If you plant it, it will grow

This may not have been the most exciting thing on my list, but it provided weeks of excitement for me.

Back in February my secret blog valentine sent me the most thoughtful gift! It was all the tools needed to get started on #17 on my list- Grow a plant:



(I bought the potting soil, but everything else was from my valentine)

I finally got around to planting the seeds at the beginning of April. It took a couple weeks of watering and waiting, but finally somethings started to come up:



After this picture was taken, my plant suffered some challenges. The plant stand it was in was knocked over twice by Cam and once by me in a drunken stupor on the night I lost my job. I had to carefully scoop the dirt and plants back in to the pot each time. I thought they were doomed.

But after more watering and waiting one of them finally bloomed!





There are even more buds that are getting ready to bloom on there now!

This weekend I transferred the plants to my back yard. I planted this one and another plant witty guy had bought me when I lost my job that I have managed to keep alive all this time:


Maybe I don't have a black thumb after all!

Great List Ideas and the Winner!

You guys had such great list ideas! I love the garden idea and I want to ride in a hot air balloon one day too. So on to the winner...

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 10
Result: 4
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Congratulations Akirah! Email me your address and I will get the book to you.

I have been quietly working on some of my list ideas.

Back in February my secret blog valentine sent me some supplies to get started on #17 on my list- grow a plant. Let me tell you, it does not happen overnight. And my poor plant has not had it easy, but it is getting bigger everyday and I am just waiting for it to bloom so I can mark that off my list. I'll be sure to post a whole timeline of that with pictures when it happens.

I also did something I have never done before yesterday. I replaced the faucet in my bathroom all by myself! It was not easy. It took over 4 hours and another trip to Lowe's to get a basin wrench, and a lot of frustration, but I did it! When I made the original list and put #18 as upgrading one room in my house, the room I had in mind was my kitchen. I wanted to upgrade all the appliances to stainless steel. Put in granite counter tops. Add some cute knobs to my cabinets. Get a new sink and faucet. Paint and add a back splash. And replace the floors with hardwoods. But that is going to be expensive.

So now I am thinking I might just upgrade my whole bathroom. I want to paint it a light blue or green or maybe even a bright turquoise. I want to install one of those rain shower heads. And then frame my mirror. It will be a lot cheaper and I can do the work myself. But since I have no job and funds are limited, it is going to have to be a slow process. At least I have a jump start on it with my new faucet!

I also need to do a post about my zoo trip last Friday. In the meantime, go check out my reviews of American Wife and Questioning Evangelism on my Bookshelf Blog.

30 Before 30 List Updates

Here’s an update on my “30 Before 30” list progress (or lack thereof) lately:

Get in the best shape of my life/5K training- I have taken 2 weeks off my trainging due to my hectic schedule and the blisters on the back of my feet. I am regretting it now because I can’t seem to get back into the swing of things. Last night I changed into my workout gear right after work and do you know what happened? I fell asleep on the couch. Until 9:00! Only 7 more weeks until the race! So I better get on it! If you haven’t signed up yet, go join our team now:

Jingle Joggers ROCK!

If you can’t be there, contribute to my fundraising efforts by clicking here

I have also started a diet. Diets are so hard, but I have to do something. I am not comfortable in my own skin. My clothes are too tight which causes me to dress frumpily. I don’t want to be a frump. I want to be cute! So don’t tempt me with anything I shouldn’t be eating, k?

Get a job I love- Well, you guys weren’t much help with my poll. Only 3 people voted- one for Marketing Superstar, one for Graphic Designer, and one for Store Owner. I have no freaking clue. I guess all I can do for now is to go with the flow since I have to pay my bills. I did sign up for an MBA Boot Camp course through my employer that I will be taking Nov. 3-7. Maybe that will give me some insight!

Pay all my own bills- I have made a decision. When my lease runs out on my beetle-bug in April I will not be getting a new car. This makes me oh so sad. I was looking forward to heated seats and an extended warranty, but for now I have to stick with old faithful. I am going to drive the 4Runner for a while. It is over 10 years old and I am afraid of it dying in the middle of the road, but it is what I need to do. I need to save more money and this will be a good way of doing that. I am going to take over my car insurance payments from my mom at that time and hopefully my gas expenses too so I can check this one off the list!

Grow a plant- I still have not gotten any tulip bulbs. Heck, I still haven’t put my laundry away or vacuumed in like a month, so first things first people! My light fixture in my kitchen has not been replaced. It is just the ugly fluorescent bulbs for now with no cover. At least I never have anyone come visit to witness this disaster that is my house. (its not that bad really, just needs a little work!)

Read the Bible all the way through- I told you earlier about an email service I signed up for that would email me some chapters each day and within a year Viola'!- I would have read the whole thing. Well, that didn’t work out as well as I was hoping. They had technical difficulties and I wasn’t getting the emails everyday like I should. So I am going to old fashion route.

I bought a new Bible- isn’t it pretty? It's pink...and brown but so cute!






And I bought a reading guide/journal to help me:



The rest of the stuff is on hold for now.

Things I learned this weekend...

- Laser Tag is completely AWESOME!

- I need a maid because I am A) domestically challenged and B) lazy

- There are more gangs than you can imagine in America and they are all A) violent B) drug infested and C) run from and/or started inside prisons. Gang related crimes should have stiffer penalties just like hate crimes or even worse (in my opinion)! (thanks for the education A&E's Gangland)

- I suck at putt putt...especially when there are hills involved.

- It is possible to sleep for almost 30 hours in one weekend and still be tired. (Especially if the dreams are good and you don't want to wake up!)

- I prefer my original Skim Caramel Machiatto to the drink of the season: Pumpkin Spice Latte

- The winner of the "Grow a Plant" poll was...Plant a seed! So I guess I am going to try to go pick up some tulip bulbs or something sometime soon. Who knows? I need to do more research.

- The 9 am service at church is mighty early, but isn't nearly as crowded as the 10:45 service

- I should have put voice lessons on my list because there are some mighty HOT guys in the choir at church

- I still hate Mondays

News Flash!

Well, well, well...Don't I feel like a dummy? I have just been informed that RIGHT NOW is the growing season...well at least the planting season. So I guess I better get crackin'!

So now the question is: Can I plant a plant and watch it grow, or do I have to plant a seed and actually grow a plant from it? Vote now in the poll to the right!

Update on The List

I feel like it is taking FOREVER to cross the next thing off my list! (I’ve already told y’all I’m not patient at all!) I am also getting a little nervous because 2 years seemed like a long time when I made the list, but time goes by more quickly than you expect. And if I don’t get everything crossed off I am going to feel like a complete LOSER, so the pressure is really on. It would really help if I could find a money tree somewhere around here. I didn’t realize so many of these things are going to require a good chunk of change!

Anyway, here is an update on The List progress:

1. Get in the best shape of my life- the 5K training is helping with this a little, but I need to step it up! Maybe I’ll get a trainer? They really do help!
2. Try snowboarding – trying to get a ski trip planned for Feb. I guess I’ll be renting a board instead of skis!
3. Get a job I love – Still no word here. I am thinking about going back to school.
4. Take Cam to an agility class- no time or funds right now. But he did learn to “bow” recently (it’s so cute!)
5. Pay all my own bills (with no help from mom)- I plan on taking over my car insurance when I get a new car next year. (My lease runs out in April.) I’ll have to learn to budget better in order to take over the gas though, and hopefully prices will go down a little.
6. Ask out a crush- This would require an adequate crush. There are none at this point in time. Sad…I know!
7. Run a 5K- I might have to take a week off from training because I have the worst blisters on the back of my heels! Or maybe I could run in flip-flops?
8. Go to a water park and not feel self-conscious- luckily I don’t have to worry about this until at least next summer!
9. Kayak- too cold to kayak now, but I think a camping/kayaking trip in the mountains sounds fabulous!
10. Catch a fish- This can wait until summer
11. Open my heart to someone- Yeah, that would require a guy. (see #6)
12. Make a baby laugh- My friend in ATL is having a baby in Feb. Maybe I will get a chance to go out there to meet the little munchkin, act stupid and get a laugh out of him!
13. Change a diaper (no I have never done this) - I don’t want to think about this. But whatever baby laughs at me, I guess the least I can do to thank them is change their diaper!
14. Go on a mission trip- I found out about a mission trip to South Africa in December, but I looked it up on the website today and it costs $2500! That took the wind out of my sails!
15. Help a stranger- no strangers that need help have crossed my path yet
16. Find a doctor I trust- haven’t had time to investigate this yet, plus I have been pretty healthy, so there hasn’t been any motivation to do so.
17. Grow a plant- I’m going to wait until growing season for this (someone please let me know when “growing season” is!)
18. Upgrade one room in my house- My light fixture in my kitchen broke. I had already been thinking this would be the room I would re-do. So I guess I’ll do it one thing at a time. I’ll post some pics when I finally get a new light fixture!
19. Travel abroad- yeah money is an issue with this one. I might have to count Mexico as “abroad”!
20. Swim with a dolphin
21. Go skinny dipping- No…no desire to do this right now
22. Visit Washington, DC – I am trying to see if I can pull together a trip this spring to see the Cherry Blossoms.
23. Take a dance lesson- I did have a dance lesson from a 7 year old last week…does that count?
24. Sing Karaoke
25. Invest in the stock market- umm…have you seen the news? I don’t want to get on that roller coaster ride!
26. Kiss in the rain- Need I remind you? …THERE IS NO GUY in the picture right now. If I kiss my dog in the rain could that count? (Yet another reminder of how pathetic I am!)
27. Read the Bible all the way through- I signed up for this “Bible in a Year” email service. It emails you a selection each day and in a year you will have read the whole Bible! I also joined a Bible study group. We actually have to memorize a new verse each week. It takes me back to Bible School days!
28. Go see a movie at the theater- alone!- Nothing that I am dying to see right now
29. Attempt Surfing- Again…waiting for summer…too cold for the ocean right now!
30. Purchase 1 piece of expensive jewelry for myself- By the way, the other night I thought I lost one of my earrings and FREAKED out! It was just the icing on a bad day that I didn’t need! Luckily I found it in between the sheets on my bed. Note to self: Do not wear expensive earrings to bed anymore.

Oh and I finally finished my latest book! Check out my review of The Friday Night Knitting Club on my Bookshelf Blog!