I swore I would never do it. Not just because I go against the flow on most occasions due to extreme stubbornness, but also due to laziness. And a dislike for sweating.
But I've been doing it recently. Even did it last night.
I ran.
I burned 200 calories in 28 minutes, according to the treadmill, which was my friend and enemy. Friend because it showed me my stats and enemy because I couldn't close my eyes and just run because I have little balance and grace, so I'd fall. But, then again, I guess I couldn't really close my eyes and run on a track, either. Might hit people.
I. Love. Running.
I do. It's so addicting, turns out. This month has been fairly stressful and does not look to let up at all, so running is a great escape, a great way to run (away? hmmm...) from stress and work and everything else.
It's also a great way to shed pounds for my cousin's upcoming wedding.
However, I don't think I'm doing it correctly. Granted, I'm the first person who'd say, "What?? You don't think you're RUNNING correctly? Is there a wrong way?" But here's the thing. I'm 25 years old and I have popping kneecaps on most days. In fact, walking down stairs is just a hoot for anyone around. As long as it's quiet, you can hear my left knee creak...creak. I'm a one-woman prop comic without the need for props.
And here's something else that was strange yesterday: my hip (Again, I'm 25) started feeling strange, like it was rubbing up against a piece of tendon/bone/have-no-idea that kind of hurt.
So...is my body just rebelling against the running, or is it possible that I'm doing it wrong? I know a lot of you are runners, so I'd appreciate the input. =)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
My mama
She was 19 when she married my dad in El Dorado, Ark. They eloped.
She was 34 when she had her first child -- me!
She is, without a doubt, amazing.
My mom never was the "coolest" mom. She didn't buy me and my friends alcohol, she didn't let me go to the "fun" high school parties, she didn't let me wear short shirts or dresses.
She took me to church every week. She encouraged me to sing, to join our church's choir, to invite my friends over to our house so she could keep an eye on us. She made me keep my bedroom door open when boys were around and paid for me to have tennis and dance lessons.
She showed me what a good marriage was by her relationship with my dad -- they'll have been married for forty years, as of next Saturday. She pushed me to do well in school, so that when I graduated, I had college paid for with scholarships.
She showed me how little some things mattered -- like not being the girlfriend of the cute boy in school or being the party girl. She gave me her honest opinion when I did things wrong but always complimented me for a job well done.
There's not a day that goes by that I don't talk to my mom. We're closer than a lot of kids are to their moms, and I am so thankful for that. I am so thankful I have a woman to model myself after. She's not perfect -- no one is -- but she comes mighty close on many occasions.
I love you, Mom. Happy early Mother's Day.
She was 34 when she had her first child -- me!
She is, without a doubt, amazing.
My mom never was the "coolest" mom. She didn't buy me and my friends alcohol, she didn't let me go to the "fun" high school parties, she didn't let me wear short shirts or dresses.
She took me to church every week. She encouraged me to sing, to join our church's choir, to invite my friends over to our house so she could keep an eye on us. She made me keep my bedroom door open when boys were around and paid for me to have tennis and dance lessons.
She showed me what a good marriage was by her relationship with my dad -- they'll have been married for forty years, as of next Saturday. She pushed me to do well in school, so that when I graduated, I had college paid for with scholarships.
She showed me how little some things mattered -- like not being the girlfriend of the cute boy in school or being the party girl. She gave me her honest opinion when I did things wrong but always complimented me for a job well done.
There's not a day that goes by that I don't talk to my mom. We're closer than a lot of kids are to their moms, and I am so thankful for that. I am so thankful I have a woman to model myself after. She's not perfect -- no one is -- but she comes mighty close on many occasions.
I love you, Mom. Happy early Mother's Day.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
By faith, you…
Finish the thought for yourself.
I just wanted to share with you some thoughts I’ve been having this week regarding faith and miracles.
One of my students, who is an atheist, brought up a question in one of his blogs (because I have them write blogs as assignments) that I found peculiar: If God exists, why don’t we see miracles (I assume he’s referring to events such as the burning bush, the Flood, Pentecost, etc., not miracles such as life itself)?
I have a different question: Why do we not acknowledge those miracles?
I don’t know your thoughts on miracles in general, but I fully believe God works supernaturally and in ways we cannot understand. I have seen too much in my life to believe otherwise.
But, honestly, that’s not the point of today’s blog. I bet you’re surprised, aren’t ya? ;)
No, I want to share what God has done this week to those around me.
First, let’s start with Superman. His diabetes is getting under control. His blood sugar is ranging in the 80s, which is FABULOUS. We were riding in the car Sunday, he was reading without his glasses (I was driving), and suddenly he looked up and exclaimed, “I can see!”
I glanced warily at him. “What?”
“I can see!” His mouth hung open. “I can see – without my glasses. I can see the street signs and the houses – I can see it all.”
And he could. He thoroughly enjoyed reading the street signs -- better than me with my contacts -- all the way home. We called our “resident doctor,” who told us that as Superman’s blood sugar got under control, his eyesight would improve. I gotta say, y’all might not consider that a miracle, but it’s nice to see my hubby’s beautiful blue eyes without glasses in front of them.
Now, on to the student. I don’t teach her, but she is a journalism major, and she lost a friend in a car crash last week. She’s devastated. She came in my office to mention something, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She apologized, which I told her there was no reason for, and she just said how she had been taught in church that her friend was in a better place…but it all just seemed like empty platitudes.
Rachel had shared with me a while back her thoughts on faith and death when one of my colleagues questioned God because of a man who died. I knew I didn’t have the answers – no one does – but this reply Rachel sent really helped. (It’s posted at the end.)
I printed out the sheet and handed it to my student. She read it over, hugged and thanked me, and left.
She returned the next morning with a bright smile on her face. “I just wanted to thank you for giving me that sheet again,” she said. “It still hurts, but that helped so much. I made a copy of it for my friends – I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not!” I said. “I hope you pass it on.”
And she did. She truly is a changed girl. She’s still sad, you can see it in her eyes, but there is an unwavering Hope and Joy that she knows that while we don’t understand God’s plan, we do know He is in control.
Here is the message:
This is tough, because it's almost an unanswerable question.
First of all, by questioning why someone dies and how and when, what they do is a presumption of judgment over God. What people mean when they make comments like hers is, "If I were God, this wouldn't have happened." It's a statement of a position of righteousness - "I know better than God." The book of Job asks, "Is any man more righteous than God?" (Job 4:17).
We will NEVER understand why certain people die so young or in pain, especially those who are God's servants and mouthpieces. So the best answer for when someone asks, "Why did this happen?" is "I don't know."
Matt 5:45, the sun and rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous.
We have to be able to take both what good happens and what "bad" happens, and not be selective of what we choose to accept; otherwise we fall into the role of playing God by deciding what should and shouldn't happen. Why did God allow this to happen? We don't know and we never will. We just have to accept that His purposes are being accomplished still through it.
Keep an eternal perspective in all things, not just the good. God is outside of time; He sees all and knows all. Who knows? We don't know. Sometimes in our suffering we minister best to others. Perhaps God allowed him to have and perish because God knew he would hold firm until the end as we're commanded to do, versus someone who would abandon God over the "injustice" of it. We have no problem lauding a martyr who willingly gives their life to God, but we like to play judge when it's someone we think should be allowed to stick around awhile. Romans 8:28: All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. Take heart that God's purpose was accomplished in him. Obviously he made an impact, and for that he is probably receiving a "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Grieving is natural but you have to be careful to not place yourself in the "God" position and think that "you could do it better" because we're humans. We have a human perspective, whereas God is outside of time. And that's as much as we can say.
Take comfort in Romans 8:28, and also in Psalm 37:25 "I was young and now am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken." If David can say these words and they're good enough to be put in the Bible, then we can believe them, too.
I just wanted to share with you some thoughts I’ve been having this week regarding faith and miracles.
One of my students, who is an atheist, brought up a question in one of his blogs (because I have them write blogs as assignments) that I found peculiar: If God exists, why don’t we see miracles (I assume he’s referring to events such as the burning bush, the Flood, Pentecost, etc., not miracles such as life itself)?
I have a different question: Why do we not acknowledge those miracles?
I don’t know your thoughts on miracles in general, but I fully believe God works supernaturally and in ways we cannot understand. I have seen too much in my life to believe otherwise.
But, honestly, that’s not the point of today’s blog. I bet you’re surprised, aren’t ya? ;)
No, I want to share what God has done this week to those around me.
First, let’s start with Superman. His diabetes is getting under control. His blood sugar is ranging in the 80s, which is FABULOUS. We were riding in the car Sunday, he was reading without his glasses (I was driving), and suddenly he looked up and exclaimed, “I can see!”
I glanced warily at him. “What?”
“I can see!” His mouth hung open. “I can see – without my glasses. I can see the street signs and the houses – I can see it all.”
And he could. He thoroughly enjoyed reading the street signs -- better than me with my contacts -- all the way home. We called our “resident doctor,” who told us that as Superman’s blood sugar got under control, his eyesight would improve. I gotta say, y’all might not consider that a miracle, but it’s nice to see my hubby’s beautiful blue eyes without glasses in front of them.
Now, on to the student. I don’t teach her, but she is a journalism major, and she lost a friend in a car crash last week. She’s devastated. She came in my office to mention something, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She apologized, which I told her there was no reason for, and she just said how she had been taught in church that her friend was in a better place…but it all just seemed like empty platitudes.
Rachel had shared with me a while back her thoughts on faith and death when one of my colleagues questioned God because of a man who died. I knew I didn’t have the answers – no one does – but this reply Rachel sent really helped. (It’s posted at the end.)
I printed out the sheet and handed it to my student. She read it over, hugged and thanked me, and left.
She returned the next morning with a bright smile on her face. “I just wanted to thank you for giving me that sheet again,” she said. “It still hurts, but that helped so much. I made a copy of it for my friends – I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not!” I said. “I hope you pass it on.”
And she did. She truly is a changed girl. She’s still sad, you can see it in her eyes, but there is an unwavering Hope and Joy that she knows that while we don’t understand God’s plan, we do know He is in control.
Here is the message:
This is tough, because it's almost an unanswerable question.
First of all, by questioning why someone dies and how and when, what they do is a presumption of judgment over God. What people mean when they make comments like hers is, "If I were God, this wouldn't have happened." It's a statement of a position of righteousness - "I know better than God." The book of Job asks, "Is any man more righteous than God?" (Job 4:17).
We will NEVER understand why certain people die so young or in pain, especially those who are God's servants and mouthpieces. So the best answer for when someone asks, "Why did this happen?" is "I don't know."
Matt 5:45, the sun and rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous.
We have to be able to take both what good happens and what "bad" happens, and not be selective of what we choose to accept; otherwise we fall into the role of playing God by deciding what should and shouldn't happen. Why did God allow this to happen? We don't know and we never will. We just have to accept that His purposes are being accomplished still through it.
Keep an eternal perspective in all things, not just the good. God is outside of time; He sees all and knows all. Who knows? We don't know. Sometimes in our suffering we minister best to others. Perhaps God allowed him to have and perish because God knew he would hold firm until the end as we're commanded to do, versus someone who would abandon God over the "injustice" of it. We have no problem lauding a martyr who willingly gives their life to God, but we like to play judge when it's someone we think should be allowed to stick around awhile. Romans 8:28: All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. Take heart that God's purpose was accomplished in him. Obviously he made an impact, and for that he is probably receiving a "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Grieving is natural but you have to be careful to not place yourself in the "God" position and think that "you could do it better" because we're humans. We have a human perspective, whereas God is outside of time. And that's as much as we can say.
Take comfort in Romans 8:28, and also in Psalm 37:25 "I was young and now am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken." If David can say these words and they're good enough to be put in the Bible, then we can believe them, too.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
What's your answer Wednesday
I love What's Your Answer Wednesdays because they're like mini surveys, and we get to learn more about each other!
1. What is your occupation?
2. Did you go to college? If so, what did you major in?
3. What is your favorite recipe? And please share, lol!
4. Do you have pets, and, if you do, what are they and what are their names?
---------------------------------------------------------
My answers
1. Journalism instructor/senior writing associate
2. Yes, journalism and English
3. Cream tacos – a great cold weather meal:
2 lbs ground beef
2 cans ranch style beans
1 can chili no beans
1 can rotel
1 lb velvetta
Small thing of whipping cream
Rice or Doritos to top
Brown the hamburger meat and drain. Add everything except the whipping cream. Mix together well until cheese is melted and all is heated thoroughly. Cut off burner. Add whipping cream and mix well. Serve in a bowl with rice or Doritos (my favorite).
4. A Chihuahua named Vicki (aka Superdog)
For more What's Your Answer fun, click HERE!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Three
(FYI -- I'm too lazy this morning to find a picture of the book...Need...more...coffee...)
It starts off with a BANG. A right there, in-your-face, fairly immediate BANG.
And then the smoke clears. And just as Kevin Parson, the protagonist of our story, stares at the charred wreckage that is his car, I read for 200 pages, wondering when the next BANG would occur.
Turns out it really didn’t happen again until the end.
Ted Dekker’s Three did have one heck of a twist in its ending. Dekker brought everything together very neatly – especially considering the shock that comes during those last few pages. But the pages between the first 50 and the last 50seem stretched.
It took me 200 pages to actually “get in” the story. Not because Dekker did not weave wonderful descriptions or stall the story. I just didn’t care about the characters. Kevin is too confused (as was I). Samantha, his childhood friend, is too much of the type to go in with guns blazing. And Jennifer…except for feeling sympathetic for her brother being murdered, I didn’t feel much of anything for her. She was a character with a lack of personality. Which, as you find out, is actually ironic.
The plot moved along a little slowly for me, even though each time a BANG occurred, it no doubt was a big one – but they seemed too few and far between for my tastes, though others probably would disagree with me.
I did like the book, believe it or not. During the end battle with Slater and Kevin, I could not put it down. I wanted to know everything – I wanted all the secrets to be revealed, which, to my happiness, they were (well, all minus one, which I think needs to be made into a sequel…Maybe Four?). It’s quite an unusual story with enough twists and turns to keep me thoroughly entertained, but, as I mentioned before, it was hard for me to really feel the characters.
This might not be a book that I pick up and read again and again for fun, but, if you are enthralled by it, I have no doubt you’ll read it many times to pick up on secrets you did not recognize during the first go-around.
It’s a fun read, even late at night (no nightmares here). It’s not really a “beachy” book, for those of you getting ready to go on vacation, but more of a book to read after the kids are in bed and you have a cup of hot tea and a nice blanket wrapped around you. Enjoy.
It starts off with a BANG. A right there, in-your-face, fairly immediate BANG.
And then the smoke clears. And just as Kevin Parson, the protagonist of our story, stares at the charred wreckage that is his car, I read for 200 pages, wondering when the next BANG would occur.
Turns out it really didn’t happen again until the end.
Ted Dekker’s Three did have one heck of a twist in its ending. Dekker brought everything together very neatly – especially considering the shock that comes during those last few pages. But the pages between the first 50 and the last 50seem stretched.
It took me 200 pages to actually “get in” the story. Not because Dekker did not weave wonderful descriptions or stall the story. I just didn’t care about the characters. Kevin is too confused (as was I). Samantha, his childhood friend, is too much of the type to go in with guns blazing. And Jennifer…except for feeling sympathetic for her brother being murdered, I didn’t feel much of anything for her. She was a character with a lack of personality. Which, as you find out, is actually ironic.
The plot moved along a little slowly for me, even though each time a BANG occurred, it no doubt was a big one – but they seemed too few and far between for my tastes, though others probably would disagree with me.
I did like the book, believe it or not. During the end battle with Slater and Kevin, I could not put it down. I wanted to know everything – I wanted all the secrets to be revealed, which, to my happiness, they were (well, all minus one, which I think needs to be made into a sequel…Maybe Four?). It’s quite an unusual story with enough twists and turns to keep me thoroughly entertained, but, as I mentioned before, it was hard for me to really feel the characters.
This might not be a book that I pick up and read again and again for fun, but, if you are enthralled by it, I have no doubt you’ll read it many times to pick up on secrets you did not recognize during the first go-around.
It’s a fun read, even late at night (no nightmares here). It’s not really a “beachy” book, for those of you getting ready to go on vacation, but more of a book to read after the kids are in bed and you have a cup of hot tea and a nice blanket wrapped around you. Enjoy.
Monday, May 4, 2009
My fight with facebook and the stapler
This is sadly how I spent most of my Friday...
8:30 – Discover facebook is no longer the cool toy it once was. I can’t find out which friends recently updated or any status updates. How am I going to be able to stalk everyone now??
8:40 – Send facebook a feedback message, probably the first I’ve ever done. “I can’t find where to check for updates on people! Why did you change facebook??”
9:30 – Grading papers, and my stupid stapler broke. Head to facebook to write as my status, “Fighting with the stapler…and it’s winning” and find out I can’t do that because I don’t know HOW to do it again.
9:38 – Send facebook a second feedback message. “I can’t even figure out how to change my status!!! WHY DID YOU DO THIS??? I have easily dealt with EVERY CHANGE you guys have done EXCEPT for this one!!!!”
10:15 – Threw away stapler. Gotta do a press release now.
10:35 – Going to purchase new stapler.
10:37 – Make sure the university is buying the stapler. You know, budget cuts and all.
10:46 – Buy (with university’s low funds) the exact same stapler as the one I put in the trash. Wonder about the sanity of the person who buys the same stapler (though in a different color) as the one she just lost a fight with.
11:03 – Had to get back on facebook for work (seriously)…Everybody else can do status updates, it looks like. What the heck is wrong with me?
11:16 – Venturing again to facebook to see if I can figure this stuff out.
11:18 – Come to the conclusion that if you want to facebook stalk people (which probably isn’t cool, but I like seeing who gets engaged, if people uploaded new pics, etc…) you have to be on facebook ALL the time. Which also isn’t cool.
11:19 – Decide to contact facebook directly. Also considering switching back to myspace. Also just realized that when you click on the question “How do I contact facebook directly” it leads you to other people who are having the same problems. Now, that’s stupid.
11:24 – Sent the following note to facebook: “Okay, this is starting to get ridiculous. I understand that you probably have millions of people who want to e-mail you directly, but you're a big company. You need better customer support here. I clicked on "How do I contact facebook," and it took me to a page with other people having the same problems. Blind leading the blind, you know? Look, the bottom line is that I can't stay on facebook all day because I have work and a "real" life, but I do like finding out who got engaged and seeing when new pics are uploaded and stuff like that. But I can't tell when people do that now, and I don't even know how to update my status. So can you please, please, please have some site where I can see status updates and recent updates like the old one? I understand you want to update the site, but for Pete's sake, please have the info easily accessible.”
11:41 – New pearl blue stapler works like a charm.
12:44 – Tried to beat the facebook system. Died like road kill.
12:45 – Suddenly shocked that I’ve spent so much time concerned about facebook.
4:45 – One of my students come in to visit, and I complain to her about facebook. She shows me very simply the dumb mistakes I was making. I feel very, very old.
Hopefully today will be more productive. ;)
8:30 – Discover facebook is no longer the cool toy it once was. I can’t find out which friends recently updated or any status updates. How am I going to be able to stalk everyone now??
8:40 – Send facebook a feedback message, probably the first I’ve ever done. “I can’t find where to check for updates on people! Why did you change facebook??”
9:30 – Grading papers, and my stupid stapler broke. Head to facebook to write as my status, “Fighting with the stapler…and it’s winning” and find out I can’t do that because I don’t know HOW to do it again.
9:38 – Send facebook a second feedback message. “I can’t even figure out how to change my status!!! WHY DID YOU DO THIS??? I have easily dealt with EVERY CHANGE you guys have done EXCEPT for this one!!!!”
10:15 – Threw away stapler. Gotta do a press release now.
10:35 – Going to purchase new stapler.
10:37 – Make sure the university is buying the stapler. You know, budget cuts and all.
10:46 – Buy (with university’s low funds) the exact same stapler as the one I put in the trash. Wonder about the sanity of the person who buys the same stapler (though in a different color) as the one she just lost a fight with.
11:03 – Had to get back on facebook for work (seriously)…Everybody else can do status updates, it looks like. What the heck is wrong with me?
11:16 – Venturing again to facebook to see if I can figure this stuff out.
11:18 – Come to the conclusion that if you want to facebook stalk people (which probably isn’t cool, but I like seeing who gets engaged, if people uploaded new pics, etc…) you have to be on facebook ALL the time. Which also isn’t cool.
11:19 – Decide to contact facebook directly. Also considering switching back to myspace. Also just realized that when you click on the question “How do I contact facebook directly” it leads you to other people who are having the same problems. Now, that’s stupid.
11:24 – Sent the following note to facebook: “Okay, this is starting to get ridiculous. I understand that you probably have millions of people who want to e-mail you directly, but you're a big company. You need better customer support here. I clicked on "How do I contact facebook," and it took me to a page with other people having the same problems. Blind leading the blind, you know? Look, the bottom line is that I can't stay on facebook all day because I have work and a "real" life, but I do like finding out who got engaged and seeing when new pics are uploaded and stuff like that. But I can't tell when people do that now, and I don't even know how to update my status. So can you please, please, please have some site where I can see status updates and recent updates like the old one? I understand you want to update the site, but for Pete's sake, please have the info easily accessible.”
11:41 – New pearl blue stapler works like a charm.
12:44 – Tried to beat the facebook system. Died like road kill.
12:45 – Suddenly shocked that I’ve spent so much time concerned about facebook.
4:45 – One of my students come in to visit, and I complain to her about facebook. She shows me very simply the dumb mistakes I was making. I feel very, very old.
Hopefully today will be more productive. ;)
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Eight for Caffeinated Randomness
Eight things I am looking forward to
1. Crawfish boil next weekend
2. Signing up for my first Ph.D. class
3. Going to our cooking class
4. My cousin’s wedding
5. Girls’ Night tonight
6. Church picnic
7. Rebecca and Gerry’s baby shower
8. The last student paper being out
Eight things I did yesterday
1. Taught class
2. Went to see a play
3. Saw Superdog watching “doggie TV” – sitting on her perch that I created for her and looking out the window. Success!
4. Went to Starbucks
5. Saw some family
6. Gave up on trying to fix the zipper on a pair of capris
7. Graded papers
8. Gave a quiz
Eight things I wish I could do
1. Run on a consistent basis
2. Eat raw sushi without gagging at the thought
3. Not let my emotions control my actions so much
4. Stop worrying
5. Be a better house cleaner
6. Tan
7. Draw/paint
8. Sew
Eight shows I watch on TV
1. LOST
2. Chuck
3. 30 Rock
4. King of the Hill
5. The Office
6. Futurama
7. I Dream of Jeannie
8. Bewitched
Eight people I tag
The first eight people who read this and haven’t done it
For more Caffeinated Randomness, visit Andrea!!!
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