26th year. Time to explore.

Something that I've learned about myself over the course of my not so long life, is that I am more of a creature of habit than I would ever want to admit. For example, I've been at J. Arthur's coffee at least 3 times in this last week. I now know half the staff. I also work at a different coffee shop. (So maybe I am just addicted to coffee?) For another example, I've lived in Minneapolis for about 7 years and I haven't been to most of the places that Minneapolis/St Paul is famous for. I just stick to what I know and don't go out and explore the place I've chosen as my home.  Last year was a good start to this next year's word choice.

As I go through this next year, I'll expand even more on why I chose the word I chose, but for the time being, here's the vision I have for the next year of my life.

EXPLORE

"to traverse or range over (a region, area, etc.) 

for the purpose of discovery"

I want to traverse and range over the Twin Cities so I can discover the things about this area that make it so unique and special. I want to discover why I love it here so much, and find more reasons to love it as much as I do. I also wouldn't mind a reason to love winter. Just sayin'. I want to explore the popular things that everyone says are "must sees". I also want to explore the lesser known and the "hole-in-the-wall" places that are more unique and underground. I don't have a list of things to do yet, and I might not even come up with one.  For now, if you have ideas, throw 'em out there. I might just take you with me. 

Delicious "Cocoa & Fig" flourless chocolate cake. YUM.

A New Year Awaits

While this post might be almost a month late, I at least started it at the beginning of January, so it's sort of timely, right? :)

It's that time of year again. Where the calendar changes and we all write the wrong date for the next 3 months, we all make some resolutions that we ultimately don't follow through on or we forgo resolutions all together, and the time of year when IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! I'm not usually one to get super excited about my birthday or to make a big deal about it.  However, last year I made it a point to do something intentional with each year.  I'll pick a word or a goal that I would like to reflect on over the year and do things to intentionally work toward that goal.

Last year, for my 25th year, I decided to ADVENTURE. And it really was a year of great adventures with a few more to come!  (I still have a couple things on my list to cross off, but those might end up being things that get moved over to this next year now.) My goal was get out of my comfort zone and do things I've always wanted to do. This was hard, it required boldness, it required gumption, and it required having a good time with friends.  It taught me the value of resting well, loving people in my life well, and being OK going out on my own into the world (aka: going to things by myself and going to unknown situations). I'm pretty pumped for this next part.  It's the part where I put a bunch of pictures up of all the things I did this year! Get ready, because it's pretty spectacular.

Thanks friends for helping me go on adventures!

Two cupcakes I decorated.

Kari and I cuttin' a rug!

Jon Belleau showin' off his mad decorating and baking skillz.

Spicy sushi. Big deal.

Top o' the Foshay! Fo'sho'!

Horse races. I even placed a bet!

Roller derby with the coolest Hope Mom I know!

Miss this girl and this weather...

Never been more tired or had more fun than when I learned to ski.

Hikey hike hike.

Remember Remember, it was once December

And in December I went to a roller derby! Way fun.  I've always wondered just how accurate the movies are at depicting what that world is like. Surprisingly, Hollywood exaggerates a lot of things. I know, shocking.

I'll keep this post short, because really a roller derby speaks for itself. I went to the derby with my friend, Amy, and ended up sitting with a couple families from church. What a fun surprise! We went to cheer on a mom of a few of the youth at Hope, so it was a special kind of fun hanging out with the youth and cheering on someone I never thought would do a roller derby!

My favorite things from the night include:  1. The derby name "Buzz Tightrear" 2. Polka dancing at the "half-time" 3. Being the loudest cheer section and getting a shout out from the announcer 4. "Stealing" some empty seats on the floor level. Awesome.

Here are a couple pics.

Amy, "Roley Ann Lena" (Kim) and me!

So much pushing. On skates. Yikes.

Updated List!

1.  Take a lesson in down hill skiing.

2.  Go on an impromptu road trip.

3.  Go to a roller derby.

4.  Take a swing dancing class.

5.  Get my nose pierced.

6.  Take a long  bike ride through Minnesota

7.  Take a decorating/baking class.

8.  Go to the top of the Foshay.

9.  Go trap shooting or to a shooting range...

and actually shoot a gun.

10.  Go on a brewery tour.

11.  Go to the horse races.

12.  Plant a church. (I don't know why this wasn't on here before...)

Fall time

You know how we sing songs about how Christmas time is the most wonderful time of the year?  Well, I'd like to start a new tradition of singing songs about how fall is the most wonderful time of the year.  Because it is.  The colors, the smells, the crisp air, the chilly bonfire nights, deliciously flavored lattes, apple pies and apple orchards and apple cider, and best of all....it's scarf season. :)

Obviously, I haven't updated about my adventures in a little while.  Like more than a month.  Because I'm really bad at being disciplined about things like blogging.  However, I'm still adventuring and doing things that push me out of my comfort zone and ultimately make me more brave, more bold, more humble, more caring toward others, and more understanding.  At least I hope that's what is happening.

For the last month and a half, I've been devoting most of my time to a really BIG adventure in my life.  WE PLANTED A CHURCH!  Soooo excited for what God is doing through Revolution Church!  (check it out at revolutionchurchmpls.com)  We get the awesome privilege of meeting at a music venue called The Cedar, and we have a great team who are all committed to helping other people to know Jesus better.  I'm sure there will be plenty of adventures born out of this one thing, and I'm excited to see what those adventures are.

A few other things in the last month and a half:

1.  I became a barista again!  I get to get up at 4:30am most mornings and make coffee for people in the skyway in downtown Minneapolis.  I seriously love it.

2.  I went to Taylor's Falls for the first time with my good friend, Lea.  She's pretty stellar.  And pretty.  And loads of fun.  I need to keep friends like her around, because they help me continue to go on adventures and continue to rely of Jesus for everything.

Me and Lea! Buds.

3.  I've gone to, and have plans to go to, so. many. concerts.  At least for me.  I like this new development in my life.

4.  I also live with this pretty awesome family.  Jamie and Joey, and they have three of the cutest kids ever (twins who are 3 1/2 and a 20-ish month old boy.....all with the biggest blue eyes and blondest hair in the world).  Those kids could get away with a lot of things because they're so cute.  I'm super thankful for their family and for being able to live with them in this time of big transitions in my life!

Take a peak at my updated list, because a couple things have changed.  And I'm pumped about them.  And seriously, who wants to join me for any of these?  For realsies. 

Updated List!

1.  Take a lesson in down hill skiing.

2.  Go on an impromptu road trip.

3.  Go to a roller derby.

4.  Take a swing dancing class.

5.  Get my nose pierced.

6.  Take a long  bike ride through Minnesota

7.  Take a decorating/baking class.

8.  Go to the top of the Foshay.

9.  Go trap shooting or to a shooting range...

and actually shoot a gun.

10.  Go on a brewery tour.

11.  Go to the horse races.

12.  Plant a church. (I don't know why this wasn't on here before...)

August and September

Good thing blogging isn't my job, because if it were, I'd be fired.

First things first, watch this video if you haven't.  It's a gold nugget.

Last month (August), I channeled my inner Gossip Girl and went to the good ol' horse races!
However, I didn't wear crazy tights or a braid that doesn't make sense, like Serena here.

Serena from Gossip Girl in all her crazy braid glory.

Instead, I wore my normal clothes and hair and went with friends.  I've never been into gambling regardless of how much, so I didn't make any bets until a friend left and still had .80 on a ticket.  I made a few bets, and lost it all!  While this wasn't such a big learning experience, it was still a fun night and I might just need to go again.

Here's the group that went to the horse races at Canterbury Park.

Shepard, Eric, Brittney, Nick, me, and Jared

Then, in September, I got to go to the top of the Foshay in Minneapolis!  To celebrate the wedding of my good friend, Laura, we went to Prohibition, which is a bar on the 27th floor of the Foshay Tower.  Once again, I felt as if I channeled my inner Gossip Girl.  You get off the elevator and are in the thick of the crowd.  Men in business suits, girls in fancy dresses, and it all looks like an apartment and the atmosphere is reminiscent of a speak-easy from the 1920's.  And the tiny drinks are $10.  But it was totally worth it!  I got to check off an item on my list and help a friend check off an item on her adventure list!  Here we are at Prohibition in our fancy schmancy dresses acting all upper crust.

Emily Ralph and me all fancy!

Updated List!

1.  Take a lesson in down hill skiing.

2.  Attend a wine tasting event.

3.  Go to a roller derby.

4.  Take a swing dancing class.

5.  Get my nose pierced.

6.  Take a long  bike ride through Minnesota

7.  Take a decorating/baking class.

8.  Go to the top of the Foshay.

9.  Go trap shooting or to a shooting range...

and actually shoot a gun.

10.  Go on a brewery tour.

11.  Go to the horse races.

12.  Pick up an instrument.

aka:  Play it each day for a month.

July is so last month...

Fun fact of the day, my myers-briggs is characterized by none other than a Corgi.  Well, technically  just a dog, but the picture chosen is a Corgi.  So that's pretty neat.

Here's the link to figure out your Myers-Briggs animal:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/whats-your-animal-personality-type

In other news, I haven't actually stopped doing my adventures, I've merely stopped being available for long enough periods of time to write any blog posts for the summer months.  Welcome to summer camp life!  While I may not be living at camp, I sure do drive there a lot...

Well, July was a fun month!  I could go through all the craziness of my life in July, but I'll spare you the mundane details.  I did cross off an item on my adventures list!!  I went on a long bike ride through Minnesota.  My friend, Brittney, and I went on a nice long bikeride on the trails through Minneapolis.  We rode through a surprising green area right next to the highway and under the Twins stadium.  It was truthfully pretty awesome!

Let me tell you a little bit about Brittney.  Brittney is far more adventurous than I and since I trust her, I let her convince me to do some crazy things.  They're always awesome and responsible, but I feel like I'm on an adventure, and that's what matters!  The things she gets me to do are things that put me outside of my comfort zone and push me to grow, which is the goal of my year.  

I'm very thankful for friends like her!

This is Brittney and her husband, Nick

She also got me to go with her to join a search party for a missing boy in Wisconsin.  This was a very stretching experience to say the least!  We spent a long time just waiting for the emergency response people to be available to lead our group.  There were more volunteers than leaders!  And we spent a long time walking through incredibly dense wooded areas and farmers' fields, shoulder-to-shoulder in over 100 degree heat.  Shoulder-to-shoulder searches generally mean you are no longer looking for a living person, and knowing that was hard enough.  Not finding the missing toddler was even harder.  Eventually the police found his body.  Not the outcome we had hoped and prayed for, but it was an answer.  Not knowing is sometimes harder than knowing.

On our way home we spent a bit of time reflecting about the day.  One thing that stood out to me was the amount of volunteers that showed up.  Over 2,000 people helped search for this missing boy!  In the midst of a tragic situation, God showed me His love in that so many people, who probably had little to no connection with the family (as we did not), showed up to help.  They saw the need and they inconvenienced themselves to help another in the community who was hurting.  We grieved with the family and bore their pain alongside them.  If nothing else came of the day, God showed how unity can be such a huge blessing during trials, and He showed how community can serve others well.  

Needless to say, July was busy.  Adventures come in all shapes and sizes and emotional burdens oftentimes accompany the most adventurous of things we do in life.  

Now to August!  August is almost over, and I need to find something to cross off my list!

Updated list!

1.  Take a lesson in down hill skiing.

2.  Attend a wine tasting event.

3.  Go to a roller derby.

4.  Take a swing dancing class.

5.  Get my nose pierced.

6.  Take a long bike ride through Minnesota.

7.  Take a decorating/baking class.

8.  Go to the top of the Foshay.

9.  Go trap shooting or to a shooting range...

and actually shoot a gun.

10.  Go on a brewery tour.

11.  Go to the horse races.

12.  Pick up an instrument.

aka:  Play it each day for a month.

May...the fourth be with you??

Good thing I have a Google calendar that keeps track of everything I do and have done, because May flew by!  And now June is flying by!

I didn't plan any adventures in May.  The point of this whole thing isn't to be bogged down and feel like I "have to" do anything, and when it felt like a burden to plan something, I just decided to live life for a month without planning anything too crazy.

However, I still did some pretty awesome things that I think will qualify adventures.

1.  I lifted weights (heavy weights a bunch of times) with my friend, Alisa.  She has even inspired me to continue to life weights.  I don't understand either...
2.  I finished up a Lindy Hop class.  So yeah...that was a long set of classes. :)
3.  I did a lecture-style teaching from the Bible....without a manuscript.  Tell me I'm crazy, because I feel crazy.
4.  I bought tires for my car.  Oh yeah....and I'm purchasing a car...aka:  put down a payment and am now working toward paying it off.  I'm an adult.
5.  I went on a "blind date", if you can call it that.  In other words, I met a person someone else told me I might get along with at a coffee shop.  That's crazy talk, I tell you.  I don't do those things.
6.  I hosted a Jr High girls' night at my house and we camped on the living room floor.

So I'd say it was a busy month and a month of great adventures.

Something that I've been observing about my year of adventures is that I'm becoming far more comfortable and confident in unfamiliar situations.  It's pretty awesome how your perspective changes when you put yourself out there in ways that are "scary" or unfamiliar.  You start to see that the world really isn't as anxiety-inducing as you once thought and you start to see that you are a lot stronger and more resilient that you could have imagined.  Or at least that's been my experience, maybe not yours.  I still challenge you to go on some adventures.  Let yourself be out of your comfort zone and let God change your heart and your perspective about the world and yourself.

"Peace and blessings."

In case you don't get that reference....