Last year I took a leaf out of my pen pal Katie‘s book and came up with a list of 31 things to do before I turned 32. I didn’t hit all of them, but I gave it my all and had a great time chasing after the big and small goals I set for myself. So I’m gearing up for another effort this year and trying to set myself a list of things to do this year. Updates to come periodically, but for now, here’s the list:
1. First, a BIG one: Visit my BFF in Germany next summer (and maybe tack a week in Austria on there too). I know this will be a challenge to pull off with a toddler, but we really want to try. Hubby, R and I are all super excited.
2. Write my grandmother at least once a month (I don’t expect replies, just want her to receive letters from me).
3. Visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Greycliff.
4. Run the 2013 Buffalo-Niagara YMCA Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.
5. Read and blog about 20 classic books for The Classics Club.
6. Make refrigerator jam.
7. Re-read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series.
8. Join a group at church.
9. Road-trip to Ithaca for a weekend.
10. Knit a dress for Peanut.
11. Learn to play three new piano pieces.
12. Go to see Shakespeare performed in Delaware Park.
13. Have a date night with hubby at Rue Franklin.
14. Knit through 1/4 of my yarn stash.
15. Write a guest blog (anyone interested?).
16. Take Peanut for a bike ride in one of those hilarious trailers.
17. Finish Level I of the Rosetta Stone French course.
18. Spend a few days (a week if I can swing it) with my high school BFF and our kids.
19. Knit a lace beret.
20. Go to a Sabres game! (Ideally, I’d also like them to win. C’mon guys, for me?)
21. Overcome my fear of baking bread – a holdover from last year.
22. Get in the habit of better skin care – another holdover from last year.
23. Volunteer with Literacy New York – Buffalo-Niagara.
24. Knit a cozy shawl for my grandmama.
25. Go see a movie in the theater.
26. Read South Riding, by Winifred Holtby.
27. Buy a Sabres hockey jersey for Peanut. (She already has a Cornell jersey.)
28. Learn the Tunisian crochet stitch and make myself a scarf.
29. Do some charity knitting. I’m thinking hats for preemies?
30. Read a book by Umberto Eco.
31. Try out five new hikes in WNY.
32. Another BIG one: buy a house.
covered in flour 
I love your list! We’re planning to buy a house next year, too, although we have to sell our apartment first. It will be a big step.
P.S. You can do a guest post for me anytime–I would love it! Maybe when we do our Middlemarch readalong?
Yay for new homes! (Good luck with the sale – I’ve been through two now, so I know how stressful that can be. I’ll be rooting for you to sell quickly – when you’re ready – and find the perfect new home!)
And I’d love to do a guest post around the Middlemarch readalong. Count me in! I’ll come up with some topic ideas for you.
What a great list! (Lots of knitting on there.) And you could guest post for me! We can brainstorm topics via e-mail or snail mail.
Sweet! I’ll start giving it some thought. 🙂
You’re always welcome to do a guest post on my blog! If you’re interested, just let me know what you’d like to write about (maybe a book with legal themes, something related to children’s books, classics, etc) and when. You’ve got a great list of 32 items. #32 is definitely a big one! Have you started looking?
Yay! I’d love to do one. Let me think about the topic and get back to you. I’m sure I can come up with something good that will work with your blog. And my door is always open for you, too! 🙂
As for the house, we’re sort of pre-looking. We have a realtor (he helped us rent our current house) and we’ve been scouting neighborhoods in Buffalo and some close-in suburbs, looking for an area that fits with our lifestyle preferences (short commute, walkable to restaurants if possible, safe/quiet street for Peanut) and our price point. The budget is the sticky part right now, because we don’t really know what it is. When I get a job, we’ll have a better idea of what we’d be comfortable spending on a house – if I end up at another firm, then maybe we’ll spend more; if I go to the government, maybe less. Once we have that piece in place, we’ll look in earnest. As much as I’m loving staying home, I kind of wish it was in place already, since two homes that I love, in neighborhoods I’d be happy with, just went on the market at not-outrageous prices. But the right home will be there for us at the right time, I’m sure.
Great! I’m excited for your guest post! Good luck with house hunting and also with getting the perfect job. We bought our house five years ago, and love it, but I still look through the listings from time to time. It’s fun to imagine what it would be like to live in other homes.
Thanks! I’ve always had fun speculating about other houses, too. I hope that wherever we end up, we stay for awhile. There are some gorgeous historic homes here (hopefully we can afford one of them). Lots of Tudor style houses, which I have always loved, but when we walk through neighborhoods and I try to picture myself living in the houses, I’m still drawn to the Colonials. (Our house in VA was a brick Colonial.) This time I’m loving white Colonials with Palladian windows… we shall see.
I love this idea! My birthday was back in June though, so I may have to do this as a Year 2014 challenge.
That would work! Or you could do it for your half birthday, and just put half the number of items on the list. 🙂