"Before It's Too Late"

(by the Goo Goo Dolls)

"I wander through fiction to look for the truth
Buried beneath all the lies
And I stood at a distance
To feel who you are
Hiding myself in your eyes

Chorus:
Hold on before it's too late
We'll run 'til we leave this behind
Don't fall, just be who you are
It's all that we need in our lives

And the risk that might break you
Is the one that would save
A life you don't live is still lost
So stand on the edge with me
Hold back your fear and see
Nothing is real 'til it's gone

Chorus

So live like you mean it
Love 'til you feel it
It's all that we need in our lives
So stand on the edge with me
Hold back your fear and see
Nothing is real 'til it's gone

Chorus..."

On somewhat of a monumental birthday (or at least half-way between two of them!) & inspired by my friend Laura's Livin' Large List, I decided to make a list of 35 things I'd like to do before I die. As I accomplish these things, I will blog about them & add links, of course! I may even add to this list as things come up, because I don't want to limit myself! OH THE PLACES I WILL GO:

1. Visit our friends in England
2. Go on a cruise with my mister
3. Take the kids to Disney World
4. Re-visit Los Angeles, CA
5. Enjoy a Frrrozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity3 in New York City
6. Smell the wonderful scent of chocolate in the air at HersheyPark
7. Meet Amos (the child we sponsor in Kenya)
8. See the Grand Canyon
9. Drink coffee at Cafe Du Monde (French Market location) in New Orleans
10. Walk where Jesus walked in the Holy Land
11. Go to a luau in Hawaii
12. Take the family to White Sands & Carlsbad Caverns (like I did every summer as a kid)
13. Drive to the geographic center of Texas
14. Stay at Brooke's rental cabin in Tennessee
15. Take my whole family to India

MORE BANG FOR OUR BUCK: (Yes, this looks an awful lot like Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps):

16. Pay off ALL of our remaining debt (medical & taxes ~ ugh!)
17. Build up our 3 to 6 month emergency fund
18. Invest 15% of our income
19. Open up 529s for the kids
20. Pay off our house
21. Be free to give generously to organizations like the Oasis of Hollywood when they have a need

CRAFTY GOODNESS:

22. Learn to make some cool jewelry
23. Get caught up on my scrapbooks
24. Refashion that t-shirt that Jana told me about
25. Make a quilt out of my high school t-shirts
26. Make another quilt out of some special items (it'll remain a secret until it's done, 'cuz it's a surprise gift!)

AROUND THE HOUSE:

27. Paint a decorative vase at a pottery place
28. Decorate my bedroom
29. Extend my garden across the remainder of the fence line
30. Replace my much-loved & very worn out living room furniture
31. Make my mister's office look great (& somewhat professional)

JUST BECAUSE IT WOULD BE COOL TO DO:

32. Get a REAL camera (instead of just a point-and-shoot)
33. Take a refresher course in Spanish & learn to speak it fluently
34. Participate in a walk benefitting Ocular Melanoma research
35. Reach the point that I've been with my mister longer than without him
36. Learn to play the piano
37. Cook up the perfect brownie recipe
38. Watch a rocket launch live (preferably when my friend Misty is an astronaut)
39. Play hide-and-seek in a corn field