Month: December 2008

  • I was tagged....sort of.

    Betsy did this and then tagged everyone who read it.  Thought it would be a fun addition to my blog.  Anything that I've done is in bold, with any comments in red underneath.  Enjoy!

    1. Started your own blog 
    2. Slept under the stars
    3. Played in a band
    I'm totally counting middle school band for this.  :)
    4. Visited Hawaii 
    5. Watched a meteor shower 
    And got the dent in the hood of my car to prove there were 3 of us on top of it!
    6. Given more than you can afford to charity 
    Yep.  I just pray that God blesses what little it is!
    7. Been to Disneyland/World 
    8. Climbed a mountain
    9. Held a praying mantis 
    10. Sang a solo
    In Ecuador, in Spanish nonetheless!
    11. Bungee jumped 
    12. Visited Paris 
    Ick.  I do not like Paris.  I've been there 3 times and never want to go back.
    13. Watched a lightning storm
    14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 
    Scrapbooking
    15. Adopted a child
    16. Had food poisoning 
    17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 
    18. Grown your own vegetables
    I grow my own tomatoes on my patio every year.  YUM.
    19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 
    So ridiculously small and over-rated
    20. Slept on an overnight train 
    It wasn't overnight, but it was 8 hours long.  Does that count?
    21. Had a pillow fight 
    Girls dorm, all the time. 
    22. Hitch hiked 
    23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
    Yeah, but it was a mental health day.  I would have been ill if I hadn't taken it!
    24. Built a snow fort 
    Growing up in Indiana, you bet I did this! 
    25. Held a lamb 
    26. Gone skinny dipping 
    27. Run a Marathon
    28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
    29. Seen a total eclipse
    30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 
    Best of all time...Balinesker Beach in Ireland.  Amazing. 
    31. Hit a home run
    32. Been on a cruise
    Just a night time one around a harbor and one on the River Seine.  Oh, and one time across the Adriatic from Italy to Greece. 
    33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 
    34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (one day, I will get to Holland!)
    35. Seen an Amish community 
    5th grade field trip
    36. Taught yourself a new language 
    37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (this seems like an oxymoron)
    38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
    39. Gone rock climbing 
    40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
    Stood in the rain for 3 hours to see it, but it was totally worth it.  Amazing piece of art. 
    41. Sung karaoke 
    42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 
    43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 
    44. Visited Africa 
    45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 
    46. Been transported in an ambulance 
    47. Had your portrait painted 
    Just a chalk drawing in Paris by a street vendor.   
    48. Gone deep sea fishing 
    49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 
    50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower (We only went to the second level because it was too windy to go to the top that day.)
    51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 
    52. Kissed in the rain 
    53. Played in the mud 
    My mommy and I used to do this when I was little.  We'd go out and squish our toes in the mud after a rainstorm.
    54.  Gone to a drive-in theater (Sadly, no.  I really want to go sometime!)
    55. Been in a movie
    56. Visited the Great Wall of China 
    57. Started a business 
    Sunny Sky Events...my wedding planning business!
    58. Taken a martial arts class 
    59.  Visited Russia
    Just the airport, but it counts because I wasn't allowed to leave since I didn't have a visa.  Scary times.   
    60. Served at a soup kitchen 
    61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 
    I was the top seller in my troop.  And my mom was the Cookie Mom.  Mmm....samoas!
    62. Gone whale watching 
    63. Got flowers for no reason
    On Sunday, even!
    64.  Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I was never able to and now am scared to due to a crazy fear of needles.)
    65. Gone sky diving 
    66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (But I've been to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and the Holocaust Museum in DC)
    67. Bounced a check 
    Unfortunately, thanks to me being overseas and a check being mailed earlier than it was supposed to.
    68.  Flown in a helicopter
    69.  Saved my favorite childhood toy.
    70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
    71. Eaten caviar 
    72. Pieced a quilt
    73.  Stood in Times Square (I've never been to NYC)
    74. Toured the Everglades 
    75. Been fired from a job 
    76.  Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (Been to London, but didn't see this.)
    77. Broken a bone 
    My foot, freshman year at JBC when my 4-H steer stepped on it over Easter break.
    78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 
    79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 
    80. Published a book 
    81. Visited the Vatican 
    And did the walking tour, which was the smartest thing I did during that visit.  I never would have appreciated things had I not done that.
    82. Bought a brand new car
    Theo is now 4 years old and has 73,000 miles on him!
    83. Walked in Jerusalem 
    84. Had your picture in the newspaper 
    85. Read the entire Bible
    86. Visited the White House
    87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 
    88. Had chickenpox
    89. Saved someone’s life 
    90. Sat on a jury
    My first time to get chosen for jury duty and I had to serve on the jury. 
    91. Met someone famous
    Jars of Clay, Andrew Peterson, Dave Crowder, lots of people
    92.  Joined a book club
    93. Lost a loved one
    94.  Had a baby
    95. Seen the Alamo in person
    96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 
    97. Been involved in a law suit 
    98. Owned a cell phone 
    99. Been stung by a bee
     
    Now, if you read it and have a Xanga, you should also do this.  Considered yourself tagged!

  • Of turkeys and cookies and high school basketball

    I love Thanksgiving.  It's probably my favorite holiday.  My family does some major get togethers during this holiday and I LOVE it.  It's so good to spend time with family and just enjoy the days with them.  On Thanksgiving day, we always do my dad's side of the family.  It used to be my grandma and her siblings and all of their respective descendants.  Now, all but one of my grandma's generation are gone (and she is unable to come due to very poor health), so it's my dad's generation.  We all bring one or two dishes and enjoy a meal and time that afternoon/evening together.  This year, we had 34 people there.  I got to meet my new baby cousin Mia, who was born November 1.  And, I got to eat Kim's sweet potatoes, JeanAnn's noodles, Karen's mashed potatoes and Donna's marzipan.  They're my favorite foods.  Kim's sweet potatoes are almost like a dessert.  So yummy. 

    On Friday, my mom's family begins to gather.  I drove out to Lincoln, IL by myself to go to my aunt and uncle's house.  My brother had to work and mom's knee is just not up to spending 4 hours in a car, so it was just me.  My other aunt and uncle and their 4 kids came too, so there were 11 of us.  I'm really close to my cousins and it was so good to just hang out with them and then have a girls' sleepover in the basement Friday night.  Hannah and Bethany are on the poms squad, so we went and watched them perform during the basketball tournament that was going on.  Friday night's game was pretty boring.  Lincoln won by a lot and there wasn't really any question that they would.  Saturday night's game was MUCH more exciting.  Lincoln got beat, but the refs were horrible.  I don't watch basketball, but even I would have called things differently and noticed it.  It was an on-the-edge-of-your-seat type of game.  If you know me, you know that I love sports and can really get into games.  Let's just say that I was yelling and screaming right along with everyone else.  It was fun.  I never went to a single high school basketball game at my school, which is quite rare for Indiana.  I just greatly prefer football!  So, now I have been to 3 of them at Hannah and Bethany's school.  It's good times.  Hannah's a senior this year and Bethany is a junior and it's just strange.  I love them loads. 

    We woke up Sunday morning in Lincoln to big huge fat puffy snowflakes.  I.Love.Snow.  It's my favorite thing about Christmastime.  It made for a beautiful drive back, too.  The roads were totally clear, so I had no problems getting back home last night.  Sadly, the snow ended at Crawfordsville, IN and the last 3 hours of my drive were snowless.  But, I woke up to snow here in Louisville this morning!  Yay!  It should be a good week here...putting up the Christmas decoration, Andrew Peterson concert Thursday night and then my little brother and a friend are coming down on Saturday to go to the U of L - Indiana State basketball game.  Enjoy your first week of December everyone!