My Beyond-Books Bucket List + COOL ANNOUNCEMENT

  So last week I gave you guys my Bookish Bucket List, but honestly, a book-focused bucket list only covers a small smidgen of who I am as a person. There are so many hundreds of things I'd love to do, see, and learn - and I'm sure the same is true of you! Thus, in the spirit of adventure and wishes and "somedays" I am here to present my Beyond-Books Bucket List to the general public, and I want to hear some of the cool things that are on your life bucket lists as well! Who knows, perhaps we can inspire each other?

  Also, stay tuned for a super cool announcement at the end of the post!

TRAVEL BUCKET LIST (places I want to see)

• Ireland // I'm really excited actually cause Jonathan and I are planning a trip here next year! Fingers crossed we can afford the plane tickets!
• Iceland // My ultimate travel bucket list item is Iceland, black beaches, Icelandic ponies, hardly any people, it sounds like a dream. My ideal way to see Iceland is more in the span of a couple months than a week or two typical vacation.
• New Zealand // I mentioned this last week, but I do really want to see New Zealand - cause LOTR!
• Nepal // If ever I was to go on a mission trip, this would be my ideal destination, I love the culture and the landscape. 
• Romania // This is my second choice of mission trip location, I don't know why, I just really like small European countries.
• Sailing the Bahamas // Jonathan got to do this with his family a few years ago and honestly, I've been jealous ever since. 

CAREER BUCKET LIST (things I want to accomplish)

• Be as successful an author as I can be // I can't say "a published author" since I am, but I definitely have loftier goals of lots of future publishing, hopefully being traditionally published at some point, and of course the chance to get lots of books into lots of readers hands.
• Be a freelance photographer // If I am ever good enough at photography I'd love to dabble in that, or be a second shooter for a wedding. I love shooting photos and capturing memories and getting paid, even a little, to do something so enjoyable sounds awesome.
• Clinical or criminal psychology // Obviously this one is never going to happen, but if I ever decided to go for a "real" career, this probably would have been my choice, as I find the human brain really fascinating - plus, great fodder for stories and characters. 
• Run a horse program // My ideal horse program would be acting as head wrangler at my camp, creating a really excellent wrangler training program, doing some riding lessons, and being competent enough as a horseman to take in problem horses and rehabilitate them for use in camp programs or lessons, as I have a real passion for teaching young riders.

SKILLS BUCKET LIST (things I want to learn)

• learning to surf // Unfortunately I am not a very strong swimmer, so this probably isn't a great idea, but still...it looks super cool and I really love the ocean and swimming, even if I'm not the greatest at it.
• cross-country skiing // I discovered this winter that I actually like this activity a fair bit, even if I suck, and I would like to improve it, since I live in Canada where there's snow aplenty for at least half the year.
• a new language // I'm interested in learning Russian, German, Spanish, Arabic, Gaelic, Elvish...basically anything except French. XD Though this is more of a thing that I'd rather just have handed to me than actually work to learn, cause I'm a terrible and lazy person.

ANIMALS BUCKET LIST (because, pets)

• own my dream horse(s) // I have a few different varieties of dream horse, lol. The top one is best described as black Friesian Sporthorse mare. The second would be black Warmblood gelding with chrome (markings). There are others, but I won't bore you. XD
• own my dream dog(s) - or any dog at all for that matter // Someday I hope Jonathan and I won't have to be concerned about rent and will be able to own our own pooch. Until that day I am dreaming about my Australian Shepherd, Pitbull, or Great Pyranees/Saint Bernard cross. 
• own a piece of land // to keep all my future pets of course!
• owning ferrets // They are the only indoor pets I've ever thought were cute, aside from bunnies, and someday it'd be awesome to own them.

  So there you are, some items from my Beyond-Books Bucket List. Do you have any similar items on your own bucket list? What are some of your biggest hopes and dreams? Inspire me, I'd really love to hear about your own goals!

  And, as promised, the COOL ANNOUNCEMENT, will be included here at the end of the blog post. I'm really excited to announce that I will be exhibiting through the Young Entrepreneur program at AHEA (Alberta Home Education Association) my work as an author! In short, I've got a table where I'm selling books at the Alberta homeschool convention and if any of you guys are in the area of Red-Deer on April 13th and 14th, please do come out and see me! I would love to sign books, answer questions, and get to know other readers and young writers. Hope to see you there!