Hodgepodge on a rainy Wednesday

Two posts in one week.  Y'all!  I am on fire.  Next week's goal: write a post that is more focused and keeps to one topic at a time.  Warning:  this post is a whole lot of random.

• WEST WING IS ON NETFLIX!  Seriously, one of the greatest TV shows of all time.  If you haven't watched it or Friday Night Lights, get thee to the Netflix immediately.  You're welcome.

• While I'm on the topic of television, I am also pumped for new episodes of Biggest Loser, Castle, Big Bang Theory, The Office and Elementary.

• I promise I do more than just watch television.  See below.

• Yesterday, I taught Zumba and ran 3.5 miles before noon and had a few hours off before I went back to teach Zumba again (crazytown: population me).  It was a cold day, so when I got home, I wanted to prop my legs up and lounge by the fire.  Typically the dog has a monopoly on the fire place, so he was none too happy to see that I had moved his bed over in order to share the space.  After some disgruntled sighs and urgent pawing at my leg and laptop, he decided he would just reclaim his spot by sitting on me.  Well-played Sinatra.  Well-played.

• My friend Lauren has the cutest children on the planet.  Her middle child, Jane, just started ballet, and Lauren captured the most precious pictures of the budding ballerina here. My favorite part of these pictures is the toe-point and relevé that Janie is demonstrating without benefit of a single lesson.  Clearly a prodigy. 

• Last night I learned a lot about the rules regarding leggings thanks to the following Twitter conversation:

•  I am very much hoping for sunshine tomorrow, because I have used up all my mental fortitude running in the rain or on a treadmill for the past week.

• Sometimes when I want to quit exercising, I pretend that I'm working out with Tim Tebow and RG3 (who can make this bucket list item happen for me?).  I tell myself that they are still going, so I can't stop.  It's sort of a combination of imaginary competition and shaming that gets me through.

• The trend of ombre hair color makes no sense to me.  Please comment if you can help me understand why you would want it to look like you neglected to have your roots touched up.

That's all I've got for now.  Discuss!

Five for Friday

Happy New Year peeps!

One of my resolutions is to blog more regularly, both here, and at my other blog The Book Bag (though I may change the name and do a bit of overhauling since it has been 2-cough, cough-years since I've posted there).  I have found that I am constantly composing posts in my head, but never putting the pen to paper, or fingers to the keyboard.  I want to improve my abilities to express myself in the written word, and I know the only way to do that is by writing as much and as often as possible.  I have also long dreamed of having a book blog that parents can come to to ask questions and get recommendations for themselves and their kids, with the knowledge that I will direct them towards good books that are age appropriate and some of the best out there.

So to ease myself into writing, here's 5 items for a cold and dreary Friday.

1.  My friend Amanda helped me get a jump start on my writing resolution by having me guest blog for her yesterday.  You can read my post here!

2.  Living Proof Ministries is doing their Siesta Scripture Memory Team again, and I am taking the challenge to learn 24 scripture verses this year.  After memorizing an entire script for the church Christmas program, I realized that I had no excuses to not memorize scripture.  My first verse, inspired by Lysa TerKeurst's book Unglued (more on that in a later post) is below:

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.  Don't be impressed with yourself.  Don't compare yourself with others.  Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.  Galatians 6:4-5 MSG

3.  On December 31st, I began training for The Rodeo Run.  I did this run several years ago and my goal was to run the entire 10K without stopping.  This year my goal is to run the entire thing but come in at a better time-ideally right at 1 hour.  I'm using this training plan in addition to my regular P90x workout schedule.  I also discovered the Map My Run app and y'all, it is amazing.  In addition to tracking my distance, pace, split times and calorie burn, this app also offers many of the features that regular weight loss apps offer.  If I want, I can log meals, weight, water, and other non-running workouts.  I love it because it does the thinking while I run.

4. A picture of Sinatra! During the holidays my friend Suzi and her daughter E came over to bake cookies.  Sinatra tried very hard to claim E's blanket for his own.

5.  When I was a librarian at Lee, I invited the kids to the library to "Read in a Winter Wonderland."  My aide and I decorated the library with Christmas lights and served hot chocolate and cookies.  The kids brought blankets, pillows and books and got to spend 45 minutes in the library just reading.  Early this December, I was brought to tears when my friend Emma sent me the two pictures below and the following text:

Enjoying some hot chocolate while we read in our "Winter Wonderland." A tradition started by you and kept alive by us.

 Happy Friday all!

The Post of Shame

So there's this new website/tumblr out there called Dog Shaming where people submit pictures of their dogs posing with signs that detail the dog's misdeeds.  This site is hilarious.  Do yourself a favor and take a look at it.

Sinatra has done his fair share of shameful things.  He once ate an entire pack of gum out of my purse.  He likes to eat Kleenex out of the trash.  He figured out how to push apart the corners of his crate and escape (thus all the zip-ties that now adorn the seams of his crate).  But really, he's never done anything that would warrant a submission to Dog Shaming.

Until today.

It's a good thing he's cute.

Favorite Things: Exercise Edition

Well, we may need to just pause for a moment to acknowledge that I am using the words "favorite" and "exercise" in the same sentence.  Quick!  Someone bring me some creamy jalapeno dip to bring balance to the force.

Believe it or not, my life has become more fitness-oriented in the past year (including but not limited to the P90X workout program, becoming a ZUMBA® fitness instructor, and losing about 20 lbs), and as a result I have some very favorite items that I wanted to share with you.

Bloch Wave Sneaker

There are a lot of good shoes out there for dance fitness, but this one is my fave.  The shoes are super light-weight, supportive, and boast a "spin spot" for ease of turning.  My legs don't feel weighed down during a work-out, and I don't have to worry about my foot sticking to the floor and injuring my ankle or knee.  The "spin spot" even works on carpet, which means I can practice my moves at home in front of the TV if I want to (and I usually do).  I have had good luck with Bloch brand shoes before-my character shoes for theater are Bloch brand and I love them-so I was excited to find that they made a shoe that I could use in class.  Several dance stores in my area carry the shoes, but I ordered them from my favorite supplier, Discount Dance.  If you ever need dance clothes, check this site first.  They always have great prices! One last thing-this particular shoe runs about 1 size larger than your street shoe size.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

My friend Amanda is an avid runner who is training for the NYC marathon in November while also rehearsing for the revival production of Annie on Broadway.  Seriously, she is super-woman.  She knows a lot about nutrition, fitness and keeping a body running at top-performance even in the most hectic of schedules.  She turned me on to sport beans as a way to replenish electrolytes and grab quick energy before, during and after a work-out.  An entire pack is only 100 calories, and for me these little beans do the same work as a bottle of Gatorade, with considerably less junk being put into my body.  If I am on a day of multiple, back-to-back workouts, or just feeling really wiped, I will eat 3-4 beans about 30 minutes before I exercise.  The important thing to know is that you must drink A LOT of water with them as they can make your stomach feel a little strange at first.  Amanda recommends the lemon-lime flavor, while I am an assorted mix girl.  I found these at HEB in the health food section, but they can also be ordered online.

Tupperware Large Eco Water Bottle

I tend to sweat a lot (those who have danced with me know this may be the understatement of the millennium).  As a result I have to have plenty of water with me during a work-out.  I don't like having to lug multiple water bottles to class, so finding bottles that hold 1 L of water each is huge.  Made by Tupperware, the bottles are high-quality and eco friendly, with a wide mouth and easy screw top lid.  Love them!

Chilly Pad Cooling Towel

This is another gem of a suggestion from Amanda, a fellow soldier in the fight against excessive sweat.  This little item has saved me!  I wet the towel before a workout and then use it to wipe away sweat while exercising.  Even though the towel is damp, it successfully removes every last drop of perspiration and leaves me feeling cool.  I don't understand the science.  All I know is that I have never loved a towel so much.  I got mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond, but you can find them at sporting goods stores, Amazon, or online at the Frogg Toggs website.

Feel free to chime in with your favorite exercise item or the snack you ate ironically while reading a post about fitness (like I do when watching The Biggest Loser).

We won't discuss the number of times I've watched this video . . .

I'm pretty sure this dog is Sinatra's long lost cousin.  Enjoy!

If you can't say something nice . . .

Facebook and I have a love/hate relationship.  On the one hand, FB has allowed me to keep in touch with friends all over the world.  I've been able to reconnect with friends from high school and college, offer comfort and encouragement to people who are hurting, and rejoice with friends on the arrival of babies, promotions, weddings and birthdays.  Facebook allows me to effectively stalk follow my friends and their friends, perform amateur background checks on others boyfriends and girlfriends (because I care, y'all), and creep on view all the awesome photos people post.

But lately, I feel like there is a lot of FB abuse going on.  FB is no longer about silly status updates or the sharing of pictures and awesome youtube videos (meaning any and all "Call Me Maybe" lip dubs and parodies).  Instead it has become a place to say hateful things to or about people from the comfort of our couches.  While there isn't complete anonymity, I am convinced that it is a lot easier to say ugly things from behind a computer screen than to say those same things to someone's face.

About two years ago, God really convicted me about how I was using Facebook.  It was during a time of great frustration in my job, and I chose to share that frustration, un-edited, in my FB statuses.  After an anonymous note in my work mailbox cautioned me against venting in such a public forum, I decided to take a break from FB and get my issues under control.  What God showed me was that I shouldn't write anything on FB that I wouldn't be willing to say to someone's face, or that I didn't want put on the screen in a faculty meeting or at church for everyone to see.  Basically, He tweaked that old adage-"If you can't say something nice  . . .  you really shouldn't put it on Facebook."

I think as humans we seek instant gratification in many areas of our lives, and FB feeds that need.  Having a crappy day?  Post about it and instantly get feedback.  Dealing with a psycho co-worker?  Tell everyone about it so that they can give you really bad advice for dealing with the problem.  Fishing for compliments?  Talk about how fat you feel and instantly have your spirits lifted by your friends.  Angry that people never post on your wall?  Compose a passive-aggressive status update and really stick it to them.  Concerned with the state of politics, society or America?  Post harsh words that are sure to make a difference in the world.

When I returned to Facebook after my hiatus, I promised God that I would only post things that would encourage and build up the people who read them.  Essentially, I use Phillipians 4:8 as the plumb line for my posts.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

As a result, I don't post nearly as much, and in many situations I find that I have to stop and think before I speak, or close Facebook and walk away before I shoot off a thoughtless response.  It has forced me to focus on the positives in my life.  It has changed my perspective, and I hope, brought glory to God for all that He has done for me.

As a Christian, I feel an additional responsibility with my words and my witness.  I value my relationships with others, whether they see things my way or not, and I certainly don't want a glib status update to hurt my ability to share or show Jesus.  I wonder if Jesus would have used Facebook had it been available.  I am no Biblical scholar or spiritual giant, but I notice that Jesus spent His time face-to-face with others.  He didn't post generalizations about sin; he got to know sinners.  He spoke-not posted, typed, texted or emailed-the truth in love.

Each one of us can choose how we will use the power of Facebook.  And I pray that what we decide to post will be pleasing to God.

Right Now

Right now . . .

• I'm writing a blog post!  It's only been more days than I care to discuss.
• Sinatra is giving me the "it's time to walk" stare-down.
• I'm still in my pajamas.
• I'm suffering from Olympic withdrawals.
• I'm trying to motivate myself to walk the dog then do my plyometrics work-out.
• I have a headache.
• I'm dreading the next three months of trash-talking  and mud-slinging known as political ads.
• I'm drinking Crystal Light Peach Tea.
• I'm wondering if posting this will cause people to expect more blog posts in the future.