Something to Live for::::MY Bucket List::::

I recently read a blog entry that inspired me to put my bucket list in writing. I've always kept a bucket list...mentally, but i've been inspired to put it down in writing.

Now, what is a bucket list...and why do they call it a "bucket list"? It is a list of things to do before you take your last breath in this fabulous earth. According to urban dictionary:: it comes from the term "kicked the bucket"... {i still don't know what a bucket has to do with it}

People create all types of bucket lists, long term, short term, travel ect...and this is MINE...i've narrowed it down to 20 things that I WILL do in my lifetime.

{it's about living your life while you still have life in you}

1. I want to set foot in EVERY continent...including Antarctica! {3 down, 4 to go}

2. Walk the Road to Santiago de Compostela.

3. Become a great photographer...and show at a gallery.

4. Become fluent in another language. {i'm leaning towards French or Portuguese since I already speak Spanish.}

5. Celebrate New Years Eve in Rio de Janeiro.

6. Go skydiving as a birthday celebration.

7. Cross country road trip.

8. Travel to Machu Pichu

9. Attend Burning Man.

10. See the Northern Lights.

11. Have a cozy beach property in Latin America {Brasil or El Salvador}

12. Fall in Love with an amazing man.

13. Learn to belly dance.

14. Donate money to animal charities.

15. I want to be able to send my parents on vacation; I want them to travel.

16. Have a romantic kiss on top of the Eiffel Tower.

17. Experience motherhood.

18. Go wine tasting in Napa Valley and stay at a B&B.

19. Backpack around Europe.

20. I want to learn to cook gourmet meals and host great dinner parties.

:::just because my list stops at 20 doesn't mean that these are the only things I want to do in this life....I could go on and on, I want to travel everywhere and learn as much as I can. I want to make this life a grand one full of stories to re-tell!!:::

...no "bling" in MY "bling"....

I LOVE accessories. I LOVE jewelry. Bracelets, Rings, Necklaces, Earrings...I love it all...

There is nothing delicate about my jewel accessories. I love big chunky silver rings, colored beaded bracelets, big earrings, and statement necklaces....

...these photos are my representation of MY "bling"

Lately i've gotten into creating my own bracelets. I call the Statement pieces because they are big colorful charm style pieces. I get ideas or I get inspiration while i'm out shopping and then I go to the wholesale district in downtown LA and I shop around and get creative!! I've sold a few pieces and hopefully I can keep growing it and keep the creativity flowing.

{I am beautiful}

[all images are my own]

...from Maria's Diary

Everything tells me that i'm about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back where I came from because I didn't have the courage to say "yes" to life?

I made my first mistake when I was eleven years old, when that boy asked if I could lend him a pencil; since then I've realized that sometimes you get no second chance and it's best to accept the gifts the world offers you. Of course it's risky, but is the risk any greater than the chance of the bus that took forty-eight hours to bring me here having an accident? If I must be faithful to someone or something, then I have, first of all, to be faithful to myself. If I'm looking for true love, I first have to get the mediocre loves out of my system. The little experience of life I've had has taught me that no one owns anything, that everything is an illusion- and that applies to material as well as spiritual things. Anyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever (as has happened often enough to me already) finally comes to realize that nothing really belongs to them

And if nothing belongs to me, then there's no point wasting my time looking after things that aren't mine; it's best to live as if today were the first (or last) day of my life.

This is a journal entry from the main character in "Eleven Minutes" By Paulo Coelho.

It is something that looks like it could have come from my own personal journals. I have felt every single word in this book.

I am Maria.

Eleven Minutes

This is an excerpt from my favorite book "Eleven Minutes" from my favorite author Paulo Coelho. His books allow me to drift off into far away places in search of MY personal legend. There is something so special about this story, it's a sadness that I can somehow relate to....

Once upon a time, there was a bird. He was adorned with two perfect wings and with glossy, colorful, marvelous feathers. In short, he was a creature made to fly about freely in the sky, bringing joy to everyone who saw him.

One day, a woman saw this bird and fell in love with him. She watched his flight, her mouth wide in amazement, her heart pounding, her eyes shining with excitement. She invited the bird to fly with her, and the two travelled across the sky in perfect harmony. She admired and venerated and celebrated that bird.

But then she thought: he might want to visit far-off mountains! And she was afraid, afraid that she would never feel the same way about any other bird. And she felt envy, envy for the bird’s ability to fly.

And she felt alone.

And she thought: “I’m going to set a trap. The next time the bird appears, he will never leave again.” The bird, who was also in love, returned the following day, fell into the trap and was put into the cage.

She looked at the bird every day. There he was, the object of her passion, and she showed him to her friends, who said: “Now you have everything you could possibly want.” However, a strange transformation began to take place: now that she had the bird and no longer needed to woo him, she began to lose interest. The bird, unable to fly and express the true meaning of his life, began to waste away and his feathers to lose their gloss; he grew ugly; and the woman no longer paid him any attention, except by feeding him and cleaning out his cage.

One day, the bird died. The woman felt terribly sad and spent all her time thinking about him. But she did not remember the cage, she thought only of the day when she had seen him for the first time, flying contentedly amongst the clouds.

If she had looked more deeply into herself, she would have realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion, not his physical body.

Without the bird, her life too lost all meaning, and Death came knocking at her door. “Why have you come?” she asked Death. “So you can fly once more with him across the sky,” Death replied. “If you had allowed him to come and go, you would have loved and admired him even more; alas, you now need me on order to find him again.”

Madness of Love:::::

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.

Here's to new beginnings....

I don't make resolutions, I just look forward to new adventures and new beginnings! One thing that I plan to do is dedicate more time to my blog....This blog isn't just about my thoughts, it's about things that I love and that inspire me:::: Everything Art!! Fashion, Photography, Music, Travel, Los Angeles......

I will post my photography which is developing quite nicely if I do say so myself...and I do say so myself!!

It will be everything about The Girl With The Rouge Lips!!!

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