where i'm at...

ten things i'm grateful for...
... twenty minute naps and my Nibs flavoured green tea and study dates with Amy... fuel for going on.
... a bottle of wine and dark chocolate, Fort Garry Dark and BBQ wings, and fifteen friends on a Friday night.
... rainy days with lots of laughter over Settlers games with Ruth and Matt and co.
... getting mathematical answers to life's most important questions from Kelsey.
... the letter B when it represents a grade on a paper, and the letter A when it appears on my transcript.
... eight hours sleep.
... 9 minute miles on the treadmill and Stephanie or Amanda's company while I do it.
... after-dinner Darjeeling tea with Mike.
... massages from Melissa's capable hands, and beautiful borrowed dresses from her closet.
... quiet soul-restoring Sunday afternoons spent alone in my room with my journal.

nine things i miss...
... road trips with Courtney, and our adventures to the east, west, and south.
... Second Cup dates with Chrissy.
... sitting in comfortable silence with Sarah.
... mountains, the YaHa Tinda and the feeling of standing under Bighorn falls.
... listening to my family play together in the music room while i sit in front of the fireplace with a book.
... coffee... but Lent will be over soon enough.
... telling Americans ridiculous lies about Canada.
... believing that i can do anything i put my mind to.
... Crossroads Church and Stu's wisdom over coffee.

eight things i look forward to...
... a road trip to Idaho and refocusing in my 'green pastures and quiet waters' of staying with Al and Daryl at Cedar Mountain Farm.
... visiting Oregon, loving my Oregon friends, reigniting my dreams.
... introducing my family to this place i have dared to call home.
... graduating.
... running a half-marathon in Niverville in September.
... seeing the finished product of the photography work of my wee little proteges in inner city Point Douglas.
... hanging out with Angelle and Stefan more next year.
... watching the movies on my movie list.

seven things i hope for...
... another road trip with Cort... so many places are possibilities.
... getting a pet chameleon and naming it Slowpoke, or 'Pokey-doodle' as a term of endearment.
... to keep my sense of adventure.
... visiting our old home in Congo with adult eyes.
... feeling like this place is home.
... the courage and the wisdom to go when I should go and stay when I should stay.
... a car that remains reliable to take me safely on many trips between here (wherever that may be) and there (all the places in between).

six things i plan to never do again...

... shave my head.

... make out in the back seat of a moving vehicle.

... stay awake for 59 consecutive hours.

... eat an entire half-watermelon in one sitting.

... eat still-moving octopus.

... chew my fingernails.

five risks i'm glad i took...
... getting on a southbound Greyhound headed for Colorado in 2003.
... quitting my job and disappearing on an adventure in Oregon (2008).
... practising for a week with the Pronghorn rugby team (also in 2003... a good year).
... living authentically (a risk we all may choose to take each day).
... applying for a job i felt grossly unqualified for; i found my dream.

four things i'm afraid of...

... losing sight of my big dreams in the pursuit of my small ones.

... losing sight of the people who matter to me in the pursuit of my dreams.

... making the wrong decision and wondering, 'what if?'.

... frittering away my life being paralyzed by the 'what ifs'.

three things i dream of...

... being a woman full of laughter and life when I'm 80.

... being in a relationship with a man in which I feel respected and secure, where I can journey toward loving and be loved in return.

... a life with better boundaries.

two things i dread...

... paying off my student loans.

... syllabi stress syndrome in September.

one thing...
... Today is one day, and the adventure of living is best savoured in this very moment.