Carve Your Name

"Carve your names on hearts, not on marble." ~Charles Spurgeon

The beauty and simplicity of this quote that popped up on our office calendar earlier this week two months ago has stuck in my mind. Is the way I choose to live my life positively impacting the people around me? Am I investing in the growth of others or in things that won't last? I think these are questions worth asking ourselves daily - or hourly.

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?

Three Things Thursday

1. I'm still around. Christmas with the fam was a good time and eventually I'll have the pictures on the computer and share. 

2. The snow is not committing and I wish it would. Fortunately, there is snow on the Mountain so we will be taking our snowshoes out for a trek tomorrow and Sunday. Yay!

3. I actually kind of miss running. I haven't run since Christmas Eve (3.32 miles on a treadmill, which I've never run on before, in 40 min with 189 HR for most of it - Dad was concerned) and I have some fun and exciting new gadgets to try out. You may now sit in anxious anticipation of what those gadgets are. ;-)

I'll get a more meaningful post out later. Happy Eve of New Year's Eve!

The Brain is 85% Water

The coffee drive-through we frequent is having a Summer Trivia game. Every morning they post a new question on the window and if answered correctly you receive a stamp towards a free coffee. I think the questions get harder as the week goes on, as it should be, but no one has confirmed this.

On Monday we received a stamp for Hawaii being the last state admitted to the union. (Alaska and Hawaii were admitted the same year, but Hawaii was last.) Tuesday we said the ostrich was the world's largest bird because we couldn't think of anything bigger - another win. Wednesday we skipped the coffee stop.

Last night I was telling the boy I'm fairly certain college made me stupid.  I don't remember what we were talking about, but I said, "I used to know stuff like that and be able to have a lengthy discussion about it... now I'm thousands of dollars in debt and can't. I think college might have made me stupid." I'm a little distressed by this revelation. 

Which brings us to today. The question was a True/False and the statement was, "The human brain is 85% water." It sounded plausible, but also very, very wrong. I let the boy take the lead with "False." False it is not.  Kinda like clouds not being made up of mostly carbon dioxide (last week's incorrectly answered true/false question). 

Maybe college didn't make me stupid, it just made me second guess myself to the point I can't answer a true/false question correctly. Only time will tell I suppose. For now, I'm going to start reading random trivia books in an effort to boost my skills. ;-) 

Birds of Wisdom

I'm not sure what started my fascination with owls. Maybe it was when we cleaned out my great-grandma's apartment and found her decorative owls. Or maybe it was that single owl ornament that decided our style. Whatever the catalyst, I love all things owl.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have owl figurines or pictures all over my house. Most of the owl tokens I have are delegated to our Christmas decorations. Including this year's Christmas present from our landlords: a red throw blanket with an owl tie. Ironic did not even begin to describe it. My husband's response, who does not share the love of owls, was, "That's not even funny." (The landlord does not know I like owls.)

I recently learned Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom whom I am named for, had a companion owl. Fitting, I think. I told the DH this alone should justify my fascination with owls. It is also why I am very excited about The Pretty Pauper's 5-0 giveaway of this little gem. I would love to sport that necklace and see the DH roll his eyes in amusement.

Blue Box Blues

Last night I decided to throw in the towel and admit defeat.

I can make a meatloaf that would put your grandma to shame.
I can whip up the creamiest, fluffiest, most delicious mashed potatoes you've ever had at the drop of a hat without the aid of a cookbook or measuring tools.
I can clean trout and cook it five different ways - none of them dry or burnt.
I make a mouth watering brisket and mean eggs.

But, try as I might, the blue box defeats me every damn time.

The powder doesn't mix. It's too buttery. The noodles are too hard or too mushy. The sauce is creamy, but bland. Every time my confidants ask, "How do you ruin mac and cheese? That's like burning water!" or comment on how amazing my mashed potatoes are and how puzzling it is I can't make edible Blue Box. The Boy's constant line is, "Did you follow the directions?" (For awhile I was known to throw all the ingredients in the pot and wish it well. It never turned out well.)

It hasn't always been this way. When my mother left I became the chief chef of the house. And, really, there aren't too many recipes a nine-year-old can follow, so we ate a lot of mac and cheese, Hamburger Helper, and Red Baron 4-cheese pizza.

I hereby renounce my claim on my childhood favorite and will leave the Pasta tipo Macaroni con salsa de Queso to the DH (pictured making Blue Box on our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta).

Things I Take Joy In

People are emotional beings. Some of us more than others. Me more than most. The first couple weeks of May have become rather stressful for me the last couple years as they now mark the anniversary of a horrific point in my life. In an effort to cheer myself up, I have been looking at old pictures and making a list of things that make me happy. Enjoy.


1.Ice cream. Especially with good friends in a foreign country.

2. My sister. She's a good kid and always makes me laugh.

3. My daddy. He's my hero.

4. Traveling and getting to kiss historic sculptures. (Parque Guille)
5. Phillip's Lake - I have many fond memories on this bank made with friends and family alike.

6. Pineapple drinks the size of my head in Mexico definitely make me happy.
7. Being married to the greatest man.
8. Cute Christmas ornaments. And Christmas. And holidays in general
9. Gus & Claire (though Gus is more photogenic)
10. Warm beaches
11. Sunsets.
12. My brother (whom I have posted more than enough pictures of)
13. My friends
14. My nephews
15. Reading
16. Nature
17. Hot baths
18. A rousing game of Canasta
19. Worship music
20. Cuddling

I have a lot to be thankful and there's still a lot of good in the world. Those are the things I should spend more time focusing on.