Babes

As it stands today, six girls whose weddings I was in are pregnant, and that doesn't count three other pregnant friends. I'm feeling SO happy for them, and also very lonely. I hate to even say it, but it's the truth. I think it's also the reason I can't sleep, so maybe getting it out in the open will help. What a strange stage of my life. It's so happy, but hard.

Target Field

I had my first Target Field experience last Thursday. I sat way up high in left center with my sister and it was SUCH a great night! Even having a bad cold didn't hamper my excitement, especially since we beat the Yankees!!

I had read an article at the start of the season on what would be missed from the Dome. The author (can't remember where I wrote this stuff down from...oops....) said that he would miss the protection from elements, Dome-field advantage, Dome dogs, wind blowing you out the doors, needing ear plugs at postseason games, and World Series memories - but he said the new menu, the view, the wide concourses, the better bathrooms, and no 50-yard line would more than make up for those things. I definitely agree that the new stadium makes up in so many ways for the things that will be missed from the Dome, but I would add to the list that I will miss the DodgeBall game after the third inning (which I "famously" played once...) and the Hormel Row of Fame ("great for lunch, great for dinner, you could be a wiener winner in the Hormel Row of Fame!!"). Certainly I love outdoor baseball more than enough to not really care about missing those things, but those are some of my fond memories of the Dome....guess I just have to start going to more games at Target Field to make even more fond memories there!! LOVED IT!

High Fives

I've had too many "ball-and-socket" experiences for this video to not be automatically funny.

The Morning Workout

Ugh. To workout in the morning or to not workout in the morning. That is the question.

Pros:

• Workout is DONE for the day
• Only one shower/getting ready session for the day
• I won't be as likely to not workout as things come up in the evenings or my days get longer than anticipated
• A “great way” to start the day – possibly more sustained energy throughout the day?

Cons:

• Getting ready at the gym - I'd rather get ready in my comfort zone at my house
• GETTING UP EARLY. I am NOT a morning person (nor do I think I EVER will be...I'm convinced that this is something that you can’t change...probably thoughts for another post)
• Breakfast - I've been better about my eating habits (again, for another post), especially breakfast. I'm not sure what I would do for breakfast if I was at the gym. I wouldn't be coming back to my house to make my coffee and breakfast, so I'd have to figure that out

I’ve been meaning to start working out in the mornings for some time now. I thought that I would start after I got back from Lithuania since my jet lag was getting me up so early in the morning, but the hard thing about that jet lag was that even though I was up, I was way too exhausted to get in a decent workout. So I never started the habit. I’ve gotten to the point where my race is done and I know that I will put off more and more workouts (due to fun summer evening plans and not really having anything that I “have to” workout for) if I don’t get it done in the morning. I have to decide that getting up early and working out is more important to me than sleeping in a bit. I think it will mean I also need to change my evening habits some so that I am well rested, but I need to stop putting it off. I’m not happy with my fitness level right now, so I just need to make that more of a priority than my sleep and laziness. There will never be a “good” time to start this habit, and now is as good as any since it isn’t the brutal winter cold I will have to wake up to. I “bit the bullet” and signed up for a class at the gym for two mornings a week at 6am, so that is even extra motivation. The class starts tomorrow, so…….morning workout here I come!!! Do any of you have any good workout habits I can steal? Any ideas to make it easier to get up and get to the gym? Any additional “pros” I can focus on when I’m feeling extra against working out? Any solutions to my “cons”? I appreciate any motivation/advice you have to offer!!

The Heat Is On

From the moment I landed in New Orleans on Saturday, I've been amazed at how hot this place is! Unbelievable! Almost simultaneously, the heat went on in MN - my Facebook homepage was full of updates on either the heat or the Lost finale (which I still haven't seen!). Yesterday morning I got a message from my sister which said "I don't care how hot it is there, I bet it is hotter here". I thought I would check it out on weather.com.....at 10AM it was 89 degrees with 44% humidity in MN, and 94 degrees with 47% humidity in New Orleans! I'm sure it got hotter in both places throughout the day, but I was just thankful that I am not in MN right now where I would be in and out of my hot car all day in a suit.....instead I am standing in one place in an air conditioned conference center. I also know that I would be resistant to turning on the air in May in MN, but in my hotel room I don't mind cranking up the AC! It looks like the heat will break a little in MN just in time for me to return tonight, so kickball tomorrow shouldn't be miserable. Regardless, I'm SO excited for a sunny weekend at the cabin!

StoryPeople #1643

"I think I'm probably avoiding something pretty big in my inner life, she said, because I'm keeping pretty busy"
-StoryPeople

A Little Pop Culture

I went to see the Conan "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" last night and LAUGHED SO HARD. Like scream-laughing. LOTS of "ugly" laughing. Oh, man. It felt so good.

I've always liked Conan and thought he had the best show on late-night television (that is, after Craig Kilbourne's show ended....WHICH STILL UPSETS ME). Once college was over I didn't catch his show quite as often due to the late hour, but then along came Hulu, and I watched an episode now and again. I was really excited when he moved to a time I would be able to stay up for, but then we all know how that ended. And speaking of when it ended - that was some of the best late-night TV I've ever watched. Conan's last week on the air was super-funny.

So, I've always thought he is awfully funny. Got it. But one of my favorite Conan moments was his speech at the end of his last show. It has been described as very classy, and I would agree. He had reason to be very upset and feel "wronged", but he took the opportunity to appreciate all that he had done in his career up to that point, and also encourage people to not get cynical (which is one of my least favorite qualities as well) but to be kind and work hard.

I could only find a clip of his speech with an intro from another show, but if you are interested, here it is:

And while I'm on the topic of funny things, I wanted to post this video about the making of my FAVORITE COMMERCIAL EVER. It's a long video, but if you are at all interested in video production, advertising, etc, it might be worth the 19 minutes (put it on while you fold laundry like I do). I'll also post just the commercial in case you are only interested in that, but I think once you watch the commercial and get over how funny it is, you will start to think "....yeah....hey....how *did* they make that?!?!"

Enjoy! And have a good laugh. It's healthy.

Delightful and Dreadful

My weekend was equal parts delightful and dreadful.

Delightful: a nice drive to Green Bay catching up on all kinds of podcasts, seeing my parents and sister, running our 2nd annual 5K with my cancer-free dad (great tradition!), being lazy all day Saturday - but still getting a lot of my quilt finished, chatting with long-lost roommates while I drove, and running the Green Bay Half-Marathon: a pretty easy and flat course (not at all like the past courses I've ran.....DC is SO hilly!), great weather (no rain or wind, 65-70 degrees), and I got the time I was aiming for (2 hours, 20 minutes - not fast, but not horrible).

Dreadful: I either got some kind of heat stroke or bad dehydration or both, because after the race I was SICK. I had to drive five hours back home with the worst headache and stomach ache ever. I sometimes felt like I wanted to pass out, and my fever was BAD (I really wish I would have taken it when I got home to see what it was). I spent Sunday night in bed with the chills. Nothing sounded appetizing to eat, but I knew I needed to eat something.....ugh it was horrible. I wish I would have taken Monday off of work to recover, but of course I didn't. I still felt horrible and had a fever through lunch, but then it broke and I started to feel MUCH better. I also think I'm going to lose a toenail from running which makes me SAD - I was kinda joking after the race that it felt like I would lose my toenail, but now it is actually turning blue and I think it will be gone. Bummer.

But despite the sick and the toenail, I'm pleased with how the race went, and overall it was a really great weekend. I was telling someone that I have a goal of running a half-marathon in every state. He politely reminded me that even if I did three half-marathons a year, it would take me 15 more years to complete that goal. YIKES. But for now I think I'll stick with it....after a small break from running.

First Cabin Trip

(I need to do a better job of real time blogging....)

Last Thursday I took a spur-of-the-moment trip to the cabin to get the renters checked out! It's all mine again!! They were supposed to get moved out by this coming weekend, but they found another place to live and decided to leave early, which was perfect. Now I don't feel a crunch for time in getting them out of the place and getting my stuff ready for summer - especially with the traveling I have coming up this weekend. So the timing on that was great, and even though I had to drive to Brainerd and back in the same night, I was SO HAPPY to be making the first cabin trip!!

I'm thankful for how clean and orderly the renters left the cabin. I'm thankful I had renters so that I could be more financially able to keep the cabin. I'm thankful that the cabin schedule for the summer is getting so full (contact me if you want to spend any time there!!). I'm thankful for my family who will help me get everything in order on Memorial Day Weekend, and for how they love the cabin just as much as I do. I'm thankful for safe trips back and forth each weekend, and for all the great memories we make there! YAY, CABIN SEASON!!

The Start of Summer

This weekend is the start of me being busy for the next 20 weekends! Holy cow....that takes me right up to October! Of course, a few of those weekends I've purposely left a little flexible....like the two weekends where some of my best friends are having babies!!!!

It's definitely time for summer......graduations, weddings, and CABIN WEEKENDS!! I also have some pageant stuff thrown in this summer - I haven't done any pageant stuff in quite awhile, mostly because Miss MN is always on my birthday weekend, but this year is my five year reunion (five years?!), so I'll be attending that, as well as my TEN year reunion for the Aquatennial...crazy!

I am just giddy about the next few months - I could tell you about how much I LOVE summer and wedding season (five this summer!), (oh, and don't forget my birthday...) but you've heard it all before. If I have a permanent smile on my face until October, you'll know why!

Introspection

"The postmodern infatuation with journey feeds on and into a preoccupation with our own stories. If my grandparents' generation could be a little stoic and not terribly reflective, my generation is introspective at a level somewhere between self-absorption and narcissism. We are so in-tuned with our dysfunction, hurts, and idiosyncrasies that it often prevents us from growing up, because maturity is tantamount to hypocrisy in a world that prizes brokenness more than health. I'm not advocating stuffing all our feelings, but we must learn that self-expression and being true to ourselves are not the surest guides to Chrsitlikeness. Sincerity is a Christian virtue, as is honesty about our struggles. But my generation needs to realize that Christianity is more than chic fragility, endless self-revelation, and the coolness that comes with authenticity. We live in a blogging culture, which suggests that just because we have an opinion on something it must be worthwhile."

I liked this quote from Kevin DeYoung that I came across in the book I'm reading. Now, granted, this quote applies to me in a few ways: 1) I'm a part of the generation he's talking about and 2) I actively participate by having a blog which suggests that "just because we have an opinion on something it must be worthwhile" (in fact, that statement alone was one thing holding me up from starting a blog two years ago....but that's another post). Anyway, I like the quote because I think that so many people in my generation think too much and do too little (like I mentioned in my previous post about service/spiritual gifts - we might benefit from less concentration on our own "stories" (life/journey) and more concern for the "stories" of others).

We're obsessed with filling out our Facebook pages so that everyone knows exactly what music and movies we like. We write paragraphs upon paragraphs on dating websites about how unique and great we are, just hoping we might catch someone's eye - as long as they are just as unique and great as we are. We want to know and be known - and I understand that - but it can get to a level of introspection "somewhere between self-absorption and narcissism", like the quote says. (I've sometimes thought that I should make a profile on a dating site that says the truth: "I'm painfully ordinary. I go to work everyday, I hang out with my friends now and then, I like my church, my family is normal, and I'm super average at every sport I've ever tried." Because, really, that's the truth. I'm not making the cure for cancer and I haven't sent enough money to a third world country to solve their water issues, so.....yeah. Pretty ordinary.)

I will say that I like telling stories and I like being a part of "the Story", and I do see value in that. I also could probably benefit from a little more introspection in some areas of my life instead of just filling my time with wasteful "comforts" and busy things.....but in general I think this quote was thought provoking (obviously...based on this rambling post).

Relient K Lyrics for the Moment

I was thinking/over thinking/'cause there's just too many scenarios/to think about/to figure out....if you're my dream please come true

Uncharted Territory

I haven’t touched my quilting project in months. I’ve basically been avoiding it because I have no idea what I am doing. I’ve never gotten past the point I am at on my own – I’ve always sent out the quilt tops I’ve made to be quilted by someone else. But I decided to finally completely finish this quilt on my own, so I’ve now encountered uncharted territory.

I had some plans cancel at the last minute on Sunday, so I decided to pull out all of my quilting stuff, and MAN there is a lot of stuff that goes into finishing a quilt. Now I have the motivation to get this quilt done because I don’t want all this stuff out forever and I don’t want to be quilting during the nice summer weather. I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made in the last few days, but now I have reached the completely intimidating part of actually finishing the sewing. For someone who isn’t the least bit scared to speak in front of hundreds of people or play ball with the boys, you’d be surprised how scared I am of sewing a quilt and messing up all my hard work up to this point!! Crossing my fingers I’ll blaze my way through uncharted territory with at least an average outcome. A baby is probably going to receive this quilt, so they won’t be the harshest of critics, but I still want it to look nice!

See the Need; Meet the Need

From Sunday's sermon: finding your spiritual gift doesn't require filling out forms, taking surveys, making inventories. What it requires: look out, see the need, and move to meet that need.

Pastor Rick: We can get so introspective when trying to identify our spiritual gifts that we miss the opportunity to use our gift to serve. We can get so distracted by identifying our spiritual gift that it becomes more about establishing our own identity and more about self-fulfillment than it is about serving others. Let's not let that happen. See the need, move toward the need, and meet that need, and you will discover your spiritual gift.

I also liked this Edward Clowney quote: "Gifts are discovered in service. We might rightly ask about the gift we have received but we will not gain the answer by introspection. It is in humble service that we discover the gifts we have and the greater gifts that we may need."

Less thinking, more doing.

Mystery May Day

Happy May Day! I haven't had any thought of May Day in years and years, but this afternoon I came home to this beautiful surprise:

How nice! I have no idea who they are from (though I assume it's our neighbors)..... I hope my roommate knows so I can thank them!

In other May Day news, my sister called me on Skype around 6:30 and after about three sentences she stopped short to say "Wait....are you still in your pajamas??" to which I replied "If you meant already in your pajamas, then yes. Yes, I am." I had a fun day of babysitting and then I ran (what was supposed to be) 11 miles, so I came straight home and got into my pajamas. I was going to relax at home last night after a very long week, but I got two last minute invites to hang out with friends, so I indulged in food and laughs with them and tonight has become my much needed night in.