I have been daydreaming often lately of winning the lottery. I check the lotto numbers on the lotto web site and see that I have won. I scream and jump up and down and shout to my husband, "We won. We finally won!". It doesn't stop there though. I think about the steps we will take to claim our prize. We debate taking the lump sum or taking the payments. We choose the lump sum of course. I have even gone as far as to look at real estate on line so I can get an idea of what would be available. I dream about the endless possibilities of the wonderful things we could do with all of that money.
And then I plummet back down to earth and face reality. The chance of us actually purchasing a ticket with those winning numbers is, well, not great. But that's okay. There are plenty of things that I would like to do that wouldn't require large amounts of money.
There have been so many times that I have thought of something that would be exciting and fun for me or just something I really want to achieve and I always say to myself, "I should do that sometime". Problem is, that sometime never seems to come. I just keep putting it off and putting it off. Always thinking that there will be plenty of time for it. But what if there isn't? Why not do it now? Why wait until I'm old and not able to enjoy some of these things as much as I would now?
I've decided to make a list. My bucket list. Yes, like the movie. Some of the things on my list are easy enough to achieve while others require a little more effort. Some of them may never happen. But there are many that I have complete control of and could accomplish simply by taking the time to do them. Ah, but finding the time is not so easy.
So I've got my list and now I need to make the time. If it means getting up a little earlier or maybe skipping some internet time...I have to start crossing things off of my list. I know the incredible feeling I will get when this happens. I should prioritize. I should put the things that require nothing but my sheer will at the top. Things like eating better and exercising more. It is my wish to get back into the shape I was a few years ago when I was kick boxing. I have the gloves, I have the bag, and I'm sure I could find some "Rocky" music. I'll get it from Barb. Everyday I say "tomorrow" but the next day comes and goes. I'm running out of time! NOW is the time to start!
I challenge you all to make your Bucket List, if you haven't already. Start crossing them off! I can't wait to actually do some of the things I've been thinking about for years! I'll even share some of mine with you in hopes that you will share in return. Maybe I'll get more ideas for my list.
I challenge you all to make your Bucket List, if you haven't already. Start crossing them off! I can't wait to actually do some of the things I've been thinking about for years! I'll even share some of mine with you in hopes that you will share in return. Maybe I'll get more ideas for my list.
My Bucket List:
(in no particular order)
(in no particular order)
Go to Italy
Paint a picture (one that I could be proud of and actually hang on my wall)
Get a photo published
Write a novel
Learn to jitterbug with my husband
Work with clay (with a pottery wheel and everything. A ghost can even come and help me!)
Ride in a hot air balloon
Learn to cook an amazing Italian gravy (Beth, any chance Steve's mom could pass on some advice?)
Cruise Alaska
Get in shape
Paint a picture (one that I could be proud of and actually hang on my wall)
Get a photo published
Write a novel
Learn to jitterbug with my husband
Work with clay (with a pottery wheel and everything. A ghost can even come and help me!)
Ride in a hot air balloon
Learn to cook an amazing Italian gravy (Beth, any chance Steve's mom could pass on some advice?)
Cruise Alaska
Get in shape
Get a tattoo
Okay, you get the idea! I think tomorrow I'll start on that first one. Ha. Right after we win the lottery. Like I tell my husband, "Somebody has to win it. Why shouldn't it be us?"
Have an incredible day!
SIS Bren
SIS Bren
Posts
22 comments:
Sup?
I haven't seen this movie but plan to now. Curious as to why they call it a Bucket List???
I, too, have so many things I would like to do and most of them require little to no money! Bren, you have inspired me to make my list and check them off as I go.
Here are a few I would like to share:
1) Go for a walk everyday (just to be outside, even when it's cold)
2) Ride a moped to work and whip my helmet off and let my hair cascade down my back.
3)Get a dog (priority)
4) Go to Alaska
5) Get multiple books published (even one would be awesome)
6) Ride a bull! (mechanical or real...I care not)
7) Spend more time with family!
8) live in the south!!!! (big time dream!)
9) take a cooking class
10) sing Christmas carols with my siblings!
So that's my short list. i hope everyone shares theirs as well!
Bren,
Please let me go with you for that tattoo! maybe in December? Start figuring out what you want it to be!
SIS Barb
Barb,
Okay, Jerry and I are cracking up about the moped. Why don't you let him teach you to ride the Big Dog? You would look way more cool on it!
Are you getting a tattoo also, or do you just want to see me in pain?
Maybe we could see Alaska together! As a matter of fact, if you would cross "live in the south" off of your list by moving to Florida, we could take the cooking class, walk every day, sing Christmas carols, and you could get a dog and keep it at our house!
Love you!
SIS Bren
Bren,
You tell Jerry I already know how to ride that Big Dog. I just need him to help me hold it up! But isn't it much funnier picturing me on a Vespa? LOL!
No tattoo for me. It's all you, girl!
I love your solution to most of my list. Trust me, I am soooo working on that. I've been trying to finagle that for the last 8-9 years. Eventually I will win this war, one way or another! Wish me luck!
SIS Barb
I love your list brenda. I'm glad that you want to get back into shape. I'm proud of you, and may i ask why alaska isn't chilly? What kind of tattoo i can't wait to tell my mom about that one lets see what she says about that!
P.S.(It is a Vanilla Bean flavored blended cream not a vanilla thingy.)
Your neice,
(:Sydney:)
My bucket list:
Visit Glastonbury,England and Stonehenge
Buy a house in the country
Grow a vegetable garden
Live a happy life full of laughter
Sydney,
Your mom needs to get a tattoo. Try to talk her into it.
i doubt she ever would but it would be cool.
Your niece,
(:Sydney:)
Love your list, Bren!
Things on my list would be:
1. Visit England for a month or two so I can see the stuff I want to see.
2. Ride the Orient Express.
3. Fire a gun. Purely for research purposes.
4. Buy a cabin in the mountains on a lake.
5. See the pyramids in Egypt.
6. Visit Petra in Jordan.
7. Publish at least one book.
8. Drop a bunch of weight.
9. Own a Triple Crown winner thoroughbred.
10. Meet all my online friends.
Hi Sydney,
Alaska is chilly, but can you imagine seeing the whales and the sea lions and polar bears and the kodiaks? Not to mention the beautiful scenery. Of course we wouldn't go in the middle of winter.
As for your Vanilla Bean flavored cream, you will be having one soon and maybe letting Tanner give it a try.
See you soon,
SIS (aunt Brenda)
BJ,
Stonehenge would be way cool. And wouldn't you love to have a vegetable garden like Grandma & Grandpa Childers had? I remember picking the cucumbers and corn and beans and so on....
I especially like your last item... "Live a happy life full of laughter". I think that should be number one on everybody's list.
Love you and see you soon,
SIS Bren
Hi Tori,
Love YOUR list! I understand about wanting to visit England for a month. That's how long I figure I would need in Italy and surrounding areas.
I've shot a gun. A rifle when I was younger, and then while on the road singing, I met a police officer who took me to a shooting range and I fired a pistol. It was amazing. A lot of power! But I would never want to own a gun and would hope to never have to shoot one in defense.
I know Barb will be thrilled about your desire to own a triple crown thoroughbred! I'm thrilled too. Maybe we could all pool our money and see what we come with. I think the horse that won the Kentucky Derby this year, Mine That Bird, was bought for something like $9500. You just never know.
Thanks so much for sharing!
SIS Bren
BJ,
Great list! I would like a house in the country too. I want it to be an older looking, but nice, farmhouse that's completed renovated and open on the inside. Not asking for much, am I?
SIS Barb
Hi Tori,
Big waves to you!
I would love to meet my online friends and that includes you!
I don't know if you, Bren and I can pool our money for a Thoroughbred but how about we start the Triple Crown Donkey races. I think we could come up with enough money for a donkey! LOL
SIS Barb
Syd,
Hey, girl! Vanilla Thingy sounds so much more sophisticated!
SIS Barb
I don't have a Bucket List per se, but I do have "Things To Do Before I'm Forty" (which gives me plenty of time). I'm happy to say I've crossed some things off (in no particular order), like
1) see ballet in Bolshoi Theater (Moscow),
2) be able to read Shakespeare, Cervantes, Tolstoy, and Goethe in their native languages,
3) visit castles in Germany,
4) get my works published, from articles to poetry to short stories,
5) make a difference in somebody's life, etc.
I still have many more to go...
Olga,
I am impressed and inspired. I would love to visit castles all over the world. Or...maybe live in one! Even better!
Sounds like you're a world traveler. To me, that's very brave of you and I am indeed envious! (I hate flying)
SIS Barb
Barb, thanks! I do love travelling - I even like flying. I like to learn language, history, traditions of places where I go. One day, I want to see pyramids - either Mayan or Egyptian, or both. I even wear a pendant with my name written in Egyptian hyrogliphs - maybe one day I'll even learn to read them!
Hi Olga,
You are taking the bull by the horns and truly living life! Few do.
Go, Olga, go!
SIS Barb
Olga,
I too am impressed to say the least. You have achieved much before turning 40! I love the idea of the castles. I have found web sites where you can rent a castle for a week in Italy and even make your own olive oil. I would love that.
It seems as though you will accomplish so much in your life!
SIS Bren
First of all, Barb -- if you haven't inferred already, it's called a "bucket list" because it's all the things you want to do before you "kick the BUCKET."
Then, Bren -- I can TOTALLY relate to those lottery daydreams! They don't happen often; but whne they do, they're in my head like a dog with a bone .. maddening! Of course, then I remember what I read by some mathematics professor who stated that the chances of winning the lottery are only VERY slightly higher in actually buying a ticket than if you DON'T buy a ticket;)!
I've made a NUMBER of "to-do" lists, including bucket lists, over the years. I have found that the only ones that ever come to fruition are the ones in which I assign each item a firm deadline -- that's the only reason I even MADE it back down to FL in my "escape" from my MidWest Ruins. I don't have a current bucket list (though one would think that having turned 50 would be a great time to whip one out!) as most of my "to do's" involve such mundane things as how to not have my electricity cut off, how to feed my dog or put gas in my car. I will say, though, that like yourself and most of those who've commented, SOMEWHERE on my list would be a few foreign countries I'd love to spend some time wandering around, probably starting with Italy (check out this link, one of my Internet Heroes -- http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/). Then, of course, there's that Ultimate Ego Item -- do or create something that would be around 50 years from now as an entry in an encyclopedia or even a "One Hit Wonders" show on VH-1 ... even a blurb on Wikipedia would do ... or, at least, that would allow my name to be brought up in conversation ... FONDLY;)!
Richard,
"Fondly" is the key word there! 50, huh? Where have the years gone?
SIS Barb
TOO quickly they pass, Barb. But, I TRY to stay hopeful --- I said "50 years from now," with a hope that I might be able to covertly overHEAR such a conversation;)!
Post a Comment