Experience. Live. Fearless.

I knocked another thing off my list!  On Sunday, I rode my bike to Jessica's house, where we rode a few miles along the bike trails near her house.  In total, I rode 8.6 miles!  I always figured that riding a bike would  be much easier than running, but I was wrong.  You are definitely working out a different set up muscles when riding a bike.  I can feel it today...and it hurts so good!

60 goals complete.

41 to go.

Feel free to check out my Day Zero Project to keep up on what I will be up to this year.

On a more serious note:  Last night, the world truly lost an amazing girl:  Morgan Helman.  I did not know her well, but I volunteered with her a lot for various Celebration Concerts Events.  She was always such a light.  Her smile, the brightness in her eyes...she brought joy wherever she went.  My heart goes out to her family as well as her close friends.  I ask that you keep them in prayer as they go through this tragedy.  In addition, I ask that you pray for the driver of the vehicle.  He will be facing a lot in the coming years.

While we experience the sadness of Morgan leaving this earth, we celebrate her life and her eternal happiness and rest with our Father, which is the absolute comfort in all of this.
There will be a concert, celebrating her life, in just a few weeks.  I will keep you updated and hope to see you all there.  I will keep you posted as to date, location, and time.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support.

Life is too short to not be fearless.
Experience.
Live.

In other news: "Every sweater worn by Mr. Rogers in his show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” was hand-knitted by is mother."
(Follow UberFacts on Twitter)

-jennilea

We Made Ice Cream

Happy New Year (a wee bit late)!

This year has already been full of all kinds of awesome.

This weekend, I was able to knock two more things off my list.  Spontaneous road trip, and spend a night in a hotel for no reason.
We decided to go to South Lake Tahoe. It was snowing, so that was pretty cool.  We even got to make a little snowman friend.  This was the first, legit, snowman I have ever made.  I love the snow. :]  We also had a snowball fight, which was awesome!  While we were playing, I saw the most perfect, amazing snowflake land on my jacket.  I know snowflakes are supposed to look really neat, but I have never seen an actual snowflake more than just a tiny dot.  I tried to snap a photo, but it melted too fast. It was really beautiful though.
We also did a little bit of gambling!  I turned $20 into $70, then lost it all.  It was a magnificent failure.
Overall, the this trip was absolutely amazing!

Other items we were able to do, from my list:  I made ice cream in a bag! The recipe was simple:  milk, ice, sugar, salt, and vanilla.  We thought it would be fun to make mint ice cream, instead of vanilla, so we used mint and added chocolate chips.  Our ice cream turned out ridiculously minty - what else would I have expected.  It was insane though.  Good, in small amounts. I could not even finish the photo you see above.  I would like to try this out again, but with vanilla.  Or maybe vanilla and a small amount of mint.

I have completed 58 goals!  More than half way there! 

I started my new puzzle, cats already destroyed it.  Nothing new there!  Hopefully, my new setup will prevent that from happening in the future. I am doing the puzzle on a piece of cardboard which I cover with more cardboard and set in my closet.  I am sure they will figure something out to mess with it though...

Nikki found this photo to describe my life...

Nailed it.
Last Friday, I joined the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District Biologists in the annual Christmas Bird count! Rawge and I got started on an early and frosty morning!


Speaking of early and frosty, he and I also decided we would make a bet!  On Instagram, he posts these amazing photos of wildlife, but hardly gets any "likes" at all, while I can post a photo of my cat on the toilet and get dozens of "likes."  I told him it was because he was not adding in the right hashtags to get his photos the attention they deserve.  We both decided to take a photo, in the frosty morning and see who could get the most "likes."  Needless to say, with all my hastags, I won.   This was actually one of the nicest photos I have ever taken.  I am proud!

Now, back to the bird count!  I had a lot of fun seeing all kinds of birds I had never seen before, as well as a few of my favorites, including Killdeer!  I did not get to take any photos of them, but Killdeer are perhaps on of my most favorite birds.  Not because they are absolutely gorgeous or anything, but because of their personality.  If a predator is going after it's nest, Killdeer will fake a broken wing, flop around on the ground, and make a sound of distress in order to get the attention of the predator.  If that won't get it's attention, they will come closer to the predator and make a louder noise to draw attention.  The predator will see the bird, and think it is an easier target because it is injured.  Once it has lured the predator away, Killdeer will suddenly "heal" and fly away.  They are just so neat!

The major sight of the day was a Bald Eagle!  They had never had an adult Bald Eagle ever make an appearance in the area, so it was really exciting.  Hard to photograph though, because we were so far from it.  Luckily, we had a scope, so I was able to, carefully, take a photo through the scope with my phone!  He was a neat little guy.  I had never seen one before (apparently they are rare to see - as they were close to extinction), so it was pretty spectacular.  Fun times!

Upcoming goals:
I have decided I need to start classes, to get scuba certified, in the next few weeks.  I realized, I need to be scuba certified in order to swim with sharks.

Finally, we are planning a wee trip to New York at the end of the year for New Years Eve!

I have an exciting year planned out!

In other news:
"In 2002, the average user spent 46 minutes on the Internet a day - In 2012, the average user spent 4 hours on the Internet everyday"
(Follow UberFacts on Twitter)

-jennilea

Dear Santa...

The photo to the left will be explained further into the post.  Spoiler alert: it is awesome:

Speaking of awesome, for Christmas this year, I got season 7 of HIMYM!  Marathons will be happening for WEEKS!
In addition,  How I Met Your Mother has been signed for a 9th season with all original cast members.

To top it all off, the Backstreet Boys performed this morning - nailed it.  All my dreams...

My last post discussed the Dear Santa program; we were able to adopt 3 letters!  I headed out to buy presents for the families (with Christina), and we ended up meeting a lady at WalMart who was selling things to raise money to buy presents for her kids.  Our church had received a lot of donated, unopened toys, so we were able to help out this family as well - for a total of 4.

The first family had 6 kids!  The college group and I headed out with their gifts, including a crib and two mattresses, When we arrived, the kids opened their presents with excitement.  Their mother pulled me aside and let me know that this was their very first Christmas they had every had, with presents.  They were very excited over getting presents, coloring books, crayons, jump ropes, cards, tiaras, etc. I am pretty sure the puzzles were their favorite though.  I was happy we were all able to see them open their gifts!

The next family was the one with the letter from the little boy. We bought his grams a Bible and had her name engraved it in.  She was so happy to have her new Bible and couldn't wait to open it up!  They were very grateful, and even gave us a thank you card.   In the photo to the left, the boy in the red sweater is the one who wrote the letter.  It was a very sweet moment to see them interact together.  She was so proud of her grandson for thinking of her and for his heart for God.   This was an absolutely amazing thing to be a part of.

We did not get to stay to see the other two families open their presents, but they really appreciated their gifts.

Four families lives where impacted this Christmas because of Carmen's suggestion to add Dear Santa to my list.  This has been an great experience altogether, and I plan on doing it again next year with the College Group.

On another note, school is out, which is nice.  I was lucky enough to be able to enroll in all the classes I need for the next semester and will have my AA by May 2013!  I have also applied to Sac State and am ready to transfer over.  I will be majoring in Communications, and can't wait to see where this will take me.

In the time off, so far, I have enjoyed spending time with mySteven.  Definitely long overdue, as my night classes took over my life, and he had to work late nights.  I have also began working on my new puzzle.  This one is tough.  A lot of the colors are very similar.  So far, the border is done, and two birds.  Photos will come as I get a wee bit further.  Toilet training my cats is getting better. We will be punching out our first hole this month!

I also attended one amazing Ugly Christmas Sweater White Elephant Gift Potluck Game Night with my awesome friends.  We were all dressed in our best for this wonderful occasion.  I am grateful to have all of these wonderful people in my life.

I am also looking forward to running again!  I have not ran in a month.  Disappointing.  I have found a web site that tells me all of the runs that are coming up, and have found a few that I may consider for my half marathon!  Training really needs to ramp up though, because it will be within the next month and a half.

2013 is going to be crazy, fun, amazing, and full of new and exciting experiencing!  I cannot wait for it!  Next year will be my last opportunity to go to New York for the new year, before my list is up, so that will be happening.  I am looking forward to all of the traveling and adventure that will be had!

In other news:  "The pattern of your heartbeat changes to mimic the type of music you're listening to."
(Follow UberFacts on Twitter)

-jennilea

Time to Give

Happy Monday!

In my August 24th blog post, I asked for your ideas.  One idea, suggested by Carmen, was "Adopt a family for Christmas from one of the 'Dear Santa' letters at the post office."  I decided this would be a great idea to get my college group involved in.  November marked the beginning of our raising funds for this project.  We received donations from Carmen, First Baptist Church of Elverta, Christina, Cynthia, and my supervisor, as well as adding on our own money.  Last week, I went to pick up the letters we would be working with.  I chose 3:

Letter 1:  An 11 year old boy wrote the sweetest letter, not for himself, but for his grandma.  He noted that she always tells him about Jesus and how he made sacrifices "for everyone in the world."  He said his grams makes a lot of sacrifices too, and requested that Santa bring his grandma a nice Bible, with her name on it.

Letter 2:  A mother wrote in and requested presents for her 15 year old twins.  She said she can never afford a Christmas for them, and expressed how sad it made her feel that she was unable to offer them anything.  For her daughter, she asked for sweats, boots, vanilla body spray, and socks.  For her son, she requested sweats, boots, socks, and a sleeping bag.

Letter 3:  This letter was written by a mother who has 6 kids!  Her husband had been injured and unable to work, so they did not think they would have much of a Christmas.  Her kids range from the age of 3 months-8 years old.  She mentioned a few big items which include 2 mattress and a crib, as her 3 month old did not have one.  For the other kids, she mentioned what they like.

This weekend, I was overwhelmed with the response from others.  In discussing the letters, especially the third one, people jumped at the opportunity to help.  Cynthia went out and purchased a brand new crib, mattress, sheets, and blankets.  We were also able to find an inexpensive place to purchase mattresses, which we were able to fund thanks to church donations as well as the donation from Carmen.  Our church was also donated a large amount of new toys.  This family will be having a great Christmas.

The rest of our donations will be able to fund letters 1 and 2.

The most exciting part about this, aside from the fact that we are helping out families in need, is that we will be able to deliver the gifts to the families!  I love the feeling of giving, so to be able to see the happiness on their faces will be a memory I will cherish forever.

Thank you, Carmen, for the amazing idea!

Just a few weeks until we can deliver the presents!

Day Zero Project progress: I am currently looking for a 10 mile run to participate in.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

Finally, what is a Monday without a Lifetime movie?!

Lifetime Movie:  "Mother, May I Sleep With Danger"

My guess:  A teenager is getting involved with someone older, who she meets online. He ends up getting her involved with drugs and drinking.  She is spiraling out of control.  She hits rock bottom, mom is there for her.  They get her the help she needs.  She ends up in rehab.  It is a sad story about a teen trying to grow up to fast and being taken advantage by an older man.  Lifetime.

Based off of the title, what do you thing this movie is about?

Answer: Laurel has the boyfriend of her dreams, Kevin. He can and will do anything for her. He is totally devoted to her but the downside is that he never leave her alone. When she tries to get some distance he responds with aggressiveness. It finally dawns on Laurel that he is not good for her. Laurel's mother Jessica has already started to suspect that something is wrong with his background.

I was way off on this one!

In other news, "If you search 'Who's the cutest' using Google's 'I'm Feeling Lucky,' it will say 'YOU ARE.'"
(Follow UberFacts on Twitter)

-jennilea

Birthday Weekend!

Hello!

This has been an exciting week!  To begin, I was lucky enough to be able to participate in the Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving morning (11.22.12).  This is a 10k (6.2 miles) run, and the furthest I have gone, so far.  I ran with my awesome running buddy, Adam, who has been training with me for all of my runs, so far.  Our ultimate goal is to run a marathon.  It seems so far out and impossible, but I know we can get there.  We are almost at the half way point!  The run was able to raise more than $800,000 for the hungry.  It is amazing to be part of such a huge thing.

After the run,  I went over to my mom's house to spend the afternoon with her.  Then,  I had the pleasure of joining Yessica at her house for Thanksgiving dinner.  The food her mom prepared was delicious, as always.  I am extremely grateful that I was able to join in.

Later that evening, we prepared for Black Friday.  Boots were my goal! I headed out with Yessica and my mom to the Galleria.  It was packed, fights broke out, madness ensued.  We made it to Macy's, and I found two pair or gorgeous boots which my mother was nice enough to purchase for me, as a birthday present.  Yessica and I continued to walk around and found some bright red pants!  I had been searching for them for quite some time, and Wet Seal had them on discount!  Yessica bought me these amazing pants, as well as a really nice black shirt with lace on the sleeves.  Pretty sure I look adorable.  

Friday, 11.23.12, I decided to begin one of my Day Zero Project challenges:  Base all of my decisions off of a magic 8 ball.  The magic 8 ball decided everything from what to wear, eat, where to go (if anywhere), when to leave, how to do my makeup.  It was pretty fun to not have to make any decisions on my own.  Probably the point that had me laughing the most was when I was at my friend, Christina's house, for her birthday hang out times.  It was getting late, and I started getting tired.  I had to ask the magic 8 ball five separate times (in an hour) before it would let me leave!  It kept saying no, or ask again later.  Sarah mentioned that perhaps it was not letting me leave because I was not asking it out loud.  Sure enough, after asking out loud, it let me leave.  It was a fun evening, and an awesome day.

Also on Friday, I went to a friend's house to have a jam session.  I am pretty new at guitar, so this was the first time either I had done such a thing and I was pretty stoked to be part of it.  My friend, Rawge, from Reborn Guitars, showed up too!  He wanted to show us a new guitar he had been working on.  He removed it from the bag, and said, "oh man, it's left handed!" and handed me my new guitar!  It is beautiful! There is a built in tuner, and it has the ability to plug in to an amp!  I was able to plug in during the jam session, and learned how to play "Free Falling."  This was definitely an amazing night!

Saturday, I decided I would work to complete my puzzle, as this 1000 piece beast is on my Day Zero Project.  My cats have been tackling this puzzle on and off, but I was pretty certain that I had found and picked up all pieces.  Unfortunately, at the very end, it turns out that there are 2 pieces still missing.  I practically tore the house apart, flipping over couches, pulling out the refrigerator and stove, all to find these missing pieces, but never found them. :[  So, I will have to start over.  I feel like I would be cheating my Day Zero Project if I did not really complete the puzzle.  Luckily, for my birthday, I received two 1000 piece puzzles!  I will be getting started this week!  I have also decided that, this time, I am going to put the puzzle on a box so that I can move it in and out of the closet, avoiding any destruction from the cats.  

Speaking of cats, Belle is using the toilet now!  Both of my cats have successfully began using the toilet.  I am thinking that, by mid December, we will try to punch out the first hole and see how they do!

November 25th, was my 23rd birthday.  I was a little sad, because 22 was so awesome!  What is it that made 22 so great?  Experiences.  This Day Zero Project has inspired me to conquer fears, have goals, better myself, and to have fun!  In year twenty-three, I plan to continue these same things. This year definitely started with a bang!  My entire day was full or surprises.  Katie and Nic took me for a surprise trip to go snowboarding!  We went to Sugar Bowl, where I had a 2 hour lesson.  This lesson included a lot of falling down and getting back up.  Each time I was  able to make it, even part of the way, I felt super accomplished!  This was such a fun experience, and I plan on doing it again.  Hopefully I can become a master at this.  

After snowboarding, I got dressed to go for dinner.  When we arrived at Olive Garden, all of my amazing friends we there, which made me super happy.  Being able to hang out with all of them was definitely the icing on top of the cake of awesome, that is my life.  Celebrating with all of them meant the world to me. :]

I don't know what this next year will bring, but I am excited and hopeful for new adventures, and a lot of fun!

In other news:  "If all the stars in the universe were divided amongst everyone on earth, we would each own about 44.2 trillion stars."

(Follow Uber Facts on Twitter)

-jennilea

So, my cat is using the toilet now...

I haven't posted in over 2 weeks, so there is much to say!  I have completed 4 goals from my Day Zero Project:

I have been practicing juggling, mostly fruit, for several months now.  As of October 26th, I have decided that I can officially juggle!  I find that bean bags work best.  I feel awesome.  :]

Next, I began toilet training my cats.  It is tough stuff!  We are using the CitiKitty.  We moved the litter to the CitiKitty and placed it on top of the toilet.  Megatron seems to have taken to it very quickly.  Belle, however, is not liking it.  It is difficult, because we are constantly watching her to make sure that she goes on the toilet instead of the floor.  We are giving treats when they use the toilet, although Belle is getting treats for just jumping onto the toilet.  Slowly, but surely, they will get there.  The only think keeping me pushing forward is thinking about not having a litter box anymore!
Worst experience with this, so far, is when I realized the litter we bought is not able to be flushed...The toilet overflowed at 1am...major mess to clean up.  But, again, this is just one struggle leading to the end of the litter box!  Worth.it.

Another completed goal was to buy bright pants. I know it is silly, but I wanted to buy bright pants because it is just not me!  I was searching for a red pair, but when I came across a pair of green ones, I was sold.  They were super cute, so I bought them, and fulfilled this goal!  Pulling.them.off.

I was able to complete my goal to participate in Adopt-A-Block at the LA Dream Center on 11.3.12.  Jessica and I went to adopt-a-block and assisted with several families in the projects.  We gave them food, diapers, stuffed animals, and played with the kids.  I was fascinated by these kids and how much they knew about the world, and how much they craved a relationship with God.  They were all loving and so welcoming.  They were shocked that I am still in college.  I guess seeing an adult in college is not common in the area, so I encouraged them in school and told them about what college can do for you.  Please pray for these kids.  I pray that, as they continue to grow up, they will never lose their trust in God, passion for life, or their hopes and dreams.  This was definitely an eye opening experience.

50 goals completed!  51 more to go!  696 days left!  I also have one more item to add to the list.  Please feel free to make suggestions.

Subject shift, today, I met with Christina to tour Sac State.  I am really excited to transfer next fall.  Scared, but very excited to see what this change will bring.

Speaking of changes, I will be working with a few music artists in the near future.  More details to follow.

In other news: "You can't inhale through your nose an talk at the same time."
(Follow Uber Facts on Twitter)

Go ahead and try...I did it too...

-jennilea