My Bucket List

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

So here it is....My Bucket List:

1.) To build a cabin in the woods, complete with a cozy fireplace...awesome back patio area and of course my own craft room!

2.) Take my family back to Disney World!

3.) Spend a summer traveling Europe...especially Ireland, Germany, Greece and Italy.

4.) Own a Black Jeep Wrangler

5.) Go on a Tornado Chase with my son Brennan...we've talked about doing this for years...we are both huge fans of tornadoes!!

6.) Learn how to swim

7.) Be able to touch someone's life in such a way that they could never repay me, because in the end I know I'd be blessed too!

8.) To run a Marathon

9.) To own an iMac and an iPad

10.) To go on a long vacation with my hubby, just him and I...maybe travel Route 66 together??

11.) Go to New York City!! Catch a Broadway Show

12.) Take a course in professional photography

13.) Be published in a Scrapbook magazine

14.) Get my finances in order so that way I wouldn't have to worry about my finances for the rest of my life!!

15.) Tag along with the team on Ghost Hunters...I think that would be scary cool!

That's it for today....it'll probably be different tomorrow. So what's on your Bucket List??

Why???

Why....

• ...does is the weather always bad when my son goes to Scout camp??


• ...does my lawn look like a hay field...you would think with all this stinking rain we've had that my lawn would look like the hills of Ireland, lush and green...there are two green patches of grass in my backyard...count them...2...which I also ask...


• ...why can't my front hill look like a hay field so I don't have to mow it!!


• ...no matter how much I do, the hubby always tells it like he was much busier, worked harder and did more than I.


• ...do my boys think that I should do everything and complain when I don't?


• ...does it have to rain so much?!?!?


• ....am I complaining??

Oh well....time to go to work!

Hello April!!

Wow...time seems to be on an all out frenzy lately. Here we are, already in the first week of April!! Yikes! So what's going on...well today starts my journey with the Soul Restoration Class I signed up for about a month ago over at Brave Girls Club...today is the day! Though I won't officially start until Thursday because my friend Leslie is joining this journey with me. I'm excited and honestly a little bit scared about this journey....not really sure where this journey is going to take me....from what I've heard from others that have taken the class, it is amazing. So I'm hoping it's true...lol! If you are interested in taking a journey, there is still time to sign up until noon today. Check it out! So Brennan went to the District Science Fair a couple weekends ago....He got an excellent on his project...I am so proud of him. The fact that it was a project that I wasn't totally on board for...he proved me and his daddy wrong and did an awesome job. Though he doesn't get to advance to State level, the fact that this was his first Science Fair and he was the only one in his entire school to advance to districts....again I am one very proud momma, and yes Brennan is already thinking of ideas on what to do for the next science fair...lol!

Kevin had a scope done about 10 days ago because he has Barretts Esophogus and it was time for his check up. There were a couple spots the last time the doctor wanted to keep an eye on and check this time around. The doctor called last night and said that everything looked fine and that hubby wouldn't have to have another scope done for another 2 years...so a huge PTL!! Hubby was pretty worried, but God is good!

So if you've been anywhere near the Northeast...we have been having some crazy nasty weather. One minute it's nice (and I do mean minute, cause it doesn't seem to stay nice for long) and then, bam...tons of rain, like we had yesterday or like last week...freaky snow. It's crazy and discouraging because between being sick last week and this nasty weather I haven't walked/jogged in a week...ugh. I hate going that long without doing anything...I'm about ready just to run circles around the house!

Busy month again this month ahead too...This weekend in Colton's Pinewood Derby and also my sister-in-law's baby shower....definitely one of those times where I wish I could clone myself cause I can't be at two places at once and it's in two opposite directions!! Ugh...and hubby has to work this weekend so...hoping that Pinewood Derby doesn't take that long so maybe I can make it to the Baby Shower, eek...it's either feast or famine in my world...everything all at once or nothing. Ugh!

Well I need to get hubby's lunch ready....trying a new recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes called Chicken Pot Pie Soup....by the way it is yummy!! Just tried it!

Have a great April everyone!

Wow!!

So much going on at the moment, but felt the need to share some things on here...so be prepared for a lot of randomness...lol!!

First of all, there is an awesome giveaway over at Lisa Leonard Designs right now. She is giving away my next new necklace, unless I'm lucky enough to win one...lol! If you've seen the necklace and bracelet I wear all the time now, then you've seen here stuff...she is AMAZING!! This jar necklace is so special...it reminds me of the salt jar of Kevin's granny...there is a long very special story that goes with that...ask me about it sometime. I think this necklace reminds me of Matt. 6:21 and how where our treasure is, there your heart will be also. Granny and Papa's hearts were with their family...and the fact that they could laugh at me when I put salt in their coffee instead of sugar, makes it all more special...like I said, long story but very dear to my heart. Anyway check out her giveaway!!

I have been getting huge into reading lately...I stumbled upon a book called "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller...can I just say this book just spoke to me in a way that, well lets just say most books don't speak to me...I read them, they're good, and then I forget about them. Not Donald's books...I haven't had a book speak to me like his books since I read Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" and I read that book 3 times. Donald Miller writes how I would like to write...just like you were talking to him with littel quips thrown in for goof measure. His last book I read, "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years" has changed me in ways that I don't think I've understood yet and I will definitely be reading this one a second time. I wish I would have stumbled on these books sooner because it has really shed some light on my walk with God and how God has given me this amazing story to live out and it's up to me to live it and make it amazing, with God's help. I can sit back and have a boring mediocre life or have an exciting life God has created for me. Anyway, I'll get off the soapbox, but if you are looking for a good read, so far any of Donald Miller's books have been amazing!

Brennan goes to the District Science Fair the end of March. We still have yet to tweek his board and make it more presentable...that is going to be a long day! We have to be at Mount Union at 8 a.m. and it won't be over until 4 p.m. I'm so proud of his accomplishment, especially considering I wasn't too keen on the project at the beginning.

It has been raining like crazy here in Ohio...flooding a bit by the river and I heard we are supposed to get 4-10 inches of snow tonight....I'm about ready to pack up and move somewhere much warmer...this is crazy!! If I find that crazy groundhog, that boy is mine...I have a bullet with his name on it....lol!!!

And when it's not raining...lol...I have still been keeping up with my walking/jogging. I have done 400 miles since August 8th and I feel so good doing it! This past week I started jogging a little bit again, and boy can I feel it!! Now if this rain could ever stop I could really get into it, but nothing is more miserable than running in the rain!

I'm going to be an Aunt again...Luke and Amanda are expecting...just found out yesterday that it's going to be a girl!! Congrats you two!

I'm going to be taking an online art-scrapbooking-journal class over at Brave Girls Club here in April called Soul Restoration and I'm kind of excited about branching out into the art side of things...sound like a really cool class and maybe it will help me use up the little pieces of this and that craft stuff I have that I for whatever reason can't seem to part with...lol!!

Just got over a bad chest cold/laryngitis this past week...which really stunk cause I was supposed to sing the solo at church this past Sunday but there was just no way....but feeling much better now...thank God!

By the way...does anyone know where a woman my age can buy a decent dress?? I'm a bit too old (LOL!!) to shop in the Junior dept. and I'm not ready to branch out in the embroidered sweatshirts and elastic skirts just yet, so if you have any ideas...I have only a couple dresses to my name that I can actually wear and with Spring coming (hopefully!!) I kind of would like a new dress...no I kind of need a new dress....any help would be appreciated.

You can't go home again...

So this past weekend we took a much overdue trip to the Cleveland area. While we were there we visited my grandparents (my grandpa is going to be 90 next month...WOW!!) and my aunt and uncle. It was so nice to visit and eat dinner with my extended family...and we got to eat at Red Robin which we've never eaten at before (none near us) and it was quite good. It was just nice to take the time out to visit, chit chat and enjoy family.

On Monday we got a tip that the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and Great Lakes Science Center was having free admission that day...so we decided to partake of the "free day". Luckily we got to the Rock Hall early and the crowd really wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed the Rock Hall very much and the boys liked it some, they liked the hands-on stuff of course and were mesmerized by the wild outfits. They were most fascinated with the Michael Jackson display of course. By the time we were leaving the Rock Hall people were lined up outside to get in...which was CRAZY!! We decided to go next door to the Great Lakes Science Center...speaking of crazy...that place was a zoo. We only stayed for about an hour and got out of there because it was just way too crowded and the boys were getting cranky and hungry...and Colton was throwing a fit...lol! The boys were fascinated with seeing the frozen Lake Erie and the huge boats though.

We didn't stay in Cleveland long after that since we heard there was an ice storm on the way, though we did tool around long enough to see my childhood home, the house I grew up in from the age of around 2 to the age of 11, and then also seeing my old elementary school. The school hasn't changed much at all from what I remember of it. And though I know it's the house, it looks quite different to me. Maybe because it's white instead of the cute minty green that I remember...or maybe because it seemed bigger to me back then. The large pine tree that used to be in the front yard is gone as well as the huge hickory tree that used to be in the backyard. We also saw the old "Lawson's" building that I used to go get milk and bread for my mom was still there as well as Augie's pizza...unfortunately they were closed or I would have so waited for a pizza. They had good authentic Italian pizza...delish!!

Also saw the old mall we used to go to, Randall Park Mall, which I was extremely shocked to find it was boarded up and no longer in operation. This saddened me deeply...this was the place we'd go for something special to do...there was the big theatre...and all the shops...and at Christmas time it was absolutely magical. I loved that mall. There were times we would even walk to the mall...which was about a mile from our house...but it was no big deal to me...we were going to THE MALL!! So to see it all boarded up, vacant and dead was a sad sight. From what I understand, it started going downhill shortly after we moved....go figure.

Like my mom told me...you can't go home again....and not that I would want to go back and live in the Cleveland area again, but I think it's true...you can't go back to your past...you can only move forward in your Journey of life...so here's to moving forward and a great 2011!!

Here is a pic of my new necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs...I'm going to be doing the One Little Word Workshop over at Big Picture Classes hosted by the incredible Ali Edwards. My word for 2011 is "truth". This year I am seeking truth in my life...truth in myself, truth in those around me...just stripping away the fluff and stuff and getting to what is true. And I couldn't stop at just a word for this year...I decided to also include my life word. My life word is "journey"...which is also the name of my blog (and name of my favorite band, but unlike what my hubby thinks this is NOT the purpose of the word)...life is a journey...it is an adventure...there are great, amazing moments...there are potholes and there are detours. The journey includes joy and sorrow, but it IS a journey...not something to sit on the sidelines and watch, but something to be experienced and enjoyed...My hope is to enjoy my journey to its upmost fullest.

Happy 2011 to you all!