Beyond my Bucket List

Dear friends,

I'd like to take a quick moment and thank you for following along with my adventures.  Though I know I haven't met all of you who read this blog, I'm thankful for every one of you.

Last week, I had the opportunity to get to know a fascinating woman.  This is a woman who has achieved great success in her life.  When I first met her, she was speaking to a group I was a part of and I found myself oddly drawn to her.  I couldn't exactly pinpoint why it was, but I made a point of introducing myself to her at the completion of the event.  Not only was her story incredible and inspiring, but there seemed to be something radiating from within her.  Happiness?  Success?  Contentment?  I really didn't know what it was, but I liked her.

She agreed to have coffee with me and impart some wisdom on career paths.  We talked a bit on careers, but quickly discovered we share a love for adventure, travel and new experiences.  The conversation changed gears and we shared some of our favorite experiences as well as a few items from our bucket lists.  I found that she had done some of the things I have not yet checked off my bucket list, so once again, she was inspiring me.  I enjoyed my time with her very much and left considering a lot of my favorite memories and adventures.  

I truly hope each and every one of you has a Bucket List.  I mean a true, written down list that you do everything you can to pursue the dreams on it.  I certainly have mine.  It is an ever evolving list.  There are currently 20 items on my list that have yet to be checked off and, believe me, I'm focused making them all happen.  Little by little, I WILL achieve everything.

There is another list I keep as well and that's the one I want to share with you today.  It is a list of some of the experiences I've had and skills I've learned that I treasure.  Some were crossed off my bucket list, others were more random opportunities.  It's important to remember the things you've accomplished.  Sometimes when I feel like there is still so much I want to do in my life and feel overwhelmed trying to figure out how I am going to manage to do everything, I look back on the things I have done and revel in how much fun I've had.  The list below is a piece of the list I copied and pasted from my personal document.  The grammar is massively inconsistent  so please forgive me.  I just wanted to share some of these things with you and remind you that not every accomplishment or adventure has to be extraordinary, expensive or life-changing.  An adventure is an adventure because it brought you joy and opened your eyes to something new, whether it be great or small.

Things I've Done

Bungee Jumped

Parasailed 

On the field for first NFL game of the season

Climbed the fence at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Water-ski

Own & ride motorcycles

Own a boat

Can drive a backhoe

Can drive a bobcat

Can drive a forklift

Got tattoos

Slept on the beach

Barrell Raced in a rodeo in Bandera, TX

Played cowbell in a steel drum band

Traveled to Italy

Swam in Mediterranean

Swam in Gulf of Mexico

Swam in Atlantic

Swam in Pacific

Learned to weld

Hunting

Own a home

Ride a mechanical bull

Drive a houseboat

Clean fish

Clean turtles

Hiked up a mountain for the sunset

Helped deliver a calf

Hang Glide

Participated in a 5K

Rode a painted horse in the Rio Grande

Listen to a Native American Storyteller

Spent time with Grampa in hospital & nursing home & held his hand when I thought I’d lose him right then

Was in a TV commercial

Learned to mountain bike at Women’s mountain biking clinic

Sprint Distance Triathalon

Met Garth Brooks!

Install laminate flooring in a whole house

Put on fireworks show at the lake

Mud Run

Trap shooting

Ziplining

Album release party in Nashville

Built a cabin porch in my living room

Hiked on the Appalachian Trail

Icy Fun at Turkey Run

I don't know about you, but it seems like a lot of people in my world are getting hit hard with cabin fever, me included!  In an effort to combat this horrible state of being, I've decided every free moment is a great opportunity to head out to the woods, snow or shine, cold or colder, no matter what, it's time to get outside!

The first hike of the year was a couple of weeks ago.  Turkey Run State Park is about an hour west of Indianapolis and is one of my favorite places to hike in the state.  It's just far enough to feel like a getaway, yet close enough to go anytime.  

Though we weren't leaving until late Saturday morning, my hiking buddy and I felt the need to get in the spirit a little early, so on Friday we made a trip to REI to look at gear and dream about adventures we'd like to embark upon.  REI is like my own little piece of heaven.  It's a good thing it is a bit of a drive or I'd be there at least once a week.

Friday night I went home to pack up for the weekend and discovered all my outdoors gear is in a massive disarray.  I'm not sure how it got so bad, but little by little, I've managed to scatter my gear over the winter.  I managed to locate everything except my headlamp, which I didn't figure I would need anyway, and got everything put into a couple of bags and ready to roll.  (I later found my headlamp in my hunting tote)

The following morning, I got up and ready and headed to my friend's house to throw everything in one vehicle and get on our way.  The hike was amazing.  Temperatures stayed right around freezing, but I was comfortable all day.  We hiked for five hours and covered nearly half the park.

It was such a beautiful day.  It snowed most of the day leaving gorgeous white flakes all over us and every other surface in the woods.  It added a fun challenge to some parts of the trail as well.  Nothing like a fresh layer of snow and ice on ladders and narrow ledges to get the blood pumping!

In the evening, we returned to my favorite motel of all time.  Every time I go to Turkey Run I try to stay there.  It is called the Parke Bridge Motel and is located in Rockville, IN.  It is run by a very sweet family and the rooms are so adorable.  It's the perfect place to return to after being on the trails.

Here are a few photos from the first hike of the year!

I know, I know

My balancing act on the icy ledge.

First hike with the new poles.  They are amazing!  

Little bat at the lunch spot.  I named him Walter.

Icy tree bent over.  Looked like a fun challenge.

Livin' it up in Louisville

When you're told on Friday evening you have the opportunity to pack your bags and head to Louisville for some great brews and bourbons the following day, what do you do?  If you're me, you say, "Hell Yeah," pack up and get your game face on for some fun!  And that's just what I did last weekend.

I've made countless trips down I-65 in my time, but Kentucky is always a pass-through state for me.  I know Louisville only by the skyline view from the interstate.  It was pretty awesome to finally take an exit and venture into the city.

Though I heard about many fun shops and museums to check out, the sightseeing I chose consisted more of food and beverage than anything else.  It started out with a Louisville classic, the Hot Brown.  Recommended by a friend and affirmed by the locals, my adventure buddy and I set out for the Brown Hotel to get a Hot Brown.  I really didn't know exactly what I was in for.  I didn't read the description or look too hard at the picture, I just ordered it up.  What appeared in front of me was a stoneware skillet filled with a white sauce, tomatoes, bacon and a heap of other stuff I couldn't immediately identify.  All I knew was it came highly recommended and it had bacon so I had no worries about how it would taste.  One bite and I was hooked!

After filling up on the Hot Brown, it was off to Jack's Lounge for a taping of The Bourbon Lounge TV show.  I met some great local folks there including a lady in some fantastic derby attire, hat and all.  The hope was that there would be some bourbon sampling going on during or after the taping, but no such luck.

Let's see... what was next?  There really wasn't any big plan for the day so plans got made up as we went along.  Actually, we invented a very fun sightseeing game.  Let's call it GPS Roulette.  We found several places that sounded interesting, some recommended by locals, others we found by Googling around and entered the addresses of each place into a GPS.  When we were done at one place, we would pick another address on our list, never knowing which place it was.  There was a certain level of giddy excitement not knowing where the GPS lady's voice was going to lead us or what adventure was in store next.  I highly suggest trying out this game!

The next stop was the Louisville Water Tower.  I think there is some kind of art museum right there with it, but it was closed.  We had fun taking some pictures with it though.

Then it was on to a place that actually had adult beverages for us!  Apocalypse Brew Works is a fun little treasure nestled into a little corner of Louisville with libations with names like Fallout Dust and Nuclear Winter.  We weren't quite sure what to expect because this is a newer brewery, so even the locals weren't overly familiar with it.  The front of house area was really small, but had everything it needed.  They had ten brews on tap and we tasted them all!

After ten tastes and one full beer, it was back to playing GPS Roulette.  I thing the 13% alcohol brew I chose at Apocalypse did me good, because I recall giggling like an idiot at how fun it seemed to select the next address and not know where we were heading.  We ended up at a large, old brick building in a cute area of town.  The building had formerly been a church and is now a bar called Holy Grale.  A beer flight was consumed and we were back on the road.

Next stop, Against the Grain!  As soon as I heard there was a brewery called Against the Grain I knew I'd be buying a growler whether I liked the beer or not.  The brewery's name is also the name of one of my favorite Garth Brooks songs.  Amazingly enough, they had a beer that was my favorite of everything I'd tried that day.  We had another flight and a whole beer as well as some pulled pork nachos that were out of this world!

Hmmm... I'm trying to count up how many beers I had at least tasted at this point in the day...  21!!  How appropriate!

A trip was made back to the hotel to freshen up and park the car so the day could continue safely.  Luckily, the Hyatt Regency is right in the heart of downtown and within walking distance to a number of fun spots.

Stop #1 for the evening was the Maker's Mark Bourbon House & Lounge.  A little fun fact about me- I LOVE whisky.  However, I don't prefer bourbon.  But I figured,  "when in Rome!"  And luckily Maker's Mark makes a bourbon I greatly enjoy, Maker's Mark 46.  I sipped my beverage and we enjoyed the company of some other locals who filled us in on the hot spots around the area.  They even invited us to join them later in the evening and gave us some insight to avoid paying cover.

Food sounded like the right thing to head for after a lovely bourbon (and 21 beers from earlier).  A place called Gordon Biersch looked like a winner.  The food was outstanding!  Nuff said.  Oh, and I skipped the adult beverages this time.  ;-)

What a day!  So much had happened and I'd had so much fun.  I hated for it to end, but I was definitely ready to call it a day.  Heading back to the hotel, my adventure buddy (I hope he likes that title... it seems appropriate) reminded me of something we had discussed earlier in the day, a beverage called Drambuie.  It came up when I was talking about how I enjoy Jack Daniels Honey.  I'd heard of Drambuie on TV or in a movie, but never knew what it was.  We checked the hotel bar and discovered they had a bottle, so I had to experience it!  We had a great time sipping our Drambuie (I just like saying Drambuie) and chatting with some trade show attendees who were staying in the hotel.

All that in about 12 hours!  How's that for an adventure?

It's almost the weekend AGAIN!  I wonder what I can get into this time around?  Thanks for reading, friends!

Book Review - WILD by Cheryl Strayed

Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Cheryl Strayed

As some of you know, I LOVE reading books by female authors.  I love the perspective of a woman who some would refer to as being strong or fearless, though I'm not a big fan of the word "fearless."  I believe we all have fear in us and I also believe it is a great thing.  Without fear, no one would ever do anything great.  The thing about women I admire is that they are willing to push beyond the fear to fulfill a magnificent dream or to experience something great.

Cheryl Strayed's story of her hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a wonderfully honest and deep look into a woman who has been through some tortuous experiences in her life, from an abusive father, to drugs, affairs, the death of her mother and so much more.  I  immediately felt a strong bond with her though we have had very different life experiences.  She brought her story to life in a way that I felt like I lived every moment with her.

Her hike on the PCT tested her in every possible way.  It broke down her body, tested her mentally and threw out some obstacles which caused even some of the most seasoned hikers to throw in the towel.  And yet, through it all, Cheryl pushed on and found hope and kindness in so many ways, from California all the way up to the last inches of northern Oregon.

Cheryl's brand of honesty is the thing I treasure and admire most in this book.  She bluntly shares intimately real details about both the ugliest and prettiest moments of the adventure that has been her life.  Wild is a truly fantastic account of the experiences of this very special woman, and is ultimately a story of hope.  The subtitle says it all, "From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail."  What an incredible story.

Couchsurfing (Part One)

I just had the most spontaneous, action-packed, fun-filled weekend getaway ever!  And I did it as a couchsurfer.

Last week, I decided it was time to get healthy dose of my favorite city, Nashville.  It's such a great city and it always feels like home.  I was thinking about heading down on Friday after work and considering where I might stay.  Then I remembered something I had learned about in college called couchsurfing.  Couchsurfing is a way of finding a place to stay, meeting new people and sharing experiences.

I got on couchsurfing.org and searched for hosts in Nashville and found an abundance of potential hosts.  I started reading profile after profile, deciding who seemed safe, fun and like I would have something in common with them.  For those of you who are immediately jumping to the potential negatives of this form of tourism, let me throw out a couple of mind-easing tidbits.  The site is an incredible resource that offers piece of mind in many ways.  Some users have gone through a process to be verified for their identity and location.  All users have reviews if they have used the service as a surfer or a host, much like reviews on eBay.  You should check out the site.  It's really cool.  Everyone has a profile and you really get a good sense of who it is you are going to meet.

Garth Brooks sang, "I'll admit I tend to sing a different song.  Sometimes you just can't be afraid to wear a different hat.  If Columbus had complied this old world might still be flat.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, sometimes you've got to go against the grain."

I kind of look at life that way, and I certainly look at couchsurfing that way.  Life is one big lesson in assessing risks vs. potential benefits.  When I found someone's profile who I assessed as being low-risk, with very high potential benefits  I sent a request to stay with him for the weekend.

A short bit after I sent the request I got an email telling me my request had been accepted and I got a note from my host with his address and phone number.

Lots more details on the the experiences of my super-fun, action-packed weekend to come in another blog post this evening.

My host and me being silly with Prince Charming.

Mr. Vance & Pearl Harbor

This is a post from my "diary" that I wrote earlier this year.  It's about a long conversation I had with a man who's known me all my life.  He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  There are some great insights to his point of view on the day and his life.  ENJOY!


(Written October 21, 2012)
I went into grandma's house to return the grinder I had borrowed to work on the bench.  Grama wasn't home so I assumed she had gone in to the nursing home to visit grampa.  So I put the grinder back in the tractor room and headed back out.  When I came back out into the garage, I noticed a red SUV coming down the road and I just knew it was going to come to the house.  Alas, it did.  A lady got out and said hi and asked if I remembered her.  Hmmm... a sixty-ish year old woman at the lake... could be anybody.  lol.  I told her I didn't and found out she was a camper for many years down there.

Anyway, she pointed up to the top of the road near the gates to the entrance and said, "that's Norman Vance up there."  I looked and saw his minivan at an odd angle and stopped.  My first thought was that he had wrecked into the rocks or gates up there.  Maybe he misjudged the turn a bit.  The man is 91 years old.  It certainly wouldn't be a stretch to think that.  It turned out his vehicle was having fits.  This lady had run in to him in town and followed him home because of his car trouble.

She and I walked up the hill with the plan of pushing it back, getting it straight, putting it in neutral and rolling down the hill.  Well, we got it back to his house and all three of us stood there talking for a short time.  The lady then said she wanted to drive around the property and just see what it's like now as she hadn't been back in a long time.  That left Mr. Vance and I alone.  He started talking and didn't stop for an hour.  It was wonderful.  That's the most I've ever talked to him and was so thankful for the opportunity.  I am hoping I can remember most of what he said and record it here.

He told me he remembers when I was just a baby.  He remembers my dad coming up to him and saying, "I've got something to show you..."  It turned out to be a baby!  It was me.

He told me how he and Mary (his wife who passed away at least 15 years ago) lived down at the lake before grampa and grama bought it.  They were getting ready to move because they didn't care for the property owners.  But when they heard there was going to be a new owner, they decided to stay a while and see how it went.  They really liked living there, so they were happy with grampa and grama as the new owners.  He moved out there when he was 50 years old.

He remembers when he was building his garage and had ordered the concrete to lay the pad for it.  My mom and dad were living in the house just down the gravel road at that time.  Dad saw him out there and came down and said, "I'll help you with that."  And he got right to work on the concrete.  Mr. Vance said he tried to help, but he thinks he might have been in dad's way.  He tried to pay dad for it, but dad refused.  He even tried to get the money to him by giving it to a girl that lived down there and having her take it over to dad.  Dad sent that girl right back to Mr. Vance with his check and told him to keep it.

He told me that one day, when mom and dad and I still lived down there, he remembered seeing me (I had to be less than 3 years old) running down the road and my mom screaming at me and running way behind me.  She was telling me to get back to her.  And I kept yelling back, "I'm gonna go see my grama!"  Mr. Vance said I made it to grama's house before she ever caught up to me.  He said, "I never did find out how that turned out when she got over to your grandma's house."  Sounds like not much has changed over the years.  Mom tells me what to do (or what not to do) and I ignore it.  lol

He told me about all kinds of jobs he had and bands he played in.  Almost all of them involved a guy named Carter.  He was in so many bands.  I have heard him play guitar and know how talented he is.  I had no idea he had such a history of playing in bands like that though.  A couple of jobs that stick out in my mind that he did were managing Carter's paint store and being a milk man.

He told me about how my cousin sold him a picnic table once when she was working at Marsh.  He said she told him all about it and that it was on sale.  She worked hard to convinced him that he should buy it.  He went home and looked at his back porch and realized that she was right.  He really did need that table.  So he went back into town and bought it.

Mr. Vance was in the Navy for six years.  He told me so much about that period in his life.  I hope I can record it fairly accurately.  Some of the stuff he was talking about I didn't fully understand.  Must be Navy stuff.  haha.  He must have really loved that time in his life.  He said he wished he would have stayed in the Navy.  His wife really didn't want him to though.

He told me lots of stories of being ornery with his shipmates.  I'd love to share those stories, but I think I'm going to just move on... ;-)

He said he knew everything there was to know about the Navy.  That's one of the reasons he wished he would've stayed in.  He said he knew those ships inside and out.  He could do just about anything.  Even get a ship into port if he had to.

Once he had talked about the Navy for a bit, I decided to ask the thing I really wanted to ask.  I know he was at Pearl Harbor.  I read a newspaper article once where they had interviewed him about it also, but I really wanted to hear it from him.  So, I asked, "You were at Pearl Harbor too, weren't you?"

He said, "Yes I was.  I didn't like them Japanese that day."

He went on to tell me that his ship was in dry dock at the time.  So when it got started, there were certain big guns that couldn't be used since they were not used for airplanes.  They came around asking for volunteers to go over the side of the ship and do something.  Mr. Vance said they were looking for some "dummies."  He volunteered.  He climbed over the side of the ship, which was a danger because they were in dry dock so there was no water underneath.  If you fell, you were dead.

USS Pennsylvania BB 38 in dry dock.  Pearl Harbor.

He and two other guys went over and climbed down.  It was a fairly narrow area where they had to work.  It sounded like they were bolting something down.  I'm not sure what though.  One guy was a bigger guy and was in the way, so he went back up.  Mr. Vance and the other guy finished the job and began to climb back up.  Things had calmed a bit while they were down there.  But during the climb up, the "Japs" came back and were using machine guns this time.  Mr. Vance was climbing the ladder first and the other guy was below him.  He said they must have seen him and the other guy climbing up the side of the ship because they shot at them and the bullets went under his feet and over the other guy's head.  There were paint chips flying off the ship and onto the other guy's head.  He said that guy was never the same again through the war and even afterward.
He said he never thought that much about the significance of having been at Pearl Harbor until much later.  Then, what he said at the end of the story was the most profound concept and really struck me.  He said, in a very normal conversational tone, "That was one horrible day."

I couldn't help but think, in a 91 year life that has been full of experiences and adventures, something as catastrophic as being present at the bombing of Pearl Harbor was just "one horrible day".  ONE DAY.  It kind of puts a lot of things in perspective.  All situations and struggles are temporary.  There's always more to come, no matter what is going on in any moment.

After our long conversation, I told him how glad I was that I got to talk to him like that.  He said he was so glad to talk to me too.  He told me I should come talk to him more often.  So I am going to add a stop to some of my Sunday grandparent days or other days when I go down to the lake.  What an amazing time it was to be able to listen to these stories.  

Random Sightings, Adventures and Humor

This past Saturday I went north to do some deer hunting.  The day came and went without a single deer sighting, much less an opportunity to get a shot off on one.  But nonetheless it was a great day filled with fun, humor and random sightings.

On Friday night I drove up to Marion, IN which is near the location I was going to hunt on Saturday.  I got a hotel room there and got everything prepared so I could make a quick and early exit to get to the stand before the sun started to come up.  I really didn't think much about carrying a shotgun case into a hotel while in my pj's with wet hair and no makeup until I was halfway through the lobby and there were people looking at me from multiple directions.  What are ya gonna do?

When I got back to the room, I changed the barrel on my shotgun.  I haven't used my rifled barrel or scope this year so I wanted to get reacquainted with it.  I was reviewing the settings on my scope by looking through it at the order confirmation board at the Taco Bell down the street.  I then realized if anyone drove by and happened to notice me up in the window I probably looked like a sniper.  I have my moments.  I'll tell you what though... I had a great shot at that confirmation screen.  I was feeling confident.  After that I closed the curtains and practiced some shooting positions.

Fun Fact:  My shotgun has a name.  It's Dolly.

On Saturday, after the morning hunt, there was a breakfast/ lunch break.  Driving into town I passed a house and saw a man, dressed as an elf, driving a gator.  I wish I'd of gotten a picture.

When I arrived at the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Wabash, IN, I opened the menu and found an item that was a done deal based on the name.  It was called The Cannonball.  Get it?  The Wasbash Cannonball?  If you don't get it, Wabash Cannonball is a very old song that's been recorded by many many artists.  I put the Johnny Cash version below in case you're interested.

The breakfast version of the Wabash Cannonball.  3 eggs, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy and toast. And I ate every last bit of it!

Can I pause for a moment from the weird sighting stories and tell you about something I witnessed during breakfast that absolutely warmed my heart?  I don't know if I can paint the picture well enough to make you understand how beautiful this was, but I'll try.  There was a table a few feet away with a dad and his two kids.  The daughter was likely around 10 and the son perhaps 4.  Before their food came, the dad went down to the bathroom and left the kids at the table (keep in mind it's a tiny town so this is ok).  While he was away, the waitress brought the food to the table.  As she sat it down, she asked the little boy if he wanted her to cut up his pancakes for him so he could start eating.  You should've seen how happy that little boy was.  She got everything cut up and asked if he wanted syrup on them too.  He did.  She poured the syrup all over them until he finally told her it was enough.  I don't know if it's just me, but there was something so touching about watching this simple act of kindness.  It warmed my heart.

I found the little diner's blog/ website.  If you're ever in Wabash, check out Joe's Diner!

Following breakfast, I was leaving the parking lot of the restaurant and saw something you don't see much anymore.  A payphone!  I couldn't resist taking a picture with it.  The best part was, when I picked it up, there was a dial tone!  I'm not used to hearing that sound.

I stopped off at a cute little country store that I enjoy browsing when I'm up that way and had one final random sighting during the lunch break.  As I got back in the truck, I looked to my right and saw a blue van next to me that appeared to be driven by a dalmatian!

The last story from the hunting trip comes from the drive home in the evening.  Dinner was at a Subway in a gas station somewhere near Marion.  There were four tables to eat at.  As we were eating, my friend informs me there is a mouse running around under the soda machine behind me.  I look and giggle a bit and continue eating.  Soon, a teenage boy and his girlfriend walk in and decide to get sodas.  They then stand in front of the soda machine texting for a couple of minutes.  At that point my friend says to me, "watch this," and I know what's coming.  He tells this teenage girl there is a mouse right by her hip and we laughed hysterically as she jumped out of her skin.

What a great day for random humorous sightings.  I'm so happy for the opportunity to share them with you too.

Thoughts From a Tree Stand

Written Saturday, December 1, 2012:

Hello friends! I'm writing to you from 20ft above the ground in a tree stand. This is the last weekend of shotgun season for deer here in Indiana and the first opportunity I've had to give it a shot this year.

There is something so peaceful about being camouflaged up in a tree. I think it is one of the closest and most intimate encounters you can have with the great outdoors and the critters all around you. When everything is silent and the critters don't know you're there it's like the National Geographic channel, but it is live in front of your face.

It's a little after 10:00 am now and I've been in a tree since 7:00 am. No deer sightings yet. Lots of squirrels, birds and a raccoon have graced the area this morning though. It's a warm day. Especially for the first of December. At 7:00 am it was nearly 40 degrees and it is warming up toward 50 degrees now.

Are you thinking I'm just plain nuts yet? Well, I wouldn't argue the point with you. But a lot of people ask me how I got in to hunting or what caused me to take an interest in it. Most figure I grew up in the country and/or my family was big into the sport. Wrong on both accounts.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. To leave my neighborhood you had to get on a very busy highway. It was far from rural. The neighbors weren't rednecks walking around in camouflage with a spit cup and a mullet (not that I am judging any of those things).  As far as my family goes, the only relative I have that ever took an interest in hunting is an uncle I only saw once a year while growing up.  I'm guessing that wasn't the influence.

There was never even a firearm in the house I grew up in.  The closest we ever came was when I begged and pleaded and finally won the battle to get a pellet gun in my early teens.

As far as I can figure, I must simply have been born with an outdoorsy gene.  If the TV was on in my room when I was growing up, it was more than likely tuned to TNN (The Nashville Network). There was always either country music videos, fishing or hunting on that channel.  I loved all of them.

I remember the first time I heard Jeff Foxworthy talk about fishing shows being hypnotizing and thinking how right on it was.  Here's a little excerpt I love from that bit:

There is somethin about a fishin show, if yer channel surfing and ya come to one 
it will hypnotize you. Cuz ya always end up watchin it for a few minutes and it's the same 
thing every week. "Hey there friends, We're fishin on ol' lake Witchahatchee and Today 
We're fishin with our old buddy Jerry Reed. Course lotuvya might remember 
Ol' Jerry caught the biggest bass ever caught on our show, and like all our guests, 
Ol' Jerry let 'im go. We had ta whack 'is ass with a boat paddle, but ol' Jerry let 'im go. 
Well, today they're not bitin too good, That's why Jerry and I were gonna try some 
of these deep-runnin lures and We're gonna spray 'em with some of this P-U-Stink bait... 

Well friends, long story short, I have no friggin' idea why I like hunting.  I just do!  That's me.  And that's all for now.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for reading!

He Believes In Me

Grampa

I went down to the lake late in the day and visited with Grampa and Grama.  Grampa was in an exceptionally cheery mood today.  He "had his talkers on" as Grama would say.  It seems every time I visit he has seen something or someone really out of the ordinary and tells me, he thinks I could or should do the same thing.  Today's story was about a man on a horse that was "pulled over" by a police officer outside of the restaurant they were eating at earlier in the week.  Apparently this guy was travelling to Missouri on horseback.  He was clean and friendly and had a sleeping bag with him.  That was just the way he was travelling.  When Grampa finished telling me about it, he said, "I told your grandma, if Ashley had a horse she'd be doing that too."  He went on to tell me how I could make it work and find places to sleep.

I realized something after listening to yet another crazy story of something he believes I could or would do.  He is the reason I am the way I am.  He is the reason I dream so big and dare to be adventurous   The first time I remember him flat out telling me to do something crazy was in 2004.  After an extremely harsh breakup with the man I was engaged to at the time, Grampa told me I should go get on my motorcycle and just take a trip by myself.  Just get away for a while.

I didn't end up taking the motorcycle, but I did get in the car and just start driving.  I remember trying to decide if I should head north, south, east or west.  Anyone who knows me wouldn't be surprised to find out that I decided to head south.  About 4 hours into my trip my cell phone rang. It was my mom wanting to know if I wanted to get some lunch.  I told her I couldn't because I was in Terre Haute, Indiana (I lived in the northwest suburbs of Chicago at the time).  She flipped out (of course) and I told her she should talk to Grampa and ask him what I was up to.  :-)

I was on the road for around 5 or 6 days.  I went all sorts of places in 6 different states, including Graceland in Memphis, TN.  It was the first time in my life I'd really done something all on my own.  I remember the day I was supposed to get married.  Instead, I was sitting out on the steps of the run down motel I was staying at in Memphis and smoking a cigarette (yes, I used to be a smoker) and I met two middle aged women and had a great conversation with them that really helped change my perspective.  I don't really remember what they told me, but I remember them and how powerful the experience was of meeting them.

Side note:  My love for Elvis movies was born in that hotel.  Channel 3 had Elvis movies 24 hours a day.  I discovered it very late at night and "Frankie and Johnny" had just started.  I was exhausted, but couldn't turn it off.  I stayed up almost all night watching one movie after another.  

Also on that trip, I remember getting caught very near to a tornado.  I met a family in a restaurant parking lot where I pulled over.  It was the only thing for many miles.  I'm not sure how far it would have been to a town.  The restaurant was in a modular building, so it would provide no safe haven from the storm.  The family was in a pickup truck and was pulling a trailer with a bunch of quads on it.  There were three younger boys riding in the trailer between the quads because there was no room in the cab of the truck.  They were getting pelted with the hail, rain and wind.  I've never again seen a sky like I did that day.  I have some great pictures of it somewhere.  Anyway, I got out of my car and went up to the parents to offer their boys shelter in my car.  I think they thought I was crazy, but they let them get in.  We knew, of course, if the tornado dropped near us we'd have to make a run for the ditch, but at least the boys got out of the storm.  Those boys were soaked, but so thankful to come in out of the storm.  I had beach towels in the car too so they got to dry off a bit.

That whole trip was like a mission to conquer the world for me.  To find my inner strength.  To prove to myself that I could survive just fine on my own.  Grampa believed I could do it.  That was all I needed to believe it too.  This all took place before Grampa and I were as extremely close as we are now.  That was where it all began.

There is a great quote by Zig Ziglar that really hits home for me:

"A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could." 

Grampa was that "someone" for me.  And now I believe I can accomplish anything I can dream up... because I know he would believe I can.

Spontaneity

I remember having a conversation with my high school boyfriend many years ago about spontaneity.  I said something about how I loved to be spontaneous and he quickly brought me to reality.  I was a planner.  Everything I did was on a minute to minute plan as far in advance as possible.  That always stuck with me.  I knew in the moment it was true and really didn't want it to be.  So when he dumped me, I did the most spontaneous thing I'd ever done.  I got in the car and started driving with no idea where I was going or how long I'd be gone.  Five states and six days later, I had found a love for Elvis Presley and an apartment in a different state.  A week after that, I moved from Illinois to Indiana.  How's that for spontaneous!?

Yesterday, an industry friend of mine and I ran into each other at a networking event.  In the first five minutes of talking, she found a way to tell me she had found super cheap flights to Puerto Rico over the Thanksgiving holiday next week, but didn't have anyone to go with and casually (probably jokingly) asked if I wanted to go.  I considered it for a few seconds, asked a couple of questions and told her to shoot me an email with a few details and to not count me out.

This morning, we emailed back and forth a bit and by noon, I was 100% in!  We haven't confirmed any plans or a location to stay, but if it works out and all comes together, I'm sure it will be incredible!  Not to mention an opportunity to cross three items off my bucket list!

Fingers crossed!

**Follow up note - The trip didn't come together.  It was a heck of a cool idea though!

Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing (Christmas Style)

I LOVE decorating my house for Christmas.  Always have.  I can remember the Christmas tree we had when I was growing up.  It was an old school one that had a big pole with color coded holes around it at different heights.  The branches were separate and had a wire the bent down at a 90 degree angle which was painted in colors to match the holes on the upright pole.  You would spend an hour sorting all the branches and trying to discern the blue paint from the green paint on the ends of the branches.  Each color was a different size of branch so you could eventually figure out which were which.  I loved sorting the branches all the way around the dining room, kitchen, living room, hallway... where ever there was some floor space.  Then, with all the love and happiness in the world, I would put the largest branches on first, working from the bottom of the tree all the way up.  

Once they were on, it was time to fluff everything up.  With my arms and fingers getting poked and scratched by the artificial pine needles, I'd sing along to a Christmas cassette or CD (usually Garth Brooks, over and over again).  I'd bend each wire branch into the perfect position.  It would take at least one full day, if not the whole weekend for me to decorate mom and dad's house.  Most things had their place.  Mom had a layout for the Christmas decor, so I went along with it.  It was more about making the house beautiful and magical looking than being creative. It was the warm, fuzzy feeling I got from the season.

About five years ago, I started inheriting more and more Christmas decor from a number of sources (grandparents, parents, etc.).  I had a very large house and was married at that time.  Most everyone was getting to a point where they didn't want to do as much decorating anymore and I was the obvious first choice to call to off load anything they didn't want.  :-)

One day, my Grandma Leavelle asked if I had a theme or a color or anything that I wanted to focus on.  I really hadn't considered that.  I was just collecting whatever I could and finding places to put it all.  I started to search my mind and my heart for what it was that I loved the most and wanted to make the theme of my decor.  I thought about snowmen, silver, blue, angels, Santa Claus, Snow, White, Disney... all kinds of things.  And finally, it hit me.  I remembered how much I loved putting up the tree.  Spending time making it perfect.  Adding lights, garland and ornaments.  And most of all, I loved laying underneath it and looking up at the lights twinkling through the branches.  At mom and dad's house, there was a heat vent in the floor along the back side of the Christmas tree.  I'd lay down under the tree and put a blanket over myself and the vent and have the most warm and cozy place in the house.

That was it!  Trees.  I loved Christmas trees.  When we bought the big house, I got a second Christmas tree to put in a place that just seemed to be the perfect place for a little tree.  The next year, I started to have dreams that many would consider to be crazy.  I dreamed of a "forest" of Christmas trees inside my house!  It would have a little white picket fence and a snow covered ground.  Each tree would have a theme.  There would be snowmen and it would be gorgeous!  

I started measuring and planning and collecting Christmas trees from family members who didn't want to put theirs up anymore.  I bought a couple more when I found them on sale too.  I drilled out some 2x4's to make a base to stand the "fence" up in.  I even grabbed two tree shaped trellises that I had grown clematis on in the summer and wrapped them in lights and green garland to create two more trees.  We moved the furniture to make room for this grand display and I started setting up.

The first year there were seven trees and two snowmen in the forest.  It was stunning.  People thought I was crazy.  I never cared.  It became my favorite place to be.  I'd sit in that room almost every minute I was home.  I'd never turn on the house lights.  The twinkle and glow from the tree lights gave off more than enough light and was the most gorgeous glow.  It filled me with joy, love and peace to be there.

The first year

The next year or two years later (I can't remember which year is which), I would move to a new (much smaller) house after my divorce.  The lack of space wasn't about to take away my forest or dampen my spirit.  I figured out that if I moved the furniture out of the living room and made the forest a little more condensed, I could still fit all the trees in.  With a little re-working, the forest was back!

The first year in the new house

I added birdies decorating the trees that year

This year, I thought it was time to take it to a whole new level.  A level that would make many really worry about my sanity and gain me the title of "Christmas Enthusiast."  At the beginning of October I began working on a secret project.  I posted several things to social media, but would never tell anyone what it was or post anything to give it away.  I worked for over a month on it in every free moment I had.  It was a project all my own.  I took no assistance or advice from anyone.  I was on a mission to conquer the world in a way.  

There were some bumps in the road along the way including electrocution, bumps on head, stubbed toes, cuts, scrapes and a black eye.  It was all part of the experience.  I loved every minute of it.  Even the painful ones.  Go ahead and call me crazy.  You won't be the first or the last.  

In the end, I got it completed and installed and it is amazing.  It's a log cabin facade with a front porch that sits in my living room, among the Christmas trees. 

You Asked For It

Charlie's Bunion in the Smoky Mountains.  A short side hike off the Appalachian Trail.

One day, while listening to my grampa talk about his life and share some of his incredible wisdom with me, he began to speak about dreams.  It was a lesson that will stick with me for the rest of my life.  In short, he told me stories of many of the great things that happened in his life and all the accomplishments he'd had.  Each one related back to a dream.  He would get an idea, an inspiration, a little thought that would become a driving force toward a new adventure.  Something he calls a dream.  I find myself relating to the spirit of a dreamer each and every day.  I have dreams.  Some are big, some small, most a little crazy, and some of them I'm living out right now, but all share one common thread - I have a relentless drive to embark on the adventures to make those dreams come true.

Let's take a step back and look at why you're reading this now...

It's not uncommon for someone to tell me they are amused by my posts to social media.  More than a few people have told me they usually scroll through their news feeds without reading too much, but if they see I've posted they will always stop and read what I have to say.  Others have said they wish there was a reality TV show of my life or at least a blog to elaborate on the events they find amusing.

Today, at the completion of a networking event, I was chatting with a friend who reiterated what many others have said for a long time... I should have a blog.  So in order to indulge the interest of my friends and followers the "Adventures of a Relentless Dreamer" blog has been born.

I don't know if my life is really that interesting or if I'm just more willing to be open about the craziness that exists on a day to day basis, but I'm glad you've decided to join  me on this journey.  I don't make any promises about how interesting or inspirational it will be,  but I hope you will find some amusement in it.