No, you're not dreaming

Oh, hey.  What?  You weren't sure if I was still alive.  I promise I am. I'm not sure why I didn't write in my blog for so long.  Well, kind of I know, life is busy, busy, busy, but still...how long does it take to type in a few little notes??  Sad, I'll try to be better.  Probably.  It's just not a high priority for me right now, but I'll make an effort.

So, what have I been up to?  Like I said, quite a bit. Work and my calling keep me going almost constantly.  It is a rare, although welcome, night that I have a free evening.  Not that I want it any other way, it just keeps me busy.  I have a lot of things I want to do with our Relief Society and Ward.  I see good changes in our future, and I'm starting with me so I can be an example for those I serve.

One of the biggest things that has happened to me in the last 3 months is that I had a birthday back at the beginning of April.  A pretty significant one, at least in my opinion.  I turned 29.  Yep, 29.  I can hardly believe it. Being 29 feels different than I thought it would, not that I thought a lot about it, but still...I think, if I had thought about it when I was younger, I would have thought I'd be depressed to turn 29 and still be on my own.  Instead, I feel calm and confident and dedicated.  I had a lot of time to think on my birthday, especially since it was General Conference.  I decided there are a lot of things I want to do/feel like I should do before I turn 30.  Some of them are more personal, and I don't want to share them with the WWW, but here are just a few I'm working on:

• Run a 1/2 Marathon.  It should be noted that I despise running.  I always have.  I've tried to get into running before, but did not enjoy it.  So, I did some research and got myself one of these babies:

 

It has been amazing for me to see how I can do this.  I've started with their pre-training training schedule, and each week, I am amazed that I can actually do what they are asking me to do.  I've learned dedication and tenacity.  It feels so good.  I only have 2 more weeks on the pre-train schedule, then it's on to the real deal.

• Do something creative every week.  This one isn't going as well, although I try to find the time...I need to put that new sewing machine to work that I bought right after the big b-day.
• Bring someone to the Gospel.  I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to make this one happen, but I am.  This Gospel is what everyone needs and I want to do my part to bring the joy of it to at least one person by my next birthday.
• Read the Book of Mormon in Portuguese.  This has been amazing.  I didn't realize how much I had missed it.  It's amazing to me how things stand out differently in another language than they do in one.  It makes me feel blessed to know another language.
• Use my passport at least one more time before then.  I want to travel the world, and I'm unattached.  I don't see why I don't take more advantage of that. :)  I'm going to...now I just have to decide where.

Well, that's a long post of words, so thanks for reading if you made it through it all.  I'd take some time to spice it up with pics and stuff, but I just don't have time right now.  Luckily, ward council got pushed back an hour today b/c of Father's Day, so I had time at all...especially since I first started this post one month ago.  Woof.  I will try to make time for actually writing on this thing.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!  Especially to my daddy, the best dad of all time!