Congratulations Caroline Hannessen you’re the winner.
Hello Thirty. I can’t believe I’m thirty today. THIRTY?! I still feel like I’m in my twenties. Well not really. Not when I’m 38.5 weeks pregnant, and not sleeping well because my lower belly and back ache. I’m looking forward to when this bub is out because I KNOW that I will feel awesome once that 3kg bundle of joy is living and breathing outside my body. I sleep so much better once I’ve had my baby even if it is in 2-3 hour installments.
I’ve made no plans for my thirtieth because I honestly haven’t had the energy to organise anything and my Birthday pales in significance to the birth of my third child. One thing that was on my 100 dream list was to get a Tiffany’s necklace and my mum will be giving this to me later today as I got her to buy it for me when she was in America at the beginning of the year. (It’s cheaper to buy Tiffany and Co over in the US and the dollar exchange at the time made the purchase even more economical.)
I was going to write a list of 30 things you don’t know about me, but my mind went to mush and the photos that I want to attach to my list are at my mum’s place. So…. I thought I’d list 30 things I’m proud to have achieved or done in my life. Some are memories. In a way it’s like 30 things you don’t know about me, but some of these I have mentioned before on my blog. Anyway here they are:
1. Going to work with dad when I was on school holidays. They are some of my favourite childhood memories.
2. Parasailing with Dad at Daydream Island. Promptly after being lowered down in the boat after the experience, I threw up my buffet breakfast all over the boat. We still laugh at the skipper’s frown when he realized his boat was covered in puke!
3. Becoming a Christian. I was 11 at the time and I remember the night I said a prayer with Dad about wanting Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour.
4. Going to Disneyland when I was 13. It was our family’s first overseas trip and I will never forget the moment mum, dad, my brother and I walked down the main street of Disneyland. I can’t wait to do the same trip with my kids.
5. Having the guts to ask Jacob to my formal when I didn’t even know his last name. That ballsy invitation started our relationship a month later. We have been together for 13 years, married for 10 next year.
6. Getting baptized in June 2001. I had gone through a bad break-up with a boy and the stress of year 12 pushed me closer to God than away. It was the same year that I met Jacob.
7. Dad taking me to get my Formal dress. I lost a lot of weight in year 12 and the two previous Mr K dresses that my mum had bought with me either didn’t fit me or other girls in my grade had purchased the same dress! Dad took me to a tenancy in the city on Edward Street where he had just finished a plumbing job. He didn’t like my previous two dresses and told me he knew where to get my formal dress. Little did I know that it was designer Tim Lindgren!! A brand new cherry red fabric from Milan had been imported and as soon as I put one of Tim’s designer dresses on, the seamstress draped the red material around me and my dad exclaimed that was the dress I was going to wear to my formal and I LOVED it. I nearly died when I found out the dress was going to be $600! Back then that was A LOT of money for a formal dress. I still have the dress to this day and cannot part with it.
8. Being on a Stefan ad when I was 17. I skipped school to film the advertisement at Mt Cootha. It really wasn’t a great ad, but it boosted my self-confidence at the time.
9. Nominated as one of the Top 3 Business Students at Martin College in 2002 after completing my Diploma in Business Marketing and various other Certificates.
10. Getting my first real permanent job where I was paid $12000 more than the minimum wage for my age and qualifications. That extra income allowed me to save money for a home deposit and my trip to Africa with Jacob. I also spent way too much on clothes. 🙂
11. Jacob and I getting engaged at Montville in June 2004. His proposal was beautiful and romantic. In fact I sent our story to That’s Life and it was published in one of their magazines.
12. Travelling to Uganda in June 2004 to build an orphanage with Watoto.
13. Going on Safari on said African Trip – it was amazing to be surrounded by elephants in the wild and various other animals.
14. Jacob and I purchasing our first home in September 2004. We looked for one day and the last house we inspected, we ended up putting an offer on and purchasing.
15. Marrying Jacob on the 30th April 2005. One of the best days of my life.
16. Performing in musicals with Directions Musical Theatre Company. Jacob and I got to go to many places in Australia to perform. We also built solid friendships through these trips. It was a blessing to be used by God through this ministry.
17. Making the decision to leave a higher level sales executive position to work with my dad. I started working for our plumbing business in May 2006.
18. Selling our first home and upgrading to our current family home. It was an amazing blessing from God. We had so many empty rooms and now, all rooms are going to be filled with our children. 🙂
19. Finishing my Plumbing Apprenticeship – one of the hardest things I’ve done professionally in my life. In the same year I finished a Diploma in Fashion Styling via correspondence and started Styled By Bec and started to style clients. I do this work via word of mouth and on a casual basis.
20. Receiving the QLD Dux Plumbing Apprentice of the year in 2008.
21. Going to London and Paris in 2009. Two cities on my dreams list to go revisit.
22. Receiving the Australian Dux Plumbing Apprentice of the year in 2009.
23. Receiving the Judges Most Outstanding Achiever Award at the Construction Skills QLD Excellence Awards 2009.
24. Giving birth to my firstborn Esther in August 2010.
25. Getting my plumbing license in January 2011.
26. Starting ‘The Plumbette’ blog in November 2011. I didn’t launch my posts publicly until February 2012 and it wasn’t until later in 2012 where I learned about linking parties and how to get readers other than my mum to read my blog. My blog now gets over 7000 pageviews a month and continues to grow. (Thank you for reading my blog and coming back to visit!)
27. Giving birth to Magdalene in February 2013.
28. The Plumbette’s Kidspot Nomination for Top 30 Bloggers in the Personal and Parenting category for 2014. Totally blown away by this nomination. Cheering on for the Top 5 who will be announced in November this year. 🙂
29. Going to Colour Conference in March this year. It was another one of those dreams that I wanted to fulfill and the teaching and experience was better than I anticipated.
30. Turning 30 and having my third child in my 30th year.
As I reflect on my 30 achievements or things that I am proud to have done or experienced (and there are PLENTY more items I could have listed), I can see that I have lived a blessed life. It hasn’t been a life free from problems, heartache or worry, but interlaced through my life has been a common theme of trusting in Jesus and I can’t wait to see what the next 30 years hold for my life.
As a way to bless you my readers for reading my blog and commenting on my posts, I want to give a gift in celebration of my Birthday. I’d love for you to tick off an experience from your bucket list and offer you the chance to win a $100 Red Balloon voucher. I’m using money from sponsored posts that I’ve been recently doing to fund the giveaway and I hope to be able to do different giveaways throughout the year. I appreciate your loyalty and don’t take you for granted. Without readers, I wouldn’t have a blog.
To enter, use the Rafflecopter below and tell me in the comments section what is one thing you were proud to have achieved before you turned 30. The most creative and/or interesting answer will win the voucher.
I’m Linking up with Trish from My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday – I know not very wordless but still a few pictures in this post.
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These terms shall apply to all giveaways and competitions run on this site, www.theplumbette.com.au
- This is a game of skill. Each valid entry to be judged on creativity and originality, not by chance.
- There is one prize $100 Red Balloon Voucher only.
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