Carpe Diem

I've recently been inspired to create a Bucket List. No, I'm not going through a mid-life crisis, a divorce or a death in the family. I haven't even lost my job. I just think most Bucket Lists will take YEARS to complete, so why not start early?

For as long as I can remember, my parents have POUNDED the importance of "planning your dive, and diving your plan". About 3 years ago, I took that to heart... and to the extreme... when I jumped out of a plane. I'm a moderate adrenaline junkie that wanted to do something completely out of my control and characteristically insane.

The appointment was made, the deposit was deposited, but when I pulled up to the address from the website, I literally almost turned around. The double wide trailer with clucking chickens out front didn't exactly scream SAFE SKY DIVE.



but plan your dive, dive your plan. So we moved forward with the paperwork and watched a short video in the double wide. On a 4" screen like those kitchen TVs from the 90s. BUT plan your dive, dive your plan, Ashley. So I dove out of a plane at 10,000 ft in January strapped to the front of the creepiest man I've ever met. And I l o v e d every second of it.

One week later, I got this great shot of the small, rusty plane I jumped out of and I vowed to be pickier with my next skydiving selection.



I've done other crazy things like running marathons, being a young American female that travels to Indonesia to meet Balinese people from a book I read, and I just recently signed up for a 3.6 mile run with 14 obstacles ranging from running through a creek, jumping over fire, and crawling under barbed wire in a mud pit. And I'm running it in this.




but there are still things I'm just dying to do! So without further adieu, here is my Bucket List The 2010 Edition:

• Sky dive, part deaux
• Bungee jump off a bridge
• Take Sheila Kelly’s S-factor course
• Shoot a real gun at inanimate objects, then possibly at small, over-populated animals
• Visit Andy and Haleybug in Alaska and kayak through their glacier-filled backyard
• Do a triathlon
• Zip line through a rain forest
• Slalom for longer than 2 minutes without falling
• Sober karaoke
• Decide on a Wednesday that I’m taking a vacation Friday-Sunday, and go somewhere fabulous


First up? A triathlon in April. Hold on to your tutus.

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