It's almost 2013!

Literally, the year is almost over.  Just a little over an hour and a half to go.  Rather than reflect over the past year...I am looking forward to 2013!!   No resolutions, no bucket lists, just living life to the fullest. In just a short time, it will be the year that I complete my first list bliss journey.  Can you believe?  I have so much to do in only 8 months.  My dear friend Krista gave me a special Christmas present.  She knows me so well!

May God bless you all this coming year!

You have got to be kidding

Well, well, well...I decided to work on #18 Look into a patent for an idea I have.  And I think the title of my post says it all.  Do you know that over 500,000 people a year submit patents to the United States Patent Office?  What I want to know is, how do that many people afford it?  After reading through a portion of all the information on their website, I realize that I neither have the money nor the energy to pursue a patent.  Feel free to go to their website and check it out for yourself.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee100512.htm
This particular link will take you to the fee page of their website.  When you get to it, make sure to scroll down for a VERY long time to see all of the money that is expected to be paid through the course of obtaining a patent.  Hopefully you can sense my irritation and frustration.  I was not wanting to submit my idea to get rich (even though that would be nice), but because I genuinely think it is a great idea and lots of people would like it.  Why would ordinary people be asked to come up with an extraordinary amount of money to ensure that their idea is their own?

I would love to hear you thoughts.  I am marking #18 off my list.  It does not say that I will get a patent, just that I would look into it.  Now that I have, I am moving on.

Four Sisters Booth

Last weekend, my sisters and I had a booth at a craft fair.  It was kind of a hair-brained idea that became something special.  In Great Bend, the high school puts on a craft fair every year.  I saw the information about it earlier in the fall.  I was thinking that I could mark off #12 Start my own baking business by renting a booth space and selling cinnamon rolls.  Great, considering I still hadn't been brave enough to take the first step.  Then the longer I thought about it, I realized there was no way I could make enough fresh rolls to supply a booth for 5 hours.  So, I talked to my sister Cheryl, who is uber-crafty, and asked if she had any ideas of things I could make to sell at the booth.  She definitely had ideas.  In fact, she wanted to make some things too and join me.   Then I offered to my other sisters, Crystal and Diane, if they'd like to join me as well.  Crystal makes adorable cards and said she was in.  Diane said she couldn't make anything (due to her busy schedule) but would love to help at the booth.  Thus, FOUR SISTERS booth was created.  We all worked like crazy ladies trying to get enough stuff put together for the big day.  Crystal had to have knee surgery, so she wasn't able to make it, but her cards were in the booth and everyone oohed and aahed over them.  So, Cheryl, Diane, and I manned (or womanned) the booth and we had a blast.  Lots of people and lots of positive feedback.  Also, we learned important lessons such as: how to position your tables for traffic (Cheryl and Diane know JUST what I mean), how to get all of your product into the craft fair and get it to the correct table, don't put me in charge of the calculator, what people want to buy and what they don't, and it's a little too early to try to sell perishable Christmas snack mix...just to name a few.  The whole point of this story is, I sold some cinnamon rolls and passed out some business cards.  I don't know if that is starting my own baking business or not, but it proved to me that I can do it and I need to believe in myself.  A million thank yous to my sweet sisters.

Time for some updates

Hi friends!
My little list bliss continues...August 2013 is getting here a little faster than I anticipated!  As I look over my list, I realize I am still a far, far way from reaching the end. Time for some updates.

• I have been wearing at least one dress or skirt every week to work.  Honestly, if I had more dresses I would be wearing them more often.  
• I am still trying to read through the Bible in a year and keeping up with my journaling.
• On November 10, my sisters and I have a booth at a local craft fair.  I will be selling cinnamon rolls, caramel apples, and other goodies. I have been chickening out on #12 Start my own baking business. What is my hang-up?  Well, ready or not, the date is set and I'm going to do it.  I have my business cards ready!!
• I have a Pinterest board set up titled, "My Funeral".  I am slowly adding some ideas for #10 Plan my own funeral.  I know, it's morbid, but it makes me feel better to start planning what I want.  

Now, these are still items I haven't even started on...

• #4 Lose 20 lbs (good grief, stop eating girl!)
• #13 Vacation in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
• #14 Start painting again
• #16 Make a quilt with old fabric blocks
• # 18 Look into a patent for an idea I have
• #19 Learn to shoot a gun

Now, if only I could go to Idaho and while I'm there find some kind of a cardio class where they shoot guns...hmmmm, I might have a chance at marking off three things at once.  

The first step to Italy

Well, as you all can imagine, #5 Ride a moped in Tuscany is probably the scariest, craziest, most challenging thing I put on my list.  How many times have I shook my head and wondered why on the earth I put it on there?  The answer is, I know why I put it there...because it has been a dream of mine for a very long time and I knew if I didn't write it down and hold myself accountable, I'd never go.

 So, Karl and I took the first (baby) step toward our trip to Italy.  We met with a travel agent, Christi Penka, on September 18.  I had a long list of all my wishes and she was very patient with me...explaining what she can and can't do as a travel agent.  She told us that we are wise to start planning now for our trip in July 2013. After we were all done, she said she would get started checking around and would get back with us once she has some information.  I am imagining beautiful landscapes covered in vineyards, trees, and quaint buildings.  I am imagining eating delicious pastas and drinking amazing Italian wine.  I am imagining riding on a moped and not killing myself.  Oh, what a beautiful thought!
                                          

Don't wait for someday

Hi friends!  I appreciate so much the encouragement and comments that you all have been making about my list bliss journey.  So many of you have made lists and written them down or at least have "mental" lists of things you are attempting to complete.  Way to go!

We all have dreams of things we would like to do, places we would like to visit, weight we'd like to lose...yeah...I'm talking about me!  I haven't forgotten #4 Lose 20 pounds. In fact, if I'm being honest, it should say 40 pounds.  The point is, we all have things we want to accomplish and if we don't make a plan and a date to finish by, you and I both know it probably isn't getting done.

This brings me to Krista, a true inspiration.  Krista is a breast cancer survivor and has made a list for herself. Remember the friend who touched a mouse???  That's her!  She also felt a strong desire to write a poem after a particularly difficult time of hearing about so many people battling cancer and losing their lives.  Not only did she write an amazing poem titled, "Be Gone", but also had it turned into an inspiring video.  Krista isn't waiting for someday to get things done, she's doing it now.  She gave me permission to include the link to watch her video.  You should watch it, you'll be amazed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UtIOPjr_AM

Mmmmmm, yummy!

Mmmmmmm, yummy! 

 #12 Start my own baking business ...yikes!  What was I thinking when I made that list?  I guess I am a little crazy.  Well, maybe a LOT crazy.  Here's my plan so far:

• I have baked many batches of cinnamon rolls so that I know each batch I sell will be perfect.
• I have done the cost analysis on each dozen of cinnamon rolls so I know what I should sell them for.
• I have a plan of giving away free samples to get started.
• I have made some adorable business/thank you cards...Cheryl and Gracie were a BIG help!

Now, the question is...

• How many orders a week can I realistically make?  

I don't really know.  I don't think I've made a mass quantity of cinnamon rolls before.  I do know that making two dozen rolls takes me a total of 2-2 1/2 hours.  In the past when I sold my rolls, I really messed up on the timing issue and sold some "less than perfect" rolls.  That just is not acceptable, which is why I have been working so hard preparing for this adventure...to make sure that doesn't happen again.

As I've been working on my list, it has caused me to stop and seriously ponder why I chose the things I did.  I KNEW when I made that list that I was going to complete everything...so why did I dream so big? I guess the answer is: why not?  The heading of my blog is "Living life to the fullest...one day at a time".  Notice I didn't call it "Living life ho-hum...one day at a time".  I certainly can do ho-hum pretty well.  I don't want to get to the end of my life and have regrets about the things I never tried.  God has blessed us all with a life and and I want to live it!

The power of painting

True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.
Albert Einstein (www.brainyquote.com)

While in Colorado a few weeks ago, my sister Cheryl, her daughter Jordan, my daughter Grace, and I took a fun painting class at a place called Canvas and Cocktails.  Cheryl had been before and suggested we all do it together.  I am so glad she did!   #14 Start painting again. I hadn't even thought of my list when she had the idea, but now I am a little step closer to marking this off.

The reason  I used the word "again" when making my list is that art and painting have played a big part of my life.  When I started college my major was art.  I loved all my classes--art history, ceramics, screen printing, painting, drawing, sculpture, you name it. Of course, this is before I changed majors to become a teacher.  However, visiting an art museum is still my idea of  fun!  The most amazing art museum that I have had the honor of visiting is the MOMA in New York City.  The Museum of Modern Art has some of the most famous and beautiful pieces ever, including The Starry Night by Van Gogh.


Something I notice about myself when I am painting, drawing, or whatever, is that it does something to me. The best way I can describe it is that I am transported.  Everything else around me fades away and I could do it for hours.  As many of you know, I battled cancer six years ago, Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  When I made it through that tough time in my life, I felt the strong desire to paint or create something  to try an express what I went through.  I drew many pictures, wrote many poems, and started one painting but never finished it. Being a cancer survivor is a weird thing.  That experience had a part in shaping who I am, but on a different level I wish I could just forget it.  I guess the better I started feeling after cancer treatment, the more I wanted to "move on" and so I stopped painting.  Maybe because I didn't like where it transported me to.  So, crossing #14 off my list is going to have to include me finishing my cancer painting, but at least the darling tulips we all painted at Canvas and Cocktails was a start!  Here's a photo of all four of us with our masterpieces.

Chef School...CHECK!

I could hardly wait to write this post to all of you!  The cooking class in Boulder at the Escoffier Culinary School was AMAZING!  Here is a pic of me holding the Pad Thai noodles that I made!  I don't think that smile left my face all evening...

My sister, Cheryl, and I went to the school and met with 7 other students for the evening.  Our teacher was Chef Suzanne Rudolph.  We started in the classroom and the chef went over safety in the kitchen, different ingredients used in Thai cooking, and explained all the recipes.  OK, OK...I admit I was a little excited so I pretty much answered all her questions that she posed to the class, rather than give other people the chance to answer questions.  I can't help it, I was pumped!  Instead of everyone making EVERYTHING on the menu, we broke up into teams and signed up for different parts of the meal.  I, of course, signed up for the noodles.  Cheryl signed up for making red curry paste, which is a complicated recipe in which she had to toast, grind, and mix a multitude of spices.  You go, girl!  Chef Suzanne even complimented her!

The menu for the evening was: Tom Kha Gai (spicy chicken soup with coconut milk), roasted red chile sauce, Panang Nua (Panang meatballs), red curry paste, Pad Thai, cucumber salad, and mango sticky rice.  Everything was delicious, but that sticky rice was fantastic!

Cheryl and I were so nervous at the start of class.  Once we were dismissed from the classroom we took our recipes out into this industrial kitchen and got started.  Chef Suzanne and her two assistants, Helena and Cleora walked around and gave us tons of help.  In the meantime, there are cooking classes going on for the culinary students.  It was fun to see them walking by with their pots and pans and see the food they were making.  In one kitchen they must have been working on baking breads because they had all sorts of amazing  smelling breads they were pulling out of the ovens.  I count the evening a success because we cooked, we ate, and we left with all our fingers intact!!

The evening was a dream come true and it is with great satisfaction that I mark off  #8 Chef school or cooking classes.  I know I will want to take more classes in the future, but this was a good start!  Oh, here's a picture of Cheryl, Chef Suzanne, and I.

Are you working on YOUR list?

Hello everyone!  School is going to be starting before I know it, so I have got to get my rear in gear!  I've been working on the same list items as my last post but I've been thinking...what about all my friends and family out there?  Do you all have your lists made?  Have you been marking items off your lists?  Most importantly---do you have a date you want to be completed by?  I do.  My date is August 5, 2013.  Remember, you are not making a bucket list.  You are making a list that you actually plan on accomplishing.  I know for a fact that if I did not have my list, I wouldn't be doing the things I have been doing.  I'd be sitting around thinking about doing them some day.  So let me know in the comments about your "list adventures"!

Speaking of DOING SOMETHING...I am taking my Thai cuisine cooking class in Boulder next week!  Wow, I can hardly believe it!!!  As you all know by now, it will help me mark off my list item #8 Chef school or cooking classes.  I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back.  Also, I am taking a painting class while out in Colorado so that will help me mark off #14 Start painting again. Can't wait!  Photos to come later...

You can leave comments! (I hope!)

After much work, I think I figured out how to allow you guys to leave comments.  Go ahead and give it a try.  If it doesn't work, I'll try again!
Thanks!

Que es eso?

Oh my goodness, I have been a slow poke in sitting down to write!  I finished teaching summer school and now am enjoying the sweet peace of a month of summer break.  What a blessing to have a job that allows for this break...amazing!
The month of July has been relaxing, but I have to admit, I haven't been working as hard on my list as I should.  Here's an update:
#1 I have been working on my lessons on Rosetta Stone.

I am currently working on disc 2 out of 3.  Pretty much I can read and understand the lessons, but don't ask me to speak it for you, otherwise you will only get "Que es eso?" out of me.  It means "What is this?".  Why in the world that is the only phrase I can easily remember...quien sabe! (who knows?)  OK, I guess I can remember two phrases.


#5  Ride a moped in Tuscany. I have been on the internet searching about tours in Tuscany.  As you all know, next summer Karl and I are going to take a week long trip for my dream vacation to Tuscany, Italy for our 25th wedding anniversary.  However, I am feeling overwhelmed with all that is out there and I've never gone on an international trip.  Well, not completely true, but the trips I have been on were when I was a kid and my parents took care of it. So now I am looking at all these amazing possibilities and wondering, YIKES, can I really pull this off?  As my insightful son said to me yesterday, "Mom, you're going to love it no matter what you decide." Now, as far as a moped goes...I have no clue.

#7 Wear more dresses to work. I am not working this month, so I haven't been able to complete this.  However I have bought a few more dresses and am getting ready to wear them to work.  I think I'll wear one or two a week.  Then I'll mark it off...no prob.

#8 Cooking classes. Oh my goodness!  My Thai cooking class in Boulder is coming up at the end of the month!  I can hardly wait...also I noticed while doing my research on Tuscany, that they have cooking classes available.  Woo hoo!

Anyone notice how I have politely avoided #10  Plan my own funeral?   Hmmm, I know I have some definite thoughts but I haven't sat down to really put them down.  OK, I'll start right here.  Those of you that know me know that I want a funeral reception with a really awesome funeral cake.  Punch, nuts, mints, you know...like a wedding.  Well, probably not punch, nuts, and mints.  More like wine, pad thai noodles, and cheesecake.  Let's get real!  I want everyone celebrating that I am in heaven with my Savior Jesus! More on my funeral later.

I'm so excited---and I just can't hide it!

I am so excited to sit down and tell you all what I did today...I took steps to marking TWO things off my list.    #7: Wear more dresses to work. and #8: Chef school or cooking classes.
I wore a dress to work today!  I know, I know...that doesn't sound too exciting but it was for me!  I am so self-conscious.  Dresses look pretty and feminine so I put on my list to wear them.  Notice my list says "to work".  I do wear dresses sometimes to church, but I guess I feel differently about wearing them to school.  So I sucked it up, ignored what my head told me when I looked in the mirror.  Everything went fine and I wasn't laughed out of the building, or whatever horror I imagined.  I'm not going to mark it off my list yet because I want to establish a pattern of wearing them more often.

Next, I think the cooking lessons at the Chinese restaurant kind of fell through.  Never heard back from the owner, so I decided to look elsewhere.  I happened to be reading an article in SELF magazine at the hair dresser.  Believe it or not, there was an article about some of the top cooking schools/ classes.  I wrote down some websites and couldn't wait to get home to check them out.  They all look wonderful, but the closest one is in Boulder, Colorado....http://www.escoffier.edu/locations/boulder/home-cook-classes/
So, I got online and registered to take a class on Thai cuisine!  Yay, I can't wait until next month!!  I may decide to mark it off my list after that one class, or I may take several more...who knows?

Time to move on

Well, here it is.  My spring vegetable risotto topped with fresh parmesan and crispy prosciutto. It was delicious and I am proud of myself.  I will count it as the "perfect risotto" and mark it off my list.  Hip-hip-hooray!  Time to move on, I have other things I have to accomplish.

Sadly, I have made a decision.  I am planning to NOT go to Idaho this summer. I do not make this decision lightly.  As we began to look at travel costs we realized that it would be an expensive trip.  We want to save our money for our Italy trip next summer...soooo, I'm thinking I might not have all 20 items marked off my list by August 2013.  Bummer.  However, I have been entering to win an all-expense paid trip to Tuscany through Olive Garden.  You can enter once a day through June, so you can bet I've been doing that.  Hey, somebody has to win...why not me??

Now that it is summer I have a little more free time to work on my list.  I think I will work on my baking business next.  My plan is to develop my recipes, design my business name and logo, buy my bakery boxes and bags and then start giving food away. As I do that, hopefully I can get some feedback from friends and family so I'll be ready to "launch" in the fall.

As I have been embarking on this list bliss adventure, I realize how rewarding yet difficult this really is.  On one hand it is fun to dream about all the things I would like to do, but on the other hand it is scary and challenging to actually make a plan to complete it.  Add on top of that the fact that I am putting into print that I am going to accomplish this stuff...yikes!

Dear reader, if you have taken the time to read my blog, I truly hope you have considered writing a list of your own.  Put an ending date on it. Make it meaningful. Get started!

Ahhhh, risotto

#15 on my list is Learn to cook the perfect risotto.  When I made my list I chose to limit my cooking goals to only one, otherwise I would have put 20 different things to cook on there!  Why risotto you ask?  Good question...I love to watch the Food Network.  One dish stood out as the epitome of culinary amazing-ness for chefs and that seemed to me to be risotto.  Risotto is a rice dish, but it is more of a technique. To make it you have to start by sweating the soffrito, that is the onions or garlic.  Then the arborio rice has to be added to the pan.  Next, hot liquid (usually broth) is slowly added in increments until it is absorbed.  This process can take anywhere from 20-45 minutes (based on different recipes I've seen). I thought if I could master this then I could master anything in the kitchen. I have high hopes.

The picture above shows my first attempt.  I bought Anne Burrell's cookbook, "Cook Like a Rock Star".  She has a recipe titled, Chef Anne's Risotto-without-a-recipe.  She gives great step-by-step instructions and I was able to complete it and it tasted good.  Now here's the question...is my first attempt the perfect risotto???  I doubt it.

Now, I AM going to mark this off my list very soon.  I have a Cuisine at Home magazine (Issue 86, April 2011) that has a whole section on risotto.  So my second attempt will be this week...Spring Risotto with prosciutto, asparagus, spinach and peas.  I can hardly wait!  Will it be perfect?  I sure hope so!

You are a mist

Last week Pastor Jay was preaching from the book of James. James 4:13-15 says, "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, "if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."  I couldn't help but think about my "list bliss" as I listened to his message.  The scripture says clearly that our life is but a mist, we're here today and gone tomorrow.  I realize it doesn't mean that I should selfishly spend all my time for ME...but I think it does say that we shouldn't be waiting for someday to accomplish our plans.  If it is the Lord's will...let's live our lives.  That being said, I've got a lot of living left to do!

I am so excited about this past week.  I went to eat at Classic Inn (my favorite Chinese restaurant in town).  There weren't any other customers in there at the time, so I took the opportunity to get brave and talk to the owner about cooking classes.  She said she doesn't do that anymore, but she would like to help me.  She took me back into their kitchen and showed me around---that is so cool for a foodie like me!  Then she talked to me about making pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and said she would get her Vietnamese cookbook and let me look through it.  Best of all, she said I could come in some days and hang in the kitchen and let them teach me how to debone chickens, make noodle salad, and anything else that was going on that day.  My list says that I will go to chef school or take cooking classes.  I think going to hang out in the kitchen at Classic Inn could definitely count as a cooking class!!  She'll call me sometime this next week and set it up with me.  I am thrilled!

On a less thrilling note, I did purchase a working scale this week so that I can start accomplishing -Lose 20 lbs.   I got on the scale and am wondering if it should be more like 30---oh well, baby steps!

Where am I going?

So, I've been thinking about my list and wondering where I am headed.  I have a sense of urgency when I look over my list.  I want so badly to accomplish everything...TODAY!  It is very important that I make a plan and stick to it. Here's where I am so far.

• I have started reading my Bible so I can complete it in a year.  I have started at Genesis and am going to read straight through.  I've been keeping dates and notes in a notebook.
• My fingernails are hideous, so I'm thinking I'll get acrylic nails back on and give them another try.
• Still writing in my journal, apparently I have a lot on my mind.
• I have been consistently remembering everyone with a card for their birthdays and anniversaries. Hip hip hooray!
• I have looked on line for plane tickets, places to stay and things to do in Coeur d'Alene this summer.
• Risotto!  Well, I made some and it was good, but not perfect.  So I am not marking it off my list, I have another recipe I'd like to try.  It has shrimp in it and sounds yummy. I wish I'd put "learn to make the perfect croissant" on my list...oh well...must stay focused!

That's it.  Hmmm, I think I have some work to do.  Here's my plan for the next month.

• Wear some dresses to work.  Sorry my legs are so ridiculously white but tanning is out of the question and lotions and sprays are disgusting.
• Make more risotto.
• Put batteries in my scale.  How can I lose 20 pounds without my scale? OK, batteries are easy...working out...not so much.  I will work out at least 3 days a week to start with.
• Make some reservations for our vacation to Idaho.

Have you made your list yet?  Write it down.  Set a date.  Turn off your computer.  Have fun!

Pass it on

One of the most exciting and inspiring aspects of my list is how it has affected other people.  I am so pumped up about making lists that I can't stop talking about it.  In fact, I tell everyone that will listen...literally!  While I have been sharing about this adventure with people, there have been a few who have decided to make their own lists as a result.  My friend Krista, who is deathly afraid of mice, put on her list to touch a mouse.  It doesn't stop there.  She actually went into a pet store and DID IT!  This is huge, if you know Krista. How proud I am of her, but best of all---how proud she is of herself.  My friend Kris put on her list to climb up in a tree stand with her husband when he goes hunting.  She isn't there yet, but has taken steps to actually go out to it.  My friend Brenda made a list and is crossing things off like crazy.  She is a great source of enthusiasm!  Of course, my sisters are working on their own lists and hopefully enjoying it as much as I am.  Let's keep telling our friends and family to live TODAY and stop waiting for "someday".

The finish line?

Diane and I completed something off of her list today!  She wanted to run in a 5K.  We participated in the "Left Behind But Not Forgotten" 5K.  This race raises money to help young girls that "age out" of Ethiopian orphanages.  The money goes toward providing these girls with an education so they can have a better life.  Diane and I met this morning and went to the starting line.  We stretched, laughed, and visited with friends standing around waiting for the race to start.  It was an absolutely beautiful morning!  When the race started we ran for a while.  Then we walked.  Then we ran...you get the picture!  We had a great time together and we both  felt empowered that we had done something that neither one of us had ever done before.  When my good friend Krista asked me last week if I would continue running after this race I said, "No way!"  But quite honestly, being with a group of people on a beautiful morning, running along, enjoying the day....I think I'll say "maybe".  I did this race in honor of Diane.  She is a beautiful, strong, wonderful woman and sister.  She can do anything!  Even though we both crossed the finish line...we aren't finished yet!

Here it is

When I shared the idea of making a list with my sisters I gave them some guidelines to follow.  Their list had to have an end date, the items had to be a mixture of easy, hard, cheap, expensive, short-term and long-term.  If everything is the high-ticket item or the long-term goal, who wouldn't want to give up??  I had decided that I WILL complete my list.  In fact, I'm already thinking of my NEXT list when this one is completed.  I realized that when I started thinking about goals and dreams...I have a lot of them!  So I thought I would share my personal list today with you.  Then as I slowly (or maybe not so slowly) work my way through, I can tell about my adventures along the way.

• Learn Spanish (complete all 3 Rosetta stone discs)
• Read the Bible in a year
• Stop biting my fingernails (try acrylic nails)
• Lose 20 pounds
• Ride a moped in Tuscany
• Start writing in a journal
• Wear more dresses to work
• Go to chef school or take cooking classes
• Remember to send everyone cards for birthdays/ anniversaries
• Plan my own funeral
• Decorate my front room
• Start my own baking business
• Take a vacation to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
• Start painting again
• Learn to cook the perfect risotto
• Make a quilt with the old fabric blocks
• Start a mother-daughter tradition with my daughter
• Look into getting a patent on an idea I have
• Learn to shoot a gun
• Get a passport

Many of these require explanation...but that's for another day.  

What you need to know now is what I've already completed. As of 12/15/11 I have stopped biting my nails!  This is huge because I have been a nail biter since childhood.  Also I tried acrylic nails but they turned out to not be for me!  Hey, at least I tried.  My sister Diane helped me by setting up an organizer box for all important dates that require a card to be sent.  She even printed off all their addresses and set me up with a Cozi account with a reminder calendar.  Haven't missed an occasion yet!  My sister Crystal gave me a journal with pretty pens and I have started writing furiously all the junk that goes on in my head!  During spring break, Karl and I cleaned out and decorated out front room!  Wow, what a big accomplishment...it feels great!  Also, Karl and I both got our passports!  If we are going to Italy next summer (which we ARE, according to my list), then we had to have passports. 

So, 5 things accomplished and 15 to go!  I can do it!

Not a bucket list

When I started thinking about making my list I thought of all the times I had made new year's resolutions or thought about a bucket list.  I decided that this list thing was going to be different.  I don't want to make a bucket list, because quite honestly...I don't know when I'm going to kick it!  How could I possibly make a plan for things I really want to accomplish in my life if I just put it off to "someday"?  I have decided that I'm not waiting for someday any more, I want it to be today and to live my life to the fullest right now!  Seriously, am I going to wait for retirement???  I have too much living to do before then.  Making an ending date, just like Marissa did in the book, is an important step.  Having a date to work toward is going to hold me accountable so I don't procrastinate.  My completion date is my 45th birthday...August 5, 2013.  I've got to get busy!

And so it begins...

It all began with a book...

 Renee and I needed a book to read for our little book club.  After some searching I chose, The Next Thing on My List  by Jill Smolinski.  The main character, June, was in an accident and her passenger, Marissa, was killed.  In the aftermath June discovered that Marissa had a list of 20 things she wanted to do before her next birthday.  Out of grief and the need to heal, June chose to complete Marissa's list for her.  The things on the list were way outside of June's comfort zone, and yet her life was changed as a result.  Renee and I loved the book!  It was funny...it was touching... I thought that was the end of it.

About a year later I decided to take the idea of making a list and completing it to a whole new level.  My three sisters and I get together twice a year for Sisters Weekend!  What a blast we have! I was thinking ahead to when it would be my turn to host and I remembered the book.  I decided that all of us sisters would make our own lists of 20 things we want to accomplish.  I had 6 months until the weekend, so I gave them a manila envelope containing dated envelopes to be opened each month.
October: Read the book.

November: Make your own list.

December: Complete one thing off your own list by the time you open the next envelope.

January:  Mail your list to the next sister.  When you get the sister's list, complete something off of HER list.

February:  Mail that list to the next sister and complete something off the list you received in the mail.

March: Mail that list to the next sister and complete something off the list you received in the mail this time.

 April:  Sisters Weekend!!  Bring the list with you so you can return the list to the original sister.  When April came, we had all completed at least 4 tasks.  We had an amazing time of discussing the book and more importantly, sharing about our experiences over the last 6 months.

Through this fun time of "listing", there have been many fun experiences and lessons along the way.  Hopefully this blog will encourage others to think about completing a list of their own.  Until next time...