Mid-Year Resolutions

The only New Year's resolution I set for 2011 was to workout. And I have been! Congratulations to me.

But seeing as how we are well into the new year I decided to set yet another goal for myself since the first was so easily attained (who knew I'd end up liking exercise?!).

I want to be smarter. Or just know more.

I always admire friends that say things like, "I recently read..." or "Did you know...?".

How can I be this person? What should I be reading? Listening to? Looking at?

Here's the thing, I don't want to search for information, I want it to be available to me with the least amount of effort on my part to attain it.

So maybe this is a resolution for any readers of this blog if you should chose to accept it: make me smarter.

Thank you.

No Regrets!

Last Tuesday at our weekly Team Meeting something incredible happened: we found out we would not only get Saturday and Sunday off but also Tuesday as an Easter holiday since our regular day off is Monday and that's when the rest of the church would be taking their Easter observance day off.

Awesome.

If you've spent any time around me during 'school-off holidays' (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, etc.) you know how much I LOVE feeling the break I once did when I was a student. I love it so much that I continually kept yelling, "Spring Break 2011 - No Regrets!" around the office for the past 3 weeks.

I got 4 days off in a row. A total surprise. And a total SPRING BREAK 2011.

Here's what I did as a 27 year old on Spring Break:

-Recuperated from a Life Group sleepover on Friday night.
-Slept in every day (at least until 10am).
-Spent time with family.
-Ate lots of food.
-Celebrated Easter...my WHOLE family went to church together!
-Fought a cold.
-Watched 'Water for Elephants'.
-Drank coffee and found out I only need 3 stars to get to the Gold level on my Starbucks account.
-Watched a lot of reality TV.
-Laughed with friends.

Not bad. And so far...no regrets.

Dating Tips

I had lunch with a dear friend on Monday. Great food, great location, great conversation.
As lunch progressed my friend recalled a super awkward moment she had with a guy from her grad school program. She attempted to flirt in hopes that he would see that she was interested in him...he never reciprocated. Fail. So she asked me for advice.

Here is some of the wisdom I shared from the peak of my dating days...

#1 When a guy ignores you, ignore him back.

#2 Always make yourself known.

For example, when I had a crush on the guy who eventually became my college boyfriend I always made a point of noting which door he would exit when leaving the worship center at church. I would pretend to casually walk by him as if coincidentally walking in the same direction. Just a little reminder that I was around.

#3 When you are in the same room as your crush, talk to people around you and when you notice your crush looking in your direction laugh and act as though you are having the time of your life. Guys like fun people.

#4 Make up random, yet believable reasons to be around/talk to your crush. "Forget" your book in his car, carpool to events, find a common interest and run with it (this one can take you a LONG way in sharing time with your crush).

#5 When he invites you places with others (not dates), don't always say yes. Decline politely, knowing it will make him miss you. This one has worked very effectively for me.

Disclaimer: These tips were used from 2003-2007 and may no longer be deemed useful.

DF

A few weeks ago my good friend, Stacey, and I were in Chicago at a great youth ministry conference having the time of our lives. As I spent time with her I got to thinking of how thankful I am for her. God has used her in really incredible ways in my life. I love Jesus more because I am Stacey's friend. She's amazing.

And so, in Stacey's honor, we coined a new, hip term: DF. It stands for Dear Friend.

I never used the word dear before meeting Stacey, but being around her more and more (and hearing her use this word to describe the people and things that are closest to her heart) made it stick. Now, I too share in these dear feelings!

If you hear me describe you as dear or refer to you as my DF, consider yourself loved. Because YOU ARE my dear friend!

*Below is a photograph where I was assumed to have been thinking that whatever was being talked about was "so dear!".