Zombies, Bucket List and Burgers.

Random Fact of the Day: As I mentioned earlier, I had the opportunity to page through the thought-provoking piece of literature known as "Sky Mall" on my way over to CA. I already enlightened you with the "Feet First with Jumpin' Jammerz." Now, I would like to share with you the other obscure item I discovered. Dum-da-da-DUMMMM: The Zombie of Montclaire Moors Sculpture. The copy reads: Not for the faint of heart. This...life-size, gray-toned zombie will claw his way out of your garden plot, office, or family room corner, pleading for assistance with the most life-like eyes you've ever seen. You'll swear you can hear him breathing. Please click on this link and then promise me you will never put him in your family room corner. Actually, please promise me you wouldn't spend $89.95 on him. I will not come over, not even if you have chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and hazelnut coffee. Maybe if I can bring the leftovers home, I would come though, And if we only sit in the kitchen, far away from the zombie.

Gratitude of the Day: This weekend was really a blessing. My friends and I spent the weekend on the Pacific Coast (Pismo Beach), with two couples from their small group. We stayed in a beach house that's currently on the market for $1.3 million. And just relaxed the whole time. We walked along the beach and saw tide pools (I held a starfish!), ate at some great restaurants (I got chicken and Ben got burgers – still can't shake my seafood aversion), found lots of sand dollars, learned some new games (new favorite is Pinochle) and made up stories/guessed names of people at the restaurants (one of my favorite things to do, in general).

Also, just went to In 'n Out, and the Cheeseburger (animal style), fries and chocolate malt almost changed my life. Still love grilling out on the lake more though. But it was a scrumptious experience.

Thoughts to Ponder: On the way over here, I read "the Sacred echo," by Margaret Feinberg. For me, it was one of those books that touched my soul in places that I've been wrestling with and contemplating. I'm currently re-reading it, since my initial reads are always very fast and skim-like, and I'll probably write more about it later. I currently have a headache (from the pollen, I believe), so the computer screen is making me feel a little loopy). However, it was a raw and honest and beautiful piece of writing, making God seem bigger and more gracious and the world more vibrant then before I opened the book.

Here's one quote I'll leave you from the book:

"Through prayer, God invites us to sing the song of our lives to him – every word and every phrase – and he even enjoys the chorus. Prayer matters. Sometimes that's easy to forget, especially when I don't see any answers, or worse, when I receive an answer I don't really want. Yet the invitation remains: Sing it again...In those mornings, when I pour out my soul to him in prayer, I find the words echoing in my heart and mind, Sing it again, Margaret. Sing it again – because I hear you, and I love you more than you could know...No wonder the phrase, Sing it again, keeps coming alive in m,y heart and mind. The sacred echo is a gentle reminder to pray and keep praying, to listen and keep listening – no matter what the distractions" (51, 55). Highly recommended.

While in Cali, my goals were to 1.) Relax and not think about the things that normally stress me out; 2.) Blog; 3.) Explore who I want to be, as a woman, a daughter of Christ, a sister in Christ, a friend; and 4.) Begin writing a "Bucket List" (things I aspire to do before I "kick the bucket").

I thought I'd share some things from my Bucket List. I'm not writing it to be morbid or cynical or presumptuous. But, there are a lot of experiences I would love to have and thought that rather than label them as "someday," I should articulate them. It's too easy for me to put my life on "hold" and wait for that job or that person or that moment when everything slows down. I want to embrace each day and moment and life fully. Squeeze every last bit out of life and see with sparkling colors and taste the feeling of living life fully-present and 100% alive.

I only have a few things on the list so far, but here they are:

1.) Live with an Amish family for a week. I've always been fascinated by the Amish, and I would really like to experience their life for a short while and learn from them.

2.) Go on a boat in a bioluminescent bay, to see the water glow.

3.) Meet Ree Drummond aka "The Pioneer Women."

4.) Go to Italy and Greece.

5.) Go parasailing. I went once before, but I would like to go again.

And Now, a Poem: Here I sit, on a comfortable couch. It's so soft, I would never say "Ouch." Later, I'm going shopping with Jod. We'll probably come back with a pretty big load. Tomorrow, we're making "You Won't Be Single for Long" pasta. Hopefully, it will make me run fasta'.

Note: I wish I had pics to post for you, but didn't bring the cord for my camera. I hope to start posting pics on this blog soon, now that I figured out the link thing, as you may have noticed. I feel accomplished now.