I wrote myself a letter nearly 3 years ago...

In my Day Zero Project, I had challenged myself to write a letter and open it after my project.  I am so happy I did this:

Dear future Jenni,

You are probably just as awesome now as you were in 2012.  I hope you don't have kids yet, because there are still things to do and future me will slap you.  I hope you completed the list - it is a lot to do, but completely worth it!  Congrats on you AA!  Keep working hard at Sac State and graduate soon!  None of this 5 years at Sac State crap.  Graduate and move on!  Now that your 1001 days is over, complete any goals you may not have finished - hopefully there will be none left.  Keep traveling.  Next big trip...Italy only.  Keep exploring.  Do as much as you can before officially settling down.  Is How I Met Your Mother still on?  That show will remain awesome forever.  The most important thing over the next 2.75 years is that your relationship with God grows.  Never stop growing in Him - because He is pretty awesome.  Depend on Him - ALWAYS!  I hope nothing difficult is bringing you down, and if it is, you will get through it.  Hang onto the lifeline of Jesus Christ.  Keep on keepin' on and stay awesome.  Say "hi" to Steven and Jadelynn for you.  Wow - Jadelynn is like 9 by now - weird.  And you are 24 - and Steven is 28.  Crazy!!!  Have fun times, future Jenni.

<3 Past Jenni

Well, some things never change.   For example, I'm still awesome.  Ha!  

There are many things in this letter to comment on.  First, I had a detail wrong.  Steven is 29, not 28.  

Next, past me was right on the money about not having kids yet.  Later in the letter when past me says "before officially settling down," I was also referring to having children.  My mind is still on that same thought.  There are so many things to do - and I definitely have wanderlust still...and, of course, I am slightly less married than I was when I wrote this letter.  

Past me congratulated future me on my AA - even writing this before I was done at ARC, so that was neat.  I also like that I told myself to push through Sac State - which I've been doing.  I graduate in December, after attending Sac state for only 3 semesters, so I didn't let myself down there.

Next, past me told future me to go to Italy next - and used the word "only" because I tend to overbook my life (as many already know), and I really want to enjoy this trip.  Interestingly enough, a few months ago, I made the decision to go to Italy this coming summer!  It's my graduation gift to myself. :]

Of course past me would mention How I Met Your Mother - It's still my favorite show, even though it's over now.

Finally - past me told future me to always rely on God.  That never changed.  Even in going through the hardest points in my life, I never stopped relying on Him to carry me though.  

The interesting thing here is that, though none of you may pick up on it, even in this letter - in this time, I was very uncertain on my relationship.  When past me said "I hope nothing difficult is bringing you down,"  This was code for saying I hoped my husband had really quit drinking, wasn't being abusive, and that everything would finally be how a marriage was supposed to be.  We never got there - but that's okay.  I've turned into a stronger person.  Over the last 2.75 years, I grew fearless in an entirely different way:  I became fearless enough to leave my unhealthy marriage and seek more for myself. 

Going through this letter was definitely a neat experience.  

In other news, there is a city in Turkey called "Batman."

Find more So True Facts online here.

-jennilea

23 Year Old Flower Girl

Where has the time gone!  Nearly 2 months since I have blogged.  I am definitely slacking.
Let's start off with checking off one of my goals:

I have always wanted to be a flower girl, but no one ever picked me.  Sad.  At 23 years old, you realize that it will never happen...unless, you have an awesome aunt!  My aunt Sherry had a nice little ceremony to get hitched, and decided to use me as her flower girl!  This definitely made my life!  Let's look at the photo below:

I was able to pick out the dress I wanted to wear, so I chose this one, because it is pretty, and has flowers on it.

My aunt said I rocked it, because it helped to guide her down the aisle.

As you can see, the wedding is a bit unconventional.  The groom was wearing a snoopy shirt and a top hat, and the happy couple decided to step into their marriage rocking some combat boots!

It was a fun time, getting together with family.

I took Jessica with me, and we decided we would crash another wedding that was in the same park.

We tried to be sly as we crept over to the other wedding.  We were very casual and acted like we owned the place.  We decided we should sit at a table until the dancing really picked up.  As we made our way to our desired table, a group of people started staring at us.  *gasp* "They know!" was all I could think of.  We decided to walk around another direction.  Dancing picked up a bit, so we decided to sit at a table near the dance floor.  While we waited, mosquitoes were having their way with our skin.  A guy walked up to me and asked, "want some bug spray!?  They are everywhere!"  I gladly took the can of spray and said, "Thanks!  This wedding is beautiful.  Man, aren't they such a cute couple?"  He agreed. Just then, I felt a bit more comfortable being at the wedding. We made our way to the dance floor, and danced for a few songs.

On our way back to my aunts wedding, we made sure to say goodbye to a few people, "Bye, have a great night!"

It was a great success.

I now have 75 goals completed. 376 days left!  I can't believe I am nearly in my final year.
Knowing I am going into the last year of my project, I realized this is my last opportunity to spend the new year in New York.  I had to buy tickets ASAP, so I went to Priceline, where they actually allow you to bid on your flight prices.  I got tickets from Sacramento to New York for $378 per person!  Amazing prices!  Jessica will be joining me on this lovely trip, and I cannot wait!

Another upcoming goal is swimming with sharks, which I will be doing on November 1st!

I had to remove toilet training my cats from the list, because Belle just would not take to it.  She started peeing everywhere, and I most definitely do not want my apartment to smell like pee so...that's done.  I also removed another thing from my list that was random and a waste of my precious list.  I need to add 2 more items.  Let me know if you have any ideas!

Other things:
My degrees finally came in the mail:

I have finally started and Sac State and love it!  My teachers are amazing and the campus is beautiful!  I am hoping to graduate after the Fall 2014 semester.  :]

 I got to pet more animals - including a baby tiger:

And I bought size 5/6 pants!  Though I know I am not fully fitting into size 5/6, but in this style of pants, I have moved down a size, which is awesome:


The end of this year has definitely been much better than how the year started.  I am ready to move on and up to bigger and better things.

In other news:  Otters hold hands while they sleep so they don't drift away from each other.  How sweet!  Read more here...

-jennilea