The Best Inspiration Ever!!!

I want to share with you the best inspiration I have ever had, courtesy of my 4 year old.

Yesterday among the presents my daughter got was this little Tinkerbell wand. Of all the things she got this is by far her favorite--she has been carrying it around ever since.

This morning my mom and I took her to the store with us while we shopped the day after Christmas sales. Of course you know the lines were long and the store was crowded!

What did my 4 year old INSIST on doing but walking up to EVERY single person in the ENTIRE store and say:

"Excuse me," (yes she has fantastic manners...lol) "can you hold out your hand."

As soon as they did, she would touch them with the magic wand and say "I'm giving you fairy dust so that all your dreams come true."

I never saw so many people smile.


Thanks Audrey! :)

Things to Do for the Holidays

Although I will be with my family starting tomorrow, I'm still not quite in the holiday spirit...so I thought I'd kick off the Christmas countdown with a couple of short lists--you can add any of these to your big list.

Must See Christmas movies: Nothing is better than being curled up with a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate or some popcorn and watching any (or all) of these Christmas classics.

• Miracle on 34th Street
• It's a Wonderful Life (this is one of my favorites)
• A Christmas Story (you'll shoot your eye out...lol)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (classic cartoon version is still the best)
• Polar Express (this is a great film if you've never seen it)
• Frosty the Snowman
• Elf (Will Ferrell, syrup and spaghetti...enough said)
• Home Alone (still a classic)
• The Muppets Christmas Carol
  
  and of course... Charlie Brown Christmas

Great Christmas tunes: I'll be putting together a cd tonight to listen to on my 7 hour drive

• The Christmas Song- Mel Torme OR Nat King Cole
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town- The Jackson 5
• Santa Baby- Joan Ellen Javits
• This Christmas- Donnie Hathaway (still the best version ever!!)
• Let it Snow- Boys II Men and Brian McKnight version
• Silent Night- Temptations
• Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer- Temptation
• The Chipmunk Christmas Song- Alvin and the Chipmunks
• All I want for Christmas- Mariah Carey version

and the one that always makes me think of Christmas:

Carol of the Bells- the Trans Siberian Orchestra version rocks!

Things to do to put you right in the holiday mood: Continue or start a holiday tradition this year

• Bake a batch of cookies*
• Make Christmas cards*
• Read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' on Christmas Eve*
• Drive (or walk) around your neighborhood and look at Christmas lights OR find a local drive through light display (we do this every year. our neighbors put up great Christmas displays)
• Have a Christmas movie fest (see above)
• Make homemade decorations
• Get your picture taken with Santa
• Go for a train or sleigh ride (a lot of parks have Christmas train rides set up and things like that)

and lest we forget the reason for the season:

Go to church (most have Xmas eve programs and services. Even if you are not particularly religious it's a good opportunity to connect with people)

If you're wondering why I starred 3 items--see below

Ideas for giving back: Please let's not forget there are those who are going through hard times this season. And it's not too late to volunteer. Here are some small ways to help

• Volunteer to serve Chirstmas dinner at your local food bank/homeless shelter
• Donate blankets/food/supplies to your local charity or Salvation army
• Bake cookies*--and give a batch to an elderly neighbor or friend who may be alone for the holidays
• Make Christmas cards*--and take them to the local retirement home or veteran's hospital
• Read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' on Christmas Eve*--or any other book at a local children's hospital (call and see if they need volunteers or have a program set up)
• Become a "Secret Santa"-- if you happen to know someone in need, do something small. For instance if you have a co worker/neighbor who is struggling, buy a $25 gift card to the local grocery store or gas station and give it to them anonymously.

Ok, I'm feeling a little more Christmas spirit already! Be safe and enjoy your holidays!

Re-Focus

I want to be encouraged. I do. But it is just so easy to let every day stuff drag you down and make you forget what you want to do and why.

Like today...

I am NOT having a good day.

It happens. I accept it. I'll get through it and I'll re-focus and get it together tomorrow or the day after. I'm trying to stay positive. I am. Ugh! It's not easy.

Days like today are the days when I look at my list and think to myself: is all of this really realistic? Sigh.

The answer is of course it is. I just have to find a way to make it work. So I took a look at a few of my goals and decided to break them down as to what I would need to do to make them feasible.

For most if not all of the BIG trips, I need to renew my passport and save up a whole bunch of money (unless by some miracle I hit the lottery), so I'm not going to concentrate on those so much today. Some of the smaller ones are "moment of opportunity" goals, so nothing we can specifically do about those either.

For some of the smaller ones, like the cooking class and the skydiving (well those aren't small, but smaller...) I'm going to spend some time today researching where I can do these things and when.

And since I am in the research mood, if anyone has anything or their lists (or even not on the list) and they don't know where to start, let me know. Post it in the comments section and I'll see what I can do.

I promise I will be my usual bright and cheery self by tomorrow. :)

Get on the Double Dutch Bus

In case anyone was wondering why I have "learn to double dutch" on my list....

Yesterday they held the annual Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo in NYC. Here's a short video courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.



Check out the kid doing the flares in the ropes at 0:29. Amazing

Christmas Wishlist

Dear Santa,

Yes, I AM writing a letter to Santa. (Bet you didn't know Santa reads blogs huh?)

It's almost the end of the year! And as hard as it is to believe, only 3 more weeks or so until Christmas. I realize this must be an extremely busy time for you, so I'll make this fairly brief.

I'm not exactly feeling scroogie, but I'm not particularly in the holiday spirit this year--although I should at least get an 'E' for effort. It's been an unusual year...I guess that's the right word for it. Lots of highs and lows, but all in all it truly could be a lot worse so I will not complain.

I like to think I've been (mostly) on my best behavior (with the exception of that one thing with my neighbor's little rat dog, but to be fair that wasn't MY fault...I'm just kidding!). In any case I have a few items on my personal Chistmas list that I'd like to throw out there. Normally I wouldn't ask because I realize you have other priorities (you know, small children and such), however I figure there is no harm in asking just this once since the worst that could happen is that I don't get a response...

1. I would like a new camera so that I can share photos of my list adventures

2. I would like to be able to finish off my graduate degree next year. So um, if you could get one of your little elves to finance that for me, that'd be just peachy.

3. I want to knock one of the BIG trips off my list next year. I'm sure you can understand needing a well deserved vacation

4. And since I'm asking, if you'd like to contribute to knocking something else off the list (like the Jaguar or the EWF tickets), I'm really not going to complain...lol.

I'm being very tongue in cheek with this letter of course, but in all seriousness before things get too hectic I do want to say that I'm really looking forward to next year and anxious to see what I and everyone can accomplish. Here's to a happy holiday season, accomplishing the things you want and living your life list.

But, um, Santa--for real, if you want to hook me up with anything off my list, like I said I won't complain. Drey and I will leave you out some of the good cookies--you know the ones from the DoubleTree...lol

Oh btw...the doubletree cookies really are the BEST. You can order them online and send tins as Christmas gifts. So if you're looking for some ideas... here's the link https://www.christiecookies.com/StoreFront/IAFDispatcher

Dreaming BIG! How to Jumpstart Your List

I started this blog a few weeks ago.

Since then, I've passed the link on to friends and I've managed to get a few of them motivated to make their own lists.

Now, understand I've had this list for a long time and in really looking at it I've actually accomplished a lot, but I also recognize that I'm not done. If I am going to make this work then I have to take the lead and set the example. If I can encourage one person to set a goal and do something they've never thought they could then I've done something...even if that one person is me...lol...I hate to admit but I'm a bit of a procrastinator.

So yesterday a friend of mine came to me and said basically "I'm ready to be happy, regardless of finances and outside distractions." I told her that in all honesty, starting this blog has been a huge help, because I'm a writer who hasn't really been writing and hence using my list as a topic, I have to actually do something on the list in order to have something to write about...voila, instant motivation!

That being said, today I am going to throw out some ideas for things to add to your list, or if you don't have one some good places to start...

List building sites:

• My 50 http://www.my50.com/ : This is where I keep my list. It's my personal favorite because it's simple and has tons of starter ideas, plus you can set goal dates


• reaperlist.com


• your100things.com


• 43things.com (this is actually a good one too, you can leave comments and kudos on other peoples' list)

Some starter ideas:

Goals fall into several categories, they can be as small or as big as you can make them. However it may work better to make them specific or to take a smaller goal and apply it to a larger goal. For example, you may set a goal of losing weight...why not set a goal to lose weight so you can run a marathon. Here is an article from yesterday about a guy who lost 140 pounds in a year so that he could join the Marines http://news.aol.com/article/man-loses-140-pounds-to-join-marines/251580

Think about what you've always wanted to do, no matter how far fetched or silly and write it down...don't worry if you can't come up with too much immediately (keep in mind I've added more items to my list as recently as a week ago). Try these as starting point...

Learn a new language (French, Spanish, Japanese or even sign language)

Learn a new sport (a few years back I learned to box and fence)

Learn a new skill (cooking, quilting, scrapbooking, painting)

Do something adventurous (rock climbing, white water rafting, skydive, ride a monster roller coaster)

Educational goals (finish college, go back and get a Master's or a PhD, get a professional certificate, graduate with a certain GPA, pass the bar exam)

Travel... now this is my favorite category. Many of my personal goals are travel related because I love to see new places, I love culture and I learned very early in life that the world is a far bigger (and sometimes smaller) place than we imagine. Any and every opportunity I can get to go somewhere new I take it. This one is also kind of personal to me because growing up I knew people who'd never been outside of their own state, much less had never stepped out of the city limits--but that's a story for another day.

Now you can make a list of places that are of interest to you... but here is my ultimate dream trip... enjoy. Until next time happy list making...

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/486.html

Photo courtesy of National Geographic

A Real Act of Kindness--Encouragement for Our Troops!

About a week or so ago I added the "acts of kindness" goal to my list. I've been thinking about it for a few days and I realized that the point of the goal is not just to do it, but to make a difference--even if it's just a small one.

That being said, act number one will be to send something-- a letter, card, care package to the Any Soldier program.

Here is the site: http://www.anysoldier.com/

Now, I don't have any family or friend currently in the military at the moment, but I decided to do this for a few reasons that reach way beyond completing the list:

1. It's a great program!

2. I know times are hard for a lot of people, including me...but I can forego a cup of morning coffee to send a letter. If you read the request lists, most of what these guys are asking for are very basic items--toothpaste, deordorant, Kool-Aid (yes, Kool-Aid!).

3. No matter what your personal stance is on the situation is, these folks have chosen to go over and serve. They're gone for long stretches at a time. A lot of them are young! Some of them don't have much, if any, family. And, the holidays are a rough time anyway--more so when you can't be home.

That being said, check out the site. I encourage anyone who reads this to consider sending a letter or a care package. The information for how and what to send is all updated...also there are some helpful sponser links (for instance, Kroger grocery stores will take donations for care packages and Dunkin Donuts will take requests to send coffee).

Oh, and if you happen to just be passing by my blog, feel free to pass on the program link.

#12- Visit the Washington Monument

The curse is Broken. Item #12 is DONE. Yahoo!

So I finally got a chance to go to the top of the Washington Monument. I ordered a ticket late yesterday afternoon on a whim and decided I would try to make it happen---again! If you read my previous blog about this, you know that something ALWAYS seems to happen whenever I try to go.

I get there this morning...no marathons or other events today. I even managed to find a decent parking space (another miracle!). The only thing that seemed to go wrong today was the ridiculously bitter windy conditions...I mean enough to literally knock you down (looking at the weather they're estimating 30-40 miles an hour gusts all day...sheesh!). And I had to sit outside for about 40 minutes while they took earlier tour groups up. But at least I was there ticket in hand this time. Plus I had time to walk around and snap a few outside picture with my camera phone...

After a little wait and a little small talk with some of the tourists I got to go up. The ride up was crowded...ack! The woman next to me was clausterphobic but managed to hold it together until the ride was over. All I could say when I got out on the observation deck is wow!

Now some facts...the Monument is 555 feet high, which is small in comparison to say Sears Tower or the Empire State building etc etc. However, the views are fantastic. From the top you can see the bridges crisscrossing the Potomac into Maryland and Virginia. You get spectacular views of landmark DC buildings and the entire Mall including the Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool and Vietnam Wall. I was actually impressed. I mean it's one thing to live in a city your whole life and another to see it from a completely new point of view--especially DC. Unless you've been here, a lot of people don't realize we don't have any major tall buildings here--actually the Monument IS the largest building here because there is a law preventing any building within DC from being taller than the Monument. So, I have a new appreciation now for the bird's eye view. Plus if you really think about it, a lot of people--no matter where they live don't really take the time to play tourist in their own city (unless you get the out of town relatives that visit).

In any case, I spent about a half hour walking around looking at each of the viewing windows. My cam phone took some surprisingly great pics. Afterwards on the way down the National Park Service Guide had another nice little surprise I hadn't known about. The windows in the elevator are frosted so you can't see anything as you go up, but on the way down, at two points the windows go clear and the elevator slows so you can see stones and wall plates donated from different states and organizations (like masons and fraternal orders)...well you learn something new everyday!

So, now I can finally say I've done the Washington Monument!

Wait listed for the goal of a lifetime

So, I put my name on the wait list to get tickets to the Inauguration. Don't know if it will happen, but seeing as I live so close I plan to go either way (tickets just let you get inside the perimeter fence). Actually I wouldn't care if I had to stand way far back (which is probably the case if I manage to get tickets). I just want to be there. I never imagined in my lifetime that we would come so far. Well just keep the fingers crossed...

Item #120- Pay it forward

I was down again yesterday. I started off ok, because I was excited about the elections. I got up super early to vote, but then the daily soap opera that is my family brought the mood crashing down faster than the stock market.

It's a hard road to try and live your life dreams when not everyone wants to take that road with you. Too many back seat drivers. Too many people who think they know which way you should go. It just gets frustrating sometimes. I'm the person in the car screaming "are we there yet?"

So this morning, I was still just slightly annoyed and I read One Minute Writer (if you haven't seen it, it's on blogs of note. Kudos!). Today's writing prompt dealt with the kindness of strangers. I felt compelled to write about an incident when I was 7 months pregnant and helped by 5 strangers when my car broke down. And it got me thinking...

My life list is about doing things for me. Not in the selfish sense, but in that I do things I've always wanted to do and in turn meet and maybe inspire others. So, today I added item #120 to the list and that is "pay it forward." I am going to do 5 acts of kindness for complete strangers.

I haven't decided what or when I am going to do these things. I suppose when the opportunity comes I will just know to do the right thing. We'll just have to see what happens...

That ain't on the list...

Like I care... I'm gonna do it anyway.

In honor of morbidity and all things apparently unholy, and seeing as how it's Halloween and all, I am going to walk the infamous Exorcist steps.

Yep that's right, the very ones from the movie, which happen to be located just off the campus of Georgetown University.

The curiously morbid facination with "lists"

Google the phrase "Things to do before you die"

Who knew so many people had "death lists" or "bucket lists"

What is the morbid preoccupation?

My list is not that. It is meant to be a celebration of achievements. I do the things on the list because I believe life is an adventure waiting to happen. I do it for personal reasons and some I do for very public reasons. I want to have great stories to tell to my daughter. I want to look back at my life and say I never regretted anything because I took the chance to do something. Almost everything on the list gives me an opportunity to not only experience what the world has to offer, but what I have to offer back.

I started my list a long time ago after reading something as a teenager that inspired me--that was a reprint of John Goddard's "to do" list. His list is online: http://www.johngoddard.info/life_list.htm

This isn't about dying. This about living!

The water bottle saga

Item #113- Fill an entire water bottle with change and use the money to complete another goal on the list

Step number one...where to find a giant water bottle?

Answer: Hijack it.

I came across an empty bottle. Not that anyone is going to miss an empty water bottle and besides it's for a good cause.

Now my poor lonely, empty, 5 gallon bottle (damn that's gonna be a lot of change) is drying as we speak.



Ah, water bottle...we've only just begun.

So exactly how much change can you fit in a 5 gallon bottle?

Good question. The answer is, I don't know, hence why the goal is on the list in the first place. I'm imagining that depending on what denomination of change goes in it could potentially be several hundred dollars. I think a low estimate would be, say, if it were all pennies, somewhere in the $500 range. I'm not a math person so I will not even attempt to figure the equation out in my head. I don't even know how long it will take to fill the whole thing. I figure if I stick with it and don't break down in a moment of desperation and cash it in, it'll take roughly a year to fill it completely to the top.

I will post pictures periodically updating the progress of filling the bottle. Until then...

Two New Goals

The crappy, rainy weather has kept me limited to work and indoor activities (where it's nice and warm) and solitary confinement has lead me to add yet two more items to the list that never seems to end.

Item #115- Take a photo with a famous celebrity. Haven't decided who yet. Will leave this open ended. I guess this means I need a new camera or a better phone.

Item#116- Do something unique to each season. I'm open to suggestions on this one. Here are some of my ideas so far:

Fall: a train ride to see fall foliage, apple picking

Winter: sleigh ride, Christmas tree lighting, caroling (although I can't sing...yikes!)

Spring: flower show, cherry blossom festival, Easter egg hunt

Summer: camp out, go to a baseball game

The idea here is do 4 unique seasonal things over the course of one year. It may not happen that way, but that's the aim.

Suggestions?

Places to Eat Before You Die

Perfect timing...

Saw this article on yahoo today.

10 Places to Eat Before you Die


http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-23566978;_ylc=X3oDMTFsbWswZmk1BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDMjcxOTQ4MQRwb3MDNgRzZWMDZnAtcHVsc2UEc2xrAzEwLjIyLjA4

The Curse of Item #12

If I was in the mood I would almost laugh about this...

So a week or two ago I set myself up to knock item #12 off my list, which is to go to the top of the Washington Monument. This is the third time this year I have tried to do this.

First of all tickets are notoriously hard to get on the day of... and you have to sort of plan around tourist season because in the summer time you can forget about it. So, I ordered a ticket a few weeks back on the National Park Service website thinking, this should be perfect...

I got up really early this morning, gave myself about an extra 30 min leeway to find a parking space downtown and go get my ticket from will call. I even had time to stop for coffee at 7-11. I'd been looking forward to this all week. So what could go wrong?

Wouldn't you know...I picked the day of the Marine Corp Marathon. Now if you're wondering what this has to do with my adventure, the MCM route runs right through downtown and past...the Washington Monument. It also means that every street for 3-4 blocks in each direction surrounding the Monument is blocked by one of DC's finest, who are also redirecting traffic down one way streets, which also not only jacks up traffic, but makes it all but impossible to find a parking space.

After driving around in circles for nearly 45 mins, I missed my will call time, got extremely frustrated and drove home where I now sit on my computer telling you this story about my disastrous morning. And as I said if I were in the mood I would almost laugh because it would seem that I am just not meant to knock what should be one of the easiest goals off my list.

Ah well, if at first you don't succeed skydiving is not for you (I shouldn't say that, skydiving is on my list...lol).

Inspiration #1

This is my new theme song!

Living my life

Today started out normal enough, but lately I have been in a funk. I'm looking around me at all the people I know. I'm looking at what they are currently doing, what they've accomplished, where they're headed...

My birthday just passed and I'm nowhere close to where I'd like to be. That's not to say I haven't done anything at all, but it just seems small in the grand scheme of things I'd like to do.

Yesterday I took a look at my "life list"...don't look at me crazy, obviously I'm not the only one who has one otherwise you wouldn't be reading this...lol...and I decided instead of being worried about things that in some instances I can neither change or control, I'm going to do something everyday towards accomplishing one of the goals on my list. And to up the ante, I'm going to use this blog to talk about my list and to encourage everyone who reads this to accomplish their goals too.

It doesn't matter how mundane or silly or out of reach it seems--you want to ride an elephant (I did!), or just learn something new... you have a goal you want to accomplish, let's talk about it. I'll post up articles, advice and tips.

The rules are simple...build a life list (if you don't already have one or you're looking to add to it, there's a great website called my50.com that let's you build it online and has great suggestions!). It doesn't matter if your list has 3 things or 300 things...this is the forum that will make it happen.

To see my entire list click the link

http://www.my50.com/yourlistro.php?list=76bab02d3ef877df