40 Things To Do Before I'm 40

I'm turning 35 in a few months. Turning 30 didn't phase me, but somehow with 35, I sense that I'm not getting any younger. I know that 35 doesn't qualify as old age, but I'm pretty sure that I thought it was old when I was a newlywed 10 1/2 years ago! Anyhow, I was inspired recently at Notes From the Trenches' list of things to accomplish before she's 40. At first, it seemed funny to me, as if the premise was that life ends at 40. And then I thought, why not? It's basically just setting some goals to accomplish in the next 5 years. Since I'm a girl who operates best with a deadline, it's probably a good idea. I can always make a new list of things to do before I'm 50, right? (Wince) The suggestion that I might one day be 50 is now making me a bit squeamish. That's my mom's age (in my head, that is. She'll actually be 60 this year, but she's still 50ish to me.)
Well, the point is that there is no time like the present to compile my list. So here it goes, in no particular order. Forty things I'd like to do before I'm 40:

1. Get under 150 pounds without having a limb amputated. Heck, I'd take under 160, but we'll say under 150.
2. Scan all my photos that are pre-digital camera. (ugh. If someone else wants to do it for me, I won't mind taking this off the list!)
3. Paint my kitchen cupboards. It's been on my to-do wish list since we bought the house four years ago. Sigh. Maybe I don't like the direction this list is taking. Let's try a different route.
   
4. Use my passport again (which probably means I'm due for a new one.) My last passport-requiring trip was in spring of 1999.
   
5. Brush up on my Russian so that I'm not too scared to speak Russian to the Russian-speakers that are everywhere around here, especially at Costco. Plus it may come in handy if #4 involves a Russian speaking country.
6. Teach my kids Russian. It's ridiculous that we haven't done that, since Jared & I are both speakers (he more than I these days.)
7. Read War and Peace.
   
8. And The Brothers Karamazov. I'm ashamed of myself to say that even though some of my favorite books are by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, I've never read these two.
9. Learn to sew well enough to make something that I'll actually use. Okay, something better than an apron. This could be a dress for Bronwen, drapes for my house, etc. The said item will not be mostly made by my sister and/or mother as have my previous sewing projects!
10. Win a cooking recipe contest. Ideally, one that involves a cash prize.:)
11. Participate in a 5k for a good cause. I've been meaning to do Race for the Cure for years. Or The Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving Day.
    
12. Run a 5k for a good cause! Since I'm not what you'd call a runner, this will be a big accomplishment.
13. Learn to love hiking and expose my kids to the great hikes available near our home.
    
14. Establish a family hobby of hiking.
15. Plant a garden.
16. Actually tend it, harvest, and eat what I grow. I'm hoping to do this this year, but haven't quite gotten the beds prepared yet. I'd better hurry--it's time.
17. Have no consumer debt and be well on our way to out of debt completely.
18. Have two months' living expenses in our savings' account. This must happen sooner than five years from now, but I still want it to be there then!:)
19. Learn to love Isaiah. I read Isaiah because I'm obedient, but not because I enjoy it or take the time to decipher it.
20. Learn to make cream puffs. Because I need more cream puffs in my life!:)
    
21. Maybe 40 is too many things! This list already feels long. I'd better make a few easier ones, like: Turn 39.
22. Have another baby. Maybe two. I'm just getting it out there now, so that people can quit asking me if we're "done," and to avoid having them ask me, "was this planned?" when they find out that I'm pregnant again. (It really is crazy how many people feel comfortable asking such questions, including perfect strangers. Aren't those kind of personal in nature?) Not that I'm pregnant again. But I plan to be before I'm 40, which is the point of this list.
23. Write/keep another blog, entirely dedicated to food, recipes, and menu plans.
24. Write/keep another blog, entirely dedicated to homeschooling.
    
25. Get my master bedroom windows treated with something other than the metal blinds that were there when we moved in.
26. Paint the master bedroom.
27. Actually hang a wall of family pictures.
28. Find something that I like AND can afford to hang on the dining room walls, which are blank.
29. Memorize The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
30. Start practicing the piano again with some regularity.
31. Develop a healthier relationship with cake. (This has not been a good cake week for me.)
32. Develop a habit of writing (and actually mailing) thank you cards. I am terrible at this, and yet I believe that it is so important. The paradox between ideals and reality is not fun!
33. Help my children develop a habit of writing thank you cards.
    
34. Mail the thank you cards that I teach my children to write!
35. Re-read Shakespeare. Probably with my kids.
36. Take an html class. (Are you reading this, Mindy?)
    
37. Learn how to not accumulate things we don't need. This will not only save money, but will reduce the clutter around my house. This is a good blog to read for inspiration.
38. This is harder than I thought, and most of you have probably stopped reading by now anyway, so I'll just leave it at 38. Maybe I'll come back and add something later. That's it--I'm just leaving room for a few more additions.

Whew! I'm exhausted. I'd better get off the computer and get to work! Do you think that five years will be enough time?