Done and done. Sorta.

Well, now that I’m squarely in the 25 and up bracket, it looks like it’s time to face the music. Some updates were given at the halfway(ish) point, here’s how the balance of the list worked out.

24 Things to Do Before I'm 25

1. Go on a date with Dustin. Yep! We went here.
2. Email a friend I don’t talk to often enough. Kind of an ongoing process, but I have been making more of an effort.
3. Use the video camera. We’ve broadened our video horizons to include holiday footage. What’s next? Everyday action? Bowden Music Videos? Hmmmmm.... In the meantime, check out a little bit of one of our latest masterpieces. It's a highlight reel of our recent holidays (and yes, my birthday counts as a Holiday, so much so that it somehow managed to overpower Christmas in this video.)

Holiday Redux from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

4. Treat myself to a simple pleasure….Ummmm, I didn’t really buy anything that 100% qualifies for this, but I spend so much money with so little regard sometimes that I think we should just call it even.
5. Go to Zumba. I signed up for a class at work. I managed to take one class and then forgot my shoes the next week. We’re getting there...
6. Try at least three new recipes. Check, check, check. New favorite: homemade oreos. Unreasonably good. And this beauty from the February issue of Martha Stewart Living is on deck....
7. Throw a party! 80’s party was AWESOME! A couple of highlights (in the form of a RAD slideshow, set to a FRESH track)

Bodacious Bday Bash from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

8. Organize my sheets. Not so much. But I did find a great article on how to do it....we should count that as half right?
9. Exercise twice a week, (even if one of those times is just parking on the third floor of the garage). I thought we were headed for epic failure on this one, as I continued to avoid even the SECOND floor of the garage for the first month and a half of the “list challenge”. BUT- it a cliché move, I made a New Year’s resolution to work out and eat right (it was actually more of a bet with Dustin than it was a resolution....I guess I’m better with extrinsic motivation) and I’m actually doing quite well. Since the holidays, I’ve been working out a few times a week, rotating between sessions of 30 Day Shred (available free through our cable OnDemand), sessions on the elliptical (following a modified version of the Couch to 5K plan)
10. Discover Dustin’s “love language” and learn to speak it. We’ll classify this one a work in progress. I’ve identified it. Now I just have to spend the rest of my life “speaking” it!
11. Go salsa dancing! Nope. Something about snow and salsa aren’t mixing for me. Perhaps we’ll reschedule this one for warmer weather.
12. Finally organize all my paperwork piles. The hallway was half of the issue at least (it’s where all of my thousands of magazine clippings end up), but thanks to some beautiful new folders, it is done! Now it’s on to the office. Dun, dun, DUN!
13. Pray before bed. Can’t say I’ve been able to do this every single night (does it count if you fall asleep in the middle?), but I’m working on starting a prayer journal- I figure if I challenge my campaigner kids to do it, I should probably “walk the walk” too. And- as a part of our marriage group, we got a new devotional called Never Alone that I’m hoping to get moving on too. (on the first day we read, the lesson was “Love your wife again”. Needless to say, I am a fan.)

14. Go on a walk around the neighborhood. Heck no. It’s freezing. Who’s crazy idea was this one?
15. Decorate the guest bedroom. We’re getting there! Paint is 95% done, bed is ready. Now it’s just the “decorating” part, which I’m sure will be a long evolving process.
16. Learn to play “Apologize” on the keyboard. No, and this is the one that really bums me out. I moved the keyboard into my “dressing room” while we finished the third bedroom. I like the vibe in there a bit better for music creation (and no, I can’t explain why...), so perhaps I’ll be more successful in the new environment. Plus, Dustin is training for his international tour and I don’t want to be left behind! So, I think I’ll keep this goal for the next list. (is there such a thing?)
17. Write our Christmas letter, without taking all the fun out of it by stressing about it. This one is sort of a mixed bag. It turns out the only way I could do it without taking the fun out of it, was actually to not do it at all. I had themes, ideas, inspiration, list of recipients. I planned a letter, then a card, then a video, then a email message and by then I realized it was the middle of January, and no one cares anymore. But just to make it official: Merry Christmas! Oh, and bonus slide show!

Merry Christmas from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

18. Use all those fancy frames I bought for my fancy dressing room. Unfortunately not. Looks like we’ve got another contender for The List 2.0.
19. Do a craft. Yep! And I’ve got lots of ideas for homemade art for a “gallery” either in our hallway or the guest room. Maybe both! I’d love to plan an “Art Day”- get all the supplies together and just start creating. Maybe that could be followed by a big Framing Day. And a Hanging Day. We could finish up with an Admiring Day. Yes, this is shaping up nicely.
20. Book all the trips I’ve been meaning to take. We are Florida bound! We had an awesome time visiting Dustin’s parents a couple years ago (they live in The Villages, which would be called “The Happiest Place on Earth” if Disney didn’t already take that title.) So we’ve decided to go again! We’ve got a week of vacation, so in addition to hitting up the shuffle board, and the happy hours I’m hoping to get out for an excursion or two. Maybe swimming with dolphins? And if all that wasn’t enough- this weekend I plan to book the long talked about, seldom acted upon trip to California. I’m taking a weekend to visit one of my best friends, with one of my other best friends! It should be well worth all of the planning strife.
21. Get my license plates renewed. Done! One day late! (well, a year and one day late, but who’s counting?)
22. Build a snow sculpture. See number 14.
23. Take a photo I love enough to frame. I think so? I guess we’ll have to see once Framing Day rolls around.
24. Call my Grandma. I called her a few times, but this isn’t exactly one of those tasks that you can do once and wash your hands of it. Whenever I hear her sweet little old lady voice, I realize I should probably call her four times as much as I do. After all, I’ll be old someday (hopefully?) and I can only fill so much of the day by blogging!

So, the grand tally, once you factor in partial points, good intentions and bad ideas is....drumroll...

Approximately 17.5 Things Accomplished*

It feels good! It was a useful exercise for me, and definitely something I’d like to repeat. I’m trying to think of ways to transition this into a regular exercise. I think having it as a year long goal will be too broad for my brain to comprehend, but the idea of having another thing on my weekly to do list just makes my eyes twitch with stress. I’ll try to find the middle ground somewhere to keep the meaning without ruining the fun. Stay tuned for the next installment! (and for those of you who haven’t joined the movement yet, should I recommend it again?)

*totals are totally and utterly non-scientific.