I'm turning 40 Bucket List!

I just had a birthday on December 30th...it was #39. I can't believe I'm going to be 40 this year. Not because that sounds old, but because my to do list is growing rather than getting shorter. The older I get, the more I learn about things to do and places to go that I had never even considered earlier in my life, and then I want to do those things and see those places.

Since moving to Tennessee 3 1/2 years ago, we have really slowed down and stopped doing as much as we used to. In some ways, that's because we love where we live and we're content. But I do still want to see and do more! So, since this is my 40th year of life, I've decided to do a Bucket List for the year. My goal is to do 40 of these things this year and one of those is to keep up this blog!

Here's the list. Oh, and yes, there are a few more than 40 items listed here...that's me planning ahead in case money or circumstances don't allow for a few of them:-)

• Go to the Kentucky Derby
• Make tamales
• Visit a dude ranch
• Rent a houseboat
• Install a closet organizer (may not sound exciting, but wait till you see pictures of our funky closet)
• Send a message in a bottle...and not get fined for littering
• Skydive
• Blog about this Bucket List all year
• Ride a train (I've ridden the Wine Train, but that doesn't count)
• Lose 20 pounds
• Take a hot air balloon ride
• Hang out at home for a full weekend and be content with my surroundings. No working!
• Shoot a rifle
• See the Statue of Liberty
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen
• Try sushi- This one's for Brett. Quite honestly, not looking forward to it.
• Eat Creole/Cajun food in New Orleans
• Visit a foreign country I have not been to
• Get a motorcycle license
• Take part in a flashmob
• Plant sunflowers
• Try Zumba
• Buy food for someone behind me
• Eat roasted chestnuts - We sing about them, but how many have actually eaten them?
• Actually send Christmas cards
• Attend an event at TPAC
• Keep up with monthly dates with my hubby:-)
• Learn to change a tire
• Learn to change the oil in my car
• Take a cooking class
• Enter something at the fair
• Finish the bathroom in the shop - Another one that isn't exciting, but I want to see it done!
• Sew something
• Start an annual girls' weekend - I miss our CA girls' weekends,so it's time to start a new tradition with new friends!
• Surpise somebody
• Meet interesting new people
• Learn the names and locations of all the countries
• Learn more about canning
• Play in the rain - I haven't really played in the rain since I was a kid. You know, where you are completely drenched and laughing to the point you can't stop.
• Eat 100% locally grown food for 1 week
• Make homemade ice cream
• Go to Mississippi- It's so close and I've lived here 3 1/2 years and I haven't made it- that's crazy!
• Ride a Segway- I know it's lame, but you know you want to as well:-)
• Play a good practical joke
• Buy a new outfit and not care how much it costs
• Get states visited up to 40 (I'm currently at 32)
• Spend more time with friends