My Bucket List

I think as we grow older and work over comes our lives we tend to forget about the things that we wanted as a child, and even the things we really want as adults. There are always the immediate wants, and even needs that we come upon on a daily basis. For instance we need more laundry detergent, we need more food in the refrigerator, and we always need more money. And while those things are needed we rarely stop and take just a few minutes to think about what we really want in life. Some things we really want are material things, and others are not. I don't see anything wrong with wanting a few material items. I love gadgets of all sorts, and I love lots of different things, but there has to be room for those other things that make us happy as well, and things that we can do to make others happy also. So, with our current state in this seemingly never ending nomadic lifestyle that Josh and I have become so accustomed to, I have had some time to really think about some of the things I want in life. Some are probably unachieveable, and my life will be no less special in the eyes of God and in the eyes of friends because I didn't finish everything on my list, but I'd at least like to check off a couple. At least just to enjoy life a little more and leave with the satisfaction that I did a few things. So here is my bucket list. At least the first 100 things on my bucket list.

These are in no particular order of importance, I just typed what came to me in the moment. I'm sure there will be a hundred more things I want to do tomorrow. You don't have to read through this whole post, because I know it's long, but if you do, I hope some of the things I have written stirs a desire within you to take the time and do the same. Take the time to realize your dreams. They are beautiful.

1. Make a difference in someone else’s life.
2. Spend a whole day lying in a field of grass with not a care in the world.
3. Celebrate a birthday at a wine bar in Italy.
4. Read all the books want to.
5. Own a villa in Provence, France or Tuscany, Italy.
6. Go on a wine tour through either of above countries, or Napa California.
7. Find a niche I can carve out for myself in photography.
8. Find a way to use my profession to give to families that are dealing with Parkinson’s.
9. Be the person God wants me to be.
10. Always do things that would make my dad proud.
11. Write a book.
12. Have children
13. Raise my children to be good and moral human beings.
14. Read my bible more.
15. Learn how to speak French and Italian
16. Laugh more.
17. Love more.
18. Spend an entire evening having conversation with friends and/or family over a delicious meal, and amazing wine.
19. Really take the time to learn yoga.
20. Dig deep and find who I am as a creative person and what I want.
21. Buy that 5D I’ve been drooling over.
22. See Paris again.
23. If I do go back, get up the guts to buy something wonderful to bring back.
24. Find peace within myself.
25. Never stop learning and gaining wisdom.
26. Become a better photographer.
27. Be a person that someone else looks up to.
28. Let my friends and family know how much they have touched my heart.
29. Have wonderful relationships with friends, family, and even my clients.
30. Continue to be me.
31. Continue to improve the person that I am becoming.
32. Go Sailing.
33. Be a good wife.
34. Be a good mother.
35. Go to Washington DC.
36. See a Van Gogh painting in person.
37. Learn to bake better!
38. Dress amazingly.
39. Try Sushi
40. Run barefoot
41. Build our dream home.
42. Take more bubble baths
43. See Michael Buble, Billy Joel, and Tom Petty in Concert.
44. Write more.
45. Visit the museums I’ve always wanted to see.
46. Learn to sing La Vie En Rose in French, not just English.
48. Be a master organizer.
49. Take a 103 day cruise with my husband.
50. Swim with dolphins.
51. Create something.
52. Take photos people fall in love with and can’t get enough of.
53. Donate a lot of money to causes I believe in.
54. Have breakfast in bed.
55. Go to a bed and breakfast and spend the entire day in bed if I want to.
56. Paint more.
57. Feel inspired.
58. Actually do the things at Christmas that I’ve always wanted to do.
59. Have a Great Love.
60. Leave behind words and a life to encourage others and inspire them.
61. Live well
62. Learn to dance.
63. Keep the friendships I have, but build new ones as well.
64. Learn to ski.
65. Spend a Christmas in the mountains with close family.
66. Find the time to scrapbook.
67. Spend the money on the wonderful creative things I see online.
68. Drive Faster.
69. Become a member of the SWAT team. (Childhood aspirations).
70. Help someone in a significant way. Not for me, but for them.
71. Listen to Christmas music with my kids, starting in February.
72. Be young at heart.
73. Keep the dreams I’ve always had, and never let go of them.
74. Achieve some of my childhood dreams just like Randy Pausch would want me to do.
75. Swim in the Mediterranean again. And next time don’t be so scared of running around topless.
76.Make memories.
77. Eat pizza on the sidewalk in the middle of the night in Rome again.
78. Go to Greece.
79. Name my kids weird names that no one else will like because they aren’t as cool as me.
80.Have a rose garden.
90. Spend time on the front porch with my coffee, my husband and my rocking chair.
91. Don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t be afraid to succeed.
92. Always tell my children how wonderful they are, and give them encouragement.
93. Buy the bathtub couch from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and put it in my office.
94. Design children’s clothes that are beautiful and simple.
95. Learn about people. Always listen with an open heart.
96. Always see the wonders that God has created and try not to take it for granted.
97. Be stronger.
98. See the winter and summer Olympics in person.
99. Continue to love the job that I am doing, and continue to be inspired by the people I work with.
100. Have a beautiful and full life.