101 Things

101 things to do and places to visit before I buy the farm.

  1. Read the Bible from cover to cover
  2. Learn how to knit
  3. Learn to speak German
  4. Learn to read German
  5. Learn to speak Italian
  6. Learn to read Italian
  7. Finish earning my degree (40 credits to go)
  8. Taking a ballroom dancing class with John
  9. Tackle my intense fear of roller coasters (Done! 02/04/2008)
  10. Lose 30 pounds (10 to go!)
  11. See a show on Broadway (Done! “Mamma Mia!” on 4/10/2010)
  12. Write a book
  13. Get a Light Sport Pilot certificate
  14. Complete a 5k (whether walking or running)
  15. Three words: Polar Bear Plunge
  16. Watch the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery (Done! 06/07/07)
  17. Enjoy wine in France
  18. Sample cannolis in Italy
  19. Rent a cabin for the weekend in Pigeon Forge, TN (preferably during fall or winter)
  20. Write a white paper or article (Done! Magazine article accepted 5/5/2010)
  21. Present a paper at a conference (Done! 9/24/2009)
  22. Become a better witness for Christ
  23. Learn to make good sushi (Done! 03/01/08)
  24. Make my own wine
  25. Full-body massage and spa treatments (Done 08/09/2008 — Thanks, Aunt Bobbi!)
  26. Go on a Carribean cruise
  27. Go on an Alaskan cruise
  28. See the Statue of Liberty in person (Done! 06/04/07)
  29. See New York City from the top of the Empire State Building (Done! 06/04/07)
  30. Visit the Holy Land
  31. Take a hot air balloon ride
  32. Hitch a ride in an ultralight
  33. Get my motorcycle license (Done! 10/30/02)
  34. Spend a night at the Waldorf Astoria
  35. Earn my CISSP certification (Done! 07/22/2008)
  36. Spend a night in a Park View room at the Ritz-Carlton
  37. Eat at a 5-star restaurant
  38. Read “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”
  39. Chart my whole family tree
  40. See the northern lights (Done! 9/26/2009 from Tromso, Norway)
  41. Go all the way to the top of the Washington Monument (Done! 06/07/07)
  42. Visit all 50 states (28 down: MD, DE, PA, VA, OH, NY, VT, MN, CT, MA, NC, SC, GA, FL, TN, TX, IN, IL, KS, MO, CO, UT, CA, OR, NV, A,. SD, WI. 22 to go)
  43. Visit every National Park in the U.S.
  44. Leave a $100 tip for someone
  45. Host a wine and cheese tasting
  46. Ride along as a passenger at the Richard Petty Driving Experience
  47. Ring in the new year from somewhere along the International Date Line
  48. Take a train ride across the New Zealand countryside
  49. Enjoy a hot mineral bath (preferably in natural hot springs)
  50. Try raw milk
  51. Ride the London Eye
  52. Own a handgun
  53. Learn how to preserve stuff from my garden (Done! August 2008:  Sweet pepper & onion relish, pickles and tomatoes!)
  54. Create a photo album for every year that John and I have been together
  55. Learn to play the piano
  56. Take a belly-dancing class
  57. Play mini-golf in every state — with John (So Far: Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin — 44 to go!)
  58. Visit New England in the fall while the foliage is still beautiful (Sorta; I saw it from our Cessna 10/11-12/2008)
  59. Make creme brulee
  60. Have a margarita at Margaritaville
  61. Get a passport (Done! 08/23/2008)
  62. See what a $100 bottle of wine tastes like
  63. Take a candlelight ghost tour (Done! 10/25/2008 in Williamsburg)
  64. Ride the carousel in Central Park (Done! 06/05/07)
  65. Get clarification directly from Martha Stewart on whether the fitted sheet should be inside-out or right-side-out at the start of her instructions on folding one
  66. Meet Alton Brown
  67. Buy the perfect “little black dress”
  68. Cook live lobsters (Done! (09/03/07)
  69. Publish a cookbook (everyone else is doing it –why not me?)
  70. Freelance (photography) for a national publication
  71. Win “Best of Show” at the Great Frederick Fair
  72. Take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon
  73. Snow tubing!
  74. Take a tour of America’s Test Kitchen
  75. Enjoy a meal at the NYC Culinary Arts School
  76. Learn how to properly walk in high heels
  77. Try Indian food
  78. Try Thai food
  79. Go to a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with props
  80. Raise a family
  81. Try wines from 25 different countries (So Far:  France, Portugal, Germany, Australia, Italy, Japan, United States… 18 to go)
  82. Learn to scuba dive
  83. Finish typing up my recipe collection
  84. Buy the perfect pair of comfortable high heels
  85. Try authentic German food (12/02/07)
  86. Build a successful butterfly and hummingbird garden
  87. Attract Purple Martins (birds) to our yard
  88. See and identify 100 different birds
  89. Participate in a Habitat for Humanity project
  90. Organize my thousands of photographs
  91. Learn PHP and Java
  92. Finally bake a good loaf of bread (Done!  3/15/2010)
  93. Take pictures of Niagara Falls from Canada (Done!  10/11 – 12/2008)
  94. Drink tequila in Mexico
  95. Surf
  96. Completely fill my iPod with music
  97. Go to a Collective Soul concert (Sorta.. Saw them opening for Counting Crows)
  98. Go to an Allison Krause concert
  99. Find a swimsuit that I actually like… after #10 is done
  100. A place for everything and everything in its place
  101. PMP certification (Done! 07/21/2009)