An adventurous Saturday!

So two of my New Year's resolutions this year that I am actually trying to keep are 1) cook once a week (or maybe just more often than I have in the past) and 2) be more adventurous.  Those two resolutions definitely came head to head yesterday and made for a fantastic Saturday!  Yesterday's adventures included
        
          - a crazy cross training class with Kurt at American Power Yoga followed by a power yoga class: if you like to work out to the point where you almost throw up, this cross training class is definitely the class for you!  It is awesome.
          - letting my boyfriend be in charge of changing the gears as I got to chauffeur him around for once in my sporty little loaner car while my car gets maintenance: I know, I like to live on the wild side.  No, more like he was willing to put his life on the line so I could drive for one day.  Yeah, so what, so we had some near accidents, no big deal.
          - taking a trip to Sunflower Farmers Market: it may be in a questionable area but it's certainly not a question as to whether you should go or not.  This place is one of Dallas's best kept secrets!
          - trying a new fro yo combination at Yogurtland: cheesecake fro yo topped with blueberries, strawberries, cheesecake bits, and yes, sprinkles! I dare you to try it!
          - and lastly, making this extremely delicious and divine   Thai Green Curry Chicken dish.

I have never made Thai food and really haven't tried much in the way of Thai cuisine either, but my this was mmm mmm good!  SOMEONE doesn't like mushrooms, so we made the dish sans mushrooms.  We also used red curry paste instead of green and it was quite tasty.  I recommend red cabbage for a pop of color.  And lastly we gave ourselves an A for effort but could not find the coconut amino so obviously that was not part of our Thai Green (or I guess red in our case) Curry Chicken creation.  This dish comes highly recommended by yours truly; so all you amateur cooks out there, yes, if I can make this dish, YOU can make this dish.  I definitely can't take all the credit though; if you're squirmy about touching raw meat like I am, well hopefully you have a very nice, funny, and good-looking gentleman who will carefully prepare the meat ;-)  ENJOY!

Word Vomit

Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed and unable to process all the things that are happening to you and all the new things you are learning?  And you feel like if you try to verbalize any of your thoughts and feelings it will just come out as word vomit?  Yup.  That's how I feel right now.  And that's how I've felt for the past several days.  And it may sound like I'm frustrated or mad because of this, but I have actually never been happier. 

Some of you followers may have noticed I have been referencing God a lot lately, something I never did prior to January 2011.  Let's get the big elephant out of the room: one of the first few days of the this year, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.  Yes, it's true: one night I went to bed as a non-believer and then woke up the next morning as a believer.  To some of you this may sound crazy.  And let me go right ahead and say that had it not happened to me, and if I were still a non-believer, it would sound absolutely insane to me.  If you think I'm nuts and want to tell me, I will not offended.  But I can tell you, it really is true, it really did happen, and no, I haven't been brainwashed. 

I wish I could express to you just how indescribablely amazing life is when walking with the Lord.  Oh believe you me, it has not been all stars and rainbows, but regardless of how good or bad things are, I am oh so happy because I have His love.  He is so so so so so good and everything He does is out of goodness.  He has thrown some things/revelations to me that are pretty difficult to swallow, but because of these things/revelations (word vomit at it's best), I feel much more free and at peace than I did as a non-believer. 

Yes, so this entire post reads like word vomit, and I apologize.  I could go on and on forever about the beauty of all the amazing things God is doing and all of the unbelievably supportive and encouraging people God is placing in my life.  Yes, I'm wrestling with a lot of things right now, but I could not imagine a better fight :-)    Everyone is wrestling with issues in life, it's just a matter of how gracefully we wrestle and who is on our team. 

I am ever so grateful for all of you in my life.  Yes, this post is probably throwing some of you for a loop, but I appreciate you loving me anyway :-)

Realizations

Some realizations I've had over the past week:

Sleep can wait until I die, friends and family and yoga and running and volunteering and reading and celebrating and cooking (you get the point) cannot.

Hot yoga is a little too hot for me.

I love Dallas for so many reasons, but currently most of all for the fact that I just had the BEST Saturday doing all things outdoors in the lovely 70 degree temperatures on January 29th :-)

God's timing is always perfect.

5k's, although they are short, can be very exciting, especially if your running partner gets 1st :-)

I love waking up early on the weekends.

It's probably about time for me to take down my Christmas decorations.

Although I've always been afraid to cut the birthday cake for fear of messing up, it really isn't that stressful and you don't have to be a mom to do it.

Regardless of what day of the week it is or what is or isn't on the agenda, life. is. goooood.

Thanks, Jason Castro :-)

2011 has been a year of dramatic change for me already.  I have never been more at peace, more happy, more content, and more fulfilled in all my life.  Every single day is such a joy.

Jason Castro took the words right from my mouth:  "You are life, more beautiful; You are love, more powerful; You are the light that shines...And I will never move on from You."

Here's to what I know will be the best year yet, regardless of the events that transpire.  :-)

Expressing Gratitude 24/7

Last Monday I had just left the Children's hospital where I had the most amazing, yet bittersweet experience.  I had the honor of holding the cutest, chubbiest little 19 month old baby there ever was.  As soon as I scooped him up, he fell limp in my arms and remained that way for the three hours I held him.  As I kissed him goodbye on the top of his head, I experienced an overwhelming moment of sheer gratitude.  Gratitude for the three hours I got to spend with him; gratitude for the sweet, hard working doctors and nurses taking such good care of this baby; gratitude that I never had to experience what this baby is experiencing; gratitude for this life I lead and the fact that I am able to volunteer at a hospital where young children have such a lasting impact on my life.  It was heartbreaking to leave this sweet, little boy, but the night was growing late and I had dear friends to meet for some fro yo (I admit it, I'm addicted.  What?!  It could be much worse.)

One of my New Years resolutions (not listed in my previous post.  See, I told you the list would continue to grow!) is to read more books and watch less TV - my brother would be proud.  I had a few minutes to spare before meeting my friends so I wandered into Barnes and Noble to spend money that I do not have.  I stumbled on a book which was on sale for $5!  Yes, $5 (it's unplanned purchases like these that my bank account does not like)!  Entitled "Living Life as a Thank You," this poweful little book consists of brief stories that remind us to look at this life through a lense of gratitude.  It's amazing how great each day is and how happy you are when you allow yourself to think only positive thoughts and express gratitude through all you do.  This book is a constant reminder for me to view ALL things through a lense of gratitude all of the time, not just in select moments such as my night at the hospital.  Remember: "Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed.  Happiness is a spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."

Just one of my many resolutions.

Wow.  It has been a while to say the least!  I recently realized something about myself: I put so much pressure on myself to do everything perfectly and am so scared that I will fail that I end up just not trying because I know perfection cannot be attained.  I've decided to say, "To heck with it!"  I quit blogging because I wanted each entry to be perfect and knew that was impossible so I just thought it best not to try at all.  Well, how am I going to grow and improve myself with that attitude in life?  From here on out, I will consistently remind myself that it is better to try for perfection and not achieve it than not try at all. 

Okay, so with that said, here is a list of New Year's Resolutions that i WILL keep and attain:

*Overall resolution: treat every single day like it is New Year's Day.  Never stop making goals/resolutions.  Have as much energy and excitement about the year as I do January 1.*

Now for the specifics, in no particular order of importance:

1) Take a ballet class once a week
2) Cook at least once a week
3) Run a marathon!!  My heart is racing just thinking about this one.
4) Write one letter a week to long distance friends or family
5) Be more patient with everyone, including myself
6) Eat breakfast every morning
7) Find a church that is right for me
8) Start grad school
9) Be more open to adventure
10) Always smile at everyone
11) Blog at least once a week

As it has for three days now, I'm sure the list will continue to grow, as it should.  What about you?  Have you set any resolutions?  I encourage you to make a list of moments you are most grateful for in 2010 and a list of resolutions/goals for 2011 and tape it on your bathroom mirror :-) 

Happy 2011 friends!  Make every day the best day for you AND for others :-)  Hugs!

Therapy

                                             4 day weekend...
                                             4 girls...
                                             4,000 questions to be answered...
                                             Let the laughter begin!