Forty before Forty

Judgement Day has come and gone, and we're all still here, so it looks like there's a good chance I'll live to see my fortieth year, exactly one year from today.

Wow, forty. I've been so busy living that my third decade has just flown by! I'm not too happy with some of the things that have happened to me during this period (like my feet growing a whole size, like they weren't huge enough already, or developing a pesky medical condition that has my internal thermostat constantly going haywire), but on the whole it has been a great decade, and I feel lucky to have done so many things. Here are some that I'm proudest of:



* I gave birth to twins.
* I got all 3 kids past the infant, toddler and preschool stage, and into elementary school.
* I helped my husband build the house of our dreams (okay, we didn't exactly build it -- but we designed it and made it happen).
* I found a job that I absolutely love.
* I ran a half-marathon.

In the process, I've learned a lot about who I am, what I believe in and what I want.

But there's still so much I want to do! Since I have just one year left in my thirties, I took my cue from my friend Kimberly, and listed down Forty Things I Want To Do Before I Turn Forty.


1) Lose 15 pounds (and keep it off).
2) Eat less processed foods.
3) Get a complete health checkup. done!
4) Get a mammogram. done!
5) Get a navel ring (or maybe a tattoo).
6) Visit a new city.
7) Visit a new state.
8) Visit a new country.
9) Go on a cruise.
10) Learn to sail.
11) Learn to knit.
12) Buy (and wear) 3-inch (or higher) heels. done!
13) Buy (and wear) a bikini. done!
14) Go to the Exotic Erotic. no longer applicable :(
15) Go on a trip with Alfie on his motorcycle
16) Go on a trip with Alfie for 4 or more nights.
17) Do something with The Pea, just The Pea.
18) Do something with Jammy, just Jammy. done!
19) Do something with 3Po, just 3Po.
20) Write on the Facebook walls of each of my Facebook friends at least once.
21) Get my mom and/or dad to join Facebook. done!
22) See elephant seals.
23) See a whale.
24) Spiff up my blog.
25) Clean out the kids' old toys. done!
26) Shred all receipts/bills/statements before 2008. done!
27) Get a spa facial.
28) Get a decent haircut.
28) Get highlights.
29) Get contact lenses.
30) Get a new smartphone. done!
31) Find the perfect brownie recipe.
32) Find the perfect purse.
33) Find a musician or band that I love.
34) Add ten or more new songs to my running playlist.
35) Get my kids to like Indian food (one kid down, two to go).
36) Get my kids to like eggplant (I'm 0 for 3 at the moment).
37) Figure out the source of the stinky smell in our coat closet.
38) Beat my sons at Wii Fit Soccer.
39) Volunteer my time with an organization that could use the help. done!
40) Figure out what I want to do in my next decade.

Quite a few items on the list are dependent on finding enough time and money (notably any items involving trips and travel), and quite a few are dependent on achieving other items on the list (for example, I'm not doing #13 or #5 unless I accomplish #1, which is probably dependent on my accomplishing #2). So it's possible -- no, highly likely -- that I won't be checking off all forty boxes before my next birthday. If I don't get to do them all, I'll just add them to next decade's list. It's not the end of the world. But hey, we already knew that.