Goodbye 2012!

I thought I'd write one last post for 2012 before I head out to ring in the new year (low-key style) with some friends. I was able to cross off one more item on my list, by trying two more new recipes (pumpkin soup and stuffed chicken breasts) for a total of 12 new recipes this year. So that brings my successful completion of goals to nine out of twelve. That's not so bad, right? 

May your 2013 be filled with peace and joy... Happy New Year!

My First Pie

I found a recipe in my November issue of Better Homes and Gardens for a Caramel-Apple-Cherry-Cranberry Pie, and it sounded too good not to try. I don't normally have a lot of occassions for baking, though. If I just made all the recipes I see that sound good I'd end up eating them all myself and probably weigh about 500 pounds. Luckily, my friend Mindy has an annual Christmas party and I needed to bring either an appetizer or dessert, so it was a perfect chance to try the pie. Usually when I try new recipes I'm making them to take somewhere and/or serve to other people so I'm always nervous that it won't turn out right or taste good. And I do have to admit to two minor mistakes, one with the crust, and one ingredient I forgot to include. But I came up with a solution to the crust issue and I don't think the forgotten ingredient was crucial to the overall taste of the pie. So in spite of those little mess-ups, I'd call my first pie a success! It tastes delicious and I think it looks pretty good too, but you can be the judge of that.

 

And Finally...

We have come to the end of the list. There's nothing much to update about #10: Buy a new laptop computer. I posted toward the beginning of the year that I accomplished this. I continue to be happy with my choice, although all the Windows 8 commercials are making me wish I could've held out until the end of the year.
I'm not going to say much about "#11: Go on a date", except that I can cross it off the list. There's nothing to get excited about. I went on a few dates this year, and they were fine, but they didn't go any further than that. So I guess I still hope I can actually accomplish this at least a few more times!
And the last item, #12: Find a spiritual practice that works for me. I feel like I can cross this off as well, because I've been journaling about what I'm thankful for. While I try to make this a daily practice, I don't always remember every day. I plan to continue working on this though, as it definitely helps improve my daily attitude and my ability to see God working in my life and in the world.

This is where the progress halts.

I'm going to whip right through and give an update on the next four items on my goal list. And the only reason I can do this is because they're the four remaining items I have yet to accomplish this year. Weird that they're consecutive items on my list, huh?
#6: Try (at least)12 new recipes. Apparently I haven't done much creative cooking in a while. That or I forgot to record anything. I tried some new things with grilling over the summer, but nothing that really qualifies as a "recipe". I tend to spend more time on indoor activities when it's cooler outside, so I might yet be able to check this item off. It's certainly not for a lack of recipes I want to try, it's just a matter of actually trying them.
#7: Finish my "mystery quilt". Again, with the cooler weather arriving I anticipate spending more time with my sewing machine (and probably knitting needles as well). I have actually completed sewing the blocks together to form the top of the quilt. It's the not-as-much-fun steps of quilting and binding that I have left.
#8: Finish painting and updating my bathrooms. Zero progress made here. I need to get on this. I did paint my patio furniture this summer (with lots of help from my mom), which was not very enjoyable and therefore has probably translated to my not wanting to do any more painting.
#9: Play the piano regularly enough to re-learn Fur Elise. Another big fat zero on this one too. I'm kind of embarrassed by that fact actually. But I'm trying not to get too down on myself about it since I've done pretty well with my list overall.
Hopefully I will be able to share more progress on these four goals, and maybe even accomplishments, by the end of the year.

Good Reads

I far exceeded my goal (#5) of reading at least 12 new books this year. So far I've read 20 new books, and that doesn't even include the ones I've listened to on CDs. I was a little late in the game, but three of the books on my list this year were the Hunger Games trilogy. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed them.
This year I also discovered the GoodReads website. It's pretty awesome. It's a place to keep track of the books you have read, are reading, and want to read. You can also see what your friends have read, and you can see how people have rated books you're interested in. And maybe the best part of the site is that it makes book recommendations based on what you've read. It recommended the last book I read, which was The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I enjoyed her writing style, and appreciated her insights on happiness and how she attempted changes in her life to improve her happiness over one year. For me, there was a lack of a faith aspect of her project, but otherwise it was pretty thorough and practical. I look forward to reading more GoodReads suggestions.

Roaming around Rome

Goal #4 for 2012: Go someplace I've never been OUTSIDE of New Jersey. I posted earlier this year about the first new place I went outside of the state, which was Longwood Gardens in southeast Pennsylvania. I also mentioned getting ready for vacation in my April post, but I never said that my vacation this year was to ITALY! My cousin Josh and I spent a week in the country, mostly in Rome, but also visiting some others towns and cities in the Tuscan and Umbrian areas, like Florence, Orvieto and Assisi. It was an awesome trip and we got to see all the regular tourist sites of Rome and Florence, and also some lesser known towns and beautiful countryside. There is no way I could share all the places I loved or even a small sample of the pictures I took, so I decided to just share three of my favorite places that we visited.

St. Peter's Basilica (Rome-Vatican City)
The dome of the basilica is amazing, inside and out. You probably can't tell in this picture, but all of the artwork on the inside of the dome is tiny mosaic tiles. And the view outside from the top is breathtaking. You can see practically all of Rome.








The Colosseum (Rome-Ancient City)

Even though it has a violent history, the structure of the Colosseum is awesome and beautiful and the fact that much of it is still standing is unbelievable.















The Basilica of St. Francis (Assisi)


I really liked the town of Assisi, it was beautifully set on top of a hill and was very quaint. And while I'm not Roman Catholic, I appreciate and honor the legacy of St. Francis of Assisi and how he valued creation and a life of simplicity.

Fist-pump for Jersey

While I might always consider myself a PA girl (and more specifically a 'burgh girl) at heart, I do call Jersey my home now, and I want to explore what it has to offer. So I made goal #3: go someplace I've never been IN New Jersey. This year I've spent some time in three towns/cities I hadn't previously visited. I'll start up north and head south.

Hoboken

In August, to celebrate our birthdays, my friend Dana and I got tickets to a Mumford & Sons concert. They're my favorite band and it was an AMAZING show. The concert was in a park in Hoboken, which was a great venue and meant we could get pretty close because we were there early. We spent some time earlier in the day checking out Hoboken, although rain kept us inside more than I would've liked.

 

Wildwood

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures, but also in August, I drove down the shore to the Installation service of a fellow LTSP grad and new colleague. After the service and reception, I enjoyed the beautiful evening and a stroll on the boardwalk. 

 

Cape May

 

And finally, in August (are you seeing a pattern here?) the South Jersey Area Wind Ensemble had a concert in the brand-spanking-new Cape May Convention Hall. I went down a few hours early to walk around town and get something to eat. It was a very cute town and I had a delicious meal at an organic and fair-trade cafe'. And the concert went very well.

Helloooo October!

I have clearly been neglecting my blog. One of the reasons is because I've been kicking around the idea of giving up on it. My main reasons for starting to blog have morphed into continuing the blog so that I have a place to record what's going on in my life: 1. for myself, to look back on in the future, and 2. for sharing with those out there who might be interested. I seem to have found an alternate form of recording my life's events for myself through journaling (more on that later). And since I'm pretty sure there are about two people who regularly read my blog (hi mom and Mandy!), I'm not sure it's worth the time, since both of them already know what's going on in my life. So I think I've decided that I'll keep it up through the end of the year, especially as a forum for my "12 for 12" goals, and then probably say good-bye to my blog. If there's anyone else out there that reads this thing, let me know, and maybe I'll reconsider.
In the meantime, to catch up on updating my progress on my "12 for 12" goals, I'm going to try to post several times for the next week or two. For this post I'm going to share about goals 1 & 2.
#1: Take swimming lessons.
I posted way back toward the beginning of the year that I took one swimming lesson, and would take more only "as needed." Though I haven't taken any more lessons, I did spent a good amount of time swimming on my own both in the pool at the gym and in the bay. I think I do alright with the back stroke and freestyle, but I definitely still need some work on the breast stroke, especially since it's theoretically the most efficient of the three. Hopefully I will be motivated enough to work on that this fall/winter in the pool. I even learned how to swim in a wetsuit. They're certainly helpful, but man are those suckers hard to put on! I still don't love swimming, but I can tolerate it as an alternate form of exercise. I think I probably feel about swimming what a lot of people feel about running. ;)
#2: Try a tri(athlon).
Done! In the middle of September, I successfully finished my first sprint-distance triathlon! My goals were to finish, and to not be last. I met both of these goals. I wasn't even in the bottom pack of people. Granted, I was nowhere near the front either, but I was so not expecting to be. I did very well with the run portion, but I need to work on improving my speed in the swim and bike. I also definitely need to cut way down on my transition times. I don't think I'm going to be racing more triathlons than running races, but I think it's likely I will do one again next year. Overall, I felt good during the race and afterward and I'm proud that I can now call myself a triathlete.

Away with April (Almost)

I am ready for vacation.
Luckily I only have to wait a few more weeks. (More on that in another post.) This month has been full, beginning with Holy Week, and never really stopping. Though I had a bit of a lighter work load the week after Easter, I was kept busy with my parents visit and getting ready for and performing in our spring concert with the South Jersey Area Wind Ensemble. Check us out!
I've also been getting physical therapy this month, for some leg pain I've been having for a while now. Even though it was most likely caused by running, thankfully I haven't had to stop. And the pain has apparently not affected my performance, because I ran a PR (personal record) and got 2nd place in my age group in a 5K race this month!
On a sad note, we also had to have our family dog, Patches, put to sleep this month. She had an inoperable tumor, but she was also 13 years old, so she lived a good long life for a dog. She was a super sweet dog and we miss her.

Looking at the List

As the first quarter of this year is quickly passing (and I prepare to jump into the craziness that is Holy Week for a pastor), I thought it would be a good time to check up on how I'm progressing on my 12 for '12 list. While there are only two items I can actually check off as completed (going to Longwood Gardens in PA = #4 and buying a new laptop = #10), I have made some good progress on a few other items. I have completed four new books (#5) and am half-way through a fifth. The Time Traveler's Wife is probably one of the weirdest books I have ever read, but it's at least keeping me interested enough to not give up on it. I have also successfully attempted five new recipes (#6): Butternut Squash Risotto, Creamy Tomato Bisque, Banana Chip Cake, Creamy Carrot Soup, and Shrimp and Vegetable Stir-fry (I kinda cheated and used frozen veggies, but I did make the sauce). After taking that one swimming lesson (#1) I have been slowly getting used to swimming on my own. I admit that I have not been practicing as much as I should. Probably because I don't enjoy it much yet. I'm hoping that changes eventually, although I don't think I'll learn to love it as much as I do running. I have found some local triathlons happening this summer, but I haven't decided on one yet (#2). The one that makes the most sense in my schedule is an ocean swim, and that makes me a little nervous. I'm also still deciding on another race to sign up for, but I am planning to do my third marathon this fall! (It's not on the list, but I'm excited anyway.) And I'm still slowly making progress on my quilt (#7), especially after I got a tune-up on my sewing machine. I have also been trying out a spiritual practice that seems to be going pretty well so far, but I don't think I'm committed enough to it yet to share or consider it one that "works" (#12). Numbers 3, 8, 9, and 11 are the only ones in which zero progress has been made, but I still have plenty of time. The only one I'm a little sad about is the fact that I still haven't touched my piano in forever, but I've been too focused on the really difficult music we're playing in the next wind ensemble concert. All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. And now I'm off to finish my glass of wine and read some more of my weird book before it's time for bed.

Happiness = Painted Toenails

It's a little ironic that I'm writing this post on one of the coldest days of this month so far, but I'm excited that it has been warm enough at other times this month to bring out my flip flops and bare toes from their winter hibernation! And of course with their re-appearance comes the desire for some colorful adornment. I had planned to take care of this early last week but just never got around to it. So when I was in Maryland this past weekend visiting friends and family, and my four-year-old cousin wanted to paint my toenails I figured, why not? Though she regularly has colorful finger and toe nails, thanks to her mom, I don't think she actually does much of the painting. I was aware of this going into it, but they are toenails after all. No one is looking at them that closely. (Believe me. No one wants to get close to my stinky gross feet.) Aside from my having to wipe away some drips and globs, she actually did a decent job with only a little help. And I was pretty amused and pleased with her (totally self-sufficient) choice of two alternating colors. Now whenever I look at my feet I'm reminded of my favorite four-year-old and I smile.

A Day Away

I've wanted to visit Longwood Gardens since I lived in Philadelphia, but hadn't yet made the effort. A few weeks ago I purchased a discounted ticket through Groupon and had to use it before the end of this month. I decided yesterday was a good day to do so, and got an early start to my day off to make the drive into southeast PA with my Starbucks travel mug full of coffee. Though none of the outside gardens are blooming yet, there was a lot of land to walk around, and a few cool buildings to visit (the former home of the Du Pont family, who used to own the Gardens, some treehouses built to get elevated views of the grounds, and a chimes tower). And I spent the largest portion of time walking around the seemingly endless rows and rooms of flowers and plants in the Conservatory. The sights and smells filled me with awe for God's amazing creation. The place is a photographer's dream. I'm far from a professional, but I took a ton of pictures and did ok with my little Sony digital camera. It was a successful outing, and I feel like there was plenty to see even though it's still winter, but I would like to go back again in the summer to see the outdoor gardens in bloom and the many fountains running with water. I hit Panera (one of my favorite restaurants) for a late lunch and did a little shopping on the way back. And I came home to a dog who was happy to see me and ready to go for a walk. After that, I spent the evening relaxing with my latest book (The Paris Wife) and a few episodes of Gilmore Girls. It was a good day.

New Kicks

I first heard about TOMS Shoes a few years ago, and learned that their philosophy was to give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased. They also sponsor "One day without shoes" to grow awareness for those who have to go without shoes and other basic needs that those of us who are privileged often take for granted. I wanted to buy a pair as soon as I learned about them, but I believe I was on my limited seminarian budget at the time, so I had to wait. Well now that I actually have a steady income and I was in need of a new pair of shoes appropriate for spring I decided to get some TOMS. While they've expanded their styles significantly (and even sell sunglasses in addition to shoes) I decided to go with the "classic" style. If you're in the market for a new pair of shoes (or sunglasses) I suggest you check them out!

Prayer Share

There are times when the "every day" stuff of ministry can make a girl crazy. And there are times when the "every day" stuff of ministry is really pretty extraordinary when I take the time to notice. A simple cross-mark of ashes, a simple meal of soup, a simple service of prayer. These are just some of the ways I've experienced God, and seen the extraordinary in the ordinary, in the past few days and weeks. I'm been practicing noticing such things, and expressing my thanks to God for them. (#12)
Last week was the annual ecumenical World Day of Prayer, a movement of Christian women world-wide. Though it always falls on a Friday, which is my day off, I think it's an important effort to support and it's nice to have a service that I can just attend. The theme this year was "Let Justice Prevail" and was prepared by women in Malaysia. I heard a great sermon, emphasizing the importance of justice ministries in addition to outreach. And we joined in prayer for peace and justice to prevail throughout the world. The following is part of a prayer we read, from activist and author Alan Paton.

Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong
Not afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears that
I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for Thee.

Amen.

5, 6, 7

I've made a little bit of progress on my list in the last few days. I should be adding at least one more finished book very soon. Over this past weekend I tried my first new recipe of the year: Butternut Squash Risotto. I think it sounds really fancy, but it was actually pretty easy to make. And I honestly wasn't sure whether I would like it, but it was really good. (I realize that picture doesn't make it look super appetizing, but trust me.) It doesn't really work for leftovers though, so next time I'll have to make it when it's not just me.


Also over the weekend, I finally spent a few hours with my sewing machine (and old episodes of Bones on Netflix) and completed 8 blocks of my mystery quilt, which also means I can move on to the next "clue" (which is 8 more different-patterned blocks).


And as you can see from this last picture, I finally got over being intimidated by knitting cables! It's not on my list, but it's trying something new. I found a simple pattern to try as a dishcloth, and its not hard at all! Granted, there are other cable-stitch patterns that are more complicated, but now I'm not so afraid to try them.

Blessings and Curses

I've been working my way through a great book for about a month now. It's not a particularly long book, I could read a book of similar length in a week or less. But this book is written as a collection of short stories and reflections, and is so rich with wisdom and word pictures that I'm enjoying taking it a little bit at a time. The book is Cold Tangerines (celebrating the extraordinary nature of everyday life) by Shauna Niequist. I'll probably finish within the next few days and I look forward to more nuggets of wisdom from the book, but I thought I'd share one on here in the meantime. I feel like a combination of time to recover from the challenges of the fall and events like the holidays and baby pastor school have contributed to my improved attitude about my life and work. I have also truly been making an effort to keep things in appropriate perspective. I know more challenges will come my way, but I'm trying to gain what I can from this time and notice the moments of grace where I can. Shauna put it very well in a chapter called "blessings and curses". I wish I could share the whole chapter, but I think this paragraph sums it up pretty well.

"I would never try to tell you that every bad thing is really a good thing, just waiting to be gazed at with pretty new eyes, just waiting to be shined up and -- ta da! -- discovered as fantastic. But what I know is that for me... and for a lot of the people I love, we're discovering that lots of times, not every time, maybe, but more often than not, there is something just past the heartbreak, just past the curse, just past the despair, and that thing is beautiful. You don't want it to be beautfiul, at first. You want to stay in the pain and the blackness because it feels familiar, and because you're not done feeling victimized and smashed up. But one day you'll wake up surprised and humbled, staring at something you thought for sure was a curse and has revealed itself to be a blessing -- a beautiful, delicate blessing."

Not every curse becomes a blessing, but some of them do. And a lot of it is about what you learn and how you grow from these experiences. Its about becoming and being the person God has created you to be. Its about gaining hope for the future by seeing what you've made it through in the past. Today, I'm focusing on the blessings.

Recap

The past week was a pretty good one, overall. It was pretty busy, so it was also a little tiring at times, but it was mostly a good kind of tired. If that makes sense. It's because it came with a sense of accomplishment for what I got done during the day. On the work side, nothing major happened, just got a lot of stuff done. On the personal side, I spent some time with friends, and did a little shopping in Smithville (love that place!), finished my second book of the year (Prince Caspian, which means I'm more than halfway through the Narnia series), and took my first swimming lesson! It turns out I may not need to take a series of lessons. He taught me proper technique for the crawl stroke, breast stroke, and back stroke all in one lesson. So basically I'll just spend some time working on these strokes on my own and building my endurance, and then if I need more help I can schedule another lesson. On the one hand, I felt way more confident in my abilities after that lesson. On the other hand, I was surprised by how much there is to think about with your arms and legs and breathing! I hope to be able to stay motivated enough on my own to get to the pool on a regular basis.

Perspective

I spent Monday-Thursday of this week at a retreat center in PA for a continuing education event that's required for our first three years for all first-call pastors and rostered leaders in the ELCA. Though it's not a totally accurate name, many of us involved affectionately refer to the event as "baby pastor school". It includes worship, large group lectures and small group discussions, and time for informal conversation with other pastors/leaders. As these events are organized by region, and a majority of my seminary graduating class are in the same region I am, it also becomes a sort of seminary reunion. While I really appreciate opportunities for learning, the two things I appreciated most about baby pastor school were the times of worship and reconnecting with seminary friends. Of course, it's always fun to spend time with friends, but discussing our challenges and experiences in ministry was a good way to adjust my perspective. Sometimes I need to be reminded that I am not alone in ministry... that others have challenges as well, and that there are people I can go to for support. And I'm not alone especially because God is with me, and has called me and given me gifts for ministry. Yes, even pastors need to be reminded of God's presence!

Check!

I can check off my first item on my 12 in 2012 list! I have successfully completed item #10: I purchased a new laptop computer! I did a bit of online research and made a couple visits to Best Buy and today I was able to leave the store with an HP laptop all set up and ready to go. It's nice and light and on the smaller side (size-wise) without sacrificing storage and capabilities. I'll learn more about it as I use it, but I've enjoyed playing around with it this evening and it seems to have what I need without being too fancy or too cheap. YAY!! It even has a built-in webcam. I thought about taking a picture with it, but what I really want to show you a picture of is the computer, and I can't take a picture of the computer with the camera on the computer. And I don't feel like messing with my digital camera and cords and downloading. So you'll just have to deal, unless I decide to upload a picture later. I'm glad to FINALLY have a new computer, and I hope it works out and lasts long enough to make it worth it! I have made some progress on a few other items, but the only one to really note at this point is that I finished my first book of the year: The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. It was a recommendation based on another book I liked, and I ended up really liking it as well. I've been surprised to discover that I like historical fiction more than I thought I did.

2011 Year in Review

I like the idea of an annual look back and documentation of the previous year. I did this on my blog last year for the first time, and thought I should continue it this year. Looking back over 2011, the highlights can be summed up with friends, travel, more "pastor firsts" and running.
Winter (Jan/Feb/Mar):
Baby Pastor School, made new friends, had visits from friends, hosted a Super Bowl party, spoke at a convocation at LTSP, and attended a quilting retreat at Lutherlyn
Spring (April/May/June): 1st place in my age group in a local 5k, visited family & friends and attended friends' wedding in MD, celebrated Dana's ordination, parents visited, first Holy Week as a pastor, SJAWE concert, attended LTSP graduation, first Confirmation as a pastor, took youth to Six Flags, bought a brand NEW CAR and FIRST TIME ON THE WEST COAST- vacation to Seattle and Holden with Mandy!
Summer (July/August/Sept): attended friends' wedding in PA, visits from parents and family, VBS, Confirmation Camp, presided over my first wedding, first Blessing of the Fleet as a pastor and "drove" the Coast Guard boat, ran the River to Sea Relay, went to a Phillies game, Hurricane evacuation, 1st ordination anniversary, ran the Akron Marathon, and celebrated my 30th BIRTHDAY with two parties!
Fall (Oct/Nov/Dec): visited family in MD, Ethics of Eating Hunger Leader training retreat, presided over my second wedding, visited friends in Philly, distributed food to the hungry in Camden, attended LBI Christmas parade, SJAWE concert, went home for the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas)!
All in all, not a bad year. :)

12 for '12

Happy New Year!
Thanks to a little inspiration from some friends (especially http://thirtybefore.wordpress.com/), and my desire to make goals (not resolutions) for the year, I have created the following list (in no particular order)...

12 (mostly) new things for 2012:
1. Take swimming lessons.
2. Try a tri(athlon)
3. Go someplace in NJ I've never been.
4. Go somewhere outside of NJ I've never been.
5. Read (at least) 12 new books.
6. Try (at least) 12 new recipes.
7. Finish my "mystery quilt".
8. Finish painting and updating my bathrooms.
9. Play the piano regularly enough to re-learn Fur Elise.
10. Buy a new laptop computer.
11. Go on a date.
12. Find a spiritual practice that works for me.

Explanations:
1. I am an embarassingly poor swimmer. In order to do #2, I need to do #1 first.
2. Now that I've run a few half and full marathons, I think a triathlon would be a new fun challenge. I'm not starting with anything crazy, probably just a sprint distance.
3. Even though I've lived here a total of 2 1/2 years, and it's not a huge state, there's still a lot of New Jersey I haven't seen, and there are definitely places in my "1,000 places to see in the USA before you die" book that I haven't seen.
4. This could be just about anywhere, but might be my vacation destination. More to come later.
5. I've made it through a decent number of books lately and I'd like to keep it up. I picked 12 for the number theme I have going, and because it's means 1 book a month, which seems reasonable. AND I need to use my new Kindle!
6. See the explanation for #5.
7. I started my third quilt last spring at the Mystery Quilt Retreat at Lutherlyn. I didn't get much farther than where I was at the end of the retreat. Probably because I don't do much quilting or sewing when the weather is nice. But now it's winter again, so I'm busting out the sewing machine!
8. There have already been several improvements made to my bathrooms, including painting them this past summer. I need to do some touch-ups in both, and paint the medicine cabinet and sink cabinet in my master bathroom. This also seems like a good winter project.
9. I never wanted to be one of those people with a piano that just sits in their house as a piece of unused furniture, and I'm in danger of becoming just that. Just "play the piano regularly" didn't seem specific enough, so Mandy suggested I have the goal of playing a certain piece. When I took piano lessons in high school one of the first real pieces I learned, and soon memorized, was Beethoven's Fur Elise. I have slacked off in my piano playing so much that not only do I no longer have it memorized but I don't think I can even play it anymore (at least not well).
10. I've needed a new computer since seminary, but haven't really had the finances for it. I was able to borrow a refurbished laptop, but it isn't going to last much longer.
11. I have a pathetically non-existent love life. It's not like I'm swimming in eligible men, but I could probably make more of an effort. This is the goal I feel the most skeptical about. Any help?
12. Prayer is a regular part of my every day life. And I've practiced devotional reading off and on over the years, but I've never been very consistent with it. I think prayer is important, but I think I need to do something more on a regular basis to work on my spiritual health.