The official list.

I know I've never been 25, but I figure this is an okay place to start. I have every intent of living to tell about each one of these tasks, but should anything happen to me, Leslie gets my clothes and Molly gets my roommate. Unless she doesn't want her, in which case...well, I don't know.

Here we go.

25. Refinish a piece of old furniture.
24. Learn to change a spare tire. For a girl who's had more flats than birthdays, this will come in handy.

23. Make a time capsule.

22. Try 5 "exotic" foods. (I need your suggestions on this one, people.)

21. Go to Canada. I've spent my whole life in Spokane, yet never been. You can blame my parents, I was raised in a box.

20. Learn to knit.
19. Research then do a cleanse or diet.

18. Learn woodwork + make something. Something usable, like a wine rack. A big one.

17. Go rock-climbing. After watching "127 Hours", I promise to leave a note. But who am I kidding, Isaac is going to be with me the entire time and I told him if he kills me, Mom's gonna be pissed. 

16. Take a yoga or kickboxing class. This is so I can kick my brothers' asses. And my sisters', for that matter.

15. Kick a field goal.

14. Sew an article of clothing. Headbands don't count.
13. Send a snail mail letter once a week, to 26 different people.

12. Get a body wrap.

11. Cook a turkey. (Good news: nobody died!)

10. Go paintballing.

9. Run Bloomsday. But the term is used very loosely.

8. Go skydiving. Uncle Rick will be with me for this one, and if he kills me, Mom might be willing to let it go. But probably not.

7. Plan and host a multi-course dinner.

6. Learn to drive a stick shift.

5. Make homemade sushi.

4. Create 3 great outfits using only thrift store finds.

3. Write a letter to my kids, once a month.

2. Go geo-caching.

1. Road trip to Alaska.

Why Alaska? The reasons are twofold. 1) This list needed a few big goals to make it legit. As much as is possible in nine months and a short budget. 2) Because I've always wanted to drive somewhere far away with cool things to see along the way, even if 'cool things' means 'the same thing for three days' - don't judge! One day I want to drive through the lower 48, but that'll have to wait until I have the time and the funds to do so, not to mention a traveling companion who can not kill me for 48 states. I've always said that there should be a list of Things To Do as a Couple Before You Get Married, and that's one of them. Add babysitting, perfecting the art of fighting fair, and participating in a colon cleanse and you have a tried and true solution for weeding out the faint of heart. But anyway.

I'll document as I go, whether by blog, pictures, video or all of the above. Turkey post forthcoming. I also hope to have witnesses to each task; Mom has volunteered for #12. We have no shame. So if you feel like volunteering, let me know. I can't promise you won't suffer bodily harm, but I guarantee something to write home about.

Because what the hell, carpe diem.