parenthood.

"Parenthood."

It's what I'm watching right now. 

I've been REALLY intrigued by this series ever since it started premiering during the Olympics. 

So far, it's pretty good.  Wish they wouldn't have included ALL the previews in this first episode...

kind of like I watched it already.  

However, it's pretty good even with the almost-spoilers.  The previews make sense now, and there were definitely some unexpected twists that will clearly shape the rest of the season.  

Boy, a big ol' epiphany just hit me (and it's happening in real time; this wasn't written yesterday!): 

Getting a bunch of previews of parenthood your entire life and still needing to brace yourself for unexpected twists...

Isn't that how parenthood starts? 

Most of us don't really understand it this way when we are young, but we were raised for 18+ years by some sort of parent/s

(as literal or figurative as that may be), 

and we've seen what it's like. 

Yet we have no idea what those unexpected twists will be until we experience it first-hand. 

I mean, I'm certain my future children will be quite tall, yet there's definitely a sneaky average-height trait in both John's and my family that could strike at any time. That's minor, I know, but it would be quite unexpected. 

And there's been plenty of unexpected twists in my own parents' experience, both with each other and with me and my sister.  Who would have thought she and I would have had such different teenage-lives.  Who would have thought I would have joined a sorority, that she would have bought her own pet dog, that my mom would have finished her BA in between Ash and I, or that my dad would have gotten us to eat something often that many people hate (fish).  And certainly no one would have guessed that the day after my sister's first Christmas on earth would our lives have been altered forever by cancer striking our dad. 

I've been watching this show for an hour. 

I've been watching...no, witnessing parenthood my entire life.  

I'm a product of it.  

We all are.

So, I hoping to soon be doing some of the parenting myself in the future.  

I hope I can conjure up all the lessons I learned back in the day - and now - and be a good parent with my husband, 

when that time comes.  

And being that I stayed at my client's place tonight five or ten minutes longer than usual just because her seven-or-so month old niece was there being cuter than anything I've seen in a good long time, 

I'd come to think that being a mom would be something that I'm inclined to do pretty soon...

God willing.  

March on, lil' lamb.

In like a lamb...

out like a lion?

I hope the lion is just one big thunderbolt followed by a quick sprinkle and LOTS of sun.  

No floods, please.  No floods. 

I've got a lot more to say, but I figured I'd leave it for a time when I have a little more clarity.  

Look for something tomorrow. 

In the mean time, 

a little something I took

on this first day of March:

deal with it.

Deal with it.


You know, the things that aren't perfect about you. And I'm not talking about having size 11 feet.  I'm talking about whats [physically, emotionally, spiritually] on the inside. 

Deal. 

with.

it. 

And sooner is always better than later!  

Well, that's what I plan on doing. 

This is just one thing I plan to get feisty about,
though there are many things I'd like to deal with this year.

But this thing, my diet, is what needs a good kick in the boo-tay. 

So, what am I doing? 


Well, I'm being a wife,
and I'm cooking more meals than I ever have in my life. 

Tonight? 

Really simple: whole wheat linguine with roasted red pepper and garlic sauce (via Prego, not me), and some slightly-sauteed shrimp. Later, I made flourless chocolate cake, which was only a slight kick in the dietary rear because it was made from scratch, not chemicals or hydrogenated oils.

But I can't be too proud.

It was my intention to make this meal about four or five days ago.

I'm a work in progress.

Any quick/easy/simple recipes, or even ones that take a lot of time and effort yet are DELICIOUS, send them my way.  Thanks in advance!

Tag, I'm it!

I don't usually do these things, but I thought that in honor of my good friend Jen - who I may just do a little expose' on in the future!* - I'm going to do this "8 Things" list for her.  It looks kind of interesting, so I'll give it a shot! :)

p.s. It's late; there may be mistakes in this post. 

Eight things I'm passionate about...

1. Jesus Christ, his Father, and the Holy Spirit.  I owe my life to God, and even though that isn't anywhere near enough for Him, he takes me for who I am anyway!   

2. My husband.  I love you, John!  I hope I can learn to be an awesome wife.  I'm a wife, and I know he thinks I'm awesome, but I want to be awesome at being a wife.  Does that make sense?

3. My family!!

4. Health, particularly cancer prevention and alternative treatment. 

5. Food.  Oh mother, food food food.  Especially chocolate. 

6. Self-improvement, and not in some new-age way. 

7. Creating and Design.  Both producing and consuming. 

8. Competition.  Now don't get scared.  Please?  I just really like games and sports and overall competitiveness.  I'm not a sore loser at all. I just want to play a game!  But to explain, some people get a little intimidated when they are told that I'm competitive, like they have to put a guard up.  I've decided I'd rather just let them find that out on their own...or via this blog.

Eight words/phrases I use most often...

1. I love you.

2. I miss my family... (I usually just say that to myself).  

3. Love. 

4. I'm tired.

5. I need some more chocolate chips.

6. I want chocolate.

7. Cuddle!

8. I am so tired of this cold! 

Eight things I want to do before I die...

1. Live in Germany for a year or two.

2. Start and raise a very healthy, God-loving family.

3. Have at least one book of the Bible memorized, but something longer than Philemon.  :)

4. Run a race.  I would love to do a triathlon.  I would love to LOVE doing a triathlon...oh motivation.

5. Have my own business, write something that would get published on a big scale, or start doing theatre again regularly.  One of those things...maybe all of them. 

6. Learn at least three foreign languages.  I hope to learn more than that, but three is a good, reachable goal.

7. Do a missions trip of some kind.

8. Be completely debt-free (I agree with this one, Jen).

Eight places I want to visit...

1. Hawaii

2. Italy

3. Greece

4. Thailand

5. Taiwan

6. The West Coast of the US

7. Ireland

8. Argentina

Eight favorite restaurants...

1. Taki Japanese Steakhouse

2. The Cafe in Ames

3. Hessen House

4. Noodles & Co.

5.  La Fuente

6. Chuck's (it's a great Italian place with awesome food and prices that John and I have been to once.  I don't have many favorite places to eat anymore considering we haven't been able to really go anywhere too fancy this past year). 

7. so that's about...

8. it.

Eight shows I watch...

1. The Office

2. Community

3. Project Runway

4. Top Chef

5. Pretty much any reality or instructional cooking show.  Pretty much.

6. The music and choreography in Glee.  The story line...it's ok.

7. MN Twins, MN Vikes, or the Olympics! 

8. March Madness Bball!

Eight people I tag...

Kristen

Katie

Allie

Kaci

Heather

Heidi
Cathy! 

You who is not yet named [on this list!]

*It turns out that Jen and I have even more in common than I thought.  Well, if she and her hubs hang out over in Cali through the summer, maybe my hubs and I will pay them a visit! Yes, Jen - this was a third-person voiced statement directed toward you!  :)

dis- and that, volume #2

and...here we go!

I do really, really like the Olympics.  SO much fun!  Hooray for Evan Lysecek and that chinese couple who won the pairs competition!! :)  No "dis" about that!


Anyways...the real format: 

I dislike Frolic Riesling.  A little too bright or something.  Just doesn't go down very easily; I've had Pinot Grigios that have gone down more easily. 

I do like Barefoot Shiraz.  SO smooth, and great with pizza!  That makes it a winner.

I dislike crappy driving weather.  I'm convinced freezing rain is a product of Satan.  I'm not kidding.

I do like slushy driving weather on a sunny day in February!  Melt, snow drifts, melt! Although no big floods, if you would.

I dislike not having cable.  Food Network...how I miss thee. 

I DO like the fact that we get NBC and I am getting a good dose of these Olympics! Ice dancing! Yay!

If Bob Costas and I were high school classmates, we would have been good buds.  
I just know it. 

:)

well hello, there!

It's about time that I'm putting this lil blog out there to all of you!
Because frankly, I'm not going to post any status stuff on Facebook for a while.
Well, kind of. Time for a good dose of self control!

So, here's where and why this blog started ...
and I'm leaving it open to where it may go.

Realistically, I'm going to write about what
I'm thinking
and feeling
and learning
and creating...
...and probably a whole slew of other things other than that!

basically, this means that I'm choosing to DO things instead of just sit around. I'm choosing to be feisty instead of lethargic and ineffective.

There ya be. I've tried doing this blog thing several, several times in the past.
I've kept it up since the new year, so I think it might actually work.
We'll see!

Also, if anyone has a great and (hopefully) little-known site that has creative, original layouts, let me know.
I've looked at all the ones that pop up first on a google search, such as cutest blog on the block, shabby blogs, hot biggety blog, and some others.
Two column, please. I like striking colors, but it doesn't have to be ALL color.


Thanks. :)

Goodbye for now...

It's time.

It's THAT time.

It's time for Lent
and all the sacrifice that we attempt with it.

The purpose of this predominantly Catholic tradition,
as I understand from my escapades in CCD and collegiate Christian ministry,
is to sacrifice something in your life

because Christ sacrificed something in his... his life....
or us to know him and his father,
even thought it meant complete separation from God and life itself.

So, with that, I decided to do something that I have done before:
give up Facebook.

Not completely,
Not entirely,
but I am limiting myself to one hour a day.

For some people, that's more than they go on FB in one week
...or even one month.
One year??
Well, FB users who only go on once a year
should probably just get rid of it altogether.

Anyways, I did this once before.
It went perfectly fine.
The catch was,
however,
that I was in college.
I had things to do ALL the time,
friends within an arms reach (literally),
and I still had to graduate; therefore, I had to study.

Now, however...

There's nothing to do
I need to find things TO do
There aren't any friends near me
I need to make new friends and keep up with old ones
I have nothing to study for
Oh, there are PLENTY of things I need to learn!


And Facebook is even more distracting and,
honestly,
mind-dulling/numbing/deadening that it ever has been.

Apps.
News Feed.
FB Chat.

Blah. And I'm a TOTAL consumer of it.
Constantly signed in,
whether or not I'm looking at the screen.
And it needs to change.
Pretty sure God's been telling me to get of FB for a while, anyway.


So, Goodbye for now, Facebook. Well, for 23 hours a day.
It's be a challenge on day one.
But I made it,
and I'm DETERMINED to keep it going!



My husband had better be prepared.


There will be many a game nights in his future...


update: I added a lil' html to this post. There's basic html info on the Notes app on Facebook. I did have to look up that html on FB tonight when a "detailed" website failed in their information. My entire blog was "struck through"!

bah dump - bah dump

(almost two weeks of no posting? time for a long one! :) WITH pictures!!)

speed.

news.bbc.co.uk

So, why does my heart all of a sudden start sprinting when watching short-track speed skating?

Well, I don't know why,

but I do know that I am an adrenaline/speed junkie - particularly when I'm watching sports.


I almost hated cross country and only liked doing high jump in track,
but I LOVED watching the 100 and the relays.

I cannot skate much faster than the pace of a lethargic snail,
but my eyes are GLUED to shifting and swaying of those speeding skates.

I've never skied in my life,
but I know I will be STUNNED with the velocity of the downhill and slalom competitions.


Back in college,
I got a fair share of crap
for being Minnesotan and
not being able to ski or skate.

I told everyone that there's 10,000 lakes:
I swim.
Yet I always wondered:
why can't I skate?

The ski question is simple: basketball.
No way was I going to risk a janked-up injury and sacrifice my favorite sport for a year or more.

Skating though?
I'm sure there has been only a handful of
more pathetic sights than my skating abilities.
What's my problem?
Hmm...


Bob Costas & Pals seem to have answered my question.
The Dutch are enthused in the same way as speed skating the way we are with football, baseball, and NASCAR*...

thestar.blogs.com

WWW.PBASE.COM

www.rnw.nl

... maybe combined. In the 5k event, the announcers said anything less than gold would be a fail for the dutch skater. I don't remember his name, but I do know he passed. So I thought, you know what? There isn't an ounce of Dutch in me, therefore, I just don't have the genes to skate. That, or I just have the genes to have incredibly flimsy ankles.


On a completely unrelated note, here's an awesome website for all you foodies out there + anyone who just likes looking at pretty pictures of tasty treats: www.tastespotting.com

I think I'll make me some of these:

Well, a less complicated, maybe more healthy version. :)

*NASCAR is the most popular US sport. Don't know if that was super-common knowledge.

a thought.

Anyone who would read this that knew me back in the day may think I've crossed to the dark side and/or...no, or came into enlightenment.

Neither.

Neither of these are correct, but I'm speaking from experience here.

I'm not old, and I definitely don't feel old enough in much of any way to consider myself well-learned via life experience in the matters of this country's history.

But perhaps I've come to consider my relative youth as compared to the rest of the general population as too much of a naivety as it actually may be a point of wisdom.

I'll step out of the "me"- and "academic"-talk to get to brass tacks. Stick with me here:


I have student debt,
and so does my husband.
We have enough debt to keep us from
going where we want to go
and doing what we truly desire to do.


If this government has $12 Trillion and counting in debt, with an administration and congress ready to delve deeper into the red,
how long,
honestly,
will it take for this nation as a whole to move forward?

I'm of course speaking fiscally and not socially,
but there must be more than a nuance of correlation
between these two situations.

feeling really bummed

and especially lonely


don't know what to do about it

i think

i need

to pray

and schedule things to do when my hubs is out of town for work.