Friday, January 30, 2009

Thankful List

After writing my bucket list, it occurred to me that God has tremendously blessed me with many opportunites. Some of the below are very happy moments, others not so much. Regardless, I am thankful!

Here's my thankful list:
Gone to the original House of Blues (in Cambridge – no longer exists)
Rode a horse in Colorado
Been to a rodeo
Been in a rodeo
Drank beer at the Hoffbrau house in Munich
Seen the Aggie bonfire (pre-1999 tragedy)
Sent a message in a bottle (off the coast of Florida)
Been to the top of the Crysler Building and the Empire State Building
Been to the top of the World Trade Center in NYC (no longer exists)
Been interviewed on live TV (on the street) in NYC
Been to the top of the Sears tower in Chicago
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower (with my cousin and my sister)
Rode a gondola in Venice (with my sister)
Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
Toured the Notre Dame Cathedral
Been to Oxford and Cambridge - the same day
Seen Haley's Comet
Flown an airplane (I took control for about 5 minutes)
Been outdoor rappelling
Been indoor climbing
Successfully completed an outdoor high-ropes course
Jumped off a tower to ride a zipline (twice)
Climbed the Mo Pole at Mo Ranch (and jumped off the tippy top!)
Gone caving (at Enchanted Rock State Park)
Celebrated my 40th birthday with breakfast in Florence, lunch in Pisa, and dinner in Rome... ooh la la!
Driven the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible
Climbed St. Paul’s Cathedral dome
Climbed St. Peter’s Basilica dome
Gambled in Las Vegas (but not much)
Bet on a horse
Held somebody I loved while they cried
Drank a pint of beer at the Guiness Brewery in Dublin
Stood at the Equator
Stood at the Greenwich Meridian (Greenwich, UK)
Stood on stage at the Grand Ole Opry (when it was at the Ryman) but not during a show ;-)
Visited the Mayan ruins in Mexico
Gotten a thai massage in Bangkok, Thailand
Taken an African safari
Seen a black bear in the wild in Yellowstone National Park (incredible!)
Gone hot-air ballooning (over the Serengti in Kenya, Africa)
Gone sky-diving (just once so far)
Hang-glided (technically, para-glided) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Rode in a helicopter (over the jungles of Indonesia)
Para-sailed (in Minnesota)
Completed the MS-150 (4 times so far)
Completed a ½ marathon (twice)
Completed a triathlon (5 times)
Completed an adventure race (just once so far)
Completed a 5k/10k race (more times than I can count)
Learned to roller blade
Graduated with high honors from high school, college, and graduate school
Have been absoluted awed by a sunset - to the point of tears
Gone white-water rafting (3 times)
Gone fishing and ate my own catch
Been to the Austin City Limits Festival (twice)
Been to the New Orleans Jazz Fest (twice)
Been an "extra" at the GMA Dove Awards
Have met CCM artists: Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Wes King, Ashley Cleveland, Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Chris Rice, Bebo Norman, and had the chance to meet Rich Mullins but didn't take it (lesson learned there)
Been to an opera
Been to a show on Broadway in NYC
Walked around Times Square at night - alone
Ate a pretzel from a street vendor in NYC
Ice skated at Wolman Rink in Central Park, NYC
Been to a show in London
Failed my first driver's test
Seen a Shakespeare play performed outside (in Ashland, Oregon)
Gone snow skiing (twice so far)
Gone water skiing (twice so far)
Was pulled behind a boat on a big giant innertube, really really fast
Ridden a Hovercraft (airboat) in Bend, Oregon (fast!)
Slept under the stars (near Big Bend)
Wished upon a shooting star
Wrote a song (11 in fact)
Held a sleeping baby until my arms went numb
Held a child until they fell asleep in my lap
Totaled a car (brand new Honda Accord, ouch)
Successfully submitted an art project for a nationally touring art show
Went on international mission trips to Yucatan (Mexico), Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, and Kenya
Traveled to 6 of the 7 continents
Traveled to 28+ countries
Traveled to 46 US States
Learned to play the guitar, piano (though not well), and trumpet
Marched in the Rose Bowl Parade (played trumpet in my high school band)
Been to Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium (the old one)
Caught a fly ball in the stands at an Astros game (thanks Lisa Weir)
Rode out a hurricane (4 times - Celia, Alicia, Rita, Ike, as well as Tropical Storm Allison)
Flown first class to Greece
Given blood (multiple times)
Volunteered (multiple times)
Listened to my uncle tell his WW II stories (very moving)
Visited the grave of all 4 of my grandparents
Visited the grave of my only sibling
Spoke at a funeral (my sister's)
Led worship (multiple times)
Taught youth how to lead worship
Was in China for Chinese National Day (and saw fireworks in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong)
Smoked a cigar on the front porch of an old house - at sunset
Hiked a ‘13er+ in Colorado
Gotten locked out of my house
Gotten locked out of my car
Created a website
Stayed out all night dancing and went to work the next day (I did shower)
Researched my family genealogy (going back to 1621 in the USA – my mom’s side)
Toured the Whitehouse
Visited the US Senate and the House of Representatives
Walked right into the US Secretary of State's offices in the Pentagon (my Aunt worked there)
Visited the Texas State Capitol in Austin (even been on the floor)
Have eaten a vareity of wild meats including: snake, crocodile, frog's legs, kangaroo, ostritch, antelope, deer, rabbit, buffalo, and dove
Wrote a fan letter
Milked a cow (didn't drink it)
Planted a tree
Danced with a stranger
Driven a four-wheeler (fast!)
Played all the instruments in RockBand2
Ridden on a wooden roller coaster
Tickled a child until they couldn’t stop giggling!
Given money anonymously
Bought a house and then made it into exactly what I wanted
Walked through the red-light district in Amsterdam (with my sister)
Stood at center court at Wimbledon (but not during a match!)
Gone to a topless beach in the south of France (with my sister, but when in Rome…)
Gone mountain biking down an abandoned horse trail (DOWN HILL!!)
Salsa danced in Cuba - twice!
Partied with the African Maasai tribe – in Kenya
Snorkeled in the underwater national park in Cozumel
Bought a new car and drove it for over 200,000 miles (and still counting!)
Drove a car on the German Autobahn (not a fast one unfortunately)
Been on a sailing team that was in an actual sailing race (raced J/24's on Lake Travis)
Been to 3 big Old Testament areas (Israel, Greece, Italy)
Visited the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem
Stood in the Jordan River
Floated in the Dead Sea
Taken the subway in Los Angeles, Chicago, NYC, Washington DC, London, Paris, and Rome
Internet dated
Climbed to the top of a Buddhist temple (in Hong Kong)
Built a computer from scratch (in the late 80's)
Most importantly: Led someone to Christ (well, next to receiving Him for myself)

All for now,
Lisa

No comments: