Making the most out of now

How often have you started a sentence like this: "Well, when I ______________, then I'll _____________."? In our house it usually sounds like this:

• "Well, when we get out of this crappy mortgage, then we'll figure out where we really want to live."
• "Well, when we finish paying off our school loans, then we can talk about taking a big vacation."
• "Well, when I finish watching this trash (i.e. awesome) TV show, then I'll try making that new recipe we talked about."
• "Well, when we get the house pulled together, then we can plan a time to go snowboarding."

You get the picture.

Some of our "if, then" statements are pretty benign, but sometimes I hear us talk and I think, "Geez, we have so many barriers to achieving our "ideal" life. When are we just going to do these things?"

Please don't get me wrong. We do enjoy life, but not in some of the "bigger" ways that we've always talked about. For instance, we've been married 8 1/2 years, and we've never taken a real vacation, just the two of us. Not a honeymoon, not a weekend away...nothing. We have moved cross-country together twice. We have taken trips to see family. We have learned to snowboard together. We have started a business together.  So it's not like we do nothing on our list, but how can we not have taken a vacation?

Well ladies, we're taking a big step this week. And, no, we're not taking a vacation.

We are, however, applying to be on a reality TV show!

Yes, you heard that right.

I really know nothing about the show. All I know is that it's new, it's on a cable network and the premise is that they send families or groups of friends who have never been outside the country on a vacation of a lifetime. I have no idea if we'll make the cut, but I finally feel like I'm actually doing something to make a dream vacation really happen. In some small way it gives me hope that one of these days we'll get to lie on the beach in a tropical destination listening to the waves roll in.

I know I'm not the only one who has barriers that prevent me from achieving some of my dreams. So I'd love to hear - what are some of your dreams, what holds you back, and what are you going to do this week to make the most out of the time you have right now? Even little steps toward achievement count so please share!

Image credit: Lululemon Athletica, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lululemonathletica/4561522294/sizes/m/in/set-72157622208946948/