I know the notion of making a list before your 30th birthday is very cliche, but that's kinda why I love it too. My 20's have had huge highs and huge lows which I'm ready to be done with. But I want my last year of my 20's to go out with a bang... I really can't believe I'm 29, it feels like yesterday I moved here and celebrated my 26th birthday with Mike, Adam, Jim and Marlee. How much has changed since then; falling for my best friend; finding a job not knowing anyone to now managing projects for the third largest weather website, and largest weather network; buying a car; having a savings account; getting my own flat... Things that are totally adulty. Weird. So here it is my list!
1.
Go to Europe (or now maybe Cuba!): I've been to Asia and lived in South America, but have yet to go the one place that so many people go to, Europe. I'd love to plan a trip with friends or Mike since he lived there, but who knows, maybe I'll just go by myself. The main thing is I really want to go.
2.
Get Invisalign: I know this is a weird one, I've known about needing this for awhile I have a deep bite, the sucky part of this is paying out of pocket for it... But it would be amazing to have my teeth even more perfect and not chipping each other. (though I think they're pretty perfect already)
3.
Double my savings: I started really earnestly saving this past year and did pretty well in the beginning of the year. Now I need to step that game up again and try to double it, especially in my 401k. I want a nice nest egg for when I do decide to buy a house (unfortunately here may not ever happen).
4.
Build another plant box: This spring my dad helped build two raised beds in my backyard for a veggie garden, we have found over the past two growing seasons we need more room! Right now our cabbage and lettuce are the size of my dog! It's great discovering that I do have a green thumb and amazing being able to walk into your backyard and gather ingredients for dinner. I also need to prune my peach tree to get a better yield this summer!
5. Go to Yosemite: I live a few hours away but silly me haven't gone yet... It's one of the last major National Parks I haven't been to... After that I feel like I've hit all the MUST National Parks :)
6.
Row 3x a week and get on the water: I've been going to a rowing gym for the past few months about 2 times a week, but I need to go more often. Of course this is only erging (I go to
Ducks, which I helped redo their website! I love the guys there!) and I need to get on the water soon in a sculling boat, and luckily there are three places to row nearby me and even more places in San Francisco.
7.
Paint 6 paintings: Other than watercolor paintings, I haven't done anything in oil in a year. That's unacceptable.
8.
Submit to a gallery: I still have contacts at galleries around here and I need to get back into submitting to group shows.
9.
Sew a complete outfit: I love sewing, but have never sewn anything specifically for my wardrobe. I'd like to sew an outfit; blouse, skirt/pants, and a jacket... maybe even make a hat and socks or something! I have all these vintage silks and cottons I need to use!
10.
Reupholster my awesome chair: I got this amazing mid century bucket chair from my neighbors when they were moving out. It was going to be a reupholstery project for them but never got around to it. Now it's my reupholstery project... The best thing about this chair is how much Tripp loves it.
11.
Go skiing again in the Sierras (not on the smallest bunny hill): A bunch of us went last year on the only weekend it got a good amount of snow. It was absolutely beautiful. We were staying in Squaw Valley which was the Olympic Village for the 1960 Olympics. I want to go back and snow shoe this time, last time I took a beginners skiing class and it was so fun, but so scary... I'm not used to going fast like that. Squaw Valley was so cool, it's has a huge tram that goes to the top of one of the peaks, and there's a hot tub bar at the top. Classy. Also I love Mike's dumb face in this picture.
12.
Take an art class: I really miss art school, so I need to take a class... maybe a painting or bookbinding or screen printing class.
13.
Learn to cure meats: Between Mike and I we've become quite the homesteaders, making booze and canning things from our garden. Since a new health diagnosis I can't eat anything with certain preservatives in it so I need to learn to preserve things myself. I'm proud of my ability to can almost anything in a waterbath method but now I want to try curing meats, maybe I'll start with bacon.
14.
Go to Mt. Shasta: Mike and I passed by the volcano on the way back from Portland, but it was dark yet you could still see the snow capped mountain in the night. It was so massive!
15.
Expand my illustration business: With being featured in House Beautiful magazine this past November, I'd like to harness that momentum and actually do something I've wanted to do for soooo long yet didn't have the self confidence for. Start building my illustration business... right now it's mainly just custom pet portraits... and I've now done hundreds of them over the past couple years, but what else can I do? I want to try to get 5 pet prints, and a holiday card in the store by next December.
16.
Go back country camping: I did faux back country camping this year, it was only a 2-3ish mile hike to the group camp site for Cara's 30th b-day. But it was fun! I'd love to do a small group weekend in Mendocino or somewhere north, maybe start small and only have a few mile hike in. There are a few places to that you can only canoe to the campsites.... that could be sweet too.
17.
Learn to do a handstand: With rowing I've become so much stronger and one thing I've never been able to do is a handstand. Now I feel like I have the upper body strength and balance to actually pull it off... I'd love to be able to do that :)
18. Run a half marathon: Now this may be a stretch, maybe I'll only do a couple 10k... But Mike and I both want to try to do a half marathon sometime, now which one... the SF one, San Luis Obispo, Avenue of the Giants, Big Sur... so many to choose from with such gorgeous views... I ran a 10k at the Ave of the Giants, and then immediately signed up for the half marathon next year!
19.
Get another tattoo: It's been two years since my last tattoo. I have a few ideas and a few artists that I'm trying to get booked with... I've got the itch! I can't have only two tattoos!
20.
Go to Alcatraz: I know I know... I've lived here for over three years and I haven't gone there yet. I'm lame.
21.
Learn to really ride a motorcycle: I've scooted around on my dad's scooter and moved slowly on my dad's motorcycles, but I think properly learning to ride a motorcycle would be awesome, and Mike's wants to get his license too :)
22.
Record a song: With all the instruments we have and all the reel to reel recording equipment I want to record something. Mike records music quite often so I want to try my hand, and if I don't write anything luckily Mike writes beautiful songs all the time... Here's a sampling of some of his music he's written and recorded.
23.
Bike part of the Bay Trail: The bay trail is HUGE... But I'd like to bike some of the South Bay part and maybe up thru Sausalito.
24.
Hike at least twice a month: I've gone on some great day hikes with the doggy, and I need to make it a more often occurrence.
25.
Have another craft party: At my last house I hosted two craft parties, and I want to do another one at my house... now what will the craft be?
26.
Learn Archery: My friends Adam and Brittany have bows, and I want to go to Golden Gate Park and practice archery!
27.
Explore the Bay area food more: I'd like to try a new restaurant or bar maybe like twice a month (24).
1. Little Skillet, San Francisco
2. Iron Pan, Oakland
3. Perbacco, San Francisco
4. Kushido, Oakland
5. The Hog's Apocathery, Oakland
6. Clove and Hoof, Oakland
7. Crepevine, Oakland
8. Gather, Berkeley
28.
Make Wine: I want to live in the I Love Lucy episode where she stomps the grapes :)
29.
Go Kayaking: I've never really been kayaking, and there's tons of beautiful lakes around northern California to go to!
30.
BE HAPPY! I know that seems silly, but I have the tendency to allow all the little things at work or home bring me down. I need to figure out my new mantra for when things get messy to just let it roll off my shoulders. I have an amazing house, great friends, and a challenging and rewarding sciency job... What more could I ask for?
Huggles,
Lauren
