Chicken and Dumplings

This is my reward.

It has been a house-filled weekend. While the rest of the world is playing on the lake, going to baseball games, barbeque-ing...I was painting, drilling, cleaning...

In the last few weeks, and I'm sure in the weeks to come, I've been surprising myself working around the house. What's not surprising,however, is my continuous love for food, and the lengths I'll go to to get good food. Tonight, I worked hard, slaving over the hot stove after a nasty run, with the (finally!) cool breeze coming in the window, and the results were magical. Completely worth it. I may actually be a Southern girl at heart after all...

I'm back!!

So I have a lot of changes that should be happening in the next days...weeks...months, and I've decided to come back to blogging to document these changes. My way of adapting to these changes starts with controlling what I can, and just taking in the rest. What I can control- my body...sometimes. Now we all know I won't do this with a diet. I love food, and have recently confessed to a dear friend a slight obsession with it. No, first, I signed up for the Warrior Dash. If you don't know what this is, look it up, sounds like a jolly good time. Second, I've started to run to train for it = hilarious! Next, I made the great trek back to Bikram Yoga...for the first time since I was dating that one guy, and took him with me that one time. Thankfully, the hot room welcomed me back with open arms.

There are many, many reasons I love Bikram. Y'all might think I'm nuts, and I very well may be, but that 105 degree room brings me bliss. The discipline of moving my muscles just so, in a rhythm with so many other hot bodies is magical. The focus is on the small steps, like building a base with heels and toes always touching. The sweat that drips and cools those same muscles is so sweet. And the breath that fuels my body, slows my pounding heart, and reminds me that all I have to do when I'm stressed, when I'm at the end of my rope, is just inhale and exhale.

The air I'm breathing at any given moment may be filled with the stink of disappointment, it may be filled with the grief of a family, or may be energized with the hope of new beginnings, but really, all I have to do is just breathe. I'm going to continue to remind myself, and my (hopefully) changing body of that each and every day to come...

Seven Wonders

I always like to oblige my friends the things they ask...so this is for you Stac...seven nutsy things about me that you probably already knew. Though it's pretty difficult to chose just seven...

1. I think the absolutely most useless invention is the back jean pocket that is sewn shut! I mean, if you're going to put the extra bulk of an actual pocket in the pants, why in the world would you sew it shut?!

2.I absolutely hate even numbers. I chose to do things in threes if at all possible. This means that I want three or five kids, have odd numbers of pictures hanging next to each other, drink 1 or 3 beers, never just two...ok, you get the point...weird!

3. When eating potato chips, I get really excited when I reach into the bag and pull out a chip that is curled up! I feel a little like I've won the lottery.

4. I celebrate Christmas from November 1st to about January 15. This means decorations, movies, music...the whole bit. The plus side is that I also try to have the generous Christmas spirit through this whole time as well.

5. When I'm writing with an ink pen, I have to at least be writing on two sheets of paper. I hate just writing on a hard surface with one sheet of paper, although, if I'm writing with a pencil, it must only be one.

6. I eat PB & J's in bed. Never any other food, just the sandwich. The crumbs just aren't bad, and it's so comforting.

7. I'm obsessed with three veggies right now...broccoli, peas, and artichokes. Love them, eat at least one at every meal, or make a meal out of all three. Can't get enough.

So...there you go, I'm so glad there were seven things and not eight...perhaps I'm not entirely weird and there's someone else out there like me...nah...nevermind.