Single Woman’s Bucket List…Update!

Back in November 2011, I wrote a “Single Woman’s Bucket List, based on an article in Glamour and when I was single.  I am no longer single.  However, I thought it was a good time to review this list, make some changes (indicated in bold) and give some updates (indicated  in italics).  Here it goes….

To Build Your Confidence…

1. Go to a movie alone.

2. Work out regularly.  It doesn’t have to be the gym but do something active DAILY.  

3. Try surfing, water-skiing, or some activity you don’t already know how to do. Could be riding a bicycle.  I think I should tackle this little problem I have of open waters.  

4. Take out the trash, set a mousetrap, do your taxes, build a bookcase.

5. Live alone.

6. Train for (and finish) a huge physical test like a half-marathon.

7. Go to a scary doctor’s appointment by yourself.

8. Quit your job. It feels so good to take a job and shove it (and not be affecting anyone else’s livelihood).

9. Fly to a foreign country by yourself.  I have flown to Mexico several times alone.  I know it’s not so foreign but it counts, right?

10. Learn to stand up for yourself.

To Be Able to Look Back and Say “I Had Fun”…

11. Witness something once-in-a-lifetime, like Jokulsarlon, a lake next to a melting glacier in Iceland.

12. Do something daring, like sky diving or bungee jumping.  I bought a living social deal to sky dive so I am committed to doing it now.  Yikes! 

13. Get drunk during the day, just because you can.

14. Go on a date with someone who actually makes you nervous. This happened on March 16, 2013.  I thought I was going to throw up for the first hour of the date.  

15. Go out with an older man who takes you somewhere nice and makes you feel like a million bucks.

16. Go out with a guy who makes you laugh ‘til it hurts. This too happened on my date mentioned in #14 and has happened every day since.

To Get Perspective…

17.  Be a good wingwoman. It’s not always about you.

18. Go a day or a week without using the Internet or social media.  

19. Volunteer.

To Make You Appreciate the Next Guy…

20. Do at least one Valentine’s Day alone.  I had a “Single Awareness
Party on Valentine’s Day.  Everyone who was single had to bring someone else to the party that was single of the opposite sex.  Good times! 

21. Attend a wedding (or 15) alone.

22. Date the creeps. You’ll really value the nice guys afterward. I am officially done dating the creeps.  Never again! I can say I have found quit the gentleman.  See #14 and #16 above.   Hmmm, maybe I should write a blog about this magical March 14th date and how it all began.  It’s quite a story.   

To Make You Feel Sexy and Attractive…

23. Buy yourself some flowers. It’s part of my weekly shopping at Trader Joe’s.  I even decided to pick some flowers from my backyard, which smell heavenly and which I didn’t realize existed since I NEVER go into my backyard.  I know.  That’s weird, right?  Oh well.   

24. Invest in a LBD (little black dress) and some sexy stilettos. I have several little black dresses and seriously need to stop shopping online. 

25. Sit at a bar by yourself and drink a martini. Cool. I’d like to cross this one off as completed because I have done this several times while my friends go outside to smoke and left me there for a LOOOONG time.  I don’t care what you say, it counts!  

26. Buy something frivolous and expensive that you LOVE wearing.

To Make the Most of Your Free Time…

27. Finish all your schooling if you can. Not that it was ever my goal to go to grad school, but I did.  But I will never stop learning and considering going back again and getting another Master’s degree.  I am such an over achiever.  :D 

28. Throw yourself into something time-consuming, like learning a foreign language. You may not have time to do this again until you retire and the kids are off to college.  I registered online at Duolingo to learn Spanish.  It’s free! 

To Make Yourself a Better Partner in the Future…

29. Make a list of all your faults.  I haven’t made a list but we sure have talked about it.  Maybe I will start a list just to make sure I am not forgetting anything.  

30. Learn to cook well. Spaghetti and Meatballs anyone?  

31. Get some hobbies. Something’s gotta keep you occupied—plus it’ll make you seem interesting. Blogging and scrap booking are it! 

32. Let your married friends edit your online dating profile.  Even though I do not have an online dating profile, I decided to leave this one for those of you who do.  It sounds interesting and honest!

33. Get your finances in order.   I am officially out of debt and it feels  AH-MAZING.  I will no longer buy anything I cannot pay cash for.  No cash.  No buying.  No exceptions! It’s the rule! 

To Appreciate Being Single…

34. Babysit someone’s baby for an hour.

35. Help a friend through her divorce or a bad break-up.  I was there for her and she was there for me.  

36. Host a girls-only night. I think some coupled-up women forget how much we need each other.

I don’t think I did so bad.  There are still things on the list I will knock out!

Next: Pre-Baby Bucket List! Ideas? 

#SanFrancisco #Tourism

Millions of people flock to San Francisco to see the famous Golden Gate Bridge or the Painted Ladies as seen in Full House.  These beautiful sites are right outside my door.  So I was excited to be a tourist in my beautiful city in which I was born and raised in.

I recently had a six day staycation and became a tourist.  The question is, what to do or not to do?  For example, if you have an out-of-town guest visiting for the first time EVER and for a short amount of time, what attractions do you see or what things do you do in order to capture how amazing San Francisco is without being overwhelmed?  I limited this staycation to a few major activities/attractions that I felt captured my city.  I have to admit, I’ve lived here my entire life and I am embarrassed to say there are some things I haven’t done or seen, like ride a cable car.  Oh! Did I just admit that out loud?  I’ve been on one just not one in motion. But don’t fear, I will do it and post lots of pictures of it when I do.  Yes, I am one of those people.

I wanted to start the staycation off with a view of San Francisco.  Twin Peaks is right up the street from my house, so this was our first stop.

Photo from SFTravel

So here is how we spent our six day staycation.

Night 1: California Academy of Sciences

This is by far one of my favorite places in San Francisco set in the beauty of Golden Gate Park.  It has an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and more.  While this is a great place for children to explore and enjoy, the Academy has “Nightlife at the Academy,” every Thursday night for adults only.  The pros are:  it is cheaper, alcohol is served, no children, and less crowded.  I have been here several times during the day with my nieces and nephews but never at night for Nightlife.  It was a great experience and I highly recommend it!

Day 1: Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf

We walked around the Pier, saw the sea lions, observed Alcatraz from land and had lunch at Boudin’s. You cannot go to the Wharf and not have clam chowder in a bread bowl. Yummy!  After lunch, we went to the Wax Museum (only because I found a living social deal) and Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum (which a friend highly recommended).  My recommendation, skip the wax museum and definitely go to Ripley’s. Most wax figures did NOT look like the people.  I left most of the figures saying, “Who was that?”  If it wasn’t for the name displays, I would have left there very confused. Ripley’s had some really cool things.  This being one of them:

Day 2: Golden Gate Park

You can spend the entire day in Golden Gate Park, which is larger than New York’s Central Park.  There is so much to do and see there.  Some of the attractions being the California Academy of Sciences, De Young Museum, Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, many other gardens, the bisons, Legion of Honor, a carousel and park. We decided to kept it low-key and had a picnic at Stow Lake.  After lunch, we walked around the lake and did a little hike.

Day 3 and 4: Monterey Overnight

One thing I love most about San Francisco is being so close to take weekend getaways.  Want to go skiing? Lake Tahoe is only four hours away.  Want to have a romantic weekend?  Monterey is only two hours.  We headed to Monterey for an overnight stay taking the drive down Highway 1 with amazing coastal views.  Of course, if this is your first time visiting Monterey, you want to check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We passed on it and felt, you’ve seen one aquarium, you’ve seen them all.  Plus, we just saw the aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences and the Monterey Bay Aquarium can be quite expensive depending on how many guests you are entertaining.  If there was more time, we would have stayed a few days in Carmel and Big Sur.

Day 5:

We spent the day driving to famous attractions which included the Golden Gate Bridge, the Painted Ladies, the crooked street on Lombard Street, Coit Tower, and the Palace of Fine Arts.

The Golden Gate Bridge

The Painted Ladies

The Crooked Street (this picture sucks)

Coit Tower

The Palace of Fine Arts

Day 6: Ocean Beach

We lucked out with warm weather during this staycation and decided to end it with a day at the beach.  While there are many gorgeous beaches to visit in the Bay Area, we stayed near home and went to Ocean Beach (which is ten minutes from my house).  After the beach, we went to Mitchell’s Ice Cream, which is a must for any ice cream lovers! Just check out the Yelp reviews yourself.

What would you do and see if you visited San Francisco?

Power Struggle

“It shouldn’t be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It’s the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something’s difficult to come by, you’ll do that much more to make sure it’s even harder – or impossible – to lose.”

Soul Mates

Souls

When two souls fall in love, there is nothing else but the
yearning to be close to the other.  The presence that is felt
through a hand held, a voice heard, or a smile seen.

Souls do not have calendars or clocks, nor do they understand
the notion of time or distance.  The only know it feels right to
be with one another.

This is the reason why you miss someone so much when they
are not there— even if they are only in the very next room.
Your soul only feels their absence— it doesn’t realize the
separation is temporary.

—————————————————-

Can I ask you something?
Anything.
Why is it every time we say goodnight, it feels like goodbye?
- Lang Leav

Soul Mates

I don’t know how it is you are so familiar to me – or why it feels less that I’m getting to know you and more as though I am remembering who you are. How every smile,  and every whisper brings me to the impossible conclusion that I have known you before, I have loved you before- in another time, a different place, I guess,some other existence. -Lang Leav

Clean and Organized Closet…Before and After

None of this would have been possible without this. Thank you Nancy and Thirty One for making this possible. Next project: the office!

Living Life

                                     Source: underthenightstarrysky.wordpress.com via Michelle on Pinterest

You’ve got to dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.

―William W. Purkey

Tis the Month of Love