30 Before 30

I've been thinkin'.  My 20's are ticking away, and I'm trying to find inspiration.  What is it that I want to have accomplished by the time I hit the big 3-0?  This is not an unusual inclination.  Google "30 before 30" and you'll find oodles of websites and blogs devoted to the concept.  Like this one.  You'll also find "bucket list" websites.

As for me, I have 807 days until I hit September 2, 2013.  Plenty of time to accomplish everything I want to and more.  Besides, E and I have had "the talk" and are waiting to even consider starting our family until after my 30th.  So, definitely doable.  (Ignoring the fact that I can be put on a deal at any given moment that will suck up all my free time).

So, without further ado, my list in no particular order:

1. Learn to fly.
2. Read 20 books. (30 would sound cooler but there’s just no way I can read more than a book a month!)
3. Have my hair be dye-free. (This one is almost like cheating because I’m almost there, but I think it worthy of the list since I’ve colored my hair in some fashion since I was, like, 14).
4. Travel to Greece.
5. Live in the same city as my husband.
6. Hit 125 lbs. and stay there!
7. Finish our engagement album.
8. Convert all my childhood photos to digital form.
9. Pay off 35% of the balance of my loans/debt (paying off 12 of 15 actual loans).
10. Run a marathon in wine country.
11. Learn Spanish.
12. Plan an actual sit-down dinner party with place cards!
13. Start and finish a Martha Stewart craft project.
14. Locate my childhood diaries.
15. Eat vegan for 30 days.
16. Revisit the Butchart Gardens - one of my favorite childhood memories.
17. Revisit Sanibel Island - same.
18. Integrate a daily yoga practice back into my routine.
19. Complete 30 acts of kindness/ charitable endeavors/ volunteer events.
20. Travel to a U.S. city purely because of a restaurant/ something I saw on tv.
21. Learn how to snowboard. (E will like this one)
22. Go to an amusement park.
23. Make my own astrology chart (or cave and just pay someone to do it! -- either way “get ‘er done”).
24. See a platypus.
25. Learn how to make tom ka gai.
26. Eat dim sum.
27. Eat at Per Se.
28. Create an emergency fund of 3 months.
29. Go to a psychic.
30. Celebrate 30 in style!

While looking for inspiration/ ideas on my list, I came across things that I have already done.  It actually made me pretty happy.

Many things I’ve already done that would have been list-worthy:

1. Cook Thanksgiving/ Christmas dinners.
2. Move to a big city.
3. Go letterboxing.
4. Fly in a private jet.
5. Dance on stage in front of over 1,000 people.
6. Live abroad.
7. Visit the rain forest.
8. Get certified in yoga instruction.
9. Knit a scarf.
10. Backpack on the Appalachian Trail.