A list that continues to expand, stretch, and groan with growing pains. So many things to do in this one life I’ve been given. I love every minute of it. (Well, sometimes…because–and let’s be honest here–not every day consists of travel, laughter, and happiness. I’m learning to love the minutes of those other days too.) -E
take a writing class | be part of a flash mob | sink my toes into the sand of the Califonia beaches | have a picnic lunch in Central Park | smile until it hurts | run my own full-time business | go to the top of the Eiffel Tower | visit Rome | take a gondola ride | donate my hair | go to a Broadway show | wear high heels on the Las Vegas strip | buy a house | be debt free | see the changing of the guards in London | walk the Champs Elysees | people-watch in Hollywood | keep a pet fish alive for more than a month | own a pair of royal blue high heels | hike through a rainforest | run a half marathon | sing in my church choir | own a grand piano | walk on the glass walkway over the Grand Canyon | go to a major league baseball game | eat a hotdog at said baseball game | write a book | read a classic novel | live with a host family | complete a 365-day challenge of taking and posting online 1 picture per day | make a cookbook | take horseback riding lessons | visit the Egyptian pyramids | get up early enough to see the sun rise in the summer | have an acupuncture treatment | overcome my fear of needles | win an award | ride a camel | go on a vacation with a girl friend | witness the birth of a child (not my own) | volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter | go zip-lining | dance on a stripper pole (sans stripping) | learn to play tennis | ride a roller coaster at Coney Island | fly in a hot-air balloon | swim with dolphins | go snorkeling | after snorkeling, work up to scuba diving | fly first class | see the Mona Lisa | learn a new language (Italian?) | gamble | fall in love | sleep on 1,000 thread count sheets | ride in an Amish buggy (I have as a child, but I don’t remember it. Do it as an adult.) | give to someone in need | win something | eat authentic fish and chips in London | sleep on a Tempur Pedic mattress | meet someone famous | write a blog | eat as a vegetarian for two weeks | host an international student | find “horny Moses” in the Saint Sulpice stained glass windows | run in the rain | grow a garden | plant a tree | invent something | be in the audience of a TV show taping or live studio audience | crochet a blanket | go on an African safari | tithe | ring a church bell | create a font | avoid sunburns | give a speech | lay in the grass and read a book | take inventory of my purse | step in a London phone booth | go parasailing | learn to swim without plugging my nose | pet a tiger or lion | be unafraid of the dark | get a motorcycle license | speak at a photography convention | spend a night in the underwater hotel in Dubai | wipe away someone’s tears | birthday suit it up at a nude beach | test drive a Ferrari | participate in a food fight | see 10 Cirque du Soleil shows: Corteo, “O”, KÀ, Alegria, Dralion, La Nouba, Mystère, OVO, Quidam, Saltimbanco | face a fear…and conquer it (see above: needles, water, darkness) | be the photographer for a European destination wedding | be in Times Square for New Year’s Eve | go whale watching (and see a whale) | read the daily news | ride the London Eye | know a current world news fact before my husband | laugh for no reason at all | make carrot cookies like my grandma | view the 7 natural wonders of the world: Grand Canyon; The Great Barrier Reef; The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro; Mt. Everest; Northern Lights; Paricutin Volcano; Victoria Falls | kiss under a sprig of mistletoe | shoot a gun (at a gun range) | learn to golf | give someone I genuinely don’t like a genuine compliment | ride a double ferris wheel | throw a penny into a fountain and make a wish | carry the Olympic torch | visit British Columbia | ride the Chunnel between London and Paris | dance in the moonlight | live overseas for at least half a year | teach my child to count from 1 to 10 in Uzbek | laugh until my stomach hurts | visit all 7 continents: Asia, Africa, North America, Europe, Antarctica, Australia, South America | stop eating when I’m satisfied, not waiting until I’m full | open my eyes underwater without goggles | read a book from start to finish without breaking/stopping | go a year without television | pass on a family heirloom to my children | walk across the Brooklyn Bridge | be a good citizen; pick up someone else’s trash | run 365 miles in 1 year | eat pasta in Italy | dye my hair blue | visit the “new” 7 wonders of the world: Chichen Itza, Mexico; Christ Redeemer, Brazil; The Great Wall, China; Machu Picchu, Peru; Petra, Jordan; The Roman Colosseum, Italy; The Taj Mahal, India | be interviewed on The Today Show | create a coat of arms for our family | be a spectator at the Kentucky Derby | be photographed by Sue Bryce | visit Carnegie Hall | host a dinner party