travel - just a bucket list dream

My 2022 wrap-up!

Posted on December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends. I can’t believe it’s already time to write this post! This year went by super fast, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s adventures, but before we move on to next year, let’s go over this year’s highlights!

Bucket list items- Since I have the words Bucket list in the title of my blog, let’s start with the items I crossed off this year. I am happy to say that I crossed off eight items this year!

Get a mohawk – I was nervous to cross this item off, but I did it! ( You can read about it HERE )

Go to the Goodwill outlet – This was a fun item to cross off ! ( You can read about it HERE)

Go to the Denver art museum – I went on a wonderful vacation in June, and this was a part of it. ( You can read about it HERE )

Go to Denver – I stayed in Denver for my Colorado vacation. ( You can read more about my vacation HERE )

Tweet 10000 times – I was very proud of myself for crossing this item off my list. ( You can read about it HERE)

Go on a Warner Brothers studio tour – I crossed this item off on my December trip to Los Angeles! It was a very fun item to cross off! ( You can read about it HERE)

Go to a blow dry bar – I loved the way my hair looked when I was done crossing this item off my bucket list. ( You can read about it HERE)

Go on a vegan picnic – Another item I crossed off in Los Angeles ( You can read about it HERE)

Travel- I got to go on a few vacations this year. I also went on so day trips. I’ll post the links so you can read more about them

Muir Woods – This was a fun day trip that I went on early in the year. ( You can read about it HERE)

San Louis Obispo and Paso Robles – This trip was mainly to go see Alice Cooper, but of course, we did some exploring too! ( You can read about it HERE )

Big Sur- Another fun day trip! ( You can read about it HERE)

Colorado – This vacation was a lot of fun! I did a lot of things, including crossing off two bucket list items. ( You can about it HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE

Summer Idaho trip – This was a fun trip that included a trip to a museum and going swimming. ( You can read about it HERE)

Monterey day trip – I love day trips! ( You can read about it HERE )

Birthday weekend trip – I went on a little weekend getaway for my birthday! ( You can read about it HERE)

Labor Day weekend Idaho adventure – The second trip that took to Idaho this year. This trip included an adventure on the Boise River! ( You can read about it HERE)

October Idaho adventure, including Craters of the moon national monument – My third and final trip to Idaho for the year 2022 included an amazing trip to Craters of the moon national monument. ( You can read about it HERE)

Concerts and events – My biggest highlight in this category was going to see Alice Cooper. I hope I can see him again this coming year. Anyways, on to the list of concerts and events I went to this year.

Disney on Ice – This was a really fun show. I hadn’t been to a Disney on ice show since I was a child. ( You can read about it HERE)

Alice Cooper concert – I got to see a concert from my favorite rock star this year! ( You can read about it HERE)

Point of Grace concert – This was a beautiful concert in a beautiful place. ( You can read about it HERE)

Fourth of July is fun, including a concert in the park! ( You can read about it HERE )

Christmas craft faire- I was so happy that I got to this event this year! ( You can read about it HERE)

Fantasy of lights drive through – I got to go one of my favorite local events this year. ( You can read about it HE RE)

Shopping fun – I love going shopping and I had a lot of fun this year going to thrift shopping and more! You can read about some of it below.

Summer mall weekend – I love shopping and summer. I also love putting them together! ( You can read it HERE)

Thrift shopping fun – I got to do a lot of thrift shopping this year! ( You can read about some of it HERE, HERE,HERE, and HERE)

Target adventures – I also made a good amount of trips to my favorite department store this year. (You can read about some of my Target trips HERE,HERE , HERE, HERE, and HERE )

Creativity – I enjoyed being creative this year with art and writing!

I had a lot of fun doing arts and crafts projects. Here are some of my favorites! click on the titles below to read about them!

Writing – In addition to writing on this blog, I also wrote articles on vocal media. Click on the titles below to read some of my articles from this year.

2000’s reality shows

45 things I have learned in my 32 years

the simple thing that gets me many social media views

60 ideas for your summer bucket list

The hard stuff

Every year has its hard moments, and this year was no different. In January, I said goodbye to my cat Sherri it was very painful. Time has helped to heal me, but it was a very difficult thing to go through.

Walking away from my career in childcare due to my health , I’m so proud of myself for making this choice. It was a hard conclusion to come to, but I’m glad I did. ( You can read about it HERE and HERE ) My mentel health has improved since I walked away from my career. I’m hoping and praying that 2023 will be the year that my voice acting career really comes together.

All things considered, I have to say that it was an overall good year, and I hope 2023 is an even better year!

Rock on – Christina Epperly

Idaho October 2021 part 1

Posted on November 1, 2021November 1, 2021 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends! As some of you know I have faimly in Idaho. I try to go visit them a few times a year. This was my second trip this year. I started this trip on Thursday night. Our flight landed pretty late so we didn’t do much that night. On Friday we went to breakfast with my grandparents, then we went thrift shopping. We went to a thrift store chain that we don’t have where I live. At this store some of my favorite things I got were two were Barbie dolls, a Lion King plate, a carousel mug, and a my little pony plush toy. Later that day my mom and I went to the Goodwill. As I was walked back to the toy section something caught my eye. It was a 1995 Barbie comforter! I knew that it would not be easy to get it back home since my suit case is not very big. However that didn’t really matter to me because I was going to get it even if I had to mail to back to myself. Some other items I got there were Barbie books,a Barbie DVD and a Build a Bear plush. After our second thrift store of the day we went to Panera Bread. I love their soup so much! Some other family members came over that night and it was great to see them.The next day we went to Boise to go to the Basque museum. My mom had been here before but it was my first time visiting this museum. It was very interesting I enjoyed looking at pictures from the past. Next to the museum there is an old boarding house you can tour. It is very interesting as well. When you walk through the boarding house it almost feels like you have gone back in time. If you get the chance I recommend checking out the museum and the boarding house. After that we walked around a bit,went to a gift shop and checked out these really cool swings. The swings were a part of a tree sculpture. I love swings and I want to visit this work of art again. After our adventures we met my grandparents for a wonderful lunch. It had been an exciting day but we were not done yet. We went to my aunt and uncle’s house. They have a lot of wonderful animals. I finally got to meet their pigs! I had a great time saying hi to their animals. Before going back to my grandparents house we went to Walmart. They had a great selection of Christmas items! I had a fun time looking at the Christmas decorations! It was a busy but wonderful two days.

Thanks for reading

Rock On- Christina Epperly

Seattle fun!

Posted on November 28, 2020November 28, 2020 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends ! I’m currently on vacation in Hawaii as I write this post. Before I got to Hawaii I had what I’m calling the best layover ever! When my parents and I arrived in Seattle we were unable to continue on to Hawaii due to their new travel requirements. We ended up spending the night in Seattle so we could have time to meet the new requirements. Since it was morning when we arrived in Seattle I saw it as an opportunity to explore the city and even cross some items off my bucket list.

Seattle fun!

Since we only had one day to explore Seattle, my mom and I decided to get a combination ticket that would let us explore two different attractions. The first attraction the we went to was the Space Needle. The views of the city from the Space Needle are simply amazing! It’s a great place to take pictures and it also has a really big gift shop! After exploring the Space Needle we went to the Chihuly garden and glass museum. The art here is very beautiful. I loved the colors and the creativity. I highly recommend both of these attractions if you visit Seattle.

While I was in Seattle I crossed three items off my bucket list! Here are the items I crossed off my list!

#230 Drink coffee in Seattle

#240 Go the Space Needle in Seattle

#285 Visit Chihuly Garden and Glass

Thank you for reading ! Rock On – Christina Epperly

Monterrey adventure May 2019

Posted on May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends ! On Sunday I went to Monterrey with some awesome people to celebrate my cousin’s birthday. It was a great day and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Here we go !

Monterrey adventure May 2019

We started off our day of fun in Monterrey with breakfast at this cute little place crepe place. The food was so good ! It was a great way to start the day. Then it was time for some much needed pampering we all got out nails done and got massages. I love the color I chose for my nails . Purple seemed to be a popular choice among our group. After nails and massages we went and did some wine tasting at this restaurant with an amazing ocean view. After that it was shopping time ! Monterrey has some great places to shop everyone was having a fun time looking around at some awesome stores. I got some homemade soap , some candy, and a new snow globe for my collection. When we were all shopped out we went down to the beach and took some fun pictures. Then we had a wonderful dinner before heading back home. It was a very fun day even though it was raining off and on we were still able to do everything we had planned. Overall it was a really fun day ! Rock On- Christina Epperly

2018 my year in review

Posted on December 30, 2018December 26, 2018 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends ! 2018 was quite a year and it’s hard to believe that it is coming to an end already . The last few months of the year always seem to fly by and 2018 was no exception . So before we move into 2019 let’s dive on into a review of my 2018.

2018 my year in review

2018 was a jam packed year , I was able to accomplish a lot ! I Crossed 9 things off my bucket list including going to the Mall of America, petting a zebra and Meeting Alice Cooper ! I Traveled to some amazing places , passed the Mblex ,became a certified massage therapist, Went to my first comic con, and spent time with the some of the people I love most. I also spent some time doing some of my favorite things such as blogging , drawing , shopping , going on walks, swimming and going to the movies . This year also had some hard times as well . I had my fair share of heath problems this year including a trip to the ER on my birthday and my family went without a refrigerator for way to long . I also lost an irreplaceable friend who had always been in my life . This year was definitely a roller coaster of a year with some amazing ups and really tough downs. This year was a thrill ride for sure and I’m very proud of everything that I accomplished but I hope 2019 is more like a lazy river . Below I have put links to posts of some of this years adventures and some photos from this year ! I can’t wait to share more adventures with all of you in 2019 !

Rock on – Christina Epperly

Bucket list items crossed off this year

Dyeing my hair green

Finishing an entire coloring book

Standup paddle boarding

Go on a road trip with friends

Pet a zebra

Go to Mall of America

Go backstage at a concert and meet Alice Cooper

Make a perfect cupcake

Travel adventures

Trip to Redding

Weekend in Monterrey

Spring Break in Idaho

Reno on the way to Idaho

Road trip to Idaho

Summer fun in Idaho

Minnesota vacation

Dallas Vacation part 1

Dallas Vacation part 2

Dallas Vacation part 3

Dallas Vacation part 4

Health Problems

My Crazy health problems

Birthday in the ER

I don’t have time to be sick

Refrigerator problems

The great refrigerator saga of 2018

The end of the refrigerator saga

A few Fun adventures

Summer Mall weekend 2018

Life after vacation

Posted on October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends ! being a bucket lister often means having a love of travel and adventure and boy do I love both of those things ! Well there is something I haven’t really written about before but it happens to me all the time . Most of the time whenever I come back from vacation I get after vacation blues . It’s hard to go from being on an amazing vacation where every day is an adventure to going back to the same old stuff. I know I’m not the only one that has this problem I looked it up . I hope by sharing my experiences with after vacation life I will be able to help some one else who has the same problem . Let’s get to it !

Life after vacation

When a vacation ends I have mixed feelings . On one hand I’m excited to go back home see my friends , family ,cats and sleep in my own bed again but On the other hand I can’t believe it’s over already ! As the saying goes time flies when you’re having fun and that is so true when it comes to vacations. For me though going back home is easy compared to getting back into the everyday routine of life . All throughout the day I keep thinking about how I wish I could just travel and blog all the time but I know that won’t being happening soon . Even though it might some day ! The thing that works best for me is to try to focus on positive things like all the fun stuff I did on vacation ! Lately when I have been feeling upset I replay the moment in my head when I met Alice Cooper and before I know it I’m smiling ! I also like telling other people about my vacation it’s almost like I’m back on vacation . Another thing that can help me cope with after vacation depression is to treat myself a week ago I bought this really cute stuffed dinosaur at Walgreens ! They are starting to put their Christmas items out so there where a lot of cute animals to choose from ,getting a new stuffed animal gave me a little does of happiness that was much needed . I also try to focus on the everyday things that bring me joy such as watching one of my favorite shows , waking up with cats on my bed , and the yummy soup that I get from the store by my work . It may take some time but before I know it I’m back in the swing of things and looking forward to my next adventure ! To sum all this up I’ve made a list below of my life after vacation tips .

Rock on – Christina Epperly

Tips for getting back to normal life after an amazing vacation

Think about positive memories it can be from the vacation you just got from or from another happy time in your life .
Treat yourself ! Eat your favorite foods or buy yourself something new and exciting like a new outfit or a stuffed dinosaur. 🙂
Make a list of all things you enjoy about every day life .
plan your next adventure.
Tell others about your fun vacation it may just inspire their next trip !

Texas Vacation part 3

Posted on October 20, 2018October 20, 2018 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! Welcome to part 3 of my Texas vacation blog posts . (Click here to read part 1) (Click here to read part 2 ) This post will be a little on the shorter side because I will be covering the nighttime activity where I crossed two items off the list in the next post . So with all that said let’s dive on in to part 3 !

Texas Vacation part 3

Tuesday October 16th was our last full day in Texas before we flew home on Wednesday. We had two big things planned one daytime and one nighttime activity . Our day time activity was a self guided tour of AT&T stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play . My mom is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan so we had to make sure we included a trip to the stadium while we were in Texas . I have to start out by saying that this Stadium is amazing ! Even if you are not a football fan it is worth checking out . The best part of taking a tour is that you get to go down on the field ! You can take pictures and even play football . They hand out footballs for you to use . I had a fun time playing catch with my mom on a real NFL football field ! I also enjoyed the press conference room, It’s was cool to stand on the stage like you were giving a press conference ! We also got to see the locker rooms of both the players and cheerleaders. It was cool seeing all the names on the lockers . It turns out that there is a cheerleader named Christina. It was fun standing next to her locker pretending that it was mine ! I love going to gift shops when I go somewhere fun and this place has a huge store ! There was so much stuff to see it was pretty amazing . I got some cool Dallas Cowboy buttons . Overall it was a really great place to visit and I recommend going here if you get the chance too . That’s part 3 thank you for reading!

Rock on – Christina Epperly

Texas vacation part two

Posted on October 19, 2018 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends I’m very excited to dive right into part 2 of my amazing Texas vacation ! ( you can read part one here ). Now on to part 2 !

Texas vacation part two

On Monday the rain was pouring down just like the weather report had said it would so it was a very good thing that we completed our outdoor activities the day before . The first activity for the day was the Perot museum of nature and science. The museum is a pretty good size with a lot to see and do . In addition to a variety of exciting and interesting exhibits there is also a 3D theater it requires a separate ticket . There were three movies to chose from there is one about dinosaurs , one about music history and the one we chose about oceans and underwater life . we had some time before our movie started so we started exploring the museum . There were some fun interactive exhibits I liked being able to drive a little robot and getting to crawl through a cave . There were also some amazing gems to look at but we had to take a break from the exhibits to go see the movie . I loved the Ocean movie it was so beautiful ! I loved seeing all kinds of sea animals in 3D ! After the movie we went to explore the rest of museum . I enjoyed the dinosaur and bird exhibits there was so much to see I recommend going to the Perot museum if you get the chance to .

After the museum we went to our next activity the George bush presidential library and museum. I really enjoyed this museum I find it interesting to learn about other people’s lives . It was awesome to get an in depth look of his presidency . One of my favorite parts of the museum was the decision room theater where you got a bunch of different information and had to make the best decision you could just like the president had to ! I also enjoyed the recreation of the Oval Office . This is another place I recommend going to if you are in the Dallas area . That’s part 2 of My Texas vacation !

Rock on – Christina Epperly

Texas vacation part 1

Posted on October 18, 2018October 18, 2018 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends ! I just got back from a fun filled vacation to Texas ! There is so much to write about so I’m going to doing more than one post about my latest vacation . So let’s dive into part 1 !

Texas vacation part 1

On Saturday October 13th my mom and I flew out to Texas . It was quite an ordeal to get there because due to weather in Texas our flight got cancelled . We got on another flight but we had to go back downstairs to ticketing to get new boarding passes then back up through security again . It all worked out but we go to Dallas late so we didn’t have any time to do anything other than go to bed .

On Sunday , there was a break in the rain but according to the weather report that would be our only day to do outdoor activities . It was going to be tough but we were going to have to do the State Fair of Texas and the Dallas zoo in one day ! We started our day at the state Fair . It was kind of hard to find our way around but we managed to see and do a lot in the short time we had . We got to ride some fun rides including the sky way and the swing ride and I did the carousel of course . We got to see cows , goats , and horses and a few exhibits before it was time to leave . I bought a necklace as a souvenir and had some lemonade . After all our fair fun it was time to head to the zoo . When we got to the Dallas zoo we only had a few hours before it closed but we made the very most of it . It is a pretty good sized zoo. We saw penguins , elephants , a hippopotamus , flamingos and lots of other animals ! The aviary was fun to explore I loved seeing all the different kinds of birds there . There is a really nice gift shop where I got a new snow globe for my collection along with some other fun souvenirs. There was a carousel but because we were short on time I did not get the chance to ride it . Overall the state fair of Texas and the Dallas zoo are a lot of fun, I just wish we would have had more time to explore them. Even After all our fair and zoo fun we had one more activity to do before the rain came . That night we went to the reunion tower. I had fun time exploring the Geo deck and looking at the beautiful view of Dallas and yes they have a gift shop ! After all that exploration we were very tired and ready to called it a day !

That’s the end of part one ! Rock on Christina Epperly

reuniontower_dallas-369066-1116558-647-h

Minnesota vacation and #18

Posted on August 3, 2018August 3, 2018 by crazydreamsgirl

Hello , my bucket list friends ! I just recently came back from a wonderful vacation to Minnesota ! The reason why I chose to go there was to go to the mall of America . Mall of America is a place that I had wanted to go for a long time . It was so exciting to finally make this dream come true ! Let’s get going so I can tell all of you about this amazing adventure !

Minnesota vacation and #18

My Minnesota adventure started on Monday July 23rd with a flight to Minneapolis once my mom and I got there the hotel shuttle picked us up . After spending some time checking in and relaxing in our really nice room at the Springhill Suites . We went back downstairs and caught the shuttle to the Mall of America ! I had being wanting to go to the Mall of America for a long time and now this dream was coming true ! I was so excited when I got to the mall . I got pictures with the big beautiful star statue out front . Then we went inside to get something to eat . We went this amazing place called Freshii that has really and good healthy food . After eating we to this amazing store called five below I had heard of this store before but there are no locations close to me . I was so excited to shop at this amazing store ! Five Below is really awesome because the max price that you can pay for an item is $5 ! There was a lot to choose from I ended up finding some My Little Pony items , a cute TY Beanie boo panda , some cute pencil grips and some bear shaped pencil sharpeners . After shopping at Five below I wanted to go to the mall of America gift shop it took a while to find one but I was so glad that I did ! I got a cute Mall of America Teddy Bear and some other Mall of America logo items including a key chain ! After that we went back to the hotel for some much needed sleep .

Tuesday July 24th, 2018

This was my first full day at the mall of America ! The thing that I wanted to do the most was the Crayola Experience ! It’s like a hands on museum ,there are lots of projects you can do . My favorite was called the melt down where you got to create a picture using melted crayons ! There was also this really cool station where you could take a picture of yourself and print it out to color ! Another one of my favorites was getting to make your own crayon labels ! The Crayola experience was my favorite thing that I did at mall of America ,it was just so much fun ! After that we did some shopping and ate at Freshii . At one of the Minnesota gift shops in the mall I got a new Snow Globe for my collection . We had gotten tickets to see a movie later that afternoon but before it was movie time we did the amazing mirror maze. I had a fun time walking around the maze trying to find the way out ! It was a little challenging to figure out what was a mirror and what was a hallway but we made it through pretty quickly . After the maze we went to Carlo’s bakery . I love watching Cake Boss on TV but I’d never been to one of his bakeries before and needless to say to was very good . We also got some wonderful coffee from Caribou Coffee I wish they had Caribou coffee where I live ! The movie theater at mall of America does not disappoint ! It has very comfortable reclining chairs ,it was a great place to relax after doing a lot of walking ! After the movie we did one more activity before going back to the hotel . We took a ride on Fly over America which is very similar to Soarin at Disney California Adventure but it has whole new places to discover ! This was a really fun day!