21.

Grow my hair out and get highlights…

So a few years ago I went bold and cut off most of my hair and gave it to Locks of Love. Great experience. So happy I did it. And then for about a year or so I kept cutting my hair shorter and shorter. Then I was ready for it to be looooonnngggg again. Clearly, I forgot how slow my hair grows. It took forever. It is still not as long as I would like it ,but super close. Here are the before and after shots:

August 2011 (shortly after deciding no more haircuts)

January 2013

Overall, I must admit I was not good about keeping the style up in the growing stage. I look at pictures and cringe. Oh well, live and learn. As for my latest haircut/highlight details… I bought a Groupon deal for Salon Onyx in Lakeville, MN. The stylist was awesome. She really blended in the highlights so when summer rolls around my natural highlights can come through. Who is ready for summer???

6.

Make an Advent gift for a spirit in need.

          Over my time as a teacher I have met quite a few families that have pulled on my heart. These families have some of the most beautiful children you will ever meet. Their parents are spectacular not only because they are raising fabulous children but they persevere. Life is tough, but life is also beautiful. One particular family I have had the pleasure of meeting has three children: 1 with typical needs, 1 with special needs, and 1 with a rare form of cancer. Here is the letter I included with my anonymous gift (guess it isn’t now).

Dearest Family, The Advent Season is upon us. And while there is much to celebrate your family has "more than the usual amount of holiday stress." So here is a small care package for your family. Enclosed is a little something for each of you. Along with 24 individually wrapped packages. For Mom & Dad: The peanuts, dark chocolate bar, and peppermint sticks. For H: The gift bag counting from 1 to 25. A chocolate Advent calendar. For B: The gift bag featuring Santa and a little boy. A chocolate Advent calendar. For A: The small pink gift bag. Each of the tissue paper wrapped gifts is for your family to open each night. Please enjoy these Advent treats and remember many are praying for you and your family. May God grant your family peace throughout this holiday season and through the new year.

 

As for the gifts for the children they were just small little tokens to remind them that they were special. The individually wrapped gifts were 24 books for Christmas. Thanks to my cousins for helping collect so many great books. And I grew up with an Advent calendar and thought those kiddos would enjoy it too. Thanks Mom for finding them again this year!

The most difficult part of this mission was figuring out how to deliver it and stay anonymous. I did not feel comfortable leaving a huge gift bag on their doorstep for fear the weather would ruin it or it might disappear. Dropping it off at their daycare minutes before it opened was super successful. Thanks Madie for that idea.  

Overall, this brought me so much joy I hope to make it a yearly tradition. Goodness knows I could pay it forward my entire life and never return all the favors and gifts that have been bestowed on me.

Merry Christmas everyone!

20.

Buy a pair of nice jeans.

          I have been carrying around a $100 bill in my wallet for 10 months. I refused to use it on anything but new jeans. The boy and I went to the mall a few weekends ago looking for stuff for him. I cannot believe I just wrote that sentence. The mall and I are not friends, especially on the weekends. Somehow, being with him made it a bit more bearable and I only shook my fist at one person.

          Anyway we ended up at Nordstrom Rack. The one place I actually don’t despise in the whole Mall of America. I got bored waiting for Evan to try on clothes so I made my way to the Women’s clearance section. Wohoo! Found TWO pairs on nice jeans. Both of them “Skinny” jeans, I am sure that means that “Skinny” will be out of style soon. Due to the good deal I got on the jeans I also scored a new shirt at Old Navy later in the week to round out the $100 spending limit I gave myself.

Here are some internet pics of the jeans. No way will I model my butt for the whole world to see. Plus, mine need to be hemmed at least 3”. 

 

Oh and the point of these jeans are for "date night" and not to be worn at school to be slobbered on. 

5.

Send flowers to my mom on my birthday.

          A bit late on posting this (and a few others) but, I promise I am working on the list….Just too busy to write about it.

          If you know my mom you realize she is one of the most selfless people you will ever meet. She always has positive things to say to everyone and is particularly good at being awesome in general. She and I had a horrific beginning together. We were both not expected to make it through my birth. Big surprise, we did. Little did we know this would not be the last hurdle either of us would face in life.

          My mom has been a great female role model for my entire life. She has shown me time and again what it is to be a great mom, wife, and friend. She is the person who taught me at the end of each day to ask, “What was the best part of your day?” She continually is positive and never gives up no matter what life throws her.

          So these flowers I had sent to her are just a small token of my appreciation to whom she is and who I hope to become! Love you, Mom!

P.S. I forgot to get a picture of them. Sorry.

P.S.S. When the florist called to make sure she would be home she was so confused as to why somebody was sending her flowers a month before her birthday. Sound familiar? J

9.

Successfully grow pumpkins.

           

          Garden Plot #109 in the South St. Paul Community Garden has been a source of great joy over the past three summers. Granted I will always be the youngest gardener there and the one with the biggest weeds. But, with all my joy comes frustration.

          I have been working so hard on my pumpkin patch this year. I planted seeds in the beginning of May. Leaving plenty of time for an October harvest. Everything was going great:

July 5th

         

          And then one day I showed up and this had happened:

July 19

          I had heard from fellow gardeners that there was a vicious bug destroying vine plants. Darn thing found my awesome pumpkin patch. I have purchased and applied some insecticidal soap for organic gardening. The picture on the bottle of the bugs definitely matched ones I saw when I sprayed my vines.

Now let's just hope it does not spread and I get some sort of crop.

15.

Take a warm vacation

       Never in a million years when I wrote out this list did I think that I would be taking this vacation with a boy. And for sure not "the boy". That is my endearing nickname for my real life boyfriend :) His real name is Evan. This trip was his idea. Much like lots of his great ideas is a whole lot of fun wrapped into a small amount of time.

          Evan has always spoke of Georgia and specifically his family in Georgia with high regard. Unlike me, he does not have many family members, especially cousins. And my cousins and my siblings/friends all rolled into one so I was excited to meet Evan's extended family.

          We flew out on Thursday afternoon, ahem evening thanks to flight delays and all that fun stuff. We were warmly greeted (pun intended) with warm weather and Evan's cousin Reva at the Atlanta airport. Our road trip portion (from Atlanta to Warner Robins) was filled with Reva's stories of her tour of Europe.      

          Our first full day in Georgia highlights:

*       My first time at Chick-Fil-A and sweet tea

*       A tour of Savannah

Reva and Evan on River Street

Touring River Street

River Street

*       A trip to "The Lady and Sons" - Paula Deen's restaurant

*       And a huge stomach ache from all the yummy food

Our second day in Georgia highlights:

*       A day trip to Atlanta

*       Visiting Centennial Olympic Park

Fountains choreographed to music

*       Touring the Coke Museum

Inca Kola was Evan and my favorite Coke product

*       An art show

*       More good southern food

Our third day in Georgia highlights:

*       Chillin' poolside

*       Home cooked southern food

Molten Lava cake with black cherries and caramel ice cream

*       Family time!

Rachel and Evan 

Our fourth day in Georgia highlights:

*       Warner Robins Museum of Aviation

*       A trip to "The Vortex" restaurant

*       A much less crazy trip home

          I am calling this warm vacation a total success. Much thanks to Evan and his sweet Georgia family. I hope to return someday. And maybe, just maybe, this time I will not eat everything in sight. Strong possibility of me failing that one! 

1.

Read through the entire Bible.

The reading plan was 90 days long. And I thought that was ridiculous, until I made it through in 85 days. Yes, only 5 days less...but way better than being past the deadline or not doing it at all.

Here are my conclusions from the reading plan used.

1. I would have never made it through if I did not read it                                   ENTIRELY on my iPod touch.

2. The listening feature was amazing, not only could I multi-task, but I comprehended so much more than I would have had I just read the words.

3. To me I found it much easier to read a big chunk of passages, versus just reading a few each day.

How I feel this helped my journey as a believer:

1. When people ask (or I may just shout it from rooftops) I can say I have in fact read every word I believe to be true.

2. I thought I knew Jesus before...Whoa. And so much more to I cannot even begin to grasp.

3. Reading through the entire word of God has given me so many things I want to emulate more of...

Mainly: compassion, forgiveness, and humility.

Questions asked by friends:

Q1: Where do you find the time to read?

A1: I made time. It was important to me. Don't get me wrong I fell behind at times, but it was so worth the commitment.

Q2: Do you feel closer to God?

A2: Oh yes, but I feel closer each time I pray and even read a verse a day. So thankful for the opportunity.

Q3: Did you understand all of it?

A3: NO WAY! Some of the ideas I couldn't even begin to understand. However, I pressed on for believing in Jesus Christ as my Savior is all true and good would work through His word to enlighten me. 

Also, huge props to my friends who encouraged me along the way. Thanks for sharing in this part of my path.