Bucket Lists and Daily Routines... Days 9 and 10!

Hey friends. Here is another two for one blog challenge special!

Day 9 asked me to review the items on my "bucket list". While I don't actually consider it a bucket list, I do have a list of just a few (or less) things I would like to do... one day!

• See whales in the wild. I'm kind of a whale fanatic... I love going to aquariums that provide me the opportunity to see all kinds of water-wildlife, but I am particularly fond of the whales. My dad does have a boat, but he has not yet agreed to take it out far enough to see whales in the water. 
• Get a book published. I have written one book, and have 2 or 3 others in flux at the moment, but one day I'd love to have something I have written published and on the shelves somewhere. 

To the best of my recollection, those are the only "bucket list" type things I want to get done.. I want to travel, I want to have kids, and I want to live a happy life, but as far as a life lists, this is kind of it...

Day 10 asked for my daily routine. I tend to think that this is a bit boring. I get up, I work out, go to work, sometimes I work out again, then I go home, eat dinner, annnnd... go to bed.

Sorry that I don't lead a more exciting life that would provide you with a more interesting read. Perhaps it is a blessing I fell asleep before blogging last night, so that you could read abut my boring bucket list and my boring daily routine all at one time. (Hopefully you're still awake! Tomorrow should be more exciting... I hope!)

Day 8: Biggest Pet Peeve

I'll never forget the first time I heard the term "pet peeve". I didn't quite grasp that there was a v happening, so I thought we were talking about "pet peas" which instantly provoked an image of cute little peas, snuggled up in their pods, smiling away. 

Not exactly the best image to accompany pet peeves. 

Anyway, I don't really know how to answer this. I know there are a million and one things that bother me, but due to the adorable peas that I STILL think of when hearing those words, it isn't something I generally say. 

But, because I want to fulfill my commitment to this challenge, I will share with you my "biggest pet peeve" that I put in my senior yearbook: blinker leaver on-ers. 

Just turn it off when you're done. I never know when suddenly your left on for far too long blinker is suddenly going to stop being accident, and become a thing that is happening and you'll just be switching lanes willynilly like your blinker hasn't been on for 14 miles, and that I should have been anticipating it all along. 

I realize now that I am also fairly irked by those who don't use their blinkers. They're there for a reason, people. 

I know, I'm asking for a lot here. To both turn off AND turn on your blinkers. A girl can dream :) 

Days 6 and 7... Whoops!!

For those of you still reading along, I seem to have missed a day! Whoopsie! But I will do both posts here, now. :)

Day 6: Your last random act of kindness....

This is tough because I like to think of myself as a fairly kind and considerate person, however, I am struggling to come up with the "random" part... because I also have a healthy fear of strangers. Sometime this past weekend, I did see a woman in the Publix parking lot drop her keys, so I picked them up and ran after her. Does that count? I also found some keys in Stein-Mart sometime in the recent past, and turned those into the cashier. Apparently, I'm your girl if you lose your keys ;) I

Day 7: What's your dream job?

I love my job. Being a teacher is something that I always knew that I would do, and I enjoy being able to work with kids, and watch them learn and grow. (I am also incredibly ready for summer; in case you were wondering 16 more days...)

I love writing and would so love to write a book and get it published. I'll make some headway on that this summer...

Annnnd stay at home mom. I'd love to be able to stay at home with my, some day in the future children. :)

Anyone out there better at the random acts of kindness than me? Any super cool dream jobs out there??

Day 5: Favorite Movies You Never Get Tired Of Watching

Seriously? It would be easier to tell you which movies I DO get sick of watching. I am a movie lover. And I will give almost anything a chance. Beyond that, I can find redeeming qualities in the worst of movies.

That being said, a few of my favorites are:

All chick flicks... I was going to pick just a few but after my 2nd Channing Tatum, the 3rd Matthew McConaughey, and a handful of Ryan Gosling, it seemed easier to say all.

I LOVE Titanic. It's probably a bit of nostalgia, but I will never forget what it felt like to be in that theater at 13 years old and legit sobbing when Leonardo DiCaprio drowned. Oh... spoiler alert. I know, you're supposed to say that first. Oh well.

I love when a good book makes a good movie. Sometimes a good book makes a crappy movie. You have to watch out for those.

Disney everything. I am a kid at heart, always and forever. :)

A few others that don't fit these molds would be:

American Outlaws with Colin Farrell (I told you, I find the good in everything)

Seven

And probably several more... I'll want to edit this post at least 30 times, I'm sure.

Day 4: Best Childhood Memory

I've blogged about this before, and I'll likely blog about this again, but my favorite childhood memory is my sister. 

There are so many memories and experiences that we share that I am eternally grateful for. I feel incredibly fortunate to have a sister, a person who I can forever count on, confide in, and reminisce with. 

And having a sister, in my opinion, is infinitely better than acing a brother. I have literally no way of backing that up, but I am sticking to it. 

The bond we have shared for so many years is forever cemented. I love that most of the memories I can recall involve her. I love that I can ask her when I need something clarified. I love knowing that she has the same memories as me. I loving know we can still count on each other. 

Having a sister, a lifelong best friend, will always be the best childhood memory I could ever want to have. 

Day 3: What makes You Happy?

Perhaps this challenge involved a little more self discovery than I initially anticipated. Happiness to me is a tiered event, in which there are so many levels and ways to experience it. 

I find happiness in my family, being surrounded by love. I am so blessed to have the most incredible, close family, and I love being able to spend time with them. 

I find happiness in my friends. I have some of the most amazing friendships with some truly wonderful people. Some I've known since childhood, others I've met recently, but all are incredibly special to me. Putting yourself in the company of positive, uplifting, and kindhearted people is so important, and I couldn't be more grateful for those people in my life. 

I find happiness in the little things. A smile when you aren't expecting it. A happy ending. A good deal on shoes. Feeling accomplished and proud. Happiness comes from unexpected places and things that make you feel better. 

I find happiness in a good book. Diving head first into a new world, and being engulfed by someone else's creation. I love the idea that someone's idea take life on the page, and we are able to see into their mind, even if it is only for 300 pages. I love even more when a book makes you feel. Feel anything- delight, sadness, love, anger, betrayal, joy. 

I find happiness in my students. Seeing them grow and learn. Watching them develop into little people. Knowing that loving them may be just the thing that they need at that moment. Getting hugs from them, having conversations with them, seeing them connect with each other. I have so much love for what I do. 

I find happiness at Disney World. Because, duh, it is the happiest place on earth! 

I also find happiness at Hobby Lobby. Which I have nicknamed the second happiest place on earth. 

What makes you happy? 

Day 2: Favorite Quotes

For Day 2 of my blog challenge I was asked to share my favorite quotes. As I sit here pondering this, I've come to the realization that I don't have a "favorite quote", at least not in the most traditional sense. I don't often share quotes as wisdom, or cliched advice, and I don't have a quote by which I design the structure if my life. 

What I do have is a few quotes that I kind of like for one reason or another, which I will share with you all now. 

"He'll be famous-a legend- I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future- there will be books written about Harry- every child in our world will know his name!" 

I love this quote from Harry Potter, because of how completely true it ended up to be. Love him, or hate him, you've heard of Harry Potter. And how could JK Rowling have known that before anyone had even read her first story? Say what you will about Harry Potter, but those books, like it or not, changed the face of children's literacy. 

"A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep." 

Naturally, I had to include Cinderella in here! I love this quote because I am completely enchanted by the idea that our hearts are filling our sleeping minds with our truest wishes and hopes <3 

"Life's short, buy the shoes." 

Because you can never have too many pairs of shoes!!

"Thoughts become things."

Because my friend Jean believes this wholeheartedly, and proves to me time and time again that it is true. 

There you have it! What are some of your favorite quotes?