# 22: Strummin' that Ol' Guitar

So I had my friend re-string that ol' guitar (say in a thick southern slur) and decided to get a start on this list of mine.
Learning how to play the guitar is NOT easy. Not like I thought that it was going to be. I decided to start off simple, or at least I thought, and I am trying to "re-learn" a song that I taught myself how to play about 15 years ago... yeah, I teach kids that old... It is almost as if I never picked up a guitar in my life. I mean what do I expect after a whole teen's life of neglect.
There are a few obstacles that I have to overcome, one being that I found out that any rhythm that I MAY have had in band when I was in Junior High... is gone...  and that singing WHILE playing an instrument thing is not as simple as Taylor Swift makes it look.
I find that I can only stand to play for about 10 minutes before I get frustrated and decide that I am the most talentless person in existence... sometimes this is followed by another 10 minutes of me guiltily glancing at my discarded guitar on the foot of my bed and then another 10 minutes of attempting a "G" chord which begins the cycle ALL over again... I might be bad at rhythm, but I am really good at cycles.
I have joined forces with the talented Mr. Calvino, who has agreed to become master teacher and give me a few pointers on the art of strumming... so that I can figure out what to do with the three chords that I have learned in a week. I AM the next Taylor Swift... well at least in my dreams!


See the list here: http://pammyfranny.blogspot.com/2012/03/loomin-bloomin-30.html

The Loomin' Bloomin' 30!

You know that moment in your life, when you realize that the day that you always thought was FAR into the future is actually right in front of you and about to SLAP YOU IN THE FACE!!! That is how I feel about my 30th birthday. I remember when I turned 25 and I made a list of all the things that I wanted to do before my 30th birthday and I thought, well I have 5 years... this should be so easy! Well now here I am, 28, and now 30 is just around the corner and that list that I made... I don't even know where it is...!

Even though I feel that over the past 28 years I have accomplished a lot; Learned who I am, had adventures, and I have done things that I ever thought possible.... I still feel that there are still many things that I want to do before I turn the NEW 20. 
I'm single... I've got the drive... not really the time, but who cares... 
Starting a list like this at 28 adds a little bit of a challenge. I checked out a few of those lists out there, and there were a lot of different things that I could have on this list... however, many I have already done... or they included alcohol... No need for any of that here! 
So,  I had to think bigger and better... but also realistically, I mean, I have to crack these things out in just 18 months. 

So I did it, I made the list and I am going to knock everyone of them off  in 1 year and 6 months... that means that I have to accomplish at least 2 a month... and in an economically sound way. This is going to be interesting!
So here is where this blog comes in... I hereby recommission this blog (that I really haven't posted anything since 2010...) to record my experiences on polishing off the tasks on this milestone-bucket list.

So here is my list.

30 Before 30:

1) Take a spontaneous vacation - I mean REALLY spontaneous... like a call in sick, jump in my car (or on a plane) and just GO! All y'all may think that planning to do something spontaneous isn't possible... just watch me!

2) Loose 60 pounds - there always has to be a weight loss goal in these lists... right?

3) Finish a Bucket list- Boston.

4) Reduce Credit Card debt by one third!

5) Start living on a budget - better late than NEVER... see #4!

6) Take a trip completely on my own - This is not a go visit friends trip and the traveling is just on my own... I mean go somewhere where I do not know a soul and just spend time by myself... maybe make new friends!

7) Get a pet - PUPPIES!

8) Learn French and have a conversation with someone COMPLETELY in French... it may just be a short convo... but I will try!

9) Perform 30 acts of Service

10) Stay up ALL night and watch the sunrise - I tried this a couple times... But Imma whimp!

11) Grow and eat my own veggies

12) Have a snow ball fight - Living in AZ this was really not an option and since moving to Boston I just want to stay out of it... I need to enjoy it ... but I will have to wait till next winter!

13) Go whale watching

14) Sing in a Karaoke bar

15) Shoot a gun... not at someone... but at something :D

16) Gallop a horse - I have been on a horse... but I want a gallop through an open field, wind in my hair kind of experience!

17) Paint a personal masterpiece and hang it in my home - I would try and sell it... but I am sure it will end up being a piece that only I could enjoy!

18) Write a children's book, send it to a publisher and frame the rejection letter!

19) Get another stamp on my passport

20) See a wild, exotic animal in its natural habitat - more than just a quale or coyote... or deer... maybe a moose would work...

21) Treat my parents to a nice meal - I mean how many have they treated me to... I can at least do it ONCE!

22) Learn 5 songs on the guitar and perform them for someone - private concert anyone?!?!?!

23) Audition for a play or movie - some sort of production...

24) Build my own website

25) Drive a really nice wickedly expensive car

26) Do something physically adventurous... I may regret this one!

27) Run a half-marathon - a real one... I want a number!

28) Eat an exotic - adventurous food... I don't know... maybe scorpion?!?!?!

29) Learn a new skill -- it has to be new and skillful.

30) Take a chance -- this one is very open-ended... I will see where it leads.