40 Things to do before...aaaaaah!

I think 39 may actually be worse than 40.  A whole year of anticipating dreading that number that means you're not young anymore-officially.  I've spent the last 3 months coming to understand the "mid-life crisis" and sympathizing just a bit more with balding men in flashy sports cars.  It sucks.  It's not that I'm afraid of getting older-well, I guess I kind of am.  I'm just not ready to be referred to as "that older lady."  I find I'm more careful about how I dress, how I do my hair, what I say because suddenly I have to consider, "Am I too old for that?" or "Will it look like I'm trying to hard?"  But then, I also don't want to look like I'm not trying at all. *shudder*  We've all been seen her at the store in mom jeans and an 80's crop, looking all worn out and mousy.  Not. Me. (at least not every time!)

Enter "The List".  I know it's not exactly original. In fact, being not exactly original myself, I turned to the internet for some inspiration on what to include on my list.  I discovered two things: a lot of British women make "40 things..." lists, and a lot of people/websites who publish such lists advocate "things" that I don't care to see/do/know they exist. *ahem* I suggest you don't search the internet for a "40 things" list.  That said, it did get me thinking about what I'd like to accomplish in the next 9 months.  Some things are silly, some are sorta serious, some might actually help me to improve and some are just plain frivolous, but they're all mine.  That's a word I haven't uttered in oh, say-11 and a half years.  I'm completely out of the habit of thinking about me.  That's not to say I'm completely selfless-that should probably be on my list-but I've been lazy about setting goals and working to accomplish them.  My aim has been more about "getting through the day."  A valid prospect when there are many littles in your life, but probably not 363-ish days of every year.  I've debated publishing "The List" here because then all 3 of you who read this blog will know how silly/frivolous/unaccomplished I am.  But if it's here, then it's real and I can't hide from it or pretend I didn't really intend to do the things on it.  So here goes:

40 Things to do before 40

1. Read the Book of Mormon.
2. Lose 30 pounds.
3. Let my hair grow out.
4. Try sushi.
5. Eat at 6 different ethnic restaurants.
6. Try Yoga.
7. Run a 5K.
8. Make at least 60 entries in my journal.
9. Buy a real piano.
10. Learn to play at least 1/2 25 of the hymns in the hymnbook. (after actually checking the hymnbook, I decided to be a bit more realistic)
11. Learn to play one song not in the hymnbook.
12. Buy an outfit I really want, regardless of price.
13. Own the perfect pair of jeans.
14. Highlight my hair.
15. Build something.
16. Say "hello" and give a compliment to at least 10 people every day.
17. Do one craft project every week; give away one per month.
18. Volunteer at least once in 3 different organizations.
19. Get-Away with Sam.
20. Learn to digital scrapbook.
21. Blog once a week. (ah, now you see why we're here...)
22. Read a classic novel.
23. Go swimming.
24. Pretend I'm self-confident until I am self-confident. 
25. Do one thing that scares me. (in a good way)
26. Get a massage.
27. Karaoke. (at home-not in a bar, but in front of people)
28. Go on a date with each of my kids.
29. Learn to do a front flip on the trampoline. (Don't die)
30. Make a meal for another family once a month.
31. Be perfect in ONE thing. (Visiting teaching, making my bed, not picking my nose-just one.)
32. Update the way I do my makeup.
33. Let my kids see me be silly more often. (see #27)
34. Hold hands with Sam every day.
35. Attend a cultural event. (yes, I've done this before, but it ought to be an annual thing-at least)
36. Go on a family hike.
37. Do something that surprises people. (writing this post doesn't count)
38. Attend the temple 8 times.
39. Find and do temple work for one ancestor.
40. Speak softly, smile more.

That's it!  Believe it or not, this actually required quite a bit of thought-for me.  But I feel good about it, REALLY good, and really excited to get started.  I'll update "The List" as I begin to accomplish what's on it.  After all, I'll be here at least once a week, folks!