My 40th Birthday Weekend – I Went on a Ghost Hunt

by | Dec 23, 2017 | 45 before 45, 50 before 50, All About Erik, All About Me, All of Us, Bucket List, Personal, Redefining Perfect

I am a total ghost geek.

I watch every ghost hunting show that comes along. I don’t stick with them all, but I take a gander to see if I like it.

So one of my bucket list/45X45/50X50 items was a ghost hunt.

And I managed to swing my way into a ghost hunt right here in Indiana at the Randolph County Infirmary.

It was through a company, and though there were issues, it was a really cool way to spend my 40th birthday weekend.

There were 40 of us there (issue primo uno). There was instruction on the devices, and a session with their psychic.

Then we went on our hunt.

I willingly went alone into a very dark, creepy, boiler room to do a solo EVP recording where I got pushed on the shoulders (so cool).  Unfortunately my EVP session was contaminated by the people talking super loud in the next room, and the people walking heavily up and down the stairs.

I caught orbs in my pictures, and got to use EMF detectors and Spirit Boxes. It was awesome.

I’m not one of those people that got mopey and depressed over my 40th. Even through the rough year I was having…but this?

This was an awesome way to spend my birthday. I want to do it again. With less people, in a more notorious place.

Hubby is all in with me.

Next stop…Waverly Hills. Next year…hopefully.

 

 

 

50X50 – Counting Them Down

by | Dec 5, 2017 | 50 before 50, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Bucket List, Redefining Perfect

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

by | Aug 21, 2017 | 45 before 45, 50 before 50, All About Me, All of Us, Personal, Redefining Perfect, Story of Me

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?