My WNT List

I decided to make a list.  If you know me, this is not exciting news.  I make lists ALL the time.  I have piles of lists on my desk in the office...grocery lists, home project lists, lists of activities for the kids, etc.  I think I sleep better when I write down all of the things that are constantly fluttering through my mind.  And I love crossing things off my lists, though usually I add more tasks than I complete.  (Why are there not more hours in a day??)  If it's possible to be genetically predisposed to list making, then my dad has definitely passed along the trait.  (Thanks, Dad and your itty bitty Post-It Note lists:)).

Back to the list that I am writing about today.  Today's list is a big, important list.  You could call it a 'Bucket List' or a 'Life List', but I'm going to call mine my 'Why Not Today' List = WNT List.  And although the majority of my lists are written with the intention of crossing off every last item as quickly and completely as possible, this list is less about crossing off each line item and more about living a more full life while taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.  You never know when you'll get another chance to ice skate in Times Square or swim with dolphins, so if those activities are important to you...make sure you do them the next time you're able!

Examples of the fragility of human life abound.  Look here and here and here for some recent examples.  This list, which will always be a work in progress, is a reminder for me to live a life with purpose, with passion and without regret!!

1. Live on a farmette.
2. Own my very own (potentially small, potentially vintage) truck.
3. Raise hens for fresh eggs.
4. Learn how to operate power tools so I can make my own furniture from scratch a la Ana White.
5. Try 500 new dinner recipes.
6. Travel to Hawaii.
7. Travel to Alaska during the summer solstice.
8. Drive along the coast of California.
9. Grow enough pumpkins to give one to every classmate of L and H.
10. Own my own shop of some sort.  Perhaps an etsy shop or maybe a real storefront in a small downtown.
11. Make my own soap.
12. Make my own cleaning supplies out of natural ingredients.
13. Build a small play city for the kids out of wood and paint.
14. Take at least one family trip a year indefinitely.
15. Take a cruise with my entire extended family.
16. Bring L to yoga class with me.
17. Coach L and H for a sport season.
18.  Drive a boat.
19.  Drive a train.
20.  Take a train through Canada.
21.  Own an antique Persian rug.
22.  Attend a real auction, and bid on something.
23.  Go to an estate sale.
24.  Eliminate processed food from my diet for a month.
25.  Bake my own bread regularly.
26. Complete an original piece of art for each child.
27. Be completely present when spending time with L and H.
28.  Tell Show Bill every day how much he is loved and appreciated.  Same goes for my kids.
29. Go to at least 2 music concerts per year.
30.  Learn the first names of every neighbor on my block.
31. Let L and H take turns planning an entire day of activities.
32. Teach L to read this summer.
33. Make a concrete planter with my mom this summer and do a fun craft project together every summer.
34. Go fishing with my Dad and my kids this summer and every summer.
35. Learn how to play guitar.  For real.
36. Sew 50 unique projects (ie: an envelope pillow counts as one no matter how many envelope pillows I make) (1. envelope pillow, 2. curtains, 3. window seat cushion, 4. patio chair cushions, 5. lavender eye pillows and covers)
37. Grow a lavender field and make lavender things with it.
38. Run at least one 5K race in every decade of my life.
39. Go for a hot air balloon ride.
40. Rent a beach house for a week.
41. Take a photography class.
42. Have two purses and two purses only. I used to have a huge purse collection...like 25 of them.  I ended up not using them that much because it takes time to switch purses, and I'm not much of a fashionista.  I sold my last batch of purses in the garage sale this year.  I currently own 1 purse and it's nearly falling apart.  I'd like to own two really nice purses.  One black.  One brown.  I'm a picky purse person now though, and I'm having a hard time finding ones I really like.  And I don't want to spend time shopping for purses.  I want the perfect black purse and the perfect brown purse to find me.
43. Jump out of an airplane.
44. Take an annual family camping trip starting this year.  (Even if it's just in the backyard:))
45. Put together a decent wardrobe...on the cheap:).
46. Have a driveway basketball hoop.  This one is not a joke, Bill.  I loved shooting hoops in the driveway after dinner on summer nights when I was a kid.
47. Rent a boat on the St. Croix for a day.
48. Learn a great fresh lemonade recipe.
49. Do L's hair in a different way for each of thirty consecutive days.
50. Enjoy one Christmas/New Years holiday season without any major medical issues in myself or my loved ones!!
51. Volunteer in some capacity at our church.
52. Take a computer class about blogging formats:).
Update 6.24.12
53. Go golfing with my Dad.
54. Travel to Europe.
55. Travel to Europe with Bill and see if it's possible for my second trip to compare with the fun I had traveling there with my Mom after graduation from pharmacy school.  I don't think I've laughed as hard, nor had as many near death experiences as I did during our three week trek through Europe.
56. Install a clothesline.

**P.S. Summer is here and with it, a huge array of family activities.  We're running and playing more than we have in a long, long time!  It is fantastic, but it's leaving me less time to blog, so my entries are looking to be sparse for the next several months while we enjoy all the fun that summer has to offer.  And I have some major potty training to tackle...my boy is STUBBORN!  And lots of reading to do with Lucky girl.  Wish me luck:)!!