Well, other than cooking more recipes from Ina’s Back to Basics cookbook, there hasn’t been much to scratch off the list!

The recipes I’ve completed in the last little while are:

Pasta with pecorino and pepper (we’ve already had this three times and I’ll be making it again this week – quick, easy, delicious).

Garlic ciabatta bread – ditto. Fabulous flavour – how can you go wrong with warm garlicky bread with herbs?

Fresh lemon mousse – absolutely wonderful.

New recipes planned for this week:

Parmesan toasts

Baked sweet potato “fries”

Baked potatoes with yogurt and sour cream

I’ve also pretty much finished my “family cookbook”. Seeing as how it’s almost December, I don’t think I’ll be able to add any more pics to it than are already there, so I’ll leave it as is and cross it iff the list!

As winter approaches, I started looking at some of the cold-weather items on the list – perhaps dog-sledding, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing will be tackled this winter.

Some items will have to wait til warmer weather: Hot air balloon ride, sleep under the stars.

Some are long-term items: The next lunar eclipse is Dec 21, 2010. Going to space is still something that would only be possible several years from now (but not in a land far far away – hopefully right here in North America).

Some will depend on luck (good or bad): Find a four-leaf clover, break a bone.

I’ve also started on my “overcome my fear of spiders” item. I killed a spider yesterday. Big step in the right direction. I know, killing innocent creatures to be able to cross off an item on a list is a terrible terrible thing. But spiders creep me out and it’s always been an annoyance to me to have to call my husband to kill a bug. I’m determined. At the end of this journey, me and the spiders are gonna make peace (well, me and the dead ones anyway).

A favorite conversation topic in recent days is the end of the world.  A man on Family Radio my Father and I call “Ra Ra” (actually Harold Camping at 91.9 FM in Chicago) has been predicting the date of the rapture to be May 21st, 2011, and the subsequent end of the world October 21st of the same year.  The horrible plotline of 2012 and it’s Mayan calendar apocalypse also play off our curiosity concerning the end.  Just a short time ago, many were convinced that the collider in Switzerland would destroy the Earth via the same manner in which Vulcan is annihilated  in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek.

But how is one to prepare for the end?  The Christian response has for centuries been to wait; or to wait with our lamps ready, and to prepare our hearts.

What does that look like?

Well, I think firstly that it’s not the same as cleaning the house.  Some have likened preparation for Jesus’ second coming to that of someone coming to visit your home – you subject your house to a massive cleaning and wait.  But this doesn’t sit right for me, perhaps because of the sitting.  Let me explain:  When we have relatives over for Christmas, we clean and decorate like crazy, and usually finish the day of.  We complete the mammoth task a couple hours early, before the cousins and such come, and we end up sitting around in our good clothes doing nothing.  I thoroughly dislike sitting.  And I think sitting around is not the attitude commanded of us.

I would liken it more to the idea of building a house.  It’s similar, but you keep on building and adding wings as time goes on.

It’s like the parable of the talents, where the master leaves for a bit and dispenses his possessions for his servants to use.  I imagine that the guy with five talents had to work his butt off full-time to double his master’s money.  But imagine if the person with five talents had worked really hard and gotten a little lucky, and had turned those five talents into another five with much time to spare.  If he laid back and relaxed for the remaining time, would his master still be happy?  Perhaps.  But I do not think he would like the character of that servant as much.

How would you act knowing your world would end very soon?  Paul famously states that it is better for people not to get married because the end of the world is near – there’s no point.  But Martin Luther gives a different perspective:  If I knew the world were to end tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree.

This rocked my brain.  What value is there in planting an apple tree?  You’re not going to get any fruit:  Trees grow slow.  Certainly not in a season; definitely not in a day.  And apple trees are particularly slow.

I still don’t fully comprehend it.  But maybe it has something to do with the value today, twofold:  The balance of urgency and patience, and the value of work which we do not get to reap.

In terms of evangelism, most people are worth more than five minute conversations.  Yet, when I think about the more powerful times of spreading the Gospel in my life, I automatically drift back to Mexico, where we could not build long-term relationships with the people to whom we witnessed.  I think the fact that I don’t think of my close friends to whom I have tried to witness for years really reflects the attitude of my heart.  I have no sense of urgency when it comes to friendship evangelism and being a Christian example.  We need long term urgency.

In the same way, I look at the work I do sowing as opposed to reaping.  The reaping moments are powerful.  When I see the fruit of God’s hands, I’m moved.  Yet, is there that same power when I am planting seeds… is there the same power when I am planting seeds as when I am leading someone in the sinner’s prayer?  I can’t say that there is, or at least cannot say my mind remembers it the same way.  We need urgency when we don’t see the results.

Maybe, the whole point of end-times thinking is that we need to have the urgency to plant an apple tree.

Probably, the kindest thing that someone would say about my blog is, “It has potential.”  I know I have a lot to learn.  Fortunately, there are tremendous resources available on the web to help fledgling bloggers hone their craft.

Some bloggers are so helpful that I follow them regularly on Twitter, and subscribe to their blogs. 

Darren Rowse aka Problogger has written an e-book entitled 31 days to a Better Blog, and slowly I am working through his chapters and homework assignments.  Problogger writes at www.problogger.net

I also read Marco Saric, a Londoner who produces www.HowToMakeMyBlog.com  He has some great ideas without being too technical for me. 

Recently, I came across a link for a blog post entitled “Ow! Ow! It’s so boring it hurts my head!”  What a catchy title–I had to give it a click.  The first paragraph read, “Hey.  I was just reading your blog and I got so bored that it actually hurt my head.”

That reeled me in.  I had to read the whole post to see if he mentioned me by name.   And that is how I met (figuratively) Nicholas Cardot.  It was a great post, so I subscribed to his blog www.sitesketch101.com by email.  Soon I received his next post entitled The Great Guest Post Ultra-Marathon, in which he offered to write a guest post for anyone on a topic that they select.  This sounded like a super idea to me, so I shot him a quick email saying, “Count me in!”, and he did.

Since my most recent posts have been about our Great South Pacific Adventure– which is on our Bucket List, I asked Nick to write about his Bucket List.   And he did.  It is quite a different perspective–Gen Next vs. Baby Boomer.  It follows this post.  I hope you enjoy it.  Nick, thanks for being my very first Guest Poster.

See a list of things to do after you die… HERE.

My personal choices would be… See dad, learn ultimate truth, meet Elvis… But this guy goes further so why not spook someone too. LOL

Haha! This picture is just too random & hilarious NOT to include here!!!

Recently, my friend, Ken, challenged his friends, family & avid blog-readers to set goals during Thanksgiving for the following year. You can go here to read it for yourself. He’s a wonderful writer & very insightful. I hope that you find inspiration from his journal as I do.

He says, “Over the years I shared this goals list with a lot of different people. Many thought it was cool, others thought it was inspiring and still others started their own…Maybe you can start your 100 goals list this year. Call it a bucket list, a 30 goals before 30 or whatever. Just get it started, give thanks to the LORD and set before Him your desires and conform yourself to His will.”

I’ve done this before, in fact, I have a running list of things I want to do before I die. Here’s what I have so far…

1. Go on a trip by myself Fresno counts, right?
2. Travel to Australia,
3. Travel to Africa
4. Travel to Asia
5. Write a book Co-authored a book…stay tuned for more info!
6. Befriend someone who doesn’t speak the same language as I do Trip to Mexico, 2007
7. Build my family tree / Research my family history
8. Learn how to surf
9. Get a tattoo
10. Run the “Mudrun” at Camp Pendleton
11. Get married & have a family
12. Hike Half-Dome in Yosemite
13. Backpack across Europe
14. Snowboard on the Alps
15. Plant a tree for someone
16. Donate money to CUI
17. Tour the UK
18. Record my album
19. Speak at the NYG/other conference
20. Audition for American Idol
21. Learn how to garden This was on my “Quest for Me” list!
22. Take Mom to NYC or Europe
23. Become comfortable with conflict & confrontation Ministry helped with this one!
24. Become a DCE
25. Keep in touch with college friends Kelly just got married!
26. Scuba dive
27. Drive a luxury car
28. See the Taj Mahal
29. Swim with dolphins
30. Hike the Grand Canyon Havasu Trail, 2003
31. Fall in love Sadly, yes.
32. Endure Heartbreak See #30
33. Go to Walden Pond and read Thoreau while drifting in a canoe.
34. Drive across America
35. Go whitewater rafting in the Grand Canyon
36. Graduate with Honors
37. Buy a house
38. Ride in a hot-air balloon
39. See the 7 Wonders of the World
40. Watch AFI’s “Best Movies of All-Time” List
41. Ride on the back of a motorcycle
42. See the Northern Lights
43. Walk Abbey Road
44. See the Holy Land
45. Become completely debt free
46. Fly First Class International
47. Go on a spontaneous road trip or vacation for an extended weekend
48. Hike a glacier
49. Stay up all night long & watch the sun rise with someone I love
50. Milk a cow
51. Sing Karaoke in front of strangers Haha! I just did this in Folsom!
52. Kiss someone in the rain
53. Heal my broken heart See #31…
54. Stay at least one night at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, NY
55. Dance in the rain
56. Celebrate my 50^th Wedding Anniversary
57. Live to be 100 Years Old
58. Run a marathon (a half-marathon will do!)
59. Climb French Hill
60. Show up at the airport with a bag & my passport & take the first flight available
61. Write a love letter & send it
62. Take kayaking lessons!
63. Receive a love letter back
64. Be a member of the Polar Bear Club Lutherhaven, summer of 2007
65. See a game at Wrigley Field
66. Wine tasting in Napa Thank God I moved to Nor-Cal!
67. Throw my parents a 50^th Wedding Anniversary party
68. Attend a black-tie event
69. Make something on a potter’s wheel
70. Go a year without dating…I mean it!
71. Host a clam bake
72. Learn photography…again See previous blog entries!
73. Make-out with someone at a drive-in movie
74. Go to Mammoth, CA
75. Lay in bed all day long without feeling guilty I’ve gotten really good at this!
76. Climb a tree with my kids
77. Learn to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever Nestle’ Tollhouse…You Americans butcher the French language!
78. Get a celebrity’s autograph The LA cast of “Wicked”!
79. Go an entire day barefoot
80. Witness a miracle Jane Cusson’s miraculous cure from Cancer was nothing short of a miracle!
81. Go a week without looking at a clock
82. Learn how to think before I speak The “filter” is finally there
83. Play an entire game of Monopoly start-to-finish in one sitting
84. Star Wars Marathon Weekend
85. Eat something without knowing what it is & enjoy it Plenty of times in Hungary…definitely ate a chicken’s liver & didn’t know it until my boyfriend told me after we were done!
86. Do mission work somewhere other than US Hungary, 2008!
87. Live somewhere outside the US for at least 6 months
88. Live by myself for at least one year 2008-Present…just moved in with roommates!
89. Adopt a dog Bailey!

31 out of 89 isn’t too shabby!

I’ve been in a major funk for the past few months. The culprit? Stress. Not just any stress. It’s the combined stress of scrambling to sublease an apartment before January or else I’m paying for an apartment I no longer will be residing in post December 5th AND of me not knowing what my next step is.

Normally, this would not seem like a big deal. But you are talking about a person who has planned every aspect of her life. It was all going to plan until I realized that my dream job of being a woman’s magazine editor was disintegrating before my eyes i.e. the crumbling print publication companies. So imagine the stress that hundreds of my fellow UT graduates, come next Saturday, will have burdened upon them when they realize that their dream job-that pays a dreadful 30k will be even harder to attain because of the many layoffs and hiring freezes.

I can tell you. We’re scared shitless… and poor as fuck.

Which is why I have decided to take my dream overseas to my Motherland, the ROK, or the Republic of Korea (please don’t ask me if it’s North or South). But before I go, I’m taking a semester off to 1) get back all the juices that college has drained out of me and the more important one 2) figure out what it is that God has laid out for me.

In the meantime, I’m going take the break to complete as many things off my Quarter Life Crisis Bucket List. Am I expecting something out of this? Hell yeah, I am! I’m going to have all the fun that I can possibly have. But here’s the kicker; I’m going to do it all in a small town an hour north of Austin called Killeen, Texas.

Yesterday I got to cross off number 74 on my Bucket List. While I wrote this a few years ago, back when they were still in Texas Stadium, but the nature of what I wanted to experience was seeing the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

What an experience!! My roommate, Carlos, won a contest where he not only won tickets for the game, but an entire experience. First we got a free limo ride to the stadium, which was awesome, it was the first time I’ve ever been in one. Then once we got to the stadium we were able to get inside before everyone else and we had a fully paid for catered Thanksgiving meal. Yum!! Then we got to meet, take pictures with, and get autographs from a few of the Miller Lite “Go-Go” dancers.

After all that, we spent a little bit of time in the Pro Shop before we headed to our seats. We had end zone seats (picture from seats coming soon). It was a great game overall. Well, maybe not for Raiders fans.

I had a great time!! It was a great way to cross of something on my Bucket List.

Nos quitamos la piel corrujada, fragmentada por los toques del viento, dejamos de lado un año que está próximo a reiniciarse, expectativas y promesas nacerán, el año se extingue y con ello lo que se mantiene atado a él.

Las brisas frías que trastocan los lomos, a estas alturas no sorprenden, nos aproximamos a la muerte de un año más que se consume así mismo y reinicia con un nuevo número por nombre. Quedan por ende, las últimas energías anuales, los últimos matices de esfuerzo y sudor. Un día alguien se quejaba de lo malo que es terminar amores en estas fechas, consideraba una necesidad el estar “acompañado” en vísperas del próximo año, tal vez en caso de que los mayas se equivoquen.

Yo por mi parte, me adelanto a la despedida de mi facultad, dado a que aún no realizo los exámenes finales, y siento en la cabeza y espalda, acumuladas tensiones que espero desquitarme con las víctimas, digo, clientes. (PARÉNTESIS) Mi jefe, en alusión a los honorarios de abogado me dijo: “La solución puede estar en un solo artículo, el cliente puede verlo así, pero, ¿Cuanto dejas de dormir, para encontrarlo entre miles de leyes y reglamentos?… Se parece a la clásica leyenda / historia /anécdota ingenieril de cobrar $1 por ajustar el tornillo de la máquina, $1000 por saber cual de todos.

Dejando de lado el paréntesis anterior, se aproximan ya las tardes soleadas, en las que de consuelo me queda ver el reflejo rojizo que se cuela por la ventana de la oficina, en que ir de rutina a los despachos judiciales se torna un tanto más satisfactorio que bajo la lluvia.

En los días posteriores al 4 de diciembre, posiblemente cambiaré nuevamente mi rutina, dejando la oficina a la 1 de la tarde para colaborar con la economía del país, y gastaré mis ahorros en los regalos navideños, una de mis metas para este año es hacer tamales, son varios años desde que mi padre dejó la cocina, por lo que recobrar la tradición me hará más redondo (no me refiero al efecto de los tamales de cerdo ).

Así entonces, recibo desde ya el ingreso de los soplos decembrinos y los bríos del nuevo año, y me despido desde ya de este, que aún tiene poco más de un mes de vida.

The bucket list tag from TPL. Sorry lady, can’t restrict this to 55 words, can I? So many things to do

The bucket that’s full

1. Aspired to and studied at the best institutes in the country

2. Lived on my own, had a great time

3. Worked in a bank once upon a time

4. Two sides of the coin – Been a SAHM and working mom

5. Gave a mini Bharatanatyam performance after the child came into my life

The bucket that’s filling up

1. Blogging

2. Schooling the child in a stress free environment

3. Working on the dream home project

The empty bucket that’s waiting to be filled

1. Travel

2. Learn yoga

3. Spend time/ live in a ‘green’ self sufficient place like a farm

4. Be part of some movement in the education space

5. Read at least some portions of Indian Bhakti literature

6. Learn one non-Indian language

7. Taste vegetarian cuisines from around the world

8. Pursue Bharatanatyam again

9. Speak in a public forum

The ‘other’ bucket that needs filling

1. Overcome my diffidence

2.  Rein in my temper

3. Learn to see the big picture

4. Age gracefully

Hmmm. And miles to go before I sleep.

Note to self: Should see where I stand a year later.

I was watching scrubs today (Scrubs five).  I’m not a massive fan, but it is pretty funny.  They were talking about lists they had supposedly compiled when they were younger of all sorts of things that they wanted to do before they were thirty, and I thought… why not!  I wrote my own, endeavouring to keep it to fifteen so it isn’t ridiculous.  So here is my list:

1. Visit the following countries:
   Egypt
   Italy
   New Zealand
   India
2. Speak Spanish fluently
3. Have read all of Shakespeare’s plays.
4. Have been to an opera
5. Busked with friends
6. Have (successfully) made souffle
7. Have been on a cruise
8. Run a marathon
9. Have written a novel and been published
10. Have properly explored Australia, including Uluru, the great barrier reef, train across the country, skiing, bridge climb etc
11. Learnt how to write in shorthand, and in calligraphy
12. Buy a brand new car
13. Help out in a soup kitchen
14. Swim with dolphins, and then with sharks
15. Self publish my Gt relatives poetry along with my own in a compilation for my Grandad.

I want to add so much more, but it is unrealistic enough without them added on!  Most of the things I want to do in my life are ridiculously specific so I tried to be as general as possible here.  For example, I want to ride a bicycle (one of those cute ones with the baskets that has a baguette sticking out of it) in France wearing a striped scarf and a beret.  And I want to go to Egypt and buy a poison ring like the one my Ancient History teacher has, and put berocca in it so I can make it fizz like poison when I pour it into something.  Because, y’know, poison totally fizzes.

Anyway, what are your top 15?  And why?

I was tweaking my budget spreadsheet and trying to figure a way to display the percentage of money spent to income earned. I figured the easy was was to divide spending cell by income cell. For example, my household expenditures are totaled in C28 and my total income is listed in H4 so =C28/H4. However, since this was a new budget sheet, the cell displayed #div/0. That looks sloppy and distracting to me so I did some research and figured out how to get a blank cell. I found a formula that does exactly that. It is an IF formula which I didn’t know existed until to me, that’s the fun of learning a new program. The formula is =IF(H4=0,”",C28/H4). The commas separate the arguments.  The first argument sets the condition, which can be either true or false. The second argument is what to do if the formula is true and the third argument is what to do if it is false. The “” leave a blank cell, therefore if H4 is 0, than the cell is simply left blank.

You might think it an odd place to begin changing your life, but consider this: write your own obituary. What is it that you’d like someone to say about you after you are gone?

One of the tricks to changing your life is to widen your imagination, break your routine, and see and think about things differently. Here are 49 more small steps that you might consider in the process of reconfiguring yourself:

If you are a city dweller, drive far enough away from the city to see the stars on a clear night. There are lots more than you think.

Think of someone you dislike and make a list of all of their positive qualities.

Volunteer to do something that might be described as “community service.”

Start to write your autobiography.

Write a short story.

Eat a raisin slowly, as if you’d never tasted one before.

Go to a fancy restaurant and eat a meal alone; or go to a concert, play, or movie alone.

Make a list of all the things you are grateful for.

Apologize to someone who deserves your apology, including a “no excuses” statement of regret and some method of attempting to make-it-up to them.

Re-contact an old elementary school friend.

If your physician allows it, begin a weight-lifting program.

Wake up early to see the sun rise.

Make two lists, one of your strengths and another of your faults.

Create a “bucket list:” all the things you’d like to do before you “kick the bucket.” Make plans to do one of them within the next year.

Tell someone how much you appreciate him and why.

Write a letter. Hand write it.

Do some routine task (eating for example) with your non-dominant hand.

Build something, even if it is only a model airplane.

Grow something.

With adequate supervision so that you don’t get hurt, spend some time blindfolded.

Take an academic course.

Meditate.

Take a yoga class.

If you aren’t a dancer, learn to dance.

Remember all of the difficult life challenges that you’ve overcome and identify the qualities in you (strengths) that allowed you to overcome them.

Imagine a different and more rewarding life than the one you currently lead. What do you need to do to create it?

Create a five-minute comedy monologue and deliver it to a group of friends.

Learn to sing or play a musical instrument.

Play chess.

Give up something for a month (for example, TV, a favorite food, alcohol, caffeine, or listening to music).

If you have no children, consider becoming a “Big Brother” or a “Big Sister.”

Learn a foreign language.

Participate in a team sport.

Start a philanthropic project with some friends, no matter how small it might have to be.

Visit a public high school in the inner-city and think about the future of this country and what you can do to make it better.

Clean out your closet.

Imagine that you are to be stranded on a desert island and can only take five non-essential items with you. What would they be?

If your memory was going to be erased, what would be the single memory that you would ask to be spared? Why that one?

Go on a retreat.

Teach someone something. Show them “how it is done.”

Give some money (even if its only a dollar) to some needy person you know; and do it anonymously!

Buy a hard copy of one of the few remaining great newspapers in the USA (for example, the New York Times, Washington Post, or Wall Street Journal) and read every word. Then think about the fact that a Bell Labs study reportedly estimated that the average sixteenth century man had less information to process in a lifetime than can be found in a single daily edition of the New York Times.

If you wear a tie, tie the knot in a new way (most men tie a Four-in-Hand knot, but there are some others that actually look better).

Paint, draw, sketch, or sculpt something.

If you haven’t done so already, read Becker’s The Denial of Death.

Walk to some destination that you usually reach by car or pubic transportation.

Make a list of all that you have learned about life since finishing your formal education.

If you don’t have a tatoo, get a temporary tatoo (if there are no health risks to you) and observe how people look at you differently; if you have a prominent tatoo and can cover it up, walk around and notice the way that people look at you now.

Send me a suggestion on one more step to change your life.

 I can’t help but dream of the day that I can be creative and make money doing it…
Maybe we wouldn’t have to worry about bills so often….
Maybe I could go back to school if I wanted to.
It would simply be nice to have options.

I do not say any of this with an attitude of self-pity or heartbreak -
nor do I ever intend to discourage someone who is young and in love…
Or who doesn’t feel like school is what they want to be doing.
I say all of this because with every single day, I learn something else.
And it seems that the more “grown-up” I become, the harder everything else is.

 I wish we could fast forward three and a half years.

 And yet I can guarantee you that if we did,
I would look back in fifty years and do anything to get that time back.

 
This is what I need to focus on:

 Being thankful for waking up again
Having a husband that loves me even though I am crazy
Even more so, having a husband that believes we were meant for each other….
I’m not sure many people view love like that
Being able to see and read and look through a camera lens
Being able to hear and listen and speak
Not being allergic to animals….
because they are my children and bring so much love in to my life
Always having food on the table and in our tummies
Being employed… No matter how overwhelming fluorescent lighting is
Family and the joy that they are
Being an aunt for the first time….
And looking forward to that moment that I get to wrap my arms around Madison Joy
Education… I may not have finished college -
but I know a lot. Most of which I didn’t learn in school
Being able to create things
Being able to pay bills on time
Having health insurance and medicine available to me

 This is what I want to do:

Travel with my husband (Ireland, England, Hawaii, Seattle, Colorado, Italy, France…)
Continue with my photography… Hopefully doing it full time
Buy a house
Live somewhere else
Go to the gym everyday for a month
Love more
Gossip less
Listen, even when I don’t agree with someone
Work hard
Manage money better (Mint isn’t cutting it!)
Simplify. For real this time.
Stop comparing myself
Be more laid back and easy going…
Not always having a plan or letting my anti-social bad habits get the best of me
Be a better friend
Be a better wife
Have babies (one day…)
Love my job… no matter what it is
Bring joy to peoples lives
Invent calorie-free peppermint stick ice cream

Write more…. Because writing is truly the best therapy

Tick.  Tock.  A new clock has been set and I am calling it my Oprah clock.  Yes, it’s true I’m getting to the age where my biological clock is supposed to start ticking, but babies can happen later – years later.  There’s plenty of time to find the one, settle down and start a family, but I only have 659 days to get my ass on Oprah.  Do you know how short that is?  Very.  Like not being able to ride the rides at Disneyland short.

Why do I care?  Because I have this thing.  It’s called my Wheelchair List.  And Oprah’s my number one.  Some people have a bucket list.  I have my “things to do before my body fails me” list and Oprah was supposed to be the one extremely far fetched but completely doable thing on there.  But now that there’s a time limit on this task, I’ve got to get to work.

And since we all know you can’t just get on Oprah for nothing, I have a plan.  A plan which I’ve already begun.

I’ve got one hundred pages of my memoir complete.  I’m out to agents.  I’m looking for a publisher.  But that’s just the beginning.  Once I get those two things to happen, I’ve got to finish the book, get it published, put it in Oprah’s hands, have her people call my people, buy a fancy dress, fly to Chicago, get my hair and makeup done, walk across the stage to overwhelming applause, give Oprah a hug, tear up when she asks me the tough questions, leave Chicago, go back to LA, watch as my book tops the New York Times Bestseller List…

And after all that?  I can then cross Walk Across the Stage on Oprah off my list.

So, Oprah, if you’re reading, I’m gunning for you.  Yeah, you may have made things a bit more complicated, but I’ll be on that stage talking about my journey with M.S. before you know it.  Because…

Who knows what will happen tomorrow…’til then, Walking Girl here, walking off.

I just learned how to replace one word in a document with another and make it take affect throughout the whole document. I’ve always been curious about this, but never learned how to do it. At any rate, you simply go to the Find & Replace option in the Edit menu, or CTRL + F. The top box, Search for, is where you put the word you want to replace, and the bottom box, Replace with, is the word that is replacing the offending word. You can also select the Match Case option below the boxes to match up Upper case words. For example, you want to change Bill’s name to Joe but don’t want to replace the word bill with Joe.
Pretty simple and straightforward.

y thanksgiving bucket (o’ turkey) list:

see the macy’s thanksgiving day parade in person

cook a turkey on my own

play host

learn the secret behind grandma’s mashed potatoes

be at target/jc penney/walmart when the doors open on black friday

learn to love leftovers and embrace the possibilities of what can be done when you have half a turkey leftover

eat cherry pie with every meal until it’s gone (check that one off the list!)

celebrate with my entire family in one place

have a themed thanksgiving meal

Just spent an hour going through some tutorials out of a book on Open Office I checked out of the library. I’ve learned how to create a chart in a spreadsheet and have halfway created a budget sheet.  My brain is fried so I will go back to Open Office tomorrow or at a later date.

A simple function but was cool to me was the Merge Cells. You can combine several cells into one by going to Format>Merge Cells. That allows you to create a large header over a chart or multiple figures in a sheet. Pretty neat but I’m easily impressed.

Definitely one of the things I’ve wanted to do all my life. Once I did it last year, I knew I had to do it again. It is the most exhilarating experiences one could ever have. Free falling from 15000 feet is incredible!!!!!

My skydiving video!!!

I got to cross a big thing off my bucket list this week.

Falling out of a perfectly good plane, for no good reason – aka skydiving! I have had friends who love skydiving. I have even gone and been the cheering squad when they did that. And I often had the thought – that looks like fun. Of course, I also had the thought – they must be crazy, you couldn’t pay me to do that.

So, of course, it wound up on my bucket list. Then while planning the year of events with the Diva Development Committee of Success in the City – we came up with the idea of ‘confronting fear, embracing risk’ as a topic for a panel discussion. And one of our members said – wouldn’t it be cool to go skydiving as part of the event?

I never said I wasn’t crazy, so I immediately agreed to participate. Then, to make sure I wouldn’t back out, I registered, and then paid for it (knowing there were no refunds).

Well, after two false starts due to weather, we did it. AND IT WAS AMAZING!!!

We are all planning to do it again.

And now the huge goals I have set for myself in my business don’t seem quite as scary.