Item #44 Plant a tree

Andrew and I planted a tree n my front yard in May. I have planted many things in my life. Gardens filled with fruits, vegetables, flowers and bushes. But never a tree until now. It is a Mimosa tree which is rarely seen in Utah but is very common in Oklahoma where Andrew is from. He says it will get beautiful flowers and will grow 20 feet tall with a 20-50 foot span to shade the yard. The neighbors might not like me much though as the flowers that are produced like to plant themselves wherever they may land. HeHeHe It is growing fast already and is very healthy although it leans a bit toward the morning sun.

 This was taken on the first day we planted it. The grass was a little yellow back then LOL.

 These 2 pictures(above and below) were taken today which is approximately 2 months after it was planted.

Item #30 De-clutter my house

I spent about 2 months going through every room, closet, cupboard and drawer whenever I had a few spare moments. I loaded everything into bags and boxes and hauled them off to the garage for a garage sale at a future date. It felt so good to have everything de-cluttered. No more stashes of things that I was hanging on to just because. Just because why? Maybe they belonged to someone I once knew. Maybe I thought it was cute and I might use it someday but never have. Maybe I thought the kids might want it at some point in time. I let go of all of that and just packed things up. Phew!
On the day of the garage sale it rained. We did fairly well selling things until the rain started at about noon. Then we had to shut down. I planned on having another one the same weekend but it didn't happen. Then the next weekend. Nope!. Everything is still staged in the garage and 2 months later the summer is passing me by. This weekend I will be cleaning out the garage to park my new Mustang. Thrift store here I come!  :)

Item #27 Buy a Mustang

Completed July 24, 2012!!!!

Yesterday I purchased a 2007, glacier blue mustang. I owned an ugly brown 1978 mustang for a few months back when I was 16 years old. I have always wanted to get another one except BETTER. I have finally accomplished this. WooHoo! Even though it is not brand new it is very nice. It has beige colored leather seats and a kick ass stereo. Power everything and even has heated seats. That is one thing I always wished I had in my Silverado. This weekend I will clean out my garage and might actually be able to park inside it. In the 9 years I have lived in my house, nobody has parked in the garage. Crazy I know but the truck didn't fit.

Item #39 Teach Zac how to do something I know

Today I taught Zac how to make deviled eggs. I know this may seem like a simple task but if you have ever had a teenager who knows everything already, it is difficult to find something new to teach them. :)

Item #43 Give my mom flowers and tell her I love her

Here is the picture of the bouquet I sent my mom today. She loves daisies so when I saw this I knew it was perfect.

Item # 95: Make a webpage/blog

Today I learned how to create my own blog page (obviously...duh). One more thing marked off my list. Woohoo!

Item #52: Attend a huge rock concert

Even though I am not really a fan of rock music(I love country music), I figured I should see at least one big rock band in concert in my lifetime. My fiance absolutely loves Iron Maiden. So yesterday we purchased tickets for Iron Maiden coming to Salt Lake City on Aug 1st. We have 5 months to wait but at least this one will be marked off this year. :)

Item #70: Buy and Hang expensive art in my home

Realizing that expense differs in everyones eyes I have never had any art of value until recently. Last summer I attended an art auction on a Carnival cruiseline. I purchased some artwork that I had been storing in the shipping tube. I finally got around to getting them framed and hung and I think they look great in my living room.

Item #100: Make a list of 100 things I have already done in my life

completed on 2/19/2012

100 things I’ve already done in my life
Swam with a dolphin in Grand Cayman
Went on a cruise
Got Married
Got divorced
Had 3 children
Have a job I love
Got a passport
Learned how to ski
Took my kids to Disneyland
Flew in a plane
Bought my own house
Planted a garden
Swam with Stingrays in Grand Cayman
Zip lined through the jungle in Honduras
Played with a monkey in Honduras
Have seen both oceans (Pacific and Atlantic)
Had front row tickets to a concert and caught Kenny Chesney’s towel
Gambled in Las Vegas
Been camping in the mountains
Rode on the back of a motorcycle
Driven a Camaro
Ran a 5k marathon
Driven through Yellowstone park
Learned a magic trick
Remodeled several rooms in my house
Bought a truck
Got the man of my dreams from Oklahoma
Built good credit after it was horrible
Owned many pets
Helped someone homeless
Helped a child who wasn’t my own
Been in a play
Traveled outside the United States
Learned to drive a stick shift
Lived on a farm for part of a summer
Rode a horse
Graduated high school
Went to college
Continued a family tradition (pajamas on Christmas eve)
Created a new tradition (homemade clam chowder on Halloween)
Learned to play scrabble really well
Finally got internet on my cell phone
Made a compost pile for my garden
Was an extra in a TV show
Ate Escargot
Went to a Comedy Show
Got in an accident in a rental car
Went on a road trip on a whim
Made Thanksgiving dinner
Camped all night to tryout for a game show(Deal or No Deal)
Learned to do my own taxes
Had a “real” Christmas tree
Taught a class
Got over my fear of public speaking
Won an award
Won a trip
Received a bonus at work
Became financially independent
Contribute to my 401k
Got life insurance
Spent the night in an airport
Been stabbed with a knife
Stabbed someone else with a knife
Sold something online
Met someone online
Chopped down a tree
Made a haunted house
Recycled aluminum cans
Fell in Love
Ate fried Okra
Learned to cook a Rachel Ray recipe that I love
Raised over $200 for Sub for Santa
Donated $100 to March of Dimes Babies
Got a promotion
Splurged on a fancy appliance (Refrigerator)
Made a total fool of myself (several times)
Bought art at an art auction
Ran through the streets of Cozumel, Mexico
Watched the sun rise and set on the ocean
Learned how to make excellent salsa
Learned how to sail a boat
Volunteered at food bank
Saw Old Faithful
Own something cashmere
Quit drinking soda for a year
Owned a Mustang
Picked apples from an apple tree
Sat in a natural hot spring
Planted a flower garden
Got my concealed weapons permit
Kissed a stranger
Been on the Alpine slide
Been on an airboat in Belize
Saw a crocodile in Belize
Lived on the top of Dead Horse Point
Climbed Timpanogas Cave
Jumped off a cliff into lake powell
Taken my kids to see a play
Rafted down Yellowstone River on an inner tube          Hiked to Delicate Arch
　

100 things I want to do before I die

A couple weeks ago I created a list of 100 things I want to do before I die. Item #95 is to learn to make a website/blog site. So here I am trying to figure this thing out so I can cross it off my list. I figured a blog about how my bucket list is progressing would be a good way for me to keep track. So here is my bucket list.
update: 10/2017 I have crossed some items off my list that just aren't that important to me anymore. My how things change as you get older.

1.Visit all 50 states: underlined states have been visited ( 17 down, 33 to go)
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
2.Get some stamps in my passport
3.Learn something from each of my kids
4.Go skydiving or parasailing
5. Visit the Oklahoma City bombing memorial-completed
6.Take my boys on a cruise
7.Learn to play at least 3 songs on the guitar
8. Remodel my kitchen.completed 
9.Remodel my basement-completed summer 2016
10.Stop biting my nails (in progress)
11.Eat healthy, lose weight and maintain a healthy weight
12.Pay off my mortgages on my house completed 5/2017 sold house and bought a smaller one free and clear
13.Get out of debt and stay out!
14.Take Alex on a trip (just me and him)
15.Take Zac on a trip (just me and him)
16.Take Spencer on a trip (just me and him)
17.Ride on a jet ski or wave runner
18.Read a famous novel front to back
19.Learn to ice skate
20.Get more accurate at shooting my gun
21.Go to Disney world in Florida
22.Go to Italy
23.Go on a trip with my mom
24.Go on a trip with my dad
25. Buy a camper and go camping without sleeping in tents.completed
26.Get the boys passports
27.Buy a Mustang that is NOT brown (completed 07/24/2012)
28.Make bread from scratch
29.Paint a picture-completed
30.De-clutter my house (completed May 2012)
31. Hike to and climb suicide rock and paint something on it
32.Go ghost hunting
33.Take a cooking class
34.Take a dance class
35.Take a martial arts class
36.Build something from scratch out of wood-completed 9/2017 (planter box)
37.Tell my kids I love them everyday (this is an ongoing work in progress)
38. Teach Spencer how to do something I know (completed 8/2014)
39.Teach Zac how to do something I know(completed 4/15/2012)
40.Teach Alex how to do something I know
41.Have my portrait painted
42.Learn to roller blade
43.Give my mom flowers and tell her I love her (completed 3/13/2012)
44.Plant a tree (Completed May 2012)
45.Stand under a waterfall
46.Write my will
47.Ride the highest and fastest roller coaster in the U.S. (Six Flags, Jackson NJ)
48.Attend Mardi Gras
49.Spend Christmas on the beach drinking margaritas
50.Drive a convertible with the top down and the music loud-completed
51.Go up in a hot air balloon
52.Attend a huge rock concert-completed
53.Kiss the Blarney Stone
54.Visit a concentration camp
55.Go Bungee Jumping
56.Go on a Safari
57.Go see the Statue of Liberty
58.Go see Stone Henge
59.Visit the Coliseum in Rome
60.Witness the northern lights in Alaska
61.Get my fortune told-completed
62.Go skinny dipping
63.Dance in the pouring rain
64.Send a message in a bottle
65.Take a vow of silence for 1 day
66.Spend 1 whole day naked
67.See a giraffe in the wild
68.Fly first class
69.Go whale watching
70.Buy and hang expensive art in my house(completed 3/3/2012)
71.Participate in a protest
72.Visit ground zero
73.Travel somewhere on a train
74.Ride a Gondola in Venice
75.Stay in a castle
76.Visit the Vatican in Rome
77.Drive a speedboat
78.Learn a new language
79.Learn Archery
80.Write a song
81.Ride a mechanical bull
82.Experience weightlessness
83.Attend Burning Man
84.Go to Pikes Place Market in Seattle
85.Learn to knit or crochet
86.Tour the white house
87.Go Horseback riding
88.Move out of Utah -completed 5/2017
89.Start my own business
90.Create a you tube video
91.Milk a cow
92.Have a professional family portrait taken
93.Create enough passive income to never work another day in my life
94.Spend a week at a spa
95.Make a web page/blog (completed 3/4/12)
96.Volunteer to hold babies at the hospital nursery
97.Learn how to can food
98.Drive highway 12 in Utah
99.Go see the Grand Canyon-completed
100.Make a list of 100 things I have already done in my life (completed 2/19/2012)