My Updated Bucket List

Last October I made a bucket list for myself. I included 50 things I wanted to do but over the past year only managed to check one thing off my list. Still I figure one thing a year would make me 77 when I finish. Could be doable. However over the past month I have managed to check off (or have plans to check off) a few more things. Here is my updated list:

My Bucket List


Complete:

4. Go to a Corn Maze (went for my 28^th birthday)

11. Have a spa day (went with my mom last summer)

23. Learn to ski (I’ve been to Spring Hill which isn’t quite what I meant but I’m going to count this as done)

In the Works:

1. Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride

(the plan is to do this for my 30^th birthday)

3. Go go-karting

(Kevin and I have plans to go in the next while)

9. Go to Europe

(Kevin and I are planning to go next July for 4 weeks!)

16. Fall in love

(Not to jinx things but I think I have found the one. Haven’t said it to him yet but definitely feel different about this guy.)

26. Go skiing (or snowboarding) on a real mountain

27. Learn to snowboard

45. Go on a road trip with friends

(Kevin is going to teach me to snowboard this winter and then we are going with some of his friends to Kicking Horse over New Years for a week.)

Still on the list (Down to 40):

2. Drive a quad

5. Learn to salsa dance

6. Take ballroom dancing lessons

7. Watch a sunrise

8. Travel to Australia

10. Go to the Maritimes

12. Go to an all-inclusive resort

13. Take an Alaskan Cruise

14. Travel somewhere by train

15. Go to Churchill

17. Get married

18. Have kids

19. Buy the perfect family dog

20. Build a new home

21. Own a country-style home with a wraparound deck

22. Buy a cottage by a lake

24. Learn to play guitar

25. Go on horse and carriage ride with a special someone

28. Go snowmobiling

29. Go cross-country skiing

30. Swim in the ocean

31. Go to Celebrations Dinner Theatre

32. Learn to speak French fluently

33. Learn sign language

34. Go to the Grand Ole Opry

35. Go to Vegas

36. See Garth Brooks in concert

37. Go snorkeling

38. Go scuba diving

39. Swim with dolphins

40. Go whale watching

41. Travel on a seaplane or other small plane

42. Go hiking in the rainforest

43. Go to Niagara Falls

44. See the Grand Canyon

46. See the Northern Lights

47. Make and sell crafts at a craft show

48. Learn to knit

49. Start a bakery

50. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I feel like I am truly blessed and can't believe just how lucky I have been.  My family is absolutely amazing and they constantly surprise me with their generosity and caring.

My family at Austin's baby shower last June

I have an amazing nephew who is healthy, beautiful and so much fun to spend time with. I am so lucky to have such a close relationship with my brother and his wife as well, which allows me to spend a lot of time with Austin as well.

Austin

I also met an amazing guy this summer. I am crazy about him and can't believe how lucky I am to have found him. He really is one of the most thoughtful and caring people I know. He is constantly looking out for me, fixing things around my home and in my car that I didn't even think of fixing and he is always making sure I'm happy, comfortable and warm.

Kevin and I

This past school year I also finally got the permanent teaching contract I had been waiting 5 years for. It feels so good to know I am guaranteed a job next year, and no longer will have to go through interviews and applying for jobs each year.

The reading corner in my classroom

Early Birthday Surprise

Last Wednesday I pulled into my garage to find a huge surprise. My parents had spent the day at my house painting and building shelves in my garage. I had no idea they had planned to do this or that they were even heading to my house that day, I had asked my dad a while ago if he would help me with a project. I wanted to put a shelf across the top of my garage to make some more storage space for myself. My dad responded by saying he would have time in the spring to help me out with this. I was satisfied and hadn't mentioned it since. 

Apparently my dad and mom discussed this and planned to build the shelf as a surprise for me for my birthday. Now of course my garage is quite old and really nothing fancy. There isn't a lot you can do to make it look "cute" or "nice" but it's a garage and does it's job just fine. My mom however had plans to fix it up as much as possible and attempt "cutsying it up" for me. She painted my cupboards, put shelf liner in it, painted little shelves under my windows that my dad put in, painted my countertop and even added some cute decals. Then she purchased a bunch of bins and went about organizing all of my gardening tools and such. While my mom did this my dad built the shelf I wanted and a few extra shelves around my garage as well as rigging up a spot I can slide my patio table into without having to bungee cord it up in the corner of my garage like I did last winter. It was a huge surprise and very appreciated. I really have the most amazing parents. 

Here is a before picture of the cabinet.

Here are a couple after pictures.