#107

That's my blood, in a bag.  I took several pictures, as Willa was super confused about the whole process of donating blood.  She may need to have another conversation with her Auntie brooke about the wonders of platelets and stuff.

Willa's last day of (her first year of) preschool. And, #219.

I am such a good photographer.  Here is Willa, covering most of her face and probably 5 minutes late for her last day of preschool!  She will go to Dimensions again next year, as she will only be 4 and not quite ready for kindergarden.  She was the youngest in her class by several months this year, and her teacher said that at the start of the year, all the other kids kind of wanted to "baby" her, but by the end of the year, they had learned better:)  She had such a good experience this year and is already missing her new friends and excited to return to school in August.  And, she is like, 3 feet taller than she was at the beginning of the year!

Note, if you will, the Popples sleeping bag.  Nice.

That evening, we had a picnic in the yard followed by a movie night/slumber party.  We watched Rise of the Guardians and ate popcorn and Kit Kats until the wee hours of the evening.  I will admit, we didn't actually sleep on the floor.  That would have been insanely uncomfortable.  I could barely move all my bones after laying on the floor for the 2 hour movie.  Oh, the trials of getting old.

Pretty soon, no one will want to eat with me. Or...is gluten a fad like French rolling our jeans?

I am fascinated with learning about food and nutrition.  Its weird.  Its like, the only thing that I enjoy learning. Back when I was in school, I loved learning and reading and studying.  I wasn't all that good at it, but I liked it.  Now?  It takes me months to read a book.  Even if I'm really enjoying it, it takes ages.  UNLESS, it happens to be a book about vegan diets or a cookbook, or a blog about healthy eating.  For some reason, I can read that stuff like crazy and actually retain some of the information.  I think that might be my biggest frustration these days as far as reading/learning goes, is my lack of ability to retain things.  Perfect example, a coworker just tonight was reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  I read that book, within the last 6 months and watched the movie and read the other books in the series and enjoyed them.  But she started asking me questions about it, and I couldn't remember a darn thing outside of the very basic plot.  That's pretty pathetic.  But ask me about spirulina or maca powder or some other weird super food, and I remember stuff!  So, that being said, I decided that maybe I could take my (slight) obsession with learning about food, and use it to combat some of my physical complaints and signs of aging.  I am already a vegetarian.  Actually, I'm a pescetarian, as I do eat seafood, but I don't think that is a very commonly used term.  I have toyed with the idea of being vegan, but I really like seafood and cheese. And eggs are just so darn easy.  I have completely given up cow's milk.  It actually kind of makes me queasy to think about.  At our house we have either almond or coconut milk, whichever happens to be a tad bit cheaper at whichever grocery store I am at.  At coffee shops, its soy.  And actually, soy milk is usually cheaper than the other milk alternatives, but I feel like its a tricky food that I just don't want to overdo.  I have read that soybeans are pretty highly pesticized, so its preferable for the soy milk to be organic.  Then there's also something wacky with soy and estrogen.  So, I just don't really buy it to put on my cereal but it doesn't weird me out to have a little in my coffee every once in a while. I don't buy butter anymore either, but rather the soy-free Earth Balance spread.  You honestly can't tell a difference (except in the price.)  So I guess my main weaknesses are seafood, eggs, and cheese.
If you've known me for very long, like 15 minutes or longer, you probably know that I have digestive issues. I'll try not to go into it, in case you're eating right now, or ever want to eat again, but lets just say that I am not "regular."  I have been known to go for weeks without any "action" or "movement."  For the longest time, I thought this was normal, until I started talking about it.  You really aren't supposed to be bloated and crampy all the time!  Crazy!  You're supposed to poop!  Daily!  You aren't supposed to have to over compensate and give yourself the opposite kinds of problems with laxatives and gross, fake fiber drinks!  I also have issues with seasonal allergies, and low levels of energy.  So, I started doing some research on how my diet could be affecting these issues, and I decided to do a week of eating without gluten and minimal dairy.  BIG SHOCKER...I felt so good that week!  Now, I realize that just the mere act of thinking about every food choice and eating so healthily was probably the main reason, however, I have decided to try to make as many of my meals as possible, gluten-free.  Technically, it IS possible to not eat gluten at all ever.  People with Celiac's Disease have to do it every day of their lives.  It is also very possible to eat a completely gluten-free diet, and still not be eating very well.  If you look hard enough, and are willing to spend enough money, you can get a gluten-free version of any wheaty product that you are craving.  You could live off of muffins and pasta and cookies even on a gluten-free diet.  Just not a very good idea.
So, since I really enjoyed the huge amounts of energy that I experienced in all my little bouts of giving up the (apparently) evil gluten, I'm going to keep it up.  Its not a true allergy, so I certainly will still indulge in a few meals here and there, like veggie burgers or normal pizza or just having dinner cooked by someone else without them having to go through my weird checklist of sensitivities or moral dilemmas.  But I will do so knowing that I am going to wake up a little bit more tired and with a little bit of a headache and a mildly puffy stomach.  Honestly, I think that everyone would experience some level of health benefits by avoiding gluten and dairy.  Its just so inconvenient.  We'll see how it goes for me.  And don't worry, I'll let you know.

#217 Have an outdoor meditation area

Kind of a weird thing to choose as my first to complete, but I have an outdoor meditation area!! Brad (and of course Willa, with all her disposable income) gave me this hanging chair for Mother's Day.  Now, before you start thinking, "Whoa, Brad has amazing taste and really understands what his wife was looking for in #217 Outdoor Meditation Area", this chair was heavily hinted at.  As in, I handed him the cb2 catalogue and said "Buy this chair."  He does get some mad points for the gift he had in mind, which was a spa day, which is also on the list, but that just wasn't the thing I wanted to cross off the list yet.  That felt a little too self-indulgent for a lady who still owes some major 2012 taxes.  I think I would have sat there during my pedicure or massage and stressed myself out even more about that fact.  Apparently, I felt the money would be better applied to my new favorite chair, where I have gone about half of the mornings that I've had it, to sit and drink my warm lemon water and listen to bird sounds and think happy thoughts.  And then I let myself sit and think the stressful thoughts if I need to.  In addition to the chair, I also have some fun plants and my herb pot nearby and a really nice view.  I couldn't ask for a nicer outdoor meditation area.  And this wasn't on the list, but maybe should have been...when I tweeted the instagrammed picture of my chair and hash tagged it with the designers name, she favorited my tweet!  And, that may have been the most ridiculous sentence I have ever typed.

A million and one things I want to do before...

I'm going to blame my new obsession with all things "Bucket Listy" on the other fun blogs that I read.  (Like Amy's 1,000 things to do this year, and brooke's 101 Goals in 1,001 Days)  But maybe, deep down, I feel a clock ticking.  I want to do big, big things.  Things that will take time to work up to, to train for, to save for, to build...And now, after Grandpa's death, its just about all I can think of.  My Grandpa had such a full life!  He did so many different jobs, met so many people, traveled the world.  So I am going to start keeping a list of all the stuff I'd like to accomplish, and then maybe talk about each one, as I do them.  Some of the things are just normal, everyday things but maybe its important to me to do them a whole bunch.  Some of the things are huge and expensive and will take a long time to accomplish.  I hesitate to call this a goal list, as I don't really have a timeline in mind.  Its more just a list of stuff that I think is neat and I really, really have a desire to do.  Since I started writing things down a few weeks ago in a special little notebook, I think I have added a few things nearly every day, as they have popped into my head.  I am going to share them all with you, in the hopes of being accountable to my list, and also just in case someone wants to help me out with any of them!  You know, like "donating" a trip to Holland?  Or maybe just making a date to donate blood together and then have coffee:)

Bare with my list.  It started out in catagories, but my brain and my fingers both started working fast and the catagories got lost.  Also, it is just implied that I want to do these things with my family, unless otherwise stated.

1.  See Mt. Rushmore and camp in South Dakota
2.  Hike in Rocky Mountain National Park
3. Take a wine tasting trip to No. California with girlfriends/girl cousins
4. Visit Washington D.C.
5-7.  Visit 3 West Coast beaches
8-10. Visit 3 East Coast beaches
11-13  Visit New York City 3 times: Once to run the marathon, once with family, and once on an artsy girly trip
14. Visit Connecticut
15. Go to another Hawaiian Island
16. Italy
17. Bali
18. the Maldives- or somewhere that has those huts on the water
19. Thailand
20. Canada
21. See the tulips in Amsterdam
22. Hike in the Swiss Alps
23. New Zealand
24. See the Grand Canyon
25-27. Take 3 spontaneous trips with others
28. Trip with my entire family to Estes Park, all together in a big cabin
29. Camp at the Great Lakes
30. Run the full Lincoln Marathon
31. Run the Chicago Marathon
32. Run the NY Marathon
33. Qualify for the Boston Marathon
34. Run the Boston Marathon
35. Run an Ultra Marathon
36. Have visible abs
37. Do a pull-up
38. Get into a regular yoga practice, at a studio
39. Master inversion poses
40. Meditate daily
41. Be capable of at least 25 military-style push ups with good form
42. Spend an entire day running/walking, for fun
43. Try a massage
44. Pet dolphins with Willa
45. Ride in a hot air balloon
46. Go ice skating
47-51. Have family pictures taken (professionally?)
52. Hold a scavenger hunt for someone
53, 54 Go on a missions trip for church (US and international)
55. Watch sea turtles hatch
56. Make almond milk
57. Cook all the way through a vegan cookbook
58. Visit a cave
59. Have another baby (try to do it naturally, again.)
60. Own a very large dog
61, 62. Read through the entire Bible, twice
63. Own my own Bible
64. Skinny dip
65. Write something that someone else wants to read
66. Own a very small dog
67. Have a large garden
68. Can something from my garden
69. Freeze something from my garden
70. Be completely debt free (including house payment)
71. Volunteer for the Humane Society
72. Work at the polls for a presidential election
73-75. Pay for the next person's coffee
76-78. Take a class on gardening, plants, etc.
79. Own a really nice camera
80. Own a really nice tv
81. Go snowmobiling again
82. Try accupunture
83. Go to an NFL game
84. Go to an NBA game
85. Stand under a waterfall
86. Go canoeing
87. Go tanking with friends
88. See whales in the ocean
89-91. Visit another (big) city's farmers market
92. Wear heels in public
93. Find the perfect lipstick shade (for me)
94. Be blonde again
95. Keep a journal of Willa's childhood
96. Keep a journal of Next Baby's childhood
97. Go on a 10 year anniversary trip with Brad
98. See a gymnastics event
99. Dye a streak of my hair a fun color
100. Learn how to make my blog pretty
101. Visit a well known vegan bakery and try 3 things
102-104. Leave a $100 tip at a restaruant on Christmas Eve
105. Pet an elephant
106. Pet a baby cow
107-157. Donate blood 50 times
158. Do paper mache with Willa
159. Take photos in a photo booth
160. Make (and master) vegan, gluten-free donuts
161. Learn to braid
162-164. Have a spa day
165. Have my palm read
166. Go on a yoga retreat vacation
167. Wear fake eyelashes
168. Have hair extensions
169. Spend a night in a very fancy hotel
170. Stay at a bed and breakfast
171. Stay in a house right on a beach
172. Drink wine that costs more than $50/bottle
173. Order room service
174. Make a pie from scratch
175. Wear a formal gown
176. Own a little black dress
177. Be in the audience of a tv show (like Ellen or Kelly or David Letterman)
178. Go to a movie by myself
179. See a "cirque" show
180. See NOFX again
181-183. Spend at least $100 on a piece of art
184. Try hot yoga
185. Own a motorcycle
186. Visit the capitol building
187. Visit a rain forest in Costa Rica
188. Rent bicycles for a day on a vacation
189. Eat at a really good seafood place
190. Go berry picking
191-193. Visit 3 different apple orchards
194. Go on a well planned picnic
195. Visit Yosemite National Park
196. Be a part of something that raises at least $1,000 for a cause
197. Use solar energy at home
198. Use wind energy at home
199. Own a car that is very fuel efficient
200. Set up an organized recycling center at home
201. Shake the hand of a US president
202. Own a really nice, classic winter coat
203. Own a good pair of snow boots
204. Meet Isa Chandra Moskowitz again
205. Reread the "Anne" series
206. Run a race with Willa
207. Visit the Jocelyn Art Museum
208. Run a race with Brad
209. Hold a really big snake
210-212. Rescue 3 dogs
213. Drink a $50+ bottle of champagne
214. Work with a personal trainer to be comfortable in the weight room of a gym
215. Pay cash to build an addition to our house
216. Pay for and take a trip with my mom
217. Have an outdoor meditation area
218. Have an indoor meditation area
219-221. Have 3 at home slumber parties with Brad and the kid(s) in a fort with movies and junk food
222. Make friendship bracelets with Willa
223-227. Have 5 or more 200+ mile months of running
228. Build up a well organized colleciton of pretty, high quality cards/wrapping paper supplies
229. Set up an allowance system for Willa
230. Build an "Easter" flower bed with tulips, daffodils, hyacinth
231. Makeover front of the house complete with new door, front porch, flower beds
232. Go to a book tour/book signing of an author I love
233-243. Go on 10 litter walks with Willa
244. Grow wild flowers along 14th Street
245-255. Volunteer at Matt Talbot
256. Take Willa to Branced Oak to walk and explore on a mom/Willa day
257. Go to Oregon
258. Place in the top 10 in my age group in the Lincoln Half Marathon (1:35 or under)
259. Visit the Tate Modern
260. Go to a fashion show
261. For one Christmas, shop only local or handmade
262. Join a small group or bible study at church
263. Make towers out of marshmellows and spaghetti
264. Go to the State Fair
265-267. Tour a few Frank Lloyd Wright homes
268. Design/build a plant stand
269. Design/build a coat rack
270. Go one full year without any soda
271. For one full year, run at least one mile every day
272. Have a healthy, productive strawberry patch
273. Research bird feeder/seed types and have feeders to attract cerain birds
274. Build a cute little trailer camper
275. Visit a Farm Sanctuary
276. Start making my own spaghetti sauce
277. Meet The Bloggess

So.  That's what I have so far.  I'm sure I will add to this list frequently.  I'm already working on a few of them, I'm excited to share! I have discovered in the process of sharing my list, that I REALLY have a thing for reading other people's lists.  Maybe that should be number 278.  Spend a day reading other people's dream lists...A whole day.

A snippet of a eulogy

Willa's first Easter

Telling stories at Willa's 2nd birthday party

Willa's 1st birthday, with all of her grandparents and great-grandparents.

70th wedding anniversary

72nd wedding anniversary/ 99th birthday party

These are the words that I shared at my Grandpa Ray's funeral last Tuesday...

My Grandpa Christensen passed away last Friday.  Well, duh, Allison you're probably thinking.  I mean, he was 99 years old!  But I don't think a single one of us who knew and loved him believed it would happen.  I KNOW we weren't ready for it in our hearts.  Wasn't it just last week that he was still fixing sprinklers?  Didn't he just take grandma out dancing, and keep her on the dance floor for every song?  Maybe it was a bit longer ago.  But it WAS just days ago that he still had his sass, his sense of humor and his love for his wife and family.  Grandpa, what you have given to our family is immeasurable.  As an adopted grandchild, I didn't get the priviledge of inheriting your good looks, but I think I can make a pretty solid case for just how important good role models are in learning life lessons.  What I have learned by watching you and grandma has shaped who I am.  Your strong sense of family, appreciation for respect, education, hard work, providing for your family, all while having a good time and truly enjoying life.  Those things are all so important.  Your passion for the things you did, both professionally and as a hobby, that can be rare these days.  We were just reading that as a child during the Depression, your favorite toy was a big spoon for digging. And then you went on to farm and put in underground sprinklers.  That is passion and consistency!  With all of your admirable qualities (and the sassiness) I think what I would like to take and hold in my heart, is your simple faith.  You lived your life in a way that quietly honored God and others, such a good man, showing kindness and compassion.
None of us was ready for this day.  You had 99 wonderful years, we all wanted 99 more.  That's how long it would have taken to prepare for this sadness.  BUT, you always loved a good party, especially if it was for you.  So today, we will celebrate you.  Love you, Grandpa.

And these are the words that my cousin Marty shared:

Just as Grandpa and Grandma were responsible for many very different offspring, there were many sides of him as well. 

He was the man in the green coveralls with the short sleeves. 
The guy asleep in the easy chair.
The farmer out standing in his field.
The young graduate with a fictitious middle initial.
The eligible bachelor who refused to marry until his hair fell out.
The fellow in the bleachers at all the football and basketball games.
The dude in the bright orange Honda full of sprinkler parts.
The dancer cutting a rug with Grandma.
The party animal who liked to stay out late.
The Burger King breakfast crony.
The disappearing man of mystery named Raybo.
The world traveler.
The historian of the family--and a lot of other people's familys, too.
The irascible patient--unless the doctor or nurse was cute.
The sale clerk with a garage full of treasures.
Did I mention the green coveralls with the short sleeves?
The retiree watching The Price Is Right.
The ornery old cuss giving Grandma a hard time.
The sprinkler repairman who made the old ladies swoon. Literally.
The guy at Fonner Park teaching grandkids how to bet on horses.
The storyteller who always had a story to tell.

The husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, friend.

The reason we're all here today. To remember, and to say goodbye. We love you, Ray Christensen.

Part of a marathon, 2013

Geez.  The marathon is already old news, but I suppose I could share a few pictures anyway.  As bummed as I was about not running the whole 26.2 miles, I did at least beat the time that I was hoping for, which was just to be under 2 hours.  I came in at 1:58:58.  Before this year, my best time was 2:09.  I felt like I could have maybe even done a bit better, but I also felt really good when it was over, so maybe I'm glad I didn't push it too much.  There is still a lot of room for improvement, I've set a few running-related goals for myself recently, as you will soon see.  Turns out that for a normally 100% NOT competitive person, I do want to run faster than most people.  Definitely faster than the person I was the day before. Thanks to everyone who was out on that cold Sunday morning to support all of us goofy runners! And also to everyone who helped me out by drinking margaritas with me all day afterwards:)