I am so excited

This boy/man/early-twenties male, Toby Foster:

is going to be in Kalamazoo when I am home for Spring Break.  I saw him at a house show four years ago in my brother's living room.  It was probably my first house show ever, and I really liked his music.  Also, it was probably one of the first CDs I ever bought, and definitely the first one that I still listen to on any sort of a regular basis.  I kind of forgot about him for a while, as in I didn't keep track of when he was releasing new music or anything.  And then one of my friends posted this song on facebook today, and I went and looked at his website.  And there I discovered that he's going to be playing in Kalamazoo for the first time in several years, and I'm going to be there at the same time, and I am so excited.  I was almost giddy with excitement.  Also, I downloaded his newer music from bandcamp, and I've been listening to it all day, and it just makes me so happy :)

Things.

Lots of them are going on right now.  Quick summary: Alyssa and I are trying to live in Martha Cook next year, which is the all girls dorm on campus.  Core Retreat was this weekend, but instead of getting a lot out of it, I was too busy processing things resulting from Matt's disappearance on Mt. Fugi.  I've decided to fast books, movies, television, in all forms until the end of February.  My mommy brought me my new (handmade) quilt and a plant whose name I forget on Friday.  Yeah.  Probably more things are happening, but I can't think of them, or they contain information about friends that I don't want to publish, or they are connected with the above things and would constitute an expansion of a summary.  So that's what's going on in my life right now.

A little peak into my emotions

The things inside of me right now are distinct and are not mixing together at all, so I am going from happy and excited to sad to slightly worried and back.  Happy and excited = BBC miniseries (North and South is really, really great, and I want to read the book now).  Sad = Well, this is a bit of a longer story.  One of my dad's former pupils was hiking on Mt. Fuji two weeks ago and went missing.  They've held out hope that he would be found alive, but today that hope was gone, as he wasn't in any of the shelters, and there is practically no way that he is still alive due to bad conditions.  And it hurts.  It's really, really sad, despite the fact that we know he's in heaven.  And I don't know if my parents know yet (they probably do), and it will really hurt my dad when they do find out.  So basically I'm a bit sad tonight.  Slightly worried.  I don't even know what I'm worried about, or if I do have a vague idea, I don't want to say it because it's probably nothing, and will get resolved in the next day or two.  So yeah.  That's a little peak into my emotions right now.

Slow and Gradual change

Recently (as in the past several months or so) I've had this slow but steady river flowing through me.  And it's been this, like, unprecedented level of will-power and self-control.  And I can't really explain it better than that.  It's like, all of these things that I've thought about for years or months or however long as being good habits to start, or bad habits to stop, I've actually been doing them!  It wasn't like I sat down one day and went "I'm going to change lots of things in my life all at once."  It just kind of happened.  Oh, today I'm going to start doing this.  A couple days later: I'm going to stop doing this.  And so on and so forth.  This isn't to say that I haven't fallen of the wagon on some good habit I had going, or completely succeeded in stopping a bad habit, but it's a start.  And an actual start after 20 years of trying is something to be celebrated.  I don't know where this self-control came from, as it certainly wasn't from me, but my only explanation is God working in me.  For which I am profoundly thankful.

I am feeling pragmatic tonight

I miss you too, but in a different sort of way

from you missing me.

The simple fact of our distance

and the reasons behind it

dictate the separation of feelings.

Not those of me for you

or you for me

but rather the time to indulge

those emotions.

I am much too busy

to feel as intensely the separation.

Or I don't have the mental and emotional energy to indulge

so I don't allow myself to feel so strongly.

I just wouldn't function well.

I have come to the conclusion

that everything everyone ever does

is just to survive.

To manage to keep living

to keep your head above the water

and keep moving forward.

And so I am surviving.

I miss you.

But I don't need you everyday

with the passion that I sometimes allow myself to feel

when I am drowning in Responsibility

and all I want

is to curl up beside you

on a homemade picnic blanket

in the park

in the warm summer sun.

I miss you,

and sometimes I shake my fist at the sky

and damn the necessity for education

and the fact that it has taken me away from my love.

But it has.

Sometimes I wonder why this is necessary,

why God is doing this in us

but then I come up with several ideas

and I find myself comforted.

It is far too tempting for me to dive far to quickly into far too much emotional intimacy with people, and especially, you

And while on some levels that is good,

it is also bad, based on other reasons.

so maybe God knows this, and is dictating the pace of our relationship

via school recesses.

And Maybe we are learning important lessons about waiting

(though I feel like I have that one down pat)

and suffering

and relying on God instead of each other.

We are learning patience,

and loyalty

and the importance of duty

(not to say that love isn't important,

it's just that duty is also important

and not often taught nowadays).

We are learning who we are as individuals

which is an important lesson,

before we learn who we are as a couple.

And, we bring up issues and woundings in each other,

and if we were in the same city and saw each other often

we would have very little time to process things in between meetings.

So you see, there are good things to being so far away

Even if it doesn't always feel like it.

All this to say, I suppose,

that I love you

and miss you a lot.

So this homework assignment

That I had to do yesterday, and was obnoxious and tedious and annoying.  That was all about "hard sciency and math concepts that will make most of you hit a brick wall."  Yeah, that one.  Apparently my summary was "super interesting," it "sounded like I had a good grasp on the concepts," and my grade was an A+, which the teacher only gives out if he feels like the student understands the concept better than he does.  And I'm a history major, in a course that is very sciency and also philosophical.  You might say that I am uniquely prepared for this class, but still.  Who's awesome?  I'm awesome.

Busy busy busy day (and rambling about the internet)

I did a lot of things today, despite only having a very rudimentary to-do list.  I did homework, and cleaned and organized my room, and fixed things, and had tea, and ate dinner with a friend, and read a book, and spent time knitting, and wasting time online (sidenote:  I think it's funny that "wasting time online" has replaced "surfing the web" as the phrase to describe what you do online.  And it's true.  I don't surf the web, finding new fun sites.  I waste time online on the sites that I have bookmarked and saved and top-sited (if that's a word).  I don't spend a lot of time finding new things online, they are brought to me via dashboards and news feeds and sub boxes. Which is interesting.)  And I still have a bit of time before I should go to sleep, but I've already done everything today, and I'm tired of it all.  Maybe I'll watch a movie?  Hmmm...  I really should do more homework, but as I said I'm tired, mentally tired of it all, and so that wouldn't actually be very helpful.  Which is a bit annoying.


And I can't get rid of the feeling that I'm doing all of this in an attempt to put off doing something that I can't think of right now.  Which is not a very nice feeling.

I made something awesome!

Looky looky looky!

It's a necklace thingy.  Made of alpaca yarn with buttons all over it.  Isn't it cool?!

I like it :D

Philippians 1:9-11

 ⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.




I really love this prayer.  I've loved it for a long time, but this week I'm trying to read Philippians 1 every day, and it's just so good.  So so good.

Found in the folder of "sketches"

I was cleaning off my hard drive today, and I came across this little piece of writing from several years ago.  I think that it was supposed to continue, but I don't remember, and I have no idea where I was heading with it.  Anyway, I enjoyed reading it, and thought I would share.

Dear ----------, 

I just wished to inform you that I have given you my heart for safekeeping. I shall want it back eventually, so I would appreciate if you took good care of it.  Okay? Thanks.

Love, _______

Dear _______,

I regret to inform you that I have not yet received your heart, though I am looking forward to it.  I am sure it is a lovely heart, and I am honored that you have selected me as the one best able to take care of it.

Best Wishes, ---------

Dear -----------,

I sent it registered mail, so it should be arriving soon. It is a lovely heart, a tad bit impulsive and inclined to love too much too soon, but all in all, a good one.  However, wearing it on my sleeve all the time was getting a bit tiring, so I decided to pick a good person to look after it for me.  I investigated and decided you were up to the task.

Thanks much, _______

Dear _______,

Yesterday's post brought your heart, and I must say that it is one of the finest I have ever seen.  It does seem to have the faults that you pointed out, but despite that it appears to also be very pure and kind, loving people and things that most would consider unlovable.  This was unexpected and nice, and I am looking forward even more to learning more about this fine specimen during our time together.

Happily, ------------

Dear -----------,

I am glad to hear that you are excited about your safekeeping of my heart.  I believe it will be to the advantage of both of us, which is why I have initiated this conversation and contact.  In my research I discovered that this is an office you have fulfilled before, for ***********.  She seems to have greatly benefited from the experience and I was hoping for the same.  You also seemed to be a modest person, which contributed to my selection of you as the protector of my heart.

Admiringly, __________

It's been another long day

And I am tired out.  I didn't get enough sleep last night, and then I spent more hours than I normally do with people.  And I had no nap.  And I had to study for my French exam, and this class always makes something in me rise up against doing homework and studying.  But I did study, so that was good.  I also spent a nice chunk of time with God today, just resting in his presence.  I always forget how amazingly restful that is.  That was good.  And I think I might have accomplished everything on my to-do list for today, which is a plus.  But right now, I am exhausted, so I am going to sleep for the next eight hours straight.  Which hasn't happened in several days.

It's been one of those nights.

Where you get into a weird mindset, and everything kind of sucks, and nothing looks hopeful, or good.  Which, basically, sucks.

A few disjointed thoughts this morning

First of all, one of my pet peeves-no, wait.  This isn't a pet peeve.  This is something I hate with the burning fiery passion of a thousand suns, and most sane people would join with me in hating it just as hard if it happened to them.  Basically last night I was sleeping, and then I was gradually brought back to consciousness by the loud noises of the room right above us.  I believe they were playing a video game and yelling.  At THREE FORTY-FIVE IN THE MORNING!!!!  So basically I lay there saying a mantra over and over in my head of "IhateyouIhateyouIhateyouIhateyou" interspersed with the possibility of going up there and telling them to shut up and thinking about what I would say, something along the lines of "Hey!  It's 3:45 in the morning.  I was sleeping, but now I'm not because you guys decided to be loud and woke me up.  So, to borrow your own words, WOULD YOU SHUT THE F*** UP!!!!!!!!"  and then shoot them my death glare.  Alternatively, I would have gone and told their RA that they were being too loud, and potentially have gotten them in trouble, but then I eventually fell asleep.  Still, I did not get all that much quality time sawing logs.  And I know that I was not being very kind or understanding or loving in my thoughts last night, but when one has been woken up from a sound sleep for no reason at all, and is not completely awake, one is not inclined to be very charitable.


The second thing (which is not related to the first in any way whatsoever) was brought up via tumblr this morning (as a sidenote, I just realized that I don't follow any of you on tumblr (if you are on tumblr), because I don't know your usernames. hmmm fix this maybe?)  John Green said something about how a comment made him cry, and it made me think about something I said to one of my friends a couple days ago.  One of my hallmates was in my room with Alyssa and I and Ria, and we started talking about random things, which turned into talking about things that normally are not discussed between the genders.  I said something about how, if a guy cries in front of me, he is so much more attractive, and my hallmate thought that was really interesting.  It's only now, several days later, that I realize that I forgot to add a qualifier.  And that qualifier is that it can't be manipulative.  Manipulative crying is a no-no.  But crying because they actually care about what they are saying, and because it matters to them, and because it makes them sad?  Definitely yes.

I think that's all I have right now.

So today I had an adventure

But this post is not about my adventure.  It is about where my adventure took me, and to the goal of my venturing.  Namely Barnes and Noble and The Fault in our Stars.  So this afternoon I decided that I couldn't take it anymore, that I wanted my book right now, so I took the bus to the bookstore and bought a copy of it (I got a purple J-scribble).  That leaves my tally of copies bought, in whatever form, for whatever purpose, at four.  Anyway, so I've read it twice this evening/night; the first time for plot, the second time for everything else.  And let me just say that it is a beautiful book.  Like luminous and transcendent and heartbreakingly sad, but in a beautiful way.  "Sad is happy for deep people" sort of way.  I'm just kind of meditating on it, letting the words and phrases and ideas seep into me right now.

And oh my word.  There are a couple times where he references some metaphor, or object with metaphorical resonance that has appeared in his other books, and it's just so amazing and interesting to see how they fit into TFioS, or how they've evolved since first appearing in print.  It's interesting.  And I like it.  I really like it.

As a side note to this:  Sometimes I hate telling my friends about some book or movie or something that I found and fell in love with and called amazing and all of the other superlative adjectives.  Because maybe it isn't the thing for them, and then they will read or watch or listen or whatever, and go "well, that was good, but it wasn't life changing like you promised me."  Well, TFioS isn't life changing (to me. At least I don't think so, unless it is in this sense: "Even if it’s a dumb story, telling it changes people just the slightest little bit, just as living the story changes me. An infinitesimal change. And that infinitesimal change ripples outward —ever smaller but everlasting. I will get forgotten, but the stories will last. And so we all matter —maybe less that a lot, but always more than none.")  It isn't life changing, it isn't my favorite book.  (I don't know what is.  I can't even give you a list of the top ten.  I could probably give you a list of authors.  John Green, Robin McKinley, Dianne Wynne Jones, Eva Ibbotson, etc.).  But it is beautiful, and it is a story that has truth in it, though I am unsure of how many of the ideas contained in it are true, because I haven't spent enough time thinking about it.  It is about love, and also about living.  It is about a lot of things, and also a very narrow set of things.  It is a good book.  It might even be a great book.  It has metaphors, and themes, and beautiful sentences, and quotable lines that will be quoted and misquoted as they are lifted from the mouths of characters on the page and placed into the mouth of the author.  It has all of these things.  And I, for one, do not regret any of the money, time, and brain power I have spent on it.

Tired.  So tired.  And I have to get up early to finish my homework.  Blah!  But after my class tomorrow, I'm free!  To do laundry, and catch up on some readings I need to do.  And relax, I suppose.  Watch a movie or two and knit.  I need a new knitting project.  Hmmm.

Goodnight internet.

Oh my word

This is amazing.  I don't have words to describe how amazing this is.

What to do?

1/11/12

What to do

when all my thoughts are about you?

How do I share

these words

when you are all they are concerned with?

Do I tell you the secret thoughts of my mind?

Or whisper them to the moon

and hope she keeps her promise

to shine on you.

What do I do?

My thoughts all concern you.

An addendum to the transportation fiasco

So Sunday night when I was on my way to my dorm at school, I was sitting there, feeling sorry for myself about everything that had gone wrong.  But then, all of a sudden, I realized that although lots of things had gone wrong, there were good things that had happened too.  The fiasco was an opportunity for lots of people to bless me and help me when I needed them.  James, Ashley, Chris, Sam, my parents, my aunt Kathy, Caleb, even the usually grumpy ladies at the bus station.  All of these people were able to show me love in this sucky situation, and even though things were annoying, I was still able to give thanks.  Which is pretty amazing.  God is pretty amazing, even though I forget sometimes.

This is one of my favorite xkcd comics

I don't remember exactly why this came up, but it had something to do with the fact that this is currently in our room:

So yeah.

As for yesterday's blog post about everything going wrong, the short story is that everything went wrong in my attempts to return to Ann Arbor.  The long story goes something like this:  Yesterday morning at church I was about to buy my bus ticket, when I realized that I didn't have my photo I.D. and therefore couldn't use my debit card to purchase a ticket online.  So we had to go buy it with cash at the station.  At three, Dad dropped me off at the station, where I found out that the bus was at least two hours late.  Great.  So I called home, and Dad turned right around and came and picked me up.  James and Ashley and I went to Jesse's at four to hang out, and I called the bus station again.  They said that things were uncertain, and to call back in half an hour.  I called back at 4:30, when they informed me that the bus had been canceled, and that there were a couple people who were going to take a taxi to Ann Arbor.  So we jumped in the car (actually Chris's truck, which James and Ashley were using), and the steering column was locked.  So the car wouldn't start.  Ashley and I eventually got to the station, only to find out that the taxi had left a minute or two before we got there.  At that point, I managed to get my ticket exchanged for a seat on a later bus, so that was good.  But then I had the problem of arriving in Ann Arbor after midnight and getting back to my dorm, because I didn't want to walk home alone in the dark.  Thankfully, my friend Caleb volunteered to pick me up so I wouldn't have to do that.  So when we arrived at the bus station in Kalamazoo at 10, the greyhound bus wasn't parked where it was supposed to be parked at, which made me more anxious than I was already (You can imagine the bundle of nerves I was yesterday when all of this was happening.  The sad part was that I knew it was going to be a big problem getting back to Ann Arbor yesterday.  Yesterday morning I just thad this feeling that it was going to be difficult to get back to school.).  But the bus arrived and everything was fine.  Except that the bus driver was crazy, and threatened to kick us off the bus if we were talking loud enough for him to hear us.  Which wasn't all that loud.  And he did pull the bus off to the shoulder of the road at one point when people were talking (too loudly, apparently), though he didn't kick anyone off (This was why I couldn't answer your call, Aaron.  You called me when we were sitting on the shoulder of the highway).  Anyway, eventually I got back to my dorm, safe and sound, although very late (12:30ish) with pretty much no time to get my homework done.  But yeah, that's my story about how everything went wrong yesterday.

So many problems.

I want to curl up in a ball and have a good crying fit.  Everything has been going wrong.  It's like I'm not supposed to go back to Ann Arbor today.

And here, finally, my new UAoA

I'm sorry that I haven't put this up yet.  It's been sitting on my computer for a week or two, and I just haven't posted it.  Probably because I'm afraid that I'm going to think of more awesome things to add.  Anyway, here it is:

The Ultimate Accomplishments of Awesome List: 2012 Edition

(x=accomplished, /=partially accomplished or in progress)

{}=deleted or changed

Accomplishments unique to 2012 edition

[] Finish NaNoWriMo novel

[] Learn how to crochet

[] Go to Ignition

[] Go to tea with Linda

[] Secret Project, Code name: T

[] Read The Hobbit

[] Chalk Bronson Park with youth-groupy people

[] Go camping in my dorm room

[] Work harder to really keep in touch with people back in Kalamazoo

[] Go sledding in the Arb

[] Do something totally impulsive

[] Have a Real, Proper Tea Party

[] Make something totally awesome with my plethora of buttons

[] Have fun with googly eyes

[] Knit something really awesome

[] Give someone a totally random present just because

[] Learn how to tie a tie (bowtie and regular tie)

Holdovers from last year (things I never did, or things I'm still working on, or things that I would like to continue doing)

[/] Reread Fahrenheit 451

[/] Own all of John Green's books

[/] Quote Book

[/] Deal with issues caused by events in childhood/forgive people

[/] Read the Silmarillion

[/] Name all of my turtles

[/] Memorize five poems

[/] Read all seven Harry Potter Books

[/] Get rid of excess stuff/pare down my material goods/give them to a charity

[/] Grow Closer to James and Jesse

[] Have Deep and pointless theoretical conversations

[] Help others accomplish their UAoA lists

[] Study things that are interesting to me

[] Journal more regularly

[] Color more in my coloring books

[] Learn French

[] Pen Pals!

[] Have more Kalamazoo adventures

[] Read Poetry

[] Blog about interesting stuff

[] Read my bible every day.

[] Hang out with people more regularly

[] Decrease World Suck

[] Camp out in my backyard with some of my favorite people

[] Memorize a book of the bible

[] Look at the Stars until 2 in the morning

[] Go to Chicago

[] Read Last Words of Notable People

[] Write a short story

[] See at least one musical

[] Go to shows and artsy things

[] Go to at least one museum

[] Be introspective

[] Improve my vocabulary

[] Write 3 appreciation letters

[] Learn to juggle

[] Road Trip?

[] Use French the Llama in normal conversation

[] Get a tattoo

Why have I not watched Sherlock before?!

I have watched all six hours of it in the past twenty-four hours.  And now I want to watch it all again.  Thankfully, a new episode is coming out on Sunday, and then the Sunday after that.  It's just perfection.  Pure perfection.  And now I want to read the books again.

The roiling* mess in my head right now

I am learning French.  And sometime last semester, I stopped working so hard and so now it's all catching up to me.  I feel like I'm trying to swim with my eyes closed, but I don't know how, so I'm just floundering and flailing my arms around and everyone can see me failing.  I hate this feeling.  Maybe I just need to make a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate, and everything will feel better.  I don't know.  I know that if I work hard, I can make up the ground that I've lost, but I know that it will take a definite time commitment, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to do that, or if I can, without going a bit insane, like I was last semester.  But if I don't, I will also go a bit insane.  So it's got me both ways.  I guess I just have to grit my teeth and buckle down and just do it.  And I will be so much happier when I feel like I'm on top of everything I'm supposed to have learned.  It's just that there is so much to learn, so much to cram into my brain and regurgitate, without going insane, or my health suffering for it.  Not that my health doesn't suffer enough already with the stress in my life.  College is really hard, in case you didn't know.  Okay, I'm going to do my homework now.  I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.

It's less like a hundred yard sprint and more like a marathon, only you've been trained for a half marathon, and the whole marathon requires so much more out of you for longer.  Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm tired.  In a deep, deep way.  Maybe I'm doing too much, have too much on my plate.  But-but I don't want to drop anything.  And maybe I'm just feeling blah tonight because I'd rather watch Sherlock than do French homework.



*Apparently this is a word.  And I didn't realize I knew it until I typed it, and then I went "is this even a word?"  It is.  It means to move in a turbulent, swirling manner.

It's been a rather long day

But a good one, nonetheless.  I got up early, packed, said goodbye to my family, and headed off to school with a friend I've known for ten years.  (Which is very weird to me.  Fourth grade was how long ago? (and then again, it doesn't seem very weird at all))  I unpacked (sort of), and took a nap, and chilled, and ordered books, and went through my emails.  And then Alyssa and I made Wade take us to Mejier's, after which we hung out at his house and made homemade mac and cheese (which was very tasty.  I ate quite a lot of it because, thankfully, my appetite has returned) and then picked Ria up at the Airport.  Also, there was a little Super Smash Brothers Brawl in there.  And now it is late(ish) and I am a tad tired.  Classes start tomorrow, four and a half hours of them, and I have some homework to do in preparation for my first class.  So that's fun.  It's weirdly nice to be back here in Ann Arbor.  I don't know.  I found my wallet, and the ring that I lost, and am very happy that they are back in my possession.  I'm going to get ready for bed now.  Love you all <3

It's New Year's Day now

Another year used up and ready to leave.  It's been a good year, with lots of thing happening.  Some bad things happened, and some good things happened, as they do every year, but the good things far outnumbered the bad things.  And as we prophesied at the beginning of the year, 2011 was indeed a good year, full of interesting and awesome things.  "I felt, I believed, I hoped, I mourned"  And somehow, this seems to be a fitting ending to such a year, a day of journaling and writing and podcasts, with no great big New Year's party to cap it off, just some sparkling juice, my journal, and a great playlist of music.  Oh, and working on my Ultimate Accomplishments of Awesome lists, the one from this year and the one from this upcoming year.  And I just know that 2012 is going to be a great year.  I can just feel it.

Here's my Ultimate Accomplishment's of Awesome 2011: The Reckoning

(x=accomplished, /=partially accomplished or in progress)

{}=deleted or changed

[] Memorize a book of the bible

[] Look at the Stars until 2 in the morning

[] Go to Chicago

[] Write a short story

[] {Learn six new words and use them regularly} When exposed to new words, actually try to remember them

[] Learn to juggle

[] Start Using French the Llama in normal conversation

[/] Read Last Words of Notable People

[/] Walk through Kalamazoo with Emily, singing along the way

[/] Reread Fahrenheit 451

[/] Read a lot of poetry

[/] Read the Silmarillion

[/] Have Deep and pointless theoretical conversations

[/] Name all of my turtles

[/] Memorize five poems

[/] {Read all seven Harry Potter books in a week} {Read all seven Harry Potter books this summer before the movie comes out} Read all seven Harry Potter Books

[/] Own all of John Green's books ([x]Lfa, AoK, PT, WGWG, TFiOS []Let it Snow)

[x] Learn how to do the nerdfighter salute (it hurts, but I can do it)

[x] Grow Closer to James and Jesse

[x] Study things that are interesting to me

[x] Journal like crazy

[x] Color a lot more in my coloring books

[x] {Sign Language?} French

[x] Pen Pals!

[x] Have more Kalamazoo adventures

[x] Blog about interesting stuff, not just keep a type of online journal

[x] Hang out with people more

[x] Decrease World Suck [I'm not sure how to measure this...]

[x] Deal with issues caused by event in childhood/forgive people

[x] Help others accomplish their UAoA lists

[x] Own Last Words of Notable People

[x] Stay up all night talking (I'm going to say the Lock-in counted)

[x] Attend/make a dance party happen.  

[x] Wear make-up

[x] Dress Up for no reason

[x] Have a tea party :D

[x] Buy more tea

[x] Buy a New Teapot!/Fix Camille

[x] Photo shoot

[x] Finish my dress

[x] Become comfortable with my singing voice

[x] Read all of John Green's books

[x] Watch every Vlogbrother's video

[x] Read the Phantom Tollbooth

[x] Wear my Octopi shirt

[x] Have fun awesome walking adventures with some of my favorite people

[x] See at least one musical

[x] Go to shows and artsy things

[x] Go to at least one museum

[x] Think about my life, a lot

[x] Read Mere Christianity

[x] Practice Structured Procrastination more often

[x] Reread LotR in a month

[x] Be Bold

[x] Fast something (for a month)

[x] Acquire at least two sundresses

[x] Wear dresses/skirts at least once a week once it's warm (55 degrees and up)

[x] Watch Doctor Who

[x] Get rid of excess stuff/pare down my material goods/give them to a charity

[x] Pare down my facebook friends list

[x] Get a haircut

[x] Be a hipster with Emily

[x] Vlog every day in May (29 out of 31 isn't too bad)

[x] Go see the Harry Potter movie opening night

[x] Fall in Love

{[] Read The Hunger Games}  

{[] Read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte}

{[] Read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens}

{[] Read two Shakespeare plays I haven't read before}

{[] Camp out in my backyard with some of my favorite people}

{[] {Do the Romans 8 thing Emily, Kiersten and I talked about}  Keep Emily accountable for the Bible/theology thing we talked about}

{[/] {Read my bible every day.}  Read the New Testament in three months.}

{[] Make my people/ideas/quotes/inside jokes book}

{[] Index my journals by people}

{[] Name my newly acquired teapot}  This one has been rendered redundant

{[] Write at least 5 appreciation letters}

{[] Road Trip?} Not this year

{[] Get a tattoo} Not this year

{[] Journal every day in June}

{[] Vlog every couple of days}

The most recent additions:

[x] Learn how to knit

[x] Secret Project, Code name: K

[x] Quote book

[x] Make epic wish on 11/11/11 at 11:11

[x] Blanket Fort!!!