#17 PURCHASE A 1ST EDITION NOVEL

another book related milestone: my first, 1st edition novel and a good one at that. thank you ebay and seller boiltim for my wonderfully vintage grapes of wrath. i plan on rereading you immediately following my current book:)

#27 REBIND OLD BOOKS

this time consuming project took up about three of my empty days before i was a working woman here in florida. they are extremely amateur in design but a nice gateway into the art of bookbinding which might come in handy if i ever have to make my own books due to the popularized concept of the handheld computerized novel in the form of the kindle and now the ipad. however, neither of these holds a candle to my beloved multi-paged, three dimensional, turn the pages by hand and not a button, good old fashioned books.

#81 REDO A PIECE OF FURNITURE

in fact i refinished two separate pieces of furniture in two distinct fashions: staining and painting. the painting of the bookcase was far less time consuming, plus, who doesn't love to paint large objects? staining on the other hand took about a week due to the drying time required. of the two projects i have to say i like my stained side table best (which is actually the product of two side tables, i didn't have room for the other one, so i got creative). i would have seen the bookcase as a success, however the yellow turned out much too yellow as opposed to the mustardy yellow i was aiming for. oh well one day i will have built ins and this bookcase will be obsolete:)

#3-ACQUIRE A DOG

i now introduce you to our new dog enzo, quinn rescued him and he has officially fallen in love with him which is a good thing in the grand scheme of things due to the fact that my two cats pax and moe find quinn less than attractive. i have always wanted a dog, so now i have one along with the ups and downs of owning a puppy. one down ninety eight to go:)

A Bucket List

"There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same." -Norman Mailer

the concept of the bucket list is not new to me, i have made several said lists all with slight variations but all working toward a common goal: to learn and grow from new adventures and experiences. however, i have never really considered the prospect of putting time constraints on any of my bucket list items-until i saw a friends blog documenting her quest to complete 99 tasks in 999 days (also friends episode 7.14 "the one where they all turn 30" and phoebe goes a mile on a hippity hop thus completing her before 30 list) . 2.7 years just so happens to work out brilliantly for this point in my life, taking into account that we have been here in florida for about 120 days and that quinn has about two and half years of law school left this bucket list will factor in quite nicely with the allotment of time i have left in this section of my existence. the goal: to complete 99 undertakings in 999 days. since i officially started this quest when we took up residence here in florida i have completed a few items on my list and others have moved into the "in progress" category.

while most who embark upon a 99 in 999 journey pledge to donate one dollar to st. judes for every item they do not complete in the given time i am going a different route. for every item i do not complete i will donate one dollar to a wild life refuge of my choosing, this decision will not be taken lightly because the refuge i donate to will also be the refuge i will apply to for a volunteer position of up to three months-which happens to be one of my longer term bucket list goals.

so its off to the races! my tasks will be big and small and in between but all worth doing!

last of all i give a shout out to all my fellow 99'ers (especially katie jensen, my loan friend here in florida whose blog was inspiration for this life experience) best of luck with your endeavors. lists are good, specifics are great but every day has the potential for unexpected adventures, maybe fate will hand you a bucket list experience that you didn't expect and you can add it to your accomplished column.

"Approach each day and each situation with a willingness to ride whatever wave comes along, just for the experience of it." -Alice Steinbach