Watching people in the gym

There are three kinds of people; those who work out and try to get others to work out, those who are on the receiving end, and those who blatantly refuse. I have been each kind of person at one time or another, but most recently I have been on a straight out refusal binge. The most common excuse I give is, "I don't like working out with a lot of other people around." A quick rebuttal, "no one is going to be watching you." HA! I laugh because you want to know what I do in the gym?? I watch people.

My friend Liz and I laughed the other day over how true the above is. We have both tried to believe in invisibility; that when we walk into the gym and begin working out our super powers kick in and "shebang!' we become invisable. That's right, those of us who don't prefer to be seen in spandex, are superheroes, a slight anomaly for you to ponder today ;)

My Uninspiration...

Pity party... that's right, I'm whining.
With my elephant sized purple sprained ankle balanced on a stack of pillows and my hamstring stretched to the ceiling, I'm sulking.
I have what is called blogger's block.
This is especially awful due to the fact that I have not been a blogger for even one whole month and plenty of interesting things have been happening in my life worthy of blogging about, but for some reason I feel uninspired. It isn't particularly that I have not composed any blog posts lately, because I have. They are all just waiting around in drafts, hoping to be finished and posted. Each time I begin a new post, I know they are even more hurt. So, sorry old drafts, but I'm replacing you yet again!

I'm going to try something my dad was teaching me about breaking blogger's block!

First, pick a topic...OK, my sprained ankle.

Then, describe the way it looks... like an elephant sporting a purple half-moon tattoo interestingly placed just below the ankle joint!

Next, describe how it feels...Well, it feels like I stepped in front of a moving long board. An idea my little brother specifically warned me not to do. I can hear Matt now, telling me to place my foot on top of the board when trying to stop it, not in front of it because, well, that would just be silly. Oh wise sensei, teach me how to long board.

Now, (and this should be interesting) how does it taste?... I'm going to assume it tastes like the soap I used this morning; a fresh island breeze and pomegranates?  In all honesty, when was the last time you tasted your ankle? Never have?? That's what I thought.

OK, how does it sound?...Well, you know when you put your ear up to a sea shell to hear the sound of the sea... if I put my ankle up to my ear I would hear more popping ligaments, so forget it, one trip to the Dr. is enough!

Alright, last on the list is to compare it to something else. Hmmm, my stomach is growling because it has decided to rebel and try and distract me from writing this blog post! So I'll compare my ankle to a food. I'll go with an eggplant.. purple, swollen and gross. My ankle is an eggplant. (I truly do not find eggplants to be gross when grilled and seasoned well, but it worked too well for my illustration to pass up :)

Well, that about sums it up. I think I may have conquered my blogger's block! May this go on to inspire all other blocked bloggers with swollen ankles that find themselves uninspired. If I can do it, so can you!
Come back in about a month ;) ok, I'll try to post again tomorrow. 

GPS

I follow my GPS well. I follow my GPS so well in fact, that a quick trip to Indianapolis on Sunday almost landed my friends and I in Louisville. Generally a statement like that would be taken sarcastically, but I truly did follow the turn-by-turn directions the GPS, TomTom, was giving to a T. The problem... me.  I told her to take me to the wrong place. As the road trip became longer than I thought it would be, I finally started to pay attention to where I was and realized something; I had never been there before. After a call to my human GPS back home, MomMom, we began the half hour backtrack to our destination. 

Sometimes I make this same mistake in life. I can get so focused on the end goal that I miss everything happening around me. It seems this happens especially when I'm in a "phase", like high school and now, college. Each of these four year segments have a specific ending that I aim for. With high school, I wanted to end with scholarships for college, so I spent those years with my head in books barely taking time to experience what was happening around me. Now with college, I find myself determined to not make the same mistake. 

We hear the saying often, "stop and smell the roses." Even when life gets busy and cluttered, it is so important to look around ourselves and see what is happening. Not only does this put life in perspective, but think about how much you will be able to see! Once our view isn't obstructed and the tunnel vision is lifted, opportunities open. 

Life wouldn't be nearly as much fun if the destination was all that mattered. It's what you do while getting there that makes life exciting. I believe that God gave us life so that we can live it to the fullest! It's about the people, opportunities, and places around us. 

So take a moment and look around you. You may be surprised by how incredible the view is. 

The Human Experience

"I look at those memories. I look at those moments. Everyone lives differently. When you go somewhere out of your own comfort zone, out of your own realm, and you enter someone else's, that's learning." - Jeffrey Azize 


What a phenomenal documentary! I recommend everyone who has the means to watch The Human Experience to take the time and watch it. It is an amazing journey into the heart of being human. The story is of brothers traveling the world, stepping into other peoples lives and learning what it means to be them. The pair first hit the streets of New York City to experience homelessness. Then they travel to Peru and work with a home for orphans and disabled children. They end their journey in Ghana, Africa to capture stories from amazing people living in debilitating circumstances. 
The film leaves you feeling inspired and raw. It is packed full of thought provoking comments and eye opening scenes. I give it two thumbs up, five stars, an award of greatness! 

rest stops.

So there we were, on our way to West Virginia for a wedding when we realized that our ETA was ETWrong. This was mostly due to my penny sized bladder and love of coffee.  My dad, the camera man, had been asked to film the wedding and needed to be there at least a half hour before the ceremony commenced at 4. To our discomfort, the GPS had us arriving at our hotel to get ready around 3:30. With about a 20 minute drive from there to the church, going to the hotel first dropped off the list of options.
What did we decide to do? You know those "lovely" rest areas you pass about every half hour when you are on the interstate? You know, the ones that are perfectly clean and void of people ;)? We put our three brains together and decided that stopping at one of those to get wedding ready was as good an idea as any.
Imagine this scene... three road weary people walk into a rest area looking tired, wrinkled, and hurried. Barely recognizable, the three emerge 15 minutes later looking fit for a special occasion.
A tip I never thought I would have experience enough to give is as follows; never get ready for a wedding in a rest area bathroom. If the nasty bathroom floor isn't enough to deter you from this, then let me be the first to tell you... it should. Did I mention, most rest stops do not have AC, openable windows, or trustworthy mirrors? I laugh often when I look at myself through rest area mirrors. They are like funhouse mirrors. You either look 10 ft. tall or 2. When you get closer, your forehead looks like it houses the largest brain around.
All things considered, even though rest areas are hot, nasty and smelly, I sure am thankful for them. Without one, we would have gone to the wedding as we were; sweat pants and all. I'm sure the funny looks we got at the rest area as we scrambled to look presentable would have been nothing in comparison to the looks from wedding guests trying to understand how we could possibly think wearing sweat pants to a wedding was a good idea. Thank you rest area, thank you.

We ended up looking pretty good

...not as good as these two though! Congratulations Wes and Rachel Dean! 

smiling's my favorite.

"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself; I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."

- Groucho Marx 

I heard once that as soon as you open your eyes in the morning you should smile. It is said that a simple smile has the power to change an entire attitude. 

When I was working at JCPenney the most common comment I got from passerby's was on my smile. They would say things like, "well, you sure are smiley," or "your smile is so welcoming!" This got me thinking about the power of a smile. We are all given the gift to brighten someone's day or even just make people feel welcomed with a simple grin. 

There were plenty of mornings at JCP when a smile was less than easy to come by. I was amazed by the noticeable difference in how I personally felt and how people seemed to act around me when I wouldn't smile. So, even when I didn't want to, I would force it. To my amazement, i never had to force it for longer than a few minutes. Smiling is contagious :) 

Mission: Smile and smile often! Let's make the world brighter. 

Even after a shot! Time to SMILE!

Looking Up

I have always been enamored by the skies. They are vast and powerful. Both the beautiful expanse of blue above and the mighty rolling clouds send chills through me. Rather than being frightened by storms, I am comforted. Even as a child I never feared the lightning and thunder. I loved the sound of rumbling through the mountains of Colorado. The peaks echoed the thunder like a gong fading slowly.
With the rain comes a sense of fresh new life. All of God's creation is being replenished.

"Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
to Him who rides the ancient skies above,
who thunders with mighty voice.
Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the skies.
You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people.

Praise be the God!" - Psalms 68:32-35 NIV

The sky is my reminder of how big and ever-present God is. So whenever you are feeling in need of reassurance..... look up.