In the last 2 days, I’ve either heard or read from several different sources that everyone should make a bucket list. That to really move forward in our lives and make it everything we dreamed of, we should create this list of things we want to do before we “kick the bucket.” I think that is a sign that I need to do this.

Believe it or not, I’ve created a bucket list before. Many years ago, after a painful break-up, I  made a list of everything I wanted to do with my life. Some of it was crazy stuff like jump out of an airplane or travel around the world. Some of it was simple, like get married and have children. I don’t have that list anymore but I kind of wish I did. It would be interesting to look back and see how many of those dreams I have actually accomplished. Obviously I did get married and have a child. I have gone skydiving and I have traveled around the world. I also wonder which ones I have not accomplished and if they are still things I want to do.

My new bucket list will probably be pretty different from my old one, but that’s ok. I think it’s important to do this exercise regularly, to keep our dreams at the forefront of our mind and make sure we don’t have regrets later on. With that said, here’s my new bucket list (in no particular order other than how the thoughts pop up in my head):

1. 

   Minnesota State Capital

   Travel to all 50 state capitals.

   This is not a new one but rather something I want to continue and refocus on. CJ and I were doing pretty well for a while, but then the baby came along and it slowed our travels way down. So far we’ve hit 10 of the 50 (Nebraska (duh!), Iowa, Kansas, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri). I’d like to get in at least one more capital this year and keep plugging away at it!

2. Travel to all 7 continents. Obviously this one has come to a halt as well since our travel has been limited in the last couple years. So far I’ve been to 5 of the 7 (North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia), which is actually pretty good considering I’d hit those before I turned 30. Just have to get to South America and Antarctica and then I can cross off this one! Course that might take another 30 years!
3. Have my writing published. The ultimate goal would be to publish a novel. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I’ve even started several different ones only to abandon them after a couple of chapters. I started a kids book too and never finished. This blog has lit the fire for this and I hope it leads me down the right path to develop more of a writing career. Guess we’ll see!
   

   Zipline in Cancun

4. Ride in a hot air balloon. Sounds pretty simple but I think it would be amazing to fly high over the Earth, with nothing between you and the sky. It’s so peaceful being up there among the birds and the clouds. Really puts life in perspective. I’ve done my share of adventurous stunts (skydiving, zip line, rock climbing, and parasailing) so this would be the next one on this list. I think I had bungee jumping on my original list but now that I have a child, I will remove that one.
5. Find my dream house. The house that we live in now is comfortable and nice, but I’ve never really attached myself to it because I know it’s a temporary dwelling. I would love to someday find a house that will be our forever home. It doesn’t have to be anything huge or fancy, so long as it has a few of the basic things I want in a home. It definitely has to feel homey and comfortable. We are planning to move this summer so I sure hope we can find a place that will be this dream home (if not right away, then someday).
6. Buy a massage chair. Ok, I know this sounds silly but I am dead serious. See, on one date night that CJ and I had several years ago, we ended up window shopping at The Sharper Image store in the mall. They had several massage chairs out on the floor that people could try, so we did. Oh. My. God. The chair I sat in was frickin’ awesome. It worked on everything from my feet up to my neck. It released tension I didn’t even know I had! Ever since then, I’ve vowed to some day get my own massage chair, if we ever had the extra money for it. If I ever do get a chair like that, good luck getting me out of the house… [after re-reading that, I realized it sounds dirty. No, it wasn’t that kind of massage…but hey, if it could do that too…then you’d really never get me out of the house!]
7. Have a photograph published in a magazine (specifically National Geographic but I’d settle for any magazine). For those of you who don’t know, my college degree is in Art, with an emphasis on Photography and Computer Graphics. I’ve done the computer thing (my career started out in web/graphic design before I moved on to become a Business Analyst and Project Manager) but I’ve never really pursued the photography path. When I first  moved back to Omaha, I had a few photography shows at a local coffee shop, and sold several items, but I didn’t have the time or money to keep at it and with the business of life, it fell by the wayside. This blog has forced me to dust off some of those skills to try to get some interesting photos but I’d like to do more with it.
8. Travel to see the following specific places/sites: Spain (because of my heritage), Great Wall of China, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, African safari, the Taj Mahal and Paris. I’m sure more will be added to this list as time goes on!
   

   Steelers/Chiefs game 11/09

9. Go to a Super Bowl. It would be even better if the Steelers were in it!
10. Have financial freedom. What I  mean is that I want to get to a place where I am comfortable and have enough money to live and support the family, with enough left over to have fun too. I don’t need to be a millionaire or anything like that. I just don’t want to have to worry about money so much.
11. Learn to swim. You read that right – I can’t swim. I’m actually terrified of drowning, which has limited me all through my life. CJ loves the beach and every summer you’ll find us out at Lake Manawa playing sand volleyball and swimming. Only, I don’t do the swimming part. I’ve tried. I took lessons 2 times as a kid and another 2 times as an adult, but can’t seem to get passed that fear. Yet. Someday I will.
12. Learn to speak fluent Spanish. As mentioned in #8, my dad’s side of the family is from Spain. They are all fluent in Spanish yet I can’t speak a lick of it. I took lessons in high school but was never really taught how to speak it. All we learned was verb conjugation and vocab terms. Being able to converse with my aunts, uncles and dad in their native language would be so neat. It would be even better if Isabella could do it too!
13. Meet and dance with Derek Hough. Ok, so I have a cougar crush. Derek Hough is one of the pros on Dancing with the Stars and I think he seems like such a fun and nice guy. Plus he’s really cute. He’s also an amazing choreographer and the dancer in me (took 10 years of lessons and have always loved to dance) would love for him to choreograph and teach me a dance. Then we could dance under the stars and…ehm…sorry, got carried away there. No worries, CJ knows that Derek is on my “freebie list“. 😉 
14.  Attend the Olympic Games. Preferably the summer Olympics but either would do. I think it would be so cool to watch history being made right before your eyes, and to interact with so many different cultures from all over the world.  And watching Olympic level volleyball? Hell yeah!
15. Be the model for a magazine photo shoot. I don’t need to be a supermodel or anything, but I do think it would be fun to be the star of a photo shoot and have people do my hair/make-up, pick out an amazing outfit for me, and then shoot some awesome pictures.  I’m already practicing my Tyra Banks “fierce” eyes.

Well that’s all I can think of right now. Reading back over it, I realize that this list is more “selfish” than my original list. Maybe that’s the difference between your 20’s and 30’s. In my 20’s I was all about others and how to make the world a better place. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to contribute to improving our world, but I also know that the best way to help others, is to be happy with your own life. I’ve done a lot of stuff for other people – almost too far to the extreme. Now it’s time to focus back on myself and what I want. Here’s hoping I can make some if not all of these items come true before I kick the bucket!!

What’s on your bucket list?

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