2014 Bucket List Update

For the last couple of years, I have updated my bucket list with things that I have checked off this past year. This year was a hectic one, to be sure. 2013 had a rough beginning, with new challenges, and injury that turned in to a chronic problem, job interviews, and we had to learn how to communicate and relate in a time of high stress. But Marty graduated, defended for his PhD, and got a new job. And the best part was moving on home to the northwest, just a couple of hours away from where we grew up and met, an hour away from where we went to college, and right in a new(ish) city. It seemed both like coming home and a new chapter all at once. 2013 held a lot of adventures, maybe not a lot of bucket list ones, (I don't think people have get through a tough year in one piece on their lists), but I am happy that it is behind us and feel stronger for it. We did have a few fun times though....

Give my sweetie a kiss under the Eiffel Tower
In April this year we went to Paris to visit Marty's brother. The trip was amazing, full of art and bicycle riding, and even a trip to the beach. And I am 98% sure that heaven smells like a French bakery, so, yeah, I was in heaven. 

Have monthly Sunday dinners with whoever wants to come
One of my favorite things in the whole world is to cook for people, and I dreamed about having a standing Sunday dinner for a long time. I hosted plenty of people in North Carolina, but moving back gave me the excuse to start a new tradition. (Oooh! Another thing I love!) So far, we have had four dinners with anywhere from 8-15 people and they have just been such a treat. 

Get Marty through school

Marty is one of those crazy kids that went straight through school without any breaks. Until just a few months ago, Marty didn't really know what it was like to be out of school. To be fair, he is still in a training position so he has a bit to go before he has a real life grown up jobs, but this position is slowly but surely headed that way. So proud of Husband, PhD.

See Chelsea play at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea is our favorite soccer team, and we have been dreaming of seeing them forever. And just for the record, Marty loved Chelsea FC before he ever really knew me. Seeing them play at their home stadium was unlike anything I have ever seen, and watching Marty watch them was so fun. He was just in heaven. Watching soccer in London is a totally different experience, the stadium was full of fathers and sons. Soccer in the UK (and, lets face it, everywhere that isn't America) is a way of life. 

Present at a conference

I know it sounds nerdy, but I always wanted to present at a conference. And this year I got to present some findings from an evaluation trip that I had led for my job. It got me fired up for global health and I got to hear all sorts of famous-in-my-field talk. I wore my suit, and strutted around DC, and had dinner with my new BFF Michelle Obama (okay, not the last one).  Here I am with a mural of a bunch of presidents.

Live somewhere that is not the northwest
We spent five years in the south. And let me tell you, the south is very different from the northwest. It was good for us to start our marriage somewhere so foreign - a bit of sink or swim if you will. We ended up finding all sorts of things we liked about the south, including the sunny, sandy beach just a few hours away. Here we are at the Cape Hatteras Light house on the outerbanks. 

Bucket list 2011 and 2012 updates