Today is the day!

Well,  today ends my first List Bliss adventure!  Can you believe?  This has been rewarding, challenging, frustrating and exciting...all in one!  Sixteen out of twenty items completed.  Not too bad!  Wow, when I look back over my list I am proud of what I have accomplished:

• I stopped biting my nails.
• I went to Tuscany, Italy.
• I am writing in my journal.
• I am wearing more dresses to work.
• I took two cooking classes at REAL cooking schools.
• I have remembered to send cards to all my friends and family.
• I have written down all my wishes regarding my funeral.
• My front room is redecorated.
• I passed out business cards and sold my baked goods.
• I started painting again.
• I learned to make risotto.
• I made a quilt out of fabric from clothes when I was a child.
• I started a mother-daughter tradition with my daughter.
• I looked into what it takes to get a patent.
• I shot a gun.
• I now have a passport.

Let me tell you all, I KNOW I would not have completed very many if ANY of these things if I had not made my list and put a deadline on it.  My life is so much richer because I took a chance and put a dedicated effort toward completing my goals.  You and I both know that if I hadn't, I would still be waiting for "someday".  Guess what??? Someday is today. 

God bless you all and I look forward to making a new list very soon.

I am marking #19 off my list!

OK, I finally did it!  With four days to spare...nothing quite like procrastinating!  Karl (my husband) and Cheryl (my sister who took a gun class to complete something off of my list ...as I explained in my very first post, April 21, 2012)  went with me to shoot a gun.  I know, I know, what was I thinking??  Trust me, I have wanted to back out many times...but now I can mark it off my list!

Karl is so patient.  He explained everything and Cheryl showed me how to load the clip. Then we all took turns shooting at some targets.  I actually hit a target three times in a row!!

Did  I have fun?  NO!  But it was not a terrible experience.  The gun wasn't too loud (I wore ear plugs, just in case) and there wasn't much of a kick.  I am proud of myself for doing something outside my comfort zone and who knows...maybe I'll try it again sometime.  Here are my sweet supporters:

Cheryl

Karl   

I love you guys!

Dream come true

Can you believe it???  We actually made it to Italy and had the time of our lives!  We had a wonderful time together celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary AND celebrating my list bliss, as well.  

Now, my list says that I will ride a moped in Tuscany.  I did NOT ride a moped (called Vespas), but  I did see amazing monuments, beautiful art, take cooking classes, drink wine, eat delicious food, and see  vinyards...ALL IN TUSCANY!  So I say that it counts and I'm marking it off my list.

I decided not to ride a vespa in Italy because I value my life.  After visiting with a guide who leads the tours, he recommended that someone like me (not at all experienced in riding/driving a motorcycle or moped) not attempt to ride.  His honesty was much appreciated and I had a glorious time even without riding one.

OK, reality check.  I know I will not mark several items off my list in less than two weeks.  I have not finished reading the Bible, I have not finished the Rosetta Stone discs, I have not lost weight, and I did not take a trip to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  I WILL shoot a gun and finish planning my funeral before August 5, however.

So, 16 out of 20 isn't too bad.  I will post again on my 45th birthday and then this list bliss will be complete. That does NOT mean that I will stop making lists.  It just means I will start a new adventure....who knows what's next?

Don't Panic!

Hello Friends and Family!

So sorry for the long delay in writing, I really will be posting much more in the months to come.  August 5 is coming very quickly!

My problem has been that I feel like I shouldn't post anything unless I've marked something off the list, but that really hasn't happened.  Not because I have lost interest or anything like that...it's just that the ones I have put off aren't so easy for me to accomplish.  These are the "adventures" that I have left:
Learn Spanish
Finish reading the Bible
Lose 20 lbs
Ride a moped in Tuscany
Plan my own funeral
Finish my painting
Make a quilt
Shoot a gun

I know that sounds like a lot, but I have a plan...PANIC!!  Just kidding, I really do have a plan!

Two weekends ago was Sisters Weekend in Wichita and we had a blast!  While shopping at Bradley Fair, we walked by Bath and Bodyworks and noticed this sign on their window.  Of course we had to stop and take a picture!  Karl and I are totally thrilled about our upcoming trip to Florence and Rome in July.  Everything is planned, tickets are purchased and passports are ready!  While we are there we are taking walking tours, seeing amazing works of art, going to vineyards, going to the sea, and I am taking an Italian cooking class!!!  However, I am second-guessing the ride-a-moped-thing.  As I've been researching our trip I have discovered that it is not wise to ride them if you don't have experience prior to the trip.  I don't need broken bones on my vacation!  I'm still considering riding a moped.  However, if I do not, I am STILL marking it off my list because I am going to Italia and that is all that counts!

Lastly, I am almost finished with the quilt.  I just need to add the binding around the edges.  The quilt blocks are fabric from clothes my mom sewed for all of us as children.  Let's just say the 60's and 70's weren't great years for fabric design.  Yikes!  But that's not the point.  The point is that I will have a lasting memory of my childhood.  Can't wait to post the picture when it's finished.

 Front                                Back


How are all of you doing on your lists??  Please leave comments and let me know how it is going.  Hopefully you are living life to the fullest and not waiting for someday.  

My most special list item...#17

Each item on my list holds a special place in my heart.  Every item means something significant to me, but if I had to pick one that I wouldn't leave undone it would be #17 Start a mother/daughter tradition.  I love my daughter Grace very much.  She is my only daughter and we've had our struggles as she has grown up.  However, raising her and her brother is a job that Karl and I take very seriously.  When I made my list (seems like eons ago), I was trying to think of a way I could improve my relationship with Grace. Then the idea came to me to start a tradition...something for us to look forward to together and would be filled with positive memories.  Last year, Grace's 14th birthday, we started our tradition.  On Grace's birthday (or close to it), we would go stay at a hotel, eat yummy food, and go shopping together.  This year we did it again!  Grace is now 15 and we had a blast.  We stayed in Wichita, ate at Olive Garden (her favorite), and shopped at all her favorite places: Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works.  Best of all, we had a wonderful time being together! I am marking this one off my list, but will continue for as long as Gracie wants to go out with her mom.

It's a new year...gotta get in gear!

Hello all!  Yes, I'm finally getting back to posting!

It is well into 2013 and I am busily preparing for my August deadline.

However, it is not all about me (surprise, surprise!) Last weekend was such a special one for me and my sisters.  If you remember from my post on April 21, 2012 (go look!), I got my sisters to each make their own lists of things they want to accomplish.  Cheryl had put on her list to sing in public.  She asked all of us if we would sing with her in my church (www.gracegreatbend.org).  Of course we all said, YES!  Thanks to Jonathan- our worship pastor, a beautiful song, and lots of practicing we were able to sing the song for both services last Sunday!  It was such an unbelievable privilege to sing with my sisters, in my church AND help Cheryl mark something off of her list.  By the way, she sings beautifully!

As for my list, it is getting done slowly but surely  We have met with the travel agent several times and have our Italy trip all planned!  Yay!  We are going in July and will be staying 6 nights in Florence (which is in Tuscany) and 3 nights in Rome.  We will be going through a tour group and have so many wonderful adventures awaiting us like walking tours, wine tastings, cooking classes, visits to the sea and much more.  Karl and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary and I can't think of a better way to do it than this AND I can't think of a better person to do it with!  I am blessed with an amazing husband!  Obviously while I'm there I will be riding a moped, but as the date gets closer I am starting to freak out and think that I'll break a bone or something.  I've never ridden one before so why did I put it on my list for Italy, who knows?

Also, I've been sewing a quilt from blocks of old fabric that my Mom made our clothes from when I was growing up.  It is small and hideous, but precious to me.  Mom and my sisters have helped me figure out what many of the fabrics were from.  This will help me mark off #16 Make a quilt with the old fabric blocks.  I'll post a photo when it is completed.