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Summerside, PE
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the BIG "why not" list...

June 4, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i don't really have a bucket list.
but what i do have...
is a BIG why not list.
(and when I am feeling really rebellious,
it becomes the BIG why the hell not list :) )

i started this list a long time ago,
maybe 2009...
i shared it on my blog then
but since then
there have been some changes...
some things have been added
and some
have just been removed
as i have realized over time that
that maybe that thing is just not that important to me anymore.

and...
some things have been COMPLETED!

a few people have asked about my list
so i thought maybe i would share it again
since i recently updated it to include it in my
bullet journal.

what the list actually looks like right now in my bullet journal

i apologize in advance for the length of this list...

the BIG "why not" list

  1. Do 100 ideas for creativity by keri smith.
  2. Read something of my own out loud in public. COMPLETE
  3. Go to Cabot Trail again with my parents.  (date is set for this!  Sept 16, 2016)
  4. Go to Disney with Stirling and kids...if they want to go, hahaha.
  5. See a real 3D movie at an IMAX.
  6. Build a studio (not just for photography but with good light).
  7. Make a wedding topper out of fimo.
  8. Have a gallery show at a different venue.
  9. Be a part of a writing group. COMPLETE
  10. Start a writing group in Summerside.
  11. Take a writing class or workshop.  COMPLETE
  12. Take a creative writing class at UPEI.
  13. Do ten tutorials about Photoshop.
  14. Design my own business cards and logo.
  15. Have something I have made in a shop.
  16. Write a long story.
  17. Drive a race car.
  18. Drive to Moncton by myself.  COMPLETE
  19. Bungee jump
  20. Do yoga regularly.
  21. Try judo, tai chi or kickboxing.
  22. Have one thing published somewhere.
  23. Participate in a bridal show. COMPLETE
  24. Start a real letter correspondence (a grown up way of saying i want a penpal!)
  25. Participate in a Christmas craft fair.
  26. Learn how to drive a standard.
  27. Learn how to change a tire.
  28. Have a photo published in a magazine.
  29. Be interviewed.
  30. Meet a blogger that i read in real life.
  31. Make a quilt.  (I may remove this one, I'm not sure it still holds interest for me)
  32. Take a drawing class.
  33. Try mixed media art (Kelly Rae).
  34. Take a course in something.
  35. Enter Island literary awards.
  36. Choose a theme for one month (photo & words).
  37. Make bread.
  38. Make a large paper cut image.
  39. Go to Italy.
  40. See the Skydiggers. COMPLETE...TWICE!
  41. Make my own salsa.
  42. Grow sunflowers.
  43. Reread all of Margaret Atwood.
  44. Invite my parents over for supper.
  45. Write a short story.
  46. Take a sewing class.
  47. Play scrabble.
  48. Teach the kids how to play SCAT, play with my parents.
  49. Find a job that I love ALL the time. COMPLETE
  50. Go rock-climbing.
  51. Ride a real roller-coaster.
  52. Photograph all the churches & graveyards on PEI (this one may not make the list much longer either)
  53. Own a hammock.
  54. Build a tree-house.
  55. Knit a robot.
  56. Knit a sock monkey.
  57. Make a blurb book of my blog.
  58. Learn how to play one song on guitar.
  59. Make peppermint bark.
  60. Hand carve something from wood.
  61. Write a letter to someone I am a fan of.
  62. Do the second Simple Abundance book.
  63. Hear Margaret Atwood read in person. COMPLETE!
  64. Color every page in a coloring book - start to finish.
  65. Try doing a latch rug kit.
  66. Make cinnamon rolls.
  67. Re-read Constance - Patricia Clapp
  68. Try watercolor painting. COMPLETE
  69. Play checkers.
  70. Go to Ireland.
  71. Plant a kitchen herb garden.
  72. Make my own poetry/photography book.
  73. Join a photography club.
  74. Read all of the Harry Potter books.
  75. Go to Scotland.
  76. Read the Outlander series.
  77. Make the 1001 ♥ shadowbox idea.
  78. Go on a photo walk.
  79. Go to Newfoundland.
  80. Make a Halloween decoration out of paper mache.
  81. Make a mushroom out of fimo.
  82. Finish my Anne painting and post on Etsy. COMPLETE
  83. Find Panmure Island.
  84. Take photos of graveyard on trail.
  85. Become a member of Women's Business Association.
  86. Have a gallery show at Beanz.
  87. Read War and Peace.  started
  88. Grow my hair long and tangly.
  89. Journal every day for one month straight.
  90. Write a kid's book.
  91. Try karate.
  92. Own a Mark camera.
  93. Learn to crochet.
  94. 20 minute walk outside every day for a month.
  95. Be debt-free.
  96. Read and do "Writing Down the Bones" again.
  97. Start and complete a 365 project of some sort.
  98. Make apple butter.
  99. Read at least one book on photography.
  100. Own polka dot rain-boots. COMPLETE
  101. Buy new docs. COMPLETE
  102. Develop our forgotten rolls of film.
  103. Buy a typewriter.
  104. Plan an overnight escapade with 2 certain friends.
  105. Go on a road trip with Stirling.
  106. Attend a retreat (ideally...liz lamoreaux's)
  107. Tree-go
  108. Take a painting class with Suzanne O'Callaghan.
  109. Act in a play. COMPLETE
  110. Switch home movies to digital.
  111. Learn to play the drums.
  112. Add to my tattoo.
  113. Get the dandelions to birds tattoo.
  114. See the Redwood forest.
  115. Get a new mailbox and cool house numbers.
  116. Finish the house.
  117. Buy a necklace from Liz Elayne
  118. Make an inspiration board.
  119. Take a photography class.
  120. Finger-paint.
  121. Bake a red velvet cake.
  122. Learn how to cable knit.
  123. Donate blood.
  124. Go on a train ride.
  125. Try a zip line.  COMPLETE
  126. Make a stop action movie.
  127. Be in Artful Blogging.
  128. Be in Where women create.
  129. Do the "Drawing on the right side of your brain" book.
  130. Make stamped metal jewelry.
  131. Make meat pies.
  132. Do an Alicia Burke class online.
  133. Do a Mondo Beyondo class.
  134. Make wonton soup.
  135. Drive in a transfer truck.
  136. Read all of LM Montgomery's books.
  137. Hang glass bottles from a tree.
  138. Move to the country.
  139. Put some photos to music in a video.
  140. Own a goat.
  141. Knit a big comfy earth toned blanket for me.
  142. Container garden. COMPLETE
  143. Drive a snowmobile.
  144. Sled down a giant hill.
  145. Make caramel apples.
  146. Go to a demolition derby.
  147. Fly in a fast plane.
  148. BE IN a demolition derby.
  149. Make strawberry freezer jam.
  150. Knit a dozen dishclothes.
  151. Make a calendar out of photos.
  152. Try Zumba.
  153. Make my own pop up book.
  154. Go to Canada's Wonderland.
  155. Read and do Inner Excavation.
  156. Drive a dirt bike.
  157. Get my taxi driver licence
  158. Shoot a month of sunsets
  159. Go to Peggy's Cove
  160. Get a little pug puppy friend for Pugsley
  161. Shoot a month of sunrises.
  162. Hike ALL the trails on PEI.
  163. Go somewhere with zero gravity.
  164. Go berry picking.
  165. Hot air balloon ride.
  166. Read the Robert Jordan series.
  167. Watch a meteor shower.
  168. See Blue Rodeo again.
  169. Go to Niagara Falls.
  170. Try flying trapeze lessons.
  171. Raise chickens
  172. Have a house with a sunroom.
  173. Build a greenhouse.
  174. Learn to meditate.
  175. Read kids books to kids at a library.
  176. Try glassblowing.
  177. Go to Grand Manan.
  178. See a murmuration for real.
  179. Try mountain biking.
  180. Make a coloring book.
  181. Be a bingo caller.
  182. Ride a mechanical bull.
  183. Perform a wedding ceremony.
  184. Segway
  185. Go go-kart racing
  186. Drive an ATV.
  187. Own a jeep...orange...or purple.
  188. Make an "all family" involved haunted house at halloween
  189. Try horse back riding.
  190. Do a big jigsaw puzzle

I warned you...it's a long list. 
I just read something that talked about the Golden Rule of the bucket list
being not to focus
on completing the bucket list,
just the tasks that are on it...
but it's good to keep adding to it.

So I guess I'm doing it right, heeheehee.

And by sharing it, I'm throwing it out there to the universe.
Take a chance, see what happens.

In 2016, list-me-up, she's so weird, the big WHY NOT list Tags the big why not list, bucket list, all the things, leaves, list, throw it out there
2 Comments

friday i'm in love (summary::may)

June 3, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i keep a gratitude list where
i try to write 3 things every day
that make me happy.

here are some of the things
that made the cut
in May:

  • watercolor robots
  • sunshine
  • no headache today
  • game of thrones with stirling
  • canned corn
  • pc points
  • perfectly cold coconut cream pie from water st bakery
  • a good hair day
  • chicken fricot
  • polka dot rubber boots
  • a new space to put my pens and stuff
  • emma's mother's day gift...so sweet
  • seeing my family out in the sticks
  • surprise smurfs at work
  • emma playing purple rain on guitar
  • got my new bullet journal
  • robot shoes and mismatched socks
  • blackberry gingerale
  • my bff starting working days
  • bridget left me a comment
  • living your potential course
  • an unexpected and very sweet gift of a zentangle book
  • 5 days off in a row!
  • emma got accepted to a school
  • hiking adventures with an old friend & a hand drawn map
  • oreo cookies
  • bare feet
  • campbell treating to ice cream at dairy bar
  • felicia day liked my tweet!
  • canned corn
  • overboard with emma and stirling
  • milk duds
  • giggly texts with M when i was stressed out and needed a release (& also couldn't find a bathroom...which i also really needed...)
  • sunshine when they called for rain
  • a trip to kool breeze with my mom
  • recreating the "little red car" photo
  • bob's burgers
  • stovetop dressing
  • bare legs
  • emma and her 8 chocolate bars
  • stirling's bone crushing back cracking hugs ♥
In happy2016, grateful, friday i'm in love, list-me-up Tags grateful, May, all the good things, happy, happy2016, polka dot boots, i like canned corn
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wordless wednesday (well...maybe a couple of words)

June 1, 2016 Arlene Giddings

every day i write 3 things that i really really want...these are usually things like "to enjoy the day" "to not stress over things" "to focus" but sometimes includes "to be debt free forever" and "knee socks"  (cause you can never have too many pairs of knee socks)

and then on the next page, i write at least 3 things i am grateful for from the day before...i love love love this...they can be as big as "stirling survived a motorcycle accident" to as small as "perfectly slightly stale marshmallow strawberries for breakfast".

weekly layout...including what book i'm reading and the series i'm watching (right now:: game of thrones, gray's, nashville and scandal)

and i had to include one photo that wasn't horrible...the other ones were all done in low light with my phone...blech.

In wordless wednesday, bullet journaling Tags bullet journal, bujo, wordless wednesday, layouts, june
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whatcha readin'?

May 30, 2016 Arlene Giddings

DISCLAIMER:  this photo really has nothing to do with the post below...

it's a whatcha readin' post
but without a finish,
there's no "the end"
because...
i haven't gotten to the end yet.

but i have to tell you that
while i am reading
the heart goes last
and really enjoying it
i am also reading a couple of other books
(which i don't normally do..
normally i am a monogamous reader,
loyal to the last page).

but this is different.

i am trying to journal every day
and sometimes, i need some help.
so i started reading elizabeth gilbert's
big magic
and i am loving it!

and i am also trying to doodle a little more...
so i had gotten
drawing lab for mixed media artists
by carla sonheim (whose art i love)
and last night
i spent about an hour and a half
drawing a full page of cats
30 cats to be precise...

i have never drawn
a cat
in my life.

at first it was kind of terrifying
and all sorts of frustrating.
but once i kept going
(like about 12 cats in...)
it started to get fun.
i drew them with glasses on
and bowties...
laying down, sitting up, backs arched,
fluffy, skinny, black cats with green eyes...
and it was fun and kind of
enlightening in an unexpected way.

so...a bit of a mass book update instead...
best i can do
in a rambling have to do this very fast because
i-have-to-go-watch-game-of-thrones-before-stirling-starts-without-me-kinda-way
 

In whatcha readin' Tags books, avid reader, all the books, elizabeth gilbert, carla sonheim, drawing lab, big magic, margaret atwood
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friday i'm in love (on a saturday)

May 28, 2016 Arlene Giddings

♥♥♥ i am totally enamored of these 60 second videos...so beautiful and evocative.

♥♥♥ this movie trailer...

♥♥♥ this sneak peek that might have made me clap my hands a little...

♥♥♥ this post...love the words...sigh

♥♥♥ now THIS is a hosta...so pretty!

♥♥♥ this instagrammer...so light and pretty and sweet

♥♥♥ i'm coming back to flickr...and realizing how much i missed it...it was a staple for me when i first started playing with photography....and so many fantastic awe-inspiring images on Explore.  Makes me want to grab my camera and play.

♥♥♥ there's a contest happening over here on this sweet girl's website...

and i've been playing with the timer on my camera...both the phone & the big camera...it's been fun...and fun is good.  :)  HAPPY WEEKEND! 

In friday i'm in love, happy2016 Tags flickr, rainboots, a green bench, hostas, beauty and the beast, friday i'm in love, a day late
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