Actual Kicking of the Buckets: Checking Awesome Stuff off the List

So, after much deliberation about writing down a bucket list at age 36 (which you can read about here), I finally made a plan to complete it. And during some of my compulsive research to build the biggest list possible, I realized that I've been fortunate to accomplish/experience and DO a lot during my time on this green planet. And for that, I'm grateful.

So, before, I move on to the unfinished items, I have to pause to acknowledge this incredible life that I've been given. So, here is where I write my ever-growing (but never complete) catalog of awesome that got kicked off my bucket list. *And also some bucket list material that was just, fortunately, a part of my life.

LEARN HOW TO

✓ Be able to say the alphabet backwards - Which I promise is easier than saying it forwards, when you are playing 90 Second Alphabet, blind-folded, with mousetraps. This improv skit was the first time that GoProv had attempted the mousetrap shenanigans. I was excited to debut it and it was worth all the snaps.

✓ Knit a scarf - I am not great at any particular patterns, but this skill has been an awesome creative outlet.

✓ Learn a Flair Bartending Trick - I have tended bar in a few places, but I had the actual title of bartender at my favorite Italian restaurant called Antonio's Italian Ristorante. I've since lost the ability to flip and catch the shaker, but I can still make a pretty great martini and mojito.

✓ Learn to use chopsticks - It's no wonder that I learned this skill with all the sushi dinners I've enjoyed over the years.

✓ Skeet Shoot - This is harder than looks. But really fun!

✓ Teach a Class - I can't remember when I taught a class for the first time, but seeing this item on a recommended bucket list, made me so incredibly grateful that I've had the opportunity to teach multiple classes over the years in a myriad of capacities, like through 4-H, Young Entrepreneurs Academy and through my career.

✓ Learn to use a fire extinguisher - Pull the pin, don't point the nozzle at anyone. That's about it. Oh yeah, and if you have one in your business, make sure to pay the yearly fee to have someone come in and sign the yellowed card letting you know that it still works.

✓ Shoot an Arrow - I grew up in rural Indiana, so it was a part of the gym class curriculum to shoot rubber-ended arrows at huge targets starting in middle school and continuing through high school.

✓ Shoot a Gun - Just a normal part of the Patka family tradition. We are pro-2nd amendment, pro-hunting and believe in responsible gun ownership. But, our family likes to shoot guns, so, my dad built a gun range.

✓ Perform the Heimlich maneuver - In addition to knowing this, we trained to become First Aid/CPR certified... online. Oh what a time we live in!

FOR THE LOVE OF ANIMALS

✓ Hold a Baby Chicken - Another perk of growing up a farm!

✓ Hold a Tarantula Spider - I've done this a few times, and it gross me out every time. I'm not sure why I keep trying to not be freaked out.

✓ Milk a Cow - Some people watch TV when they are at the babysitter's house. When my folks had to leave us, which they didn't do frequently, we often spent time at our Amish neighbors. Chore time didn't seem so bad when it was learning something new and something that we didn't have to do all the time.

✓ Go Horse Back Riding - I'm so grateful that I grew up with horses and had the chance to show one of them at our local 4-H fair. Dulcenea Rosa (Dolly) and Duel Effort were some incredible animals.

✓ Herd Cattle - During a trip to Colorado, I wanted to really get into the rancher ambiance, so I showed up for my spot on a cattle drive in the mountains. I'll admit that I wasn't that bad at it, given my experience riding horses. But after a hard day's work, I promptly experienced altitude sickness. That illness is NO JOKE. Despite that, I seriously considered a new career for the next few days.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

✓ Climb to the Top of a Lighthouse - On a family vacation, we climbed a few hundred stairs in the Bahamas to the coolest lighthouse.

✓ Climb to the Top of a Tree - This should be a mandatory skill learned in childhood.

✓ Be in a Blizzard - The famous blizzard of '99 when my family learned how to play "Pass the Trash"and the Blizzard in 2014ish when people were throwing hot water in the air and seeing it evaporate. That was a fun few days to tell my staff that they had extended paid vacation.

✓ Do the Polar Bear Plunge - This happened in Lake Michigan in a New Year's Eve trip to South Haven. This is also one of those one-time experiences only. (Even though I had participated in a Leprechaun Leap in March a few years earlier.)

✓ Explore a Cave - A favorite family vacation to Mammoth Caves made me realize that I love exploring caves that are spacious. I couldn't be a cave explorer in those tight spaces.

✓ Explore a Rain Forest - Ecuador and Panama were great places! My favorite was Ecuador where we actually stayed in the mountains with mosquito nets and had the full experience.

✓ Fall asleep in a hammock - We had this net hammock when I was a kid and there was nothing better than falling asleep after swimming, swinging in a cool breeze.

✓ Go Ice Fishing - I'm not a huge fan of fishing, much less when you sit in the freezing cold. Ice huts make the experience a bit better, but I usually volunteer to stay at home and make the hot chocolate.

✓ Go in a Hot Tub Outside During Winter - We are incredibly spoiled to enjoy a hot tub on the patio right outside our bathroom door. That means the travel time between warmth of the tub and warmth of the house isn't very far away.

✓ Go People-Watching - The best place for this is at an airport. However, it's easy to make this a hilarious past-time by assigning strangers back stories and imagining their conversations.

✓ Go Up the Escalators the Wrong Way - Many years ago, at an unnamed college in Michigan, an improv troupe showed up early for their yearly performance. Finding a lone escalator in the building, they wondered, is it as difficult and hilarious to go up the escalators the wrong way even if there is no audience? A brave soul attempted this feat and, succeeding, accomplished two things: It IS, in fact hysterical and anyone attempting should expect large bruises. They closed the escalator the following year that the improv group returned. Yes, of course I'm proud of myself.

✓ Hunt for Wild Mushrooms - I'm terrible at this game. But, hunting for morel mushrooms was a significant win for our family, especially when my mom would cook them up for us- delicious!

✓ Kayak - One of the excursions that I planned for my trip out to Colorado was a white-water trip. Since I was traveling solo, I rented a kayak. Only got stuck twice on the rapids that were much milder than I was hoping for.

✓ Let a Snowflake Land on my Tongue - Nothing like the risk of frostbite to keep your tongue out while it is snowing outside. But seriously- it is kind cool!

✓ Relax in a Natural Hot Spring - This was an incredible experience when I traveled to Ecuador. The hot springs were located right next to a cool spring in which I also dared to jump.

✓ Roll in a Huge Pile of Leaves - One of my favorite distinctive smells was from jumping into a pile of leaves. We had a gravel driveway and no restrictions in the country, so our leaf removal system was a simple 4-step process. Rake into a pile, jump into the pile, get out of pile, re-rake and burn.

✓ Go in a Hot Tub Outside During Winter - One of the best times to enjoy it! We are so fortunate to have a hot tub at our home, I don't know what we would do without it!

✓ Snow Fight - A fond past-time whenever the snow reaches that premium "packing" status.

✓ Swim in the Ocean - So fortunate that I have dipped into the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on multiple occasions.

✓ Throw Water into the Air and Watch It Freeze - I was able to take part in this science experiment during the great blizzard of 2014 (or was it 2015?) Anyways, I loved telling my employees to enjoy their time off in a land before staying at home mean snow-days not quarantines. It was so cold outside that the water really did disappear!

IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

✓ Drive a semi truck - Thank goodness for growing up in a farm town and having connections to farm equipment close to large parking lots. I had never learned how to drive stick, so starting with over 21 different gears was a piece of cake. Even if my brother was white knuckled the entire time!

CREATE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

✓ Create my own bucket list - Done!

✓ Experience Amish Country - Or live in it, except if you're Catholic. They don't like Catholics. I like to think that my parents helped to change that for a few of our neighbors who became our friends.

✓ Ride an Upside-Down Roller Coaster - At the best home of roller coasters, Cedar Point.

✓ Ride Every Single Ride at a Theme Park - Again, at Cedar Point.

✓ Write Your Name in Wet Cement - In front of the Green Block, East Lexington Ave in Elkhart Indiana, there is some red cement sidewalk. You'll find, on the eastern most end that there are some initials in the corner of one of the blocks. Those were from my favorite bartender at a cute sushi martini bar below my old apartment. And the star right next to those initials? That one is mine.

✓ Laugh Till I Cry - Multiple times, I can't even count. What a beautiful life I have!

✓ Pull an all Nighter - My first all-nighter was in college, sophomore year. My partner-in-crime was Linda Janke and I can't even remember what we were studying for, but it was epic and I've endured many more all-nighters since! (Thankfully, not in a few years, sleep is so important!)

✓ Go People-Watching - By far, one of my favorite activities while I'm waiting at the airport.

✓ Write a Letter to My Future Self to open in 10 years

RING THE DINNER BELL

✓ Go Wine Tasting - Wine tasting is always better with friends and family. This is something that I've enjoyed many times!

✓ Eat Breakfast at Dinner - How is this on a bucket list? I call this cleaning out the fridge.

✓ Eat Breakfast in Bed - This can a little messy when you are as accident prone as I am.

✓ Eat Alone at a Restaurant - I was single for the majority of my years before I got married at 38. I learned that there was a freedom in eating alone and I learned that I'm a fantastic and expensive date!

✓ Eat a Raw Diet for a Day - Before undertaking this, it seemed overwhelming. But now, eating healthy is something that we relish in and enjoy!

✓ Eat Southern BBQ in the South - The best place in general for BBQ is in the South, but I won't enter into the debate on where and what kind. Just make sure that there is coleslaw!

SPORTS & FITNESS

✓ Get acupuncture - I can't recommend Ray of Light Holistic Health enough for this. Tell Kris I sent ya.

✓ Go in a Sauna - See recommendation above.

✓ Flip on a Trampoline - We even had trampolines without net guards in the good old days! Again, one of those skills that every kid should get a chance to learn.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

✓ Attend a jazz festival - Elkhart has the best around. I'm so glad that I lived downtown and volunteered for years in this weekend of awesomeness.

✓ Complete a 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle - Puzzles were a staple of my childhood. Mom would spend the most time on them and would struggle like the rest of us. But Dad would walk up, grab the first piece he saw and find it's exact fit so easily!

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY BY THE POUND

✓ Pay off all my debt - This was a journey, full of sacrifice and perseverance. The feeling of being debt free is incredible!

CAUSE FOR SAINTHOOD

✓ Do a holy hour in the middle of the night - This is something that I did for over a year at the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene: 1 a.m. every other Tuesday.

✓ Read the entire Bible - Finished this in 2020 courtesy of Bible in a Year with Father Mike.

STYLE: FASHION & BEAUTY

✓ Get a henna tattoo - This was a fun temporary tattoo on my foot that I got done at one of our local fairs. If you do this, make sure that it's the right kind of henna, black henna is dangerous.

✓ Get a Pedicure - Treat yo' self!

✓ Spend an entire day at the spa - One of my favorite spas is more than just a spa: Aire Ancient Baths is this unbelievable warehouse of pools, massage treatments and luxury.

✓ Wear fake eyelashes - Always a fun way to feel glamorous!

✓ Relax in a sensory deprivation tank - Jeff and I did this for our 2nd anniversary. It was pretty interesting. I found it relaxing, and not quite as claustrophobic as what I thought it might be.

LET THE CREATIVE JUICES FLOW

✓ Make a Snowman - The snow has to be just right, packing snow. I love this childhood memory. For extra fun, take a spray bottle with water and a few drops of food coloring and turn your dinosaur-snowman green- or whatever color you like!

JUST FOR ME

✓ Be on the cover of a magazine - In the February/March 2011 issue of Elkhart County Living magazine, I was featured for my work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Elkhart County.

✓ Have a Walk-In Closet - This is a humbling thing to find on a bucket list. What luxury I live in.

✓ Join a Singing Team - Does years of school choir count?

✓Join a Toastmasters Club - If anyone wants to get over their fear of speaking, I highly recommend this. However, I don't have this fear, so I didn't last long in this club.

✓ Live in a House With a Fireplace - Again, my life of luxury specifies that I have to a fireplace without real wood. Because, you know, #allergies.

✓ Live in a Very Small Town For a Year - How about my entire childhood?

✓ Make a Complete and Utter Fool of Myself - Most days, my entire life. I embrace this life now.

✓ Start a Blog - Here you are!

FOR SOMEONE ELSE

✓ Be an Organ Donor on my License - I'm not sure why someone would chose to not do this. I hope that when I die, I can help so many people.

✓ Serve Food at a Soup Kitchen - As a family one year, we served a meal at St. Mary's Soup Kitchen in Fort Wayne. It was amazing to see the operation of generosity at work. When we asked about their needs and assumed that the staff would say that they needed us to sign up again, we were all surprised to learn that one of their biggest needs (besides food) was plastic shopping bags. Often, people will pick up the soup here and bring it home for their families, so plastic bags have been the most useful because they make the soup easy to carry. Since then, we have collected thousands of plastic bags for re-use in this work of mercy.

✓ Leave a Note on Somebody's Car Window - When I lived in Elkhart, one of my phenomenal friends, Angie Fann, would leave little notes on my car windshield. It became the start of our #FannYPatk epic-ness. Since then, I've paid it forward a time or two. Mostly for fun- but also to let someone know that I accidentally bumped into their car with my rental vehicle and, in case they saw damage, they should call me. They did call, but only to thank me for being honest.

TRAVEL THE USA

California

✓ Wine Taste in the Napa Valley

✓ Drive the Pacific Coast Highway

✓ Do the Hollywood Walk of Fame

✓ Stroll Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier

✓ Ride Bikes on the Beach

Florida

✓ Have Fun at Walt Disney World

Louisiana

✓ Listen to Jazz in the French Quarter

✓ Go Ghost Hunting

Michigan

✓ Swim in a Great Lake

Nevada

✓ Walk the Las Vegas Strip

Tennessee

✓ Party at a honky tonk

Washington D.C.

✓ See the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

✓ Visit the White House

AROUND THE WORLD

CANADA - This was such a great family vacation!

✓ See Niagara Falls | New York/Canada

ECUADOR - One of the most incredibly special trips of my entire life. I was the beneficiary of so many generous people who taught me so much. Mr. & Mrs. Miller led us on this biological study of the rainforest and we ate off of banana leaves, climbed above the canopy and encountered animals on a night hike.

✓ Visit a tribe in the Amazon

✓ Visit the rainforest

✓ Stand at the Equator

ENGLAND - One day in London and I happened to be there for the Queen's 90th birthday. Turns out all the fanfare wasn't for me.

✓ Ride a double decker bus

✓ Ride in a black taxi

✓ See Buckingham Palace

MALAWI - This country is beautiful and full of contradiction. The people are beautiful and the government is corrupt. The land is barren, but people's work ethic and love of family is second to none.

POLAND - As my mother put it, I don't feel like a foreigner here. I traveled for the trip to World Youth Day, but I cannot wait to go back. Even though I'd never been there, I've never felt so close to family.

✓ World Youth Day, Krakow

✓ Poland’s Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum

PANAMA - This was another trip to World Youth Day and made me appreciate the safety of our home country because of how dangerous this place is.

✓ Visit the sloth sanctuary

SCOTLAND - What a beautiful place. Since this trip was work related, I didn't get a chance to visit all of the sites in the country, but I'll be back.

✓ Try haggis

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