Number Nine: Cook a National Dish

Let’s face it: Spanakopita isn’t the official national dish of Greece, but really, do you even know what Moussaka (the real national dish) is? I don't.

When I think of Greek food I think of two things: Baklava and Spanakopita.  Both delicious.  Both carved out of phylo dough.           

I chose to make Spanakopita after watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It took me 4 hours (the cooking, not the movie watching) with the help of my mom, who is a fantastic cook. In addition, it was super difficult to fold the phylo dough up without breaking it.  I don’t know how Greek women do it! I have a feeling it doesn't take THEM four hours to make it.

In conclusion, expanding your culinary horizons is a lot of work. At least when you’re making Spanakopita. I found a recipe that turned out deliciously. It also used a bucket-load (no pun intended) of butter. But the spinach (2 pounds total) helped to make it a little bit healthier.

As I took a crispy bite, letting my teeth sink into a mound of crackling phylo, melted feta cheese, and lemony spinach, I could practically smell the salty air of the Greek Santorini Islands. The four hours of work didn't seem quite so bad.

A GREAT GREEK SPANAKOPITA RECIPE:

MAKES 60

1/3 cup olive oil

2 pounds spinach, washed and drained

1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled

1 to 2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 pound filo pastry sheets

 1/4
cup minced fresh mint leaves

  2
tablespoons minced fresh dill leaves

  3
medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)

  1
teaspoon grated zest plus 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

  1
teaspoon ground nutmeg

  1/2
teaspoon ground black pepper

   1/4
teaspoon table salt

   1/8
teaspoon cayenne pepper

GETTING STARTED:

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan, add half of the spinach and saute until spinach wilts, tossing with tongs, about 2 minutes. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).

Stir the feta and as much beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture. Mix in mint, dill, garlic, lemon, nutmeg, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.

Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.

Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Serve hot. (These may be frozen before baking, layering waxed paper between layers of triangles to keep them from sticking. Bake frozen triangles an extra 10 minutes.)

Variation: Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, and spread 6 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter, on the bottom. Spoon the spinach filling over the filo, then cover with 6 more sheets of filo, buttering each sheet. Score the top 3 sheets with a sharp knife. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden, let stand 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm.

They turned out really tiny, but work as great appetizers (or a meal if you make them larger into larger squares by cutting each phylo dough sheet in half.)

I recommend making this if you want to cross the national dish off your bucket list (although make sure to set apart lots of time)

Otherwise, here are some other great national dishes:

• Ackee and Saltfish from Jamaica
• Coo-Coo and Flying Fish from Barbados
• Bulgogi from Korea
• Kibbeh from Lebanon/Syria
• Goulash from Hungary
• Wiener Schnitzel from Austria
• Pot-au-Feu from France
• Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding from England
• Irish Stew from Ireland

Or even, Hamburgers from the USA!

~Ultimate Dia

Christine

Number Eight: Learn to Draw

Okay, you really don't have to pay money to learn how to draw.


And you don't have to be born with a gift.


All you have to do is practice and set an alloted hour of time.


Want to see drawing evolution in progress?


MY DRAWING AT THE START OF THE WEEK-- WITH ONLY 30 MINUTES OF IMPATIENT WORKING.

MY DRAWING AT THE END OF THE WEEK-- A TOTAL OF 3 HOURS OF WORK.

This drawing, as you can see, adresses an issue near and dear to my heart. It helps to be passionate about your artwork and the image you wish to project.

Although I can not claim to be anywhere near an expert or even an award winner, I CAN say that drawing is an amazing hobby. It's relaxing, stress-relieving, and truly rewarding.


Try it!


ULTIMATE DIA
~Christine

Number Seven: Experimentally Determing Your Favorite Coffee Shop

This is something that should be on everyone's bucket list. I mean, who doesn't want an excuse to go to three different coffee shops from every chain, and compare flavors?

As a major fan of both Skim Cappucinos and Dark Chocolate Mochas, I made these my standard of comparison, as well as the  atmosphere and price. Here are my results.

CAPPUCINOS:

1ST PLACE: Dunn Brothers. An obvious choice. Compared to the competition, it has less calories, more flavor, and MORE fluff. Sipping the milk froth is like drinking a cloud. My all time favorite.

2nd Place: Caribou Coffee. It has less flavor and less froth that Dunn Brothers, but still quite good.

3rd Place: Starbucks. Flavorless, with foam that was lucking sucking on car exhaust (no offense).


MOCHAS:


1st Place: Caribou Coffee. It has rich, chocolately flavor, with a great tint of espresso. Plus, it comes in the Northern Light option, which is equally tasty and comes with non-fat whipped cream.

2nd place: Starbucks. A bit too rich for a mocha, but still yummy and satisfying. Scalding hot, and stays warm for quite a while.

3rd place: Dunn Bros. BLECH! Tasted burnt at all three locations. Not something I want to drink again.


ATMOSPHERE:

1. Caribou Coffee for sure wins in atmosphere. Not consistently cozy in all locations, but still has a great college-student atmosphere that makes you think "Gee, I'd want to sit here and work all day". The layout is such that you feel like you're in a nice little nook where you can cuddle down with a book and coffee. Plus, I love reading the quirky and inspiration phrases on the coffee cups. Unbeatable!

2. Dunn Bros. In all four locations I've been to, it's consistently cozy, asthetically pleasing, and unique. There are cozy chairs, individual tables, occasionally fireplaces, and soft music. What's more, you can smell their coffee beans the whole while you're working.

3. Starbucks. I'm sure this isn't ALWAYS the case, but in all the locations I went to it just felt... sterile and clinical. Hard chairs, loud noise, no warm and fuzzy smells. Kind of felt like trying to get comfortable with a book at McDonalds. Not happening.


BEST PRICE:

1. Starbucks. $3.25 for a small mocha.

2.  Dunn Bros. $3.70 for a small mocha.

3. Caribou. $3.75 for a small mocha.


MY OVERALL FAVORITE: CARIBOU COFFEE.

Yes, hard to believe, but even Dunn Bros' cappucino foam can't win me over on this. The flavor in Caribou's coffee just can't be compared, and neither can the atmosphere.


Now, how about we start over and do it again?
When else are you going to have an excuse to go coffee shop hopping all day long?

Ultimate Dia!
~Christine

Number Six: Learn to Cook Gourmet

Gourmet brings to mind many things. Small stacks of ratatouille drizzled in orange sauce. Snow White pies, with picture perfect crusts. And, most importantly, Julia Child, the queen of french cooking.

I decided to start cooking gourmet I had to make something Julia Child.

Since my family is not big on the high-butter, high-cream recipes that the French use, I made the closest things I could find to American staples: Croque Monsieurs (basically fancy grilled cheese sandwiches) and Cheese souffle (kind of like a hot dish, right?).

Croque Monsieur & Cheese Souffle

Dessert: French Chocolate Cake

It was a huge success (although we were all VERY full afterwards), and I made sure to mark Croque Monsieurs as something to make again. Truth be told, cooking gourmet isn't that hard. Sure, it took a few hours, but I consider that part of the definition. As long as you know how to measure, stir, and flip sandwiches, anyone can cook. A great thing to check off your bucket list.

Ultimate Dia

~Christine

Number Four & Five: Join a Speech Group and Win

Before I can talk about Speech, I must tell you a story. About a chef. A chef that eats roadkill. And how my Dad invited him to share a room with us in the middle of the South African wilderness.


It's a true story. And you won't regret hearing it. After all, this guy has been featured on National Geographic TV. Read about it on my earlier blog post http://ultimatedia.blogspot.com/2012/01/roadkill-chef.html

Now, you're probably wondering how the heck this is relevant to me joining a speech group. 


Well, last year I joined Speech Team in a category called "Creative Expression" (you write your own script) and talked about Arthur Boyt, the eccentric British chef who picked up roadkill and cooked it for every meal.  I thought it was a great story. But unfortunately most of the judges were too grossed out to give me good scores on on my high school speech team.


So this year I switched to a different category--- discussion-- a cut throat debate team. You smile to your competitors while stabbing them in the back with your  carefully chosen words.

Examples?


I SAY: "Oh, excuse me, would you like to speak?"
I MEAN:  I wish you wouldn't spew  a single word, but I'm being polite to get points from the judges


I SAY: "What a great idea! I'll keep it in mind. Anyways, as I was saying..."
I MEAN: What a BAD idea


Discussion is kind of like the presidential political debates.


This weekend I had my first speech meet and placed third overall. I was so surprised. I kicked the two items on my bucket list: joining a speech group (so that I can actually talk without freaking out!), and winning an award-- a plaque (I never thought it would happen.)


After the award, I felt evil and awesome at the same time. I felt like I could talk and argue whenever I wanted, with no fear.


And what's more, I know that I can talk about normal things (like WORLD HUNGER, our current topic) without getting funny stares and wrinkled noses. No more roadkill stories!





Anyways,  what about you? Don't have a high school speach team, but want to learn to talk too? Back stab subtly?


Go to http://www.toastmasters.org/


Toastmasters is a great, fun speech group for all ages that meet up in most major cities.


GO ULTIMATE DIA!


~Christine

Number Three: Invest in the Stock Market

Admit it, we all have dreams of having been a lucky McDonald's investor half a century ago so that we could now be millionares.

Too bad time machines aren't invented yet.

So maybe its not altogether normal to be interested in stock markets as a teenager, and maybe you think I'm a money hog, but I just find all the risk involved very exciting.

 I think investing in the stock market is a great idea, and when I won a $500 writing award a week ago, I decided to use it to cross this item off my bucket list.

1. First I researched stocks.


2. I picked one, with the help of Charles Schwabb Investing and my dad. Guess what it was?

AMAZON.COM

3. I'm going to justify this.  I know the stock went down in the past month, but if you look at it in the long-term, its great! Plus, I don't see the downfall of this coming soon. Amazon's convenient, they sell just about ANYTHING, they ship quickly, they've got great service, and they have Kindles (although, who knows how those are going to be able to complete with iPads and other ebooks). I think its a good buy.


4. THUS I own 2 Amazon Shares, which I bought at $170, and are (as of now) worth $190 a piece.

5. Fantastic, right? Let's just hope they shoot up like McDonalds did. You never know.

The Roadkill Chef

Arthur Boyt

By Christine Catlin: An 8th Grade True Story

          In South Africa everyone avoids strangers. A stranger could easily kidnap you, rob you, shoot you, or brutally murder you in any fashion. Unfortunately, my dad didn't seem to understand this concept. Despite the risks, my dad continued to pick up hitch-hikers and hand out cash to any man who looked poor. I was okay with this at first, until it went too far.

          It had been a long day in Africa. It was our fourth day and our luggage was still lost, and we'd just spent the whole day driving and looking at hyenas, crocodiles, rhinos, zebras, lions, baboons, ostriches, monkeys, buffalo, and almost every other African animal you can think of. That evening, however, my dad, a tall, gruff, dark-haired man, ran into an old, eccentric-looking, British man who could not find a room for the night. My dad, feeling sorry for him, of course, offered our spare room at the Guest House. I could not believe it.

          The old man was quite grateful and stammered with his British accent that his name was Arthur Boyt. He wore a large, scruffy, blue sweater over his wiry frame and his thinning gray hair stuck out at odd angles from the brim of his cap. He looked slightly frazzled, with glasses pushed to the bridge of his nose, and was probably in his late sixties. He was one of the last people you'd find out in the African Bush and I did not trust him. I promised to keep an eye on him at all times while he was in our spare guest room.

          We walked with Arthur to his car, I more reluctantly, and watched as he pulled out a ratty suitcase from a pile of highly odorous plastic bags. He and my dad talked while I hung back aways. Once he had grabbed his luggage we walked down the winding trail towards the guest house, the evening sounds of croaking hippos and snorting hyenas echoing in the dark. Opening the door for him we showed him where he could stay, and then headed off to our own room. However, it wasn't long before we heard a light rap on the door. It was Arthur Boyt.

          “Hello, I thought you might want to see some of my photographs I took today.” He stammered. “I have some lovely pictures of a lion and hyena fighting. They followed my jeep all the way down the road, you know, because they smelled some of the roadkill I had in my car.”

          I eyed him suspiciously, wondering briefly why exactly he had roadkill in his car. My dad, a much less cautious being, invited him in the room as he scrolled through the fuzzy images of birds and beasts.

          “I'm an avid birder.” Arthur explained after about the millionth picture we'd seen of the Southern Ground Hornbill. “I come from Cornwall, England, and we don't have many birds there. That's why I travel out here. I've been to America and Australia, too, because I enjoy biking and participating in Orienteering competitions.”

          I nodded keeping a careful eye on the eccentric man. He seemed harmless, but he was a retired entomologist, and I don't know what kind of normal person enjoys working with bugs.

          When Arthur went back to his own room I made sure to lock the door to my room. I had a restless sleep that night, and in the morning was relieved to find that he had left, leaving behind only a small thank you note. Days passed and I had nearly forgotten him completely, when, on a whim, I found a wi-fi and Googled his name. Immediately I was blown away by thousands of results. There were articles from the BBC, CNN, YouTube, and all major news sources. Slightly disbelievingly I clicked on one. I came face to face with his picture. Obviously, our British friend was famous!

          I felt slightly disbelievingly as I read article after article. The man certainly was famous, he even had his own TV Show! But I never would of guessed just what he was famous for. His TV Show was called The Man Who Eats Badgers: Tales From Bodmin Moor. Apparently this man was famous for cooking roadkill- in fact he'd eaten nothing but roadkill for 50 years. He'd eaten dead weasel, badger, hedgehog, skunk, squirrel, rabbit, rat, Labrador, cat, fox, mice, deer, and pigeons. His wife, needless to say, was a vegetarian. On YouTube, I watched a documentary telling about all the threatening phone calls he got, and how he was now writing a “soon-to-be-bestseller” cookbook. I couldn't help laughing as it quoted how he found the food, “safe, healthy, legal, and cheap” and that “even the green stuff was good- if not a bit bland.”

          I couldn't believe I'd met such a person. He'd had hedgehog sandwich, badger casserole, and skunk spaghetti! I erupted in a fit of mirth and couldn't wait to tell my dad the story. Although I didn't ever plan on trying roadkill myself, it was the most memorable experience on my whole vacation. After all, it's not every day you meet a celebrity chef... especially one that eats roadkill!

Number Two: Take up Yoga

Okay, becoming a yogi is not the hardest thing on this list. Yah, compared to skydiving its a walk in the park.

But in doing this I have made one very important discovery... I am not flexible.

Yes, I know. It's a harsh world for us tall inflexible people.

Er, yah.... I'm a beginner

Anyways, yoga has a reputation for being  very "ohm"-ish. This may turn some people off, but really, don't let it! You may even come to like it. My class had bubbly water music and the lights were off. Some people were really into meditating and stuff, but I was just concentrating on not falling over.


For Ultimate Dia challengers, yoga is something I highly recommend. The health benefits, according to Mayo Clinic, are:

·  Stress reduction.

·  Increased fitness.

·  Management of chronic health conditions.

·  Weight loss.

In other words, even if you ARE as inflexible as me, go for it! 


Just find a class at your local fitness center (L.A. Fitness-- whoop, whoop!) or get a DVD and do it at home (but be sure to buy a mat--- hard floors hurt). The toughest part is the flexibility and core strength, but I am told that it gets better the more you work at it.


This is one challenge I'm going to stick with.


~Christine: Do It All

Number One: Start a Blog

Is it lame to have your first blog post be about blogging?


Probably.


And yes, I know. Anyone can start a blog.


Obviously I'm not Anyone.

Let me tell you, it took me FOREVER to figure out Google Blogger. FOREVER! Save yourself hours of hassle and just check out "The Idiot's Guide to Blogging" from the library.

But if you're already a blogger genius, you can get started this way:



1. Get a google account



2. Go to blogger.google.com



3. Create a blogger account



4. Follow the instructions: title your blog, write a post, create a template and background



5. Voila! Deceptively simple.





~Christine: Do It All

Ultimate Dia: Do It All in 10 Years

YOUR ULTIMATE BUCKET LIST IN JUST 10 YEARS:

Live the Life.

I'm doing it, can you?

1.     See the Last Supper painting

2.     Visit Mecca

3.     See the Eiffel tower

4.     See the e panama canal

5.     Visit all 7 continents

6.     Live in a foreign country for 6  months

7.     See the fjords of Norway

8.     Stay at the ice hotel in Sweden

9.     Visit Auschwitz

10. Visit the blarney hotel, Ireland

11. Watch sumo wrestling match in japan

12. Visit the imperial palace, Tokyo

13. Attend a Japanese tea ceremony

14. Head down to tokyo’s electronic district and wander in and out of the shops

15. Visit the Lascaux caves in southwestern france

16. Visit the caves of Altamira in northern spain

17. Visit the chauvet cave in the ardeche department, region of southern france

18. Go the universal studios, Hollywood

19. Visit the coney island boardwalk

20. Visit the Lincoln/Vietnam veterans/George Washington/Thomas Jefferson/ memorials

21. Visit the four corners: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado

22. Visit Cape Cod

23. Visit Nantucket

24. Visit Martha’s Vineyard

25. Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco

26. Atlantic City Boardwalk, New Jersey

27. See Mount Rushmore

28. Visit Disney World

29. See the Ati-Atihan Festival

30. Go to the Lisdoonvarna Ireland Mathcmaking Festival

31. See the Day of the Dead

32. See the Galway International Oyster Festival

33. See the Carnival in Venice

34. See the ongkran Festival

35. See the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts

36. See Mardi Gras in New Orleans

37. Learn to play pool

38. Learn to sculpt

39. Learn to make mobiles

40. Build a village around a model train layout

41. Construct furniture

42. Get my drivers license

43. Go camping for the first time ever!

44. Learn how to start a fire

45. Navigate with a map and compass

46. Take up fishing

47. Go garage sale scouting

48. Collect eggs from a nest

49. Milk a cow-

50. Learn to play golf

51. Make a hole in one

52. Conduct a butterfly survey

53. Raise 50 monarch butterflies

54. Go wwoofing- world wide opportunies on organic farms

55. Perfect my tennis serve

56. Play doubles

57. Enter a tennis tournament

58. Run a marathon

59. Bike la route verte, Canada

60. Visit French speaking Canada, Montreal

61. Become fluent in French

62. Read all of the Agatha christie novels

63. Do a duathalon

64. Learn to ride a skateboard

65. Learn to do a wheelie on a skateboard and ride ramps

66. Bike the underground railroad route, usa/Canada

67. Do a benefit charity bike/run

68. Enter a bike race

69. Ride the 300-mile MS Bike Ride

70. Go to a Renaissance fair

71. Eat 5 weird deep fried foods on a stick 

72. Eat a bug

73. Complete a Susan G. Koleman 3 day walk for the cure

74. Get a job

75. Go canoeing

76. Feed a wild animal

77. Be an extra in a movie

78. Assist disabled kids

79. Read a religious text in full

80. Learn to say “hello” in 50 languages

81. Learn sailing

82. Learn water skiing

83. Go water skiing barefoot

84. Learn to bait a fishing hook

85. Take up fly fishing

86. Go deer hunting

87. Ride a very scary rollercoaster

88. Play a huge prank… and get away with it

89. Learn to make my own jewelry

90. Learn to play bridge

91. Learn to play harmonica

92. Learn to make pottery

93. Get my chakras aligned

94. Listen to my favorite band play in concert (my first live concert ever)

95. Learn how to make balloon animals

96. Learn to draw comics

97. Learn to sheer a sheep

98. Donate blood

99. Plant my own tree and watch it grow

100.                 Compose a song

101.                 Learn to jump on horseback

102.                 Learn to play polo

103.                 Random acts of kindness: Write nice notes to people I don’t know

104.                 Take a basic self defense class

105.                 Read the complete works of Shakespeare

106.                 Send a sincere letter to a celebrity  I’m a fan of

107.                 Bet on a horse race

108.                 Keep bees

109.                 Bake a cake for someone special

110.                 Watch clouds

111.                 Learn to do magic tricks

112.                 Volunteer at a homeless shelter

113.                 Join a string quartet

114.                 Become a wild life photographer

115.                 Metal detect

116.                 Organize a picnic outing

117.                 Fly a kite

118.                 Create a book club

119.                 Learn four European languages

120.                 Learn to play an obscure musical instrument such as the hang ,ukele, or mandolin

121.                 Walk through a corn maze

122.                 Go dirt biking

123.                 Get a complete makeover

124.                 Die my hair blue

125.                 Start a blog

126.                 Take up yoga

127.                 Grow orchids

128.                 Join PETA

129.                 Listen to old people

130.                 Learn to meditate

131.                 Win a discussion debate

132.                 Learn how to smile for the camera

133.                 Invest in the stock market

134.                 Learn how to make a national dish

135.                 Try indoor climbing

136.                 Make homemade yogurt

137.                 Learn to decorate cakes

138.                 Learn Aikido

139.                 Kill an overused phrase

140.                 Learn to read manga

141.                 Learn how to do laundry

142.                 Cook real sushi 

143.                 Scrapbook

144.                 Knit

145.                 Write an anonymous love letter

146.                 Grow bonsai trees

147.                 Hit bullseye on a dartboard

148.                 Join the Audoban society

149.                 Conduct a coffee taste test: determine the true winner

150.                 Learn architecture

151.                 Design a beach house

152.                 Design a house in the country

153.                 Design a penthouse on 5^th avenene, new York

154.                 Be in a circus

155.                 Become a better public speaker by joining a speech group or toastmasters

156.                 Geocache

157.                 Learn to play ping pong

158.                 Learn to play squash

159.                 Read all the books by pj tracey

160.                 Learn astrology

161.                 Learn archery

162.                 Learn to change the oil on the car

163.                 Learn to use a pogo stick

164.                 Learn to play chess

165.                 Take up gourmet cooking

166.                 Try body building

167.                 Visit the Mall of America

168.                 Create a youtube video

169.                 Make mobiles

170.                 Create mandalas

171.                 Yoyo

172.                 Watch the American film institute’s 100 funniest movies

173.                 Volunteer with eagles

174.                 Go rock climbing

175.                 Lord of the rings movie marathon- extended versions

176.                 Learn to bowl

177.                 Bowl a strike

178.                 Join a bowling league

179.                 Play in a bowling tournament

180.                 Learn to Irish stepdance

181.                 Make Pysanksky ukranian easter eggs

182.                 Learn to draw

183.                 Become a freelance writer

184.                 Visit all the Ivy League schools

185.                 Spend the night in a storied/historic hotel

186.                 See the art institute of Chicago

187.                 See the museum of fine arts, boston

188.                 See the American Gothic painting

189.                 Attend a writers conference

190.                 Visit Historic Williamsburg, Virginia

191.                 Climb up the Statue of Liberty

192.                 Go to Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston

193.                 Ride a steamboat down the Mississippi river

194.                 Visit the Hershey chocolate factory in Pennsylvania

195.                 See the Newport mansions, rhode island

196.                 Visit Pennsylvania dutch country

197.                 Visit Metropolitan Museum of Art

198.                 Visit the Guggenheim Museum of Art

199.                 Horseback ride in Central Park

200.                 See the magnificent mile, Chicago

201.                 See the freedom trail, boston, Massachusetts

202.                 Bike in Maine

203.                 Eat real maine lobster

204.                 Learn to fire a rifle

205.                 Maintain a positive attitude

206.                 Learn how to take criticisim

207.                 Learn how to take compliments

208.                 Learn cpr and the Heimlich maneuver

209.                 Perform basic first aid

210.                 Learn Michael Jackson dance

211.                 Make candles

212.                 Eat the grossest foods: mashed potatoes, tofu, and ramen noodles

213.                 Donate children’s books to a hospital near your home

214.                 Cook and sell baked goods

215.                 Be in a parade

216.                 Make a duct tape outfit

217.                 Snowshoe

218.                 Try curling

219.                 Paper mache:

220.                 Make a piñata

221.                 Learn to play poker

222.                 Learn to program computers

223.                 Learn astronomy

224.                 Go snowmobiling

225.                 Break a guiness world record

226.                 Invest in commodities, such as gold and silver

227.                 Be able to read German at an 8^th grade level

228.                 Form a band

229.                 Swim with dolphins

230.                 Become a vegetarian

231.                 Crochet

232.                 Watch every movie that has won an academy award winners best picture

233.                 See a fortune teller

234.                 Volunteer time at an animal shelter

235.                 Become a journalist

236.                 Admit your past demons to the public

237.                 Calligraphy

238.                 Adopt a pet from the animal shelter

239.                 Write and publish a book

240.                 Write a book and sell it on amazon

241.                 Write about food: a cookbook or restaurant review

242.                 Make the front page of the newspaper

243.                 Start an irish music group

244.                 Try out waiter/waitress for a month just for ht experience

245.                 Go without a car for a month

246.                 Write an ebook or launch a digital product that makes more than $6000

247.                 Win a race

248.                 Record 100 birds in bird book

249.                 Try fencing

250.                 Get certified as a lifeguard

251.                 Tap dance

252.                 Hip hop

253.                 Flamenco

254.                 Square dancing

255.                 Sleep in an overnight train

256.                 Mush a dog sled

257.                 Win a writing contest

258.                 Have a star named after someone important to you

259.                 Throw a mega party

260.                 Become a teacher

261.                 Discover your life purpose

262.                 Take make up lessons with a  makeup specialist

263.                 Become an intern at a major publishing house

264.                 bobsled

265.                 Go to prom

266.                 Be a part of a flash mob

267.                 Donate money to a library

268.                 Ask someone to join you at lunch

269.                 Ballet

270.                 See a movie that’s so great you can’t stop thinking about it

271.                 Self publish a book

272.                 Write a childrens book

273.                 Get a job

274.                 Learn glassblowing

275.                 Volunteer/attend the Olympics

276.                 Get motorcycle license

277.                 Write letters to past teachers

278.                 Create talking gravestone

279.                 Own a wassily chair

280.                 Learn to do a swimming dive

281.                 Teach a parrot how to talk

282.                 Make a time capsule

283.                 Join the peace corps

284.                 Build a tree house

285.                 Try diet coke in every continent- or from every country

286.                 Learn 5 new words every day for a month

287.                 Help someone on the side of the road

288.                 Raise a seeing eye dog

289.                 Baby sit kids

290.                 Sell everything you don’t need

291.                 Live in an isolated community for 1 month

292.                 Give all your pocket money to a beggar

293.                 Get a massage

294.                 Eat a meal that you grew yourself

295.                 Drive somewhere spontaneous

296.                 Eat a large French fries without feeling guilty

297.                 Try an exotic ice cream flavor

298.                 Go to Alaska

299.                 Buy an unusual gadget from hammacher schlemmer

300.                 perform a play

301.                 Speedskate

302.                 Eat snails, duck, lamb, liver, pigs head

303.                 Do stand-up comedy

304.                 Attend loy krathong in Thailand

305.                 Ride a gondola in venice

306.                 Learn to salsa dnace

307.                 Be on oprah

308.                 Witness an eclipse

309.                 Run a 10k

310.                 Complete a marathon

311.                 Run the boston marathon

312.                 Run the Honolulu marathon

313.                 Run the Big Sur Marathon

314.                 Visit Seward, Alaska

315.                 Hot air balloon in New Mexico

316.                 Be a chef (at least for a day)

317.                 Be publish in a major magazine or newspaper

318.                 Interview someone famous

319.                 Bike across the country

320.                 Become a triathalete (swimming, cycling, running)

321.                 Complete the Ironman Triathalon

322.                 Walk across the Simpson desert in Australia

323.                 Track the Spectacled Bear with ecovolunteer

324.                 Learn to be a clown

325.                 Learn bullfighting

326.                 Learn Arabic

327.                 Patricipate in the Tour de France

328.                 Ride a bicycle form Los Angeles to New York

329.                 Patricipate in a regatta boat race

330.                 Go ice-kite sailing

331.                 Stay in the President Suite in the Plaza Hotel

332.                 Go windsurfing

333.                 Drive a speedboat

334.                 Go to the Hobbit Motel

335.                 Ride a jet ski

336.                 Stay at the Jules Undersea Lodge

337.                 Try the weirdest diets for a day: Grapefruit diet, Lemonade diet, Cabbage soup diet, baby food diet, banana diet, Shangri-la diet, vegan diet

338.                 Cappadocia Cave Hotel

339.                 Kennedy Space Station

340.                 Ride an ice boat

341.                 Go on a safari

342.                 Visit the Hogwarts castle

343.                 Visit the Harry Potter theme park

344.                 Learn book binding

345.                 Learn to wood carve

346.                 Go truffle hunting in France

347.                 Learn to train falcons

348.                 Backpack across Europe

349.                 Plant 50 trees

350.                 Host an exchange student

351.                 Visit the white house

352.                 Read to kids

353.                 Go ghosthunting

354.                 Have an airsoft gun match

355.                 Make pizza in a wood oven stove

356.                 Be amish for a month

357.                 Write a cookbook

358.                 Learn to play raquet ball

359.                 Learn baseball

360.                 Softball

361.                 Football

362.                 Lacross

363.                 Field hockey

364.                 Ice hockey

365.                 Cricket

366.                 Rugby

367.                 Go deep sea fishing

368.                 Go ice fishing

369.                 Fish in the florida keys

370.                 Catch a sailfish

371.                 Participate in white marlin open

372.                 Go on a week-long fishing trip

373.                 Go duck hunting

374.                 Go alligator hunting

375.                 Hunt grouse in Scotland

376.                 Go horseback riding along the beach

377.                 Participate in a show jumping competition

378.                 Descend into the Bryce canyon on horseback

379.                 Ride a horse without a saddle

380.                 Enter a horse show

381.                 Run a state fair stand

382.                 Learn to ski jump

383.                 Ski the alps

384.                 Ski the andes

385.                 Go heli-skiing

386.                 Ski at st. moritz

387.                 Ski in vali, Colorado

388.                 Complete a cross-country ski race

389.                 Talk on a radio

390.                 Go snowboarding (learn how!)

391.                 Learn how to figure skate

392.                 Swim in all of the great lakes

393.                 Swim in the ocean

394.                 Learn to high dive

395.                 Participate in a swimming race

396.                 swim across the English channel

397.                 learn karate

398.                 become a black belt in karate

399.                 kung fu

400.                 learn boxing

401.                 spar a pro boxer

402.                 learn wrestling techniques

403.                 learn the Arabic alphabet

404.                 learn 100 basic ASL signs

405.                 learn latin

406.                 become a united nations interpreter

407.                 teach English in a foreign country

408.                 learn Esperanto

409.                 learn to interpret body language

410.                 learn to pray in Hebrew

411.                 learn to play piano by ear

412.                 learn to play the drums

413.                 learn to play your favorite song on the guitar

414.                 learn to play three brass instruments

415.                 conduct an orchestra

416.                 teach a child to play a musical instrument

417.                  take singing lessons

418.                 Learn to yodel

419.                 Sing karaoke

420.                 Release an album

421.                 Learn to sing opera

422.                 Go to the Havana international jazz festival

423.                 Go the grand ole opry in Nashville, Tennessee

424.                 Go to a real blues bar in Chicago

425.                 Go to a jazz club in new orleans’ frenc quarter

426.                 Listen to very piece composed by Frederic chopin

427.                 Listen to the new York philharmonic at avery fisher hallin the Lincoln center

428.                 Take dance lessons for rhumba

429.                 Meringue

430.                 Tango

431.                 Ballroom

432.                 Waltz

433.                 Foxtrot

434.                 Bellydance

435.                 Jitterbug

436.                 Krumping

437.                 Go snorkeling in a shipwreck

438.                 Jump from a cliff into deep water

439.                 Learn to Scuba dive

440.                 Scuba dive in Bonaire, Netherlands antille

441.                 Scuba dive in the barrier reef

442.                 Dive in an aquarium

443.                 Swim with sharks

444.                 Go white water rafting

445.                 Surprise my host family in Italy by visiting

446.                 Go on a cruise

447.                 Learn to surf

448.                 Do a polar bear swim

449.                 Dive in a submarine

450.                 Visit the submerged sculpture park off the coast of cancun

451.                 Go paragliding

452.                 Go tandem sky diving

453.                 Get a sky diving license

454.                 Go on a helicopter ride

455.                 go on a canopy tour (zip line)

456.                 go gliding (pilots fly an unpowered aircraft known as a glider)

457.                 ride a gyrocopter

458.                 travel by seaplane

459.                 fly in an open-cockpit airplane

460.                 visit Egypt, learn hieroglyphics, visit the sahara

461.                 aid African children

462.                 go hiking in the rainforest

463.                 go firewalking

464.                 ride a mechanical bull

465.                 participate in the rickshaw run

466.                 go on a cross country motorcycle trip

467.                 climb mt kiliminjaro

468.                 climb vinson massif

469.                 climb carstensz pyramid mountain

470.                 climb moun everest

471.                 climb mount mckinley

472.                 climb elbrus, Russia

473.                 climb Aconcagua in argentina

474.                 ride on the orient express

475.                 ride the trans-siberian railway

476.                 drive down route 66

477.                 ride a dune buggy in the desert

478.                 go kart racing

479.                 go on the bernina express

480.                 go zorbing

481.                 visit the titanic wreck by submarine

482.                 go on the London eye

483.                 experience zero gravity

484.                 go to the moon on the virgin galactic

485.                 go whale-watching

486.                 see a platypus

487.                 see a koala

488.                 visit the san diego zoo

489.                 go on a safari in the Serengeti, Tanzania

490.                 save a species from extinction

491.                 get a corgi

492.                 ride a camel

493.                 ride an elephant

494.                 see gorillas in the wild in Uganda

495.                 watch turtles hatch and run for the ocean

496.                 run with the bulls

497.                 go bird watching in panama

498.                 watch an animal being born

499.                 get a dexter cow (mini cow)

500.                 Victoria falls, Zimbabwe

501.                 The Galapagos islands

502.                 The northern lights

503.                 Amazon rainforest, south Africa

504.                 Death valley, California

505.                 The everglades, florida

506.                 Big basin redwoods state park, California

507.                 Yosemite national park, California

508.                 Mount fuji, japan

509.                 Uluru, Australia

510.                 Yellowstone national park, wyoming

511.                 The perito Moreno glacier, argentina

512.                 Witness a meteor shower

513.                 The sahara desert

514.                 The Serengeti, Tanzania

515.                 The Patagonia grasslands, argentina

516.                 Harbor of rio de janeiro

517.                 The Parthenon in Greece

518.                 The acropolis in Greece

519.                 The Alhambra in spain

520.                 The statues of easter island, chile

521.                 The nazca lines, peru

522.                 The kremlin in Russia

523.                 The pyramids of giza, Egypt

524.                 The Sydney opera house, Australia

525.                 St. peter’s basilica, the Vatican, rome

526.                 Hagia Sophia, turkey

527.                 Notre dame cathedral, paris

528.                 St. basil’s cathedral, Moscow, Russia

529.                 Seville cathedral, Seville, spain

530.                 Gaudi’s la sagrada familia, Barcelona, spain

531.                 Kiyomizu temple in japan

532.                 Macchu picchu, peru

533.                 The coliseum in rome

534.                 Petra, Jordan

535.                 Christ redeemer, brazil

536.                  The great wall of china

537.                 El prado in Madrid, spain

538.                 The hermitage in st. Petersburg, Russia

539.                 Muse de l’orangerie in paris, france

540.                 Centre pompidou in paris

541.                 The van gogh museum, Amsterdam, Holland

542.                 The tate gallery in London, England

543.                 The Egyptian museum in cairo

544.                 The Smithsonian museum in Washington dc

545.                 J. paul getty center, los angeles

546.                 Tokyo national museum, Tokyo

547.                 Luncheon of the boating party painting by Renoir in Washington

548.                 The scream by edvard munch, national gallery, oslo

549.                 Make stained glass windows

550.                 Make a model car, ship and plain

551.                 Build a doll house

552.                 Paint- watercolors, oil, acrylics

553.                 Grow prize-winning roses

554.                 Restore a classic car

555.                 Keep a greenhouse

556.                 Embroidery

557.                 Needlepoint

558.                 Quilting

559.                 Sewing

560.                 Make amigurumi

561.                 Sell your crafts on etsy, zazzle, or cafepress

562.                 Read every novel that has won a Pulitzer prize in the fiction category

563.                 Read all the Russian classics

564.                 Watch every movie that has won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or

565.                 Discover what make syou truly happy

566.                 Figure out your pirorites

567.                 Learn not to take what others do or say personally

568.                 Kick negative habits

569.                 Learn to say no without feeling guilty

570.                 Learn time management

571.                 Acquire persuasion skills

572.                 Develop great self-esteem and self confidence

573.                 Face your greatest fears

574.                 Get a college degree

575.                 Get a masters

576.                 Get a PhD

577.                 Pass the New York Bar

578.                 Get into an Ivy

579.                 Get into Juilliard

580.                 Get an Honorary Degree at Yale

581.                 Give the commencement speech at  a major university

582.                 Meet yoru favorite Hollywood star

583.                 Shake hands with al gore

584.                 Go to culinary school

585.                 Meet the president

586.                 Meet royalty

587.                 Meet bill gates

588.                 Meet your favorite author

589.                 Become financially literate

590.                 Be able to read and understand corporate balance sheet, income statement and other financial documents

591.                 Create a financial strategy

592.                 Have a positive net worth

593.                 Invest in real estate

594.                 Purchase bonds

595.                 Create enough passive income so that you don’t have to work another day in your life

596.                 Become a millionare

597.                 Create a corporation to protect your assets

598.                 Have all the insurance that you need to protect yourself from risk

599.                 Open a swiss bank account

600.                 Hire an accountant and a tax attorney to make sure you’re taking advantage of all available tax breaks

601.                 Sponsor someone who makes a big breakthrough in science, art, or writing

602.                 Decide you have enough money to be satisfied

603.                 Go on a shopping spree

604.                 Charter a yacht

605.                 Own a private jet

606.                 Become a member of an exclusive club

607.                 Spend a week at a 5-star spa

608.                 Shop in rodeo drive

609.                 Go to an auction at christie’s or sotheby’s

610.                 Have high tea at the plaza hotel in new York

611.                 Own a rolls Royce, aston martin, or Bentley

612.                 Sleep in a castle

613.                 Own an island

614.                 Own a chanel suit

615.                 Hire a personal shopper

616.                 Fly first class

617.                 Own a professional sports team

618.                 Spend a week on neck island

619.                 Buy jewelry at tiffany and co

620.                 Find the love of your life

621.                 Adopt a child

622.                 Be a foster parent

623.                 Create a joyous, comfortable, loving atmosphere

624.                 Have a pet

625.                 Pass on your family heirloom

626.                 Create a coat of arms for your family

627.                 Have family rituals and traditions to celebrate holidays and important life events

628.                 Create your family tree

629.                 Create a tradition of getting together with extended family for a barbecue once a year

630.                 Design a ranch

631.                 A house by the lake

632.                 A house inspired by Japanese architexture

633.                 A colonial house

634.                 A house with an inner courtyard

635.                 A bamboo house

636.                 A villa

637.                 In your home have a rose covered gazebo

638.                 And a fireplace..

639.                 A meditation room…

640.                 A large kitchen with wooden floors…

641.                 A breakfast nook…

642.                 A herb garden…

643.                 A whirlpool bathtub…

644.                 A terrace…

645.                 A pool…

646.                 A well-stocked pantry…

647.                 A guest bedroom…

648.                 A skylight in the bedroom…

649.                 A great room with high ceilings and a grand piano…

650.                 A wall mural in the hallway…

651.                 A library filled with leather-bound books…

652.                 A gym…

653.                 A wraparound porch…

654.                 A yard with fruit trees…

655.                 A stable for horses…

656.                 A fabulous view from the living room…

657.                 A tree house

658.                 Bike ruta austral, chile

659.                 Bike munda biddi trail in western australi

660.                 Bike Hanoi to ho chi minh city, Vietnam

661.                 Bike gran fondo campagnolo, Italy

662.                 Bike route du comte jean, Belgium/france

663.                 Bike land’s end to john o’groats Britain

664.                 Bike cape argus pick n’ pay cycle tour, south Africa

665.                 Visit Bhutan

666.                 Spend a week at a silent retreat

667.                 Experience bliss

668.                 Do all the lessons in “A course in miracles”

669.                 Attend a native American sweat lodge ceremony

670.                 Become a reiki master

671.                 Heal your past

672.                 Learn to live in the now

673.                 Take up tai chi

674.                 Take up qi gong

675.                 Drink or bath in Lourdes water

676.                 Spend time in a Buddhist monastery

677.                 Become a zen master

678.                 Get an akashic record reading

679.                 Make a difference in at least one persons life

680.                 Build a habitat for humanity home

681.                 Donate a million dollars to a charity

682.                 Establish a foundation to give scholarships to poor children

683.                 Make loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries through kiva.com

684.                 Join a big brother, big sister program

685.                 Donate clothes you no longer use to battered women’s shelter

686.                 Mentor someone

687.                 Plant a community garden

688.                 Join a disaster relief effort

689.                 Start a charity

690.                 Be passionate about a cause

691.                 Start a scholarship fund for your alma mater

692.                 Be recognized as an authority in your field

693.                 Be a world-renowned expert in your field

694.                 Leave a valuable contribution in your area of expertise

695.                 Study psychology

696.                 Own an upscale spa

697.                 Make a documentary film

698.                 Have your paintings exhibited in a gallery

699.                 Sell your original artwork

700.                 Become an interior designer

701.                 Become an architect

702.                 Be a clothes designer

703.                 Work alongside a famous chef

704.                 Buy an old house in the country and turn it into a restaurant

705.                 Become a dentist

706.                 Become a nurse

707.                 Become a personal trainer

708.                 Become a yoga instructor

709.                 Become a professional athlete

710.                 Become a newscaster

711.                 Become a college professor

712.                 Start a coffee shop

713.                 Be a voice actor

714.                 Get blog into technorati top 1000

715.                 Get your blog listed in time magazine’s best blogs

716.                 Be influential in social media

717.                 Get an article published in the new Yorker

718.                 Get an article published in the huffington post

719.                 Write a book that makes it to number 1 on the new York times best sellers list

720.                 Write a play

721.                 Write a travel book

722.                 Write a textbook

723.                 Publish a book of poetry

724.                 Write and draw a graphic novel

725.                 Write your memoir

726.                 Write a biography

727.                 Audition for america’s got talent

728.                 Audition for a role in a movie or commercial

729.                 Watch a rocket launch

730.                 Swim in the largest swimming pool in the world, off the coast of Chile

731.                 Go to the natural cherry blossom festival, Washington, dc

732.                 Become a cheese connoisseur

733.                 Be listed as people magazine’s most beautiful people

734.                 Cut a ribbon at a major opening

735.                 Be interviewed on the today show

736.                 Witness a solar eclipse

737.                 Own a snake

738.                 Do public speaking in front of more than 1000 people

739.                 Visit Niagara falls

740.                 Have dinner with someone you never dreamed of meeting

741.                 Do a somersault

742.                 Do 50 push ups

743.                 Do something completely crazy and out of character

744.                 Run a 10k

745.                 Run a duathlon

746.                 Do 200 consecutive squats

747.                 Go without internet for a month

748.                 Own less than 300 things

749.                 Create a getaway backpack and go

750.                 Learn to surf

751.                 Learn to kitesurf

752.                 Do a cross country road trip

753.                 Climb a volcano

754.                 Put $100,000 in the bank

755.                 Own a small flat in 2 different countries

756.                 Obtain dual citizenship with another country

757.                 Get a horse

758.                 Tour in an RV

759.                 Work on a ranch

760.                 Eat chicken’s feet

761.                 Be in backstage crew at a play

762.                 Be a vegan for 21 days

763.                 Live on less than $5 a day for 2 weeks

764.                 Skip dessert for a month

765.                 Cross a country using only public transporation

766.                 Visit Madagascar

767.                 Live with reindeer herds

768.                 Camp in the white desert of Egypt

769.                 Join a caravan in sahara

770.                 Go to santorini, Greece

771.                 Be a contestant in a gameshow

772.                 Build a hope chest

773.                 Run a five minute mile

774.                 Ride a horse in the rose parade

775.                 Public an article in national geographic

776.                 Study native medicines and bring back useful ones

777.                 Learn a lot more about my dad and write them down

778.                 Go one day without fighting with my siblings

779.                 Work for a month at a winery

780.                 Write a script

781.                 Create and direct a film

782.                 Live alone in the wilderness for 1 week

783.                 Learn to drive a manual transmission

784.                 Learn to Speed read

785.                 Learn to select good produce

786.                 Handle a hammer, axe, or handsaw, or chain saw

787.                 Learn to sew a button onto clothing

788.                 Learn to remove a stain

789.                 Learn to Jump start a car