32 things, or, I am terribly unoriginal.

I just read on andrea's blog her list of 37 things she wants to do before she turns 38. I think that since it is so close to the new year and am feeling resolution-ey I want to make a similar list of 32 things I would like to accomplish before I turn 33 (or, probably more realistically because of the two little ones, by the end of next year). This is going to be full-out overly ambitious just to inspire me. It will not depress me at the end of the year if I don't get it all done. Really.

1. Make an advent calendar and set of stockings for next year's Christmas. I didn't get to it this year, but since the kids are just 2 and 4 months, they didn't notice.
2. Be more successful at gardening next year, including reconfiguring the garden into square foot style plots.
3. Get a fence around the back yard so the kids can play without me worrying about them dropping off either the 8-foot retaining wall into the neighboring sixplex's parking lot or down the 21 front steps in the front yard. Then, actually play with the kids back there most days when it is nice out. And sometimes when it is not so nice.
4. Build up my Etsy store to 60-100 items, no duplicates.
5. Submit a query letter to Lark publishing about my book.
6. Learn to bake killer ciabatta and pugliese.
7. Bake chocolate chip cookies with Johanna.
8. Somehow figure out how to incorporate some exercise/yoga into my day so that I can stop throwing out my back and then complaining about it for a week to anyone who will listen.
9. Stop feeling like I haven't accomplished anything "real" in several years. Making babies takes work, too.
10. Make another pilgrimage up to Canada so the cousins can all play with each other.
11. Play with and pet the dogs more. They have really gotten the short end of the stick since I got pregnant with Johanna.
12. Finally decide how many children we are going to have. Are we going to have another, or are we going to say two is enough.
13. Build up an awesome dress-up chest to play with Johanna and Alfred. And then actually use it.
14. Really pay more attention to what we are eating. Stop eating so much crap and eat more salad and fruit.
15. Visit the farmer's market most weeks when we go to the library.
16. Potty-train Johanna.
17. Start working on baby scrapbooks before I have forgotten everything.
18. Become a US citizen. Or at least get my application in.
19. When the weather gets nice again, take some nature walks with the kids around the neighborhood instead of staying inside all day, every day.
20. Figure out what I am going to do to contribute to society. I have so much desire to do charity and good work, but no follow-through.
21. Explore more of what the city and surrounding areas have to offer. Visit the beaches and parks.
22. Take a real vacation. For real. Somewhere cool, but not necessarily far or expensive, probably by car. I have not taken a real vacation since 1999. (I don't have a job now, but it is not the same as going somewhere.)
23. Perfect a few more of our favorite foods, like dolmas.
24. Get a load of firewood and actually use the woodburning fireplace for heat some nights over the winter. And for meditation--a fire is so relaxing.
25. Declutter the house. Something I have been meaning to do since we moved here a year and a half ago and saw that we had kept way too much, but I have not had time yet being pregant and then having a newborn and all. I would like to see empty space in every part of the house.
26. Take an art class, either in real life or online. I have decided that I like drawing, but with zero training I feel like I might be making obvious mistakes.
27. Make a quilt for Alfred. I have already started hoarding fabric from goodwill for this.
28. Finish or let go of most of my existing craft projects. I cannot take the constant, endless to do list. When I see a new project I want to be able to just do it, without feeling guilt about the several dozen other projects that I should be finishing first.
29. Similarly, finish or let go of most of the things on my gigantic regular to do list. I hate constantly feeling like I should be getting more done instead of relaxing and enjoying my babies' childhood.
30. Take more photographs of things other than the kids. I really enjoy photography as a hobby and have not been doing much of it at all lately (except shots of the kids). I even got a spiffy new camera this year and have not used it outdoors as much as I'd like.
31. Appreciate my children more, instead of sometimes feeling like they are an obstacle to getting anything done during the day. Play with them while they still want to play with me and I am everything to them. Read to them every day.
32. Think more about what I want to do with the rest of my life. My children won't need constant attention forever, and I am not the type that will be happy just lazing around once they are off at school. I don't think I would be happy just puttering around all day, crafting, cooking, gardening, cleaning, etc. While I would like to do a lot of that sort of thing I don't think that is enough to hold me. Do I want to go back to school at 37 (or later if we have more kids)? I probably won't come up with the answers, but I should at least spend some time thinking about who I want to be.