#115 - Attend a costume party - DONE!

Surprisingly I'm not a huge Halloween person, but some of my friends here in California are. So I had to find a sweet costume for a Halloween party... Then it hit me, the perfect low-budget costume... Carmen San Diego!!! But where in the world was I going to find everything on a tight budget? In the end I think it came together quite nicely, particularly my red 80's power suit from Goodwill. Without it I would have just looked silly! My favorite part of the evening was when a complete stranger spotted me from across the room and interrupted my conversation just to ask if I was Carmen San Diego! I call that a successful costume! Overall this was a very fun experience, who knows who I'll be next year.

#204 - Attend a monster truck rally - DONE!

I didn't know what exactly to expect at a monster truck show. But radio ads led me to expect "the thrill of the crowd, the roar of the engines, the smell of gasoline, and the crunching of cars"! In a nutshell, that was it! I was surprised at how much fun I had for being a very un-mechanical person. There is a whole points system based on different events, motocross tricks, and even mini monster truck races! Oh, and the best part? I know some of the drivers! How cool is that!!! Thanks again Travis & Tyler for a super fun day at the monster truck show! You can check their schedule at http://www.mirrorimageracing.com/

#184 - Answer the call of the wild, go to the bathroom outdoors DONE!

Being a suburb/city girl I never really experienced a "need" to go to the bathroom outdoors. I consider myself an outdoorsy person, but also a lady. But recently while searching for a trailhead with bad directions I had the unique opportunity to drive aimlessly on rocky forest roads for over an hour... This caused some bladder distress, but since I didn't know where I was not where the closest restroom was I knew the moment had arrived. Time to pee outside. And even though I knew nobody could possibly be on the one-way logging road, leaving only my dog (whom I witness peeing on a daily basis) was there to see me, I still searched for a really big tree and hid behind it. Don't ask me why. So there you have it, not a difficult challenge but definitely an experience!

Oh, and don't worry I didn't actually take a picture of me peeing in the woods for this one. This is just a picture from when I was driving aimlessly through the wilderness :)

#189 - Live in California - DONE!

One of my major goals has been to work in California, so naturally living there would be a great first step. Well after numerous job applications I finally did it! Unfortunately there is a downside though. According to the warning labels, everything I own could cause cancer, even my apartment! If you've never heard of this take a look at the warning label on... well just about anything. Most will say "this product may cause cancer in California", seriously try it!

#271 - Drive on a musical road DONE!

There are only 3 musical roads in the world, and only 1 in the United States. While driving from TX to CA we decided to take a brief detour to stop by West Avenue "G" in Lancaster, CA to drive on the musical road. This particular road plays the William Tell Overture (Lone Ranger Theme) when you drive on it and although it's not pitch perfect, it's still pretty cool. Here's the video, check it out:

The road was originally located in a residential area but due to traffic and noise complaints it was relocated to it's current location. The sound is achieved by cutting grooves in the pavement and placing them at specific intervals to create different pitches when driven over. It was actually pretty cool. The video doesn't really do it justice, it sounded better in person. So if you end up with some spare time and you're anywhere near Lancaster, CA check it out!

#180 - Stand in two states at the same time! - DONE!

I planned on doing this one while moving to from Texas to California. Which was much easier said than done. It is really easy to miss the actual state lines when they aren't really labeled! But after crossing in and out of TX, NM, AZ, and NV we finally stumble across a perfect location along the Nevada-California border. Look 2 states!

#268 - Drive along Route 66 - DONE!

This one happened as a fluke. While driving from Texas to California we saw multiple signs about Route 66. So while in Albuquerque, NM we decided to check it out and actually drove on a portion of the historic Route 66! It was
actually pretty cool because many of the stores were themed and Albuquerque maintained a lot of the neon lights. I would definitely like to go back again at night and see everything lit up. After driving on part of Route 66 I think I'm gonna have to add driving the whole thing to my Life List!

#125 - Buy a stranger a coffee - DONE!

I got the idea for this one when somebody did this for me. I was having a particularly bad day so I went to Starbucks for an afternoon coffee to get me through the evening and when I pulled up to the window to pay I was told that the person in front of me had already taken care of it! It completely changed my day! So a couple time a year I do this, but I've never taken a picture or anything so I had no "proof" for my Life List. This time it was a Monday afternoon and the person behind me looked particularly stressed, so I checked to make sure they only ordered 1 coffee (I've made that mistake before!), paid for their drink, and asked the cashier to tell them "have a good Monday". It made my day better and hopefully theirs too.

#11 - sing karaoke at a bar - DONE!

As outgoing and silly as I am I had never sang karaoke at a bar before. That changed when I mentioned it to my boss! It took a while but eventually we went out to a small country bar for karaoke night. Most of the regulars took one look at me a shrugged, little did they know I can sing country music! Not well, but hey it's just karaoke, right? It was a blast! Everybody had a great time. We sang a wide array of songs for the crowd's listening pleasure including "Landslide", "You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man", and even "Baby Got Back". I'm planning on going again really soon! How had I never done this before!

#224 - buy a lottery ticket - DONE!

This one was easy, but still something I feel I needed to do at least once. After deliberating and discussing strategies with a co-worker we decided to go in together on 4 different lottery drawings to increase our chances of winning. And guess what?!? We didn't win anything (shocker, right?). But I did get to check it off my Life List!

#131 & #170 - Have my picture and quote in the newspaper & Be on the front page of a newspaper- DONE!

 This one was a surprise, I just happened to be in the right place on the right day. The zoo I worked at had just built a brand new training platform for their tiger exhibit and I was asked to be photographed for an upcoming article. No big deal, right? Then I was asked to be interviewed with another keeper, again not really a big deal because we give talks about our animals all the time. Come Monday morning I check the local paper and there I am on the front page! I was so proud that I went down to the news station and bought 10 copies to mail out to my family and friends. People on the street even recognized me, for a couple of days that is. I felt like such a celebrity! And as an added bonus I got to check off two Life List challenges in one day!