thirty things

my thirtieth birthday is approaching in a few days

& i find myself a bit more reflective than usual.

source

it got me thinking about all that's happened in my life so far

& as i have said before, i have a lot to be grateful for!

i experienced love, heartache and peace.

in the past 29 years i lived in six states (two of which i moved to twice)
 & set foot in 45 of the 50 united states (counting airports for four of them).
bagged my 1st fourteener (colorado speak for hiking a mountain over 14k feet tall).
bought a brand new car & paid it off in less than four years.
cooked at least a dozen 10+ lb. turkeys & made gravy from scratch (not all at once).


unlike jenna rink, i am not looking forward to 30 so i can be "thirty & flirty"

but i came up with list of
30 things i want to do while i'm 30
my hope is to celebrate life all year long with a list of things that will
challenge me.  while some may seem silly, they are all things i have not done before.

1 - travel to a country i've not been

2 - buy a sewing machine (i have growing list of projects for it)

3 - go sailing on the charles river

4 - watch a film in subtitles from start to finish
5 - make soup from scratch

6 - sleep under the stars (without a tent)

7 - become proficient in adobe photoshop

8 - sew an item of clothing & wear it
9 - read a c.s. lewis book from cover to cover

10 - learn to play chess

11 - kayak or canoe the concord river 

12 - spend a night at a new england b&b
13 - cut down our first christmas tree with the hubs
14 - string our christmas tree with cranberries and/or popcorn
15 - attend a broadway show (or maybe an off-broadway show since it's $$$)
16 - go for seven consecutive days without wearing brown pants or shirt
17 - apply to be a member of the daughters of the american revolution
18 - visit wrigley field in chicago
19- hike at least 10 miles of the a.t.
20 - go to a winery
21 - watch the sun rise over boston
22 - make new pillow cases for the living room
23 - train the pooch to obey commands consistently (this may require classes)
24 - write & publish an article for my professional association, acui
25 - send letters to my compassion child more consistently
26 - listen to more classical music, i really enjoy it but don't often listen
27 - lead a service or alternative break trip
28 - make donuts from scratch (already have a recipe in mind)
29 - visit five new-to-me boston restaurants (i'm taking suggestions)
30 - frequent garage sales (or tag sales as they're called in new england)


this list is sure to bring fun blog posts & i hope you'll join me!