I can't seem to pull it together here, friends...and for that I apologize...but it has been a full couple of weeks over at FLT...and I'm posting there again today. I would love for you to go check out my friends' words again...(and if you need further proof that I can't actually write anywhere, hehe, feel free to read my admission of that in my post this week). Check us out here.
Happy Thursday-before-Thanksgiving! I hope you are finding so many reasons to be thankful this month...I am. Indeed.
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
And today's procrastination...
...comes in the form of the most ridiculously adorable slippers...yikes. they come together quick. too quick. because it's all i want to do...and can justify saying, "oh, they come together so QUICKLY!!"
hehe.
here they are:
hehe.
here they are:
and here are the links:
Slipper Tutorial (please note, the video demonstration makes slippers the size of doll shoes. if you adjust the numbers of stitches and then play with the number of rounds according to the size of the child's foot, you're get something that looks more like a kid slipper. to make slippers for a 2-year-old, about a size 5, i started with 16 stitches in the hdc foundation chain, made 3 increase rounds, two hdc in each stitch rounds, and then 3 decrease-the-toe rounds. the mary jane strap is just another hdc foundation chain with a 12 chain loop at the end to go around the flower)
Tiny Flower Tutorial (this tutorial is done with UK crochet terms, but she translates them into US terms)
hooray for pinterest!! ok. now. i seriously have to go make a cake.
hehe.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Birthday Challenge: Complete
Do you have any idea how many servings of pretzel M&M's one consumes when she eats 38 of them??
That would be 2.5 servings, folks. A whopping 425 calories. That's right. Four HUNDRED twenty-five calories.
How about 3.8 nestles tollhouse cookies?? Roughly 380.
To say that I'm not counting my calories today would be...reasonable, I hope. In fairness, on this fine Wednesday, I did happen to burn something ridiculous like 2679 calories (thank you bodybugg). I will pretend that all of the calories I consumed in vastly inappropriate ways don't really matter on my birthday. ;)
Today has been the very best birthday of my entire life. In previous years, I have gone to bed so disappointed...because I depended upon everyone around me to make the day incredible for me. When this just didn't really cross their minds, I felt neglected. I go out of my way on my kids' birthdays to make them incredible. My goal? Spoil that child complete rotten. When no one thought to do that for me...it was kind of a crushing blow. I am at a very different place this year. I decided that I would make today awesome. And that's exactly what it was.
Awesome. Awesomest, even. Oh my gosh, we had so much fun. *I* had so much fun. :)
I had a couple of fails along the way with my crazy list of birthday challenge goals. For example...I didn't go to bed until a bit after my scheduled 12:32 this morning...Philip called after getting off work late, and since I was still awake, I gladly talked to him until my eyes just couldn't stay open any longer. That happened long about...oh...12:50. Then...my alarm didn't go off at 4:20 as I had planned. I awoke with a start at 5:31. So...I adjusted a bit. Counted the extra sleep (minus the time I didn't sleep before 12:50) as my first nap of the day. And there, my third fail comes in...I only got 2 naps, counting that first one. BUT...I spent it snuggled into Philip while my kids read and played. :) WIN. For the record, I suck at napping, especially when I fill the days as full as I filled today. Also on the fail side...collecting 38 colored leaves while on a walk...it poured rain for a large part of the day. I substituted--38 different foods from the chinese buffet at lunch!! And I realized I don't have a mini-leaf cutter for my gumpaste leaves...so 38 leaves did not get cut...but 7 adorable orange pumpkins did. We adapt!! The only tasks not completed prior to midnight on 10/13: blogging for 38 minutes (here I am!!) and the 8 oz. of merlot (currently beside the computer...I'm sipping. slowly.). It. Will. All. Get. Done.
I think I overbooked myself just a tiny little bit.
As for the rest of the list...it got done. With a few variations. I realized after the kids went to bed that I had not intentionally said 38 encouraging things to my children throughout the day...so I made a list. I was amazed at how quickly I could come up with 38 things I adore about my children. I shouldn't have been amazed, really. Because I ran so much throughout the day (cramming in lunch at En En Chinese buffet, two hours out in the middle of the day for Reasa's horse lesson, dinner with my parents' at Bob Evans, taking the girls to youth group, a stop at Rite Aid (to get pretzel m&m's), and then the Salvation Army, then an hour and a little more at my parents' before picking up the girls...), I really didn't have the opportunity to eat as I would normally eat...so I really had to cram things in at the end of the day. I was still so full from lunch at dinner time that the thought of m&m's, shakeology, and the water I still needed to drink overwhelmed me just a bit. I still got all 3.8 teaspoons of peanut butter in my shakeology...but it probably amounted to about 1/4 of a serving of shakeology when all was said and done...it was totally awesomely yummy. I am stuffed. I had such a blast crossing each item off this list...and the things on the list...I mean, what a great way to spend a day!! I absolutely feel like I got hit by a truck...but...I had so much fun. We laughed so hard. We did hilarious things. We painted and giggled and mocked the horrible music that hit #1 on the charts every week of my birthday since 1973 (oh my gosh, the 70's sucked!!). The kids encouraged me throughout the day, and demanded kisses to fill my quota. My favorite moment?? When my alarm went off at 8:38, and the kids ran to me and EACH kissed me 38 times. I loved that. My next favorite moment happened when I hit 2.8 miles on the treadmill after not running more than 2 miles in months...and realized I would not be stopping for the rest of the run. I took a 45-second break at the end of the first mile, and at 3 minutes left, bumped my speed to 7 miles an hour. I realize this is no big deal, but I PLANNED to take breaks at the end of every 10-minute mile, knowing that I hadn't run and that I was significantly out of shape for running.
Have I mentioned how much I love Insanity?
Today, my house suffered. It's wrecked.
I don't even care.
I feel strong. I feel like I seriously, seriously kicked butt all day long. I threw in things that I didn't even plan to do. I wrote to our compassion child today. I cleaned a bathroom, and did a load of laundry. The kitchen is actually clean tonight before I go to bed (I told myself that stuff didn't matter today). I bought supplies for a couple of Christmas gifts I brainstormed throughout the day. ;) I had a really great conversation with my kid about something important. I realize that this day was completely selfish and totally self-focused...and that that could be an incredibly negative thing if it happened every day...but it won't. My first email this morning was a birthday wish from a dear friend. 168 friends wished me a happy birthday on my facebook wall, and another 10 in messages...and another 8 in text messages, then 2 birthday cards in the mail. Silly? Maybe. But wow. Tomorrow I will upload silly pictures that we took throughout the day...and I will remember how good today felt. And I will live off this high all day tomorrow...and for a long time after that.
I will also sleep until I have to wake up so that I'm ready for the baby tomorrow. I think I get a rest day after all this nonsense. I don't think Shaun T will mind. :)
My oldest is with my mom tonight, awaiting the arrival of my mom's Westie's puppies (she begged to be present for the births), my middle might be sucking her thumb (until I go up to kiss her one last time before I sleep) and probably dreaming about the next scene she will film for her mini-series, and my littlest...is hopefully sleeping...he struggled a bit with sleeplessness at bedtime tonight. And I will crawl into bed tonight so grateful for my 38th birthday. Grateful for every single moment of it. Grateful for the kids who helped me with 8/10 of a home improvement project. Grateful that Philip sacrificed sleep to spend the morning with us and take us out to lunch. Grateful for parents who love me so much that they let my kids blow paper at them all through dinner (then paid for it!). Grateful that this year...I got to make today something that I will never, ever forget.
I loved today. I am so very blessed.
Want a great place to pray for the 38 people who are most important to you? Try your treadmill. The downside? You might wind up in tears. It makes running kind of interesting. ;)
That would be 2.5 servings, folks. A whopping 425 calories. That's right. Four HUNDRED twenty-five calories.
How about 3.8 nestles tollhouse cookies?? Roughly 380.
To say that I'm not counting my calories today would be...reasonable, I hope. In fairness, on this fine Wednesday, I did happen to burn something ridiculous like 2679 calories (thank you bodybugg). I will pretend that all of the calories I consumed in vastly inappropriate ways don't really matter on my birthday. ;)
Today has been the very best birthday of my entire life. In previous years, I have gone to bed so disappointed...because I depended upon everyone around me to make the day incredible for me. When this just didn't really cross their minds, I felt neglected. I go out of my way on my kids' birthdays to make them incredible. My goal? Spoil that child complete rotten. When no one thought to do that for me...it was kind of a crushing blow. I am at a very different place this year. I decided that I would make today awesome. And that's exactly what it was.
Awesome. Awesomest, even. Oh my gosh, we had so much fun. *I* had so much fun. :)
I had a couple of fails along the way with my crazy list of birthday challenge goals. For example...I didn't go to bed until a bit after my scheduled 12:32 this morning...Philip called after getting off work late, and since I was still awake, I gladly talked to him until my eyes just couldn't stay open any longer. That happened long about...oh...12:50. Then...my alarm didn't go off at 4:20 as I had planned. I awoke with a start at 5:31. So...I adjusted a bit. Counted the extra sleep (minus the time I didn't sleep before 12:50) as my first nap of the day. And there, my third fail comes in...I only got 2 naps, counting that first one. BUT...I spent it snuggled into Philip while my kids read and played. :) WIN. For the record, I suck at napping, especially when I fill the days as full as I filled today. Also on the fail side...collecting 38 colored leaves while on a walk...it poured rain for a large part of the day. I substituted--38 different foods from the chinese buffet at lunch!! And I realized I don't have a mini-leaf cutter for my gumpaste leaves...so 38 leaves did not get cut...but 7 adorable orange pumpkins did. We adapt!! The only tasks not completed prior to midnight on 10/13: blogging for 38 minutes (here I am!!) and the 8 oz. of merlot (currently beside the computer...I'm sipping. slowly.). It. Will. All. Get. Done.
I think I overbooked myself just a tiny little bit.
As for the rest of the list...it got done. With a few variations. I realized after the kids went to bed that I had not intentionally said 38 encouraging things to my children throughout the day...so I made a list. I was amazed at how quickly I could come up with 38 things I adore about my children. I shouldn't have been amazed, really. Because I ran so much throughout the day (cramming in lunch at En En Chinese buffet, two hours out in the middle of the day for Reasa's horse lesson, dinner with my parents' at Bob Evans, taking the girls to youth group, a stop at Rite Aid (to get pretzel m&m's), and then the Salvation Army, then an hour and a little more at my parents' before picking up the girls...), I really didn't have the opportunity to eat as I would normally eat...so I really had to cram things in at the end of the day. I was still so full from lunch at dinner time that the thought of m&m's, shakeology, and the water I still needed to drink overwhelmed me just a bit. I still got all 3.8 teaspoons of peanut butter in my shakeology...but it probably amounted to about 1/4 of a serving of shakeology when all was said and done...it was totally awesomely yummy. I am stuffed. I had such a blast crossing each item off this list...and the things on the list...I mean, what a great way to spend a day!! I absolutely feel like I got hit by a truck...but...I had so much fun. We laughed so hard. We did hilarious things. We painted and giggled and mocked the horrible music that hit #1 on the charts every week of my birthday since 1973 (oh my gosh, the 70's sucked!!). The kids encouraged me throughout the day, and demanded kisses to fill my quota. My favorite moment?? When my alarm went off at 8:38, and the kids ran to me and EACH kissed me 38 times. I loved that. My next favorite moment happened when I hit 2.8 miles on the treadmill after not running more than 2 miles in months...and realized I would not be stopping for the rest of the run. I took a 45-second break at the end of the first mile, and at 3 minutes left, bumped my speed to 7 miles an hour. I realize this is no big deal, but I PLANNED to take breaks at the end of every 10-minute mile, knowing that I hadn't run and that I was significantly out of shape for running.
Have I mentioned how much I love Insanity?
Today, my house suffered. It's wrecked.
I don't even care.
I feel strong. I feel like I seriously, seriously kicked butt all day long. I threw in things that I didn't even plan to do. I wrote to our compassion child today. I cleaned a bathroom, and did a load of laundry. The kitchen is actually clean tonight before I go to bed (I told myself that stuff didn't matter today). I bought supplies for a couple of Christmas gifts I brainstormed throughout the day. ;) I had a really great conversation with my kid about something important. I realize that this day was completely selfish and totally self-focused...and that that could be an incredibly negative thing if it happened every day...but it won't. My first email this morning was a birthday wish from a dear friend. 168 friends wished me a happy birthday on my facebook wall, and another 10 in messages...and another 8 in text messages, then 2 birthday cards in the mail. Silly? Maybe. But wow. Tomorrow I will upload silly pictures that we took throughout the day...and I will remember how good today felt. And I will live off this high all day tomorrow...and for a long time after that.
I will also sleep until I have to wake up so that I'm ready for the baby tomorrow. I think I get a rest day after all this nonsense. I don't think Shaun T will mind. :)
My oldest is with my mom tonight, awaiting the arrival of my mom's Westie's puppies (she begged to be present for the births), my middle might be sucking her thumb (until I go up to kiss her one last time before I sleep) and probably dreaming about the next scene she will film for her mini-series, and my littlest...is hopefully sleeping...he struggled a bit with sleeplessness at bedtime tonight. And I will crawl into bed tonight so grateful for my 38th birthday. Grateful for every single moment of it. Grateful for the kids who helped me with 8/10 of a home improvement project. Grateful that Philip sacrificed sleep to spend the morning with us and take us out to lunch. Grateful for parents who love me so much that they let my kids blow paper at them all through dinner (then paid for it!). Grateful that this year...I got to make today something that I will never, ever forget.
I loved today. I am so very blessed.
Want a great place to pray for the 38 people who are most important to you? Try your treadmill. The downside? You might wind up in tears. It makes running kind of interesting. ;)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
So, it's been...like...months
I know. I really do. But, you see, life just keeps barreling on. Things keep happening. Things that keep me away from my blog for mostly good reasons.
Things like a week spent camping in a tent with my kids. During which I spent 23 hours at home, baking, decorating, and repairing crashed cakes. Yep. My first official, very serious caketastrophe. (And yes, it rained that week. A lot.)
Things like a week where I built and delivered 7 cakes.
Things like a weekend where I built and delivered 4 cakes.
Things like...
...hmm. There's a lot of stuff having to do with cakes up there, isn't there?
Oh, there have been other things going on too, I promise. It's not all cake-related. Though sometimes it feels like it all revolves around the cakes I'm designing/planning/baking/building/delivering at the time. Funny how work is like that. Especially when you do it out of your actual kitchen.
There have been four weeks in a row on worship team. Meeting new people. Talking a lot. Researching and ordering new curriculum. Starting Rosetta Stone Spanish. Figuring out finances and debt and a plan to deal with all of that. Raising three kids. Helping my dad tear the roof off the back of my house. Coordinating a wedding.
And last night I went and did something that will surely keep me from blogging even more...I know...you're shocked, right? Last night I enrolled in a Wedding Planner Certification Course.
Why would I do such a thing?
'Cause I felt like it, that's why.
I've been the "Wedding Coordinator" at my church for several years. Pioneered the position, if you will. Helped nail down the process. Put a job description together. Made an in-depth questionnaire for potential brides. I've helped out with 3 different receptions at varying levels. I've been the Maid of Honor in several friends' weddings, so I've helped work through the process with many brides...and every single time I do a wedding...I think about how much I enjoy that process. I am reminded of how good it feels to help that bride through the most important day of her life to that point. I always wish I had more time to devote, more organization to offer, more resources to give her. I love caking. I do. I think I am good at it, and I think that I am more and more in demand each time I open my email or look at my facebook. But. I don't think I can make a living making cakes out of my kitchen. Oh, it's a nice extra-income-type-thing...but it's not a substantial, someday-I'll-be-able-to-retire income. More of a let's-use-this-as-vacation-money income. A creative outlet. And it's seriously labor intensive. It's an artform, really. The effort to build those cakes doesn't really pay off.
So, there it is. I will become a wedding planner. :) And that may seem like it's coming out of nowhere...but it's not. I keep thinking...nutrition. Health. Science. Math. And I keep winding up back at...doing something with people. Doing something I love. I love weddings. I love working on my own time frame. This could give me the opportunity to continue to stay home with my kids and work and make a decent living (and a few cakes on the side. ;) ). I might even be able to retire some day. And I might need a couple of business classes along the way. And...some referrals. I'm so excited about the coursework, and not that it's really super necessary, I'm sure, but I'm already 2/15 of the way through it...they give you 12 months to finish it all...hehe...and I look forward to learning how to promote and market myself. I may enlist my brother. He may make me move to Rochester. ;)
Things like a week spent camping in a tent with my kids. During which I spent 23 hours at home, baking, decorating, and repairing crashed cakes. Yep. My first official, very serious caketastrophe. (And yes, it rained that week. A lot.)
Things like a week where I built and delivered 7 cakes.
Things like a weekend where I built and delivered 4 cakes.
Things like...
...hmm. There's a lot of stuff having to do with cakes up there, isn't there?
Oh, there have been other things going on too, I promise. It's not all cake-related. Though sometimes it feels like it all revolves around the cakes I'm designing/planning/baking/building/delivering at the time. Funny how work is like that. Especially when you do it out of your actual kitchen.
There have been four weeks in a row on worship team. Meeting new people. Talking a lot. Researching and ordering new curriculum. Starting Rosetta Stone Spanish. Figuring out finances and debt and a plan to deal with all of that. Raising three kids. Helping my dad tear the roof off the back of my house. Coordinating a wedding.
And last night I went and did something that will surely keep me from blogging even more...I know...you're shocked, right? Last night I enrolled in a Wedding Planner Certification Course.
Why would I do such a thing?
'Cause I felt like it, that's why.
I've been the "Wedding Coordinator" at my church for several years. Pioneered the position, if you will. Helped nail down the process. Put a job description together. Made an in-depth questionnaire for potential brides. I've helped out with 3 different receptions at varying levels. I've been the Maid of Honor in several friends' weddings, so I've helped work through the process with many brides...and every single time I do a wedding...I think about how much I enjoy that process. I am reminded of how good it feels to help that bride through the most important day of her life to that point. I always wish I had more time to devote, more organization to offer, more resources to give her. I love caking. I do. I think I am good at it, and I think that I am more and more in demand each time I open my email or look at my facebook. But. I don't think I can make a living making cakes out of my kitchen. Oh, it's a nice extra-income-type-thing...but it's not a substantial, someday-I'll-be-able-to-retire income. More of a let's-use-this-as-vacation-money income. A creative outlet. And it's seriously labor intensive. It's an artform, really. The effort to build those cakes doesn't really pay off.
So, there it is. I will become a wedding planner. :) And that may seem like it's coming out of nowhere...but it's not. I keep thinking...nutrition. Health. Science. Math. And I keep winding up back at...doing something with people. Doing something I love. I love weddings. I love working on my own time frame. This could give me the opportunity to continue to stay home with my kids and work and make a decent living (and a few cakes on the side. ;) ). I might even be able to retire some day. And I might need a couple of business classes along the way. And...some referrals. I'm so excited about the coursework, and not that it's really super necessary, I'm sure, but I'm already 2/15 of the way through it...they give you 12 months to finish it all...hehe...and I look forward to learning how to promote and market myself. I may enlist my brother. He may make me move to Rochester. ;)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Random Thoughts.
1. I have no idea why anyone drinks Swiss Miss hot chocolate. For 5 minutes worth of effort, made-from-scratch hot chocolate tastes like a completely different drink. And heaven. All at the same time.
2. Lactose Intolerance can kiss my butt when there is made-from-scratch hot chocolate around. So can any semblance of a nutrition plan.
3. I gained half an inch in my waist during a month of nutritional laziness. This will not do.
4. Brazil Butt Lift is an incredible workout. It has a completely different philosophy than any of the other Beachbody workouts I have done, but I am sore, and it wipes me out while I'm doing it. I have not had a cramp in my side from cardio in months...and I did with Cardio Axe this morning. After 10 minutes.
5. I am crazy proud of my brother, Kevin, for getting through month 1 of Insanity. Hope he's prepared for month 2. (Hehe. No one is.)
6. You should try this: http://www.chalenejohnson.com/30daychallenge/ It has changed my every day.
7. It is difficult to be happy for someone with whom I am extremely angry.
8. I continually debate getting my nose pierced. Why? Semi-permanent sparkle on my face. (There is something wrong with me.)
9. The recently-released-to-DVD, Ramona and Beezus, is a must-see. The little girl who plays Ramona? Seriously the best child-actor I have watched--maybe ever.
10. At the age of 37, no woman should have to worry about which skin care/makeup regimen will allow her to treat and prevent pimples while also treating and preventing wrinkles. By this point, I should be able to focus on...gosh, one or the other?? And I'd take wrinkles over pimples. Seriously.
11. I want to know how Ke$ha got a recording contract. And why the heck she has a $ in the middle of her name. And why this is ok.
12. I should be completely and wholly exempt from Valentine's Day this year. The end.
13. Very little feels better than getting to the end of the day and having every single item on my to-do list crossed off.
14. Icy Hot: don't use too much. Also, if you use too much, your next workout and the shower to follow will BURN. I learned this the hard way. I hope I can prevent the experience for you.
15. Dogs are wild animals whom we have forced to follow our rules. Sometimes they respond very well to our expectations. Other times they rebel. When they rebel, we must remember that in their hearts, they are wild animals. It's OUR expectations that are stupid.
16. A clean house is the sign of...someone who cares a lot more today than I do.
17. (Ok, so I had this big goal of getting to 17. I have no idea why, except that...I like the number 17. So. Here I am at 17...and...nope. Nothing to say.)(Oh, there it is. The number 17 makes me exceedingly happy. Because it's prime. And...I like how it looks.)(See parenthesis in #8)
2. Lactose Intolerance can kiss my butt when there is made-from-scratch hot chocolate around. So can any semblance of a nutrition plan.
3. I gained half an inch in my waist during a month of nutritional laziness. This will not do.
4. Brazil Butt Lift is an incredible workout. It has a completely different philosophy than any of the other Beachbody workouts I have done, but I am sore, and it wipes me out while I'm doing it. I have not had a cramp in my side from cardio in months...and I did with Cardio Axe this morning. After 10 minutes.
5. I am crazy proud of my brother, Kevin, for getting through month 1 of Insanity. Hope he's prepared for month 2. (Hehe. No one is.)
6. You should try this: http://www.chalenejohnson.com/30daychallenge/ It has changed my every day.
7. It is difficult to be happy for someone with whom I am extremely angry.
8. I continually debate getting my nose pierced. Why? Semi-permanent sparkle on my face. (There is something wrong with me.)
9. The recently-released-to-DVD, Ramona and Beezus, is a must-see. The little girl who plays Ramona? Seriously the best child-actor I have watched--maybe ever.
10. At the age of 37, no woman should have to worry about which skin care/makeup regimen will allow her to treat and prevent pimples while also treating and preventing wrinkles. By this point, I should be able to focus on...gosh, one or the other?? And I'd take wrinkles over pimples. Seriously.
11. I want to know how Ke$ha got a recording contract. And why the heck she has a $ in the middle of her name. And why this is ok.
12. I should be completely and wholly exempt from Valentine's Day this year. The end.
13. Very little feels better than getting to the end of the day and having every single item on my to-do list crossed off.
14. Icy Hot: don't use too much. Also, if you use too much, your next workout and the shower to follow will BURN. I learned this the hard way. I hope I can prevent the experience for you.
15. Dogs are wild animals whom we have forced to follow our rules. Sometimes they respond very well to our expectations. Other times they rebel. When they rebel, we must remember that in their hearts, they are wild animals. It's OUR expectations that are stupid.
16. A clean house is the sign of...someone who cares a lot more today than I do.
17. (Ok, so I had this big goal of getting to 17. I have no idea why, except that...I like the number 17. So. Here I am at 17...and...nope. Nothing to say.)(Oh, there it is. The number 17 makes me exceedingly happy. Because it's prime. And...I like how it looks.)(See parenthesis in #8)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Working Out
I totally love my workouts. I do. However, I also totally love sleep. When I can get it. I have lacked the motivation to get out of bed several times over the past 3 weeks due to a bit of a lack of sleep, and have always, always wound up feeling seriously grouchy at myself for skipping workouts as a result. I lay there in bed, hitting snooze again, and saying to myself, "I'll do it in the afternoon while the kids play." Then I let the kids use the wii aaaaand...no tv to use to do my workout. "Well, I could put it in my laptop DVD player and do it on the other side of the room." Then I realize it's already 4:30, Mom and Dad will be home in 45 minutes, and I need to do something for dinner. "I'll do it after dinner, after I put the kids to bed." Then...I just can't motivate myself to go to the basement and run (because Mom and Dad have the tv occupied, which is totally their right)...because running for the equivalent amount of time it would take to get the workout I get from Insanity...ha. That's just funny. So, I wind up without a blue line in my WOWY workout calendar...and the green line screams "SLACKER!!!" at me for the rest of the month. I have several green lines this month. I hate them.
Two things accompany this phenomenon which irritate me:
1) My nutrition falls apart. I'm not thinking clearly about the fact that I missed my workout, and continue to pile the 2000 or so calories into my mouth which I require when I'm working hard...because that's what I'm used to. And my body is not forgiving when it comes to additional carbs if I don't work as hard as I need to work to eat the number of carbs I eat. I know that's what's going on. I have not gained any weight, but I don't feel as good...and I have grown very accustomed to feeling good. Knowing my nutrition sucks sticks with me throughout the day. It bugs me. I like not thinking about it. (Also, if my dad brings home one more package of Wegman's O's, I might have to throttle him.)(Have you ever had a chocolate oreo dredged through a spoonful of peanut butter?)
2) The rest of my schedule gets lazy too. Our school routine here sucks. We get up, hang out until 9, I tell the kids to start their chores (which are pitiful here), we get started with school around...10. 10:30. 11. We take a break for lunch when Mom and Dad come home and we start back up with school at...1. 1:30. 2. We wind up doing school until 4:00, leaving just enough time to prep for dinner and whatever we need to do that evening. This is not how school works best for us. I know this. And yet...I have had no real motivation to change it. Hehe...only now...I have admitted it to you.
I have a to-do list. I love my to-do list. Too often over the past week, especially...I have ignored said to-do list. The easy things get done...the tough stuff...you know, the stuff I'd rather not do...gets put off. Ahh, sweet procrastination. And procrastination, of course, piles on guilt. And guilt (and the realization that I have sooo much left on my list) makes me not sleep. Which contributes to the desire to not wake up. Which throws off my workout schedule. Which messes with my nutrition. Which destroys my schedule.
Did you just catch that vicious cycle??
So, here I sit, my tummy too full to work out, my kids in various corners of the house playing, my to-do list staring me in the face...knowing that if I get off my butt and tackle just one hard task on the list and called the kids back to school, I could break the cycle I've got going...
"Blog" is on my to-do list.
Check.
I'm getting up. To fold white laundry. Then we'll have a math lesson. And a History lesson. And while the kids read, I'll work out. Really. I will. The cycle ends today.
Two things accompany this phenomenon which irritate me:
1) My nutrition falls apart. I'm not thinking clearly about the fact that I missed my workout, and continue to pile the 2000 or so calories into my mouth which I require when I'm working hard...because that's what I'm used to. And my body is not forgiving when it comes to additional carbs if I don't work as hard as I need to work to eat the number of carbs I eat. I know that's what's going on. I have not gained any weight, but I don't feel as good...and I have grown very accustomed to feeling good. Knowing my nutrition sucks sticks with me throughout the day. It bugs me. I like not thinking about it. (Also, if my dad brings home one more package of Wegman's O's, I might have to throttle him.)(Have you ever had a chocolate oreo dredged through a spoonful of peanut butter?)
2) The rest of my schedule gets lazy too. Our school routine here sucks. We get up, hang out until 9, I tell the kids to start their chores (which are pitiful here), we get started with school around...10. 10:30. 11. We take a break for lunch when Mom and Dad come home and we start back up with school at...1. 1:30. 2. We wind up doing school until 4:00, leaving just enough time to prep for dinner and whatever we need to do that evening. This is not how school works best for us. I know this. And yet...I have had no real motivation to change it. Hehe...only now...I have admitted it to you.
I have a to-do list. I love my to-do list. Too often over the past week, especially...I have ignored said to-do list. The easy things get done...the tough stuff...you know, the stuff I'd rather not do...gets put off. Ahh, sweet procrastination. And procrastination, of course, piles on guilt. And guilt (and the realization that I have sooo much left on my list) makes me not sleep. Which contributes to the desire to not wake up. Which throws off my workout schedule. Which messes with my nutrition. Which destroys my schedule.
Did you just catch that vicious cycle??
So, here I sit, my tummy too full to work out, my kids in various corners of the house playing, my to-do list staring me in the face...knowing that if I get off my butt and tackle just one hard task on the list and called the kids back to school, I could break the cycle I've got going...
"Blog" is on my to-do list.
Check.
I'm getting up. To fold white laundry. Then we'll have a math lesson. And a History lesson. And while the kids read, I'll work out. Really. I will. The cycle ends today.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Not Mine
I went to a concert tonight. Sort of.
I say sort of because...well...concerts have changed a bit since I went to them as a teen. Or a young adult, for that matter. And, friends? For the record?
I am no longer a young adult. I know this now. If I had any doubt of that before tonight, I no longer have a single one.
See, the thing is, the "concert," which was really a worship experience with a speaker, was really great. Awesome music. Two fantastic local bands (Yay, Amy, Jordan, Jon, and Aaron!!), relevant and contemporary worship music...so well done. Excellent energy...friendly people. Except...when I looked around, I realized...Good Lord, I could seriously be that girl's mother. And it wasn't just one girl. It was most of the people in the theater. The speaker was 21. I went tonight with my sweet friend Amy, who sang fabulously in the aforementioned band, and though she's semi-close in age to me, she's still young enough to definitely be considered a "young adult." She's also at a different place in her life: single, working, free-spirited, not tied-down. We hung out with her girlfriends at the concert, and headed to Friendly's afterward...7 girls...eating and chatting and laughing. Only...I wasn't one of the 7 girls, really.
I was, like, the mom. The mom who sat there and...I mean, I laughed along...I listened and interjected and agreed...but other than one other girl who has a 2-year-old (who had her daughter while in college, so, hello, 22), I was the only one there with kids, and, umm, I have 3. And the oldest is almost TWELVE. The girls were sweet. And they never, ever gave me the feeling that I was out of place there with them. I did that all by myself. I just...had nothing to say. It suddenly struck me that I'm seriously not young anymore.
And, to be honest with you, tonight I realized...I'm pretty ok with that.
Frankly, I'm 37 years old. I have three children. Married for 13.5 years. Thirteen and a half years, folks. The people I was with tonight, most of them haven't even been old enough to date for that long. If they started dating at 12.
So, here's the thing: I may feel 23. I might look 30, if I'm super, super lucky and someone is being kind. But...I'm 37. I have laugh lines and crow's feet and stretch marks and experience. It's who I am. Tonight...it became very clear to me that it's ok. And I'm not going to pretend that just because I prefer to rock out to what the 25-year-old single folks sing along with...I should be hanging out with them. If I could figure out where I fit in now, that would help, that's for sure...but the young adult group...they're great...they're just not mine.
I say sort of because...well...concerts have changed a bit since I went to them as a teen. Or a young adult, for that matter. And, friends? For the record?
I am no longer a young adult. I know this now. If I had any doubt of that before tonight, I no longer have a single one.
See, the thing is, the "concert," which was really a worship experience with a speaker, was really great. Awesome music. Two fantastic local bands (Yay, Amy, Jordan, Jon, and Aaron!!), relevant and contemporary worship music...so well done. Excellent energy...friendly people. Except...when I looked around, I realized...Good Lord, I could seriously be that girl's mother. And it wasn't just one girl. It was most of the people in the theater. The speaker was 21. I went tonight with my sweet friend Amy, who sang fabulously in the aforementioned band, and though she's semi-close in age to me, she's still young enough to definitely be considered a "young adult." She's also at a different place in her life: single, working, free-spirited, not tied-down. We hung out with her girlfriends at the concert, and headed to Friendly's afterward...7 girls...eating and chatting and laughing. Only...I wasn't one of the 7 girls, really.
I was, like, the mom. The mom who sat there and...I mean, I laughed along...I listened and interjected and agreed...but other than one other girl who has a 2-year-old (who had her daughter while in college, so, hello, 22), I was the only one there with kids, and, umm, I have 3. And the oldest is almost TWELVE. The girls were sweet. And they never, ever gave me the feeling that I was out of place there with them. I did that all by myself. I just...had nothing to say. It suddenly struck me that I'm seriously not young anymore.
And, to be honest with you, tonight I realized...I'm pretty ok with that.
Frankly, I'm 37 years old. I have three children. Married for 13.5 years. Thirteen and a half years, folks. The people I was with tonight, most of them haven't even been old enough to date for that long. If they started dating at 12.
So, here's the thing: I may feel 23. I might look 30, if I'm super, super lucky and someone is being kind. But...I'm 37. I have laugh lines and crow's feet and stretch marks and experience. It's who I am. Tonight...it became very clear to me that it's ok. And I'm not going to pretend that just because I prefer to rock out to what the 25-year-old single folks sing along with...I should be hanging out with them. If I could figure out where I fit in now, that would help, that's for sure...but the young adult group...they're great...they're just not mine.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Just Ridiculous
The most ridiculous things happen to me.
I know, I know, they happen to you too. They happen to all of us. But seriously...when I tell people the things that happen to me, they stare blankly. Because they're ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.
I had a car accident about a week and a half ago, on 12/2. The blame lies totally on me. Bryson and I had ordered a pizza while the girls went to lunch with their youth pastor, and we went to pick it up. I had lazily pulled into Mom and Dad's driveway the night before rather than spending the time backing it in so that I could quickly (and safely) pull out in the morning...mistake #1. As I backed out of the driveway, I did my usual glance-over-my-shoulders-after-stopping-before-the-sidewalk-for-fear-of-backing-over-a-pedestrian-with-his-dog, then glanced over to make sure Bryson had his seatbelt on, and continued over that shoulder as well...and seeing nothing, backed into the eastbound lane...I heard something crash, looked in the rearview mirror, and all I could think was that I'd hit the garbage can at the end of the driveway, which made no sense...when I looked up, I realized we were no longer in the driveway, but were facing westbound in the eastbound lane, and I heard another crash. Looking into my rearview mirror again, I noticed that my back window was gone, and there was an SUV on it's roof behind my van. I jumped out of the car, absolutely shocked, and for a moment...stood there, with no understanding of what had actually happened. Bryson jumped out of his seat, and ran into the house to get my dad to call 911--Dad had heard the crash and was already on the phone. I couldn't make sense of the car on it's roof--which side was which--and could only see the deployed side air bags through the windows. A passer-by with his wits about him helped the woman out of the vehicle, and she really seemed to be basically fine (though we wouldn't let her stand up until the ambulance got there)...you know, other than the fact that her vehicle had flipped from it's tires to it's top in a matter of 20 feet...
I never even saw her. And I looked. I hit her rear passenger side door--she drove a Nissan Pathfinder. She didn't swerve, didn't slam on her brakes, didn't blow her horn...nothing. I hit her, her car sort of swerved just barely over the double yellow, and it flipped over and slid on it's top. When all was said and done, it smashed out my rear window, crushed the passenger side back corner, and crumpled my back bumper. They life-flighted the other driver to Sayre, and she wound up with glass in her eyes and a headache. I got a ticket for failure to yield in a roadway...the paper reported it as "unsafe driving" (of course, they also called me Melinda Frazer, and said I was driving a station wagon...but whatever...then they splashed a picture of it with the article on the front page of the Leader. Good grief.). I stood watching everything get cleaned up and taken care of, talking to the policeman, watching them flip the car back over...in absolute disbelief. I have no idea how it happened. No idea what I could have done differently. Looked longer? Looked again? Backed up more slowly to get across two lanes of road? Left 2 minutes sooner? Not ordered pizza? The whole thing is surreal. Crazy. Ridiculous.
What I know isn't ridiculous? That my girls were with Pastor Rachel, and not in the back seats. That none of the airbags went off. That the van wasn't totalled. That I didn't pull out even 2 seconds sooner...when Bryson's side of the van would have received a direct hit...possibly killing him. Those facts aren't ridiculous. Our vehicles have high deductibles, but full coverage, which includes towing and rental cars. I hit her before I even really started moving, and she received minimal injuries, from what I understand. It could have been so much worse.
Will I be so glad when 2010 ends, and this is all over? Maybe. Do I think it doesn't matter what year it is...ridiculous things just seem to happen to me? *Snicker* Yes. But something else I know...I know that even amidst all of the crappiness of the past several months...I have so little about which to complain. I am alive. Loved. Fortunate. Blessed. The ridiculous may surround me...but so does my Protector. I may continually fall into places of despair...but not without the company of my Provider. I might be confused and frustrated and beside myself...but not without the full knowledge and attention of the Peace-Giver. More to come in 2011? Bring it on.
I know, I know, they happen to you too. They happen to all of us. But seriously...when I tell people the things that happen to me, they stare blankly. Because they're ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.
I had a car accident about a week and a half ago, on 12/2. The blame lies totally on me. Bryson and I had ordered a pizza while the girls went to lunch with their youth pastor, and we went to pick it up. I had lazily pulled into Mom and Dad's driveway the night before rather than spending the time backing it in so that I could quickly (and safely) pull out in the morning...mistake #1. As I backed out of the driveway, I did my usual glance-over-my-shoulders-after-stopping-before-the-sidewalk-for-fear-of-backing-over-a-pedestrian-with-his-dog, then glanced over to make sure Bryson had his seatbelt on, and continued over that shoulder as well...and seeing nothing, backed into the eastbound lane...I heard something crash, looked in the rearview mirror, and all I could think was that I'd hit the garbage can at the end of the driveway, which made no sense...when I looked up, I realized we were no longer in the driveway, but were facing westbound in the eastbound lane, and I heard another crash. Looking into my rearview mirror again, I noticed that my back window was gone, and there was an SUV on it's roof behind my van. I jumped out of the car, absolutely shocked, and for a moment...stood there, with no understanding of what had actually happened. Bryson jumped out of his seat, and ran into the house to get my dad to call 911--Dad had heard the crash and was already on the phone. I couldn't make sense of the car on it's roof--which side was which--and could only see the deployed side air bags through the windows. A passer-by with his wits about him helped the woman out of the vehicle, and she really seemed to be basically fine (though we wouldn't let her stand up until the ambulance got there)...you know, other than the fact that her vehicle had flipped from it's tires to it's top in a matter of 20 feet...
I never even saw her. And I looked. I hit her rear passenger side door--she drove a Nissan Pathfinder. She didn't swerve, didn't slam on her brakes, didn't blow her horn...nothing. I hit her, her car sort of swerved just barely over the double yellow, and it flipped over and slid on it's top. When all was said and done, it smashed out my rear window, crushed the passenger side back corner, and crumpled my back bumper. They life-flighted the other driver to Sayre, and she wound up with glass in her eyes and a headache. I got a ticket for failure to yield in a roadway...the paper reported it as "unsafe driving" (of course, they also called me Melinda Frazer, and said I was driving a station wagon...but whatever...then they splashed a picture of it with the article on the front page of the Leader. Good grief.). I stood watching everything get cleaned up and taken care of, talking to the policeman, watching them flip the car back over...in absolute disbelief. I have no idea how it happened. No idea what I could have done differently. Looked longer? Looked again? Backed up more slowly to get across two lanes of road? Left 2 minutes sooner? Not ordered pizza? The whole thing is surreal. Crazy. Ridiculous.
What I know isn't ridiculous? That my girls were with Pastor Rachel, and not in the back seats. That none of the airbags went off. That the van wasn't totalled. That I didn't pull out even 2 seconds sooner...when Bryson's side of the van would have received a direct hit...possibly killing him. Those facts aren't ridiculous. Our vehicles have high deductibles, but full coverage, which includes towing and rental cars. I hit her before I even really started moving, and she received minimal injuries, from what I understand. It could have been so much worse.
Will I be so glad when 2010 ends, and this is all over? Maybe. Do I think it doesn't matter what year it is...ridiculous things just seem to happen to me? *Snicker* Yes. But something else I know...I know that even amidst all of the crappiness of the past several months...I have so little about which to complain. I am alive. Loved. Fortunate. Blessed. The ridiculous may surround me...but so does my Protector. I may continually fall into places of despair...but not without the company of my Provider. I might be confused and frustrated and beside myself...but not without the full knowledge and attention of the Peace-Giver. More to come in 2011? Bring it on.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Having a rough day?
Go here:
nienie dialogues
Yesterday, I needed sunshine. Today, this gives me perspective. My rough day seems...so much more tolerable when I realize how much rougher it could be.
nienie dialogues
Yesterday, I needed sunshine. Today, this gives me perspective. My rough day seems...so much more tolerable when I realize how much rougher it could be.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
There may be something wrong with me.
I can't tweet. I can't come up with decent status updates. I can't decide on a single thing to blog. The mind that constantly thinks along these lines...won't.
I'm either entirely preoccupied...
...or it's writer's block...
...or something.
Meanwhile, I'm done staring blankly at my screen, and I'm going to bed at 10:15. Maybe my brain will turn back on tomorrow.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Amazing
You know those friends who are just amazing?? The ones who stand behind you and remember things you forgot you told them and take time to let you know they're thinking of you and they love you and you are on their mind at just the right moment??
Pretty incredible. What a gift.
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