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Smiling Shelves

My 31 in 31 List

9/19/2015

16 Comments

 
Last year, when I turned 30, I thought about creating a list of things I wanted to do before my next birthday. Yeah, that didn't happen. So now I'm 31, and I thought I would go for it this year. (I was also inspired by Allie at A Literary Odyssey who posted her own list a few months ago.)
Here is what I'm hoping to accomplish by the time I turn 32:

1.  Read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
2. Ride my bike on the entire rail trail by our house to the end and back (20 miles total).
3. Visit ten more Michigan lighthouses (as part of an ongoing goal of visiting them all).
4. Finish our upstairs remodel and finally move into our new master bedroom.
5. Write letters of appreciation to my pastor and our Board of Education.
6. Read 50 books from my own shelves.
7. Go to a Detroit Tigers game.
8. Plant a vegetable garden.
9. Go to a Pentatonix concert.
10. Go to a Piano Guys concert.
11.  Write a short story.
12. Get my piano tuned.
13. Clean out our bedroom closet (including giving away clothes I don't wear anymore).
14. Start a Little Free Library.
15. Visit Greenfield Village.
16. Try Brussel sprouts.
17. Take at least five organ lessons.
18. Write two devotions for our church's Advent devotional book.
19. Incorporate at least two ideas I learn at a teacher's conference into my classroom.
20. Get my clarinet cleaned and polished.
21. Create (and use) a Twitter account for Smiling Shelves.
22. Try 20 new recipes.
23. Fix the hole in our comforter (this involves sewing - yikes!)
24. Instead of just making fun of 10 grammatical errors, actually tell someone who can fix them.
25. Visit the Creation Museum.
26. Go on a high ropes course (definitely afraid of heights).
27. Learn "Game Day" by Jon Schmidt on the piano.
28. Buy or rent a violin and start learning how to play it.
29. Finish my bookish decorating project that I started months ago.
30. Watch Casablanca (the one time I tried, I fell asleep pretty early on).
31.  Clean my library, including dusting every single book. 

There are my goals for the next year of my life! I'll post updates periodically, mostly to keep me motivated. I guess I'd better get busy! This is going to be fun!
16 Comments
Linda link
9/19/2015 12:04:45 pm

Great list! Definately try roasted Brussels sprouts or sauteed in bacon. Steamed or boiled aren't that great.

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:22:48 pm

Thanks for the tip. I would have no idea how to cook them! :)

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Christine @Buckling Bookshelves link
9/19/2015 02:41:45 pm

Get goals -- good luck!

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:23:16 pm

Thanks, Christine!

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fiddlrts link
9/20/2015 02:02:27 am

You haven't tried Brussels Sprouts? Unless you want to come out here to California to try mine, here goes:

Slice sprouts in half (lengthwise). Steam for 10 minutes. Saute in butter. (Salt and pepper to taste). Try to get a bit of browning on each side.

Even those who thought they hated sprouts have liked mine. Seriously, sprouts are one of the ways we know God loves us. :)

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:23:49 pm

Sounds good! I will definitely have to try them that way.

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Jade Louise link
9/20/2015 08:18:20 am

You've got some great goals for the year to come - big and small. I love how varied it is.

Dusting my books is something I hate and I have an incredibly small book collection - I've seen your collection previously, so good luck with that!!

Some people are really in to Twitter. I'm not somebody who uses it very regularly in terms of sharing day to day stuff, but it is a great resource for sharing posts, connecting with other bloggers on a more personal level as well as discovering new to you bloggers.

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:25:43 pm

Dusting my books will definitely take some time. I have a feeling I'll be procrastinating about that one for awhile.

I'm hoping to start using the Twitter account for read-a-thons. I always feel like I'm missing out on something by not participating that way. From there, we'll see how it goes. I have a feeling I'll get hooked! :)

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Lois link
9/20/2015 09:12:02 am

Nice list! How did you fall asleep during Casablanca? That's a great movie! I'd love to go to a Piano Guys concert too! Pentatonic would be awesome as well!

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:27:40 pm

I think the problem with watching Casablanca was that I was in college and it was about 2 in the morning. I don't think it would have mattered what movie we were watching - I would have fallen asleep during anything!

Both The Piano Guys and Pentatonix have been here in Michigan pretty recently, but I missed them. Hopefully they'll visit again soon!

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Bree link
9/20/2015 02:08:29 pm

Greenfield Village was a standard field trip when I was in elementary school about 40 years ago. OMG did I just say 40 years ago? yikes when did I get so old.

Anyways, I haven't been there since. Maybe someday or would that ruin the good childhood memories Ihave of the place? Hmmm.

Your list is great. Hope you post your progress!

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:29:40 pm

I know what you mean - I've been surprised (not always pleasantly) when I revisit places from my childhood. But somehow I think Greenfield Village would stand the test of time!

I'm definitely planning to post my progress. I've got to keep myself accountable somehow! :)

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Emily link
9/22/2015 08:22:10 am

What a fun list! I look forward to photos of the lighthouses and Greenfield Village!

Also - Happy birthday!! :) We are very close in age - I turn 31 on Thursday.

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:30:39 pm

Happy birthday! That's fun - we're only about a month apart. :)

There will definitely be pictures of lighthouses. We don't count it as "visited" unless we have photo documentation!

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Kate @ Mom's Radius link
9/22/2015 11:22:09 am

I love this list! Good luck. I can't wait to hear how you do. :)

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/24/2015 08:31:02 pm

Thanks, Kate! I'm excited to get started!

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    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

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