Faith, Sunday Post

When you get ready to crack open a walnut or a pecan, how do you know that there will be a nut inside the shell?

You haven't seen an x-ray of the nut to know that the meat of it will be waiting.

Maybe you've cracked open nuts before and always found what you were looking for. But how do know this time that it will be there?

The thing is, you have Faith that it will be there. You are hoping you will get that nut out of the shell even though you have never seen it.

And Faith is things which are hoped for, but are not seen.

You see, once you see the nut when you crack the shell, then you know it is there and you don't need to have Faith about it anymore.

. Now, in this lifetime, have you seen Jesus? Yes, you've seen pictures of Him. You've seen movies about Him, where He was portrayed by actors. You've read books bout Him too. But have you seen Him? I'm guessing no. So how do you know He exists?

You have Faith that He exists.

You have hope that He exists, even though you have never seen him. This is Faith.

And Faith, just like your biceps and abs, gets stronger when you exercise it.

So when you act on your Faith in Christ, by praying, by serving others, by keeping his commandments based on the belief that this is what He wants you to do, your Faith gets stronger.

And as your Faith gets stronger, your blessings from Christ and our Father in Heaven, multiply. Which, in turn, makes it easier to have Faith.

If you aren't sure if you if you have Faith, but you want to, and you have a hope to have Faith, I challenge you to ask God if he is there. Ask him in prayer, having only so much as a hope that He will answer, and He will.

I know this, because He answers me. Every time. He will answer you too.

Nothing to Write Home About

Often, when I am trying to think of something to blog about the lyrics from an old song by Soul Asylum come into my head.

"I've nothing to write home about

Nothing I have figured out

Still I have the same old doubts

Nothing to write home about"

I won't bother with the rest of the song because it's lyrics don't actually represent the way I feel.

It is much about how leaving home hasn't taught me anything and I still don't understand the world. (I think the members of Soul Asylum were often pretty depressed).

I on the other hand am pretty happy with the way my life is.

There is a lot in the big world that I don't understand, but most of the things in my little world make perfect sense to me. And if they don't, I have faith that I will understand them better over time.

Nevertheless, I am at the same place I often find myself, where although my day was very busy and I accomplished a lot as far as spending time with my boys, helping them to be healthy, physically and emotionally, I enjoyed my day and feel fulfilled by what I have done, and I didn't even get a chance to sit down to blog until 10:00 at night; very little of my day was blog worthy, or of interest to anyone but me and my family.

So, I will leave you with this thought:

Dost thou love life?

Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.

-Benjamin Franklin

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I know I am a day late, but I didn't take time to blog yesterday.

We had a wonderful dinner with all of my favorite Thanksgiving foods.

I tried to invite a few people over for dinner, but in the end, they all had other plans.

J spent the day with his sister, so we actually only had 6 of us here for dinner. Needless to say there are a TON of leftovers.

We had a 22 pound turkey and 6 people to eat it.

The baked macaroni and cheese seemed to be the favorite.

Even though this was comparatively a small dinner with only a few of my loved ones, it was wonderful.

Even though Chris and I spent hours preparing and baking, it would have been worth it if we had only been able to share it with one of our boys.

The memories that we are making are invaluable. The time put in, the care; each moment matters. Every moment makes a difference.

I had a great day with my boys. It was small. But it was us. It was our family, together. That's what matters.

I seem to be thankful for the same thing every year at Thanksgiving.

I am grateful for my family.

Even though my family seems to be different every year.

I love them all.

God must love me a lot to bless me with all of these kids.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

I wish you all joy and love in your families.

A Few Thanksgiving Comics

I finally got away from last minute shopping and day before cooking prep, to bring you a few Thanksgiving Cartoons.

Enjoy.

The Turkey's Ain't Happy

Just a musical turkey perspective.

Enjoy.

Thanksgiving Comic

I searched google for a while this morning looking for a good Thanksgiving comic.

I found several, but I wanted to share with you the best one.

This one made me laugh out loud.

A Lesson on Prophets, Sunday Post

I hang out with our local sister missionaries now and then. During which we chit chat, tell funny stories, strengthen friendships, laugh, have "friend therapy", and also talk about the gospel and teach it to others.

Every time a sister leaves I get so sad because I loved her so much and I don't think any other sister could be as awesome as that one. But they prove me wrong every time and I grow to love the new ones just as much.

They have also taught me so much and encouraged me to have a better relationship with my Father in Heaven and a better understanding of his gospel.

I went with them tonight to visit a family. It was a family that I know well and often interact with outside of church, so the visit was extra fun.

We taught them about prophets. It was such a great message I wanted to share it again.

The thing is that God loves us so much. He never wants to leave alone without guidance, so he sends prophets to guide us and give us his word.

A prophet is someone who has authority to speak to the people of the world on God's behalf, and give us his direction. They also prophesy of things to come, giving us warnings and the opportunity to prepare.

Many prophets not only speak to the people, they also write scripture so that their words can be carried through the generations after they are gone.

There have been prophets sent by God at all times through the history of the world.

The sad thing is that there is a cycle of acceptance and happiness, then disbelief and pridefulness among the people whenever they have a chance to hear prophets.

Every time God sends a prophet, that period of time is called a dispensation.

The prophets teach the people God's gospel and give them direction. The people accept it and follow the gospel. They find happiness in the gospel, and God blesses them.

Then they begin to be prideful. They discount the importance of their prophets. They stop being grateful for God's blessings. When the prophets call them to repentance they rebel against the word and even kill the prophets.

Then they fall in to a state of apostasy. During this time they have no living prophet to lead them. They are in spiritual darkness.

After a while God sends another prophet and the cycle begins again.

After Christ lived on the earth his apostles continued to teach the gospel to the people. But eventually the people fell into apostasy again. And the earth went a long long time without a living prophet to guide the people.

Many men carried on in believing in God and tried to live his gospel as they were able to interpret it from the scriptures. But without a living prophet to guide the people the gospel was distorted. Different people interpreted the scriptures differently and God had no emissary on the earth to define the truth of his word.

The time eventually came for a new dispensation, and God brought forth his prophet Joseph Smith Jr. to bring his gospel to the people of the earth in its fulness.

God gave Joseph Smith the responsibility of reorganizing his church the way that Jesus had organized it when he lived on the earth.

Joseph Smith was eventually killed by angry men who could not accept the gospel he tried to share with them, but God rose up another prophet in his stead.

And so now many prophets have passed away, but we still have one today.

His name is Thomas S. Monson and he speaks to us today with authority from God to guide us and give us direction in the world that we live in today.

This is not to say that the scriptures are not true. The scriptures are absolutely true. They hold the word of God.

But God knows that the world we live in today is a hard world. He knows that we are experiencing hardships and wonders that have never been seen in the world before. He knows that we need guidance unlike any that he has sent to his people before.

Just like God didn't teach Adam to build an Ark, but waited until it was starting to rain on Noah before he sent that knowlege; this is why God has sent us a prophet today. To bring us the prophesies, the guidance, the information that those before us didn't need and weren't ready for.

If we listen to him and seek to know the truth of God's gospel, our lives can be fuller, we can be happier, and we can be fortified against the hard things of this world.

I know this is true.

If you don't know this is true, pray and ask God. He loves you. He wants you to be happy. He'll tell you.

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If you want to know more about the prophet please >>>Click Here<<< or leave me a comment.

Screaming Slingshot Monkeys! And the Winner is....

Thank you to everyone who entered my give-a-way for screaming slingshot monkeys.

It was fun reading all of your comments about why you needed them.

It was obvious that one or two people really wanted them.

In the end there could only be one winner.

And that winner, chosen from a large pile of little strips of paper by my son CJ, (so blame him if you didn't win),

is...

(drumroll)

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VICTORIA!

(I'm really, really sorry Pike. You definitely had the most entries. If this had been a sympathy or guilt vote you totally would have won).

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I do feel confident sending the monkeys to Victoria as she had some really great reasons for wanting them, and I know they will be well taken care of in her home.

If you feel bad you didn't win, please read her list of reasons. They were:

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1. Because I have never won anything and I am seriously beginning to doubt myself.

2. I can't afford braces for my 15-year-old right now, and I'm sure that a screaming monkey would make it all up to him.

3. I asked Santa for one when I was eight years old, and he didn't bring it. I haven't believed in Santa for the last 36 years. But this could change my mind.

4. I am on that diet from "Devil Wear's Prada." You know the one... "Well, I don't eat anything and when I feel like I'm about to faint I eat a cube of cheese. I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight." I really need something to keep my mind off the deprivation.

5. I have devised a way to bring about World Peace, using nothing but Twinkies, Diet Coke and screaming monkeys.

6. I would provide a safe environment for them. I have actually rescued many screaming slingshot monkeys who were being used in inhumane cosmetics testing.

7. My five-year-old might have ADD or ADHD or something (sometimes he doesn't listen to me), and I have heard that screaming slingshot monkeys are considered an alternative therapy to medication.

8. I have a lot of cobwebs up in the vaulted ceiling areas of my home. I have no way to reach them. It would really help me to have small fuzzy objects that could be launched up there to collect the offending webs.

9. Any monkeys you sent me would be for my personal use and that of my family. I would never even think of listing them on eBay or Craig's List or any other auction website, even if they were fetching a premium with the holidays coming up.

10. Said monkeys would not be exposed to any worldly influences in my home. We would promise to include them in family home evenings, we would never offer them alcohol or cigarettes, and if you insist, I could even install a Filthy Filter on the TV (or I could set up a Favorites List that would only allow them to watch BYU TV or Animal Planet).

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She even assured me that although she lives in California, the LA Lakers are one of those "worldly influences" that the monkeys would be protected from and that they would be Utah Jazz monkeys.

Victoria has a great blog that is totally worth checking out. You can see it by clicking >>>here<<<.

So Victoria, leave me your e-mail address in a comment. (I will delete the comment as soon as I get it).

Thanks again to everyone.

I am so glad you all enjoy my blog. Keep coming back!

Cub Scouts Will Be the Death of Me

Picture the scene at Cub Scouts last night.

The theme is Seed of Kindness, so we are playing Kindness Charades. The scouts take turns acting out different acts of kindness.

(Let me add that while these scouts are great at acting out, they struggled somewhat acting out acts of kindness.)

Scout #1 is frantically attempting to display "Let someone go ahead of you"

Scout #2 calls out: "Having a seizure!"

Me: "Remember that all of these are kind things to do."

Scout #2, yelling now: "Politely tell someone you are having a seizure!"

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At intervals throughout the 1 hour den meeting the scouts would take random turns calling out: "Silence! I keel you!"

This was especially humorous when I was doing the scout sign to call them back to order and one scout had not yet noticed my two fingers held up in a V.

The others would look at that one, who was inevitably still talking/singing/shouting and yell at him "Silence! I keel you!"

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It probably didn't help matters that I found these things so funny, because it only encouraged them to continue their energetic, if not well behaved, behaviors.

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If you don't know what "Silence, I keel you!" comes from, please watch the following video.

This Girlz got MAD Skillz Yo!

This 5 year old girl named Milan can dribble just as well as a lot of pros.

Apparently it takes a lot more than height to have great ball skills.

A future NBA player?

Could be.

The Scriptures, My Favorite Iphone App

I only got my iphone 2 months ago, and I have loved it.

It does so many awesome things.

Including making my bag lighter because it has so many features I can leave many of my otherwise necessary items at home, or even lose them all together.

The iphone comes with many cool programs and features already, but you can go to the app store (short for application, I think), and download even more.

Many of these apps are free. Some you have to pay to get.

I downloaded a solitaire app called Solebon for 99 cents that has about 30 solitaire games.

And one of my favorites is the lightaber app. So cool. Basically I have my own lightsaber now. Just in case I encounter any wandering Sith on my way to check the mail.

But, while the lightsaber app is a close second, my absolute favorite app for my iphone is the scripture app.

I used to carry a 25 pound bag to church that carried every manual and book I thought I might need.

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No more.

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While there are free scripture apps available that are tailored to meet the needs of most any religion, being that I am Mormon I sought out the ones that offered the 4 LDS Standard Works.

I tried a few free apps, but eventually invested 15 bucks (the most I have paid for any app) in my scriptures app, by readscriptures.com.

This app was not only worth 15 dollars, it was worth it's weight in gold plates.

A regular set of scriptures from Deseret Book will run 60-100$, and won't include all the features this one does.

This set of scriptures includes everything you see here:

Not only the 4 standard works, but also:

-The US Constitution

-The Joseph Smith Translation

-Topical Guide

-Bible Dictionary

-The LDS Hymnbook

-The Children's songbook

-Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith

-Preach My Gospel

-Book of Mormon Study Guide

-Book of Mormon Teacher's manual

And other references such as:

-True to the Faith

-The Living Christ

-For the Strength of Youth

-Family Proclamation

-Lectures on Faith

It even has all the talks from the last 4 General Conferences,

and a quote reference guide that will bring up quotes on almost any topic, searchable in alphabetical order.

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I almost don't need to take anything else to church with me anymore.

It rocks!

And now I have this treasure trove of spiritual knowledge with me wherever I go.

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If you would love to have this, but don't want to commit to a 2 year contract with AT&T, you have one other option.

The ipod touch offers everything that the iphone does except, well, the phone.

And the roaming internet access.

But you could still download this app and carry it instead of your 25 pound church bag.

And when you get bored during Sacrament Meeting you can play games on it.

I mean, um, look up quotes that would be relevant to the talks being given. (Yeah, that's what you should do).

But make sure you're not late to class because you're showing off your level 80 World of Warcraft Character to your friends in the hall with the Warcraft Characters app. (Guilty smile).

Riddles!

A few good riddles I found:

(Come on Pike, I know you can get one).

1. Ravi’s father has four sons: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and _______?

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2. I have one, you have one.

If you remove the first letter, a bit remains.

If you remove the second, bit still remains.

After much trying, you might be able to remove the third one also, but it remains.

It dies hard!

(hint: I have more than just one, and they're not all good).

(No, it's not children, -lol).

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3. What can bring back the dead; make us cry, make us laugh, make us young; born in an instant yet lasts a life time?

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Good Luck.

My Marathon Pics Are In

If you want to see pictures of me running my half marathon last week in my cool piratey running getup, click on >>>this link<<<.

There are 7 pics of me running. Including me crossing the finish line.

The pics from my first half marathon a couple months ago looked like I wasn't actually having much fun, even though I thought I was. So every time I saw the camera pointed at me this time I tried to smile and look like I was having a really good time.

I think they turned out a lot better on this run.

Plus, it was about 30 degrees cooler this time, and I think that helped me look a little less sweaty and red faced.

I know, I make running 13.1 miles look easy.

A Meaning in Everything, (Did You Know This About the Dollar Bill?) -Sunday Post

I think I read this somewhere once before, but I felt it was definitely worth posting.

We handle, use, earn and spend these dollars every day, but we don't even think about the meanings they carry.

It makes me wonder if I could ask my bank to put "In God We Trust" on my debit card.

Anyway, read this and learn something.

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On the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles. Together, they comprise the Great Seal of the United States .

The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved.

If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid.

Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the west or decided what we could do for Western Civilization.

The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished.

Inside the capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity.

It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything.

'IN GOD WE TRUST' is on this currency.

The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, 'God has favored our undertaking.'

The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, 'a new order has begun.'

At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776. (MDCCLXXVI)

If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States. It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery, and is the centerpiece of most hero's monuments.

Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States , and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean.

The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons:

First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it.

Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England

Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on its own.

At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation.

In the Eagle's beak you will read, ' E PLURIBUS UNUM' meaning,'one from many.'

Above the Eagle, you have the thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one.

Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace.

The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.

They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or tall buildings with a 13th floor. But think about this:

13 original colonies,

13 signers of the Declaration of Independence,

13 stripes on our flag,

13 steps on the Pyramid,

13 letters in, 'Annuit Coeptis,'

13 letters in 'E Pluribus Unum,'

13 stars above the Eagle,

13 bars on that shield,

13 leaves on the olive branch,

13 fruits,

and if you look closely, 13 arrows.

And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David.

This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Hayim Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result.

Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions but died a pauper.

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Food for thought, huh?

Something to think about next time you spend your hard earned dinero.

I Really Am Going To Post Today

Here's a video I found while I was waiting for my son to get a haircut.

It is well worth the 6 minutes.

How many of these songs do you remember.

How many of these dances have you done?

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The Evolution of Dance

10,000 hits! Time for a Give-A-Way!

When I logged on today and checked my site meter I was met by the 5 digit total of 10,001!

This is a momentous occasion. Momentous enough to be met with my very first

Blog Give-A-Way!

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So what to give?

I could think of nothing better or more original than the same thing my brother sent me for my birthday,

Screaming Slingshot Monkeys!

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The winner of this give-a-way will recieve no less than six plush monkeys with elastic arms that can be slingshotted across the room.

And as if that isn't enough, these monkeys will scream audibly, scaring children, animals, husbands, and co-workers as they fly.

They also make great Christmas presents.

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So how do you enter?

Simple.

Recieve one entry just by leaving me a comment and telling me that you want to be entered.

If your comment is extra funny or if you have a particularly good reason for wanting a pile of screaming slingshot monkeys, you will recieve another entry.

You can recieve 2 additional entries by talking about my give-a-way on your blog and providing a link back to me. (Make sure you mention in your comment if you are planning on doing this so I check your blog to see).

Any and all of my blog followers (new or old) will recieve an automatic entry.

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The winner will be drawn and announced next Friday, Nov. 22nd.

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Good luck everyone!

Wordless Wed-....uh,... Thursday

Error messages you really don't want to see.

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By the way, (sorry, I know this is supposed to be wordless), has anyone else been getting kicked off of internet explorer everytime you go from the edit html page to the compose page while trying to post?

No?

Just me?

Oh, well.

Combining my Obsessions, (Blogging and WoW)

For today's blog post I will be celebrating tonight's release of the new World of Warcraft expansion

Wrath of the Lich King

with a few World of Warcraft videos.

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This first one will probably make more sense to you if you play the game and understand WoWspeak at least a little.

(So here you go Liz and Lydia).

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This second one is good too.

This is the WoW version of "I'm Too Sexy".

But this one is my favorite.

I have even posted this video before, but I think it's worth reposting.

I give you: The Scotsmans Kilt, WoW version.

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The midnight release party for Lich King starts at 10:00 at Game Stop.

We also have the time benefit of being on the East Coast and getting our copy a few hours ahead of many of our WoW comrades.

Chris plans on playing all night long and getting to level 71 before other players log on in the morning.

No, I wasn't kidding when I referred to WoW as an obsession.

Things I learned from my Mom

1. How to sound out words

2. How to follow a recipe

3. How to change a diaper

4. That it's important to go to church

5. How to answer the phone politely

6. That you should have family home evenings often

7. How to clean a toilet

8. How to pray

9. That it's more fun to do a chore without being reminded

10. Books are good

11. Even walking can be great exercise

12. How to can grape juice and jam

13. How to piece a quilt

14. That families are forever

15. Children need to be able to make their own decisions about some things

16. Children need to have responsibilities

17. You should always get a book for Christmas

18. Home canned peaches make a great midnight snack

19. Family vacations are fun even if the kids whine

20. Parents love their kids no matter what

21. Prayer works

22. Good parents never stop praying.

23. You should take you kids to church even if they whine about it.

24. You should nurse your baby as soon as you can after he is born, (even if you are so tired that your mom has to hold the baby there for you)

25. That members of a family should visit as often as they can

26. Mothers should tell other people how proud they are of their children

27. You should follow your dream

28. That you should love and show love for everyone

29. Your house is never so full that you can't fit one more person who needs a place to stay

30. Everyone needs a mother's love

31. That I can do anything if I really try

32. That God loves me

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I could probably keep going, because there are hundreds of things I could list. I will probably think of many more things just throughout the day today.

But I want to tell my Mother thank you for teaching me these things.

And I hope you have a wonderful, fabulous, amazing birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Things I've done

I found this tag on Kritta's blog.

I have done all the things on this list that are in bold, but none of the regular print things.

You can participate by copying the list to your blog and bolding the items you have done in your life.

I think that many of the things you haven't done are as telling as the things you have done.

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1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon (half)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

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So I think you can see I haven't done a lot of traveling. But I have done some cool things.

And now I have a list of more cool things to do.

What have you done?

And I Could Run 500 Miles

Remember that song by the proclaimers?

Well, guess what?

With my half marathon that I did yesterday I reached 500 miles on my Nike+.

You can see it on my Nike+ counter on the right, or click on >>>this link<<<.

So I just ran 500 miles, and I'm gonna run 500 more!

Go me!

My Marathon Motivation

My (Half) Marathon

The sunset last night was gorgeous.

I took it as a good omen.

Here is me in piratey garb before the race started.

The web site encouraged runners to dress up like pirates, but I only saw 3 others who did.

But I had a blast doing it.

(It was kind of hard to find buccaneer get up that I could run in).

This is my runner buddy Laura. We've been training together, and we ran together for about 9 miles. Then she left me in the dust.

This was the starting line. It was about 52 degrees outside. But warmed up into the low 60's while we were running. It was just about perfect.

I took this at about 2 miles. You can see the bay in the distance. We had to run over that bay later.

This house is not actually tilting, but it looks like that because I was running when I took the pic.

This was about 3 miles in. Mile marker 7. That means just over halfway.

Going up the big bridge over the bay. It was a big long hill. Luckily, it was the only one.

(I think I can, I think I can)

Going down was a whole lot easier. If you look clear ahead you can see the road stretching out for a long way. (This pic was taken at about the same place that the picture of the sunset was taken last night).

After the finish line, Me and Laura met up again, stretched out, got our medals (that's the aarrgh strap around our necks), and walked, yes, walked, back to the hotel. (It wasn't far).

Sorry I didn't take any pics of the finish line, but all I wanted to do was get across it, (as the Rocky Theme Song was playing on my ipod), and pulling my camera out for a pic was not a priority.

This was later at a place called Brew Thru, where you drive your car right through the convenience store and they bring what you want right to the window.

Hooray for Cherry Pepsi.

It was soo much fun.

I am elevating and icing my knee as I type. Funny how it didn't hurt at all while I was running, but it sure does now.

My next race?

Probably the Turkey Trot 10K on Thanksgiving morning.

Hooray Me!