35 - Learn to Shoot a Gun ~ Bullseye!!

That's right!! That's my bullet hole just a fraction of an inch below the center of the target. I'm dangerous with a .44 magnum. It was the best shot of the day.

When we were in Utah, Clark's sister-in-law, Destinee, hooked us up with her dad who is a retired police officer. He was thrilled to have an excuse to go out shooting. He brought his whole handgun arsenal and taught us the difference between all the guns and all the bullets and let us try them all. It was my first time shooting and I think I could get addicted!

Quote of the Day:  

 

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."

--- John Lubbock

“You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not. ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ 'Has your life brought joy to others?’"


-- Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) to Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) in The Bucket List
 
 
"I believe that you measure yourself by the people that measure themselves by you."
 
-- Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) to Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) in The Bucket List

42 - Become a certified personal trainer ~ DONE!!

I just found out yesterday that I passed my AFAA Certification Exam so now I am officially a Certified Personal Trainer.  Yeah!!  I only missed 11 out of 120 questions and only 2 of those were on anatomy.  The anatomy section was very long and difficult and I didn't feel like I had done that well.

Now I just have to figure out what exactly I'm going to do with my certification.  I can work at a gym or County Rec Center.  Or I can train people at their homes or just at a park outside.  I'll have to come up with a business plan.  I'm just excited that now I can be moving on to the next step.

1 - Get married ~ LDSsingles.com

Ok, so marriage is obviously one of the higher priority goals since I want very much to be a wife and mother, the lonliness of the single life is beginning to overshadow the freedom and I'm getting older and my child bearing years will come to a close all too soon.  My co-worker, Michael, recently said I'd "make a great wife" (and he is totally awesome and married so he would know), and Isabelle says I'm qualified to be a mom because I can change diapers really well.  For a long time I didn't really feel ready to get married.  I had certain characteristics I wanted to develop and things I wanted to learn as an individual first - things that would help me be a better wife and mother.  But now I feel like I'm where I want to be as a person, and I'm ready to join my life with another's and continue to move forward in life together with him.

Now the trick is putting a face and a name with that all mysterious "him" and to find my Mr. Right.  I've been dating rather a lot lately, more than at any other time in my life so far, and I'm having a good time, but no one is pursuing me with any serious intentions.  I'll certainly keep dating when asked, but I'm also heading online.  It's time to get serious here and pull out all the stops.  Several of my friends have found their spouses online, so I know it really can work.  When I get back from Guatemala I'm going to actually pay (yes, pay rather than use the free service that only allows you to browse and doesn't allow you to send or read messages) for a one-month membership on LDSsingles.com, maybe two.  I just have a good feeling about this summer.  And I think a fall wedding would be beautiful ~ all my favorite colors.

So now for my profile page on LDSsingles...  This is my draft.  Tell me what you think:

A bit about me... I'm from Washington State. I am the oldest of 4 kids. My siblings are my best friends. I have 4 nieces and 1 nephew and they are a great source of joy in my life. We have lots of adventures. I like spending time with family and close friends. I studied Accounting and Information Systems at BYU. I'm a CPA, but I currently work in IT. I would leave my career in a heartbeat if given the chance to be a wife and a mother. I served in the Washington D.C. South Mission Vietnamese-speaking. I've since moved back to live in the area where I served my mission. I like to stay active and engaged in life. I love swing dancing, running, triathlons, photography, singing, playing the piano, and doing home repair/improvement projects. My theme in life is Just do it! Nike markets it, but I live by it. Fun stuff!

Now a bit about where I'm going... I want to marry and start a family. I want to marry a good man.. not good as in someone who spends every Friday night reading their scriptures and trying to remain sheltered from all the issues of the world, but good as in someone who is informed and aware and participating in the world around him while confidently making good, righteous decisions and being a positive force in his sphere of influence.

I want to marry a man who attends the temple regularly. When we face challenges or important decisions in our lives, I would take great comfort in knowing that my husband knows where to go to get the answers he needs to lead our family. I think when a husband and wife attend the temple regularly, many others things within the marriage and family fall into place. I want to become one of those really old cute couples who serve in the temple together and shuffle out together hand in hand. One evening while I was at the temple, one cute little old man went up to a small group of fellow cute little old men sitting near the temple exit and said to them, "Our wives are certainly worth waiting for, aren't they?" How cute is that?!

I want to have a healthy, active family. We can work out together. Go on family bike rides. Go to the park. Go on a walk every day. As baby weight comes on and off I'll need support and encouragement. We can run races together or cheer one another on from the side of the race route with the kids holding signs that say "Go Mommy!" or "Go Daddy!" The time the kids spend on TV, video games and organized sports teams will be minimal. We will focus more on playing and working together as a family. We can have a garden. We can take our kids with us as we work to serve others, so they can learn young and learn from our example to look outside of themselves and to be concerned for the happiness and well-being of those around them.

I want to marry a happy man, who can find joy in every day and every experience, who lives with passion yet finds exquisite satisfaction in the beautiful simplicities of life. I want a husband who works hard, but is able to leave his work at the office and focus on the family when he is home. I want a husband who enjoys spontaneous picnics. And I hope my husband will dance with me ~ swing, country, waltz, Latin or polka, it doesn't matter. He doesn't even have to dance well as long as he holds me in his arms and moves to the music. Dancing resonates with my soul. I want a husband who leads our family in studying the gospel, who wrestles with the kids and snuggles with them and makes sure they feel loved every day... someone who is filled with love for the Lord, for me and for our children.

“There is never enough time to do or say all the things we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can with the time that you have. Time is short and suddenly you’re not there anymore.”

~ Charles Dickens’ admonition from A Christmas Carol

How It All Started

I've always been a goal setter.  My dad was big on goals, and growing up we would always set New Year's Resolutions and write them down and review them at the end of the year.  When my friend, Travis, graduated from 8th grade with a 4.0 for all 3 years of middle school, I made a goal to do the same (I was in 6th grade) and I did it.  That is the first major goal I recall achieving. 

Then in high school Travis graduated as the salutatorian, having gotten all A's except for an A- in chemistry.  He encouraged me to do better than he did and go 4.0 all the way.  Chemistry was also the most challenging class for me in high school.  I spent many, many hours in the science lab after school reviewing concepts and practicing qualitative analysis with Mr. Chesterfield.  I eventually mastered it and even took 3rd in the State Science Olympiad in qualitative analysis (yes!  I was a total nerd, but a dang smart nerd!).  I graduated from high school having earned a 4.0 in all classes from 6th through 12th grade, including AP calculus and AP physics.  That wetted my appetite for setting and achieving goals.

Years later I joined my best friend, Aaron, in reading "The Aladdin Factor" and doing some of the exercises suggested in the book, one of which was a brainstormed list of goals.  As fast as I could, without forethought or analysis, I wrote out 100 things I wanted to get, do or achieve.  Some little, some big, some specific, some very broad, some short-term, some very long term, just whatever came into my head in no particular order.  The movie "A Walk to Remember" came out a while after that (one of my favorites) and just confirmed the idea of having a list of goals for my life.  With lots of encouragement from Aaron, I set out to accomplish these goals and explore the possibilities within me.

Aaron and me in San Francisco

I've been working towards goals on that list for nearly 10 years now, and I've done so many of them that my list was getting a little sparse and I've recently had to do some more brainstorming and add to it.  Just thinking about what I want to accomplish in life, writing it down and revisiting that list every once in a while motivates me to do more with my time and helps me get back on track whenever I find myself floundering in life.  It gives me a reason to move forward.  Here are some of things that I've been able to cross off my list in the last 10 years:

Pass the CPA exam

Get out of debt (although now I have a mortgage, but that's all)

Get some jeans that fit me (I went 2 years without owning jeans)

Go Latin dancing with Aaron

Teach Isabelle to say "Aunt Cherie"

Run in a 5k race

Run a marathon

Do a triathlon

Sing a solo

Attend the temple every week for 6 months

Work in the temple (7 years and counting..)

Go on splits with the Viet speaking missionaries

Graduate from the VLC

Play in a symphony again

Compose a song

Go for a run around the Tidal Basin during cherry blossom season

Eddie, Slade and many others have told me they find inspiration in my list of goals and hearing about my progress and accomplishments.  To further inspire others and to help me work to accomplish even more, I'm starting this blog on which I'll maintain my list (I know I'll add to it over time) and to share my experiences as I achieve goals on my list.  Now, life awaits... let's live life more abundantly.