Birthday Challenge

So...tomorrow is my 38th birthday.

38.

I'm determined to live beyond that stupid number. I think after hitting 35, I have realized how quickly mid-life approaches, if I haven't already hit it. I recently read a Steve Edwards article in which he talked about how he chooses to approach birthdays...challenging his body to do extreme things...things no (fill in the blank)-year-old would normally attempt. I may not scale mountains or ride crazy distances on the saddle of a bike (and as much as I'd like to ride 38 km tomorrow, I know I won't have time...it almost made the list, but I still have to fit in things like "go to the library" and "take Reasa to a horse lesson")...but there are things I will do. I won't take 38 days to do it--that's a "maybe next year" kind of goal...I want to do it all in the 24 hours of my actual birthday...so, here's what tomorrow is going to look like, not necessarily in this order:

1)  wake up at 4:20 (that would be 3 hours, 80 minutes into the actual day)
2)  38 minutes of yoga
3)  38 push-ups without stopping
4)  38 pull-ups (it's going to take a couple of sets to do that one, with chair assist)
5)  380 crunches
6)  3.8 mile run in 38 minutes or less
7)  38 oz. water in am and pm
8)  3.8 cups of espresso/coffee
9)  3.8 home improvement projects completed (may include cleaning off 3.8 shelving units in the basement. not sure)
10) $38 to charity
11) 38 trips up and down the steps
12) 38 kisses to each child
13) eat 38 pretzel m&m's
14) bake 38 cookies
15) eat 3.8 blueberry pancakes for breakfast
16) 38 minutes reading for pleasure
17) 38 minutes blogging
18) 3.8 38-minute naps (i'm getting up at 4:20. this shouldn't be hard. :) )
19) 38 minutes read-aloud to kids
20) make 38 gumpaste leaves (ok, so I have a cake to work on for this weekend)
21) read 38 verses each from the old testament, new testament and psalms
22) listen to all of the songs that were number 1 the week of my birthday since 1973 (that's a heck of a lot of Mariah Carey. sheesh.)
23) pray specifically for 38 people
24) pin 38 items on pinterest
25) 38 kisses from my kids at 8:38 am (that's when i was born!)
26) eat 3.8 of the aforementioned cookies. maybe with candles in them. and i might just cut 1/5 of one of those candles off, for good measure (holy carb day)
27) take 38 pictures of things i want to remember (possibly including elements from the challenge). and upload them immediately. and start a birthday challenge album (over which i will not obsess--they may go into pocket albums, folks)
28) practice katas 38 times (so...each of the ones i know about 8 times)
29) 38 seconds in crane, 3.8 times (so the last time will be 30.4 seconds. :) )
30) drink my afternoon shakeology with 3.8 teaspoons of peanut butter. :)
31) brainstorm 38 Christmas gifts for my kids and family.
32) say 38 encouraging things to my children throughout the day
33) donate 38 items to the Salvation Army
34) cull 38 books from the boxes in my basement (this should be a piece of cake)
35) 38 Philip kisses (if he can be here at some point. we'll see. if he can't, this will be to text him 38 times during the day tomorrow while he works)
36) take a walk with the kids, collecting 38 colored leaves along the route
37) 3.8 hours of sleep the night before all this craziness...bed by 12:32 am, 10/12/11 (that's kind of a cool date, actually)(i should function ok with the naps right?)
38) 3 shots of bourbon and 8 oz. of Wagner Merlot (not all at once people. don't all fall over.)

For the record, there will be no Kingpin Apple Fritters included in this challenge. Primarily because I don't live in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, and also because...frankly, I can't imagine trying to eat 3.8 of anybody's apple fritters. I enjoy a good apple fritter (hello, Wegmans), but...holy heck...3.8 of them??? I think I might have a heart attack right there on the spot. I will, however, vow to look more closely at the option next year, when I start my Birthday Challenge as it is meant to be done--over the full number of days before the date...so 39 days before the challenge.

Oh my good Lord, next year I'm going to be 39.

And let's just not even talk about 2013.