Revisiting my 50X50 list

Revisiting my 50X50 list

For my 45th birthday, I thought it would be good to revisit this bucket list for a couple of reasons. 1 – I’m turning 50 in 5 years. 2 – I haven’t looked at it in a couple of years and it’s WAY outdated…several items are done that aren’t marked off, and others are no longer in my desires.

For this update I am keeping everything marked off that I’ve done…marking off the things I HAVE done that I hadn’t marked off yet, and adding new items to replace those I’m letting go of for now.

Color Code:

Newly Done (past 4 years)
Previously Done
New
Updated

50 X 50

  1. Take a real vacation. (Not to Buffalo, not w/ the kids) (Done 4/23/12)
  2. Take my kids to Disney World. (Done, thanks to Make-A-Wish 10/28/14)
  3. See my name in print (get published, e-zine, paper-zine). (Done 6/24/12 – Sirens Call June 2012 Issue)
  4. Have a novel published. (Done 2/8/13 – Changing Tracks & 17 more times [so far] by 7/18/15)
  5. Get my Dominion Falls books series in front of a producer.
  6. Go Parasailing
  7. Take a photography class (or 2 or 3)
  8. Perform on stage again (done 12/4/15 – Violet Grey in A Charlie Brown Christmas)
  9. See Colorado
  10. Speak on a panel at a conference.
  11. See Yellowstone
  12. Go skydiving.
  13. Go to a blogger’s conference. (done 4/23/12)
  14. Sit at a book signing. (done 3/17/2018)
  15. Get on a regular exercise regime & stay on it for more than 3 months.
  16. Hand craft (knit, sew) 1 item for ME for a change.  (DONE 4/1/12)
  17. Swim with dolphins.
  18. Get some crazy color in my hair (purple, blue, pink highlites/streaks) Done 2/11/12
  19. Finish writing THE novel, my white whale, Into A Mirror Darkly
  20. Sing Karaoke (Done 4/2018)
  21. Go to Key West for vacation.
  22. Move to Florida. (done 5/4/19)
  23. Pay off debt.
  24. Get a car that is less than 2 years old. (done 4/2/18)
  25. Run a 5kDone 9/22/12 
  26. Do something daring (paragliding, zipline, etc.) Done 7/14/12
  27. See the butterflies at the Indy Zoo (Done 3/19/13)
  28. Learn sign language.
  29. Go on a road trip with a girlfriend. (done 2018)
  30. Go on a hot air balloon ride
  31. See Cirque du Soleil (Done 6/27/2012)
  32. Ride a horse – not a trail horse. A real ride on a horse.
  33. Volunteer. (Done – w/ Make-A-Wish 2018)
  34. Stop drinking pop
  35. Visit Disneyland (Done 5/2/17)
  36. Get a tattoo (Done 7/16/11)
  37. Go on a Cruise [preferably Alaskan, but I’m not picky]
  38. Go on a wine tasting (Done 10/16/10)
  39. Get a Henna tattoo
  40. Take my husband to swim with sharks
  41. Fly first class
  42. Learn to paddle board.
  43. Have a real spa day (Done, thanks to Hubs, 7/2014)
  44. Visit a real haunted location (Done 7/16/16)
  45. Sell a photo
  46. Visit Salem, MA
  47. Visit both US based Disney Parks in one year. (done 2017)
  48. See a solar eclipse. (done 8/2/2017)
  49. Own and use a twin-lens reflex camera.
  50. Become a nurse. 

I think that’ll do for now.  I can’t wait to get back to tackling items on the list with intention now that the world is opening again….and in six months I’ll be free of school and making decent money. I’m thinking skydiving will be one of my graduation rewards because…WOOHOO!!!

Revisiting the Bucket List – My 50X50

Well, I haven’t taken a hard look at my 50X50 status since 2017…so I knew that it was time to remedy that.  I need to change some things, add in some completed items and well, just tidy that thing all the way up. It’s been neglected far too long.

So join me, won’t you?  Let’s see what awesomeness we have done, or I’m changing, or what is staying the same level of awesomeness.

Color Code:

Newly Done (past 2 years)
Previously Done
New
Updated

***********

50 X 50

  1. Take a real vacation. (Not to Buffalo, not w/ the kids) (Done 4/23/12)
  2. Take my kids to Disney World. (Done, thanks to Make-A-Wish 10/28/14, and again 10/28/15, and again on our own dime 12/22/2017)
  3. See my name in print (get published, e-zine, paper-zine). (Done 6/24/12 – Sirens Call June 2012 Issue)
  4. Have a novel published. (Done 2/8/13 – Changing Tracks & 17 more times [so far] by 7/18/15)
  5. Get my Dominion Falls books series in front of a producer.
  6. Complete every item on my Disney Bucket Lists (there are 3-easy, long-term, difficult).
  7. Take a photography class (or 2 or 3)
  8. Perform on stage again (done 12/4/15 – Violet Grey in A Charlie Brown Christmas)
  9. Learn to snorkel
  10. See Colorado
  11. See Yellowstone
  12. Go skydiving. [Yes, I feel slightly insane here]
  13. Go to a blogger’s conference. (done 4/23/12)
  14. Sit at a book signing. (Done March 2018 at a conference in Nashville!)
  15. Get on a regular exercise regime & stay on it for more than 3 months. (I did this in 2018, then fell off the wagon at peak of fitness. My goal is to achieve again in 2019 and stick with it)
  16. Hand craft (knit, sew) 1 item for ME for a change. (DONE 4/1/12)
  17. Watch the baby turtles hatching
  18. Get some crazy color in my hair (purple, blue, pink highlites/streaks) Done 2/11/12
  19. Read the Harry Potter series aloud to my girls. (2/3 of the way through by 8/4/17)
  20. Sing Karaoke (Done April 2018 – much to my embarrassment.)
  21. Get up close with the wolves & photograph them at Wolf Park. (odds of getting this done before I leave Indiana – now nil. Hoping there’s something similar in FL)
  22. Move to Florida.
  23. Pay off debt. (Making progress on this for the first time ever. Maybe it will get done!)
  24. Get a car that is less than 2 years old (Done March 2018 –  my 2017 Honda Accord Sport)
  25. Run a 5k. Done 9/22/12
  26. Do something daring (paragliding, zipline, etc.) Done 7/14/12
  27. See the butterflies at the Indy Zoo (Done 3/19/13)
  28. Learn sign language.
  29. Go on a road trip with a girlfriend (Done Sept. 2018)
  30. Go on a hot air balloon ride
  31. See Cirque du Soleil (Done 6/27/2012)
  32. Ride a horse – not a trail horse. A real ride on a horse.
  33. Volunteer (Done 12/2017 at Give Kids the World & in 2018 – Became a Make A Wish Volunteer)
  34. Stop drinking pop. (Again – sooo close in 2018. I would still have the occasional, but I was almost there and crashed. Attempting again now)
  35. Visit Disneyland (Done 5/2/17)
  36. Get a tattoo (Done 7/16/11)
  37. Go on a Cruise [preferably Alaskan, but I’m not picky]
  38. Go on a wine tasting (Done 10/16/10)
  39. Get a Henna tattoo
  40. Take my husband to swim with sharks
  41. Fly first class
  42. Read at least 50 of the PBS 100 Great American Reads. (In total I have read 26/50 at this point)
  43. Have a real spa day (Done, thanks to Hubs, 7/2014)
  44. Visit a real haunted location (Done 7/16/16)
  45. Sell a photo
  46. Visit Salem, MA
  47. Visit both US based Disney Parks in one year. (Done in 2017 – Disneyland in May, Disney World in Sept & Dec)
  48. See a solar eclipse. (Done 8/21/2017)
  49. Renew vows with a hand-fasting ceremony on the beach.
  50. Go through a sweat lodge ceremony.
  51. BONUS: Run a full Disney Marathon (I couldn’t find anything to remove, and this is a goal for me for sure)

It’s so much fun to update the list…and to learn that in the past 2 years I have crossed of EIGHT items! That’s craziness in the best of ways!!

As you can see, many of my updates have to do with our upcoming move to Florida, more geared to things I can/will do down there.  I’ve also removed a few items that hadn’t seen progress in a few years, and updated some that needed to be changed (the books site I mentioned previous was different, and the PBS list seemed more attainable).

So what’s on your bucket list?  Do you make an effort to knock out at least one a year? 

I do…and sometimes I don’t even realize I’d done more until I look at my list!

Once you start, it’s hard to stop tackling those dreams!!

50X50 – Counting Them Down

A few months ago I updated my former 45X45 list to become a 50X50 list. Since I first put it out, I’ve managed to check at least one more item off the list, and we’re about to head into a new year, so I thought it would be a good time to go over it, make sure I still want to do them all, and set myself a goal to finish at least one, if not two next year…

Think I can do it? Some of these are kinda crazy-pants.

 

50 X 50

  1. Take a real vacation. (Not to Buffalo, not w/ the kids) (Done 4/23/12)
  2. Take my kids to Disney World. (Done, thanks to Make-A-Wish 10/28/14)
  3. See my name in print (get published, e-zine, paper-zine). (Done 6/24/12 – Sirens Call June 2012 Issue)
  4. Have a novel published. (Done 2/8/13 – Changing Tracks & 17 more times [so far] by 7/18/15)
  5. Get my Dominion Falls books series in front of a producer.
  6. Completely tidy my house.
  7. Take a photography class (or 2 or 3)
  8. Perform on stage again (done 12/4/15 – Violet Grey in A Charlie Brown Christmas)
  9. See Colorado
  10. Camp – really camp in the Rockies
  11. See Yellowstone
  12. Go skydiving. [Yes, I feel slightly insane here]
  13. Go to a blogger’s conference. (done 4/23/12)
  14. Sit at a book signing/author’s conference.
  15. Get on a regular exercise regime & stay on it for more than 3 months.
  16. Hand craft (knit, sew) 1 item for ME for a change.  (DONE 4/1/12)
  17. Make a complete Victorian era dress from skin out. (underthings complete, corset 50% complete)
  18. Get some crazy color in my hair (purple, blue, pink highlites/streaks) Done 2/11/12
  19. Read the Harry Potter series aloud to my girls. (2/3 of the way through by 8/4/17)
  20. Sing Karaoke 
  21. Get up close with the wolves & photograph them at Wolf Park.
  22. Move to Florida.
  23. Pay off debt.
  24. Get a car that is less than 2 years old
  25. Run a 5k. Done 9/22/12 
  26. Do something daring (paragliding, zipline, etc.) Done 7/14/12
  27. See the butterflies at the Indy Zoo (Done 3/19/13)
  28. Learn sign language.
  29. Go on a road trip with a girlfriend
  30. Go on a hot air balloon ride
  31. See Cirque du Soleil (Done 6/27/2012)
  32. Ride a horse – not a trail horse. A real ride on a horse.
  33. Volunteer
  34. Stop drinking pop
  35. Visit Disneyland (Done 5/2/17)
  36. Get a tattoo (Done 7/16/11)
  37. Go on a Cruise [preferably Alaskan, but I’m not picky]
  38. Go on a wine tasting (Done 10/16/10)
  39. Get a Henna tattoo
  40. Take my husband to swim with sharks
  41. Fly first class
  42. Read at least 50 of the 100 Greatest Novels (I am saying the book can be from either of the 2 lists there. In total I have read 8/50 at this point)
  43. Have a real spa day (Done, thanks to Hubs, 7/2014)
  44. Visit a real haunted location (Done 7/16/16)
  45. Sell a photo
  46. Visit Salem, MA
  47. Visit both US based Disney Parks in one year. (Done 9/4/17)
  48. See a solar eclipse. (Done 8/21/17)
  49. Have one of my pictures on the Indianapolis Zoo website.
  50. Go through a sweat lodge ceremony.

 

The newly done items for this year were:  Visit both US based Disney Parks in one year, and See a Solar Eclipse.  Both were done in the past couple of months, and were awesome.

Now for 2018, I want to knock off at least two of them.  One I know for sure I’ll be doing is to be sitting at a book signing/author’s conference.  This is happening in March for sure, and I’m super excited.  I’m hoping, maybe, that I can do the first class flight, too…if I can bump up my ticket to the conference I do every year.

Oooh, maybe I can find a place to do a sweat lodge. That would be awesome.  What do you think?  Which should I choose?  Or is there something you think I need to add to the list that isn’t there? I’m super open to suggestions. I like having a mix of “way out there” hopes, and some more do-able.  I’d even be willing to bump it up to a higher number to add items in.  😀

50X50 – The Updated Bucket List

Some years ago I created a 45X45 list of 45 things I wanted to do before I turned 45.  Over the past six(ish?) years I’ve revised it several times…adding things and taking others away.

This year, I turned 41. I’m creeping up on 45 faster than I like to think about, mainly because I didn’t feel I had enough of the items on the list done. Of course, there were a few things I wanted to add as well.

So I sat down with my list, looked it over. Once again I did some trimming, cut a few items, then I added some more.

I’m super excited to tackle the list. There are at least two items that I get to cross off within this next month, which will be really cool. The solar eclipse is a given, and I’m going to where there will be 98.99% coverage, so bonus! Then, at the end of the month hubby and I are heading to Disney World (which we will return to in December…woot)…which, since I went to Disneyland in May, will put me in both US based parks within a one year span!

After that…there’s a lot of options ahead of me. Take a look at my new list:

 

50 X 50

  1. Take a real vacation. (Not to Buffalo, not w/ the kids) (Done 4/23/12)
  2. Take my kids to Disney World. (Done, thanks to Make-A-Wish 10/28/14)
  3. See my name in print (get published, e-zine, paper-zine). (Done 6/24/12 – Sirens Call June 2012 Issue)
  4. Have a novel published. (Done 2/8/13 – Changing Tracks & 17 more times [so far] by 7/18/15)
  5. Get my Dominion Falls books series in front of a producer.
  6. Completely tidy my house [w/reference to KonMari]. (Started w/  my clothes. Lots left to do)
  7. Take a photography class (or 2 or 3)
  8. Perform on stage again (done 12/4/15 – Violet Grey in A Charlie Brown Christmas)
  9. See Colorado
  10. Camp – really camp in the Rockies
  11. See Yellowstone
  12. Go skydiving. [Yes, I feel slightly insane here]
  13. Go to a blogger’s conference. (done 4/23/12)
  14. Sit at a book signing.
  15. Get on a regular exercise regime & stay on it for more than 3 months.
  16. Hand craft (knit, sew) 1 item for ME for a change.  (DONE 4/1/12)
  17. Make a complete Victorian era dress from skin out. (underthings complete, corset 50% complete)
  18. Get some crazy color in my hair (purple, blue, pink highlites/streaks) Done 2/11/12
  19. Read the Harry Potter series aloud to my girls. (2/3 of the way through by 8/4/17)
  20. Sing Karaoke 
  21. Get up close with the wolves & photograph them at Wolf Park.
  22. Move to Florida.
  23. Pay off debt.
  24. Get a car that is less than 2 years old
  25. Run a 5k. Done 9/22/12 
  26. Do something daring (paragliding, zipline, etc.) Done 7/14/12
  27. See the butterflies at the Indy Zoo (Done 3/19/13)
  28. Learn sign language.
  29. Go on a road trip with a girlfriend
  30. Go on a hot air balloon ride
  31. See Cirque du Soleil (Done 6/27/2012)
  32. Ride a horse – not a trail horse. A real ride on a horse.
  33. Volunteer
  34. Stop drinking pop
  35. Visit Disneyland (Done 5/2/17)
  36. Get a tattoo (Done 7/16/11)
  37. Go on a Cruise [preferably Alaskan, but I’m not picky]
  38. Go on a wine tasting (Done 10/16/10)
  39. Get a Henna tattoo
  40. Take my husband to swim with sharks
  41. Fly first class
  42. Read at least 50 of the 100 Greatest Novels (I am saying the book can be from either of the 2 lists there. In total I have read 8/50 at this point)
  43. Have a real spa day (Done, thanks to Hubs, 7/2014)
  44. Visit a real haunted location (Done 7/16/16)
  45. Sell a photo
  46. Visit Salem, MA
  47. Visit both US based Disney Parks in one year.
  48. See a solar eclipse.
  49. Have one of my pictures on the Indianapolis Zoo website.
  50. Go through a sweat lodge ceremony.

 

So, I have to pick one to do next.  Which would you choose?