Tuesday, January 4, 2011

100 things to do before age 60

When I was 21, I decided to write a list of things I would like to see, do, or accomplish within the next 40 years. There's something very satisfying about making goals and seeing them accomplished! However, full disclaimer: this list is a work in progress. From time to time, I take out things that are no longer important to me or add others that strike my interest. If they are already complete, I leave them, regardless of how trivial some now seem. Along the way, I try to record pictures of the journey when I can. :) Some are things I can do immediately. Others will take time. Day by day, I can't wait to see the adventures to be! 

Life's List  
Complete: 47/100
In Progress: 11/100
1. Live in another country for a year or spend a year traveling & living like a local 
2.  Stay in a treehouse, teepee, yurt and/or house boat 
3.  Take a cruise and/or stay at an all-inclusive resort somewhere beautiful with fun excursions 
4. See one of the 7 wonders of the world 
5. DONE June 2019 5. Visit a vineyard
6. June 2021 Teach for at least five years
7. Study at least 10 languages [So far: Spanish-proficient, French-basic, Latin-limited basic, Japanese-basic, Indonesian-basic, Portuguese-basic]
8. Learn a language primarily by immersion in a country where it’s spoken learning Indonesian was a glimpse!
DONE October 2018 9. Read a book (not for class) in another language
10. DONE March 2020 Donate 5 feet to Locks of Love (multiple donations)
11. Write a book (fiction or non-fiction). Maybe publish it. Nanowrimo progress!
DONE 11.3. 11 12. Do karaoke at least once
13. Sky dive or bungee jump
August 2023 train Quebec to Toronto 14. Go on a cross-country road trip/train trip and/or drive along the western or eastern coast
DONE August 2022 15. Eat cheese in Wisconsin
QUEBEC August 2017 16. Take a Canada road trip to Quebec and another to Banff/Vancouver 
17. Make a piece of pottery
18. Capsule wardrobe: Build a higher quality, more sustainably & ethically sourced, and smaller closet in progress
TORONTO 2023 19. Take a personal retreat/trip for 5+ days
20. Run Detroit Free Press half marathon, crossing to Canada on foot ;) Or do a shorter fun run like color run or inflatable course 
21. Buy a house & plant a garden of fresh herbs, flowers, fruit & veggies + fruit tree; create a joyful outdoor space; create a library/reading nook; refurnish an antique piece of furniture 
22. Knit or crochet something or make a quilt (i.e. start and FINISH a project)
23. Go white water rafting and/or snorkeling
SEPT 2023 24. Visit NYC
25. Explore Taiwanese or other South Asian night markets  
MARCH 2015 26. Learn to ski
27. Visit Brazil: Sugarloaf cable car & Christ the Redeemer 
DONE Summer 2018 28. Travel abroad with my mom
DONE August 2019 29. Visit the Grand Canyon (also an International Dark Sky Park - see #66!)
DONE 8.16.17 30. Visit Niagara Falls
31. Try geocaching and/or foraging 
32. Take a class to learn a practical skill (automotive, nutrition, counseling, etc.)
2020 - most! 33. Make Christmas gifts for everyone on my list at least once 
JULY 2023 CLASS 34. Work in a coffee shop/learn to make quality homemade espresso drinks; bonus - learn to roast coffee! 
March 2019 Hamilton! 35. See a Broadway play on or off Broadway 
36. Visit Mexico (Chichen Itza, Mexico City, Oaxaca, beach) & Spain (Barcelona, Camino de Santiago, Xamaleon ice cream)
2016 Detroit 37. See a shooting star
38. Visit Griffith Observatory and Kogi Tacos in LA
EXPERIENCED Fall 2012 39. Become an early riser 
40. Eat my way through Italy - take a pasta or other culinary class
EXPERIENCED Nov 2014 41. Participate in NaBloPoMo or NaNoWriMo 
EXPERIENCED 10.15.11! 42. See someone I’m close to come to know Christ (hopefully many more to come!)
43. Visit caves in Kentucky or elsewhere
DONE October 2018 44. Try an escape room.
DONE November 2017 45. Adopt a cat. 
46. Go ziplining in a rain forest, across a waterfall or across a mountain range 
47. Visit Jerusalem: see Biblical landmarks & put a prayer in the wailing wall
DONE 1.7.12 48. Go to a U of M Hockey Game (U of M vs. Lake Superior State)
DONE 3.13.12 49. Sit in on an engineering class
50. Study the Bible; read through every 2-3 years [ongoing]
51. Eat a whole lobster 
52. Eat a Georgia peach and visit the Gone with the Wind set
53. Mackinac Island bridge walk
DONE 11.23.14 54. Host a Thanksgiving dinner
DONE 9.28.15 55. Bake bread (with yeast, kneading, and the whole 9-yards); 2021 sourdough experiments 
DONE May 2013 56. Learn to make sushi
DONE September 2019 57. Learn to make chocolate truffles
DONE 3.17.11 58. Drink green beer
59. Swim in an infinity pool 
DONE 6.18.16 60.Get cartilage pierced and/or small tattoo on hand
DONE Summer 2018 61. Ride on the top of a double-decker bus in England
62. Visit where my grandparents lived in Scotland (and Harry Potter sites)
63. Hold a koala in Australia and pet a sheep in New Zealand
DONE 64. Translate a longer work or interpret for a day Parent-teacher conferences 3x/yr
65. Visit the first Starbucks & gum wall in Seattle 
DONE August 2019 66. See the Northern lights or go to an international dark star park
67. Take a book-binding, metalwork, and/or culinary class (possibly in another city)
68. Publish a poem, short story, or article
69. Touch all 4 oceans & 6/7 continents 2/4 oceans and 3/6 continents 
70. Hawaii: take a language or culture class, visit coffee/chocolate farm, see a volcano (active or not)
71. Learn more about our family's genealogy and my genetics with something like 23 & Me (Ancestry.com)
72. Finish at least one of the “100 books to read before you die” lists [BBC list 58/100]
73. Travel to all 50 states [Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, N. Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Indiana, California, Oklahoma, Utah, Nevada, Wisconsin, New Jersey (22)]
-Visit both Kansas cities
- 4 corners   
- Laura Ingalls Wilder spots 
74. See the Great Wall of China, visit Hong Kong, travel to southeast Asia
75. Visit the Redwood Forest
76. Get to know my sisters on a deeper level (ongoing)
JAN 2018 77. Be involved in a church plant Detroit
DONE 2019 78. Try paintball
79. Go to the Alberquerque balloon festival or go on a hot air balloon somewhere else 
80. Travel to Japan a second time to visit friends & visit all 3 major islands 
March 2015 & July 2018 Honduras! 81. Travel to Central/Latin America
82. Try Butterbeer at Harry Potter World & visit Disney World
DONE January 2012 83. Go to a concert or performance in Hill Auditorium
84. Visit India - take a yoga class?
DONE 85. Dance and sing in the rain (a la Gene Kelly) running in the rain summer 2
014...there was a tiny bit of singing :) 
DONE 86. Go on a picnic
DONE 2.26.11 87. Go ice skating
Summer 2017 88. Try Nitro coffee 
SUMMER 2018 89. Brunch at a French café
90. Egypt: see the pyramids & ride a camel 
91. See the Pictured Rocks in summer 
DONE 9.25.11 92. Throw a block party
DONE August 2019 93. Visit a national park 
94. Visit Greece or another country on the Mediterranean (Mykonos) 
95. Enjoy Creole food in New Orleans
96. Peru: See the view from Machu Picchu & visit Lima
97. Taste milk with fresh cream on top and/or try a coffee cherry
DONE Jan 2019 98. Visit Boston 
DONE June 2019 99. Blow bubbles from the Golden Gate Bridge and visit the Full House set
DONE 11.11.12 100. Go fairy door hunting

God-willing: Get married & have kids ❤️ (Taken off of main list bc these two are truly not in my control!)

Also changed (for now) bc of change in interest/priorities/desire to further specify: learn to play a few favorite songs on guitar or piano, learn to ride a bike/tandem/confidently ride tricycle, take an African dance class > visit Africa > visit any country in Africa > visit the great pyramids in Africa 

12: Karaoke with IMAX!













#58: St. Patrick's Day 2011 (21st!)
























#49: Sit on an engineering class--CEE 265: Sustainable Engineering Principles

We learned about biomimicry...Thanks Mee Sun!


















#88: Ice Skating with JOLT in Detroit

































#93: Geddes Avenue Potluck

















#101: Go fairy door hunting - with Ms. Elizabeth - here are a two we found!





















#54 Host a Thanksgiving Dinner




#41 Participate in NaBloPoMo (#932) & NaNoWriMo
#55 Bake bread













#60 Get cartilage pierced














#28 Travel Abroad with my mom







#89 Brunch at a french cafe



#61 Ride on double-decker bus in England

#45 Adopted Max & Charlie
#81 Honduras








#16 Canadian road trip to Quebec












#30 Niagara Falls

 #56 Sushi Bazooka



#77 First service of HMCC: Detroit!


#26 First time skiing!