"Didn't you have a blog?"

Yeah, I did.  And then I became lazy.  More like I just flat out forgot.  Apparently my one loyal reader (you can see her blog at Chard Times) has reminded (berated, cajoled, threatened) me that I should write on this and keep going with what I started.  Good call.

Well I do have 5 more things on my 30 before 30 that I didn't finish writing about.  That's a pretty good place to start.  My next post (I am being optimistic) will catch you up on what I have been doing that has prevented me from blogging.  Don't get too excited.   I am not that much of a thrill seeker :)



26. Kiteboard.
 I have wanted to kiteboard since I saw someone doing tricks on the beach as a highschooler.  I was impressed.  I get excited just watching this video.

27. Pay off my credit card debt.
On my way.  I am on a debt plan and only have 4 years to go to be debt free.

28. Be a part of a World Record.
Family legend has it that my great grandmother set a world record by being the oldest college homecoming queen in her mid-80s.  My family is clearly the best.  I don't know that I am ever going to be able to single-handedly set a record but I still have hopes that I can be part of a group attempt.

29. Swim with dolphins.
Well this would be self-explanatory.  Basic but fun!

30. Sponsor another kid through Compassion International.
I know that some people (ahem, Jessica) have come to my house and made fun of the pictures of the little black kids on my fridge.   I have to tell you though that sponsoring through Compassion International has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

This is Caroline, I have sponsored her for over two years.  She is 11 and lives in a town in Uganda.

This is Mwongeli.  I have sponsored her for a year. She is 9 and lives in rural Kenya.

I also correspond with Dwi (8 in Indonesia) and Benitho (20 in Haiti).  I do not financially sponsor Dwi and Benitho, I only write them letters because their financial sponsor chooses not to.

Writing and receiving letters from these children has completely changed and humbled me.  Caroline especially.  I have to tell you, that kid is smart as a whip.  She has written her letters to me in perfect fluent English since age 9.  I get about 5 letters and pictures from her per year. I sent her a little birthday money and she bought a goat.  I sent her family an extra $20 at Christmas.  They bought clothes, shoes, plates, and a mattress.  A mattress.  Caroline wrote that it was the first mattress they have ever owned and now they don't have to sleep on the dirt anymore.  Wow.  She is funny and smart and has a killer smile.  She wants to grow up to be a nurse.  I think she can.  One day, Caroline will possibly have the opportunity to go to college with the help of Compassion International.  I will have the opportunity to keep sponsoring her through.  And if that happens, you better believe that on the day my girl graduates from university in Uganda there will be a very proud white woman in that audience crying and cheering.

I could obviously go on and on about Compassion.  You really should just go check it out.  Their website is here.  They constantly get top reviews from Charity Navigator and are very transparent about their finances.

I hope to one day sponsor another kid.  Or to start saving up to put Caroline through college (sponsorship is more when they are in Compassion's Leadership Development Program) and fly to Uganda for her graduation.  Either way, I know that my involvement in Compassion is here to stay.

I FINISHED MY LIST!!!!!

Updates on other list items:
#8 Visit New Orleans again post-Katrina: heading there next week for work!  Will update when I get back.

#14 Create a list every year with smaller goals:  I have officially booted this off the list.  Too many lists to live by.

#17 Find a hobby:  Thanks to Pinterest, I have started getting crafty.  More updates to come.

#24 Take a Tae-Kwon-Do or Karate class: Justin and I start class in a couple of weeks once I heal more from surgery!

#25 Learn how to quilt or knit or something equally crafty from my mother: Oh she tried.  How she tried. And tried.  I can't knit.  Period. Exclamation point.  I looked like a baby t-rex.  My arms and hands wouldn't move properly.  Sigh.

Keep your fingers crossed that I will update soon!

Ughhh

Whoa life gets busy.  So, I failed miserably.  I haven't blogged in two weeks meaning that I did not put up my post of 27 things to accomplish before 27.  Unfortunately, I have misplaced that list so you will just have to wait until I put my hands on it to get my 27 Before 27.  Good thing is that I am starting to already accomplish several items on the list (at least what I can remember).  But, this is my blog, and I don't let failure in the door.  I have let that nasty guy in too many times in my life.  Not welcome here.  You will just have to make do with 5 more on my 30 Before 30.  Here you go:


21. Buy a kayak and use it!
I used to kayak some when I lived in Florida.  It is amazing exercise and an awesome way to get out there and experience nature.  I almost bought a kayak the other day, but then realized that kayaking isn't necessarily a single person recreation activity for me.  So either I need a kayak buddy or I need to convince the hubs that we should both take up kayaking.  This one could be a work in progress.

22. Move out of Macon.  Or at least have a plan.
Sorry folks, we will not be here forever.  Macon has been good to me.  Very good to me.  I just don't see this as the place where I will raise a family or be for the rest of my life.  Now where that place is remains a mystery.

23. Start grad school. Again.
I wrote this goal and then realized, "oh wait, I went to grad school." Yep, that didn't work out so well.  12 credit hours towards my degree and realized I hated the program.  Oh well.  I want to start grad school again.  This time in a program I want to be in.  This goes hand in hand with moving out of Macon.  I tried distance learning for grad school and it just wasn't for me.  So a big consideration in our far-in-the-future move is that I have access to a good graduate program.  I would like to get a Masters in College Student Personnel or Student Affairs.  Tennessee has a great program so who knows, maybe Knoxville?


24. Take a Tae-Kwon-Do or Karate class.
 I have wanted to do this since my little brother took classes when he was like 7.  I really have no deep explanation for this item.  I just really want to take one!


25. Learn how to quilt or knit or something equally crafty from my mother.
Hi Mommy!  You have skills, I do not.  This is not a secret.  Please transfer some of your crafty skills to your dunce of a daughter.  Did you know my mom is making a quilt out of all my old Chi O t-shirts?!  It's because she is amazing. . . and has mad skills. . . and because she loves me.  Teach me your ways.  (But slowly, and with lots of repetition because I am very slow at anything that is tangibly creative.)

I am not promising a new post anytime soon because obviously I cannot keep my promises.  You will get another one.  Eventually. 

Oh, and shout out to my little brother Jay.  He sets sail on Friday for the Bahamas.  He will be working as a deckhand on a 60 foot sailboat running charters for the next 5 months.  I am exceptionally proud of him and jealous of all the adventures he has coming his way.  Please pray for his safety and that he will learn and grow because of this experience.  Proud of you, buddy!
 

Yep, still alive

Wow, so this month has been crazy busy.  But yes, I am still here.  And VERY behind on my 30 Before 30 list.  So let's just jump right in.


16.  Have at least one baby.  Maybe even two.
Well, this is pretty self explanatory.  Any questions?


17. Find a hobby.
I have been trying to find a hobby my whole life.  I am hobby-less.  I am also not very good at hobby-like things.  I am going to see how many times I can write hobby in a paragraph.  I know that not all hobbies are crafty or artsy, but I feel like they are.  And trust me, I am no good at anything that is either crafty or artsy.  Somehow I missed that gene since most of my family is gifted in that direction.  I am taking recommendations for a hobby.  Hobby hobby hobby.  Ok, done now.

18. Read the Bible all the way through (even the lineage).
I have read all of the New Testament, but maybe only a third of the Old.  Probably because I get bored at the lineage.  I really would like to read the whole thing.  Even if it is in bits and pieces over the next 4 years.

19. Witness a flash mob or be part of one.
Ok, so I don't think that I will be able to plan the witness part.  Maybe I will just get lucky.  If all else fails, you will see me on Halloween 2014 doing Thriller in the streets of downtown Macon trying to accomplish this goal before I am 30.

20. Watch all 100 movies on Time's All Time 100 Movies.
7 down, 93 to go.  Apparently, I am severely uncultured. Movie night, anyone?

I will be quicker about putting up my next section.  Especially since one of my previous items was putting up a list for every year and my 26th birthday is in two days.  Hmmmm.  #21-#30 may come next week.  Hopefully you will get 27 before 27 this weekend.

Things that are good: birthday week and tag-a-long cookies.  They are even better together.

Let it be known...

Let it be known that I have the best parents in the whole wide world!  They came to my rescue today when they didn't have to and I am exceedingly grateful.  They are the best, seriously.

Ok, back to my 30 Before 30.  Apparently, there are a lot of places that I want to visit in my next 4 years.  So we are finishing up that and then moving onward.  I now present #s 11-15.

11. Go to Harry Potter World.
Does this even need any explanation?  Growing up near Orlando has given me a healthy dislike for theme parks, but I will make an exception for this one.  I need a wand and I want to drink butterbeer.  Don't judge. Accio broomstick!

12. Vegas.
I don't have a lot of interest in gambling although I am sure I could make the slot machine amateur circuit.  I just think I need to experience Las Vegas.  Is it bad that I primarily want to go for the people watching??

13. Go see 5 MLB teams play in their home stadiums.
Disclaimer: other than the Atlanta Braves.  I have been to Turner Field more times than I can count, but I have never been to any other field or stadium.  My plan is to combine this with visiting new states or my RV trip.  Justin is hoping that Yankee Stadium is part of this adventure.

Ok, done with the travel portion of this list. Moving on.

14. Create a list every year with smaller goals.
So, on February 26th (my birthday) expect to see a 27 Before 27 list with smaller goals.  I think I have a list problem.  I might need an intervention.  Or at least a 12 step program.

15. Plant a veggie garden.
This is going to be a big one.  Currently, I hold the title of Botany Angel of Death.  Part of what I do as the B.A.D. is wither and destroy any plant-like thing I come in contact with.  Or not even contact.  I just look at a plant and it turns brown.  However, I like veggies, especially fresh ones.  So, dangit, I will plant a veggie garden and it will live.  I am hoping positive thinking will help it grow; sort of like mind fertilizer if you will.  


#s 16-20 Coming Soon!

It's G-Nome, the G is not silent

It has been a long time (3 years to be precise) since I have come home exhausted and fulfilled by a weekend or week at Young Life camp.  A whole weekend full of crazy highschoolers, funny characters (like the G-Nomes), and so much fun.  This was the first time that I have been to Sharp Top Cove (or any YL camp for that matter) as an adult guest.  I think that makes me officially old.  We had an absolutely amazing time, and it was really incredible to watch my husband finally "get" YoungLife, what it does and what it means to me.  We are now talking about how we as a couple will support YoungLife here in Macon.  Amazing how things keep coming back to my One Word for the year ("invest").  Right now we invest in YL Macon financially as a couple but we are looking at how we can invest ourselves.  I am excited to do this with Justin.  I love the way my journey with YL has evolved since my friends dragged me to my first camp in 1997.

So, I have 5 more items on my 30 before 30 list to share with you.  This is the "go see" part of the list.  I mentioned that I wanted to travel outside the country before 30, but there are a lot of things I want to do in the USA in the next four years.  See my previous post for #'s 1-5.

6. See the Pacific Ocean.
I thought about this one for a while and wasn't sure whether or not to include it.  Now, I have been to the Seattle area and seen the Puget Sound, which I guess if you want to get technical could be considered the Pacific Ocean.  I am choosing not to count the Puget Sound for this experience.  I want to see the Pacific Ocean in all its wave crashing glory.  Cue Phantom Planet and the OC theme song... Californiaaaaa, Californiaaaaa, Here we commmmeee!!

7. Visit at least five new states.
I have had the opportunity to travel some within the US, but there are still a lot of states to go (30 to be exact).  I am placing on my list of "unvisited" states anywhere that I do not have a specific memory.  So, some of these states I have physically been in, but it just doesn't count if all I did was drive through it or have an airport lay over.  States left to visit: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming.


8. Visit New Orleans again post-Katrina.
I visited New Orleans in the winter of my junior year of high school.  It was an incredible vacation.  I traveled out there with my friend Jamie and we stayed with several girls that we met while working at YoungLife camp.  We did all kinds of fun things and ate until we almost exploded.  I know that so many things have changed after Hurricane Katrina hit, but on the other hand, the spirit of NOLA has remained.  I would love to go back and compare the city and my experiences before and after the storm.

9. Go to the Kentucky Derby.
I have visited Louisville my entire life.  About once a year growing up, we would jump in the minivan and head to Kentucky to visit all of the aunts and grandparents.  I would look forward to that trip every year.  It was always so much fun to go and visit Churchill Downs and go through the museum.  It was a special memory I had as a little girl.  When I was older, I got the special memory of being able to take my little cousins through the museum.  Before, I am 30, I want to dress up in my fancy hat and go see the big race that I have dreamed about since I was a kid.

10. Go on a trip in an RV.
I don't know why this appeals to me.  Not a clue.  But I really want to rent an RV and hit the open road.  Maybe I can combine this with visiting some of those states I mentioned in #6!

#s 11-15 coming soon! 

Who has a list for everything? Me! Me!

Confession: I will never stop being a planner.  I may be trying to live life a little fuller but that does not mean that I am going to give up my lists and spreadsheets.  Ask my husband, I have an unhealthy obsession with spreadsheets.  They make me happy.  I like agendas and lists and color coding things.  I am getting all worked up just thinking about it.

So it makes sense that I would create a list of things that I want to accomplish before I turn 30.  Which, strangely enough, I am on the downhill slope to.  I will be 26 at the end of this month, so that gives me about 4 years to accomplish what's on this list.  Some of these are serious, get-your-life together things.  Others are experiences outside of my comfort zone that I need to be pushed to achieve.  Others are some of my deepest hopes and dreams.  I am going to blog about them 5 at a time (in no particular order) so I can explain each a little bit.

Without further ado: my 30 Before 30 (#'s 1-5)

1. Travel outside the country.
I have been out of the country before: England when I was 10, and the Bahamas in 2008.  If I won the lottery, I would donate to charities and take care of all my debts as well as help out some family and friends, but I wouldn't buy anything material for myself.  I would pack up and travel the world.  I have the traveling bug but not enough money to pursue it.  So before I am 30, I want to travel outside the country again.  My top 10 places to go visit? Uganda (reason why coming in a future blog post), Greece, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Australia, Scotland, Norway, Brazil, Canada.


2. Interview my Grandmother and record her stories.
Have you met my Grandmother?  She is probably the coolest grandmother on the planet.  She taught me how to walk on stilts when I was ten and counts dirty words as double points in Scrabble.  She has traveled and lived all over the world.  She makes up stories for her grandchildren and then she even illustrates them.  She is whip smart and even at 80 she still studies because she doesn't think that you are too old to quit learning. Her house looks like a library and she organizes her shelves by putting authors next to each other that she thinks would have interesting conversations in real life.  Most of all, she has truly lived.  And her stories are amazing.  I have enjoyed listening to them for years and it would do the world a disservice not to have them recorded.

3. Fist pump at the Jersey Shore and meet a Guido.
You didn't think that all of these would be serious did you?  Actually, Justin is from Jersey and grew up relatively near "the shore" as he calls it.  He swears that he was not a Guido, but I don't know if I believe him.  Anyway, he has not been back up to Jersey since he moved away 6 or so years ago.  I would love to see where he grew up and what his life looked like before I was in it.  If we happen to take a detour by Seaside Heights, whatever. . .  GTL my friends.

4. See a musical on Broadway.
After all of my fist pumping in Jersey, I think I am going to need some culture. I have been to NYC twice, but never got to experience Broadway.  This is such a shame and needs to be fixed.  I will be looking to my friend Jenn W. for expertise and recommendations while accomplishing this task!

5. Run a 5K.
Time to get off my butt and move.  There was a point in my life (after a career ending tennis injury) that it hurt to walk and running was not even an option.  Lots and lots of conditioning and many years later, I was able to be active again although I will never be back to that pre-injury level.  However, I used the old injury as an excuse most of the time.  Time to suck it up, realize that I need to get active and be healthier.  Sure I have a weight loss goal, but I think I also need a fitness goal.  So, sometime in the next 4 years, I will run a 5K.  Without having someone chase me :)

Five more coming soon!

Life gets busy!

Ok, so life gets busy.  Really busy.  But, I said I was going to be serious about this blog and about my intentions to be less guarded and live my life a little more.  So I hereby give you (the 5 people who will read this) permission to nag me when I don't blog enough.

I mentioned that I was going to talk about my theme for this year.  I read a few blogs that challenged people to find a one word theme for the year.  I thought about it, prayed about it, made lists about it (because, oh, I am a list maker!) and finally felt something that made sense.  Invest.  That's my word: invest.

So for 2011, I will strive to invest in my marriage, invest in my relationships, invest in my journey with God, and invest in living my life.  It has been amazing how much that one word has already challenged me in the first month of 2011.  If you look at the tagline of this blog, you will see what finally inspired me.  I am not big on song lyrics and tend it find it corny when people are always posting lyrics everywhere.  That being said, Mumford & Sons new album Sigh No More has quite possibly the most amazing lyrics that I have ever heard.  I am addicted and dangit, they speak to me.  So now I join the corny lyric club.  Go listen to track #10, Awake my Soul.  There is a line that says "In these bodies we will live/in these bodies we will die/ where you invest your love, you invest your life."   Stupid meaningful lyrics. 

So there it is.  My theme this year.  Investing my love in what I do and who I see.  I anticipate that this will not be easy or always comfortable.  Even trying to be more aware of it for a month was intense. 

Coming up next time: the first 5 items on my 30 before 30 list.  If I don't post this soon, nag me.

Welcome and Why

Hello friends!  Yes, I am blogging.  Here I am.  I have wanted to do this for a long time, but just haven't felt a pull as to what I should be blogging about.  So, here I am.

After lots of thought, and consultation with other bloggers (looking at you, KM), I think I finally have found some clarity.  Any of you who know me know that I think a lot, I plan a lot, I look forward a lot.  So that's what this blog is about.  My goals, dreams, plans.

One event tipped me into finally setting this thing into motion.  January 1st was the 5 year anniversary of the death of one of my very good friends.  I went to Savannah; I laid carnations on her grave like I have done many times before.  And this time, for the first time, I smiled while I cried.  And as I drove away, I laughed.  That evening I went to her parents house for a party.  I ate oysters, drank champagne, and watched the way her parents (who I now consider my bonus parents) have embraced their life.  I thought about Jenn.  I thought about the way that she lived.  Living doesn't even seem like enough of a word for this girl.  Delight, flourish, relish, savor.  Those are better words for how she went about her 19 years on earth.

Five years ago, I thought about how I would take that spirit of Jenn's and put it to work in my own life.  I was always a little too guarded, a little too safe.  Spontaneous would be the last word you would use to describe me.   So now, I reflect on how I am doing with that concept.  I give myself a C+.  Average.  I decided it's time to take a more active step to living my life.  I don't just want to live.  I want to delight in it, flourish as a person, relish my experiences, and savor my relationships.  That's what you are going to find chronicled on this blog.

Here's what you will see coming up on These Cherry Streets (sounds like a soap!).  I am working on a list: 30 before 30.  30 large things that I want to accomplish in the next 4 years.  Big dreams and amazing experiences.  I am also going to post on my one word theme for 2011.  It's been two weeks into the new year and this word has already challenged me.  I will share my experiences: funny, ridiculous, failed, and flawed.

So, follow me.  I am counting on you to help me on this trip.


Belt it out in my car song of the week:

Love it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be
There is a design, an alignment, a cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be
 -"Sigh No More" Mumford & Sons