A Midweek Brain Dump

It's been a month since my last post and I feel like it's been only a couple of weeks!

I am sad to be missing Blogtember this year. I followed it for a couple of years before I participated in its entirety last year. I had every intention of joining in this year, but it just hasn't happened. I've been working really hard, for once in my life, to let myself go more slowly than usual. And, for right now, that means no Blogtember. However, I am going to make the effort to start blogging once each week. First, I miss sitting down and having some "fun" writing time and, secondly, blogging is just a fun way of connecting with people. And, really, third, the English writer part of my loves having a journal to look back on and, in a culture of oversharing, why not make my journal public for the entire world to see, right?

Part of letting myself go slower than usual is choosing to focus on doing a couple of big things well and then make time for a few smaller things as time allows. My current graduate program (which I don't think I have ever actually talked about) has been much more challenging than I anticipated and I have not risen to the challenge on all occasions. This semester I am taking a class on literary criticism and, so far, I am really enjoying it. Lit crit was one of my favorite classes as an undergrad and I attributed it largely to my professor. Whether or not it was entirely him, I am really enjoying my second go at this class as well. Getting my Master's degree in English was something I never anticipated doing, but I am grateful for the opportunity as it has presented itself!

Maybe it's the fact I have started my sixth year of teaching and have finally figured things out a little bit, maybe is the nonconventional class schedule that actually gives me time away from students during the day (I promise that's not as bad as it sounds), or maybe I'm just riding a stroke of luck, but I am not feeling entirely overwhelmed by my job at the beginning of this school year. Things are not perfect by any means at all-- heck, I'm already dreadfully behind in grading in two of my classes and I basically flew by the seat of my pants this last week as (virtually) every free (and not-so-free) moment from Wednesday to Friday was filled with meetings of one sort or another.

After I stepped off the plane from Dallas, post-Poland, this summer, I was of the mindset that the next time I stepped on a plane better not be in the next decade. However, I have made it about two months before the Wanderlust and desire to "Go" has reared its beautiful head again. I fly to Pittsburgh next month for a work conference, so I'll get my airplane fix. But that won't satiate the desire to "go!" Although I did "go" to Grand Forks this past weekend to celebrate Kelly's birthday! Currently inter-continental travel destinations include Seattle and Banff National Park. Current global destinations include Iceland, Sweden, and back to Thailand. What I wouldn't do for some passionfruit, pad thai, and murgh makhani right now.

May your week be blessed!

Five Friday Things: Clothes, Facebook, Email, Simplicity, and Plans

One. I love Pinterest and the ability to build my virtual closet at no actual cost to myself. Too bad I spend most of my time pinning outfits that are just not practical for Bangkok. If I lived in northern Thailand, I would be able to get away with some of these outfits. But, alas, I live in the tropic megalopolis, so all cozy outfits will have to remain on Pinterest. I'm currently loving this outfit...


These riding boots in black...



This necklace...


This bag... 


This versatile top... 


Two. Earlier this week, my Facebook notifications were up to something like 50+ after just three days of not logging in and I couldn't handle it. I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook as it is, but then seeing that made me want to run from the corner and not come out until all was back to normal. I finally put on my big girl pants and dealt with it but uffda.

Three. Along with my Facebook being out of control, my emails are currently out of control. I am working on switching over from Hotmail to Gmail (I know, shun me), but even within Gmail, my inboxes are insane. Part of getting a grip on life again is getting my inboxes under control. Yesterday, I was able to get my graduate school account under control. I am going to conquer my work email next. My personal email will just have to wait and continue to haunt me for the time being.

Four. I haven't been homesick per se as of late, but I have really been missing the simplicity of North Dakota. I daydream about driving my own car, about quickly running to the grocery store after work, about leisurely strolling around outside and not breaking into a fierce sweat. Yesterday I went to Home Pro, a glorified home improvement store, and found myself wishing I could go to Menard's and shop around for a project. Like I said, I'm not really homesick, but I am missing a more simple way of life.

Five. I am off to the beach this weekend! I'm also looking at tickets to Singapore and seeing how I really don't have many more free weekends until June! I can't believe how the spring has filled up already but I'm looking forward to everything to come!

A. Liz Adventures/Carolina Charm

Hello! Happiness/The Good Life Blog

The Farmer's Wife/September Farm

A Little Bit of Everything

Grace and Love/Momfessionals

Reflections Thus Far

I find myself daydreaming of 2016. What a fresh start the new year will bring. I know the new year will have its hurts and challenges and struggles all the same, but it also brings with it newness, beginning, and potential. I am choosing to focus on the latter right now.

I think this will be the first summer since 2010-ish that I will not have a wedding of a close friend or sibling. But I know of three babies due in the new year. Crazy how babies tend to follow weddings, no? Instead of getting married myself, I will keep scouring Pinterest for pictures of dogs and overly expensive handbags, thankyouverymuch, while also looking forward to snuggling those little babes and thinking of ways to spoil them without upsetting their parents too much.

But all this looking ahead to the future has me thinking about the past. I think part of what has made this last year so difficult is, for the first time, I finally feel like I am in "real life." In 2011, I was going through a transition every couple of months and had yet to settle in to anything. In 2015, I am in my fifth year of teaching, I have my own apartment with accompanying bills, and I eat sweet potato chips and hummus for supper if I want to. I am not in a honeymoon phase in life-- this is my life.

Life is broken and beautiful and messy and simple, but rarely is it ever one thing at a time. I have truly relished trying to make the most of this December and I have enjoyed it so much. I'm looking forward to seeing family at the end of the week although I can hardly wrap my mind around such. Contrary to my initial plans, I have not been back to the airport since I landed in July. But, like many things, I am really hoping to fix my lack of travel in this upcoming year. I'm currently investigating the likes of Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and maybe a touch of Europe as well.

I am also finding some life in my work again. Granted, I am at an easier point of the semester, but I am looking forward to beginning work again in January. This first semester simply flew by and I know I missed so many opportunities. I am hoping the spring semester will be much different and I will make the most of what I have left with my students before their exams and graduation.

Babies, traveling, and students-- all things that will make a wonderful 2016-- even when life is real!

13||Tis the Season As They Say

Create a collage or inspiration/mood board for this season in your life.

mine/via/mine

I am living overseas, but life cannot stop until life goes "back to normal." 

I am not a teacher at an elite college prep high school, but I find my identity in so much more than my profession. 

I start graduate classes again in two days, but I am more than a graduate student.

I am a single, almost 30 Christian gal, but I refuse to be defined by my relationship status or my age.

In so many ways, my life has completely changed since moving to Thailand, but in so many ways, it is entirely the same. I don't have to work too hard to maintain an American lifestyle here in Asia and I find myself guilty of such all too often. I still feel like I am trying to figure out what it means to be a grown up, I still act like a kid much of the time, I still have my faith, I still have a job, and I don't anticipate any major events for awhile, so what, then, is my season of life?

I really don't mean to be difficult... I just find myself truly questioning what my current season is. I am in Thailand until something else comes along and, until then, I suppose I am in the most stable season of life I have been in for awhile. So, regardless of what this season may or may not be, I share three of my biggest focuses in life right now.

First, growing relationship with Christ. I am in a completely different place in life and faith and understanding than I ever anticipated for myself, even more so in the last ten months. I am a Christian in a predominantly non-Christian nation and I am literally equipping the next generation of world changers. I feel such a burden for my students, their families, this nation, our broken world. How do I continue to live out my faith in a way that glorifies God and makes Him known outside of the direction faith instruction so many of my students shirk?

Second, learning to live life. I am a perpetual planner. I enjoy lists and calendars and plans but I am learning to embrace change and spontaneity (ahem, moving to Thailand?!). Sometimes embracing life means just the little things at a moment in time but sometimes it means the big things. A student wants to meet for lunch on my busiest day of the week? Yes, because this may be the moment she really needs somebody to give her the time. Take a night bus to see a new Thai site? Let's do it! Stay in Thailand a possible five years to set myself up for financial success post-30? Five years may seem like a lot now, but as soon as my debt is eliminated, I know I will be grateful. Sometimes it's the big things and sometimes it's the little. But if not now, then when?

Finally, blooming where planted. I had a blog before this one and I called it "Bloom Where Planted." I have always struggled with living life where I am for the moment. I was ready to move to college at 16, ready to be done with college at 20, and ready to retire at 24. Well, not really retire, but the first four years of teaching where so tough. Additionally, the older I get, the more I come to understand just how broken, ugly, and painful the world is. I am ready for my heavenly home. But until that day comes, I will do my best to bloom where God has planted me much like that poppy made its home at the base of my parents' driveway in the sea of concrete.

All that to say, I don't really know what season of life I am in, but I'm going with what I have and making the most of what has been placed before me.

Soli deo Gloria.

The 2015 Blog-Tember Challenge. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6. Day 7. Day 8. Day 9. Day 10. Day 11. Day 12. Day 13.

12||Currently...

What are you up to currently?

Reading... Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling, I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, and assorted graduate material for my upcoming class on Monday!
Playing... catch up on grades. Story of my life.
Watching... NCIS. I'm looking forward to BBT and Grey's starting back up soon!
Trying... get caught up on laundry and get packed up for my pending move!
Cooking... roasted vegetables. I am (so very slowly) making the transition to the Paleo lifestyle and I'm currently eating assorted oven roasted vegetables like the are going out of style. Oven roasted garlic makes everything so much better!
Eating... too much sugar. I wish I were kidding but I have a serious sugar addiction that I need to break ASAP.
Drinking... kombucha. I've boarded the hippie train quite a bit in the last couple of years and I started making my own fizzy tea drink just a couple of weeks ago. My current batch is blueberry flavored and I enjoy my daily tea! And I'm also drinking coffee. Just always assume I am drinking coffee. And water. Lots of water. I just like to consume liquids, I guess.
Calling... nobody? I have a strong distaste for talking to people on the phone. I called my mom earlier this week as well as the apartment rental agent and that's twice as many phone calls as I usually make in a week.
Texting... Kelly. My sister. Amy. My mom. Anybody who will talk to me! As much as I dislike talking on the phone, I love me a good text session. If Kelly or I am awake, we are pretty much texting. One of the best purchases my parents ever made was the unlimited texting option for our family phone plan. I make sure to get my money's worth!
Pinning... Anything and everything. I have been pinning quite a bit of food, clothing, and travel. I love me some Pinterest!
Tweeting... Instagram? Does that count? I check Twitter multiple times each day, but it's mainly for news. I don't tweet much myself.
Going... somewhere for October break but still need to figure it out. Current frontrunners are Indonesia, Myanmar, and northern Thailand. Thoughts?
Loving... that I finally feel a little confidence in myself in regards to my job. I still have so much to learn and have so far to go, but I am finally, in my fifth year, rocking some clarity and understanding in my daily work.
Hating... mornings. And a new one comes each day. Can't we get a break on weekends or twice a month or something?!
Discovering... the joy that is life in Thailand. Last year I was so overwhelmed with a new country and its language, a brand new job, and trying to write a thesis proposal that I was not able to enjoy my new surroundings in the fall. This year, I feel so much more at peace and wonder with everything going on in life right now!
Thinking... about grad school starting again on Monday. I am excited to get back into the routine of classes and studying.
Feeling... excited for my Saturday dinner plans with some lovely girls from school and the potential of seeing a movie with my closest friend in Thailand!
Hoping (for)... a productive and rejuvenating weekend. I have so much to accomplish and get caught up on... The correcting never ends. #Whampwhamp
Listening (to)... Adele Radio on Pandora. Yay for friends who help me get Pandora overseas!
Celebrating... the potential of moving downtown in the very near future! Bring it #36!
Smelling... the many smells of BKK. Some are so good, some are so bad. As one friend put it during his visit in March, Bangkok is definitely a full-sensory experience. 
Ordering... Christmas presents! I formally began my Christmas shopping this week and it was so fun to start!
Thanking... God for this life I get to call mine. It's broken and imperfect but so much is still so beautiful and I wouldn't trade it for another one, even if I had the chance.
Considering... what my new budget is going to look like with my move. I'm definitely still living within my means, but my monthly expenditures are shifting and until they settle into a routine, I'll be thinking and wondering how things will actually shake down.
Starting... the C25K program for what feels like the 500th time. I really would like to do the BKK Color Run at the end of October, plus I just need to get myself back into shape.
Finishing... this blog post. Even though it was a lot of fun, it was also a lot more difficult than I expected and I am glad to finally be at the end.

What are YOU up to currently?

The 2015 Blog-Tember Challenge. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6. Day 7. Day 8. Day 9. Day 10. Day 11. Day 12.

10||Ten Items Off My Bucket List, BKK Style

10 items off your bucket list. If you haven't made one, now's a good time to start!

I have started doing some more purposeful dreaming about what I would like to do, accomplish, and experience during my time in Thailand. I am a list maker, namely because I forget anything that I haven't physically written down. (Case in point- I have a "30 Before 30" list I am currently working on and I also have a more traditional bucket list that I haven't made entirely public yet.) I have wanted to start a Thailand-specific bucket list for quite awhile but I really didn't even know where to start or what to put on it. After having lived in Thailand for a year, I feel like I have a much better idea of things I'd like to do. Much of my list is travel, but that's not the all of it. Without further ado, my Bangkok (BKK) Bucket List.

Travel:
1. Conquer Malaysia.
2. Visit Singapore.
3. Visit Sukothai.
4. Visit Ayutthaya.
5. Visit Vietnam.
6. Visit Hong Kong.
7. Visit Korea.
8. Visit Cambodia.
9. Visit Laos.
10. Visit Burma.
11. Visit Bali.
12. Visit Japan.
13. Visit the White Temple.
14. Motorbike the Golden Triangle.
15. Visit Krabi.
16. Visit Wat Arun.
17. Visit Wat Pho.
18. Visit the Grand Palace.
19. Visit the Karen long-neck people.
20. Visit Chiang Mai.
21. Visit Chiang Rai.
22. Visit India.
23. Climb the Stairway to Heaven.
24. Visit the Fingerprint Building.
25. Visit Wat Samphran.
26. Visit Indonesia.
27. Visit Asiatique.

Lifestyle/culture:
28. Document Chatachuk Market.
29. Have high tea in Malaysia.
30. Take a cooking class.
31. Learn to speak Thai competently.
32. Find a church home.
33. Spend a day riding the river taxi.
34. Have a picnic at the King's Park.
35. Take a run through the Queen's Park.
36. Move downtown and live the big city life.

Souvenir:
37. Get a bamboo needle tattoo.
38. Build fabric stash for my table runner project.
39. Spend a day at an elephant sanctuary.
40. Buy a motorcycle scooter.

Education:
41. Read five (5) books on Thai history, customs, culture, etc.
42. Visit five (5) Thai museums.
43. Become a properly licensed international driver.
44. Read five (5) books set in Thailand.
45. Read five (5) books set otherwise in Southeast Asia.
46. Read Lonely Planet Thailand.

Serving people:
47. Sponsor a Thai child through Compassion International.
48. Get involved in a volunteer capacity in a social justice service opportunity.

49.
50.

I am still looking for two items to make my list an even fifty, but I am not too worried about something coming along. Adventure is never too far away in life. However, if you have suggestions for something I should add, either Thailand/SE Asia-specific or otherwise, I am always up for suggestions. Please share! 

I bolded my top ten items I am either currently working on or looking forward to accomplishing the most!

Follow Aubrey McNary's board Living in the Land of Smiles on Pinterest.

The 2015 Blog-Tember Challenge. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6. Day 7. Day 8. Day 9. Day 10.

30 Before 30, v.27.0

I am a full two years into this journey and I find it crazy to see how life has happened in the last six months. I definitely feel older with this 27th birthday, but I also feel the same as I always have been. Bring it on 27... I'm ready and waiting.

1. Finish my Master's degree. I have my thesis proposal defense scheduled for Friday and have been given June 19 as my date of final completion!
2. Knock out Baby Steps 2 & 3. I am struggling. Sadface.
3. Complete the C25K program.
4. Build my blog to 100 followers.
5. Take an international vacation... alone.
6. Coach in a state basketball tournament.
7. Buy a nice camera to document life's adventures. I need to figure out how to use my camera and then document this post!
8. Read and notate through the Bible five different times, in four translations (NIV, NKJV, ESV, NASB).
9. Run a marathon.
10. Hit my goal weight (160 pounds... Dream weight is 145 pounds).
11. Do something really nice for somebody... something I never thought I'd be able to do... somewhere, at sometime.  Something has been done and I'm leaving it at that.
12. Send out snail mail Christmas cards one year.
13. Read 100 new (never before read) books. 1Fat Angie. 2Single Infertile Female: Adventures in Life, Love, and Infertility. 3Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn. 4The Help. 5Monster. 6The Book Thief.7Eat, Pray, Love. 8Same Kind of Different as Me. 9Winning Balance.10Thirteen Reasons Why. 11Zack's Lie. 12Water for Elephants. 13The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 14The Girl Who Played With Fire. 15The Language of Flowers. 16The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. 17Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. 18Jack's Run. 19Gone Girl. 20My Sister's Voice. 21The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet-- A Memoir. 22Divergent. 23The Fault in Our Stars. 24Inferno. 25The Time Keeper. 26Arranged. 27The Anti-Prom. 28The Boyfriend App. 29Going Vintage. 30Deception Point. 31The Tyrant's Daughter. 32Hollow City. 33And the Mountains Echoed. 34Unbroken. 35Calico Joe. 36Insurgent. 37The Memory Keeper's Daughter: A Novel. 38Allegiant. 39Looking for Alaska. 40The Hurricane Sisters: A Novel. 41An Abundance of Katherines. 42The Lovely Bones. 43If I Stay. 44Where She Went. 44Paper Towns. 45Night. 46Will Grayson, Will Grayson (46/100)
14. Try at least 30 new recipes. 1Knoephla Soup. 2Parkerhouse Rolls. 3Broccoli Salad. 4Caramel Rolls. 5Jello Salad. 6Garlic and Parmesan Brussels Sprouts. (6/30) Bad blogger alert. I hosted a large dinner party last fall and never blogged about the evening or my recipes. This will happen, though!
15. Write 500 notes of encouragement to those around me. (5/500)
16. Go skydiving.
17. Crochet a baby afghan.
18. Have a photo shoot done of myself... Insecurities set aside.
19. Go on another missions trip. This one may be in the works. Details are being worked out right now.
20. Complete a semester of calculus.
21. Earn my permit to carry a concealed weapon.
22. Sleep a night under the stars.
23. Get three stamps in my passport. (1/3) I have two international weekends booked in the upcoming two months!
24. Make a kite and fly it.
25. Achieve complete financial independence. Although I am currently struggling pretty hard with #2, I can see that I am slowly but surely moving to total financial independence.
26. Take a dance class.
27. Tear a phone book in half.
28. Solve a Rubik's cube.
29. Learn to swim.
30. Visit New York City... Perhaps for a 30th birthday celebration?

12|| Many Summers in Medora

Tell us about a favorite tradition. It could be a family tradition or from a holiday, university, you-name-it. What makes it so special?

My favorite family tradition is our annual getaway to Medora, ND. I know my mom knows the exact number of years we have gone but I have recently lost count. I know we have gone (at least!) eighteen summers in a row.

I still remember the moment mom and dad told us we we're going to Medora for the first time. I'm pretty sure it was the summer before I went into fourth grade. The picture above is from one of those first summer we went. I still remember the shirt I was wearing. I also had another one in the same pattern, but it was in shades of greens and purples. My habit of buying the same shirt in every available color started at a young age. #Sorrynotsorry

We have done most everything Medora has to offer throughout the years. I am in my third-ish year of college and my sister and I ran the Bully Run that morning. I enjoy walking around to the various shops and just being there. Things move a little slower in Medora and I don't mind one bit.

Another evening at the Burning Hills Amphitheater. I wish I had a better view of the scenery. And the sky. Dear heavens-- the stars are just amazing.

When we first started going to Medora, they had a shooting gallery. A couple of years into our summer sojourns, the shooting gallery closed and our hearts were broken. But just a couple of years ago, the shooting gallery appeared again and you can bet your bottom dollar #Punintended that it is again one of our most anticipated stops. I'd also like to point out that these two shooting gallery pictures are from two different years, three years apart. I am just wearing a purple shirt both years. See my above comment about buying the same shirt in different colors? I also buy the same colors over and over again. #IknowwhatIlike

As our family has grown in size, more people have joined us on our summerly adventure. Sometimes we go for a weekend, sometimes for just a couple of hours, but the popcorn and musical remain the same. It's the people and the memories that count.

2|| Happiness, A Little Re-Post

Write about what makes you happy, from the little joys to the huge game-changers.

This spring I wrote 32 Things that Make me Happy. I am reposting those 32 things today, not because they are the only things that make me happy, but because they are still so true. Please enjoy!

One. Living in a part of the country with four seasons. As much as I am OVER the snow right now...
Two. Having grown up in North Dakota-- I love the rolling plains and wide open skies!
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(via)

Three. Waking up early each Thanksgiving morning for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Four. Seeing a student finally make a connection and get something.
Five. Standing in a gym on a Friday night while hearing basketballs bounce and smelling the popcorn.
Six. Hearing the first crack of a baseball bat each spring.
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(via)

Seven. Finding a new pair of shoes that fits just right.
Eight. Looking down at my gas guage and knowing that today is a day I will not have to stop and fill up.
Nine. Crawling into my bed at the end of a long day knowing that it was a day lived and spent well.
Ten. Being able to see as many different places as I have.
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(via)

Eleven. Realizing the fact I am living in God's will and purpose for my life as a teacher.
Twelve. Seeing my family together around the dinner table.
Thirteen. Sitting around a bonfire on a summer evening.
Fourteen. Getting completely lost in the stars of a night sky.
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Fifteen. Driving through the countryside in the summer and fall evenings.
Sixteen. Updating my planner for the next day... Especially when I've been productive!
Seventeen. Folding laundry that is still warm from the dryer.
Eighteen. Putting the last piece of said laundry away.
Nineteen. Holding a baby.
Twenty. Eating supper that I have had time to make myself .
Twenty-one. Spending the first, crisp fall night watching football.
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Twenty-two. Relaxing in the recliner and catching up on my Tivo-ed shows..
Twenty-three. Catching one of my favorite movies on network TV for no reason at all.
Twenty-four. Smelling the first evening spring rain.
Twenty-five. Jogging outside on a cool, still night.
Twenty-six. Submitting the last assignment for a class and knowing it's all out of my hands.
Twenty-seven. Browsing Pinterest and obnoxiously feeding my wanderlust habit.

Twenty-eight. Realizing that I have found a book I simply can't put down.

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(via)

Twenty-nine. Dreaming of all life can be but knowing it's everything it's supposed to be right now.
Thirty. Shopping online and then waiting for the packages to arrive!
Thirty-one. Knowing we have only 34 days left in this school year!
Thirty-two. Living my life with the knowledge that it is not my own. I take such security in that!

30 Before 30, v.26.5

 As of today, I am 1.5 years into this journey. I'm making progress in some places but I can really see where I need to pick it up here in the next couple of years!

1. Finish my Master's degree. One more academic year! At this time next year, I will be done!
2. Knock out Baby Steps 2 & 3. Still. working. on. Baby Step 2. Oi vey.
3. Complete the C25K program. This is another changed goal. I have started this program many times but have never finished it.
4. Build my blog to 100 followers. Again, a change to the program. I've been praying about the purpose of my blog and I'm excited to see what God does with it in the next couple of years!
5. Take an international vacation... alone.
6. Coach in a state basketball tournament.
7. Buy a nice camera to document life's adventures. Done! I purchased a Sony DSC-RX100 before I moved this summer. Now I just need to get figuring out how to use it.
8. Read and notate through the Bible five different times, in four translations (NIV, NKJV, ESV, NASB). (0/5)
9. Run a marathon.
10. Hit my goal weight (160 pounds... Dream weight is 145 pounds). Still working on this. I don't have a scale with me right now but I feel better than I have in a long time so I'm feeling better than were I had been.
11. Do something really nice for somebody... something I never thought I'd be able to do... somewhere, at sometime.
12. Send out snail mail Christmas cards one year.
13. Read 100 new (never before read) books. 1Fat Angie. 2Single Infertile Female: Adventures in Life, Love, and Infertility. 3Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn. 4The Help. 5Monster. 6The Book Thief.7Eat, Pray, Love. 8Same Kind of Different as Me. 9Winning Balance.10Thirteen Reasons Why. 11Zack's Lie. 12Water for Elephants. 13The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 14The Girl Who Played With Fire. 15The Language of Flowers. 16The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. 17Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. 18Jack's Run. 19Gone Girl. 20My Sister's Voice. 21The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet-- A Memoir. 22Divergent. 23The Fault in Our Stars. 24Inferno. 25The Time Keeper. 26Arranged. 27The Anti-Prom. 28The Boyfriend App. 29Going Vintage. 30Deception Point. 31The Tyrant's Daughter. 32Hollow City. 33And the Mountains Echoed. 34Unbroken. 35Calico Joe. (35/100)
14. Try at least 30 new recipes. (0/30)
15. Write 500 notes of encouragement to those around me. (3/500)
16. Go skydiving.
17. Crochet a baby afghan. I still haven't found a pattern I liked so this one is back on the shelf.
18. Have a photo shoot done of myself... Insecurities set aside.
19. Go on another missions trip.
20. Complete a semester of calculus.
21. Earn my permit to carry a concealed weapon.
22. Sleep a night under the stars.
23. Get three stamps in my passport. (1/3) I'm obviously back in Thailand, but I'm waiting to get some travel plans going so I can get a couple more stamps!
24. Make a kite and fly it.
25. Achieve complete financial independence.
26. Take a dance class.
27. Tear a phone book in half.
28. Solve a Rubik's cube.
29. Learn to swim.
30. Visit New York City... Perhaps for a 30th birthday celebration?

Start date: February 15, 2013
End date: February 15, 2018