Good afternoon!

Yep! You have heard correctly, yesterday was my birthday so I am officially 38!! WHOO! HOO!! 😉

As some of you may already know, I every year I put together a X by X list. A # of objects by number of years I will have been alive by the time I finish this goal list! Two years ago was my 37 by 37 list, this past year was my 38 by 38 list, and starting today, I will be actively working on my 39 by 39 list. This is the list where I take 39 things from my master Life List and schedule the 39 things that I want to do before my birthday this next year!

Before I show you my 39 by 39 list, I thought I would start out by showing you how my 38 by 38 turned out!! 🙂

Here is my 38 by 38 list:

1. Put $1,000 into a mini emergency fund – DONE!
2. Pay off all of my non-mortgage debt – Almost there, almost about $4000 to go!! WHEW!!!
3. Regularly tithe 10% of our household income – I did better on this one that I expected, but I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be.
4. Downsize our belongings so that everything we own fit into our 2-bedroom, 1 car garage condo – DONE!
5. Jog a mile – DONE!
6. Take the train
7. Go camping – DONE!
8. Blow bubbles out of the car window while on a road trip – DONE!
9. Clean out the garage – DONE!
10. Hike the longest trail at Silver Creek Falls – DONE!
11. Go on a walking tour of downtown Salem – I get a great deal on this from Groupon! I just have to schedule this before it expires and it will be done!!
12. Take a cooking class
13. Host a slumber party – DONE!
14. Create a new line of inspiring art pieces of at least 12 designs
15. Start my own company – DONE!
16. Redesign my blog to make it a reflection of my personal style – DONE!
17. Invest in blog/career business cards – DONE!
18. Launch an interview series on my blog
19. Send fifty handwritten handwritten notes (1 of 50)
20. Lose an accumulative 100 pounds (105 of 100) – DONE!
21. Volunteer in a cause that is near and dear to my heart
22. Ride my bike for an hour straight
23. Have a weekend vacation at the coast – DONE!
24. Sell my entire collection of Pink Paisley Boutique jewelry (LET IT GO!)
25. Host a movie-themed party
26. Inspire someone to write a list of their own – DONE!
27. Be featured in a creative publication
28. Try at least 12 new recipes (12 of 12) – DONE!
29. Prepare a meal using fresh ingredients from the Farmer’s Market
30. Use re-usable shopping bags for all grocery shopping for an entire month
31. Read every Jane Austen novel (1 of 5) – I read Pride and Prejudice
32. Get a facial
33. Revitalize 5 old pieces of furniture
34. Teach an online class
35. Read my Flying Lessons class book
36. Wear bright red lipstick out in public for a day – DONE!
37. Have at least 48 artist dates (35 of 48) – I did WAAAAAY better on this than I thought I would! So, I am going to consider this a win!!! 😉
38. Have fresh flowers in the house every week for at least 10 weeks (6 of 10) – This was harder and more expensive than I thought, but I may try this one again!! 😉

As usual, I got a lot more accomplished than I thought I was going to, but there were actually a few things I was able to mark off of my master Life List that I wasn’t planning on. Here are those things:

1. Fly first class – I did this on the spur of the moment on my last business trip!! First class was soooo worth the extra moola spent!!! 😉
2. Learn to hula hoop – My friend, Jamie, inspired me to give this a try. I went out and bought a hula hoop, much to the chagrin of my sweetie, and I did, right there in my living room – almost breaking a lamp, but having a BLAST just the same!!! 😉
3. Run a mile – I thought I would NEVER be able to do this!!
4. Run a 5k – I thought either I was going to die doing this, or I was going to kill my sweetie for making me! But, in the end I was soooo happy I did this!!!
5. Cross my legs – Who knew???? One day, I looked down, and realized, ‘Hey! I’m crossing my legs!!!’ It might as well have been free tickets to Paris! Yes, I was truly THAT excited!!! 😉
6. Touch my toes with knees unbent – this was another one that I thought I would never be able to, but my sweetie insisted that I tried it. When I realized I could actually touch my toes, I wanted to sit in that position FOREVER!!
7. Be able to do a complete Sun Salutation – Another shocker!! I am sure I don’t do it as gracefully as the ladies online do, but who cares???? I CAN DO THIS!!! Good morning, Sun!!! 😉
8. Buy Jason a truck – Yep! I was VERY happy to be able to do this for my sweetie!!
9. Create & post a video on YouTube – I am not sure why I thought this was such a scary thing!?? Easy peasy!!
10. Do an entire cross stitch pattern – Another easy peasy goal!!
11. Draw a piece of art that I am happy with – After I finished this particular piece I was surprised that it actually came out of me!!
12. Go to a counselor – this was a requirement of the bariatric surgery, but it was still on my list so I am counting it!!
13. Hire a nutritionist – same as 12!
14. Hike the longest trail at Silver Creek Falls (10.4 miles) – This might have been the hardest 4 hours of my life!! UGH!!!
15. Learn how to manage money – Thank you, Mr. Dave Ramsey!!!
16. Learn how to purl – I did this, hated it, crossed it off of my list anyways!!
17. Learn how to walk in heels – YEAH!! I’m a girl! I’m a girl!!
18. Live without eating out for one month – bariatric surgery made this one easy!
19. Live without junk food for one week – Same for this one!!
20. Love my entire wardrobe – This is easy to do when you are down to two pairs of pants, a blazer, denim jacket, 3 dresses, and a few miscellaneous tops!
21. Weigh less than 300 pounds – I will NEVER GO BACK!!
22. Weigh less than 275 pounds – This was a little less than what I weighed when my mom died!
23. Weigh less than 250 pounds – My goal is getting so close, I can almost feel it!!
24. Weigh less than 225 pounds – This is so much harder than I expected!!! Keep going!!! 😉
25. Eat at doughnut at Voodoo Donuts in Portland, OR – Such a LOOOOONG wait in a LOOOOOOON line, for an ok donut, but so much fun spending some silly time with my sweetie!!

WHEW!! I have been busy!! 😉

NOW, what do I want to see on my 39 by 39 list????

1. Go to Brave Girls’ Camp
2. Weigh less than 220 pounds
3. Weigh less than 215 pounds
4. Weigh less than 210 pounds
5. Weigh less than 205 pounds
6. Weigh less than 200 pounds
7. Publish my own e-book
8. Start my creative business’ website
9. Start my creative business’ blog
10. Watch a baby being born (my nephew – Liam)
11. Become a life coach
12. Be a mentor to someone else
13. Be a spokesperson for something positive
14. Beat Jason at a game of chess
15. Read all of Jane Austen’s novels (1 of 5)
16. Become a motivational speaker
17. Become a plus-sized model for a day
18. Build a loom
19. Learn how to use a loom
20. Grow a vegetable garden
21. Carve a piece of art
22. Build a piñata from scratch
23. Climb a rock wall
24. Cook an entire meal for Jason’s family
25. Contact a distant family member & start communicating
26. Share my art-making-process via a YouTube channel
27. Purchase a professional camera
28. Learn how to use it
29. Create a time capsule
30. Take a road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway
31. Do a backbend
32. Do a cartwheel
33. Do a flip off a diving board
34. Do a handstand
35. Gather a group of people to blow bubbles in a public space
36. Get a life coach
37. Get a passport
38. Get a pen-pal from a different country
39. Get paid to do what you love
40. Go kayaking
41. Grocery shop using only reusable bags for an entire month
42. Hang laundry in the sun to dry
43. Pay off all non-mortgage debt
44. Have 3 – 6 months expenses in an emergency savings account
45. Have a prayer alter in my home with stair-stepped candles
46. Knit a scarf
47. Learn French
48. Learn HTML
49. Learn the basic ballet steps
50. Learn the proper way to open a coconut
51. Learn to can food
52. Learn to create a frame to stretch canvas over
53. Learn to make a book from scratch
54. Learn to make ambrosia
55. Learn to make doughnuts
56. Leave $100 for a haggard waitress
57. Make & send my own Christmas cards
58. Make a loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country through http://www.kiva.com
59. Milk a cow
60. Organize a large family picture
61. Own a pair of fabulous fitting walking knee-high boots
62. Own an income producing blog
63. Perform 100 sit-ups in one sitting
64. Sell all of my jewelry from my old jewelry business
65. Start a book club
66. Take a cooking class
67. Take a nature walk & press the wild flowers you collect
68. Take a painting class
69. Take a photography class
70. Take a weekend vacation by myself
71. Teach an online art class
72. Type up great-great grandma’s recipe book for the family
73. Volunteer in a homeless shelter
74. Wear a size 14 pant

 

Ok, so I can TOTALLY see that there are WAAAAAAY more than 39 things on this list!! I think, at least for right this moment, I am going to keep the list extra long like this, and shoot to complete at least 39 items off of this list!! It is my perogative to change my mind at any moment in time to completely rehash this list or to completely start it over. As it stands right now, this list really makes me happy, and the idea of removing anything from it, honestly, really makes me sad! SO, to heck with it!! THIS WILL BE MY NEW 39 by 39 List!!

Here is to a FABULOUSLY productive, artsy, and memorable year!!! 😉

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!