List 40 things to do before I turn 40 and do 2 things towards them every week

1. Get a passport
2. Visit another country
3. Move to California this is in the works but has been delayed due to the economy. I hope beyond hope that it will be achieved by Christmas. argh.
4. Finish a publishable draft of a novel taking a break from the revision of my first book to write something new, just for fun… but I did read that I could start looking for an agent with a solidly revised first few chapters and a good detailed outline, even if I haven’t finished drafting the whole thing. So that’s good news and something to look into. Must start researching queries and agents.
5. Get an agent no. but I have a couple of first drafts written and if I get together a few chapters of a finished piece then I have something to work for. Next year is the year for this one. Truly and honestly
6. Publish another article I am writing a chapter of a book on Creativity and women. Not done yet, but in the works.
7. Read through all 25 years worth of journal, organize and collect anything worth collecting (essays, poems, quotes, drawings, moments, ideas, etc.) I may have to consider changing this goal. I’m not focused much on the past, but instead on new works, plus my journals are now in storage. I am however posting pages from my 2003 altered book on my blog.
8. Learn to play the guitar I was working on this, but stopped when S went to California to get a job. I realize that it’s because I don’t have any time to myself when the kids are awake. Can’t risk waking them with guitar sounds. So I have learned a bit how to play the guitar. I should probably mark this as done, but I’m not really any good.I’ll wait to see if I get more opportunity later, but I essentially did take this one on to the mostly best of my ability.
9. Get married delayed, due to finances. but still in planning phase.
10. Sell my art to people who don’t know mewhy yes. yes I have, thank you very much. I have a shop on etsy and sell work there, although I’m not rich from it, I’m selling.
11. Publish my poetry in a reputable journal I may have to change this goal, because honestly, how many things can I focus on at once. I’ve got a novel, art, blog, and non fiction projects going on right now. I don’t think there’s room right now to focus on getting poetry published. Yes. Must change.
12. Potty train my son and daughter. one down one to go
13. Teach my children to read Read to them every night. Starting some prereading activities, like letter recognition, having them tell stories. Loving PBS for educational TV. G is starting to recognize a few letters and even some small words. On his own, with no help from me.
14. Roast a whole chickenWOO HOO one down. It was delish.
15. Move out of New York Citymoved
16. Meet S’s daughter and motherone down one to go
17. Be a better photographer tought goal to accomplish because don’t know when it’s reached. I would like to get a DSLR camera and then I’ll mark it down. I have the eye, the editing, need a better camera to take really nice photos, at least the way I want. So just money is in the way of this one.
18. Go on a romantic holiday with S. der, no money
19. Have a writer’s room/studio had one. was not viable. created an acceptable corner or two or three. systems that worked for me. had to move, now have to get something working again. but also want something real dedicated to my work. but need a house of my own, first.
20. Go on a writer’s retreat or to a writer’s conference
21. Be a part of a creative community again hmm. Not one in real life, but I would say I am involved in an on line creative community… more everyday. These people are really awesome. it’s so cool
22. Write my book on creativity and motherhood have a chapter to be written for someone else’s book, and have an illustrated journal in process with another partner. I think this is the best route for me right now as I don’t seem to have the time or brain space to develop my book from scratch.
23. Make some stuffed animals
24. Paint a monsters alphabet what to do about this goal? I’ve drawn the monsters alphabet and painted hundreds of paintings since I started this goal, i could mark this done, but i’m going to wait and see if I actually do paint the alphabet.
25. Send my children to school
26. Write a will
27. Learn to fricking drive for godsakes. no what the bleepin bleep is wrong with me!
28. Own a car
29. Step foot in the Pacific ocean move across country still in development stages.
30. Get back in touch with Julie D and apologizeWOO FRICKIN HOO DONE! She found me on facebook and we are back in touch! YAY!
31. Visit my alma mater
32. Renew my wardrobe.working. have bought some new things, reassessed some old things, in process of purging even more unworn and crappy things, but still have new adventures to look forward to.:)
33. Start making my own money again so I can be more independent so complicated. I’m making some money with my shop, but not much. petty cash mostly. but can’t get a real job til i go out to California. blech.
34. Start a writing and/or creativity workshop not yet, but need to work on this a little. think online opportunities, atleast.
35. Master the blogoverse in specific and the internet/computers in general.the goal is grandiose but I have a working knowledge of blogs, the internet and social media. I could actually teach others about it. I’m not a master, but I am a part of it, so. and so.
36. Upgrade my computer systemhey! I got a new computer, although inexpensive, new is more important than fancy at this point, a decent printer and a new point and shoot when I lost my old one. So I’ve got what I need now, more or less, to be current and not five steps behind. There’s always more, but for now, done.
37. Have a supportive and fun circle of friends again only online. sigh.
38. Make a living at Get paid for what I love to do and am passionate about.well, I think I need to change this to make a living off of what I love to do and am passionate about, because I have been paid, but I can’t focus on it since I don’t get paid very much and have to spend my time on other endeavors and I need to find a job that pays real money. either enough to pay for childcare, or something i can do at home or part time or whatever.
39. Finish the first draft of the second book in my trilogy.
40. Finish the first draft of the THIRD book in my trilogy.

1. Visit Swiss Alps, Paris, Poland, Greece, Turkey.
2. Sing in a karaoke bar.
3. Learn to eat with Chopsticks.
4. Visit Japan.
5. Speak fluent Japanese, French.
6. Learn to play the guitar (Have just learnt to play “Happy Birthday” as yet)
7. Work with an NGO.
8. Goto China and teach English to Chinese kids.
9. Check out the serendipity restaurant in NYC.
10. Meet someone on a trip and fall in love.
11. Go Scuba-diving in Lakshadweep/Andaman
12. Go on a bike trip to Leh/Ladakh.
13. Stay in a houseboat in Kerala.
14. Do cheap shopping in Bangkok.
15. Visit KL (Check out the twin towers)
16. Go for the Dubai Shopping festival.
17. Take a cruise to Greece/Turkey.
18. Learn a foreign language )completely)
19. Attend pottery classes.
20. Learn yoga/meditation.
21. Attend a vipassana course.
22. Keep a pet (maybe a dog)
23. Work in a farm.
24. Build a house.
25. Work in a foreign country.
26. Go surfing.
27. Learn Salsa/Tango/Hip-hop.
28. Go for a romantic vacation on Bora-Bora Islands.
29. Ride an airplane.
30. Go bungee-jumping.
31. Adopt a kid.
32. Take up a baking course – learn how to bake cakes, pastries etc.
33. Take up a wine-tasting course.

4. Finish a publishable draft of a novel slowly working on draft 3 of book 1. verrry slowly
5. Get an agent no, but building a platform and slowly getting known online

6. Publish another article did a couple of blog interviews which someone else publishes on their blogs. does that count? hmm, not completely, but closer.
7. Read through all 25 years worth of journal, organize and collect anything worth collecting (essays, poems, quotes, drawings, moments, ideas, etc.)I get the feeling I am not going to take this on as a proper project. But I did read a journal from about 15 years ago. That was fun
8. Learn to play the guitar I am learning. Have guitar, have teach yourself to play book, have been practicing semi regularly, can play “Down in the Valley” sorta, and do so before bed for the kids every night. cool.

10. Sell my art to people who don’t know me{color:green} holy cow I think I get to mark this one as DONE! I have an etsy shop up and people are buying, slowly. I have 49 people who have favorited my shop. Now I have to go about keeping the sales up and marketing. Yay me.

12. Potty train my boy and potty train my girl {color:green} you know what? he’s out of diapers completely. even if he still has accidents some times and is working on the poop issues, he’s done. So I’m marking this as half done and now I have to start working on the girl. Please wish for me that she goes easier than he did.

13. Teach my children to read Read to them every night. Starting some prereading activities, like letter recognition, having them tell stories. He read all the letters on the Oreo package. :) Then I think he made sense of the reading thing. I mean, the word sounds like the letters.
14. Roast a whole chicken
15. Move out of New York City
16. Meet S’s daughter and mother{color:green} met his mom, she’s a nice lady. now we’re in contact and exchanging photos and talking on the phone.

19. Have a writer’s room/studioset up a corner of the room. have desk, cabinet, my books out and a lot of my favorite pretty things. I still need to do my writing more, but the space is there.

21. Be a part of a creative community again I think I shouldn’t count the on line community, since it’s the IRL one that is the problem.. but then I have learned to not be so antisocial with the online peeps and still have some distance to go.so fine, we’ll include online, knowing irl is the goal.
22. Write my book on creativity and motherhood {color:green} new idea, “Art and Transformation” using my paintings in the book. Also wrote a very brief outline. Or the beginning of one. Doing the interviews for other people helped me straighten the ideas out.
23. Make some stuffed animals
24. Paint a monsters alphabet {color:green} have sketches, but not paintings. Did do a Where the Wild Things Are Flying guy, but not quite an alphabet
25. Send my children to school {color:green} at least I know where I’ll be for this year, so I can look into preschool for G

28. Own a car %{color:green} don’t have one, but need one so this should/must be done soon.

30. Get back in touch with Julie D and apologize

32. Renew my wardrobe. I’m marking this as done, because even though my wardrobe is not perfect yet, I am actively engaged in making cute outfits and looking for creative inexpensive items and wearing jewelry and scarves. So I am actually “dressing” again, not just throwing on what’s clean on the pile.
33. Start making my own money again so I can be more independent %{color:green} I am making money! Not so much. Not full time job worth, but some. The only problem is that it is our sole income right now. Yipes. S is looking for a job, and when he gets one, my art money will be our extra money, for maintaining my art biz and for getting stuff we need and perhaps my personal discretionary income. or maybe we’ll just save it.
35. Master (Utilize) the blogoverse in specific and the internet/computers in general. {color:green} I should get rid of the term “master.” blogging, check. FB, check. googlereader, check. twitter, in progress, etsy, in progress. picnik, in progress. want to learn Flickr right now.

38. Get paid for what I love to do and am passionate about.{color:green} I have entered the world that I want to enter. I am selling my art on etsy. I have a decent blog following. I am engaged in a couple of different internet communities. Next I want to work on getting some paid articles. I want to finish my book and get an agent/contract. I want to do some on line courses. Perhaps some online tarot reading. I want to work with my teaching partner and get our women’s groups going, probably online, since she’s in Atlanta. I also want to look into getting some grants. yes. I’m about making money, now.

I only have 9 months left. How did that happen? Better get my butt in gear.

I’m going to call this goal done on my birthday. I’m putting everything off the list that is a) still active and b) that I still care about on my 43things list.

Progress -

• Semi-watched and dumped the movie I said I’d watch.
• Still doing the push ups.
• Got the bidding directives out and am working with the new data for this month
• Have lost some weight.

stop gooffing off on the computer

1. Complete my Master’s Degree in Psychology
2. See the Northern Lights
3. Six month’s living expenses in savings

I’m at 60% done. Check in time!

• Do 50 pushups – doable if I can stay with the program
• Read an unread book by Marguerite Duras or Alasdair Gray – probably can’t do both unless they’re considerable more breezy than I remember
• Have my job organized and running well – if I can publish the bidding reports this month and next month I’ll consider this done
• Read all of my comics – Doable if I don’t read the books. Hmm.

• Lose 15 Pounds – I can reasonably lose 5.
• Watch all my VHS tapes will watch the Beauty and the Beast Xmas on poker night. Will take one tape to Mary to burn and find out how hard it is.
• Take dance classes – will get to the gym and take at least 2 classes
• Organize my photos Will get the photos in the box into the albums
• Finish the dinner plates for a set of 8 – will do one

• Have nude photos of me taken
• Have a wardrobe that reflect who I am and makes me feel good – both of these are waiting on at least 10 pounds of weight loss. Which I am going to accomplish.
• The ee cummings garden paver project – will do this summer
• Have a will – a bit easier to do now that the estate is settled

• Paint and redo the bedroom – Let’s see how the economy shapes up, shall we? It would be nice to just paint it but it seems that this entails many things beyond our ability.
• Create a 5-year plan- I’m not sure this actually possible or actually worth it. Am deleting from the list.

I’ve marked as completed the whole streamline the house goal. It’s not perfect, it never will be of course, but so many improvements have been made I feel OK about calling it done. So much better than it was when the list was generated, that’s for sure.

I’m also marking complete learn to parallel park. I’ve done it successfully several times recently and though it’s never stress free or pretty, I can do it.

4. Finish a publishable draft of a novel. got through some major revisions of half of my novel before I realized I needed to change the POV to someone else’s and discovered a better focus for the novel, so I am going to have to revise from scratch. So I think that would make it the second or third pass.

6. Publish another article. %{color:green}received an opportunity to publish in an anthology which I haven’t done anything with. Get crackin Ro. %

8. Learn to play the guitar got a guitar from my stepfather, a learn to play book from my uncle and after two days, snapped the string which I have been unable to replace right now. asked for strings for christmas.
9. Get married %{color:green}some discussion of this, some discussion of rings, some thoughts on planning, but we have to straighten out finances and living situation first. %
10. Sell my art to people who don’t know me. was asked to paint a picture, but I dropped the ball and never did it. Still can do it, she has still expressed interest. Maybe I wasn’t ready.

12. Potty train my children {color:green} the boy is potty trained for the day, even nap, with some accidents, still night time and poo to come. I dropped the girl potty training until she knows what to do when she sits on the potty and/or the boy is done and I can focus on her. maybe after the new year.
13. Teach my children to read reading every night, playing with letters, the boy loves to “read” magazines, toy circulars, comic books, picture books. got him to read along with me when he knew the words. he has sometimes read along with the characters on PBS, picked out correct letters and numbers. he sometimes reads the titles on videos and brought the right one. he is still only three. the girl has finally expressed an interest in books, as long as they are not too wordy.
14. Roast a whole chickendone
15. Move out of New York Citydone
16. Meet S’s daughter and mother gotten into email/snail mail correspondence w S’s mother.
17. Be a better photographer improved, learned to use my point and shoot settings, take better pictures of my art, but I need to get a better camera if I really want to explore this.

19. Have a writer’s room/studio have had a couple spots set up but they don’t always work for my needs. right now have a corner in my room for writing and a corner in the livingroom to work while kids are playing. Both work. Also have created a take along paint bag where I can carry my stuff with me and work anywhere. It’s not about conforming to what you think you “should” ahve, it’s about being able to get your work done in the life you live. sometimes I need privacy, sometimes I need to be able to supervise the kids and jump up at a moment’s notice, sometimes I need to crash on the couch and watch tv and still be able to paint.

21. Be a part of a creative community again. I am a part of an on line creative community, between Art Everyday Month, Artober, The Big Draw, Creative Everyday, Nanowrimo, Illustration Friday, Inspire Me Thursday, the Be Brave Project, the Portfolio Project, Burning Lines and my everyday creative blog, it’s out there. Now if only I could be in a creative community IRL.
22. Write my book on creativity and motherhood {color:green} much of what I am writing in my blog could go into this, but I have not sat down and worked on an outline or specifically worked on this book.
23. Make some stuffed animalsdone! robot and fairy doll and they’re adorable.
24. Paint a monsters alphabet I drew a monsters alphabet in marker, but to really be satisfied with this, I’d have to use real paint. I may see this goal all the way to the end, or I may turn it into something else about kids art on etsy.

30. Get back in touch with Julie D and apologizedone

32. Renew my wardrobe. doing this. paying more attention. getting more new items. wearing skirts, scarves, jewelry again. even wear shoes everyday.
33. Start making my own money again so I can be more independent. I had a part time job waiting tables but quit. I have also taken tighter control of the family finances. Next step is to put us all on a real budget. BUT I have also started to make money with art. I have a commissioned portrait and a set of prints where I am expecting the pay any day.
34. Start a writing and/or creativity workshop started something on line, but the members did not contribute so it fell apart. will try that again. Oh, well…also joined a group writing project online, that might count, but I won’t make it the end of the goal.
35. Master the blogoverse in specific and the internet/computers in general.revised to Build my online platform and product. done a lot here. blogs readership is up. links and groups are up. got an offer of an anthology, people seem to want to buy my art, started another blog, seem to be communicating more with some bloggers who are MUCH bigger than me, which means I am in the circle. maybe not the inner circle, but not the outer, anymore. Still need to put up an Etsy shop, work on Flickr and look into other opportunities for sale/platform.
36. Upgrade my computer system,so that I have all I need professionally.lost my camera, but replaced it with a refurbished one with a few more features. finally got my photo printer so i can start selling prints.
37. Have a supportive and fun circle of friends again. online, awesome people. still need people IRL. although I have gotten back in touch with old friends via FB. Went on a weekend with best friend from HS who I had lost touch with. (goal 10)
38. Get paid for what I love to do and am passionate about.gettin 100$ for a set of prints and about 300$ for a portrait. That’s money for my art, folks, and only the beginning.
39. Finish the first draft of the second book in my trilogy.Used Nanowrimo to write the next installment which was kind of the same book and kind of a sequel to part 2. I am almost done with that portion. I don’t really know how the book will be broken up when I really get it revised.