Bucket List

There has been much talk of bucket lists for a long time.  Older people will write lists of things they want to do before they die, and then they rush out to accomplish everything before they finish.

I remember writing my bucket list when I was in college.  I've been searching for it for a while now.  I'm not sure exactly where it is, but I know it's in the house.  Once I finish it, I will run the list.  It was the list that only a 20 year old can make.  I believe one of those items was to eat frozen dinners in a house filled with mahogany furniture and a Cadillac sitting out front.  Weird, right?

Meantime, I'm preparing for the 14th anniversary of my 36th birthday this year.  I've begun thinking of all of the amazing things I've done in the past, and what I want to accomplish in the future.

So, until I can find that list from college, here is the grown up version of my Bucket List, 2015 edition.  I will continue to add to it as time goes on.  Because you're just not finished until you finish!

1) Visit all 50 states.
2) Go to New Zealand, hike the Hobbit Trail.  (Lord of the Rings sites)
3) Visit Mile 0 in Key West.
4) Travel up the Pacific Coast Highway in a Convertible.
5) Hike most of the Appalachian Trail.  (This will have to be done in parts, as I'm older now, and not sure I could through hike it again!)
6) Visit Australia
7) Ireland
8) Scotland
9) Great Britain- especially London.
10) Go to Prince Edward Island, visit Avonlea (home of Anne of Green Gables)
11) Meet a President of the United States. 
12) Start a successful business.
13) Become a successful author.
14) Pay off our house.

Those are the top 12.  
I'm going to add them to the side bar of my blog.  As I make progress towards them, I'll keep track of them.

It's actually been kind of daunting.  For so long, my focus has been on growing my kids that I've kind of forgotten about my own goals and dreams.  You notice I don't have many personal goals on my list?  I need to work on that some more.  I really need to think that through a little bit more.  The trip parts are great, but I really need to set some personal goals that are not related to my kids!  Believe it or not, I've been working on the personal goals part for a while.  Earning my Master's Degree was a life long goal, and I achieved that two years ago.  Last year, I finally wrote "that book".  Kind of a great feeling to get it written.  I received a national award for Excellence in Volunteerism last year.  I feel like I'm at a crossroads right now... I know I've got another act, I just need to define what that act is going to look like.

So, have you put together a bucket list?  What items do you have on your list?