so, last year i made a list of 28 things to do, some were goals/resolutions, because i was turning 28, this year, i'll try 29 things... after all, you only get one life and i think that God has blessed me beyond belief. i want to be the best version of myself. a few things have made it back on the list, as i didn't cross them off of my list from last year (anyone who knows me knows that i am list person and that is a "no, no" for me, haha), so here's to 2011 and all the fun and growing i hope to do:
let's just get to the things that were carried over from 2010:
1. This is probably the most important one to me in 2011. I want to trust God and go where HE leads and go on a mission trip. I attempted this is 2010, but the trip was canceled. I have tried to not let this be completely discouraging, so I pray that God will provide an opportunity where He wants me to be, the passport is ready:)
2. Still working on this bedtime thing... I will go to bed earlier. My normal bedtime is 1:00 AM or later, so my goal is to get in bed by 11:00 PM each night.
3. I will get up and do my quiet time in the morning, instead of doing it at night.
4. Running made it to the list last year ( I did learn that I will never be a sprinter), but this year my goal is to actually complete a 5K. My goal is to complete one in the cooler months, as I hate to be extremely hot, hehe. [ I do think I am going to need someone to run this with me to hold me accountable. ]
5. Sewing thing, needs improvement. I need lessons, maybe I will take a class. Seriously, I want to get better at this, it means so much to me because my grandmother was so good good. The dress I wanted to make last year didn't happen, so maybe this year.
6. Make turkey and dressing this year. We will see who will let me be this adventrous, hehe.
New this year:
7. Since I tried a new food every month last year, this year I will cook something new every month. If I can try a new food still, that would be awesome. I am sure after seeing the new foods list, you know there are many foods out there I still haven't tried.
8. To go zip lining with my family. I am somewhat cheating on this one, as my brother Chris and I got this for him for Christmas:) I cannot wait though, it is going to be so much fun. I will also go with my friends, as we had talked about this, and it is so much, so why not?
9. Complete the Crown Financial Class, as I want to make smarter financial choices.
10. Create a collage of old pictures of my great grandparents, grandparents, and parents in my stairwell. I am very excited about this project, as my Momaw and Popaw Abby (great grandparents) , my Momaw Saine (great grandmother), and Mom (my grandmother) meant so much to me.
11. Give blood as many times as I can in 2011. As many of you know, my grandfather was diagnosed with a type of lymphoma this year and had to have several blood transfusions. I only gave blood like once in 2010, and it is really such a simple thing I can do to help so many who need it. It really could save someone's life... if helped my grandfather!!!
12. Read a book a month. To most of you, you are probably thinking that is nothing, but I am really not a big fan of reading.... I am just a slow reader. January = the me I want to be, February = Mark of the Lion Series, then I'll see how I am doing, hehe
13. Work resolution: I am going to try EXTREMELY hard to do my reports ahead of time and not on the last day, no more procrastinating. I think this will be huge for my work/life balance and going to bed earlier.
14. Challenge myself to not eat out for a whole week, not one time. Also, to most, this probably wouldn't be hard, but for a girl who doesn't like cooking and doesn't think much of eating out every day (especially because I am out of town most days for my job), this will not be easy. If I get good, I'll try to do this once a month.
15. Only allow myself two starbucks a week. It will help me save money too.
16. Be a little more confident when it comes to guys, I am sure all of my good friends are laughing at this one, as we all know this has never been something I have been good at... maybe we can all pray together on this one or maybe it will provide more funny stories.
17. Watch an old movie that I haven't ever seen before (1 a month ) there is a list so long it isn't even funny:: Braveheart, Lord of the Rings, Big, Sixteen Candles, Star Wars, Iron Man, etc
18. Lose 10 more pounds, don't worry this is a personal goal and if I don't, I won't lose any sleep over it, but I do want to lose these 10 pounds to be at an ideal weight for my height.
19. Try a yoga class, probably going to stay away from a hot yoga class, haha.
20. Try five new restaurants this year. Should make it more, but we will start with five.
21. Get up two days a week, possibly Wednesday and Thursday, and workout before work. Maybe I could do another boot camp:) It was great discipline and got me out of bed.
22. Go to the mountains, enjoy a hike, and take in God's beauty. Prefer to do this with friends:) Let's plan a trip.
23. Make my bed each day, sounds silly for someone who keeps her house extremely clean, I mean, I am OCD about the cleanliness of my house, but this is the one thing that I do not do, haha. So, when I get up, I will make my bed daily:)
24. Start reading the Bible all the way through, I'm staring Jan. 1. I'm going at my own pace and excited to learn more and grow.
25. Spend quality time with grandfather. He is the only grandparent that I have left.
26. Visit a new city, preferably for fun, not for work:)
27. I haven't scrapbooked much in 2010, get back to it, I really enjoy it.
28. Be more spontaneous/maybe we will go with adventurous... just go with the flow. I can be creative with this one, I'll blog about my adventures in 2011.
29. Simple: Be more thankful, you only get one life and I shouldn't spend my life dwelling on what I do not have, but thanking God for all the blessings in my life.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
all my new foods.... my taste buds appreciate it
so, one of the items on my list of 28 things/resolutions for 2010 was to try a new food every month. i tried really hard to stick to it and some times i got pictures to document it:) there are a few foods that i had tried before, and hated, but in 2010 i decided that i loved them. for a girl who grew up eating only chicken tenders, pizza, bologna sandwiches, french fries, cottage cheese, and maybe a few other things, you may be shocked at the items that are on my list, so enjoy:)
january - oops, i forgot (didn't start out to well)
february - feb. 1 - i tried chili, you are reading this correctly. i didn't like hamburger meat growing up, and i also have issues with mixing foods, so for this girl, this was huge. you should have heard the reaction from casey/kasey/em when i told them, haha, they had no idea what could be in store for 2010. oh and you should probably know it was from wendy's, haha. also, this month (had to make up for missing january) i tried casey's salsa which has green onions, peppers, corn, and black beans (i think). it is sooooo good. i haven't ever had green onions or peppers... so total for february equals 3!!! casey has pics of this as well, i'll update tomorrow.
march - snap peas and other mixed veggies at california pizza kitchen. emily and i went to cpk one night and i opted for the mixed veggies with my salmon. i got snap peas, which i haven't ever had before.
april - kasey and i headed to cracker barrell and i tried fried okra. i remember my grandmother would always make it for our family meals, but i never tried it, so i decided i should try it. wouldn't say that it is something i'll be adding to my diet, but it was bad.
may - oh this is a good one. so i loathe green beans. seriously one of the worst foods ever, but i thought what about green bean casserole, would that help me eat green beans? my friend kasey is one of the best cooks i know. she enjoys cooking and she can just whip something up without a recipe. i greatly appreciate it, as cooking isn't really my thing, so i eat a lot of great foods because of her.... so one weekend we had a staycation at her house and after a day at the pool, she baked some chicken and made green bean casserole. you will see my genuine reaction, it wasn't bad, actually the velveta and fried onion straws helped tremendously, but alas, green beans are still not my favorite, haha. ( i went back and got seconds, hehe) enjoy the pics:
june -potato salad... i tried my aunt paula's and kaseys. not bad. not very adventurous, but hey some people wouldn't say that chili was, hehe.
july - this is a huge month/milestone for me. i wanted to try sushi. i had tried it once before with my friends in college and it literally made me gag. so, i was determined to find some sushi that i liked. so, we headed out for lica's bachelorette party to get sushi and kasey helped me find some options that i liked... all the girls were so supportive and excited for me. i absolutely loved the ones i had. i tried a tempura smoked salmon roll, a japanese bagel shrimp roll, a california roll, and an asparagus roll. seriously, loved all of these. i also tried lobster on michele's bachelorette cruise. after all, food is all you can eat, so i figured, why not... i liked it:)
august - we headed out for another bachelorette party, this time for christine:) so i decided to try another food, why not tilapia, i love salmon, and i thought, let's switch it up. it was almond crusted, and oh so delicous. casey has the pic of this, so i'll update this tomorrow.
september - i can't think of what i tried this month:( if i think of it or find where my list is, i'll update tomorrow.
october - corn chowder soup, i think that is what it was called. another one of kasey's meals. (if you aren't seeing a theme... kasey contributed to a lot of my new foods because she cooked a lot of them).
november - get ready for this one... i haven't ever tried dressing at thanksgiving. so i decided to give this a whirl, everyone raves about it, so why not. when i was little, my mother and grandmother would bring french fries to all of our holiday meals and i would eat pinto beans, french fries and cornbread... i was completely spoiled, they probably should have let me starve and i would have learned to eat other things. also, i tried red velvet cake and loved it. who knew i had been missing out on such a treat.
december - eggnog, i tried my friend bayley's a few years back, but it was so bad, it can't be counted, so i tried some at our christmas get together in charlotte a few days ago, and it isn't bad. sorry bay:) i also tried a cranberry apple crisp of katie's at our thanksmas get together in raleigh and it was pretty good:) i haven't ever had cranberry sauce, so i thought that i would try the crandberry apple crisp instead, hehe.
other foods that i have added to my diet, that i absolutely love in 2010: pineapple, avocado, i like pepperoni and sausage on my pizza (i am laughing at myself - i used to just eat cheese), i love fruit smoothies, and soups.
i hope this has provided you lots of entertainment. don't worry i still have issues with mixing foods, but i am working on it. i still can't stand for my food to touch, but i am a work in progress. so glad God made me this way, so i can provide humor to all of my family and friends.
my list for 2011, 29 things coming soon:)
january - oops, i forgot (didn't start out to well)
february - feb. 1 - i tried chili, you are reading this correctly. i didn't like hamburger meat growing up, and i also have issues with mixing foods, so for this girl, this was huge. you should have heard the reaction from casey/kasey/em when i told them, haha, they had no idea what could be in store for 2010. oh and you should probably know it was from wendy's, haha. also, this month (had to make up for missing january) i tried casey's salsa which has green onions, peppers, corn, and black beans (i think). it is sooooo good. i haven't ever had green onions or peppers... so total for february equals 3!!! casey has pics of this as well, i'll update tomorrow.
march - snap peas and other mixed veggies at california pizza kitchen. emily and i went to cpk one night and i opted for the mixed veggies with my salmon. i got snap peas, which i haven't ever had before.
april - kasey and i headed to cracker barrell and i tried fried okra. i remember my grandmother would always make it for our family meals, but i never tried it, so i decided i should try it. wouldn't say that it is something i'll be adding to my diet, but it was bad.
may - oh this is a good one. so i loathe green beans. seriously one of the worst foods ever, but i thought what about green bean casserole, would that help me eat green beans? my friend kasey is one of the best cooks i know. she enjoys cooking and she can just whip something up without a recipe. i greatly appreciate it, as cooking isn't really my thing, so i eat a lot of great foods because of her.... so one weekend we had a staycation at her house and after a day at the pool, she baked some chicken and made green bean casserole. you will see my genuine reaction, it wasn't bad, actually the velveta and fried onion straws helped tremendously, but alas, green beans are still not my favorite, haha. ( i went back and got seconds, hehe) enjoy the pics:
june -potato salad... i tried my aunt paula's and kaseys. not bad. not very adventurous, but hey some people wouldn't say that chili was, hehe.
july - this is a huge month/milestone for me. i wanted to try sushi. i had tried it once before with my friends in college and it literally made me gag. so, i was determined to find some sushi that i liked. so, we headed out for lica's bachelorette party to get sushi and kasey helped me find some options that i liked... all the girls were so supportive and excited for me. i absolutely loved the ones i had. i tried a tempura smoked salmon roll, a japanese bagel shrimp roll, a california roll, and an asparagus roll. seriously, loved all of these. i also tried lobster on michele's bachelorette cruise. after all, food is all you can eat, so i figured, why not... i liked it:)
august - we headed out for another bachelorette party, this time for christine:) so i decided to try another food, why not tilapia, i love salmon, and i thought, let's switch it up. it was almond crusted, and oh so delicous. casey has the pic of this, so i'll update this tomorrow.
september - i can't think of what i tried this month:( if i think of it or find where my list is, i'll update tomorrow.
october - corn chowder soup, i think that is what it was called. another one of kasey's meals. (if you aren't seeing a theme... kasey contributed to a lot of my new foods because she cooked a lot of them).
november - get ready for this one... i haven't ever tried dressing at thanksgiving. so i decided to give this a whirl, everyone raves about it, so why not. when i was little, my mother and grandmother would bring french fries to all of our holiday meals and i would eat pinto beans, french fries and cornbread... i was completely spoiled, they probably should have let me starve and i would have learned to eat other things. also, i tried red velvet cake and loved it. who knew i had been missing out on such a treat.
december - eggnog, i tried my friend bayley's a few years back, but it was so bad, it can't be counted, so i tried some at our christmas get together in charlotte a few days ago, and it isn't bad. sorry bay:) i also tried a cranberry apple crisp of katie's at our thanksmas get together in raleigh and it was pretty good:) i haven't ever had cranberry sauce, so i thought that i would try the crandberry apple crisp instead, hehe.
other foods that i have added to my diet, that i absolutely love in 2010: pineapple, avocado, i like pepperoni and sausage on my pizza (i am laughing at myself - i used to just eat cheese), i love fruit smoothies, and soups.
i hope this has provided you lots of entertainment. don't worry i still have issues with mixing foods, but i am working on it. i still can't stand for my food to touch, but i am a work in progress. so glad God made me this way, so i can provide humor to all of my family and friends.
my list for 2011, 29 things coming soon:)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
what a fun birthday, 28 is going to be a good one:)
so, when i started thinking how i wanted to celebrate my 28th birthday, i immediately thought that i wanted to do something old school, something fun, something that wouldn't make me feel 28... so of course i thought, roller skating. last year we tried to go ice skating, but it got rained out, so i played it safe with an indoor skating activity this year. so, emily and kasey rallied up the troops in charlotte and lindsey rallied the troops from home (my two best friends) and we all headed to get ready, Texas Roadhouse, and then to skating.
we went to eat first, and they made me sit on a saddle and screamed to the whole restaurant that it was my birthday, now when i was younger, this would have been fine, but as i get older, not so much. i was truly mortified, but all in good fun, right.
after dinner, we had to kate's skating rink... it was family fun night at first and there were kids everywhere, but they quickly left and we were able to skate around and have a great time. everyone was able to pick it up, just like when we were kids. i had so much fun with so many of my friends.
kasey even made me a cookie cake, so delicious:) so thoughtful.
on saturday, i went home for lunch at bbq king with my family and we celebrated:)
i had one of the best birthdays, and i am excited for what 28 holds.
thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special:)
we went to eat first, and they made me sit on a saddle and screamed to the whole restaurant that it was my birthday, now when i was younger, this would have been fine, but as i get older, not so much. i was truly mortified, but all in good fun, right.
after dinner, we had to kate's skating rink... it was family fun night at first and there were kids everywhere, but they quickly left and we were able to skate around and have a great time. everyone was able to pick it up, just like when we were kids. i had so much fun with so many of my friends.
kasey even made me a cookie cake, so delicious:) so thoughtful.
on saturday, i went home for lunch at bbq king with my family and we celebrated:)
i had one of the best birthdays, and i am excited for what 28 holds.
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| love you em |
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| three of my best friends on the other side of the table |
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| table 2, logan, jason, and christine |
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| table 2: doug, grant, cheryl, and jerusha |
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| so mortified, trying to laugh my way through it |
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| in the 6 year old party room with my cookie cake kase made me:) |
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| skating fun |
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| love it |
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| everyone but dusty, as he was taking the pic:) |
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| celebrating with my fam, my daddy |
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| my sweet moma |
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| my sister:) |
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
thankfulness to continue
on the 30th day of november, i am thankful that i did this. i think doing this has made me realize that i should stop and be more thankful everyday, not just the month of november... i have so much to be thankful for, and i need to be praising God everyday for the many blessings in my life. after all, i would be nothing and have nothing without HIM.
today specifically, i am thankful that i am able to provide for others during christmas time. today, my friend jenn and i bought christmas presents for a little 3 year old whose mother and older sister live in a domestic abuse shelter. my friends from home (9 of us) for the past two year now, have decided instead of buying each other gifts, we will all go in together and buy christmas presents for a family... we all divide out the members of the family and what they want, and it is such a good way to give back. i hope that we continue this tradition, as comparatively speaking, we are so blessed.
happy december, my favorite month of the whole year:):):)
today specifically, i am thankful that i am able to provide for others during christmas time. today, my friend jenn and i bought christmas presents for a little 3 year old whose mother and older sister live in a domestic abuse shelter. my friends from home (9 of us) for the past two year now, have decided instead of buying each other gifts, we will all go in together and buy christmas presents for a family... we all divide out the members of the family and what they want, and it is such a good way to give back. i hope that we continue this tradition, as comparatively speaking, we are so blessed.
happy december, my favorite month of the whole year:):):)
birthdays galore
on the 29th of november, i am thankful for birthdays this week... today was my friend natalie's birthday, so i met her and her adorable little boy (4 wks), lewis james for lunch at mcalister's... tomorrow, the 30th is one of my best friends in charlotte's birthday, kasey... we are going to harry potter... and then on friday it is my birthday, don't worry we are taking it back old school and going roller skating. i cannot wait, seriously, so much fun.
i love making people feel special and loved on their special day:) i think i kind of go into overdrive a bit, but hopefully all of my friends know how i am. for my birthday, all i really care about it that i have a fun night with my friends, as we all get older and busier, it means so much to me to have fun with my friends.
happy day!
i love making people feel special and loved on their special day:) i think i kind of go into overdrive a bit, but hopefully all of my friends know how i am. for my birthday, all i really care about it that i have a fun night with my friends, as we all get older and busier, it means so much to me to have fun with my friends.
happy day!
my church
so, on the 28th day of november i am thankful for my church. when i moved to charlotte, a little over 2 years ago now, i didn't really know anyone in the area. my friends from home and family were an hour or so away, so i knew that i faced an uphill battle trying to get to know people my own age, with the type of job that i have. i knew i wanted to find a church immediately, so the 2nd church i visited was forest hill:) i immediately felt as if God was calling me to stay and give it chance... what a huge blessing FH has been to me... i have grown tremendously in the past two years spiritually (from seeds planted by people i have met there and from messages I have heard), i have met lifelong friends, i've enjoyed the two lifegroups i have been in, and i really LOVE volunteering in the nursery on sundays. those little precious kids playing and loving every sunday, brings so much joy to my heart. to know that i can serve, by giving a parent a sunday off, makes it all worth it. i know one of my gifts is working with children, and during this time of being single and not having children of my own, i will serve and play/love on others children:)
who knows what the future will hold, but for now i am thankful for the church i've been attending for the past 2 years and what God has done in my life since I moved to charlotte:)
who knows what the future will hold, but for now i am thankful for the church i've been attending for the past 2 years and what God has done in my life since I moved to charlotte:)
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