Catching Up

It's been almost two months since my last post. Lest I drift from negligence to complete irresponsibility in blogging, here's an update:

I continued to search for jobs, and even interviewed for a few options, but nothing came up. This is odd because I am awesome. (Maybe I was too cocky.)

When I was not job-hunting, I was practicing for my audition for the Master of Music program at U of L. Once I had finished playing, my nerves completely fried, I still had to sit down for my interrogation with members of the music faculty. Did I say interrogation? I meant interview. "No pressure," they said. "Stop spouting off unnecessary information," I told my brain. They asked, I rambled, they laughed, I turned red, they accepted me. What? They accepted me! Yes, you are reading a post by one of the U of L's newest graduate students! Classes will begin in September and I could not be more excited to haunt those narrow halls once again.

Practicing ALL THE TIME.

I realized that it was time to go home, and arrived by bus in Kelowna just in time for my mom's birthday. It was wonderful to spend a week with my family, enjoying the beautiful mountains and spring air. Kelowna is a fantastic place and I wish it were home to me. It looks like a home, with its mountains, lakes, and sun, and feels like home, with family and a new-but-already-comfortable church, but it is not home for me at this moment. All the same, leaving was difficult.

Well, we tried.

The fruitless job search continued, which brought up an obvious question: what about camp? Camp Evergreen, where I have spent a good chunk of May through October for the last four years, seemed an obvious back-up plan. But camp, and camp ministry, can never be a back-up plan. It's too exhausting and requires too much intentional diligence to be a back-up plan. It can only be THE plan. While I was contemplating this, God intervened and said that yes, it would be THE plan. (Side note: I feel preachy, but I'm just telling this story. I never would have made the decision without hearing from God. God is a huge part of my story.)

And so, for the fifth season, I packed my life into plastic tubs and made the drive. I spent the first week re-certifying as a challenge course instructor (side note: that's part of 25 Before 25!) in very cold, windy weather. After a day of emergency drills in which I encountered a 127-Hours-type situation, I am again fully certified (certifiable?) to spend hours and hours clipping and unclipping our guests into our zipline. (That sounds bitter. The only bitter part is the tendency for gross spring weather there. I really do love my job as a CC instructor!) I have so much more to say about camp. It's going to have to take up another post of its own.

What to do if Duracell gets stung by a killer bee while K2 is climbing
and the only people around are Sunshine and Fender

I am writing this now from Lethbridge, where I am spending this week catching up with friends, enjoying the Southern Alberta spring, and participating in various musical activities. (Plug: Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra concert is tomorrow night, U of L theatre, tickets at the door. Ukrainian dancers, people! Will I get kicked in the head? Will my music be blown off the stand by a whirling dervish? Will I finally lose my hearing from all that cymbal crashing? Who knew being a horn player was so dangerous...)

Lethbridge spring

I have been immensely blessed in these two months. God has been providing for me in all ways. As always, I look forward to whatever is coming next!

On a Tuesday

This blog has been neglected. Thoughts roll around in my head, about surprise parties and conspiracies and the entire world. I can't decide how to phrase them so they just keep rolling. 

I am still moving through my list. I've realized that reading in French is quite different from comprehending in French. I have yet to find a good way to exercise every week (unless you count a vigorous scrubbing of our sliding door to the deck, or carrying four giant bags of bottles to the recycling depot). Pinterest-per-week wasn't meant to be all about recipes, but that's all I've done so far. I'm slowly adding things to my I-can-make-these-and-enjoy-them list, including Spanish rice and coffee creamer, but not yogurt cookies. I can make those but they're rubbery and awful. 

I guess it's kind of typical to experience the February blahs but that's where I've been for a few weeks. I'm very much looking forward to visiting camp this weekend, and all the friends there. Getting away from the city will be good for my soul. 

Listening to this right now: 

My challenge, my rules

I must say that 25 Before 25 has created some extra stress in my life. Some of the items are meant to happen  fairly regularly, and trying to add these things to my routine has been tough so far. Yes, I've only just started, but this list is not meant to cause any more frustration than is healthy (for example, I'm feeling a healthy frustration over fitting exercise into my week).

So, I'm adding a disclaimer to my list: It's okay to fall behind and then catch up! You might think this is cheating, but this is my list, so I make the rules. My challenge, my rules!

And so, an update:

This week was the first of twelve vegetarian weeks this year. I realized that I actually am fairly close to being vegetarian already! Meat is expensive and takes time to prepare, and so I don't each much of it to begin with. I could try vegan weeks, I guess, but I think I'll just challenge myself with more interesting vegetarian recipes. I did learn that I actually really like chickpeas.

I have two Pins almost finished as well. These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars taste just like the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies we make at home: DELICIOUS. My sister suggested using whole wheat flour and less sugar, and they still turned out great. Success again! My second Pin is this Spinach Dip which looks pretty amazing.

 

Two challenges are in progress: My church has started an Eat This Book series that involves reading the entire Bible, and the weekly readings even correspond with Sunday's message. I have enjoyed feeling a little bit like I'm in school again, having an assigned reading and then a lecture. No exams though! And speaking of being in school again, my Master of Music application is in progress, and due by the end of this week. I'm very excited by the possibility of starting classes again in September. 

This has been your 25 Before 25 Week 2 Update!

And it begins: Pinterest-Per-Week 1

Number 3 on my 25 Before 25 list is to choose a Pin to try every week. This week I've chosen Martha Stewart's Oatmeal Crisps. (The tagline says "Bake these delicate cookies during the weekend, and enjoy them throughout the week." Right. If by "throughout the week" you mean "tomorrow," then yes.)

Verdict: They don't look quite right (who's patient enough to let butter "soften" anyway?) but they're still delicious. Pinte-success!

Martha Stewart's Oatmeal Crisps

Sarah's Oatmeal Crisps

25 Before 25

Today is my twenty-fourth birthday.

A few weeks ago I came across the blog Seventeenth & Irving, specifically this post entitled "30 Before 30." In it, Lauren lists thirty things she's going to do in the year before her 30th birthday. They are job-related, food-related, fitness-related, and all unique. Some are free, some are expensive, some can be done in an afternoon, and some will take months, but all are attainable.

As someone who has few well-defined goals but adores lists, I decided to put together a list of my own 25 Before 25. Inspiration came from a lot of places, but they're all uniquely mine. Here's to 24!

1 Read 5 books in French
2 Apply for the Master of Music program at U of L
3 Pinterest-Per-Week (in which I will choose a Pin to try every week)
4 Host a dinner party and make everything myself
5 Exercise in some way at least once every week (At the moment I exercise ZERO.)
6 Go on an overnight climbing/hiking/mountain trip
7 Make something I can wear
8 Read the Bible, cover to cover (Eat This Book with E-Free Church)
9 Read 25 books I haven't read before
10 Purge and simplify (inspired by The 100 Thing Challenge and Conquer Your Closet)
11 Have a picnic lunch in the middle of nowhere
12 Get certified in first aid
13 Get recertified in Camp Evergreen's challenge course procedures
14 Leave a note on a stranger's windshield
15 Take piano lessons
16 Write a story, and let friends read it
17 Write a song, and let friends hear it
18 Learn some Spanish in order to write a basic letter to our family's sponsored child in Colombia
19 Have a Vegetarian Week every month
20 Take an art class
21 Make a photo album of my undergraduate years at U of L
22 Volunteer at least twice a month
23 Cross the US border in a car (I have done this only by bus so far.)
24 Take a dance lesson
25 Wild Card! Something spontaneous and adventurous that defies such a list as this.

January 27, 2013: It's okay to fall behind and then catch up!