38 for 38

Today is my birthday.

One of my favorite things about birthdays is that they are perfect time to reflect and dream and set goals (and I like reflecting and dreaming and setting goals). I’m making a bucket list this year.

1. Finish the sock club for 2016. I rocked those socks. I’ll probably never again knit as many socks as I did in 2016, but I loved participating in that sock club.
2. Try something new in knitting – charts, cables, magic loop – SOMETHING.
   I tried the afterthought heel for the first time. I think I need to make more of an effort to challenge myself next time.
3. Go social media free for one month and deactivate my FB account for at least two months. I was off FB from Sept 13-November 21. Left Instagram for a month in November and deleted my Twitter account. Leaving Instagram and Twitter was a lot harder than I expected. I didn’t miss Facebook at all.
4. Have family pictures taken. Oops
5. Develop proficiency at backing up the boat trailer. I’m getting there. I can do it but I’d hate to be the one doing it on at a crowded landing. I’d like to do it with more speed and precision.
6. Get a mole screen.
7. Take a long weekend for just myself.
8. Buy a pair of really beautiful shoes.Love them.
9. Mail one handwritten letter a month. I did this 8 out of the 12 months. Not bad. Could be better.
10. Smoke no cigarettes. Not one drag. All year. (And then every year. Forever.) Well, nobody is perfect.
11. Refrain from chopping my hair into a pixie. Oops.
12. Go to the library at least once a month. I’m horrible about this.
13. Drink more tea.
14. Bring back the annual party.This didn’t happen either. I WANT to, it just hasn’t seemed to work.
15. Get all my health indicator numbers within the healthy range. I’m halfway there. I had four numbers that I wanted to work on and two of them are in the healthy range. Two more to go.
16. Make a consultation appointment (and follow through?) for tattoo removal.I had the consultation. It sounded 1) painful and 2) expensive and 3) not really effective for mine so…I’m keeping that tattoo. Life lesson, kids.
17. Clean out my closet.
18. Practice unapologetic self confidence. This has been the most important thing I’ve practiced in my 38th year. I have a long, long, long way to go, but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come on this.
19. Participate in a yarn swap.
20. Update my list of home projects (and tackle a few of them).
21. Buy myself fresh cut flowers once a month. I didn’t every month (but some months I did more than once so it kind of evened out?) This was such a good splurge for me. Loved having fresh cut flowers in the house.
22. Purge and donate books to the Friends of Library book sale.
23. Add 3 indoor plants.
24. Embroider something.
25. Sew a quilt top. Have it made into a quilt. (Because I know my limits.) I started but Jesse’s work space took over my sewing space. I need to just get out the machine and work on it anyway.
26. Practice daily gratitude.
27. Go to Mass. I’m getting better. I’m not nearly as regular about attendance as I’d like to be.
28. Find a new pair of running shoes that doesn’t make my foot hurt.
29. Buy a new purse.
30. Have a one on one date with Violet.
31. Have a one on one date with Abram.
32. Rent a camera lens I’ve been wanting to try.
33. Remember inertia. Stay active.
34. Participate in Dry January.
35. Try a new food. Braunschweiger – not my favorite. I’m pretty sure it’s what wet cat food would taste like.
36. Have a stargazing date.
37. Improve my flexibility. Physically, anyway. Though I could certainly continue to improve upon it. And I definitely need to work on the emotional component.
38. Celebrate my people. I want to continue to get better about this.