Wednesday, February 2, 2011

30 before 30

Here it is. The much awaited and highly anticipated list. I have been thinking long and hard about this one, only considering goals I think are achievable, but will be a good catalyst for growth. I also was picky that they had to relate directly to me. None of this goals-for-my-kids stuff. Shame on me if I don't have enough boundaries and self awareness to come up with 30 goals for myself. (teach A to ride a bike will just have to start some other list.) Some I have even begun to tackle already; others I know I will procrastinate. And without further delay and in no particular order: 1. Roast a chicken. (thank you Martha Stewart Living January addition for prompting this one) 2. Put together a meal idea book. This idea is pulling all the "good" recipes I have into one location, listing their ingredients (breaking down into pantry and fresh) and then at a glance deciding what the weekly menu will be. I have Bug's cousin, Cynthia, to thank for helping me get going on this one. I am SO excited. This will conquer food storage, quick grocery lists, and save some $ along the way. We have already begun, but I still need to type it up. 3. Paint an oil painting to go above our stairwell in the entry way. Deep breath. I just figured out the subject matter. Wish me luck. And if you stop by and see a painting hung over our stairwell, please utter nothing but encouragement. Lying is absolutely permissible. 4. Sew something with my inherited sewing machine. All knobs and twisty things are not set right. The first challenge will be to get the machine working before I attempt to sew. And, have I mentioned I am not a sewer? 5. Meet with Bug's Aunt Janese to go peruse family photos. We have talked about doing this forever. 6. Loose weight. Don't worry I have a specific # I am working towards, and a specific plan...know that's key to goal setting but I am keeping it to myself. 7. Read the Book of Mormon. Helps me to have a deadline. 8. Sell my first oil painting. Is this too much? I don't know. This is the one that makes me most anxious. Last year I sold several watercolors, with a few more commissioned pieces on the horizon. I am grateful and humbled by the experience. Now that I am taking up oils again, I hope to attain a level of skill that is also desired by others as well. Long way to go before this happens. 9. See The Little Mermaid in St. George this summer with the fam. 10. Get my passport. 11. Paint kitchen cabinets. (white in case your wondering) And hoping that getting new counter tops and floors will shortly follow. 12. Repurpose free-standing jewelry box. Such big plans in my head for this one. Can't wait to see if it turns out as good as it is in my imagination. Warm sunny weather, please get here so I can reunite with my paint gun? 13. DI my clothes. Done. And I even color sorted my closet. 14. Get scrapbook items up to date. This is the item I dread the most. Hate scrapbooking. Hate it. Will probably be saving this one until right before the big deadline. 15. Print off blog for my mom. (who is not internet savvy, but still likes to read my ramblings.) 16. Sort through every cupboard in the house. There are cupboards I haven't even touched since the move...so its time to figure out whats all where. 17. Organize A's room. Done. Moving basically equaled some rooms having stuff dumped in drawers and A's room got hit hardest. Plus it feels good to rid the house of an abundance of dollar items and happy meal toys that no longer work or are missing pieces. You are welcome, DI. 18. Host a YW reunion dinner. 19. Invite 4 new neighbors to dinner. This one also is a bit intimidating. My courage comes from a new recipe I tried that's to die for. Hopefully our new friends will feel the same? 20. Try all the places on our 'eat out' list with Bug. You are more than welcome to join us on this one. 21. Journal in kids' journals once a month. This is where I pour my heart out. Used to be so good at this, but have since needed to recommit. 22. Host/throw a craft party. Excited about this. After explaining the concept to Bug, he said "so like a mini-enrichment night?" Kinda, which frustrated me to affirm. (when I saw another blog post on this, I died with envy.) Who's in? 23. Eat at least 1 serving of fruit and veggies a day. I know I should already have this down, but I find myself being so hypocritical about this. Insisting the kids get their servings, and then in my head "hm, a banana doesn't sound good to me." Whatev. Will try to change. 24. Watch all the shows on my bbc list. There are 22, and I have seen 3. This is an indulgence. 25. Sleep overnight at the cabin at least 4 times this summer. Love the cabin, and need to start using a mini-vacation spot instead of an afternoon retreat. Although there is nothing wrong with escaping for a couple hours. 26. Update my goodreads profile. This is basically nonexistent. I keep getting asked what my book recommendations are, and it would be helpful if this baby was already up and running like its intended to be. 27. Relearn 2 guitar songs. Does this one surprise any of you? Did you know I took a semester or two in college? Don't get too excited. I wasn't amazing, but I would love to start dabbling in it again. 28. Make headboard for our bed. 29. Take the Salt Lake Walking Tour. 30. Be on vacation on my actual birthday. Don't care where. Actually that is untrue. Being in the same valley as my house does not constitute a vacation. And there we are. Thirty of them. Wish me luck. I am a lover of lists, so hopefully I will be extra motivated to strike through my goals. I have roughly 8 months to tackle these. And don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

3 comments:

  1. I love your idea of 30 before 30. May I copy you? I may even copy a few of your goals. And another question--what's the recipe you have that's inspiring you to invite the neighbors over? Sounds good. Oh, and I love the idea of a craft night. How fun!

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  2. Good Luck! I am a little overwhelmed by the list - I hope you pull it off - I might try the 30 before 30 as well - what a great way to grow!!! - lucky for me I have just a little longer to pull it off. :)

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