New aspirations, new possibilities.

Where has the time gone? I'm turning 39 in May, so 2011, my 40th year, is going to be something of a milestone in my life. I'm inspired by my friend Kimberly, who's a year ahead of me and created a "40x40" list of things she wants to accomplish by the time she celebrates her big Four-Oh. I'm not going to publish my actual list until my birthday, but I'm definitely thinking about it, thinking about what I've done, and what I'd still like to do.

On a smaller scale, with the New Year approaching, it's that time of the year when we all look back on what we've done over the year, and look ahead to the new year and think about what we want to accomplish. So the list of aspirations and possibilities in my head serve double-duty. Here are some of the things I'd love to do:

1) Go back to dance.
Dancing was such a big part of my life in my high school and college years. Now? Nothing. I don't take lessons, don't go to clubs, don't even dance in the bedroom. The closest that I've come to dancing in the last decade is driving my daughter to her dance class. Every time I watch "So You Think You Can Dance", my mind leaps and turns pirouettes and does fan kicks along with the dancers. I remember how it feels, and my mind thinks I can do it -- but my body can't keep up. I can barely do a split, let alone a bridge or a jete. I would really like to start up again, maybe take a dance class. Heck, even a Zumba exercise class would count!

2) Travel.
Going around England, France and the Netherlands this summer really brought out the wanderlust in me again. I recently took stock of the places I've been, and while it's nothing to sneeze at, there are so many places I still want to go! I've only been to 3 of the seven continents in the world -- okay, maybe I'll never travel to Antarctica, but that still leaves 3 continents unvisited. I have never been south of the Equator. And I have never been on a cruise (which is probably my fault because I'm terrified of being seasick the whole time, but I'm willing to load up on Dramamine and try it now!). Now that the kids are older, I feel like we can do a bit more traveling, but then again money, money money is always the constraint.

Let's hope 2011 (and my 40th year) brings lots of dance and travel into my life!

Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network blogging program, for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.