A Little Arizona Sunshine

This February I embarked on two journeys. 1. I went from Cards to Cash 2. I began to exercise on a consistent basis On the first decision, I cut up all my credit cards and went to a cash system. Wow, how I've learned about my spending habits. I've learned a lot the past two weeks and I'm looking forward to seeing how I can change and grow in the coming weeks and months. The second decision was apart of teaching my Evangelism class how to lifestyle coach. We decided to work towards a goal together and as a result all three of us improved our lifestyle drastically one day at a time. It made me realize that if I take goals on a month at a time, I will see more success and not get discouraged as often. Happy Leap year!

Full disclosure: I just finished an entire bottle of Martinelli's by myself. Didn't mean to. It just happened. And this post is really long. Because I had the time, and I wanted to share. Having my birthday on the 31st of December has its downfalls. First of all, everyone is broke as a joke and you get lots of Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas presents. But other than that it's pretty dope.  1. People generally remember your birthday. And if they don't, they feel guilty for texting you at midnight and finding out the next day it was your birthday. 2. If you go to GYC, most of your friends fly out to see you! ...and attend GYC of course.  3. No matter what, you will have a birthday party to go to! Whether or not you tell everyone there the real reason for celebrating is optional. You know. That's all that matters. 4. Related to #3, there are multiple parties you can go to in the same night!  5. You have a built in day to reflect and ponder how yo...

Something I have started noticing in my adult life is the fact that nothing is for certain. As a child, you knew there would be food on your table. You knew there would be clothing to wear. You knew there would be a warm bed to sleep on. As a child, you knew Jesus was your best friend. Somewhere along the way, each of these certainties began to take on a new appearance. Now I look at the food in my fridge and think, "I need to go shopping again. I'm over budget on my food..." I look at the clothing in my closet and think, "How much money have I spent on clothing throughout the years? How many people don't have any?" Or I look at my bed and smile. Because that's close to my favorite part of my day. Sleeping. But what if you lost your job? Lost your ability to walk? Lost your eyesight? These kinds of fears never entered the thoughts of the child... And with those types of fears comes the truth of how adults can have fear in their relationship with ...

I wish I had money. I love buying gifts for people. But I'm broke. The End. :)

It's 9 AM and I'm sitting on a couch at a friend's house. There are the comforting sounds and smells of someone cooking in the kitchen and a stillness in the rest of the house. I got up earlier than my comrades to do some homework so I could spend more time with them while we're all awake later in the day, but I got distracted by the nostalgic feeling of a holiday. You know that feeling you get on the morning of a holiday as a kid-- that something special is going to happen today, something magical. The older I get, the less I feel that. Thanksgiving, Christmas, your birthday, or the midnight feeling on New Year's eve all had that sparkling quality. But now as an adult I just feel the stress of planning, the cost plane tickets, the job I return to after the vacation, and I lose the moment. This morning, I'm feeling that little spark of magic in a holiday. It might be *NSync playing now... but who knows. Hope your day is filled with the blessing of family, joy,...

HOPE = Helping Other People Everywhere 4 days a year the school shuts down and does community service in the Spokane area (HOPE Taskforce day). We do everything from shelters and Ronald McDonald House to raking leaves for some neighbors. Today, there was severe winds. Gusts of 60 mph. My whole day that I've spent hours and hours and hours setting up for and planning was turned into a day of frantically fielding phone calls and trying to get our kids back safely. Because of COURSE the wind didn't get terrible until they were in town already. But here are the things I've learned as a result: 1. No matter how much work you put into something, you cannot control the weather and you have to learn to just smile and roll with the punches. 2. Even when you're stressed beyond measure and don't know how you're going to get through the day, God takes care of you. A group of sophomores decided to clean my house and cook me dinner while I was trying to do damage cont...

...in a LOT of activity this weekend and early next week! Lol. Gotcha! Have a happy weekend!