#83 Completed! ride a zip line

"Riding a zip line in Costa Rica was absolutely thrilling & beautiful"

How I did it: When I was in Costa Rica I saw a brochure for zip line tours. There was no question that this was something I would have to do! There were several rip line companies to choose from, but we went with the one the hotel recommended. It had 11 lines on it, which meant we were able to fly down 11 different cords all with varying lengths & heights. The first one was the scariest because you weren't sure if you were going to fall. But, by the end we were flying upside down!

Lessons & tips: Do your research to make sure you are using a reputable zip line company. This is definitely something you don't want to take any chances on. Using one that the hotel recommends is a wise idea.

What helped me cure a bit of my fear was to suspend myself in the air while I was still over the platform. This way I knew that I was secured properly and the cord could support my weight.

#2 Swim With Dolphins

I am well aware that this goal is trite in the Bucket List arena. Really, who doesn't want to swim with dolphins? Can anyone resist the charm of potentially being smooched by this enchanting creature? I suppose swimming with sharks would be a more adventurous feat, but I'm just not ready for that yet (maybe by the time my bucket list gets into the 200s).

You would think that a dolphin swim would be easily obtained, but no so. There is actually some planning and travel involved. I will be going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in April 2009 and then I think this goal will have a big check mark by it (if the Tequila doesn't take over first)!!

#89 Completed! Enter something in a food competition

"I am proud that I cooked something that I actually won was of those cheesy red ribbons for!"

How I did it: Most fairs have an exhibit portion where they accept entries for such things as baked items, vegetables, photography, art, etc. I checked with the local Harvest Fair to see what type of food submissions were available. I decided to enter the cookie category. I baked Italian pizzelle & lime meltaway cookies. I won 2nd & 4th place & $6!!

Lessons & tips:
Make sure you read the requirements carefully! There are usually strict deadlines on when you have to bring your entries to the judges.

#1 Learn Italian

It still amazes me that I don't know how to speak Italian considering my mother was born in Italy and is completely fluent. Even more so because I lived with my grandmother and she barely spoke English for all of her 35 years in America. I have often asked my mother why she did not teach her children how to speak her heritage language at an age when it would have been so much easier for us to learn. She responded that when the family arrived to the United States on "the boat" they wanted so desperately to just be American and fit in. At that time, she was embarassed by her Italian culture, especially when she started 1st grade without speaking a lick of English. She did not want me to go through what she thought would be the same sort of embarassement. Oh, if hindsight was 20/20. Now, my whole family yearns for the Italian tradition that we once had; large Sunday lunches, homemade Italian Easter bread, afternoon siestas & vino with every meal (oh, I still do that one!).

I feel that learning Italian will somehow bring me closer to my grandmother who has since passed on. A way of better understanding her life and traditions. Possibly a way of carrying on these customs to honor her memory. I know it sounds alittle kooky, but who really can say how the mind works?

So far, I have taken 1 year of college Italian courses, did online study, read numerous books and listened to those redundant audio cds. Though I believe all have helped, none have enabled me to have a fluent conversation. Next on the list will be Rosetta Stone (the standard in language cds) and then living in Italy for at least 3 months.

I will speak Italian someday, I just hope that at that time there will be someone to talk to.

The Bucket List

1. Learn Italian
2. Swim with dolphins
3. Live in Italy
4. Have a net worth of over $1 million
5. Own a custom home
6. Go on a Mediterranean cruise
7. Own investment Real Estate
8. Have a full day at a resort spa
9. Be 110lbs again
10. Tell dad I love him
11. Go to Seattle
12. Learn how to make paper
13. Play the stock market
14. Compete in an amateur ice skating competition
15. Go to Africa
16. Semi-Retire by the age of 50
17. Make a significant change in someone’s life
18. Take a pottery/ceramic class
19. Have my 15 minutes of fame
20. Go on a cruise
21. Think Positively
22. Be a member of the audience of a TV show
23. Be a food Critic for a day
24. Try Rapelling
25. Get a spa pedicure
26. Eat at 500 great restaurants
27. Do something with puppies
28. Try to Surf
29. Be published in anything
30. Teach a class
31. Hold a Monkey
32. Hold a Koala Bear
33. Throw a huge themed party
34. Stand under a Waterfall
35. Volunteer or Donate Something
36. Run at least a 5k race
37. Blow $150 on one 5-cent slot machine
38. Create a family tree
39. Ride an elephant
40. Go on a $500 clothes shopping spree in one day
41. Become a good listener
42. Be a mentor
43. Ride in a gondola in Venice
44. Go to the Smithsonian institute
45. Test drive a convertible high-end sportscar
46. Find my best friend from High School
47. Surprise Someone
48. Get a bikini wax
49. Attend a black-tie gala
50. Be a better wife
51. Be a game show contestant
52. Be debt Free
53. Have a closet only filled with clothes I love
54. Have a 2nd home in Sonoma County
55. Stay at a 5-star hotel
56. Cook every dish in one cookbook
57. Drink a bottle of trendy champagne – Krystal, Dom or Veuve
58. Drive any type of racing car
59. Earn 6 figures per year
60. Find a career I love
61. Go on a spontaneous road trip
62. Paint something at a ceramic place
63. Go to the Hamptons
64. Have a maid
65. Have enough money to stop worrying about it
66. Help my family
67. Inspire others
68. Invent something
69. Try archery
70. Learn to knit & crochet
71. Make something mosaic
72. Leave my friends & family with many happy memories together
73. Set a record in the Guinness book of world records
74. Visit every state in the US
75. See a Volcano
76. Stop worrying about things I have no control over!
77. Get a metal detector and use it.
78. See a Broadway play
79. See a pyramid
80. Win something really good.
81. Have a house where every room looks like a model home.
82. Eat at a great restaurant from at least 30 countries
83. Take a canopy (zip line) ride.
84. Try 50 new foods/food products
85. Take a trip with mom
86. Cook one recipe from every cookbook I own.
87. Write a book.
88. Take a makeup lesson
89. Enter something in a food competition
90. Indoor Skydiving
91. Skeet Shoot
92. Flip a house
93. Be on a reality tv show
94. Hike every trail at Point Reyes
95. Make my own perfume
96. Be blond for a day
97. dress in super sexy lingerie
98. Try a pole dancing class
99. Ride a Mechanical Bull
100. Indoor Rock climb
101. List 10 things I am grateful for every day for 1 month
102. Try Spelunking
103. Go to a Vodka Lounge
104. Have a bed/bedroom that you can lounge in
105. Read all the books in Oprah’s Book Club
106. Smoke a fine cigar
107. Meet someone famous
108. Own an award winning restaurant
109. Start a blog
110. Smoke a Hookah
111. Visit a Castle
112. Learn Latin dance & use it at a Latin club
113. Be able to do a Google search on my name & have at least 1 page of stuff on it!
114. Climb an indoor rock wall
115. Create my own recipe
116. Try to blow glass
117. Learn how to sing without breaking glass!
118. Take an improv class
119. Fly on a trapeze

About The List

I have always had a list. A shopping list. A to-do list. A need-to-repair list. A list of all my lists. And my favorite of them all, my bucket list. Having a bucket list is the perfect way to get myself motivated and experience all the pleasures in life. The following are things that I have completed on my list so far:

~Skeet Shoot
~Take a Pilates class
~Enter something in a food competition
~Take a Rip Line ride
~See a Volcano
~Have a 2nd home in Sonoma County
~Make a significant change in someones life
~Teach a class
~Stay at a 5-Star hotel
~Blow $150 on one 5-cent slot machine
~Get a spa pedicure
~Try to surf
~Tell my dad I love him
~Go on a $500 clothes shopping spree in one day
~Play the stock market
~Spend the day at a resort spa
~Own investment real estate
~Rappel

I still have 105 more (& counting) things on my bucket list! I hope this blog helps me keep a record of the progress of my goals and help those who want to create/experience their own list.