The 'Big Day' has finally arrived!

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday, I'm 40... Happy Birthday to me!

Today is the big day - the year of lead up, of creating and then crossing items off my mini bucket list, has come to this - I am now 40!

It's been a good day. Today, for the first time ever in my adult life, I had the day off work - on a weekday! I tried to make this happen ten years ago when I turned 30, but my plans fell through. This time around it worked, and so I spent the day with friends.

To begin with, I had breakfast at Smitty's with four special ladies - Helen, June, Debra and Kathy. This has been our thing we do the last few years - get together a few times a year over breakfast and catch up on each others' lives.

In the afternoon, I met another friend Dorothy at a newer coffee shop I hadn't been to before - Le Macaron. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? It was - check out this French-named concoction I devoured!

To cap off the day, I met three friends for supper at Boston Pizza. We enjoyed a good meal, had a wonderful visit, and I went home full - and blessed!

It was wonderful to see so many people I hadn't seen in a few months and have them help me celebrate this rather momentous occasion - definitely a special way to spend a special day!

And, thank you to friends near and far who followed along with me on this journey. It's been a lot of fun, and I'm not done yet. The mini bucket list is only half done and I have a whole year of being 40 ahead of me, so I'm going to attempt to finish off this list in 2014.

Stayed tuned...

Only one month left...

Wow! I'm down to one month before my 40th birthday and I'm only half done my list. It has been a lot of fun experiencing a number of new things this year. I am not giving up on my list; I am going to continue to work on it over the next year and may even add a few new items! Stay tuned...

The '40 Things' 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!

Item #40 - Go on Dream 40th Birthday Trip!

I'm ba-ack!

My friend Melinda and I left Canada on September 22 and spent a month in Europe. We visited 9 countries, did 2 tours, and took lots of pictures!

My highlights were Pisa and Venice in Italy and Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Pisa was beautiful and entirely made of marble - wow! Venice was where I had my "pinch me, I'm on a gondola in Venice, Italy" moment. And Ljubljana (pronounced Lube-lee-on-a) was a pleasant surprise - it was the first place we had been that truly felt European and looked just like a miniature replica of Prague.

We saw a lot of great places, met a bunch of wonderful people, and made memories to last a lifetime. I am so glad I made this trip happen - it is not without costs though: I will be paying for this for a while. However, I was encouraged several times by those who were older on our tours - those who said, "Good for you for traveling when you're young."

The message we heard over and over (especially in Italy) was "Carpe Diem - Seize the Day!" In other words, don't put off what you want to do. You don't know how long you have, and we all need to live each day to the fullest! Go to it everyone!

The infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Enjoying Venice's canals by gondola!

Beautiful Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia!

Item #36 - Play my first solo concert on the bells

Tonight I played my first concert on the bells at Knox Metropolitan Church!

Over the last few months I put together a program of pieces I've been learning. Each concert begins with a Psalm, ends with an Amen, and is made up of pieces we've been working on over the last year. Here is my concert program:

1. Psalm of Approach
2. Jesus Loves Me
3. Ar Hyd Y Nos (with Carol)
4. Regent Square
5. Gwalchmai
6. Franconia
7. Walton
8. Maryton
9. Interlude #20 (with Carol)
10. Paderborn
11. Hymn of Joy
12. Lafferty (duet with Carol)
13. Royal Oak (with Carol)
14. See My Fingers
15. St. Denio
16. Jacob's Ladder (with Carol)
17. Mozart
18. Jankoy
19. Oranges and Lemons
20. Popeye Theme
21. Amen

Because my shoulders and neck have been bothering me quite a bit this year, there were some songs I had help with. Carol has been the one teaching and overseeing my bell ringing and has been a great help to me getting to this point. It's been a lot of fun!

Item #33 - Climb Wascana Hill in Douglas Park and watch a sunset

Friday the 13th was a beautiful day... 30 above in mid-September??? We'll take it!

As I drove home from work, I noticed there were wispy-looking clouds all over the sky and I thought this could be 'the' night to watch a sunset from Wascana Hill - perfect weather and a great set up (cloud-wise) for something spectacular!

I arrived and walked up the hill about 15 minutes before the sun actually set and started snapping pictures. I had time to look around the city and surrounding area from my vantage point, which did appear to be the area of highest elevation around - other than the landfill, of course.

I was treated to a very nice sunset after which the remaining clouds all went pink. It was a beautiful night!

 

Item #38 - Go fly a kite!

I crossed a second item off my list over the Labour Day long weekend - I flew a kite!

Now this may not sound grand and exciting, but the truth is I haven't flown a kite since I was a kid and my dad always got it going and then let us hold the string when it was up and stable. I wanted to fly a kite because it looked like fun and because my childhood memories of doing so were fuzzy at best.

I did have a couple of crashes, but also prevented a few too. I got my kite as high up and the string as short as I dared. It was a fun, relaxing and enjoyable experience, and I'll have to do it again sometime soon!

Item #39 - Play a mini golf course I haven't been on before

Well, not only did I play mini golf on a course that I haven't been on before... my whole family did!

'Twas the Sunday of the Labour Day long weekend and we decided to head to the Nipawin Regional Park for lunch down by the river. Unfortunately, the restaurant was full right at noon, so we headed back to the park entrance for a round of 'Nipawin-themed' mini golf to kill some time and whet our appetites even more.

The mini golf course is a fun and fairly new course that highlights things you'd see in and around Nipawin such as the water tower, Newfield Seeds elevator, the old CPR bridge, and so forth. We all enjoyed 'touring' the town as we played, and Daren won the round.

Item #39 - done!