Friday Pondering

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own.

No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, blame.

The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey -

and you alone are responsible for the quality of it.

This is the day your life really begins.

What is it that makes us feel like we aren't good enough or we are obligated to make others happy at the expense of our own well-being? These are things I wish I had an answer to.

History of Reading + I {heart} Audiobooks

Once I learned how to read, which took me longer than most things to grasp, I devoured everything I could get my hands on. I read most of Nancy Drew, every Babysitter's Club book published until age 11 when I decided I just couldn't keep up (there are 131, not including seven off-shoots with 15+ titles each - insanity). The book fairs at school were nirvana and I listed the public library as my favorite place in town.

As time has passed, I wish more and more I had kept a record of the books I read. There is a particular book I remember bits and pieces of that I wish I could re-read as I might understand it better at 26 than I did at 9 (my reading material was not monitored as a child) and I think there should be a sequel as the ending was so weird. It may also be the reason I never really got into Sci-Fi. A couple years ago I started documenting the books I read, and the ones I want to read, and that has helped me greatly.

The amount of time I have available to read has fluctuated through the years, but it has always been a core part of my life. The night my Maid of Honor arrived at my house I was laying on my couch, surrounded by wedding favors, reading Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix kept me company in the pool lounge chair (in the water) while my new husband went up and down the pool slide.

Recently, I have had less time to read. I leave for work at 7 am, return home between 6-6:30 pm, try to spend some time with my husband, eat, work out, get to bed at a decent hour, etc. Life has happened and I'm trying to figure out where my reading time has gone.

While lamenting to my aunt about this, she suggested I start listening to audiobooks. I spend roughly 2 hours a day in my car, alone, and there are only so many songs and so many radio stations. I decided to give it a whirl and omigoodness has it changed my life! In the last month and a half I have "read" four books while on my commute. I still prefer curling up with a paperback, a blanket, and a kitty, but having someone read to me in the car is not a bad second option. (The trick is getting a reader whose voice isn't annoying. I will have to read "Lucky One" in print as the reader's voice was much too grating. All of Maeve Binchy's books are delightful on audio.)

So, if you can't find the time to read a book, go to your library and pick up an audiobook. It will rock your world, especially if you spend many an hour commuting.

What's on your reading list?

Run for Sherry: Why We Run

I've been dabbling with running for about three years. Only recently have I felt comfortable saying, "I am a runner." It always felt fraudulent before. One thing I know without a doubt is I am part of the running community. I rejoice with every victory, extend comfort to the broken, and know they would do the same for me.

In the wake of Sherry Arnold's disappearance, the running community has come together in amazing ways. We have lost one of our own; Beth, of Shut Up And Run, has lost her cousin. Sherry went for a run and never came home. It is a runner's worst nightmare and her story has touched thousands worldwide.

On February 11 at 8 am PST, the running world will come together and Run for Sherry. We will run with Sherry's smiling face on a blue bib with a sketch of Montana.

We will run because we have lost one of our own.

We will run with our friends, our family, and solo.

We will dedicate races, trails, and miles to Sherry.

We will run because we know it could just as easily have been us.

We will run because it is when we feel most alive.

We will run because it's the one thing we can do.

We will run to heal. We will run to remember.

We will run so for a moment in time all the bad that has transpired will be replaced with the goodness of humanity - of community.

Will you join us and make the world move?

Q&A: Just for Fun

Nicole at Marine Wife Unplugged tagged me in this and I'm happy to oblige... (Sorry the formatting is so weird. I finally let it win.)
The Rules

1. You must post the rules (and link up who tagged you).

2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4. Tag however many people you want

5. Let them know you've tagged them!



11 Facts About Me

1. I enjoy a good hike, but about the only sure way to talk me into it is to promise a milkshake at the end.

2. Since childhood I have enjoyed eating oysters - pan fried, raw, steamed, whatever.

3. Sleep is my favorite thing.

4. I really want a redheaded child. Interestingly enough, my brother has shared that he is terrified of redheaded children under age 14.

5. Unassisted, I can only see three inches in front of my face clearly. I'm that blind.

6. I'm convinced I'm going to die in a car crash. I don't know why.

7. One day I want to have a self-sufficient household/farm. As of yesterday my dream includes animals of burden to till the land. I'm very Prairie House at heart.

8. I am one of the most empathetic people you will ever meet. True story.

9. I'm 5'3", but wear tall shoes to prevent having to hem my pants. This occasionally throws people off when I do wear flat shoes (which I would prefer to do, darn office job and dress pants).

10. I am married to the second (and last) man I dated.

11. Living in the Midwest for a year was the best worst thing I ever did.



Nicole's Questions For me

1. Have you ever told a stranger about salvation through Christ? Not that directly. I have shared my own beliefs with strangers and left the conversation open.

2. Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Nope, and trying to keep it that way. Though apparently I get discounted chiropractic services through work, so should I break myself during 1/2 marathon or relay training I have a less expensive way to get fixed.

3. When you first learned about PTSD, what did you think of it? It has always made sense to me and I was relieved to find it had a name.

4. Have you ever regretted being married? No, I married my best friend and have been blessed by him ever single day for the last five years.

5. If your spouse said he wanted you to wear skirts for the rest of your life because he loved how you looked in them, would you have a problem with that? He could say it and I would be flattered. I would probably make an effort to wear them more often, but I wouldn't wear them every day.

6. What are you most thankful for today? My health.

7. How often have you been angered by things you have read on my blog? I don't think you've ever said anything that's angered me. There's been times I thought you took things too far or had a vastly different viewpoint than mine, but nothing anger-inducing.

8. Describe a time you helped someone out anonymously and did not seek recognition for it. Wouldn't it be seeking recognition if I told you about it? ;-)

9. What household chore do you gripe about performing the most? Sweeping and mopping the floor! It's time consuming and within five minutes they're dirty again. Grrr! (Hubby does this chore most of the time cause he loves me.)

10. How can you tell if someone is really following the Messiah? Their words and deeds line up and you feel a sense of peace when you're around them, no matter what is going on.

11. Do you think that Barack Obama is a good president? I don't think there is such a thing as a good president. Each administration is at the mercy of the administration before him, the Congress in session, and the current world disasters. Why anyone would want to be president is beyond me.

Who I'm Tagging

- George at Rough And Rede

- Kim at (Just) Trying is for Little Girls

- Christie at Marathon Mama

- Nikki at My Story That I Like The Best

- Shawna at Pink Spandex

- Leslie at Pink Spandex

My Questions:

1. Which three books would you take with you if you were banished to a deserted island?

2. Who had the greatest influence on you growing up?

3. What was the best vacation you ever had?

4. What's your "one moment" - the moment in your life you wish you could go back and change?

5. Icecream or cake?

6. What do you want people to remember about you?

7. What is your favorite quote?

8. Would you live without internet or without your phone?

9. What has been your greatest accomplishment?

10. How do you celebrate an accomplishment?

11. How does life compare to what you had planned 5/10/15/25 years ago?

Thankful Thursday: Promises

I haven't written a "Thankful Thursday" post in awhile and today I realized I'm thankful for promises.

My history is, as I'm sure everyone's is, littered with broken promises. Some that caused tears, some that caused scars, and still others that resulted in a complete loss of trust.

The thing with broken promises, though, is they make the promises that are kept that much sweeter.

Today, I'm thankful that my friend who said she'd always be there for me when we were eleven is still one of the few people I talk to on a regular basis.

I'm thankful my husband has truly stood by me in sickness and health, richer and poorer, good times and bad, especially the sick/poor/bad.

I'm thankful that the promise I most doubted, the one that people I trust most uttered one after another, seems to be coming to fruition. I'm going to be okay.

Grace and Strength

In keeping with my current ponderings about grace, strength, light and New Year's resolutions, today I looked up at my calendar and was challenged by this month's verse:

"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 2:1

For some reason this hit me really hard this morning. I often think of strength as being overpowering and grace as being gentle. To see those two words side by side, complementing one another, has made my head spin in a way that will require me to sit with it for awhile. Be strong. In grace.

As I continue to reflect on last year and what I want this year to look like I have thought a lot (alot) about the My One Word challenge. While it is spiritual in nature, I think it could be applied secularly as well: How do you want to grow? What kind of person do you want to be by 2012's end? How would implementing one word change your relationships?

Passion... Grace... Intention.... these are words I'm mulling over.

What one word would you choose to guide your actions and what kind of person would that word shape you into?

Stronger

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who are we to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so other people won’t feel insecure around you… And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ Marianne Williamson