I’m officially 55 years old! When I was thinking about what I wanted to have and to do on my birthday to make it special, I wondered why we only wait until our birthdays to do those special things we always wanted to do – to eat cake, go shopping, celebrate with friends, or go on a trip? Why don’t we live every day that way – or most days? Obviously we have things to do in our lives that cannot be avoided, like paying bills and cleaning toilets, but what if we slice out a portion of a few occasional days doing things we enjoy, surrounded by people who uplift us instead of those who bring us down?

I wanted to share a few of my bucket list items for each day, not just my birthday.

Here’s my bucket list of birthday wishes: Watch the video here:

1. Have more fun, less heart ache.
2. Be the crazy lady dancing on the beach. We’ve all seen that woman who’s older – my age – with headphones in her ears, most likely playing the music loud, dancing, wearing a bikini – whether or not she should – and why not? She exudes love, laughter and light. We could all use a littler more of those things, can’t we?
3. Once in a while have a chocolate croissant and coffee for breakfast
4. Get those good endorphins going every day – work out more and laugh more
5. Make my health a priority every day! As a former migraine sufferer, and having had a life-threatening illness, I know the importance of having good health.
6. Take a cooking class
7. Read more books
8. Watch less TV
9. Worry less about what others think about me, haters are gonna hate – give em something to hate about! Be yourself!
10. Do more yoga (maybe even take yoga teacher training)
11. Spend more time with people who appreciate and love me, and less time with those who don’t.
12. Dance in the rain, dance on the beach, dance in the kitchen, dance when no one is watching, dance when everyone is watching!
13. Be grateful for three things every day
14. Watch more sunsets and sunrises
15. Be more assertive: I was born and raised a people pleaser, so this is work-in-progress. Watch this video to see how I recently made a significant breakthrough: https://youtu.be/O0wIyiMU5bA

One of the things I wanted to on my birthday was teach a Zumba Fitness class & share my passion for healthy living with others!  The miles of smiles made it all worthwhile!

A post shared by Shemane Nugent (@shemanenugent) on Jul 15, 2017 at 11:45am PDT

As my friend Alvie Shepherd says, “yes you can!” And yes I did – do a headstand on a paddle board with my friend April looking on in disbelief!
Yes I can!
And…

A post shared by Shemane Nugent (@shemanenugent) on Jul 16, 2017 at 12:45pm PDT

Yes YOU can do whatever you set your mind to do. There are many examples of people overcoming obstacles, so why not you? Why can’t I do a headstand on a paddleboard at 55 years of age?
What is it that you’ve always wanted to do but hesitated?

Got to celebrate my birthday early with my hubby!

A post shared by Shemane Nugent (@shemanenugent) on Jul 14, 2017 at 10:04am PDT

Had a GNO (Girl’s Night Out) with some friends at a fabulous french restaurant on my birthday!

A post shared by Shemane Nugent (@shemanenugent) on Jul 16, 2017 at 4:55pm PDT

My friend April got me this amazing, heartfelt bracelet engraved with the Bible verse Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7

She read my blog about a child I lost, but I always knew would have been named Coco.

Read my blog here: www.ShemaneNugent.Rocks/coco
On the inside of the bracelet, April engraved “Happy Birthday Mom, Love Coco”
I was instantly choked up, and fighting back the tears. Thank you April for such a thoughtful gift!

A post shared by Shemane Nugent (@shemanenugent) on Jul 17, 2017 at 4:11am PDT

I received so many amazing gifts!

A post shared by Shemane Nugent (@shemanenugent) on Jul 16, 2017 at 4:56pm PDT

Thanks for checking out my weekly recap! I’d love to hear from you! Let me know if you like the updates and what you’d like to see more or less of.