In honor of my 35th birthday today (thank you very much), a list of 40 things I hope to accomplish before I turn 40!

1. Pay off a vehicle.
2. Run a 5k.
3. Hang curtains on all the windows of my home.
4. Learn to play golf.
5. Read 2 classics: “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Little Women”.
6. Finish “East of Eden”.
7. Give homeschooling a try. (Starting in January ‘08)
8. Go on a mission trip. (Planning to go to Honduras in June ‘08)
9. Get my scrapbooks up to date (Not looking good for this lifetime!!!)
10. Learn to thread my sewing machine.
11. Find a hairstyle I like and stick with it!
12. Complete Crown Financials Budget Counseling Course. (7/29/07)
13. Begin counseling. (4/08)
14. Make homemade strawberry jam.
15. Take my husband to Chicago.
16. See New York city at Christmas. (12/8/06)
17. Arm myself with knowledge about controlling hot flashes!
18. Get over my fear of flying.
19. Take my kids to see “real” snow.
20. Finish this list!!!! (12/24/06)
21. Become a ScreamFree Parent. (A work in progress!)
22. Watch “Gone with the Wind” all the way through and see what all the fuss is about.
23. Take a gun safety course.
24. Learn how to do more with my camera than point and click.
25. Talk my husband into getting a dog, “for the kids”.He just surprised the whole family with a dog for Christmas about 2 hours ago…the little guy still needs a name!
26. Back up important data on my computer (my pictures are all backed up, isn’t that the most important thing? Oh yeah, and Quickbooks.)
27. Disciple 5 people (One down)
28. Make a quilt for my niece’s high school graduation gift. (5/16/08)
29. Love, hug, and smile more.
30. Practice saying the word “menopause” without throwing up a little bit in my mouth. (I asked my doctor about this topic at a recent physical and she said I don’t need to worry about it until age 50. So I guess it will go on my next list!)
31. Throw the ole “martyr routine” out the window…and JUST SAY NO! (I am doing really good on this one! Now if only I can do it without feeling guilty about it!)
32. Create fun family traditions. (A work in progress…)
33. Make it a habit to look my husband in the eye when he is talking, rather than treating him like he is background noise to whatever I am doing with the kids (why is this one so hard to do???).
34. Celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary in STYLE.
35. Plan a 40th wedding anniversary party for my parents.
36. Get on the treadmill at least 30 minutes a day (yeah, right! Maybe in ‘08).
37. Call my friends regularly who do not have email.
38. Organize my favorite recipes (almost done!).
39. Maintain well manicured nails.
40. Teach the children how to perform all the household chores so I can sit around eating bon bons and sipping champagne!!! (So far, they can feed the cat and empty the dishwasher. Pretty sure I’m not at a “champagne level” at this point!)