I hope everyone had a great weekend! I participated in the Coldest Night of the Year walk - which raised $56,000 for a fabulous local organization - and I'm thisclose to finishing a project for Hannah's nursery that I can't wait to share with you (just waiting for paint to dry!). Today I thought I'd share the list of goals I've been working on to replace my 30 Before Thirty list. I've learned a few things from last year, so I'll be focusing on a few goals each month (hence the longer list).

In the month of February (my birthday month), I've been focusing on three things:

1. Take a month-long sugar break
2. Organize my closet
3. Lose the baby weight

Clearly, all three goals are related: I'm taking a little break from refined sugars in the hopes of establishing better eating habits that will help me lose the baby weight, and cleaning all of the stuff I don't/can't wear out of my closet so that getting dressed is no longer a negative part of my day. Obviously I don't expect to lose the baby weight in a month (I wish!), but establishing a regular exercise routine and eating less sugar should help get me started and I'll gradually lose the weight as the year goes on (at least that's the plan). Anyway, I'll check back in March to let you know what I'm focusing on that month and how I'm doing with the goals I started in February. Wish me luck!

Now that I've hit the big 3-0, it's time to see how I did on my 30 Before Thirty list, starting with what I've accomplished since my last update (you can check out all of my past updates here).


#2 - Our house is small. Parts of it are unfinished, or ugly, or just not what I want them to be. Yet. If I waited until our house was "perfect" to invite family and friends over, I wouldn't see them for at least a few years. And that would be silly, right? Still, I needed a little push and that's what this goal gave me. It also raised the question of what, exactly, constitutes a dinner party. Multiple courses? Candles? A particular number of guests? We had friends over for dinner. And brunch. We threw a birthday party for my mom. We hosted Adam's entire family on Christmas Eve. We entertained again on New Year's Eve. We cooked, we baked, we drank, we laughed. We invited people into our less-than-perfect home and we had fun. Done!

#8 - Hannah decided to enter the world a little early, which meant I stopped working sooner than planned and Adam had to miss out on a couple of well-paying opportunities (when you're self-employed, timing is everything). We paid off our credit cards, but then we had to break them out again. The good news is that we're very close to paying them off again, so this one won't be on my 2013 list for very long.

#10 - I finished my first knitting project - a cowl - in the nick of time. It's full of mistakes, but I'm excited to start my next project (probably another scarf ha). I'm determined to knit something I can wear without embarrassment.

#12 - This goal wasn't about exercise (although it's a nice bonus), it was about taking some time each day to enjoy the outdoors and appreciate the city where I live. It's turned into something we do as a family, so it's also time for Adam and I to connect and talk about whatever's going on in our lives. Dare I call it a new, awesome habit?

#13 - Photos have been combed through, curated (too much?), printed and organized into albums. A big, big thanks to my friends Chelle and Adam for taking care of the printing (they even delivered them)! I probably would've dragged my feet on this one forever if not for the list. The list works, people.

#14 - As I mentioned before, our financial plans got a little derailed with Hannah's birth. We ended up having to use our emergency savings fund (and then some), but we've started to build it back up again and we're making it a priority again this year.

#20 - I started with the journal, but I found that whenever an 'I'm grateful' moment struck, I'd think about how I was going to write it down in my journal instead of just living in it. So, I started focusing on stopping, in the moment, to really savour it instead. This goal was about being more purposeful about gratefulness and, journal or not, I think I'm succeeding.

#21 - OK, technically I haven't signed up yet, but I know exactly which half-marathon I'm going to run and I promise to sign up as soon as it's actually possible to do so (it's in the fall). This year, run a half-marathon is on my list.

#24 - I'm pretty sure sunrise was at 10 to eight when I did this, but still. The rest of the house was sleeping and I had this lovely, quiet moment to myself, looking out our kitchen window. I was inspired to bake muffins afterwards, so you know I was feeling good!

#29 - Hannah and I have been going to mom and baby yoga classes once a week since early January. I've been to a few yoga classes here and there before, but I'd never done a workshop and obviously not with a baby. I was really nervous about how Hannah would react at first (I'm strangely paranoid about her losing it in public), but she seems to love it and so do I. I look forward to it each week.

#30 - I donated money to The Shoebox Project, we put together a box of food and household items for Feed NS, I gave a gift through Plan Canada, I donated money to an awesome fundraiser organized by a friend and at the end of the month, I'm walking 10K to raise money to fight poverty and homelessness. I used to make excuses not to give (mostly with the ridiculous justification - to myself - that I needed all my money), but I've finally learned that giving is easy (so easy!) and it feels really, really good.

And here's what I didn't check off the list...

#3 - We never got around to this one, but finishing the entryway is on my list of home goals this year so it won't be long before this project is done.

#4 - Why do I hate flossing my teeth so much?! I swear I love my teeth and I definitely don't want them to rot out of my head. Must. floss. regularly.

#16 - I think I forgot that my birthday is in February and that Hannah would be, at most, 6 months old when I added this one to the list. I tried to think of a winter vacation that I would want to take with an infant, but in the end I decided, list be damned, I would rather just wait. We're headed to York Beach, ME in July for a friend's wedding, so until July!

#17 - Leave it to me to wait until the dead of winter to remember that I put a picnic on my list. I considered an indoor picnic, but I really had my heart set on a blanket-on-the-grass-enjoying-the-sunshine-while-we-eat kind of picnic. It happens this year. I already know which blanket I'm using.

#25 - The timing didn't work out for this one, so it stays on the list for 2013.

#27 - Did I tell you that I used to play the piano and Adam bought me a really, really nice keyboard while we were dating in the hopes that I would take it up again? He may have to live his dreams through Hannah on this one. Just saying.

#28 - We went on plenty of walks this year. Walks on the beach, walks in the woods, walks that some people would probably consider hikes, but not the kind of hike I had in mind. We tried to check this one off the list before my birthday, but the weather didn't cooperate. I have no doubt that it will happen this year, especially since I won't be hugely pregnant or caring for a newborn during prime hiking weather :)

I'm officially hooked on life lists! They may not be for everyone, but I find them motivating. I feel compelled to complete things once I've written them down. Especially on the Internet. I'm working on this year's list now, so stay tuned.

It's been awhile since my last 30 Before Thirty Update, so I thought I'd check in. Here's how my list has changed since you last saw it:

#7 - I'm calling this one done, although technically I never made a salad with the vegetables from our garden. Over the summer, we grew and ate peas, lettuce, yellow beans, carrots, zucchini, cucumber and a few tomatoes. For some reason our green beans didn't sprout, and our tomato and zucchini plants were too overcrowded to yield much. We learned a lot and we're already planning to add more raised beds (and more veggies) to next year's garden.

#15 - Hannah's birth story deserves a post of its own (and I really should write it down, whether I end up posting it or not). My labour was long, tiring, painful, emotional and involved a few scary moments, but it was all worth it. It's by far the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was one of those experiences that show you how strong you really are. Adam took the picture below just moments after Hannah was born. My face is swollen, I'm exhausted and my skin looks terrible, but I love this picture. I know what I went through to arrive at this moment and the picture is a reminder of the joy, relief and awe I felt holding Hannah for the very first time.

{the moment we first laid eyes on one another}

#18 - I managed to sneak this one in before the weather turned too cold for painting. I love how it turned out and I've been pleasantly surprised by how well my paint job is holding up (you can find my tips for painting any door here).

#23 - As I shared in this post, the guest room is officially painted and decorated (next up: installing new baseboards, quarter round and door plinths). I love hosting overnight guests now that we have a cozy, relaxing space for them to stay. We've had a few overnight guests since we (mostly) finished the room and the feedback has been very positive!

I really don't have a lot of time left before I turn 30 (a little more than two months - eek!), so I've got to get my butt in gear if I want to finish all the items on my list (I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of going on a picnic in the winter). Wish me luck!

I announced the winner of the $50 gift card to Mortimer Snodgrass today. Click here to find out if it's you!

Since my last 30 Before Thirty update, I've managed to check a few more items off my list. Here's what it looks like now:

#22 - I made sure our summer road trip through Quebec and Ontario included a stop at Niagara Falls. It's one of those places (like the Cabot Trail or the Rockies) that I think all Canadians should try to see at least once, so I'm happy to say that I've been there!

{The proof}

#9 - We had tickets to see Radiohead - one of our mutual favourite bands - while we were in Toronto, but the show was cancelled after the stage collapsed during set-up. It was disappointing, but we made the best of a bad situation by going to see a free Flaming Lips show instead.

#26 - I shared our fully-decorated nursery with you last week and I'm so happy with how it turned out. All we need now is the baby :)

#6 - We bought a new bed on Monday, it's being delivered today, and our first guests arrive tomorrow. I have to say, it feels pretty awesome to move beyond the futon-as-a-guest-bed stage of our lives.

As I shared earlier this week, we started working on #23 and we'll see how much we can get done before #15 happens (my due date is August 14th). #7 is coming along too - we've already enjoyed lettuce, peas and beans from the garden, and our tomato, cucumber, carrot and zucchinni plants are coming along nicely (fingers crossed).

Do you keep a list of goals for yourself? What have you checked off the list lately? 

I thought it would be fun to share the progress I've made on my Thirty Before 30 list since I posted it in mid-March:

#1 - This may be the one I'm most proud of, which tells you just how much of a disaster our garage had become! It still gets messy - especially with all the saw-related work we've been doing in there lately - but I consider it a success that we know where things are and can actually reach them :)

#19 - I joined Heather and Carol's blogger book club and participated in the first book review at the end of April. And I recently finished the second book, which Carol will be reviewing on her blog next week. One of the reasons I wanted to join  a book club was to get back into reading for pleasure and I'm happy to say that's exactly what's happened (plus, it's always interesting to hear what other people think of a book you've just read). It even prompted me to finally get a library card (I'm currently reading Bernhard Schlink's The Reader) and I'm looking forward to starting the next book club selection after Carol's review.

#11 - The ceilings in all three upstairs bedrooms drove me crazy. The former owners went gaga for ceiling hooks, so there were holes, hooks (including a large, red one directly above my side of the bed) and just your general marks on the ceilings in all three rooms. Adam patched and painted each one before we installed new flooring and it's amazing how much it freshens things up!

#5 - We finished the closet in the nursery last week (there was a hole in the original floor that we needed to repair before we could install new stuff), which means the hardwood floors in all three bedrooms are officially done! We still need to tackle the hallway, but we're waiting to reno the stairs first (a definite post-baby project). The plan is to replace part of the stairs and widen a doorway, which will make the upstairs hallway visible from downstairs. In other words, it's more important for the flooring in the hallway to match the flooring downstairs (which we also plan to replace) than in the bedrooms (though obviously we want it to all be cohesive).

Fingers crossed, #9 and #22 should happen in a couple of weeks, and I'm making progress on #8, #14 and #26 (and technically #15, too). I'm doing pretty well with #12, but I definitely need to revisit #20 and #4 (this has been a lifelong battle, especially because I've yet to be punished for my laziness with cavities, knock on wood). And I can't wait to tackle #18 when the weather warms up - I already have a colour in mind :)

I've seen these lists on a few of my favourite blogs and with my thirtieth birthday a little less than a year away, I thought I'd join the party. I've been working on my list for a little while, but I knew I had to post it here so you guys can hold me accountable :)

P.S. Adam and I snuck away to Boston for a few days. We're making our first-ever Ikea visit today - wish us luck!