Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

G is for Greyci

We adore our girl Greyci! She's a 2-year old yellow lab/greyhound, and the sweetest dog in the world!

F is for Fat, Fasting and the Future

I'm fat.  I've been fat most of my life (except when I was having anxiety issues and couldn't eat much for a few years, and if I ate too much or the wrong thing I'd have a panic attack and throw up).  It's really not the end of the world and I don't hate myself for being fat.  It doesn't stop me from doing things like laying on the beach, though I'm sure there are people out there that would prefer I didn't lay out on the beach.  I still play soccer, run around with my kids, go for long walks, and most anything I want to do.  It definitely affects what I wear and occasionally my confidence (thanks to the "skinny meanie mommies" at my kids' school).  Today I stepped on the scale and found that I have gained 10 lbs over the last 2 months which puts me at my highest weight in 3 years.  I knew it was going to be bad since my jeans were getting tight, but ugh.  

Since my weight is not something I've been able to control over the last 32-1/2 years, I'm giving it to God.  Today I started a short daylight fast and plan on doing it every day this week.  I'm focusing on opening my heart and reaching out to God for his help with this issue.  I all ready planned on a week of more intensive praying since I can feel my stress level going up, and asking for guidance with taking on more of a leadership role at church.  Hopefully this one more thing isn't too much for me (I know it's not too much for God, I'm the one with the issues).  Plus a daylight fast isn't too stressing on my body - maybe someday I'll have the strength to do a real week long fast.

And now onto the future.  I really wonder what the future holds for me.  In the last year I've see my faith grow and felt the change and know people around me have seen the change.  I have a level of hope that I've never had before.  My heart is more open than it's ever been before.  I pray that this continues and that I can make a real difference in the lives of others - both those that are close to me and those that I don't know but can help.  I'm just one person, but I know I can make a difference, and I hope I can keep that going.  Small ways, big ways, whatever.  I've always had a heart of service, and I believe that God has led me here, to have these friends, this small group, this church, so that I can use that heart of service and fulfill part of my purpose.  (now to work on getting rid of some of this old baggage so I can truly move forward for Him!)

E is for Escape

Calgone take me away!  The last couple weeks have been rough.  We've had an increase in violence at work, so everyone is stressed and worried there.  And our department lost one of our own to cancer - may she rest in peace.  Another friend went missing for several days.  He's back and ok, thankfully.  And the love of my life has taken a turn for the worse, and while I know this is a temporary state of anger/depression for him, it's still so hard to deal with.  My heart aches to help him and there's nothing I can do beyond being there for him when he needs me and help with the kids when he needs space.

So we had a short escape to Oak Island (the boys, my parents and I).  The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time.

I've also decided to escape each evening into the National Novel Writing Month Challenge.  I think it will be fun and a completely different creative outlet.  200 words down 49800 to go!

(Photo courtesy of The Southport Times)

D is for Dreams

Do you remember back when you were little and everything was possible? You could be and do anything in your imagination? And you dreamed of growing to be a _______ (fill in with whatever you wanted to be). At one point I was going to be a cheerleader at night and a doctor during the day.  Seriously.

Tomorrow Where the Wild Things Are is coming out in the theaters. Oh how I remember this book from when I was little! I wanted to be Max and float away on my magic boat to lands far away where there are strange creatures (that resemble Sweetums from the Muppets) who want to play with me all the time, and I get to be in charge of them. Me, queen of the Sweetum monsters!

My boys have the book and love it as well. I hope that it inspires them to reach beyond themselves into that space where imagination and ambition comes together to create greatness. Fostering their imagination and dreams now is my job, but it is their job to create those dreams and goals, and to hold onto them.

C is for Creating

I consider myself a fairly creative person - kind of like if Macgyver needed to decorate his house and a new wardrobe he'd call me and I'd show up with my knitting needles and a glue gun. I love to create - not just knit. You might recall my table from August. We use it everyday and still love it. These are the kind of projects I love the most - the ones that are useful from day one and continue to be useful for many years. Many of my knitting projects are like this - I use them for years and hopefully some of the knitted gifts I've given are used for years.

When I'm creating I go through a mental process of seeing a need or desire, brainstorming on how to best meet that need, planning, and then executing my plan. Sounds simple enough, but can take anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple months.

I've been thinking lately a lot about goal setting, bucket lists, etc. Today's project with my sons is actually going to be sitting down and having each of them write down 10 things they want to learn more about and 10 things they want to do someday. The boys are 5 & 7 and I have to admit I got this idea from a friend. I think it will teach them a lot about goal setting and it will teach me a lot about my boys - what a great way to get to know them more deeply. And I can't wait for us to look back at everything in a year and see what we've accomplished and write new lists.

So what about me? What are my goals, creative and otherwise? Today it hit me that I should try to shape myself the way I shape my projects - find my need/desire (in this case a mental picture of my ideal me), brainstorm on how best to become that person, plan, and then execute. I feel closer to the person that I want to be than I ever have been before. Kinda cool. But I know there's a lot more I want to do/be/feel. And I know that this vision will change over time, but what better way to honor who I am now and who I want to be than intentionally planning how to become that ideal me? It's really exciting in a way - rather than drudge through things, I'm going to create the person I want to be.

B is for Bono

My A is for Alex post has me mentally stuck on the alphabet. And since we went to UVA on the 1st to see U2, Bono is still on my brain.

U2 is the only band left that we both wanted to see in concert. Sadly, every time they're close enough for us to go something comes up. This year the planets aligned - my parents were here to watch the kids, we got tickets, and we could actually get away for a couple days. Our 10th anniversary was back in August, so it made the perfect 10th anniversary get-away.

I've grown up listening to U2. I remember seeing them on MTV singing "Do they even know it's Christmas?" when I was 7 or 8. I still have Rattle & Hum around here somewhere on tape. This is a band that I have never let go of from childhood, and I'm amazed that they still are making incredible new music. People grow up, musicians retire, not much stays the same. But for some reason I've always been moved by U2's music. And now I've finally been to a show - I hope it's not my last!

Charlottesville knew what they were doing when planning for this concert. We arrived at 6:30 and stopped to grab dinner about 3 blocks from the parking lot. We parked in one of their designated parking lots at 6:50, and then walked the mile or so to the show. We were in our seats by 7:15. Seriously. It was painless (other than the pebbles in my shoe). Yes, it was busy and there were a phenomenal number of people there, but it was so well planned you barely felt crowded. We were up in the top section of seats and it was fun just to watch everyone arrive. The opening band, Muse, sounded like they were having technical difficulties. Musically they sounded great, but the lead singer was just off. Oh well.

The stage was amazing and fun to see change over the course of the show. Since we were up high I feel like we had the best vantage point to see everything - especially the stage. There have been so many reviews of the show, I'm not going to get into how great it was - and it was great, incredible, amazing, etc. I was shocked at how you could feel the energy from the band all the way up to our seats. I was shocked at how their music touches me still. I'm still in awe of how Bono manages to run all over the stage like he's 20.

The entire experience was just amazing and exhilarating. We left excited and energized and happy and all those things that you should be after a wonderful evening of fantastic music. I've never seen anything like it, and I hope they tour in our area again because we'll be there.

Images courtesy of powerlinead.wordpress.com, huffingtonpost.com, and U2Star.com.