40 Before 40 – Update the Seventh
I’m not really sure where I’ll end up with this list in five months. I don’t so much care. I’m not giving up – certainly not! But I am learning to let go of arbitrary goals if they don’t make me happy.
That being said, let’s see where I’m at.
Things that are done!
- Attend the ballet – May (I attended a concert…)
- Go to the opera – June
- Sing a new song at karaoke – May
- Take a barre class – September
- Take a cooking class – August
- TEMPORARY funky hair color- June
- Try hot yoga – April
- Volunteer – I volunteered at a cider event in June & will volunteer with SOLVE in September
- Do a fun thing with Bean every day of his summer vacation- August
- Host a wine tasting – July
- Make a cheese that needs to age 10 months and eat it on my 40th birthday – May
- Develop a habit of meditation – September (I’ve meditated almost every day for the last couple of weeks)
- Drink a bottle of expensive champagne – March & June
- Get a stamp in my passport – August
For being halfway done with the year, that’s not looking so good, is it?
Let’s see what I know I’ll get done…
- Go to the local nude beach – TOMORROW!
- Whale watching – just working out the dates
- [Redacted] – I just need more practice
- Get back into my DIY habits –
- Take a good photo and pay to have it framed – the photo is picked out; I just need to pull the trigger
- Try a new (to me) cheese each month – yeah, not worried about this one
- Give a $100 tip on an inexpensive meal – once I’m re-employed!
- Meet three ‘in the computer friends’ in real life. – I’m one for three right now. I’m still counting on my PSM and then need one more person to wander through Portland!
- Publish my first book – the wheels are in motion!
The things I can get done…if I work at it
- Go ice skating
- Go to a book signing
- Do a boudoir photo session
- Become passable in Swedish
- Perfect the homemade pie crust. (Find volunteers to eat and critique all the pies.)
- Read one prize-winning (any major prize) book each month
- Feel good about my fitness level and appearance
- Get better at self care. That means eating regularly; exercising regularly; sleeping regularly.
And lastly, the things I don’t care so much about at all…
- Climb a tree
- Take a dancing class
- Throw pottery (on a wheel)- I’m having trouble finding a way to do this that isn’t committing to a few hundred dollars and several classes…I just want to try it one time.
- Try a pole dancing class at the studio down the street.
- Take the Bean fishing
- Become a proficient knife thrower (i.e. hit the target more often than not)
- Learn 100 ASL signs
- Run a 5K, a 10K and a half marathon. – I’ll definitely get the 5K done, but I don’t need longer…
- Write 150 blog posts – Unless I start posting multiple posts/day, this will be impossible…
This has been such a huge year for me, and even if I don’t finish all the items on my list, I’ve done the ones that meant the most to me. I got that passport stamp and I will publish my first novel. Probably no one will buy it, and it will be a business loss, but that’s really okay. I got to drink my celebratory champagne and I’m not longer being bothered by a job I don’t like. I’m working on my health and fitness. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of good, quality time with my Alvie Bean, the Beer Guy, and with my very good friends. I’ve got five months left to hit a lot of the remaining items on my list, but no matter what, I have already won at being 39.
