Leap of Faith (bungee or skydiving)

I received the most fantastic early birthday present yesterday from John. He booked me for a tandem skydive session to replace bungee jumping on my "list". It was an exhilarating experience (of course) and a big boost to my ego to be able to say I am the kind of person who has skydived. I don't feel the desire to do it again but it's not that I wouldn't do it again. It was over pretty fast and I didn't feel the effects of adrenaline in my body until I was all done and found I couldn't sit still or find an appetite for dinner. I was never scared because logic had control of my mind that there were millions of successful jumps (and landings). Even at the moment of truth, when we were about to leave the airplane, all my brain would think about was fulfilling my instructions. My tandem instructor was the one who ultimately decided when we would go.

John's gift was a very cool surprise that I had a day and a half to prepare for. Not too much time to allow me to over analyze the situation but enough time to prepare and get excited. I guess the idea started a while ago when we had talked about how hard it has been to find a place to go bungee jumping, but that a similar adrenaline junkie sport of skydiving could be done right here in Ogden. I liked the idea of a substitution (my list, my rules) but hadn't pursued it. As I began making a big push to finish things on my list before my birthday, John seized the opportunity to help me make a big check mark. I am so grateful for him as a supportive husband and his role in helping me take this "Leap of Faith"

I say "leap of faith" because that is what is is, whether it was bungee jumping or skydiving. It was more than just a momentary thrill trying to recapture my youth during a mid life crisis. This event was a very important achievement to include when making my "list" because it represents a physical manifestation of a mental and emotional state of mind that I want to live in. Phil Keoghan (the Amazing Race host) who was a major influence on this whole list idea stated it best in his book, No Opportunity Wasted. "The leap of faith, in its various forms, is what carries us past uncertainty to the other side .... to the unknown. And to make that leap, you must summon a belief in yourself, the faith that you'll be able to defy gravity and do whatever it takes to end up safely on your feet." The concept is that if you can have the thrill of a leap in your life's highlight reel, you can call on that same ability when you need to make a "mental" leap. A leap can be almost activity that requires a big, bold step away from safety and into the realm of risk (usually mental or emotional).


And I think this jump has done that for me. It is a perfect ending to a fantastic couple of years. I don't know if I could have done it at the beginning of this journey, or if I did, if I would have appreciated it's significance. With this skydive, I have officially moved from a "nah" to a "NOW" person. I am looking for and enjoying every opportunity that presents itself. I have become less rigid and more open to spontaneous things. I will keep working towards the things I have yet to do on the list, but will also be looking for and adding more new things. Maybe five new things a year until I turn 50? Who knows. It's the process not the results that has meant the most to me, and I am happy to be concluding my 40th year on such a "high".

Brazilian wax treatment

After a trial run with a plain bikini wax last month, I decided to go for it and try for more. Technically, the spa called it a bikini wax "extended", but.... whatever.

It was no more painful than..... a bandaid being ripped off over and over and over again. Ha!!!! But from my first experience, I decided waxing sure beats the razor bumps, and the Nair hair removal creams. The pain is intense but doesn't linger and the skin is not at all tender when it's over. In this case, anticipation was worse than reality (just like the band aid philosophy).

Who knows if I will want to keep up with it, but I am glad I tried it. Without trying something, you just never know if it works for you or not. Most of all, I can claim yet another new experience I have had. And that is what "No opportunity wasted" is all about.

Party 'til the break of dawn

I just participated in the craziest all night party you have ever heard of. People came from all over, paid an outrageous cover charge to get in, dressed in a variety of costumes, and drank specially concocted cocktails to keep them going all night long. Oh, and yeah....they all worked together to complete a new crazy dance named "the 188 mile two step". I didn't get any sleep until 5:30 am and the party was still going strong. It was called a Ragnar Relay. My team completed the Wasatch Back event running from Logan to Park City Utah in about 34 hours and I officially "partied til the break of dawn".

For people who don't know what this is, 12 people share 36 legs of a relay race. My group of 6 runners sharing the second van had our first legs Friday afternoon. Then our next legs just so happened to be the night shift. Runner 7 started at 9:45pm, and runner 12 finished at 5:00am. I was runner number 9 and ran 9.6 from about 12 midnight until about 1:45am. This fact is amazing enough in and of it's self considering I am a 9 o'clock bedtime girl. What was more amazing was the fact that I didn't sleep in the van after and was able to offer support to the other runners after me until we turned the baton over to Van 1 for the morning shift and then we could all crash together.

This "list" goal accomplishment felt so amazing to me. I put it on the "list" as a way to challenge my self and my tendencies to turn in early. I have pushed my self to stay up late at times, but have never been "up all night". Not after high school graduation; (fizzled around 3am); not in college; (it was easier to get up early and study than stay up late for me); not as a young adult in her 20's;(there was nothing to stay up late for in Idaho Falls). Never. So, to have this opportunity to truly test my limits was amazing.

I initially signed up for the team for the running experience, but when I discovered I would be a late night runner, I knew that this would count as a "checked off" event if I did it. I had serious doubts that I could, though. I prepared for weeks leading up to it. Cutting back on activities, banking as many sleep hours as I could, running once in the dark to see how it feels. I even packed caffeine gel packs just in case. But I think the stress and anxiety just pumped adrenaline into my blood and I don't think I have had a funner, stronger, more exhilarating run ever. The night was perfectly clear, cool temps but not cold or windy. I kept waiting for the fatigue to hit as each new mile approached. When I hit the last mile sign, I couldn't believe how great I felt and I could have kept going if I had to.

And for those of you who worried about me, we had lots of runners and support vehicles on the route. I was never alone, and could see and be seen with my head lamp, reflective vest and "tail" light. It was just the most surreal experience I can remember having. The exhilaration of my success helped me help the rest of my team finish. We felt such success to all have such strong runs and make it to that exchange, we truly created a party atmosphere all night long and didn't stop until just as dawn was breaking.

Ellen show audience member

I just returned from L.A. having had a very fun trip to visit a recently reunited childhood friend. Besides wanting to visit my friend, however, I was also wanting to cross off my list, "Ellen show audience member".

I was unsuccessful and didn't make it on the show, but the attempts I made make me

feel like I can cross this off the list anyway. Trying, regardless of success for failure, is what my "list" is all about. After being there and getting some insight from my Warner Bros. studio tour guide, I feel like I might have had better luck succeeding at putting on my list "Win the lottery". You can't just play the game or jump threw the hoops, you also need to be lucky.

My quest for being in the audience started with planning to visit my friend, Deonne, in April when the weather would be nice and she was "off track" and not teaching. There was no particular dates that were better than another, so as soon as the ticket web site showed April tickets available, I submitted my request. A few new dates popped up every couple of days, so I really had to stay on top of availability. I really thought I got the hang of it and was disappointed when I never received confirmation from the show. I thought,"Oh well", I will just try for "day of show" stand by tickets and at least see a taping from the "riff raff" room even if I can't be in the audience. How hard could it be?

"Day of show" requests were taken on the day of show only, from 8am to 12pm. You are to leave your name and a local contact number, and will be called to confirm you are on the standby list. On Monday morning, I called at what was probably 8:01 and the voice mail box to leave my information at was already full. Still thinking I could visit the Ellen studio, her gift shop, and have my picture taken under the Ellen sign would satisfy my goal, I booked a tour of Warner Bros. studio, to see the sound stages, the back lot, and a props museum. This is the closest I got to anything Ellen. Attached is the picture of her office as we drove quickly by.

I ended up having a great time with the tour. And it was something I wouldn't have gone to do if I hadn't been trying for Ellen. Every cloud has a silver lining. etc. I got to see lots of Harry Potter movie stuff, and "Friends" props of which I am a fan of. It was on my tour that I learned how much luck is involved with getting on the Ellen show. My tour guide told me she knows people who try for years to get tickets, and that so many requests come in at the same moment that it is totally random who gets that confirmation call back.

I had a glimmer of hope on Tues. morning because I began calling the "day of" request line at 7:55. I would call, get the old message, hang up, and call again, until I got the new message for the day. It had room in the voice mail box, so I left my name, etc. Since I was only requesting one ticket, I had hope they would squeeze me in. But, no such luck. I got no call back, and at that moment full of disappointment is when I really new I was in Hollywood.

40 batches to the Final Four

I have had my own bit of March Madness lately as I narrowed the choices for the best chocolate chip cookie to the four top contenders. Let me take you down my own "Road to the Final Four"

This list item started with a cook book I received a while ago called, "The Search for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie". It was a result of a nationwide contest sponsored by The Orchards, an inn located in Mass. They narrowed down the entries to the best (about 100 recipes) and added interesting baking and historical facts about this unique baked goodie. I enjoyed reading and learning about what makes some cookies crispy, and some chewy. I tried a few different recipes that looked good, or different. But after a short while, I kept going back to the ones I had already tried and knew were good. I didn't expand my palate or what to take a risk. Let's face it. When you are in the mood for homemade cookies, do you really want to leave any margin for error and risk NOT having a good cookie when you are all done.

So, in the name of a project, I decided to make this part of my "list". I was then obligated to try at least 40 different batches. I wanted some way of knowing which ones were the best so I started freezing 1 dozen from each batch to use later in a big taste testing extravaganza. Soon I was baking cookies for everything. Anytime I needed to bring a dish to share, I brought...cookies. Guests came to visit, and they had to chose a recipe to try and we would bake together. It took me almost a full year to bake all 40 batches. I was done last Nov. 1st. So why so long before determining the best of the best? I will tell you.

My first attempt at a taste testing was pitiful. I had a party which was well attended but had way too many cookies and still not enough people to taste test and vote. There was no consensus. Luckily I had only thawed 1/2 a dozen of each kind so I went with plan B. I constructed a single elimination tournament pitting cookie against cookie that John and I alone taste tested. In the end it only really matters what we liked anyway. :)

So every once in a while we would check the match ups, taste cookie vs cookie, declare a winner, save the rest for the next round and eat the loser. By the start of March I noticed we had it narrowed down to a "Sweet 16". That was when my March Madness started as I was on a mission to have the "Final Four" by the time the college tourney was finishing. In a flurry of cookie crumbs and my diet going out the window, we arrived at the final four.

We will try tonight during the championship game to declare a winner but I am not sure that will be possible. Because of the way I bracketed each kind, we sort of have a winner for each "category" depending on your mood. We have the best basic recipe, #6; the best traditional with a twist, Double Peanut Butter; the best healthy variation, Oatmeal and Sour Cream; and the best for special occasions, the Black and White. Like the teams getting to Indy for the Final Four, it really is an honor to just be there in the games. But unlike tonight, where there will be just one winner, we are all winners who get to eat "the simplest, sweetest pleasure ever devised."

Files Organized

No posting for almost 4 months!!!!

You are all probably wondering if I had given up on finishing my list. I assure you, I have not. With only a hand full of things remaining, though, things are moving a bit slow. I either have long term projects left, or spontaneous events, or expensive things to do. It is definitely going to be a challenge to finish before I turn 41.

One long term project I have finished, however, is finally getting all my files organized. This project has definitely been a lesson in "slow and steady wins the race". After moving (3yrs ago now) and having new owners manual, new work stations, and no office for John when we first moved in, my normally neat files were a mess. And I hated not being able to lay my hands on something the second I decided I needed it. I had a general area to hunt and peck through, but it generally took me longer to find the papers I needed than to do the chore once I had them. It had been driving me crazy, but like other things I put on this "to do" list, I knew that I would for sure get it done if it was listed.

But I thought I would have marked this off a lot sooner than I did. There were a bigger mess than I wanted to admit. I ended up doing a little at a time here and there. First sorting out the stuff that I no longer needed. Then labeling sections at a time, getting the right filing supplies, etc. Finally what pushed this project through was the purchase of a new computer. It was a domino effect. New computer meant a new work station, and new cabinets, and moving everything over. Just like if you want to keep the build-up of clutter down in your house, you should just move, the same goes for cleaning up a desk, and files. No one wants to move junk into a new space. I am so proud, I even attached before and after pictures.

Now, if I need to find the owner's manual for the oven to use the self cleaning feature, I can. I won't want to but... that is besides the point.

Portrait Professionally taken

WOW!!! I never knew that with a little effort and a professional photographer that I could look so great.

I haven't had a picture take of just me, for me, since my senior portraits. When I made this list, I began to wonder..."Why not?"

Pictures have always been important to me. I have had the kids pictures taken many times. We have family portraits done every so often. I work hard keeping my photos up to date and have even organized my mother's and grandmothers portrait collections for posterity. To me they represent capturing a moment in time. And when I see that moment again later it seems to have captured all the emotion and memories too. I decided that I wanted that for my self, my blog, my "list". I wanted a photo to represent all the fun times and growth that this journey has given me. It feels good to say that I think I have what I want.

Photo credit goes to JeNeal Martinez. Many thanks.