50 Things...Or, What I've Been Up to Lately

All craft, all the time.  Wouldn't that be nice?  There are so, so many lovely things to make, ideas to try, techniques to learn.  *Sigh*  It would be nice, but I fear, also impractical.  And yet, when I am not crafting in my free time, I find myself reading blogs about what other people have been doing craftwise, or chatting craft with them in the scrapbooking forum at Cocoa Daisy.com.

It is there that I was inspired by Anja Wade to craft up a list of 50 things to do before I turn 50.  Her list is 40 by 40, and as 40 is...well....past, I decided to come up with 50.  Fifty things, compiled with an underlying panic, or at least a slap of reality.  "OMG!  I'm almost 50!  There are  so many things I need to do, so much life I've not yet lived!  I'd better get my butt out there and DO them!!"  I have a good five and a half years to complete the list.  Of course, I probably could have knocked off a few in the time it has taken me to make this mini album to document my intentions...

Binding this baby proved to be a challenge. My original intention was to use 2 binder clips, but as the stack was about 3 inches thick, I decided they would have to be too dang big!I will share what I ended up doing in a separate post.

It was challenging to come up with 50 things.  I wanted a mix of things that would be easy and challenging, silly and serious.  Many of the items were no-brainers; they've been on the back burner for years, if not decades!  Others required some reflection to identify. Going through the list once more as I write this post, however, I'm pleased that all but one are experiences that I've genuinely entertained the idea of over and over again.  (The newfound one came from learning that something I thought I knew was completely wrong, and now I am in profound need of reeducation!  I'll share more later! ).  Some things may require some monetary expense, and others may take some creativity to come by.  Some will call upon my courage and others will test my patience.  But all of them are doable, and I'm excited to get out and DO!

So, this is what I've been up to lately (craftwise), and here is my list!

#1:  Travel in Europe

#2:  Take an art class in person with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
#3:  Bake bread from scratch

#4:  Plant a Meyer lemon tree
#5:  Submit book for publication

#6:  Nap in a hammock
#7:  Go to Thursday evening Farmer's Market (here in town)

#8:  Make Oma's cheesecake
#9:  Swim/snorkel with sea turtles

#10:  Juggle 3 balls for 15 swaps
#11:  Donate an animal through www.heifer.org

#12:  Walk a labyrinth
#13:  Hold a koala bear for at least 20 minutes

#14:  Get a spa facial
#15:  Have a duck for a pet (or a donkey)

#16:  Sew or crochet something I'd wear in public
#17:  Camp in an Airstream trailer

#18:  Learn to identify 5 constellations besides Orion and Big Dipper
#19:  Grow tomatoes successfully (must achieve at least 12 from one plant)

#20:  Surf, surf, & surf (that's three different occasions)
#21:  Read Faulkner's "The Sound and The Fury"

#22:  Find a Bad Hair Day hat
#23:  Learn how to play "House of the Rising Sun" on guitar

#24:  Go to Catalina Island
#25:  Fly a kite

#26: Have an interactive dolphin experience
#27: Get veneer fixed and teeth whitened

#28:  Adopt a desert tortoise for a pet
#29:  Find my Sleep Number

#30:  Make a gingerbread luminaria
#31:  Sell something on Etsy to a stranger

#32:  Go zip lining
#33:  Go to a live taping of a favorite sit-com.

#34:  Take the train to the Grand Canyon
#35:  Mountain bike down a trail (no jumps!)

#36:  Run a 5K
#37:  Get tap shoes and dance

#38:  Create a Will
#39:  Splurge on the perfect boots (don't let them get away again!)

#40:  Check out local Center for Spiritual Living
#41:  Watch all of the Best Picture Oscar winners

#42:  Go to Griffith Observatory
#43:  Try needle felting

#44:  Hike Vasques Rocks
#45:  Own a VW Thing

#46:  Go to a sporting event at each kid's high school
#47:  Do camel pose in yoga

#48:  Visit Watts Towers
#49:  Become a better Bridge player

#50:  Put together a wedding album/scrapbook.

So there you have it!  Fifty things!  I will report back on each with a little bit about why they are on my list and about the experience leading up to checking them off!

Thank you for visiting!