Changes

It has been a fantastic month for me. I have definitely made some changes to my life which has been for the best.  The first thing I have developed into a weekly routine is that I have been taking time for myself.  I feel this has overall been the greatest thing that I have incorporated in my life.  It has forced me to say no to social activities which is really difficult for me to do.  I now actually have time to do things for myself.  I didn't realize how important this was until I noticed how I was spread so thin and it was affecting me.

Another change for me is that I have been wearing a dress or skirt each week.  I believe this is #34 on the list. The first week I did this, I wore a dress or skirt for four days in a row.  I was asked at work if I had an interview.  No interview and it is fun to keep them guessing.  It definitely adds a level of professionalism to my wardrobe and it is fun to get dressed up.  With our cold and rainy weather I had to invest in some tights, otherwise the idea of wearing skirts would not be an option until summer.

I have begun buying myself flowers each month.  It guarantees that I will post one picture on the blog each month.  This time I opted for white tulips.  Tulips are my absolute favorite flower and I loved the idea of a white bouquet of 20 tulips.  At the holidays I think of peace and beauty.  I believe they are quite fitting.

Bouquet for December

Mission accomplished;  #6 on my list of 39 experiences is Travel some where I have not been.  I just got back from a trip to Cancun with my single girlfriends, Karen and Kelli.  No cell phones or lap tops were allowed.  I not only rested and dosed up on Vitamin D, but had some time to read (Malcolm Gladwell Outliers), get a massage and see one of the seven wonders - Chitzen Itza.  While learning about the historical and sociological perspective of Chitzen Itza and the Mayan culture, I decided that I need to see all seven wonders.  I have already seen the Colosseum in Rome so I have only five left.  The following are what is left for me to see:  

• Machu Picchu
• Statue of Christ Redeemer
• The Great Wall
• Taj Mahal
• Ancient city of Petra, Jordan

Below are just a few pictures from the trip.

Girls trip to Cancun

Chitzen Itza 

Watching the sunset from a hammock

As 2011 comes to a close and a new beginning will occur with the start of 2012, I find myself reflective, grateful and centered.  I am feeling ambitious and ready to take on new challenges.  At the same time, I am striving to enjoy each moment as they come.  

A Starting Point

My first post was a starting point for me and now I need to step off...or rather leap.  So I began reviewing my list and the first thing that caught my eye was 18) Brew my own beer.   I then put in a call to my cousin, Ron.  I could rave about Ron's talents but specifically for the relevance of this post, Ron has a love for making beer and wine. He even teaches classes at U-Brew. So Ron gave me the skinny on my options; which is to brew in the small kitchen or in a large class format.  I have decided to brew a Belgian style beer in the small kitchen with a friend.  I'm excited for to share and experience this adventure with Ron. With the holidays approaching, unfortunately it looks like I will not be able to do this until the new year.

The other items on the list that are in the works are 15) Take an art class and 22) Go crabbing.  It seems opportunities are popping up literally for me.  It's amazing once I wrote and posted my list, how many things became available to me.  I received an email from living social for a deal on a glass blowing class at Live Laugh Love Glass.  Yesterday after Thanksgiving dinner, I was browsing through the ads for Black Friday and found a great sale on crab traps.  (Which I did go and buy).  

Besides getting a few things started you may be wondering if I have actually accomplished anything?  Well the answer is yes, ok sort of.  Let me begin with that there is something about flowers that really brightens a room. It adds a sense of purpose within my home and creating more of an awareness for me about the space I live in.  I went to Trader Joes and bought this bouquet.  

27) Buy a bouquet of flowers every month - November -  I'm 1/12 of the way there

Timelines

My personality could be described as a planner.  I like to have a plan.  It provides a sense of direction for me.  I can be without a plan but it's my preference.  Timelines seem to go hand in hand with planning.  I often overpack my schedule and do not meet my timelines in my everyday life and sometimes things just happen.


For me it was in my mid thirties ~ I was hit in a way that was unexpected.  I had this deep desire to have children...baby fever...biological clock ticking, whatever one calls it, I had it.  To make things worse I have plenty of people in my life telling me how I should have kids and what a great mom I would be.  Funny enough these words have never been uttered by either of my parents.  My mother had me at a late age (44 turned 45 a month later) and being an only child of older parents I knew two things:  1) I want more than one child 2) I was not going to have children after 39.  A timeline set and fast forward four years or so.....I decided to move the timeline to 40.  Being the planner that I am I had everything planned out and including the baby gap issue.  I would either get pregnant by my 40th birthday or I would have plan b.  Plan b consists of turning 40, having a crisis the next day, enter therapy for a short time (because everyone should go to therapy), pull myself together, apply for sabbatical and travel for one year around the world. Experience places, cultures that I may not be able to if I had little ones. I may do this anyhow.


Here I am 39.  This is the very last year of my thirties.  To make each day my best I have decided to create a list of 39 things I'd like to experience before I'm 40, which is in approximately in 354 days.  I must give credit to Laura's (who is much younger than I and has far surpassed me in ways that I find her inspiring - but that could be another blog) list of "25 while I'm 25".


Like any good planner, the first thing I did was create a list.  At first I was unable to identify 39 things I wanted to do or experience.  How can this be??? I am the ultimate planner...then it was suggested that I mention it on facebook to get some feedback.  I did this with varied results.  However, with the amount time and in some cases funds, some suggestions were just not possible.  Like be in two places at once, find a partner ~ a partner is not something you find or collect it just happens.  I decided to really think about what I wanted to do the next year and what might be possible.  Also to note - this is not a bucket list - I'm turning 40! I'm not dying.    


To give you some insight here is the original list (order is not of importance):

1. Sky dive
2. See a psychic or have my cards read or both
3. Run a marathon
4. Run a half marathon in sub two
5. Organize my office  - no really - organize my office
6. Travel somewhere I have not been
7. See Herman the sturgeon
8. Do a full spa day retreat
9. Ride on a train to anywhere
10. Raise $1000 for breast cancer 
11. Improve my vocabulary and ability to speak Japanese
12. Hike to tunnel falls
13. Stay overnight in the aquarium
14. Learn to knit or crochet a blanket and give it to a shelter
15. Take an art class
16. Attend a timbers game
17. Be an extra in a film or tv show
18. Brew my own beer 
19. Make my own cheese
20. Attend an opera performance
21. Go whale watching in the San Juan Islands
22. Go crabbing
23. Snowmobiling
24. Do a scavenger hunt
25. Buy a pair of shoes equal to one month's pay 
26. Go to a festival that I have never been to  - done Verboort Sausage Fest and I will go back every year
27. Buy a bouquet of flowers every month
28. Go to Portland Japanese Garden (it's been a long time)
29. Go to Lan Su Garden
30. Go to the Oregon Garden
31. Spend from sun up to sun down not talking to anyone
32. Purge - get rid of my wedding dress and items in that large bin I haven't looked in
33. Have one evening or day per week where I take time for myself
34. Wear more dresses/skirts
35. Have Afternoon Tea
36. See Crater Lake
37. Go wine tasting in Applegate Valley
38. Go to the house of Vortex
39. See the sea caves
40. Stay the night in a treehouse
41. Ride one of the top three tallest roller coasters 

• Roller Coaster	Amusement Park	Height
  Kingda Ka	Six Flags Great Adventure Jackson, New Jersey, United States	456 ft
  Top Thrill Dragster	Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio, United States	420 ft
  Superman: Escape from Krypton	Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia, California, United States	415 ft

Then it occurred to me that I needed a way to record my experiences and voila here is my blog.  I've never considered myself much of a writer so this may be a great way to challenge myself, as well as have some accountability through this process. 


1.  Create and write a blog of my 39 experiences before I'm 40.  (done -well in progress)


Next I took off the following three items:

• 1. Make my own cheese
   I think at the time it sounded interesting but there are so many amazing cheeses out there, I'd rather just buy some and eat it.
• 1. Buy a pair of shoes equal to one month's pay Ok really?  I couldn't justify spending that much money on a pair of shoes plus I would be looking for deals, in essence not spending what I had stated I would. I had to cut it from the list.
• 1. Verboort Sausage Fest and I will go back every year  Even though this happened after my birthday it was before I came up with this idea.  By the way the sausage and kraut are amazing and I highly recommend it.  It's fun to hang out around the barrels of fire on the gun range which is the beer garden.  I have to warn you the beer and wine selection offered is Bud/Bud light and some box wine.  Ugh box wine.

Some of my timelines have shifted and I've created some new timelines.  I'm excited for the process and want to make each day my best.