40 by 40

So, on my birthday last year (January 13), I started coming up with a list of 40 things I wanted to accomplish by the time I was 40. I shared my desire for goals with my dear friend Terri and she decided she'd jump into the 40 by 40 pool with me. Then we decided up up and scrapbook the whole experience. ROFL . . . I made my list and I bought an album, and I've basically done nothing else since then. Well, I pulled my list out yesterday, scrapped my 40 goals page (Jamie. ..those 40 eyelets I mentioned!) . .. and now I've gotta mark some of those goals off and really get flying on the rest of them!

So, for today's entry, I'm sharing my list of 40 (goals) by 40 (years) with you:
(1) Lose weight (a bunch of it. . .but you actually have to DO something to lose it, right?)
(2) Debt reduction (we go through stages . .. some times we have nothing but the house and car payments, other times we have a bunch of stuff to pay off)
(3) Read at least a book a week (I probably do this, but need to JOURNAL this)
(4) Submit layouts to a contest/magazine (ROFL . . . .I'm a CHICKEN!)
(5) Read the entire Bible
(6) Go somewhere in Texas I've never been (I'm gonna have to get a map out. . . )
(7)Go somewhere in the US I've never been (did that . . . St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville)
(8) Scrapbook weekly (getting into the habit again)
(9) Change cleaning habits (does getting a maid count? I think that's what I wanna do! ROFL)
(10) Take dance lessons (tap, swing, salsa . .. who knows . . .gotta lose some weight first!)
(11) Redecorate house (doing it slowly)
(12) Apply for a reality show (think trading spaces not Survivor . . I nearly gave Terri a heart attack with that one I think!)
(13) Decide on a 4th child or come to peace with the fact there's only gonna be 3 (yep . . .I'd love to have a 4th . . . but Andy's had that surgery . . .so it's an $8000 decision. {sigh}. We made a stupid snap judgement during a time when we were getting no sleep, and hadn't been getting sleep for a year's time . . . .)
(14) Go to HIA (done it . . . lucky enough to have a good friend take me . . . .wouldn't mind going again at some point)
(15) Buy or build a new house
(16)Rock babies in the NICU
(17) Keep a prayer journal/pray daily
(18)Make a new good, local girlfriend
(19) Exercise regularly (4 times a week . . .back to that lose weight thing again)
(20)Improve dental health (latest update .. .gums are getting better! YIPPEE)
(21) Volunteer at the kid's school 1 time a week
(22) Research a subject I'm not familiar with
(23) Complete the kids' baby books/albums
(24) Complete a Book of Me
(25) Write a separate letter to each child at least 4 times a year (started that with the blog entries for Ian and Allie on their b-days . . .will be doing Alaina's first one soon)
(26)Complete "Mom Journals"
(27)Complete a yearly family album for 2004-2010
(28) Do a photo shoot of just me
(29) Try out to sing the National Anthem before a local game
(30) Complete Alaina's Christmas stocking (the other 2 have cross stitched stockings. . .poor Alaina has a 1/2 done one)
(31) Read 1 book a month that is out of my reading "comfort zone"
(32) Have everything in the house organized (Terri . . .don't laugh too hard!)
(33) Learn photography
(34) Learn Photoshop
(35) Try one new recipe a month (anyone still reading . . .got any good EASY ones?)
(36) Run through the sprinklers with the kids
(37) Spend a summer doing 1 thing a week that's out of the ordinary with the kids
(38) Teach the children to love God and have a deep relationship with Him
(39) See Oprah
(40) Take a Sisterchick trip with Terri for my 40th birthday