On Being 29 &
My 30 by 30 List

Mar
21

Posted by: Maggie

I’ve been thinking about how to write about this since my birthday on February 5th. I’ve turned 29 and am surprised by how I feel about it. I’m kinda sad. Sad to be in the last year of my Twenties. I don’t have a problem with growing older. Especially since my baby face still looks 18. But there is something special about being in your Twenties and I’m sad to be leaving that behind. My goal over the next year is to get over that. I want to do 29 up big! I want to accomplish a number of things and better define the kind of person that I am and want to be, and have a fun year doing it!

Your Twenties is time for growing up, a transition from childhood to adulthood. I want to ensure that I’ve made that transition thoughtfully. This year is about living intentionally. Not just going through the motions each day, but really thinking about the things I do and how they will contribute to the life I want to live.

I’m starting with a list. I’ll blog about each item as I check it off. AND I’ll be doing a series of posts about things that I think I already do pretty well called Cranky Living. Hopefully you’ll enjoy!

For now, here’s my list, let me know if you have any tips or ways to help me accomplish all of these by February 5, 2012!

30 by 30

IT’S A SECRET – I’ll let you know when I accomplish it!
Keep my plants alive
Get in the best shape of my life
Have Christa Meola take boudoir portraits of me (after completing #3)
Write a Book
Make more time to read books
Make books of my blog posts
Have a beautiful bedroom
Make my Photography business successful enough to support my family
Learn the harmonica
Let go of what I think I’m supposed to be and just be who I am
Be less critical of myself and others
Get rid of the clutter and stop accumulating it in the first place
Finally decorate my patio
Create and stick to a budget
Pay off our credit card debt
Build an emergency fund
Make something fun that people want to buy from me
Redesign Making Me Cranky
Get a New Tattoo
Say “No” more, or at least, “I wish I could, but I have too much on my plate right now!”
Get rid of the chemicals in my house
Focus on healthy eating
Stop Eating Fish
Get pregnant with Baby #2
Buy a new little black dress
Visit a haunted house
Go Wine Tasting
Learn enough graphic design that I don’t need Josh to do it all for me
Throw a Fabulous 30th birthday party for myself on the last night of my 20s! (That’s Saturday Feb 4th 2012, Save the Date!)

A Sick Kid and a Living Room Campout

Feb
24

Posted by: Maggie

We had plans to go out to dinner with my mom, step-dad, and siblings in Chinatown to celebrate my birthday on the Saturday following my birthday. We had gotten ready to go out, we just had to change what Eleanor was wearing.

She had just gotten up from a late nap and was lying on our bed while we got ready. Josh had said that she felt a little warm and seemed like she didn’t feel well when she woke up. But we were concerned about getting out of the house on time that we didn’t really think about it.

I laid down next to her to see how she was and ask her to get changed so we could leave. She sat up, made a sad face, and then starting vomiting! On our bed! Yikes! The poor girl! After she was done, she still wanted to go out to dinner and was pretty disappointed when we told her that we had to stay home because she was sick.

After we had changed her out of her vomit clothes and cleaned up the bed, and put the bedspread and everything into the washing machine, I finally remembered to call my mom and tell her we weren’t going to dinner. But by the time I called, everyone was on their way downtown. So, they had a delicious dinner in honor of my birthday, while Josh and I stayed home taking care of a kid who was throwing up every 45 minutes or so. Happy birthday to me!

We did have a fun evening though, camping in the living room. I didn’t want to leave my poor sick girl all alone in her room and I really didn’t want anymore vomit in our bed, so I decided that we would all sleep together in the living room. I put down a bunch of blankets for us and brought our pillows out and let Eleanor stay up late watching Princess and the Frog.

photo taken with my iphone, processed with the Hipstamatic App

She pretty much thought it was the most fun thing we ever did and now asks if we can campout in the living room every night!

p.s. She stopped throwing up by bedtime was pretty much fine by the middle of the next day. Weird 24 hour flu or maybe food poisoning.

Comments: 1
Categories: Celebrations, Eleanor Stories, Family Stories, Josh, Maggie
Tags: birthday, camping, illness, Maggie's Birthday

My 29th Birthday!

Feb
21

Posted by: Maggie

Sorry for the posting delay! Last week was hectic finishing up my preparations for my How to Shoot Your Kids Workshop, and with Josh and Eleanor both getting sick. Not fun! Although, Josh is still not well and I’ve had a sinus headache for 3 days that doesn’t want to go away, I’m back to posting about my birthday celebrations!

The morning of my birthday we went out to breakfast at The Egg Plantation with my dad, step-mom, brothers William and Elliott, and Elliott’s girlfriend Lily.

photo taken with my iphone

Apparently, my choice of restaurant was perfect, because they give you a free breakfast on your birthday! And the coffee is good! Score!

After breakfast we said goodbye to the family and went on a little craft store shopping trip for some Valentines supplies. And then to pick up some birthday cupcakes, because according to Eleanor, birthdays=cupcakes, of course!

We tried out a new cupcake place in town, Bake You Happy. It’s very cute and the cupcakes are awesome, and I don’t even like cake!

We shared a banana cupcake there, soooo good! And brought three more home for my birthday night dessert!

Later in the day Josh and Eleanor gave me my birthday gifts!

Josh got me a book I’ve been wanting for a long, long time. It’s a collection from my favorite photographer, Cindy Sherman’s series, “Untitled Film Stills.” They are a series of amazing self-portraits. I’ll write a whole post about it soon!

Eleanor (with Josh’s help) got me some yummy butterscotch chews from See’s. Tasty!

We had our weekly family movie night and for dessert we had the cupcakes we had brought home!

A Chocolate Cherry Licorice (an amazing combination of chocolate cake filled with melted red licorice, topped with pretzels and marshmallow–incredible!), Snickerdoodle (like the cookie, a yummy cinnamon spiced cake the uneaten half was delicious with coffee the following morning!) and a Heavenly (a gourmet grown-up version of a Hostess Cupcake, delicious chocolate cake, with marshmallow filling topped with dark chocolate ganache–awesome!)