them have already been mailed and I'm excited to hear the feedback! The weight loss is a struggle. I am certainly going to have to work harder for it. My sister brought over this work out program she found in a magazine. I'm going to add that in to what I am already doing and see how it all works. I think I am going to try a cleanse.. all of my "health nut" friends are totally into it. So many changes so little time!! I also have been inspired at work to make a difference in the day of someone there as well as my personal life. Whether it be to give a customer an incredible experience or to ensure that a co-worker has a better than expected day. I want to be that person that makes it that much sweeter! Some of these take more time than I truly expected! I thought I would have more crossed off by now! I have the name and number of the psychic I now just need to make the appointment. Also have started the process of looking for a new job. I had to interviews but nothing yet. All good things to those who wait! Now I just need to cross a few things off my list!! :) 

1. Start a blog! 
2. Lose 30 lbs
3. Spend an entire day surrounded by love
4. Visit a new city (the top 2 choices)
1. Chicago
2. New York City
5. Go back to school
6. Find a new job
7. Read 3 of the classics
1. Pride and Prejudice 
2. Uncle Tom's Cabin
3. Dracula
8. Buy a grown up phone
9. Run a 5k
10. Be surprised!
11. Do something thoughtful every day
12. Join a gym
13. Have a tea party
14. Learn to ballroom dance
15. Learn a new language 
1. Spanish (Rosetta Stone)
2. Sign Language 
16. Finish an entire scrapbook
17. Give up ALL things pink for an entire day
18. Participate in a photoshoot
19. Take a private cooking lesson
20. Find a wine I will actually enjoy
21. Collect coins from all over the world to make a bracelet. 
22. Touch something creepy (like a snake)
23. Go on a Ghost Hunt
24. Learn to shoot (bow and arrow preferably)
25. Donate my time to a new charity
26. Take a spa day
27. Conquer a fear
28. Toss 30 pennies into a fountain and keep track of how many wishes come true
29. Go for a psychic reading
30. Start my "travel around the world before 40 " fund

So I know that I have been neglecting this for a little while. It's been an interesting week or two. You should know that I lost a woman who i not only loved as family but admired greatly. She was a mother and grandmother to all she met. She had a smile that literally made the world a brighter place. To know her was to love her, and to love her made you family. The loss of this beautiful, bright, sweet, endearing woman has made me take a step back and really look at my own life. The choices I make and the relationships I keep, all say something about who I am. I started this list of things to do before I turned 30 as a fun challenge. An interesting way to motivate myself to make some changes I've been wanting to make anyway. 

I believe it's working! One of my dearest friends and I are starting to take a couple fitness classes here in about 2 weeks. She is the perfect person to do this with! She is very much like me and doesn't take stuff like that super serious, not to mention we are both kinda clumsy! We actually have joked about which one of us is going to get injured first (I think it will be me). I started eating healthier and am currently doing this evil cleanse! A friend completely recommended it and my doctor was all for it. For any of you who are seriously considering doing this... it's HARD! I'm not even going to sugar coat it for you, I am miserable. I've been told (as I am only 4 days in), that the first week is the toughest! I've been told I'll feel so much better when I'm done though so we shall see! I told my doctor that if I survive these 17 days without coffee it will be a miracle. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks so I will let you all know if I happen to lose any weight! *fingers crossed* I even pulled out the treadmill this week and have it all set up in the basement. I've decided to start with the couch to 5k program and see how I do with that. There is a local 5k that looks like it will actually be run on my birthday so I think that's the one I want to attempt! 

Plans for the tea party are coming along nicely. I believe I am going to host it in March. I am waiting for the event coordinator to get back to me on a few things and we should be well on our way. I started buying some of the tea cups and saucers at a local thrift store. Naturally they won't all match but I truly think that will add to the charm of it all. I also found a psychic for my reading (which I'm hoping to do soon). Oh and I have a really cute story to share about one of my doing something nice moments. I was at the grocery store the other day and this guy had a few items and for whatever reason his debit card would not work. The kid at the counter tried everything and the poor guy was more than embarrassed. Not wanting him to go home without food I stepped up and offered to try something, and he was like "okay." He was talking to the cashier while I swiped my card instead, punched in my code, and paid for his groceries. The man was shocked and kept telling me no, he couldn't let me do that. I told him that it was done and that all i ask is that if he sees someone in need that one day he might offer them a little help. After a few minutes the man took his groceries and walked away thanking me a few times. The cashier was shocked she asked why I did that for him. I told her because I could. Why shouldn't we help another person if we can? She totally didn't get it, and the lady behind me told me i could pay for her cart if I wanted. I declined and told them both to have a nice day. 

Life is too short not to make the most of it. I truly feel like I'm starting to see and appreciate more of my own blessings every day!

My Top 30 by 30!

 So I know that I've kinda been neglecting writing this thing for the last week or so. I'm going to work on fixing that. The only problem is I don't want to write meaningless fluff! I want to be able to catalog my tasks and share them with you. So I was patiently waiting for a few last minute recommendations by friends. Now that I have the completed list I am incredibly happy to share it with you! 

1. Start a blog! 
2. Lose 30 lbs
3. Spend an entire day surrounded by love
4. Visit a new city (the top 2 choices)
1. Chicago
2. New York City
5. Go back to school
6. Find a new job
7. Read 3 of the classics
1. Pride and Prejudice 
2. Uncle Tom's Cabin
3. Dracula
8. Buy a grown up phone
9. Run a 5k
10. Be surprised!
11. Do something thoughtful every day
12. Join a gym
13. Have a tea party
14. Learn to ballroom dance
15. Learn a new language 
1. Spanish (Rosetta Stone)
2. Sign Language 
16. Finish an entire scrapbook
17. Give up ALL things pink for an entire day
18. Participate in a photoshoot
19. Take a private cooking lesson
20. Find a wine I will actually enjoy
21. Collect coins from all over the world to make a bracelet. 
22. Touch something creepy (like a snake)
23. Go on a Ghost Hunt
24. Learn to shoot (bow and arrow preferably)
25. Donate my time to a new charity
26. Take a spa day
27. Conquer a fear
28. Toss 30 pennies into a fountain and keep track of how many wishes come true
29. Go for a psychic reading
30. Start my "travel around the world before 40 " fund

Paying it forward?

So in my attempt to do something thoughtful every day I had an experience this morning I felt was totally worth sharing! While running to the store to drop off a prescription I decided to swing by Starbucks for my morning cup of coffee. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw the woman behind me digging for change. It inspired me to do something thoughtful for her. Paying for her order i asked the cashier to please tell the woman to have a good day, and drove off. Walking into the store to get my prescription this car pulls up beside me and i see the woman from the coffee shop. She stopped her car, got out and gave me a hug! My small gesture of meant so much to her, and she wanted me to know that she then paid for the order behind her! Totally made my day! I also started reading Pride and Prejudice, using my Rosetta Stone (Spanish edition), and found a room to host my tea party in! I'm thinking of letting the girls decorate these adorable little felt tea cups with felt stickers and glitter glue. Okay... so maybe I already bought the stuff to make all the  felt tea cups! I couldn't help it, it was too cute! The fun part about this challenge is seeing the daily effort that is required to make some of these happen! I am also starting to see where this is beginning to effect all aspects of my life. I am beginning to look at each situation differently and evaluating what is truly important to me. That is something I hadn't expected at all actually. I figured sure.. I'm gonna have some funny stories, maybe a couple of cute photos to go with it. Why not go for it and have a good time, right? But seeing how involved my loved ones have become and the way this is expanding my thoughts and feeling on my personal relationships is a bit of a shock. Dare I say that this is changing me? Only time will truly tell but I feel in my heart that I am on the right path and off to a really great start! 

the first 25

I decided to go ahead and share the first 25 items on my list knowing that it's not yet complete. I am still waiting for a few people to get back to me with their suggestions. My hope is to cross them out along the way so lets see how this goes. 

1. Start a blog! 
2. Lose 30 lbs
3. Spend an entire day surrounded by love
4. Visit a new city
5. Go back to school
6. Find a new job
7. Read 3 of the classics
8. Buy a grown up phone
9. Run a 5k
10. Be surprised!
11. Do something thoughtful every day
12. Join a gym
13. Have a tea party
14. Learn to ballroom dance
15. Learn a new language 
16. Finish an entire scrapbook
17. Give up ALL things pink for an entire day
18. Participate in a photoshoot
19. Take a private cooking lesson
20. Find a wine I will actually enjoy
21. Collect coins from all over the world to make a bracelet. 
22. Touch something creepy (like a snake)
23. Go on a Ghost Hunt
24. Learn to shoot (bow and arrow preferably)
25. Donate my time to a new charity

a little introduction

I've always wondered what makes people decide to take on a task like this. I've always been curious as to how someone goes about making the decision to share part of their life with the world. Now that I have made this decision I can say that it was not an easy one. Sure for me the topic was simple... that's what got the whole thing started in the first place. For me the difficult part has been trying to get started. Making my list, trying to figure out what to write and how to introduce myself has been more work than I truly imagined them to be. Rather than over think it I finally came to the conclusion that no one is really going to read this thing anyway so why not just go for it. 

To get started I hope to answer some of those very questions I have when reading about other peoples lives. The who, what, and why are always what I crave to learn. Let's see... I'm Missy and the what is the journey I am about to embark. The why has been inspired by a few too many drinks with some really awesome people. 


With the new year upon us my friends and family brought up the topic of this being my last 5 months in my twenties. For most people this would be a depressing or sorrowful doubt but I have been looking forward to this coming change. Like most people I have seen my share of struggles and worked hard to push past them. Every day is a challenge and turning 30 is just a new opportunity for more growth. With that thought it mind I also decided it couldn't hurt to have a little fun with this. So I sat down and came up with a list of 25 things I would love to do before turning 30, and then challenged my loved ones to come up with 5 more. I am still waiting for a few people to get back to me but I decided to go ahead and start the process now. My plan is to post my list and write about the experiences as I tick them off. I look forward to this challenge and sharing in the joys of success, the embarrassment of possibly failures, and the hilarity of life's crazier opportunities. 

My hope is this.. if someone, anyone decides to read this that it bring a smile to their day. Life is nothing if it is not shared, so please share in mine. Wish me luck!