The List: Year 3 Progress

Danishes made by me! One of many Bake with a Legend classes I took this year

Three years documented below on my 33rd birthday! So far I've completed 22 of the original 40 items plus an additional 10 bonus items - only 30% through the timeline, and I've already accomplished 64%! This year's 3 achieved items are highlighted in green for easy finding.

Since this entire year was under pandemic restrictions, I wasn't able to cross off any travel items - though I did take some domestic trips to see family: Disney in October for the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, multiple visits to my parents, Chicago for a baby shower, and South Carolina for my brother's wedding. Instead, I focused on cultivating home-based experiences like reading, cooking, and baking. I also made it to the ARTECHOUSE experience in DC during the winter and then Lincoln's Cottage in the summer.

Books

I got some good reading done this year - 34 books since my last birthday! 

1. Read 5 books in French: I'm at 1/5! Since I started taking French classes again this summer, I decided to give the Harry Potter series a read in French, and I also got some contemporary novel recommendations from my professor.

2. Read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl: Completed 12/24/19

Lincoln's Cottage - the only original 40 item completed in this pandemic year.

DC Area

3. Union Market: Completed 9/14/19

4. Smithsonian Postal Museum: Completed 9/8/18

5. Washington National Cathedral: Completed 6/22/19

6. Drag Brunch: Completed 12/22/19

7. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: Completed 6/15/19 

8. Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens: Completed 7/5/19

9. Rock Creek Capitol Stones: Completed 7/11/20 

10. Smokey Bear on the National Mall: Completed 8/9/19

11. National Park Service Obscure Memorials Tour: Completed 9/15/18

12. Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument House and Museum: Completed 2/8/20

13. Lincoln's Cottage: My parents came for a visit in July, and we all got to visit together! Completed 7/11/21 - read all about it!

14. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello: Completed 3/9/19

BONUS 46. Washington Monument: Completed 9/15/19

BONUS 49. ARTECHOUSE: I wanted to get out of the apartment on a gloomy Veterans' Day holiday, so we headed to the Crystalline exhibit in DC. Completed 11/11/20 - read all about it!

Bonus DC Area Ideas:

• Kayaking among WWI shipwrecks in Mallows Bay, Maryland
• Glenstone
• Tudor Place and Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown
• Art Museum of the Americas
• National Museum of Women in the Arts
• Heurich House Museum
• Anacostia Community Museum
• Kreeger Museum

Travel

15. Visit 50 countries: I've been to 41 countries as of August 2021. No new countries this year because of COVID-19, but I have big plans for the years ahead, starting with Bonaire scuba diving next week!

16. Visit 40 U.S. states: I'm at 27 states plus DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands! No new states this year, but I spent a lot of time visiting family in Tennessee, which was great in a different way :P

17. NYC with Pierre-Antoine: Completed July 13-16, 2019

18. Quebec

19. Galapagos

20. Marrakech: Completed November 9-19, 2018

21. Alaska

22. Japan: Completed November 6-19, 2019

23. Scotland/Ireland

24. Bali/Cambodia/Thailand/Somewhere in SE Asia

Bonus Travel Ideas:

• Bonaire for shore diving paradise: Booked for next week :)
• New Zealand for lupine flowers and glow worms
• Egypt for the pyramids and scuba

Animals

25. Swim with whale sharks

26. Gorilla trek

27. See wild lemurs

28. Hug a sloth

Homemade eclairs - the tastiest thing I learned to bake this year!

Experiences

29. See the Northern Lights

30. Safari with PA

31. Stay in an overwater bungalow

32. Meet Irish and/or Swiss relatives

33. Plant a tree: Completed 10/20/18 

34. Tasting menu at a fancy (Michelin starred?) restaurant: Completed 1/13/19 and 2/8/19 

35. See the redwoods

36. See a glacier

37. Make galettes from scratch: Completed 2/2/19

38. Make bread: Completed 3/29/20

39. Straighten my teeth (again): Completed on 5/15/20 

40. Write a letter to my 40 year old self, then respond to it when I'm 40: Completed first stage 10/15/18.

BONUS 41. Perform a solo at a hafla:  Completed 10/20/18

BONUS 42. Change jobs: Completed 11/26/18

BONUS 43. Adopt climate-smart behaviors: On-going process

BONUS 44. Do goat yoga: Completed 8/7/19 

BONUS 45. Earn Project Management Professional (PMP) certification: Completed 9/4/19

BONUS 47. Get scuba certified: Completed 1/19/20 

BONUS 48. Join a non-profit board: Completed 1/18/20

BONUS 50. Cook/bake "hard things" - Beef Wellington, Sausage Rolls, Pork Pies, Profiteroles, Eclairs, and Danishes: While at home over COVID-19 pandemic winter and spring, I decided to try out some time-consuming recipes and baking classes. Completed 12/28/20 - read all about it!

Bonus Experiences Ideas:

• Move abroad!