We Are Now Officially New Mexicans!

Our Custom Made O'Farrell Hats Arrived!

Over the last 4 years here in the good Ol' New Mexico we've made several trips to Santa Fe. One of the shops we always made sure to go into was O'Farrell's Custom Hats. The gentleman who runs the shop didn't think that we were really that interested in buying one of his hats at first. Then during one visit he finally came up to me and asked "how many times have you been in here to try on that hat?" I looked at him and said, "I think this is the 7th." He replied with, "OK. I think it's about time we measure your head for one of your own." And that was that. I was sold. I had to have one! 

Green Chile, Baseball, And Pie...Oh My! The Slovenians Visit New Mexico!

This last weekend Matt's 3rd cousin and her husband from Rovte, Slovenia visited us. Although only here for a short stay of 3 days we packed in as many New Mexico sights as we could. 

We took a trip up to  Sandia Peak, learned all about the "Watermelon Mountains" from our gondola guide, and even got stuck at the top for a while because of lightning. But like they say in New Mexico...if you don't like the weather  all you have to do is wait 10 minutes and it will change. Sure enough it did and we didn't have to spend the night (although we were staking out the biggest bench for the worst case scenario). 

And So It All Begins...

We got our EURail Passes! 

I can't believe that this is really happening. It's the little things like this that remind me that it is actually going to happen - that we are in fact leaving for Europe in less than 2 months! 

It has been a long time coming. We have been dreaming of and planning this adventure for the past 5 years. It is a bit surreal to think that is actually becoming a reality.  

Over the past year we've bought plenty of maps, made many a lists, watched movies and special, and read plenty of guide books. Being avid PBS junkies we have been unitizing many of Rick Steve's suggestions and tips along with tidbits from other travel blogs we've found along the way. We also made sure to check in with AAA to get our plethora of free maps and travel insurance.  

All and all we have pretty much nailed down the itinerary. I will say that Matt has been doing most of the planning and logistics including making one kick butt spread sheet. No really, I've never seen a more detailed spreadsheet. But don't worry, I've made sure to add my advice here and there along the way. 

Many have been asking us where we plan to go so here is a peek at our itinerary.

My Bucket List - Doing My Best To Live Big!

I recently came across a blog called LivingBig. To give you a little back story, I had recently been surfing around the web looking for helpful advice for our up-and-coming trip. I randomly came across LivingBig one day on Pinterest read a few posts, thought "Wow! That was sure helpful!" and moved on not thing much about it. A bit later a friend of mine from high school linked the very same blog to her Facebook page. It wasn't until then that I put 2 and 2 together and came to the conclusion that "You know what? I know her!". Both Mary, the author of LivingBig, and I were in the same graduating class in High School. After that light bulb moment I went back and reread all her whole blog. Currently she is in the midst of a 5 month adventure through Europe herself. I would highly recommend reading along with her adventures if you have the chance. The post on losing the map was one of my favorites.

But It was a post entitled Bucket list that got me thinking the most though. It made me happy to see someone else from my Good Ol' Class of  '04 out there traveling the world, making things happen, and living their dreams. Even though we didn't talk much in High School I recently emailed Mary and told her how her adventures and stories on LivingBig inspired me to write my own bucket list. 

Life is too precious and too short to let your dreams pass you by. So, by writing them down and sharing them with all of you I am holding myself accountable to make the very best of the greatest gift God could ever give me. Remember, a Bucket List is an ever growing and changing document. As you cross things off, new things get added. It changes and grows with you!

So here it goes! Here is My Bucket List!