6 Days, 2 Bucket List Items

In the last six days, I have accomplished two things I have been wanting to do for more than 10 years:

I got a tattoo.



And one of my stories got published.



Last Thursday, I went to Kelly's Tattoo in Lincoln, NH with one of my sisters, two of my nieces, and one of my nephews. We hadn't planned on Family Tattoo Day during our vacation up in the White Mountains, but Family Tattoo Day we had! The decision was made the night before around the fire pit, and none of us were really sure who was going to actually show up at the agreed upon meeting time. But we all did.

We ladies got infinity hearts on our heels. To me it means family, love, harmony... My nephew got his son's name on his arm, and when he crosses his arm over his heart, his son's name touches his daughter's name. (which was tattooed there almost four years ago -- awwww, amiright?)

I absolutely love that we got them on vacation, together, in the White Mountains. Loon Mountain is our happy place, all of us. We have been going every summer for the better part of 35 years. My Dad started the vacation tradition and we've all continued it with our own children.

After years of trying to figure out the who, what, where, when of my first tattoo, I should have known it would happen at Loon. In fact, that's one of the biggest reasons I love it now, and why I'll still love it even if it turns into a blurr when I'm 80 years old.

Bucket List item #2

Today, August 14th, 2013, CausePub released the book Couch Rebels: Because Stories Like These Aren't Told by Potatoes on Amazon.com and I am proud to say the story I submitted was chosen for publication in this book! Over 140 stories were submitted and 86 were chosen.

(50% of the proceeds for Couch Rebels goes directly to the Blood:Water Mission, which helps bring clean water to people in Africa. Clean water is essential to life and also helps fight the spread of AIDS and HIV. For every book sold, three people in Africa will get clean water for a year!)

When my friend, Jill, first told me about the project, and encouraged me to submit something, I didn't have a chance to over-think it or say NO. Her enthusiasm for the project, and for me, inspired me to just go for it. What did I have to lose? I started my story the next day. And today it's published.

Six days. Two items off the Bucket List. I can't wait to see what's next!