kayaking.. (Sat.9.19)

What a day!!!

...I never knew the first day after getting engaged could/would be so exciting!!

Not only did we get to go kayaking with our good friends Angela & Justin, we got to start calling and emailing friends and family about our engagement!!!

(somehow in all my anticipation I never imagined this part being soo enjoyable!!)

♥

sidenote: kayaking was also on my 29 before thirty list... (#6) ...woohoo!! :) ...I may have several left undone, but I'm soo glad to get to check this one off... maybe even to make it a regular!!

aspiration met.. (Thurs.5.14.09)

I was so excited about my latest sewing project that I had to come home and try them on!

When I first got my sewing machine (at least 4 1/2 years ago, maybe more) -pajama pants were my first aspiration! ...and now they're complete!! :)

..AND, I get to check it off my 29 before thirty list (#2)!! ..woo hoo! ...another one down.. mmm, lots more to go!

no more of that! (Sun.4.19.09)

Guess what this is...... my LAST payment stub for my car loan!!!!!!

WOOHOO!!

(Thanks to Dave Ramsey and the wealth of information I learned in FPU, I cut over a year off the life of this one!!) ..Lord willing, and I believe He is, the next one will be paid for with cash.. no more loans for this kid!!

(I figured I'd black out the account number just to be safe..)

29 before thirty #8, check!

on my bed with a book... (mon. 1.26.09)

more cause to celebrate.. i finished In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day in January.. 29 before thirty #11!

..and it was Good!

..i intended to blog all along.. (at the end of each chapter they have food-for-thought-questions) but i didn't keep up that well... i would label this one as a 'must read!' <3

i did it!!

i passed the PLT/Praxis II Exam!!!

..i only needed 5 more points to pass and i ended up raising my score 17 points!! (from 160 to 177! :) yay!

new work space..

a glimpse of day one...


..with Ryan (the cafe' manager) and my new office-mate.


my workspace (slightly personalized.. :)



..and afterward.. a sweet little chicken&rice date.. mmm!

i'd say the whole venture turned out to be a good one! :)

365 favorites... [the intro]

so i had this idea for 2009... a photo a day for 365 days...

i started to make a whole 'nother blog-page for it, but we'll see if i can't find a way to incorporate it here... better to keep it simple! :)

...about the photo... i got a tripod for Christmas (#10 of 29 before thirty), and i've been using it quite a bit already, but last night i just wanted to play with it some more, so i was my own muse for a while!! .....(a little sad maybe, but very entertaining at least! :)

gatherings [are my favorite!]

one of my 29 before thirty goals (#14) was to practice hospitality on a monthly basis... and, so far, so good!

...some dear friends who have helped make that possible are shannon and jeremy m. :) ...they also happened to use our nov. gathering as the time/place for their 80's christmas card photo shoot!

...i'd say they did quite nicely...













...the actual card is even better...










and then there's sophia... the life of the party!! :)













...we all got together again this past weekend for randy's birthday party and played laser tag!! (sadly i forgot my camera, but meggan let me take some with hers, so maybe she'll send them to me so i can post them) ....such fun times.

i couldn't be more thankful for such dear friends to walk through life with!! <3

thankfully exhausted...

this has been a terribly busy, wonderfully exhausting couple of days!!!


first we had thanksgiving dinner at j's gma's (my fam went to my mom's mom's) and j's fam decided to wrap things up early -so j. and i took a [somewhat spontaneous] roadtrip to charlotte to see my cousin katie!!



glad for the chance before she moves back to NY..



great to get to see amanda and her finace' troy while we were at it!



..and J's college roommate Jeremy..

(not only do they have the same name, jeremy l. is dating a kim (who teaches), their brothers and dads have the same names, and their moms' are cheryl and carol!!! :)

really fun times!!! ...we got up early and hurried home today so i could make it to my friend lynn's wedding...

we're both exhausted, but i'd say it was totally worth it! :)

no more plastic...

i made it to and from wal-mart without adding any plastic bags to the collection!! (not always an easy feat!) ...yay!!

29 before thirty #29!

mission(s) complete...

i officially updated my 29 before thirty list!!
--as of friday and for good i think :)

...AND i've officially taken the PLT Praxis Test (#25) on the list of 29 things...

sooo relieved to have it over with! :)

update...

i updated my 29 before thirty list... it's mostly complete, but i still can't seem to fill in that last space, just in case i think of something really great ;)

...thanks for your comments and encouragement!

i'm still studying as much as possible for the PLT (#25)...
after saturday i'll be able to think about working on some of the other items! :)

celebrate the fam... (#12)

29 before thirty #12 accomplished:

cooked and served mom and dad for their anniversary this weekend..

it was great. definitely quaint... we had three-cheese tortellini with shrimp, sauteed asparagus, and bananas foster over vanilla ice cream for dessert! mmmm! :)

mom and dad really seemed to enjoy it ..and kayla got to eat the other half of her hot dog from lunch and sit up high on the stool, so she was happy girl :)


(wish i had a photo to document the moment...this one will have to do.. it's from mother's day at villa romana)

29 before thirty...

my official list of 29 things i'd like to do/accomplish before i turn 30! (oh my!)

i'll put the green check each time i complete a list-item, so as to distinguish them from other posts :)

...(in no particular order)....

1. finish thank you notes from this birthday!
(kind of kidding, but maybe if i write it down i'll actually get them done! :)

2. sew-my-own pajama pants (5/14/09)

3. become part of a vineyard lifegroup

4. design & print my own greeting cards

5. carve a pumpkin & roast seeds with jeremy (10/24/08)

6. go kayaking (9/19/09)

7. get a 'just right' job (2/9/09)

8. pay off my vehicle!! (4/19/09)

9. take a photography class

10. get /use/experiment with a tripod

11. read in a pit with a lion on a snowy day and finish reading same kind of different as me

12. serve my family by planning an anniversary party for them (11/2/08)

13. serve Jesus by discipling others (possibly lead or co-lead the lifegroup with Vineyard; see #3) (Nov.-May, BSF Children's Leadership)

14. serve others by using my gift of hospitality: have people over on a regular basis -monthly.. in process..

15. write my brother Michael; send him the shack

16. spend time with my brother Gary, his wife Nancy, and his boys Dustin & Christopher

17. hang mirrors from IKEA that I purchased in march of 2008!

18. paint and assemble frames from IKEA that I received in october of 2007.. or was it 06?

19. write a letter of love and appreciation to someone who influenced me greatly

20. make my own costume

21. take kayla somewhere special (i haven't decided where yet; i may let her decide)

22. make a recipe book -including design and sources etc..

23. involve my students in a service-learning project (maybe send a care-package overseas?)

24. write a love-note to a dear friend who died in december of 05 (maybe give it to her widower; maybe not...)

25. pass the PLT exam and regain my teaching certificate! -(2/09)

26. do something worth-while with my teaching certificate!

27. visit friends in charleston, savannah, and/or charlotte (all three might not be completely realistic, but that would be the best!)

28. foster relationships with certain people at church... intentionally get to know them for mutual encouragement and sharpening.

29. for the last one, a true challenge: give up plastic bags completely... i've tried and it's difficult... you really have to assert yourself sometimes just to avoid being given a simple grocery bag!

.....as i finish and blog about them, i will link each to their respective post!! :)

updated 5/23/09

working on it...

so, before i post my '29 before 30' list, i had to show you this blog i came across...

i thought she had a great idea of making her list a list of links to the appropriate posts!!

for now i'm just working on completing my list... <3

pick me! (#5)

the first of my '29 before thirty' accomplishments.. jeremy and i carved a pumpkin and roasted the seeds... and -thanks to jeremy's tireless scooping, we were able to make yet another tasty treat while we were at it.....




the pumpkin patch...
where i found the perfect guy for us to cut, carve, and enjoy!


jeremy did most of the hard-stuff... (lol!)


..and i did the 'baking'...


(the start of our yummy muffins!!)


we ended up with delicious roasted seeds...
...and pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins!!

(the seeds are cinnamon sugar flavored as shannon suggested!!:)


....in the mean time, after much deliberation of course
we came up with a design idea, drew it on, and got started..


again, j. did most of the hard work...


then we put a light inside and enjoyed our little masterpiece!!

....(a little cheese...)


...our finished product!
(it was pretty late by then as you can tell by our tired look!)