Miscelleny Monday #2

"Somebody ought to tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit every minute of every day. Do it, I say, whatever you want to do, do it now.” — Michael Landon

Okay folks, this last week has been such a whirlwind that I can't even put anything coherent together on the blog.  I'm headed out tonight for a week in paradise...Costa Rica!  Don't worry, I've got some great guest blogs lined up for you while I'm gone.  But today, I'm linking up with Miscelleny Monday and Cup Half Full to share lots of random stuff!

1. I spent the weekend in Colorado for GBaby's baptism.  It was so much fun and the baptism was beautiful.  I'll have a full blog on this once I get back, but for now, here's a snapshot from the big event.

2. I found my future wedding venue.  Here she is.  Napa Valley, California.  Good things happen to me there, you know.  Now, in addition to finding a groom (minor detail...), I need to either (a) win the lottery; or (b) convince everyone that it is cool to sit on the floor and pack a sack lunch and dance to music off of someone's iPhone at a wedding since I will not be able to afford anything beyond the building.

3.  I absolutely love ND Friend's Kentucky Derby blog.  Read it here.  My favorite paragraph is the following:

"Not to be too cheesy, but it’s true: much of life often looks a bit like the Kentucky Derby walk-back-to-the-stables. We get a hunch, sentimental details and signs fall into place, we become ever more convinced of what God’s will is, and then we are stuck wearing a stupid hat in the Churchill Downs parking lot, looking up at heaven saying, “Where were you on that one?” The perfect marriage-in-the-making ends in unrequited love, the customized nameplate on the desk somehow has someone else’s John Hancock on it, the acceptance letter got delivered to the wrong house, even the five kids named after obscure saints to be raised as future priests and nuns never arrive. How could this not be your will, God?"

Isn't that the truth?  I feel like the girl in a dumb hat a lot of the time when I'm so sure I have things figured out and then...oops....totally wrong.  Glad I'm not the only one.

4.  Speaking of horse racing, I'll Have Another won the Preakness by a head.  Can he win the Belmont in a couple of weeks and be the first Triple Crown winner in decades??

5.  This is an absolutely amazing blog by Nicole.  Ask yourself her questions?  "What if I could go through life with my eyes set straight ahead, confident in who Jesus has made me to be?! What if I could make choices in life not based on what I am afraid others may think, but rather understanding that life is too short to waste NOT doing what I was created for?!"

Shoot dang.....I don't know about y'all, but I think I'll marinade on that baby for a while.

6.  Check out this song called "For a Dancer."  I love it.  Favorite line:  "Just do the steps that you've been shown, by everyone you've ever known until the dance becomes your very own."
 

7.  I had been doing really well on my swim suit diet for the last week.  Until I totally went off the rails this weekend....Italian food, Seven and Seven, breakfast burrito, ice cream, calzone....I'll be strictly enforcing the NO SWIM SUIT PHOTOS rule in Costa Rica!

Miscelleny Monday #1

"Wouldn't life be perfect if sweatpants were sexy, Mondays were fun, junk food didn't make you fat, girls didn't cause so much drama, guys weren't so confusing, and goodbyes only meant 'til tomorrow?"

It's Monday and I really don't have a coherent post put together...so we're going with Miscelleny Monday!

1. Did you notice something new on my blog today? Anyone? Anyone? Look up and you'll see a little box that lets you follow by email. Several people asked me if I could set up a way for them to get an email notification anytime I post a new blog. Three easy steps and you're all set up: (1) Enter your email in the box above and click "submit." (2) Enter the little letter code and click "Confirm subscription." (3) Go to your email and you'll have an email asking you to confirm the subscription. Just open the email and click on the link included. Just like that, you're signed up!

2. For the first time since I was a senior...meaning 10 years....the boys and girls basketball teams from my high school will be playing at the State Tournament this week. When we played at State, these kids were barely starting elementary school. Basketball is big in rural New Mexico (read this post by fellow Longhorn alum Bunny, and having both teams playing at State means that the town pretty much shuts down. I always said that if anyone wanted to rob the Village of Logan, they should do it during the State Basketball Tournament. I can't make the first round games, but I've given specific requests for wins so I can go see them play in the semi-finals! So good luck to the Longhorns this week....let's make up for lost time in those last 10 years!

3. I participated in a Virtual Leap Day Run hosted by Life as a Running Mom last Wednesday. What an awesome idea--people from all over the world can participate in the run anytime that day. Becuase it was Leap Day, the race distance was 2.9 miles. I almost failed--I was going to run before work, but turned the alarm off and slept for an extra 45 minutes. After work I went to watch a college basketball game (where I ate a bbq sandwich and nachos). But I headed to the gym after the game and ran my 2.9 miles...yay for the Virtual Run motivation!

4. Relay for Life events are coming up around the country, which are major fundraisers for the American Cancer Society. The Blonde Oklahoma Girl is super active with ACS and is chairing her county's relay this year. Everyone has been effected in some way by cancer. To understand why she is so passionate about relay, read a blog I wrote about Our Link--our mutual friend, Pink Boots, who died of brain cancer almost 4 years ago. As part of her relay fundraising, Blonde Oklahoma Girl is selling these adorable OSU shirts below. They say "I am a Hope talkin', Relay walkin' Cancer Fighting, Candle lightin', Orange wearin' Cowboy Cheerin OSU FAN!" and only cost $10. (There is an OU version too, but come on....) If you're interested in ordering one, contact her at lyndse.blondeoklahomagirl@gmail.com

5. I've recently discovered this addicting thing called a heart rate monitor. People in my spin class use them, so I borrowed one from College Roomie last week. Given my competitiveness and obsessive personality, this thing has created a monster. I'm now constantly trying to see where I am heartrate wise in a workout and trying to push myself more to increase my average heartrate during a workout, my highest heartrate, and my total calories burned. If you've never tried it, you want to (maybe you don't and this is just a thing for a nerd like me). FYI--if you know anything about heartrate statistics and what they should be, let me know because frankly, I don't and sometimes when I see the number I worry I may be having a heart attack!

6. I'm absolutely obsessed with this new song by Lee Brice called Looking for a Woman Like You. It's precious and adorable. My favorite part is the end where he tells her he doesn't like all the other stuff anyway...listen to the whole thing. Another for BFF's Baby Brother to learn for my future wedding? I think so!

7. This amazing article about time, pie and a single girl. My absolute favorite part? "God doesn't waste time." That includes the part of your life where you're single. Amen to that. This article was sent to me via ND Friend probably mostly because it involved a discussion of pie and our friendship is quite centered on food (like pancakes as you recall). And speaking of, if I did a pie chart like the one in the article, I could tell you that the "thinking about food" slice would be significantly larger. Just saying.
8. Last week I joined with thousands of other people in praying daily for religious freedom. I think this is something that as Americans we take for granted most of the time. One day, the prayer included asking God to be with those Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and then went on to pray that we, as Christians, may never persecute other faiths. I found this to be amazing and sort of turn things upside down. I had never though of praying that Christians would not persecute others before, but I absolutely loved this idea.