The Bucket List

I mentioned a while back that I was working on a bucket list. Now that I have it rounded off to an even 55, I am happy to post it and hear if anyone has any tips for completing any of this list. I was originally shooting for a number more glorious, like 101, but nearly 8 moths have gone by and 55 was the best I could do. Let's just consider it a work in progress? Some are much easier (and cheaper) than others. I hope to get the first 55 done by the time I am 55, although I hope I continue to add a ton more to the list and make it impossible to get everything done before then. Life is short, so I better hop to it! Bold italic items have been completed.

55 by 55

1.         See Dave Matthews Band in Concert

2.         Go on Wheel of Fortune

3.         Ride in a Hot Air Balloon

4.         Ride in A Helicopter

5.         Hike the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim

6.         Hike the Narrows in Zion National Park

7.         Visit Acadia National Park

8.         See icebergs and glaciers

9.         Complete a through hike (PCT or AMT?)

10.      Backpack to Machu Picchu

11.      Learn to trail run

12.      Complete the Dipsea

13.      Complete a Triathlon

14.      Complete an Ultra Marathon

15.      Complete the Boston Marathon

16.      Run a half marathon under 2 hours

17.      Run a marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes

18.      Learn to kiteboard

19.      Learn to surf

20.      Learn to windsurf

21.      Go whitewater kayaking

22.      Go Canyoneering

23.      Do a zipline through the jungle

24.      Get 6 pack abs to rock a bikini in

25.      Travel to Costa Rica

26.      Travel to Morrocco

27.      Travel to Thailand

28.      Travel to Tahiti

29.      Travel to Hong Kong

30.      Travel to Japan

31.      Go on a cruise

32.      Go on a trip outside the country, just Mom & I

33.      Visit all 50 states

34.      Learn a second language

35.      Obtain a Master’s Degree

36.      Teach Elementary School

37.      Become a certified Sommelier

38.      Volunteer to teach adult literacy

39.      Get published in a scholarly journal

40.      Donate blood on a regular basis

41.      Be married to the love of my life

42.      Give Birth

43.      Own a small ranch

44.      Have a gourmet Kitchen

45.      Cultivate a large vegetable garden

46.      Learn to compost

47.      Own a goat.

48.      Own chickens.

49.      Learn how to fish.

50.      Make Turducken

51.      Make homemade cheese

52.      Make my own wine, from vine to bottle

53.      Knit a blanket

54.      Win an award for something at the fair, like crafts or photography.

55.      Be completely debt free

It's moving season

A year ago today, I was offered the position at VHS and accepted my first teaching job. I was so excited to have a job, after 40+ applications and tons of rejection letters, it was the peace I had been desperately praying for. I was headed down south to wait out the interviews and low and behold, the offer came when I was on the road. Two offers, actually. Within an hour of each other. I felt so blessed!

365 days, 15 applications, and 1 pink slip later, it's moving time! A week from tomorrow the parents come up and i'll try to cram all my stuff into the back of the truck so I can move back down south and play the waiting game. Although I have had an offer, the salary was much too low for me to support myself on, so I had to say no. Now to cross my fingers and patiently wait for an interview.

To occupy myself in the interim, I registered for the 13.1 Heartbreak Ridge on Camp Pendleton early September. I hope there are lots of handsome Marines there to cheer me on! Having my marathon training plan really helped me get through the stress of job applications, moving, and starting a new job. Although it also caused me to spread myself a little thin last year, I think the absence of grad school will make it a little easier to meet the goals I am setting for myself. Being that my stepdad is a Marine, it would be cool to do a race on his own training grounds. Plus, a goal of 2011 was to set a new PR for the half, which I think I might be able to do with some training. However, this is a hard course so we'll have to see how that goes. My other half marathons were flat, so I am really setting myself up for a challenge!

I also was able to convince my mom to do a 5k in Temecula in late October! I am not sure if I am going to do a 5k or half, but I am really excited to do another race with my mom :)

I still haven't selected a Marathon. One of my goals for the year was to run a marathon without having to stop and walk part of it. I am also going to try to PR again, hopefully with a sub 5 hours time! I have narrowed it down to Mailbu International Marathon or the Santa Barbara International Marathon, both the weekend of November 12. There really aren't a lot of races to choose from in the late fall, I am guessing it is because of all the holidays. Here are the pros and cons of each, and maybe you can help me decide:

Malibu International Marathon
Pros:
Only 2 hours from my parent's house
Runs along the coast
Pace team
Beach towel instead of shirt
Coconut water and other hippie stuff on course and at finish
Potential Groupon? (They had one last year around September)

Cons:
Expensive ($145 entry fee)
Pay to park ($8)
Inclines in the end (eerily similar to Boston)
Heard the first half near Camarillo is boring farm land, but flat
Sunday means no rest day before going back to work (if I have a job)

Santa Barbara International Marathon
Pros:
In Santa Barbara, which is amazing and beautiful
On a Saturday, so more rest time after race
Gu on the course, which is my gel of choice
hills are more rolling, less challenging than Malibu
Cheaper than Malibu ($115 Entry Fee)
Cheaper hotel rates for the night before
Cons:
3 hours from the house means Friday night hotel (cha-ching)
Course is difficult to understand

Obviously I am leaning towards Santa Barbara. If anyone wants to run it, we can split a super cheap hotel room from Friday and Saturday nights (I do believe it is a holiday weekend). Whatcha think???

OK, enough typing about running. It's time to get outside and start doing some. I forgot how to like running and need to train myself to like it more than being lazy. Time for some tempo miles!

Everything Else Moorea

Beside tempt fate with shark and raw fish, we did a less risky tourist things as well.

Sunset from the overwater bungalows at the Hilton.

Unlike everyone else who lives in California, I have never been to Hawaii or other tropical island, so of course I had to do a polynesian dinner show! We chose the Fire dancing show at the Hilton because a) it was about $50 cheaper than the tiki village show, b) bbq dinner with a menu we both could agree on for the price (probably around $70pp), and c) it was at the Hilton and we wanted to crash a 5 star party. It was a really good choice. The food was amazing and the dessert bar made me feel like I had died and gone to heaven!!!! The pastry chef there was amazing. I had 5 little bite sized desserts, including a 3 bite creme brulee and a weird vanilla foam thing. I didn't have one thing I didn't love.

I bet these guys are a ton of fun to party with!

After all that good food, we were front row for an amazing show! These people love to perform. After the show they let you come up and take pictures with you. They are so happy, laughing and having a great time. I wish I spoke french so I could have had an intelligent conversation.

They asked me to come up and being the awkward tourist trying to shake my hips, but since I had on really tall shoes that I had never worn before, I passed. Good thing, because they picked the lady sitting behind us and she could dance really well.

Not sure I would be down with this

They did the fire part of the show outside, and it was pretty awesome too. Hard to see because I didn't bring my glasses and had to stand on a chair to see over all the cameras people were holding up, but still awesome.

Another night we did happy hour at Hotel Hibiscus, where they had a great singer/guitar pair. It started with Tahitian music, but then she started taking requests and did popular french songs. Everyone was having such a good time they started doing audience participation songs, some of which I remembered from French 1 my freshman year of high school. Win! She even sang a song in English and dedicated it to us. Such a fun night!

If you ever make your way to Moorea, make sure to go to the lookout. We rented a car one rainy day so I could go buy my pearls, we go go to a dinner show, and to see the island. The views are amazing, especially on a clear day. On the way home from the lookout, we stopped at the juice factory. Probably the biggest inside joke on the island. Thinking we are going to get to try all these yummy juice drinks made fresh, it ended out they only wanted to serve us alcoholic drinks. Pre-mixed cocktails, rums, liqueur, and something that tasted like moonshine. Only one taste of pineapple juice at the end. Fun, but definitely not what were were expecting. No one wants a DUI in a foreign country.

View from a trail just above our resort

Before we left we took a hike to get an overview of the private Motu where we had been snorkeling and to capture the breathtaking beauty of the island. I would totally come back here!