Today I looked through my list of 40 things to do before I turn 40; I have a lot more to accomplish if I’m going to meet these goals! I crossed off the ones I did this year.
- Write a non-fiction book
- Write a book of poetry
- Write a hymn
- Read through my list of “books I should read” (coming soon to a blog near you) [note: I started on this, but I have a long way to go!]
- Get another master’s degree or a Ph.d.
- Get out of debt and stay out of debt (with the exception of a mortgage—see below)
- Buy my own place to live
- Volunteer at a shelter for women and children or a rescue mission
- Visit missionary friends and work in an orphanage in Africa
- Support an orphan
- Support a missionary
- Become a mentor and/or foster parent
- Learn how to play the guitar
- Learn to speak a language fluently
Run a 1/2 marathon[note: I ran two 1/2 marathons last year–the Hafa Marathon on Guam and the Lake Placid 1/2 Marathon!]- Run a 5k in less than 28 minutes [note: I ran a 5k in 28 minutes and some-odd seconds, but I didn’t get under 28 minutes. 😦 Better luck this year!]
- Run a marathon [note: I plan to run the Vermont City Marathon in May of this year.]
- Visit the empty tomb, the Temple Mount, and see the Dead Sea Scrolls
- Visit Petra and Amman, Jordan
- Ride the Eurail across Europe (a 21 day pass is $900–anyone want to donate?)
- Visit my friend Jodi when she’s a missionary in Spain
- Visit Andorra (with Jodi) and Luxembourg
- Climb one of the Swiss Alps
- Visit the Sistine Chapel and ride a gondola in Venice
- Visit England with a literary-minded friend and visit Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Globe Theater (and see a play), the Brontes’ home, Oxford, Cambridge, and a host of other sites
- See the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
- Drive on the autobahn
- Walk on the Great Wall of China
- Go on a safari in Africa
Run across the Golden Gate Bridge and run up a hill in San Francisco[side note: I walked across part of the Golden Gate Bridge but my fear of heights got to me, so I didn’t make it very far.]- Hike a 10,000+ foot mountain near Lake Tahoe (if I visit in the summer) or ski at a resort there (if I visit in the winter) [note: I went to Lake Tahoe this year, but didn’t hike any mountains (it was still cold and snowy and since I visited mid-week, both my brother and sister-in-law had to work, so I guess I’ll have to visit again!]
- Take my mom to Colonial Williamsburg
- Visit the Grand Canyon
- Go on an Alaskan cruise
- See a Broadway musical
- See an opera at the Met (preferably one by Puccini)
- See Placido Domingo perform live (I hope he doesn’t completely retire before I get a chance to hear him!)
- See Evgeny Kissin perform live
- Skate in Rockefeller Park at Christmas time
- Learn how to use the manual settings on a nice camera (should do this before all the traveling)
Chronicles of Natalie 