My all-time favorite day in Beautiful You is Day 32: Celebrate Your Birth Day. Celebrating my birthday by writing this particular type of list (If you don’t know about the list, go read about it now. I’ll wait for you!) is one of the longest standing personal traditions that I have. What I love about the list, and why I included it in Beautiful You, is that it reminds me that life is both a process and a series of choices. I get to choose my journey and the journey is really the goal. How cool is that?
This past November, I celebrated 38 years of living and drafted my 38 things to do list with a flurry. And, then, of course, life happened and I lost my myelin (how I comically refer to my B12 deficiency) and, well, I haven’t been the most productive bee around these parts. Anyway, my half-birthday is approaching as well as Summer of Intentionality and so it was feeling like a very good time to reassess my birthday list and see where things are and where they might be going. So, here we go (mission accomplished items are vibrantly blue and bolded) :
1. Create a personal vision board.
2012 personal vision board
2. Create a professional vision board.
2012 professional vision board
3. Take my birthday off. *I actually spent my birthday with girlfriends making my vision board. Very fun.
4. Create more time margin (by going pure and saying no more!) A work in progress. Definitely getting better but there is always room for improvement here.
5. Take Happy and Lola on a hike. I imagine this will fall on the summer schedule (but perhaps without Lola who might find that way too hot an endeavor).
6. Pick berries. I am afraid we’ve missed strawberries so aiming for blueberries with Summer of Intentionality approaching.
7. Redo the backyard. Um, not yet. We got confused and totally redid the house instead. Here’s a picture of my favorite wall in the house so far. 
8. Pick apples. This fall!
9. Cut Christmas tree.
Ribbit and Happy with our tree.
10. Reestablish my personal style. Mind you, this is always a work in progress, but I do feel more authentically myself when I get dressed. And I own lime green shoes now. How cool is that?
11. Read 38 books. I’m at 10. Truth be told, this one has been hard with the B12 deficiency. My concentration is definitely not what it one was. But summer is always a great reading time so we’ll see what happens.
12. Take a personal retreat.
13. Run 6 miles or for 60 minutes. This is in progress. I started running again with the return of good weather and am really enjoying it.
14. Make cinnamon rolls. Got a recipe.
15. Make crepes. Got a willing teacher.
16. Make quinoa. Got quinoa.
17. Have a great backyard garden. Planting it this Saturday in honor of Happy’s Birthmother.
18. Read something by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
19. Take short trip with BF.
20. Have a monthly date with BF. We’ve been really good about this. Having great childcare really helps.
21. Build robust professional life. Very much in progress– I LOVE leading workshops and retreats and so adding that to the docket this year has been incredible.
22. Research and decide on adoption.
23. Figure out college savings plan.
24. Increase retirement savings.
25. Have a girls’ trip.
26. Redecorate master bedroom. Half-way there! Should be completely done no later than the end of June.
27. Have a picnic.
28. Redo Happy’s bedroom and closet. A quarter of the way there but should be completely done no later than the end of June.
29. Do a creative marathon: complete 26 works of art.
30. Finish cleaning out attic.
31. Start writing a new book. The proposal is written and my agent will soon start shopping it.
32. Develop horse skills. Also in progress.
33. Go to at least 6 presentations/ readings/ performances. 4 down. 2 to go.
34. Write in Happy’s journal regularly. This month’s goal is to get this jumpstarted again.
35. Fly a kite. The beach this summer?
36. Take Happy to see McAdenville lights.
37. Try hot yoga.
38. Get a hot stone massage.
So, there is clearly fun to be had. My hope is that when I revisit this list come August-ish, I’ll have 10 more things scratched off the list.
Do you do a birthday list? If so, what is on yours?
Want to see past lists?
Nice list! Excited to see how much you have accomplished and look forward to hearing about the others as you accomplish them. Hoping to see you sometime soon.
Awww thanks Jenn! Hope y’all are well. June is covered up on our end but perhaps late July, early august for a reunion?