This week I turned 28.  I tried to join the AARP and take advantage of their sweet discounts, but um… I’m not technically of retirement age yet, so I guess I’ll have to wait another year or two or thirty-seven.

Twenty-eight seems to be one of those in between years.  Not much special about it.

I’ve been old enough to (legally) drink fruity cocktails for seven years now.  I think we (you, me, and the Dean that sent a letter home to my parents sophomore year) all know I got a little “practice” in before turning 21.

I’ve been driving for twelve, which is sort of a miracle, considering I hit the curb while backing up and exceeded the speed limit by an average of 10 mph… during my road test.

I’ve been voting for ten years, though I’ve only successfully voted in one Presidential election.  My ballot must have been misplaced in a shrub (or a bush?) in 2000 and 2008.

There aren’t any country songs about being 28 (that I know of), and I’ve yet to find a “Happy 28th Birthday” card in the store.  I wasn’t going to send myself a card, I was browsing for research purposes.

27 was also, technically, an insignificant year, but looking back there were quite a few milestones worth celebrating:

• We bought our condo
• Clark hatched from a puppy egg, or however that works
• I completed a bunch of races, including a 10K and a 12K
• I started this weird little blog, was chosen to be a Shine Beauty Guru, and began pursuing other creative outlets
• I did not go to jail (not even to visit)

I suppose it is possible to make an insignificant number such as 27 or 28 significant, no thanks to the greeting card industry.  It just takes a little planning, some luck, and some old fashion elbow grease*.  I sat down and made myself a list.  It’s not a bucket list, because I am going to live forever (obviously), and it’s not a to-do list, because none of the items are obligatory.  It’s just a list.  That’s all.

Here is my 82 38 while 28:

1. Cook one new recipe each week
2. Get a new primary care physician
3. Have a full checkup
4. Run a half marathon
5. Run a sub-30 5k (not a big deal for most of you people, but I’m a bit of a slow poke)
6. Write a letter to a famous person
7. Write a letter to a former teacher or mentor
8. Go skydiving… again (and avoid losing a contact lens this time)
9. Run a race in different state
10. Learn a Micheal Jackson dance (other than Thriller, been there, rocked that)
11. Take a tennis lesson (for the first time in 10 years)
12. Buy a digital SLR
13. Take a photography lesson
14. Participate in a wine tasting
15. Go camping
16. Take Clark for a walk in the woods
17. Win a game of (real, not Wii) bowling
18. Make 3 new friends
19. Visit each of the six New England states
20. Go to a lighthouse
21. Eat 5 new fruits or vegetables
22. Visit 4 new museums
23. Read 20 (or more, obvi) books
24. Bake a loaf of bread from scratch
25. Grow my own windowsill herbs
26. Maintain a happy and healthy weight
27. Take a class (or more, once again, obvi) at the yoga studio next door
28. Blog my food for a full week
29. Write one actual letter (emails and enraged letters of complaint do not count) per month
30. Empty my inbox (archiving to folders counts, I think)
31. Clean out my closet and donate what I don’t (or should no longer) wear
32. Go to a water park
33. Climb to the top of a mountain (again… but without the altitude sickness)
34. Visit 5 new (to me) restaurants in the neighborhood
35. Enter a photography contest
36. Watch a game at Fenway from the Green Monster
37. *Vow to never, ever say “elbow grease” again
38. Commit to one new volunteer opportunity

I set out to make a list of 82… but only made it to 38.

Also On Tap for Today:

• Bag up clothes to donate this weekend
• Paint my nails (they’re looking almost as bad as Claire‘s hair after being in the jungle for three years)
• Something to giggle about: Jersey Shore babies (thanks, sister, for the link)

What’s on your list for the year?  I’d love some suggestions and would gladly expand mine (82 is still the goal).