In the bucket.

So my friend Chris recently posted a blog in which she talked about checking off to-do lists and about making lists of things already done. Kind of like a reverse bucket list, but not necessarily of "desired" items as much as major ones/unique items.

I've thought about the things I've done, but would probably never sit down and tell anyone about them without feeling like I was bragging. But considering no one really reads my blog and it has often been a place for me to "store" a thought, it seems as good a place as any to do this.

Done:

1-Spent a month or more in 7 countries (US, Canada, France, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, S.Africa) also Honduras, but since I was 4 at the time I don't really remember much. Canada is the only one that it wasn't a month continuous but rather several trips.
2-Skydiving (2x)
3-Whitewater Rafting (3x)
4-Hitchhiking
5-Seen Elephants, Lions, Water Buffalo and Rhino in the wild
6-Been held up at gunpoint
7-Learned to ride horses
8-Performed in the Hoosier Dome and the Indianapolis 500 parade
9-Learned to Lindy (at advanced level)
10-Learned to Knit (at advanced level)
11-Driven a standard transmission car... and have even done so on the "wrong side" of the road.
12-a. Slept outside without a tent
b. Slept outside in a tent--even with Baboons outside and other animals on Game
Reserve
13-Confronted a Sun Spider
14-Written a significant portion of 5 novels
15-Learned to weld (Mig & Tig)
16-Owned a small collection of power tools including: chainsaw, angle grinder, circular saw, jigsaw, and belt sander
17-Learned to hulahoop and do tricks
18-Swam in the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and a glacial lake (along with a slew of other lakes & ponds)
19-Lost someone very close to me
20-Lived long enough to have forgotten things that were once of great importance :)

I read this story today on the internet and really liked it. Somehow I related it to the fast I'm currently participating in. Sometimes you have to cut something out of your life completely to see the role it was playing.

TWO WOLVES
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a
battle that goes on inside people. ...He said, "My son, the battle is between
two wolves inside us all. "One is Evil - It is anger, envy,
jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."The
other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,
kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and
faith."The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his
grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"The old Cherokee simply replied,
"The one you feed."

Think of how much we could grow and how much good we could do the world if we were able to fast from all that is bad. A lovely thought.

Not all posts should be serious, right?

Please help me with a scientific experiment.

My brother and I recently ran an experiment and we need a broader testing pool.

Our hypothesis was that Dark Chocolate Covered Altoids would taste almost identical to York Peppermint Patties. We tried them in that order. We noticed flavors in the Patty we had never noticed before. Try it out and let me know what you discover.