#55 Completed! Stay at a 5-Star Hotel

"Such luxury that it will be hard to return to Motel 6"

How I did it:

This goal would have not been completed unless my former company footed the bill! When I was working for Fox Restaurant Concepts we won an award for one of the best Fast Casual restaurants in the Nation. I was invited to Chicago to accept the award and was booked to stay at The Peninsula.

I figured they would have some fine chocolate on my pillow, but they brought in a whole complimentary fruit & cheese platter. The bed was the most comfortable I ever slept in! I still have the slippers! I took them!

#54 Completed! Have a second home in Sonoma County

"Happy to be able to spend time in both the town I grew up in and Arizona!"

How I did it: When I moved to Arizona, I missed my family and friends so much that I decided to add "have a second home in my hometown" to my bucket list. There was an old inoperative school in my town that was built in 1927 and then turned into 10 lofts. I fell in love with the loft lifestyle so we decided to purchase the corner unit. Our intention was to turn this home into a vacation rental and we did so for six weeks until there was an opportunity for us to move back to California. We now have made the Sonoma County home our primary residence and the Arizona home our secondary!

#24 Completed! Try to Rappel

"Rappelling was thrilling, but would have been better if I could have gone down faster!""

How I did it:
I always try to do "something I will remember" for my birthday. This year I selected rappelling from my bucket list. It was a 3 hour drive from my home to the Moaning Caverns in Murphys, CA. We all were required to watch a short video that gave you the dos & don'ts of rappelling, followed by a 2 minute lesson. That's it! The instructor hooked us into our harnesses and led us to the rope into the cave. The first portion of the rappell was like rock climbing backwords. The second part was more of a free fall drop (the fun part). Next time, I would opt for something faster and longer!

After the rappel, we went to eat in the town of Murphys, CA. The quaint downtown offered several nice restaurants & 20+ wine tasting rooms. Couldn't have ended the day any better!

#12 Learn How to Make Paper

Since as far back as I can remember, I have been fascinated with paper. It doesn't matter if it is wrapping, printing or tissue paper, there is just something appealing about the array of colors, weights & textures. I have been known to peruse the paper store aisles and leave with goodies I have no intentional use for. Doesn't everyone do that? My closet houses at least 10 rolls of wrapping paper, 8 different colors of tissue paper, 12 types of printing paper & 15 sorts of craft paper. You never know what you might need!

I can't resist the after-Christmas 50% off wrapping paper sales. This is a great time to stock up on the "necessities" for next year. My question is: How many rolls of Xmas wrap is enough? I would have to buy approximately 300 gifts a year to use all that I have!

I have a secret fantasy (get your mind out of the gutter...not that kind of fantasy!) of sitting in my future craft room at home and creating handmade gift tags for a living, maybe I'll add that to my bucket list. My shelves would be lined with the worlds largest assortment of papers; parchment, linen, recycled, embossed...oh my! I suppose it fits that I would want to create my own paper. That way I can be the controller of my own paper destiny.

#101 List 10 things I am grateful for every day for 1 month

I once read somewhere that you can change a habit in 21 days. I am a slow learner so I figured I'd give myself 30 days to train my brain to concentrate on all of the grateful things in my life. I definitely believe that being grateful is the key to happiness. I only have two more days to go and have been extremely surprised when reading back my past entries. I figured much of my gratitude would be related to money somehow and there are a few passages that are just that, but for the most part what makes me happy is not monetary.


7 Spending time with friends, family and loved ones seems to be the top on my list. Even when it was as simple as having coffee with my mother (who would have thought?). The next trend on my gratitude list was related to feeling a sense of accomplishment; completing all my errands, painting the house, finishing taxes, etc. I am definitely a "list" person, so I feel grateful when I can complete anything off my list. The rest of the entries seem to be pretty random; making good deep fried gorgonzola balls, feeling skinny, happy hours, poker night, spin class, etc.

All said and done, making a point of being grateful has definitely helped my happiness in the last month. One of my entries actually read "I love my life!" I can't remember the last time I felt that.

#57 Drink a Bottle of Trendy Champagne

MTV Cribs may have influenced the "drink a bottle of trendy champagne" goal. Damn that MTV for making me want what all the rich people have! I am envious after watching all these famous folks open their perfect refrigerators, with their beverages all lined up in a flawless row, and pull out the infamous bottle of Krystal. Next to the "this is where the magic happens" slogan when someone brings the cameras into the bedroom, the token bottle of expensive Champagne in the ice box is a standard event.

My questions is...at my age, why have I never been indulged in a luxury bubbly?

#107 Completed! Meet someone famous

"I am ashamed to admit that I was starstruck to meet someone who I had watched on TV...many, many times!"

How I did it: The company I worked for took a bunch of us to Vegas & put us up at The Palms for our Holiday Party (I know...great company!). We went to a very late dinner at N9ne restaurant where at the table next to us was MTV's Rob & Big. Rob is a professional skate boarder who started a reality show on MTV with Big, his friend/bodyguard. Yes...this is using the term "famous" loosely! The first half of my meal I contemplated going over to get a photo, but by dessert I couldn't resist getting my picture with them! They were very cordial.
After dinner my coworkers & I went to party at Moon Nightclub where Rob & Big happen to have a private booth. A friend of theirs invited me to join then, so I spent most of the night boogieing in their booth. Definitely, an experience to remember.

#110 Completed! Smoke a Hookah

"Smoking a Hookah made me a bit light-headed, but was tons of smokey fun!"

How I did it: There are several restaurants in my area that offer Hookah smoking. I chose to go to a Mediterranean Restaurant in San Francisco, so I could eat some good grub too! The atmosphere was really cool, we all sat on the floor to eat and smoke the Hookahs. They had several different flavors to choose from; Watermelon, Peach, French Vanilla, etc. We chose the peach. It tasted much like a fruity cigarette. Definitely made me cough a bit, since I don't typically smoke. The whole experience seemed to be more of a "hippy bonding experience" than something you do regularly because you have to Hookah!