La Mancha List Part 3

It's Saturday and 2 of the 4 Dittrich-Reeds are down with mystery fever/tummy bugs. Guess what that means? La Mancha List Part 3! The blogging equivalent of counting cleaning your kitchen as your exercise for the day! What the heck am I going to do when I finish this thing?

So, the Impossible Dreams continue with:

51. Take the whoooooole family on vacation: My family and Dylan's have been unbelievably generous over the years. It's no secret we've hit a lot of rough patches in the past 4 years and there is no way we would still be afloat in any sense of the word (yes, we would literally be under water - our hot water heater exploded a few years back) without their help. I'd love to pay that back by taking them all some place fabulous.

52. Learn more world history: I blame the American public school system for this one. I know the crap out of American history. The rest of it? Well, I know Ancient Egypt...also there was this place called Mesopotamia...and I could name you a handful of Greek gods...Yeah, I'm an embarrassment to myself as a citizen of this world and I'd like that to stop.

53. Read all the major holy books: This is another citizen-of-the-world guilt thing. I've read the Bible cover-to-cover several times and I've read quite a bit of the Talmud and other Jewish religious writings thanks to a random decision to minor in Jewish Studies in college, but other than that, I've got nothing.

54. Do something for all of Ry's therapists - past, present and future: I purposely left this one a bit vague as I'm not sure what would be financially feasible and appropriate, but I want to do something to give back to these incredible people. We would be groping in the darkness of autism without them. They've helped shine a light to show us the way to our son and to show him the way to us. A lot of them don't even bill their full hours and some of them do pro bono work on the side because they are just that passionate about helping kids with special needs. They rock. Period.

55. Master headstand in yoga: I've practiced yoga (at home, I neither have the money nor nature to pursue classes) for about 10 years and I'm pretty strong, but I always chicken out when it comes to headstand. It just seems so...dangerous...but if done properly it's supposed to be amazing.

56. Paint a Bob Ross painting: This is a silly one. I love Bob Ross and while I'm under no illusions that his paintings are great art, the technique looks like fun. Someday I'd like to buy a canvas and paints and paint those happy little trees along with him.

57. Visit Australia: I've become more and more interested in Australia recently. It seems like a really cool place with diverse landscapes and wildlife. Plus, the accents are excellent.

58. Wear something I've made: So this one ties in with the sewing/crocheting/knitting goal obviously. I don't care if it's an ugly crocheted bracelet or something. I just think it would be neat to be like, "Oh, this hideous thing? Yeah, I made it."

59. Finish P90x: I've started P90x a few times but have had to stop due to injury. My knee is finally pretty well rehabbed so it's time to get XTREME!

60. Do something awesome for my 30th birthday: My birthdays over the past...8 years or so have been pretty tame affairs. I've been pregnant for 2 of them and have had babies to care for for a lot of the rest. I'm totally fine with that as 26/27/28 etc. are not really big deals (as Patton Oswalt would say, "Happy Birthday. Shut the f--- up and go to work.") 30, though, I'd like to do something wild for that one.

61. Take the kids to Disney World: Originally we had planned to do this next summer, but I don't think that's going to be financially possible. That's fine, because they're probably a little too young to enjoy it anyway. So this is something I'd like to do a few years from now.

62. Learn a sport for realsies: I was always one of those klutzy, asthmatic spaz kids who hated P.E. I would sneak to the back of the line to avoid having to hit the ball when we played softball, or trot along 10 steps behind everybody else in soccer so I wouldn't be faced with having to try to kick the ball. Now, though, I'm not afraid of being made fun of and would like to learn how to properly play at least one sport.

63. Make sauerkraut: I tried and failed to do this last month (it was more like moldkraut). I'm going to do some more studyin' and try again.

64. Make a pie that rivals my mother-in-law's: My mother-in-law makes the most amazing pies I've ever tasted. Seriously. Amazing. I'm great at cakes and decent at cookies, but the perfect pie has thus far eluded me.

65. Have a wine cellar:...with wine in it...

66. Get Ry into a university study on autism: I have offered my son up as a guinea pig to the University of Tennessee multiple times, but so far they haven't taken me up on it (though Pippa has been in about forty billion infant studies). For the good of scientific research, humankind's understanding of autism, and because I'm just curious, I'd like to do this eventually.

67. Learn how to fix hair: This goal's mostly for Pippa's sake. I am dismally terrible at hair. Most days I just wash mine and let it be. In all honesty, I just can't be bothered and would rather spend the 20 minutes I'd spend fixing my hair exercising or playing the Sims. But poor Pippa should not have to suffer because of my disinterest. Have you seen that mop of hers?

68. Have a plastic and Teflon-free kitchen: Another filthy dirty hippie goal...

69. Go flare-free for 2 (non-pregnant) months: The only time I've had a fibromyalgia remission that long was when I was pregnant with the kids. I don't know how attainable this goal is, but I do know that if I can be strict with my diet and get enough sleep (ha!) it could happen.

70. Get Ry into horseback riding: That is, if he's interested. I just have this feeling that he'd really enjoy the movement of it and the horses. It's not in the budget now, but hopefully someday!

71. Go camping with the kids: This may seem like a simple goal, but let me be clear: camping with an autistic non-verbal preschooler who doesn't sleep is a very different animal from camping with a neurotypical child. Still, I am determined it will happen...maybe next year...

72. Own a piano: I took piano lessons for 10 years, but I haven't had regular access to a piano for the past 10. I miss it!

73. Live somewhere where it REALLY snows: Technically it snows here in Knoxville, but we get maybe a couple of inches a few times a winter if we're lucky. I want snow banks, snow drifts, blizzards (okay maybe not blizzards).

74. Get colored streaks in my hair: Yes I'm too old for this. Yes it's totally overdone and lame now. I don't care. I'm thinking dark purple would look very cool...to me and probably no one else...

75. Have a conversation with Rylan: I don't care whether it's through sign language, typing, a voice output communication device, or actual talking. I'd just love to hear what he thinks about things.

Oky doky! Only one more installment left (thank God because I'm pretty sure I don't have enough life left to finish all this stuff)! Thanks for reading and dreaming with me!