My bucket list was actually the result of a dare from my husband a few years ago.  We had just begun our “awakening” and looked at where we were in life….unfulfilled.  We had accomplished so much by the age of 30, but the looming question was “what were we missing?”  So my husband challenged me to try and write down 100 things that I wanted to do before I die.  So instead of aimlessly daydreaming during an all day training session for work, I reflected on my life and what I wanted out of it.

I highly recommend everyone sit down and do this exercise, even if it’s just a top 20 list.  I didn’t know it at the time, but it allowed me to simultaneously answer “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?” by identifying the actions or characteristics of my ideal me.  Some of these things are a small stretch and some are outright crazy for me, but isn’t that the point?  Being mindful about your heart’s true desires will lead to a more satisfying life that you can live fully and enjoy daily.

Once I started this list, it just flowed!  One thing led to another and then I would jump to something wildly unexpected.  When I finally picked my head up at the end of training, I had exceeded my husband’s challenge of 100 things and had come up with eight bonus items.

To my amazement, I knocked off 7 in the first year!  It has slowed significantly after I achieved the 8th item (#32 have/raise a child – start a family).  We’ve been pretty focused on the little guy, but now it’s time to venture out again.  Being the best parent I can be means being the best person I can be.  Time to dust off the courage & head out on an adventure!

So here is my bucket list, in completely random order:

1. be an actor/extra in a movie
2. camp out on a beach
3. dive for treasure
4. fly on a trapeze
5. paint on canvas
6. model
7. watch Monte Carlo Rally in Monaco
8. drive a race car
9. coach a youth volleyball team
10. sit in natural hot springs
11. para sail
12. follow the entire Tour de France in person
13. watch the sun come up from the 1st place it touches US in AM
14. watch the sun go down from the last place it touches US in PM
15. learn archery or ski & shoot
16. visit Oktoberfest
17. run for public office
18. pick grapes & make wine
19. spend 3 months in Europe – volunteering at school or hospital (not vacationing)
20. walk/run the great wall of China
21. perform on stage
22. build a dream “green” home
23. photograph faces of people everywhere we go
24. volunteer for habitat for humanity
25. attend mass at the Vatican
26. learn to drive stick shift
27. pick grapes & make wine
28. climb Kilimanjaro
29. spend 1 week at a monastery
30. plant trees
31. volunteer for trail clean-up
32. have/raise a child – start a family
33. see Yankees/Red Sox game in NY
34. cross the Amazon
35. play in tennis league
36. learn to blow glass
37. ride a gondola in Venice
38. see Mont Saint-Michel
39. swim with dolphins
40. visit S. Africa & Ivory Coast
41. serve food to 3rd world countries – deliver food/aid
42. visit Amsterdam
43. slide down zip line in Costa Rica
44. go to Wimbleton
45. win a 5k for my age division
46. write a book that gets published
47. ride a motorcycle
48. take cooking classes
49. visit Bora Bora
50. ride in a helicopter
51. learn to play piano
52. knit a sweater
53. practice yoga, pilates, & ballet on a regular basis – teach to children close! I’ve owned a yoga studio, but never taught
54. visit Iceland
55. sea/Bay Kayaking
56. volunteer to help tutor math and science
57. rock climb red rock outside Las Vegas
58. golf in Ireland
59. kiss the Blarney Stone
60. learn to surf
61. lobby congress -  speak at a congressional hearing/committee mtg
62. manage a hotel/resort
63. memorize all state capitals
64. learn to make pottery
65. take a nutritional course
66. rent/buy a private island
67. run a B&B
68. see the joshua trees
69. learn German In Progress!
70. run a marathon
71. qualify for the Boston Marathon
72. run for public office
73. learn to sew
74. learn sign language
75. teach sign language
76. toss a coin in Trevi Fountain in Rome
77. own a horse ranch or racing horse
78. set up retail store that sells high quality goods for small foreign businesses
79. learn to speak Spanish
80. see a running of the bulls
81. foster young babies/children
82. own a vineyard
83. visit Easter Island
84. go to World Cup
85. run over 1800 mi in 1 year
86. build a school or teach in poverty area
87. cruise Alaska
88. try investing on my own
89. volunteer at childrens hospital
90. walk across hot coals
91. visit Jerusalem
92. write a childrens book
93. scuba dive in reef area (Australia)
94. visit New Zealand
95. own 3 homes/condo/time share – at least one “get away home”
96. start a business with Dan – real estate & flips
97. live in Europe for 3 months
98. see Shakespeare play in London
99. ski Switzerland
100. go to Kentucky Derby
101. see angel falls
102. house foreign student in need
103. coach “girls on the run” training group
104. learn to sail
105. set up healthy living “camp” for kids w/focus on fun
106. sponsor a deserving child’s immigration
107. teach a high school or college level course
108. go through 1,000 places to see before you die & do as many as possible!

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 25th, 2011 at 2:36 am and is filed under Chef, Mindfulness, Miscellaneous, Photographer, Reader, Runner, Traveler, Wife & Mom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.