bucket list Archives - brooke hargett's blog

SNAPSHOT SERIES: A Glimpse into My Summer

July 9, 2014 / brookehargett / Leave a comment

It’s a SNAPSHOT SERIES kind of day, where I give you a quick snapshot of what’s been going on with me!

What I had for Dinner last night: I made a big yummy salad that included: lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes, avocados, carrots, feta, sunflower seeds, and Brianna’s Honey Mustard Dressing. Huge hit. Everyone devoured it immediately.

Last Movie I Saw: You guys… this is embarrassing. I seriously don’t know if I’ve seen a movie since my last Snapshot Series post (which was Divergent). I’ve been so busy with outside stuff that I don’t seem to watch as many movies in the summer. But I’m a HUGE fan of going to the movies. HHhhmm. I feel like I must remedy this immediately.

Delicious Reads Collaboration: I’m a contributor over at Delicious Reads and we just finished our big bash after reading The Goldfinch. You can GO HERE TO SEE PART I of the evening, which features our food menu- all derived from the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Donna Tartt! I’ll be finishing up Part III on Friday.

What I’m Reading: I’m in the middle of three books right now. I keep track of what I’m reading on my Goodreads Currently-Reading Shelf. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of AUDIOBOOKING it and so right now I have two books on my iPhone:

“The Fourth of July Creek,” by Smith Henderson, which I featured on my Top TEN Summer Reading Suggestions for 2014. It’s about a social worker that goes above an beyond to help a young boy who’s father is a religious zealot. I’m almost done with it and it’s been a very interesting read.

“The Evolution of Mara Dyer,” by Michelle Hodkin – This is the second book in her YA paranormal romance series, which I was admittedly hesitant to read but I really enjoyed the first book and now this one has my attention as well!

The third book is a well-worn and beloved book that a good friend let me borrow:

“The Historian,” by Elizabeth Kostova” It’s a tantalizing and mysterious read about a young woman who discovers a family secret though a series of old letters addressed to: “My Dear and Unfortunate Successor… ” It’s kind of haunting so I’m excited to see what happens.

What I’m Writing: Summer days with kids at home is the nemesis to my writing. But on the positive side, I’ve been able to do much more of THIS. I’m just chalking it up to seasons of life and I’m trying not to stress about it too much. I’ve been having a ball hanging out with my kiddos this summer. I’ve learned a lot from my little guy: I can totally name every kind of tractor -FYI, there are more than you think. I can play “momma tiger & baby tiger” for much longer than I thought possible. I can watch bugs for an obscene amount of time. I no longer worry about the constant layer of sand on all my clothes/hair/face/feet from our sandbox. I play a mean game of never-ending catch. I’ve come to terms with the fact that every single thing I do takes ten-times longer because my toddler has to do it himself along with me. I’m also a pro-sunscreener. I’m hoping all this will somehow translate into faster writing techniques when I get a chunk of writing time. That sounds like it will work, right?

Getting Ready For: My NAPA trip! This is my second year participating in the GUNBUNFUNRUN 5K in Napa. I have this awesome group of friends and most of them are doing the half marathon (props to you guys). But I had double knee surgery a year and a half ago so I’m sticking with the 5K. This year we are staying at a winery so I’m extra excited!! I seriously have the coolest group of friends.

Best Part of my Day: The best part of my day today is going to be this evening when I’m planning on having a Margarita on the porch. There’s nothing better than Utah summer evenings outside.

What’s up with you? I hope you’re having a great summer, relaxing and spending time with family and friends. Live it up!

See ya next week!

Brooke

Jellybeans

April 10, 2014 / brookehargett / Leave a comment

(photo source)

If this statement by Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do,” was literal, what kind of person would you be? If you pooled all the ways you spend your time and organized them into percentages, what one thing would hold most of your time? Hopefully it’s something you’re passionate about.

Let’s break it down even further- take a minute to identify the top five ways you spend your time and then ask yourself this: Is one item in pursuit of something you’re passionate about?

I’ve been thinking about how hard it is to create something authentically yours in this life. To improve something around you and give back to society in some way is daunting. It’s so easy to become complacent- or not even complacent, just busy!

Some of you may have seen this before, but it’s a perfect illustration of this very concept- a man put together this visual presentation using jellybeans, to represent the amount of time we have to devote to everything in our lives. It’s pretty compelling…

It really made me stop and think about how I’m spending my free time. This goes back to having goals or benchmarks of some sort so that you can measure your progress and keep motivated. Even something silly like a Bucket List can help you try to achieve things you otherwise might not be focused on.

If you haven’t carved out a niche for yourself yet, don’t worry. My best advice would be to figure out something that you’re passionate about and think about how you can do it on a larger scale, or in a way that can benefit others. If its something you’re interested in, other people will be too. Maybe there’s an experience you’ve gone through or a life struggle that has you made you stronger. Find a way to help other’s navigate the same thing.

Hopefully this post has jarred some thoughts or feelings loose in you. Hopefully when I mentioned something you’re passionate about, you knew exactly what that is for you. Or maybe you’ve already started and you can think of this post as a boost for you to continue. Go be you.

Be protective of your time. Because you only get so much.

See ya next time!

Brooke

Day 6 of the “30 Days of Loving Yourself Project”

January 21, 2014 / brookehargett / 2 Comments

(photo source)

Day 6: Make a list of ten things you’re grateful for and display it where you’ll see it often.

The Blurb: Gratitude is one of the easiest- and unfortunately most overlooked- ways to improve your quality of life. It’s quick, doesn’t cost any money or even much time. It’s the simple act of acknowledging the little things that become big things because you focus on them. This is a truth my grandpa taught me- “what you focus on expands.” Our brains are wired to adapt to reoccurring situations and so it’s easy to overlook things we should be thankful for on a daily basis. There’s nothing like having something taken away to make you grateful for it.

Suggestions: This is one of the easiest days to accomplish. Just grab a piece of paper and jot down 10 things you are thankful for and put it somewhere you’ll see it until the day before Valentines day, when we finish up this project. They can be big or small. In college I kept a “thankful journal.” At the end of each night I would just write a few sentences of one or two things that happened that day. I can’t even tell you how much this simple and quick daily act helped to improve my attitude about everything in my life. I started noticing things during the day that I could put in my journal at night, which me realize just how good I had it.

Keeping it Real:

Here’s my list of 10 things I’m thankful for today:

1) My family. I am blessed beyond measure. I have an amazing hubby, awesome daughters and the cutest little boy around.

2) My amazingly supportive friends. I am lucky to have many close friends. I am also a part of a GNO group with amazing women who inspire me and keep me laughing all the time.

3) The ability to share my writing with others. I’m currently working on getting one book published while I finish a second one (details on my website). I love blogging once a week and sharing occasional writing excepts – here’s one of my favorites.

4) Laughter. I think laughing is the only way to make it through life’s journey. I LOVE to be around people who make me laugh. Every now and then I just need a doubled over-tears streaming-cant catch your breath-kind of laugh. One of my favorite things about my hubby is that he is constantly making me laugh. I love that guy.

5) The little things- Hugs. Stolen moments. A good workout. Cooking. My phone. Hats. Sunshine. Outings. Memories. Late nights and early mornings with my baby. Smoothies. Audiobooks. Texts. Cold sheets and warm blankets. Funky socks. Iced chai. Mopped floors. Freshly done hair. Shoes. Painted nails. Extras. Sleep. People that motivate. Anything outdoors. Jogging strollers. Kisses from my baby. Hints that spring could come. Holidays. Snuggling with my sleepy baby. Pictures.

6) Books- I love reading. In fact, I read 50 books last year and was changed in so many ways.

7) Flexible schedule. I’m thankful that I’m able to work from home and be around my kiddos.

8) Goals. I’m proud of the things I’ve accomplished and excited for all the things yet to come.

9) Music. I’m a huge fan of almost any kind of music. I think it speaks to you in a way that nothing else can. It can motivate you, soothe you when you need a break or get you pumped when you need some adrenaline. I have music playing almost all the time. Seriously, I feel like my life has a soundtrack.

10) This year. I have a lot of awesome things planned to accomplish this year. I’m am thankful for all the people in my life that have helped me get to where I am, and excited to keep stepping it up.

Photo of the Day:

It’s been so much fun creating this project. If you want to join in, here’s the “30 Days of Loving Yourself Project” breakdown.

See ya tomorrow!

Brooke

My NaNoWriMo Experience

December 3, 2013 / brookehargett / 1 Comment

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It’s early. Before 7 and I’m the only one awake. The snow is coming down, trampling the earth in its splendor. There’s something magical about the first snowfall of the year isn’t there? I turned on all my Christmas lights so there’s that soft glow reflecting, making me thankful for my home and family.

It’s been a little while since I posted while I was busy checking off another Bucket List Item, by participating in NaNoWriMo, which stands for the National November Writing Month. The idea behind this program is to provide a support system while you crank out 50,000 words of a new novel in thirty days. I wanted to participate last year but I had just had that knee surgery and so it didn’t happen. This year I was determined to make it to the finish line. I had to prove it to myself that I could do it. Writing that fast is a totally different beast than what I’ve done before. It’s 1667 words a day if you write seven days a week. As I anticipated, there were some days though the month that I didn’t get to write, so I had to double up on other days. I tried to shoot for 2000 words a day. There was a point after I went on a trip that I didn’t think I was going to be able to finish, so I had a writing marathon with my writing group buddies and knocked out 6137 words in a day- my second personal highest! The first highest was 7146, the day before I found out I was pregnant with my little munchkin.

Anyway, what I want to share with you today is my takeaway from this experience, which is this:

In any given situation, there is both a way to make your goal happen and an excuse.

It’s your choice. You have to decide what you want to spend your free time doing. You can apply it to anything- family things, your job, working out, eating healthy, and all your hobbies. There’s that concept from Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, who says if you do anything for 10,000, you will become an expert. It is your prerogative- and your responsibility- to choose wisely.

On the days where it was hard to fit in the 2000 words, I had to decide what I wanted more- to write and hit my goal, or to do something else. It was a little easier with this particular goal because I knew it was for a finite amount of time and then I could do other things again. My husband and I had been finishing up the final season of Breaking Bad and had been watching late at night. But there were many nights last month were I didn’t have my word count finished and it was after 10pm. My poor husband had to wait to see what happened to Walt and Jesse on the most brilliantly crafted series ever, so that I could get my words in. Those of you that have seen the last season of the show will understand the kind of willpower that took.

All kidding aside, I had to get creative and think ahead so I made sure I could fit it in. It made me realize how much you can accomplish in 24 hours if you’re driven and focused. Some days the writing came really easily, and some days I was struggling to hit 500 words. Another thing I realized is that if I sat there and thought about it long enough, something would come to mind. Take that, writer’s block!

2000 words a day is the pace that Stephen King writes at 6 days a week when he’s crafting a new novel. He wrote one of the best writing books I’ve ever read, called “On Writing,” where he gives you some of his secrets. If you’re a writer of any kind and haven’t read that, pick it up.

I’m proud to say I hit 50K and even though the novel isn’t finished, I’m off to a great start. I had so much fun seeing where the characters would take me. I’m not an outliner when I write- I aspire to be, but I’m totally not. This year I did a Beat Sheet, which is basically a way of plotting out my story, a concept that comes from the brilliant screenwriter, Blake Snyder, in his book “Save the Cat.” So I thought I had a clever enough outline, but then as I was writing, my characters would take off and do things that I didn’t have planned. This is my favorite part of writing- when the characters are so real that they surprise me and take over the storyline. That may sound totally crazy, but I swear it happens! I’ll be writing and then suddenly it’s like I’m retelling a movie I’ve already seen, instead of making up the story. I remember one time in particular where a character did something totally unplanned and after I wrote it I sat there thinking…. I need to decide if I’m going to let her do that! And… if you’re wondering, I kept it.

Many schools have adopted the NaNoWriMo program to jumpstart young writers. They give different goals, like 3K or 10K for the students to hit during the month and they they have after school write-a-thons. My step-daughter participated this year and wrote 10,000 words! I’m so proud of her for committing and making it happen. Her novels is so clever and twisty! I love it!

So I’m back in cyberworld and more excited than ever about writing and getting my novelS published. Congrats to all my fellow NaNoWriMo-ers as well! An impressive 310,577 people around the world participated this year!

During this busy holiday season, take a few minutes to think about what’s important to you, what you want to spend your time on. Commit to making your goals happen.

(photo source)

See ya next week!

Brooke

Crossing Off Two Bucket List Items- 5K and Napa Wine Tasting!

July 24, 2013 / brookehargett / 2 Comments

Done! Two items down from my Bucket List in one weekend!

I participated in the GunBunFunRun 5K as part of the Napa to Sonoma Run. It was so much fun!! I have to make this a yearly thing! I’d love to complete the half marathon next year! The 5K was all my recovering knees could take this year, but next year… WATCH OUT! It was so much fun do it with a bunch of my close friends. At the finish line… they have all these wineries waiting to let you sample their wine! It was so much fun!

Downtown San Francisco I toured Grace’s Cathedral, which was amazing because I wrote a scene in my book where one of the main characters, Maya, goes to the Columbarium at Grace’s to honor her father on the anniversary of his death. I had researched the Cathedral a lot online, but thats never the same as being there!

This is a side view because they were renovating the whole front entrance. Gorgeous huh??

They had these beautiful streamers hanging down from the ceiling.

This is me lighting a candle. Grace’s Cathedral completely embodied the feeling that is portrayed in all the movies of someone walking into a cathedral looking for peace. I’ll never forget it.

Moving on to the wineries! I can’t even tell you how incredible it was to learn and sample all of these amazing wines! We went to four different private wine tastings while we were there- Hall, Domaine Carneros, Miner and Silver Oak. I was amazed at the vast difference between each wine tasting- from the tone of the tour, to what they chose to highlight about their winery, to their wines.

We went to the Hall Winery right after the wine tastings from the race and relaxed on this beautiful patio under a bunch of trees. While we were there, we met one of the Partners and she and her husband were fantastic! They chatted with us and then even recommended a few of their favorite bottles and let us try them. Their staff was awesome- it was a very relaxed atmosphere.

On Monday we had this awesome tour limo that took us to the other three wineries. We started with Don Carneros, which is a beautiful winery! It’s also where the Half Marathon started. They specialize in Champagne and Pinot Noir’s. I’m not usually a champagne kind of girl, but this was amazing! I learned so much about how they manage the yeast in the bottle during fermentation, and this freezing technique to keep the pressure right for the second fermentation, and this way of storing the bottle so they are rotated every few hours. It was so interesting!! Not to mention, both the champagne and the Pinot were fabulous!

We tried to get a tour at Opus One… but they were all booked, so we did the next best thing- We took pictures of their grapes! haha

After hydrating and snacking all the way to the next winery, we were all set! Miner Winery was such a charming place! It’s family owned and we had the chance to meet Doug Miner and his very friendly labrador. James led our wine tasting and he is training to become the next Sommelier. He was fantastic! The tasting was down in the caves where they store their wine. It was beautiful!

At the back of the room where those iron door are- that’s the entrance to the tunnels! It smelled so good down there!

This was one of my favorite places because it was so different and relaxed. It was such an interesting wine tasting and of course the wine was fabulous as well!

I was really looking forward to the Silver Oak wine tour because their wine is one of my favorites- and I was not disappointed!!

We had the sweetest gentleman give us the tour for this wine tasting. His name is Deke, who we affectionately nicknamed ‘Blue.’

He was so awesome- he’s been there for over 20 years and knows the answer to every question we threw at him. As you can imagine, at this point our group was… very happy from all the wine. That’s when things like this happen…

Don’t worry, we were very careful placing the 89 year old man on shoulders! It’s such a cool picture- I couldn’t resist putting it up. We were able to meet one of the owners there as well. We spent quite a bit of time at Silver Oak and had the most wonderful afternoon! I LOVE this wine! If you’ve never tried a bottle of Silver Oak – I highly recommend it!

Since we had such a different experience at each winery, it really makes me want to do it again! Maybe we will have to make it a yearly trip! Both Napa and Sonoma were so beautiful. It just looked like a painting the whole time we drove anywhere. This trip was filled with amazing friends, which makes it even more memorable.

Crossing off #11 and #97 of my Bucket List!! YAY! Not a bad weekend…

Hope you had a great one too!

Brooke

An Incredible Story & Becoming the Best Version of Myself

June 11, 2013 / brookehargett / Leave a comment

(photo source)

Before I get started on today’s topic, I have to share this amazing story! I have always been fascinated by the capabilities of the human mind. The picture above is of a man named Stephen Wiltshire, who’s endearingly referred to as the “Living Camera.” Diagnosed with autism at a young age, he is able to express himself best through his art, with very intricate and accurate cityscapes. The most incredible part, is that he is able to recreate these huge panorama city spreads after just a 45 minute helicopter ride- even if he’s never seen the cities before! I am in awe of what he can do!

This youtube video shows him being flown over Rome and then recreating the city on a 5 1/2 yard panoramic space. It’s astonishing!

I love learning about people who do amazing things. It’s inspiring and motivating.

Yesterday was my lovely and amazing stepdaughter’s birthday (YAY for her!). In the card from my Hubby, he gave some great fatherly advice and referenced something about striving to become the best version of herself that she could be. That phrase stuck with me, and as I’ve thought about it more, I’ve decided it’s a brilliant thing to focus on. If I look back on my life, there’s an innumerable amount of ways I could have turned out: places I could have lived, people I’ve interacted with, my belief system, opportunities with different schooling or various jobs- the list could go on forever.

I think this phrase is a great metric to keep you on track for your life’s goals. Often there are so many things we want to accomplish in life, both for fun, and then the serious things, that it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Plus, life gets so busy all the time! Maybe if we just try to think of this phrase on a daily basis, we will be able to bite off little pieces, so that the bigger things aren’t so daunting.

“Was I the best version of myself today that I could have been?”

That kind of puts things in perspective for me, and helps me weed out what’s really important, and what’s not. So that’s the challenge for the week- try asking yourself at the end of the day, or even during the day when you’re trying to figure out the best ways to spend your time.

Hopefully, that little tidbit will make everything seem a little easier. Hope you’re having a fantastic week!

Brooke

What An Energy Reader Told Me I’d Be Good At…Who knew??

May 31, 2013 / brookehargett / 3 Comments

I didn’t used to believe in psychic/energy-reading type abilities. I was as rational as they come, and would never have thought to engage anyone to tell me anything about the past or future or to reveal things about myself I didn’t know. Then one random dinner out to eat at Chilis flipped all my preconcieved notions on its head. My hubby and I were munching on some chips and salsa with my bro & sis-in law. Our waitress was this spunky, funny girl with pretty eyes. It’s been several years since this happened, so I’m not exactly sure how it started, but she told us that she was an energy reader. Of course we all jumped on that, asking what that meant, and listening as she explained that its similar to psychic abilities, but she can sense the energy people emit and extrapolate things about them. So of course, we ask her to “read” us or tell us some things about us, which she did, leaving us all to try to pick out just how close she was to the truth. It was kind of fun entertainment for our table. No biggie.

But. After a while she came back and explained that she was also a medium, meaning she can communicate with people who have passed away. Explaining that she never does this, but she felt the need to relay some information about someone very close to us that had passed away years ago, she gave us details she absolutely could not have known. I was riveted.

I didn’t understand how she could possibly do this. After talking with her for a while, I was so interested in this sixth sense, that I devoured a bunch of books on intuition, psychic abilities, mediums, energy reading etc. Eventually, I decided I really wanted to meet with her, just to see what she would have to say. I just wanted to understand it, because it was so foreign to me.

I set up a meeting and did a “reading,” which was amazing. I won’t share much about that here, because it was very personal, but one thing she said will lead me into what I’m going show you today. When I went for my reading, I had just started writing my series, and I was hoping that she would tell me something along the lines of, “you are going to become a wildly successful author.” (Ahhh the days of innocence, before I had any clue how much time I was going to put into this book!)

She didn’t tell me that at all. But she did ask me if I like to paint. I thought back to art classes in high school. Had I ever really painted? Not really. I did like to draw a lot. But painting… no. I hadn’t really even picked up a brush that I remembered. Then she told me that I should really look into painting because I could be really good at it.

Fast forward a year or so. There is this very vivid dream scene in my book, where one of the main characters, Maya, in on a grassy hill with these two huge pillars displaying engraved markings (you’ll just have to read my book to see what that’s all about… when it gets published). A fierce storm is about to erupt around her. The image was so clear in my mind that I decided to try to paint it.

Maya doesn’t look exactly like what I have in my mind… but it was as good as I could do on my first try:

From there, I just began experimenting and painting with acrylic whenever I had some spare time. Here’s some more-

This was one of the first ones I did, just trying things out from an image I found online.

This is the first door in a series of door I painted. This particular door is also featured in my book.

Door 2

Door 3

I painted this one for my mom for mother’s day.

This is my hubby golfing on Pebble Beach (from an epic/infamous trip we took- epic for him, infamous for me because I got food poisoning and basically missed the whole trip).

This one I painted for my girlfriend. It’s based on the sculpture (below) she loved in Australia, called “Lovers at Darling Harbour:”

(photo source)

These two I painted for my dad and step-mom. They each have their own half, to be displayed together.

This woman captivated me from the moment I saw her. I found the photograph online and wanted to paint her as part of a series on human emotion.

This is my sister and her husband. I painted this for their wedding.

I painted this while listening to “Empire State of Mind.”

This is one of my favorites. I just love its peaceful simplicity.

I have two more unfinished. One is of our friend’s cabin, where we vacation every Christmas, and the other one is a bookshelf with a bunch of really old books… one book will be my book, r.e.(m.)ality.

It’s been really fun exploring something I never would have otherwise. So it just goes to show, you should never limit yourself. Always be open to anything… even energy readers at Chili’s, disguised as waitresses.

What do you like to do on the side? What thing would people be surprised to learn about you? I’d love to hear more about it in the comments, or you can find me on Twitter or Facebook!

GNO… Create your own Girls Night Out Group

May 21, 2013 / brookehargett / 4 Comments

Sometime you just need a break, ya know? It’s so easy to get sucked into all the day-to-day stuff, the schedules, the meetings, the things that HAVE to get done, that it’s easy to forget that sometimes you just need some ME time!

I’ve been part of a girls-night-out (GNO) group for a little over a year now, and it’s SO amazing that I want to tell you all about it, so you can create your own versions!

One of my amazing girlfriend’s came up with this idea, and invited eight people to be a part of it. There are two rules:

1) You don’t talk about Girls Night Out.

Wait. That’s my other club. Let’s try this again.

1) You show up. It’s once a month, on a set night, and we all commit to being there and participating… even if it’s out of your comfort zone.

2) Each person is assigned to plan a month’s get together, come up with the activity and arrange the dinner. The idea behind the activity is to offer something that will allow us to stretch our boundaries, and give us experiences that we wouldn’t otherwise have.

The result has been amazing! One thing that has made our group as strong and tight is NO DRAMA! We are all very supportive of one another and always focus on lifting each other and allowing everyone to feel comfortable and be themselves. No judgement.

Here are some of the things we’ve done together…

Shooting Range- I’ll start with this one since it’s I picked that picture to show above. That’s me, with my long hair and my pink gun. Well, it wasn’t MY gun, but I were going to have a gun, it might be pink. I was a little nervous, but then I ended up really liking it and I actually have pretty good aim!! If there ever is a zombie apocalypse, I can nail those suckers. As a side note for anyone that tries this- the shells from the bullets fly out and can land down your shirt and they are hot as hell. It IS possible to get burned that way. Just a little FYI.
Hiking to a Yurt (a big tent-like teepee) for dinner!
Boating- A little sun, a lot of water, a day of FUN!
Sundance Movie Viewing- Since we live so close to Park City, one of our girls arranged for us to be able to attend a viewing of Very Good Girls.
Sleepover PJ party in Park City- This was awesome. One thing we did was to write a goal we wanted to have accomplished by the end of the year on a little note to ourselves. Then we sealed them up in a box to be opened at the first of the year. It was such a creative way to get us to focus on accomplishing something we really wanted! (What I put on my card was… to FINSIH MY BOOK, which I did!)
Learn to arrange orchids- We had an expert show us how to arrange these beautiful orchids and each took home what we made.
Cooking Class- We attended a cooking class to learn how to make this unbelievable Italian food. We even made homemade pasta!
Tantric Connecting- This was for valentines and we invited our men to join us. We had an energy reader and expert in guiding meditations come and teach us how to achieve a deeper connection through these meditations and ways of communicating. It was fascinating!
Thanksgiving- We had a big thanksgiving meal catered at one of our homes, and we each prepared a few words on what we appreciated about our significant others.
We did a breathtaking hike up a canyon and dutch oven dinner- YUM.
Boudoir Shoot by the lovely Melinda Jae Photography. This was a really fun night. We had a Mama Gena’s expert come to teach us about loving our bodies and embracing our own beauty. She taught us how to OWN our bodies. After some champagne and wine to get us more comfortable, we each had a private, tasteful boudoir shoot! It was so liberating and fun.
For the holidays each year, we draw names and set a spending limit, and then at our dinner, we each say a little something about the person we drew for.
We also do a GIRLS TRIP once a year. Last year we went to St. George and had a weekend of poolside fun with beverages that inspire awesomeness. I’m sure none of us will forget it!
Tomorrow we are going on a Zipline Tour with six different ziplines, and then out for sushi! I’m really excited! I can’t tell you how much I look forward to seeing these amazing women and participating in our awesome group!

Don’t you kind of want to be part of my GNO!? Well, you can’t. BUT you could start your own! We use a facebook GNO group to keep everything together, and we regularly text each other on a thread during the month to check in and give each other updates/support/funny pictures. I am so lucky to have connected with these amazing women! It’s such a fun group because we are all different, coming from diverse backgrounds, and each balancing careers or passions with our roles as mothers. It’s really important to be conscious of the people you allow to be a part of your life.

(photo source)

I had always wanted to be part of a Girls Group and I’m so glad I was asked to be a part of this one! They are all amazing! Hopefully this post has your wheels turning. You can put a group like this together!

1) Pick awesome women- the most important part is to pick people who will be respectful of one another. Drama or cattiness = your group will implode

2) Get firm commitments

3) Have a set schedule

4) Utilize each person’s unique skill sets to come up with creative ideas, and support one another.

You can make it happen!

I would love to hear about what you come up with! And if you have any ideas that have been awesome for your GNO’s, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Everyone needs a night out… create yours!

See ya Friday!

Brooke

Bucket List

April 23, 2013 / brookehargett / 11 Comments

I love the idea of a bucket list because it stretches your expectations and gets you excited about all the things to come. I figure what better way to launch a new blog than with my bucket list?? So here you go- 100 things I want to do with this life of mine!

1- Publish a book
2- Have a beach bonfire
3- Perform the National Anthem at a sporting event
4- Visit Dubai & ride a camel
5- Get a beach house
6- See a broadway play in New York City
7- Get scuba certified
8- Make salsa from my own garden
9- Have my paintings featured at an art show
10- Learn enough songs on the guitar that I can play for fam/friends to sing along when camping
~~11- Go wine tasting in Napa~~ (COMPLETED July 2013)
12- Live somewhere in Europe
13- Go to the airport and take the next random flight
14- Sleep on a beach
15- Go grape stomping in Italy
16- Visit Australia
17- Participate in a humanitarian effort in Africa
18- Get a gun license
19- Participate in a flash mob
20- Ride in a hot air ballon
21- Visit Fiji
22- Read 100 Books in a year
23- Go with Hubby to Eiffel Tower
24- Learn to salsa, tango and cha-cha then do it in a public place
25- Release an album
26- Do Bikram Yoga every day for 30 days
27- Sleep in an overnight train
28- Go on an animal safari
29- Visit the Taj Mahal
30- Climb up the Statue of Liberty
31- Go to Oktoberfest in Germany
32- Learn to play chess
33- Make my own wine
34- Learn to knit
35- Open a swiss bank account
36- Spend a week at a 5 star spa
~~37- Renew wedding vows on 10 year anniversary~~ (COMPLETED May 15, 2014)
38- Have a family cabin
39- Have a wine cellar
40- Build a tree house for my kids
41- Have a yearly retreat with the hubby without kids
42- Volunteer at a soup kitchen
43- Establish a foundation
44- Rescue an animal from a shelter
45- Make a documentary film
46- Do a 365 day blog
47- Make a fondant cake
48- Open my own business
49- Become someone’s godmother
50- Have a yearly girls weekend retreat
51- Be interviewed for my writing
52- Be on the top 10 New York Times Best Seller list
53- Read the New York Times every day for one year
54- ~~Register and Finish NaNoWriMo~~ (COMPLETED November 1, 2013)
55- Write a memoir
56- Perform in a musical as a lead
57- Be interviewed on the Today Show
58- See something at Carnegie Hall
59- Watch a film at the Sundance Film Festival
60- Go to the Masters with Hubby
61- Try three exotic fruits
62- Summer roadtrip with the fam
63- East Coast road trip
64- West Coast road trip
65- Go to the Macy’s thanksgiving day parade
66- Go to the Lighting of the Christmas Tree in Times Square
67- Spend New Year Eve in Times Square
68- Jump into a pool fully clothed
69- Start an awesome family tradition
70- Have my portrait painted
~~71- Get a tattoo~~ (COMPLETED October 2013)
72- Attend a Murder Mystery Dinner
73- Go to a masquerade ball
74- Meditate every day for 20 minutes for a year
75- Spend a summer without TV
76- Do a detox diet for 30 days
77- Be an extra in a hollywood movie
~~78- Be complaint free for 30 days~~ (COMPLETED June 2013)
79- Do a gratitude journal every day for a year
80- Be a mentor to someone
81- Perform in a subway
82- Write a letter to three of my closest friends
83- Win a contest
~~84- Swim with dolphins~~ (COMPLETED in Cabo San Lucas 2013)
85- Read a book on a subject I never thought I would read
86- Go vegan for a month
87- Do something completely crazy and out of character
88- Visit a castle in England
89- Visit Switzerland
90- Become a millionaire
~~91- Launch my website~~ (COMPLETED brookehargett.com)
92- Ride on an elephant
93- Create a room I love
94- Pull an all-nighter with hubby and watch the sunrise
95- Bury a time-capsule
96- Be a foster parent
~~97- Participate in a race~~ (COMPLETED July 2013)
~~98- Take a gourmet cooking class~~ (COMPLETED with my GNO Group, Septemeber 2012)
99- Rent out a restaurant for a special dinner
100- Celebrate 50 years of marriage

Making that list was so much fun! I love a challenge. It got me thinking about what would have been on my list that I would have already completed if I had created a bucket list years ago. To that end… here’s a list of things I’ve already accomplished and the year I accomplished them, for your viewing pleasure.

1- Have a happy marriage – 2004
2- Go running to the Eiffel Tower- December 2001
3- Visit Hawaii- 2004 Waikiki- 2005 Kaui- 2007 Honolulu
4- Hike to a 300 foot waterfall through a rainforest- 2005 Kaui
5- Learn to play the piano 1985-1996
6- Have a “Hangover-esque” Las Vegas weekend- 2008
7- Go through natural childbirth- 2011
8- Become Vegetarian- 2008
9- See the Mona Lisa- December 2001 (It’s much smaller than you think)
10- Become a step-mom- 2004
11- Landscape a yard from scratch- 2004
12- Own a convertible 2006- present
13- Sing in front of hundreds of people- 2000
14- Get a cosmetology license- 2004
15- Quit my day job to pursue a passion- 2009
16- Live near the ocean- 2003
17- Visit all the museums in Washington D.C.- 1986-1992
18- Visit the Louvre- 2001
19- Fly first class- 2001
20- Make sushi- 2009
21- Snowshoe- 2012
22- Complete a hard core diet- 2010
23- Complete P90X- 2010
24- Meet with an energy reader- 2008
25- Learn to paint- 2009
26- Take a pole dancing class- 2010
27- Go to the Sugar Bowl- 2009
28- Party in New Orleans- 2009
29- Speak at a work conference- 2010
30- Make a life altering decision- 2005
31- Start a blog- 2008
32- See Celine Dion in concert- 2007
33- Live in a High Rise condo- 2007
34- Start a business- 2007
35- Stay at Pebble Beach- 2006
36- Visit Pikes Place in Seattle- 2011
37- Ride on a Ferry Boat- 2011
38- Walk through the Butchart Gardens- 2011
39- Visit Vancouver- 2011
40- Be part of a monthly girls night out group- 2012
41- Drive the Alpine Loop- 2006
42- Join a writing group- 2012
43- Ski after a crazy snowstorm in Jackson Hole- 2004
44- Have an epic Cabo trip with friends- 2013
45- Cook entire thanksgiving meal from scratch 2004
46- Communicate with someone who has died- 2008
47- Take a four generation photograph 2012
48- Learn and perform a song in french- 2006
49- Make holiday family traditions- 2004
50- Launch my own website– 2013

What’s on your bucket list? What have you always wanted to do? If you don’t have one yet, today is the day! Don’t put any limitations on yourself. Lay it all out there. Do something great. Leave your mark on this world. If you create one and put it online, I’d love to check it out! Just leave me your link in the comments!

brooke hargett's blog

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