Ticked... And Triple T. (Does that make it quadruple T if I'm ticked too?)

I am ticked that I have missed yet another Tuesday. I created Triple T, making a top ten list for every Tuesday like 6 weeks ago and I think that I have posted only 1 list. I'm ticked because seriously EVERY TUESDAY for the past too many weeks Tuesdays have magically become my busy run-around-with-your-head-cut-off kind of day and I fail to post the list that I made originally for like some Tuesday back in May. DUH! Today I had a few minutes to post (or so I thought) and I just got super busy doing other things. So, I have failed yet again at posting this Top Ten List. But instead of waiting till next Tuesday and making you all think that I forgot about my own invention, I have decided to just break the rules and post it on Wednesday. (Well, it could still be considered Tuesday because its 12:36 am and I am still up blogging. But probably all of you will not see it until Wednesday unless you are like me, reading blogs at one in the morning.

So, here you go, this is one of my favorite lists…

My Top Ten Favorite Musicals.

Some of these are only movies, some of them are only theater productions, some are both… But I decided they can fall into the same list because they are all musicals.

I tried to put these in order of my liking, but I just couldn’t do it. So, in no particular order:

1.       Tarzan

Now, it is critical to note that I am NOT talking about the Disney movie (although it is a pretty good movie.) I am talking about the original Broadway show.

I saw this on Broadway in 2006 and was S.M.I.T.T.E.N.

This is us, totally SMITTEN
It has the most brilliant music, and it had brilliant staging and costumes and I still think about those scenes that I only saw one time 5 long years ago.

Check it.

2.       Newsies 

Of course this is only a movie, but am I not the only one who thinks it is one of the greatest oversights in our UNIVERSE that no one has made it into a Broadway show yet? Hello??? It's destined for greatness. And how yummy is Jack Kelly “you think I'm lyin’?”

It was one of the first musicals I ever saw as a child. I still remember the first time I watched it. I was in 5^th grade, visiting my aunt in Texas, my cousins friend brought it over. Little did I know what I was about to feast my eyes on.

3.       Little Shop of Horrors

Now, I have only seen one stage production of this. Actually it was my first exposure to the show. I'd never even heard of it prior to my junior year of high school. (Don't judge, my parents are not big musical lovers and therefore why would they have introduced me to the magic that is Little Shop?)

My good friend Jessi did a brilliant job at playing Audrey and I still remember how brilliantly she mastered that unforgettable voice.

Besides that play the movie is the only showing I have seen of this play. And holy Rick Moranis is a gem.

And Steve Martin steals my heart, except that he is a sadist wacko. No biggie.

4.       Memphis

I've blogged about this show before. I saw it on Broadway once and a taping of that show two other times. I cried the second and the third time watching it. I can't really say much else about this show other than go to New York right now to see it. It's that good. It's Tony-award-winning-for-best-musical-in-2010-good.

I'm head over heals. 

5.       Wicked

Everyone knows about this show and everyone knows why it is amazing. I saw it on Broadway only once. It's on the bucket list to see at least another time in the big apple before I die.

6.       Thoroughly Modern Millie

This is another one that is both a movie and a stage production. I have seen both and don't really care for the movie, which is surprising because Julie Andrews is one of my favorite actresses.

Sutton Foster one the Tony for her role as Millie the week before I saw her perform the role on Broadway.

She completely and totally lived up to her award. I adore this show.

7.       Sound of Music.

I have also blogged about my love for this musical before. I have never seen a stage production of this (even thought I actually was in one back in 2003) but it’s not my favorite on stage. There is only one song that is different than the movie that I care for. I love Julie Andrews in the film version though, as well as Christopher Plumber and every other cast member.

It's such a gem. It is the first musical I ever remember watching and one of the few that my father loves. He definitely gifted to me that love of this musical.

8.       Singing in the Rain

This is one movie that I could watch over and over and over again and never tire of. Debbie Reynolds is majestic and Gene Kelly is one of my idols. They are so charismatic together. I LOVE THIS FILM.

9.       Aida

I have only seen this show on stage twice. At a little local theatre that did a magnificent production job. You know I love something when I make plans to see it again, this is one such show. I’d actually never even heard of it before I went to the showing. Not knowing what to expect I immediately fell in love with it. The plot, the music. Its magical. So, in my immediate  love affair I went home and bought tickets to go see it again the next night. I have done this several times with shows I love. I have yet to do it in New York but I always wish I had after I am done. I am taking this into consideration for the next trip I take.

And finally # 10.

Footloose. 

I really like the movie version of this show. I mean how yummy is Kevin Bacon?

But my true love for the show is in its theatre production. I've only seen one high schools pathetic version of the show being done as an audience member. I was in the show in high school, but my real love came simply from the original Broadway cast recording soundtrack. It's magical, for lack of a better word. (all of these shows are magical to me in some way)

And there you have my top ten favorite musicals. What are yours?

 
Before signing off though, I have a sort of embarrassing confession to make… It is super duper juvenile but my runner up that barely got cut from the list is Annie. I have only seen the movie and not that new one they came out with just a few years ago. The original from the 80’s. The reason I love it is the freeking talent that it showcases, and actually not Annie herself… she is ok in my opinion but NOT the reason I watch it. Burnadette Peters and Tim Curry blow me away.

And who doesn’t adore Carol Burnette in all her villan-ness.

And Ann Reinking is to die for.

Totally juvenile and embarrassing but I truly love this movie.

As I said when I created Triple T, I did it because it is a way I get to know people in real life. I am always asking people to give me their top ten of something. You can really learn a lot about somebody from their top ten lists. That is what I love about it. I think you all will get to know me better from this lovely and I want you all to participate too. Make your own Top Ten lists and let me know about them. I will get a linky party going someday! 

Slow and Steady wins the Race

So, as most of you know, I am on vacation in California.

Getting the perfect tan.

Consequently I don't have a lot of time for this post but I wanted to quickly participate in this weeks Shine Challenge... Which has to do with FITNESS.

Obviously, while here we are hitting up all the major theme parks and I'm not gonna lie... I've been tempted a million times with theme park food. 

I have just recently started to become more health conscious, more weight conscious, more nutrition conscious, more portion control conscious, and more exercise conscious than I ever have been in my whole life. And when I say recently, I mean basically within the past month (maybe 6 weeks.) By making some drastic, yet simple changes in my eating and exercise habits I have lost 10 pounds in the past month. Firstly, it feels amazing to be so much more energetic. Secondly I feel way hotter with the 10 pounds gone. And thirdly, it is not NEARLY as difficult as I thought it was going to be, which is encouraging me to continue on in my journey.

One of the things that has lead to my success is biking. I LOATHE running. And I pretty much always have. For years I kind of thought that was the only real form of cardio that was available for people to do. Which caused years of sedentary behavior. 2 years ago I found biking and fell in LOVE. Last season I biked about once a week and I would do rides that were about 10-15 miles. This season I have been biking 5 days a week, again 10-15 miles per pop. That has made most of the difference I've seen on the scales... But not only is it helping me to shed some extra fattage, it is an absolute blast. My advice for all those of you who want to exercise but don't like running, think outside the box. I do not look at biking as exercise or as a duty. It is something that I enjoy and want to be doing. But it has to be on the road. If you asked me to go to a spin class or bike on a stationary bike I would probably kick you in the shins and tell you to get lost. I have to be on the road. Wind in my face, REAL hills that I can challenge myself up. IF YOU HATE RUNNING, DON'T FORCE YOURSELF TO RUN. Because your "new resolve" will last a week. I swear to you. Find other ways to exercise! There are millions of options. Don't get stuck on just running. That is my Shine Challenge advice to you all. 

Now, back to the point I was making at the beginning... I have been tempted with a lot of theme park food on this trip. {Lets just stop and go over said temptations shall we? Kettle Corn, Dip-n-Dots, Churros, Cotton Candy,  Carmel apples, Corn on the Cob, Ice cream cones, Rice Crispy Treats, Pineapple floats, French Fries, Fried Chicken, Big Juicy Hamburgers, onion rings... I could literally go on forever)
Do I have your attention yet?

And while I don't want to entirely give that stuff up {because lets face it, is anything on earth better?} I also don't want to stop the progress I've been making the past month.
My solution is a couple fold... I am still eating my very favorites that I can't go without. The things that I dream about when I am at home. The cream cheese filled pretzel. The Monte Cristo. The corn dogs. BUT... typically in my Disneyland days I will get 2 or 3 pretzels. Eat a whole Monte Cristo myself and eat corn dogs and french fries and Churros for snacks. The rest of the stuff I think I can manage without... I can curve the temptation. This trip I am limiting myself to one pretzel. I am splitting a Monte Cristo. And I am going to carefully select my dinner's. I am also packing vegetables and fruit like crazy for my snacks. I feel GREAT about the compromise. I get the best of both worlds with just a little more self control than I usually display. The other thing that I am doing for exercise {because I couldn't take my bike with me} is to take the stairs. Our hotel room is on the 4th floor and I have not taken the elevator one time. (GO ME!) But that is not all... When we went to Universal Studios I used the stairs THE WHOLE TIME! This one was a real accomplishment for me because there are a lot of stairs at that theme park... I regret that I forgot to take a picture of my main staircase conquer-ment. But I google searched one and botta boom botta bang. Check this stair case out that I totally ran up: 

See the staircase to the right? Well, it goes up and up and up. And then up some more. And there is a whole other section that is not pictured. Yep, that is right... While my family lazily rode up the escalators... I was busy taking the stairs. I totally kicked their trash too. GO ME! 

Disneyland doesn't have any stairs and neither does Knott's Berry, but I walked up and down every stair case at Universal Studios. {And my hotel.} Its the best I can do in the situation at hand.

 

I have been so pleased with myself this past month. I have made a million TINY changes in my lifestyle and they have given me HUGE results. I was very nervous about this trip and all that I would be tempted to eat and the fact that my bike is not around to exercise on, but with focus and determination and just a tinsy bit of indulgence I am one happy and healthy camper.

And I can't wait till Wednesday when me and Steve {my bike} get to spend a few hours one on one together. 

Reunited.

Me and bike Steve, we are in LOOOOOVE. 

I named him after Steve Perry. Cause we are in love too. He just doesn't know it yet. 

California Girls...... We're Undeniable.

There is a good reason why it has almost been 2 weeks since I last posted. 

Reason #1: 

Cause for ten short days, I'm a California Girl. My my very fantastic and very fun family are along for the ride. 

 Ten year old sister, Me, Soccer sister, Music sister, Step-mother, Father. 

Disneyland. June 13, 2011

Reason #2:

I've been too busy chillin with these 3 beauties to even think about the blog.

They.Crack.Me.Up.

  Disneyland

Resaon #3:

The Charming Huntington Beach called to us. And we answered.

 Reason #4: 

We decided to hit up some Knott's Berry Farm as well. And I decided to make the worst decision of my life and get on this bad boy:

 I'm up there somewhere, just about ready to DIE. And in case you want the full effect, here is the entire coaster: 

TERRIFYING. terrifying.What was I thinking?

And we swung by Universal Studios Hollywood today. It was a lovely time.

And father thought it would be funny to take a picture of me and Frankenstein and then tease me for like the next hour that he was my date last night. Ha dad. HA.
{I find it even funnier that the rest of my family was posing there with Frankenstein but father only got me in the picture. He cut out the rest of the lovely ladies in our group cause he thought his joke was so funny.}

We've still got some Huntington and Disneyland on the menu. Its a niiiiiice loooong vaca.

I've got sooooooooo much I would like to be blogging about, Top Ten Tuesdays, Flashback Fridays, Life's Little Moments, Embracing the Camera, Shine Challenges, and a million other things that are on my heart...
But I don't want my blog to come before enjoying my life, so I refuse to stress about keeping up. I get done what I get done when I get it done. Its better that way.

So, since I am taking a break from blogging heavily in the present and probably for the next 2 weeks, {maybe more} I am just going to post this little "filler" post that I made about a week before we left.
Basically its boring blogging advice that I wish someone gave me 6 months ago.
If you are already pleased with your blog you can just exit the blog right now. 
But I conjured it up mostly because bestie asked for it. Go check out her new born baby blog. It's cute.

So, without further adieu, Blogging advice from a not so famous blogger.

When I first began blogging I didn’t really know what the heck I was doing. I had no idea what a button was or a link up party and I had no idea how to link something in a post. I barely understood how to control the layout. I didn’t know what people actually wanted to read {obvious by my “soapbox” posts} and I didn’t know how to turn my life into an interesting blog form.

In the past months since this blog was born I have learned lots, blog stalked A LOT, come to some conclusions and have gotten some valuable pointers from even more blog stalking. living half alive is still evolving but it’s evolving in a direction that I am happy with. I don't know nearly as much about blogging as I’d like to. I don't have quite as many golden posts that I would like, but I'm headed in the right direction.

I have a good friend just starting out a blog and she asked for some advice from fellow bloggers. So I got to thinking what I would tell her and what I have learned. Those thoughts just sparked this post. Not that I have anything profound to share here with an experienced blogger, but there are a few things I wish I would have known 6 months ago when I was first starting out. These are conclusions I came to after I realized the kinds of things that kept bringing me back to a blog.

 The first big challenge for everyone is picking a topic. I call this Finding Your Voice. It took me a little while to find mine. I still have some searching to do. This is tough because there are hundreds of topics out there and thousands upon thousands of blogs for each topic. Your blog or your topic might not stand out but that isn’t something you should get hung up on. If you are blogging to become famous, you are in it for the wrong reasons and people are going to see right through that and you will most likely have a lame blog. Sure everyone dreams to have 5,000 followers and have material that just keeps sucking people back in. But the truth is, there are probably 1,000 blogs per 1 that is really popular. It just isn’t going to happen for everyone. The more you force things the less people are going to come back. Just pick a topic that you are passionate about. Pick a topic you feel comfortable with. Pick a topic that is unique to you. Pick a topic that will easily harbor creativity and passion and just see where it leads you. If your blog was meant to capture an audience of thousands, it naturally will.    

Next you have to decide why you want to blog and just keep that as your main goal. Do you want to keep your friends and family current on what is going on in your life and just blog “newsletter style”? Is it a creative outlet? Is it a place where you are looking for a community of friends? Do you want to inspire others? Is it your journal? If that is what you aspire to, you will most likely reach that goal, because all of those goals can be obtained without 5,000 followers. Don’t be phony on your blog either. Some people have the talent to draw audiences back, others do not. I have found that I can’t copycat what I admire in other bloggers. It's obvious when you are not being yourself. The closest that I can come is blogging about something that I've seen on another blog, a topic that I enjoyed that I could implement in a personal way on my blog. Like, I saw 30 days of photographs on other blogs and transformed it into my own version. I saw others make a ‘life’s list’ of 100 things they wanted to do before they died and decided I could make my own personal life list without copycatting theirs. 3 in 30 was another feature I saw on another blog that I fell in love with.  I could go on but you get the idea.

Blog often! I am a total blog stocker, as most fellow bloggers are. If you make me wait more than a month for a new post, you will quickly loose me. Blog at least once a week. {Unless you are a Friend of Family member of mine’s blog.} Those blogs I will always go back to because I am interested in the lives of my F&F. But I love it when I get to read their posts often it makes me feel connected even when I don't get to see them often. Even to them I would encourage a minimum of 1 post per week. {Do it for us, for your loyal fans.} But to those people whom I don't know: I will quickly lose interest if you don't let me read something at least once a week. Preferably several time a week.

 I word: HUMOR. If you can get people to laugh, they will come back. Just about every single blog on my stalking list has made me cry with laughter at one time or another. Letting my own sense of humor come through on my blog was a foreign concept to me, but as I learn to do it, it makes for posts that I enjoy, even if no one else does. And at the end of the day, really only I have to like my blog.

Make your posts neat and organized. Whether you center your fonts and photographs or swing them left or right make them neat. I don't like messy blogs and most likely won't return. If you are not sure how to make things neat, learn. Mess around with things. Use the ‘Preview’ button because things always look different in blogger while you are writing versus the finished product. Use good grammar, make sense, spell check. Re-read your posts at least twice before you post them. Read out loud if you are worried about something making sense or get a friend or family member to proofread. Don't mis-spell words {unless it is on purpose, in which case we know and we love you for it.} Don’t be lazy. If you wouldn’t turn it into your English teacher we don't want it either.

Also use the different tools in the tool bar at the top of your blog. Use different size of fonts, use bolding and underlining and italicizing. Make your font fun, add emphasis and personality that way. Since you are not talking to us and your tone of voice gets lost, make up for it by finding a tone of voice with your font style. I like to be able to imagine just how this post is being spoken. It makes it more interesting.

Make sure there is at least one photograph in each post. And if they are photographs from your life, all the better. If they are pictures of you, your children, your husband, your messy house, your stained clothes, your greasy hair they are going to suck us in all the more. I learned early on that every post needs a photo so for a long couple of months all I did was find a picture online that was relevant and posted it. It's alright, but I realized the blogs that I love were the ones that put pictures of their lives in their posts. I want to get to know those whose blogs I stalk. I want to get to know them through their photographs, their life’s experiences and through their humor.

Learn how to utilize the blogger tools. You don't have to know and use all of them, heck I only know a small fraction, but get to know the most popular ones. If you don't know where to start, you can Google search anything about a blog and you will be given very specific step by step instructions on how to do anything at all.

Have an archive on your blog. There are some blogs I stumble upon and immediately fall in love with and want to go back and read every. single. post. I hate and I mean hate when there is no blog archive on there and I can't easily do that. Also, I am curious to know how long said blog had existed. I like the blog archive okay. So do it for me. Everyone in the entire universe with a blog. Kthanksloveyoubye. 

Just for your protection: never write a post in blogger. Always write it on a word document and then transfer it over. I have lost too many precious posts cause I just got carried away writing in blogger. Without fail I lose internet connection and lose my post. “Saving it” in blogger isn’t good enough backup. I've still lost too much by saving it in blogger. Learn from my mistakes on this one K?

Get out there and read others’ blogs. Especially those blogs that have thousands of followers. What is it that they are doing that is getting attention? What sets their blog apart from the thousands of others that are not interesting?

The most common theme I personally found when I went out in search of what sets those blogs apart can be described in 2 words:

Exposing oneself. 

We want to read about your embarrassing moments. We want to read about your meltdowns. We want to read about your failures. We want to hear about the fights you had with your husband or the food poisoning that had you coming out both ends for an unpleasant evening. {Ok, honestly we only want to hear that if you can tell us with humor unsurpassed and no pictures.} We want to hear how you eat food off your toddlers face because you are too tired to go throw it away. We want to hear about how you have no peace for ‘number 2.’

We want to hear about the challenges of sending your lover to Afghanistan and we want to see the tears you shed. We want to see the pictures of the black eye you and your husband gave your 12 year old son while trying to crack the egg {him} on the tramp.  We want to read about how we are not the only people on earth that stays in their pajamas all. day. long. We want to know that we are not the only ones who threw a party that no one showed up to.

We like to find comfort in your failures, because it makes ours easier to handle.

People want to get to know you through your blog. We want to see photographs from your life. We want to hear the confessions of the imperfectness of life. We want to hear the truth about challenges you face and mistakes you make. We want to laugh at the hysterical mishaps of your life. We want to read the good things too. The cute things your kids said or the love note your husband left you. We want our heart strings to be tugged at when you share personal stories. We want to be inspired.

And finally, spread the love. If you find a blog you love, follow them. {It's like Christmas morning when we get a new follower} and comment. But only nice comments. It's like our birthday when we get comments. Spread the love and support the community.

Hope that helps.
Does anyone else have any other good advice any other new bloggers out there? Anything I left out?  

A Non-Traditional Definition of Beauty.

I'm going to go with something a little more non-traditional for this week’s Shine Challenge. 

 

{Click on the button for more info on what that is.}  

I just read most of the previous Shine challenge entries ahead of my link and I must confess, they were all answers that I expected to read when I started out. 

Hopefully I am going to state a definition to surprise all of you.

Sure, beauty to me is all the things mentioned on the blog linkup:

Being positive, being happy, serving others, being helpful, being confident, being wise. Beauty is loving people, beauty is kindness, beauty is laughter. OF COURSE I agree with all these definitions.

Absolutely to me TRUE BEAUTY comes from within.

But today, I want to showcase OUTER BEAUTY. Shocker hu? It is not because I think outer beauty is more important. Not because I think it can override someone with an ugly interior. Not because I think people should be vein or arrogant.

Me in Ukraine. January 2008

I am showcasing outer beauty today for a couple reasons.

Firstly, I believe that our bodies are our greatest gift from our Heavenly Father. I believe it is a miracle that there are billions and billions of people on the earth, billions more that have already lived on the earth, and no two people look the same. It boggles my mind that we all have 2 eyes, a nose, and a mouth, we all have teeth, hair and skin, yet there can be billions of different looks with those features. It is a blessing to me from my Father in Heaven that I look the way I do. Have I always liked what I saw in the mirror? Absolutely not. I have struggled with feeling beautiful My. Entire. Life.
However, the more I grow and the more wisdom I acquire the more I realize that not everyone was blessed with a healthy body like mine.

Me on my very first cruise. May 2008

My healthy body is a blessing that I don't intend to squander away.
Taking pride in the way I look is one way that I will not squander away my blessing from God. Taking the time to work with what I have and rejoice in what I have is one way that I feel beautiful, and even thought I am not the most beautiful person that I know, doing my best with what I've got, to me, makes me beautiful.

 Me with bestie. {and hot boys} Florida. July 2010

Having good hygiene is one way that I choose to showcase my outer beauty. Showering, shaving, brushing and flossing my teeth, washing my face every day to tame my school girl acne that for some reason decided to introduce itself when I was in my twenties, keeping my fingernails and toenails painted or at the very least clean and controlled, wearing clean clothes {I'm shocked with how easy this is yet how frequently people don't,} wearing clothes that work well with my body type and flatter my assets. {I am not claiming to be an expert here, I am no fashionista and I might be failing at this or making obvious mistakes to others but the efforts are honest and real.} I don't have to spend a fortune on my wardrobe either, but I feel better when I have taken the time to put together a good looking outfit.

Me and some amazing ladies. Weber State graduation. December 2010.

These are all ways that I focus on showcasing my outer beauty. These are things that give me confidence and help me to look in the mirror and truly like what I see looking back at me. Taking pride in my outer beauty always helps me to showcase my inner beauty. I don't care if you disagree with me but in my opinion that is one way I show gratitude to God for the gift of my body: by taking care of my physical appearance.

Me doing my hair. {And not pregnant.} Cruise December 2008.

My red hair is one of the things I have always loved about myself. Even when I struggled with the way my face looked, I always loved my red hair. For many years having red hair saved me. Just having one thing that I loved about my physical appearance was a blessing. But I have seen people that have the potential for beautiful hair and they just let it fall by the wayside and they just look awful. Stringy and overgrown hair is not attractive. And Lordy-be, the most disgusting thing I can look at is dirty/greasy hair. I just want to gag at the sight of it and I want to stay far enough away that I don't have to smell it.

Now, I don't wash my hair every day, but I NEVER go more than one day in between washes {unless I am camping}. There really is no reason for greasy hair people.

Me and ten year old sister. When she was 5. And when I was 21. Summer 2006.

Also, not letting my hair become an overgrown mane of a mess, {I don't need to spend hundreds on the trendiest haircuts or getting my hair colored or weaved or whatever else people do these days, a simple and modest trim and style every few months suffices.} And I don't need to figure out how girls get those fabulous curls with flat irons {because my hair WILL NOT hold the curl} but I do look like I have spent a minute or two working on my hair.

NOTHING is better then when babies sleep in your arms.
December 2009.

One lesson that I learned in my battle to find self esteem is that self esteem is earned.

We must work hard for it. 

The second reason why I have decided to focus today on outer beauty today goes hand in hand with that:
working hard.

I was one of the people that was blessed with a healthy body. I have ten fingers and ten toes. I have working arms and working legs. I can run, jump, skip, hop, and ride a bike. There are millions of people who cannot say that. Working hard to take care of my healthy body is becoming more and more important to me. I have always struggled with being overweight and being sedentary. I am not morbidly obese, but I don't eat as well as I should, I overeat, and I don't exercise on a regular basis. That is until recently. Recently I realized that I do have a healthy body and I can take care of it, therefore I should take care of it.
“I can, so I should”… that is my motto. Having a healthy body is a gift you give yourself for life. No happiness can compare with that.

 Me and Bestie. And Steve.{My bike} Summer 2010.

When I work hard to eat well and exercise and be at a healthier weight for my height, I feel beautiful. I am not obsessed with the scale or being a certain size. In fact, quite the opposite. However I have been really focusing on getting my BMI down {because it is much too high to be considered healthy} over the past few weeks, and after completely changing the way I eat, and riding my bike 5 days a week I have seen a change in my appearance. And I have even seen a change in the scale. That feels great. And you can bet your bottom dollar that it is giving me more confidence, more energy, and more zest for life. What can be more beautiful than that?

Me and half my family at Disneyland. June 2009.

True beauty is earned. I believe that with all my heart. But there are things we can do with the way we present ourselves that are going to add to our level of beauty on the outside. That will inevitably reflect on our inner beauty. 

Me and bestie. And strange, unidentified man. May or may not be ex.  December 2008

.

This weeks shine challenge was to define what beauty means to us. True Beauty comes from within, no argument here. But Outer Beauty has its place. I believe everyone possesses outer beauty, but some people need to put more work into showcasing it. I think that is important. I think it shows gratitude to my Father in Heaven for what He has blessed me with.   
Of course that is just my opinion. What do you think?  

My Life List.

There is a fad going around the blogging world… maybe you’ve seen it. Well, I am certainly not one to ignore a fad so of course I had to participate. 

People have been making these Life Lists that contain 100 things they want to do before they die. I've seen it done now on about 40 different blogs. When I first saw it done I thought, I could do that! I should do that. 

After all:

Well, I will tell you that I have tried before to make a list of 30 things I want to accomplish by the time I am 30 years old and I only got to #18. {I guess the deadline of 4 years intimidated me}. I also tried to make a bucket list but got stuck on the idea that they had to be big and exciting things and didn’t get much of a list either. 

When I saw this idea and realized that I had the whole rest of my life to check things off my list and that they could be big things or small things extravagant things, or simple things, I got excited and wanted to give it a go. It took me an honest couple of weeks, but I really thought about it, did some soul searching, asked myself what my dreams were, and finally finished it.

So here you have it. The Big, the small, the seemingly easy, the difficult, and even the very expensive. The best part is, they are all achievable and none of them are in the control of someone else. {Too many of the examples I saw contained goals to meet celebrities… “yea” I thought to myself “they are really going to take time out of their lives to have lunch with you. That is realistic.”} So I kept that in mind as I made these goals. I don't see how anyone could meet celebrities if they just wanted to. I wanted goals that I could actually cross off. {With one exception. #48 contains a semi celebrity. But I think that if I was in her neck of the woods, I could contact her and she would let me cross that off my list. I at least have her contact information. Where do you even get a celeb's info to just call them up and ask them to lunch?} 

 Without further adieu, here are the dreams in this crazy girls' heart. 

Me at one of the greatest concerts ever conceived: The piano man versus the rocket man. 

{The piano man clearly won.} 

Here is my life’s list:

1. Cook a Thanksgiving dinner {turkey and all} all by myself.

2. Become a foster parent {after my own children are grown.}

3. Own a horse. Name him Whiskey Pete.

4. Marry my soul mate. 

5. Own a truck. A hot one.

6. Start a book club.

7. Buy a house.

8. Ride in a rodeo.

9. See Les Misérables on stage.

10. Live in San Francisco for a year.

11. Make my own baby food {for future babies}.

12. Hit a homerun in softball.

13. Travel to all 50 states and photograph myself at every “Welcome to ___” sign.

14. Live in Manhattan for a year.

15. Ride a motorcycle all by myself.  

16. Tell Walter Fife “thank you” in person.

17. Watch a MLB game in every MLB stadium in the country.

18. Take a road trip with no predetermined destination.

19. Swim with dolphins.

20. Ride on a camel.

21. Own a real expensive camera. Like the ones photographers use.

22. Spend an entire day at a spa getting every treatment available.

23. Travel the country in a giant RV.

24. See Wicked on Broadway {Again}.

25. Take a trip to England.

26. Go Marlins fishing in Cabo San Lucas. {And make-out on Lover’s Beach}

27. Take a boat tour of Venice Italy.

28. Ride my bike around Central Park.

29. Go to the Temple in Ukraine.

30. Take a 30 day cruise around Australia.

31. Take my babies to Disneyland.

32. Go on the Sound Of Music tour in Austria.

33. See Memphis on Broadway {Again}.

34. Live in San Diego for a year.

35. Write a thank you note every day for a year.

36. Take a trip to Africa.

37. Ride a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge.

38. Spend a week in Belize and go cave tubing again.

39. Live in a home on the beach for at least a year.

40. Grow an herb garden.

41. Go to culinary arts school.

42. Take a trip to Niagara Falls.

43. Attend a World Series game {Preferably when my Marlins go}.

44. Ride a street car in San Francisco.

45. Master the art of couponing and budgeting.

46. Learn to sail on a real live sailboat.

47. Take a trip to Coney Island. 

48. Have lunch with Ashley.

49. Be in a musical theater production again.

50. Get fortune told to me by a fortune teller/psychic.

51. Ride a century bike ride {100 Miles}.

52. Be able to see my abs.

53. Organize a ginormous family reunion in Lake Tahoe when I have babies.

54. Take a trip to Catalina Island.

55. Learn to sew on a sewing machine.

56. Eat in a restaurant that Robert Irvine saved in a Restaurant Impossible episode.

57. Teach a Russian class.

58. Be a SAHM.

59. Learn to dance.

60. Watch the birth of a baby horse.

61. Become a mother.

62. Go on a weeklong river rafting and camping-on-the-beach trip.

63. Spend a summer living and working on a dude ranch.

64. Host an adult dinner party every month for a year, without repeating guests.

65. Ride on an elephant and have said elephant pick me up in his trunk. 

66. Go to Disneyworld.

67. Organize a fundraiser for Operation Smile.

68. Grow a vegetable garden.

69. Have a walk in closet.

70. Get my house decorated by a professional.

71. Take a photography class.

72. Read the original Les Miserables book by Victor Hugo.

73. Have a concealed weapons permit.

74. Be in better shape at 30 than I am at 26.

75. Have my very own crafting room.

76. Read the {entire} Bible.

77. Adopt a child from Ukraine or Russia {Preferably a teenager}.

78. Be the coordinator/planner for a good friend checking off something on his/her bucket list.

79. Shoot at and hit a clay pigeon.

80. Play on another water polo team.  

81. Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

82. Have a hammock in my backyard.  

83. Take a road trip by myself.

84. Do this bike ride around Lake Tahoe.

85. Own a pair of legit cowboy boots.

86. Put 1500 miles on my bike in one season. {Roughly 12-15 miles a day. Cake.)

87. Create a family tradition that husband, kiddos and I can do for every holiday of the year.

88. Ride a mechanical bull for 7 seconds.

89. Make Husband’s dreams come true.

90. Keep a houseplant alive for at least a year.

91. Become a Carnival Elite cruising member. (After 16^th cruise)  

92. Take my babies to Ukraine.   

93. Catch a foul ball or a homerun ball at a major league game.

94. Re-Read the entire The Work and the Glory series.

95. Go to Mt. Rushmore.

96. Learn how to cook a lobster.

97. Go help clean up somewhere after a natural disaster.

98. Go an entire year without repeating a recipe.

99. Go topless at a nude beach.

100. Ride my bike from Northern California to Southern California