Just trying to get back into the swing of things

This year, it seems like Christmas (and the months preceeding) totally knocked me off my feet. January will be over, and I'm still trying to find my rhythem. There are still Christmas decorations up. The kids want to be done with school for the year. I'm cranky because of how behind I got with housework. I wanted to finally update here, but I can't get the photos off the card. So, I found this today and I'm excited to see what I've done.

01. Seen the Grand Canyon : Many times. We'd drive from So.Cal to TX every summer growing up and often stoped by the Grand Canyon.
02. Swam with wild dolphins:
03. Climbed a mountain: Used to Rock Climb too.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula and many other things in my entamology class
07. Taken a candlelit bath
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise In California, In Boston, In Moscow, On the Black Sea, In Beijing!
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables there’s nothing quite like walking outside to pick your dinner just before eating it.
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars literally
20. Changed a baby’s diaper...almost done. I've had a little one in diapers for the last 6 1/2 years.
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Eaten alligator
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope...M loves this...we have a telescope at our house...but it was super fun to see the stars from our friends telescope in Havasu where there aren't so many lights to dirty the sky.
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse ...or maybe that was a solar eclipse...I'd have to ask M. But he bought a special filter for the telescope so we could view it. We were looking at the "sun" about 3pm from our front yard. A father and daughter were driving by and stopped for a view too.
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Been to Austria
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country Russia & China...actually at the DD disco in TianJin, I got pushed up on this platform that lifted like an elevator...and they handed me pink feather fans to dance with...oh, the joys of being the ONLY blonde. See #36. I'd never see most of these people again. And my friends took photos.
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs Doesn't everyone do that? =0)
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sang karaoke top four favorite karaoke songs? YES! Why was college so fun?!
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud...Oh my gosh...Howdid I forget all this stuff? In college I was on staff at a local summer camp. Once a week, they would flood a field for a Mud Bowl for the High School students. One night about 15 of us staff played football in the mud in the middle of the night. Deer ended up showing up and scared us out of there. Probably not the smartest thing to do when there are bears in these mountains. Did I mention that our flashlights were the ONLY light? We got in trouble the next day...but it was so worth it.
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China 3times!
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken RIGHT NOW!
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married (8 years and counting…)
73. Been in a movie In HighSchool, I was an extra for a Focus on the Family movie.
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced--Not even an option
76. Gone without food for 5 days ...Parasite from the 2nd visit to China. When they say don't eat from street vendors, they mean it.
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest...In 1st grade I was a Christmas Tree for Halloween
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Been in a marching band
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently (Chinese...not quite fluently, but good enough to suprise people. I'm so out of practice...I should have kept up with it)
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children (in process now)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over.
101. Driven on the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Ridden on a boat down the Danube River
108. Piloted an airplane...No, but I did get to ride in the the cockpit from Moscow to Frankfurt on a Luftansa flight. That was 1993...so much has changed in the world that would never happen again...but it was so cool to see Poland from the sky.
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Dyed your hair
115. Shaved your head--No but I've always wanted to
116. Caused a car accident Cheerleaders standing with firemen at a major intersection to raise money for Jerry's Kids. Some boys totally weren't thinking and drove into a light pole.
117. Been elected to public office
118. Skipped all your school reunions so far...but we're working on a 10 year for college friends this spring.
119. Built your own PC from parts
120. Gone back to school
121. Read the Iliad and the Odyssey High School
122. Ridden a horse
123. Eaten Kangaroo meat
124. Had stitches and staples
125. Toured castles in Europe England and Scotland.
126. Had your picture in the newspaper
127. Eaten sushi
128. Sold your own artwork to someone you didn’t know
129. Published a book
130. Written poetry
131. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
132. Fired a rifle, shot gun or pistol
133. Had major surgery C-Section
134. Had a snake as a pet My college room-mate had one...in my house.
135. Gone on an African safari
136. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
137. Visited more foreign countries than US states
138. Visited all 7 continents
139. Lived in a foreign country for more than a year
140. Been swimming in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the British Channel and the North Sea not the BC or the NS
141. Been to Niagara Falls
142. Lived on both sides of the Mississippi river
143. Sang in a foreign language in front of an audience. I won't say I was good, but it was part of my Russia trip
144. Been to the Berlin Wall
145. Taught a child to read
146. Been a DJ

This list suprised me with how much I've done! =0) Sometimes, for me, it's hard to see beyond the dirty diapers to HOW GREAT my life really is. I'm so glad I did this. It was just the boost I needed today. How about you? Let me know if you post this list.