Reverse Bucket List

When Annie put out this post a few weeks ago, I knew I would be accepting her challenge and making my own reverse bucket list.  A Reverse Bucket List is just a list of things you have done in life as a reminder of how much you've actually accomplished or experienced in life.  It's a way to be reminded of how great life is!

Some people live their whole lives and never travel out of their home state, much less out of their home country.  I feel so blessed to have been able to travel to Europe!  I traveled with an amazing company (People to People) and made some incredible friends who I am still friends with 10 years later (10 years, what!?!).   We visited Italy, France, Spain, Monaco and The Vatican.  This trip was such an incredible experience and I can't wait to share more about it.

I was fortunate enough to go to two colleges that offered an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program.  Basically it's a volunteer trip over spring break.  In 2008, I traveled to Northern California to be a counselor for fifth grade science camp at the YMCA of the Redwoods.  Such a great experience!  I do get gray hairs thinking about the fact that my fifth graders are now the same age I was when I went on that trip!  I'm friends with a few of them on Facebook.  In 2009, I traveled to Costa Rica, which still holds the title of my favorite country.   In Costa Rica, we worked at a biological station and also spent two days helping out at a local school.  Both experiences were unforgettable.

Growing up I was one of those fiercely independent people and I was not going to get married and let a man hold me back.  Obviously I grew up a bit and realized that this didn't have to be the case.  I ended up meeting Josh when I wasn't even looking.  I had just gotten out of a long term relationship (no bad blood, we just weren't right for each other and parted as friends) and wanted to be single for a while.  I met Josh about 4 months later, and 8 months after that we were dating.  We started out as friends which I think was good for us.  He really is my favorite person and people still tell us how sickening we are, but I take that as a compliment.   He really is the best husband I could have ever wished for.  You can go vomit now, I'll wait.

I already talked about how Josh and I met JDF, Katie Cassidy and Stephen Amell (my other Husband) at Comic Con last year, you can read about that here.  We were supposed to meet Nathan Fillion, too, but he backed out for personal reasons.  I also met Brantley Gilbert back in 2010.  This is a random and pretty awesome story which I will definitely tell in greater detail sometime soon.  All I'll say for now is that I have the best and coolest friends on the planet!  Also, I may have to tell you about the time my Mom made me think I missed out on meeting Brittney Spears.  My 12 year old self still hates her guts for that and she knows it.

The tattoo above is actually my fourth and most recent tattoo.  I've loved tattoos ever since I was little.  I think I was between 8 and 10 when I first told my parents that I would be getting a tattoo when I turned 18.  My Mom took me to get my first tattoo on my 18th birthday.  I have a treble clef with flowers and bubbles on my upper back/neck, flowers on my right foot, and an Autism Ribbon for my Brother on my hip.  The one picture above is the one I got with my Sister.  Yes, I have plans for more, unfortunately my Money tree disappeared so it may be a while ;)

This was by far one of the most incredible experiences of my life!  You can read more about that here - where I babble about how awesome scuba diving is and overload you with photos.


What is on your Reverse Bucket List??