The List

Are you wondering what that 40 by 40 list over there to the right is all about? (You probably can't see it if you're reading this on a mobile interface...sorry, it's the way the layout works and I don't know enough about coding to change it - try viewing the Desktop Version!)

I wrote this list the night before my 32nd birthday. I got the idea from writer/blogger Patti Digh, who wrote a 50@50 list several years ago to document 50 things she wanted to learn the year she turned 50. My list is 40 things I want to do by my 40th birthday, which means I gave myself 8 years...you could argue that I was slightly less ambitious than Patti, but lots of my items are also pretty big.

Accomplishing #1 on the list back in 2011

I'm supposed to accomplish 5 things each year if I want to stay on track. I've done okay. As you can see, I've crossed 13 things off the list and it's been 3.5 years. But some of them were hard things, like "Run a 5K," which I honestly didn't think I'd be able to do since, back when I made the list, I couldn't even push through a single mile. Now I can run 2 miles easily and 3 without falling apart. And I've run two 5Ks and a 7K!

I slacked a little over the last year. However, I fully intend to catch up before my next birthday, which means I've got 153 days to do 7 things. We'll see how it goes.

Even though it's my list and I can do what I want (imagine me stomping my foot while I said that), I feel I must admit to you, blogosphere, that when I posted the list here, I updated it. I didn't remove anything on the basis that it was too hard. I just wasn't interested in doing all of the things I originally thought I wanted to do. I'm hoping this list will last me for the next 4.5 years.

The new additions are:
#7 Write a rough draft of my book
#18 Be debt free (excluding mortgage)
#21 Win a contest
#24 Learn how to play poker
#34 Read Don Quixote
#37 Visit the Grand Canyon
#39 Cook a lobster

I can assure you that #7 and #18 will not be accomplished until the end. In fact, I'm not totally sure we can pay off my husband's student loans in the next 4.5 years, but if it comes down to it and my mortgage and student loans are all the debt that's left, I'll be pretty happy.

I'd like to capture the stories of the 13 items I already accomplished here as well, but I'm feeling a bit bogged down by backstory (are you bored? I'm getting bored), so I'll just have to intersperse those stories here and there, like the grandma of the blog saying, "Did I ever tell you about the time...?"

In the meantime, I'll be plotting out my next 7 things I have to do, while simultaneously keeping my New Year's resolutions to drink less Starbucks, spend less money and eat better. Like I said, we'll see how it goes.