40 + 1 (part 2): The final list

So here’s what I accomplished in my 40 till 40 countdown, I’ll try to put them in order of accomplishment so you can see the ones I crammed in at the very end!

1. post mom opera on blog
2. buy a probiotic
3. call Sarah
4. finish contract
5. sign up for a class (musical theatre comedy)
6. go dancing
7. sing with other people
8. plant something
9. borrow something
10. finish wedding scrapbook
11. visit with claire
12. send birthday invitation
13. remove tree stump from front yard, make garden bed
14. make dinner reservation – Inn at Little Washington
15. buy a new bra, donate old nursing bra
16. responsibly dispose of all poison we inherited when we bought this house
17. dinner with becky
18. take all shirts with holes (refined to be with more than one hole in a noticeable place) out of drawer/closet (some of these had already been mended, i would like to blog about featherweight cotton in a future post)
19. hang all ‘art’ (Dave did most of this, but I oversaw the process)
20. paint kitchen wall
21. go to the dentist
22. get a facial
23. go to high tea
24. book a ticket to see college roomies and celebrate 40s together
25. wash sofa slipcovers
26. make chocolate soufflé
27. buy new socks (this was, um, super easy and makes a huge difference)
28. drink tea on my deck in the sunshine
29. buy a Barbra Streisand cd (On a Clear Day soundtrack). Why have I spent so much of my adult life without show tunes?
30. plan and shop for birthday dinner
31. listen to all voicemail
32. buy an old/new dress; play dress up
33. email first love
34. clean toilets
35. change all sheets
36. clean out ‘inbox’ of to dos that have been accumulating for many years. (NOTE: Inbox zero is an AMAZING feeling. I keep being surprised when I look at that space and there are no more unmade decisions staring back at me!).

There were actually more than 40 items on the list because I wasn’t sure what would/could get done. The ones that remain that I’d like to complete in the first 40 days of 40 are:

37. photo album of Sawyer (dog/soul mate. text written, photos selected, just need to finish!)
38. frame katydid picture (I have a species named for me and I’d like to put it up somewhere in the house)
39. buy tickets to see a show (I have a plan)
40. buy an outside compost bin (dave gave me the kitchen compost bucket for my bday, just need the outside bin)
41. plant a camellia
42. list everything on eBay (not much to go)
43. talk to Gareth
44. buy new underwear
45. plan summer road trip

So that’s it! I will share some thoughts on the whole exercise next but my kids will definitely be awake soon!