halfway there!

this morning calls for an update to the 'two-oh-one-one' bucket list, since i mean, we're practically already halfway! can you believe it was only six months that we were saying good-bye to 2010 and hello to a new year? so much has already changed - if the next 6 months are as thrilling as the past six, then i cannot even begin to imagine what they'll hold!

- do not get a parking ticket - fail! darn street sweeping...but i made it this far!
- yell at drivers less...cultivate patience.
- laugh more, worry less.
- sleep more. - also a major fail...has anyone told you that boys make you lose sleep? it's true ;]
- go to bed at a reasonable hour. - [see above]
- don't waste a precious minute.
- cultivate reliability: text people back. respond to messages. keep in touch. - that is still a work in progress. according to my loved ones, i am the worst texter on the planet. at least they know it now.
- confront issues. - ask, and you shall receive right? this semester has given me multiple opportunities to challenge myself in confrontation, and i am so thankful for the lesson!
- vote as often as possible, and politically educate myself. - mail in ballots suck, because you have to mail them in before election day, and if we didn't know this already, i'm a procrastinator. it never works out. i do fill the ballot out though! does that count?
- stay up to date with the news: podcast.
- learn to lead worship playing either guitar or piano.
- study for tests, keep up on class readings. - the studying? maybe. the reading? impossible. spring 2011, i'm so glad you're done.
- use the shuttle less. bike/walk to class more often. - it's way more fun that way!
- ride the bus to work. - success!
- ride my bike to run local errands.
- blog more. - success!
- take a photography class.
- spend time outside every day. - how can you not???
- read (at least) a chapter of the Bible every day. - i'll confess, i am not as diligent in my reading as i was 6 months ago...summer is a chance to regain that, and i hope i will.
- wake up, & talk with God.
- go to bed, talking with God.
- go on a road trip. - multiple trips! with best friends, the boyfriend...it's been such a blast!
- be spontaneous. - dating the most unplanned and spontaneous man on the planet has definitely helped, and has been a fun adventure in itself!
- balance friendships & to-do lists. - yes, yes, & yes. if spring 2011 taught me anything, it's that people require time, and sometimes, busy-ness is just not important.
- listen more, talk less.
- pray more, gripe less.
- impress others less. impress God instead.
- save & tithe consistently. - this is a wonderful new habit! devoted to making it stick...
- buy only what you love. - have i mentioned that i officially hate the mall and shopping sprees? buy only what you need is also a good motto to go by!
- eat out less, be health/money-conscious about meals. - fail. thanks starbucks.
- don't eat after 7:30pm (except Yogurtland, of course). - if you stay up til 1am every night, 7:30 is awfully early right? needless to say...fail.
- drink more tea, less coffee. - how about drink more tea AND more coffee? i'd call that a definite win.
- cherish friends, family, & love. always.
- visit Les in Hawaii. - unfortunately, that didn't happen this year, but hawaii will always be with her, and new things are coming our way!
- continue to trust in God's plan, & live life for its eternal purpose.
- study abroad. - plans change you know? and i'm ok with that, because life is absolutely wonderful right now.
- do not talk behind people's backs, even if others are doing it.
- do something different.
- listen to Jesus music more, & pointless music less. - a simple way to purify our hearts more each day...
- write a song.
- don't forget anyone's birthday...in fact, send them a card.
- reclaim straight A's. - nope...maybe next time!
- give gifts randomly.
- pray, & then be impulsive.
- say what you mean, always mean what you say.
- live a healthy lifestyle: balanced meals, regular exercise, fresh air.
- finish the lit girl thread collaboration.
- memorize a scripture per week. - a bucket list is certainly good accountability...
- take a picture every day of something that made me smile. - sometimes the things that make me smile just can't be captured in a photo :]
- read more, watch less TV. - watch less TV and read less? success. good-bye free time.
- minimize facebook time...(give it up for a month?) - it's debatable.
- go to a concert.
- when i say "i'll pray for you," PRAY.
- finish the Old Testament.
- visit Balboa Park.
- keep up on class readings.
- write letters to dear friends. - letters have definitely been the theme, just not to the people/person i was planning on writing letters to :]
- don't overdraw my checking account. - success, so far.
- save up for an SRL camera.
- when studying abroad: [visit Greece, the UK, Sicily, Verona, Prague, & the Croatian coast.] [attend church in Rome.] [take the train on an adventure.] [play guitar & sing in the piazza.] [throw a coin in the Trevi fountain.] [take a "leaning" tower of Pisa picture.] - no longer happening, but one day...
- develop honesty.
- say "i love you" more often.

for those things left unmarked, there are still 6 months left in this year, and i hope that the things i've taking from these past few months will carry on not only into the next few, but beyond 2011 and into the future. those things are also often subjective, and so i don't think i've learned enough to evaluate myself on that level. maybe others see changes that i haven't yet. at the same time, the girl i was in january had no idea of the things this semester would hold, and so, i believe i've learned lessons or experienced life in ways i never would have imagined for myself, and life, in itself, is the greatest adventure and the most rewarding gift.