Why Peanut?

So you might be wondering why I go by "Peanut."  First of all it is not a nickname I came up with, believe me.  I am what you might call height challenged, not that I'm ridiculously short but I'm definitely not as tall as I would like to be and let's just say I'm "below average" in the height department.  Well on day at work, one of my co-workers said I was like a "little peanut" and sure as shit the name stuck.  Wouldn't you know.  So now I embrace it, sometimes it is just easier that way.

A little about me...

About a year ago my wife of almost 10 years, who was my best friend and soul mate, passed away from breast cancer at the young age of 35.  While I've spent the last year coming to grips with this, one of the things that I am grateful for is that although our life together was cut short, I can honestly say that I have no regrets about how we lived our life.  I have already checked many things off my bucket list, because we lived every day to the fullest and made sure that we got out there and really experienced life.  So it is with that same sense of adventure that I now embark on this new chapter in my life.  I can't say it has been easy, but I've gotten this far, and I'm determined to continue to live my life to the fullest because the one thing I've learned through all this is that we never know how much time we have, so seize not just the day but every minute of the day.

I have no idea if anyone will read this, but if you are...thanks first of all.  Second of all, have patience w/ me because this is all new to me.  I have no idea what I will post here, but I promise the posts won't be all deep and meaningful.  Actually they will probably border on the ridiculous, but stay with me, I have flashes of brilliance every once in a decade or so.

My Bucket List

Ok, so here goes.  I like many people have a bucket list.  One of the things on my list was to create a blog, for no particular reason at all.  While talking about my bucket list with a friend and mentioning that one of the items was to create a blog, but I had no idea what I would blog about, she told me to start by blogging my list.  So here we go, in no particular order.

1. Go hiking on a glacier
2. Visit every local brewery w/in 50 miles
3. Stand in the glass balcony in the Sears tower (completed 1/23/13)
4. Sit on the glass at a Blackhawks game
5. Skate on the ice at the United Center
6. Go jet skiing.
7. Go snowmobiling
8. Ski the Rocky mountains
9. Drink coffee in Seattle
10. Road trip from the east coast to the west coast
11. Play catch in the outfield of Wrigley
12. See the Grand Canyon
13. Try absinthe (Completed 3/3/13)
14. Create a blog…and actually have followers (halfway done!)
15. Eat at someplace I saw on the Food network, preferably Diners / Drive in’s and Dives (Compltd 3/3/13)
16. Take a cruise to Alaska
17. Go scuba diving
18. Go indoor rock climbing
19. Build a huge kick ass sand castle
20. See the sunset in Key West
21. See Mt. Rushmore
22. Eat some exotic game (that I haven’t already)
23. Swim with dolphins
24. Actually watch a meteor shower
25. Go to Lincoln Park Zoo
26.  Jog along the lake shore in Chicago
27.  Attend a mystery dinner theater
28. Go hiking in the Pacific Northwest
29. Try surfing
30. Run a half marathon
31. Learn to actually play guitar, not just 5 chords and parts of a few songs.
32. Go to England and Ireland
33. Go on a tour at the Jack Daniel’s distillery.
34. Go on a zip line
35. Take a cooking class
36. Ride a camel
37. Walk on fire
38. Ride a Segway
39. Pan for gold
40. Go indoor skydiving
41. See the Friday night turtle races at Joe's Pub
42. Cage dive with Sharks
43. Go para-sailing
44. Ride a mechanical bull
45. Stay at an ice hotel
46. Complete the Tough Mudder
47. Create my own "signature dish"
48. Join the "mile high club"
49. Have drinks at The Redhead Piano Bar
50. Eat at Hot Doug's
51. Learn to play chess
52. Take a Chicago water taxi ride
53. Kayak down the Chicago River
54. Have a drink at Girl and the Goat
55. Drinks at the Signature Room (Completed 2/2/13)
56. Ride each of the El lines
57. Attend a Chicago street festival
58. Go to a burlesque comedy show at Gorilla Tango Theater
59. Go on the Haunted Chicago tour
60. Ride the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier
61. Eat Ice cream at Margie's Candies
62. Watch a movie in the park
63. See a comedy show at Second City
64. Tour the Revolution Brewery
65. Do the polar plunge (Completed 2/24/13)
66. Take silly photos w/ someone in a photo booth (Completed 2/3/13)
67. Jump into a pool fully clothed
68. Rescue a dog from the pound
69. Attend the Thanksgiving Day Parade
70. See a band at The Metro
71. Milk a cow
72. Get yelled at at Wiener Circle
73. Go to a blues bar downtown
74. See a comedian at Second City
75. Eat at Hamburger Mary's
76. Eat from a food truck
77. Attend a brew and view at The Vic Theater
78. Go on a dog sled
79. Go whale watching
80. Start a fire without matches
81. Smoke a Cuban Cigar
82. Buy a stranger behind me in line at Starbucks a coffee
83. Learn to blow glass
84. Get a caricature done with a significant other
85. Learn sign language
86. Drink coconut milk from an actual coconut
87. Have drinks at an ice bar
88. Go apple picking
89. Fly somewhere spontaneously for the day 
90. Attend a black tie event
91. Ride on a Zamboni
92. Visit a ghost town
93. Take some really artsy photos, suitable for framing
94. Make a snow angel (Complted 2/26/13)
95. Live with no regrets
96. Go on a picnic
97. Eat chocolate covered bacon (Completed 2/9/13)
98. Eat chocolate covered beef jerky  (Completed 2/9/13)
99. See a show at The Looking Glass Theater
100. Take a picture with the Picasso statue
101. Swim at one of Chicago's beaches
102. Visit Graceland Cemetery
103. Eat at a Mexican restaurant in Little Village
104. Eat Chinese food in Chinatown
105. Eat at an Italian restaurant in Little Italy (Completed 2/2/13)
106. Go on a Chicago Tastebud Tour
107. Go on a dinner cruise
108. Eat at Fat Willy's Rib Shack
109. See a concert at Northerly Island
110. Eat at Smoque
111. Have a craft beer at The Bluebird Chicago
112. Have a drink at The Southern in Wicker Park
113. See Bye Bye Liver: The Chicago Drinking Play at The Pub Theater
114. Tour Lakefront Brewery (2/17/13)
115. Do the Hustle up the Hancock
116. Put my hand print in wet cement
117. Eat the worm from a bottle of Tequila 
118. Drive a race car
119. Visit the Hancock Observatory 
120. Go Zorbing
121. Find a 4 leaf clover
122. Get my palm read by a psychic
123. Ride in a hot air balloon
124. Visit a pumpkin patch
125. Swim with beluga whales
126. Tour Half Acre Brewery
127. Swim with Stingrays in the Cayman Islands
128. Touch a baby sea turtle.