J and I went hiking up in Chicopee Woods awhile back. J is not one for sticking to paths and I am not one to bow out too easily. Since beginning this list, I have at least tried things out. Now, I may have chickened out afterward but you gotta start somewhere.
In this first hiking trip, J decided he wanted to cross a tree that had fallen across the creek instead of taking the well built bridge designed specifically for us to use. No surprise. And close behind was me... slightly freaking out and trying not to show it. J crossed the tree with no problem. I started and along come a couple of awkward hikers trying to cheer me on. Oddly enough, it made me feel even worse. That whole patronizing... "Come on, you can do it!" that you give toddlers when they are taking their first steps. I got about half way and just couldn't do it. I managed to sit down and then scoot the rest of the way. What a doofus! It was then that "walk across a tree bridge" became part of my list.
This day though... We had listened to a service at church about Optimism vs. Pessimism. This particular service focused on having Eternal Hope, Eventual Hope & Everyday Hope. It's a great message (check out 12Stone.com to watch/listen to the message - shameless plug, I know).
Anyhow, that afternoon we decided to go hiking again at Chicopee Woods. Early into our hike, we came across a fallen tree over a small creek. It seemed like a good place to start as a way to cross this off the list. Well, the trunk was a bit too weak to carry me and I chickened out. It wasn't just a matter of me sitting and scooting. I just quit. I gave up, turned around and headed for the bridge. I was so frustrated and deflated. In my head, I kept thinking "I am never going to do this. It's never going to happen." And then bits of the message came to me and my thoughts changed and out of my mouth came "I'm going to eventually make it across a tree bridge." It really felt so liberating to just say those words. They freed me up of the weights that were keeping me down.
Not long after, we came across the same tree bridge that had defeated me before. J asked if I wanted to try it again. I felt a bit more confident thinking "This tree is MUCH wider than the one I just tried. I can probably do this."
I started across it... Slowly... Very slowly.
J followed closely behind. Quietly encouraging me. One step at a time I got closer to the other side. One step at a time I realized I was further along than I was the first time I tried. One step more and I made it. I let out a huge breath. My heart started beating again. And then we realized we didn't have a picture of it. ... dang.
It wasn't good enough to stand at the end and get the picture. I walked halfway back. Managed to turn around and got the documentation I needed to 'prove' I had really done it.
How wonderful that admitting it led me to eventually doing it? I had in my head that I would eventually, one day down the road, be able to accomplish this. I know that many things do not happen as quickly. Eventually could be 22 years - like Joseph waiting to become second in command of Egypt. Luckily for me, 'eventually' was today. It was great. I hope I remember this attitude during times when eventually feels like never... I hope you do, too.
TASK #12 ... COMPLETED 3/14
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
#1 Eat an oyster
EAT AN OYSTER
Tonight was date night. J and I hit up a new place called Floataway Cafe and decided to go all out. Appetizers, drinks, dessert. I noticed oysters on the menu and we decided to go for it. For an oyster eating virgin like myself, our server recommended going for the "beau soleil oyster on the half shell with champagne mignonette*". Don't worry. I have no idea what it means either. The best part is that the asterisk actual leads you to fine print "*contains raw shellfish". Really?!! hahahaha...
Anyhow, it was pretty tasty. Not at all like a big glob of snot (which is what I have been led to believe most of my life). We followed it up with crab fitter (like a little taste of heaven), quail (absolutely amazing), and a lemon pudding cake (felt only slightly sinful). Actually, that's what J had. Well, I guess I know what to order next time!
(Picture to be posted shortly. Hint, Hint)
TASK #1 ... COMPLETED 1/29
Tonight was date night. J and I hit up a new place called Floataway Cafe and decided to go all out. Appetizers, drinks, dessert. I noticed oysters on the menu and we decided to go for it. For an oyster eating virgin like myself, our server recommended going for the "beau soleil oyster on the half shell with champagne mignonette*". Don't worry. I have no idea what it means either. The best part is that the asterisk actual leads you to fine print "*contains raw shellfish". Really?!! hahahaha...Anyhow, it was pretty tasty. Not at all like a big glob of snot (which is what I have been led to believe most of my life). We followed it up with crab fitter (like a little taste of heaven), quail (absolutely amazing), and a lemon pudding cake (felt only slightly sinful). Actually, that's what J had. Well, I guess I know what to order next time!
(Picture to be posted shortly. Hint, Hint)
TASK #1 ... COMPLETED 1/29
Friday, January 1, 2010
#14 Skip Stones
SKIP STONES
Today, the kids and I met the Moats' along with another family at Freeman's Mill Park. We went down by the dam to explore. We all had such a great time. All the kids started skipping stones. One of the Moats twins had a grand skip of seven!! I often wonder how I ever lived my life at the mall. It seemed every weekend went like this: "What should we do today?" "I don't know. I guess we'll just walk around the mall." Boy was I missing out.
It had been years since I tried to skip stones. Today I had one amazing skip (about 6). Just today in general was a good list worthy day. The kids and I went with some new friends and another family we don't know well to go to a new park. Especially watching Katy today was amazing. She wanted to climb everything and explore everything. She wasn't afraid of getting dirty and didn't worry so much about getting hurt. I was so proud. A list worthy day for her as well (if she had a list).
It was after all this that I decided skipping stones was list worthy. J and I do not have our 100 things listed out yet but today was definitely worthy of it.
Thanks to the Moats' there is some video evidence and the first thing for 2010 is now complete. :D
TASK #14 ... COMPLETED 1/1
Today, the kids and I met the Moats' along with another family at Freeman's Mill Park. We went down by the dam to explore. We all had such a great time. All the kids started skipping stones. One of the Moats twins had a grand skip of seven!! I often wonder how I ever lived my life at the mall. It seemed every weekend went like this: "What should we do today?" "I don't know. I guess we'll just walk around the mall." Boy was I missing out.
It had been years since I tried to skip stones. Today I had one amazing skip (about 6). Just today in general was a good list worthy day. The kids and I went with some new friends and another family we don't know well to go to a new park. Especially watching Katy today was amazing. She wanted to climb everything and explore everything. She wasn't afraid of getting dirty and didn't worry so much about getting hurt. I was so proud. A list worthy day for her as well (if she had a list).
It was after all this that I decided skipping stones was list worthy. J and I do not have our 100 things listed out yet but today was definitely worthy of it.
Thanks to the Moats' there is some video evidence and the first thing for 2010 is now complete. :D
TASK #14 ... COMPLETED 1/1
The 2010 List
1. Eat an oyster... COMPLETED 1/29
2. whitewater rafting
3. Participate in a 5K
4. Throw a party
5. Go out of the country
6. Learn a song on the piano and/or guitar
7. Talk to a non-believer about Christ
8. Enter a bike race
9. Go on an overnight backpacking trip
10. Get Married
11. Get scuba certified!
12. Walk across a tree bridge
13. Go on a train ride
14. Skip stones ... completed 1/1 :)
15. Go mountain biking
16. Learn to juggle
17. Knit something
18. Have an all night movie marathon
19. Learn about another religion
20. Write my will
21. Paintball
22. Read Paradise Lost
23. Go to a college football game with the kids
24. Play kickball
25. Go to a drive-in movie
26. Play in a Texas Hold'em game
27. Play laser tag
28. Snowboard/surf
29. Learn to make a new balloon animal
30. Learn to drive stick shift
31. Play in the mud
32. Make a music video
33. Go to a haunted house
34. Learn how to rock the cradle with a yo-yo
35. Ride a mechanical bull
36. Write a poem and read it aloud to an audience
37. Surprise a friend
38. Get a makeover
39. Go to Savannah
2. whitewater rafting
3. Participate in a 5K
4. Throw a party
5. Go out of the country
6. Learn a song on the piano and/or guitar
7. Talk to a non-believer about Christ
8. Enter a bike race
9. Go on an overnight backpacking trip
10. Get Married
11. Get scuba certified!
12. Walk across a tree bridge
13. Go on a train ride
14. Skip stones ... completed 1/1 :)
15. Go mountain biking
16. Learn to juggle
17. Knit something
18. Have an all night movie marathon
19. Learn about another religion
20. Write my will
21. Paintball
22. Read Paradise Lost
23. Go to a college football game with the kids
24. Play kickball
25. Go to a drive-in movie
26. Play in a Texas Hold'em game
27. Play laser tag
28. Snowboard/surf
29. Learn to make a new balloon animal
30. Learn to drive stick shift
31. Play in the mud
32. Make a music video
33. Go to a haunted house
34. Learn how to rock the cradle with a yo-yo
35. Ride a mechanical bull
36. Write a poem and read it aloud to an audience
37. Surprise a friend
38. Get a makeover
39. Go to Savannah
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sitting by the Fire with Donald Miller
Christmas this year just doesn't have the same feeling it usually does. I will spend tomorrow and Christmas Day with my 'new' family but my family is gone. The house is too quiet. We celebrated Christmas two weekends ago and it was great. Now, I just keep seeing statii (my designated plural for status) about everyone spending time with family. I'm not really in the mood right now. Am I having a little bit of a pity party? Probably. I've come to grips with that. I've looked several times online to find last minute flights so maybe I could be with my family. No such luck. Christmas time = permission to jack up prices.
In the meantime, I'm nestled on the couch by the fire with Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz. Tonight though, I'm reading his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.
I'm not quite halfway through the book and find the timing oddly coincidental. From the moment I finished the Author's Note, I knew this book would change things some how. Change me. The premise of the book keeps circling back to this statement: "The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, then it won't make a life meaningful either."
As a society, we spend so much time working. We focus so much on the money we need for bills or the money we want for the hottest new electronic. We forget that these are not the things that make life meaningful. When we read a book or watch a movie, we don't want to see someone working all the time in order to make the next mortgage payment. We want to fall in love with the characters, see them face conflict head on and watch them celebrate in the end. Our hearts break. Our eyes fill with tears. Our mouths let out cries of victory at the end of the films with which we are engrossed.
But are we taking the steps to have these moments in our own lives? If our lives were movies, how would we feel if the credits rolled at this very moment? Would we walk away feeling like the $10 we just spent was wasted?
This year, 2009, has been one of unbelievable changes for me. December 31st, when the credits roll for 2009, I will walk away feeling like I got a multi-Oscar award winning film at a dollar movie theatre.
So as I sit here tonight with Donald Miller and the glowing embers of a once brilliant fire, I am brought out of my self-pity. I move forward in quiet reflection and begin to think about the things that will make up my next story, the next role I will play and the next year's worth of stories to tell others. Because every year, on December 31st (and eventually on my last day when the credits really do roll), I want to feel like everyone I know got their money's worth to be part of this story.
My prayer is that you all have that same feeling.
In the meantime, I'm nestled on the couch by the fire with Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz. Tonight though, I'm reading his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.
I'm not quite halfway through the book and find the timing oddly coincidental. From the moment I finished the Author's Note, I knew this book would change things some how. Change me. The premise of the book keeps circling back to this statement: "The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, then it won't make a life meaningful either."
As a society, we spend so much time working. We focus so much on the money we need for bills or the money we want for the hottest new electronic. We forget that these are not the things that make life meaningful. When we read a book or watch a movie, we don't want to see someone working all the time in order to make the next mortgage payment. We want to fall in love with the characters, see them face conflict head on and watch them celebrate in the end. Our hearts break. Our eyes fill with tears. Our mouths let out cries of victory at the end of the films with which we are engrossed.
But are we taking the steps to have these moments in our own lives? If our lives were movies, how would we feel if the credits rolled at this very moment? Would we walk away feeling like the $10 we just spent was wasted?
This year, 2009, has been one of unbelievable changes for me. December 31st, when the credits roll for 2009, I will walk away feeling like I got a multi-Oscar award winning film at a dollar movie theatre.
So as I sit here tonight with Donald Miller and the glowing embers of a once brilliant fire, I am brought out of my self-pity. I move forward in quiet reflection and begin to think about the things that will make up my next story, the next role I will play and the next year's worth of stories to tell others. Because every year, on December 31st (and eventually on my last day when the credits really do roll), I want to feel like everyone I know got their money's worth to be part of this story.
My prayer is that you all have that same feeling.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
#20
WEAR A BATHING SUIT AND FEEL GOOD IN IT
So... I may not have been able to wear a bikini and look like the girls in Sports Illustrated - Swimsuit Edition. I did realize what it meant to wear a bathing suit and feel good in it.
First off, whether you are a size 2 or 20, spend the money to get a good quality bathing suit that is flattering to YOUR figure. I can tell you right now that those cute little string bikinis with the triangle tops are NOT flattering on me. I am not a tiny girl. In fact, I'm a little top heavy. All those little bathing suits do is show way more of the girls than should be seen by anyone except my future husband and make me realize that I am NOT a Victoria's Secret model.
What self-respecting woman would subject herself to that?! Definitely not me.
More than anything though, feeling good in a bathing suit is about feeling good about who you are. Being confident with the body that God gave you and saying "Hey, I'm a REAL woman. I eat three squares a day. I haven't shopped in the Juniors section of a store since I was a freshman in high school. I am happy with who I am." It is that attitude right there that makes a woman sexy. Not the clothes (or lack thereof).
If you aren't happy with where you are physically, then do something about it.Not because you feel the pressure of the airbrushed society we live in. Get yourself to a place where you feel healthy, vibrant, energetic and confident. Because confidence is attractive to everybody!
TASK #20 ... COMPLETED
(Below): With my step-brother, Reuben before we swam with sharks at Typhoon Lagoon (ooh. That should have been a bonus!)
So... I may not have been able to wear a bikini and look like the girls in Sports Illustrated - Swimsuit Edition. I did realize what it meant to wear a bathing suit and feel good in it.
First off, whether you are a size 2 or 20, spend the money to get a good quality bathing suit that is flattering to YOUR figure. I can tell you right now that those cute little string bikinis with the triangle tops are NOT flattering on me. I am not a tiny girl. In fact, I'm a little top heavy. All those little bathing suits do is show way more of the girls than should be seen by anyone except my future husband and make me realize that I am NOT a Victoria's Secret model.
What self-respecting woman would subject herself to that?! Definitely not me.
More than anything though, feeling good in a bathing suit is about feeling good about who you are. Being confident with the body that God gave you and saying "Hey, I'm a REAL woman. I eat three squares a day. I haven't shopped in the Juniors section of a store since I was a freshman in high school. I am happy with who I am." It is that attitude right there that makes a woman sexy. Not the clothes (or lack thereof).
If you aren't happy with where you are physically, then do something about it.Not because you feel the pressure of the airbrushed society we live in. Get yourself to a place where you feel healthy, vibrant, energetic and confident. Because confidence is attractive to everybody!
TASK #20 ... COMPLETED
(Below): With my step-brother, Reuben before we swam with sharks at Typhoon Lagoon (ooh. That should have been a bonus!)
#21
SEND OUT CHRISTMAS CARDS
I never would have thought when making this list in January that the Christmas cards I was sending out would also be "Save the Dates" for my wedding. WOW! Talk about full circle.
I remember imagining my Christmas cards as being some photo taken of me and the kids at some point in the fall. Definitely NOT the professional engagement photos with me, the kids, and my fiance. It seriously blows my mind! Can you tell?
I'm pretty excited because I've never sent Christmas cards in my life. My parents may have sent some when I was younger. If they did, I do not remember being a part of the process (e.g. no family photo taken, no placing of stamps or licking of envelopes).
Figuring out together which photos to choose, the layout of the photo card and the wording wasn't that stressful either. I love that we are a part of everything. We don't have just ONE person in charge of things. Each of us tend to take charge of certain things but we always run it by the other. True partners. :)
TASK #21 ... COMPLETED 12/2
I never would have thought when making this list in January that the Christmas cards I was sending out would also be "Save the Dates" for my wedding. WOW! Talk about full circle.
I remember imagining my Christmas cards as being some photo taken of me and the kids at some point in the fall. Definitely NOT the professional engagement photos with me, the kids, and my fiance. It seriously blows my mind! Can you tell?
I'm pretty excited because I've never sent Christmas cards in my life. My parents may have sent some when I was younger. If they did, I do not remember being a part of the process (e.g. no family photo taken, no placing of stamps or licking of envelopes).
Figuring out together which photos to choose, the layout of the photo card and the wording wasn't that stressful either. I love that we are a part of everything. We don't have just ONE person in charge of things. Each of us tend to take charge of certain things but we always run it by the other. True partners.
TASK #21 ... COMPLETED 12/2
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