What I Learned in October

1. How to create a button and add it on my blog, how to use picmonkey, and how to include a link without the url showing!  Yay, me!!!

2. Pearl Jam is as awesome as I thought they were, and date nights are good for the soul. 

3. John Cougar Mellencamp had spina bifida and had one of the first corrective surgeries for the disorder. The doctor charged his family $1 for the operation.  (See what I did with that link? See number 1...)

4. I've always enjoyed campus foliage in the spring, when the dogwood trees are blooming outside the library, and in the fall, when the gingko tree outside the Admin building turns golden yellow.  While I knew gingko was good for memory, I had no idea the history of the tree.  It's thought to be one of the oldest living species of trees, and also one of the hardiest.  After the bombing of Hiroshima, the Gingko trees were still alive.  And apparently, the leaves drop all at once.
As of the day I'm writing this, they haven't dropped yet... but here's a couple of pics from a couple of years ago.

5. I was reminded of why I love cheerleading.  Kami's Kappa Delta girls teamed up with Beta Phi (no clue if that is right... I don't know anything about the Greek life..It's all Greek to me!) to host Bring It On, a cheerleading competition consisting of teams made up of sororities and fraternities.  Some of them were honest to goodness cheerleaders... while most of the guys were not... but it was fun none the less.  I saw some amazing tumbling and stunting, especially considering that the teams hadn't been practicing all that long.  And also saw some guys who reminded me that we should always be able to laugh at ourselves for a good cause.

6.  The New York Jets and the New York Giants share a stadium. They alternate weekly home games at Met Life Stadium... which isn't even in New York.  It's in East Ruthersford, New Jersey.

7. Donkeys have a cross on their back... legend says it is from the shadow of the cross of Jesus.  I came across this as I was reading Karen Kingsbury's Family of Jesus and had to check it out.  Highly recommend that read, also!


8. Ok, y'all. This will sound so elementary to all of y'all who cook.  But I learned how to make Chex Mix!!! Yay, me!

9. Garth Brooks still has it.  Friends in Low Places was the first country music song I ever liked (and honestly, there weren't a whole lot).  I saw him in concert in 1994, as a 14 year old.  I can remember loudly singly along to every song... and then, a couple of years later, he disappeared from the scene for family obligations.  I was SO excited when he announced he was coming back out on tour.  I hadn't listened to some of that stuff in YEARS... but last night it was like it was brand  new.  Feeling like a teenager again is great...

10. Writing for 31 days about the same topic is challenging... but well worth it.  Also, online friends can be great.. I met some great supporters through the 31 dayers facebook page, and also found some pretty awesome blogs.  A couple of my favorites?

Messy mom  and also

Chairs from the Curb.

And I also learned that I can write... may not be the best writing. May not be what you want to read all the time... but I'm writing for an audience of One, so stats and followers really don't matter... and sometimes God has a way of leading you to read just what you need to read just when you need it.  Glad He can use me in some small way! 

Blessings!!!

Linking up with Emily Freeman and her What I Learned in October post.  Betting you can learn something, too!