Bucket List

A bucket list is a number of experiences or achievements a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime. It came from the term "kicked the bucket" referring to when someone has passed away. There are thousands of things that could be on one's bucket list and many times I do not realize when an experience is on mine until I am in the process of experiencing it or I plan to experience it. I have a pretty lengthy bucket list. I think my list is realistic and definitely achievable by the end of my lifetime (if I live for another 50 years give or take), I think that is a perk of being an occupational therapist. When writing goals for clients we make sure they are measurable and achievable. Why create a goal someone cannot reach? Instead create goals one can reach and then create new goals to push them further. I feel this way about my bucket list. As I accomplish tasks on my list, I add new ones. Below s my current list of things I wish to accomplish (in no particular order and I am sure as I get older or get to experience new things, I will realize it should have been added to this list a while ago) in the next 50 or so years.

• Visit all 50 states (over 1/2 way there)
• Travel Europe
• Go on a road trip with my best friend Courtney to Sheboygan, WI in a red convertible and a package of Depends
• Volunteer in a 3rd world country
• Adopt a child
• See the Northern Lights
• Visit Manitoba with dad and watch the polar bear migration
• Take my Grandma on a Caribbean cruise and see her swim with a dolphin
• Go on a Disney Cruise
• Throw a dart at a map and travel to wherever it lands or go on a road trip with no planned destination
• Put a lock on a love bridge
• Pay a stranger's tab at a restaurant
• Ride a gondola and eat gelato in Italy
• Go to the Olympics as a spectator
• Spend NYE in NYC
• Collect shot glasses from every continent (All I need is one more from Antarctica; if anyone knows anyone going!)
• Read every James Patterson book written (besides his Juvenile series)
• Attend the Kentucky Derby
• Go skydiving
• See a volcano 
• Go horseback riding
• Go to the World's Fair
• Stand in the 4 corners
• Go on a hot air balloon ride
• Go whale watching
• Visit an elephant sanctuary
• Visit with family in Luca, Italy
• Visit Ghiloni Cafe in Kirkintilloch Glasgow
• Attend Cherry Blossom Festival in DC
• Visit John Denver's Memorial in Aspen, CO
• See the Waterfire in Providence, RI
• Stay at Riverside Inn B&B in Warsaw, KY
• Visit Puget Sound in Washington
• Purchase every item on my Amazon wish list
• Attend a Seattle Seahawks game in Seattle
• Attend a New Orleans Saints game in NOLA
• Be debt free
• Watch the sunrise in one place and set in another
• Visit the Equator
• Stay at a resort in the Maldives
• Experience Christmas in NYC (done 2x!)
• Snorkel in the Caribbean ocean (found out it's one of my favorite things to do)
• Meet a dolphin
• Go on a cruise
• Be a Maid of Honor (2x completed)
• Graduate college
• Go to Disney World and visit all 4 kingdoms
• Go to NYC for World Autism Awareness Day and see the ESB lit blue
• Get a tattoo 

Spring Break Madness

Spring Break is almost over, :( but it has been fun so far! My plans for Spring Break took so many twists and turns seven days before it started but I am on Spring Break in a fabulous location and even though it was not my original plans I am still having fun. So here is my SB09 madness story. A week prior to flying out with the athletic team I am working with this spring, I found out that there was a huge communication mishap. So in the end I was unable to travel with them to Tucson, Arizona. With that said I was able to make plans since my dad had an extra free ticket he got a year ago when something happened with his flight. I got on-line and was able to secure a ticket to Orlando, Florida. I decided to go to Florida to visit a really good friend of mine in high school. She moved before our senior year and we have kept in touch since then. She lives in Vero Beach, Florida and it is so much fun. Vero Beach is a lot like my town at home (small and everyone basically knows everyone else). It's enjoyable because the weather is gorgeous (mid 70's to low 80's) and the beach and shopping is a lot of fun. My flight was not bad and I am able to not stress about anything. So far we have gone to the beach twice and to the local fair. My typical self would be fried by this point but since I have started to become smarter, I am only burnt in a few places and they are not painful. I do find it funny though that my friend who lives here is more burnt than me. I am having a excellent time and I am going to be really sad when I fly out on Friday to go home. Another fun thing about Vero is that the lake that runs through the town is home to many manatees and dolphins! I got to see one of each yesterday and we named then Harry the Manatee and Larry the dolphin. Hopefully today we are going to look for some more :)

Travel Report: Chicago

So this past weekend I had the opportunity to travel with my school's volleyball team to Chicago for a tournament. We left on a Thursday afternoon and ended up in Chicago around 11 at night by taking a bus. We stayed in Hyde Park which is probably 20 minutes away from downtown Chicago and it was a complete and different experience than I had had the first time I visited Chicago. We got very little time outside of the Volleyball Tournament, but what we saw of the University of Chicago was really fun. The first night we spent in Hyde Park and we ate at some amazing restaurants. We started our food exploration at Medici (sorry if spelling is incorrect) and it is similar to a local hang out. Had food that ranges from grilled cheese to salmon, the prices were very reasonable and I would recommend to anybody. THe second place we ate at for dinner was a pizza restaurant. They have amazing deepdish and the toppings are stuffed inside the pizza. It was absolutely delicious and we topped the night off with triple chocolate cake :) The final day we were in Chicago we had breakfast at a Greek Restaurant which was only a block from our hotel. They had a great American variety of breakfast food and they were very speedy with their service. We ate the Tavern at the Park in downtown Chicago that night for dinner and we were stuffed with how much food we received. We ordered two or three appetizers and each one was fabulous, I order their house cheeseburger with straw fries and they were amazing. The food in Chicago is top of the line and can either be super cheap or super expensive and we witnessed that all. Our hotel looked a little on the sketchy side of things until you are in the room, but then they seemed okay and very secure on the outside. The weather was not so great, it rained all weekend but that did not stop us from having a good time. Overall I give this trip 4 out of 5 stars.

Michigan!!!!

So this past weekend my cousin and I drove the 3 and 1/2 hours to Michigan to watch the Wolverines battle Miami of Ohio. This was my cousin's first real college football game and we had so much fun! We got up super early to get up there in time for the noon game and after the game we stayed in Ann Arbor and shopped at the local stores and ate there. We enjoyed our time and the weather was absolutely beautiful, the only downside to the whole days was the I got sunburnt in the face and ended up with some pretty sick tan lines due to my sun glasses!!! Hehe. I cannot wait to purchase tickets for next year I am super excited :)

Travel Report: Louisville

So today I got back from a vacation of visiting friends in Louisville, Kentucky. This is my first actual vacation in Kentucky. The drive from Ohio to Louisville was decent and enjoyable. My only problem was the bridge that connects the two states and I believe the fear of the bridge, I inherited from my mother. She absolutely hates bridges and this one made me nervous. It could have been the fact that this is the first time I have ever driven the bridge, I have ridden in a car over it but not driven it myself. Once in Louisville I realized how neat of a town it really is. It a large college town but it feels small when everyone knows everyone. Where my friends live were located in a perfect spot with hometown shops, ice cream shops, pizzerias, and bars. It was really nice and even though I felt I was in a quaint town I wasn't. We were able to walk to many places and the zoo was only 7 minutes away. I would definitely go back there and spend a vacation and it was really nice to get to relax. We were able to shop some at Mall at. St. Matthews and it was a lot of fun. There was all kinds of things to do even for youngsters and adults. So rating for Louisville: 5 stars :)