Getting caught up on books...

Since after 4 years I was little behind the pace on the number of books I've read, I'm making an effort to get caught up a little bit. My problem is that I keep reading books that aren't on my list. : )

#32 read 1776 by David McCullough

This was a really interesting read on the Revolutionary War. He provides you with such extensive information from all of the research he did, but he still makes it an enjoyable read that really focuses on the historical figures and their roles throughout the war. You get so much insight into the people, military strategy, and other details because of the vast number of letters that were written by people back then. The book (obviously) focuses on the year 1776, but then quickly summarizes the rest of the war in a few pages. The book ended unexpectedly because the last 70 or so pages are just his source notes and bibliography! My dad said he needed to find out how the war ended so he bought another book (which will probably get added to my list). It was one that McCullough said that he drew a lot of information from.

#113 read Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

I went into reading this book thinking that afterwards I would really want to cook my way through Joy of Cooking like she does in this story. Dead wrong. Those recipes sounded ridiculously time-consuming and complicated and it made me tired just reading about how late her meals were finished most nights. I didn't love this book, but it did make me want to go watch the movie again. And just read more about Julia Child. That's probably why I didn't like the book as well- Julie Powell is really not that endearing as a lead character (to which she would frankly say she doesn't care what I think) and it was kind of depressing to read online about what her life and second book were like (to which she would once again tell me she doesn't care what I think...and then probably cuss me out). But Julia Child is awesome. And Meryl Streep as Julia Child is also awesome.

#143 go to a Fever game

Aunts are creepy. But we are tons of fun! This was a belated Christmas present for Lily and it was the first Fever game that I've been to. I was bummed that Tamika Catchings wasn't playing since it's her last season before she retires, but you are now looking at...

#262 set a world record

a world record holder!!! This ended up being a nice easy way to set a world record. The crowd set the record for the most people lighting glow sticks simultaneously. Side note: seriously, how was this record so low before? You can read about all of the excitement here or check out the official info on the Guinness site here. Sorry, I did not spend the $25 to purchase an official certificate to post on my blog.

#249 bury something

I thought about taking guesses from people about what I'm burying. But there are about 15 of you that read this blog and several of you already know the answer. It's a treasure chest. Obviously. Holly and I (emphasis on Holly) planned a scavenger hunt for our friend Liz's golden birthday (she turned 30 on the 30th of June). There were 30 different clues with various tasks or puzzles that she had to complete. Lots of fun little prizes and food throughout, four square and basketball competitions, a dance routine created, mystery guests, a giant homemade slip & slide, a pulled hamstring by my older brother as he sprinted across the yard for what was going to be a legendary attempt on said slip & slide, and lots of other fun things. The final clue was a treasure map that led Liz to a tub full of awesome stuff that was buried in my parents' backyard. It was pretty epic and we are very open to being hired out to plan one for you!

#100 read Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead
#101 read Tuck by Stephen R. Lawhead
#102 read Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead

The King Raven trilogy is one that that my friend Josh had recommended and I really enjoyed it. If you're looking for the Robin Hood story to be told in exactly the same way that you've heard it before, you're going to be disappointed. The author explains that in his research, this is what he believes is more true to the actual events. The story takes place mainly in Wales and the characters and background also vary. King Richard & Prince John, Nottingham- these all came about from the story being tweaked by traveling minstrels to fit the characters and location to what the audience was familiar with. It was a pretty quick read and good action throughout.

#170 play paintball
Sorry, forgot to take a picture. I had played paintball once before, but it had been over a decade ago. We had a family camp with our church down at Camp Challenge. Their course was a lot of fun for the 10 or so of us that played. Plus it's a whole lot of fun to give other people (especially my high school kids!) welts and bruises. I escaped mainly unscathed, although I had a slight scare when I ducked around a barrier and found a wasp's nest right in front of my face. Needless to say I ducked right back out from there in a hurry! The bum knees make it hard to kneel or squat for any length of time, but I had a blast.

#229 buy stock
I was not planning on investing in a whole pile of stock, so I thought I'd just make it kind of random and fun. So I took my love of sports, and the Colts in particular, and found something that was kind of neat. Apparently there is a thing where you can actually buy stock in a handful of athletes...including Jack Mewhort, offensive lineman for the Colts! Maybe not the soundest investment, but I thought it was kind of cool. Check it out here on Fantex.

See you in another 3-4ish months!!

4 Years Finished!!

Four years have really flown by! Except of course when I have to blog...then the days drag on and on until I finally get it done. Here's what I've been up to:

#86 read Radical by David Platt
I don't even know where to begin with this book. I could write pages and pages about all of the challenging, convicting things he has to say about "taking back your faith from the American Dream."

"For the sake of more than a billion people today who have yet to even hear the gospel, I want to risk it all. For the sake of twenty-six thousand children who will die today of starvation or a preventable disease, I want to risk it all. For the sake of an increasingly marginalized and relatively ineffective church in our culture, I want to risk it all. For the sake of my life, my family, and the people who surround me, I want to risk it all."

And that is my desire. My desire is for this to not just be another challenging, convicting book. My desire is for it to actually have a lasting impact on my heart and mind. My desire is to recognize my deep need for God, realize my responsibility to share my God and his message with the world, and to let him completely infiltrate my actions and entire being.

So what does all of this mean for me practically? I don't completely know, but in his book David Platt puts forth his Radical Challenge:

So my challenge to you is to use one year of your life to radically alter the remainder of your life.

• pray for the entire world (operationworld.org has a daily guide with specific information for each country)
• read through the entire Word (I had already started this)
• sacrifice your money for a specific purpose (see #231 create a new budget)
• spend your time in another context (praying about where/what this will look like for me)
• commit your life to a multiplying community (continuing to pour into (and be poured into by) my small group and the high school ministry)

#123 take a spontaneous road trip

This blog post basically wrote itself since this day was so ridiculous. I was off for President's Day (yay for government holidays!) and my roommate Sarah had taken the day off so we could go visit the Indy art museum before they started charging admission. Luckily (or perhaps not), she checked ahead of time before we drove downtown and found out that they were closed because of the holiday. As a backup, we decided to spontaneously drive to Cincinnati to visit the aquarium. Sounds great, huh? Well...turns out they were having a bit (read: several inches) of snow. And they apparently don't plow their roads. Still we made it there in pretty good time despite some blowing and sliding around on the highway. And then we saw this:

Needless to say it was after noon. Ridiculous. So we trudged on in our adventure so our road trip would not be a complete waste. After a delicious Thai dinner and trips to IKEA and Jungle Jim's, we were ready to celebrate saving our trip. However, we still had to drive home in crappy weather. After multiple slides and scary close calls, we finally got out of the snow and within 45 minutes of home...at which point we hit some black ice on a bridge, spun around, and hit headfirst into a guardrail. Yeesh. Thankfully, people stopped to help us, the sheriff's deputy was really nice and helpful, the car was still driveable, and aside from some whiplash for me, we were both fine. In the end, all it took was 11 hours out of my life to get this one crossed off of my list. From here on out though, when asked if I want to do something spontaneous, the answer is no. I will stay home and read a book instead.

#231 create a new budget

As part of the Radical Challenge, I also created a new budget. I've always kept track of my income and expenses, but I was never too detailed in the breakdown of what I was spending my money on since I'm pretty cheap and don't go on any wild spending binges. But I looked at ways that I could cut back my spending even more in order to give sacrificially for a specific purpose. Instead of just adding additional ministries I'm supporting on a monthly basis, I've actually been giving to different ones each month. It's been fun researching different organizations, as well as being open to the causes and people that have crossed my path.

#140 go to 10 Pacers game (4 done)

Great night watching the Pacers play and pretty impressive season for them considering all of the injuries they had. Love my small group and our adopted older sister, Emily Sutherland!!

#62 read The Giver by Lois Lowry
#63 read Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
#64 read Messenger by Lois Lowry
#66 read Son by Lois Lowry

These books were a nice change of pace since they are kids' books that you can get through really quickly. The Giver was a winner of the Newbery Medal and was made into a movie as well. Basic premise: people are living in a society where there is no color, no love, no pain...basically an attempt at creating a Utopian society. The Giver has all of the memories of these things and is entrusted with passing them on to the main character Jonas in order to continue protecting the people from having to experience the "bad" in the world from the past. I won't go into too much more detail because you should just read them for yourself. The books are all connected to each other, but you don't really know that as you go from The Giver to Gathering Blue. Also, the movie is quite a bit different from the book. I understand why some of the changes were made (not enough action, too much internal stuff), but I felt like things weren't as developed as I would have liked.

#219 build a sandcastle

I may have built a sandcastle when I was younger, but I don't actually remember. So when Ashleyne and I went to visit Kristen in Orlando, this was an easy one to accomplish while we were at the beach. All of this was accomplished with a Frisbee as our only tool. I cannot take credit for the design (having absolutely no creativity or artistic ability), but I am responsible for the little shell carriage and horses heading toward the drawbridge. Impressive, I know.

#134 visit the Florida relatives

My Uncle Larry and Aunt Pat live about an hour from Kristen so I was excited to get to spend a day with them before we left. I got to see the senior citizen mobile home/RV community that they live in...complete with little gators in the canal that runs beside it. It was so nice to catch up with them and see the various sites around Lakeland- their church, lakes they walk around (and all of the birds and wildlife they're always on the lookout for), a farmer's market, etc. We used to spend a lot of time with them when we were growing up and they lived in Michigan, but I hardly ever get to see them anymore. There will forever be reminders of me down there though- she still has a bell that I bought for her collection that I brought back from the Bahamas while I was in college. And this picture is now the wallpaper on their computer. : )

To be on pace after four years, I should have read 48 books and completed 120 total items. The current tally is only 45 books, but I've done 132 things overall. So yay I'm keeping on pace pretty well! We'll see what this next year brings as I try and knock more out...but only in strictly planned settings and not by being spontaneous in any way.

Wrapping up 2014

In another blog shocker, I did not get my last update done before the end of the year...partially due to the holidays and partially due to trying to finish up some books off of the list before I updated.

#295 go to a drive-in movie

I somehow missed this on the last post. I hadn't been to a drive-in since college, so this was a lot of fun. We had a big picnic and then watched How to Train Your Dragon 2 & X-Men: Days of Future Past. Helpful tips for the future: take your glasses so that you can take out your contacts and have a lot of caffeine so that you're actually awake to see the second movie.

#3 read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Last of the Jane Austen books on my list and my critique is about the same as the others: liked the book, like all versions of the movie I've seen, and the movies follow pretty closely with the book. Yep, that's all I've got. : )

#292 teach Lily the books of the Bible songs

Okay so she's actually known these pretty well since she was about 4, but I never took the time to record her singing them once she had them completely nailed down. Video is here. Smarty pants and adorable!

#246 be in a game show or TV audience

I can honestly say this is one of the more enjoyable things I've done off my list. My buddy Kim and I went to The Price is Right Live Show up at Hoosier Park Casino in Anderson. There was some seriously good people-watching that went on that night. Even though the stage show is a toned-down version of the actual TV version, they still had a lot of the same games & sets, as well as lots of clips from the show over the years, and prize giveaways throughout the night. We knew that we didn't have a good chance on getting to come on down, but it was still exciting to be a part of the audience. The host for the show was George Gray (hosted The Weakest Link after the British lady) who is the MC on the TV show. Sadly, Holly wasn't going to count him as my famous person, otherwise I would have taken the time to meet him instead of him just looking over and smiling for a picture.

#141 go to 10 Colts games- 10 done!

Knocked these out in the first 4 years of the blog, but hopefully there will be many more to go to still. Big thanks to my mom for giving up her ticket, as well as my dad who has made this a great bonding experience for almost my entire life. And of course a big thanks to the Jaguars for being terrible and making the game even more enjoyable.

#9 read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
#10 read The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
#11 read The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
#12 read The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

This was a big undertaking, which is why I held off updating for a bit longer. I thought the books were good, but I have to say that in this instance I actually liked the movies better. I found myself reading them and just really wanting to watch the movies because there's so much more action in them. The books did move faster though the farther I got into them. And even though I'm not a huge poetry fan, I attempted to make myself read all (there's so many!) of the poems and songs throughout the books. While the movies definitely took some liberties with characters and storylines, for the most part I thought they added to the overall experience.

#168 play racquetball

This was last year's Christmas present from Ashleyne that we finally went and did before her gym membership expired. While she and Liz were much more skilled at it than I was, I really enjoyed my first time and wish that I could play more often. I just need to find a way not to breathe so heavily so that my goggles aren't fogged up the whole time and I can actually see clearly!

#137 visit Meg at the Indianapolis Zoo

Meg is a dear friend that I have known for 15+ years from when we went on missions trips to Mexico together a couple of summers while we were in high school. She is the Special Events & Advertising Manager at the zoo and we met up with her during Christmas at the Zoo. There aren't as many animals out and about at night in the cold, but there are Christmas lights everywhere so it looks beautiful. Hols, Liz, Ashleyne, Sarah, and I also participated in a scavenger hunt (free pencils for completing it!), saw a reindeer, and ran into a bunch of people that we knew while we were there.

So as 2014 has drawn to a close, I've been able to look back and see how many great things I've gotten to do with so many wonderful friends. I'm looking forward to 2015 to see where my adventures will take me next. I hope some of you will be joining me!

The One with the Birthday Extravaganza & a Tribute to Wilbur Willman

Prepare to be wowed by the amount of things I have accomplished since April! For my birthday, my wonderful friends agreed to help me knock out a big chunk of my list. Our goal: cross off 15 items in 24 hours. The reward: I get to cross off any item off this list that I don't want to do. We did it! But I'm holding off on choosing which item to cross off until the list is closer to being finished. Here's the motley crew that took on the challenge:

#172 go fishing

We're not exactly sure if it was actually ok to fish in the neighborhood lake, but that did not stop us. The wind & lack of fish (aside from the gigantic rotting one near the shore) are really what stopped us.

#188 make cookies and eat them all

Due to the enormity of the day, I did not give in to peer pressure and make dozens of cookies. 6 made, 6 eaten. Excellent breakfast.

#275 chase a duck
So...this wasn't really very exciting. I felt like I should have planned out something more dramatic, but I ended up just kind of hunching over & running very awkwardly. Here's the video.

#195 go to Bub's and eat the 1 pound Big Ugly burger

Yeesh definitely one of the harder items on the list. 1 pound of meat after it's cooked. But with incredible support/stories to try and distract me, plus an iron stomach, I powered through. You can watch part of the painful process here. Be sure to look for my picture hanging on the wall at Bub's. : )

#148 climb to the top of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument

I still haven't decided if this was a great idea to try and walk off some of the meat, or a horribly bad idea. By the time we made it to the top of the monument, my stomach was a bit more like a brick than a stomach. But the view was great and we got to look down on some of my favorite places.

#155 explore Mass Ave.
Our exploring was kind of eh. Some of us don't really like shopping. Or browsing. Or exploring. Or walking really. We were pretty tired at this point, so we left most of Mass Ave. unexplored. And apparently without a picture. : )

#276 polish someone's shoes
To continue in the tradition of not taking pictures...apparently I don't have one of me as I polished Ashleyne's boots. This is what happens when I don't blog until months after the fact. Pretty sure they're the shiniest boots she's ever owned though!

#269 throw a drink in someone's face
This was definitely my favorite item from the day!!! Holly was the one who put it on the list initially, so she knew that she would someday be the victim. She knew it would be coming at some point during the 24-hour extravaganza, but I wanted to do my best to surprise her. I texted Kim while we were all sitting around the living room so that she'd be ready to videotape the instant I got a chance to do it. I only ask that when you watch the video later in the blog that you will cut me some slack. I drank most of the water from my glass first, I asked to see her phone so that there would be no chance it would get wet, and I didn't do it to her while we were out in public. And I promise it only looks so hard because it was from such a short distance & I had to do it fast before I started laughing. Don't worry, the video is farther down in the blog. Kim's laughter is definitely my favorite part.

#186 eat corn on the cob without using my hands
This one comes thanks to one of my high school kids, Maggie Roth. She is one of the people who added several items to the suggestion box for my list (which will remain open for ideas until the list is completed), and this one made the list. Not as hard as I thought it would be, except for having to turn it over to start the next row. And the fact that I didn't want to eat another bite of food for the day. Corn!

#182 go cosmic bowling

A bowler I am not. Shockingly, cosmic bowling did not add to my skill level. I am usually lousy, slightly better the second game, and then increasingly lousy if I play any additional games. But it was a blast and Ashleyne won the award for most entertaining bowling form with her arms above the head windup.

#237 light firecrackers

We almost had to break the law to get this one crossed off the list. We barely got them set off by 11pm, but luckily it was unnecessary to be a rule breaker.

#266 go star gazing

Yep. This is us star gazing.

#284 host a spelling bee

It was a hard-fought battle, filled with extremely difficult words and a lot of buzzing from the Taboo buzzer, but Liz pulled out the victory in the end. Her prize was the rest of the shoe polishing kit!

#271 post a video on You Tube
Please enjoy.

#175 go camping

We finished a strong day of frolicking & cavorting with some backyard camping at Kristen & Ashleyne's house. We were utterly exhausted, but triumphant! Now I just have to convince them all to do it again next year!!

#89 read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
#90 read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
#91 read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
#92 read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
#93 read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
#94 read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
#95 read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

This little project got started while I was on vacation with Travis, Kelli, and James. Last year I did hardly any reading on vacation, but this year I plowed through the first four Harry Potter books. The rest were finished shortly thereafter and now Travis & Kelli have been watching the movies with me- just the last two to go. Travis even did themed food for the first day we watched movies. My brother can surprise you with how creative he can be. I really enjoyed the books, so that made it hard for the movies to be quite as good. You just lose too many little subplots and character developments that are part of what make you like the books so well.

#133 visit California relatives

This was such a great trip! I had not seen the majority of my CA relatives (my Grandma Willman's side of the family) since we did a big family reunion out in CO the summer of '96. My parents and I went out to celebrate my 2nd cousin Wendy's wedding. It was so much fun to meet all of her college friends, catch up with all of my cousins, and meet their spouses & kids. In this picture is Jen (my cousin Nick's wife), cousins Wendy, Whitney, & Stephanie, and Wendy's sweet little Olive.

#30 read Beau Geste by P.C. Wren

I had seen this movie multiple times, but when Travis says that he really enjoys a book, that's one that must be read. My dad first read this when he was a teenager and always loved it. It's such a great adventure story, and you should definitely read it before you watch the movie because it will keep you on the edge of your seat even more.

#34 read Autobiography of Wilbur Willman or The Farm Boy Grows Up by Wilbur Willman

My grandpa wrote his memoirs back in 2010. It contains so many delightful stories of his days growing up on the farm, being in the Air Force, meeting my grandma, raising their four boys, their world travels after he retired, and so many more memories. However, I really want to end this post with a bit of a tribute to the amazing man that we lost at the age of 98 on August 15th.

My grandfather was a hard worker, still gardening outside his assisted living center last summer. He was extremely bright, and continued to keep his mind sharp by doing jigsaw puzzles until the last. He loved his wife, kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids with his whole heart. Nothing was more precious than seeing him coo and chuckle as he held a tiny baby in his arms. He remained physically active as he recovered from hip surgery, beat multiple cancers, and continued to golf well into his 90s. He is the most generous man that I have ever known, and we were blessed to receive money from him every birthday & Christmas that helped to pay for college. Grandpa was a wonderful storyteller, had a home that provided us with so many childhood memories, had his own unique fashion sense with his suspenders & famous mustard yellow socks, gave extremely entertaining speeches to his clan at family holidays, and gave hugs that involved him viciously pounding you on the back.

There is so much more I could say about my grandpa and the impact he had on my life, but I will just finish by saying that the things I am most grateful for are his strong faith and the fact that he is now reunited with my equally wonderful grandma in heaven. Our patriarch will be deeply missed. I love you, Grandpa.

3 Years Down, 7 to Go

Ok so the grand total completed out of 300 after 3 years is...87! So I'm only 3 off my pace and some (go to 10 Pacers, Colts, Indians games & a couple of books) are partially completed. I'm feeling good about the next few months too
since Holly is supposed to be helping me complete 31 things before her 32nd birthday in July. Without further ado, here's what the last few months have entailed:

#57 read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

This was such an inspiring book and definitely helps remind me of how blessed I am in my life, as well as how little true adversity I face on a daily basis. Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who helped Jews escape from the Nazis and was the only one from her family to survive the concentration camps. Hers is a story of learning the inner strength she was given by God, trusting that He is still sovereign in the midst of great evil, and realizing what it truly means to love and forgive your enemies.

"Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God's power alone be free to work."

"And I would know again that in darkness God's truth shines most clear."

"...when we're feeling poorest--when we've lost a friend, when a dream has failed, when we seem to have nothing left in the world to make life beautiful--that's when God says, You're richer than you think."

#156 go to a movie by myself

I decided to go spend a nice Saturday lunch eating popcorn and watching the second of The Hunger Games movies. I have to say that even though he's not necessarily one of the main characters, Stanley Tucci cracks me up in his role. The movie was quickly forgotten though since I had 3 missed calls & a bunch of text messages saying...

#141 go to 10 Colts games (9 done)

Kyle had scored free tickets to the playoff game against the Chiefs & was seeing if I wanted to go with him. Um...yes! This may have been the biggest swing of emotion I've ever experienced at a game I've been to. The first half was absolutely miserable watching them (which of course I've experienced before as a life-long Colts fan), but the comeback win produced perhaps the loudest and most electric atmosphere I've been in there. Gotta say that Luck kid's not too shabby.

#206 go line dancing

Yes, line dancing. We all know my great love of dancing, but I will willingly oblige my friends when they are deciding what they want to do for their birthday celebrations (as you'll see again below). Celebrating the lovely KB's birthday involved eating at an Ethiopian restaurant on the west side and then heading to Saddle Up in Castleton. Sadly, my bum knee will probably prevent me from pursuing my line dancing career, but I think there's hope for Ashleyne...she has a surprising knack at quickly picking up steps just from standing and watching people for a couple of minutes. And yes, that's what our eyes actually look like when we go out for a night on the town. : )

#2 read Emma by Jane Austen

Emma is probably one of my favorite Jane Austen books...although if you want to be creeped out, go search for pictures of the book cover and you will realize this is the only one where she doesn't look really scary. She may not be my favorite female lead, but some of the supporting characters are really entertaining and add a lot of humor to the story. I also would recommend watching the Gwyneth Paltrow movie, as well as the BBC version with Romola Garai.

#255 be adventurous

We now enter birthday celebration #2. As someone who rarely runs, has only exercised a handful of times since my Curves closed down a year and a half ago, and has a bad knee, what better way to spend an early, chilly Saturday morning than to run an urban obstacle 5K? But after surviving it (with burning lungs, a minimal amount of blood, and massive amounts of bruises), it was necessary to make it count for something on my list. So obviously it falls under being adventurous since you participate as superheroes. : ) Check out their website if you want to see more about it. My small group is pretty awesome to do so many crazy things together. And Kyle happened to be working downtown so he came and met up with us near the end of the course to cheer us on and run along. Yay for brothers!

#174 play laser tag

After getting showered and eating some lunch, the next phase of Ashleyne's birthday celebration involved a few intense rounds of laser tag at Laser Flash in Carmel. We even got to play with just our 7 friends so that we didn't feel bad getting destroyed by a bunch of 10 year olds. I don't know how I've gone my whole life with never having played before because it was a lot of fun!

#67 read Love Does by Bob Goff

Oh, Bob Goff. I have to say that Bob and I are very different people. He has done some pretty crazy things in his life and uses words like "risk, adventure, and spontaneity" in his everyday vocabulary. Every chapter has another ridiculous thing happening- sneaking into the set of a movie, basically forcing his way into law school, becoming a consul for Uganda, having his kids writing to all of the world leaders & then flying them around the world to meet any of them that responded...you know, normal everyday stuff. But he is a gifted storyteller and I really did enjoy reading this book with my senior girls' group because it's one of those books that really challenges me to step out of my comfort zone to try and live out love in my actions and in all that I do. Some of his many great tidbits:

"...the brand of love Jesus offers is that it's more about presence than undertaking a project. It's a brand of love that doesn't just think about good things, or agree with them, or talk about them...Love does."

"I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter."

"Every day God invites us on the same kind of adventure. It's not a trip where He sends us a rigid itinerary, He simply invites us. God asks what it is He's made us to love, what it is that captures our attention, what feeds that deep indescribable need of our souls to experience the richness of the world He made. And then, leaning over us, He whispers, 'Let's go do that together.'"

#235 buy flowers for myself

Bought some lovely flowers to use as a centerpiece for the tea party that Holly and I hosted for some of my senior girls. We made way too much food, but I have to say we did a pretty decent job for our first time attempting some of the food we made. Check out her blog here (which you should really be following already anyway) for all of the details about our delicious menu.

#140 go to 10 Pacers games (3 done)

This kid makes my heart so happy. How many 6 year old girls do you know who gladly give up getting toys for Christmas in order to go to a Pacers game instead? Best. Niece. Ever. While it was impossible to live up to the hype of last year's game (her first Pacers game, sat next to a lady also wearing a Big Roy jersey, got a pink balloon flower, was on the big screen for about 30 seconds, won a gift card for being the loudest section, and they played much better), we still had a blast! Lily is one awesome kid!! 

As a little teaser for my next update...for my birthday extravaganza, my small group & I are attempting to knock out 15 things in a 24-hour period. Because if I do 15 in one day, I can choose one item off my list to cross off that I can't/don't want to do. And the List Master (Holly) has said that if we can do 30 things, I can cross off 5. That's probably impossible, but stay tuned to see how it goes!