Bucket List #20 Run a 5K and #48 Plant a Vegetable Garden

Well, in the couple of months since I have posted I have done 2 things on my bucket list.

First, I successfully ran a 5K.    I ran almost the entire thing except for maybe a minute and a half where I was trying to drink water out of the little cup that they hand you.  I had to stop cause I was spilling it all over myself.  Imagine that.  I do that when I am standing still, so you can probably guess what that scene looked like.

Anyway, my 5K experience was great.   I actually repeated Phillipians 4:13 over and over again, and wouldn't you know it, I ran up the hills, and my left foot that usually drags a little when I run for a while felt light as air the entire time.

The feeling at the finish line was the best!  It a good feeling to see all of the people cheering and clapping.  I got a medal, and kept my number.  I didn't finish last, which in my opinion, was a big accomplishment, considering I never ran a long distance unless someone was chasing me.

I ran track in high school, mostly sprints though.   The thought of running for more than 5 minutes straight was very foreign to me.  I have to thank my un-named running coach for encouragement and for pushing me to do something I wasn't sure I could do.

I have found that as it has warmed up,  I do not like running.  I am more of a winter runner.  The heat and humidity are NOT for me.   I feel great that I ran this 5K, and maybe now I will train for a winter one, or maybe not.  :)  I am definitely not addicted to it.

My summer training is consisting of P90X which is an awesome workout- so maybe thats what I will do...run in the fall, winter and spring and do P90X in the summers........ahhh yes, thats an excellent idea.

#48 Plant a vegetable garden

This one is kind of self explanitory.  I have taken lots of pictures that I will post at some point.  Right now it is hard to see the vegetables amongst all of the weeds.  There is definitely a problem with Canadian thistle here, and clover.  I figured out how to kill the clover and thistle safely without chemical herbicides by making a mixture of Pickling vinegar and lemon juice and spraying it on.

I have planted the following things:

Spinach
Spring Lettuce
Beets
Radishes
Green Onion
Tomatoes (Cherry, Roma and Beefsteak)
Asparagus
Cilantro
Parsley
Basil

Radishes -they were super hot!

Two Varieties of Basil- So good in the Lasagna and Caprese Salad

Beets (Ok, well, just 1 beet....fresh ones are way better than pickled)

Cherry Tomatoes- perfect snacks!

My spring lettuce harvest- felt great to eat the fresh food knowing I had planted the seeds.

In June or July I plan to plant pumpkins to harvest in the fall which is one of my most favorite times of the year.

Would love to have a blackberry or raspberry bush and maybe next year I will try carrots.

Bucket List-Revised

Well, I have been inspired to make a bucket list.  I finally did see the movie and from what I understand it is a list of about 100 things you want to do before you kick the bucket....well I am 35 now, and although I have no clue when I will kick the bucket, I figured now was as good of a time as any to start working on that list, so heres the beginnings of it- in no particular order of course:

1) Go skydiving
2) Own a 69/70/71 Corvette Stingray
3) See the Grand Canyon and maybe go camping there
4) Visit Savanna Georgia
5) Go back to England and Germany
6) Visit Greece
7) Take a "behind the scenes" tour of Wrigley Field
8) See a Broadway play/musical - On Broadway
9) Go to Ecuador to see Alex, the Compassion International child I sponsor
10) Learn how to make Bordelaise sauce
11) Volunteer on Thanksgiving or Christmas at a soup kitchen
12) See the Cubs get into a World Series (i know- wishful thinking) (2016- AND THEY WON!)
13) Go to a Boston game in Boston with Andy Hunter
14) Get really good at playing my guitar
15) Get back into the habit of journaling
16) See Niagra Falls
17) Visit Capri Italy
18) Have a family (not 100% sure about kids of my own though)
19) Donate money to the University of Iowa for a Memorial for those people that have donated their bodies to science like my mom's dad, Grandpa Pete
20) Run a 5K (or maybe more than one)  (May 21, 2011)
21) Find and regularly attend a good church (Spring 2011)
22) Have a wine cellar in my basement
23) Scrapbook my pictures
24) Write my memories of my grandparents and parents
25) do the Kentucky bourbon trail (2016)
26) Landscape my back yard
27) Record some more songs with my Dad
28) Write some music for the lyrics I have written
29) Print and bind the poems I have written

30) Record a CD of music and sing at weddings, etc.
31) Go to Fiji or Tahiti
32) Go ice skating on a frozen pond
33) Swim with dolphins
34) Pick and eat blueberries right from the bushes
35) Listen to albums of dads and organize 45s
36) Visit Pittsburgh and retrace the steps I took during Grad School (November 2011)
37) Have another breakfast at Joe's Farm Grill in Arizona (google it- im telling ya, its amazing!)
38) Learn to speak Italian (In progress)
39) Go hiking in every state
40) Ride my bike regularly
41) Open a business focused on educating kids about science
42) Go to a black tie event and dance the evening away
43) Camp and sleep under the stars with a lover
44) Learn to play a classical piece on the piano
45) See Third Day in concert (August 10, 2011 @ Indiana State Fair)
46) Have the outside of my house decorated professionally for Christmas
47) Learn how to use my kiln for glass fusing
48) Plant a vegetable garden (Spring and Summer 2011)
49) Plant Lillies of the Valley and Daphodils at my home
50) Install and enjoy a backyard firepit
51) Buy and hang up a purple Cameroonean Juju hat in my home (cause they are cool looking- not cause of the Juju)
52) Crochet a blanket big enough to cover up with
53) Make Creme Brulee at home with one of those little blow torches
54) Attend someone else's Halloween Party (I have always hosted my own)
55) Donate to Beagle rescue
56) Go to the Grand Canyon
57) Get a pen pal and write old fashioned hand written letters
58) Drive on Route 66
59) Drink Champagne for no reason at all
60) Attend a Nebraska Cornhuskers Football game somewhere other than Memorial Stadium
61) Start sending REAL birthday cards again, instead of wishing people happy birthday on Facebook
62) Learn about energy healing
63) Learn to swim.
64) Learn CPR
65) Drive along the New England coast in the fall (with my Mother)
66) Take my Dad to Graceland
67) Read the entire Bible
68) Stay overnight in Sedona, AZ
69) Dye my hair blonde or get a really good blonde wig (just temporarily)
70) Use my flip video camera to record something historical
71) Walk on the beach with someone I love
72) Have a wine tasting party
73) Help a kid with a science fair project
74) Participate in a religious/spiritual fast (Easter 2011)
75) Build a habitat for humanity house or work on a project for the homeless.
76) Go to the Galapagos Islands to see what Darwin saw
77) Write to Francis Collins (Author of The Language of God) to thank him for writing his book.
78) Score the music I have written on manuscript paper
79) Sing in another band
80) Make my own sushi rolls at home
81) Go to the airport with a friend and a packed suitcase, and pick the destination spontaneously
82) Create a family tree for my mom's side of the family
83) Write about my childhood
84) Refinish my Dad's baby furniture
85) Go Roller Skating
86) Learn more about astronomy and the constellations (or at least spend more time looking at the stars)
87) Make fancy cupcakes
88) Learn to play one classical piece on the piano
89) Change the oil in my own vehicle
90) Throw a clay pot using a potters wheel
91) Photograph my mother's artwork and bind it into a book
92) Create a single playlist of my very favorite songs from iTunes
93) Make chocolate covered strawberries for myself
94) Buy fresh flowers for a friend for no reason
95) Ride on a fire truck
96) Ride a motorcycle (September 2011 with David)
97) Go to the Smithsonian museum
98) Go back to New Orleans for the food and jazz
99) Cut down my own Christmas Tree
100) Increase my flexibility

Well thats it.....subject to change of course.....let me know if any of you can help me out with any of these :)

Lastnight I had the strangest dream.....

Actuallly for two nights in a row, I have had really, really weird dreams.  It causes me to think about how fantastic the human brain is.  I will leave it up to one of my dear friends to do the interpreting.

Ok so the first dream was about me, in a flood, only I wasn't in the flood, I was on higher ground, watching the flood.  Then I saw a car being driven by one of our senior managers from work.  The car plunged off the bank and into the flood water.  I think this may have been triggered by the question on my Indiana State drivers test about what to do if your car plunges into water.  I am happy to say that this senior manager did exactly as he was supposed to do.  He rolled down the window, climbed out, and stood atop the car.  Good job!  He then put both of his arms in the air and flexed his biceps, and flashed a huge smile.   He wouldn't have been smiling if he would have turned around to see that his car was about to go over a waterfall.  Not sure if he went over the edge cause I woke up.  See, I told you it was weird.

On to last night's dream:

I was going on a trip.  I packed my suitcases and headed out with my friends (whom I couldn't identify at the beginning of the dream).  Fast forward to dropping the luggage at the base of a bus, and hopping on the bus.  The bus took us to a port where we got on a cruise ship off the coast of Texas (which by the way was strangely located near the city of Dallas by the hotel where we just had our service managers meeting).   Once on the boat, we were all shuffled into this ballroom where a speaker was making announcements regarding Danaher buying Beckman Coulter.  I looked around the room realized that I was surrounded by work colleagues and didn't see some of the key people that needed to know this information, so I took it on as my duty to head back to the Dallas hotel and find them to tell them and to get them to this meeting.  So off I went, got off the boat, got on a bus, found the hotel, found the people I was looking for and we headed back to the ship.   When we got back, there was no one in the meeting room, but there was a gathering outside of the glass doors on the far end of the room.  I opened the doors, and suddenly I was at a high school dance (prom I think) and was being greeted by my date (a most unlikely person that I never dated and barely talked to- who will remain nameless).  He smiled a huge grin and we proceeded to dance to Always by Bon Jovi.  If you are still reading this, it gets weirder....

The rest of the trip was a blur, I just remember leaving the ship and getting back on the bus.   I had to ring the bell to get off the bus at the correct stop (kinda like I did when I lived in Pittsburgh and rode the bus every day), but when it was time to get my luggage there was a HUGE problem.   There were THOUSANDS of suitcases, briefcases, purses- every color of the rainbow- all stacked neatly by type and color, and there were at least 3 football fields worth.  At this point I was exhausted, but I knew I had to go through at least the piles of black soft sided, and black hard sided suitcases to find mine.   I looked at each and every one carefully, but couldn't find mine.  I was in the middle of my search when my alarm went off.

I do not take prescription medication of any kind, and I was not under the influence of any drug or alcohol....soooo weird.  What's your strangest dream?

Up In The Air

I bet you have all been wondering where I have been for the last few days.  "She starts a blog, puts up one post, and then POOF gone..."  Or maybe you haven't missed me at all, who knows.  Anyway, I thought would write my second post from Up In The Air.  No, not the movie- although that movie had some creepy parallels to the life / career I lead, and I might be the only person in the world besides the Oscar committee that thought it was a good movie.  No, No....for today, I am, in fact, Up In The Air.  I am on Delta Flight 1860 from Miami to Atlanta, on the plane, using the WIFI connection to type my blog, respond to messages on Facebook, check work email, shop on Amazon.   How cool is that?  All while sitting in a crappy, uncomfortable fake leather seat bolted inside a metal tube that is flying through the air at 33,000 feet at ground speeds of around 600 miles per hour.   Did I mention I am having a fine gourmet meal consisting of water and some dry roasted peanuts?  MMMMM.  So satisfying at dinner time.

Bet our parents and grandparents would have never guessed this would have been possible.   

I am also thinking about New Years Resolutions.   It is January 5th and I haven't really started any of mine with any type of fervor, dedication and enthusiasm that I know I have in me.....where is it I wonder?   Its rather disappointing to my spunky spirited self to know that I have just been existing like a blob for the last few days.   Inspiration is no where to be found.   I have to admit that my list is rather boring.    Eat healthier, exercise, spend more time with friends and family, work more efficiently, manage my time better....blah, blah, blah, blah

Maybe I need a more exciting list- how about this:

Start training for a 5 K (already started this- and it encompasses some of my other boring resolutions....

Tell at least one person every day something I like/love or admire about them....

Have no regrets (which means not doing things I will regret)...(this might be a tough one for me.....lol)

Drink better wine

Take more risks in everything from work, to cooking, to love....

Simplify- sell or donate EVERYTHING I do not use on a regular basis.  Less is more....


Wow, after typing out those things, I actually feel better already.  Id like to type more, but the flight attendant is making us put away tray tables and pull our seat backs forward....getting ready to land in the ATL....

So to close, what are some of your non-traditional resolutions?  Inspire me :)