Friday, July 30, 2010

My Project

Some time ago I received an email from a friend who was doing a “Mission.” The mission was to do 101 different things in 1001 days. Kind of like a “Bucket List.” I thought the idea was nice, so I filled out my own mission. I had a range listed from things I’d always wanted to do to things that would improve my health to things I wanted to learn. However, after writing it down, I mostly I forgot about it. Every now and then I would come across it and cross off the few things that I had done, but I never really set out to actually complete the list (plus I think I had put down a few things that were slightly unobtainable at the time).

Fast forward a few years……..I still think the idea is a good one, and, with the very recent and extremely tragic and unfortunate loss of one of my best friends, I feel that now, more than ever, I should be enjoying the novelties of life and completing the things I have always wanted to do, before it is too late.

So here is my new project. 101 things to do. All to be completed by the time I turn 30 (which is less than four years away……**shudder**). There is no specific order in which they need to be done, and I will comment as I complete each task. It will be a journey and an adventure with challenges and obstacles, and a sweet sense of satisfaction and self-worth when I am done…..and hopefully, maybe, someone else will be inspired as well.

101 Things to do before I turn 30

1. Read “BBC’s 100 books to read
2. Memorize my favorite poem
3. Learn about mushrooms
4. Learn about bees & how to harvest honey
5. Apply/enroll in school for Masters degree
6. Learn a language
7. Learn to can foods
8. Learn to tie different knots
9. Be able to identify 30 types of different birds
10. Be able to point out over 30 different wildflowers
11. Learn the different arts of bonsai
12. Run a half marathon
13. Have a body fat % of 20-25
14. Enroll in yoga class
15. Have cholesterol in lower end of healthy range
16. Omit anything with partially-hydrogenated oils/corn syrup/MSG/artificial ingredients from diet
17. Don’t drink soda for over a month
18. XC ski for exercise in winter
19. Hike the Pacific Northwest Trail
20. Go sky diving
21. Visit (at least) 2 new countries
22. Go shed hunting (and find some)
23. Go mushroom hunting
24. Visit 30 out of 50 states
25. Hike 100 miles in Glacier
26. Start an annual “girls only” trip
27. Ski 10 different mountains
28. Visit 10 different National Parks
29. Organize camping box
30. Be able to fly fish on my own
31. Donate hair
32. Volunteer 300 hours
33. Purge clothes closet
34. Learn to make the bed everyday
35. Learn to put my clothes away after I take them off
36. Move/organize everything out of parents house
37. Begin writing again
38. Buy my own car
39. Buy a house
40. Save $5,000 in my savings account
41. Donate blood
42. Send a letter to everyone I love
43. Learn to paint
44. Learn to draw
45. Make earring holder (10.25.10)
46. Knit a sweater (10.18.10)
47. Learn to sew
48. Sew a dress
49. Make scrapbook for Costa Rica
50. Make scrapbook for Iceland
51. Learn to quilt
52. Make a quilt
53. Learn to make stained glass
54. Knit a skirt
55. Finish pink baby blanket (10.7.10)
56. Finish wildflower notebook
57. Work on full-meal recipe book (30 pages)
58. Learn to knit socks (9.28.10)
59. Make a t-shirt quilt
60. Put India pictures together on a CD
61. Organize all arts & crafts stuff
62. Buy a panoramic lens
63. Buy a wide angle lens
64. Buy a telescopic lens
65. Photograph another wedding
66. Buy clear sleeves for cards
67. Set up stock of photographs (cards, prints, etc)
68. Sell photographs
69. Get a new computer
70. Get an external drive for all my pictures
71. Organize pictures on said drive
72. Learn to use photo editing program on computer
73. Set up a website for my photos
74. Subscribe to an art/photo magazine
75. Submit photos to the RMSP monthly newsletter assignment
76. Write an artists statement
77. Brew my own beer
78. Go wine tasting
79. Cook 30 meals I’ve never cooked before
80. Send out Christmas cards
81. Have a real, hard-copy address book
82. Watch top 10 most influential movies of all time
83. See Shakespeare in the Park
84. Get a dog
85. Learn to whistle
86. Grow a garden
87. Get a new tattoo (sorry, mom)
88. See the northern lights in full color
89. See a moose (11.2.10)
90. Own 5 bras (at once) that (actually) fit
91. Work in a book store
92. Work in a yarn shop
93. Mend all holey jeans
94. Own 3 pairs of jeans (at once) without holes
95. Get all broken watches/jewelry fixed or get rid of it
96. Ride a rail snowboarding
97. Learn switch snowboarding
98. Be equally proficient at both skiing and snowboarding
99. Watch a meteor shower
100. Subscribe to National Geographic
101. Wake up early just to watch a sunrise

3 comments:

  1. Mom approved list - except for #87 :)
    Keep the list handy and enjoy crossing them all off, even if it takes more than 4 years!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Am I allowed to sign up for things I would like to help you with? I would like to sign up for the girls only trip and hiking the PCT!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's actually the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNNST) and it runs from Chief Mountain customs (Canadian/MT boarder) to Cape Alava, WA on the Pacific Coast.......and yes. You can definitely sign up for that. I'm planning for summer 2012. :o)

    ReplyDelete