2. Catch up on my reading.

My love affair with books started early (see above). Reading is my most perfect escape, and to me books are the most loyal of friends. (Along with Teddy, obviously.)

Most all of my reading is done for pure pleasure...not for the direct improvement of my mind (although I would argue that something can be learned from even the trashiest read), and I am as addicted to finding something new to read as much as any junkie. But as I prowl the bookstores and libraries for my next fix, it started to occur to me that there are a lot of great books out there that I have never read. (And by great, I mean great with a capital "G".)

So as part of my countdown list, I am going to read 80 books (40 each year) that I have never read before, and let you know what I think about them. I did not necessarily choose the most popular book by each author, instead I choose the book that sounded the most interesting to me personally. (Which means that yes, I really did some research to choose these books! Again, I know what a geek I am, thanks.) There are biographies, short stories, children's titles....and a few books that actually rocked the world.

The first 40, as you will notice, are all by female authors...I had to narrow the list down somehow! It was actually really hard to choose...but here is the final cut. If you have (or haven't) read any of these titles, I would love to hear what YOU thought!

1. Helen Keller: The Story of My Life


2. Anne Frank: The Diary of Anne Frank


3. Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women


4. Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar


5. Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird


6. Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale


7. Toni Morrison: The Bluest Eye


8. Amy Tan: The Hundred Secret Senses


9. Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings


10. Margaret Mitchell: Gone with the Wind


11. Virginia Woolfe: A Room of One's Own


12. Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre


13. Alice Walker: The Color Purple


14. Flannery O'Connor: A Good Man is Hard to Find


15. Alice Steinbach: Without Reservations


16. Julia Child: My Life in France


17. Erica Jong: Fear of Flying


18. Isabel Allende: Daughter of Fortune


19. Ursula Le Guin: Lavinia


20. SARK: Succulent Wild Woman


21. Barbara Robinson: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever


22. Helen Fielding: Bridget Jones' Diary


23. Candace Bushnell: Sex & the City


24. Pearl Buck: The Good Earth


25. Daphne de Murier: Rebecca


26. Anne Morrow Lindbergh: A Gift from the Sea


27. Dorothy Parker: The Portable Dorothy Parker


28. Betty Friedan: The Feminine Mystique


29. Anita Diamant: The Red Tent


30. Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden


31. Judy Blume: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret


32. Katherine Paterson: Bridge to Terabithia


33. Naomi Wolf: The Beauty Myth


34. Jane Austen: Pride & Prejudice


35. Jane Austen: Persuasion


36. Jane Austen: Emma


37. Jane Austen: Mansfield Park


38. Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey


39. Ayn Rand: Atlas Shrugged


40. Enid Blyton: The Enchanted Wood

26. Perform 24 Breast Self-Check Exams

Everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, right? And all of us know about the cute little pink ribbon that is a reminder that we are supposed to take care of our breasts...give them regular self-check exams (rather than the once-yearly poke that the ob/gyn administers) and take them to get squashed and x-ray'd starting at year 40.

B----u----t........do we? I know that I do not.

• Even though my mother had to have a lump removed and go through radiation (which was terrifying).


• Even though my best friend's mother had a mastectomy after discovering her breast cancer (she played the piano at my wedding).


• Even though one of my co-workers died after a long struggle with breast cancer (she was only in her late 40s).


• Even though numerous people within my circle have had breast cancer scares, breast cancer surgeries, and more.

And still I have procrastinated. But no longer! My tatas may be little, but they are MINE, and I need to take better care of them. And so do you. I invite you to join me in this particular Cupcake goal....

Just in case further inspiration should be necessary to kick you into action (0ther than just my bossing you around), I found a few neat resources for your reading (and shopping) pleasure.

1. Susan G. Komen's site has a neat Interactive Tool that provides very specific directions via video for a full self-check exam or a down loadable card with instructions


2. The National Breast Cancer Foundation has an Early Detection Plan that you can sign up for that will remind you via cell, email, etc. to follow up on your self-check or your mammogram.


3. Most of us have been affected in one way or another by breast cancer, and the Pink Ribbon Girls have a great blog (and some great tattoos) supporting the cause and young women who have survived breast cancer. (This site is where I got the cool picture up above.)


4. Should you be in the market to test drive a car, Ford will donate $20 to the Susan G. Koman affiliate of your choice until 12/31/09. The Warriors In Pink website also has some interesting information and merchandise.


5. And last but not least, Save the TaTas Foundation and Signify Pink have some neat merchandise to show your support of the cause.

Now get out there and give your tatas a squeeze! I just did!

1. Start my own Blog

I've never really viewed myself as a private person. My heart has made its permanent residence on my sleeve for most of my adult life, for better or worse. So it came as something of a surprise to me that my finger hovered in mid-air when it came time to hit "PUBLISH POST" on my first blog entry.

Starting a blog seemed like a brilliant plan when the idea came to me. I spent lots of time reading books about how to blog (yes, I know what a geek I am, thank you very much), creating my list of 40 items, picking out the perfect cupcake picture to use (isn't it GREAT?), etc., etc. Not to mention all the tweaking I did in creating my first post...I felt pretty comfortable that it sounded good...sounded like me, anyway (after about 20 revisions).

But when it came time to cast my ideas out into the abyss of the Internet, well, my finger got stuck. I didn't really expect some random stranger to read The Cupcake Countdown and leave scathing comments, but nevertheless, it made me feel very vulnerable. Which is the point of doing it at all, I suppose.

Sharing your thoughts.... sharing any piece of yourself, is dangerous business ... because it opens you up to the opinions of the world at large. (Even if the world at large consists of the people in one's address book.) However, isn't that what we are here to do? If we are to get anything worthwhile out of life, that is. I think this pressure hinders us because we all want so badly to appear perfect --- to appear to have everything together, at least to everyone from the outside. When the reality is that life is just plain messy--everyone makes some terrible mistakes from time to time, we all act in ways that we can't take back once in a while, and you can NOT always have a good hair day, no matter how hard you try. In her blog, Ordinary Courage, Brene Brown writes some interesting thoughts about the courage that it takes to show other people who we really are, in all of our glorious messiness. http://www.ordinarycourage.com/my-blog/2009/2/11/brenes-home-for-wayward-girls.html This gave me some courage. And after a few deep yoga breaths, I managed to get that finger to hit PUBLISH.

So I will continue to share...even when I am uncertain about how others will respond, even on the days that my ideas do not feel anything but messy. Because it feels good to practice being brave, to practice being ME. And because I feel certain those will be the days my hair looks great.

The Origin of the Cupcake Countdown List

I love my birthday. Really. Love. My. Birthday. Always have. (Anyone who has known me for five full minutes knows how utterly ridiculous I am about it.) I am completely baffled by people who say things like "I'm not having any more birthdays" or "It's no big deal- just another day".

WHAT? The day that the world was graced with your presence is definitely a day that is worthy of CAKE. (Preferably with buttercream frosting.) Seriously, people...this is the one day of the year when people actually will light something on fire in your honor! This is good stuff. Not to be missed. In fact, it is my firm belief that a birthday should be celebrated for a minimum of one week, if at all possible.

A birthday is the one day out of the whole year that is really all about You. And there is no need to apologize for that. You were, after all, born. (Thanks, Mom & Dad.) And you are still here, right? You've made it this far in life, another year along, and that, my friends, is reason enough for a celebration. All the people in your life who care for you have a chance to say that they are glad you are journeying with them... with funny cards, fun little presents, lunches out (preferably including a delicious dessert), and much ado in general.

I think as you get older, there is all the more reason to celebrate your birthday. A birthday is a perfect opportunity to look back on all those years past in which you have been growing and learning - to stop and appreciate where you have been and who has been there along the way. And a chance to look forward to where you are headed - and make adjustments to your course. In my humble opinion, a birthday, even more so than New Year's, is a great time to stop and evaluate your life.

And so, on the eve of my 38th birthday, (which is today, by the way) I peered ahead to the big 4-0h my gosh! looming out there like a giant balloon bouquet and thought maybe it was time for a little evaluation of my own...in between the cake, presents, and other related fanfare.

We all have that mental list...that one that niggles in the back of our minds...the one of all the things that we would like to do -"One Day"... "Someday"- if we ever had the time, or the energy, or the...whatever. I decided that before I got to 40 I wanted to bring that list to life. I only had two rules: a) the items had to be able to be accomplished realistically in the time before my 40th birthday, and b) I had to REALLY want to do whatever it was on the list. (Not WANT TO want to do them...and you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?)

So, after much lengthy explanation, here it is (see left)...my Cupcake Countdown List. My master plan is to blog about each item as I go along the list, in no particular order whatsoever...and provide some (hopefully) humorous and thought-provoking commentary on my quest to get everything done before October 8, 2011. I welcome your encouragement, your thoughts, even your sarcasm (you know who I'm talking to) along the way. And at the end there will be an uncommonly spectacular birthday celebration! I am excited about this experiment, and I hope you will come along for the ride! (There will be cake!)

So Happy Birthday to Me...and Wish Me Luck!