Welcome to our blog.

This was our original purpose for creating this blog:

We are both baby boomers fast approaching sixty. This blog will chronicle the time leading up to reaching our significant day. Our mutual goal is to complete sixty specific tasks each by our 60th birthdays, and to both celebrate our experiences and our accomplishments.

We are "the fabled tortoise" in this effort. Our blog will begin with a slow start, so we ask for your patience. We are aiming for a strong finish, so we ask for your encouragement. We invite you to join us on our journey, laugh and cry with us, and celebrate with us. We encourage you to leave us your comments and feedback. Most of all, we hope you become inspired to perhaps create and complete your very own "___ by ___ list."

We borrowed this idea from a blog one of our nieces told us about: http://makingitlovely.com . The author is working on her list of "30 Before Thirty."

As we progressed we continued to reflect on the process and the progress:

We would like to make a point of clarification. Because we did not begin our endeavor until April that left us both with less than a year to complete all 60 tasks on each of our lists. Actually, JR has about four months and CEA has about seven months. For that reason we agreed that we would both use CEA's birthday so that we both have the same amount of time to complete our tasks.

Now we are both 60 and moving forward. We have decided to continue the blog, setting goals and celebrating our accomplishments, sharing our experiences and voicing our thoughts, and enjoying life by making the most of every day with which we are blessed.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

CEA's update #19

Item #53. Observe Sunday as a day of rest. Update my planner.
I do try to observe Sunday as a day of rest, but I've decided to remove it from my 60 by 60 list as it doesn't fit my newly imposed criteria of concrete actions.  I've been avoiding updating my planner because my last purchase of filler pages didn't work well for me.  I bought a financial planning-themed set of filler pages and found myself avoiding using my planner!  Next time I decide to focus on finances, I'll keep that separate from my planner.  My planner is very important to me in my role as steward for my mother.  I use it to keep track of our appointments, of course, as well as a repository for my checklists, housekeeping and gardening plans, shopping lists, things-to-buy-in-the-city, etc.  I ordered a colorful set of filler pages from Franklin Covey, which I will supplement with some of my own fold-out forms. 

JR’s List Item #8 – (done) Expand the BCLT collection by 50 posters.

I completed the fiftieth poster last night.  I have to admit that towards the end it became more about getting the fifty done than the creativity of the posters themselves.  That is not to say that I did not care about the the quality, but the last few were done basically in the same style. 

I also added a total of 65 poster listings to sell on ebay.  Most are new additions to my poster collection.  Now I just wait and see.  Potential customers at ebay are looking and watching.  I just hope they are buying.

 I am going to print up a couple of each for the ready.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

CEA's update #18

Item #41. Make yogurt at least once a month. Replace the wood border around the swing set and rose bed with concrete "stones."
See my previous post for the reasons I'm changing those "once a month" items.  I've wanted to replace the wooden boards that surround the backyard swing set for a couple of years.  The swing set is a heavy duty frame my father made of pipe and cemented into the ground almost 60 years ago.  Before my recent makeover, the area under the swingset served as a bed for potted plants.  Two summers ago my youngest nephew helped me clear out the old mulch and replace it with gravel.  A year ago my youngest brother helped me move the second front porch swing to the backyard.  This week my youngest niece helped me replace the border boards with 34 edging stones I bought at Walmart.  The new grey stones blend well with the gravel  and the steel frame and highlight the Knock Out roses I planted in the triangular bed on one end.  Note:  if I can grow roses, anyone can grow roses!  Go for Knock Outs! 

CEA's update #17

Item #13. Listen to classical music once a week. Renew my passport.
I've learned that saying I'm going to do things "once a week" or "once a month" just doesn't work for me.  I find I get more accomplished if I either try to do something every day or if I choose something that has a definite--and finite--close.  So, I'm substituting renewing my passort for listening to classical music.  I've been meaning to renew my passport for a year.  By luck, I happened to renew it the week before the fees were increased!   

Monday, July 19, 2010

JR’s List Item #8 – (making progress) Expand the BCLT collection by 50 posters.

I have added about twenty or so new posters so far.  Back in February I had created a new category called -TUDE posters.  The idea is to aid teachers in building a positive attitudes in the students about the subject they are teaching.  The posters were actually created originally with math teachers in mind, but I expanded the -TUDE posters that worked into versions for reading, science, and history.  I have also decided that there needs to be a set for writing, so I will work on those today.

I have listed about 50+ posters on ebay in hopes that teachers will purchase some for their classrooms for this coming school year.  The most viewed poster so far has been a new design, "No Negativity", which I find quite fascinating.

It has taken me awhile to get motivated to actually sit down to create any new designs.  I think having an order from the emails I sent out and selling a few posters through ebay has been encouraging, so I'm more motivated to increase the offerings.  Of course, it is on my 60 by 60 list to complete.  I guess I better get busy!