30 at 30. Or 31 by 31. Or 58 by 31.

About a month ago, my friend Nina asked me if I was going to do a "30 at 30" thing where I tried 30 new things in the next year. I hadn't thought about it and asked her for some of her ideas. It didn't really strike me as something I'd do. And I had no idea what I'd put on my list, because, let's face it, I'm a mom of two young kids with limited time, money, and energy. And I didn't want to fail at my 30 at 30 list!

But I made a Bucket List on Pinterest (something I hadn't really thought of before stealing someone's pin and stumbling onto this GREAT side on Tumblr) and then one of my FB friends posted her "30 by 30" list. It's substantial, well thought-out, and time-consuming. Meaning, she has over a year to do it. And she doesn't have kids. But it got me thinking.What would be on my list?

Top on my list: Tattoo. But what else?

So I sat down today and tried to put it together. At first, I fell short. I maybe had 17 things. But I did what any person in my situation would do. I googled it and stole other people's ideas. And then the ideas wouldn't stop coming. So here's the current list. It seriously needs to be pared down. (New goal: Get this list to 31 things by my birthday. So I can start the list.)


The List (draft 1)

1. Learn to sew with my sewing machine. I am no longer ok with barely remembering my time spent in 7th grade Home Ec.
2. Bake loaves a bread without using the bread machine. Bonus for finding the perfect Whole Wheat Bread recipe.
3. Take a cooking class - cannot be combined with #2 because cooking and baking are obviously different.
4. Take a photography class - AKA: Learn how to use my camera on manual. ;)
5. Get my tattoo(s)!!!
6. Write 25 journal entries. Or blog entries. That's one every other week.ish...
7. Write letters to each of my girls monthly. They both have notebooks especially for this purpose. I just haven't done it in forever. And by forever, I mean probably 9 or 10 months.
8. Do the 30-day Mom Challenge EVERY MONTH. It will help me be a better mama and help my girls have more fun.
9. Read 25 books. Books I've read already this year (before turning 30) do not count, sadly. Books I read to the girls do not count. Books for class DO count! Books on my bookshelves that I haven't read yet most definitely are at the top of this list.
10. Get Emma down to only watching ONE HOUR of TV a day. This is scary and will be difficult. But I really need to do it for her. And me.
11. Finish the play room. This includes hanging their chair, making the animal zoo, putting up the hooks and shelves, and adding artwork to the walls.
12. (Adding a goal here...) Learn how to use a drill properly.
13. Make and follow a budget. Matt really wants us both to do this. I need to help him with the budget so it's realistic. And then I need to stick to it. 
14. (Adding another goal) Start the girls' college accounts. Both of them.
15. Reach 50 sales on Gracie Jayne Boutique. I don't even know how many sales I'm at right now. I should probably create the DBA and the separate bank account while I'm at it. And I want to add another product line. Like origami mobiles or something. I should probably be doing GJB's own list for 2012...
16. Buy a meal for a homeless person. Or at least pull over and give him/her what I have in the car. I always feel guilty when I don't.
17. Go to the roller derby! Look, here's the 2012 winter schedule for the Killamazoo Derby Darlins...
18. Take a picnic with my family. The backyard does not count this year. Let's go to the Nature Center and do it! We're members this year, remember?
19. Go on a wine tasting with Matt up in the Leelanau Peninsula. And maybe find a wine that I like.
20. A 30-day Photo Challenge or create one of my own, like stopping at 3:30 (or a different random time) and taking a photo of what we're doing. 
21. (And while we're talking about daily things, I really like this Sky Scarf idea too... Guess I'm adding KNITTING to my list!!!)
22. Remember (re-learn) how to knit.
23. Work out 20 minutes a day/3 days a week/for 50 weeks. At least.
24. Bring back Pretty Toes Friday!!!
25. Stop drinking soda (???)
26. Hang out with my very own friends without babies once a month.
27. Go to an art museum
28. Continue Monthly Family Day ... Vacations count!
29. Monthly date night... birthdays and anniversaries count!
30. Stop using paper towels. I've already stopped using napkins, so it's possible... 
31. Plant an herb garden for year-round use - and put it on the wall in my kitchen.
32. Stop eating at fast food joints. This includes Taco Bell, Wendy's, McDonald's, Arby's... but not Panera or Pizza Hut. Apparently I'm not that into this one. 
33. Locavore for 30 days. Obviously in the summer. Very possible. Very do-able.
34. Kickboxing classes again? Man, I loved kickboxing. Let's see, I'd need to find a class, a sitter... 
35. Read to my girls for 15 minutes every day (separately). I realized yesterday I barely read to them. When did that stop? This is connected to too much TV, I know it...
36. Weed my sunroom garden!!!!
37. Build the girls an outdoor playhouse, with help from Dad & Matt. I'm very excited about this. :)
38. Start going to the chiropractor?
39. Volunteer. Some amount of time. Somewhere. With or without my girls. Again, this might need a sitter...
40. Make it to my wedding weight of <150 lbs.
41. Submit to PostSecret. That could be fun and interesting and helpful.
42. Walk in a race, like the Cheetah Chase or the Borgess Run. Yes. That's very doable.
43. Create a will!!!! As a mother, this should be on the top of my list.
44. Learn how to change a flat tire. Because calling someone is kinda dumb when I should know how to do it myself.
45. Make homemade ice cream with my girls.
46. Participate in a dinner crawl (oh this will be for my 31st birthday, for sure), which means have cocktails, appetizer, dinner, dessert, and post-dinner cocktails at a different place in one night.
47. Add 5 go-to meals (and crock-pot meals) to my repertoire. This would be helpful, especially if they are locavore meals.
48. Invite friends over for dinner six (?) times.
49. Get rid of the stuff in Barb's basement. Or bring it home.
50. Four fun day-trips with my girls. Can be included in the family fun days!
51. Go for a walk with the girls x20. When did I stop doing this? Obviously it's cold and nasty out... but sometime after having Sophia I stopped going for walks...
52. Pick one day a week to spend tech-free. No TV, no smartphone, no internet. Gah! It scares me. 
53. Participate in a craft fair with GJB?
54. Recite a "I Carry Your Heart" by e.e. cummings at Stone Circle with my girls in attendance. 
55. Play in the snow with my girls. This requires I purchase snowpants. Probably should own them anyway. Maybe then I'd like going outside with Emma.
56. Play in the rain with my girls. We need raincoats. 
57. Donate my breastmilk. With Eats on Feets possibly, but mostly I want to be able to help feed my niece Ava. 
58. Use the Busy Book and the Nature Book (ok, I'm not remembering titles right now and the book is in Fia's room) with the girls. This will help with the TV-stopping.

So, what ones are your favorites? I need to make this much short very quickly.

Also, why do I feel the need to make it shorter? Can it just be super-long? I am super-woman, right?