So long 2013!

I don't know if I'm the only one-but it seems like 2013 just flew by! I feel as though so much happened this year, but that it was all in a blink of an eye.

I welcomed a new nephew and a Goddaughter, traveled internationally, reconnected with old friends while making new, found I had strong opinions on topics, got comfortable sharing personal information with people, got to enjoy watching almost every sport of the London Olympics, plus watch Wimbledon matches live and in person, celebrated the weddings of friends, and of course had some other fantastic experiences. There were ups and downs, but I'm happy when I look back on everything that the ups are the only things that come to mind.

In regards to my 2013 New Years Resolutions, I succeeded in some of them. My primary goals were to do something good for others through donating time or money every month, as well as to read the entire Bible. I'm very happy to say that I completed the Bible on December 26th! Growing up in the church I thought I knew most of what was in there but there were definitely things I learned! And surprisingly parts of the Bible that I really enjoyed and didn't think I would, and parts I was bored with that I thought I would enjoy. I don't claim to be an expert and in no way shape or form can I quote different passages now that I've read the whole thing, but am happy that I did it. As for helping others, I feel like I did some things, but not sure I did as much as I would have wanted. I managed to donate blood 5 times (so close to the max of 6!), and volunteer with my church, help donate to things friends were doing, started supporting friends in Cru, continued to support Vican and Dar El Awlad, bought things were proceeds went to charity, and a few other things here and there. I guess if you spread it out I would be able to say I succeeded, but I guess my vision was for it to be loftier. To make a bigger impact on myself and those around me. Perhaps that will just have to be a lifelong effort. To be willing to volunteer and step up when needed as opposed to just a resolution for 1 year.

Overall it's been a good year.....but I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store!

Babies Babies and more Babies!!!

About 2 years ago I officially entered into the stage of life where all my friends started having kids. Which is fine because I absolutely adore kids! I admit that sometimes I feel left out as the one still single and trying to figure out life while most of my friends and married and starting to pop those cute little tykes out. But the beauty of it is that I still get to see these adorable kiddos and as soon as they start fussing or pooping hand them right back over to their parents! I'm super excited because next week I get to see one of my good friend's brand new little boy PLUS see my youngest 2 nephews! And before that one of my dearest friends is finding out the gender today of her next little one and my first Godson/daughter!

I should probably also point out that I'm one of those American girls who loves the Royal Family in England and was checking Twitter every few minutes over the past few days to find out about first the birth and then the naming of Prince George! As I joyfully made the announcements to my friends as soon as I saw them online they mostly just stared at me like I was crazy. I don't care-I love me some royalty!

While surrounded by all this baby news I stumbled across an article about another famous family who's kids have kept me captivated in the past. The wonderful Duggar family of TLC fame. I LOVE the Duggars! I've watched their show for years and think they are great. They may be more religious than I am and the girls enjoy skirts a whole lot more than myself (who only wears them for weddings and the staff Christmas party), but seriously-they are a very strong family who love each other and who teach their kids incredible values. Every kid learns the value of helping others, working hard, and doing what's right. I see nothing wrong with this. But apparently a lot of people have issues with their family. Mostly due to the size. Michelle and Jim Bob have 19 kids (the fact I can name them all shows my fandom). Even I'll admit that is an INCREDIBLY large family. But you know what-so what?!? Today's day and age teaches tolerance and acceptance of differences between people, and yet this family gets attacked because the parents are just really good at reproducing?!? I don't get it. The one other common complaint is that none of the children have fully enrolled in a college. They've pursued other licensing tracks and started their own businesses instead. I see no problem with this either! I've linked the article below. The main reason I liked it is because it gives an interesting twist to the debate and the criticism about the Duggars.

Click Here for the Article entitled "My Body, My Choice" or as I like to call it- Don't Hate the Duggars

Sidenote: The article comes from what appears to be a Pro-Life website. I think everyone is entitled to their own opinions regarding the pro-life vs pro-choice debate and this is not my way of endorsing one belief or another whatsoever! In fact, I had never even heard of this website before a friend on facebook posted the link to this article.

Zen State of Mind

Ever had one of those moments where your mind just stops? There's no planning, contemplating, reminiscing, etc. That was me this morning. And it came as a bit of a shock.

Life has been busy lately with reviews, planning, training, etc at work. Plus I leave to go on vacation tomorrow so there's been constant thoughts of packing lists, destination ideas, travel worries, etc. I'm not sure but I think I may have gotten a full grasp of all that needed to be done and was satisfied with where I was that this morning in the shower (yes I felt like sharing the place-don't judge) I found myself with nothing on my mind. And it wasn't even one of those exhausted just stand there in the shower and do nothing in a complete daze type of nothing. It was a wide awake and fully functioning taking care of typical shower activities mood and yet not thinking about all I had to do today. It was amazing!

Of course when I realized I had nothing on my mind it then made me think about the fact that I had nothing on my mind and how amazing that is and how that never happens. Basically defeating my zen state of mind.

I was worried with today being my last day to make sure everything is taking care of at work and at home that I would be frantic. But I guess I was wrong! I'm loving the calmness I have today and the ability I'm having to push back any concerns or fears I have. Looks like I'm capitalizing on the harmonious mindset part of a triskele life right now!

A Pinch and a Sting

 My goal at the start of the year was to do something every month that helps others. So far I've been doing pretty good at following through! Some months I am able to do more than others, but overall I'm happy with how it's gone. While trying to plan out potential ideas, donating blood was an easy one include. I first donated blood in 2003, and then from 2005 onwards (apparently I boycotted donating in 2004) I would donate blood about twice a year. That's not to shabby considering you can only donate 6 times a year total! Last year I kicked into slightly higher gear and donated 3 times. Apparently this qualifies you as a Silver VIP Life Saver! They even give you a lapel pin and free t-shirt! (and we all know how I feel about free t-shirts!). Silver VIPs donate 3-4 times in a year while Gold VIPs donate 5-6. In 2013 my goal is to become a Gold VIP Life Saver! Yesterday I donated for the 3rd time in 2013. If I keep this up, I should be able to make it!! I may even go for the full 6 donations!!

Even though I've donated blood about 20 times before, I still get slightly nervous each time. I mean let's face it, I'm letting a stranger stab me with a giant needle and then literally watching while 1/10 of the amount of blood in my body flows through a tube. Personal confession-I'm a total worrier and prone to some anxiety. I always worry that they won't be able to find my vein, or something will happen to really hurt my vein or my arm, or that I'll faint, or whatever other crazy places my mind takes me to. In reality the worst that has ever happened is that I have almost fainted....twice. Both of which were totally my fault! I had a pretty empty stomach both times, which let me tell you is not a good idea! That was years ago and now when I know I'm planning to donate I eat about double the amount of food I normally would that entire day and I haven't had any problems with feeling light headed or fainting!

I know the slight anxiety will probably always be there when donating. But like many things in life, I just have to weigh the pros and cons. My blood type is A- which only 6% of Americans have. People with A- blood can only receive blood from types A- and 0- which is only about 13% of the total population. I'd like to think that if I ever needed blood that there were more people who were willing to weigh their fears or anxiety against the possibility to save a life. After my last donation in April I got an email telling me which hospital my blood went to. I thought that was really cool. And that's why I'll continue to donate. Because for only about an hour total of my time from checking in to finishing up my post donation snacks, I knew I was doing my part to help save a life in a nearby community. And that feeling of making a difference totally outweighs any anxiety!!

"This is an exercise"

I recently got to do something amazingly fun and exciting; and yet a little terrifying as well. Every year the various public safety offices host different emergency preparedness exercises to make sure everyone is on top of their game. This year it was held on the college campus where I work and you better believe I volunteered as a victim!!!

The big scenario was basically an active shooter on campus (something that unfortunately is a much to real scenario). There were many different forms of public safety from officers to EMS taking part with plenty of people like myself volunteering to play the frantic and injured that need saving. I played the part of Tammy- a secretary with 2 beautiful children (Jenifer and Jonathan) who was excited to go to the beach this summer with my husband's family who just started really accepting me into the family a few months ago after Jonathan had been born thanks to cementing the continuation of the family name (my father-in-law is a bit of a male chauvinist) . Ok-so really none of that was actually told to me. I completely made up the entire back story. All I was given was a card that said I had a gunshot wound to the leg and listed my vitals post injury. But doesn't the story of Tammy sound like a pretty good one?!? (I'd like to add that I wasn't the only person creating back stories!) And the makeup we all got done to portray our injuries was pretty awesome!

The exercise was really realistic. I had to call 911 a few times for the first time in my life and I will say those people are great at staying calm! Maybe it had to do with the fact they knew this was taking place and I had to start and end each of my calls with "This is an exercise", but great questions and calmness in their voices! Then I basically got to hide while the cops found the shooter. That was probably the scariest part. Hearing footsteps running around, people yelling, an officer finding me (the only time of the day a gun was actually pointed at me-not loaded of course), and just waiting not really knowing what was going on. I can imagine how terrifying it would be in a real situation. My favorite part was my rescue. Thanks to my gunshot wound, I couldn't walk and thus got carried out over the shoulder of a rather fit police officer (I'm one of those girls who loves a guy in uniform!) I got transported to safety, triaged, taken to the hospital in an ambulance (another first), and went through some fake tests and surgery there. It was a crazy few hours of my life.

It was fun being part of it and seeing a bit more of what they would do and understanding how a response to that situation goes. I think it was great practice for everyone from the initial call to the hospital dealing with so many injuries coming in at once. Granted I hope I am NEVER in a real situation like that. Instead let's just keep it as an exercise shall we?

the joys of running

Yesterday evening I went to a spin class at the gym with a friend. Less than 12 hours later I was back at the gym running on the treadmill. Some may call this insane, I call it my norm.  I am one of those people who actually enjoys going to the gym and working out. I don't ever want to be one of the creepy body builder women, but I do really enjoy staying physically active.

I find that I tend to have much more energy when I'm doing something active every day. And while I still hesitate to call myself a "runner", running is probably the most common activity for me. Within the last week I've participated in two 5k races, and potentially signing up for another in less than a month. When I realized I was doing two 5k races within literally 3 days of each other, even I started to think I was crazy! But then I realized that a 5k really isn't that long to run. A simple 3.1 miles. And I'm perfectly content sticking to 5ks. I have no desire in any fiber of my being to run long races like a marathon. I don't consider that fun. And to me, that's what working out is-fun.

I tend to also do 5ks that are associated with some form of cause. Of course a chunk of the money is going toward the logistics of the race, or toward the 'free' t-shirt you get for signing up (and I'm a sucker for a 'free' t-shirt!!). But I like the fact that it feels more involved than just signing a check to support a charity or cause. Like I actually did something for them.

Is it bad my favorite part of racing may be the t-shirts you get???

The first 5k I participated in this week was for Project Reach. It was at a conference I attended and was something new they added to raise money for school supplies at a high school. Admittedly, this was not my best showing at a 5k. For whatever reason (I have plenty of excuses-the 85 degree heat, the lack of sleep, the excess amount of alcohol I had been drinking every night) I ended up getting a stitch in my side and walking almost half of it! Still, I was active and did something healthier than a few friends of mine who came out to support us and hung out on the sidelines with a drink of their own.

After that disappointing showing, I was nervous about how the next 5k would go. I was still excited however as I had participated in this race a few times before- the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I'm a proud member of team Rack Pack in my area. (and running on a team meant TWO t-shirts!) I'm proud to say that I did much better and actually ran the entire thing! It lifted my spirits and gave me some motivation to keep going and pushing myself even when I don't have a literal finish line in front of me.

Rack Pack Pride!!! (and the one time of year I'm more than happy to wear plenty of pink)

I may not be a distance runner, but I do enjoy running. Not to mention walking, hiking, biking, etc. I love the feeling at the end when you know you did something good for yourself. It doesn't matter the distance, just so long as I can be active-whether it means going 1 mile, 3 miles, or 26 miles (but again-don't count of me to do 26 anytime soon ever.

Free Watch Anyone?

I had a very proud moment the other day. I was in a tornado warning and I did not break down and start praying to God to spare me like crazy. Seriously-that's my norm. I don't do well in bad weather. Watches of any kind are enough to cause an increase in my blood pressure! (well watches related to potential weather threats at least-I'm not Captain Hook-throw a time telling watch at me and I'll just take it and thank you for the free watch)

This past Friday my area started by being in a tornado watch and I thought to myself "ok....just a watch.....nothing major.....you'll be fine" and then we got the announcement that the Watch is now a Warning. Sirens started going off in my head. Literally. I work at a college and we have very loud sirens that go off in case of severe weather threats or emergencies. I guess now would be a good time to say that on Friday we also had an event where I work so there were more than 900 visitors on campus in addition to the regular students and staff. Even though I felt bad for our visitors, I think they helped me keep calm. I am always much less worried if someone is with me. Even if that person can't do a single thing to help. The responsible and confident side of me kicks in and starts taking over. My thoughts turn from individual doomsday mentality to a proactive 'what can I do to make the situation better' mentality. I could have gone to the lower level of the building I was in with all the visitors right away. Heck-I got the announcement before the sirens started going off so really I could have beat them down there and been the welcoming party. But I didn't. I stayed where I was to go around alerting people where to go and what was happening. Only after everyone was taken care of did I go downstairs. Then I got to spin the situation into a "see how fast and effective we are at taking care of our students when there is any form of threat!?!" kind of message. (work long enough where I work and you can spin anything you want into a positive!)

End of the story is that I am alive. The tornado wasn't even very close to us at all. No damage around where I live which is exactly the way I like it. I also was able to save face in front of my coworkers and a bunch of strangers which is also exactly how I like it. But if I can avoid another tornado warning for a long time, I'd be absolutely ok with it!

Boston

Yesterday my faith in humanity was tested once again. An unknown person/persons set off explosives at the end of the Boston Marathon. It's these moments that make me question how far humanity has fallen. And question why there is such hate in the world. What causes someone to go so far as to take incredibly violent actions against completely innocent people. I highly doubt that the 8 year old who died yesterday had done anything worth the punishment he, and now his family, had to endure.

I try and be positive. I try to see the good in everything. But in situations like this it is so remarkably difficult. The only thing I can think to do is to continue trying to do good and assist wherever I can. I can't guarantee my influence will go very far-but I know that filling myself with hatred toward the individuals at fault isn't going to do anyone any good. Hate just breeds hate.

Patton Oswalt's facebook status yesterday regarding the bombing was so perfect, and much more poetic than I could ever be. It's gone completely viral already, but I want to post it here so that I can continue to look at it if (and sadly probably when) other horrendous activities take place and remind myself that the good do outweigh the evil on this planet.
  

"I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."

But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out... This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will." "-Patton Oswalt

Pack-A-Thon!

Originally I thought this post was going to be all about an amazing organization called Feed the Hunger. My church holds a yearly Pack-a-Thon for them where our goal is to pack 100,000 dry meals for impoverished countries. The food we packed last year (and I believe this year as well) was being sent to Haiti to feed the countless malnourished children there.

It's a fantastic organization that sends food not just to Haiti but also to places including Kenya and Sri Lanka. It's a crazy feeling to know that you've helped make sure that so many people will get a nutritious meal because of you (especially for someone like me who rarely cooks anything at all even in my own home!). And I don't want to take away from the organization. They do amazing things providing food, education, and God's message around the world.

But what really surprised me was how much I laughed during the event. See last year I participated, but just on my own. My friends were doing different shifts than I was so even though I enjoyed it, I was really only focused on not messing up more than anything else. This time however I was working a shift with 5 of my friends. I never thought I would end up crying tears of laughter on more than one occasion in just a few hour shift, but that's exactly what happened. Sometimes people would jump the gun in putting their ingredient into the bag, or randomly (and accidentally) put their ingredient in twice, we of course picked on each other for many various things, and at one point the machine sealing the bags even started sparking-which was cool but not really supposed to happen. Ok, so maybe it was a "you had to be there" kind of time, but I had so much fun I almost started feeling bad because I was there to help impoverished children and not laugh at with my friends right?!?

Then I realized helping others should be fun. Don't they say that laughter is the best medicine for pretty much everything after all? The average adult only laughs 15 times a day! The average child closer to 300!!! I'm pretty sure most people at the Pack-A-Thon probably surpassed the average adult daily laughs. From what I could tell, everyone was having a blast; except maybe the older gentleman that somehow got paired with our group. I couldn't tell if he was amused or annoyed at our antics. There was music constantly, cheering and yelling at all tables, and laughs all around. In fact that was probably the hardest I've laughed in some time, and I have to say that I left feeling better than I have all week!

129 people came out to help for the 2 hour shift I was part of and guess how many meals we packed??? Over 45,000!!! Such a fun way to help people who I'll more than likely never even meet! Because the event just happened I don't have this year's video from my specific church, but this one shows a little more about Feed the Hunger.

Recharging my batteries

So far today I: slept in, lounged and cleaned for a few hours, hiked with friends, went to the gym, and currently have laundry in the dryer and banana bread in the oven. A pretty ideal day if I say so myself. And very needed.

It's Easter weekend which means 3 days away from work and a chance to recharge my batteries. For the past month I've flown back and forth for work every 3 or 4 days. The constant back and forth, combined with working long hours every weekend, is probably more exhausting than the fall in which work takes me away from home for about 2 weeks at a time.

Originally I was supposed to be traveling this past week, but changed my plans a few days before I was supposed to leave. It was partially because it would not have been a productive trip, partially because it was a very busy week in the office and I knew they could use me, partially because I didn't want to leave my cat at home alone for a week, but mostly because the idea of getting to stay home thrilled me. I knew if I stayed home I'd be able to get errands done as well as actually sit back and relax. Take a mental break.

And it has been fantastic. I actually got more than 8 hours of sleep last night (which hasn't happened for quite some time), and then once I did wake up I just laid in bed watching TV for a bit. Knowing that if I had wanted, I could have stayed in bed all day. Granted that's not my style so after an episode of Boy Meets World I still got up.

I'm looking forward to another 2 days of pretty much the same. Looking forward to starting next week fresh and energetic. Looking forward to not dreading flying out again on Monday. And finally, looking forward to my banana bread which is just about done.....

Fresh Air and a Fresh Attitude

I always enjoy making my normal blog reading rounds. My favorites to check are the ones written by friends. Sometimes it's because I know I'm getting a shout out, but mostly it's because I love to keep up with my friends and get inside their heads more than just a Facebook status update. One such friend is AMK. We've been friends for years and even though we still see each other all the time, I still love reading her blog!

Thumbs up for being chums!!

Reading her latest post about our camping trip last weekend made me want to post one of my own. The Outdoor Activities Club in college is one of the big ways AMK and I became friends and so we still love to go hiking and camping when we have the chance.

This particular camping trip came at the best time possible. Work was leaving me highly annoyed and stressed, and to the point I really didn't want to be there whatsoever (which is quite rare for me to say as I typically enjoy my job). What I love about camping is the chance to completely get away from it all. Being able to escape the modern world can be amazing. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love technology and modern amenities. But turning off my phone completely and not having any TV, radio, internet, or phone was fantastic. There was no way work could reach me. And it was peaceful knowing we were 'off the grid' so to speak.

I think that's the main reason I'm drawn to camping. Escaping from all the stress that normal life puts on us. There's no work emails reaching me, no friend drama to surround me, and no sloth guilt for doing nothing but watching TV all day. Camping means that I can just enjoy the world around me. Let my mind stop running a million miles a minute and just enjoy the fresh air. Typically I enjoy going on hikes and exploring while camping, but this time we only left the immediate camp site when nature called. I think it was for the best this time because it really allowed me to just stop everything. (It also allowed me to not freeze since staying in the campsite meant staying by the fire.)

We all need that sometimes. To be able to escape the normal stress of life and decompress a bit. Everyone has their own way of going about it. The outdoors just happens to be mine. It allowed me to come back with a much better attitude as well. I came back refreshed and while I wasn't exactly excited for work, I did come back more willing. Now that Spring is really starting to come around (this weekend its 60 degrees! So much better than the 40 we had as a high last weekend!) I hope to get out more and more. Whether it be more camping trips, or day hikes, running outside, or even just sitting outside and reading. I can't wait to enjoy more fresh air!!

Sacrifices!

Phew-Lent started more than a week ago and yet this is the first chance I've really had to sit down and do something not work related at the computer. I look forward to next week when life may calm down a bit....who am I kidding, next week will still be crazy! May-yeah, maybe in May life may calm down a bit!

Regardless of the oh-so-fun (read: stressful) events at work, Ash Wednesday kicked off the Lenten season on Feb. 13th this year. Lent is a religious season symbolizing the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert being tested by Satan and thus is a time for reflection and sacrifice for us as believers. Not all Christian denominations celebrate Lent, but growing up in the Lutheran church, it was one of the most important parts of the year. Not only do you have regular church services on Sundays, but every Wednesday night as well. And don't get me started on Holy Week (the end of Lent) when you have church almost every day of the week as you celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection! The church I attend currently isn't Lutheran, and so while they don't make a big deal over the Lenten season, it is something that is still important to me.

Many people give up something during Lent as a way of sacrificing something they enjoy more than they should. A lot of my friends have given up chocolate or candy or alcohol. Soda was always my go to sacrifice. I LOVE some Dr. Pepper that's for sure! But last year I decided to cut back as a whole when I started realizing exactly how much sugar and calories I was ingesting through have 3 sodas a day (seriously-that was my norm during the fall). Now I only allow myself 3 sodas for the whole week anyway so that sacrifice was out. Instead, this year I decided to give up something I had never attempted before.....cursing!

I don't swear up and down everyday, but I do swear more than I probably should. I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as giving up something physical. To have a soda takes not only a mental choice, but to physically follow through. Cursing on the other hand, you do without really thinking about it. And so even though Lent started back on the 13th, yesterday (the 21st) was my first successful no cursing day!!! I was out with friends last night and when I realized how close I was to making it I got very excited and wanted to share, but didn't for fear of jinxing myself.

I probably will continue to slip here and there, but I like the idea of breaking bad habits and vices. Especially one where I feel like I remember Jill Taylor from Home Improvement saying something along the lines of "When people curse it's just because they aren't smart enough to come up with anything else to say"

One of the best shows ever! Mostly due to the adorable JTT!

"those" friends

You know those friends. The friends that pay more attention than you think. The friends that probably care more than you know. They tend to be the most overlooked at times, and yet make me the most grateful.

Today's just been an off day. A good amount of people I know are having a really crappy Monday. That's not necessarily the case for me. Nothing has gone dreadfully wrong. I haven't received any horrible news (knock on wood since there's still another 7+ hours left in the day!). And yet it's just off. I'm not feeling happy, I'm not necessarily feeling sad. I guess emotionless would be a better word. Going through my day, getting my work done, and waiting until 5:00 to be free to run a few errands and watch some Downton Abbey on DVR.

Apparently this emotionless state has meant a quieter me today. I love my coworkers-seriously I do. They are all pretty happy, energetic, and absolutely hilarious. We actually see each other outside the office on purpose and the quips back and forth between offices is a mainstay where I work. Honestly I didn't even realize I wasn't participating in any conversation today. And it wasn't because I was so overwhelmed with work I had to focus. Granted I did have things to do and got a good amount done today, but I still had time to do some facebook stalking and tumblr reading here and there.

Then, at 3:53pm today I got this email: "Hey Homie! You ok? You've been awfully quiet today."

(yup-we call each other 'homie'. Like I said-LOVE my coworkers)

That's when it dawned on me. This person didn't have to check on me at all. Yet I have no doubt if I said "well actually I got some bad news" that the immediate response would be "do you want to talk about it?" or "what can i do?" It made me wonder when the last time I've reached out to someone like that was. When someone looked at me and was grateful for any extra support I gave that wasn't expected. I like to think of myself as dependable-but why should people have to ask for the help first? New ambition is to be more like my coworker (except for her love of 4+ inch heels-I'd break an ankle in those things in no time!!!)

Trips to the Bathroom (not gross-I swear!)

It may be a bit early in this blog's life to talk about the bathroom, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Thanks to being dehydrated and feeling the effects a few years ago, I'm a firm believer in drinking plenty of water throughout the day. I love water and am one of those weird people who enjoys it's taste (even though some say water has no taste-but that's a debate for another time). The only downside of drinking a lot of water during the day is the extra few trips to the bathroom as a result.

Every time I'm drying my hands after a trip, I now think of an awesome Ted Talk that I watched a while ago by Joe Smith. It's all about the amount of paper waste we create by using multiple paper towels while drying our hands. Apparently regardless of what type of paper towel a bathroom supplies, you only need 1! If everyone only used 1 paper towel per hand drying, it would eliminate so much waste!!!

I'm only on this planet for a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things. And like a good amount of the Millennial Generation, I'd like to leave the world better than when I entered it. So I love the idea that a simple action while in the bathroom can actually help reduce the amount of trash I produce especially over a lifetime! 

SUPERBOWL CHAMPS!!!!!

THE RAVENS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!

Ok, so this may not have anything to do with that pursuit of harmony and contentment that I mentioned earlier, but as a Raven's fan it does make me pretty happy!!!!

Project Serve

Part of my new years resolution was to give more of myself in an effort to help others. I figured this could be through my time, money, energy; really anything I could. Today my church helped me in that resolution by hosting Project Serve. They have these a few times a year and ask for people to come together and spend part of the day volunteering through different outreach opportunities. Seeing as how it is a church activity, typically one opportunity is evangelizing, but honestly that’s not really a strong suit of mine. I am comfortable talking about my faith if someone asks, but I’m never very comfortable starting the conversation. Especially with strangers. So typically I opt for the opportunities that include manual labor in an effort to help others and just to be an example.

This time myself and a few friends volunteered to help at one of the lowest scoring elementary schools in the state which happens to be in my town. Of the various opportunities there, landscaping sounded like the most fun. Then I remembered I don’t have much experience with landscaping, and that it would be about 30 degrees outside. I bucked up though and started putting on the layers of clothes that my love of camping and hiking has taught me to do so well.

When we got to the school we met Ms. B-A. She’s one of the teachers and has a heart of gold! She’s one of those teachers that truly care for their students. Not just in a “gee I hope you succeed and learn something” type of way, but in a “I want to help you learn the foundations for a good life and how to set goals and reach them both in the classroom and for your future.” She’s started initiatives encouraging the students to read, developed a character building plan for the school, and helps collect clothes and schools supplies for her students. The church brought clothes for the students and she was so touched she almost started crying. 

Some of the supplies and clothes Ms. B-A already had, plus some of the bags we brought from church.

My 2 friends and I were assigned to plant around the flagpole in the front of the school. Luckily one of my friends used to work in landscaping, and the other has some experience as well. As the odd one out I took the role of filling in around the plants once they had dug the proper holes. Even with the chilly weather it ended up being pretty fun. 

Our handiwork...plus the trowel that didn't help us one bit!

 

After that we helped out in the library. That was easier, and to be honest, a bit more boring, but I enjoyed seeing some books I used to read when I was younger plus many books I’d never heard of before. My favorite was The Bugsiest Bug which actually had a great storyline (yup-I took a break to read it. Actually I read it out loud and hosted a mini story time).

In the grand scheme of things I may not have done much. I helped deliver clothes other people donated, helped do a little planting, and remembered my alphabet while putting books in order. But when I think about the tears Ms. B-A almost shed and hope for the kid's excited faces, I can't help but smile. I know that just a few of my hours on a Saturday morning made at least a little mark on the world.  

What is a triskele anyway?!?

"A triskele, or triskelion, is a motif consisting of three interlocked spirals." Or so explains Wikipedia. The original meaning behind a triskele has been lost over time. They've been used in astrological calendars, in displays of arms, and, most frequently, as a sign of harmony by the Celtics. It was this last description that caught my attention a few years ago while scouring the internet for tattoo ideas. Harmony between mind, body, and soul, is always something I've thought about. I strongly believe that there is a relationship between all three and that if you suffer in one area, the others are affected as well. And so after quite a bit of thought (and some extra googling to compare various meanings) I took the plunge and will forever have a triskele tattooed on me.

Since then the pursuit of harmony has been even more prominent in my life. I am nowhere near perfect. Far from it actually. But I do want to be happy. Doesn't everyone? So I try to take the steps to reach toward that idea of harmony. It helps that I don't like to sit still. I prefer to be actively doing something and always willing to try new things.

So that's what this blog will be about. My search for contentment and happiness. To try and find harmony between my mind, body, and soul. Mistakes, achievements, stories, pictures-I plan to share it all. To 'lay it all out there' as the cliche saying goes. It should be an interesting journey. So let's begin shall we....