Wednesday Wisdom

"If you get a chance - take it!

If it changes your life - let it!

Nobody said that it would be easy,

they just promised it would be worth it."

Today was a tough day.

And it was hard to come up with wisdom, but here it is.

Right now, I'm keeping my eyes open for the chance that may change my life.

Because I'm slowly starting to realize that while I may be as hardheaded as everyone says, I'm not as strong as they all think.

Lessons Learned

As much as I sometimes hate to admit it, I do believe that everything happens for a reason and we should learn something from all of our experiences.

As you may or may not know, I'm not 100% happy with my job currently. There are a lot of reasons that would require a whole new post, but it has caused me to think about a few things lately.

Some lessons that I've learned along the way, that (hopefully) will make me a better person.

{A.} You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat the people they manage.

{B.} Kind of a subscript to A. - When you are the person managing - try to remember how you like to be treated and treat others that way. It will go a long way to building lasting relationships.

{C.} Life is short and every day is precious. So put the to-do list aside to take your nephews on a "field trip." You'll be glad you did.

{D.} Dance! Do not concern yourself with what your abilities as a dancer are - just get out there and have fun! I may look like an idiot on the dance floor, but trust me, I am having more fun out there than you are having sitting on a stool watching me.


{E.} Be yourself. If you are true to who you are in your soul, everything else will work itself out. (It may not be on your timeline, but it will work out.)


{F.} The only way to get love, is to give it away. So love freely. 

Miscellany Monday

one. I slacked a little on P90X last week. I feel really bad about it. I'm going to be better this week, I really am.

two. Tomorrow is my follow up from my skin cancer screening. I don't think I told you, but they did two biopsies on my back. I'm not super nervous, but it is a little scary.

three. I still haven't started fundraising for my 3-Day Breast Cancer walk in November. I really need to do that.

four. It may have occurred to me this weekend that I use Biggie as an excuse when I want to do childish things. For example, go to the Railroad Park or see Sesame Street Live. Is that wrong?

five. This weekend is the Fourth of July!! I'll be celebrating it in small town fashion in the southern part of the state. I'm talking about parades, street fairs, and rodeos. I can not wait!

Football, Football, Hey!

I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge soccer fan.

I think it stems from the fact that there isn't much scoring going on.

I need to get excited about the games I'm watching and there's only so much back and forth that I can handle without a score.

However, it is World Cup time and it seems to be the craze, so I decided to do a little research. 

And you're going to be surprised to find out that I found a few reasons to love soccer!

Landon Donovan.

He scored the game-winning goal in the 91st minute for the USA to beat Algeria.

Cristiano Ronaldo.

He plays for Portugal. 

Who really cares about anything else?

Lukas Podolski.

I'd love to tell you about him, but his Facebook page was in German.

And I don't speak that language.

But, my favorite soccer player EVER:

Is IC-member, Beckham!

How adorable is he?

Wednesday Wisdom

As I told you in this post, I love music!

And today's wisdom comes from a song.

"Horses were made to run

And the sun was meant to shine above

And flowers were made to bloom

Then there’s us

We were born to love"

                                               -Jewel

Living in a War Zone

Dirty found a baby scorpion in our kitchen last night.

So small it looked like it had been zapped with that Honey, I Shrunk the Kids laser.

Luckily, it was already dead.

But it means that they are getting into my house again.

It is time to release the poison - I will not stand for an invasion on my soil.

After all, if you're not with us, you're against us.

Miscellany Monday

(Ok, I'll play along this week...)

one. Week 3 of P90X is underway. Lord, help me make it through - I just realized that week 4 has two days of yoga. Eek!

two. The more I see my nephews, the more I miss them. For example, I just spent a better part of Saturday with them and today, my heart aches to hold them.

three. I got a pedicure this weekend, O'Dub and I are currently arguing about whether my toes are now pink or red. (I vote pink...) 

four. I am currently looking for a skirt that matches the orange snake-skin print on these new shoes. HELP!

five. My blog needs a new design and a new feel - stay tuned for a makeover soon.

six. I have some Asian short ribs in the crock pot at home and I am drooling just thinking about them!

seven. We are creeping closer to my favorite holiday of the year and I currently don't have plans for a celebration - I'm freaking out a little. 

eight. I don't have a lucky number. Should that concern me?

Happy Father's Day!

To all of the dads out there (although I'm pretty sure none of them read this blog...)

But especially to my dad, PapaBear!

I am lucky to have such a wonderful father in my life!

He has taught me that there is no substitute for hard work. That honesty is always the best policy. And that no matter what, my dad will always love me!

And I know that it is going to continue to be an uphill battle to find a man as good as my dad!

I love you, Papa!

Send Help Quick!

Preferably in the form of a good looking male masseuse who will make the pain subside!

This was my first week of P90X and two nights of boxing. And I'm feeling it!

In a big way!

My back hurts. My chest hurts. Everything hurts!

On Wednesday at boxing, I had to this push-up test that I'm pretty sure my coach came up with to torture me.

He uses those push-up handles (that make push-ups harder because you have to go deeper into the push-up) and in between them, he puts a medicine ball. I do one push-up, making my chest hit the ball. Stand up and walk to the heavy bag (which is just an opportunity to rest in between sets), touch it, and walk back. Then do two push-ups, stand up, walk to the bag, come back, do three push-ups... I think you get the picture. So the goal is to get as many as you can until failure. That is right, I said failure. Muscle failure. Have you ever felt that? It isn't pleasant!

He told me before I started that the average person gets to eight push-ups on their first try. I got to eight and then made it to six on my way to nine. Making my final score 8.6. And my body want to die.

Then I had to go outside and do a two-minute shuttle run - in 100 degree heat. It was great!

Thursday rolls around, I'm feeling a little sore, but ok. I get to the gym and he tells me that next week I will be sparring with one of the other coaches at the gym. Wizza-wha? This dude is a boxer by profession, I'm like two months into trying to become a boxer - how is this even going to be close to fair?

Pray for me friends!

In P90X world, I hate yoga with the fiery passion of 10,000 suns! Seriously, it couldn't be more difficult!

Do you hear me yoga?!?! I hate you! You are not relaxing at all for me. I can not focus on my breathing when I'm contorting my body into painful positions and holding it. I can barely breath when that is happening.

If anyone has tips, I'm WAY open to them!

Wouldn't Trade Them For the World

As I have mentioned before, my family is crazy!

Probably pretty close to certifiable!

But I love them!

On Saturday, Granny B called me. I've been going through some things and she was concerned about me and wanted to chat. So I called her back and we had a little chat. When I hung up the phone, I called Match and I said, "She's f-in' crazy, but I wouldn't trade her for another Granny B, even if I had the chance."

Then on Sunday, I went by H&M's (Papa's parents) house on my way to church. I had to drop off my chicken food and empty egg cartons. (You'll remember from this post, that H raises chickens). So I stopped in the house to drop off the cartons and H kept trying to give me hamburger meat to take home (even though he gave me like 6 pounds of it just last week) and M kept asking me if I needed onions. When I was leaving they both told me to grab some eggs.

On the way out of the house I thought to myself, I absolutely love my family! I wouldn't trade them for the world!

In Biggie news, he is taking swim lessons this week and he hates them. Monday was his first day and he cried. On Tuesday, he and Match stopped at the store on their way to lessons and he wanted a toy.

Match: You can't have that toy, you cried at swim lessons yesterday. If you don't cry today we can come back tomorrow and get the toy.

Biggie: I don't want to cry, but my heart needs me to.

I am not making this up, folks. The kid is out of control!

Wednesday Wisdom

"The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do no do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say 'no' - they may not be smart enough to say 'yes.'" - Keith Olbermann

I am typically not Keith Olbermann's biggest fan, but the guy knew what he was talking about when he said this. 

Enjoy!

Updating the List...

1. See a baseball game in every Major League Stadium. (I've done Colorado, Boston, and Arizona so far. BodyBuilder has talked about doing this with me, in which case I would have to start over with her)

2. Go to Mount Rushmore.

3. Master a signature dish.

4. Eat pizza in Italy.

5. Flamenco dance in Spain.

6. Drink in Ireland.

7. See the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center.

8. Get married.

9. Become proficient in Spanish.

10. Write a book.

11. Publish that book.

12. Give birth.

13. Learn to surf.

14. Visit all 50 states.

15. Learn to ballroom dance.

16. Go to the Summer Olympic Games.

17. Attend the Kentucky Derby. (or one of the other races that makes up the Triple Crown.)

18. Run a 1/2 Marathon in under 3 hours.

19. Hike Machu Picchu.

I'm really falling behind. I need to get serious. 

Dirty Shirley doesn't know it yet, but she is about to start getting ready to head to Peru for a little hiking adventure...

Wow

I just ran across this post.

It spoke to me.

Especially this part:

There are people who can walk away from you.

And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone.

When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.

Wow.

That is all.

Just wow.

She's A Grand Old Flag

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One Nation. Under God. Indivisible. With Liberty. And Justice for All.

There are few things I love more than the American flag. The sight of it inspires an emotion in me that can not be described.

It stands for so much.

                                                            Freedom.

                                        Liberty.

                        Justice.

                     Sacrifice.

Love.

Happy Flag Day!

Like A Girl Scout.

I don't actually know if Girl Scouts are all about being prepared - I only made it through like two meetings of the "Brownies" before my mom gave up on that.

Either way, I have learned that preparedness is the key.

This weekend my eating was all over the place. I just didn't plan well. I wouldn't say that I went crazy and ate a bunch of stuff that I shouldn't - just that I need to be better about packing snacks and planning meals. That is the goal for the coming weekend - wish me luck!

Yesterday, despite a few setbacks, I prepared for the week:

This is what my counter looked like after an afternoon of chopping and cooking. That way, I can just grab something to put in my lunch box in the morning. And when I get home, veggies are already chopped up and ready to be cooked. I try to cook some kind of protein ahead of time as well so if it comes down to it I can just heat it up.

I'm all about planning!

Randomness

Ok - so this is likely going to be another random post.

Sorry - this week has been weird.

I'm not in the right state of mind.

Either way, let's get started...

First, I forgot to tell you about P90X yesterday. Probably because I was half dead. The yoga workout totally killed me! We discussed before, yoga is not really my cup of tea.

                                           I'm not good at it.

                                        I don't understand it.                                        

And I don't like to do things that I'm not the best at. (It's a character flaw, what can I say?)

Either way, a friend of mine who has done yoga for a long time said that the P90X yoga was hard for even her. So I don't feel so bad, but holy cow - it was hard. I was sweating like a... well, you get the picture.

This morning was legs and back. It was hard, no plyo or yoga, but it pushed me. I am really struggling with the chin-up/pull-up portion - I bought one of those chin-up bars that you hang in a doorway and I'm using it with a chair for balance (which is recommended by Tony Horton), but it is still hard. I tried the bands, but the way that my bar is set up and the band that I got aren't conducive so I stick with the bar. I'm thinking that I'll start getting stronger and it won't seem like such a chore.

The other problem is that the bar is hanging in the door of the office which is next to Dirty's room and I don't want to be loud and wake her up at the heinous hour in which I am exercising, so I'm torn.

In other news, (apparently I use this phrase a lot) I'm "sleeping the night" with Biggie and Tiny tonight and I can't freaking wait!

I love those boys!

Finally, some Friday morning glee - regardless of your party affiliation, I think you can laugh at this video:

PSA

I interrupt our regularly scheduled (yeah, like there is anything regular or scheduled about this blog...) programming for a very important message:

As some of you may know, I am an alum of Leadership West. For LW, as with many leadership organizations, class members are required to undertake a project, sometimes as individuals, sometimes as groups. For LW it is groups.

This morning, I attended the Synthesis Day for Class XVI - the day that they present their projects to the their classmates, alumni, board members, and community leaders. The first group's project spoke to me.

It was called "Learn Don't Burn." Their mission was to educate the public on the prevalence and dangers of skin cancer and to provide information and resources on skin cancer prevention strategies.

Did you know:

• Arizona ranks number 2 in the world for skin cancer instances, only Australia ranks higher. 
• More than 20 Americans die each day from skin cancer, primarily melanoma. One person dies of melanoma almost every hour (every 62 minutes).
• 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer over the course of their lifetime.
• The UV rays in tanning beds increase the risk of skin cancer 75% for people who start using the beds before age 30.
• 
  

I scheduled a skin cancer screening for next week. And I suggest you do too.

Wednesday Wisdom

I am going to try to post a little piece of wisdom each Wednesday. We'll start today.

The following quote is framed in one of my doctor offices at least three times. I finally decided that I would capture it and share it with all of you.

You may or may not know that I love quotes. My senior year of high school, when Sissy had moved to college, I wrote out lots of my favorite quotes and hung them all over my room. They make me happy!

"The highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity...these are the choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integrity without looking back; for there is never a wrong time to do the right thing."

The author is anonymous, but brilliant.

This quote speaks to my soul.

In P90X world, day 3 has been completed. And it is still hard. I started with 5 and 10 pound dumbbells and I think that I need to get one in between and maybe one a little heavier. The goal is to push myself. I am not trying to get bigger muscles, more of a lean look, so I'm going with the 12-15 rep model, but either way the last three reps are supposed to burn, and for some exercises that just isn't the case. So I'm on the hunt for more weights at a good price.

31 Years!!

On their 25th Anniversary.

Today is Match and Papa's 31st Wedding Anniversary!!

Congrats!

I have learned a lot about love and marriage from Match and Papa!

They have shown me that if your relationship is based on love, you can make it through the hard times.

One time, my aunt, PieRanch*, told me that you better love the person you marry, because there are going to be times in life when that is all that gets you through.

Match and Papa definitely have that!

And it has gotten them through.

I hope that someday I will find love like they have!

In other news, I completed Day 2 of P90X. And I almost passed out. It was Plyometrics day. I should have eaten before I did it. But eating is difficult at 4:20 in the morning. I think that getting used to the eating portion of this whole deal is going to be difficult. They really stress eating 6 small meals - and that just isn't my style. I can do 3 meals and 3 snacks, but 6 small meals are a killer for me. I'm hoping that I will get in a routine soon and it will be easier. Cross your fingers!

Just Another Manic Monday...

For the past three hours I have tried to write this post and can't focus.

So you are going to get a glimpse into the way my mind works as I post what comes to mind...

1. My family ROCKS! HHT's wedding was a freaking blast on Friday night! We danced the night away. All of us, even my grandparents. The wedding ended at 11 and my grandparents were still there. Seriously, we have our issues (like any other family), but when it comes down to it, we can come together and throw it down!

2. I went to another wedding on Saturday. I wore these shoes:

I LOVE these shoes! For the wedding I wore them with a very unrevealing black dress. It has short sleeves, hits at my knees, and shows no part of my cleavage. I also happened to pull my hair back into a ponytail for the event. (This probably had something to do with the party mentioned above happening the night before). Either way, the only thing even remotely wild about my outfit was the shoes.

I know people were judging me.

I could feel it.

And the fact of the matter is, hot pink heels do not make you a slut. Or a hooker. Or whatever they were thinking.

There were certainly girls at the wedding with more revealing clothes on than me. Heck, the bridesmaid dresses were more revealing (and they were wearing pink shoes too - just not quite as pink).

I just really feel like hot pink heels do not make a hooker. So I'll keep wearing the shoes. And you can keep on judging me.

3. I started P90X this morning. I did the Chest and Back video and it was hard. I could have probably pushed myself a little harder in the first set, and I will start doing that, but don't kid yourself, this is a hard workout. I think it will take me a while to get into a routine, but I'm going to keep going - 90 days. I took before pictures yesterday, and I'll save them for when there is a transformation. But stay tuned!

4. A little piece of advice for my male readers (are there any of you?): Girls like flowers. A friend of mine had a picture of a bouquet of flowers that she got "just because" from the boy she was dating. And I wondered to myself, if guys knew how special that made a girl feel, would they do it more often? So I asked Big T - he said that the last time he sent flowers to Mrs. T was Valentine's Day - and complained because they were so expensive.

So I consulted IT to make sure I wasn't crazy, and we agreed (so it must be the truth) that a girl would rather have a $15 bouquet of whatever flowers "just because" than a $50 dozen roses on Valentine's Day.

Just a tip.

You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy...

Yesterday, I was talking to Diddy and I said something to the effect of, "...but I may be crazy."

He said, "Oh, you're crazy. It has been scientifically proven."

That may be a stretch - I don't think there is actual science out there...

This morning on our trip to get coffee, O'Dub said, "I like you, but you are crazy."

                                           Coincidence?

Either way, there is a lot of randomness on my mind today.

HHT is getting married tonight - you want to talk about crazy? I remember when she was just a little whipper snapper.

I want to go hiking.

I want to hike Turkey Track on our ranch.

And Half Dome at Yosemite.

And Machu Picchu in Peru.

I really have a lot of plans in life - I need to get moving.

It is apparently 24 weeks until I embark on my third Breast Cancer 3-Day - I should probably start training. Or fundraising. Or blogging.

P90X came in yesterday. I am going to spend Saturday preparing to start on Sunday. Preparations will include a meal plan and pictures. I will save the pictures until the end. I think this is going to be fun. I hope you all will help me stay on track.

And, hey, who knows...

It just may be a lunatic you're looking for.