Woah, Internet.  And friends.  And family.  That’s all I can say.  I’ve been given so much to think about, and certainly a lot to do over the next 29 days.

I finally narrowed down the list, though.  It was difficult, I won’t lie.  The lazy part of me wanted to include things like walk the dog once a day or tell your sister you love her, because I already do that stuff and how easy would that be?  That’s not the purpose here, though, and I’m not trying to say I know what the purpose of this is, but I think if I challenge myself, I’ll come out better in the end.

I’ll also try not to make this too boring.  I don’t think I’m going to blog about it every day as I don’t think I’ll be uniformly crossing something off the list every day.  I’m just going to go with it, have fun, and have the confidence that I can actually do all this.  Because I really, really want to.

In no particular order, here’s the list:

1. Find and run a new race

2. Make it a point to do more running with friends

3. Try a recipe that’s always intimidated me

4. Leave anonymous, happy notes

5. Donate to a cause in someone’s name

6. Turn off my cell phone for one full day

7. Go for a hike alone

8. Wave to every car on the road for one day

9. Take time to learn about a topic I know nothing about

10. Send an unexpected gift

11. Learn how to shake a cocktail

12. Read a book I read as a child

13. Buy a lottery ticket

14. Try to stand on my head

15. Buy the coffee of the person in line behind me

16. Have a sleepover with my girlfriends

17. Write myself a letter

18. Spend the afternoon with an elderly person

19. Give a stranger a compliment

20. Learn and adapt ways to be more frugal

21. Smile at everyone I meet for an entire day

22. Send fellow bloggers a post card*

23. Donate clothes you aren’t wearing to a women’s shelter

24. Donate food to a shelter

25. At the end of each day,  note something I appreciate

26. Get someone to let you drive a Zamboni

27. Reduce clutter in at least one area of my life

28. Test drive a car I cannot afford

29. Buy nothing new—unless it’s a gift for someone or food—for 29 days.

*I will mail a Colorado post card to anyone who sends me their address between now and October 23, 2008.

So there’s the list.  Again, thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.

I’m sure there’s something else I should be saying about this now, but I’m too excited.  As if the next 29 days aren’t going to be interesting enough in the world, I’ve given myself this. But if you want to know the truth?  I sort of think it will be great. I’m excited about it, and getting excited about something for more than a minute can be hard to come by these days.

Now, where to begin?

August became a little crazy around these parts.  And by “these parts” I mean IN MY HEAD.  I had a lot of trouble focusing, making up my mind, and just settling myself in general.  Nothing seemed together enough or right enough or even clean enough and it all got to be a little overwhelming.  Feeling out of control of a few things led to being out of control with a lot of things.  I’m not even sure where that month went, really, but I’m guessing at least part of it ended up on my hips.

I gained a few pounds in August and, surprisingly, even after having worked since February to lose weight, I didn’t panic.  In fact, I excused myself. Then, one day, my pants felt tight and as cliché as it may sound, that was enough.  I told myself I had to make a decision to get my head back in it and take care of my body (again with the cliché).

My first thought was exercise.  And I know, when isn’t that my first thought, but the truth is when I’m more active, I’m better at everything else.  I eat better, I want to eat better, I sleep better, and I feel better. So even with running a few days a week, lifting weights, and whatever else, I thought I needed something new to get excited about.  (My physical activities make me seem so fickle.)  The reality is, though, that I cannot run every day any more– or at least I cannot put in the kind of miles I want to while running every day any more.  My knees, they just will not tolerate it.

Enter the spin bike:

At the beginning of September, I’d decided I needed to cross train, and what better way to do that then on a bike?  Living in Colorado, however, biking time is waning.  And it’s no news that I don’t like to be cold … so! I started researching spin bikes, promptly concluded that I could not afford one, and as a last resort, looked on Craigslist.  Duh.  Craigslist should never be a last resort, at least not for spin bikes.  (Sidebar:  When my mother asked what you can find on Craigslist, I told her everything from booty to booty.  I thought I was hilarious.)

I got a really good deal on a really perfect spin bike that was merely masking itself as a clothes rack in someone’s basement.  And they threw in pedals, workout DVD’s, unused shoes and cleats, clipless pedals (that I am even too scared to use on my actual bike) and a gel seat.  And just so this is the most exciting and most cliché-filled post I could come up with, I’ll say that I’ve been spinning ever since.

I get up at 4:00, turn on CNN, point a fan directly at me, and go for it.  It is hard.  It is kicking my butt all over the place.  But it feels good to be working really hard every day again, and it’s a good reminder that it doesn’t matter what you do to take care of your body, it’s getting your mind there that makes the most sense.

Also, my running days have been fun and pain free, which I think is where I was trying to get in the first place.

I’m going to try not to sound all cheerleader-y saying this, but WOW, what a To-Do list I’ve been given.  I am so happy I put this out there, and I am going to have such a good time narrowing it down.  Or, a difficult time, depending, because some seriously thoughtful and creative people come to this site.  It’s too bad I’m not turning 40 or 50, because this list could just go on and on.  Wait … what?

Like I said, I did have some ideas in mind and for whatever reason, I also wanted to include my family.  Well, much to my surprise, my family is all deer-in-the-headlights on this one.  They think it’s really cool and that I’ll have fun, but, they don’t seem to have an idea for me.  Well, that’s not true.  My sister thinks one item on the list should be to get myself a pimp cup, but since it took me like an hour to figure out what on earth that was, I think we’ll be skipping that one.  (Though you may be happy to know that should I ever change my mind, I know exactly what I’d get printed (bedazzled?) on the cup.)

The only family members that came up with any ideas for the project were my eleven and eight-year-old cousins.  Knowing them so well, I knew their ideas would not necessarily be keepers but to be fair, I thought I’d hear them out.  I mean, heck, two pre-adolescent boys are what they are, right?  At least they’re going to be honest.  Sure, their ideas might include some kind of unsafe act or Sponge Bob, but at least I wouldn’t get suggestions like “please send me an email with a picture of you naked.”  (And you wonder why I posted that in the rules.)

So yesterday I was hanging out with my cousins and we’re walking through the park.  It was a beautiful day, bright and quiet, everything you’d want a Sunday afternoon to be. So I tell them about my project—in as few words as possible— and ask for their ideas.  Without skipping a beat, my eight-year-old cousin trots ahead of us and says “you could walk through a field and pick flowers,” and my heart melts for how sweet he is.  Such a kind, gentle soul, that one.  “And then the flowers would turn into swords and you’d have to knife fight your way out of the jungle.  You’d probably lose an arm— hey, that would be something new!”

Because when you’re eight, there is no fantasy or wish that doesn’t involve extreme action and heroism, right?  From there the suggestions just became more ridiculous.  And when they weren’t far fetched and involving violent fights with my sworn nemesis’, they were disgusting.  I could pick my nose and wipe it on someone.  Or I could fart in my sister’s face (been there, done that). Or I could burp the alphabet.  And on and on  until there was not one bodily function unaddressed.  Pre-adolescent boys have huge imaginations, and if I hadn’t known several of them in my life, I’d think these two were just odd.  But I know better.  Anything involving something the rest of the population would find inappropriate and gross, to them, is pure comedic gold.

So thanks to everyone who gave me ideas.  They are fantastic and greater than I could have imagined.  And so much better than everyone getting together for a contest to see who amongst us could pee furthest.

So here’s something: I turn twenty-nine next month. No, no worries, man. I am not freaking out. Nine out of ten days I act like I’m twenty, anyway, and I figure until that stops comes back to bite me, things are good. Carry on.

What’s really more important, though, is that I’m sitting here in the middle of September trying to figure out where the last year has gone. Hmm, that does make me sound old, doesn’t it? But, blah! No time for that. Because I have a point, which is this: In one week from today, it will be twenty-nine days until I turn twenty-nine. I have obsessively counted this about a million and twenty-nine times, so I’m pretty sure I’m correct. If not, my birthday is October 23, so please go count and check my math and then, if I’m wrong, well, you now know my birthday in which case I recommend you send the poor, old girl who cannot count a nice top shelf tequila. Deal?

Alright then.

In an effort to not lose the last twelve months to sob stories of weight loss, school, and, sigh, still not getting my own boat, I’m proposing a project! Yes, a PROJECT! Projects are fun! Go with me on this, because I’m going to need help. Yes, I am proposing the project only to myself, but it’s the ideas I’m going to need.

Here’s the premise of my project: Twenty-Nine, in Twenty-Nine, by Twenty-Nine

So that’s more of a title, but you get it. I want to do twenty-nine things, in twenty-nine days, by my twenty-ninth birthday.

Ideally, these would be twenty-nine new things but I’m all for doing something I’ve already done but on the suggestion of someone else and, therefore, gaining an entirely different perspective on the experience.

I have a lot of ideas myself, so I don’t expect to get everything from comments here (though wouldn’t that be fun?) but I would really love to get other suggestions because I’d prefer not to live in my own little world on this. I want to expand a little. My mind, that is, so please don’t suggest “eat twenty-nine pies” as part of this project. I can take care of my own butt expansion, thank you. I’m thinking more along the lines of buy the drink of the person in line behind you, or go to see live music by yourself, or test drive a car you cannot afford.

Which brings me to this: There will only be twenty-nine days to accomplish all of this, I work full time, and I’m not a millionaire. So, say, spending two weeks in Paris wouldn’t really be an option right now. I’d like to stay within the state, and have it be something I could photo document on my own (what fun would any of this be without anyone being able to see it?). Which also brings me to another point: I’ll likely be doing a lot of these “tasks” on my own because a) I hate to drag innocent people along with me that aren’t bound to me by law to do so (think spouse or parole officer, neither of which I currently have), and b) I like to be spontaneous.

So, here’s the criteria:

1. I have to stay in Colorado.

2. I have to be able to do it on my own (only with company if that’s how it works out).

3. It cannot cost billions of dollars that I do not have, nor can it cost thousands (baby has to plan her beach time, you know). (I can’t believe I just referred to myself as “baby.” Sorry about that.)

4. I’d say it would be a good idea if it were something I could accomplish in a day or less.

5. I get to come up with other criteria if I need to. And there will be no removal of clothing.

The end.

So here we go. Suggest away, Internet! Even if you’ve never felt the need to comment before, it would be cool if you did now. I’ve seen a couple new names around here—lucky me—so jump in.

Thank you!

When I was young, the future was where all the good stuff was kept, the party clothes, the pretty china, the family silver, the grown-up jobs. The future was a land of its own, and we couldn’t wait to get there.

I read that yesterday, in A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas. I picked the book up in the library less than a week ago when the book I’d reserved wasn’t there. It is a memoir, and is about Thomas’ life after her husband’s traumatic brain injury. It is a touching, beautiful reflection. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been sitting at home, sick the past few days or that my mind’s been so much on the future lately—to the point where it’s annoying— but reading those lines was almost a relief.

It appears that after spending a few days at home sick, what I really needed to make me feel better was something, if not someone, to remind me that things are going to be okay. Sure, I knew that all along, but it was good to get it from somewhere else, too. It was good to remember that life is almost always going to be okay, even if that only means re-learning how to live it.

~

I’m also wondering, though, what’s something that reassures you that things are going to be okay?

I spent yesterday in the fog of a head cold. Let me tell you, there has never been a more more powerful message than when all the forces of nature work together to bring me satellite television the very same weekend I end up on the couch for more than twenty-four hours straight. The stars, people, were aligned.

Other than that, this seems to be no more than a status report as I’m still sick but somehow can find it in me to post about it all the while convincing anyone and everyone that I’m not trying to garner sympathy. Oh, no, not for a head cold because then people assume that I think it’s the worst thing in the world when, obviously, that’s not the case.

Moreover, to prove that, I will also tell you that I recently lost a toenail to running. There, that should make us all feel better. At least it’s in time for winter. (I cannot believe I just typed that word. Winter. UGH.)

So yesterday when I was making my one trip out of the house for cold medicine and back-up boxes of kleenex, I decided that having something cold to eat or drink might actually make my head feel better. Maybe, like when you ice an injury, it would manage to shrink my head down a little to something that felt more the size and weight of a head and less that of a naval submarine. It’s so great to think about food when you’re sick because everything tastes like cardboard and if you were blindfolded you could be fed jello and as far as you know, it’s creme brulee. Which is just a long way of saying (or not really) that I decided to have a frappacino.

I walk into Starbucks and, I kid you not, there are two guys discussing ninjas with the guy behind the counter. I give them a minute, assuming they’re going to make some kind of order and then move on. I continue to listen to their conversation and realize that this is no casual conversation and that this ninja talk is serious. And I’m not trying to judge but let me just say that my three friends here appeared to be quite distant from actual ninja material. I glance up at them, hoping to give them that look that says “looking at you right now is a woman who could easily kill for a frappacino and some Tylenol Cold. Kindly, move.”

It must have worked because though they did not order they stepped out of the way, still carrying on some ninja-oriented conversation which is so funny, really, but at the time it was difficult for me to see the humor because, well, I could barely see at all. Then the kid behind the counter starts talking to them again and, behold, stops making my frappacino. At this point I’m seeing an equation in my head that looks like Frappacino = Lifeblood, so you can imagine my aggravation.

I take a deep breath and think of the couch and the roughly eight thousand channels waiting on my TV at home, hoping that this is just some kind of test. I am determined to pass it. But then kid behind the counter and our two other friends start talking about whose ass a ninja could kick and which of those asses would be more difficult than the others.  And, dare they say it, if there was possibly anyone that could kick a ninja’s ass.

I blew my figurative whistle right there, because we all know that is a conversation that could last years. Minutes of my life were ticking away and my patience was growing thinner by the second as I questioned how I could come so close to a frappacino and, yet, so far away.

“Um, how’s that drink coming?” I ask, and the kid looks at me like oh, you’re still here? He starts to get to work on the drink and the others keep talking their ninja talk. I think my head is going to explode, I cannot even breathe. They’re talking, he’s not watching what he’s doing, I’m about to breathe my last breath in a Starbucks. Finally, I had to say it: “Please, stop distracting him for just a minute.” They looked at me in shock. Then they both got this terrible, teenage attitude about them and, I swear, if they were girls they’d be rolling their eyes and flipping their hair. Then the kid behind the counter drops my drink on the floor.

If I’m lyin’ I’m dyin’, as they say, because who could even make this up?

So I take another deep breath as he apologizes half-heartedly. He makes my drink for the second time and the four of us are there in silence, save for your standard Starbucks Joni Mitchell music. He puts the lid on the drink, grabs a straw and slaps it down on the counter in front of me without a word. The patient person in me wants to just take it and walk away. The person in me whose head is about to fall off her neck from the weight, though, cannot hold it in.

“You know what, I’m sorry to interrupt your ninja talk here, but seriously? Don’t you have a job to do? If you would have just made the drink I would be out of here. But, no, you and your friends couldn’t wait two minutes to talk about ninjas, which, by the way, suck. And everyone knows it. And you know who can always kick a ninja’s ass? Pirates. That’s right, pirates. So now you know. Maybe now you can actually find time do your job.”

I am not proud.

Growing up in one of the foremost military towns in the United States, I am not unfamiliar with the military life. Neighbors, mothers and fathers of friends, and, yes, even a boyfriend or two who were all in some branch of the military have been a regular fixture in my life. Maybe this is what makes our military a little closer to my heart, but if that’s the case then I wish every American could grow up that way.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to watch a drop exercise (I really hope I used that term properly) put on by none other than the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. It’s just a little section of the Army, no more than, say, tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers. You may have heard of it.

Even with my exposure to things like this over the years, I’m still in awe of the ability and dedication members of our military have. They take their jobs seriously, and they believe in what they do.

So I thought I’d share some photos from that day, because one of the things that consistently reminds me of this day seven years ago is the men and women that responded to it— that are still responding.

And though I don’t usually take advantage of this space to ask any body to do anything, this is different. Because no matter who we know or where we are, no matter what we believe and what cause we stand behind, it’s always a good day to say thank you.