Thirty by Fourty

Yes, the rumors are true. On July 30th, I said farewell to my twenties and hello to my thirties. This kind of milestone can really get a gal thinking about her life journey. A decade is a long time, and I've decided to be more goal oriented about the things I fill my life with. I don't so much enjoy making lists as I do checking things off of them (who doesn't?!) so I've come up with the following specific things that I'd like to do by the time I turn (gulp) fourty. The list is a blend of short-term and long-term items. Below is my complete list (categorized but otherwise in no particular order).

Who else out there has a list like this? I'd love to hear if anyone else has done something like this before, and how it went/is going.

Thirty by Fourty

Crafts
 1.  Knit a sweater for myself
 2.  Knit a pair of socks for myself
 3.  Refinish a piece of furniture
 4.  Complete all of my unfinished quilts
 5.  Complete another oil painting (it's been years)
 6.  Knit something for myself with luscious boutique yarn
 7.  For at least one year, only give handmade gifts & cards to extended family/friends
 8.  Knit something lace with lace weight yarn
 9.  Complete our wedding scrapbook
10. Complete Harper's scrapbook
11. Complete five upcycle projects
12. Complete 10 crochet projects (I don't normally crochet, but I enjoy it)

ME ME ME!
 13. Lose more weight & get healthier
 14. Run/jog a charity 5k (this is a feat for me. I HATE running, though I wish I loved it)
 15. Take a real vacation
 16. Get that dreaded dental work done
 17. Read 10 classic novels that I haven't read yet
 18. Do something that's totally out of my comfort zone
 19. Do another 3-day juice fast
 20. Give Harper a brother or sister (#13 must happen first!)

Miss Shauna Homemaker
 21. Start a garden
 22. Organize my crafts
 23. Reduce our clutter at home
 24. Prepare a 5-course meal entirely made from scratch with farm/garden ingredients
 25. Select a room in the house, and completely redecorate it on a small budget

Other
 26. Complete a children's book with Jeff
 27. Attend a geekfeest (ie Comic-con, PAX, E3, Maker Faire, Stitches Expo, etc)
 28. Participate and win NaNoWriMo 3 more times
 29. Complete a final draft of one of my NaNoWriMo novels
 30. Do a HUGE donation of our old clothes, bedding, etc.

Upcycling

As I become increasingly budget-conscious, I try to think of different ways to save money with my crafting and decorating (a.k.a. money-sinks). I've decided to try my hand at plarn creations. Yes, you heard it right: plarn. Penny pinchers and green crafters gave the name "plarn" to yarn made from plastic bags. Preparing the bags takes a bit of time, and I still need to toy with needle/hook gauge, but I'm having fun so far. I plan to make a tote bag from old grocery bags once I get the hang of it. I'm also going to cut up old t-shirts in a similar way to make yarn from old t-shirts. I'll crochet a rug with those.

Upcycling is taking something useless or otherwise disposable, and turning it into something new or with a better use/purpose. Do you have any upcycling projects that you've completed, or are interested in exploring?

Craft A.D.D.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I have major craft A.D.D.! I suppose it's not so bad of a thing because once I get bored or uninspired with one thing, I can move on to the next. The only problem is that it leaves lots of unfinished projects. Right now I'm working on a quilt that has been hibernating for close to a year. I remember why I originally shelved it... my fabric choices weren't the best, but who says the color scheme needs to make any sense? I suppose it will just be a crazy quilt... but hopefully a cozy one. We'll see how far I get with it this time. With my limited endurance for long-term projects, I wonder why I chose a pattern with such teeny pieces?

So I'm super excited because I won a granny square giveaway on a blog I love to stalk, Hoot-n-Annie. I love her blog because it is everything I wish my blog could be (funny but true)! So... time to pick up that crochet hook again. I've always wanted a granny square blanket of my own, but have procrastinated since I'm a much better knitter than crocheter. So this will be my head start! I'll try to be better about blogging so you all can see its progress once I get working on it.

In other news, Harper is doing really well with the cast. He isn't walking on it, but he is crawling and climbing like nobody's business. We told him it's his "cool cast", so once in awhile he'll point down and say "coooool". It's pretty darn cute. He's still playing and having a blast, and I can't really ask for more from the situation.