The obligatory bucket list

From College Station...

I was reading a friend's blog (www.morganrainer.wordpress.com) and she had posted a little while ago about a singleness bucket list. Basically a list of things she wants to accomplish before she gets married. That had me thinking: what are some things I would want to do before I get married? Not like I have specific plans of marriage right now, but I would hate to get to that point and regret not having done something. Might as well start now. The first few are the same as hers, but here we go...

1. Read through the entire Bible

Having gone to private school and church all my life, I'm surprised I have yet to accomplish this. This isn't something I want to do just to say I've done it. I genuinely think it is important.

2. Be financially responsible

I find it very difficult to spend large amounts of money on myself. I don't think I've ever spent over $30 on a pair of jeans. I would in no way call myself financially UNresponsible, but I just have never truly been on my own. I am blessed to have parents who have supported me financially all throughout college, but since I am graduating I feel very weird still letting them pay for my rent and all that jazz. Starting next semester I want to learn how to properly budget my money and learn fiscal responsibility (Ew I sound old)

3. Learn to cook like a pro...or my mom.

Don't get me wrong. I am not the stereotypical college student who makes Ramen or Easy Mac every night. In fact, I don't think I've ever made Ramen. I am not a bad cook. I can follow a recipe like nobody's business. I watch Food Network on an almost daily basis. Basically, I enjoy cooking. I just find it difficult to motivate myself to make some elaborate meal when it's just me eating it. For that reason, I haven't really learned how to come up with ideas on my own. Everything I have ever made has been from a strictly followed recipe. I would like to learn how to cook the way my mom does. She knows what goes good together and can make literally anything. I would also like to get over my fear of crock pots...there's something terrifying about leaving one going all day while I'm out of the house.

4. Be ok with leaving the house without any makeup

Yikes...this is a tough one. I usually gag and roll my eyes at the "you're beautiful no matter what!" message, but this is something I would like to accomplish. Not saying I will throw away all my makeup and feminine beauty products of any kind and opt for the all-natural lifestyle, but I would like to be able to not be self-conscious leaving the house without any makeup on. With the exception of mornings when I go to the gym, before leaving the house I go through my routine of putting makeup on. It's not even the dramatic girl issue of thinking I'm hideous without it, because in all honesty I don't think I even look much different. It's just something I've been doing since 8th grade, and it's a routine that I need to be ok with breaking every once in awhile.

5. Live by myself

For my whole life, I have always lived with someone else. Obviously with my parents and my little sister, and then all through college I've had at least one roommate. Thankfully I have no horrible roommate-from-hell horror stories, and I have loved all of the girls I have lived with, but there is something I really enjoy about being home alone. I love singing at the top of my lungs without distracting anyone. I love dancing around the house looking like a complete idiot. I love building forts and tents out of sheets in the living room. I love cleaning. I love taking 30-minute showers. All of these things I can't do so well when living with someone else. Whoever I marry will have to get used to it, but until then, I look forward to living by myself and doing all of these things on a regular basis.

6. Work out regularly

This is indeed the most disheartening goal I've ever had. I swear, every time I tell myself "Ok, this is the last weekend I will eat like a pig. Monday starts my daily workout routine!" it lasts for maybe two weeks, only to be foiled by my not-so-secret love of Dr. Pepper and Sonic, usually at the same time. I would not call myself unhealthy or out of shape, but I definitely would like to be more disciplined in this area.


This is all I can think of for now. I'm sure I will think of more later, so stay tuned.

Have a good rest of the week!

Time flies

From Round Rock...

Last week marked my last day of going to class...ever. At least as a student. This Saturday is graduation, and I have many mixed feelings about it. The first thing people ask me when I tell them I'm graduating is "Are you excited?!" My initial reaction is something along the lines of "No...I've spent 3 1/2 years of my life studying information that I, for the most part, will never use again. I'm finally done. I'm not excited one bit" but I refrain and simply answer "yes". Along with this excitement come feelings of fear and uncertainty. I am a planner. Always have been, and let's face it, I probably always will be. Justin was correct in stating that if I could plan things out 37 years in advance, I would. But starting in May I have no idea what's going to happen, at least not past where my own plans will take me. My current plan is to move to Austin, start teaching somewhere in August (be that at another preschool or an elementary school, I don't know yet), and work out every day like I've been telling myself I would do this whole semester. I have experienced the pain of failed plans many times before. I hate it. In fact, it's one of the things I hate most in life. Obviously I grew out of the temper tantrum stage long ago, but it still makes me quite upset when something I was looking forward to is no longer possible. In times like those I have to slap myself in the face (sometimes literally) and remind myself that God knows better. Every time. Without fail. With that in mind, I suppose it would be appropriate to focus on the excitement aspect of this new adventure of mine. I am excited because despite all the changes going on that scare me, I have so many things to be thankful for:

1. My Lord and Savior, who will never change. Neva' eva'
2. Parents who love me and have sacrificed more for me than I will ever know.
3. Friends whom I love dearly.
4. My dear Justin. The Lord has truly blessed my heart over the past 5 months.
5. An education. Although I have complained about homework and tests, I am fortunate to have had a quality education that some are not able to have.
6. Good health. Besides strep throat here and there, I haven't had any life threatening diseases like smallpox or dysentery (both of which I learned about on Oregon Trail).
7. Never being in need. I also have, at times, complained about the amount of money in my bank account. Or lack thereof, rather. But I can't think of a single time when I have truly needed something and not had the funds to pay for it.

I could think of a whole day's worth of happy things I am thankful for, but you get the idea.

I shall update, soon enough I'm sure, about how the Lord shows me, once again, that my plans are silly.


Have a wonderful Christmas! Peace and blessings, peace and blessings.