I am an avid dreamer. Think multiple dreams, usually with intricate details and loads of weirdness, and often remembered. Sometimes I’m an active character, other times I’m watching the dream unfold like a movie where I’m either the director and the audience.

I’ve had repeat dreams where I can control what the outcome will be based on previous knowledge, sort of like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. I’ve had dreams that were confusing, where I didn’t know how to do something…until I later remembered the dream when it happened in real life and realized I simply hadn’t learned what I needed to know yet.

What this all means is that I’ve wanted to start a dream journal for a long time, but it’s always seemed like too big of an undertaking. I knew it had to be on the list, a written reminder with accountability. When I saw this notebook, I laughed, bought it immediately, and started my first dream journal.

#16 on the Twenty-five To-dos (Year 28) list: Start a dream journal.

My husband likes to say that my dreams revolve around three themes: water, my hometown, and school. I’ve definitely seen those come up in the first few weeks of recording, but I’m curious to see what other themes surface as time goes on. If my dream-related tweets are any indication, nerdiness also runs rampant.

When I added “11. Make homemade bread” to the Twenty-five To-dos (Year 28) list, what I meant was that I wanted to make bread that required yeast and lots of kneading. I have made cinnamon rolls and quick breads in the past, but nothing that I thought of as “from scratch”. So a couple weekends ago, I decided to spend an afternoon up to my elbows in flour after being inspired by Megan to try my hand at bagels (she makes everything look easy). I also had recently learned the Japanese equivalent of tahini and was anxious to make hummus again, so I found a recipe for pita bread to try out at the same time.

The bagels required the most attention between rising, kneading, rising again, shaping, rising a third time, boiling, and then finally baking. My dinky micro-oven limited me to baking only two bagels at a time, and since each “batch” took 30 minutes, there was plenty of time to switch gears to pita bread in between. The pitas didn’t turn out quite like expected, in that they were supposed to rise enough to allow for pockets. But since we were going to eat them with hummus, that didn’t matter.

There is truth to the saying that kneading dough is therapeutic. The combination of the smell of the yeast and the repetitive movements was relaxing, and I spent the time lost in creative daydreams, mostly writing related. But the best part was eating the results. I’m a bread lover, and so homemade, freshly baked bread? Heaven. I will definitely be doing this again.

#2 on the Twenty-five To-dos (Year 28) list: Walk on the Great Wall of China.

March 23, 2010

1. Do a homestay to improve my language skills. [August 2010]
2. Walk on the Great Wall of China. [March 2010]
3. Edit one NaNoWriMo novel.
4. Wear a kimono.
5. Buy a new Mac. [February 2011]
6. Read five books from Random House’s Best Novels list. [5/5]
7. Visit Hokkaido.
8. Travel to at least two countries. [2/2]
9. Own a pair of knee-high boots. [October 2010]
10. Make a curtain of snowflakes.
11. Make homemade bread. [June 2010]
12. Try yoga.
13. Submit a piece of writing for publication. [July 2010]
14. Take a piano lesson. [July 2010]
15. Embellish a sweater. [August 2010]
16. Start a dream journal. [May 2010]
17. Do at least one design tutorial each month. [3/12]
18. Complete the 100 Pushups training program.
19. Buy or make handmade birthday presents.
20. Add three new samples to my portfolio. [2/3]
21. Apply to grad school. [September 2010]
22. Watch Star Trek: The Original Series. [1/3 seasons]
23. Get my wedding ring resized.
24. Make marshmallow fondant.
25. Track all the books I read. [January 2011]