2011

2010 was a super awesome year for a lot of reasons :) I got married, I graduated college, moved away from Michigan, got to take two super awesome roadtrips, one with my friend Victoria last January and one with my husband as our honeymoon. I've grown in old relationships, formed new ones, joined a fantastic church and have seen God's plan directly unfold in many areas of our lives. That's jaw dropping.

Marine core issued K-bar: best wit Jiffy Peanut Butter in a Camry.
That's dedication. We later slept in my car in 9 degrees in the back of a
truck stop somewhere by the border of Oklahoma. 

2010 had lots of valleys as well. Both my own parents and my in-laws marriages quickly unraveled and are now in divorce proceedings. My friend Daniel Parker was killed in a tragic biking accident right after I got married. Moving and living in Chicago has been a difficult transition for me.


I'm a big believer in goals. Goals give us framework, perspective, understanding, aspirations. They give us hope- knowing that we are not condemned to make the same mistakes as the past; as a Christian I believe that we're enabled through the power of God to become more and more the person we should be, something worth rejoicing over. Goals are a healthy part of everyday life: organization, structure, time management.


This past January 1st I looked back at some of my 2010 goals, and pondered how the year had unfolded.  This year I plan on posting them here: constant review, reminders, encouragement. My goals for 2011 are as follows:


1) Be consistently growing in the Lord:
-daily, meditative time in the Scripure.
-weekly memorization.
-intense times of prayer of thanks, adoration, petition.
-study of Christian biographies
     - Hudson Taylor, Dietrich Bonhoiffer, Jim Elliot
-read the Bible in 1 year, and have a journal that goes along with each day for my notes/thoughts/prayers. (so far, so good!)
-Grow in expression of the fruits of the Spirit: especially love, patience, joy.
-Be a better servant: be more gracious rather than harsh and judgmental.


2) Be a better wife:
   -be less demanding
   -be eager to serve instead of reluctant
   -esteem my husband more in the little things
   -pray for Jason more faithfully

This is super creepy. 

3) Get Healthy:
   - cut out sweets
   - go to the gym, learn pilates to do at home
   - take a gym class at the YMCA, meet people there
   - blog my journey (my other blog post, related to my PCOS       syndrom is here)
   - my goal is to lose 40 pounds this year.


4) Encourage my friends and family more.
5) Take time to record important times and memories, through scrapbooks or albums
6) Write out my testimony more fully than its present state
7) Blog more frequently

96% Complete! So Close. 

8) Go to North Dakota (this will leave Hawaii as my last state I've never been to!!)
9) Consolidate our stuff, declutter our belongings, including the stuff I have in Alaska
10) Learn more crafty, useful things
11) learn to play chess and other skill games
12) Organize photo albums and recipe boxes






Also, here is my current list of things I'd love to do in my lifetime. I made this about 2.5 years ago, and it changes over time. The ones in smaller print are ones that I've removed- they just aren't important to me anymore. I might still enjoy doing them, but not something I'd really to seek doing.

✓ Graduate from college

-work in some medium at a prison

-go to Jerusalem

-get my other tattoo designed and inked

✓get married

-go back to Vegas

-be in Times Square for New Years

-see all of 50 states

-go scuba diving

-Wall of China

-have a godly family

-Sing Wicked

-go back to Nome, Alaska

✓drive to Alaska

-see my goddaughter love God

-do missions work

-go back to Prague

-go to Ireland

-backpack around Europe with my husband

-go to Russia

-get a professional camera and learn to take better photos

-see the tombs in Egypt

-Visit every major city in USA

-learn another language

-meet David Berkowitz

-meet a spy

-see my children defend Christ

-worship God in other cultures

-go to my friends' weddings

-see Brylie grow up

-see someone die peacefully

-see someone born

-see Falldorf, Germany

-meet the German Falldorf's

✓be a virgin on my wedding day

-skydiving

-hold a tarantula

✓have sex

✓have faith

-witness a miracle

-be free of worldly possessions

-see all of the Louvre

-go to the top of the Eiffel Tower

-meet a child sponsored

-help establish a church

-hold a bat

-go to a Broadway in NYC

-drive a convertible across Utah

-go to Berlin

-go back to Normandy

-Scrapbook things that are important

-be able to follow and submit joyfully

-learn how to really ride a horse

-show true thankfulness

-Research Columbine and other school shootings

-Visit Cathedrals around the world: Cologne, Barcelona, Chicago, Avignon

-Do urban ministry

-have a saltwater aquarium

-Host a student ministry small group

✓learn how to make amazing salsa

✓be daily convicted by my husband

-visit a giant tree house

-ride a gondola in Venice

-white water rafting

-Change someone's life

-swim with a dolphin

-ride a different city's metros/subways for hours to people-watch

-swim in the Mediterranean

-visit the famous castles of Europe

-learn how to milk a cow

-travel by hot air balloon

-see the Hollywood sign

-participate in Evensong in Westminster Abbey

-Memorize a good deal of the New Testament