thirty day countdown

it's a mere thirty before forty. using this time to get ready to hit the ground running. i have made a nice start with some household decluttering and a personal pick-me-up as the redhead 'do takes shape.

15. build an interesting and appropriate wardrobe for my age and lifestyle

i was stuck for a few years with having either really casual clothes (jeans and tees that i wore to class when i was in school) or dress-up clothes appropriate for weddings and job interviews. not really anything in between because i didn't need it. well, now i wear a uniform of sorts to work (my own clothes, but i have to wear black pants and a white shirt--i add in colorful tees under the shirt or a colored cardigan to keep from feeling too blah most of the time) and i change as soon as i get home.

my default has become yoga pants and a tee with a hoodie or long sleeves thrown in when it's cold. boring. blah. not me. especially not with the fabulous red hair. lol. but really? i'm 30, not 80. i can do better than this.

and so it begins. i'm working one of my other goals and clearing out my closet and dresser of the things i don't like, don't wear, or no longer fit me. i think i'll have a small pile of things that will need to be hemmed or otherwise fixed, but it will be starting point. no clothes shopping (well, maybe a cute top for my husband's high school reunion dinner) until the post-christmas sales and a down & dirty evaluation of what i want to look like and a shopping list.

16. change my hair color.

so it's like this. I've been blonde by birth or bottle for 99% of my life. i've tied up a major portion of my identity and self-worth in being the petite blue-eyed blonde. it allowed me to get away with being a little too flirty, then deliver the kicker by actually being more intelligent than my hair color would lead you to believe.

i thought i was only pretty if i was blonde. but, as the last several years have taught me, i don't have to live up to anyone else's expectations of me. people will still like or love me (or not) if i change. and so i did. last fall, i went the closest to my natural color than i have ever been. it surprised a lot of people, mostly myself.

and as it turns out, i really hated it, despite having a fabulous colorist who did wonders with brunette. but the world didn't come to an end. i got compliments on it, although some of them begrudgingly. a lot more people than i realized thought i was still a "real" blonde (by the way, i really am blonde. i paid for it and everything).

i learned that i like change. that i don't have to do the expected and safe. and so today, despite it being a good month and a half before the big four zero, the hair is changing again. last time the long-suffering (ten years plus) friend who does my hair went a little brighter blonde and a few coppery highlights.

not enough of a change and really only visible in direct light. if i'm coming home a redhead (as i'm completely certain my husband would fully enjoy),there's no room for subtlety. go big or go home.

the 40 list

travel & outings
01. go on a scrapbooking weekend with my best friend.
02. go to paris.
03. go to the chicago cultural center.
04. have high tea at the peninsula.

family
05. scan all my family pictures.
06. back up family pictures onto dvd.
07. take my children to the cemetery.
08. honor the remainder of my mother in law's life.
09. make a playlist of music for my children.
10. develop and nurture my relationships with my chosen family.

personal
11. review my work on style statement and live authentically.
12. determine my word of the year for 2011 and live up to it.
13. get another tattoo.
14. dance in the rain.
15. build an interesting and appropriate wardrobe for my age and lifestyle.
16. *change my hair color.
17. manage my health issues instead of waiting until they become crises.
18. * ride a roller coaster and embrace the fear.

religion/spirituality
19. nurture my spirituality.
20. read the bible regularly.

creative
21. take a self-portrait a month to document this year of my life.
22. make a written record of my important life stories--i'm shooting for 40.
23. make a scrapbook of achieving these 40 things.
24. sew a patchwork quilt.
25. learn to play pachelbel canon in d on the piano.
26. crochet a scarf of flowers and leaves.
27. complete at least 50 scrapbook pages.

career/finance
28. start my own etsy shop.
29. start a lifestyle blog.
30. make a plan for what i want to be when i grow up.
31. start my own 401k for retirement.
32. *pay off our credit card debt.

homekeeping/life management
33. declutter my house.
34. become more effective at scheduling and time management.
35. teach my children to cook and other important life skills.
36. make a decorating plan for my house.

food/eating
37. *eat at at least half a dozen of the top restaurants in chicago.
38. make at least one recipe from each of my cookbooks.
39. learn to make a good pie crust.
40. make my own line of jams &/or jellies to give as gifts.


* started before i turn 40, but i'm still including it because of its significance.

why forty-forty?

so i follow a couple of bloggers that follow the "x number of things that correspond to how many years old they are" being what they hope to accomplish in the upcoming year. the most famous being hulaseventy. and, this is a monumental year for me, turning 40. i've decided that it's time to take the plunge.

my forty things to do the year i turn 40.