Bucket List

I've decided to start a list of things I want to do before I die.  I'll add to it when I think of more things.  For now, here is what I've got.

1.  Visit all 50 states
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
2.  Go parasailing
3.  Visit Australia
4.  Visit England
5.  Go to Jerusalem
6.  See the Great Wall of China
7.  Tour the castles in Europe
8.  Buy a home
9.  Plant a garden
10.  Build something completely by hand
11.  Visit Paris and see the Eiffel Tower
12.  Go to Los Angeles\Hollywood
13.  Visit the Biltmore at Christmas and in the Spring
14.  Learn to swing dance
15.  Learn to surf
16.  Tour the White House
17.  Visit Boston
18.  Go to Memphis
19.  See the Golden Gate Bridge
20.  Visit the Mall of America
21.  Go to Disneyland
22.  Visit the San Diego zoo
23.  Visit Canada
24.  Ride a double decker bus in London

Help

Ok guys I need your help.  I really want to be able to blog about books and not have to spend a ton of money doing it.  We all know I love to read and so I found several publishing companies that will send me books for free to blog about.  However, I have to have at least 30 followers on my blog.  I know my other blog is new but if you could follow it, that would be great.  If you don't want to read it, that's fine.  It just has to publicly show that I have 30 or more followers.  If you know someone else who might be interested in my other blog, send it on.  The link if http://onandofftheshelf.blogspot.com/.  Thanks!

New Blog

I don't blog much anymore but thought I would try and blog about the books I read.  I started a new blog http://onandofftheshelf.blogspot.com/.  I am going to try and right about the books right after I finish them so they are fresh in my mind.  If anyone has any tips or can give me feedback, that would be great.  I posted 2 posts already and am working on a third on a book I read last week.

Update

I got really slack about blogging.  Obviously, I haven't blogged in almost a year.  This year I've started out trying to read through this huge stack of books I've got.  I started with Seven by Jenn Hatmaker, then read Unglued by Lysa Terkeurest.  After that, Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis.  Currently, I'm reading A Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  However, I've put that book aside for a little bit to read Orphan Justice by Johnny Carr.  I've spent the last couple of months thinking about orphans and the living situations they experience in overseas orphanages.  While looking at the Christian Alliance for Orphans website, I ran across Both Ends Burning.  I'm super excited about seeing the documentary they have made called Stuck watching the preview has changed my outlook on a lot of things.  I think everyone should look at the preview http://buy.stuckdocumentary.com/.    Another site I've been visiting has been amazima.  So many other neat things I've found but that's all for now.

Prayers

Some of you know I'm in school for Medical Billing\Coding. Anyways, I'm nearing the end of my school, but I really need a full-time job before I finish. Also, I'm going to have to move at the end of summer\beginning of the fall. I'm not too concerned about the move since I've already had one person say I could stay with them (but it would be temporary and I need something more permanent). I really need a job that I will be able to live off of what I make so I'm asking for prayer in that regard. I've been looking and have probably applied for five or six jobs already so we'll see. Also, prayer that I make the right decision about where to live. My blog wasn't letting me post so that's why there's been a delay.

The Day My Car Died

I was driving back from Greenville last monday after spending Easter with my family. Anyways, I noticed the A\C went out and I thought that sucks, but I was close to home. Well, then my a\c comes back on and the check engine light comes on. I ignored it thinking I was almost home. (FYI, don't ever ignore that!) Then I noticed my car was slowing down. It didn't seem to have a lot of power. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw smoke. I decided to get off at the next exit and go to the gas station. I pulled off at 177 on I-26. I got to the top of the ramp and stopped and my car went dead. It wouldn't start. I tried calling my dad, no answer. I tried calling the house, no answer. I called my friend Michelle and she got her brother to come and get me. I called my dad again and this time he answered. I told him what was going on. Then I called AAA to get a tow truck. In the meantime, several people stopped, but I told them I didn't need help. AAA towed my car to the Car Care Center for free and Peco, Michelle's brother, gave me a ride home. Well, the next day, the Car Care Center calls and tells me I need a new engine. It's going to cost me $5,000! My car is worth $2,000 or less. So, now I'm getting a new car and I sold my civic to a friend who wants to try and fix it. I know it's weird, but I kind of feel a sense of loss. That car was my first car. I had it for the past 8 years almost to the day. I've had so many adventures in it. The song that keeps running through my head is American Pie. I guess the line in it that makes me think about it is, "drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry".

Wayback Wednesday

Today I've been baking cupcakes most of the day. This reminds me of when I was little my mom would always bake birthday cakes for my birthday. She would always decorate them so they looked professionally done. She even knew how to make a cookie cake that looked like one you would buy at the store. They were soooo good! I guess that's where my love of baking come's from.

Musical Monday

Today's song that was stuck in my head was Madonna's "Like A Prayer". My musical playlist recently has consisted of lots of 80 music.

My top songs for the week:

1. How Great is Our God by Christ Tomlin
2. Let the Waters Rise by Mikeschair
3. Explorer's Club
4. 80's Music

Way Back Wednesday

Today's post is going to be related to my recent trip to Augusta. When I was 5, I went to Rock City in Tennessee (this is when we lived in Chattanooga) with my aunt and cousins (who were teenagers). Anyways, one of them picked me up and held me over a waterfall. I remember screaming for him to put me down. I can still see the waterfall in my head to this day. This leads me to this past weekend. Augusta has a park where you can walk alongside the river and a bridge that connects you to a strip of land on the other side. Every time I walk over water, I get this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm going to somehow end up in that water. I shouldn't be afraid, but I am. I know how to swim.

Musical Monday

On mondays, I'm going to try and post something music related. I LOVE music but am definitely not a performer. My playlist for this past week consisted of some Justin Bieber and Chris Tomlin. Two totally different performers! I bought the new Passion cd, but haven't really listened to it a lot.



Current Top Plays



1. Our God - Chris Tomlin

2. Baby - Justin Bieber

3. Somebody to Love - Justin Bieber

4. Thriller - Michael Jackson



Favorite song from church this past sunday: Mighty To Save "youtube" style (it's actually suppose to be U2, but I thought Krista said youtube)

Road Trip to Augusta\Silly Sunday

This is of me, Ree and Krista.

Krista and I took a road trip to Augusta to see the pioneer woman. She had no idea who the pioneer woman was and we really had no idea where we were going. Anyways, we set my phone to the address posted on the pioneer woman's website and we were off. We got off the interstate and followed the GPS. It tells us to turn into a neighborhood so we do. Gorgeous houses in this neighborhood! Krista is like, I don't think this is the way. I say let's see where it takes us. anyways, we basically take a cut through a neighborhood to another road. We follow the GPS and we end up at a park. We were like is this it? We weren't sure. We went inside to use the bathroom. It was about 3:30 at this point and it didn't start until 5. When we got inside, we see people sitting on couches and one lady clutching the pioneer woman's cook. I was like I think this is it, but we have an hour and a half. We decided to walk around the park since it was on the river. Very nice! Anyways, we go back inside around 4:30. There were more people but not too many. They eventually let us all down to where she was speaking. By the time she spoke, the room was packed. Ree says she's not a great speaker, but she really is. She had me almost to the point of tears because I was laughing so hard at something she said. Krista and I got in line for her to sign my book and waited for almost two hours! Crazy! I got my picture with Marlboro man. I had to wait like one minute for that one. Ree had her two boys with her as well. They were hilarious! Ree had done a slide show and they took the mic and started going through the slides and giving their own commentary. Quite entertaining! I think those boys also ate several pieces of cake but no the icing. I noticed one of them threw away the icing. Do they not like icing in Oklahoma? I should have asked Ree that, but I didn't. You see, I'm quite a shy person and I clam up sometimes when I'm nervous so I barely said A THING to her when I met her and I felt my face turn red. I hate the fact that I embarrass so easily and it wasn't even an embarrassing moment. Anyways, I survived meeting the pioneer woman and Marlboro man as well.

Ree has inspired me to try and blog more so I decided to give myself theme days to try and blog about different things. By my title, today I'm going to tell you about something silly I did on my trip. Krista and I stopped for gas when we left Augusta. It was dark outside by the time we left. Anyways, I pull out of the parking lot onto the road. I'm like "Krista, why is the road so dark? I can't see ANYTHING!" She says, "Maybe you should turn on your headlights!"

Some other themes I'm going to try and aim for are: Musical Mondays, either Way back Wednesday or Flashback Fridays. I will explain more about each of these when I get to those days. No hating if I miss a day or two I'm also going try and post a picture a week. We'll see how that goes as well. Onto some pictures.

This is a picture of the Savannah River.

Another picture of the Savannah River.

Savannah River

Savannah River

I found my name on a wall

Marlboro Man and Me

(so glad that you can't see my red face)

Ree and me

King Street Grille

Last week, I ate at the King Street Grille. I got a burger since they were half-priced. The food was expensive, at least to me. Anyways, we ordered mac and cheese egg rolls for an appetizer. I wasn't sure if I would like them or not. They were AWESOME! So YUMMY! Then I got the bbq bacon cheeseburger. It was ok. I'm not a huge fan or really thick burgers and this one had that burnt taste to it. It wasn't burnt, but I could taste where the burnt parts were. I probably should have substituted my burger for chicken and would have liked it more. They let you take any burger and make it a wrap. You can also substitute your meat for turkey burger or chicken, which is nice. Next time I eat there, I'm definitely going to try the loaded potato egg rolls and maybe one of the past dishes.

Joseph's Restaurant

This past sunday I had brunch at Joseph's restaurant after church. I had the french toast (seems to be a reoccuring theme on sundays). I've never eaten here before so I was excited to try it, because as you know, I'm trying to try somewhere new each month. The french toast was definitely different than any french toast I've had before. I got three very large pieces. They were real french bread and it was pretty good. I added a side of bacon, which wasn't very good. I don't know if I would eat here again. I liked the french toast from Poogan's Porch better and it came with bacon plus we got biscuits as well.

Day 1 Photo Challenge

A friend told me she was going to do this 30 day photo challenge. I read her post and decided that I would give it a try. The first challenge is post a picture of yourself and 15 facts about yourself. I couldn't find a picture of just me, so here is one of my and my sister.




1. I have a tendency to be shy when you first me.
2. I went to private school from elementary school all the way through college.
3. I love to bake, scrapbook and take pictures.
4. I've lived in Charleston for 10 years and I love it.
5. I hate the cold.
6. I love flowers.
7. I love to travel to different places, but I also love to be at home.
8. I love to read.
9. I hate over 300 books.
10. I've moved more times in the past 6 years than I have the other 22 years of my life.
11. I love to sing just not in front of people.
12. I hate being the center of attention.
13. I was in two weddings on back to back weekends.
14. I use to drive through 3 different counties every day to go to work.
15. I have been in two different places at the same time.

Day 2 - A picture of you and the person you are closest to
Day 3 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 4 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 5 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 6 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 7 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 8 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 9 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the silliest things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of your favorite night
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your favorite day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Virginia's on King

Yesterday a friend and I went to Virginia's on King. Since it's restaurant week here in Charleston, I figured why not try a new restaurant especially since that's one of my goals this year. I paid $20 for an appetizer, entree and dessert. For my appetizer, I got the house salad. I requested it without mushrooms, but it came with mushrooms. I had already started eating it so I just picked out the mushrooms. The waiter asked me if I wanted a new salad, but I told him it was ok and that I just picked them out. The salad was ok. It tasted a little weird to me, but maybe that was because it also had tomatoes on it and I don't like tomatoes. Anyways, my friend, Krista, got the fried green tomatoes. Those were actually really good and like I said earlier, I don't normally like tomatoes. We both ordered the fried chicken. Since it was on the restaurant week menu, we didn't get to choose our sides. It came with mashed potatoes and collard greens. I tried the collards but didn't like them. I don't normally like collards to begin with so I wasn't expecting to like them. My friend chicken was really good. However, it wasn't boneless. I'm not a big fan of chicken on the bone. The mashed potatoes were really good. I enjoyed them a lot! Anyways, for dessert I got the chocolate cake. YUMMY! Dessert is definitely my favorite part of any meal. I ate all of my cake. I tried Krista's chocolate mousse. It was good and a little rich. Anyways, I think I would eat there again. I definitely want to try their chicken salad and pecan chicken.

New Year

Wow! A new year already! Time flies. I've been terribly slack in my blogging, but I'm hoping to get better. I told Paige I would do this get organized challenege with her as long as it was something that I could do. Obviously, I can't organize kitchen drawers, which was the challenge yesterday. Another one of my goals this coming year is to try a new restaurant every month. I don't know where I'm going to go in january yet, but if you have any suggestions let me know. I have several changes that are coming up this year, but it's nothing I haven't faced before i.e. moving. The job thing probably will be a little more challenging, but I'm working on trust. I like to be in control and I need to let God be in control. Today I went to FBC Charleston with my friends Krista and Jason. Jason is leading worship at the sunrise service which is their contemporary service. Today was their first day and I wanted to go and support them. They did a wonderful job. The church is gorgeous and very old as it was founded in the late 1600s. I really enjoyed the service. I went to sunday school with them as well. Jason is also in charge of the young adult ministry and so they were going to go the singles class. There really wasn't any one there except for the teacher and one girl. I do think that a few more people come, but they just weren't there today. The teacher's wife actually was the one who taught since he was sick. She told us that they are trying to build up the singles class, because a lot of people are leaving once they finish college. I knew exactly what she was talking about. Those who know me know that I've struggled with that for a long time. Not about leaving the church, but how everyone else does. I've struggled with the lack of fellowship and that's what she talked about in sunday school. FELLOWSHIP! I don't know if God wants me to leave the church I'm at or not. I do know that I heard exactly what I needed to. It's definitely going to be a prayerful decision and a step way out of my comfort zone. Anyways, on a more light hearted note, a goal I've set for myself is to go to the gym twice a week and spend at least 30 minutes there. Reading all these medical books has made me realize that I need to take care of my body and one way to prevent sickness is exercise. I'm not kidding. It was listed in almost every disease as one way to help prevent it.

Busy as a Bee

I've been so busy lately with school and work that I just haven't had time to blog (who knows if anyone reads this anymore). Anyways, I've decided that starting in January, I want to try to eat at one new resteraunt a month and blog about it. Anyone have any suggestions or want to try places with me, let me know! I made some really yummy cookies a few weeks ago. It was a recipe I found online. They were peanut butter cookies with a surprise inside. I found a recipe online that was called Santa's Snicker Surprise Cookies. I bought some snickers to put inside but I also tried reeses and rolo's. The rolo's were the best! The caramel and chocolate spread through out the middle of the cookie! So good! I now have a new cookie to add to my christmas baking list this year.

Exercise

I decided to join the Y at the end of september, mainly because I could join for half the price. I haven't been as much as I should, but I'm working on it. I was told to start at a 3.5 pace on the treadmill. The first day, I went a little over 2 miles at that pace. The next time I went I did a 3.5 pace for a mile and a 3.7 pace for the second mile. I ended up doing 2.2 miles. Today I went again and set my pace at 3.8. After the first mile, I increased it to 4.0 for a .1 mile and then went back down to 3.8 after that. When I hit 1.4 miles, I decided to increase it up to 4.0 for another .1 mile (the song on my ipod made me want to run). 4.0 wasn't quite a running pace, but I stayed at that pace for about .3 miles. I ended up doing 2.2 miles in about 40 minutes. Hopefully, I will gradually be able to increase my speed and build up my endurance. Right now, I'm fighting a cough and a potential sinus infection so hopefully once I get past that, I will be able to do more.

Life

I'm starting classes to get my medical coding certificate. I'm hoping this well help me get a full time job in the next year. I'm ready to just have a steady, stable income, which in this day and age is going to be hard to find. Anyways, I've been having fun editing photos in photoshop. I must say once I get started, its kind of hard for me to stop. I LOVE IT! I also bought a cupcake book. I just made brownie cupcakes. I have no idea if they taste good or not, but the batter was good. I made everything from scratch! I don't know if I've ever made a cake from scratch before. It was definitely interesting! Here's a picture of my cupcakes.

Disappointment

I've been thinking a lot about my church lately. It's gone through some major changes. I've tried to adjust to these changes. However, I just feel like the spirit is just gone. I have been getting more from the sermons, which was a complaint of mine, but other than that, nothing. I have no fellowship with anyone. I'm not involved in a sunday school, because right now I teach. However, even if I didn't teach, there is no sunday school to go to. I was talking to a friend about it and she made me think about how it's so different from when I first started going there. It was smaller and there was definitely more fellowship between people of all ages. They had dinner on wednesday night and once a year would have a big dinner on the grounds. That's all fallen to the wayside as the church has grown. I found out some recent news that upset me and made me question the decision making. I'm unsure what I'm going to do when august is over. Prayer would greatly be appreciated, because I've been at my current church for over six years and any change would definitely be out of my comfort zone.