51. Institute a pajama tradition for winter holidays
52. Fly co-pilot with my dad on the flight that will begin his retirement
53. Pay for each child’s tuition in cash
54. Leave a brief case full of cash in the middle of a crowded place and watch what happens. Finders Keepers.
55. Be part of one those “time stands still” projects
56. Go backstage after a concert
57. Vacation on a yacht
58. Contribute to one of my favorite websites
59. Do a home renovation project on my own
60. Build a house
61. Have a surreal experience
62. Tell my story
63. If ever overcome with emotion, let it go and cry freely
64. Watch either child teach something to the other
65. Watch Aaron teach Jessica how to ride her bike without training wheels
66. Do something really scary, like labor over a piece of art and then submit it for review or walk through a haunted building. Both are equally hee-bee-gee-bee’s for me.
67. Try 1,000 new things. Food, experiences, fabrics, techniques, travel, sights etc.
68. When Jessica reaches the 48” mark, drop everything and go to Cedar Point with her, ride every single ride
69. Camp near a waterfall
70. Have neighbors with children who are playmates for our kids
71. Sell our house
72. Finish decorating a home
73. Plan a wedding for someone
74. Witness a birth other than my own
75. Spin a globe and where ever our fingers stop it - buy tickets within the hour for the next flight out of town
posted on July 2, 2009| 1:56 AM EST
26. Learn Spanish
27. Become well read
28. Write a book
29. Make it to the NY TIMES Best Selling List
30. Watch Jessica loose her breath when she meets Ariel for the first time, in person, at Disney World.
31. Visit Santorini, Greece with Aaron
33. Hold my breath and watch Jessica’s future husband as she takes his breath away walking hand in hand with her dad down her wedding aisle.
34. Go skydiving
35. Go bungee jumping in Canada
36. Make 1,000 lovely things.
37. Cook/Bake 100 different, creative things with Jessica as the master chef in our kitchen.
38. Say Yes to Jessica’s every request for 24 hours in a row. And if that brings us to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in search of mermaids, so be it.
39. See the Northern Lights
40. Make an apple pie from the apples of our own trees
41. Spend a weekend at a working ranch, helping and learning
42. Milk a cow by hand
43. Dig for clams with Jessica and Oliver
44. go lobster fishing for dinner
45. Safari in south africa
46. Go back to Nigeria, where I was born
47. Hang a really huge map and pin all the places we’ve been, make it a tradition
48. Become a published writer for magazines
49. Build a wooden car with Oliver
50. Buy a bottle of Crystal in celebration
posted on July 1, 2009| 1:52 AM EST
1. Live mortgage/debt free.
2. Live somewhere else for 6 mo or a year.
3. Visit a farmers market in Spain
4. Let go and live, presently.
5. Cultivate a successful garden
6. Raise chickens
7. Own and operate my Chicken Coop Cottage business
8. Get a college degree
9. Learn carpentry
10. Lose 30 pounds
11. Vacation yearly with Aaron - alone
12. Tour Europe, not necessarily by backpack
13. Take a month long road trip with no destination
14. Stand proudly by Aaron’s side as he accepts a VC check from a major player in his industry for software that was his concept and follow through.
15. Be generous, in a “Big Give” kind of way
16. Have a waterfront home - blue water, big water.
17. Have a vacation home - any where.
18. Cook and bake in my dream kitchen on a daily basis.
19. Tell stories with my photography
20. Win
21. Grow old with Aaron
22. Watch my kids get married, and get old
23. Learn how to salsa dance
24. Learn how to throw glass into bowls or glasses or such
25. Spend a Spanish Holiday in a quaint native city - and dance the night away with Aaron
I started something like this a year ago and just updated it. In fact I just looked at it again after writing my new life list and I’m surprised that there’s only one or two things from the old list that didn’t make it to the new one - without my knowing about it. Good job, Jodi - way to be.
I’m excited and I’m sure I’ll dream bigger once I get the hang of this. Link to your list in the comments - I’m all kinds of excited to see what it is that makes your lists.
posted on June 30, 2009| 2:48 PM EST
In a fit of madness every winter we usually empty our house on craigslist. We sell things that we might potentially use again only because we’re NOT using them now and it hurts too much to have crap sitting around all the time. We have enough “stuff” I don’t want to be reminded of the all the space we fill and then complain about not having what I want.
So we purge. A lot. All the time.
Oliver was a baby last summer and not strong enough to sit in the bike carrier we had, so … we sold it. Ah! But we had a better reason. We were trying to pay off his birth debt (a whopping $15,000 from start to finish). So, you know. Priorities. We were also hoping that once the debt was paid off (which it is now!!! WOO HOO!) we could purchase a new and improved bike carrier that would convert into a stroller. In fact, we had our eyes on the perfect one. When we finally had enough saved to buy it locally we went to the store and, um … they sold out of them. As in, they were no longer carrying them and they went out of stock in a big way on a huge reduction sale.
I cried a little bit.
Thus began our craigslist search for another bike carrier. Still hoping for the conversion to a stroller option, but just looking for a used one that would get us through the next couple of summers. They were all priced over $75 and that hurt a little bit because we could have boughten a brand spankin new one for $50 at Target. Crappier, yes. Price point on track? Check.
I’m getting to the point, I promise.
Any way, we found another one - not on craiglist - but at the end of someones driveway and it ended up being a gift to us from Grandparents. We were so excited!! So now it’s staring me in the face. We have a bike carrier - now what?
Oh, right. I should use it.
huh.
I packed up the kids and a bag of snacks and diapers, the emergency away from home essentials and then stuck the bag with the children in the carrier. Which I hooked up to my bike all by myself, and whose tires I pumped all by myself.
Here we go.
The park we were heading to is 2 miles from our house and about 1/8 of a mile away from our house I got off the bike and looked at the kids - who were already enjoying the ride. I said to them, “Guys, I don’t think I can make it. We’re gonna have to turn around and take the car.”
To which my daughter says “Mom, you can do it. You can do it! You got it, mom, I’ll help you. You can do it.” She chanted that up every hill and whenever she noticed me slowing down - she piped up to encourage me and believe in me and I would be lying to your face if I said I didn’t cry a little bit on that bike.
I made it to that park, all the way there, without stopping. My daughter was watching me. She was learning that when it’s hard - you can still do it. She was learning that encouragement is sometimes all it takes to get to the finish line and she was loving me in a way that I almost always refuse to love myself. She was believing that I could accomplish the impossible task in front of me. The tiresome, loathsome, painful task. She was right behind me, cheering me on.
I can’t help but think that this is how God loves me, too. Whispering in my ears and showing me at every turn that I can do it. I absolutely love that today He used my daughter to get that message across. My very beautiful girl, whom I could not be more proud of.
posted on June 16, 2009| 12:16 PM EST
Day one in Oklahoma City has been fantastic. I woke up on my own accord this morning to a house that wasn’t bursting with needs before I could even keep my eyes open. I gotta tell ya, this whole “break” thing is like watching a newborn smile for the first time. It’s laboring to get to this point and then once you’re here - you just want to rewind that one moment for the rest of time and live right there, in that peace, in that joy.
Oklahoma is that joy right now. I talked to the sitters yesterday and to Jessica once, and I miss them. But I love this break. I needed this break.
Christa and I went to lunch at Wedge! for lunch yesterday, soooo good. So very good. Then we got pedicures and went shopping until dinner - which we ate at Iguana on the porch outside and drank pomegranate margaritas. A lady bug joined my taco salad for dinner, so until that point it was delicious - after that, it was a bugs home … and well, I ate chips. But I would go back. Oh yes I would.
We walked right next door to Sara Sara cupcakes for dessert that we brought home from later and are still sitting in the fridge. I got the blueberry honey to try, I’ll let you know how it goes.
Christa and I took a walk after that and Paul delivered the cupcakes to the house (Paul and Christa are who I’m out here visiting) we walked to the Oklahoma Bombing memorial … Ahhhh-mazing. And all the thought and detail behind the memorial was surprising to learn about and endearing to see.
We ended the night driving around and looking at houses, sipping wine on their front porch and watching bad television. Folks, it just doesn’t get better.
posted on June 5, 2009| 9:14 AM EST
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