60 Until 60 Celebration: Jan.1, 2019 - Feb.26, 2020

I was born in 1960. Feb 26, 1960, to be exact. If you do the math, that means I'm 58. I want to be clear about that because as soon as I start talking about all this '60' magic, people start thinking I'm already 60.  Still in my 50's people!

However, being the obsessively goal-oriented person I am, I thought it might be fun to have a 60-week countdown to my 60th birthday. Counting 60 weeks backwards from my 60th birthday, I discovered was January 1, 2019! My 60th birthday is EXACTLY - to the day - 60 weeks after New Years Day.

That’s like some kind of woo-woo numerology magic, right? It’s like a “twofer” goal-setting deal. I already try to figure out some kind of weekly goals for New Years and now it doubles as my 60-until-60 project!

I’ve been pondering exactly what 60 things I should do for my 60 until 60 project (I have a 32 page document with ideas!) but I’ve narrowed it down to the list below as a starting point. I’m going to be all ‘Agile’ about this not keep these set in stone, but I will have a weekly “demo,” “retrospective” and plan for the next week. I also want to find people who have their own goals so we can collaborate and support one another.  So take a look at the list below and let me know what goals you have for the New Year!

1. Keep doing strength building exercises do at least one unassisted pull-up. Accomplished Week 2: 1/11/19. 
2. Hike in beautiful spots Including Crested Butte during wildflower season Accomplished Week 32 
3. Participate and dress up in at least one fun race like the Bolder Boulder Accomplished Week 22
4. Research bone-healthy recipes and make dinner to share with other friends who are working on their bone strength Accomplished Week 6: 2/7/19
5. Learn a choreographed dance Accomplished Week 21: 5/25/19
6. Try PickleBall Accomplished Week 34
7. Call 10 friends and relatives who I haven’t seen in a long time to invite them to my 60-week virtual BD party and get a song for my playlist. - Accomplished Week 1: 1/7/19
8. Take a work mentor to dinner. - Accomplished Week 37
9. Every week share a “Cool Thing of the Week” via social media and encourage others to do the same. Accomplished Week 12: 3/24/19
10. Foster strong and deep communication with everyone I meet. Aim to have at least one positive social connection every day and at least one event every week.  Accomplished Week 30
11. Write a gratitude letter to the police who helped me during a family emergency Accomplished Week 44
12. Visit my Mom & brother in Sacramento as well as others in Northern CA who are available: Accomplished Week 50 
13. Visit my sister in Southern CA and go to this super-cool bookstore (among other things). Accomplished Week 3: 1/18/19
14. Practice a mindset of kindness and gratitude and journal weekly about reflections Accomplished Week 46
15. Contribute to any cause that a friend asks me to support Accomplished Week 27
16. Participate in efforts to help those with ALS and their caregivers Accomplished Week 48
17. Learn digital photography better with the help of a professional photographer (my sister, Michele) Accomplished Week 4: 1/28/19
18. Learn how to Meditate Accomplished Week 19: 5/11/19
19. Learn more about poetry and write a poem Accomplished Week 16: 4/21/19
20. Practice the piano and be able to play some of the pieces I used to play well along with some new pieces Accomplished Week 38
21. Experiment learning a new instrument - maybe the ukulele Accomplished Week 18
22. Sing with a group Accomplished 8/8/19 (Blogged about Week 33)
23. Explore an acting class or group and try to get a part in a play Accomplished 8/8/19 (Blogged about Week 33)
24. Get better at a foreign language (Spanish, French, and/or Italian) and practice with a friend Accomplished Week 24
25. Put together a playlist of at least 60 songs by gathering songs from friends Accomplished Week 58
26. Plan and host my 60th virtual/real birthday party Accomplished Feb.26, 2020
27. Create slideshows of the celebrations I have throughout my 60-week ‘party’ Accomplished Week 36
28. Host a theme party (Flamingo, Carpe Diem, Wine-Tasting, Murder Mystery, Games, Purple,etc.) Accomplished Week 25
29. Go to a foreign country and practice speaking the native language Accomplished Week 54
30. Research and explore snowbird locations Accomplished Week 15
31. Go to Disneyworld with the Tidds Accomplished Week 9: 2/28-3/1
32. Go to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival with Stella and Matt Walk 2019 miles in 2019 Accomplished Week 49
33. Go to the Meowolf exhibit in Santa Fe with Stella and Matt Accomplished July 6, 2019 (Week 28 Blog Post)
34. Visit New England in the Fall with Rebecca R. Accomplished Week 41
35. Do some TBD adventure with Scotty Accomplished Week 5: 1/30/19-2/1/19 Road Trip to CA
36. Visit Minnesota friends in August Accomplished Week 33 
37. Do a roadside altar road trip with Rebecca M. Accomplished Week 39
38. See all the movies that are up for Best Picture Accomplished Week 8
39. Dress up and go to a musical at the theater Accomplished Week 29 and Week 31
40. Read a book that’s on the best seller list Accomplished Week 45
41. Binge watch a Netflix series with someone Accomplished Week 23
42. Clean my basement window-wells Accomplished Week 17
43. Try marble contact paper on an old table Accomplished Week 40
44. Clean and organize the ‘craft area’ of my basement Create a Girl Cave
45. Sell, give-away, throwaway and organize what’s left of my games, puzzles, and toys Accomplished Week 29
46. Sell, give-away, throwaway and organize what’s left of my books Accomplished Week 14
47. Clean out my wardrobe and get rid of old clothes that I never wear Accomplished Week 10
48. Put DIY flooring or carpets in basement Accomplished (sort of) Week 47
49. Put DIY walls in basement that will allow me to hang pictures, etc. Accomplished Week 52
50. Refurbish window sills and baseboards that are old and chipped Accomplished Week 20
51. Label and repair my breaker box Accomplished Week 29
52. Get rid of or repair floor lamps Accomplished Week 29
53. Hang pretty lights in basement and bedroom Accomplished Week 43
54. Fix up den as a potential airBnB room for rent Accomplished Week 11
55. Buy something at a Thrift store and fix it up Accomplished Week 51
56. Create a course about using Agile in everyday life
57. Sign up on sites to get freelance Agile coaching / training gigs: Accomplished Week 2: 1/13/19
58. Update Website with my coaching / training / writing accomplishments Accomplished Week 42
59. Create outline for book about Agile in everyday life Accomplished Week 26
60. Continue to write freelance articles Accomplished Week 13

Practicing Retirement

I love my job as an Agile independent consultant, but I've been wanting to have some time between gigs to "practice" retirement.  As friends and family will attest, I've been very frugal -- let's just say it: cheap! -- with the goal of retiring by age 60.

At age 58.75, I've been somewhat obsessed with the idea of retirement, both with the standard Pollyanna excitements and Negative Nellie fears.

Pollyanna:

• I can do whatever I want! 
• I'll host a Carpe Diem network and find my 'tribe'.
• I'll have the time to travel, pursue hobbies, exercise, and have new adventures every week!
• I'll have parties, socialize, foster all my relationships, and with all my internet-dating and social-media savvy skills find the man of my dreams!

Negative Nelly:

• I will be bored.
• I will miss my high-paying Agile consulting work and instead be hosting Meetups that bomb for lack of interest.
• I will always be worried about spending money so instead of spending a penny on hobbies and adventures, I will cheaply play on my computer all day, blindly hopping from one site to another, depressed and only somewhat amused by funny YouTube videos.
• I will become progressively more sick, ugly, stupid,  decrepit, and grumpy and only get online dating interest from men who are worse than me in all of those categories or those looking for GGILFs.  Only one or two people will show up to my parties even when I invite ALL my say-they're-my-friends-but-really-they're-too-lazy-to-do-more-than-LIKE-one-of-my-facebook-posts. I don't get a single heart emoji from anyone.

Since Thanksgiving, I've been loving the time off and feeling a lot more Pollyanna-ish than Negative Nelly-ish.  

I have been VERY busy living life fully, embracing every holiday event, looking for opportunities to spend quality time with family and friends.  I also want to write more, read more, learn more, experience more!  Just to give you a little flavor of the fun I've been having:

• Hiked Chautauqua with my friend and fellow-coach, Ryan visiting from Boise.

• Had an awesome family Thanksgiving at Scotty's new house in Colorado Springs (now all my kids are officially home-owners!)

•  Cleaning and organizing my basement
•  Went to see an Elvis impersonator honoring police with a former police officer and good friend

•  Learned about an intriguing network: Liv and befriended someone who's actively involved.
• Beta Tested a game about the Law of Attraction for Financial Goals

• Got a luscious massage from CoCo who works miracles on my back
• Went on the Golden Candlelight Walk and Fireworks with a good friend I hadn't seen for years

• Went to see Mary Poppins at the theater with a good friend who knew "Mary Poppins"!

• Went to a singing Meetup Group (even though I didn't actually sing)

• Started my own Meetup Group, Carpe Diem Connections
• Hosted a Conversation Salon about passions
• Went to a meeting to explore the possibility of going to Italy in May
• Got on Bumble and met a few people including a 51-year-old hottie with massive muscles
• Bought Solar Panels and had them installed at my home

• Went to a Book Release party celebrating the publication of a friend's book

• Am taking part in a CU experiment testing the effectiveness of edibles on lower back pain

• Planning my next Snowbird Experiment to Tampa
• Weightlifting at Lifetime Fitness and seeing notable improvement in Skeletal Muscle Mass!

• Made a new friend, Francisco.
• Got a surprise Christmas wreath in the mail from a good friend, Chris.
• Got together for a gal-pal brunch hosted by recovering back-pain-sufferer friend, Cathy.

I wrote a blog post about each of these in my head.  I worked at fully appreciating each experience and noticing the smells, sights, sounds, and emotions and thought about how I could best describe the event so the reader would feel they were right there. I was so witty in my head.

My Pollyanna wants to write a perfect blog post or poem or journal entry about every one of those experiences. My Nellie does not want to spend any more time in front of the computer. I'm hoping to keep both voices satisfied. Write regularly... but keep the blog post short, sweet and imperfect, so I can keep up with living!