Updated:: Bucket List =)

1)  Get married

2) Go skydiving

3) Visit New York City

4) Have a slice of REAL New York style pizza

5) Go to the top of Rockefeller Center

6) Walk through Central Park

7) Climb a mountain

8) Give a heartfelt surprise to someone

9) Make a difference in someone’s life

10)  Perform a kind deed to at least 5 strangers without expecting anything in return

11) Have children

12) Visit the Eiffel Tower

13)  Visit New Orleans

14)  Visit the Golden Gate Bridge

15) Visit Yellowstone National Park

16) Visit Niagara Falls

17)  See the St. Louis Arch

18)  See the Grand Canyon

19) See Big Ben

20) Visit Venice, Florence & Rome, Italy

21) See the Swiss Alps

22) See the cliffs in Ireland

23)  Go on an African Safari

24)  Go to Germany for Oktoberfest

25)  Go to Australia and hold a Koala Bear

26)  See the Northern Lights

27)  Go to the Florida Keys & take a picture with the “southern most point in the continental US” sign

28)  Go deep sea fishing

29)  Take a self defense class

30)  Run a marathon

31) See a sunrise & sunset

32)  Graduate college and become a teacher

33)   Buy a house

34)   Learn how to salsa & swing dance

35)   Backpack across Europe

36)   Go on a cross-country road trip

37)   Ride on a camel

38)   Swim with dolphins

39)   Visit Fiji

40)  Pack my bags and set off for a random location with no itinerary planned at all

41)     Visit Hollywood & see the Hollywood sign

42)  Go to the airport and buy tickets for the next departure

43)   Adopt a child

44)   Visit a castle in England

45)   Visit a concentration camp

46)   Learn sign language

47)   See the Mona Lisa in Louvre

48)   Visit a volcano

49)   Fly in a helicopter

50)  Volunteer at the Special Olympics

51) Volunteer at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving

52)  Visit Barcelona, Spain

53)   Visit a rainforest

54)   Kiss under a waterfall

55)   Learn martial art

56)   Plant a tree

57)   Witness a solar eclipse

58)   Go horseback riding

59)   Sail a boat

60)  Take scuba diving lessons

61)     Visit all of the wonders of the world

62)  Visit the Middle East

63)   Visit every continent

64)   Visit the Taj Mahal

65)   See the Great Wall of China

66)   Visit the Colosseum in Rome

67)   See Egyptian Pyramids

68)   See Mt. Everest

69)   Visit Hawaii and learn to hula dance

70)  Visit every state in the US

71)     Swim in every ocean

72)  Try surfing

73)   Take a cooking class in Italy

74)   Go whitewater rafting

75)   Stay in a cabin in the mountains

76)   Plant a garden

77)   Go to New York City for New Years Eve

78)   Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras

79)   Change someone’s life

80)  See a kangaroo in Australia

81)     Go to Tahiti

82)  Stay in an over the water bungalow (in the South Pacific)

83)   Visit a movie set

84)   Live without electricity for a week

85)   Ride in a hot air balloon

86)   Visit Greece

87)   Find my hidden talent

88)   Finally learn to whistle

89)   Witness a cure for an illness (cancer, diabetes etc.)

90)  Try something new

91)     Go to a Broadway musical

92)  Be in two places at once

93)   Explore my heritage

94)   Milk a cow

95)   Visit the Vatican

96)   Attend the Olympic Games

97)   Ride on a snowmobile

98)   Fly a plane  

99)   See my brother & sister graduate college

100) See my family happy again & getting along with each other

101)    Find the true meaning of life and live mine to the fullest.

{....some things I've learned from 2010}

I am SO grateful for an amazing husband, family and friends. I had the most devastating, heartbreaking, stressful and painful times of my entire life the last year. I can say without a shadow of doubt that had it not been for their constant, unconditional love, support and encouragement, there is no way I would have made it through everything I did.

Because of my experiences over the last year I have learned some very important life lessons. 1) Accept the things you cannot change. 2) We should all be eternally grateful for the things we have been blessed with. 3) Everyone needs to realize that there is always someone out there that would give anything in the world for something you have and take for granted every day. 4) It’s not WHAT happens to us that impacts our lives, it’s how we handle the situation and what we learn from it, and lastly. 5) Shared DNA, giving birth etc. do not make someone “family”, that makes them “relatives”. Family are those who. A) Aren’t afraid to tell you something that could very possibly ruin their relationship with you in order to keep you safe. B) Aren’t scared away when things get tough. C) Can be together, yet not say a word to and be completely comfortable. D) You don’t need to talk to every day, week or even month, yet you know you can count on them no matter what. E) Do not (and would not) ever treat you, your spouse, spouses family, friends etc. disrespectfully.

I now look at everything very differently. I have new respect for my life and now fully understand the importance of “living it to the fullest”. Sometimes, I think back to everything I’ve been through in almost a year now and I still cannot believe I made it through all of it. I was a lot stronger than I ever thought I was/could be. For that, I am extremely proud of myself. This isn't at all how I pictured my life as 22-year- old newlywed; but I am now a much better wife, daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, friend, teacher etc. because of my experiences in 2010, not in spite of them.

flash back::

throwback christmas pictures.