#97. Visit a new state

MARYLAND!!

Last week, Stephen and I made the drive up to his hometown of Snow Hill, MD. It's on the eastern shore of Maryland, very close to Virginia after you go through 2 tunnels through the Chesapeake Bay. It took about 8 hours but it really didn't feel that long! The town is exactly like my sister-in-law's one stoplight hometown of Red Bud, IL. Lots of farm land, wide open spaces, stars as far as the eye can see, and lightning bugs in such a large number it looks like a firecracker fizzling out falling to the ground.

We stayed in MD for 4 days before driving to Baltimore to hop a plane to Denver. During our stay, we went to Stephen's friend Seth's house (probably the coolest house I've ever been to--it had a secret room behind a bookshelf just like in a mystery movie!). Seth's backyard was an oasis! He built 2 Koi ponds partway under a gazebo with wisteria growing around it, he had a saltwater pool, a parrot named Walter, and 2 pet bunnies!!! Seth took us out on his boat in the bay and brought us to a little island you can only get to by boat. There we found some of the prettiest, complete conch shells on the beach and Stephen and I took a "few" to add to the growing collection at my house. I also learned what a Mendanite was....there was a group of them on the beach- apparently they are like Amish people! Stephen decided to snap some pictures of them if you're curious what they look like haha!

We drove to the beach which, much to my surprise, had white sand and clear water. I almost felt like we were in Florida, especially when a pod of 8 or so dolphins came swimming up near us!! I was standing in the water when I saw a dark cloud...first thought was a whale, but I quickly dismissed that and realized it was a very large school of fish. I knew something was probably pushing them to shore so I got everyone's attention and we spotted the first 2 dolphins! It was really neat to see them that up close. His sister Lauren and her fiance Louis, met up with us and we went into one of the hotel pools...and I made a poor life decision: Tequila. After a few drinks, we decided to go on the nearby roller coaster that shot you forward into some loops, then took you backwards through the whole thing again. GREAT idea!

On our last day before flying to Colorado, we went to a family get-together at his aunt's house to celebrate father's day. I LOVE his family! ESPECIALLY their food!! It was so great seeing where Stephen came from, where he grew up and who he hung out with...even seeing the naked baby pictures ;) Watching him with his family made me appreciate him even more than I already do. I look forward to visiting MD again soon, hopefully again before the year is over!



To view pictures, click here: Flickr

#35. Create 99 journal entries (4/99)

4. What would you do if money were no object?
I would first pay off all my student loans and credit card debt.

I would hire enough helpers to clean up the mess made by BP.

I would buy a nice boat just big enough to seat my best friends, and the prettiest house on the lake...with a heated pool and hot tub in the backyard, a 2 story family room with a fireplace that has a 2 story stone mantle, a black grand piano, an updated kitchen that catches the morning sun and has an intricate Mediterranean inspired tile backsplash and gas range with a huge fume hood, a gorgeous bathroom with a large walk-in shower and 2 rainfall showerheads on either side...and an overflow tub like this one!! ....OK, so I watch alot of HGTV!! I could go on, but I will get sad because money IS an object lol

I would travel to England, the Philippines, Italy, France, Germany to see the Allens, Amsterdam, Spain, Ireland, and as many south and central american countries as I can while still feeling like my life was not threatened. And once I found a nice place on the country side, I would build a vacation house there.

I would donate as much as I could to the Susan Komen breast cancer foundation and St. Jude Children's research hospital

#35. Create 99 journal entries (3/99)

I have taken out my previous goal to take the stairs 7 days in a row for 3 weeks, not because I am just that lazy, but because I have NO stairs to take in my every day life. Even once school starts back up, my classes will all be on the same floor, likely in the same room! So I've found a more "doable" goal:

Thanks to my old friend Katie, I ran into a link to Marelisa's blog that had some inspiring journal prompts. I have a few entertaining stories so I'll answer just a few tonight while I'm procrastinating cleaning for my upcoming housewarming party!


1. What scares you?
Lizards. I am petrified of lizards. Anyone who knows me or has seen me jump (or go completely rigid) at the sight of a lizard knows that petrified is no exaggeration either. I'm not even sure when this fear began to grow, because when I was a kid, I was perfectly fine with them. My neighbor would catch them and hang them from her ears and I wouldn't have a second thought about it. Now if someone did that in front of me, you can be sure I would be at least 20 feet away. I think it's because they are so spastic and unpredictable. You don't know where a lizard's going! And neither do they...spiders, on the other hand, they have a game plan. And snakes probably do too, they won't jump on you. Lizards will.

Don't try to tell me they are more afraid of you than you are of it, because lizards HAVE run towards me. At my dad's company picnic, I made quite the scene when I sat down on a picnic bench across from dad's coworker, and a lizard ran full speed from the other end of the bench towards my legs. I jumped, screamed, and never has a party gone silent so fast.

Yes, I know they don't have teeth. But with their beady little eyes, prehistoric claws, and quick legs, it is enough to drive me into a panic attack when faced with one! That's why I never added "hold a lizard" to my 99 list. I really can not, will not do it.



2. What is your take on soul mates?
I used to believe there is one person "made" just for you. One soul mate in the ENTIRE WORLD who you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with. A counterpart so compatible with you that only God himself could have crafted such a creature. A person that you are BOUND to meet and fall in love with, after a random string of events that destiny planned, has you tripping in a bookstore to find a handsome man to help pick up your books. Who just so happens to be your best friend's boyfriend's cousin twice removed! And whatdaya know, he loves dogs too.
Now that I've grown up, I believe this only happens in movies.

I think you can fall in love anywhere in the world you go and not thank destiny and a random string of events for it, but fate. I think anyone can fly to Italy and find a person they want to spend the rest of their lives with. That doesn't mean this Italian is the only person who their soul is supposed to mate with! They can very well fly back to American and find another soul they can mate with. I just don't believe there is one and only one soul mate out there for everyone. And believing such a thing limits you to the people you can find yourself in love with.



3. What are 3 things you want in a relationship?
Trust, Challenge, and Passion

Trust is the foundation upon which every good relationship stands. Without it, the relationship crumbles and both people are left hurt. I think trust includes someone you can depend and rely on to be there for you through thick and thin, someone you can trust to keep your deepest secrets and respect enough to keep theirs, and above all, someone who will remain loyal and committed to you.

Challenge doesn't mean a relationship you constantly have to work for; challenge means inspiring and motivating your significant other each and every day to be the best person they can be. One who is going to push me to do the things I've always wanted to do, not "let go" of myself, and keep things exciting! We mustn't be bored now, what will we do 20 years from now??

Passion, love, sex! I want a relationship that keeps me completely captivated. An attraction so obvious that it knocks me off my feet and catches me off guard. I want to still be romantic like my parents...35+ years into a relationship and my father still brings home flowers for my mom, they still kiss each other every day when he comes home from work, they still cuddle on the couch when they watch movies, and they go out on dates like they're teenagers. THAT is what I want, a genuine love. I want to be reminded of the small things that made me fall in love in the first place and appreciate the fact that I'm lucky I get to share my life with this person. This may sound incredibly sappy, but I want to renew my wedding vows when i'm 65 years old because I'm still so in love with my wrinkled, gray haired man. And in the back of my head, know that he's probably wrinkled and gray because of me!

#53. Front flip off a dock

Ok so a diving board isn't exactly a dock, but I say it counts!

Shannon had a pool party yesterday so Erin and I drove down for the day. After a few beers and 3 shots, I was good and ready to conquer my fear of doing a front flip off the diving board. I have no idea why I have this irrational fear, because I can dive off it just fine, but I have this mental block in my head that prevents me from flipping over!

I stood at the edge for a good 15 or 20 minutes, counting to 3 numerous times and trying to handle my nerves digesting some liquid courage, so just when everyone watching gave up hope and turned around, I did it! I don't think I had a full rotation because the small of my back stung for a few minutes, but I still did it!

And after all the fuss, I can honestly say I won't be doing that again for a very long time! It's probably one of the "harder" goals on my list believe it or not...that is, right after going 30 days without consuming any alcohol ;)