Year 1 update

 It has been about a year since I made this list, and I have celebrated another birthday.  So, it's time for a massive update!


1.  See all 50 states (I have 7 to go as of my 36th birthday.)
49/50 complete.  This summer, Doug's brother David got married in New Jersey.  All 7 of the states I had left to visit were in the Northeast, so this was a perfect opportunity to knock a bunch off my list!  The good news is that I visited Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont!  The bad news is that there was no way that we could make it to Delaware this trip.  So, I'm up to 49 states.  I made Doug promise me that I could make it to Delaware sometime in the next three  years, even if it is just a weekend trip out there!

2.  Compete in 3 triathlons
2/3 complete.  I competed in my first sprint triathlon last August.  My friend Liza had a goal to do one and I jumped right on that bandwagon.  It was a great experience.  Her husband trained us all summer on the bike.  Unfortunately, Liza then moved away.  I wanted to do the triathlon again, so I asked if anyone else was interested in doing it with me.  My friend Amy and my mom both said YES!  We competed August 23rd and it was so fun!  We did some training together.  I also took some swim lessons at the YMCA.  They really helped me with that leg of the race.  On race day, I started to panic when I entered the reservoir.  But I was able to calm down and beat my swim time from last year.  I also completed the cycling portion in the same time as last year.  My run was much slower this year though.  I injured a tendon in my big toe this spring and it hurt every time I ran.  It was so much fun to experience this with my mom and friend!  And Doug and the boys came out to cheer us on.  That meant so much!  One more triathlon to go!

3.  See a show on Broadway
Done!  WooHoo!  After David's wedding, we spent 2 days in NYC.  Doug took me to see Kinky Boots on Broadway!  It was hands-down the best show I've seen.  I got teary at the end just thinking about the message of it:  you must be your authentic you!  And accept others for being their authentic selves.  It was amazing!

4.  Go ziplining
Done!  Some friends organized a zip-lining tour at the Go Ape experience at Eagle Creek Park...just a few miles from my house.  It was so fun to learn to zipline and how to navigate all of the treetop adventures!  I am scared of heights, so it was definitely a challenge.  But doing it with friends helped.  And Doug and the boys came and cheered me on from below.  The scariest part was the second Tarzan jump.  I had to jump off a platform and swing into a net.  It took me awhile to get up the courage to actually jump.  You free-fall for a bit and I may have cursed. 

5.  Plan a girl's weekend with friends
6.  Take a class of some sort (cooking, dancing, music, art?)
7.  Read the whole bible
8.  Donate 40 community service hours
I will complete this one by the end of the year (If I haven't already).  We had been participating in some volunteer opportunities through church as a family (most often the Interfaith Hospitality Network).  Then at the beginning of this year, I was called to be a deacon at church.  This has opened up many other opportunities for me, the biggest of which is being part of the planning for Christmas Benevolence.  Last year they provided food, clothes, and gifts for almost 900 people for Christmas. 

9.  Work an election poll
10.  Visit another continent
11.  See 40 constellations in the night sky
12.  Handwrite 40 letters to family and friends
13.  Scan and organize my childhood photos
14.  Make a piece of art to display in my home
Lori is making this one happen for me!  We are going to go to a Wine and Canvas evening and paint.  However, we just have to find a night that works with a painting we like.  That's harder than it sounds...
15.  Make all of Grandma Loehr's recipes from the Loehr cookbook
16.  Read the entire Harry Potter series to my boys
17.  Do an anonymous grand gesture for someone
18.  Ride a train
So, after I put this one on the list, Megan reminded me of the many, many train rides we have taken through Europe.  Including the overnight train to Antarctica (we were actually going somewhere in Spain, but it was SO COLD.)  So, in my head, I thought about changing this one to Ride in a Limo, which I had never done.  Well, I got to do both this year.  We got to ride in a limo after David and Sarah's wedding.  It was fun!  And Mom, the boys, and I rode a train to the State Fair this year.  It was a lot of fun to share that experience with train-loving Gabriel! 

19.  Go on a women's retreat at church
20.  Take a surfing lesson
21.  Let my hairstylist do a bold makeover on me with no stipulations
I just did this one last weekend!  Amy has been my hairdresser for over 20 years.  When I was in college and had little money, Amy charged me $5 for a haircut.  I so appreciated that and will never, ever forget that kindness.  I still go to Evansville to have her cut my hair.  She knows my hair and I totally trust her to do anything.  I think she was more nervous about this one than I was!  I had given her warning about it, so she had come up with an idea.  I did tell her that Doug didn't want her to cut it super short.  She said that she wouldn't do that even if I asked her to!  :)  I can't tell you how much fun this experience was and I LOVE the final result.

Amy!

She cut off A LOT of hair.

before and after

22.  Try stand up paddle boarding
23.  Read 40 books
6/40 done.  I used to be a huge book reader.  But now I find myself reading more on my phone and still some magazines.  Doug and I went on a cruise last winter and I devoured books during that time with no parental responsibilities (or phone service).  Since then, I've only read one book.  Something to focus on...

24.  Make a quilt for each of my boys
25.  Take a hot air balloon ride
26.  Hold a snake
27.  Eat a bug
28.  See the Northern Lights
29.  Go bird watching
30.  Pull a prank on someone
31.  Go to a concert
32.  Go on a roller coaster with Doug
Done!  I have a huge fear of roller coasters.  I hate that free-fall feeling.  So, this was a good time to face it!  We went to Disney World last fall to celebrate Doug's mom's milestone birthday.  I was super nervous, but went on the Rockin' Roller Coaster.  It was fast!  And fun!  And after doing that, I even had the courage to try Expedition Everest a couple of days later.  Whew!

33.  Play craps in a casino
34.  Watch a movie that came out each year of my life
35.  Plant 40 flowers
36.  Learn all of the correct verb forms of "to lay" and explain it to someone else
37.  Go snorkeling
Done!  On our cruise last December, Doug booked a Snuba excursion for us at our stop on Grand Turk.  I had told him I wanted to do it to mark it off this list!  :)  Snuba is a cross between snorkeling and scuba.  You breathe air through a regulator, but the oxygen tanks are floating on a raft above you.  We were about 10-20 feet down in the water.  It was a lot of fun.

38.  Floss 40 days in a row
Done!  I started this one the day that I made my 40x40 list, and actually remembered to floss every day for the next 40!  I must say that I didn't continue the practice.  I still do floss every once in awhile, but not every day...

39.  Do 40 pushups in a row (I can do 9 now)
I think I've actually regressed on this one.  I started going to a boot camp workout at the beginning of 2014 where we do lots of pushups.  But our instructor has taught us the "correct" way to do pushups which involves keeping your elbows very close to your body.  She says that once you get the form, you can progress quickly.  Uh, not me.  Oh, well...still working those arm muscles!

40.  Make a list of 40 things I love about each of my boys, my husband, and myself

So, after a year, I have completed 8 items and am in progress on 3 more.  Looks like I have some more work to do!  But I have to say that I have really enjoyed this push to do new things.