Monday, July 25, 2011

Bucket List: #8

Well, well, well- I've completed two things off my bucket list this week and I must say I've had a fantastic time doing so! Since it is summer and is in the mid-80s here in San Diego, both of this week's activities involved- you guessed it- water. (more to come later about the second activity, #64 on the list)

#8 go surfing
It wasnt until I moved to TN that I began to realize how ridiculous it was for me to have never gone surfing before. Now that I am back in San Diego for the summer, I called up one of my buddies (a die-hard surfer, might I add) and asked him if he would like to give me a lesson. This past Saturday I went to Oceanside Beach where the water was 70 degrees and the air temperature was close to 82 degrees and went surfing! I never realized how many muscles it actually took (still sore 2 days later, actually). We had SUCH a great day and it was too much fun to even describe! We had some good laughs, but all in all, it was a success. I was able to stand up multiple times and had a couple of pretty good rides (...granted, I cannot steer whatsoever; I just go straight). Now I am thinking it would be a great hobby to take up, but seeing that TN is about 8 hours away from the ocean, doesnt look like I'll be signing up for the Big Kahuna festival anytime soon.


Oceanside Harbour, CA


Surfing! (with Chris and Griffin)

My foot (my only proof) and my surfboard for the day (thanks to Griffin)




I didnt get any pictures of us actually ON the water, but these are close enough. It was such a beautiful day and a wonderful learning experience. Note: if you want to look silly, try going surfing for the first time. You'll get pretty close to looking as silly as you can as you practice trying to get into position on the sand before you try it out in the water.


One of the most comical things that happened was this: while my friend was changing into his wetsuit, he asked me to rub the wax on the surfboard. I was kneeling down and had no idea if I was doing it right, but apparently the lady next to me on the beach (a stranger who quickly became a part of my cheering squad...ha! haha!) was a surfer and thought I was doing well. She asked me "So, how long you been surfing for?" I looked at her a little bewildered (and thinking now that I would have an audience for the next couple of hours) and told her this was my first time. She seemed impressed (although, IDK how impressive it is to correctly apply wax in a circular motion to a surfboard...) and said she'd watch how I did out on the water. Ha! Well, when we came back in she and I were BOTH impressed how well I did (I honestly didnt think I would be able to stand up after just a few times of practicing). We politely chatted for a few minutes and then went on our way. I love situations like that when you dont actually introduce yourself but you walk away feeling like the world has just become a tinsey bit smaller because you've reached out and interacted with another human being. Fantastic!

Date completed: July 23rd, 2011

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

101 in 1001

Seeing that it is getting to be a trend in the blogging world, I figured I'd come up with my bucket list, too. If you dont know the drill, basically you come up with 101 things you want to do in 1001 days. My start date is: 19 July 2011 and my end date (1001 days later) will be: 16 April 2014. I will be blogging about the different experiences I have while completing these events!
Here it goes:
1. lead someone to Christ
2. visit the Eiffel Tower completed: 30 July 2011
3. read 101 books
4. visit a missionary while they are working internationally on the field completed: 10-17 Dec 2011
5. graduate from college
6. ride a snowmobile
7. go skiing (never been!)
8. go surfing (never been!) completed: 23 July 2011
9. learn 101 words in Spanish
10. be in a musical theater production
11. visit Hearst Castle in Cambria, CA
12. visit a friend who lives in a different state than me (other than CA and/or TN)
13. hold a newborn baby (newborn= under 3 months old) completed: early Jan 2012
14. save someone's life
15. sign a lease for my own apartment
16. get my teaching credential
17. run a 5K race completed: 12 Nov 2011
18. be a tourist for a day in my "hometown" (wherever that hometown happens to be)
19. go to Disneyland with a kid (kid=small person under 13 years old)
20. purchase my own car
21. spend the night with my sister at her house in Los Angeles completed: late Dec 2011
22. see a Broadway show on Broadway in NY
23. ride on a motorcycle
24. make an authentic Mexican dinner entirely from scratch
25. go to New Orleans
26. attend a Passion conference in Atlanta
27. interpret an entire church service by myself from English into ASL (realtime)
28. fall in love completed: ...can you really put a date on this one? 
29. read through the entire Bible
30. go on vacation with my entire immediate family (...there's only 5 of us...should be fairly easy if we all can be in the same state long enough)
31. carve a wooden cross wall decoration
32. make a full sized quilt
33. babysit for someone for free
34. go on a sailboat (never been!)
35. master 5 songs on the piano
36. take a ballroom dancing class/lesson
37. teach school for a full day
38. build a house in Mexico
39. swim 50 laps in the UT pool
40. publish my novel
41. be in a wedding
42. meet a person named Mohammed Kim (most popular first name in the world matched with the most popular last name in the world)
43. do something I'd never expect to do
44. take a cruise
45. be in a movie
46. visit the Biltmore in Asheville, NC completed: 3 Dec 2011
47. anonymously give $100 to a person raising money for a mission trip
48. visit the treehouse in Crossville, TN completed: 3 March 2012
49. hangout with someone with special needs for a day
50. invent an original dessert and serve it to a friend/family member
51. spend Christmas in California completed: 18 Dec- 12 Jan 2011/12
52. go to the Kentucky Derby in Lexington, KY
53. visit a church member in the hospital and pray over them
54. ride in a hot air balloon
55. ride an elephant
56. go cow tipping
57. drive a tractor
58. go fishing
59. purchase something over $300 (excluding a plane ticket and/or vacation)
60. be in a parade
61. be in a nativity/Christmas story reenactment
62. care for a friend when they are sick
63. order flowers online and have them delivered to someone through the mail
64. push someone in a pool completed: late July 2011
65. be with someone when they 1st experience the Pacific Ocean
66. go sea kayaking
67. pray for 6 hours straight
68. ride a zip line
69. swim in a lake
70. jump off a waterfall into a pool of water
71. chop down a Christmas tree with an axe/ saw
72. design and sew an entire outfit
73. make deviled eggs for a church event/picnic
74. count how many licks it takes to the center of a tootsie pop lollypop
75. make a homemade music video to a Christian rap song
76. knit a baby blanket for someone else and give it to them
77. do a photoshoot in the Grand Canyon (AZ)
78. go camping and sleep outside in my hammock
79. get my cartilage pierced
80. learn how to make really good coffee drinks completed: 4 Nov 2011
81. make homemade bread in a breadmaker
82. tie dye something
83. go geocaching
84. be in a horse show
85. go on a photo scavenger hunt
86. play Boccee ball on the beach
87. create and original skit and preform it for a kid's Sunday school/VBS class
88. learn to play 1 song on guitar
89. go on a roadtrip with a friend/family member
90. memorize an entire book of the Bible
91. help someone plan their wedding
92. visit a nursing home
93. star gaze in the Smoky Mountains (TN) completed: 21 Oct 2011
94. walk through World's Fair Park (Knoxville, TN) in the snow
95. go polar bear-ing
96. go snorkeling
97. successfully water ski
98. go mountain biking
99. eat a plate of freshly fallen snow with real VT maple syrup
100. be the first person to tell someone exciting news (...by the time I tell people, they've normally already heard the news. I never get to be the first one to break the news!) completed: 19 Nov 2011
101. write a card and send a package to a marine

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Hairstyles!

LinkI've been having lots of fun doing different hairstyles lately up at camp. I live in a hotel room (basically...they call it a camp cabin, but its actually more like a hotel room with bunk beds) and live in a place where you become winded from walking up hills if you venture more than 50 feet outside your doorstep. Needless to say: I have a lot of time to be artistic with just about the only thing I "have" with me at camp (I am dying to quilt and scrapbook, but those two things require a lot of space and yeah...hotel room...).
My friend Chelsey who has beautiful, long, curly, blondish hair posted this on her blog and I really liked it! I am going to try to do some of the hairstyles myself and come up with a few of my own too. I love "___ day challenges" and think a hair challenge would be fun!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9k20B1/myyellowsandbox.blogspot.com/p/30-hairstyles.html
I doubt I'll be able to post up pictures, but for those who happen to see me around (which I can promise, will be a select few seeing I live mostly with squirrels and acorn-woodpeckers) enjoy :)