Back in the game..

Dear Challenge,

I'm really sorry for neglecting you! I promise to get back in the swing of things (at least for a little bit). I plan to do a 30 in 30 (30 items of clothes for 30 days) challenge starting February 1st, so that means something on my list will get done. I'll be back soon with updates!

Diana

Update

I just went through my list and realized I've done a few things in the past couple months and not checked them off.

• Go apple picking

I took Grace and Bri (two freshmen at JMU) to Carter Mountain Orchards in Charlottesville. It was great! We picked Fuji apples and enjoyed sharing an apple cider donut. Also, I've decided that I might really enjoy marrying a farmer. Farms (or orchards) are just so beautiful! I have a dream of someday living on a farm for a little while, even if it's just a week.

We had a hard time getting the apples out of the trees because all of the lower branches were picked over. Grace climbed to the top and handed them to me :)

• Find a church in Harrisonburg

I decided on a church for the year! I am going to Greatest Freedom Ministries. It's a small non-denomination church, very family oriented. There are A LOT of little kids in comparison to the size of the church. It's cute! The spirit of God is so alive there too. I'm excited to worship there this year!

• Make a pie from scratch (I half did this one!)

Ok, so this pie crust is not from scratch, but the rest of it is :) I've actually made four pumpkin pies in the past week. I'm getting pretty good at it! Actually, I love anything pumpkin during the Fall. If you've never tried pumpkin spice soy milk, I highly recommend it! And I do hope to make an entire pie from scratch (crust and all) sometime in the next year.

I'm sitll alive!

I've been slacking A LOT recently. But today I completed something, finally.

#59. Get a library card wherever I am

Today, I got my very first Massunutten Regional Library card :) Actually I went into that library for the first time too. #61 on my list is to rent movies from the library, so I scoped out the collection. It's decent. They have The Waltons on DVD, so I'm making plans to expose my housemates :)

Humor me, anyone out there a fan of The Waltons?

A Harrisonburg Tradition

I was a student at JMU for four years and never experienced the Green Valley Book Fair. I've gotten a lot of shocked responses over that one, but no longer will that happen! Today I met my housemate Tina at the book fair after work and we shopped for about an hour. It was great!! The place is huge and has like every genre of book you can think of for really cheap. I made three purchases, none of which were too exciting. I was much more intrigued by the young adult guilty pleasure reads and books on making your own baby food, but I guess because I care too much about staying within my stage of life I stuck with a Bible commentary, Nutrition for Dummies (ironic for me but written by an RD and full of good stuff), and Churched. So check that one off the list :)

On another note, I must fill you in on the jousting tournament which turned out to be a renaissance fair. Not only did I get to check out some modern day jousting action, I listened to a minstrel, watched a belly dancer, and was KNIGHTED! Quite a day :) Here are some pictures...

Thanks for photos Kelly :)

Hiking Extraordinaire

So on my list I planned to go hiking, little did I know that I would actually go hiking 2 days in a row! Last week my friend Emily called to let me know she's be in Harrisonburg for a few days and wanted to get together if I had time. I suggested we go hiking (it's not only on my list but something I've been wanting to do in the Shenandoah Valley for awhile now). She liked the idea and so on Monday afternoon we went for about a 2 hour hike in George Washington National Forest. We had a good time! Stopped at several places for snacks and good conversation. We also had a good laugh when we almost got lost on the way back. We were disoriented for about 5 minutes (felt much longer though) before we finally found the trail again!

Monday night I found out that I would be hiking AGAIN on Tuesday with my new co-workers. It's slightly funny that after Monday's hike I told Emily I wasn't sure hiking was something I'd want to do all the time. Tuesday's hike ended up being much more challenging, with lots of uphill but it paid off when we got to the top and saw the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. It was a gorgeous and very wide view!

On another note, I'm going to a 189th Jousting Tournament tomorrow afternoon! It's not everyday you get to experience something like that :)

Update

I haven't been completely faithful to my 2 posts a week, but here's an update of what I've done recently and what I hope to do soon.

67. Own "Systematic Theology" by Wayne Grudem. I purchased this book last month but forgot to mention it haha. It's a nerdy Christian book I suppose but kind of a key tool. I plan to do a Bible study on doctrine this yearat JMU so I think this will be a good resource. Not everyday reading though that's for sure, not for me at least.

71. Find a church in Harrisonburg... in progress. This past weekend I visited Greatest Freedom Ministries on 42N. It was a small congregation, very sweet and friendly. Two little kids randomly hugged me during the offering time and the pastor and his family had me over for lunch afterwards! The love was felt. I'm still praying about where God wants me though. I feel like I should visit a few places before making a final decision.

Plans for the near future....

Donate blood, get a library card in Harrisonburg, and learn to mow the lawn.

#39-Check!

I was just looking over my list to figure out what I could do next and I realized I completed something last week. I sewed! I bought a pair of cotton shorts in California at Ann Taylor Loft. The shorts fold over at the bottom and have a few stitches in them to keep them folded, however one of the stitches came out the other week. So guess what? I pulled out my mom's sewing stuff and put a stitch back in myself! It was pretty easy and I was so excited that I decided to put a few stitches in another pair of fold over shorts I have that never seem to stay folded (and drive me nuts!).

On another note, I'm moving back to Harrisonburg tomorrow! More blogging to come I'm sure.