Checking off four more items... nearly 20 more in the works!

I am making pretty good progress on my 101 list. Not too bad considering that I've completed 15% of my list and I'm only on Day 96 (about 10% done). So I am on target. I anticipate that #70, visit Nancy and Darryl in Australia again will be one of the most difficult things to achieve. But I am hopeful!

• Buy a map and put pins in the locations where I've left a little of Dad

The map is up and has pins in most of the places that I’ve left dad. It also has other places that we have traveled and places that we want to travel.

• Go camping

We went camping on the last weekend of September, while we were doing our dive certification. I anticipate that we will be going camping much more frequently, now that we’re certified divers. Lake Rawlings is a great place to practice.

• PADI Open Water SCUBA diver certification

Speaking of certified divers, knock it off the list. Next up is our Advanced Open Water certification, which we are also planning to do shortly. Since we’re planning on starting a family in the near future, I am trying to get a good start on my certifications since you can’t dive while you’re pregnant. Next year I’m hoping that we can get our Rescue Diver certifications. I also want to complete courses in Enriched Air Nitrox and Wreck Specialty. Maybe some others, but those two are top on my list at the moment.

• Write up TripAdvisor reviews for 5 places/things in OZ and/or NZ

I have contributed six reviews from our trip so far. I’m planning to review more places including Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Poseidon Agincourt Reef Cruises, Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple & Resort, Woodlyn Park Accommodations, The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company,  Taupo DeBretts Spa, Almaden Railway Hotel, and Whitsunday Getaways catamaran.

Near future updates and plans:

• Plan and organize a WCCC meeting 

I have volunteered to host/organize/lead the women’s club meeting in May at the Choptank Wharf. 

• Try out oil pulling for at least a month 

I bought the coconut oil to do this, which I was told by someone at the railway market in Easton was the stuff to use. I’m planning to swish with oil while I’m in the shower. Will let you know how it goes!

• Attend a literary supper  

I’ll be attending the Poe dinner at the end of this month. 

Here is a list of everything I anticipate accomplishing by the end of this year:

• Go horseback riding with Rancho Lorilar in the Dominican Republic
• Complete the Couch 25K program
• Swim 1000 yards
• PADI Advanced Open Water SCUBA diver certification
• Make a photobook of Australia and New Zealand trip
• Frame and hang one or more of my own photos
• Eat a rooster that wakes me up too early
• Sell/giveaway laying hens
• Make brownies from scratch and share recipe on blog
• Visit Kathy's store Bead Soup
• Send Renee and Joanne souvenirs from vacation
• Research and buy a new car
• Dive a wreck
• Perfectly cook salmon
• Spend an entire afternoon reading in the hammock (this will more accurately be "a" hammock)

Progress!

I’ve made some progress on my 101 list.

   20.  Sign up for a 5K race - then do it

Last Saturday, I ran my first 5k. I’m still not finished my C25k program, but I’ll be finished in the next week. My goal was to run the race in 40 minutes, and I pretty much hit that mark. There was a big bottleneck at the start of the race where we were stopped for a good 30 seconds. Judging by my Endomondo tracker, I was held up for a minute and a half. My time was 40:46, so if it weren’t for the hold-up at the beginning, I definitely would have been finished in 40 minutes or under. I’m planning to run the Sea Witch next month. Hopefully I’ll be faster then. I don’t expect to ever be truly competitive, but it will be fun to beat myself.

26. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up or figure out my degree path

I'm not sure if I'll ever figure out what I want to be when I grow up. However, I have at least determined my degree path - to get my bachelors in social work. Eventually I also hope to get my masters. I’m planning to begin taking classes at Chesapeake in the spring. It’s going to be slow going, as I plan to only take one or two classes a semester. “You have to eat that elephant one bite at a time,” as my buddy TK used to say. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I have to start somewhere. Fortunately for me, I already have a 2 year degree so I’m not starting from scratch. One of my greatest friends and mentors didn’t get her bachelor’s degree until she was in her 50s. If she can do it, so can I.

54.  Find a cool glass bottle to display my Whitehaven Beach sand

This was one of the easier things on my list. More difficult was to put the sand in it. However, I managed and it is now sitting on the mantle of our fireplace in the chocolate room.

71. Decide if finishing my degree in OZ is a viable option

If I were unmarried and five years younger, it would be. But I’m married and 33 now. One of our physicians is planning a move to OZ and promised to keep an eye out for jobs for me. I’m also on New Zealand’s immigration email list. They have something called a Silver Fern Visa that I would qualify for if I had a 4 year degree. But alas, I have no 4 year degree. 

I’m afraid that Down Under will only be a place that I visit. Maybe one day I’ll be able to take an entire month off to stay in OZ. I don’t know what the cure for wanderlust is. Most times that I yearn for being somewhere else is usually when I’m at work. 

It seems that the best cure for wanderlust would be to compete in the Amazing Race. 

In the next month, I plan to:

Buy a map and put pins in the locations where I've left a little of Dad

Complete the Couch 25K program

Swim 1000 yards

PADI Open Water SCUBA diver certification

Make a photobook of Australia and New Zealand trip

Frame and hang one or more of my own photos

Fence in entire backyard

Write up TripAdvisor reviews for 5 places/things in OZ and/or NZ

Spread some of Dad at Martinak State Park

Eat a rooster that wakes me up too early

Sell eggs from our flock (hopefully enough to sustain price of feed)

Finish painting privacy fence

Another update once a few of these are checked off!