20 x 40

Some of you may have read or heard on the news that my Dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at the end of last year.  Although his prognosis is good, I think our family has taken the opportunity to reevaluate the "important" parts of life.  

One topic that gets more discussion as of late is the "bucket list."  Dad talks about being a cattle farmer, seeing more Major League Baseball games, and tracing our family's lineage.  All of this talk encouraged me to think about what I'd want to do if I created a "bucket list."  So, I created the 20 x 40 list.

The 20 x 40 list entails 20 things I'd love to do by the time I turn 40.  Some of the items on the list are probably unrealistic...I mean seriously, I'm not ever really going to complete a triathlon.  But I'm going to throw out my goals, my bucket list, or the 20 things I'd do if I had endless time, money, and/or energy.

So, here is my 20 x 40 list...20 things I hope to achieve by the time I turn 40

Learn to can fruits and veggies

Sew a quilt

Sew something for ME

Road trip across the United States

Take a calligraphy class

Complete a triathalon

MAKE all my gifts for a year

Shop the World Longest Yard Sale

Learn to use power tools

Write a children's book

Make Gran's cookbook

Adopt from Africa

Improve my digital photography skills (and learn to use Photoshop Elements)

Become a foster parent

Travel to 6 of the 7 continents (sorry Antartica)

Write 365 thank you notes

Take 365 photos

Learn to UTILIZE my serger

Visit a fortune teller

Live in another country for 6 months

I've had this list sitting on my desktop for more than a year.  It really stared me in the face for over a year.  I kept thinking, "you know, I should really work on that!"  Well, I will admit that I've begun my list (just yesterday).  I have 19 more to go.  I'm planning to start tomorrow by detailing each of the items on the list (starting with the ONE I can mark off as complete), the ones I've begun, where the dreams came from, and how I hope to complete them...

More to come...