On Saturday, I turned 31. Eeks! Actually, it’s fine. This birthday definitely did not provoke the existential crisis that turning 30 did. (Which would have been much worse, had I not distracted myself with a trip to England.) I had a great time being 30, since I spent about two-thirds of the year enjoying the world’s easiest pregnancy, before it got really dramatic. And I finished off year 30 by spending seven weeks with the cutest baby ever born, in my humble opinion. So, yeah, 30 was good.
I want to make 31 good too, but I have absolutely no plans to get pregnant this year, so I had to think of a different way to have a great year. I decided to take a leaf out of my penpal Katie‘s book and make a list of 31 things I want to do before I turn 32. Here it is:
1. Spend lots of time snuggling and loving Peanut while she’s still tiny. Most important thing on my list!
2. Get into the habit of better skin care.
3. Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy (long overdue).
4. Run the GW Parkway Classic 2013.
5. Take plenty of family hikes with hubby and the little miss.
6. Overcome my fear of baking bread.
7. See Book of Mormon at the Kennedy Center, summer 2013.
8. Give Peanut a magical first Christmas! (I can’t wait to be Santa.)
9. Finish reading Miss Read’s Fairacre series.
10. Buy myself a Longchamp bag and a new wallet.
11. Plant a successful herb garden.
12. Read Winnie-the-Pooh to Peanut.
13. Take up Zumba.
14. Knit a sweater for Peanut and a hat for myself.
15. Toss or donate the clothes that I don’t like but that are still hanging in my closet.
16. Attend Potomac Paddle 2013. (I keep meaning to go, but it never works out. This year!)
17. Reconnect with an old friend.
18. Have a playdate with NICU mom friends.
19. Paint my bedroom purple.
20. Break in and wear my silver ballet flats.
21. Re-read the Anne of Green Gables series.
22. Climb Old Rag. (This one: maybe not so realistic. I’d need to train a lot and find a babysitter.)
23. Knit another pair of socks.
24. Buy a pair of fabulous shoes at a great price.
25. Bake a pumpkin spice cake.
26. Take Peanut to the beach.
27. Get to know the women in my neighborhood better.
28. Get back into a regular yoga practice.
29. Start a baby box for Peanut.
30. Create a frame wall in my foyer.
31. Lots and lots and lots of family time with hubby and Peanut!
covered in flour 
Now that’s a smart list to make. I should make one of those for my next birthday.
About baking bread…got one of those bread machines that mixes and bakes? It makes baking bread pretty easy. Or are you talking baking bread the traditional way — kneading and so on?
Peanut’ll love the beach. I recommend Rehoboth Beach — lots to see, easy to walk around and not too far from the DC metro area.
Rehobeth Beach is a good idea! We’re thinking of taking her to the Outer Banks for her first vacation this summer, so that’s what I was thinking of when I wrote that entry. But if it doesn’t work out for some reason, Rehobeth would be great. I’m also considering Bethany Beach – I know people who go there and like it – or Virginia Beach – where my BFF lives.
Re: the bread, I was talking old fashioned! It’s the kneading that gets me – I get sick of it and walk away and end up with bricks instead of loaves, which has set me up with a nice mental block about bread baking. I need to find the right recipe and the right motivation (the best yeast bread I ever made was one Thanksgiving when I had to work most of the day and was pretty grouchy about that).
Happy Birthday! It sounds like a wonderful list. I’m also 31 (and a half!). It’s not so bad. I have enjoyed reliving certain aspects of my childhood recently (partly in preparation for when my children cross those bridges), and part of my walk down memory lane included re-reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series. It was fun.
I’m looking forward to that one! Maybe I’ll read it out loud (or at least parts of it) to Peanut. Right now I’m reading her EMILY OF NEW MOON. =)
I think 31 is going to be a good year!
I love this list. Such fun items. And oh, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is simply wonderful.
Well, thanks for the inspiration! =)
I have been meaning to read LOTR for years! It’s well past time for me to pick it up.
I love this list – it is full of family time, good books and good food and travel. What’s not to love? Wish you all the very best with this list!
Thanks! Having the list is making me very excited for the year ahead. 🙂
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