Before I turn 40...

Today is the first day of the last year of my 30's....in other words...I'm 39 years old today. EEK!  It doesn't seem possible.  39 is OLD.  O.L.D.  Middle ages...  Except...I don't feel old...I don't feel like I'm pushing 40.  We all have an "age" in our head that we "feel" like.  Mine is about 27-28.  So when I see someone that IS that age, I think to myself "that is how I look"...when in fact...I'm a full DECADE older than that.  Wow.  Jeff just laughs at me and thinks I'm silly when I realize that I've been out of high school for 21 years now....wow...  He is 7 1/2 years older than me, so he always jokingly says "I don't have any sympathy for you."  At the end of his headlights he sees the big 5-0...so me freaking out just a little bit about 40 is amusing to him.

Anyway - the point of this post is that I want to list the things I want to accomplish in the next year.  If I don't write them down somewhere...I'm afraid I will forget them (you know...old age and all...).  Also - this list will be "small" because I want the things on it to actually be obtainable.  If I put something along the lines of "Visit the Great Wall of China" on the list, it wouldn't be obtainable - at least not before I'm 40.  Those kind of things end up on a different "bucket" list...haha

1) Run a 10K.  (or 6.2 miles)  Originally I was going to do this on Thanksgiving day this year....but then my knee started giving me issues...so I don't think it is going to happen.  BUT it WILL happen sometime in the next calendar year!
2) Run a half marathon.  I have NO inclination or desire to ever complete a full marathon.  But who knows...maybe that will be on my "before I'm 50" list. Completed February 16 & March 16.
3) Complete a Olympic length triathlon.  Just this past weekend, my friend K and I did a sprint length - and we survived.  We are even excited about doing another one (possibly in April).  BUT I will say this - the swim about killed me!  I was NOT ready for the open water swim...not ready at all.  About the time I couldn't touch anymore, I was having a difficult time breathing and I panicked.  I made it through...and per the timing...we did the .25 mile in only 15 minutes (!!?!?! WHAT?!?!?).  So...with proper training and preparation...doing a full mile is conceivable....doable.  So why not???
4) Do a Ragnar Relay race.  Now...this might not happen before I turn 40...but hopefully it will happen the year of 40.  The one I want to do is in the Keys (the upcoming one is in February - so too quick for me to be ready). BUT in 2015 I will be ALL over that!  Hopefully I will have enough friends to fill the team of 12.
5) Ride in a Hot Air Balloon.  I am scared of heights...well...falling from them really.  I can be in a tall building where I have no fear that I will fall out of it and be perfectly fine.  But.  If you put me somewhere that is high...and in my clumsy nature I trip and could fall off of the high thing...that is when I'm scared.  So...a hot air balloon is a big thing for me.  Challenges fears and all.
6) Read the Bible.  Oh I've read some of the bible.  Chunks of it here and there.  But I've never finished it....sad...but true.  So my goal is to this year finally finish reading the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth manual...
7) Finish Kendall's baby quilt.  Seriously...  I took a quilting class about 9 years ago...and made a few for a few friends and their babies (Michele N. and Heather C. I believe...).  BUT...I never finished the one for my daughter that I started when I was pregnant with her.  Still have everything for it...but haven't finished it.  Oh well.
8) Learn to knit or crochet.  Now I'm not saying that I will become an avid knitter or crocheter...but I want to at least learn how to do it.  Maybe make one scarf or something...and know that I can.
9) Bring the kids to see snow.  For those of you up north...this seems like a weird item I'm sure.  BUT...my kids are FLORIDA kids.  They saw snow two Christmas's ago - but it was just the stuff that floated down from the sky for all of 3 minutes and didn't stick anywhere.  They have no real concept of what snow is REALLY like.  We told them we would try to bring them last year...but it just never happened. THIS year - I want to make sure it happens. Completed January 17-20.
10) Be an extra on the set of a TV show or (major) movie.  Ok...so this one might not be doable.  But this has ALWAYS been a dream of mine...so who knows....maybe someone out there reading this has connections to let me be on the set of something.  Maybe not even as an extra...just to be able to watch how it all happens would be incredible.
11) Rent a "fun" car for a weekend.  Sounds simple enough.  But Jeff and I are typically "practical"...and get the standard car or small SUV if we are traveling with the kids.  But...just once...I want to rent the convertible...the race car. Wow.  How much fun would that be??
12) Publish something I have written.  Many don't know this...but I do creative writing occasionally.  I wrote one poem in college that was published in the school's yearly literary journal. Really cool.  But...since then I've written a few short stories and even more poetry.  I've started a book...several times...the same book.  But - I think it would be cool to have something I've written be published in a magazine or something.  Not sure how to accomplish this...but who knows...
13) and along those same lines Start to Write again Regularly.  I used to write on this blog on a regular basis.  Then I stopped...  I would like to challenge myself to maybe write a blog post at least 2 times a month (not unobtainable).  And...do some creative writing maybe once a month (or more).
14) Take the kids camping. In a tent. Outside. Overnight.  We have all the equipment...just haven't done it yet.  This year.  This is it!

I'm sure I can come up with more if I think long and hard enough about it.  But for right now - I think that the above is doable.  Any additional suggestions?