Hitting Snooze

I am infamous for hitting the snooze button. The issue is that I value sleep over time spent getting ready. If I need to leave by 7 AM, I will set my alarm for 6:15 and snooze until 6:45 AM then fly through my morning routine. I view the extra 5 minutes obtained by each press of the snooze button as little gifts to myself. It’s like a series of mini morning naps. Most people would find the alarms every five minutes torturous but for some reason I am amazed by how relaxing I find the little 5 minute naps between alarms. The problem is that this habit is a causing a major road block to my morning exercise ambitions. I tried to trick myself and set my first alarm 30 minutes earlier in hopes that I would hit the snooze button the same number of times and have an extra thirty minutes for a quick workout. The issue is that it has simply doubled the number of times I hit snooze. My next plan of attack to get my morning work outs on track is to move my phone across the room because if I have to get out of bed to hit snooze or turn off the alarm I think I will be much less likely to go back to sleep. Does anyone have any other suggestions on how to break this habit?

I Carry Your Heart

I love this poem by E.E. Cummings; it is one of my personal favorites. For this reason and its relevance to our relationship I included it in my wedding vows to Kyle. In the bible as well as in other published works love is often described as two people becoming one or residing in one another. Agape love is described as a selfless, unending love for others. It is about setting aside selfish thoughts and committing fully to someone else, putting someone else and their happiness and well-being ahead of your own. This poem reminds me of the strength and passion of the commitment made in marriage when upheld as it is designed.

“I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart). I am never without it (anywhere you go I go, my dear, and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling). I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet). I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you. Here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than the soul can hope or the mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the starts apart. I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart).” – E.E. Cummings

I saw a post from a friend of a pillow someone custom made with part of the poem on it. So of course I could not resist ordering one as well. My hope is that beyond just being a pretty accent in our house that it will remind us of the promise we made to one another and that we work to uphold every day of our lives together!

Planning for Switzerland

I can’t believe that we’ll be in Switzerland in just five and half short weeks! One of my dear friends who I've known since 4th grade and her fiance moved over there for work and we are so excited to have the opportunity to visit them in their new home. The pictures she has posted on her blog have been breathtaking and I’m thrilled to have the chance to see some of those things first hand. We’ll be staying with them in Lausanne and using the trains and buses to travel to various parts of Switzerland while they are at work during the day and then spending the evenings together! I cannot wait to spend quality time with great friends as well as breathtaking views, cheese, chocolate, and wine. I have been busy checking flights, looking into train passes, and making arrangements for the trip.

You can check out the gorgeous pictures from her blog at this link:

http://curiouslycurated.blogspot.com/

Ball of Yarn

During our engagement retreat at Camp Winshape (many moons ago, almost 5 years ago) they talked about this incredibly accurate and memorable description for the differences in the way people think about things. While this traditionally falls into male and female gender roles it does not always. They divided people into two groups based on the way they process thoughts. The first group which is the group I fall in (as do most women) are ball of yarn thinkers. Let me explain.

Ball of yarn thinkers are often able to think on many complex things at once and the changes in thoughts are often linked by mental or emotional connections. The string of thought processes can continue to link and journey on until interrupted. Here is an example: While making breakfast I mention out loud that I love the picture of Hawaii on the cover of the magazine on the counter, internally this reminds me of the trip we went on in January of last year, which triggers me to think about the friends we made on the trip, which prompts me to remember that one of their birthdays is coming up, which reminds me that I need to check Facebook for the date for their annual birthday screen on the green event, in thinking about our calendar I remember that I have a dentist appointment next week, so I mention to Kyle about the appointment

The issue with this is that when talking to Kyle I mention the first and the last thought but don’t mention the 5 thought process connections I made to get there and will simply look at him and blurt out a statement about the last item. He has adjusted well now and generally just rolls with it but sometimes my seemingly random statements catch him off guard. Sometimes he even asks me now to explain how I got there, it fascinates him since it is not how his brain is wired.

The other set of people think in one room brains. They are very efficient and focused thinkers. They focus on one thought or a series of closely related thoughts at a time. Once done with that train of thought they exit that room and enter another room. This is especially helpful in stressful situations; if they can force themselves to leave that room/thought then they can move on to thinking about something else. Ball of yarn thinkers are at constant risk of a thought connecting and triggering to a stressful thought and it is difficult for them to compartmentalize the stressful thoughts/feelings.

No one is clearly one way or the other but most people have a strong tendency towards one of these methods of thinking. It has been very helpful to us in our married life and in particular during arguments to understand the way the other person thinks. It is my ball of yarn brain that makes it necessary for me to have a longer cool down time-frame after a stressful event or argument. It is also the reason that Kyle has higher intensity during arguments and then is able to recover faster. It is just proof that God wired us all a little differently and that it is often our differences that help us balance one another out in our relationships.

Mom’s Yoga Graduation!

I am so proud of my mom; she just graduated from a four month program and completed her 200 hour yoga teacher certification. It is so inspiring to see that she is still going after things she is passionate about and continues to reinvent herself. She starts teaching her new classes at the Suwanee Arts Academy on Tuesdays and Thursdays in March, way to go mom!

Diva Dash!

I did it; I completed my first 5k!  The weather was terrible; it was in the 40’s and the entire course was muddy but I persevered and finished the race.  The race was a 3.1 mile course including 10 obstacles.  The obstacles were the most fun part to me, it keep things interesting and broke up the running into manageable chunks.  Joanna and I completed in 54 minutes which isn't too shabby although without all the mud I think we could have shaved off at least 10 minutes on our time.  I must say that throughout all the training, preparation, and the race I have not yet cultivated a love of running but I do feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment by seeing it through the finish.  I loved the feeling of completing the race so I may try and do a 5k a couple times a year just to keep me motivated to keep up the cardio training.  Next time I am signing up for a race that is run on paved roads, no more mud runs for me!

Obstacles: shoulder height wall to scale, bungee web to navigate through, massive tire pile to climb, swinging steps, hurdles, massive pile of hay bales to climb, hip height maze to crawl through, rope wall, monkey bars, truck tires with swinging balls for interference, and the last obstacle was wading/running through a river to get to the finish line

One of the best feelings was that my husband and two friends came out to cheer us on.  Seeing them at the finish line filled my exhausted heart with joy.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the race.  Once I get my copies of the official race pictures I’ll add them as well.

On Target

I celebrated President’s Day and the day off work by exercising the recently highly debated American right to bear arms.  Prior to this trip to the indoor range I had never held or fired a gun.  It’s not that I think people don’t have a right to protect themselves; it’s just that truthfully they make me extremely uncomfortable.  In the spirit of my 30 before 30 list I added a mix of things I really want to experience as well as a few life experiences that I think someone exiting their 20’s should have.    This item was one that I just think every person should have experienced by the time they turn 30.  Thankfully my dad agreed to take me.

Let me set the stage for you.  We walk in the building and I’m immediately uncomfortable by all the items around me.  I was floored at how large and scary some of the items people had that they just keep lying around their houses.  Yikes!  We waited about 20 minutes before a lane opened.  The lanes were really close together and people had some crazy firearms in there.  One was mounted on a tripod and was equipped with a laser pointer and all.  Thankfully my dad only brought two basic guns with him for us to shoot with.  One was a small pistol which is what we started with.  I found it incredibly hard to keep a steady aim with it and it took 11 tries before I even hit any part of the paper target.  I did get slightly better after that but I didn’t feel comfortable firing it.  I also managed to misplace my left pointer finger during one shot and singed it a bit on the barrel as it rotated.  Thankfully the ash wiped right off.  Next we tried shooting with the rifle.  I thought I would feel less comfortable with this because it was so much bigger and more cumbersome but I hit almost the middle of the target in my first try and hit the paper target every time after with the rifle.

 

The experience was not as scary as I thought but it did confirm my feelings that I’m still not comfortable with guns.  I am glad that if I ever was in a situation where I needed to use one I feel better equipped to know what to do.  I also learned that in case of a zombie apocalypse I need to have a rifle and lots of ammo on hand!

Weekend Trip to Charlotte

As evidenced by my friend map entry our friends have slowly been migrating all over the country.  Thankfully most of them remain in the Southeast.  Alex and Paige have been in Charlotte for a while now.  They moved because she found a job there and they have settled in and have really fallen in love with the city.  After visiting for the second time I can understand why, it’s a very vibrant and artsy city.  I personally don’t think I’m cool enough to live there but we had a blast visiting again.  It has a much smaller feel then Atlanta and is packed with local places that specialize in things they love (food, music/vinyl records, antiques, breweries, etc.).  While we were there we also got to see our first snow of the winter (hopefully the last as well).  It was beautiful and fun to play in but I was glad it didn't stick around for long.  Here are a few places I highly suggest if you ever get the chance to visit:

• The Three Amigo’s - $5 big as your face margarita’s and amazing food – the chicken empanada and the guacamole were my favorites
•  Fuel – yummy lunch spot for pizza, garlic knots, and fountain Cheerwine
• Lunchbox Records – tons of vinyl records to choose from! This trip we picked up the new Mumford & Sons album, Imagine Dragons, and a Shins album
•  Dish – words cannot do justice to this gem for southern soul food, I had the veggie plate and chowed down on some of the best green beans I’ve ever eaten.  Kyle highly recommends the country fried steak.  Seriously eating here is an amazing life decision that you must make for yourself if you are in the area!  (Another perk – its super reasonable)
• VBGB’s – an awesome place to hang out with friends and play games; they even have supersize chess, jenga, and connect 4; note do not play Quelf – it wasn’t nearly as awesome as the box made it sound but everything else was great!
• NODA & Bird Song Breweries – you can’t come to Charlotte and not take in the craft beer scene, my favorite was the Mexicali stout from Bird Song – so spicy and delicious!

Georgette Alumni Luncheon

It is hard for me to believe that it’s been almost 6 years since I graduated from college.  On one hand it feels like I can’t possibly that old but on the other hand my college days feel like a lifetime ago.  The Redcoat Band decided to do a series of reunion lunches for the various auxiliary groups.  The goal was to strengthen the connection between alumni and the current members and to help get ideas for growth and fundraising.  I am a sucker for a chance to reminisce about my white boot and rhinestone wearing days, hence why I have yet to miss a Homecoming pregame performance opportunity.  There were 8 girls from my generation of Georgettes and it was so nice to catch up with all of them!  Three of the girls brought their sweet and adorable kids and so it was crazy to see how much we have all grown up.  I also really enjoyed sharing stories, pictures, and traditions with the generations of Georgettes before and after ours.  It is a wonderful feeling to have been part of something that outlasts you and continues on, we are all part of the fabric of the organization and I take great pride in that!  

Disney Frame Craft Night

I have very publicly declared my love of crafts in previous posts so it should be no surprise that I hosted another craft night recently.  While at Disney in January I saw a frame that I absolutely loved and then balked at the $30 price tag.  I knew I could make my own version for way less and it made a great excuse to watch Disney classic movies and have a Disney trip reunion. 

My favorite part about craft nights is how we all use the same inspiration picture but end up with completely different outputs.  Each frame reflects its creator and they all look great!  

Sunday Morning Walk

This year I have been very focused on healthy habits.  This has ranged from cooking at home more often, working out more often, and reducing intake of unhealthy foods.  One Sunday morning we woke up and the sun was shining and we decided to change up our usual Sunday Starbucks routine.  We still went and got coffee, how much do you people think I can change, but we decided to get it to go and went on a lovely Sunday morning walk.  We started in Blackburn Park and then followed the Green Path down Ashford Dunwoody Road to the trail at Molly Sims Lake.  We walked the full loop around the lake and then walked back to our car.  It ended up being just over a 2.5 mile walk and was such an enjoyable start to our day.  We are going to try and do this more often.  We had wonderful conversation during the process and got in some great exercise for the day since the path we walked included several hills.  Here is a photo collage of our morning which includes beautiful wooden bridges, views of the lake, encounters with ducks/geese, and of course our yummy coffee!

Who Am I?

A friend of mine from college created one of these and posted it on her blog.  I loved the concept and so I decided to make my own.  The outline image is based on something or somewhere that is significant to you.  Then the words that fill the inside describe who you are and what is significant to you.  Happy Friday!