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!

  1. Attend the ballet – May (I attended a concert…)
  2. Go to the opera – June
  3. Sing a new song at karaoke – May
  4. Take a barre class – September
  5. Take a cooking class – August
  6. TEMPORARY funky hair color- June
  7. Try hot yoga – April
  8. Volunteer – I volunteered at a cider event in June & will volunteer with SOLVE in September
  9. Do a fun thing with Bean every day of his summer vacation- August
  10. Host a wine tasting – July
  11. Make a cheese that needs to age 10 months and eat it on my 40th birthday – May
  12. Develop a habit of meditation – September (I’ve meditated almost every day for the last couple of weeks)
  13. Drink a bottle of expensive champagne – March & June
  14. 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…

  1. Go to the local nude beach – TOMORROW!
  2. Whale watching – just working out the dates
  3. [Redacted] – I just need more practice
  4. Get back into my DIY habits –
  5. Take a good photo and pay to have it framed – the photo is picked out; I just need to pull the trigger
  6. Try a new (to me) cheese each month – yeah, not worried about this one
  7. Give a $100 tip on an inexpensive meal – once I’m re-employed!
  8. 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!
  9. Publish my first book – the wheels are in motion!

The things I can get done…if I work at it 

  1. Go ice skating
  2. Go to a book signing
  3. Do a boudoir photo session
  4. Become passable in Swedish
  5. Perfect the homemade pie crust. (Find volunteers to eat and critique all the pies.)
  6. Read one prize-winning (any major prize) book each month
  7. Feel good about my fitness level and appearance
  8. 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…

  1. Climb a tree
  2. Take a dancing class
  3. 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. 
  4. Try a pole dancing class at the studio down the street.
  5. Take the Bean fishing
  6. Become a proficient knife thrower (i.e. hit the target more often than not)
  7. Learn 100 ASL signs
  8. Run a 5K, a 10K and a half marathon.  – I’ll definitely get the 5K done, but I don’t need longer…
  9. 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.

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