Living the Passionate Life List

This past week has been interesting! My hubby went in the hospital last Sunday for emergency back surgery which took place on Tuesday and he was released on Wednesday. And I have been his nurse for a week -- almost! This infrequent blogger has now gone two weeks without blogging; if there's a record...I've already won it!

This picture was taken right before Mark went into surgery; he wouldn't take off his wedding band, so they taped it on him!

I've spent my share of time in hospital waiting rooms and I hope that will be it for a while.

But I did get a lot of reading and writing done for "Coffee Lover's Devotions to Go!" And "yes" there are some hosptial coffee stories in there as well.

In researching one of the stories, I came across my "Passionate To-Do List" that was made after I was diagnosed with cancer. So many have e-mailed me through the years and asked what I had written down for the 27 things I wanted to do before I died, so I thought this new year of 2010 would be a good time to share it with you in hopes that you can make a list as well. This is not a New Year's resoltion type of list, but a long-term sustainable goal list. These were randomly written, so make sure that you don't linger too long (your heart will guide you!).

This list was written in 1996, so here goes:

1. Take a cruise.

2. Write a book.

3. Go back to Italy to visit friends.

4. Go to Bar Harbor, Maine (Acadia National Park).

5. See Jeremy graduate from high school.

6. See Jon graduate from high school.

7. See my boys through safe passage into adulthood.

8. Take a trip to Bermuda.

9. Volunteer my time and efforts into Relay for Life.

10. Give workshops on what to say and how to help someone through the cancer journey.

11. Start Women's Mentoring Ministries.

12. Run a 10k race.

13. Spend a weekend alone in Cape May, New Jersey and take pictures of the sunset.

14. Give education classses to resident physicans on what to say to newly diagnosed cancer patients.

15. Live for five years cancer free.

16. Live each day in the present moment.

17. Never miss a sunset

18. Go to Venice, Italy with my hubby.

19. Secure Life Insurance as a cancer survivor.

20. Start an Internet Gift Basket Company for cancer surivors.

21. Grow a rose garden.

22. Teach Italian.

23. Never let a day go by without being thankful for life!

24. See Jeremy graduate from college.

25. See Jon graduate from college.

26. Read the Bible through each year for the rest of my life!

27. See one of my son's get married!

Jon and Kim will be married on May 30, 2010! Am I making a new list? Yep, it's already done, but it's a little different than the original (quite a bit different!). Blessings for a great 2010!


Living Life Passionately,

Apple Strudel

Someone recently asked me what my favorite part of the trip to Austria was and I blurted out, "Apple Strudel." No, it's not a place...it's something to eat. And if I'm truly honest...I ate my way through that country. Instead of losing five pounds like I normally do on trips, I think I gained five. But it was worth every bite.

You cannot go to that part of Europe and not eat this traditional delicacy -- apple strudel.



If you visit the Schonbrunn Palace, you can actually see a strudel demonstration as part of your "classic" ticket admission. Because it was a cold, damp, and dreary day, there's nothing like a warm Austrian tea house to perk up your spirits.



As we walked into the seating area, we were given a bite-size portion of strudel (not nearly enough!), and then the demonstration began. One of our very own ladies on the tour, Deb, was chosen to participate in the strudel show. Afterwards Deb was given a "Certificate of Achievement," and I'm sure her name is written somewhere in the strudel history books.



Believe it or not, there's a hotline number you can call in case your strudel flops!



It was one of the highlights of the trip to see Deb covered in pastry dough and making strudel dough history at the same time.

Of course, all of that is to get you to buy something -- right? Because I travel light and I do mean light (only a backpack on wheels), I resisted the temptation and instead copied the recipe for all of you!

Flying

Flying over the San Francisco Bay Area is one of my favorite treats -- especially from an aisle seat. The poor man sitting next to me -- by the window -- didn't stand a chance; in fact, I was waiting for him to switch seats with me because I kept leaning over to snap pictures while he was trying to sleep. The fog had rolled back revealing a panoramic view of the city; I even got a fuzzy picture of the Golden Gate Bridge (not pictured).

But as I eased back in my seat, I felt closer to the land than I did the sky...it blended into one until we were at a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet.

What is it about flying that makes me feel close to God? It certainly isn't the inattentive flight attendants or the sometimes rude passengers; it's that feeling that I'm so small compared to God's greatness. Climbing to that high altitude doesn't come without some rough spots -- turbulence! You see, when you're flying at lower altitudes you experience it a lot more than at higher altitudes. But once above the clouds, it's smooth "sailing" -- most of the time.

I had to laugh when the captain announced, "We're heading into some 'weather'!" What he really meant to say was, "We have scattered thunderstorms and it's going to be a rough flight." Thankfully, most passengers missed that part and went on reading the New York Times, USA today or books on Kindle. But I was keenly aware of what the captain meant. It was going to be a rough flight for the next five hours.

Yes, I spilled coffee all over me (twice); dropped my laptop on the floor, and have sinus congestion and popping ears today, but we landed safely and the flying incident is a faint memory.

Turbulent "flying" doesn't just happen on airplanes; it happens on the ground as well. It's our eternal perspective that keeps us focused.

A friend reminded me of that today -- each day has enough trouble of its own, so keep "flying" -- don't look back and keep focused on the prize that lays before all of us!

Living Life Passionately,