30 During 30 List

30 During 30 List*

1. Read Pride and Prejudice
2. Run the Bolder Boulder (a 10 km road race)
3. Climb a new 14er
4. Play 30 different board games (we own 15, not sure I can pull off 30)
5. Grow 30 plants (herbs and veggies)
6. Can 30 pints of veggies
7. Master the making of 3 different types of cheeses
8. Try 30 different ciders or gluten free beers or meads, including home brews
9. Donate hair to locks of love or a similar organization
10. Travel abroad (if this is impossible this year, then at least visit somewhere new)
11. Try 30 new gluten free recipes
12. Learn to use the DSLR camera and take 30 fabulous pictures
13. See 30 different types of birds (and keep track of which)
14. Ski once.  
15. Train to be able to do 30 push ups in a row
16. Pay $30 for a Denver Voice from my favorite homeless man
17. Donate blood
18. Master making gluten free ravioli from scratch
19. Compost
20. Finish a quilting project.  
21. Bike 30 miles
22. Write 30 unique blog posts
23. Learn to knit and knit a blanket
24. Play in a softball game or sing Karoke, two things that make me very, very nervous
25. Take 3 camping trips and learn how to use the camping stoves
26. Sing in a choir
27. Learn to play a song on the guitar
28. Read 30 books
29. Complete a puzzle with more than 3,000 pieces
    
30. Master 3 piano songs

A few alternates:  publish and article (career), send out Christmas cards this year, play soccer, snowshoe

*Friends and fellow bloggers NavyGirl and A created 30-before-30 lists of fun things they wanted to complete before their 30th birthdays.  I ran out of time to do this before my birthday, but I almost think it's for the better.  The young, active part of my life didn't end the moment I turned 30 this week.  It really is the perfect time to start a list! 

I like lists.  I make a lot of them:  to do lists, grocery lists, list of goals and ideas, books to read, movies to watch.  After a great birthday celebration to ring in a new decade, I sat down and started making a list in a blank journal I got for Christmas.  The list includes a few fun things I'd like to accomplish this year outside of my career.  Some of them make me nervous, which is probably good.  Some are inspiring, some will push me to do something rather than taking a night off to rot relax on the couch. 

It reminds me a little bit of Julie and Julia, where Julie spends a year making all of Julia Child's recipes and blogging about them.  I am a little worried that my year will turn into silly tally-marking and scheduling to accomplish it all, when I could just be living life, but you know what?  I'm the kind of person who needs to be pushed because it's easy for me to sit on my butt and come up with ten lectures that need preparing before I'll allow myself to go to the gym.  Anyway, I didn't really make any rules for my list except to keep away from career goals.  Some things I've done before, some I haven't, some I haven't done in a very long time.  Some involve the number 30 (per Dave's suggestion), or a variation of it, some don't.  Some overlap (recipes, books, blogging), but I think it still works. 

My goal is for this list to push me to live it up and do a few things I've always wanted to do.  Any suggestions for substitutions?  What do YOU want to do this year?  Anyone want to take on a **your age** during **your age** challenge with me?