Before I'm 40: August 2016

What is this you asK?

Many people have a "before I turn 30" list, those things they feel they must do before turning into an adult 'for real' ... I didn't do that. I didn't do it for 35 either. And I'm pretty sure I suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome, not sure I'll ever be a real adult (adulting is hard). Regardless, I've decided to challenge myself to accomplish 37 things I "want to do" before I hit 40.

Also, for the past few years I've been "throwing myself online birthday parties" ... it started with a postcard birthday party, went on to a 33 Variations (recipes bday), a mix tape request bday, a 36 "things" birthday, and this year - as you can tell from this blog - I asked for a list of 37 things to do before I turn 40.

Since I'll have 3 years to do them, I'm going to add one thing a year, so I'll end up doing 40 things before I turn 40. And this here blog is dedicated to the tracking of my 40 things ... and perhaps beyond that.

So if you want too, follow my journey on here.

PS...I'm also going to compile a list of all the other things people wrote, and continue to work my way through them (pre or post 40, whenever they happen they happen!)

AND...I'm going to make a list of all the things people wrote down that I have already done. :)

As I do them, #'s will represent the 37 (40 - plus one to grow on so 41) things BEFORE I'm 40!

Letters will represent items off of the other, much longer, compiled list of things to do!

Sunday, August 21, 2016

10. READ -- b.) 40 of the books considered the best in Classic Literature

In order to keep myself on target with these, I signed up for goodreads.com.

And to be fair, I have read some of the books considered to be the best in Classic Literature already, but there are so many on that list that I'm sure I can find forty I haven't read yet.

Every time I read a new one I'll add it to this post. :)

#1 of 40: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
#2 of 40: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
#3 of 40: The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
#4 of 40:

Saturday, August 6, 2016

9. Visit New Skete With Dad

Went with Dad, and Mom, to New Skete on __DATE__, for their Pilgrimage. Experienced the Monastery, ate good food, meet many of the monks, pet a few pure bread German Shepherds. Good day! :)

THE LIST

37 Things to do Before I Turn 40

(+3 to grow on...so it’s 40 things)

Zip Line, through a rain forest if possible
Take dance lessons (tango, salsa, etc.)
Host a poker night
Read ... in progress:

“how to be a woman” by Caitlin Moran
40 of the books considered the best in classic literature
Lie under a tree with a pile of books and nothing else and waste an entire day this way.

Penguins ... in progress:

see one in the wild
own a penguin (zoo or wild “adopt” or “sponsor”)
pet a penguin
make one out of clay
make a penguin and give it to somebody special

Mandolin

learn to play a new instrument -- play the Therimin
take lessons
learn how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
write a song for it

Make your own flower pot and then plant a kind of flower in it that you have never planted before.
Put on a clown outfit and put on a show fro Grandma and Granddad.
Get a puppy. (Get a pet that’s only yours and love it. And so you can cuddle it.)
Write a play for Paige and Taryn and video tape it like you used to do for us (cousins).
Go camping.

Stay somewhere without power for a weekend with a friend or two.
Start a yearly low cost tradition, perhaps cousins camping weekend

Get a tattoo!
Rent a lake house with friends, enjoy. Perhaps it’s a tree-house at a lake?
Make a Margaret Menu and then host a party featuring the menu.
Write a children’s book (and or, write a whole short story) and publish it on Shutterfly.
Talk in an accent for a whole week (one even suggested a different accent every day?)
Write your own Memoirs/Autobiography - publish it on Shutterfly with photos.
Finish my quilt.
See Pearl Jam again.
Plant a tree.
Brew a Stout and Distill a Whiskey.
Take Mom and I out for a spa day (when she retires).
Visit New Skete with Dad.
Visit Lisette in New Zealand (and do amazing things while there).
Sit at a Chef’s table once / Dine at Yono’s or Cafe Capriccio and do their tasting meal with wine pairings.
Have a drink that is lit on fire first.
Memorize the “Jabberwocky” poem - why, because you can.
Pickle something.
Take a long drive, with no destination in mind (fill the tank first, and bring money) ... see where you end up. (Could take a friend...)
Learn another language.
Visit 37 Micro-breweries and or pubs you’ve never been too. *36 to go...
Visit Tory (ok cousins on both sides) 37 times.
Experiment with a strange haircut or wild color.
Volunteer. (Soup kitchen, Animal shelter, Habitat for Humanity, Homeless shelter...)
Explore nearby nooks and crannies you’ve missed while driving by.
Do something that REALLY scares the hell out of you. -- Go skydiving (or, "Try parachuting out of a perfectly good airplane.)
Write letters, they are often cherished.

make a card to Michael and one to Mary
reconnect with someone by sending them a postcard

Sponsor a child.
Enter a photo contest or two (or three, or more)
Throw an outrageous THEME dance party.
And One To Grow On: Write a letter to yourself that you don't open until you are 40.