The Countdown Begins!

Or rather, it began four days ago. The countdown to finishing my "40 before 40" list. I still have a lot to do! I'm totally making deals with myself at this point...things like "Well, you didn't do THAT, but you did do THIS which is pretty close, so..."

Here's the Original List:
forty before forty
1. sing karaoke
2. go to a movie all by myself
3. go away for a short weekend trip all by myself
4. run a 5k
5. participate in a “relay for life” or walk for some other cause
6. lose 40 pounds
7. work to join a professional level choir
8. create the habit of exercising daily
9. read five non-fiction books
10. finish the rough draft of my novel
11. reorganize my craft space and purge at least a third of my stash
12. enter my photography into a local contest
13. explore the local photography group and attend one meeting
14. visit the Oregon coast at least 5 times
15. have regular one-on-one “dates” with each of my children (I’m thinking quarterly at least)
16. put more things in my etsy shop
17. create the London scrapbook I was supposed to give my SIL for Christmas of 2008
18. purge my closet and only wear clothes that make me look good and feel happy and are in good repair
19. keep my desk clean for a week
20. make time for being spiritually fed on a daily or at least weekly basis (read my scriptures regularly)
21. color my hair again just for fun
22. get a pedicure (for the first time!)
23. go on a photo-taking walk around my house (Nebergall Loop)
24. go without processed sugary foods for a week
25. go without caffeinated sodas for a week
26. walk 10,000 steps in one day
27. donate my hair to locks of love
28. get all of my health check-ups up to date
29. revamp my living room
30. sew something for each of my children
31. go on a short outdoor hike
32. get all excess clutter out of my bedroom—make it a sanctuary
33. see one tourist site in Oregon I’ve never visited in the 20+ years I’ve lived here
34. learn to play 20 new hymns from the hymnbook on the piano
35. take one personal enrichment class through the local parks & rec or community college
36. write a new poem
37. finish the “no ordinary stories” coffee table book that’s floating around in my head
38. get a professional massage
39. go see a live play or musical, performed at least on the community theater level (no middle or high school performances)
40. watch the sun set into the Pacific Ocean

And what I've accomplished as of today, April 4th:
forty before forty
1. sing karaoke
2. go to a movie all by myself
3. go away for a short weekend trip all by myself
4. run a 5k
5. participate in a “relay for life” or walk for some other cause
6. lose 40 pounds (I've lost 20)
7. work to join a professional level choir
8. create the habit of exercising daily
9. read five non-fiction books
10. finish the rough draft of my novel (so not happening this year...it'll be first on the list for next year)
11. reorganize my craft space and purge at least a third of my stash (in progress--I have purged a lot, but probably not a third)
12. enter my photography into a local contest (See HERE.)
13. explore the local photography group and attend one meeting (Unfortunately, the club meets on Thursdays, which have been committed to YouThespian practices since about October, so this will have to wait until after my birthday)
14. visit the Oregon coast at least 5 times
15. have regular one-on-one “dates” with each of my children (I’m thinking quarterly at least)
16. put more things in my etsy shop
17. create the London scrapbook I was supposed to give my SIL for Christmas of 2008
18. purge my closet and only wear clothes that make me look good and feel happy and are in good repair
19. keep my desk clean for a week
20. make time for being spiritually fed on a daily or at least weekly basis (read my scriptures regularly)
21. color my hair again just for fun (I'll do this after I get it cut in a few weeks)
22. get a pedicure (for the first time!) (Scheduled for the 16th)
23. go on a photo-taking walk around my house (Nebergall Loop)
24. go without processed sugary foods for a week
25. go without caffeinated sodas for a week
26. walk 10,000 steps in one day
27. donate my hair to locks of love (This is happening in a couple of weeks as well)
28. get all of my health check-ups up to date
29. revamp my living room
30. sew something for each of my children 

31. go on a short outdoor hike

32. get all excess clutter out of my bedroom—make it a sanctuary

33. see one tourist site in Oregon I’ve never visited in the 20+ years I’ve lived here

34. learn to play 20 new hymns from the hymnbook on the piano

35. take one personal enrichment class through the local parks & rec or community college

36. write a new poem

37. finish the “no ordinary stories” coffee table book that’s floating around in my head

38. get a professional massage

39. go see a live play or musical, performed at least on the community theater level (no middle or high school performances) (I saw THREE!)

40. watch the sun set into the Pacific Ocean

I will give a full wrap-up after the month is over, point by point and step by step. Stay tuned!