Saturday, August 21, 2010

wow. just, wow.

first off, an update to my 22 by 22 list...

1. read the Bible in its entirety
getting further and further behind. but God will give me power to keep on.
2. run 500 miles in one year
mileage: 112. but i haven't ran in over a week. :( (pulled hamstring)
3. go horseback riding
i could only dream at this point.
4. save $2500 for my future
you better believe it. i am almost half-way!!!
5. become a 4.5 tennis player
i'm going to have someone rate me during/at the end of this season. i'll find out. =)
6. collect all spare change for missions
this goal might be dropped. but i have picked up a missionary to support for $10/month, which isn't much, but more than i have done in the past!
7. cut down my closet/clothes
i sold some to plato's closet. AND i have given away more than 2 boxes to goodwill. i am down to the clothes that i will actually wear regularly. GREAT success.
8. go to a Ben Folds concert
not yet, but shane wants to hit one up around his birthday
9. read 20 new books
i think i had read 2 before this update, and i'm currenly reading harry potter 3, but i want to finish ALL of them by the time we get married next june. how i will do that during school and student teaching, i'm not sure...
10. find a new favorite band
done. the weepies. amazing. and perfect for my running style.
11. go to a Frontier Ruckus concert (or 5)
unfortunately not. and it's going to a be while until i do. but maybe they will take me up on the house-party offer i had last spring.
12. grow my hair to the middle of my back
it is well past shoulder length. =) and no cutting until thanksgiving. (unless my split ends get unruly.)
13. touch ground in 10 states
michigan, indiana, ohio, pennsylvania, new york, new jersey
14. feel confident in a swimsuit
this has potential to happen soon, except swimsuit season is practically over. doesn't mean i'm done working on my body though.
15. collect pieces from garage sales/flea markets and transform them for my future home
mirror, sconces - done.
16. continue taking piano lessons and perform for church
i took two from dukes this summer and already got significantly better. AND danielle and i have duet music for a christmas piece to play at church. =)
17. memorize a book of the Bible (longer than one chapter)
this has not happened one bit yet. i think that a chapter is good way to start for now. =/
18. memorize that same book of the Bible in Spanish
likewise.
19. ride a new rollercoaster with my hands up for every moment
DONE. =)
20. teach JJ (my niece) how to play tennis
haven't started yet. need to sooooon.
21. teach JJ how to speak 20 meaningful sentences/phrases in Spanish
ive taught her: "dejame en paz" and "hazme azmuerzo" (leave me alone & make me lunch!) =)
22. plan my perfect wedding
my dress - done, photographer - done, girls' dresses - almost, reception look - done, this is all in very good progress.

in other news - tomorrow (today, really) i start pre-season with my tennis girls. it's my last tennis season, my last semester at school, so many lasts that i'm NOT ready for one bit. i'm the type of person that LOVES college - absolutely everything about it. sure, i look forward to the summers - but i am always ready to go back. i love class, i love playing a sport, and i LOVE living with my best friends. PLUS - it's not the real world. i don't have financial issues, i don't deal with job loss, i don't have to worry - because i'm surrounded by goodness and life seems beautiful.

i'm very excited about this tennis season, as i have mentioned in past posts. i'm excited to see what God can do through me as a servant and minister on the team. i'm excited about the new girls and the new chemistry our team is going to have. and how excited the other girls on the team are and how we can feed off each other to really make this year different, to make it great. tomorrow's the day that i present my "lessons from montana trip" to the team and really talk about my objectives for this season and the commitments that i have and want them to have for the team. i'm not ready at all to present this. and it's well, 12:30 am. and i have a million and a half other things to do before that. i need to pray about that meeting, and really have God give me the words and inspiration to help us all to have united spirits and committed minds for this team, for this season.

okay - that paragraph was not at all what you wanted to read. sorry - i just needed to type it out, it helps me.

so i packed up my room these last few days. everything. tomorrow, when i fill up my car (and i mean REALLY full) i will have 95% of my belongings with me, 0% in my room at home, and about 5% in my closet, stacking in neat piles of boxes, crates, and madness (which are mostly teaching supplies and textbooks for my future classroom.) it's so weird to really think that this is the beginning to the rest of my life. i know that everyday is the beginning really, but seriously - this is how shane and i look at it:
today - move to college for preseason.
beginning of september - start 1st semester...thanksgiving break...end of semester.
1 month at home: substitute teaching/working at target.
january 17th: move to chicago for student teaching.
may 6th: finish student teaching.
may: home to substitute teaching, final wedding plans, etc.
june 3: get married and start my life in the real world. (after the honeymoon of course. =))

it's crazy to thing that just 9 months from now i will be married, living in chicago, with the MAN OF MY DREAMS and just being. being together. together. =) boy, does that make me happy.

and with that note - i will blissfully fall asleep, and wake up, teach my last week of sunday school, pack the rest of my car, drive to school, see my fiance, and move into my apartment.

God, You are good. so good. help me to see it and live it at ALL times.

Monday, August 2, 2010

i missed the 1st.

i missed my "august 1st" post yesterday, so here it is.

first of all - my challenge to you (my readers, followers, or guests). my current mileage is... 94 (i think. i don't have the piece of paper right in front of me because i'm not at home, but it is VERY close to that number, if it is not exact.) i challenge you all out there, to beat me in my next 100 miles. who can beat me to 200?

to give you an idea of how fast i will get there - i have been working on my first 100 miles since april 15th. i missed many days, but still managed to get to where i'm at in 3 1/2 months. i am behind schedule to reach 500 in a year however, so i plan to pick up my pace (as i have since my june post, you may have noticed.) also, i do run more miles that i used to, averaging over 2 per day. BUT - do not be discouraged.

here's why. #1: i am about to enter my pre-season/season very soon. 3 weeks to be exact. let's just supposed that i'm not going to want to play tennis for 6-8 hours a day and then go run too much. #2: your rules are a little different. you can run AND/OR walk. now you don't have an excuse. who can turn down a competitive challenge to walk more miles than i run? it's a win/win situation. you'll be getting exercise, probably shedding pounds/inches, AND you'll probably beat me to it.

so, who's in? comment on here (or on the post via facebook) and let me know if you are up to the challenge. at least give it a shot, please. i need some friendly competition to push me on. if you take me on, i will keep in weekly (if not daily) contact with you to let you know how i'm progressing as well to keep you accountable and know how you are doing. please leave me a way to easily and frequently contact you. let's get the race on. :)

in OTHER news... nahh, i think i'll save the rest for another post. coming soon. (NOT in a month... at least i hope.)

EDIT: you probably want more incentive, right? i forgot to mention the prize. if you beat me in the next 100 miles, i will buy you a $15 gift card for the store or restaurant of your choice. (i would prefer to buy you a target gift card, because it would be boosting sales, but i'll leave that to you.) :)