stressful times calls for life list items

In the past two years I have been hammered with extreme heartache, beginning with the loss of someone incredibly dear to me that flipped my life upside down, an unsuccessful, disappointing and expensive stint in graduate school, and several of my closest relationships were ripped apart. Luckily I have a beautiful, smart, healthy daughter which will forever make every challenge seem but a small puddle to jump over. But whenever I feel blue I always turn to my life list and the issue at the moment is that I am having a very difficult time adjusting to our new house. There are many things I love about it but unfortunately in the past month that we've lived here every day there seems to be a worse issue than there was the day before. I keep telling myself that in a year from now all of these problems will be long behind us and then we can focus on making some renovations and doing the things that we WANT to do to the house and less of things that we HAVE to do to the house.

My advise to anyone who is having a hard time with anything in life whether big or small-do or buy something you've always wanted. Of course it won't make your problem go away but it might help you find a smile though it be temporary and aid in changing your perspective. I think that's the key to any issues-your perspective.

Currently I am emotionally exhausted, stressed and drained so I convinced my husband to start planning a BIG trip- it won't be for another year and a half but it's exciting to start planning and saving. I am not a frugal traveler so I need to start saving now. It works out well because our daughter is too little right now for a big trip and also the trip will also be a celebratory vaca right after I get my braces off and *hopefully* and finally reach my life goal weight.

Where are we going? It will be a 15 day trip to Disney World Orlando paired with a cruise to the Bahamas. I will be able to complete 20 life list items, give my daughter the trip every 3 year old could only dream of and my husband will be able to have some experiences he's always wanted to try also.

20 LIFE LIST ITEMS DECEMBER 2013


1. go on a cruise
2. stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge
3. see Cirque Du Soleil
4. take my daughter to Disney World
5. indoor skydive
6. swim with manatees
7. hold an alligator
8. pick oranges
9. go on an airboat tour
10. go to SeaWorld
11. visit a butterfly farm
12. eat alligator
13. swim with dolphins
14. swim with sting rays
15. swim with sea lions
16. para sail
17. have a penguin encounter
18. eat at Cinderellas Castle
19. take a sea plane tour
20. go fishing

*some of these I have done before but I was so young I don't really remember and don't have pictures, they are things I not only want to 're' experience but things I want to share with my daughter as well.

*there are two other things I'm looking into but are very expensive so I'm not sure if they will fit into this trip.

So this gives me something to look forward to, be excited about and every time things get rough I will stop and think about the luxury vacation on the horizon!! And for the time being I got a kitten to cheer me up and I was feeling like my daughter needed a companion, I'm sure she gets bored with mommy and her same old antics. On July 3rd, I asked my husband if we could get another kitty, he reluctantly said yes so I prayed for one that night...the next morning when we walked up to the parade the first thing I saw was a box of free kittens. I think that was God saying "ok, this is something easy I can give you right now".