# 31, #19 and #93

MAKE A POTTERY PROJECT ... GO TO A MUSEUM ... MAKE HOMEMADE ICE CREAM


I took the kids to The Painted Potter. My lil' guy wanted nothing to do with it (for awhile anyway). He finally decided that he wanted to paint a baseball piggy bank. It's brown. All over. Definitely not my creative child.

My girl was ALL over it. She picked out a cup that had crowns on either side of it. She wanted it to be colored like the Georgia Bulldogs and New Orleans Saints. This was not as relaxing as I had hoped it would be (the kids grew frustrated and impatient at times especially when the projects was not turning out the way they had hoped). I would say that I would go back again but painting pottery is freaking expensive.


After The Painted Potter, we headed to the Fernbank Museum. It reminded me a little bit of Jurassic Park. Especially when we first walked in to see a HUGE dinosaur set up in the atrium and walked down a curvy set of stairs. Fernbank is a beautiful building and it has martinis & imax on Friday nights. I definitely want to try that out. The special exhibit of dinosaurs was amazing. They had a miniature replica of a T-Rex that was set up so that it was walking. At another station, a touch screen monitor allowed museum visitors to manipulate different factors (like mass and center of gravity) on a T-Rex to see how fast the ferocious dinosaur would run at that rate. Remember in Jurassic Park where the T-Rex was able to keep up with the Jeep? According to this, it is not possible for T-Rexs to have run that quick.




The best part was the Sensing Nature exhibit. The kids got hands-on with different stations, most of which were optical illusions. Their favorite parts was making the huge bubbles. They were so excited. I tried to take advantage of the time to teach them why the different things worked but they were so overstimulated that their attention span was about 30 seconds at each station.




After Fernbank, we met Emily for some yummy pizza at Brickhouse. We tried to grab a pizza from Fellini's on our way back from the museum but the time it took to wait for it wasn't worth the traffic we were going to hit if we did wait. Then, it was off to Kroger to get our ingredients for our homemade ice cream. It didn't turn out perfect but my little girl said, "Dang, this IS good." So I guess the presentation doesn't really matter then.

Three things off the list in one day but still a little short of 50 done by the end of June. :/ Just gotta keep on keepin' on. :)

TASKS #31, #19 AND #93 ... COMPLETED 6/30

#7 and #90

DIVE OFF A DIVING BOARD AND DO A FRONT FLIP INTO A POOL

I'll be honest with you (like I haven't spilled my guts already on this blog). I'm a chicken ... and lame. Who is afraid of diving off of a diving board? Really?!

I have no idea when the shift happened. At some point, we change from children to adults and stop doing silly things just for the joy of it. We start becoming afraid of things that make no sense to be afraid of.

I went to a birthday party with the kids today for a 5-year old little girl I've known since ... well, since her mom was pregnant with her. We went through the entire party (swimming, pinata, flip flop decorating, cake and presents) before her mom said, "Well, Ana. When are we going to do this?"


There is no time like the present and ... (lean in a little. there you go. we're almost half way done with the year and i'm not even half way done with my list so i'm motivated by the possibility of failure).

Between my children and another little girl who was there (an 8-yr old), I got a couple of lessons on flips and guitars (I think my son made that one up). How many of these posts have been taking place with children teaching me something? Hmmm...

The dive wasn't so bad. I was a teeny tiny bit nervous about being up and out of the water but dove in. Had it been a test I probably would have passed with flying colors.

The flip was a little different. I mean, I've actually executed a good dive in my life. I have NEVER had the guts to try a flip. Not that today's flip was any good BUT that's not what the list is about right? I got a little nervous and took up the 8-year old's suggestion of having her show me (we'll pretend I wasn't procrastinating). I finally did it. I held my nose (which I have since been advised was NOT the best way to execute the flip) and went for it. It wasn't so bad. I landed mostly on my back but it didn't sting. The worst part was that my bottoms fell off. Not completely down around my ankles but enough that if one of the kids had their goggles on under the water they would potentially need counseling... for life!

Just to make sure I could actually do it again and not just get over my fear long enough for one time, I went up on the board again to dive AND do the flip. Sure enough my freaking bottoms fell again! Maybe my list next year will include "Do a front flip into a pool without my bottoms falling off". Yeah. I think that's a good one to add.


TASK #7 AND #90 ... COMPLETED 6/28

#16

CAMPOUT IN THE BACKYARD WITH THE KIDS

My friend, Kim, let me borrow her two-room tent. She said that the instructions weren't in there but it was color coded so I should be fine. Only thing is that I've never pitched a tent by myself before.


I decided to put the tent up around 6:30 just in case I had a lot of trouble with it. It wasn't so bad. About 30 minutes later and no fits to be had I had the tent up and ready. Not to brag (but I will anyway), I was pretty impressed with myself for getting the tent up without help.

I found my daughter's Cinderella air mattress/sleeping bag combo and my older-than-dirt air mattress. We blew them up with the hair dryer, got a light blanket and pillows, and brought them into the tent. When we got out there, there were a ton of ants crawling over the little overhang and around the sides of the tent. I figured I must have pitched the tent on top of their ant hill but none of them seemed to be inside so we were all good.

The kids were so excited. My little boy wanted to finish his dinner so he put his slice of pizza in a ziploc bag, stuffed some Goldfish crackers in another bag and then started bringing plates out into the tent! I was on the phone at the time and had I not been paying attention, he may have set up shop for an entire 5-course meal.

By the time we got settled in, it was close to 9pm and the kids were still wide awake. We took goofy pictures with my camera, sang a couple of songs, told a story, just goofed off. Even though I was hot and they were wanting to crawl all over me, I loved every minute of it. They never complained.


Somehow in the middle of the night, my little boy got flipped around so his feet were perfectly aligned with my face. I woke up once just in time to catch his feet as they flew toward my nose. The other three times I wasn't so lucky. Despite the flying feet and the air mattress that wasn't quite strong enough for my butt, I slept all right. Of course, I woke up at 6:30. I know, some of you are playing tiny violins for me right now but you don't get up at 5:00 every morning during the school year. I've got sleep-in hours banked up! :)

Off to break down the 'campsite'.

TASK #16 ... COMPLETED 6/24

#76

GO ON A SLIP 'N' SLIDE

So it turns out that sometimes homemade is better than store bought. That's true for pies, cookies and ... slip 'n' slides.

My neighbors' daughter , we'll call her Elle, came over to ask me about being a teacher (she's in middle school and already making her plans for her college major!). The kids and I were getting ready to pick up a tent from a friend (for camping out tonight) when she came over. My little girl and I both had the same thought. Ask her to come over to slip 'n' slide with us.

When we got back from getting the tent, the kids went over to get Elle. She came prepared with a 20 - 25 foot piece of material that turns out to be billboard material given by friends of theirs. Our first ride was on the 16 foot triple wave race slip 'n' slide I bought from the store equipped with inflatable body boards and inflatable 'cones' for finishing up the races. It took no more than two slides for all of us to realize the billboard was going to be much more fun.

It made me think of Alton Brown from 'Good Eats' on Food Network. He doesn't have every possible kitchen gadget known to man kind. He just uses what he already has for multiple purposes. Alton Brown is...resourceful.

On another note, watching my children do Slip 'n' Slide really made me want to be a ... hmmm.... more relaxed mom. Not as far as discpline. With fun. Sometimes I am so worried about things getting out of hand that I cut things off before they get a chance to get too crazy. Sometimes kids need crazy. Sometimes MOMS need crazy. We get so caught up in the mess that we will have to clean up afterward that we never really ENJOY it.

Maybe I need to make that an addition to the list. To have unadulterated fun with my kids without worrying about the mess afterward. Just have fun with my kids. Just BE with them. Enjoy all that God has given me in these two beautiful children who love to laugh. have fun and LOVE others. Maybe I have a little bit to learn from them.

TASK #76 ... COMPLETED 6/24

#24 and #29

RIDE A SCARY ROLLERCOASTER (LIKE GOLIATH) ... AND ...
GO TO THE VARSITY

What a GREAT day! I went to Six Flags with the kids, Jason, JIvey, Michelle and Shafer. Despite the blazing hot sun and one Camelbak for seven people, we had no meltdowns (although I was worried about Jason...hehehe). Seriously though, the kids were great all day. We didn't hit meltdown mode until after leaving Six Flags.

We hit SO many rides and my little girl was determined to try every ride she was able to go on. She was scared for most, if not all, of them at first but walked off of every ride happy. My little boy did the same thing even though he wasn't quite tall enough to ride all the same rides. We did child swap on a couple of rides - who knew they did that?

Goliath was awesome. I had prepared myself before hand with a little research using the great and powerful Google. Having an idea of what was coming up didn't make it as tough. It was probably my favorite ride just because it was such a smooth ride. It didn't knock you around like some of the others.

I was so thankful for today. To see my kids (especially my daughter) push through her fears and realize that she could really enjoy the roller coasters was wonderful. And the bonding time we all got to have made my heart swell a little bit.

After Six Flags, we went to The Varsity for dinner. I got a chili cheese dog, fries and a Frosted Orange. Jason gave me one of his onion rings and that was dee-lish also. AND THEN... we went to Zesto for Arctic Swirls. How lucky were we??


TASKS #24 AND #29 ... COMPLETED 6/23

#61

GO-KART RACING

This was WAY too much fun. We went to Andretti Karting & Games over in Roswell. There was a group of about twelve of us that went. The guys were totally pumped and apparently had been trash talking at work before hand. They were all like little kids. It was hilarious and so much fun to watch.

I came in second to last place, which stinks because I'm a bit competitive, but I had a ton of fun. Jason must have passed me at least 3 times. blech... :/ It took awhile for me to get a feel for the track and by the end, I felt much better. A group of the guys - and one of the wives went for a second race a little later. They all improved so I was bummed that I didn't go again. Just to get a little confidence boost.

To hear the guys talk after the races and how giddy they were (Jason reminded me of how my son gets with baseball) was really so much fun to experience. The best part was realizing that these guys got along so well and get to work together every day. How blessed to have a group that seems to gel like they did.

I want to go again so I can improve my time and maybe only get lapped twice. :) AND... Next time, I want to do their rock climbing wall. I wonder if I can substitute that for #69 Climb a tree. I'll check with my accountability partner on that one.

TASK #61 ... COMPLETED 6/18

#86

LEARN SOMETHING IN SIGN LANGUAGE

About once a month, I serve in the children's ministry at church. I know it's not alot but it's what I can do right now. Sometimes it's difficult waking up earlier on those Sundays but every time I step into Stage 12 I learn something new. About Christ. About His love. About myself.

The group that I usually work with are 4th and 5th graders. Very different from the high schoolers I get paid to teach. I really love working with these kids. To see their love for Christ and to see how He shines through them to me (and anyone else around them).

It's times like these when I start to have a pity party. I start to wish I could have felt that kind of love when I was their age but the past is the past. I can only look to the future and work every day to grow closer to Him.

One of the girls told me that she just got back from camp and learned to say some things in sign language. She started with "Lord, I lift Your Name on high" and continued through a few more lyrics:

Lord I love to sing your praises
I'm so glad You're in my life
I'm so glad You came to save us

It was so sweet to see her excitement in learning this song. The best part was when she explained the hand movements for the line "I'm so glad You're in my life". She said the motions were meant to mean "I'm so glad You are in my heart". It's a great place to have Him!

TASK #86 ... COMPLETED 6/14

#10

DO SOMETHING KIND FOR A COMPLETE STRANGER

Lauren, Emily and I signed up for a build day through our church at a Habitat for Humanity home close by. Emily and I had never actually worked on anything like this before and we were both a little anxious about it. We were informed that the day was going to include putting up siding and minor interior framework.

As the girls and I started walking up, we noticed we were the only women there. Umm.... awkward. Talk about elevating our anxiety level. All of the guys were friendly and got more comfortable with us as the day went on.

Turns out the interior framework was caulking the exterior walls. I need to do some caulking around my house so I was excited to try it out first on someone else's home. hahaha... just kidding. but not really. I did fine. Lewis, who was in charge that day, told us that we did an "exemplary job on the corners." :)

The homeowners were there (and the wife's cousin showed up later) to help. I don't know whether or not the families are supposed to be at the build days and help but I loved to see them spending time interacting with all the volunteers that day.

Barry, one of the crew leaders, let Emily and I use the circular saw to cut some siding and pre-drill holes so the guys doing the siding had an easier time nailing the siding to the concrete.

It was a great experience. If I don't get to go to another build day for this house, I will DEFINITELY be doing it for another project.


TASK #10 ... COMPLETED 6/13

#30

WRITE A LETTER TO MY DAD

Right now might not be the best time to do this. Or maybe it is. It's about 11:30pm the day after Father's Day. It's been an emotionally draining day. It's late. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I'm a woman; therefore, I'm emotional.

The last time I heard from my dad (the man who raised me) was about 5 years ago - maybe longer. A quick summary of the story is this: I had to be the one to keep the relationship going (I always initiated contact), I waited to hear from him ... nothing. Several months had passed when I finally put a wall up around that part of my heart and then, I got a package in the mail. I didn't actually get the package. Trusty ol' UPS attempted to bring it three times when I wasn't home. Instead of rescheduling the drop off, I let the package go back to the sender... my dad.

It's taken some time - mostly me swallowing that jagged pill called Pride - for me to realize exactly what the package meant. It was a peace offering. It was his way of trying to open up communication again. It ultimately was a dagger from me straight into his heart.

I didn't - and still don't - know what I am hoping to accomplish from writing this letter. Was it something that God was using to help me get over my 'daddy issues'? Am I supposed to have a relationship with him again? I have no idea. There are still a mixture of emotions. What I do know is that I hurt him. This man who went from bachelor to instant dad without having a father of his own to model after. A man who did the best he knew how to do when he chose to love my mom - and an 8-year old little girl and her 6-year old little brother.

Mostly, what I have discovered through this - or been reminded of - is that I have a Father who has loved me before I was ever created. Instead of having a pity party on Father's Day, I am thankful for the Love I have received my entire life. Unfailing. Unconditional. Love. It's a wonderful feeling. It's hard to remember at times but then I have the wonderful people He has placed in my life to remind me of it. Even if they have to grab me by the shoulders and shake me.

TASK #30 ... COMPLETED 6/19

#33

LEARN TO CHANGE THE OIL IN MY CAR

This is another one of those things that can make a girl feel a little more dependent on herself and less on others. After doing this, I realized what a freaking waste it is to take my car in to get oil changes. First of all, finding the time to actually go to a place to get it done is frustrating let along the cost to do it.

Turns out my car is pretty easy to access when doing oil changes. I might not remember every little thing that my neighbor, Skip, tried to remind me of but I don't think it'll take more than one or two more times with a little guidance before I can do all by myself with no help.

I walked a little taller after this... that was, at least, until Lauren posted a picture of my butt on Facebook that she took. Thanks, Lauren! You are the best !!


TASK #33 ... COMPLETED 6/10

#15

GO HIKING

Today was such an awesome day. We got to Panther Creek Falls Trail in the morning. I saw the sign for the 7 mile hike (round trip) and was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to make the trek. I'm not in horrible physical shape but it's been awhile since I have exercised like I should. The trail gave me opportunities to speed up, slow down, talk to Jason without outside interruptions AND spend time in quiet reflection.

There was a little pool formed by one of the small falls that led into another small fall right before the big falls. (That's alot of falls!) :) We had comtemplated jumping in from the rock but we weren't sure how deep the water was and the current was a little bit faster than we cared to chance (considering there was nothing to grab if we got swept away and the fall definitely could cause some damage). Thinking about it now, I wish the opportunity existed for us to jump in. One of the things on my list is to jump off a diving board. Not because it's a diving board but because the height scares me.

I want to go now to a place where I can slowly build up the courage to jump into water like the little pool we saw at Panther Creek Falls. I know it will be exhilarating to fall into the water and that I will want to do it again. It's just the slow build up of courage I need.

Even though I didn't get to jump in the water, I did get to test my courage on a pair of fallen trees over the second small fall. The only picture that exists of that feat is of me in my bathing suit so you will just have to imagine what it was like. Maybe next time, I will be a little more courageous and venture further across the trees. Not after calculating the risk involved though. After all, there is a fine line between courage and stupidity. To just go out and do something blind is idiotic. I know I can't let fear paralyze me but I also don't want to turn to the other extreme either.

Baby steps...

TASK #15 ... COMPLETED 6/6

#4 and #52

#4 KARAOKE
#52 JUMP IN A PUDDLE



This night was a BLAST!! A group of people, some strangers, some old friends, some new friends.

I got up there with Nina and sang 'I love Rock 'n' Roll' (something I new I would do already with thanks to Karaoke Revolution at home). Then, a new friend, Jessica and I sang/rapped 'Shoop' by Salt 'n' Peppa to bring back the old school. I loved that one because you can be a not-so-great singer and still have a great time doing AND sound decent. Jason chimed in via text to let me know that I could cross it off my list unless I sang by myself. Not that he has the ultimate say so [or any say so at all for that matter ;) ] but the more I thought about it the more I realized the scariest part would be to sing up there ... by...my...self. There wasn't much time left. Emily had already put our name in to sing 'Any Man of Mine' by Shania Twain so I decided I would just sing the first verse by myself. Surely that would count.

I was SO stinking nervous. When I get nervous, I play with my ear lobes. Lauren even made a comment about it later when she and Jason looked at the video. UGH... The thought of the video sends chills up my spine.

We all left as soon as Emily and I finished the song. There was a super creepy DJ there that we wanted to get away from. blech...

As we walked through the parking lot, I noticed a pretty big puddle. OOH! I could cross off two things in one night. I was a little concerned that my skirt my fall during the jump and my friend, Allison, said "Well, at least the creepy DJ guy isn't out here." So I got myself ready, held my nose - for comedic effect, and jumped in the puddle. I heard clapping from behind me, turned around and ... IT.WAS.THE.CREEPY.DJ.

I started to run as fast as my strappy sandal wedges could take me. It wasn't more than a few feet before I turned around and saw that he was gone. The girls and I laughed so hard. Lauren and Emily saw that the creepy DJ was there when Allison made her comment. They thought she did it on purpose to give me a warning not to jump in the puddle.

I don't do well with subtleties. If there is something you are trying to tell me, you need to tell me OR give me some sort of weird facial expression to let me know that there is something MORE that you need to say. THAT...I can do.

It was a great night. A TON of laughs, embarassments, creepy people and new friends. Can't wait to do it again!

TASKS #4 AND #52 ... COMPLETED 6/3

#49

PLANT A TREE



I've never planted a tree by myself. The closest I can ever remember coming to actually planting something was for a science fair project in middle school. The plants died.

My mom was in town this past weekend and she actually bought the tree for me. It had been a couple of days and I figured today was as good a day as any to put the Japanese maple in the ground. It was slightly difficult at first and it was hot outside. I kept wondering what on earth compelled me to pick 5 o'clock during a summer day to plant this tree. Insanity is the only suitable answer I could find.

If this was not a task on my list, I would have (a) never decided to plant a tree on my own to begin with or (b) given up and asked my neighbor to help me out. I'm glad I didn't do either of those. There are a couple of big things I have come to realize after doing this.

First...
I am so glad I dug the hole and planted the tree on my own. The feeling of being independent is great. My biggest problem is that I tend to go overboard and think I need to do everything myself. It is something I have been guilty of most of my life and now that I'm a single mom, it's even worse. I have affectionately dubbed it "Single Mom Syndrome". BUT... how do I balance this? If someone offers to help me, usually I say, "I can get it. Thanks, anyway." It must be so frustrating for people. The best thing for me, personally, to hear is, "Yes. I know you CAN get it. I want to help you. Just let me freaking help you, Ana." (Said with love and a smile, of course) This is something that I continually have to work on. I'll get there...someday.

Second (and probably the most difficult)...
Let's go back to that whole 'quit before you fail' mentality I've talked about before. Within the first few digs with the shovel, I was having negative thoughts. The ground was a too rough. I didn't have enough upper body strength. It was going to take too long. It was to stinking hot. I was full of excuses. Then, I kept thinking, "This is on your list. You are going to get it done. Don't quit." I tell my children often (mostly my little girl) that we do not quit in our house. We may have to take a break for awhile but we never quit. This may not be something I am all that great at but it is something I am working on. It is DEFINITELY something that comes easier the more I help my children with it. I love knowing that I have changed so much from the girl/woman I used to be. What I really love is the fact that I still continue to grow and change every day. Hopefully, that will never stop.

I am trying to become more fearless everyday. I want to be free from the idea that I can't do anything. Like I told my little boy the other day, "We don't say 'can't'." Things may be difficult but we HAVE the ability. We CAN!

TASK #49 ... COMPLETED 6/2