i've moved

i'm over here now - hollyfrees.wordpress.com

30 before 30 update: discover my story and write it down

this is actually something i've been wanting to do for a long time. i wrote about it before, in several posts (here, here, here, and here), about how i was trying to figure out what exactly my story is.

well. it's two years later. and i found it. and i wrote it out. and i shared it with the swamp tigers. (my community group. feel free to be jealous of our name.) i'm not going to write it all out here on my blog, because it's not something that i feel needs to be shared with the world wide web. but if you know me, and you ask, i'll probably tell you. there's nothing to really be ashamed of from my story, but i stories are not something to be taken lightly.

so. i'm crossing this off the list.

30 before 30 update: 25. walk the cumberland river pedestrian bridge

on my 29th birthday, my roommates and i spent the morning walking the pedestrian bridge. it wasn't as long as i excepted actually, but it was fun to walk across and get a great view of the skyline. here's one of the pictures i snapped along the way:

30 before 30 update: shoot a real gun

as part of my 29th birthday celebration, my friends stacy, suzanne, and chad accompanied me to gun city, usa. the place was every bit as shady as the name. we rented a 38 revolver and a 9mm automatic. i wasn't a fan of the automatic at all (i only shot two bullets from it), but i did shoot a few rounds out of the revolver and finally started to feel comfortable with it. i don't plan to ever own a gun, but i figured it was something i should experience and be familiar with.

enjoy the following pictures.

30 before 30 update: have a small emergency fund

i've actually had this for awhile, i just neglected to update my blog. here's hoping that by finally posting about it, i won't jinx myself and have an emergency.

30 before 30 update: become a member of midtown

yesterday i was able to cross something else off my 30 before 30 list. after attending the church for over 5 years, i finally became a member of midtown fellowship. there's really no good reason i hadn't become one earlier, and i'm glad that i finally did. life in nashville would not be the same without the community i have through midtown.
also, my good friend kateland was baptized on the same day. hers is a beautiful story of transformation, and i'm glad we were able to share the day.

30 before 30 update: organize files (paper & electronic), part 1

one of the things on my 30 before 30 list was to organize my paper and electronic files. a few days ago i finished the first half of that - the paper files. it was getting to the point where boxes of old pay stubs and bills were exploding in my closet. so i took a saturday morning, popped "crazy, stupid, love" into the dvd-player, and sat down with a 3-ring binder and a 3-hole punch and organized all the papers. it feels good to know i'm starting 2012 off organized in at least one small corner of my world. so, in case you're wanting to do the same, i dug around on the internet and found the general rules of thumb for record retention. i printed this guide off on a piece of paper and stuck it in the front of the binder:

Tax Returns & Backup Documentation – 7 years

Health Records – indefinitely: contact info of physician, medical history, prescriptions/treatments

Medical Records – 7 years if claimed on taxes, otherwise 5 years after end of treatment

Life Insurance – life of policy + 3 years

Medical Insurance – 5 years from date of service rendered

Home Insurance – 5 years, or 10 if you predict issues

Warranty – when expired

Home Repair Bills & Contracts – 10 years

Pay Stubs – keep each stub throughout the year. At end of year keep only year-end stub. Keep these for 7 years.

Bank Statements – 3 months

Financial Documents (stocks, bonds, etc) – indefinitely

Utility Bills – if claiming on taxes 7 years, otherwise 3 months

Mortgage Statements – ownership period of the mortgaged property + 7 years

Mortgage Documents – 10 years

Credit Card Statements – 3 months (although i suggest you go the dave ramsey route and not use credit cards, ever. at almost 29-years old, i never have.)