40 /​ 40 Project

The year I turned 29, I made a list of 30 things that I wanted to accomplish before I turned the big 3–0. 29 turned out to be a pretty crazy year, so crazy that I must have just scrapped the list and thrown it out because I can't find it anywhere. That being the case, I decided to start the 40 /​ 40 Project: 40 Things to Accomplish Before 40.

1. Become a morning person. With enough coffee, I can do anything!
2. Buy a house with a big yard. (See 6, 7, and 8.)
3. Create an warm, inviting, comfortable home, where Scarlett, Leo, and their friends want to spend time.
4. Become a good cook. This requires that I actually cook, but stranger things have happened.
5. Write a recipe.
6. Grow a vegetable garden.
7. Raise chickens in a backyard coop. For eggs. No, no, not to eat.
8. Keep bees. I never kill bees because they are magical, so we already have a pretty good relationship.
9. Grow orchids. Keep them alive.
10. Learn to meditate, possibly getting it started with a silent yoga retreat.
11. Build a library. Brian and I both suffer from bibliomania. Needless to say, we have more than enough books already.
12. Vacation in Mexico, preferably on a beach. This does not mean Cancun. Or Tijuana.
13. Learn to forgive and forget.
14. Let go of residual fears and anger.
15. Practice yoga every day.
16. Find a cardio routine and stick to it.
17. Learn to live on 80% of my income, save 10%, and tithe 10%.
18. Pay off my student loans.
19. Set up a retirement account.
20. Start donating to my alma maters. I think it may be bad karma not to.
21. Build a Habitat for Humanity Home.
22. Go whale watching.
23. Learn to like camping. I'm still not over the great camping disaster of 2002.
24. Put together my own cabaret show.
25. Learn to play the guitar. (Lessons are only $6 at the local music shop.) And the ukulele.
26. Buy a piano.
27. Record an album of my own songs. Cultivate the courage to share it.
28. Write and publish a book or memoir.
29. Make money writing.
30. Start learning Spanish. NYC Restaurant Spanish is not useful in real life.
31. Have a painting exhibited at the MOBA.
32. Donate blood every 56 days.
33. Take ballet class again. Be mistaken for a ballerina.
34. Keep a daily journal.
35. Find a cause to champion and volunteer for it on a regular basis.
36. Run for school board.
37. Knit anything other than a scarf.
38. Raise well-​​adjusted, empathetic, independent children.
39. Get legally married to Brian and go on a proper honeymoon.
40. Grow this blog.