I turn 47 today and you know what that means.  QUEST 47!

To Review and warning – this is a bit of a long read:  This idea began over a year ago when I was reading a blog where the author talked about turning 30 and wanting the year following her birthday to be filled with intentional experiences.  So she thought of 30 items that she wanted to accomplish before her 31st birthday.  Now if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a sucker for this type of thing.  I love lists and planning stuff and when you wrap that all up in a nice birthday bow – well, I’m just giddy!

Additionally around this time, I was thinking a lot about purpose and intention in my own life and trying to figure out my next steps.  I read a book called The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau and he talked about pursuing quests and he even defined a quest.

• A quest has a clear goal and a specific end point.
• A quest presents a clear challenge.
• A quest requires sacrifice of some kind.
• A quest is often driven by a calling or sense of mission.
• A quest requires a series of small steps and incremental progress toward the goal. 

I devoured the book and highly recommend it and decided to put my plan into action on my 46th birthday.  I called it Quest46.

Last year, for the 46 days prior to my birthday, I shared each item on my list.  I’m not going to do that this year, but I will list each one here and talk about my thoughts behind each one.  I have divided my list of 47 into 9 categories, balancing my time and energy across the breadth and depth of my life.  The categories I chose are Faith, Health, Home & Yard, Crafts, Marriage, Family & Friends, Dogs, WWMD Blog and Personal.

So here’s Quest47!

1.  Daily recite and meditate on John 1.  While I was awful at memorization last year, I did love the daily reading and mediating on the same piece of Scripture.  John 1 is one of my favorites so this will be my daily reading this year.

2.  Complete December Daily for December 2015.  Make it a tradition.  I was introduced to Ali Edwards’ December Daily project a few years ago, and just love the way the exercise forces you to be present during the days of December.  These days can become hectic and blurry, but this project keeps me focused.  I want and need more of that. By the way, I didn’t buy the kit… I’m using my own supplies.

3.  Put together 50 days of gifts for Mike’s 50th.  My hubby will turn 50 on April 1, 2016.  So starting February 12, 2016, he will receive one gift every day until his birthday.  As you can imagine I’ve already started this.

4.  Finish a special secret project.  This is something I’ve needed to complete for 3 years.  And it’s a surprise.  Ssshhhhh….

5.  Finish crocheting the Ripple blanket.  This is the first of the few items that will continue over from Quest46.

6.  Make a dog bed for my craft room.  I used to have a small couch in my craft room for the dogs.  I say ‘used to’ because they made it their own and pretty much destroyed it.  Now  I have a long, low table that reaches the base of the window sill so they can sit there and watch the world go by.  They really need a cushy dog bed.

7.  Journal52.  I want to continue art-journaling, but I’m not going to stress myself out by feeling like I have to do it every week.

8.  Read 12 new books.  I love books, but 24 was a huge time suck.  12 is more manageable in light of all my other projects.

9.  Teach the dogs 1 (one) new trick.  I have this book called 101 Dog Tricks.  My guys may be old, but I think they’ve got one more trick in them.  Note to self:  Better make a ton of good dog treats.  

10.  Make birthday cards for family and friends.  I love making cards and thinking about the special qualities of the people I give them to.  Definitely going to continue to make this a priority.

11.  Send one “thinking of you” gift every month.  I just love doing this and would send many more than one, but I need to be mindful of budget.

12.  Complete 3 online classes.  I love to learn and have a laundry list of classes I want to do.  I think 3 is a do-able number in a year.

13. Continue 5 year – daily, one-line journal.  I have loved this process and look forward to seeing if any of my responses have changed in a year.

14.  Make 2 triangle quilts for the living room.  As you are aware we have dogs.  And our dogs are allowed on the furniture, so we have quilts that cover the couch and chair.  And they’re starting to fall apart.  I’m going to follow the tutorial from elisejoy on making quilts from triangles because I loved how they looked.  I’m going to go with a collection of soft greens and blues.

15.  Do as many sit-ups as I can everyday.  In an attempt to introduce some semblance of exercise into my life, I’ve chosen to go really simple.  I will do as many sit-ups as possible everyday.

16.  Finish 3 projects that have been sitting for years.  Trust me, there are more than three, but it’s a start.

17.  Upload my yarn stash and projects to Ravelry.  I have wanted to do this for years and in an effort to be organized and aware of the yarn I already own for projects, I’m going to tackle this.  If you saw my stash, you’d know this is no small undertaking.

18.  Post at least twice a week on my blog.  I want to commit to consistent content.  I really enjoy doing this blog… I think I just overloaded myself by trying to a post everyday.  Here’s to do-overs.

19.  Complete my Summertide Shawl.  This was a Mystery Knit-a-Long that I started this past September while I was in England.  I was on target while I was on vacation, but once I returned to regular life, other commitments got in the way.  I’ve made good progress and I want to finish this.

20. Paint the Kitchen Cabinets.  Sound familiar?  I just need to do this.

21.  Knit toe up socks.  This will follow knitting socks cuff down.

22.  Work another 52 items off “My Todo’s” board on Pinterest.  Excited to try new things.

23.  Knit Woody a sweater.  I found this awesome pattern that allows you to knit a dog sweater based on your dog’s measurements.  Woody always feels the cold in winter and his current sweater is looking a little worse for wear.

24.  Make Mike a Dr. Who Quilt.  This will be one of the 50 gifts.  I have all the elements ready to go.  I just need to get started.

25.  Complete 5 techniques out of the Knitter’s Life List.  I have a book called the Knitter’s Life List and want to try 5 new techniques.

26.  Paint patio furniture.  This is all part of my backyard re-do.

27.  Walk at least 3,000 steps/day.  I know the going number is 10,000, but I need something I can check off the list everyday.  I have a Fitbit and plan to increase my distance, but for now (and with my feet), I’m sticking to 3,000 as my minimum.

28.  Do as many push-ups as I can everyday.  Continuing with the exercise component of my life, I’m going to add push-ups because the walking covers my legs, the sit-ups my core and the push-ups my upper torso and arms.  

29.  Complete 30 days of Yoga with Adriene.  Yoga with Adriene is a YouTube channel with an excellent instructor and I’ve always wanted to learn how to do yoga.

30.  Take part in 2 Mystery Knit-A-Longs.  A Knit-a-Long is when a community of knitters comes together to all work on the same project at the same time.  A Mystery Knit-a-long is the same thing except the pattern is revealed to you in segments.  You know the basic project, but none of the design.  It’s quite exciting.

31.  Finish Central Park Hoodie.  This is one of the projects that was a knit-a-long, but wasn’t finished.  I really want this one done.

32.  Continue reading through the Bible 1 chapter per day.  I only have two years and three months to go.

33.  Make a Quiet Book.  A Quiet book is made from fabric and is for children.  I’m fascinated by them and would love to make one about dogs, of course.

34.  Finish the backyard.  I know this seems like a huge blanket statement, but I really just have to get on with the projects I’ve already started and finish them.

35.  Play the card game, “Hand and Foot” regularly.  This is a great game and recently played it with our folks.

36.  Send two “thinking of you” cards every week.  I love making cards and more than that, I love sending them to people I love and admire.  I need to be making my cards on a regular basis and this will get me into the craft room and creating.

37.  Knit 1 hat per month for newborns and donate them.  I was recently re-introduced to the need for newborn hats to be donated.  I have tons of baby yarn and a newborn hat takes next to no time to make.  Besides I get to practice my magic loop.

38.  Make birthday gifts for all family members.  This year (2016) I’m going to ask each family member what they would like me to make for them for their birthdays.  I’ve already got a nice list and am chomping at the bit with some projects.  I’ll definitely be posting about them.

39.  Leave 5 comments/day on blogs I follow.  In the blog-o-sphere, comments let you know that people are reading what you’re writing.  I love them and so I wanted to be better at leaving them for the bloggers I follow.  (Constructive, kind) Feedback is a beautiful thing.

40.  Pray for my nieces and nephews.  This has been a privilege and I want to continue doing it.

41.  Start a “Dear Jane” quilt.  A “Dear Jane” quilt is more than likely a lifetime project, but I need to start sometime.

42.  Post 10 items to Etsy every month.  I have a shop and I need to build up my inventory and offer a variety of items.  I also need a personal goal and this is it.

43.  Photo-a-day using the Collect App.  I have loved this process and want to continue.  It’s fun to see the month in pictures.

44.  Listen to 12 audio books this year.  This is a great way to multi-task while I’m knitting.  I can also borrow audio books through the library.

45.  Knit one square per month for Knit-a-Square.  I know this doesn’t seem like much, but it’s better than nothing.

46.  Floss everyday.  True confession time.  I don’t floss everyday, but I NEED to.  Being a diabetic means I’m more susceptible to gum disease. I really don’t want my teeth to fall out so I’m committing to floss everyday.

47.  Start a sock yarn blanket.  This is also one of those long term projects.  Everyone I follow through podcasts or blogs seems to be doing one and so do I.  And yes, I have sock yarn. Lots.of.it.

Well that’s Quest47.  I hope you come back to see how I’m progressing.  Here’s to another year!

Mom – we’re on board.  We understood the words treats, dog bed, treats, sweater, treats, walk, treats, oh and treats.  We’re not sure what all the other stuff is, but it seems to make you happy so we’re with you.  Go Quest47!