the 100 list

here is a fun list i found on lulu's blog. you bold the things you have done. what i enjoyed about doing it is the way it made me think of all the incredible opportunities i have had, what i need to add to my "bucket list", and those things i know for sure will never happen to me.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelos David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

published!

ok. here's a funny story for you. last may i wrote a piece titled "the abc's of packing" for a contest budget travel magazine was running. the prize was a free trip for two and i was motivated. well, i never heard anything back about the contest or my entry.

flash forward to last month when i received a budget travel magazine in the mail. i do not subscribe and i did not remember signing up but it was fun to get (i used many of the photos for journaling!) then, this past week, i received another issue. as i was looking through it on saturday, i happened to notice my name under one of the tips!

one of my packing tips, from my "abc's of packing", was picked out and published. i can't say it was my best tip or the one i would have chosen for the periodical to print, but i was thrilled to see my name, and see my words, on the page! and the writer of any tip printed in the magazine gets a free subscription for a year.

so i may never finish a novel or win a pulitzer but i can say i've been published. and i'm extremely grateful for that and the fact that, on any given day, i may be happily surprised.

seeking light

"well darkness has a hunger that's insatiable

and lightness has a call that's hard to hear"

the indigo girls, "closer to fine"

this plant requires turning around every couple of weeks because it grows towards the window. before i realize it, all the leaves and stems are leaning over on one side. so i turn it 180 degrees but it doesn't take it long to figure out where to move.

why is it so easy for this plant to find light and so difficult for us to gravitate towards that which is good and right? if only we would just shut our eyes and let ourselves be pulled by the forces of common sense and positive thinking. instead, it seems more enticing to move in the direction of negativity and unrest. so let us take on the wisdom of botany and do that which is best for us. let us find the sun and head that way, even when we get turned around again and again.

tangibility

i can't believe i have been neglecting this blog for so long! this is my "thought/idea blog" as opposed to my "project blog." the latter seems to be easier to write posts for although, i swear, my brain is running all day long. but thoughts are harder to pin down and describe. ideas are shameless flirts, dodging here and there. so my more tangible work gets the posts. however, i am making a commitment to step further into the gray area (*spooky music here*) and write a bit more on this blog, as well. balancing is never an easy task so i realize this is a challenge. don't give up on me yet...

gratitude feb. 13

if the only prayer you said in your whole life was "thank you",

that would suffice.

~ meister eckhart

here are a few things i am thankful for this week. kneipp's eucalyptus herbal bath. i have been battling a cold + all week and the best thing for it has been soaking in a hot bath with this. it clears up my head and relaxes my muscles. i swear by it.

peanut butter m and m's. in valentine's colors. they didn't last long.

this song just makes me happy.

and i'm thankful for my husband who has done more than his share around here this week with me being sick. that's better than a lovey valentine. :-)

so what are you thankful for this week?

most important

friday night we watched the movie crazy heart. in my opinion, it was a good movie (not great) and a bit sad. but one line from it stayed with me all weekend. when two characters meet, one asks the other, "what is the most important thing to know about you?" i love this question but could not answer it myself. so i keep pondering, searching for an answer, just in case i'm ever asked. how would you answer? i will let you know when i figure out my response.

tag! i'm it.

my friend and blog-guru, amie, tagged me today on her blog. this is the first time i've ever done one of these so i didn't know what to expect. some of the questions were easy to answer but a couple of them really stumped me! it was a challenge to reach inside for responses but a good exercise to strengthen how well i know myself. and it was fun to read about her.

Q1. If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing this? If you aren't anonymous, do you wish you started out anonymously so that you could be anonymous now?
i don’t blog anonymously but neither do i put all my info out there. i’m a private person but definitely have thoughts and ideas i want to share and the blog format is perfect for me.

Q2. Describe an incident that shows your inner stubborn side.
i only get my hair cut two or three times a year (even though it could certainly use it more often!) i hate appointments (of any kind!) because i always think i have better things to do with my time.

Q3. What do you really see when you look at yourself in the mirror?
sometimes i am surprised at how i look – in my mind, i still see myself as a 25 year old! but i am not distressed by my aging face. i am trying to take better care of myself these days, not because i want to look better or preserve myself, but rather because now i believe i deserve it.

Q4. What is your favorite summer cold drink?
san pellegrino sparkling water

Q5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
paint, look through magazines, daydream, read, nap, take a long bath, journal

Q6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life?
i want to travel to morocco. i want to finish organizing my craft room and my boxes of stuff out in the garage. i want to be able to meditate without my mind doing jumping jacks. And I want to grow old gracefully.

Q7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?
i was shy and had my head in a book a lot of time. i got ok grades but nothing spectacular in high school (much to my parents’ dismay) but did much better in college.

Q8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what would you see?
i went to Paris when i was in my twenties and saw the eiffel tower. it was a dream of mine since i was a young girl and to have it actually happen was an amazing feeling. i think it also set the tone for me as a traveler and goal-setter in the years that followed.

Q9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog, or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?
i share bits and pieces of myself but not everything. i don’t feel comfortable saying too much about the others in my life, since i'm not sure how they would feel about it.

Q10. If you had the choice to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

i would read. i don’t even really like talking on the phone (except to a few select people and when the timing is right) and usually don’t even know where my cell phone is!

so there it is - a bit more about me. :-) i'm now going to tag all of you. i would love to hear your answers to these questions. consider yourself "it".