hey, it's ok (tuesday) 1.24

hey, it's ok


...to not be surprised in the LEAST that paula deen has type 2 diabetes.
...(but to not blame it on the butter and heavy cream.  those are real foods at least, unlike the processed crap that southern cooking is full of.  done with the soapbox now).
...to not get the pioneer woman worship.  i mean, yes, her recipes look good (and taste good from the one or two i've had) but why does everyone flock exactly? (seriously, can someone explain this to me?)
...to be sad about seal and heidi klum splitting.  out of all the celebrity marriages, they seemed so much more grounded and solid
...to be writing this list waaaaaay late
...to have copycatted (kind of) a favorite dip from trader joe's to avoid having to buy it so often.  way cheaper this way! (i'll share the recipe soon, promise!)
...to be a bit tired of the schizophrenic january weather in tn.  tornado warnings twice in the last 5 days?  and temperatures fluctuating between the 20s and the high 60s...no wonder we're all sniffling
...to drink way more water now that i have my OWN pitcher in the fridge (with fresh mint leaves in it).  it's amazing what a slight bit of fresh flavor will do!
...to realize that you've used (a whole lot) of parenthesis in one blog post. (oh well)


(please visit amber's blog and post your own list of things that are ok)

on saturday i found inspiration in a bowl of pasta

which, if you know me, wouldn't necessarily come as a surprise
i do love my carbs.

but really
i was home after a session
at an amazing worship conference that's going on this weekend
and i was grabbing a quick lunch

i had made a pasta salad a couple of days earlier
and as i was cooking something else was absentmindedly eating a few bites of it
when some of the words spoken that morning began churning through my mind

words about the Living Water
rivers of Life
rushing water

i don't know how many times God uses references to water
when describing relationship with us, works within us, etc

i can think of several off the top of my head.

but the one that keeps throwing itself into the forefront of my mind
is

Jesus telling the woman at the well
that HE is the Living Water
and that if she drinks of the water He brings she will never thirst again

and as i looked down at my simple bowl of pasta it started to click in my mind

water...
this simple and abundant substance
does really wacky things to other objects!

like that dried out pasta that's too hard to eat
completely changes character after a few moments in the water
and...it never returns to it's original state

hmmm.

water causes growth in my garden
water purifies and cleanses anything it touches. 
boiling water sterilizes objects that are immersed into it. 
it refreshes and hydrates any living being that drinks of it

if plain tap water does all of that
water from the earthly sources of lakes, streams, rivers

how much more
can water from THE Source
cause growth...purify and cleanse...refresh...hydrate...bring life to us
completely change us

i don't know about you,
but i am ready for those rivers of refreshing, living Water
to completely wash over me
in a continuous flow

yeah...He's good.

there is a river whose streams make glad the city of our God (psalm 46.4)

3 in 30: march

so i started this in february, and am continuing on because it was kinda fun...and pretty effective :)

so here are this month's goals

• drink at least 3 glasses of water per day (i know that's pathetic, but my water intake of the moment is pretty pathetic too...)
• try at least 4 new recipes
• carve out at least 30 minutes of time per day for me.  this cannot include wedding planning or doing laundry... ;)

by the way, here's how i did last month:

* exercise at least 4 times each week...and stop using that "busy" excuse!
(i managed this at least 3 out of the 4 weeks, so that's not bad :D)
* eat at least 1 fruit and 1 veggie each day
(well, that was a small goal, but i'm not convinced the fruits always happened.  i'm just not a fruit girl.  however, i'm pretty sure i got in at least 3-4 servings of vegetables every day.)
* sleep. 6 - 7 hours at LEAST per night. this means when i have to get up at 5:15
(this didn't always happen, but steps toward the right direction.  i think i got between 5.5 and 7 hours most nights, which is MUCH better that what i was doing before.  so this is an ongoing goal for sure)

what are your month's goals?

Monday's Memory: the one with my lake

do you have one of those places that calls you back from time to time?

times when you're discouraged

sad

at a decision point

that feel so much a part of you

that going there in the midst of chaos sort of sends everything scattering to the right place again?

when i first graduated college i moved

about 30 minutes north of the city

(logistically a nightmare, which is why i lived there for precisely ONE year)

the draw though

was that i had a ground floor apartment

that was directly across the street from a gorgeous lake

and i could literally step off my patio and walk across to it anytime i wanted

i have this thing about water

and this lake

was just special.

in november of 2008

just a couple of months after losing my job

i felt lost

without direction

nothing had materialized

and while i was "working" for a few families

i had no idea where to go from there

(little did i know the journey i was ALREADY on!)

i revisited "my" lake

and somehow

things seemed right again with the world

 if only for that 20 minutes.

i actually joined a challenge

i've thought about it soooo many times
but never committed.
but here it is, y'all

brooke deserves the credit for leading me to this challenge

drop dead gorgeous by december
i like that idea
back to the body i'm used to
would be an amazing christmas present!

so. here's what i have to do every week, copy/pasted from the challenge itself

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

The picture must be different every week. The sign can be the same.

The sign can vary from I can do this to I am beautiful to I am strong and powerful. Whatever inspires you, write it down, look at it, read it, and hold it up proud.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

I am looking to lose, but some people are actually looking to gain. I might overeat, but others undereat.

If a scale goal is not part of your journey right now, you don’t have to include it! Just put N/A (not applicable) for this portion. Not everybody is defining their health by the number on the scale, and they shouldn’t have to. Fitness and healthy living should not be determined by only a number.

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

These goals may NOT be weight-related. You are not allowed to have a goal tied to a number on the scale.

Goals can include everything from trying a new recipe to running your first 5K. It can be something like making your bed every morning or saving a dollar a week.

Whatever your goal(s) are, they cannot be tied to your scale weight (lose 20 pounds, lose a pound a week, etc.).

Try to limit your goals to a maximum of five, but if you’re ambitious, that’s great too.

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

This is where you brag about something you did well, a milestone that you reached, an impossibility that you turned into a possibility. BRAG!

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.

Because this healthy journey is about overall betterment, we can all find something to improve upon. Maybe it’s to squat 10 pounds more. Maybe it’s to be more punctual. Maybe it’s to drink one more glass of water.

so...here's mine

1

(i will SO rock this)

2. weight
i'm not listing it...yet. i'll tell you where i started when we end this thing :)

3.
- exercise in some form at least 3 times a week, preferably 5
- complete at LEAST one 5K
- cook healthily once a week, limit snacking to healthy options
- 2 more to be forthcoming
- yeah, what i said earlier

4.
that i've made healthy snack choices
(save the oreos i had for breakfast today, but that's a MEAL choice, right?!)
AND that my boyfriend looked at me last night and said "you look like you've lost weight!"

5.
more water. water, water, water!
(goal: 4 glasses a day. that's HALF of what i should have, but i have been SO bad that i'll start there!)

page from my journal (2)

the seagulls are teasing me,

elusively avoiding my camera angles

yet coming close to beckon me

when i lay the instrument down

like so many dreams of life

which seem to taunt me

laughing as i raise my interest

as i try to capture them

only coming closer when i give up

today

i will chase my dreams

and today

i will capture

a picture

of a seagull

(i'm in delaware with a couple of friends...this was written yesterday as we boated around the bay...and yes, these pictures were taken...that day)

Monday's Memory: the one with the hike in Malibu

i'm one of those people
who NEEDS to see the ocean once a year or so
unfortunately i've always lived in landlocked states
the first time i saw the ocean? i was 20.
perhaps i need to make up for lost time!

this picture was taken in malibu, california
my first time to sunny ca was in 2008
my friend vera and i took a little hike
up to point dume
it was fun
(although next time i'll wear something besides flip-flops to hike it in...)
and this picture was taken when we came back down



a hike right next to the ocean?
perfection.

Thursday's Ten -- the outdoor variety

Having celebrated Earth Day yesterday, and seeing the sunshine outside today, I'm truly craving some outdoor time. Since I can't get any at the moment (boo!) I'll just tell you some of MY favorite things to do outside it great weather!

1. hike/walk/run. Whether it's just around the neighborhood or going to one of the *gorgeous* greenways or parks in the city I love it.
2. a picnic. If there are kids involved, make sure there's a playground nearby, and that you have a good book to read on the blanket while they play :0)
3. working in the garden. Now...I kind of suck at gardening. But I love to *try* to make my backyard pretty. I have big plans to work in my garden next week! I'd really like to get an herb garden started. I've killed all the herbs I've attempted to grow...but I have hope. Any tips among the rest of ya?
4. tanning. I know, I know. Bad for you, blah blah. But I am built in such a way that I crave--need--the sun. And somehow, getting a little hint of brown on my skin makes me feel better emotionally and physically. I'm sure I'll pay for it one of these days, but I'm telling you. I never deal with depression when there's sunshine to be had.
5. playing. I don't have kids of my own, but I babysit enough--and have enough friends with children--that I'm quite used to playing outside on swingsets and jungle gyms. I love it.
6. driving. If I can't walk or run, just driving with the windows down and sunroof open will do. And the music blasting, of course!
7. being near water. Oceans are best, but access to them in TN? I'll settle for a river, lake, creek, waterfall. There is something therapeutic to me about hearing, seeing and smelling water. I somehow always feel closer to God at the water's edge.
8. whitewater rafting. A tradition for us at youth camp every year, so I get to go once per summer at least. But I love going with a group of friends as well.
(the last 2 are kind of remarkable considering I don't know how to swim..at all!)
9. sitting on the patio. Especially at dusk or at night. I plant moonflowers each year, and make sure there's a lot of white in my garden besides that so that I have some beauty to look at even in the near-dark. I love to relax and listen to the beautiful sounds around me. This does not include a nearby neighbor's yappy dachshunds. ;-)
10. pull out the camera. I'm sure you've all figured out by now that I enjoy taking pictures. I love grabbing a nature photograph, a photo of a friend--or going to the zoo and taking pictures of the cool animals they have!

What about you? What are your favorite things to do outside?