Ride on a train

February Bucket list Item: Ride on a train

I rode the Amtrak visit my daughter, Stephanie, Ryan, and Lucy on 2/1/2013.

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, also called Amtrak is a partially publicly-funded service operated and managed as a for-profit corporation established on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train in the United States.

Amtrak train and Thruway Service routes connect more than 800 destinations. Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day on 21,200 miles of track at speeds up to 150 mph connecting more than 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces. In 2012, Amtrak served a record 31.2 million passengers and employing more than 20,000 people.

"Amtrak" is a portmanteau meaning "America" and "track."

Wow how time flies

Wow! It is hard to believe that has nearly been a year since my last post, but some much has happened since March 2012.

I completed my second degree 2/29/2012, so I now have my BSN. Hooray!

I ran my first 5K on May 5, 2012 with my daughter. I made my goal time with 1 minute or so to spare. The training process followed by completing the run made me realize I am capable of more than I some times think I can do. I am thinking about selecting my next 5K then possibly a 10K.

I visited Vegas during the late May to early June. I was able to complete many of the things from my bucket list plus do some things that were not on there. I challenged my fear of highs by doing the zipline in Vegas. Once I got going the journey was fun. I also go my palms read and held a snake. Hard to believe that I once so scared of snakes that I could not even look at a picture of snake in a book.

I spent the time from September 2011 to May 2012 look for, apply for, and interviewing for a new job. The VA process takes a while, requires persistence, but was worth the effort. Midway through August 2012, I was able to make the change from a job that was less than my ideal job to a job I love. Thus far, I love being part of the VA primary care team.

This new job has required me to move to an area that is close to my daughter and other family members, but also is an area with several bridges. I have a bridge phobia. I am still learning about my new community and getting hang of riding the bus.

As 2012 comes to a close and 2013 brings the promise of new adventures, I am thinking about my New Year Resolution. Maybe my resolution should be to complete at least one item off my bucket list every 2 to 4 weeks?

0 to 5K

I signed up with my daughter and son-in-law to run the 5K during the Columbus, Ohio 100th Anniv. I am about 5 weeks into my training for my first 5K. When I started I was unable to run for longer then 30 seconds, but I am up to 2 minutes. I am building muscle and endurance which has helped my asthma. My goal to just to finish, hopefully in less than 1 hour.

2 bucket list items down

What a week. I turned my last assignments for my BSN in on 2/6/2012 at 2 AM. I got a B+ in the class which gave me an ending GPA of 3.74. I am trying to decide if I am going to go to graduation. It has been a long year and half of school, but thanks to my husband, other family members, and friends I made it.

Tonight, the husband and I went to Outback for nice dinner since I am working on Valentine's Day. I had my first martini. I had a blueberry martini which was great and went well with the steak and lobster. Outback is about the only place that I can order a steak and not be disappointed. It always arrives perfectly done and spiced.

Making plans to visit Niagara Falls with my daughter and son-in-law. I can hardly wait!

One item completed... one nearly done... and much more

I completed my five nice things for strangers: 1) Let a tired elderly couple take cuts in front of us at the grocery store, 2) sent a thank you note to person serving in the military fighting in the war, 3) rendered first aid to an injuried truck driver, 4) gave a homeless person our leftovers and a couple dollars to get coffee, so he could get out of the freezing weather, and 5) donated to a local film.

I am about five-weeks away from completing my BSN. I never made it to the corn maze, so I am hoping to can find a maze and time in the fall of 2012.

Life at times throw in a curve ball

This week started out with the passing of a family friend, so the week will end with my husband and I celebrating our friend's life. This friend passed suddenly and without warning, for me this serves as a reminder not to sit back and watch the days go by, but to live life... leave a positive mark on each person life you meet... and let those in your life know they are important!

Next bucket list option

I am playing with the idea of finding a corn maze to master. I need to decide whether to go to the corn maze near Helena or the maze near Billings plus whom to join me. The corn maze in Billings is further away but Billings has lots of nice places to eat and that maze has pig races.