Bucket list Updated!

I started my Bucket List back in 2010 and thought I'd update it a bit. A select few are specifically on my 30 things to complete before/during my 30th year. I'll highlight those in orange.


Note: The newly completed items on my list are marked with a date without being crossed off.

• Cycle across Canada for something I believe in
• Find a starfish in the Ocean (Completed in the Bahamas, April 2010)
• Take a father-daughter trip to soak in some European architecture :)
• Take a mother-daughter trip
• Travel to:
• Tokyo (to visit my brother and see his life over there) Planned for March 2012!
• Italy
• Ireland
• Switzerland (my mum's favourite European country)
• Newfoundland
• California (Completed Dec 2009)
• Romania (Completed Summer 2003)
• London (Completed August 2003)
• Austria
• Papua New Guinea (to see my cousin and get a glimpse of her life)
• BC (Completed when I was little, but revisited as an adult June 2009)
• NYC (Completed for the first time on a grade 12 drama trip)
• Texas
• Boston (Completed October 2010)
• Africa & go on a safari
• Arizona
• The Wave, Utah (and photograph it!)
• Greece
• The peak of Mount Sinai (Completed August 2010)
• Spain
• Tanzania
• Argentina
• Chile
• Nepal
• Bora Bora or Fiji
• Barcelona
• The Galapagos Islands
• Use nothing but a bike for transportation for an entire month (aside from cross-Canada tour)
• Become a published author
• Couch-surf (Completed May 2011, in Memramcook, New Brunswick)
• Have my artwork displayed in an art gallery
• Participate in a worship service at Westminster Abbey in London (Completed August 2003)
• Own a dog  (:
• Photograph the International AIDS conference
• Take a train trip! (Completed May & June 2011 from New Brunswick to Montreal, and then on to Toronto)
• Photograph a destination wedding (The Bahamas! Completed May 2010)
• Volunteer in Africa doing something related to the AIDS epidemic
• Fall in love
• Have some babies
• See a Shakespearean play in the Globe Theatre in London (Completed August 2003)
• Go an entire year without buying anything new (shoes, furniture, clothes, etc.)!
• Spend up to one month living on reserves learning about the history of Canada's Aboriginal peoples
• Publish a photography book (going to print Dec 2011!!)
• Sell my photography book in a book store
• Go SCUBA diving or snorkeling in tropical waters (Completed in Dahab, Egypt. August 2010)
• Live debt free
• Learn to speak/understand
• Arabic
• Hebrew
• Publish a coffee table book showing the similarities between Israelis and Palestinians
• Ride a camel in Egypt
• Grow a vegetable garden
• Pierce my nose :) (Completed February 2011)
• Read 30 books
• See Rod Stewart in concert
• See Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe Crhistmas show
• Launch a business branding company (I have my first clients. The official launch is planned for Dec 2011)
• Move & make my new place a creative and inspiring space (moving date Jan 1st, 2012!)
• Buy a really great piece of used furniture and re-furbish it
• Upgrade my photography equipment to Nikon's professional line
• Re-brand Red Umbrella & launch new website and business cards
• Host a potluck for local professional photographers
• Enter a photograph in one of the WPPI photography competitions
• Learn to read lips
• Go to bed before midnight every night for a month! (As I write this post at 1:30 a.m.)
• Join a choir (Completed December 2010)
• Take a train trip with Erin Leis!
• Tithe consistently
• Go on a hot air balloon ride (preferably in Petra but anywhere will do to complete this in my 30th year)
• Learn to surf (Completed May 2011 in Monterey Bay, California)
• Swim in 5+ oceans or seas (Completed: Pacific, Atlantic, Red Sea, Dead Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Galilee)
• Learn to cook a Thai dish and an Indian dish
• Open an Etsy store
• Visit the Toronto Zoo
• Present about Israel-Palestine in 100 Cities
1. Kitchener (Grandview Baptist Church, September 2009)
2. Puslinch (Crieff Hills, October 2009)
3. Waterloo (University of Waterloo, March 2010)
4. New Hamburg (Private event, 2010)
5. Jerusalem (August 2010)
6. Toronto (Morningside-High Park Presbyterian Church, February 2011)
• Present about Israel-Palestine in each Province in 2011
1. BC
2. Alberta
3. Saskatchewan
4. Manitoba
5. Ontario
6. Quebec
7. New Brunswick
8. Nova Scotia
9. PEI
10. Newfoundland and Labrador

What's on YOUR bucket list??  I'd love to hear it. Maybe I'll add some of your ideas to my list!  (:

My Bucket List...

From the time I was little I had five things I just knew I had to do at some point in life.  I didn't realize at the time, but it was the beginning of a Bucket List.  It was short and to the point and I had completed four of the five things by the end of high school.  I completed the last remaining thing when I traveled to Romania at 21.

1. Be a camp counsellor
2. Be a cheerleader
3. Work with kids in Romania (my cousin was adopted from there and I had always wanted to see where she was from, and work with kids in a similar situation to what she had been born into)
4. Model
5. Act

As I grew, so did my list.  So, without further ado, here is my current bucket list  (:

• Cycle across Canada for something I believe in (planned for July-Oct 2011)
• Find a starfish in the Ocean (Completed in The Bahamas, April 2010)
• Present about Israel-Palestine in 100 Cities

1. Kitchener (Grandview Baptist Church, September 2009)
2. Waterloo (University of Waterloo, March 2010)

• Present about Israel-Palestine in each Province in 2011

1. Vancouver, BC
2. Calgary, Alberta
3. Regina, Saskatchewan
4. Winnipeg, Manitoba
5. Ottawa, Ontario
6. Montreal, Quebec
7. Fredericton, New Brunswick
8. Halifax, Nova Scotia
9. Charlottetown, PEI
10. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

• Take a father-daughter trip to soak in some European architecture :)
• Take a mother-daughter trip
• Travel to:
• Tokyo (to visit my brother and see his life over there)
• Italy
• Switzerland (my mum's favourite European country)
• Newfoundland
• California (Completed Dec 2009)
• Romania (Completed Summer 2003)
• London (Completed August 2003)
• Austria
• Papua New Guinea (to see my cousin and get a glimpse of her life)
• BC (Completed when I was little, but revisited as an adult June 2009)
• NYC (Completed for the first time on a grade 12 drama trip)
• Texas
• Boston
• An African safari
• Arizona
• The Wave, Utah (and photograph it!)
• Greece
• The peak of Mount Sinai
• Spain
• Tanzania
• Argentina
• Chile
• Nepal
• Barcelona
• The Galapagos Islands
• Use nothing but a bike for transportation for an entire month (aside from across Canada tour)
• Bike Australia
• Become a published author
• Participate in a worship service at Westminster Abbey in London (Completed August 2003)
• Own a dog  (:
• Photograph the International AIDS conference
• Volunteer in Africa doing something related to the AIDS epidemic
• See a Shakespearean play in the Globe Theatre in London (Completed August 2003)
• Go an entire year without buying anything new (shoes, furniture, clothes, etc.)!
• Publish a photography book
• Go SCUBA diving or snorkeling in tropical waters
• Launch Love Travels
• Learn to speak/understand
• Arabic
• Hebrew
• Publish a coffee table book showing the similarities between Israelis and Palestinians

What's on YOUR bucket list??  I'd love to hear it  (:

Tears Courtesy Of Israel

Israel made me cry today.
A lot.
Actually, I'm still crying.
The kind of crying that makes it difficult to breath and leaves you with tired eyes and a slight headache when you stop.
Well, okay. So it wasn't JUST Israel that made me cry. This morning, I spent a lot of time reading updates about the situation over there. I started crying when I happened upon a video I recorded last August. I had just returned home from my first trip to the Middle East and some of my friends were singing Matisyahu's One Day. See that video here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=383865845734 and lyrics below. If that link doesn't work for you just search "Matisyahu One Day" on YouTube.

With all the terrible news we've heard from Israel today (http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1162382.html), and the past few weeks and months (and years to be honest!) I still break down when I hear Matisyahu's song, One Day. The things happening over there are NOT okay and some people here get that...but a lot of other people just don't care. This song means so much to me. It means I'm not the only one who dreams of that day when Israel & Palestine will live peacefully (I know I'm not in general, but to have a popular artist singing for peace is wonderful). Days like today though, make it hard to believe the leaders of Israel's army even want that. I know what I'm working for is worthwhile and SO important...I just wish the leaders there had the same goals in mind.

One Day


"sometimes I lay
under the moon
and thank God I'm breathing
then I pray
don't take me soon
cause I am here for a reason

sometimes in my tears I drown
but I never let it get me down
so when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around
because

all my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
for the people to say
that we don't wanna fight no more
they'll be no more wars
and our children will play
one day, one day, one day 
one day, one day, one day 

it's not about
win or lose
we all lose
when they feed on the souls of the innocent
blood drenched pavement
keep on moving though the waters stay raging

in this maze you can lose your way (your way)
it might drive you crazy but don't let it faze you no way (no way)

sometimes in my tears I drown
but I never let it get me down
so when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around
because

all my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
for the people to say
that we don't wanna fight no more
they'll be no more wars
and our children will play
one day, one day, one day 
one day, one day, one day 

one day this all will change
treat people the same
stop with the violence
down with the hate
one day we'll all be free
and proud to be
under the same sun
singing songs of freedom like
one day, one day
one day, one day

all my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
for the people to say
that we don't wanna fight no more
they'll be no more wars
and our children will play
one day"

Why Barefoot & Boundless?

What's with the Blog title? The two words combined work well to describe me and where I'm at in life right now.

Barefoot:

Well, other than the fact that I love to be barefoot whether it be while driving, worshipping, or walking with sand or grass between my toes...

Bare feet have become a symbol of peace, as shoes are banned within Gandhi's memorial site, Raj Ghat. One way to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi is to walk barefoot around his monument (which I would love to do someday!). Those of you who know me know that peace (particularly in Israel-Palestine) is something I dream of and do my best to work for. I was so happy to learn that bare feet symbolize peace.

Bare feet are also a sign of mourning within the Jewish traditions; shoes are not worn by mourners during the ritual Shiva mourning period. Last year was a year of mourning for me and my family. The ways in which I am changed (and continue to be) as a result of those losses and times of mourning are difficult to define but I'm certain that those close to me can bare witness.

Boundless:

To be limitless. I have nothing holding me back right now and am available to make ambitious plans that reflect that. The plans I have in the works at the moment include time in the Middle East this summer, a couple of trips to Haiti to join relief efforts, and a bike trip across Canada in 2011!

Thanks for reading! I'm excited to have you along for the ride!

Peace,

Hannah