21. Change something about My Appearance

When I set this goal, I was thinking of doing something along the lines of a new pair of glasses or a different hairstyle. However, I kept going back to something I had been thinking about doing for a few years. I had this gap between my two front teeth that I felt was pretty large for a gap. Actually, it measured in at 3 mm. It’s not something I felt overly self conscious about but it’s not something I liked. I also didn't really like people pointing it out; yeah I know it’s there.

In Elementary school and throughout high school many of my peers and teachers would try and come up with ways to tell me and my twin sister apart. Several of them used this: Double-Name-Double-Space and Melissa-Mole. Melissa has a mole (or Beauty Mark) above her lip. 

Another story that comes to mind is one time a few years ago I was on a bus and this guy sat next to me and started talking to me. He told me that he was blind which seemed apparent as he had a white cane and was wearing dark sunglasses. Part way through the conversation he made some remark about the gap between my teeth. I am not exactly sure what he said because I was confused about how he could tell if he was blind.

I started looking into Invisalign (clear braces) a few years ago but did not go through with it because of the cost. I recently started thinking about it again and in the New Year I brought the idea up to my parents who supported me in the decision. I decided that if I didn't go through with it now, I most likely never would. 

On February 27, at the halfway point of being 30 and halfway through my list, I got my first set of aligners.

It took some getting used to and at times can be inconvenient or uncomfortable but so far I am happy with the results. I am now halfway through the aligning process! My teeth were already pretty straight so the treatment time is quicker than it is for most people. In 3 weeks I will be done with aligners for the bottom teeth and at the end of October I should be done with the top teeth and the gap will be closed for good! 

Before Photo's:

Halfway Point Photos:

At The End:                                                                                                          

20. Plan a Vacation to Somewhere I Have Never Been

I'm going to Germany! I have wanted to go to Germany for several years now to see where my Grandma and her family came from so I am really excited about this opportunity. I have written a bit about my desire to go to Germany in a previous blog post where I read a new book. In my gratitude blog, I also have a post where I shared my gratitude for my German heritage.

I have been to several places where my ancestors have lived including Scotland, England and Manitoba (where my German Russian ancestors immigrated to) and soon I will be able to add Germany to that list. I leave September 28 so I have some time to make plans of what I want to do and see. I would also like to do some more genealogy research on that side of the family in the meantime. I actually had a really cool experience when researching this line that I also wrote about in my gratitude blog in the post miracles of family history.

My plans currently include visiting with my Mom's cousins and their families in Bremen and Nordenham as well as a Great Aunt. I will be travelling with some of the family to what is now Klodzko, Poland where the family lived before the war when it was Eisersdorf, Germany (Glatz). I also plan to spend a couple of days in Frankfurt before heading back home to do some sightseeing and go to the temple there. I am currently on the wait list to stay at the accommodations by the temple which would be fun and much cheaper than a hotel.

Ich muss Deutsch lernen (I need to learn German). I got that translation from Google translator. It will probably be a good idea to invest in an English/German dictionary. Although, I do know a few words like good morning, good night, and good day/ hello, I love you, welcome.

I am really excited to plan my trip! 

19. Give Someone a copy of The Book of Mormon

I love to share the joy and peace I have found from reading the Book of Mormon but don’t give out copies to people I know as much as I would like to. In fact, it had been a few years since I have actually given someone a Book of Mormon. I started off by doing what any LDS missionary would ask members of the church to do: Pray to ask God who I should give this book to. A name of someone came to mind almost as soon as I finished the prayer but I questioned if the timing was right. Instead, I would hope that it would just come up in conversation and basically have her say something along the lines of “I would really like to read the Book of Mormon, Where can I get it?” As you can guess, that didn't happen.

In the meantime, I decided to be prepared for this person or anyone else to show interest and keep a copy of the Book of Mormon in my car. I also continued to think about other people I could give it to or hoping that someone would ask for one.

Then, I had a pretty cool “missionary experience”. One Sunday after church I went for a walk in the park by my house and had two guys stop and talk to me. They mentioned they had recently moved to Edmonton and were asking some questions about the area. One of them asked if he could join me in my walk. At first I was thinking "No!" (unfortunately, we live in a world where you can’t easily trust people, especially as women) but I looked around and there were lots of people around and I felt OK about it. We got on the topic of religion and he shared interest in knowing more. Long story short, he came to our Family Home Evening (FHE) activity the next day with his friend who I also met at the park that day. They met with the missionaries who gave them each a copy of the Book of Mormon. They continue to meet with them. At first I thought, “Hey, I could count this because I introduced them to the missionaries who gave them the Book of Mormon. However, I still felt that I needed to give this book to a friend of mine (the first person that came to mind when I prayed about it).

I recently went for lunch with this friend and on our way back she was asking me about church and things I was involved with. As we were sitting in my car about to get out I told her that there was actually something I wanted to give her and since I had a copy in my car I was able to give it to her then. We talked a little bit about it and she seemed happy that I wanted to give it to her. I hope that she will read it and find the peace and joy that I have experienced, especially in more fully recognizing the love that God and the Savior has for her.

If you would like to read about my gratitude for this book, you can click here to read a post in my gratitude blog. You can also click here to read more about this book on www.Mormon.org. You can also request a free copy if you would like or you could also ask me for one. I would be more than happy to get one for you. J