comfort music

It's kind of like comfort food...but minus the calories.

To me, comfort music is what I listen to when I just need something familiar during a time of change. It's music that I don't have to think about. It's music that I never seem to get tired of, even if I put it away for a season. And the sound of it usually brings me back to a different time in my life. Today, I need some comfort music.

So I think I'm going to pull out Enter the Worship Circle - Chair and Microphone I and III, make myself some tea, finish baking a couple of cakes, and head over to the JW coffee shop for some good conversation and knitting.

What's your comfort music?

a little explanation

After getting a text from a very loving and concerned friend (thanks Danille!) asking if I was okay, I thought I'd better explain what exactly happened today.

At the gym I go to, they offer two classes in a row. On days when I'm feeling ambitious, I'll do both. Other days I pick one depending on my schedule or how lazy I feel. When I woke up this morning, I was planning on doing both, but after I got home from work I had convinced myself that since I had such an exhausting work weekend (50 hours in 4 days...) I would nap, and then do one class.

I checked what classes were going on tonight and the first one was a cardio class and the second one was a class called Abs n' Booty (Awesome, right?). Soooo... being that I did not feeling like exerting too much energy, I chose the Abs n' Booty class.

So I enjoyed a nice little nap, dragged myself out of bed and headed to the gym. When I got to there I discovered a room full of people who had just finished the cardio class, but nobody wanting to do Abs n' Booty. The trainer then offered me a free training session instead and I took him up on the offer.

He asked me if I wanted an intense cardio workout or a cardio with weights workout. I told him to pick and he chose the later. I had done this same workout with him when I first joined and I figured it wouldn't be a big deal.

I had made it through almost the entire workout. I had one exercise left to do. I think it was chest presses on one of the machines. I started feeling nauseous and stopped. He went to get me water and the next thing I know I'm on the floor!

Needless to say, I felt like a dork. And to think, I used to be afraid that I would biff it off the treadmill, but I never considered fainting.

Lesson learned today: Breathe while exercising!

note to self:

passing out at the gym is not cool.

thoughtless and exhausted

Being the state that I'm in, it's probably not the best time to write, but... what the heck!

I just got done pulling back-to-back doubles at work + a regular 8 hour shift this morning, and I'm beyond tired. Emotionally and physically.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I have 3 days off IN A ROW this week. And I am pumped.

So what's on my never ending to-do list this week?

#1. Get a Washington drivers license: This one is going to be hard for me to do. I'm really quite fond of my Wisconsin one. And sometimes part of me feels like I'm just on a very long vacation (while having a job and paying rent) and any day now I'll head back home. So getting a Washington drivers license sort of kills that fantasy.

#2. Get a Washington license plate: *see above*. And my tabs expire this month. I really don't have a choice on this one.

#3. Go to Greenbluff!: Greenbluff is a neat little farming community outside of Spokane. I've probably mentioned it before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat myself! Anyway, it is definitely apple picking season and I can't get enough of it. Last week I went there with one of the kiddos I work with and I happened upon the Empire Apple. And it is fantastic! And while I was there, I really super badly wanted a caramel apple, but by the time we had picked the apples and paid for them, the kiddo was DONE. So a caramel apple is a must this time. And cider. Mmm...

#4. Polka Dot Pottery: I painted pottery for the first time last winter with a bunch of really talented, swell gals. And ever since I've had the itch to go back. But this time I'm bringing TJ, and we're going to paint mugs. Fall and Winter are perfect seasons for drinking hot drinks out of mugs and we both loved the idea of custom painting our own. I'll post pictures of the finish products. Well... maybe.

#5. CRAFT SOMETHING: I haven't decided if I want to sew, scrapbook, or knit. (Geez...I never thought this would be a dilemma for me!) But something will get done. Or started.

I could add at least 25 more things to this list, but I learned in college (one of the 3 things I learned) that when it comes to making goals, it's best to ... Keep It Simple Stupid! And since over half of my list is pretty much stuff I want to do, I really shouldn't have a problem following through.

2 years and 1 day

That is how long TJ and I have been married. It's crazy. When I pictured myself being married for 2 years, I also pictured a stable career, knowing where we were going to settle down, and possibly a kid. So yeah. I was way off.

But I'm okay with that. I really like where we are. It's way better than my original little idealistic plan. I can look back over the different experiences we've had, (too many to name), and see how God used all of them to shape us, unify us, and pull us to him.

Bad news though. I had a goal to get all of our wedding pictures in an album by our anniversary, but I failed. I could make excuses, but I won't. Instead, I'll just share some of my favorite pictures with you, and shoot to have them in an album by our 3 year anniversary instead. That should be enough time...

Food.

I've spent more time in the kitchen the last 2 days than I have pretty much all summer. It all started when I decided to try out my first frozen dinner. Last week I bought chicken breasts and put them in a freezer bag with a pepper lime marinade and popped them in the freezer.

Tuesday night, I put them in the fridge to thaw, and they were ready to go on the grill by dinner. They actually turned out really good. Plus, it helps to have TJ - a.k.a master chicken griller - to help. Seriously, he's awesome at grilling chicken.

On Thursday TJ and I went to Greenbluff to do some apple picking. Of course, I had to make an apple pie.

And for dinner, I finally got to try out my new pizza stone. Let me tell you, it makes a huge difference. I think it's the best pizza we've made, and we've tried so many different pizza crust recipes.

As long as I have the desire to cook, I'm going to keep doing it. Knowing me, I'm sure it won't take long before we're eating grilled cheese for dinner again...

wide awake at 5am

I woke up a little over a half-hour ago and I knew I wouldn't be falling back to sleep anytime soon. I snuggled with Ingrid a bit before turning off the air conditioner that we had mistakenly turned on after a 90 degree day, forgetting that the temperature would drop nearly 50 degrees overnight, and then fought with my desire to sleep, and knowing that I should stay awake.

So I threw on a jacket, poured myself a glass of orange juice, and went in the living room and prayed. I think that's why God woke me up this morning. I pack my day so full of stuff, that I never seem to leave time or energy to talk to God. Which is so foolish, considering what's been going on lately.

Is it just me, or does it seem like sickness, cancer, and impending death is everywhere these days? Is it the time of life that I'm in? Is this usual? Because if it is, I don't like it much.

Without getting too personal or something, I'm flying home next week to spend time with my Grandpas (yes, that's plural) who both are going through some tough health battles. It was almost surreal last night when I was booking my flight. Knowing what I was going back for, but not really understanding what is happening. It's easy to feel disconnected when I live so far away.

At the same time though, it's definitely not just my family who's struggling through sickness. In the last two weeks, my friend's g-ma had a small stroke, my pastor's wife was in the hospital, another friend's mom was diagnosed with cancer, a member of our old church is going through chemotherapy, and my old high school professor who has been battling pancreatic cancer for the last 15 months is receiving hospice care. It's really overwhelming.

So when I was praying this morning, it wasn't just for my family.

I know that God is the healer and comforter, and no matter how he chooses to work all of this out, I trust that God is good and good will come from it. Even if it causes me pain.

As my Grandpa said, "A time to laugh, a time to cry, a time to live, a time to die."