When I was a 17 I started a Life List which at that time mostly included school related items and travel dreams. I’ve been adding to and working on my Great Big Wish List ever since.
· ♥ WANDER · · · · · · ·
[ √ ] Get my passport.
[ √ ] Backpack in Europe by myself. (My longest solo trip was 2 months).
[IP ] Visit 25 countries and territories worldwide (Austria, Belgium, China, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, the US and Vatican City – 18 so far.)
[ ] Visit the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada.
[ ] Go to New York City and visit the Statue of Liberty.
[ √ ] Travel to China (Beijing) and walk the Great Wall.
[ √ ] Climb to the Top of the Eiffel Tower.
[ √ ] Tour the Vatican and see the Sistine Chapel.
[ ] Visit some ancient castles in Ireland.
[ ] Travel to Lhasa, Tibet.
[ √ ] Explore Paris. (6 times so far!)
[ ] Explore the historic city of Tallinn, Estonia.
[ √ ] Visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
[ √ ] Take the Chunnel.
[ √ ] Travel Throughout France (Paris, Versailles, Loire Valley, St-Germain-En-Laye, Mont-St-Michel and Carcassonne so far).
[ ] Tour the Greek Islands.
[ √ ] See a volcano up close. (Irazu and Poas, both in Costa Rica)
[ √ ] Tour chateaux in the Loire Valley in France (Amboise, Azay-le-Rideau, Chambord, Chenonceau, Langeais, Rigny-Usse, Saumur and Villandry so far).
[ ] Shop at a Christmas Market in Europe.
[IP ] Travel To Peru and Bolivia to visit Lima, Machu Picchu, Cusco, the Nazca Lines, Lake Titicaca and Tiahuanaco. (Lima and Miraflores, so far).
[IP ] Travel throughout the United States (23 states so far)
[ √ ] Visit Graceland.
[ √ ] Tour Elvis Presley’s birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi.
[ ] Travel to Slovenia to see the church on the island in Lake Bled.
[ ] See Niagara Falls.
[ ] Visit the Holy Lands (Jerusalem, Israel, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee and Petra, Jordan).
[ √ ] Explore Costa Rica.
[ ] Visit Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia.
[ ] Visit a ghost town.
[ √ ] Visit a historic Temple in Japan. (I visited Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine and Senso-Ji Buddhist Temple).
[ ] Travel to Cuba.
[ √ ] Travel to Mexico and visit ancient cities/ruins (Cancun, Tulum, Chichen Itza, Mexico City, Teotihuacan and Playa del Carmen).
[ ] Explore the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia.
[ ] Visit Transylvania, Romania.
[ √ ] See the Bayeux tapestry in northern France.
[ ] Visit the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
[ √ ] Travel throughout Italy (Alassio, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, La Spinea, Lago di Como, Menaggio, Mestre, Milan, Pisa, Rome, San Gimignano, Savona, Siena, Sirmione, Toirano, Treviso, Valleggia, Varazzo, Varenna, Venice and Verona).
· ♥ TWIRL · · · · · · ·
[ √ ] Take a belly dancing class.
[ ] Learn a country line dance.
[ ] Learn to Swing dance.
[ √ ] Learn how to latin dance. (I can do the Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cumbia and Cha-Cha).
[ ] Take a Lindy Hop class.
· ♥ NEST · · · · · · ·
[ √ ] Have a 612 area code.
[ √ ] Live on the West Coast (I lived in Portland and currently reside in Southern California, just south of Los Angeles).
[ ] Live in Paris or Venice for a year.
[ √ ] Stay at a youth hostel. (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Portland, OR.)
[ √ ] Buy a home in Minneapolis.
[ ] And pay it off early.
[ √ ] Stay in a monastery. (I stayed at Conception Abbey in Missouri).
[ √ ] Sleep in a castle. (I stayed at Stahleck Castle, a 12th-century fortified castle built on hilltop along the Rhine river).
[ √ ] Live in downtown Minneapolis.
· ♥ BITE · · · · · · ·
[ √ ] Try sushi.
[ √ ] Eat escargots. (I first tried them at a cafe in Paris)
[ √ ] Order room service. (Lima, Peru)
[ ] Learn how to make homemade flan for José
[ ] Perfect my use of chopsticks.
[ √ ] Drink tea at a cafe in London.
[ √ ] Eat breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo.
[ ] Organize all my recipes in one book.
[ ] Learn how to make a really great quiche at home.
[ √ ] Eat a lengua quesadilla.
[ √ ] Dine at the Café des Deux Moulins (Amelie’s cafe in Montmartre).
[ ] Learn how to meal plan.
· ♥ STUDY · · · · · · ·
[ √ ] Travel to France and Switzerland for the School Study Program & stay with a French family.
[ √ ] Earn a 4 year degree in Interior Design.
[ √ ] Earn a Master’s Degree. (Textiles & Fashion)
[ ] Learn a magic trick and be able to perform it flawlessly.
[ √ ] Study web design and create a website from scratch. (Certificate in Web Design from Normandale Community College)
[ √ ] Learn how to use WordPress and set up my own blog.
[ ] Learn how to speak conversational Spanish.
[ ] Learn about types of retirement options and set up a savings fund.
[ √ ] Take a knitting class and make something I would actually wear. (I made a scarf!)
[ ] Learn how to speak conversational Italian.
[ ] Study a variety of different philosophical schools of thought.
[ √ ] Take a yoga class.
[ √ ] Learn how to film and edit a video.
· ♥ HUSTLE · · · · · · ·
[ ] Write and publish a full length ebook.
[ √ ] Work in a skyscraper downtown. (15th & 29th floors of Target HQ, Mpls)
[ √ ] Be a hair model at a hair show.
[ √ ] Participate in a group art show.
[ √ ] Show my artwork in a solo show.
[ √ ] Sell a piece of my art to someone I don’t know personally.
[ √ ] Exhibit my artwork publicly in a gallery.
[ ] Create a body of creative work on my YouTube channel of at least 100 videos.
[ ] Complete a full year of memory keeping in my Happy Planner. (View a video of each month on my Happy Planner playlist.)
[ √ ] Teach a community education class.
[ ] Complete an Instagram challenge.
· ♥ MINGLE · · · · · · ·
[ √ ] Meet my penpals Monia and Elly in Italy.
[ √ ] Go to a Duran Duran concert.
[ ] Watch a movie at an old-fashioned drive-in theater.
[ √ ] Go on a blind date.
[ √ ] Party on New Year’s eve.
[ √ ] Participate in a speed dating event.
[ ] Attend a Star Party at the Griffith Observatory in LA.
[ √ ] Go skinny dipping.
[ √ ] Attend Philip & Fei-Chien’s wedding in Taiwan. (Bali, Danshuei, Taipei)
[ √ ] Attend a Planner Conference. (Atlanta, GA & San Francisco, CA)
[ √ ] Go to my high school reunion.
· ♥ INDULGE · · · · · · ·
[ ] Get behind the wheel of a vintage 1950’s car.
[ ] Experience a hot rock massage.
[ √ ] Swim in the ocean. (I swam in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica)
[ √ ] Go for a ride in a limousine.
[ √ ] Visit a hammam. (I spent a day at the Hammam Mosqué Paris)
[ ] Have professional photos taken of J & I.
[ √ ] Buy a book at Shakespeare & Company in Paris and be sure to have it stamped.
[ ] Have a mud bath at a spa.
[ √ ] Experience a past life regression.
[ √ ] Fly business or first class.
[ ] Get a mani/pedi at a salon with a girlfriend.