40 by 40

Tomorrow is my birthday. In honor of this occasion (and to distract myself from the fact that my babies are turning SIX in less than 48 hours), I've compiled a "40 by 40" list. 

As the name implies, it's a list of 40 things I want to do by the time I turn 40. I tried to focus on concrete things vs. philosophical things (like, "love more"), although #7 crept in anyway. 

At first, eight years seemed like a long time to do just 40 things, but given the magnitude of (and savings required for) many of these items, I think accomplishing five per year will prove to be challenging. 

Making the list was a fun exercise, as it made me realize that I've actually done a lot of stuff in my 32 years. Here's to the next eight:

1. Run a 5k
2. Bake a pie from scratch
3. Eat Joel Robuchon’s 16-course tasting menu in Las Vegas
4. Visit Hawaii
5. Have a personal essay or short story published
6. Learn to play guitar
7. Stop second-guessing myself
8. Tour the coasts of Ireland
9. Do Pastry Boot Camp at the CIA
10. Visit Italy
11. Drive the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to LA
12. Learn to decorate a cake
13. See the glaciers in Alaska
14. Go to Paris with my husband
15. Sing karaoke
16. Eat Thanksgiving dinner in a fancy restaurant
17. Get another tattoo
18. Find a form of exercise I like
19. Make exercise part of my life
20. Take a cruise
21. Find a job that I love
22. Learn to make and appreciate a good martini
23. Finish scrapbooking my boys’ childhoods (at least through age 5)
24. Give only homemade gifts for Christmas one year
25. Eat key lime pie in Key West
26. Visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum
27. Wear a ball gown
28. Learn to do “smoky eyes”
29. Participate in a treasure/scavenger hunt in another state or country
30. Plan another treasure/scavenger hunt
31. Go on a two-week (or longer) vacation
32. Spend Christmas somewhere warm
33. Give up dairy for a week
34. Read “Ulysses”
35. Write each one of my friends a letter saying what they mean to me
36. Eat at Per Se
37. Do my own taxes
38. Learn to change a tire
39. Go back and read all of my journals
40. Take the boys to the Galapagos Islands Join the Bone Marrow Registry

Perhaps I should have put "win the lottery" or "find a corporate sponsor" on the list. Wait, I'm #7ing again...