Get Your Gwapes

I love clean jokes: the cheesey, play-on-word jokes you can tell around children or your pastor without being inappropriate. One of my all-time favorites is ultimately about persistence, and knowing what you want. It's also just plain cute.

A duck walked into a bar and said to the bartender, "Hey, got any gwapes?"
The bartender said no, so the duck left.

The next day, the duck walked into the same bar and asked the bartender, "Hey, got any gwapes?"
The bartender said just shook his head, and said, "Nope." So the duck left.

Still determined the next day, the duck walked into the bar, and asked the bartender, "Hey,  got any gwapes?"
Visibly annoyed, the bartender said, "No, we don't have any grapes, and if you come in here and ask me that one more time, I'm going to staple your beak shut."
So the duck put his head down and waddled out of the bar.

The next day, the duck walked into the bar, right up to the bartender, and said, "Hey, got any staples?"
The bartender, fed up, said, "No, we don't have any staples."
So the duck looked around, then back to the bartender, and said, "Okay.... Got any gwapes?"

A Week

It’s been a week.

It’s been a week in which happiness doesn’t feel quite as happy.

It’s been a week of cliché songs on the radio about life not sounding so cliché anymore.

It’s been a week of  finding ourselves thinking over and over, “I wish it was this time this many days ago.”

It’s been a week to be grateful for the many thoughtless actions we’ve walked away from unscathed.

It’s been a week of being reminded of loyalty, trust, and friendship.  

It’s been a week where many lives have been forever changed.

It’s been a week full of prayer.

It’s only been a week.

Songs to Share

I love music, and am guilty of playing a song I find that I like on repeat for weeks. I’m talking one song, non-stop, at work, at home, in the car, a cappella. And when the obsession hits me it’s typically not when the songs are brand new, it’s when I happen to hear them in a new way, and just at the right time they strike a certain chord in me. Here are a few that, after hearing dozens of times now, I still can’t get enough of!

Dog Days – Florence and the Machine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOyfLBYtuU

Fugitive – David Gray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utLCu-Mpnqo

Fix You- Coldplay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI-o25K6B-E

No Surprise – Daughtry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyl24HRGgSU
Save Me San Francisco - Train http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zftcZYdOl3Y

Do So Anyway

This past month has been a whirlwind; so much so I have neglected one of my recently developed favorite hobbies- this blog. I should say that I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even thought about it, but that would be a lie. I have thought about writing many posts this past month, but just haven’t had the time to do it. Oops, there I go with the lying again. Okay, I haven’t been posting because, like not wanting to say something out loud in fear that it makes it too real, I have not wanted to put my all of my confused thoughts and feelings down in writing. Life in general is wonderful, and I’m thankful every day for it; I’ve just been faced with making many decisions recently, big and small, that have me excited, stressed, hopeful, and more all at once. But I’ve decided to quit avoiding organizing my thoughts and “rejoin the blog world,” as my sister Katy put it.

For now, however, I’ll let the majority of my most jumbled thoughts be, and just share something I’ve learned recently: Good Samaritans still exist.

On the 4^th of July night around 10:30, Shane and I’s one year old puppy, Brooksie, broke her collar and ran off. I’ll skip the chaos that was the next 20 minutes (we got her back in one piece and she’s fine thankfully), but I want to talk about the driver of a white SUV. A young man, probably around age 30, was driving down our street right as Brooksie broke free and took off. The driver luckily saw Shane and I running and screaming and waving our hands right before she ran in front of him. When he stopped he got out and tried to call her to him, but a firework went off and she was gone again. As Shane and I split up our routes, I sprinted panicked to the corner of our street wondering which way she went (she’s a black, fast, dog and the thick haze of smoke from all the fireworks, not to mention the constant noise, was the least ideal of situations to lose a black, fast, dog in).

The young man, having done a U-turn to follow us, pulled up and shouted, “Do you want my car? You can take it.” I told him I’d stay on foot and then he volunteered to drive up and down the street while I ran. I saw him take off searching for her, and when I turned to run down another street, he turned around again and drove down to where Shane was running. Later I found out he shouted to Shane, again asking, “Do you want my car?” Shane stayed on foot too, and the driver told him he’d keep searching around the block. Running barefoot by dozens of people lighting fountains and caterpillars in their driveways, knowing that not only Shane was looking for Brooksie, but that someone else was out searching too made me a tiny bit hopeful in what seemed like a hopeless situation.

Shane finally found our puppy who had already ran past our yard where it all started, and we quickly took her inside away from the fireworks that had her so terrified. A couple times we checked outside to see if the SUV was driving by so we could tell the young man we found her, but we never saw the good Samaritan again. The good Samaritan who offered two complete strangers his car, gave me comfort in his looking, and spent at least 20 minutes of his 4^th of July night driving around to find a dog. We will never be able to thank him; if I ever could I would not only thank him for trying so hard to help us, but for reminding me that some people still do the right thing, even when unexpected, or scary, or when it would be easier to just not get involved. It was a great example of what kindness is truly about- you may not be acknowledged or given thanks for helping someone out, but you should always do so anyway.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Making healthy decisions can be tough sometimes, especially for someone who when asked what their favorite food is can’t ever decide between responding with, “Mexican” or “pizza.” So the past year or so I’ve accumulated a few simple tricks to cut out unnecessary calories and more importantly, add in nutrients…. and most importantly, still enjoy what I eat and drink. A few of these tips are from Hungry Girl (if you aren’t familiar subscribe now- I cook at least one recipe a week from their daily e-mails).

On eating…..

·          Substitute non-fat, all natural, plain Greek yogurt in any recipe that calls for sour cream or mayonnaise. I always use the Fage brand. It’s not only less calories, but Greek yogurt is really good for you.

·          Start buying Laughing Cow cheese- it’s delicious and something like 1/3 of the calories of regular cheese. Super easy to spread on wraps, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, etc.

·          Substitute lean ground turkey or ground chicken in any recipe that calls for ground beef. I did this for months in our spaghetti and chili before my fiancé realized it, and even then I only had to spill the beans because he looked in the pan when I was browning the meat and got really worried about the beef looking so light in color.

·          Instead of buying tortilla chips in a bag, which are fried and drenched in salt, I buy one package of corn tortillas, lightly brush them with extra-virgin olive oil, slice them into fourths with a pizza cutter, and bake them. This saves calories, salt intake, and money.

·          Over a year ago my sister and I started buying peanuts and raisins in bulk and mixing them and dividing them up into baggies for the week to take to work. It’s a great healthy snack. (I know it seems like you could buy this premade but most of the mixes include M&M’s or other stuff too).

·          Split, split, split. My fiancée and I split almost everything we order at restaurants, and contrary to some of our servers’ reactions to this, it is not because we’re cheap. It’s because our society has been trained to expect ridiculously sized portions of food, so ONE entrée is typically more than enough food for TWO people. And it does save a little money too, and you even get used to the feeling of leaving a restaurant without being so full you feel sick.

·          And last but not least, it would just be wrong to not give a shout out to my natural homies: fruits and vegetables. They’re what we’re supposed to eat.

On drinking….

·          Incorporate green tea into your day. My new favorite is the Just Green Tea in a bottle from Honest Tea (thanks Katy!) It has zero calories (like all real green tea) and ¼ the caffeine of a cup of coffee. Green tea is one of my favorite simple pleasures, and it’s actually from the earth too which I’m of course a fan of (see previous post, “Of The Greatest Worth”). For current tea-lovers: make sure you check the label before you grab a bottle. It’s upsetting when you actually look at a lot of the bottles on shelves, how many added sugars and syrups are in so-called natural teas. True green tea should have no sugar and no calories.

·          Best cocktail ever: vodka, no-sodium soda water, fresh lime juice, sliced cucumbers. I actually read about this spritzer in Real Simple years ago, and just added the vodka into the mix. So good, and a lot less unhealthy than most alcoholic beverages.

·          Water: One of my guy friends who is a crazy gym-goer and health nut, once told me that your body can confuse thirst for hunger. I haven’t done any research on that, but just in case, I try to always stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. I figure it can’t hurt!

On keeping with it…

·          I love this link from SELF; type in any food and you get the nutritional information: http://nutritiondata.self.com/.

·          Before I go out to eat I try to look at the menu and nutritional information online and have in mind what I’m going to order. Here’s a handy-dandy calculator for a staple restaurant in my life, Chipotle: http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator.

·          And last, but not least, the genius Hungry Girl – I highly recommend signing up! http://www.hungry-girl.com/.

A Man, A Plan, A Proposal

On Friday, May 6^th, at 6:45 AM, my boyfriend of five years, Shane Hendren, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!!

Shane had made breakfast, let me get completely ready for work, and even let me get into my car in the garage before he called me back inside and got down on one knee. I was completely surprised!

That moment in the early morning of a beautiful Spring day is honestly the most special moment of my life so far. Witnessing the man I’ve loved for five years (and secretly loved for two years before that), get down on one knee, nervous and shaking, asking me to spend the rest of my life with him is a moment I will never forget and can’t actually put into words.

In the past few years, quite a few of my closest friends, including my amazing little sister, have gotten engaged and married to their wonderful significant others. I have been thrilled and differently emotional with the news of each one. As one can imagine, during these celebrations it was inevitable that Shane and I receive inquiries as to when it would be our time. While most had good intentions, some people were a little too direct and no matter how it was approached, Shane kept calm and collected and would only say, “I have a plan.” Boy, did he!

After accepting his proposal, he told me that arrangements had been made and I had the day off of work. We celebrated with mimosas and he surprised me again with announcing he had a weekend getaway to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, MO set up for us.

Also in the surprise plan was a stop in Springfield, MO - the town where everything began for us. We walked around our old college campus and drove by our old dorms and apartments. The entire weekend was a dream. I could go into detail about how wonderful the resort was, and how Shane had planned everything down to the fine wine he brought for the event, but I’ll keep most of the details just for us. We really disappeared into our own happiness and celebration. It was perfect and I couldn't be happier!

I feel incredibly blessed and emotional, not only to be engaged, but with the outpouring of love and support our friends and families have been sharing with us as we take this thrilling step. In fact, our friends and families have been supportive throughout our entire relationship, which hasn’t exactly been by the book. But again, never have I felt a lack of love or support from the people closest to us. And to quote my fiancé, “Toeachizone.” I am so thankful how our relationship has evolved down our own path, I love being engaged, and I love thinking about spending the rest of our lives together. What can I say? Right now, I’m truly loving it all!

Make It Write

I’ve wanted to write children’s books for as long as I can remember. When my sisters and I were little, one of our favorite babysitters, Allison, was going through Education classes to become a teacher. I was in first grade and as an assignment, Allison needed a student around my age to write a story in a certain amount of time. She picked me, and I’ll never forget the story I wrote about a bear, a rabbit, and another creature (okay I forgot a little). I wrote and illustrated it on manila paper with a thick-point pencil, and I titled it “The Greatest Gift.” I won’t go into detail here in case I recreate the story in my future writing endeavors, but I will tell you it was a good one.

Driving to work this morning, I got re-excited about getting back to writing children’s books. I should mention that I’ve started quite a few and for no reason at all, haven’t finished one. For the past two years my only New Year’s resolutions have been to write my first book, and again, no finished product so far. So why am I sharing news of me not writing?

During my commute today I was thinking about how grateful I am; I’m in a good place right now with my job, home life is good, friendships are good, etc. During these thoughts of gratitude a little voice inside me said, “Yes, but this is not all. Don’t waste your passion or your talent. Can you imagine the level of regret you’ll feel if you never write a book? What are you waiting for!?”

Now I’ve mastered ignoring the voices in my head most of the time (hence why no one has committed me yet), but this one I have to respond to. The thought of looking back at my life having not spent it writing makes my stomach hurt. And really, what am I waiting for? Thinking about writing makes me more motivated and excited than nearly everything else I do on a daily basis. So that’s that.

Going forward I will actually be applying this quote from Stephen R. Covey I’ve loved ever since I read it in the pocket-version of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People I skimmed last summer on vacation; it reads:

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage---pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically---to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside. The enemy of the 'best' is often the 'good.'"