Fill in the Blank Friday

 

1. Something I am very proud of is    running this week and choosing to live a no excuses life {one step at a time, my friends}    .

 

2. My favorite thing about myself is   my Southern-ness - that I care about cooking good food, being hospitabe, welcoming people into my home, being opinionated, {or stubborn}, saying yes ma'am {even as an adult}, being a story-teller, loving college football {and tailgating}, our Bible-beltness, our loyalty, our screen porches     .

3. My favorite color for fall is    mustard yellow, but I don't have anything that color right now.  Hmm, maybe I need a little shopping trip  :) .

4. Something I've been learning lately is how important good, true, authentic community is and how to better at intentionally being part of that kind of community      .

5. A book I am reading now/have read recently is   The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman.  This is the third or fourth time I've read this book {this time around it's for the class mentioned below} I like it because of its focus on Jesus' ministry and the uncomplicated strategy of how he did {does} things .

6. My favorite Pandora Station is   Ingrid Michaelson. I just started listening to Pandora again so I can't really remember all of my favs.  What do you suggest? .

 

7. This weekend I will   be going to a retreat for a discipleship/spiritual formation course at our church this year and it's the kickoff event.  I'm pretty excited about getting started, getting to know the folks in the class, and being intentional about my own spiritual formation  .

 

{P.S. I'm linking up to The Little Things We Do}  

Working It OUT

Alright, here's where I post about how awesome my run was yesterday and how I killed it.  Ugh, let me be honest, I did not kill it.  I survived it.  It was a tough run. 

1.  First off, I was sore from Monday's run, which left my pace a little slower. {Sidenote, Monday's run was awesome - I pushed myself on speed and to pick up my feet instead of my usual shuffle}.

2.  Work was a little rough yesterday because I wasn't nearly as productive as I had hoped to be, which made me less motivated to exercise when I got home.

3.  I wore shorts for intervals - that was a BAD idea.  My shorts kept riding up, which in and of itself is pretty uncomfortable.  The bigger issue is that I'm embarrassed of how I look in said shorts while running, especially when they creep on up to.  Not to mention the thighs rubbing together thing.  Altogether uncomfortable.  I will not  be wearing shorts on a run anytime soon.  Anybody feel me on this one?

4.  Most importantly, somewhere in my mind I think that because I've decided to start exercising that running should be easy.  It's just not easy.  It's not supposed to be easy. This expectation is where there is a break-down.   I compare myself to some of my friends who seem to be able to run several miles with MUCH greater ease than me.   Why can't I be like them?  Then, I get down on myself for my supposed lack of success.   Yesterday, I wanted to quit my run before I even started the intervals. 

Usually I feel pretty good after a run but not yesterday.  Hubs had to remind me of the success.  My thinking has to change so that I can see finishing the run {or even getting out there in the first place?} makes it a worthwhile workout. I'm hoping that one day soon these runs get a little easier.

Weighty Goals

Today I realized that I started this blog almost three years ago to document my weight-loss journey.  I had just joined a Biggest Loser Competition with some of my friends and was attempting to lose 15% of my body fat.  Since that first competition, this blog morphed into more of my ramblings besides my weight-loss adventures, and I'm good with that.  Now, I'm back on my weight-loss, exercise more, be healthy and happy about it journey. 

This time I'm not in a competition.  This time I have more manageable goals.  This time I'm planning to share at least once a week about the journey here.  My goal is to lose 20 pounds - 5 pounds each month.  August was awesome.  I met my goal and lost the five pounds - equivalent to a bag of sugar.  I counted my calories and exercised.  I'm thinking the Olympics help inspire me.

Then, September arrived.  I have not lost weight but instead have seen the scale go up and down and back up {I'm up three of the five pounds I lost}.  I'm frustrated.  The honest truth is that I haven't been as disciplined as I should have been.  I cheated.  Thankfully, today is a new day, and all I can do it move forward.  I'm not sure if it's possible to lose 8 pounds in the next 13 days healthfully, but I'm back on the train, folks.

I'll be jogging 2-3 miles tonight after work.  Hubs and I are mapping out a 5K training plan tonight.  There is talk among friends of starting p90x in the next couple of weeks... 

I'd love your comments and encouragements along the way {yes, I'm even shamelessly soliciting them}.  I'd love for any of you to join me in this journey. 

Mom & Dad's Visit - The Small Things

Mom and Dad came to visit.  Have I mentioned this seventeen times already?   Well, it was pretty exciting and fun to have them here.  Really, it was just so great.  My favorite part of their trip were the little things - when we didn't do much of anything special.  

Each morning Dad drove me to work so that he and Mom could use the car to sight-see while hubs and I were at work.  It was my favorite part of the day.  Even though the ride was super short {I only work one mile from home}, it was quality time with him.  It felt like schooldays all over again, except the car was a little less embarrassing than his two tone Crown Vic.  One morning he was a trooper and helped me pick up breakfast for a work-meeting - I rushed him all over the store.  So thankful!

We played this game Dominion a couple of nights.  Mom was hoping that we'd play Settlers of Catan.  We never got around to it.  Maybe next time.  

Mom cooked a couple of our suppers.  And, Dad was the amazing, superstar dishwasher all week long. And, he mopped my floors.  Mom bought me a little plant.  They went grocery shopping.  Thanks so much.  

Hanging out on our porch after it rained for 10 minutes.  

On Saturday morning, we went on a walk at the Rose Bowl. Well, hubs ran a lap while the three of us walked it.  Mom and Dad set the pace, and it was pretty challenging keeping up with them. 

We tried {some of} our favorite restaurants: the taco truck, In N Out, Porto's {for their delish cheese rolls and potato balls}, and Yogurtland.

Mom & Dad with their burgers.  Dad wasn't that impressed, but Mom liked her's.

Our time together was one of my favorite visits with them.  I loved, loved, loved having them here in Pasadena.

An Unforgettable Day

I will never forget.  I was in Dr. Wasley's eight am Modern Poetry class where we were  ironically discussing Eliot's The Wasteland.  Someone walked into class and asked if we had heard the news.  We hadn't.  We couldn't believe it was really true.  

It was the beginning of my junior year at the University of Georgia - one of the first cool mornings of Fall.  A Tuesday.  Same as this year.  By lunchtime UGA had become practically deserted.  That afternoon, my roommate and I invited all of our friends over for dinner.  We just wanted to be near to people we loved.  Is it strange that I remember exactly what we ate {jumbalaya, green beans, and fruit salad}?

{Source}

I remember wondering, "what's next?  Are we going to war?  Is {more} war coming to us?"  Someone hung a flag from the arches on campus and students lit candles as a memorial.  It is a day so many of us won't forget.  That day {and maybe week?} time stood still for so many of us.  And, for so many of us our lives have been changed forever.  

Book Club

Mom and Dad flew home earlier today.  It was such a fantastic visit with them - probably one of the best {their first to Los Angeles}.  Hubs is suggesting that I stay busy this next week to distract me from missing them.  Luckily for me, my book club met tonight.

Earlier this summer a few friends and I started a book club.  This month, we read A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  It was an interesting read about a futuristic dystopia told by Offred, the Handmaid.  We never learn her real name - only that she is the Handmaid of a Commander whose first name is Fred.  This is how all the handmaids are named as part of their Commanders' identities.  Her voice was compelling and I was so drawn into her story.  I loved the way she flipped from present to flashbacks.  While I can't say I loved the book, I have to say that I couldn't put it down.  I finished it in less than a week and gave it four stars on Goodreads.

What are y'all reading now?  Any friends in Pasadena want to join us next month?

Quick Update

 

Mom and Dad are here visiting.  It's the first time they've been out to see us since our move last summer.  I'm enjoying every minute with them {even the ones when I turn into my 15 year-old self}.  Last Friday, hubs and I met them in San Fransisco and spent the weekend sight-seeing {more on this in a separate post} and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway on Sunday.  I wish we had had another day or two to meander through the little towns, hike or even camp along the way. 

Now that we're back in Los Angeles, they're spending their days sight-seeing in the LA area while hubs and I go to work.  I'm loving having supper with them every night.  Last night Dad and hubs went to the grocery store after supper.  I promised to make chocolate chip cookies if Mom and I could stay home.  {I am not a fan of going to the grocery}.  I halfed the recipe because I only had one egg, but I forgot to half the butter.  While the cookies were pretty tasty, they came out of the oven a little flat.  The sad thing is, I didn't realize what I did wrong until this morning. 

Here's to soaking-in every moment with my family - flat, overly buttery cookies and all!