Day 30

Day 30-What have you learned in the past month?


Technically it's the 31st. I got behind. So, I wonder if this is asking what have I learned in the past 30 days of doing this challenge, or just what have I learned in general? Well, I feel like this month wasn't exactly the best month of my life. A lot of unpleasant stuff occurred. "Stuff." Like what? Oh, sickness and stress and a bunch of other stupid things. But aside from the crap, there were some learning experiences that I'm grateful for. This month I learned that you can try to plan your life, but sometimes the Lord has other plans for you. Not necessarily a bad thing, though. I learned that being happy is a choice. I learned that sometimes it's sad and hard to be myself. I learned that life is not worth living unless there is someone to share it with. I learned that prayer really does work. I learned that it's important to be passionate about something in life. Some of these things I already knew, but it's good to have reminders like this.

Day 29

Day 29-Picture of something you want to do before you die.

Meet Carrot Top.

Okay....that was a joke......


The only thing I really want to do before I die is be happy with my life, be happy with who I am, and have no regrets. Is that too much to ask?

Day 28

Day 28-Picture of you from last year and now. How have you changed?

March 2010

March 2011

Well, I haven't changed much physically. I've pretty much got the same haircut ('cept I seem to be parting on the other side now) and the same cheesy look on my face. Last March I was pregnant, and this March I'm pregnant too. Whaddayaknow? I've changed more emotionally. I've had a year's worth of experiences to attribute to that. I am still me, but I have grown and a matured a bit more.

Day 27

Day 27-What I would find in your bag

Cell phone, sunglasses, wallet, checkbook, organizer, notebook (for jotting down song lyrics in the car), tweezers, pocket knife, hand sanitizer, lotion, hand cream (which is different than lotion), gum, a fortune cookie, a piece of salt water taffy, fingernail clippers, keys, bee butter, 3 receipts, a pacifier, gum, floss, a safety pin, appointment card, a comb, 3 pens, an envelope, and a couple of cheerios.

Day 26

Day 26-Picture of where you live

Montana

Montana is known as "big sky country" or if you ask my husband, it is known as "man's country."

Day 25

Day 25-Picture of something you wish you were better at

I wish I was better at gardening. I want to be good at growing plants and food. I want to be better at using those foods and plants in my diet. I want to be more self reliant and self sufficient.

Day 24

Day 24-A letter to your parents


Dear Mom,
It's been awhile since I've talked to you. 5 years, actually. Your birthday was this month. You would've been 48. Wow, so young. I still don't understand the timing of everything. Maybe one day I will. I've been thinking about you more. Mostly when I think of you, I just think of all my regrets. I wish I would've been better, especially during my teen years. I wish I would've spent more time with you. I wish I would've gotten to know you better before you died. There seem to be a million questions I want to ask you now. I wish I would've taken the time to ask them while you were alive. I wish the kids could know you. I wish they could have their Grandma Laura in their lives. I'm sure you're apart of their lives in some way. I just don't know how or really understand it. I wish I could just call you up and chat. I know Steph misses you a lot too. I hope you watch over her. She needs to know you are there, in some form or another.
You know what else I feel sometimes? Anger. But, anger is not a good thing. I know I need to get over that. But I can't help but feel angry sometimes. Angry that you left so abruptly. Angry that there are things I never had the chance to say. Angry because I didn't understand you better. Maybe you didn't open up to me very much for a reason. I will never know. But you were a good mom to us. You did the best that you knew how to do. If anyone ever asks, I will always tell them that.
Well, just wanted to let you know that I miss you. And...that I'm sorry for a lot of things. Hopefully you will forgive me someday, if you already haven't. I'm looking forward to the chance of seeing you again.

Love,
Jamie

Day 23

Day 23-Picture of something you are afraid of

I hate cockroaches, (and pretty much any creepy, scary, crunchy kind of bug, but especially cockroaches.) When we lived in Japan we had to make sure we didn't leave dirty dishes in the sink, or food laying out, or water in the sinks (cos they LOVE water.) We only had a few roaches the entire time we lived there, maybe because I was pretty committed to keeping the house clean. It wasn't anything like some people we knew who lived in cockroach infested houses where if you went to get a drink of water in the middle of the night and flipped on the light switch, a million of those bugs would scitter all over the kitchen. But there was one night in the summer we came home from our dinner plans and I just had a feeling I was going to see a cockroach as soon as we opened the door. And I was right. There was a huge roach just waiting for us on the wall next to the door. I screamed and freaked out and then Mike and I both went crazy with the roach spray trying to kill it. Ahhh, memories.

Here are some facts I just looked up. Pretty freaking disgusting if you ask me.

Fact: The German cockroach is the most common house infesting cockroach and the number one pest in the United States.

Fact: The cockroach can live without its head for an entire week.

Fact: The word cockroach comes from the Spanish word "cucaracha" which means "crazy bug".

Fact: There are about 4,000 different species of cockroaches in the world. About 50-60 species live in the United States.

Fact: The world's largest roach lives in South America and is 6 inches long with a one-foot wingspan.

Fact: Cockroaches will eat almost anything: left-over human food, paper, wood, leather, cigarette butts, tooth paste, coffee grinds, glue, soap, feces, fabric, shoes, paint, the glue on the back of wallpaper, human hair, fingernails, etc.

Fact: German cockroaches are very small. They can squeeze through a crack that is about 1/16th of an inch wide.

Day 22

Day 22-What makes you different from everyone else

Good question. I don't know how to answer this. Like physically? Personality? Someone else should write this post.

Day 21

Day 21-Picture of something that makes you happy

This little guy always makes me happy.