After the grand fun of working on 31 Things Before Turning 31, followed by 32 Things Before Turning 32, I decided it was time to focus on dreams large and small with no specific deadline. I've been drawn to the idea of a Life List for awhile. It's fun perusing other people's Life Lists. You learn a lot about them, for one thing. But it can also inspire a few dreams you never knew you had before.
Places to Go
- Drink champagne in Champagne, France
- Visit the rest of the United States: Alaska, Arkansas, California (moved there! 6/2015), Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia (8/2013), Hawaii, Kansas (2/2018), Kentucky (4/2012), Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska (6/2015), Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (10/2012), Rhode Island, South Carolina (9/2012), South Dakota, Texas (11/2012), Utah (6/2015), Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming
- Attend a White Sox spring training game
- Go to a World Series game, preferably with the White Sox
- Visit 5 other MLB baseball stadiums: Turner (Braves), AT&T (Giants), Oakland Coliseum (A's)
- Have a drink at the Signature Room
- Eat at a Stephanie Izard restaurant: Little Goat (12/22/13)
- Visit Martha's Vineyard as the locals do
- Hike part of the Grand Canyon again
- Make a wish at Trevi Fountain in Rome
- Visit these National Parks: Acadia (Maine), Badlands (South Dakota), Big Bend (Texas), Bryce Canyon (Utah), Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico), Crater Lake (Oregon), Everglades (Florida), Glacier (Montana), Grand Teton (Wyoming), Joshua Tree (California), Redwood (California), Yellowstone (Wyoming/Montana/Idaho), Yosemite (California)
- Tour the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam
- Get a taste of Jane Austen in England- and don't forget high tea
- Go back to Thailand, this time for Loy Krathong (sky lantern festival) and riding an elephant
- Go wine tasting in Napa
- Eat at Chez Panisse (5/9/16)
- Say a prayer at a concentration camp in Germany or Austria
- See the rest of Ireland...ideally visit this beloved country every few years (June 2017)
- Finally visit the source for my 6th grade country report: Switzerland
- Go to Africa (Uganda and Burundi June 2013)
- Dine at 5 more Nashville Originals restaurants: Copper Kettle (2/16/12), The Listening Room Cafe (1/20/12), MAFIAoZA's (3/23/13), Suzy Wong's House of Yum (1/12/12), Tin Angel (5/15/12)
- Find a place where "everybody knows your name"
- Cross the border, Canada-style
- Wear a fabulous hat and sip on a mint julep at the Kentucky Derby
- See a Bollywood film while in India
- Hike or bike part of El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) in Spain
- See a Broadway show in NYC
People to See
- Meet Ozzie Guillen, Jermaine Dye, Aaron Rowand, or any member of the 2005 World Series champion White Sox team
- Spend time in the PA version of Gilmore Girl's Stars Hollow with Suzannah
- Determine who is more obsessed with their team by going to a White vs. Red Sox game with Heatherly (GO WHITE SOX!)
- Meet blog/Twitter friends
- Annual Girls Weekend with Tracy and Erin
- Gate 5 Gang reunion
- Host a college friend reunion weekend
- Be the best auntie possible for my nieces-in-love and nephews-in-love
- Visit my cousins Clara and Emily in San Francisco (6/15)
- Go on one more trip with Jill. Bonus points if people 1) ask if we're related 2) proclaim their drunken love for us 3) BRENDAN.
- Mentor someone(s)
- Visit Karin in Austin (11/12)
- Meet up with Kibibi now that we're both in the South
- Visit Linda in Seattle
- See a celebrity other than American Idol contestants
- Shake hands with the president of the United States, current or former
- Attend a talk/lecture given by Anne Lamott (Festival of Faith and Writing 2014)
- Go to the park with Amanda and her kids. It doesn't even matter which park. (8/11/12)
Things to Do
- Attend a writing conference (Festival of Faith and Writing 2014)
- Publish my first novel
- Write books as my full-time job
- Win an award for my writing
- Host a monthly dinner for whomever is around
- Have the sort of home that friends, family, and neighbors know they are always welcome to stop by and sit a spell
- Plant a big vegetable and herb garden
- Buy a CSA share (best experience ever)
- Volunteer (started volunteering at the library in 2017)
- Get my well-worn copy of A Prayer for Owen Meany signed
- Run a 5k, crazy though it may seem
- Try sushi
- Read all of the books that I own but haven't quite read yet
- See how many books I can read in one week
- Pay off my student loan
- Laser hair removal (started June 2016)
- Continue recording the family tree
- Live in a house with a window seat
- Have a guest room for visitors/friends needing a place to crash for awhile
- Buy a house
- Find a favorite Thai restaurant in Nashville: Thai Esane
- Sample every flavor at Jeni's Ice Cream
- Make sausage (Grandpa's famous recipe) with my cousins- something our family hasn't done the last 5 or 6 years.
- Perfect my own fried pickle recipe
- Attend a tea tasting or a class about tea
- Surprise someone in a big way
- Own something Chanel
- Redesign the blog
- Rescue a dog or cat from an animal shelter
Do you have a Life List?
