My Life List

This year a I saw a movie that prehaps many of you saw, "The Bucket List". In it one of the characters has a list of things he always wanted to do before he died. His new rich friend who is also at the end of his life decides that they are going to do these things. I thought it was an interesting idea to actually write down all of the things you want to do in your life. I think that writing down your goals and dreams helps to make them a reality. I heard a quote once that went something like "a goal not written down is only a wish". Although somethings on what is my "bucket list" my seem like a wish all of them are possible and all of them will enrich my life or the life of others in some way. Some may seem silly but sometimes we need silly. Well months after seeing the movie i was reading an article in Self magazine about creating life lists. They gave advice on how to make your life list something that can help you acheive goals and dreams. So i decided it was time i started writing all these things down, and see how many i can achieve. I thought how better to keep myself motivated than to put it somewhere i will see it often. So i am sharing it with you all. I find this process motivating, and hope that i will be able to keep myself focused by following this list. The list is a living document, able to grow and change as i grow and change. Maybe some of you will want to try this too!

(As a disclaimer these are not written in any particular order. so please do not judge my priorities based on the number they have on my list.)

My life list

1. go to wimbledon
2. find the perfect hair cut.
3. make a difference every day at work in a patient’s life.
4. backpack through Europe
5. own a dog (an English Bulldog to be exact)
6. buy a BMW X5
7. Learn Spanish
8. Go to Africa on a humanitarian trip
9. serve a mission as a couple missionary
10. read the classics
11. learn to truly appreciate Shakespeare
12. know the candidates and vote in each presidential election
13. develop my own retirement fund
14. write a children’s book (even if no one else reads it)
15. make my bed everyday for a month
16. learn to scuba dive
17. swim with dolphins
18. visit the sacred grove
19. finally learn to enjoy running
20. make the perfect exercise playlist
21. live in North Carolina
22. live in New York
23. go to the temple in Japan
24. keep a journal faithfully for 1 year
25. go on a yoga vacay
26. have a perfect day
27. adopt at least one child from a third world country
28. go to graduate school
29. learn to knit
30. go to Greece
31. do temple work for on of my ancestors
32. see the 7 wonders of the world ( I did the research, there are many more but I have pared it down for myself. The Great Wall, the Pyramids, the Tajmahal, the Colosseum, Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower, and the Tower of Piz
33. See Mt. Fuji
34. finish my cross stitch project
35. own my own home
36. Read Jesus The Christ
37. Raise a family
38. Be sealed in the temple
39. learn to stick to a budget
40. learn kanji
41. learn Japanese calligraphy
42. find the joy in each day
43. work on not procrastinating
44. create my own lasting, meaningful traditions with my own family.
45. share my testimony with a friend
46. help my children to develop strong, abiding testimonies
47. more to come……

Me and My Grandpa

This is my Grandpa! Lately, while staying in Seattle I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time at my grandparents and got to see some pictures that were new to me! This first picture is, you guessed it me! i know i can't believe i was that cute either.

This other photo is me and Grandpa and my cousin John. I love my Grandpa very much. I am very grateful of the time I have gotten to spend with him over the last few months.

Sight Seeing 2!

So here we go again trying to get caught up. Oh well, I may have to except that it may never happen. To continue on in the exciting adventures we had in Seattle. After our trip on the Ducks we enjoyed some time on the Spaceneedle and some lunch there too!

This was our amazing deseret. Well it was actually just ice cream with caramel and chocolate but the dry ice effect was awesome!

I love being on top of the Spaceneedle and getting to see the whole city while you eat. As you can see we had perfect weather

This was one of my favorite things. The lady to the left of me is named Betty and she is from Chicago. We happened to be standing next to each other on the observation deck at the Space Needle when she noticed how clear our reflections were in the window. She said she wondered if a picture would turn out. I was sort of evesdropping and so I said "Let's see". I pulled out my camera and this was the result. I got to email it to her a week or two later!

So Melissa and I had to try it out ourselves and got a great shot of the citty. If you look really hard you can see the people behind the glass.

It's okay to admit that.......... these are the two sexiest vickings you have ever laid eyes on! Thank you Ye Old Curiosity Shoppe for making this memory possible.

We found the Fremount Troll! Now you may think that because I grew up in the Seattle area that I have been to all of these spots, but you would be wrong. My parents are not big fans of the city having spent most of their lives living in or close to it, so they never took us to see great works of art like this troll statue. I think its creepy but a must see in Seattle! If you don't know he lives under the Fremount Bridge and is holding a VW beetle i believe.

After the Troll we ended our days adventures with a tour of the U district up by the University of Washington and then down on to First Hill where i currently work and where i worked during nursing school. Melissa was a little disturbed by the ghetto fabulous hospital that is Harborview Medical Center. I know the idea of going to work at a hospital that needs metal detectors may seem scary but no worries it was a fabulous place to work. If I wanted to take care of adults again I would love to work there!

Our next day consisted of a trip to Mt. Rainier. It was again picturesque and we got to stop on our way at the Black Diamond Bakery for a Cinnamon roll. My friend and former hometeacher Jon joined us and provided the musical entertainment for the trip!

Our last day in Seattle was a trip to the Ocean. We drove out to Westport and although it was sunny and blue skies it was windy and cold! We made the best of it and got stuck driving on the beach several times (4 i believe, check out melissa's blog for documentation of the fun).

We also flew a kite and built a sandcastle. all in all a very relaxing day.

Sight Seeing in Seattle!

So I realize that I have become a total slacker at the blogging thing. But in my defense the last month has been very hectic and so my time energy and brainpower have been focused elsewhere.

Back about a month ago my dear friend Melissa came to visit lonely little me in Seattle. We did lots of "touristy" things and had some new experiences for both of us. Here is a photographic tour of our adventures!

First stop on our journey of fun was to go to Snoqualmie Falls. Breathtaking, awe inspiring. the short hike down to the falls was also quite beautiful. The foliage in this picture is just a taste of what alot of Western Washington looks like. If you like green, this is the place for you!

First stop on the next day was to RIDE THE DUCKS! It was awesome. Very entertaining and you get to see a lot of Seattle in 90 minutes. The Ducks are WWII amphibious vehicles that have been transformed into non-stop funny machinces. The start you off on land and you see lots of stuff, then you get to go onto the water! That's the duck behind me in the top photo. Photo number two is our duck skillfully entering the waters of Lake Union. On Lake Union there are lots of house boats. If you have seen Sleepless In Seattle, then you have seen one of the most famous house boats ever. In fact the third photo is a photo said house boat. Yes my jealous friends, this is were Tom Hanks character lived in that iconic movie! (Don't worry we made sure to watch the movie the next day!) The cute little duck boy in the last picture was on our tour and he artfully danced up and down the aisle of the duck while wearing that hat. It was sooooo CUTE!