The Big 2-9

I saw this on a friends post and decided to try it out! For my big 2-9, I decided to post the first 29 memories from my life so far as they popped in to my head.



1. My 2 nephews and neice being born. I was at the hospital for both Jackson and Brandon's births, but not for Maggie's. I met Maggie 2 days later when she arrived home. What awesome experiences to share with family!



2. As a child I loved to play outdoors. I remember many days of "creek adventures" with my friends. A small creek ran through our neighborhood and we loved to find rocks, build bridges, and just play!



3. 6 Pack...5 of the greatest girlfriends a girl could have. We met in college and have been together ever since. We've been through a lot...marriages, births, deaths, etc. We are always there for each other no matter what. I love these girls!



4. When I was growing up we always had big dogs. One year we went to KMart (for school supply shopping I think) and came home with Christy. Her owners had a litter of puppies and were giving them away in front of KMart. She was a black lab/golden retriever mix. We called her our "blue light special."



5. My senior year of high school my sister and Brian got married. I was my sisters maid of honor and I loved every minute of it. I vividly remember going with my sister to get our hair done the day of the wedding. When we left the salon we were starving so we pulled through McDonald's and got some food. The funny thing was the looks we got because my sister already had her veil on!



6. Two words...Dude Ranch! One January a couple years ago Kristen, Susan, and myself set off for Arizona to the Los Caballeros Dude Ranch. We had a blast! Our adventures included riding horses, eating really good food, car breaking down, driving tour of the state, and flying over the Grand Canyon instead of driving to it :)



7. In high school I drove a Toyota Corolla...it was my mom's old car. She usually took care of things like oil changes, car taxes, etc. Well one day my oil light came on. I assumed it was like a gas light in that I had a day or two before I really needed to check the oil. I didn't tell mom about it and probably drove around for about a week with the light on. One night on the way to the airport to pick up a friends sister my car died on the side of 526 in Charleston. Oops! Had to get a new engine. Lesson learned :)



8. Cruising with mom to the Bahamas in middle school. We had a great time!



9. Missions trip in high school to London. We went to a section of London that was kind of "Muslim ghetto" and did construction/projects at a church as well as the Jesus video project. It was a fabulous experience with great friends and leaders.



10. After he graduated high school my brother and some friends moved to Colorado. I remember him packing up his old blue car...it looked like the Beverly Hillbillies! The four of them were going to spend a year in Breckenridge and then come back to Atlanta. Frank loved it and still lives there....maybe 18 years now?



11. My mom took me to Winthrop in August of 1999. I knew 3 people there and was very much so out of my comfort zone. I didn't know how much I would miss my mom when I started college.



12. When I was a child we lived in Atlanta. Each summer we would travel to Charleston to visit my grandma (GraGra) and family. We rented a beach house on Sullivan's Island. One of my favorite things to do was to go crabbing (with chicken necks of course) and chase crabs in the sand at night with flashlights.



13. The very first time I flew on an airplane. My dad and I flew from Atlanta to Washington D.C. for the weekend to visit my stepmom. (She was working up there)

14. My grandmother was a very big part of my life. When I was in middle school she suffered from a stroke. My mom and I moved to Charleston to be closer to her. She ended up moving in with us and lived with us for about 10 years. In the fall of 2002 she found out that she had cancer. She passed away on June 1st, 2003. She was one of the strongest women I have ever known and I learned so much from her.

15. Graduating from college...took me 5 years but I did it!

16. The summer after I graduated college my car died! Good old "Ghetto Mobile" finally bit the dust. I was a month away from starting my first teaching job...it was time to do another "grown up" thing. I went to the Honda of Rock Hill and bought GG. GG stands for Galapagos Green...the color of my Honda Civic. GG and I are still together today and have had lots of great memories and trips!

17. My first teaching job was teaching Kindergarten in Chester, SC. I stayed there for 4 years before moving on. It was a roller coaster to say the least.

18. In the summer of 2008 I decided that I needed a change. I really felt God urging me to make a change and get out of my comfort zone. So I packed up and moved to Columbia, SC. I learned a lot that year, made a lot of trips back to Rock Hill, cried a lot, but all in all it was a good experience. I'm so glad that I did it if for nothing else than to experience living by myself.

19. JMK - Jocelyn/Margaret/Kristen - These 2 girls are two of the best friends a girl could ask for. They are always there for me...for talking, crying, listening, working out, eating out, organizing, planning, etc. I don't know what I would do without the two of them!

20. Trip to Boston (September 2006). Jocelyn, Kristen, Huli, and I made the journey to Boston to see the Clemson tigers play Boston College in football. We stayed with Huli's penpal and had many many many adventures around the city! As always I took TONS of pictures and have a whole scrapbook from a 4 day trip :)

21. I have always wanted to run...not necessarily be a "runner", but run. In January of 2009 I (along with some good friends) committed to a "Couch Potato to 5K" running plan. The first few weeks I seriously thought I was going to die! The plan for the day would say something like "Walk 5 mintues, Run 1 minute and repeat"...well that running for 1 minute about did me in! In the end I completed the 5K and have gone on to run 2 more (I think?). I am not trying to get this body ready for a 10K.

22. Completing graduate school in one year...after teaching for only 1 year!

23. As a child my dad and stepmom liked to take me to different places. I like to say that they helped to "culture" me. We often visited museums, art galleries, plays, etc. While I didn't always love it as an 8 year old, now I am very thankful for those times.

24. "Cruising" in the car in high school with my girlfriends. This usually involved very loud music, passing by some boys house, and a trip across the bridge to the beach :)

25. One year my sister and I traveled with my dad and stepmom to Cancun for family vacation. One day we decided to visit an ecological park called XCaret. My sister stayed at the hotel and sipped on margaritas all day :) Anyways, on our bus ride to the park the tour guide said that they have only a select number of openings to swim with dolphins. I of course wanted to swim with the dolphins and I told my dad. When the tour bus pulled into the park my dad had to jump off and literally SPRINT through the park with the tour guide. He about passed out...but he got me a spot :) Swimming with dolphins was an awesome experience...one I will never forget.

26. Surgery...the only one I've ever had (unless you count the minor eye stuff I had done as an infant). I have never even broken a bone, so going under for surgery was a big deal for me. I thought of it for my top 29 because it truly changed the way I live.

27. When I was little my mom baked cheesecakes for a local italian restaurant. Our kitchen always smelled of cheesecake! I would go with mom to deliver the cheesecakes to La Grota. Sergio (the owner) would always tell me to go into the bar area to get Andes mints.

28. At 8 years old I baked a cake from scratch...its in my genes.

29. Nannying...in college I worked for a nanny service in Charlotte. Totally random...but working with kids is the only job I've ever had...I love it!

And those are the first 29 things that popped into my head about my life :)