I stole this from Tracey at More Than a Minivan Mom.
Instructions:
Copy the list, bold the ones you’ve done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (many times as a child–we used to sleep on my dad’s porch in the summers!)
3. Played in a band (I played the flute in concert band, starting in elementary school and going through sophomore year in high school)
4. Visited Hawaii (honeymoon!)
5. Watched a meteor shower (I have wonderful memories of doing this a few times as a child, and once when I was in college. So fun.)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (both Disneyland AND Disneyworld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (February 1999)
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (photography!)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (February 1999)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (It’s been years, but I’ve done it.)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (played softball for 10 years)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (when you live this close, there is no excuse!)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (like, the cities? yes.)
35. Seen an Amish community (Pennsylvania)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (once when I was six and hurt my back on a see-saw; another time when I was attacked by a dog)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Yes, and we had horrible weather. February 1999. We were literally being blown across the floor. Sounds scary but was so, so awesome!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (snorkeling)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (playing softball in the pouring rain was my favorite. I was a catcher, so it was essentially my job to get dirty!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (wedding projects; photography)
58. Taken a martial arts class (I took Tae Kwon Do when I was young, but only for a couple of months)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I was a Brownie!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (happens to the best of us)
68. Flown in a helicopter (in Kauai!)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (my hand in 1993)
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle (my dad used to have one)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (after I graduated college and landed my first “real” job)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person (just did this in December!)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (related to the dog attack incident)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
49 out of 99 @ 27 years old. That’s not too bad, right?
Yesterday, there were rumors going around at work that maybe, possibly, we’d close today due to the incoming snow storm. This very rarely happens, so I was kind of taking the attitude, I’ll believe it when I see it. I just didn’t want to be disappointed.
I typically don’t get up until around 7:30 a.m., but I woke up at 6:00 this morning. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep until the alarm, I couldn’t help but take a peek to see if my company was closed. Sure enough–CLOSED. I got to experience that glorious feeling of waking up, thinking you have to go to work, only to realize that you get to stay home, sleep in, and stay in your pajamas all day. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
Here is a photo Michael took at around 6:00, after he shoveled a path for poor little Tess.
It was already pretty deep, and it continued to snow ALL DAY. Plus, it was windy and there were problems with blowing snow. Needless to say, the roads were pretty terrible so I was thankful that I was able to stay home. Unfortunately, Michael was not as lucky and had to head out eventually. Our street didn’t get plowed until around noon, so his car kept getting stuck when he was trying to leave. Eventually, our neighbor happened to come out and helped him by literally PUSHING his car down the road as Michael accelerated. Lovely.
This afternoon, I snapped these photos when I took Tessa outside:
Poor Tessa never knows what to think when the snow is taller than she is.
Bushes? What bushes?
I stayed inside most of the day. Marie came over in the afternoon and we watched The Time Traveler’s Wife. For a movie based on a book, it wasn’t too bad. They were limited with what they could do in the timeframe for a movie, so there were a lot of things cut out, but they didn’t completely destroy the story. I still love, love, LOVE the book, though.
Tonight, we ventured out and met my whole family for dinner. It was good to get out of the house for a bit. Looking around, everything is so beautiful covered in snow. But I can’t help but think–it’s going to take FOREVER for this to all go away now.
How many more weeks until spring?
For Christmas, we bought ourselves a Wii. We also got three games to go with it–Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, and Wii Sports Resort. (If you recall, I played Wii Sports Resort so much at Christmastime that I managed to injure myself. Yep, that’s me.)
Anyway, we had heard about a new Super Mario Brothers game that had been released for the Wii, which is supposedly a remake of the original Mario games from way back in the days of Nintendo. We knew we would likely buy it eventually, but we weren’t in a rush for it.
Fast-forward to February and I decide to buy the game for Michael for his birthday. Neither of us are big gamers, but we enjoy the occasional video game. I thought Mario would be pretty cool, but anticipated that my husband would enjoy it far more than I ever would.
Um, wrong.
I am practically addicted to this game! I have played way more than Michael has. It is so fun, and I am totally taken back to the days of sitting in front of a small TV and trying to save Princess Peach. The other day, I had to take a day off from my nightly hour or so of playing because my thumbs were too sore. MY THUMBS WERE TOO SORE, people. *sigh*
Oh, and have I ever told you that I have the ability to curse like a sailor? Well, if you didn’t know before, you certainly would if you watched me play Super Mario Brothers Wii. You really don’t want to know how many times the word “fuck” comes out of my mouth when I play. (I wonder what I used to say to express my frustration when I was only 7. It had to have been more socially appropriate, but surely it couldn’t have been as effective as “fuck,” right?) When I repeatedly screw up or am having trouble passing a level, I get so mad it is ridiculous. Remind me not to play video games with our future children.
Frequent playing, sore thumbs, excessive cursing–in other words, it’s a hell of a good game.
Remember those changes I hinted at a few weeks back?
Well, in some miraculous turn of events, things are seemingly falling into place perfectly for us. I don’t know if I have ever believed in the “what is meant to be will be” cliche more than I do right now. I feel like I was led in this direction, and therefore, decisions that might normally be difficult have been very easy.
I quit my job today.
Yesterday, I received a job offer from another company, and I am pretty excited about it. I will be making the transition over the next few weeks.
Without going into too many details, this was one of those things that kind of fell into my lap to begin with. I was approached about the open position; I did not seek it out. I agreed to go through the interview process with the mindset that things would happen as they should, and I wasn’t going to stress about it.
I didn’t spend a lot of time preparing for the interviews; I went in each time and just talked. (And um, it was a total of FIVE interviews. Yes, FIVE. These people are thorough!) Really, I chatted. It was casual. I had the normal amount of butterflies at the idea of making a life change, but overall, I was not worried. I knew that things would happen as they should.
When I received the call letting me know that they had filled the position, I was not upset. I was told that I had been the other finalist, and that it had been a tough decision to choose between myself and this other person. I thanked them for the opportunity and moved on, knowing that things had happened as they should.
Last week, out of nowhere, I received an e-mail that changed everything. I was told that the person who had been offered and accepted the position had suddenly backed out, and that the job was back on the table. I was told that I was at the top of the list, and that I needed to go in to meet with the CEO one more time just to make sure that this was going to be right–for them and for me. When I met with him, we were talking about the situation and how I had somehow ended up back in the running, and he actually said to me, “I guess it was fate.” And I nodded knowingly, because I always believed that things would happen as they should.
I’m anxious because big life changes almost always make me anxious. But I feel so good and so sure about this that it’s hard to be anything but excited. I’m sad to leave my current position, as there is much that I will miss about it. But I go knowing that I was a valued employee, and that I am moving forward into a new position that is a good move for us.
And tonight I sit in awe at life and how sometimes, it all works out. At how things happen the way they should.
I’ve been tagged by Moya at A Purpose Filled Life! Thanks, Moya! It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these things, so here goes nothing.
The Rules:
– List 10 things that make you happy
– Tag 10 other bloggers and link back to the person who tagged you
My List:
1. Lazy weekends at home with my husband.
2. A sleepy (and quiet) little Tessa girl snuggling in my lap.
3. A full gas tank.
4. Babies. I love me some babies.
5. Traveling. I love exploring new places. I just wish we had unlimited funds so that we could go all over the world! (Someday…)
6. Hiding behind the lens of a camera.
7. Snow days or sick days. As long as I’m not the miserable and dying type of sick, it’s always nice to have a random day off from work. Too bad I don’t get snow days or take sick days more often! (I’m a PTO hoarder. I can’t help it.)
8. Baking! You know how much I love to make tasty creations. I have a couple of cake decorating opportunities coming up that I’m super excited about. :)
9. My family. Going out to lunch with my mom, hosting everyone for dinner, watching a football game, etc. I love spending time with everyone.
10. Fun mail (packages, letters, cards, etc.). It doesn’t come nearly as often as I wish it did, but perhaps that is why I cherish the fun stuff so much!
And now I tag:
1. Shauna at The Lewallens
2. Michelle at See Michelle Blog
3. Chelsey at One on the Way…
4. Megan at So, Now What?
5. Katie at Tote’s Life
6. Krystie at One Fabulous Day
7. Mrs. B at The Life and Times…
8. Julia at My Life in Transition
9. Dana at Sweeping Through Life
10. Kelly at The Startup Wife
P.S. For those of you who follow me through a reader, I’m sorry for the influx of posts tonight. My life has been crazy since last Wednesday, but I definitely had things to post about! I’m getting all caught up… :)
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
