#86 | Search for a Rainbow on a Rainy Day

Rainbows are significant to my family.

Rainbows mean you are not alone.

Rainbows mean hope.

7 of 101

Completed: August 8, 2012

#65 | Play Bingo

July 6, 2012

To some of you, this project may seem petty... strange... pointless....

But this is why I do projects like these.

They motivate me.
The force me to not only do something, but to document it too.
To capture a moment of my life forever.

When I started this project in May, I added 'play bingo' because I wanted to do something for my grandma.  Her heath started to decline and we were forced to move her into a nursing home.
She was unhappy and I wanted to do something to cheer her up, to give her something to look forward to.

Little did I know this would be one of the last things we would ever do... if not the last thing.
I don't remember if I saw her after this.  I got sick and couldn't do much for a week.  And then she passed the week after that.  If I did see her, it was one of those short gatherings where mom and I dropped some things off for her, chit-chatted for a little bit, and then left.  But I honestly don't remember.

What I do remember is this day.  It didn't go quite as planned.  We rushed to make it to the game, we played a few rounds and then she got tired.

But there was some laughter.  A memory created.  And I made sure we got a photo.  Not just for this project, but to remember her all the way up to the end.

And I'm so glad I did.

June 2012 Update

Start Date:  May 27, 2012
End Date:  February 22, 2015

Days Left:  967
Percent Complete:  5%
Completed: 6
In Progress:  8
Left: 5

1.  See the Pacific Ocean
2.  Photograph a Wedding
3.  Go to the Kansas City Aquarium
4.  Research my family tree
5.  Build a blanket fort and sleep in it
6.  Adopt an animal
7.  Have a yard sale
8.  Donate blood
9.  Take one photo a day for a year (In Progress)
10.  Get a massage
11.  Go on a family vacation
12.  Go to the Omaha zoo
13.  Start an herb garden
14.  But a new phone
15.  Read a chapter in the bible every night for a week
16.  Do a Week in the Life project again
17.  Start my Project Life scrapbook
18.  Go to a concert
19.  Take a hot air balloon ride
20.  Pay for the person behind me at a drive-thru
21.  Put flowers on the graves of my deceased family members (May 28, 2012)
22.  Take a yoga class
23.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen
24.  Send Christmas cards
25.  Visit the Northwest
26.  Get married
27.  Watch all the Best Picture Oscar movies (In Progress)
28.  Watch all the Best Actor Oscar movies (In Progress)
29.  Watch all the Best Actress Oscar movies
30.  Watch all the Best Supporting Actor/Actress movies
31.  Grow tulips
32.  Pick strawberries
33.  Visit a state I've never been to before
34.  Paint one wall an outrageous color
35.  Stay up and watch the sunrise on New Year's
36.  Visit my childhood home
37.  Visit a butterfly sanctuary
38.  Try 40 new recipes
39.  Spend whole weekend without using computer
40.  Get a job  (May 7, 2012)
41.  Develop a 'bill station' (May 27, 2012)
42.  Try 5 new local restaurants
43.  Take an online class (In Progress)
44.  Meal Plan
45.  Don't eat fast food for a month
46.  Don't eat sweets for 2 weeks
47.  Find a personally inspirational quote and work it into a piece of art or home decor.
48.  Do 10 projects from my pinterest board
49.  Grow carrots (June 16, 2012)
50.  Ride a roller coaster
51.  Have a pancake dinner reunion
52.  Go to a tulip festival
53.  Go horseback riding
54.  Embrace my natural curly hair for a week
55.  Clean out the garage
56.  Visit a lighthouse
57.  Go back to Washington DC with the family
58.  Travel to Hawaii
59.  Go whale watching
60.  Go on a picnic
61.  Read 50 books (In Progress)
62.  Go to Shatto Dairy farm with the family
63.  Paint a piece of furniture
64.  Make my own ice cream
65.  Play bingo
66.  Visit Mall of America again
67.  Be in a parade
68.  Have a Godfather marathon
69.  Make a quilt
70.  Go to World War 1 museum in  Kansas City
71.  Buy a new lens for my camera (In Progress)
72.  Go to a drive in movie theater
73.  See a Cirque du Soleil show
74.  Learn to make cheesecake
75.  Vote in the next election
76.  Go wine tasting
77.  Make pizza from scratch
78.  Plant a tree for Earth Day (June 24, 2012)
79.  Complete a 5000 piece puzzle
80.  Donate hair to Locks of Love
81.  Visit a waterfall
82.  Paint the front porch
83.  Take a pottery class
84.  Take a cake decorating class
85.  Go to a show in Branson
86.  Search for a rainbow on a rainy day
87.  Go to a high school football game
88.  Learn to mow the lawn with the tractor
89.  Visit 5 museums
90.  Eat 3 things I've never tried before
91.  Try a new hair style
92.  Go to a fireworks show on the Fourth of July
93.  Make a playlist of 26 songs (each starting with a different letter of the alphabet) and listen to them in alphabetical order on a road trip (June 30, 2012)
94.  Watch 5 Disney movies to discover what it is I missed during my childhood (In Progress)
95.  Send a letter to someone living outside of the United States
96.  Have a John Hughes movie marathon
97.  Go to a midnight showing of a movie
98.  Only use reusable bags at the grocery store for a month
99.  Go on a hike
100.  Have a game night with family
101.  Make a collection of 25 black and white photos (In Progress)

#93 | Make a Playlist of 26 Songs (Each Starting with a Different Letter of the Alphabet) and Listen to Them in Alphabetical Order on a Road Trip

This one was a little silly, but actually was quite fun.  I took a 3 hour (each way) road trip for my friend's wedding reception (she got married in May), and found this was the perfect trip to make a fun playlist.

I'm usually really picky when I put playlists together.  Surprisingly, this one came together pretty well.  I had some of my absolute favorites songs, some good road tunes, some songs I haven't heard in a while, some new songs, some old songs, and some songs I don't usually listen to, and of course, no road trip is complete without a little Backstreet Boys or some Matt.

After going through the 3500 songs on my laptop (yes, I have a lot of music and I'm trying to clean some of it out) this is what I came up with.  I don't have any songs that started with the letter X so I added a song that began with a number to make up with it.

A:  Apologize - One Republic
B:  Back to You - John Mayer
C:  Cadillac Hotel - Kaci Brown
D:  Do I - Luke Bryan
E:  Eyes Open - Taylor Swift
F:  Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
G:  Glitter in the Air - Pink
H:  Here's Everything I've Always Meant to Say - JamisonParker
I:  I'm Alive - Celine Dion
J:  Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
K:  Kiss Me Slowly - Parachute
L:  Lightning - The Wanted
M:  Middle - Jimmy Eat World
N:  Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
O:  On a Night Like This - Dave Barnes
P:  Punching in a Dream - The Naked and Famous
Q:  Quit Playing Games (with My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
R:  Run - Matt Nathanson
S:  Secret Garden - Bruce Springsteen
T:  This Magic Moment - Jay and The Americans
U:  Unchained Melody - Justin Guarini
V:  Viva Forever - Spice Girls
W:  Wanted - Hunter Hayes
Y:  Your Guardian Angel - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Z:  Zora Sourit - Celine Dion
#:  1901 - Phoenix

#78 | Plant a Tree

Originally this said to plant a tree on earth day. But mom found this little guy trying to grow in our yard a few weeks ago.  She dug him up (it was in a place she doesn't want a tree to grow) and dad planted it in a pot so we can watch it better.  Hopefully it with thrive and we will have a tree in a few years.

#49 | Grow Carrots

I've never grown a vegetable before and this summer I decided I wanted to grow carrots.  I dumped the seeds into a pot (who knew you grow carrots in a pot?!) and voila, a few months later my first carrot was showing through.

I pulled it, cleaned it, and peeled it, and cut it up so everyone could try it and it was quite tasty.  A week later (today) I pulled another one.  We still have quite a few more that are still growing, but I check on them every few days just incase.

This was a fun little adventure that I think I'll probably do again next year.

#21 | Put Flowers on the Graves of my Deceased Family Members

I've been lucky I've never had to do this before.  But, I guess there is a first for everything.

When I was a kid, memorial day weekend was just another day off of school.
It never really had a meaning....

Until the year my dad was diagnosed with cancer.  That is when my life changed forever.

And this year, as we crossed the two year anniversary of dad's diagnosis, memorial day weekend had an even greater meaning.  It was the first year that I had an immediate family member to visit at a cemetery.

But instead of having one, I had three to visit.

One who fought honorably for our country in WWII.
One who left our lives too early.
One who was great man and who loved his family deeply.

All three were people who impacted my life greatly.
And they will be missed forever.