Welcome to the Operation Bucket List. Here are the things I hope to accomplish before I kick the bucket. [Read more about how this list came to be here.]
EXPLORE
swim in the ocean
swim with the dolphins
donate blood
go to a casino
see a drag show
get my belly button pierced <2000>
go skinny dipping <2001>
get into grad school <2006>
dye my hair black <2009>
get M1 motorcycle license <2010>
get M2 motorcycle license <2010>
fly a helicopter <2010>
meet Sue Johanssen <2010>
buy my own place <2011>
take a course in Sanskrit <2011>
practice ashtanga yoga in Moscow with authorized teachers <2011>
watch a sunrise and a sunset in the same day <2011>
complete a 10-day silent meditation retreat <2011>
watch Pulp Fiction <2011>
get my eyebrow pierced <2012>
go to a movie by yourself <2012>
feel comfortable dancing <2013>
participate in a flashmob <2013>
see a Cirque du Soleil show <2013>
see Jesus Christ Superstar musical <2014>
visit a drive-in movie theatre <2014>
eat local (100 miles) for a month <2015>
participate in a free hugs campaign <2015, for my birthday!>
have a dinner date over Skype
shave my head <2016>
sleep under the stars <2016, that time at a bus shelter in nicaragua, 2016>
throw a large family picnic <2016>
get married <2016>
attend a Toast Masters meeting <2017>
write poetry every day for a week <2017>
test drive Subaru STI <2017>
attend a poetry slam <2017>
attend a religious house of every major religion (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism)
attend an Indian wedding
buy a bonsai tree <2017>
dive off a cliff
crowd surf
dress up as Trinity for Halloween <2017>
experience zero gravity
get a dog
get a short haircut <2017>
get a tattoo
get my fortune read <2017>
shoot (a) gun(s)
milk a cow
organize a flashmob
give a TED talk
participate in Caribana parade
ride a horse really fast
meet Dan Savage
set a world record
take a picture with my best friend in a photobooth
volunteer at animal shelter
act in a play
attend a live UFC fight
have a child
watch everything by Aaron Sorkin
get a too-expensive pair of beige pumps
have a boudoir photoshoot
have a custom action hero doll made
train my dog to understand commands in Russian and hand signals
LEARN
learn to write haikus <2013>
take a creative writing course <2012>
attend TED conference - York TEDx <2013>
study with Natalie Goldberg
read Darwin's Origin of Species
read the main works of the Four Horsemen of the Non-Apocalypse
play Moonlight sonata on piano
learn enough Hindi to get around
learn the Canadian anthem by heart
learn to play/sing 10 songs by heart on a guitar
take an IQ test
take a defensive driving course
become conversational in Italian
take a bartending class
get a PhD/MFA
be able to tell a merlot from a shiraz
learn to change a tire
develop a consistent meditation practice
take Intro to Buddhism course at Tushita Centre in Dharmsala, India
make peace with boredom
take improv or writing classes at Second City <2018>
learn to solve a Rubik's Cube
attend a church service that feels like a party
take a wine class
TRAVEL
go to Oktoberfest in Waterloo, ON - second largest in the world <2009>
float in Dead Sea, Israel <2010>
run in a desert <2010, half marathon in israel>
ride an elephant 2011, saw one in the wild, and didn't want to ride one any more]
go to Mysore, India to study yoga <2011>
fly first class <2011>
see white nights in St. Petersburg, Russia <2011>
spend a night on a yacht with a bedroom [ 2011]
go to New York for a weekend, race and check out the best vegetarian restaurants <2011>
go on a girl road trip <2012>
go on a road trip without a preset destination <2012>
go on a road trip to Kripalu Yoga Centre in MA, USA <2012>
explore Toronto's Chinatown <2012>
explore Toronto's Little India <2013>
go to the Bata Show museum in Toronto <2013>
go to Burning Man <2013>
visit Mount Rushmore in South Dakota <2013>
go to San Franscisco and walk across the Golden Gate bridge <2013 - drove across, 2015 - ran across>
visit Vancouver <2014>
eat pizza at the oldest pizzeria in Naples, Italy <2014>
lean on the Leaning Tower of Pisa <2014>
see an active volcano <2015, sat on the crater edge of an active volcano in 2016>
go on a solo camping trip and read Thoreau's Walden <2015, did that while living in a hut on an island in nicaragua - good enough!>
Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls <2015>
watch a Shakespeare play in Stratford, ON <2015>
see ballet at The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow <2016>
go to Hermitage in St. Petersburg <2016>
see something weird in Portland - yes, it's a reference to Portlandia! <2016>
take a working road trip <2016>
take Italian to Russia <2016>
go on a West Coast road trip
go on a "Europe" trip in Ontario - Paris, London, Brussels.. meh, got my share of small Ontario towns
visit the towns of Marathon, ON and Sparta, ON
visit all Ontario breweries shifted attention to wine! :)
drink Primitivo wine in Puglia, Italy <2017>
eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant <2017>
go on a coast to coast Canada road trip <almost,=">almost</a>," but="but" not="not" quite...="quite..." drove="drove" from="from" Toronto="Toronto" to="to" Calgary in="Calgary in" 2013,="2013," Vancouver="Vancouver" TO="TO" in="in" 2017;="2017;" next="next" up="up" east="east" coast="coast">
visit every Canadian province (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Newfoundland/Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon)
visit every US state (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississipi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia)
set foot on each of the seven continents (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia)
jump at the world's highest bungee (so far jumps in India, Russia and Canada, highest jump approx. 80m)
ride a motorcycle from Manali to Leh, India - highest passable road in the world
stay in Varanasi during monsoon
ride a toy train in India
ride the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia
see Lake Baikal
run in Kenya
see a whale
see Northern lights
go to Iceland for my honeymoon
go on a yoga retreat/massage course in Thailand
go hang gliding over the Grand Canyon
walk across the desert
trek the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal solo
skip winter
use a fancy toilet in Japan
visit a coffee farm in Ethiopia
go to Purple Valley Yoga Centre in Goa, India
ride a Vespa in Rome
spend a layover in a fancy business lounge
stay at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
TRY
snorkeling
white water rafting
taking hip hop lessons <2010>
indoor rock climbing <2011>
bungee jumping <2011, jumped in india, russia and canada since>
orienteering <2012>
improv <2013>
parcour <2014>
a Polar bear dip <2016>
surfing <2016, in costa rica>
Tai Chi
aerial yoga
Capoeira
circus training
krav maga
doing stand-up comedy
hunting
CREATE
create my personal website <2012, www.solovieva.com=">www.solovieva.com</a>">
start a blog <2012>
bake pie from scratch <2012>
make bread <2010>
get blog professionally designed <2013>
start my own business <2013>
get to 100 Likes on my athlete Facebook page <2013>
make Indian curry <2012>
see my article in print <2013>
read at least 12 books a year <2014,=">2014</a>,">
get to 1,000 Likes on my athlete Facebook page <2014, reached 2,500 in 2015>
raise at least $1,000 for charity <2014>
write a paid article for a magazine <2015>
reach 100,000 views in a year on my blog <91,000 in 2014, 103,000 in 2015>
get my nutrition coaching certification <2015, l2 precision nutrition>
pay off debt <2016>
get paid to speak <2016>
have a logo designed <2016>
make Ukranian borscht <2017>
create a tradition <2017>
read a graphic novel
be interviewed on CBC radio
write a book
write a fictional short story
participate complete 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo
plant a Siberian birch
grow a spice garden
design a personal day retreat and carry it out
redesign my personal website
bake bread without supervision <2018>
perform at an open mic
take a Think Week (like Bill Gates)
MOVE
teach a yoga class <2010>
go skydiving tandem <2010>
complete yoga teacher training <2010>
practice yoga on top of a mountain <2011>
practice yoga on a beach <2011>
get a running gait assessment <2012>
have a fitness photoshoot <2012>
get under 20% body fat <2012>
meet New Year's running <2012>
do at least a month of CrossFit <2013>
do 20 double-unders in a row <2013, reached 70 in a row>
learn to chop wood <2013>
do 10 kipping pull-ups in a row <2014, did 15 in a row!>
do one pull-up with 45lb weight <2014, two pull-ups; one pull-up with 53lb in 2015>
do the SkyWalk around CN tower <2015>
learn how to throw a spear <2015>
do a handstand push-up <2016>
do a muscle up (2016, bar muscle-up in 16.3!)
participate in a powerlifting competition <2016>
snatch 100lb (practicing with 55lb in 2014, 85lb in 2015, 115lb in 2016)
participate in a CrossFit competition <2016, and omg - 2010?>
participate in an olympic lifting competition <2017>
bench press my own body weight (120lb in 2014, 125lb in 2015, 147lb in 2016)
complete a beep test
complete Fran workout Rx
sport a 6-pack (long enough to snap a picture!)
learn a flip turn in swimming
go skydiving solo
deadlift 300lb (250lb in 2016, current max = 280lb)
participate in CrossFit Games
do one ring muscle up
dance on stage again
learn to dance salsa
learn contemporary dance
hike the Grand Canyon Rim To Rim To Rim
RACE
run a 5k <2009, pride 5k>
run a 10k <2009>
run a half marathon <2010, ottawa army run>
complete a Warrior Dash <2010>
complete a Super Spartan race <2011>
complete a try-a-tri <2011>
complete a Sprint distance triathlon <2012>
complete a Spartan Beast <2012>
complete a Spartan Trifecta <2012>
complete a Spartan Ultra Beast <2012>
complete a Goruck Challenge <2012>
complete a Tough Mudder <2012, did two laps>
complete a Spartan Hurricane Heat <2013>
complete Spartan Death Race <2013>
complete an Olympic distance triathlon <2013>
participate in Run for the Toad relay trail race <2013>
run a night race <2012>
run a race in the rain <2012>
run Chilly Half Marathon (PR) <2013>
run Around the Bay 30k race <2013>
run a marathon <2013>
participate in an adventure race <2014>
win a race <2014, mudhero toronto, 1st female, baby!>
run an ultra marathon <2014>
participate in obstacle race outside of Canada/US <2015>
run the Great Canadian Death Race <2015, team relay, legs 1, 3 and 5>
participate in OCR World Championships <2015>
run a burpee free Spartan Race <2015>
participate in BattleFrog Race <2016>
run a race barefoot <2016>
participate in Ragnar relay <2017>
participate in a time-based race <2017>
complete a century bike ride
complete a half IRONMAN
participate in Sahara Race
participate in UK Tough Guy
run a sub-20 5k
run a sub-40 10k
participate in a mountain bike race
run a trail race in Italy
run the entire course of the Great Canadian Death Race (leg 1, leg 2, leg 3, leg 4, leg 5)
finish a Survival Run
run Sinister 7 Ultra in the Alberta Rockies
run Fat Dog Trail Race in British Columbia
see how long it takes me to hike up to the top of the Grouse Grind <2017>
run across a country
do an ultra in Siberia
EVERY YEAR
come up with the word of the year
write my personal mission statement
check off a bucket list item on January 1st
read at least 12 books <41 in 2017>
visit at least one new country <2014 - italy, 2015 - nicaragua, 2016 - costa rica, 2017 - vatican>
make a difference in someone's life <2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017> Anything cool that I have missed? What else do you think should be on my list? Can you steal from this list? Absolutely. I would be only flattered. Liked this post? Read why you should have a bucket list, how I add/remove items to the list, and 30 things a woman should do before turning 30. Hugs, SOLO