a list update and the start to my summer adventure

180 days with 60 plus 5TH Graders ... MATH ... happy times ... crazy times ... mad times ... quiet time ... i made it ... to what you ask ... SUMMER! on june 5TH my kids left the nest that was Cherry Street and will move to middle school next year. loved my students and will continue to pray for them as they continue on with their life! i'm so thankful they were part of my journey! by june 6TH i had my room packed up and shut down the MATH champion room. (that unfortunately did not produce as many Math champions as i would have liked.) 



this was my room as i closed up shop for the summer!

now june 6TH was also my last day in panama city before i left on my summer adventure! however before i left town there were many things to do and people to see. one of those people to see was miss raeleigh grace sullivan (& her sweet mommy and daddy!) raeleigh was born on june 5TH and i could not get enough of this precious baby! i absolutely can't wait to see her again when i return home at the end of the month! 

welcome miss raeleigh grace! her daddy (swaddle king) had her snug as a bug in a rug!

such a precious baby! i'll be praying for this little one always!



 now i need to back track just a little because i marked another important thing off my list over memorial day weekend! number 3: learn to water ski! now this was no easy task ... nor was it pain free ... it was very hard and painful and let's just say my body hated me after spending the whole day on the lake! however by the end of the day i was able to say that i had learned to water ski ... even if i only made it 1/4 of the way around the lake! :) we were not able to get good pictures of this however we did capture some pretty amazing video which helped me to cross off another thing on my list. number 25: post a youtube video and get 250 hits!

so please enjoy the link below which will take you to my youtube page where i give you permission to laugh at my attempt to ski!

my skiing adventure!

it seems like i've really been knocking some things off my list lately including ... number 22: go paddleboarding! which should have been more like learn to paddleboard because it was definitely a learning process. in the pictures below you'll see my BFF amber who took part in the day with me! oh and i can't forget the ones who made it happen ... brandon and blake! y'all are awesome! and sorry brandon that you had a "rear" view the entire day! barb (who i run with) and her family even came out for the day to watch and my sweet friend cameron was there to take pictures! thanks to everyone it was a wonderful day on the water! now enjoy the learning process below!

step 1: get on your knees. yes amber is already up and yes brandon is still holding my board. HA!

step 2: one foot up. amber is a pro ... brandon is still there.

step 3: finally up! look a little knee knocked or whatever but i'm up!



brandon was finally able to let go and i was on my own!

and eventually i just decided i perferred to ride on my knees. :)







 i even learned to surf by the end of the day! look at that form! surfing USA!

back to june 6TH and everything i had to do and people i had to see. i spent most of the day packing ... washing clothes ... cleaning house ... packing ... and more packing because on june 7TH i left town for a 23 day summer adventure/journey with stops in auburn and athens and nashville/fountain run and kentucky! packing for 3 weeks was no easy task ... however i think i did pretty good!



4 bags ... a snack bag ... and lexi (who departed the journey early at grandma's house!)

after a slight delay (left my phone charger and computer at the house) in which i had to turn around i made it to chipley where i had lunch with my grandma shirley and then continued on to my first stop: AUBURN!!

i seriously love this town ... it's the promise land ... the loveliest village on the plains ... there's literally no place like auburn. i was able to spend time with my sweet friend lauren and her husband daniel. i was blessed to be part of their special wedding day a year ago and their friendship means so much to me. can't even put it into words. back in college lauren and i would regularly walk campus and enjoy a LONG dinner at momma g's. (these dinners would typically last anywhere from 2 to 3 hours!) ever since college when i come back to auburn we keep up the routine ... walk campus and dinner which is exactly what we did on my quick stay.

this was taken on our walk. absolutely beautiful!



the next day we enjoyed a morning of chatting and lunch at amsterdam cafe! i was also happy to see that the toomer's trees seem to still be kickin. :) loved my time with lauren and i don't know when i might see her or daniel again but i do know that as they leave on their own journey soon i pray that god protects them ... and works through them ... and loves on them ... and that he would be glorified in all that they do! love to the arthurs!

toomer's oaks!



before i knew it day 1 & 2 of my summer journey were in the book and i was back on the road to my second stop: ATHENS, GA! to see my sweet cousin and her husband!

this is my road trip happy face! just my tunes and me crusin' down the highway!

on my first night in athens we went to dinner at this amazing place called farm 255 i believe. everything's FRESH ... REAL ... and yummy! the weather was amazing ... the company was great ... and the food was in my belly quickly! after dinner we went to this bar called little kings where they had cornhole on the patio! after an intense cornhole game we just spent time catching up until the drag show started and that was our cue to leave. HA! we hit up a couple other places before calling it a night. the atmosphere here is really chill and i think it's safe to say i'll be back visiting athens soon!

today we started with a delicious breakfast at mama's boys followed by a nice afternoon walk through downtown and UGA's campus!



of course we had to stop for a quick picture at the stadium and yes i bought a shirt. WAR EAGLE but i'm truly a college junkie.

before i left on thursday i was slowly packing the car and finishing up things in the house but when it came time to leave i noticed a little surprise in my passenger seat! pretty much every morning i run with some friends and i've recently learned that some refer to us at the 20 something ... the 30 something ... and the 40 something. i've spent the past year running with them ... talking ... sharing highs/lows ... and i don't know if they will even know just how much they mean to me! they encourage ... give advice ... laugh at/with me ... and listen ... they are the best cheerleaders a girl could have on her side! goodness i could just go on and on but basically ... barb and leigh ... if y'all ready this i love y'all! 

so back to the surprise in my seat! barb and leigh have encouraged me to get out ... see the world ... go on crazy adventures and well that's kind of what i'm doing so in my seat i found the book "born to run" and the magazines you see below! reading 5 books is also on my list and leigh recommended this one to me a couple weeks ago. it wasn't until i made it to auburn and was getting ready for bed that i realized that there was a sweet note written inside!





this note was just the encouragement i needed to get me super pumped about the rest of my trip! tomorrow i leave for fountain run, kentucky (an hour north of nashville) where i will spend the next two weeks at a camp called barefoot republic. please check them out at www.barefootrepublic.org or you can "like" them on facebook. they update pictures daily on facebook so next week you can see what i'm up to everyday ... for those of you who would like to know what i'm up to. :)

while at the camp i will lead junior high and 3RD - 5TH Grade girls. and aside from all the FUN i know we will have my prayer is that god moves in an awesome way ... not just in the girls lives or all the campers lives ... but in my life also.

"and don't forget to pray for me. Pray that I'll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out." ephesians 6:19 - 20

paul's request is my request! love to all and hopefully i'll be able to update next weekend after week one of camp! my heart is happy and excited and full to the rim!



art, brides, babies, and the GRE

number 14: attend paint your art out
i was able to mark this off the list back in march when i attended the paint class at the visual arts center with some friends. i was pretty pleased with the finished product! it's now hanging in my kitchen! not only was the class fun but the company was amazing! thank you jenny & marge for being part of my list!

the very next morning amber and i headed over to seaside to cheer on whitney as she ran and finished her first 1/2 marathon! she looks happy to be crossing the finish line! way to go whitney! this really encouraged me to get on the ball and start training for my 1/2 that i need to do before i turn 26! thanks whit!

this picture is from spring break. john (my little brother) and i had the same spring break which made for a fun week! we spent a majority of our time in seaside at the beach! the picture above is a great picture of mom and john at bud & alley's in seaside. i believe we ate lunch there twice that week. we also rode bikes down 30-A one day ... celebrated mom's birthday at redbar ... and ended the weekend with mexican train dominoes at the purple grape! made some good memories!

the weekend after spring break was brooke's bachelorette party in ... nashville! we had an incredible time celebrating the bride to be! we enjoyed "drinks and appetizers" one night in midtown and hopped honky tonk to honky town the next night in downtown. not only did we have a wonderful time but i fell in LOVE with nashville! nashville definitely made it on my list of places to possibly live one day! can't wait to spend my summer close to nashville ... read more about this down below!

brooke and her bridesmaids in nashville! i'm pretty sure we have already planned a bridesmaids reunion!

the next week my travels took me to baton rouge, louisiana where i enjoyed my first cajun crawfish boil! i think i ate my weight in crawfish ... SO GOOD! the crawfish boil was hosted by dad's company. however, before we could enjoy the crawfish boil and had to run a 5K through downtown baton rouge. dad's company also hosts a HUGE 5k downtown each year to promote wellness in businesses/corporations. it's called the provide corporate cup. it was a great morning for a run and we enjoyed some gumbo and live music afterwards! my time was around 26:00 and i came in 16 out of about 220 females in the open division so ... not too shabby if i say so myself.

the next event on my calendar was brooke's wedding in port st. joe! what an awesome weekend! i was blessed to be part of her special day! take a look at the stunning bride just relaxing before the ceremony!

you know ... just poppin' my collar as brooke's bridesmaid at her wedding!

celebrating cinco de mayo in rosemary beach with my bff! don't we look festive?

number 19: buy addison a gift and hold her at one week old

well ... meet addison!

miss addison was born on march 31st! i met shana and todd (addison's parents) through church. when i was working on my list ... trying to think of things i could add ... shana just happened to be with me helping me think of things to do ... like number 19. i'm so glad that i put little addison on my list and now she will always be a special part of my 25th year! addison is 6 weeks old in the picture above and SO cute! blessed to know this little one and her sweet parents. i love the peeples family!

number 14 again!

enjoyed paint your art out so much i decided to do it again a couple weeks ago for whitney's birthday!

posing with my painting! just call me picasso!

well mother's day came and went ... it was mom's last weekend in panama city before she moved to louisiana and we spent some quality time in seaside. (yes we love seaside it's our little piece of heaven!) we spent the day shopping in destin followed by a nice walk down the beach to bud & alley's (another favorite!) and ended the night with mother daughter time in the hammock. the next morning we woke up to the beautiful view you see above and enjoyed a nice walk down the beach and morning hammock session before it was time to pack up and head home. making memories with mom is always a blessing! love you mom!

our nice beach weekend ended with a flat tire. uh! mom is trying to read/understand the manual and i made sure we had all the equipment we needed ... all over the ground. we eventually got the tired changed and we're on our way! a good lesson for us both and another memory made.

this is my friend kristen and her baby bump also known as raeleigh grace! kristen and her hubby bo are expecting their first child in the next couple weeks and i couldn't be more excited! i wanted to share this picture just because i already love this baby and of course i love her mom! kristen and bo, known that raeleigh grace is covered in love and prayer! love y'all!

i forgot to mention somewhere up there that i also knocked number 11: take the GRE off my list! that was quite the experience and i'm not really sure why i put it on my list because it definitely wasn't fun ... but i took it and survived and will now know what to expect when i take it again sometime in the future because i will DEFINITELY be taking it again if you know what i mean.

mom moved to louisiana last thursday and i'm already missing her and the family! please continue to lift us all up in prayer as we make this transition. it will probably by july before i make it out that way to visit which will be the longest i have ever gone with seeing my family. praying for strength and encouragement. thank goodness god is faithful.

now to the reason it will be july before i make it to louisiana. NEWS FLASH: i will be leaving the day i'm done with work to head to a camp outside of nashville called barefoot republic! i'm really excited about the opportunity i've been given to spend some time with kids and counsel them. i'll be a girls counselor at the camp june 10 - 23. please pray for the students i will work with and pray that the lord works through me to reach/disciple/love this precious kids! check out their website to learn more about the camp:

www.barefootrepublic.org

when camp ends on the june 23rd i will drive to kentucky to spend a week with my church youth group at henderson settlement which is a mission camp in the applachian mountains. i went several years ago and loved it and couldn't wait to get back! i will return to panama city on june 30th and will then head to louisiana to see my family and celebrate the 4th of july!

it will be a busy but blessed summer and i'm holding on and enjoying the ride! 10 1/2 days until summer starts and my students move on to 6th grade! the baby birds will leave the nest and i can only hope that i have left some mark on their lives and if not i have 10 1/2 days to do so. LOVE my job LOVE my coworkers LOVE the students we teach LOVE the school ... but i also LOVE summer break.

"we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." romans 8:28

"and let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." galatians 6:9 

one afternoon at the dentist office ...

whew! what a busy couple weeks it's been! i need ... spring break ... desperately. for lent i decided that i needed to slow down ... take time to breathe ... and to just be still. like psalm 46:10 says so simply "be still and know that i am god."

then i decided that maybe i could "be still" but that i would need to learn to say no sometimes. (i wish i could say NO to work deadlines!) it seems like once i made this commitment to "be still" that life got crazy busy. there's days when i put my shoes on at 6:30 AM and head to work ... and wear them until 10:oo PM or later because i have not had the time to stop and take them OFF ... horrible i know. i'm tired ... overwhelmed ... you name it. this is my prayer ...

"come to me ... all who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest." matthew 11:28

and ...

" ... but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles ... they will run and not grow weary ... they will walk and not be faint." isaiah 40: 31

please pray with me and for me.

now to the list ... my 25 things to do while 25 list! this excites me because i have REAL updates to make!

update #1: number 16: watch a sunrise.

about a month ago i chaperoned a youth retreat to the beach. i asked one of my best friends (who was also chaperoning!) to wake up super early with me and watch the sunrise ... and since she's my BFF of course she said yes ... thanks amber! so after being up way too late with some super youth we woke early the next morning and walked out on the beach to watch the sunrise. it was beautiful ... peaceful ... and the perfect way to start that day.

straight out of bed ... ready to enjoy the sunrise! :)

beautiful sunrise on panama city beach ... home.

update #2: number 8: read 5 books!

well i have not read 5 yet but i did read 1/5 ... and it was SO good! i started it when i went on my trip to philly. i literally read the book the whole 2 hour flight to philly and back home! then decided i had to finish it late one friday night ... there i was laying in bed ... reading ... sobbing (sad/happy tears from the book!) ... all while listening to ben (the rat!) in the attic (obviously this was prior to his capture!) ... but i finished the book that night and have since recommended it to everyone! want to know what i read ...

i highly recommend this book!

i'm now open to more book suggestions so please feel free to leave some recommendations. :)

update #3: number 5: run a 5K in under 25:00!

well i really didn't know if i'd be able to pull it off but seems i did! i ran in the strides for scholars 5K this past saturday and coming around the last corner i looked to the finish line and saw 23 something on the clock and took off! my official time was 24:19 and i placed first in my age group! last year my kids all signed a cherry street shirt and gave it to me for teacher appreciation day ... i decided i'd wear it and run for me! now there's some motivation!

brittany and i at the 5K!

so that's my update ... today i was at the dentist for a teeth cleaning and it was the first time ever that i appreciated the dentist office and their dental chair and their dental instruments (we all know the dentist is not exactly your favorite place!) it was the first time i feel in two days that i've been able to just sit/lay and not have to speak ... basically to relax ... at the dentist of all places. then a song came on and the lyrics really hit me.

"bring your love to life inside of me. why don't you break my heart til it moves my hands and feet. for the hopeless and the broken ... for the ones that don't know that you love them ... bring your love to life inside of me."

i feel like i've been so bogged down by what i need to get done and how i can just simply make it until spring break that i've overlooked my purpose. i've been busy moving my hands and feet to meet deadlines and to make sure my kids have learned the next important math concept but i haven't done these things in a way that people/kids will see his love inside and through me. i've been so tired ... overwhelmed ... that i'm broken and truly need him to bring his "love to life inside of me." now ... this is my prayer.

number 26?

number 26: spend time with a rat named ben. (yes ... a rat ... rodent ... yuck!)

if i were 26 and needed to add a 26th thing to my list this would be it. ben (the rat) and i have spent the past two weeks together. i love my house and have always wanted to live in an older house with "character" but i didn't really know this could possibly mean rats. our relationship started about two weeks ago when ben decided he wanted in the house ... scratching at the ceiling to the point i literally thought a hole would open up and he would fall through. i called the landlord and packed up and moved to mom's temporarily. over the past two weeks the landlord set numerous traps and i decided to NOT be chicken and move back in. since then ben has brought me many sleepless nights when he decides he wants to play with the traps at ... 3 AM!

well ... we FINALLY caught ben! i had a friend's husband come over to check the traps and the insulation that was coming from my vents and as he walked up the stairs to the attic there was ben ... caught in the trap! there was also insulation in the attic and a fist size hole in my duct work. AWESOME ... not! good thing i'm renting! long story short ... i hope ben is a loner and has NO friends and i hope the landlord solves this problem quick! the end.

back to things that matter. prior to the rat event i traveled north to spend some time with my dear friend wendy! i flew to philadelphia and stayed with wendy in princeton. we journeyed to nyc on saturday where we had lunch at a mexican resturant in hell's kitchen. of all the times i've been to nyc i've never heard of hell's kitchen. it's an area of the city full of resturants ... my kind of place! we joined some of her friends for lunch at a mexican resturant called el centro! it was so good! we then just walked around the city and eventually ended up at the met where we spent the afternoon! i really enjoyed it! we were also able to have dinner at another resturant in hell's kitchen with some sweet friends of mine from auburn ... lauren and daniel! they were in nyc for the weekend so we decided to meet up have dinner ... see a broadway show ... and of course eat some post-show cheesecake at juniors! even though we spent just a few hours together we had a great time! i'm truly blessed by their friendship!

wendy and i in central park

lauren and daniel at dinner in nyc!

and ... i was able to mark number 18 off my list!


number 18: see a broadway show/musical! check!

wendy and i at memphis! AMAZING show!

so glad lauren and daniel were there to help experience number 18! :)

while in nyc we were able to see the show memphis! it was amazing! to see as many broadway shows as possible is on my life list! maybe i should aim for one a year ... hmm ...

my trip up north was made complete with a visit to philadelphia to see my newly married cousins! wendy and i woke up sunday morning and drove to philly to have brunch with my cousins ... ciara and jt! it was a cold ... cold ... morning but i enjoyed the walk from their place to this cute cafe called the gold standard! it was delicious! ciara and jt were able to show us their little part of the city and i loved their apartment ... especially climbing the fire escape!

ciara and jt! love them!

best brunch ever! the gold standard in philly!

everyone going up the fire escape! HAH!

wendy and i concluded my trip with a nice trip to a church her professor planted followed by a nice dinner at the professors house with his family and other seminary students. i really enjoyed meeting and sharing a meal with some other seminarians (if that's a word)!

i'm seriously so thankful for wendy's friendship! not only is she one of my best friends ... but so much more. i'm word-less trying to describe what she means to me!

needless to say ... life has been eventful! i have more to updated about the list but i will save that for the next one! :) enjoy your saturday everyone!

i've been really bad about updating. however ... this post will include pictures and captions/descriptions to catch everyone up on what happened in december. :)

to start with ... i'll update y'all on my list. the twenty-five list.

5. run a 5K under 25:00

well ... back in october i ran 4 - 5K races back to back. each time shaving about one minute off my time. which is why i decided to add this to my list. well ... i took a little break and in early december decided to jump back on the 5K race circuit. i won 1ST in my age group ... however my time was 27:04 ... 26:27 is my best. boo! so needless to say i have not quite accomplished number 5 but plan to get back on track starting ... tomorrow. stay tuned.

20. enjoy a night at a dueling piano bar

i love dueling piano bars! love them! i just love the atmosphere and all the music! we went to rum runners for amber's birthday back in november and had the best time! so this has been crossed off the list ... however i plan to keep it on there because i would love to enjoy MORE nights at dueling piano bars!

okay ... now to december ... i already shared that i ran the 5K ... i've also been on christmas break from school which has been great! i've been able to relax and catch up on things and spend time with people i love!

news flash #1: one of my best friends ... brooke got ENGAGED! she will marry kelso in april 2012 and i absolutely can't wait to be part of their special day! enjoy the picture below of the happy couple!

the future hamiltons!

news flash #2: another one of my best friends got a job in england moved last friday! AH! i really hope to be able to visit her this summer. i was able to spend some really good quality time with amanda while she was home. she's truly one of those friends that will ALWAYS be there for me!manda ... i hope by the time you read this you are settled in and enjoying life back in europe! praying for you and love you!

amanda and i at rum runners while she was home!

news flash #3 (probably the most important!): my dad got a new job!!!!! AHH! we found out 2 days before christmas that dad got a really good job offer in ... ... ... LOUISIANA! random i know. but really exciting! i'm really excited for my parents and can't wait to experience some very cajun holidays! i won't lie it will be somewhat weird not having a "home base" in panama city but at the same time i know they will find their way back this way in a couple years! please pray for my family during this transition! dad moves next week and starts january 17TH ... mom will join him in may when the lease at the condo is up. what a journey this will be!

news flash #4: this past year i met my friend ana. she's from el salvador ... went to penn state ... ended up in panama city working for trane (she's an industrial engineer!) ... we met her at the rescue mission! we like to say we picked her up at the mission but really we were volunteering ... she was volunteering ... and a friendship bloomed! since then we have enjoyed many beach days ... movie nights ... nights out ... and yummy dinners! we LOVE when ana invites us over for dinner because she's an AWESOME cook! well ... i say all this to say that ... ANA GOT MARRIED like 2 days ago in el salvador! she got engaged over the summer and since then we have learned ALL about el salvadorian wedding traditions. you get two weddings ... how cool is that! the recent wedding was her civil wedding so she's legally married but not must wait until may for the religious wedding to be truly married! still hoping to maybe make it to the wedding in may. CONGRATS ANA!

ana & i this summer!

i think that's it for the updates. i spent new years in montgomery with brooke and amber! we had a really good time ... we watched AUBURN WIN their bowl game then headed out to this place called alleybar. we danced the night away ... and guess what? they had dueling pianos! great way to ring in the new year! happy 2012!

well to conclude this little update ... i'm looking forward to see what all god has in store for me this year! there's so many changes taking place around me ... so many opportunities ... plans ... and just dreams i have that i can't wait to see how it all unfolds. wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2o12!

jamal, kellis, and jameel

"break my heart for what breaks yours ... everything i am for your kingdoms cause ..."

not only do i love this song ... but these lines speak my heart. i want my heart to be broken ... i want to be stirred ... i want to be challenged ... i want to respond.

number 21 on my list of twenty-five things to do while twenty-five reads:

21. shop for a christmas angel child

i added this to my list not because it's something i've never done but because it's something i've always done that "breaks my heart." it puts me in check. it breaks my heart ... it stirs me ... it challenges me ... and i can respond. when i see the salvation army trees set up in stores this time each year my heart becomes heavy. in my case i encountered the tree at wal-mart over thanksgiving break. my brother was home and we had made a trip to wal-mart to buy who knows what. on the way in i noticed the tree and on the way out i spent at least 20 minutes trying to decide whose wish-list i should take. i can never walk away with just one child ... this year it was 3.

i selected jamal who is 3. he wanted a little tikes basketball goal. i always like to pick a little one! kellis who is 5 wanted sheets/blanket and a doll. love to pick a girl too! :) and last but not least was jameel who is 17 and he wanted a MP3 player and basketball.

mom and i went shopping last thursday and we had such a good time! we bought purple sheets and a blanket ... an MP3 player ... basketball ... and clothes ... clothes ... and more clothes! we were able to buy kellis a bratz doll and jamal his little tikes basketball goal too!

i helped mom take all the goodies home and we organized this into piles. she had to write a code on each item. see the pictures below to see all the goodies!

kellis and jameel's goodies!

jamal's goodies!

when i made it home late thursday night ... once again my heart was heavy. i prayed that these kids would be blessed and that these kids would be made whole and would know howmuch they are loved! i thought about the students i taught last year and the students i have this year. i thought about their stories and prayed that they would know how much they are loved. once again ... i was broken ... i was stirred ... i was challenged ... and the only way i knew how to respond was with prayer.

so the goodies have been dropped by the salvation army and i hope and pray that these 3 precious kids know how much they are loved. i will probably never meet these kids but they will always be with me. they were part OF MY story. one thing down on my list 24 more to go but what a blessing number 21 has been and always will be. :)

"break my heart for what breaks yours ... everything i am for your kingsdoms cause. as i go from nothing to ... eternity."

the year of lists

today is my sweet friend ... taylor marie's birthday! she's now twenty-five too! this year will be a special year for her because SHE'S GETTING MARRIED! :) i can't wait to travel to kentucky in october 2012 to be part of their special day!

taylor & i on my last visit to kentucky

taylor's birthday marks one month since my birthday and twenty-five is still GREAT! :) i've been really busy with work lately, but with christmas around the corner i'll have a break to regroup soon!

when i turned twenty-five i decided to make a list of twenty-five things to do while i'm twenty-five. well it took several weeks to complete the list and since then i've also created about 10 other lists ... things to do here, things to do there, things to do by this, things to do by that ... my solution to everything is to make a list! my dear friend, jenny, has decided this is the year of the list.

so i'm now ready to share my list, and i plan to use this blog to keep everyone up to date on where i'm at and what i've accomplished!

this is how the list started

the list:

1. run a 1/2 marathon (crazy i know!)

2. visit CHICAGO (i have a friend who teaches there and i'd love to see the city!)

3. learn to water ski (my aunt and uncle just bought a lakehouse so that's a start!)

4. get passport (just something i need to do!)

5. run a 5K under 25:00 (my best time is 26:27)

6. play in snow (anywhere, but i have a trip planned to new jersey/nyc in january!)

7. visit john at ole miss (my little brother will be a senior)

8. read 5 books (haven't decided what to read yet, ideas?)

9. write hand-written letters, send them snail mail :)

10. throw a REAL dinner party!

11. take the GRE (grad school in the future maybe?)

12. save $2500

13. attend a charity event

14. attend paint your art out (paint class at the visual arts center)

15. volunteer 25 hours at the rescue mission

16. watch a sunrise

17. attend a bar/pub/wine crawl

18. see a broadway show/musical (this may be accomplished on my trip to nyc!)

19. buy addison a gift and hold her at 1 week old (my friends, shana and todd, are having their 1st baby! she added this to my list!)

20. enjoy a night at a dueling piano bar

21. shop for a christmas angel child

22. go paddle-boarding

23. go golfing

24. go camping (never been!)

and ...

25. post a youtube video and get 250 hits! (stay tuned!)