hope. despite rainy days.

Friday, April 6, 2012

101 in 1001- Update #2

In the last months, I've been able to cross several items off of my list and begin several more. I've really enjoyed checking in with 101 in the last year or so. Its been a good way to see and remember what I've done compared to what I wanted to have done with my year. I strongly encourage you to make one if you haven't already. So far, I've started or completed 28% of my goals, with a year left to finish them. Not too shabby! :)

Blue- completed , Red- in progress

Life Goals-

1. Find a fulltime job, whatever that looks like J

2. Fly internationally- flew to Jordan and Lebanon

3. Visit at least two foreign nations- visited Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria

4. Buy my first car J

5. Learn another language- ish; learned around 30-40 words in arabic

6. Visit my brother in Chicago

7. Go back to IJM for the Global Prayer Gathering

8. Pay off a portion of my student loans

9. Rent an apartment

10. Reply to emails within 24 hours

11. Reset my horrible sleep habits

12. Do laundry once a week for two months

13. Make my bed everyday for a month

14. Go to the doctor, dentist, and optometrist regularly

15. Take my vitamins daily for a month

16. Give up sugar for a month

17. Purposefully befriend someone new

18. Learn to coupon

19. Tithe 10% of my income

20. Open up a savings account- did twice, actually

21. Get a Netflix account again- 5-20-2011

22. Update my resume and practice writing cover letters

23. Create an exercise schedule and stick with it

Organization Goals-

24. Sort through and organize my books

25. Sell old textbooks on Half.com

26. Organize my three folders of school papers and purge

27. Print out favorite college photos and organize them into an album

28. Declutter and organize my computer

29. Create a budget and track all expenses

30. Create a file with all of my medical and important documents

31. Go through my inbox once a month and declutter

32. Organize my jewelry making supplies- done! 1-21-11

33. Create a binder with all of my favorite recipes

Spiritual Goals-

34. Join a Bible study/small group/ Sunday school and attend regularly for three months

35. Explore and decide upon a home church

36. Purposefully read through the NT making comparisons between books

37. Find a daily devotional

38. Make plans for another mission trip

39. Make a prayer journal

40. Volunteer at church- specifically with the youth or children groups- have been working with a monthly Kid's Club since September '11

Just Because -

41. Explore N.Y City

42. Visit three new states

43. Take a long roadtrip (6 hours +)- drove to GA to visit N, M, E and H :)

44. Treat a friend to lunch

45. Blog once a week for a year

46. Learn how to swim, for reals.

47. Go to the beach- swam in the Red Sea in Jordan

48. Read a biography

49. Take a pilates class

50. Go to an art museum with a friend

51. Find a perfume that I love

52. Spend a day in a bookstore

53. Make a card and send it to a friend

54. Go to a movie by myself

55. Explore a new location- explored Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash and several other sites in Jordan

56. Hike to the NE lighthouse

57. Spend a day exploring Longwood Gardens

58. Go antiquing with Mom

59. Make the Pioneer Woman’s amazing cinnabuns

60. Get a massage

61. Cuddle with a newborn

62. Go stargazing

63. Try sushi- a Korean friend made sushi for me. It was quite yummy :)

64. Get dessert at an expensive restaurant

65. Buy an orchid and keep it alive for 6 months

66. Cook 35 new recipes

67. Learn to make a three layer cake

68. Cook a special meal and invite friends over

69. Splash in a puddle

70. Go to the county fair- went with S, truely awesome!

71. Watch fireworks on the 4^th of July

72. Buy something off of craigslist

73. Spend a day exploring Philadelphia

74. Learn to type faster

Musical Goals-

75. Find three piano studio blogs and read daily for two months

76. Create a piano practice schedule and stick with it for at least two months

77. Practice violin twice a week for a month

78. Practice sightreading every day for a month

79. See a musical- either on or off broadway

80. Go to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra- went in November as a birthday treat!

81. Begin the process of becoming a nationally certified teacher through the Music Teacher’s National Association

82. Go to the MTNA national conference

83. Reread my Piano Ped. Textbook because it is awesome

84. Learn how to play 6 chords on the guitar

85. Have a piano studio of at least three students- currently have 15 students :)

86. Upgrade my piano

87. Start building a library of piano materials

Hobby Goals-

88. Take a photography class

89. Learn to use my film camera on manual

90. Make 4 sets of earrings and send them to friends

91. Learn how to make chandelier earrings

92. Read at least ten non-fiction books

93. Learn how to use a decent photo editing program (program to be decided)

94. Take a photo a day for a month

95. Spend three hours figuring out the basics of Excel

96. Crochet another afghan

97. Relearn how to use the sewing machine

98. Alter a garment

99. Upgrade my digital camera to a SLR

List Goals-

100. Fulfill at least 65% of this list

101. Make a new list!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Not exactly, dear

Today I was explaining musical sequences to one of my students. It is where you take the same musical pattern and repeat it multiple times. I asked her if she had ever heard of the word "sequence" before. She nodded quite enthusiastically. Surprised, since I expected to need to define it, I asked her what it meant. All seriousness, she looked at me and said, "It's those shiny things on shirts."

I'm glad I asked.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Names

Although I am also piano teacher, I work part time as a housekeeper at a local Christian retreat center on the weekends. Its not a glamorous job by any means, but it pays off my student loans and I enjoy working with my co-workers.

The one thing I often don't enjoy, however, is the guests. In the last four years I have worked there, I have met the nastiest, neediest, angriest people I have ever had the misfortune of interacting with. The worse part is that all of them claimed the name of Christ.

The worst, by far, are those who aren't just Christians, but who try to use their rank in Christianity as a way to cowl others to do what they wish. For example, tonight, there was a simple misunderstanding with booking rooms, which was unfortunately irreversible. The group had wanted rooms looking out over the beautiful river, and they had gotten the parking lot side. Sad, but not life altering. As I watched, the pastor, THE PASTOR, screamed over and over again at our front desk staff about the issue. The worst part, was that the pastor kept saying, "I'm the pastor, and I am so mad about this!! You need to fix this because I am the pastor!"

It made me so furious watching the exchange. It made me want to scream, "How dare you use your position as a leader of Christ's people to try to intimidate someone else, especially over such a petty, petty issue. How dare you claim Christ's name but behave in such a way."

And yet..... and yet.... as I thought about it later, part of my heart convicted that I do the exact same thing. I yell at people who cut me off while driving to church. I have been angry at the person next to me in the pew, even if I never screamed in their face. I have hummed a hymn while walking quickly by a beggar, hoping that they don't notice me. My heart has been just as ugly as that pastor's behavior.

As I think about Christ, the Christ who threw out demons, who hugged the untouchable, who ate with tax collectors, who gave grace to the broken, the poor, the weak, the more it makes me feel so small. So weak. Claiming His name, claiming to be His hands and feet, means so much more than dressing up and driving to a perfect little church once a week and hanging out with picture perfect people.

It means loving others more than ourselves. It means humbling ourselves. It means giving others the grace that we have been given.

Tonight was a reminder of what not to be that I desperately needed.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

101 in 1001- #16

16. Give up sugar for a month

I don't know about you all, but I must confess to being a complete sugar addict. I LOVE sweet things- I rarely ever crave bread or carbs, but I have never met a sweet thing that did not become my favorite thing ever. Going to Jordan just made my sugar habit worse, with a pound of sugar in the tea and crazy sweet pastries.

While I may love it, sugar for sure doesn't love me. It makes me grumpier, hungrier, and more sluggish than a bear just after hibernation :) . So, I've decided that I need a break. From today until Feb. 25th, I am breaking up with processed sugar. I may eat fruit, a dab of honey in my tea, and an occasional diet soda, but other than that, no bueno.

You may be thinking- wow, way to over share here. You may have a good point, but I have come to realize that I really need accountability. Even the thought of this posting makes me want to stick through it, just so I can say I did. Maybe my stubborn tendencies can be useful for once :)

Piles, Piles, and more Piles

Staring at the tornato wreck that is my room this evening, I suddenly realized how the disorganization mirrors my own mental mess this week. Currently,

1. four piles of piano method books from lessons this afternoon

2. a stack of yarn for an afghan I need to crochet

4. half a stack of clothes that need to go to Goodwill

5. flashcard project that got abandoned half way

6. two cups of tea

7. a library book that should have been returned in Dec
8. laundry, laundry, laundry!

Goodness. Time to go organize! How about you? Do your spaces get cluttered the busier you get? Or, are you an neater person under stress? :)

Favorite Things #1

I must admit, I am a blog addict. As a curious person, I love the candid glimpse into someone else's life. Over the last few months, I have developed quite a list of daily reads, but one of my favorites is Habit blog. The tag line to the blog says it all- it is a collection of days. The authors post a daily photo and a short caption to their day. Though the captions are often vague or cryptic, the photos are lovely and I still enjoy the peek into their lives.

habitblog.com

Thursday, June 2, 2011

101 in 1001- Update #1

In the last four months, I've been able to cross several items off of my list. Yay!