40 Things at "40"

Hey y'all!
So yesterday was my birthday & I wanted to stop by here & share some thoughts. You see, I turned 40 & am having a hard time coming to terms with it!! I started thinking weeks ago about putting together a list of things I want to accomplish and/or work on this upcoming year.
I had a fabulous day on Saturday, filled with lunch out with great friends, followed by a fun-filled pedicure, then dinner out with my husband. After dinner, he placed a blindfold on my eyes & took me to my sister's for a SURPRISE birthday party!! There were close to fifty of our friends & family there. I was surprised, to say the least. It was a wonderful time & briefly made me forget the pangs of turning 40!

Here are the things I came up with for my 40th "bucket list":
1. Visit a new city
2. Lose weight
3. Exercise more
4. Read a book by the following authors-Chris Bohjalian, John Irving, Amy Tann & Margaret Atwood (some of my favorites!)
5. Work at being more patient 
6. Bleach my teeth (petty, I know but this is something I've wanted to do for years!)
7. Take a hotair balloon ride (drew & I were scheduled to do this on our 10th anniversary, but the weather did not cooperate) 
8. Read more with my kids
9. Laugh more
10. Continue exploring my scrapbook adventures
11. Make & give more cards
12. Make time for the people who matter most to me
13. Purge of house of un-needed/unwanted things
14. Get organized
15. Have a kind heart
16. Wear a smile more often (I was actually complimented for my smile today at the store!)
17. Learn something new
18. Play more with my kids
19. Do something that scares me
20. Volunteer
21. Try to be less regimented with our schedule
22. Go to a new music concert
23. Ride a horse again (this was a passion of mine when I was a child & my daughter rides now!)
24. Focus on the positive things
25. Eat at a new restaurant ( I love to eat out!!)
26. Learn to take better pictures ( for my birthday I got a new DSLR camera-the Canon 60D)
27. Follow my heart
28. Love more freely
29. Make healthier choices
30. Give back to our community
31. Say "yes" to more invitations
32. Live simply
33. Be less judgemental
34. Be more spontaneous
35. Spend more alone time with Drew
36. Count my many blessings daily
37. Let go of the "small stuff"
38. Work at letting go of resentments
39. Have lesser expectations of other people
40. Start each day with a positive attitude

I think if I can concentrate hard on the things on this list, 40 will be an awesome year!!!
Cheers to that!!
~Stephanie