Accomplished: Ride the Tower Of Terror

RIDE THE TERRIBLE TERROR...

I remember the first time I saw this monstrosity. My dad and I were walking around EPCOT over in Disney World. We turned the corner and BAM. There she was. It was the best timing, because right when we looked the elevator reached the top, the people screamed, and they plummeted down back to the earth.

I remember thinking "No one will think you're a wussy if you say no"...then my brother Isaac called me a wussy. Thanks Isaac.

It took me until 8 years after that to finally get in line and ride the ride. I was with Alyssa and it was about 30 minutes before closing. This time, The Tower Of Terror was lit up with eerie purple lights. We stepped into the lobby and saw all the cobwebs, and all the strange statues, and all the moth eaten coats and furs. We stepped into the library where all the lights turned out and Rod Serling taught us the frightening tale of what truly happened in the Hollywood Hotel.

I must say, the ride took me by complete surprise. My adrenaline has never pumped that hard, except for when I got into a car accident. Serling was talking and in the middle of the sentence, whoop we drop.

I'll tell you what though, that next night Alyssa and I decided to tackle it again and the controller saw my 18th birthday badge. He let us ride twice! Before he launched us off on our adventure, he told us to hold our knees to our chest and see what happened. I'll tell you what happened. A 12 STORY CANNON BALL.

Not only did I conquer a childhood fear, I did it with pizzazz.

ACCOMPLISHED: June, 2010

Accomplished: Be A Bridesmaid In A Wedding

BE A BRIDESMAID IN A WEDDING...

What girl doesn't want to be a bridesmaid in a wedding? All the shoes and jewelry and flowers...it's one of the most fun things a girl can be a part of! Well, I finally was a bridesmaid. It was last summer on July 24th. My brother Isaac married Elisa-Beth (Bethe). Isaac and Bethe asked me to be a part of their wedding on the Thanksgiving before, and of course I'd say yes!

The color theme of the shin-dig was lemon lime (see the flowers?) and it was held in a friend's backyard. Backyard isn't the right word. It was like an enchanted garden that took up two acres. My cousin Austonn is who you see in the picture walking me down the aisle. I think those shoes are pretty but I don't see myself wearing them again for a very very long time.

It was wonderful to be a part of the wedding, especially between two people that I love and I'm closer to than anybody else. Despite the heat of the day and my hair poofing out, the wedding was flawless and it couldn't have been any better.

Isaac and Bethe are doing wonderfully, they just had their one year anniversary about a month ago at the beach.

ACCOMPLISHED: July 24th, 2010

Number One

RUN A 5K...

For my first goal on the bucket list, I want to run a 5K. As of right now on May the 21st of 2011, I'm not even sure I can run more than a lap around a track without having to stop for air. It'll be a big task for sure, especially for the first.

My plan of attack is simple. Start running. Well, for me it will be start hog jogging. I can hog jog. Not sure I can run just yet.

My hair stylist Eileen told me about this program called Couch-to-5k from Cool Running. It's laid out day by day how you can improve your running ability in just nine weeks. I figured, since summer is sixteen weeks long I can probably crank out a 5k by then, right?

For the first week, you alternate 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking (which is less than what I had to do in gym class in high school). By the end of it, they have you running 30 minutes without breaks (I don't think I've ran more than 3 minutes without stopping in my life).

It will definitely be hard work, but I think it'll be worth it in the end. I don't want to die not having experienced the freedom and joy that comes with running. I've gotten a taste for it a few times and it felt great, now I want to harness that feeling and learn how to improve my body.

DEADLINE:: August 2014