Bucket List

It's the end of the world as we know it.....and I feel fine!

With talk of the Mayan Calendar and 12/21/12 looming before us...I can't help but think about things that I would like to do before my time on this earth is up.  You know...my bucket list.  :)  Dave and I have both been very blessed.  We have been able to cross several items off our lists already: trips to Europe, backpacking the Grand Canyon, our still magical and unbelievable trip to Maine, having Jeffery, etc.  But there are still things to see and do.

This doesn't mean that we're not content and satisfied.  It just means that we have things to hope for...and dream of and plan for in some cases!

Dave and I spent an evening the other night regaling each other with the contents of our individual lists.  Some are completely doable...others would take a small fortune and the flexibility of time (neither of which we have).  But...hey!  One can dream!

None of our items were anything that you could call "noble" except for maybe Dave's desire to see his 3rd Pope (he saw Pope John Paul II in Denver at a Youth Conference and he saw Pope Benedict in the Vatican).  But here is my ever-changing bucket list (in no particular order).  And, while all of these are just my bucket list items, they all involve Dave.  Just to be clear. :)

1. Travel to Prince Edward Island - site of the "Anne of Green Gables" book series.

2. Spend Christmas in Salzburg with my parents and sister.  (This is on my mother's bucket list as well)

3. Travel to England and do the following: a)  a Jane Austen Tour.  Tour some of the major cities and places she used in her novels.  b) attend an Arsenal game at the Emirates Stadium.  (soccer for those who aren't familiar and my English Premier League team! Go Gunners!!!!)  c) tour the estate used as both Totleigh Towers in the "Jeeves and Wooster" series and as Downton Abbey in the Masterpiece Theater series.  d) visit the moors where "Wuthering Heights" took place.  e) attend a taping of "Top Gear"  and f) visit the White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury.

4. Ride an elephant (my favorite animal) in its native habitat (so not at a zoo) like India or someplace similar.

5. Play with baby pandas at the Wolong Panda Reserve in China.

6. See the Northern Lights

7. Take a train ride through Alaska and a Cruise to the fjords of Norway.

8. Visit ancestral lands of Sweden, Germany, and...as my dad recently discovered...Switzlerand.

9. Take a carriage ride through Central Park in NYC during the autumn when all the leaves are in full color and again during the Christmas season....preferably with snow on the ground for that one!

10. Tour New England during peak color time in the autumn.

11. Learn how to dance like Ginger Rogers.  No kidding.  Have you ever watched her?  Especially in the arms of Fred Astaire....she seems to just float as if on a cloud.  :)

12. Ride in a hot air balloon

13. Fly first class!

14. Stay at this place....with these views of St. Lucia.

15. Visit Mackinac Island in Michigan.

16. Visit Ireland and Scotland and the Faroe Islands.

17. Hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail.

18. Visit Machu Picchu

19. Learn how to drive stick so I can drive (not own but just drive) some high performance and sporty cars like a Porche, an Aston Martin, a classic Triumph, a Bugatti,....but especially a Morgan!!!!

20. Attend Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich, Germany.

That is most of my bucket list.  Of course, the REAL list includes being a supportive and loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend; providing warmth and safety and health for my family; increasing my faith while quietly living the Gospel with family, friends, and strangers; etc.  But....it is still fun to dream about the other stuff as well!!!!  :)

What is on your bucket list?!