No, I'm not doing math - as if I would - but I'm thinking about my birthday. And not the one that's happening in a month and a half, but the one that's in a year + a month and a half. Don't think I'm going into a spill about how old I'm getting, yada yada, I just need a milepost and some tasks to do along the way. Therefore, 25 by 25.

I have a list of 25 things that I would like to complete/accomplish by my 25th birthday in July 2011. I will cross them out as they're accomplished.

  1. Read 100 books.
  2. Conquer standing-foward bend. Thank you, P90X.
  3. Curly hair.
  4. Lose 15 lbs.
  5. Maintain my container garden.
  6. Camp in the cold. Never going to happen.
  7. Find a "house wine".
  8. Volunteer/sponsor 3 local events.
  9. Bake a cake from scratch.
  10. Train for and run 3 5k races.
  11. Go gem mining.
  12. Bike the hill in front of our house with ease.
  13. Visit every winery in a 100 mile radius. That's probably about 40+.
  14. Completely organize my office/studio.
  15. Buy more local food than grocery store food.
  16. Rock climbing.
  17. Minimum twice-weekly yoga. Better. P90X 6 days a week.
  18. Find a signature drink that isn't wine or vodka.
  19. Buy a bedroom suite.
  20. Begin a serious European vacation fund.
  21. Make a good wine.
  22. Support a local artist with the purchase of a large and fabulous piece.
  23. Mountain horseback riding.
  24. Mat, frame and hang the watercolor Paris scenes I got from street artists in Paris... 7 years ago. It's time.
  25. Kayaking.

Ok, now I feel like I have to justify some of these:

5. I have a black thumb. Black. I've killed a cactus. I have started my umpteenth container garden on the back porch and would really like to see it flourish. So far, so good.

9. I don't bake. I can't bake. I can cook all day long, but when it comes to putting something in the oven, especially something that requires the exactness of baking, it's not going to end well. But I will bake a cake. And it will taste good. Right?

12. That hill is killer. Currently I can barely walk it without begging for an inhaler. It's a serious one. I'm blaming it on the altitude.

16. I love rock climbing. Actually, I love the idea of rock climbing. David loves rock climbing in the actual doing-it sense. I have busted knees, and, having had a couple of surgeries, have little leg strength for hoisting myself up on a rock crack. I know; I've tried. And it wasn't all that pretty. But, I want to rock climb. And I will. Successfully.

21. David and I tried out hand at wine making recently with a kit a friend of mine got us for Christmas. Truth be told, it's not that great. David insists that "it's gotten better" but I just don't see it. We're going to try again soon, and we'll go until we get it right!

Let's see how this goes!

sig