This is because I am under the weather, but want to give you guys some loving before I disappear for the holidays. Stolen from Austin to Africa…
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to – leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain. If trekking in the Andes Mountains counts, then yes. If not, the count me down for planning to climb Kilimanjaro in the next five years.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. Believe me, you do not want to be in the audience if this ever happens.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris. During a two-week trip to France in high school. And I am hoping to spend the weekend there for my birthday this year.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. Knock on wood.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. Way back in the day (like 1990) when you were still allowed to.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. See number 12.
20. Slept on an overnight train. No, but slept on more than my share of overnight buses in East Africa.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping. Yes, thanks to the underground women-only Mermaid club at my university.
27. Run a marathon. My knees won’t let me, but if you count the four half-marathons I have run, that is equal to two!
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. Ireland, on my dad’s side. And planning on hitting Norway in the next year or so too.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. Why, German, of course.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke. When I was 10.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. Back in the day, when it actually erupted on a hourly schedule.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa. Um, yes. Lived in Uganda for a year. Worked in Sierra Leone for three months.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistene chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen. At a synagogue in the East Village.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. Nope, but I sure did sell Camp Fire Girl mints and hated every minute of it.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood. I have certainly tried many times, but I used to be too underweight for it, then all my time in malaria zones did me in, and now my low blood pressure seems to be incapable of pumping out blood efficiently enough.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp. Sachsenhausen and Auschwitz.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. Remember Cabbage Patch dolls?
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square. Normally, I tried to make my way through it as fast as possible. What a nightmare.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. Only on a boda-boda in Uganda.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury. Came close to being on a murder-trial once, but the judge was not too hot about me working for a victim services organization. Thought I might be biased or something. Jeesh.
91. Met someone famous. I passed Philip Seymour Hoffman on the street in Village. And I will meet Angela Merkel this summer!
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
Hope you feel better Mandi! And have a safe trip to Seattle!
I did this meme on my blog, too. So now I’m REALLY curious, tell me about your knees (# 27). I’ve got crazy runner’s knees and had to stop running for 3 months this summer to let them heal. How bad do yours get and how are you able to still run a half!? That’s the ONE thing holding me back is worry that they will freak out on me again. :(
Emily, thanks!
Michelle, I happen to have IT Band Syndrome (which is really common), where my IT Band winds itself up real tight every time I run, and after awhile it started rubbing against my knee, which caused intense pain when I ran. I had to give up training for a marathon and go through three months of physical therapy to soften my IT Band and get it untwisted so that it didn’t cause pain anymore. I also learned the exercises and stretching to maintain a normal IT Band. Because my running is always going to want twist it around, it is constant maintenance to keep it soft.
Somehow, training for a half-marathon is doable with all my self-maintenance techniques, but I think that the intensity of a marathon would require me to seek out professional PT for the duration of my training. So, possible, but just not something I feel like investing in.
If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend asking around until you find a sports doctor and PT that you like and trust (and that won’t tell you that you need to stop running), so they can show you all the tricks and gets your knees healthy. Good luck!