Health (physical, spiritual, emotional, and otherwise):

1. Eat a vegetable with every dinner for a week

Done! This wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it might be! The vegetable was generally either corn or broccoli, but there were a few others mixed in. 

3. Walk or ride at least a mile every day for two weeks.

This one was a little more difficult. There were a few evenings where I had to convince Chris to go take a walk with me so I could get in my mile, but it still wasn’t too bad. We like taking walks and it helps that Cambridge is so pretty. 

Hobbies

38. Rewatch the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.

I watched the first half many months ago before we moved but never got a chance to finish it. One afternoon while Chris was away at school and I had applied for as many jobs as I could for the day, I sat down and watched the second half. Colin Firth plays such a great Mr. Darcy. <3

41. Watch all of the Buffy and Angel shows.

I did it! I have to admit that I dragged my feet about this in the beginning. I was under the impression that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a really really dumb show and that I would be bored out of my mind. Internet, I am a changed woman. Seriously. If you are under the same false impression that I used to be, please do yourself a favor and spend some time watching through Buffy and Angel. (Caveat, the first season and a half of Buffy is the cheesiest thing you will ever lay eyes on. Persevere, it gets better.) It is an incredible incredible story of sacrifice and love and friendship. Also, if you make it through the entire series of both Buffy and Angel and you don’t have at least a small fictitious crush on both Angel and Spike, you’re not human and we can’t be friends. . Sort of my new favorite television series(s) of all time. Also, Anthony Stewart Head is in it. And Eliza Dushku. So there are two more reasons to watch.

Life/Chores

83. Finish decorating my home

I hung pictures on our walls in November, and with that, I’d say we’re done!

Other

95. Send out a photo Christmas card

We did this this year! It was so fun! 

99. Call VALerie at 11:11 on 11/11/2011

I technically didn’t do this because I sent a text instead (I live in England! Phone calls are hard! And pricey!) but I think it counts. 11:11 was a big thing to us in high school and we used to wonder where we would be at 11:11 on 11/11/11. 

100. Send five handwritten letters.

Twenty-nine goals down! Only seventy-two left

I haven’t really been writing much lately, but I really enjoyed Chelsea’s Ten on Tuesday questions today, so I thought I’d participate!

1. What’s your favorite television show  for each day of the week?

First, I need you to understand that I live in England and don’t have cable or any type of “live” tv. Everything I watch is from Hulu etc, so I may get my air-days mixed up. I’m sorry!

Sunday – Once Upon a Time
Monday – Teranova or House, I’m not sure yet and I don’t like decisions.
Tuesday – Ringer
Wednesday – Suburgatory
Thursday – Secret Circle
Friday – Grim
Saturday – I have no idea

2. How many times do you wear your jeans before you wash them?
This sort of depends. I’m at a weird stage right now where I mostly stay at home in my pjs unless I need to run an errand or go to an interview. So, it all depends on where I wore my jeans to, how long I wore them, and whether it was raining outside. (Raining = wet, gross pants legs, which = laundry time.) But generally, somewhere in the 1-3 times range.

3. What is your favorite pasta shape?
I like most any shape that isn’t spaghetti or angel hair. But spirals do make me pretty happy.

4. Do you read newspapers?
Nope. I probably should, though. I follow the WSJ on Twitter, does that count?

5. Do you sleep in socks?
Not really. Since it’s gotten cold I keep finding myself trying to sleep in socks, but I always end up taking them off before I fall asleep.

6. Favorite genre of movies?
This is hard. Maybe fantasy? Or romantic comedies. I don’t know

7. How do you feel about wrestling?
I don’t really get it.

8. Should men pluck their eyebrows?
Not in the way that girls do, but as upkeep, definitely. There is nothing attractive about a unibrow or a pair of furry caterpillars above your eyes.

9. Do you have dimples?
I don’t think so.

10. Do you like to camp?
In theory. However, I grew up in Texas, which means camping = sweating and bugs and trying to get ready in a sweltering camp “bathroom.” Maybe if it were in the mountains on a brisk, dry, fall morning it would be fun. I do love hobo meals!

For the full list, please click here.

Food (and cooking food)

16. Cook two new things in the same month

I kind of forgot to keep track of this one, but I’m pretty sure I’ve completed it multiple times. The two most recent “new” things I’ve cooked this month are boiled potatoes and corn on the cob. Previously, the only type of potatoes I really ate were loaded baked potatoes or mashed cream-potatoes. (Or, you know, french fries.) This month I bought a bag of potatoes, boiled them on the stove, and served them with a little butter, salt, and pepper. Much healthier and SO easy. (Pretty tasty too!) I’ve also always been a frozen corn kind of girl. While I love corn, it’s unfortunately not really one of Chris’s top choices. During our first week here I bought a bag of half corn-ears and made them as a side at dinner. Chris really likes them, so now it’s one of our go-to sides!

26. Eat something I’ve grown myself

This is going to be sort of a cop-out for me, but since our flat doesn’t have ANY outside space, it’s going to have to suffice: I have a potted rosemary plant that I use anytime a recipe calls for rosemary (and even sometimes when it doesn’t.) To be fair, I have managed to keep it alive, so I would say that counts for me growing it myself.

Hobbies

36. Read at least one book a month for 6 months straight

I was starting to get stressed out about finishing my current book before the end of September when I realized that the six months ended in August! Whew! Here is what I read:

March -Black Heels and Tractor Wheels, by Ree Drummond

April – The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss

May – Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

June – The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

July – The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini,

August – The Bird Sisters, by Rebecca Rasmussen

42. Adopt a puppy

This is also a cop-out answer. (I’m sorry! Moving to another country changes what’s actually possible!) We were in desperate need of door-stops for two of our main doors in our flat when we came across these:

We have named them after Chris’s dogs back in Richmond, TX and decided that they will have to do as “pets” until we get to a place in our lives where real dogs are an option.
43. Dye my hair

Not a cop-out! I did this! I used Clairol Natural Instincts hair color to dye my hair brown for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it was more of a dark auburn and not quite  as brown as I would have liked. (The sciency-answer behind this has something to do with the amount of color already present in red-hair and how that makes it harder for red-hair to accept dyes.) I debated leaving the dye in for an extra long time to be sure it took, but, I may or may not have had a terrible experience with that my freshman year of high school. I didn’t really want to repeat the days of permanently brown hair with red roots. Trust me, those weren’t fun days. Anyways. I had brownish hair. But the kicker: no one noticed at all. At least it made my hair extra soft!

Life/Chores

86. Get my name changed on my pre-marriage bank accounts (and credit cards)

I think this is now complete. I had a few store credit cards that I never changed, but since I cancelled them all when I moved across the ocean, I don’t think they count anymore. Awesome!

Twenty- one goals down, only eighty more to go! 

Also, stay tuned for an update on my progress on the goals!

Category: Health

Old 3. Run twice a week for a month.

Now that we’ve moved to Cambridge, we walk or ride our bikes EVERYWHERE. Also, I hate running.

New 3. Walk or ride at least a mile every day for two weeks.

Some days I stay in all day and don’t go anywhere (don’t judge, I don’t have a job yet!), so this will encourage me to get some exercise even on those days.

Category: Hobbies

Old 48. Participate in NaBloPoMo

In case you hadn’t picked this up already from my lack of updates: I am not a writer. I did that February challenge that I posted here, and it was HARD stuff. (And, if you were wondering, I forgot to post one of my last entries, so I didn’t actually end up posting something every day, even after all that work.)

New 48. Write something, somewhere every week for three months.

Between WordPress, tumblr, email, and real-life stationary, I think I can make this happen (and like it.)

Category: Education

Old 52. Pass the CPA exam 

I’m not sure If I’ve announced this here or not, but, well, I’m not finishing. The decision was hard and took several weeks, a lot of prayer, and probably a little crying, but I figured out that accounting is just not the direction I really want my life to go. There’s more to the story, but this isn’t really the place for it.

New 52. Get a job in England

I realize that it doesn’t sound very “educational,” but this involves learning how to adapt all my education, training, and experience into things that make sense to British people. It’s harder than it sounds.

Old 57. Learn how to change a tire

I now live in Cambridge where our primary mode of transportation is by foot or by bike. My husband and I don’t even OWN a car. This is completely useless to me for the foreseeable future.

New 57. Learn the the train system in England.

So much more practical.

Category: Travel

Old 61. Visit at least three new states

Again, I now live in England. Plane tickets to America are pretttty pricey. If we come home, it will be to see family, probably not to tour America. Maybe this goal will make the list in another season of my life.

New 61. Visit at least three new cities in Europe

There are so many interesting places to go, I can’t wait to complete this!

Category: Other

Old 96. Get a return address stamp made

I’m a little sad about removing this one, but the adult in me has won out. I had been planning to do this when we moved to England, but our first lease lasts for less than a year. While I hope it’s not the case, that may be the story of our lives for a few years. Return address stamps aren’t exactly cheap, so there are more lasting things I would prefer to spend our money on for now.

New 96. Develop a legit British accent. 

Legit legit. No faking here!

Old 101 . Attend a war reenactment. 

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I added this to my list. The truth is that I hate war. It’s an ugly, evil thing and I’d rather not glorify killing by attending a reenactment of it.

New 101. Visit five historically significant sites in the United Kingdom.

Let’s celebrate history and the lives of those before us!

Here’s what I’ve completed so far:

Health (physical, spiritual, emotional, and otherwise):

2. Eat a fruit every day for two weeks Completed February 25, 2011!


This doesn’t seem like much fruit, but going to this from hardly eating any is an accomplishment. I’m proud to report that I eat a banana most weekdays and, when I remember to buy them, I have blueberries with my cereal almost every day!

15. Paint my fingernails and leave them painted for more than a day Completed 2/4/11

Okay I’ll admit it, this one was kind of a cop-out. But for the record, my nails are generally chipped the day after I paint them, so I hardly bother anymore.  Then, a little while ago, Chelsea at RootsandRings wrote about an amazing nail polish top coat that dries super quickly and keeps the paint from chipping for a LONG time. Since this was one of my goals, I had to try it. Decision: it was pretty great. I’ve never had polish dry that quickly. I’m sold.

Food (and cooking food)
17. Learn how to cook fish Completed 6/26/2011 

I think I’ve cooked fish before this week, but I wasn’t that crazy about the recipe. However, the tilapia I made Sunday? Fabulous! I would share the recipe, but I adapted it from a shrimp recipe so I don’t have a link for you. Maybe another time.

23. Make Sangria Completed 3/19/2011

I made this for my picnic with Cio and Nicole! White wine, raspberry schnapps, sugar, and fresh fruit!

25. Make my own jam (with or without the berries I picked myself) Completed 6/20/11 

Internet, I am so excited about this. My friend Jody invited me over, let me use her kitchen, and walked me through the steps of jam-making. We made strawberry jam and it is DELICIOUS! (Also, while cheesy, I really enjoyed being able to say that I was jamming with Jody.)

28. Eat at three new restaurants - Completed 6/13/11

I probably finished this before a few weeks ago, but I’ve forgotten to write things down. The three places were: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit (3/27/11), Piola (4/1/11), and Cafe Rouge (in England!) 6/13/11

30. Make rosemary flatbread Completed 2/25/11!

This was good, but mine were a little dry. I’ll have to try it again. 

Hobbies

33. Get a new lens for my camera Completed (it arrived in the mail 5/13/11)

So thrilled about this! I got a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens. Love it.

47. Make a blanket fort with my husband Completed 2/3/11

This was SO much fun. We set up on a Thursday night (the night before the “snowpocalypse”) and slept in it for the next three nights. I recommend that everyone make a fort soon. It’s instant happiness.

50. Figure out how to post my recipes on my blog in a way that doesn’t drive me crazy - Completed 2/4/11!!!!!!

If you hadn’t noticed, my blog got a face-lift a little while ago. With the new theme, this goal was instantly completed. (Now I just need to cook more often so I have more things to share!)

Travel

Final count: 15. So, maybe I haven’t done too much after all, but at least it’s a start! Stay tuned for some updates to the list as some of my priorities have changed. In the meantime, you can check out the full list and what is currently in progress here!

<3 LF

I do realize that, at first, this sounds silly. I would think that if something was important enough to me to pray about it, that I would recognize the answer, whatever it was, when it came. But I’m a human and I don’t have a perfect memory. I forget things easily.

Case in point:

In Cambridge, we narrowed our housing options down to three properties. Each had their good and bad qualities, none of them really outweighing the others. I thought to myself, “this decision is impossible! I have no idea how to choose which will be better for us. There are too many unknowns and I just can’t do this.” So I prayed that we wouldn’t have to make a choice. That two would get ruled out and we would be left with whichever place would be best for us.

Before we left England, two of the places were sold or leased to other people, leaving us with just one option.

Totally forgetting my previous prayer, we (mostly I) freaked out. What if this place wasn’t so great after all? What if we get there and realize that we can’t afford it? What if we ship our furniture to England and then realized we wished we hadn’t? And so on.

I’ve been delibarating since Monday night about what we should do. I spent hours looking for temporary housing in Cambridge for us to live in for the first month or two while we scouted out a more permanent place to live. We finally sent in the leasing application for the property yesterday, but with the understanding that we could still change our minds. I was so filled with uncertainty.

Until last night.

I was halfway through explaining our housing situation to some members of our community group when it hit me.

Isn’t this exactly what I had been praying for?

So then I had two choices. I could accept this as a pretty clear answer to my prayer, or I could hold out believing that it was just a convenient coincidence that looked like an answer to prayer.

If I’m being honest with myself, it’s so much easier to hold on to the coincidence theory and wallow in my anxiety. It’s more familiar and it’s pretty easy to do. But is that even really a viable choice? I asked God to show me what to do, and it sure seems like He did. If I really trust Him, I can’t very well respond with “Well that’s nice, but I don’t believe you, so thanks anyways but I’ll do my own thing.”

So, it looks like we’re pursuing this property full speed ahead. Who knows? It might not pan out in the end. But, I’m pretty sure this is at least the route He wants us to take to get wherever we need to be, so I have no business being anxious about our decision.

I wrote the following post yesterday afternoon after reading of the death of some of Gaddafi’s family members. I feel that it is all the more relevant today in light of the news of Osama’s murder that I awoke to this morning. In that regard, you can apply my arguments below to the death of Osama as well.

You do not have to agree with me, but please do me the courtesy of reading and prayerfully considering what I have to say in it’s entirety before you form an opinion as to where I stand on terrorism and “justice”.

This issue is heavy on my heart today. 

I have been keeping up with the events unfolding in the East, Libya in specific, and my heart is constantly broken for those people. The amount of daily unrest is unreal. The news source I follow on Twitter reports almost daily on the number of deaths occurring from these struggles. My thoughts and prayers are generally with the victims of the violence, praying first that God will protect them, but also that He will intervene to bring about a change in a nonviolent way. A change of heart among the rulers of those nations. An opportunity for mutual understanding and compromise. Peace. 

When various countries began to turn to military force to stop Gaddafi, I was conflicted. Yes, he needed to be stopped, but was this the right way to handle it? Possibly risking the lives of civilians in order to stop someone from further threatening those civilians’ lives seemed counter-productive. (As did fighting violence with violence.) But what other option did the leaders have? Negotiations had failed and people were continuing to die.

I don’t envy the job of the leaders of the various nations. If I had been in their place, I don’t know how I would have best handled the situation. It seems like there is no right course of action to be found. 

Saturday night, I read that a NATO strike had killed one of Gaddafi’s sons and three of his grandchildren. For those who are unaware, most of Gaddafi’s family, specifically his sons, support him and his political stance. In the eyes of the world, I would guess that this is a victory. 

But as I thought on this and shared it with my husband Sunday morning, my heart was as equally broken for these deaths as it had been for the deaths of the oppressed. I wept for the loss of life, regardless of the evil acts that have been committed.

These people were, in all likelihood, just as terrible as Gaddafi, a man most of the world agrees is a tyrannical murderer. But all of these people, Gaddafi included, are clearly lost and separated from the grace and love of God. They are people who were created in God’s image—just like me. And they were murdered on Saturday.

To what end? Do their deaths bring back the victims who were slain? Does killing them right the wrongs that have been done? Has any of the pain from their actions or their association with Gaddafi been erased in their death? Clearly no.

Am I denying that their actions were evil?

Honestly, I have no idea what they have specifically done, but in a nutshell, no.

Do I deny that there should be consequences for their actions?

No.

But, do I think that they should have died for their actions (or for their relation to and support of someone so cruel)?

Emphatically, no.

The point remains that it was God who created them and gave them life and it is He that should have the power to take that away. 

Have we forgotten the Sermon on the Mount?

^{Matthew 7 – 38} “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”

Or

^{Matthew 7 – 43} “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

Or maybe it is more clear in Romans 12.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

 ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

 ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I feel like that bears repeating at least once more:

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

So my response to this is that while we should continue praying for the victims, we should also extend those prayers to the rulers. Right now it seems that the only way for the death and destruction in these nations to end is by killing the rulers, but this perpetuates the violence. Instead, let us pray for a supernatural change in their hearts and minds, for it is only then that there is a chance of peaceful reconciliation.

<3 LF

{Short recap: My mom was diagnosed with Shingles, my dog died, there was a false alarm with some health issues of another family member, and my grandmother had heart surgery.}

Maybe rough is an understatement? Last Sunday feels like it happened months ago.

But, through all this, God is good. My grandmother is recovering (slowly, but well overall) and the rest of us are all still here, at least for today.

Accomplishments of the week:

1. I may have found someone to replace me at work when I leave. Someone who I actually know, and who actually knows something about finance (unlike me)

2. By 2:00pm today, I had already made tonight’s and tomorrow night’s dinners. All that’s left is the cooking. (And, since there will be leftovers, those will get us through Wednesday night. Thursday night we have community group dinner, which means that the next meal I need to think about doesn’t happen until Friday.) A-mazing. I sense a new trend in the making.

3. Going hand-in-hand with no. 2, I touched raw meat. As in, raw red meat. Something that is generally completely out of the realm of possibility for me. But I did it today. And my husband is proud.

Tell me about your week(end)!

<3 LF

If you’re not a pet-owner, you probably won’t understand, but can you imagine having to make the decision to put-down your best friend? Completely heart-wrenching. As a result, I cried a lot, drank chocolate milk, and watched All Dogs Go to Heaven. (It seemed appropriate at the time.)

Since my dog lives in Sugar Land, my husband and I spent the afternoon out there Sunday, photographing him, holding him for the last time, and helping him to enjoy his last day alive.

He was a stray when we adopted him and he turned out to be the sweetest puppy who ever lived.

Skidd(Mark) Bond {June 8, 1995 - April 11, 2011}

My husband’s PhD program in Cambridge lasts for 3-4 years and then he will (God willing) begin a career as a professor. We may stay overseas for a few additional years if he secures a position there, or we may come back to America when his schooling is over. Either way, however, there are currently no plans for him to ever teach in Texas.

Translation = we are never coming back to Texas.

::excuse me while I go hide in my bed and cry::

It’s going to be okay great, and I am going to love it. And, to dispell any confusion on the matter, I am thrilled about our upcoming adventure. And it’s not like I really even like living in Texas all that much. (As a place on the map with some of the worst weather.)

But, despite my feelings towards the Texas heat, I love my life that’s in Texas. I love the people that I know in Texas. I love the sentimental places that are in Texas. This is my home.

But about five months is all I have left. FIVE MONTHS.

How do you wrap up 23 years of your life in five months?!?

Has anyone else done something similar before? I could use some advice. Or at least some encouragement.

<3 LF