Update #6

Well overdue for an update (as usual) and nothing too exciting took place in the last 4 months, so I will make an effort to do some interesting things before the next update.

#226 wash my car by hand

This is not my car.  But I didn't take a picture months ago when I did wash it, and if you saw it now you would think it's disgusting.  Which is exactly why I didn't want to buy a white car.  So my continued apologies to anyone who has to look at my filthy car.  You can be encouraged that soon I think it will be nasty enough that I will actually break down and go to a car wash.  Maybe.

#142 go to 10 Indians games (3 done)

Last event with our previous youth pastor Josh, so it was no surprise that he ended on a non-boring note.  Headed downtown with a bunch of high school kids for the game and got there in time to see the last couple of outs in the top of the first inning.  And then it rained, and rained, and rained...you get the picture.  After hanging around for about an hour, we decided to head to the mall so the kids could actually enjoy themselves for a while.  When we finally wandered back over to Victory Field, the game was just starting back up after the 3+ hour rain delay.  Great seats for the rest of the game, and another great memory of the fun we have despite less than ideal circumstances.

#236 take a spa day

Sad that Hols and I weren't able to make it a spa day together and it took me 6 months to finally get around to using my Groupon, but it was fantastic.

#141 go to 10 Colts games (4 done)

Managed to make it to 2 games (thanks, Mom!) with my dad.  While the first game was great because Indiana gold medal winners David Boudia & Tamika Catchings were there, it was even better getting to see Andrew Luck's historic first win in person.  Yeah, he's pretty good.

Game 2 was another one that was too close for comfort, but it's been exciting to watch them scrap out wins. And a nice job by the Indiana Wesleyan Chorale singing the national anthem.

#65 read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Definitely an entertaining read!  I loved how everything was told from a devil's perspective and spoke so much truth about how we're tempted and the lies we're made to believe.  A great quote from The Screwtape Proposes a Toast:

"The great sinners seem easier to catch.  But then they are incalculable.  After you have played them for seventy years, the Enemy may snatch them from your claws in the seventy-first.  They are capable, you see, of real repentance.  They are conscious of real guilt.  They are, if things take the wrong turn, as ready to defy the social pressures around them for the Enemy's sake as they were to defy them for ours.  It is in some ways more troublesome to track and swat an evasive wasp than to shoot, at close range, a wild elephant.  But the elephant is more troublesome if you miss."

Update #5

#179 caddy for Keynote's 100 Holes of Golf

Yes, I am holding a hockey stick at a golf event.  That's normal, right?  I had a blast caddying for Travis at Keynote's annual fundraiser.  Because the Willmans are such overachievers, we actually played 248 holes.  It was a long day, but so much fun getting to spend the day with an awesome group of people and bonding with my baby brother.

#187 go on a picnic

These are some of the lovely ladies (Dasha, Cassidy, Brielle, Rachel) in my girls group.  We enjoyed beautiful weather at Fort Harrison State Park where we toured through the museum, went on a hike (only got slightly lost), and enjoyed a delicious picnic.  Love these girls!!

#165 play in an ultimate frisbee game

Picture pending...

While this wasn't the highest quality game (pick-up with the high school youth group), I chose to use it for the blog since it was a rather interesting evening.  First we watched a squirrel fall from a tree, lay stunned, run back up the tree, fall again, then slowly die.  Then during the game I took a chin directly to the eyeball.  Luckily it was only sore for a week or so and didn't leave me with a black eye like one of the boys received that night.

#20 read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Hooray for vacation and having time to read!  This year I made it through 3 books.  Jane Eyre is one of my roomie's favorite books, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it too.  I had seen the Masterpiece Theatre version, but the book was even more interesting and had a lot more about her childhood and background.

#26 read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Another classic that did not fail to disappoint.  I will have to be sure to follow up it up with Gregory Peck in the movie now.  Fun fact that I learned: this was the only book she ever had published.  Not a bad record- one book published, one Pulitzer Prize won.

#74 read Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff

I have to admit that I probably annoyed Sarah & Ashleigh as I sat by the pool constantly giggling as I read this.  He puts a hilarious spin on so many aspects of the Christian life.  I'm a terrible blog follower, but his is one that I should read each day just to start my day off on a great note.  Here's a great one that is hilarious, but so true to life: Surviving Church as a Single

#189 eat Indian food

We're doing a series called Cater with the youth group right now, so we're having a different ethnic food each week.  I don't remember what all it was- a couple of kinds of chicken, some lamb- a good mix of curry & spices.

#288 find the right hat (in process)

This update is simply to provide entertainment for Holly & her Wigger House girls.  Let it be stated for the record that my love for others trumps my personal dignity.
The search continues...

1 Year Down, 9 to Go...

My 30th year was definitely a busy one as I crossed off 45 things on my list.  I guess that means I can slack off for the first half of my 31st year then!!  Seriously though, it's been a blast having people participating in my list and giving me new ideas to add.  Here's what rounded out the first year and here's to another great year!

#184 bake a pie

My friend Ashleyne requested that she participate in eating the pie, so she and her roommate Kristen were the recipients of my Double-Chocolate Meringue Pie.  It took a long time to make and it was late at night, so I got a little lazy with my meringue.  By the time we ate it the next day it definitely tasted better than it looked.  A crust made with Oreos, a chocolate ganache layer, and a cocoa meringue...which after it was cut basically looked like a pile of sludge.  So that is why I'm posting the picture of pre-cut pie.

#258 send snail mail

In January I started up a group with 9 sophomore girls from church.  My snail mail I sent was a letter to all of their parents sharing my heart for these girls.  I'm really excited about the opportunity to meet with them on a consistent basis- serving together, talking through life, and just having fun.  A good looking group of girls if I do say so myself.

#147 walk around Monument Circle

Yeah...such a natural, unplanned action shot.  Haha this one kind of happened by accident actually.  My roomie and I were downtown for the NFL Experience during Super Bowl week so we thought we'd get an easy one crossed off my list.

#68 read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Great book that we read this semester with our high school girls' group.  Donald Miller talks about the elements of a story and how to live a better story.  As part of the semester with the girls, the leaders all shared their stories, then the girls shared theirs in small groups.  It was definitely a great process to be able to look back and see how God has worked in each of our lives and how He is using our different experiences to shape who we are and who we are becoming.  Now the goal is to continue to live a bold, adventurous, meaningful story for Him.

#185 cook a dinner for 6

No better time to cook a dinner for 6 than to celebrate some of my single friends on Valentine's Day!  I had Creamy Chicken Casserole, Caesar salad, Raspberry Shimmer, bread with dipping oils, Decadent Chocolate-Hazelnut Torte, and little bags of chocolates for them.  We may have eaten way too much.

#286 buy a lottery ticket

I went up to Marion to hang out with Holly and her housemates, and we decided to find something to do off my list.  Since there were no craft fairs nearby and we weren't able to find me the right hat, we found something nice and easy to do instead.  And apparently it was my lucky day because I won my dollar back. Woohoo!  Thus ends my career as a gambler.

#213 go antiquing

The last time I hung out with Emily & Amanda Blake (former & current youth group girls) they gave me a tour of Pendleton.  This time we scheduled a trip back to Pendleton to do some antiquing.  Treasures Old & New had a rather wide variety of items- some that would definitely qualify as antiques and some slightly less so...although I guess Barney could count since he's a dinosaur.  We made friends with the owner and I had her pick out some possible things around $5 that could count as something "antique-y".  So I ended up with a cute little oil wick lamp, although I haven't actually lit it yet.

#253 surprise someone

My dad retired last month and the 5 Willman children threw him a surprise retirement party.  Although he had a hunch that something was happening, he was surprised by some of the family and friends that were able to make it.  We also had a really neat video made that had notes from his first & last bosses, his cousin out in New York, and videos from extended family in California & our Slovakian exchange student we hosted back in 1992.  I'm so proud of him and if anyone deserves an early retirement, it's him.  He's already exhausted by how busy his first month of retirement has been.  : )  My lovely family- with apologies to Holly for using a picture where her eyes are closed.


#140 go to 10 Pacers games

Even though they played a crappy game, it was great to finally get to a Pacers game this season, especially with good friends.  It was a Lucas Oil Family Night so for about $20 we got a ticket to the game, t-shirt, hot dog, chips, and drink.  Hooray for cheap entertainment.  They are a lot of fun to watch this year and it's great to have them back to playing  real Pacers basketball again.


#72 read Forgotten God by Francis Chan

My 6:30am (ouch) Monday morning women's group has been reading this book for the last few months or so...we tend to take our time and meander through books at whatever pace we feel like, so I don't really remember when we started it.  Francis Chan writes about the Holy Spirit- who He is, recognizing His presence in us, and discerning how we can daily be in step with the Spirit.  While some of the information was more basic and foundational, I found it to be extremely insightful and he made me realize that I really do not focus enough on the Spirit's role and leading in my life.

#263 make 10 pieces of origami

This actually was started on the night of our Valentine's dinner because it was too late and dark to go to climb a water tower or a silo.  Sarah provided the origami paper and the rest is history.  Behold my collection: elephant, 8 point star, crane, boat, box, panda, butterfly, tulip, frog, turtle.

And with that dramatic finish, the first year is finished.  A special shout-out to one of my high school girls, Maggie, for her creative suggestions to add to my list.  And just for her, I added "eat corn on the cob without using my hands" to the list.  Feel free to continue to throw your ideas into the hat.