An Update on my 40 Goals by 40 Years Old List (Part 1 of 2)

This is Part 1 of 2. This post was WAY too long with all 40 items. It's still really long, even divided in two! haha.

A little over a year ago, at the ripe old age of 36, I decided to write a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish by the time I'm 40. And naturally, choosing 40 goals seemed appropriate.

At the time, I had nearly four whole years to check them off, and it seemed like it would be no problem at all. Some of the goals are things that I have to work on for a long period of time and others are just a "one-off"--something that I do once and it's done.

Lately, I've been working more toward the goals that are going to take a while, because I now only have two and a half years until I'm 40. WHAT.

Now, I did not say that these are very meaningful goals--some of them are silly and some of them I just wrote on a whim. Some are very important to me. (When you have to come up with 40 goals, you lower your standards, let's face it.)

So, here is my original list. I've crossed off the ones that are completed:

1. Watch all of Tom Hanks' movies
2. Read 40 books
3. Pay off debt (including car and house)
4. Visit the 48 contiguous United States
5. Read the Bible cover to cover
6. Get back to goal weight (133)
7. Go to a concert (I've never been to one!)
8. Learn a new skill
9. Watch Star Wars with Jerry
10. Handwrite a letter to each of 10 friends
11. Write letters to Noah and Eli
12. Watch a documentary to understand something I don't know much about
13. See a movie at a drive-in movie theater
14. Complete a saved project on Pinterest
15. Have my dad teach me to change the oil in my car
16. Knit something
17. Crochet something
18. Leave a very large tip for a server having a bad day
19. Create a vision board
20. Build a bat house
21. Write Jerry a love letter
22. Read a classic novel
23. Cook a recipe with ingredients I've never heard of
24. Make a time capsule with the family
25. Go fruit picking
26. Attend a murder mystery dinner
27. Take a class of any sort
28. Take each of the kids on a "date"--just the two of us
29. Do an "Escape the Room" challenge
30. Try Thai food
31. Read a book out loud with the family
32. Grow a vegetable or herb
33. Learn about (and start) and investment account
34. Go on a road trip
35. Go camping
36. Go to a state fair
37. Develop one life-changing habit
38. Commit to a 30-day challenge
39. Travel abroad
40. See an orca in its natural habitat

#1. Watch all of Tom Hanks' movies

As far as the first goal, watching all of Tom Hanks' movies, the rule was that I had to start fresh--rewatching the ones I've already seen. (I adore Tom Hanks, which is why I made this goal.) I've colored in the ones that I've watched since starting this goal in April 2018. (I was going to write the date underneath each one, but I gave up on that because I forgot to do it right away.)

#2. Read 40 books
I've read more books in the past year than I have in over a decade, and that includes three books that were 1,000 pages each! I started this list in January 2018, when I decided to start reading more. I just recently wrote a full post of all these books and my thoughts on them, which you can find here. But here is the list:

1. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
2. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
3. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
4. Running: A Love Story by Jen A. Miller
5. Coreyography by Corey Feldman
6. Chasing the Merry Go Round by Kelly Bargabos
7. The Gender Game (book one) by Bella Forrest
8. The Gender Secret (book two) by Bella Forrest
9. Working Stiff by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell
10. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
11. This Naked Mind by Annie Grace
12. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
13. Vox by Christina Dalcher
14. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
15. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
16. An Ember in the Ashes (book one) by Sabaa Tahir
17. A Torch Against the Night (book two) by Sabaa Tahir
18. Contaminated by Em Garner
19. Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety by Sacha Z. Scoblic
20. Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp
21. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
22. Call Me Tuesday by Leigh Byrne
23. Keri: The Early Years by Kat Ward
24. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
25. Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
26. The Pillars of the Earth (book one) by Ken Follett
27. World Without End (book two) by Ken Follett
28. A Column of Fire (book three) by Ken Follett
29. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (I just finished this last night, so I haven't written my thoughts on it yet, but I will write a review soon)

#3: Pay off debt

When I wrote this goal, I was including my car and house. It's very unlikely we will get the house paid off in the next two year, but we paid off our credit card debt and we are starting to pay more onto the Jeep to get it paid off faster. I will be happy to get this paid off, and then the house will be all that's left! (Here is a post about how my family paid off our credit card debt using a zero-sum budgeting system)

#4: Visit the 48 contiguous United States

I've currently been to 34 of the Lower 48. I love the idea of taking a train trip to hit up a lot of the ones I've not been to, but Amtrak doesn't have routes that are ideal for the states I need to go to. I might have to do a couple of long road trips in order to get them in. I'm scared of driving through the mountains, though, so I may have to find a train in the west to get some of those states done. Also, there is the problem of Delaware. It's the only state in the east I haven't been to, and it would be such a random trip. I wish I'd gone through there on one of my trips east, but I never had a reason to. (You can read about my traveling on this page.)

1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. Arkansas
4. California
5. Colorado
6. Connecticut
7. Delaware
8. Florida
9. Georgia
10. Idaho
11. Illinois
12. Indiana
13. Iowa
14. Kansas
15. Kentucky
16. Louisiana
17. Maine
18. Maryland
19. Massachusetts
20. Michigan
21. Minnesota
22. Mississippi
23. Missouri
24. Montana
25. Nebraska
26. Nevada
27. New Hampshire
28. New Jersey
29. New Mexico
30. New York
31. North Carolina
32. North Dakota
33. Ohio
34. Oklahoma
35. Oregon
36. Pennsylvania
37. Rhode Island
38. South Carolina
39. South Dakota
40. Tennessee
41. Texas
42. Utah
43. Vermont
44. Virginia
45. Washington
46. West Virginia
47. Wisconsin
48. Wyoming

#5. Read the Bible cover-to-cover

This one has been... interesting? I had hoped that reading the Bible would give me more faith; but a lot of it is horrifying. Punishment to dozens of generations beyond one sinner, distinguishing what is clean and unclean (having sores, baldness, and a woman on her period are a few "unclean" examples), and the umpteenth sacrifices ("offerings") of animals without imperfections... I just don't understand it. How does slaughtering an animal make someone "clean"?

Anyway, I'm currently about 3/4 of the way through the book of Numbers (I haven't updated it in the bullet journal yet). I read one chapter a day, and I wish I could say I enjoy it, but I'm still waiting to feel... better? More faithful? I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

This is an example of what made me question what the heck...?

#6. Get back to goal weight

I wrote my goal as 133 when I made the list, but I have since changed it to 144 (the top of my BMI range). I haven't made any progress, but I'm not giving up.


#7. Go to a concert

Well, I blew this one big time. I had bought tickets to see Korn with Jerry a couple of days before our anniversary last month. Korn was super popular when we were in high school, and whenever I listen to it, I think of our dating. It would be the perfect first concert for me!

However, I chickened out. On the day of the concert, I just decided I couldn't do it. I don't even know why I included this item on my list, because I don't think I'd enjoy a concert; I just felt like I should go to one to say I did. I just think I'd be extremely awkward at a concert. Maybe I'll try again.

#8. Learn a new skill

While making over my house, I learned several new skills--my favorite is woodworking. I'm super proud of this island that I made from scratch!

#9. Watch Star Wars with Jerry

I watched it with him on his birthday last year (and even dressed in a Princess Leia costume) but I hated the movie. At least I finally gave it a shot, though!

#10. Handwrite a letter to each of 10 friends

Haven't started this one yet. I should make it a point to do one a week.

#11. Write letters to Noah and Eli

I haven't done this yet, either. I want to really put thought and time into it, so I don't want to rush it. But it's not a difficult goal, so I can do this one soon.

#12. Watch a documentary to understand something I don't know much about

I've watched lots of documentaries, but none that seem to fit the purpose here. I'm thinking about watching one about the Holocaust; I obviously know what it was, but I'd like to learn more about it.

#13. See a movie at a drive-in movie theater

Currently, my town is building a drive-in! I'm super excited for it. That will be the one that I attend; I'm not sure when it will be done, but hopefully next summer.

#14. Complete a saved project on Pinterest

I made a table skirt for a Cinco de Mayo party that I had last year. I love how it turned out!

#15. Have my dad teach me to change the oil in my car

A very useful life skill that I still need to do. I currently need an oil change, so perhaps I will do this very soon. Or it may have to wait until next time, depending on my dad's availability.

You can read the rest of the update in Part 2 (of 2). This post was just way too long!