Came for warm clothes, got a lot more.

Have you ever noticed that if the sunlight hits the black top just right, it sparkles?

I do not know what's better than slipping away from the chaotic world and driving through foliage (that I swore I would never appreciate) and ending up at home. But not before I have the privilege of stopping and getting to eat lunch with my proud Dad, and get to catch up on the world. Grand amount are established without many words. A tradition has started, with moments we'll remember.

The end of my day could not have been better than laying in bed discussing houses, teenagers and letting go, all while listening to the cat's banter with one another for her attention.

I'm not sure if I simply forget how good it is to be in a humble, appreciative, simple environment or if I just push it so far back in my mind so as not to constantly feel the urge to drop what I'm doing and shoot straight for the Inn.

I've, or shall I say we've come such a long way and while I don't feel deeply rooted in this particular house, I feel tangled and held tightly by the 5 Jalernpan's of America. It's kinda neat to be one of a kind, or in this case 5 of a kind.

I hope you feel as lucky as I do, to have picked just the right combination of people to raise you. Sometimes I make bad decisions, but this one was absolutely perfect. It sparkles all the time, even if the sun's not shining just right.

Nothin' could be sweeter than...

the sweet stories shared about the fallen men who map your past.

the smell that inspires you over when you open the kitchen door.

a tinted photograph near the bedside that captures an instance that matters a lifetime.

the devotion that brings her pleasure and beautiful creation.

a room full of camaraderie that has gotten her through the ups and downs.

her sweet voice carrying the hymnal at the front of the church.

a small gesture of huge love, full of butterflies and hope.

listening and laughing as her vivid memories come to life.

a glitter in her smile when she slips away to the moments when she wasn't here without him.

bringing those together who'll never know how much they have shaped the woman I've become.

101 in 1001

101 in 1001

Physical/ Health

1. Run 3 miles on a regular basis instead of 2
2. Continue going to yoga/pilates
3. Get into hiking or trail running
4. Run the Cooper River Bridge 10 K!
5. Swim a mile as my rule not the exception
6. Try one cleansing / detox diet just to see what it’s like
7. Find one other type of class I enjoy, Zumba, Jazzercize, etc.
8. Use my drive to exercise to benefit others- participate in run/walks for non-profit organizations
9. Go to at least one Crossfit session with Bran!
10. Take and pass the Beach lifeguard physical portion exam
11. Continue taking a multi-vitamin and bump it up with adding Vitamin C and possibly a few others

Education

1. Educate the new members we just brought through their new member period in order to leave behind a good legacy
2. Sucessfully host the Greek 101 program for all Greeks

3.Confidently finish my Officer Term with a bit more assertiveness than before

4..Finish out with a 3.9 overall GPA

5. Get my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology

6. Get into the majority of the programs I applied to for Grad School

7.Obtain my Master’s Degree in College Student Development

8.Get a certificate in Leadership and Organization to better set myself up at as an asset to get hired

9. Learn to speak Thai

Career

1. Get hired as a Head Guard at an outdoor pool

2. Teach private swim lesson full time one summer

3. Hold an assistantship the entire time I’m in Grad School

4. Get hired as a Greek Advisor

5. Find a job near where Bran is finishing his Doctorate

6. Be on an exec. Board at a college to get my foot in the door

7. Begin working my way up through a University that has opportunities for me to advise and organize student affairs programs

8. Write a small piece or column for a local magazine or newspaper

9. Give back in some way whether time or money to Tri-Sigma possibly as a chapter advisor somewhere but not at my own chapter

10. Make the big girl change to a BlackBerry to be able to manage everything on the go

Finances

1. Start paying off my college loans (don’t incur too many during Grad School)
2. Stash money to help with my brother’s college
3. Get someone to give me a freaken credit card
4. Save up enough to do DisneyWorld right
5. Have at least $5,000.00 in savings
6. Be able to send money when asked thru Alum Relations for Zeta Lambda
7. Start a small savings account for a house down payment

Domestication

1. Stop being such a chicken and take a baking class; to make cupcakes and cakes like I want to.

2. Make at least 2 meals at home a week

3. Make carrot cake from scratch

4. Make funny bone cake from scratch

5. Plant a garden and grow some of my own vegetables

6. Own my very own palm tree, even if it’s in a little pot

7. Get a kitten when I have a big girl apartment for Grad School

8. Learn to cook Chicken Melanesas

9. Become a bit more fashionable- add accessories!

10. Turn Sigma t-shirts into a quilt

11. Learn to sew well enough to make curtains and fix buttons

12. Buy a pink vacuum

13. Bump up my sheet thread count- ie price range when buying sheets

14. Have decent fingernails that I can actual paint

15. Frame a picture I took from Hawaii to use as a center piece for a room

Personal Growth

1. Find more time for writing, blogging and composing

2. Stand up more often for the little things instead of waiting for a big issue to fight for

3. Discover more about Buddhism (possibly through visiting Thailand)

4. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or a clothing drive

5. Become a Big Sister through Big Brothers/Big Sisters

6. Finish my listography books

7. Stay in touch with my sisters via snail mail

8. Coach a little league soccer team

9. Teach the twins how to drive a stick shift

10. Learn to exhibit more on the outside what’s going on inside instead of assuming others know what I’m feeling without actually saying it

11. Hold others to the standards I hold myself

12. Strive to teach others through action and not lecture

Traveling Shoes

1.Make a trip to visit all the schools we’ve applied to NC State, Chapel Hill, Tennessee, USC etc.

2. Go back to The Big Island of Hawaii

3.Bring Bran to meet the family in Charleston, WV

4. Head to Denver, Colorado (maybe see a Bronco’s game)

5.Go to Fenway Park

6. Visit my Little in Saint Louis Missouri

7. Hike a small part of the Blue Ridge parkway

8. Take a cruise to some exotic tropical spot

9, Drive to Florida for a Vacation

10.Visit mile marker 1

13. Go back to Kentucky and see another Wildcats Game

14. Visit a Spanish speaking country

Pixie Dust Stuff

1. Become Engaged to my Prince Charming
2. Take professional pictures “fairy tale style”
3. Go to a Denver Broncos Game
4. Be kissed in Cinderella’s castle at Disney
5. Eat more exotic fruits like mangos, kiwis and pomegranates
6. Decorate a room all by myself
7. Own a blender for smoothies
8. Make a CD for family of guitar playing and singing
9. Own a yellow pair of rain boots
10. Get monogrammed towels!
11. Spend a whole evening in a book store getting a bunch of books I’ve always wanted to read but never had the time
12. Get certified in Scuba Diving
13. Bring Bella back from Mim and Pops
14. Ride on the back of a motorcycle just to see what it’s like
15. Get a specific perfume
16. Have a fish tank with some exotic fish
17. Buy a pair of skinny jeans to wear with boots
18. Go to a wedding! I’ve only ever been to my parents renewal of vows
19. Go out in a rain jacket and rain boots and stomp in a really really huge puddle
20. Find the love notes from Bran from my summer away at camp
21. Start a DVD collection
22. Own and play the piano again. Possible compose again as well.
23. Spend one entire day really and truly playing hooky
24. Learn to water ski/ go tubing
25. See a white Christmas
26. Get a set of those tumbler cups with my initials in them