Just Heather has this cool list of 40 things she wants to accomplish before she turns 40. Like Heather I am prone to making to do lists, mostly mundane things, in an effort to getitdone. But what about those things that might otherwise slip through the cracks of “not important because it’s only for me?” Too often we focus on everyone else, making sure the kids are happy, our husbands are happy, etc. We focus on getting dinner on the table, laundry folded and put away, making sure we get the oil changed in the car and get to miscellaneous meetings on time. But isn’t there more that we want to do, just as soon as we find a spare moment or twelve? That’s what 40 by 40 is about – just coming up with a list of things we’d like to do and hope we’ll find the time to do in the near or not so near future. I’ve got a ways to go before I turn 40 (14 years!) which is good, because that means I have more time to check things off my list and accomplish the things I want to.

Want to join me? It doesn’t have to be 40 by 40 if you’ve already passed that milestone or 40 is so far off you can’t even think about it yet (for any really young readers out there!). Heather got her idea from a blogging friend of hers named Katie who made a 30 before 30 list. The numbers don’t matter -what matters is just taking the time to think about what matters do you, what you want to do with your life and then setting about doing at least some of those things.

So without further adieu, here are the forty things I hope to do before I turn 40.

1. Buy a house – a home I can truly call my own. Preferably with a stellar kitchen and a front porch big enough to sit on in some comfortable bench, swing or lawn chair.
2. Lose the baby weight, the college days weight and any other lingering pounds.
3. Walk, or even better, run in a marathon.
4. Learn a new foreign language.
5. Travel to a new country.
6. Take the kids to Disney World.
7. Learn kick boxing.
8. Take a cruise.
9. Become a “soccer mom.”
10. Visit a casino.
11. Go to a local sporting event.
12. Make my own preserves.
13. See The Ellen Show live!
14. Start my own garden.
15. Plant a tree.
16. Meet my mother.
17. Visit the city where I was born.
18. Join the PTO or PTA or whatever it’s called now.
19. Go camping with the family.
20. Take a big road trip like the Highway 51 trip.
21. Rent an RV for a trip.
22. Read all the books I own.
23. Volunteer for a soup kitchen.
24. Donate generously to a charity.
25. See Mount Rushmore.
26. Go to Hawaii.
27. Visit the Grand Canyon.
28. Stay at one of those luxery hotels, preferably on a sandy beach somewhere.
29. Buy Dan a big screen tv.
30. Get a cell phone that I actually like.
31. Build a tree house in our backyard (once we get a house).
32. Buy a dog (preferably from an animal shelter).
33. Learn sign language.
34. Visit a Smithsonian museum.
35. Become a Den mother.
36. Do 10 real push-ups in a row.
37. Have my own “library” in my home – a room JUST for books and reading.
38. Renew my wedding vows.
39. Try Zumba.
40. Make friends with someone in this state.

Clearly not in order of importance or anything. :OP Well, how about you? What are your life goals?