40 At 40
40 Before 40
My List to be completed before October 6, 2024!
1. Get Engaged! Ryan proposed on June 12, 2021 and I said "yes" before he could finish asking! Actually, I said something along the lines of "yes, yes, yes, yes..." through my tears. Let the wedding planning begin!
2. Get Married! Done! Ryan and I were married on November 12, 2022 and we are going to be celebrating our second anniversary next month! We had the most beautiful wedding day; I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to marry my best friend!
3. Buy a home! This one has technically been done twice, ha-ha! Ryan and I purchased our first home in January of 2022 and lived there until August of 2023. We bought our second home (pictured below) in May of 2024 and moved into the house in August of 2024!
4. Visit London! I have now visited London four times! I went to London for the first time in December of 2015 and spent a whole week exploring the entire city! I even rang in 2016 in the shadow of the London Eye! The hair choice in 2015 is... questionable at best...
I went to London for the second time in November of 2020! While most of the trip was spent in the English countryside, there was a little stop over in London as we headed for home after 18 days!
I visited London for the third time in July of 2021! It was a whirlwind weekend spent in the city after two weeks exploring Scotland and the English countryside but was just as wonderful as the first visit!
My final and fourth visit to London was in May of 2023; I visited the country with my husband Ryan and my mother-in-law Marilyn! So I have definitely completed this one!
5. Have at least one child! Life doesn't always go quite the way you plan... Ryan and I found out we were expecting in May of 2023 and unfortunately we had a miscarriage in June. We will meet our child in Heaven one day.
6. Fly in an airplane piloted by my little sister!
7. See at least 45 of the 50 states (I've already seen almost 40). This will continue to be a work in progress...
8. Finish reading A Song of Ice & Fire series (George R.R. Martin, you better start writing!) I don't know if this one will ever come to fruition... those books will likely never be finished.
9. Eat in a restaurant alone. This might seem silly but to me it's really not. I tend to be incredibly shy and the idea of eating in a restaurant along petrified me. However, I went to visit my sister in Las Vegas in October of 2016 and arrived a bit earlier than her... I ended up having almost a full day to amuse myself and I ate lunch at a restaurant in The Venetian all alone, watching the tourists stroll by.
6. Fly in an airplane piloted by my little sister!
7. See at least 45 of the 50 states (I've already seen almost 40). This will continue to be a work in progress...
8. Finish reading A Song of Ice & Fire series (George R.R. Martin, you better start writing!) I don't know if this one will ever come to fruition... those books will likely never be finished.
9. Eat in a restaurant alone. This might seem silly but to me it's really not. I tend to be incredibly shy and the idea of eating in a restaurant along petrified me. However, I went to visit my sister in Las Vegas in October of 2016 and arrived a bit earlier than her... I ended up having almost a full day to amuse myself and I ate lunch at a restaurant in The Venetian all alone, watching the tourists stroll by.
The pictures have nothing to do with me eating alone - but they are from that trip to Vegas!
10. Go to a baseball game at Camden Yards. I attended a game at Camden Yards on July 11, 2015 to watch my Nationals take on the Orioles on their home turf. The park was excellent, I wore my Harper jersey and the best part - the Nationals won the game 7 - 4!
11. Finish the cook book I started for my sister; print a copy for myself also!
12. See the Cherry Blossoms in DC. Well... I have accomplished this one at least five times over (maybe even more). I saw the cherry blossoms for the first time in April of 2015! I went a second time in March of 2016 with my family.
I peeped the cherry blossoms at a little different spot (Dumbarton Oaks) in April of 2018 and in March of 2020; right before lockdown started, I was able to escape to DC for the day and see the blooms. The most recent visit was May of this year, with my husband Ryan and my parents!
13. Travel to Italy or Greece (the ancient world). I traveled to Italy in November of 2018 and crossed the ancient world off my list! I saw Venice, Rome, Naples, Pompeii and Sicily... and also popped into the Vatican while in Rome.
It was a whirlwind week filled with so many wonderful memories and seeing places that have existed for thousands of years!
14. Go to an NFL game! I attended the Saints versus the Redskins at FedEx Field outside DC in November of 2015 and checked this one off the bucket list! Too bad my Saints didn't win though.
We started in Edinburgh and from there went to Inverness, Culloden, Balmoral, Dufftown, Fort William, Oban, Inverlochy, Loch Ness, Stirling, Falkirk and Carnwath (where my ancestors hail from).
16. Recreate a portion of my Senior Trip with one of my best friends, Nickolee! I spent a four-day weekend in Gatlinburg with my almost lifelong best friend, Nickolee. When we were 18 we spent almost a week in Gatlinburg, followed up by a weekend in Panama City Beach, Florida. I suppose the beach will have to wait for another time....
18. I'd one day like to have a surprise birthday party! My Mom threw me a surprise 31st birthday at Coach & Horses Tea Room... and I was completely surprised! It's pretty fun to have surprise parties!
My husband also threw me a surprise 37th birthday party - he is sneaky and pulled it off perfectly, with tons of friends to celebrate with!
19. Go on a ghost hunt! I'll probably remove this one from the list....
20.. Visit Boston!
21. Try out camping - I've been assured I'll like it...I'm not sure. I gave camping a whirl over Labor Day Weekend in 2015 and I didn't even make it 36 hours! Oops! It probably didn't help that it rained for a large chunk of the time I was there...
And I suppose it must be love because my husband loves to camp and we have been a couple times since we met... and given that we own a tent and plenty of supplies, I'm sure we'll go again in the future!
22. See the Northern Lights (or at least attempt to see them...) Well, I've been to Norway but I haven't quite gotten high enough up to see those lights!
23. Travel to a foreign country in the Caribbean or South America! Done! Ryan and I went to Jamaica for our honeymoon! The tropical waters and the jungle vibes were great; as was the Jerk Chicken! Oh to be sitting on a beach without a care again...
24. Go to Alaska or Michigan or Montana (countries in the US I REALLY want to see)
25. Visit the Grand Canyon!
26. Go on a safari!
27. Meet someone famous! I met the Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman in December of 2018 and it was crazy exciting! I'm pretty sure he's the most "famous" person I've made but a baseball player is famous enough for me!
28. Go to the MLB All-Star Game!
29. Return to Vandenberg AFB to see where I was born! My family returned to California in May of 2016 and I was able to see the beach I played on as a wee kiddo, the hospital where I was born, the Air Force Base where I lived and the church I attended. It was all pretty cool.
29. Return to Vandenberg AFB to see where I was born! My family returned to California in May of 2016 and I was able to see the beach I played on as a wee kiddo, the hospital where I was born, the Air Force Base where I lived and the church I attended. It was all pretty cool.
30. Get in Shape/Feel Better about My Appearance. I lost a little over fifty pounds from January of 2020 to December of 2020 and it was a pretty stunning accomplishment. I hope to still lose more, so I'm going to call this one "in progress" although I've already accomplished so much!
I think this one will be a lifelong goal - it's always important to work on taking care of my health and making sure I look and feel my best!
33. Host my family for a holiday (preferably Thanksgiving or Christmas). Way back in 2011 I hosted my family for both Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was still living in Mississippi.
And Ryan and I have hosted family for Thanksgiving since we've gotten married - so this one has definitely been accomplished!
34. Visit New York City at Christmas; riding the train to get there would be cool too! Well I've done this twice too! We went in 2017 and 2018 to New York City to see the lights, sights and sounds! And yes - we rode the train to get there both times!
36. See the wild ponies that live on Assateague Island! We went to Ocean City, Maryland for a long weekend in August of 2017 and spent a day exploring Assateague Island - where we saw tons of wild ponies. It was definitely an experience!
38. Have 50,000 page views on this blog! As of today (August 3, 2021) I'm at 92,443 page views... so I'd say that's mission accomplished!
39. Ride the London Eye! I couldn't muster the gumption to do this when we went to London in 2015 but when we crossed the pond in July of 2021, I walked right on the Eye and took a spin! It was amazing to see a bird's eye view of London!
40. Hike to the top of Signal Knob!
Blue - Not there yet
Pink - In Progress
Green - Done!
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