the list

So… the 30 before 30 list.  Yeah.

While I truly would have loved to have finished it all, I'm happy to have accomplished as much as I did.    If anything, it gives you things to think about and things to shoot for.

Behold, the final results of the list I compiled just before I turned 28:


1. Hike a trail with Luke.  Luke is just not a hiking kind of person.  BUT I did hike a both lovely and challenging trail with my friend Kelsie at LBL in the midst of crisp fall weather last year.  

2. Move to a bigger city.  I'm sure God chuckled at this one.  He had other plans, you see.

3. Try a totally new hair color.  Check.  Went brunette for awhile.  Loved it, but too much upkeep.  But I think it's good to take a risk like this every now and then.  If anything, you discover a different side of yourself!  :)

4. Try 3 new kinds of workouts.  I tried yoga and zumba.  Didn't get to a third due to plain 'ole laziness.  I have GOT to make this a priority and a disciplined HABIT.

5. Beach vacation.  Check.  Did this in August of 2012.  Luke got sick, but on the last full day he felt better and we enjoyed hours and hours under the Gulf Shores sun, boogie boarding and parasailing.

6. Go snow skiing and tubing.  It just didn't happen.  Timing hasn't worked out, but we're totally planning it for the future. :)  In the meantime, I'm holding on to my memory of snow tubing down my neighbor's steep hill when I was a wee thing.

7. Record a CD.  I sort of started this a couple years ago, and then the materials and resources fell through.  However, I have also slacked off in the songwriting department.

8. Write more worship songs.  Check.  Like I said, I've slacked.  I do have a couple new songs, but they still need revising.

9. Finish my Master's degree.  Check!!!!

10. Write a book of short stories from my childhood.  Check.  Did this as a gift for my dad.  He loved it and I so enjoyed writing it.

11. Acquire my sister-in-law's cookie recipe.  Check!  She graciously sent it to me one day out of the blue as a sweet surprise and I have been making them NONSTOP ever since.  They still probably aren't quite as perfect as Kate's, but everyone loves them.

12. Move into a long-term career that I love... =music=worship.  Check.  In October of 2012 I became the worship leader at our church.  It's not so much a career as it is a calling.  And while it can be exhausting and challenging just like any other role in ministry, it is so heart-filling and joyous.  I am utterly grateful God fulfilled this desire in my heart and humbled that He can use me to minister to people.

13. Attend a Kari Jobe event.  Just didn't work out.  She doesn't come anywhere near West Ky, or at least not in the last couple years.  She'll be in central Ky this spring, but the dates won't work for us.  BAH!!  Kari, you gotta help a girl out!

14. Go zip lining.  Check.  Totally loved it!  What a rush!

15. Go skydiving.  I'm gonna blame the fact that it's actually really expensive to go skydiving as to why this never happened.   :)

16. Spend a whole day watching inspirational movies.  Check.  Wrote about this here.

17. Take my dog to the movies.  Check.  We took Sawyer to the drive-in 2 summers ago, and last summer we took Indy and Huck.  When I originally wrote this one, I was picturing sneaking little Sawyer in to an actual movie theater.  We ended up going the safe route, however.

18. Send a hand-written letter to someone expressing my love and appreciation for them.  Check.  I have done a few of these.  I originally thought I'd be blessing people by doing this, but I find that I am blessed just as much, if not more.

19. Get a spontaneous mani-pedi.  I realized after the fact that this and #29 are just not doable, because you can't PLAN to do something spontaneously!  

20. Take a road trip with friends.  While we've taken little trips with friends, we haven't taken the kind of trip I was thinking of here…. ya know, get in the car and just go… loose plans, see where the wind takes us kind of thing.

21. Go frog-giggin'.  It just hasn't happened.  My brother was going to take me, but we don't live close to each other, and when we do have time together, it's limited.  One day, frogs.  One day.

22. Blog 3 times a week consistently.  Check.  Sort of.  I WAS blogging 3 times a week consistently for awhile, but haven't been the last few months.  LIFE.

23. Give something that I really, really love away because someone else needs it more.  I honestly don't recall an opportunity I've had to do this… Perhaps I should've said, "really like" instead of "love," because let's face it - I'm not going to give away my husband or my dogs.  I have, however, given away money and possessions.  Things that I like a lot (and certainly hope I don't love).

24. Go on a Burris family trip.  This is challenging because of numerous factors, but I truly hope this can happen someday.

25. Clean out childhood stuff at Mom and Dad's.  Another audacious goal.  When I do get the chance to visit, time is so precious and limited.  I'm hoping this can happen, however, on my next visit.

26. Spend an entire Saturday working on my dreams.  Still figuring this out.

27. Make Mom's fudge.  Check.  I've made chocolate and caramel fudge over the holidays the last 2 years, and it is DANGEROUS, let me tell you.  I get addicted and I typically keep making batches throughout January, until I finally have to cut myself off!

28. Learn to play guitar decently.  Planning to work on this over the summer.

29. Throw a spontaneous party.  (See #19.)

30. Get a new colon. HA!… So obviously this is a joke, but I WAS hopeful for this situation to improve somehow.  I DID find a wonderful doctor last year who helped me find a medicine that does help.  It doesn't completely solve the issue, but it lessens the intensity of it, and I am truly grateful for that.


While I tend to feel terrible for not finishing something, I'm happy I did this.  Had I not made this list, some of these things may not have happened AT ALL.  Gonna keep pluggin' away...