My Curiouser and Curiouser List

As I sit here in the quiet of the morning, before I start cleaning and cooking for Thanksgiving this afternoon, and feeling very grateful for my loved ones, I’m thinking about the year ahead and beyond, and noting all of the things I’d like to do in a list. It was just under 100 items so I spent the morning thinking about it and added a few more to make it an even 100. It’s heavy on learning and exploring, so I’m calling it “My Curiouser and Curiouser List.”

I’ve always loved the Alice in Wonderland phrase “curiouser and curiouser,” and often use it as an exclamation to describe something strange, yet here I’m using it to describe things I want to learn, achieve, and places I’d like to visit. Basically, things that make me curious and that I’d like to explore in depth, and I’ve sprinkled in some added goals.

It has five sections with twenty items each, focusing on learning, creativity, home & garden, travel, and activities & fun. As an informational aside, I do have a more expanded list in my journal including more personal topics on finances, charity, and relationships, but for here, I’d like to track these. Some of these are extremely lofty goals, like learning six languages and visiting all of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which could take a lifetime! But these are, indeed, things that I’ve always wanted to do, so I’d like to give them a try.

I’m still exploring what it means for me to “learn” a language, and won’t know if that means covering the basics of a language or becoming fluent in one until I really dive in. However language learning is something I’ve always wanted to do more of, but I never knew which one to start with because I love so many of them, or how to go about it, so I’ve only scratched the surface of learning languages in the past. Long ago, I took five beginner language classes in school, but have forgotten most of what I learned. This time, I have incorporated classes again, though I’ll probably start with online courses, and foreign language movie watching to make learning formal as well as fun. And while I was looking at classes on Udemy and Coursera, I found a few more that piqued my interest, so I added those to my list, as well.

This list is actually a product of a year of list refining from my journaling, and not solidified until I was finally satisfied with the realization that these are the areas I’d love to explore. It starts with taking the “Science of Well Being” class on Coursera, which I only discovered this week, but sounded like a great way to start.

My Curiouser and Curiouser List

Learning

1. Take the “Science of Well Being” class on Coursera
2. Learn Spanish
3. Watch 50 Spanish language movies in a year
4. Take a Spanish class
5. Learn French
6. Watch 50 French language movies in a year
7. Take a French class
8. Learn Japanese
9. Watch 50 Japanese language movies in a year
10. Take a Japanese class
11. Learn Russian
12. Watch 50 Russian language movies in a year
13. Take a Russian class
14. Learn Chinese
15. Watch 50 Chinese language movies in a year
16. Take a Chinese class
17. Learn Vietnamese
18. Read or listen to 50 books in a year
19. Take all of the ABRSM piano exams
20. Take a linguistics class

Creativity

1. Take “Botanical Drawing with Oil Pastels for Beginners” on Udemy
2. Take “How to Paint Landscapes with Pastels – Learn to Use Pastel” on Udemy
3. Take “The Oil Pastel Course” on Udemy
4. Take “Oil Pastel Drawing & Painting: Art Projects for Beginners” on Udemy
5. Take “Guide to Oil Pastel Bokeh: Adding Magic to Your Art” on Udemy
6. Take a basic art class
7. Design and crochet a sea-inspired blanket
8. Participate in a crochet-along
9. Crochet Christmas ornaments
10. Make felt Christmas ornaments
11. Learn all of the songs from “The Piano” by Michael Nyman
12. Learn Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” on piano
13. Learn Debussy’s “Deux Arabesques” on piano
14. Learn a new Chopin piece on piano
15. Learn a new Bach piece on piano
16. Create an oil pastel collection of works
17. Write a book of poetry
18. Enter the Van Cliburn Amateur competition
19. Have a beaded craft party with my daughter
20. Spend a day at the zoo drawing the animals

Home, Garden, & Lifestyle

1. Display my own art in my home
2. Eat vegan one day a week for a year
3. Keep a diary
4. Create an art space in my home
5. Create an outdoor dining area
6. Crochet a set of cute coasters
7. Grow a vegetable garden
8. Grow a flower garden
9. Grow an herb garden
10. Take “Herbalism :: Medicinal Kitchen Herbs & Spices Certificate” on Udemy
11. Take “Herbalism :: Introduction and Medicine Making Certificate” on Udemy
12. Take “Basic Theory of Chinese Medicine” on Udemy
13. Take “Everyday Chinese Medicine” on Coursera
14. Create a bird sanctuary
15. Have a haunted mansion inspired room
16. Have a tropic inspired room
17. Create a magical outdoor living space
18. Have a reading area
19. Crochet a temperature blanket for a year, except include textures and possibly holiday themes
20. Crochet a large, thick, chunky blanket for the couch

Travel

1. Go to New Orleans with my daughter
2. Visit all 63 U.S. National Parks
3. Swim in Iceland’s Geothermal Pools
4. Stay on a houseboat
5. Sail out to sea
6. Make a wish at Trevi Fountain
7. Touch all 7 continents
8. Touch all 5 oceans
9. Visit all UNESCO World Heritage Sites
10. Visit all 50 states as an adult
11. Ride a riverboat down the Mississippi River
12. Eat sushi in Japan
13. Eat lahb in Thailand
14. Visit the Jersey shore as an adult
15. Hike Mt. Mehlweg in Austria
16. See the monasteries of Bhutan
17. Visit Bangkok, Thailand
18. Take a train ride along the pacific coast
19. Take a train ride through the alps
20. Take a cruise

Activities & Just for Fun

1. Keep a daily gratitude journal
2. Build a documented family tree
3. Practice yoga daily
4. Learn advanced yoga poses
5. Take a yoga retreat
6. Go skiing as an adult
7. Learn to surf
8. Attend a crochet retreat
9. Photograph the cats of Istanbul
10. Learn to play a racquet sport
11. Hike Mt. Rainier
12. Hike Mt. Shasta
13. Attend a tea tasting
14. Attend a wine tasting
15. Finalize and publish my novel
16. Start a language project
17. Take an adult dance class
18. Host an outdoor dinner party
19. Increase my swimming endurance
20. Attend a wellness retreat

Sub-lists for Recordkeeping

50 United States

As a child, my parents loved road trips, so I was lucky enough to see about 45 of the states. But I’d like to revisit and visit them all now, and am going to start counting with the states that I’ve posted in this blog. I’m not counting layovers, but if I get to try some local food and/or see some sites, I am counting it.

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

UNESCO World Heritage Sites (1223 Sites)

For the sake of conciseness I’m listing the sites I have been to here.

1. Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco

63 U.S. National Parks

In the past I did visit several of these, but I’m going to start counting now.

U.S. National Parks in Alphabetical Order

1. Acadia National Park (Maine)
2. American Samoa National Park (American Samoa)
3. Arches National Park (Utah)
4. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
5. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
6. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
7. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
8. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
9. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
10. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
11. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
12. Channel Islands National Park (California)
13. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
14. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
15. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
16. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
17. Denali National Park (Alaska)
18. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
19. Everglades National Park (Florida)
20. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
21. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
22. Glacier National Park (Montana)
23. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
24. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
25. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
26. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
27. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
28. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
29. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
30. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
31. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
32. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
33. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
34. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
35. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
36. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
37. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
38. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
39. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
40. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
41. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
42. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
43. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
44. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
45. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
46. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
47. Olympic National Park (Washington)
48. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
49. Pinnacles National Park (California)
50. Redwood National Park (California)
51. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
52. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
53. Sequoia National Park (California)
54. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
55. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
56. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
57. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
58. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
59. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
60. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
61. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
62. Yosemite National Park (California)
63. Zion National Park (Utah)

7 Continents

1. Asia
2. Africa
3. North America
4. South America
5. Antarctica
6. Europe
7. Australia

5 Oceans

1. Pacific
2. Atlantic
3. Indian
4. Antarctic/Southern
5. Arctic