35 Before my 35th

I always thought it was weird that my husband can never remember how old he is. How can you not know how old you are...or even remember what day your birthday is on? Something has changed for me though...in this last year all of the sudden I have to stop and think when someone asks me how old I am. Thirty jumped up and slapped me without looking...then 31, then 32....then I threw myself a big birthday bash on my 33rd....and also my 34th. It is coming though...whether I like it or not 35 is looming.

On February 8th I will be 35 years old. I have wanted to do something different for this one. At first I was going to go to the phenomenal IF Gathering in Austin Texas which is the weekend of my birthday. But when my phone died the day tickets went for sale...and I forgot...and I was so busy working on the Allume conference...I missed my chance to get a ticket. Then I thought...hmmm...maybe I wasn't supposed to go? I am not yet sure if I will throw another big bash this year or not. I rarely turn away any reason to throw a party. Here is something that I am going to do....I have made a list:

35 Things to Accomplish before my 35th

I will update my list along the way so that you can see how I am doing. I have created a tab on the top toolbar so that you can keep track of the list. This list is for me...however I hope to inspire you to think outside the box and do something out of your ordinary comfort zone. 

I have 10 weeks and some odd days to accomplish everything on this list. They are in no particular order of importance.

***At the end of December we found that I am pregnant with son #4...everything came to a complete halt as I endured 16 weeks of extreme all day nausea. So....lets change this a bit to 35 before I am done being 35.***

35 Things to Accomplish before my 35th

1: Go sing at a nursing home

2: Prepare a meal and invite a group of people from the community who are often "overlooked" for their services 12-25-13 We hosted 21 people at our home for Christmas dinner who had no where else to go  for the holiday. Unless I get awhile hair to do something else...I am calling this one done!

3: Purchase gift cards and leave them at random places with a note attached 3 times

4: De-clutter and minimize our entire house Working on this! Follow my Life: Simplified Project to track progress. I haven't been blogging about it, but I will be again soon. I have recently closed my retail store and so my life  is getting more clutter free by the second!

5: Have a girls day with friends 2 times 12-26-13 Went out to eat with 4 girlfriends from my high school! 7-2-14 Invited several girls over from my Eclectic Sparkle group. Good old fashioned food and fellowship time.

6: Invite our teenagers friends over and serve them a feast

7: Write love notes to my husband Fathers Day, good old mushy card

8: Pray for my boys and my husband every single day

9: Pay it forward at the drive thru 2x I have done it once for sure....back in May at Taco Johns. I love doing this!

10: Organize play dates with other moms and their kids 3x I attempted a moms group at our church but it failed miserably.  I am sad to say I have only had 1 play date in all these months. In early July.

11: Organize meals for a family who has just had a baby or encountered an illness

12: Date nights with my husband 6x 11/29/13 Went out to eat at Now & Later in Pleasant Hill and then went to Aldi's for "fun"... then we came home and sat in the car for half an hour and just talked! It was a good night!  12/21/13 Had a whole day together alone, went to praise and prayer at a fellow evangelists home  followed by a meal.  12/30/13 Little boys went to Grandma's house. We were going to go out for a date but the snow  has us shut in. Instead my hubby cooked a gourmet meal followed by some quality time. 5/2/14 Dinner at an Italian Restaurant in DesMoines 06/05/14 Our 10 year anniversary, Chinese restaurant. We actually had 3 whole days kid free.

13: Take my parents out to a nice meal adults only

14: Make cards with my kids and send them to people just because

15: Blog 35 times um...I am at 2 times....Might not make this one!

16: Lose 12 pounds

17: Exercise at least 3 times a week

18: Get blog made into a book through Blog2Print.com

19: Organize and back up all digital family photos

20: Organize all printed photos

21: Read 4 books that I received from Allume conference

22: Go on a internet fast for 1 week

23: Go on a tv fast for 1 week

24: Take my DSLR camera out and take pictures of a winter wonderland

25: Go skiing at Seven Oaks ski resort

26: Take the family to the Science Center of Des Moines

27: Take the family to the Iowa Children's museum at Coral Ridge Mall

28: Go to the movies 2x 12/1/13 Took River on a "date" to see Frozen! Great movie I highly recommend it! March, went to a private screening of Mom's Night Out. Took a girlfriend

29: Throw myself a birthday party This did not happen this year. I was way too sick.

30: Go on an overnight rendezvous with my husband

31: Go vegan for one week We did the Daniel fast at the beginning of the year before learning I was pregnant.  I lasted approximately 3 weeks.

32: Do a 3day juice fast

33: Start a local women's singing group

34: Go on an overnight adventure with the whole family

35: Eat a healthy breakfast as a family 10x