“Dear God, let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry… have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere – be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honourable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.” – Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I never make New Year’s resolutions, but now that I’ve finally settled into my life in BC, I decided to make myself a bucket list for the next year! The quote above is from one of my favourite books, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and if I have one resolution for 2015, it would be to do my best to make each day count. I feel like I’m at the opportune part of my life for self exploration and discovery and there’s so many opportunities that I want to take advantage of this year.

In 2014 I had some great milestones and adventures; I moved out on my own, found a job that I love, drove from Vancouver to San Francisco, signed up for an adult beginner dance class, took control of my physical health, and even cooked my first traditional Newfoundland turkey dinner. There are lots of days where I miss my amazing friends and Newfoundland’s beautiful rocky coast, but I feel so lucky to be living in BC and the longer I live here the more I realize there’s still so much here to discover.

It’s easy to let time pass you by once you settle into a routine, so I decided to make a bucket list for 2015 to motivate me to get out there and make every minute count. My list grew in no time, so I decided on some nice little categories to break it up. Here’s to another excellent year of adventure; I’ll do my best to chronicle it and I hope you’ll come along for the ride!

Maria’s 2015 Bucket List

Winter Fun
– Make a ski trip to Whistler
– Go snowshoeing
– Check out Vancouver’s night skiing after work
– Check out the skiing across the border at Mount Baker

Explore Nearby Attractions
– Go on a long weekend trip to Victoria
– Visit a winery in the lower mainland
– Make a trip to Portland with friends
– Go on the Camel Safari in Washington

Get back to Travel
– Jet off to Brazil for a vacation with my sister
– Knock an item off my long-term bucket list with a visit to Iguazu Falls
– Connect with mine and Seth’s family in Ontario

Newfoundland Roots
– Attend the Greenham Family Reunion in Twillingate
– Get up at the crack of dawn to go cod fishing
– Celebrate the marriage of two of my friends
– See Hey Rosetta! play in Vancouver

Expand my Horizons
– Learn the basics of Portuguese for my trip to Brazil
– Find a new organization to volunteer with
– Pass my law and ethics exam as I work towards my P.Eng
– Try an exotic new food that I haven’t had before
– Get creative in the kitchen
– Start a summer hooping club at work

Personal Wellness
– Keep off the weight I lost in 2014 with healthy eating
– Continue exercising at least 3 times a week
– Run Vancouver’s largest run, the Sun Run (10km)

Summer Adventures
– Put my ‘101 Walks in the Lower Mainland’ book to work
– Go hiking in Garibaldi Park
– Camp in three different Provincial Parks
– Climb the Grouse Grind
– Go biking in Stanley Park

Special Events
– Go to the Women’s FIFA World Cup in June
– Cheer on the Canucks at my first NHL game
– Go to comedy show
– Go to a concert
– See a baseball game