Not kicking the bucket anytime soon ... my life list

Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -- Gandhiji

In my youth I was a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of girl. Spontaneity was just a part of whom I was; never thinking twice about throwing some clothes in a bag, jumping in the car and heading the beach. Now, however I find myself tempered by the passing years, realizing that I am one of many that needs a road map for my life. Precise directions reduce my stress level and put me at ease.

One way that I accomplish this tedious task is by creating lists. Lists allow me to prioritize things and focus on what has to be completed. Seeing things physically crossed off a list gives me satisfaction of a job completed.

I create lists for everything; grocery lists, bill lists, errand lists, house cleaning lists, etc. Recently I came across a list on a blog that I had not made yet. Baby Making Machine has a Baby Bucket List on her web site. Intrigued I did what I usually do ... I Googled "Bucket List" to see just what was out there.

I came across the movie The Bucket List. Having seen the movie so long ago I pulled the DVD off the shelf and watched again as Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman leapt from planes, drove race cars, ate caviar, and several other exciting things on their list before they "kick the bucket."Being the list maker that I am, I decided to create my own Bucket List, that I am renaming my Life List. I have listed 100 things that I wish to do during my lifetime. I will blog about the items on the list as I complete them. I challenge all of you to create a list of your own.

Here is my list:

1. Attend a ballet


2. Attend a spa


3. Attend an opera


4. Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans


5. Attend New Year’s Eve in Times Square


6. Bake bread from scratch


7. Build a Habitat for Humanity Home


8. Build a house


9. Buy a flat screen television


10. Buy a new SLR Digital camera


11. Buy a Sony E-Reader


12. Buy something from a store on Rodeo Drive


13. Complete my own quilt


14. Cook my way through an entire cookbook


15. Create a beautiful flower garden


16. Create a coffee table book of my own photography


17. Create a family cookbook


18. Create a family memory book


19. Create a gallery of photos that I took


20. Create a sanctuary for myself


21. Create a vision board


22. Decorate every room in my house for Christmas


23. Eat at Emeril’s in New Orleans


24. Eat at five different  5-star restaurants in my state


25. Eat Godiva chocolate


26. Enter a writing competition


27. Exercise for 20 minutes every day for an entire month


28. Find a sand dollar at the ocean


29. Find a starfish at the ocean


30. Finish a DIY project


31. Finish a New York Times crossword puzzle


32. Fly in an airplane


33. Get a manicure and a pedicure


34. Get a reading from a psychic


35. Get back to 140 lbs


36. Go crabbing


37. Go on a cruise


38. Go rock climbing


39. Go sailing


40. Go scuba diving


41. Go to the Kentucky Derby


42. Go white water rafting


43. Have a book published


44. Have an email pen pal


45. Invest in a stock


46. Keep a journal for 365 consecutive days


47. Learn a new skill


48. Learn a new word everyday for a month


49. Learn how to become more “green”


50. Learn sign language


51. Learn to knit


52. Learn to say “hello” in 25 different languages


53. Learn to speak a foreign language


54. Learn Yoga


55. Look for my family’s names on Parris Island


56. Make handmade crafts for family for Christmas


57. Make handmade pasta


58. Make homemade candles


59. Milk a cow


60. Own a piece of art


61. Own a swimming pool


62. Own lakefront property


63. Pay off debts


64. Pick and cut down a Christmas tree


65. Plant fruit trees


66. Read all of Shakespeare’s plays


67. Read all of the Harry Potter books


68. Renew my wedding vows


69. Rent a summer cottage for a month


70. Research my family tree


71. Ride in a hot air balloon


72. Ride in a limousine


73. See a live Alabama football game


74. Shop at the World’s Largest Yard Sale


75. Spend a night in an alleged haunted place


76. Spend a weekend in Nantucket


77. Spend an entire weekend with each of my kids individually


78. Stay in a cabin in the mountains


79. Swim with dolphins


80. Take a picture of one object in each of the 4 seasons


81. Take a surfing lesson


82. Take a train ride


83. Take an online course


84. Take cake decorating classes


85. Take my kids spelunking


86. Take pictures on a safari


87. Visit a vineyard


88. Visit Coney Island


89. Visit Mexico


90. Visit my family in Germany


91. Visit the Grand Canyon


92. Visit the Louvre in Paris


93. Visit Washington DC


94. Walk 5 miles


95. Watch a sunrise & sunset with my husband


96. Watch all of the Lord of the Rings movies


97. Watch every movie that Audrey Hepburn has ever made


98. Win a writing competition


99. Write a book


100. Write letters of forgiveness