2016: The Year in Review

My year of adventure was just that - being challenged at work and finding out I can do more than I thought I could, not one but two moves within the city including a house- and cat-sitting stint that all showed I could take more than I thought I could, and a whole lot of ground covered all over western Canada with my friend Melinda to celebrate her 40th birthday! Whew!

I wasn't able to get the sleep I needed with a new and demanding job due to noisy neighbours living below me, so I moved out of my apartment at the end of January. I moved into the basement of a house with a quiet family of four above me on the main floor. We operated on much the same schedule and got along well.

Around the three-month mark of working at the Court of Appeal, things started to click. My learning curve was steep, but I did well and was offered an extension because a second maternity leave was upcoming.

In the summer, I enjoyed living just half a block from the bike path. I walked and rode my bike quite a bit, mostly in preparation for… Melinda’s 40th Birthday Canadian Adventure Trip! I kept up to my active friend pretty well, and we both enjoyed the entire trip very much!

But I arrived home to an empty house! My quiet neighbours had left suddenly and I learned a family of six (yes, six!) was soon moving in.

On the November long weekend, Melinda and I joined approximately 100 others on a one-day charter flight to Churchill, MB to see the polar bears! This was Part 2 of her 40th Birthday Canadian Adventure Trip, and it has been a much-talked-about trip ever since. It was a pricey adventure but definitely an experience we will never forget!

My new neighbours forced a second move of the year, which was my return to downtown Regina. Economically, this was quite a beneficial move as I only had to walk two blocks to work.

It was quite a year! Adventure sounds fun, but it's exhausting. Can I take a break please?

It's 12/12/16 - the 4th anniversary of my blog!

Happy 4th Anniversary, dear Blog!

I've crossed a few items off my list in the last year, so it's time to make some additions. The more things I do, the more I think up to do! Here are my next five things...

The '40 Things & More' List!

1. Go snowshoeing.
2. Serve a meal in a soup kitchen.
3. Eat something I've never tried before.
4. Visit a town in Saskatchewan that I've never been to before.
5. Plan my dream 40th birthday trip.
6. Start running again.
7. Visit a US state I haven't been to before.
8. Read a classic novel.
9. Create and complete a scrapbook for one of the trips I've taken in my 30s.
10. Do up a will.
11. Complete one of my cross-stitch projects.
12. Go kayaking.
13. Get my website business off the ground.
14. Take a self-defense class/course.
15. Go horseback riding.
16. Visit a museum or historic site in Saskatchewan that I haven't been to before.
17. Give blood regularly.
18. Attend a Victorian Tea.
19. Ride my bike in the city.
20. Stop and smell the flowers at a garden I haven't been to before.
21. Try an activity that's new to me.
22. Walk a portion of the Trans Canada Trail that I haven't been on before.
23. Learn more about my family history.
24. Visit a park in Regina I haven't been to before.
25. Participate in a fundraiser that involves a physical activity.
26. Simplify some area of my life that needs simplifying.
27. Learn how to change a tire on a vehicle.
28. Explore Regina's backyard - see what's just outside the city limits.
29. Learn more about Canadian history.
30. Visit a natural site in Saskatchewan I haven't been to before.
31. Learn to play the guitar.
32. Visit a Canadian National Park I haven't been to before.
33. Climb Wascana Hill in Douglas Park and watch a sunset.
34. Visit the observatory at the Science Centre.
35. Attend Mosaic - a multicultural festival held annually.
36. Play my first solo concert on the bells.
37. Attend an outdoor movie event.
38. Go fly a kite!
39. Play a mini golf course I haven't been on before.
40. Go on dream 40th birthday trip!
41. Attend a Regina Red Sox baseball game.
42. Visit Saskatchewan's only lighthouse.
43. Run a 5K.
44. Visit the Great Sandhills in Saskatchewan.
45. Visit a Canadian province or territory I haven't been to before.
46. Attend the annual kite festival in Swift Current.
47. Visit a major US city I haven't been to before.
48. Watch a sunrise.
49. Try another activity that's new to me.
50. It's a surprise (even to me!) - I'll know it when the opportunity presents itself.
51. Take a ballroom dancing class.
52. Watch an old black & white movie I haven't seen before.
53. Experience a WARM birthday!
54. Experience a WARM Christmas! (not necessarily in the same year as the previous item)
55. Attend the annual Dickens' Village Festival in Carlyle.
56. See the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba.
57. Visit the east coast of Canada.
58. Jump out of an airplane! (in tandem, of course!)
59. Experience a 4th of July in the United States.
60. Visit a US National Park I haven't been to before.
61. Write a book.
62. Watch the Rose Bowl Parade in person.
63. Attend a spring training baseball game.
64. Buy something at an auction.
65. Drive part of Route 66.
66. Attend the tulip festival in Ottawa.
67. See the Great Wall of China.
68. Visit Disneyland or Disney World.
69. See a lavender field in bloom.
70. Attend a ballet.
71. Live overseas!
72. Visit Laycock, England.
73. Get published (e.g. magazine article).
74. Attend a Remembrance Day service/ceremony.
75. Visit the Grand Canyon.