7 things | a numbered list

It has been a while since I posted a random numbered list… :)

1. I’ve lived in Nashville for almost 4 weeks! It’s still a bit … surreal.

2. I really do love it here! I can’t say that Nashville feels like home quite yet, but I can say that the community of believers I’m a part of here does feel like (and is) family/home!

3. I gave myself a goal of writing at least 10 blog posts a month. February will not be meeting that mark. Whoops. Maybe I’ll make up for it in March. Maybe.

4. I haven’t gotten NEARLY as lost here as I did when I moved to Texas. That may have something to do with having an iphone now… Or maybe this is a less confusing city than Dallas/Fort Worth. (I actually think it’s a combination of the two.)

5. Speaking of iphones… I had slippery fingers today and mine landed face down on the asphalt outside of the bank. Cracked. Shattered? If you were watching it all go down you’d have thought that either it wasn’t broken or this happens to me everyday. It fell… I watched it land… Picked it up… Looked at it (and saw that yes, it is broken)… Thought to myself, “Well that’s awesome…” Stuck it in my purse… And walked in the bank…

6. It still works. So, have no fear.

7. Come back tomorrow. We’ll talk about more important things… like Jesus! :)

what draws people | you were interested in…

One of my favorite things about blogging is the ability to just CLICK and see what I was doing/thinking about/dealing with a year, or two, or six months ago. Another of my favorite things about blogging is that sometimes things don’t feel real, until I’ve SHARED them. And here, I get to SHARE some of them with you. I don’t write blogs to get blog traffic. I just share what is. And it’s always interesting to see what draws people here.

This year, well – last year (2011), you were apparently really interested in…

1. what I would tell the 18 year old version of myself and about finding your identity IN CHRIST.
2. my hilarious (and super cute) 18 year old brother and his college shenanigans.
3. angry, broken, lame feeling moments in which God showed me that it’s okay to be honest with Him about my brokenness and that sometimes tears are a tool for His healing.
4. the day my brother and I held a baby panda.
5. the spontaneous choice to chop off my hair and donate it to locks of love.
6. what it felt like for a nomad, such as myself, to do normal things with old friends.
7. that it is actually possible, and I prove it, to be a shy extrovert.
8. my contemplations on whether or not I am, or have been at any point, a religious person.

Thanks for reading. I’m excited for another year of sharing. Seriously, I think 2012 is gonna be GOOD!

12 things I want/need to do in 2012

In no particular order:

- blog at least 10 times a month.

- get a job!!!!

- paint 3 paintings (real paintings… on canvas).

- read a lot of books that make me smarter.

- cook at least one new recipe a month.

- live IN THE NOW, trusting the past and future to Jesus.

- run in a 10K and/or a half marathon.

- buy a car.

- move to Nashville.

- go to 2 new states (South Carolina and TBD).

- turn 30 with grace and style.

- go skydiving.

 

Ready?! AND … GO!

6 things | a numbered list of life and randomness

1. Is anyone else having ridiculous allergy issues lately? Do you know how to make them stop? Please tell me!

2. I’m up to running almost 4 miles. Someone clap for me! Now the question is… Should I or shouldn’t I sign up for a half marathon in April? I’ll let you know what I decide when it gets closer.

3. For Christmas, I got a lot of warm things. Here in San Diego, it’s been 80 degrees a few times this week. IN DECEMBER. Ridiculous. So, when I begin plans of moving somewhere, one of my family’s main concerns tends to be the weather. “It’s going to be so hot!” “It’s going to be so cold!” “How will you survive their weather!?” We’re spoiled here, ya know?  So, my family tries to equip me for more “extreme” temperatures when I move to other places… like Nashville.

4. Yes folks. That’s the latest news in my life. I have decided to move to Nashville. The details are still very much in the process. I’m applying for jobs and looking for ways to “make it work.” Mostly I’m just saying, “YES!” to where Jesus is taking me and I’m rather excited about the adventures that await… (and sometimes also a little freaked out by the number of unknowns involved… but that’s living, right?)

5. Read any good books lately? Not that I don’t already have 100 or so I’m intending to read… But, what were your favorite reads of the year?  (This is not a rhetorical question. I really want to know!) I’ll tell you mine soon!

6. Speaking of reading… I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not but, I’m a big fan of blogs. Here are some you should look at:

• Nerds, regular people, and overall lifetime happiness @ 22 Words (one of my favorite spots for random entertainment on the internet)
• Junk mail collage #2 @ Found Objects (Emily is so random and creative and just all around FUN)
• Sticks and Stones @ Hands Wide Open (Jon has a lot of important things to say on the subject of bullying. I think you should take some time to “listen” to him.)
• The Year in Pictures: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 @ The Boston Globe’s The Big Picture (my favorite place for news photography)

so very numbered list time | 7 unimportant things

It is so very numbered list time. Get ready to learn 7 unimportant things:

1. I am listening to this song at this very moment. I. love! it. Mixing together country and rap is the perfect combination of risky and genius! “And we like cornbread and bis-cuits. And if it’s broke around here we fix it…” But I don’t recommend that you try it at home. It probably won’t work out as well for you as it did for him.

2. Today, I went to the mall. An in and out quick trip (the only way I go to the mall unless by force) to get something I needed AND had a coupon for! It was raining. And I thought I parked in one place. But I didn’t. So, I walked around the parking lot – laughing at myself. There were a lot of people looking for parking and following me around. I’d look at them and shrug and wave them on. One lady rolled down her window and said, “I’ll drive you to your car if you give me your spot.” I said, “That’d be super but I don’t know where my car is…” Welcome to my life. I only forget things when it’s raining and hilarious to forget. I do it for entertainment purposes. You are welcome.

3. Sometimes, I do my hair in the morning and I think “Hmmm… Maybe I don’t REALLY have curly hair. Maybe it’s just been pretending. This is something, but it’s not curly.” And then there are days that it’s crazy curly (like today) and I stand in front of the mirror wondering how in the world it can be the same hair. Thus, I have decided my hair is schizophrenic  or has multiple personality disorder. Add to that the fact that I am pretty clueless about what color my hair is – and I clearly have some hair issues. {My confusion is not because I have dyed it so many times… I have actually never died it, really. It’s just turned into a rather indefinable color.} And somehow, all of that fits me.

4. Tonight I heard Donald Miller speak in San Diego. I would like to be friends with that guy. Not only does he love the beauty of a story, he’s got some legit stuff to say and some unique perspectives that challenge the status quo.

5. Next weekend, for 2 nights, I get to be roommates with my Asia roommate! I. am. so. excited! Honestly. And we get to go to our next door neighbor/family member’s wedding! Woot woot! And it happens to be in Dallas, so I get to spend time with my people there too! Blessings all around!

6. About that… Both the Asia chapter and the Dallas chapter of my life are closed. At least for now, and possibly forever. But you never know. I shall follow the Spirit’s leading day by day and who knows where that will take me to and from… But for now, there isn’t anything in me that feels like I should be living in either of those places. And that’s kind of a weird feeling, especially when you mix it with the missing of people. But it’s great! It’s exciting! That God has NEW things He’s bringing me to. It’s strangely freeing, while also bewildering… :)

7. In case you’re wondering, now I’m listening to Justin Bieber – Stuck in a Moment. If you inspected the music in my itunes, you’d probably be confused. I listen to this little dude because it’s full of fun Asia memories. Like my brother singing at KTV. So. Wonderful! Oh wait. Now it’s K’naan. Wavin’ his flag. :) Maybe I should watch some soccer now…