Day 15: Love

I'm still surprised by how much this little animal holds my heart. 

She's my best dog friend and every day I tell her that I love her. 

And it's not just because she's beautiful, even though, she is.  I mean, look at this face!

Day 14: Grass

Our lawn isn't very pretty, but I do love our little tree, Kai. It's still pretty small. But every year, it grows a little taller, a little stronger, and a little fuller. It's fun to imagine what it will look like in twenty years.

Day 13: Mum

I, like many children, would say that there is no greater comfort food than that from the hands of my mama. She doesn't have to prepare it from scratch. Just her putting together a simple ham and cheese sandwich can do the trick. But there is nothing quite like her rice and beans. 

Over the year's I've been trying to make my own version of mami's food and other traditional Puerto Rican dishes. Afterall, I can't just drive 45 minutes to my mother's house every time I have a latin craving. Today, I tried making mofongo. The flavor profile was there but it lacked technique and fell apart - literally. But that's okay. I'll keep trying. 

Day 12: Something That Makes You Happy

I spent a good portion of the day with my favorite girl and my favorite kid. We baked a cake together. He insisted on mixing the batter himself. Then we shared the batter left on the bowl, the mixer, and the spoon. It made me happy. They make me very happy.

Day 10: A Favorite Word

This is a terrible picture for this word. However, my favorite photo of these two men is locked away in a safe. 

When I saw the phrase "a favorite word," the first word that came to mind was duty. It makes me chuckle everytime. Not because it reminds people of poop. There is something about the actual sound of the word that makes me laugh. But, I didn't know how to take a picture of duty, so I was just planning on skipping Day 10. 

Then this morning on Day 12, I thought of Timmy and his dad George. They have a sense of duty. They understand honor and respect. When the Towers fell, I was scared like most of other people. I knew this guy who wasn't the most patriotic. If another attack happened, he and his family had a plan as to how to get away safely. And if by chance, the country went to war and in some dramatic turn of events, drafted men, my friend was prepared to leave the country. I didn't want my friend to go to war or to get hurt, so I was okay with his plan. 

I can't remember how I first told Timmy about this story, but he looked at me and said, "if something happens again, I'm going to work." My stomach dropped a bit. I knew that if another attack happened or any scary crisis, my husband would not run in the opposite direction. Instead, he would head toward it and he would serve his country and his town. And so would George because Timmy gets this sense of duty, of responsibility, and honor from his dad. It scares me but it makes me even more proud. Which leads me to another favorite word of mine - Kaiser.

Day 11: Kitchen

Whenever I visit the Costa kitchen, it's always full of people and full of food. I used to lead a bible study at their home every week and every week the study ended with all of us in the kitchen, eating and laughing. I no longer lead the bible study, but they still meet. Every now and then, I join them on one of their game nights and I remember how awesome they all are. 

Day 9: Something You Do Everyday

I drink milk everyday. It's been almost a year. Usually it's part of my breakfast. But, on the odd day when I don't have milk with my breakfast, I will have it in the evening. Sometimes it's even twice a day. I don't know what's come over me; I just need some every day.

Last fall, Timmy and I went on our annual trip to Asheville, NC for the worship leaders retreat. It's a retreat center, so for three full days, I'm at the mercy of their cafeteria. Because breakfast is insanely early, Timmy and I never go. We just bring fruit and granola bars with us to hold us until lunch.

But, there is no milk available during lunch or dinner. I swore I started to twitch. I was craving milk so badly. I'd randomly say, "Mmmm, milk. I want milk." People just laughed at me. It was a long few days. I hadn't realized just how much milk I consumed and how much I needed it. As soon as I we got back home, I went straight to the kitchen and had a glass.

I have a few months until this year's retreat. Will I be able to go without milk for a few days? Will I have to come up with a alternative? Perhaps a cooler? A trip into town during break? Or will I give in and go to breakfast, just to grab a cold one?

Day 8: A Smell You Adore

Not sure if it's the combination of these products or his natural man musk, but I absolutely adore the smell of my husband when he comes out of the shower.

Day 7: Someone that Inspires You

I misread the topic. I thought it said "something that inspires you." I don't think it matters, though, what I read or what was written. The truth is that I'm lacking inspiration in my life. I've been feeling this way for a long while. Not a whole lot of excitement or passion. Just kind of going though the motions and feeling unfocused.

Day 6: You

"Hey you!"

This is what looked up at me. It's my family on a Sunday afternoon. Timmy eating chili while watching a hockey game and JJ at rest because her boy is back.

Day 5: Bird

This little guy hangs in my diningroom. Here's a closer looks.

This piece of work was created by my new friend, Kevin. Timmy and I have had the privilege of getting to know Kevin and his wife Jess over the last year. They have been part of the Ridley campus team from the beginning. Then we joined the small group that meets in their home. Both of them are great people, like seriously great people. They recently announced that they are moving and leaving our church. They aren't moving far, just into the city. But, they are leaving our little community at Ridley and I will miss the way things are. Yet another time when we give away our best for the sake the kingdom.

Day 4: Fun!

Not just fun! Ridiculous fun! There was a fundraiser at the church called Quizzo with a Heart to raise money to be used in the fight against human trafficking. Timmy found out there were prizes for best team name and then the insanity began. Christi liked the idea of going the geeky route and how geeky can you get than joining the Avengers mania. Team Avengers Resemble with all six Avengers represented. We laughed a lot. We cheered a lot. We trashtalked a lot. We didn't actually win the game but came close. And we rightly won best dressed, look at those costumes and props!

Day 3: Something You Wore Today

This morning I wore these crazy red bicycle shorts. I'm undecided as to whether or not I will wear them again, at least, wear them outside of my house. But, I will continue to wear my awesome Brooks Ravenna 3 shoes. I love them. Well, worth the $100. 

A bonus photo: Something Else I Wore Today

I wear crazy red bicycle shorts in the morning, so that I can wear skinny jeans in the afternoon. Yes, I am becoming that girl :)

Day 2: Skyline

My challenge with this Photo a Day project is thinking outside the box. That's just not me really. Timmy is great at that. I loved, loved, loved his entry for "Circle" on April 29 and "Shadow" on April 7. So, this morning, I saw the word was "skyline."What do I think of? The skyline, duh. What else is there? As I drove home from the gym this morning, looking at my cloudy/rainy skyline, I thought - this is boring. I have to think outside the box. So, I asked myself, "WWTD?" No, not really, but I just had to say it :) What do I think of when I hear skyline besides the skyline and BOOM! it came to me. Chili! Anyone follow me?

For the last ten years, I have been surrounded by Columbus folk, people who claim that all great things come from Columbus. Apparently, that also includes Skyline chili. Never had it. Don't know if it's any good. Columbus people would say it's the best, but I think they are seriously biased. Not all great things come from Columbus. I mean, Peanut Chews are not from Columbus and they are seriously among the great things ever created. So, chili it is for tonight. Take a quick trip to the grocery trip and throw some stuff into the slow cooker. And now, I don't have to decide what to make for dinner or what photo I should take for the day.

Day 1: Peace

It's hands down the most peaceful part of my day. I'm awake. The boy and the dog are not.  I'm having my breakfast and checking my computer before I head out to the gym, before I eventually head out to work. Most people would have a cup of coffee in their hands. I have a cup of slim fast vanilla milkshake. No, not trying to lose more weight, but I find it makes a good breakfast especially before I work out. Today was dreary, so the neighborhood was abnormally silent. It was nice. A little quiet, a little peace, before I start the day. 

Last month, Timmy participated in a Photo a Day blog project. Each day of the month is assigned a word. His task was to take one picture on that day that represented that word. It's been a lot of fun checking in on his blog. So much fun that when he decided to do a Photo a Day for May, I decided I wanted to play too.

So for May 2012, here's the task:

Related to my previous post, let me rant for a moment...

Designers make it so difficult to feel young and fashionable, yet still be modest. It's seems like they think: well, if she fits into a size small, she must want her clothes to be skin tight and to show her cleavage. No. I would like more options than dress like a skank or dress like grandmom.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Hey strangers! It's been a long time, I know. But I find not blogging for a while to be very similar to not talking to a friend for a while. The more time passes the harder it is to just pick it up again. For instance, it's been three months since I wrote a blog and I feel the need for this first one back to be important or serious. And I don't want to do that. So, I've been avoiding it. A lot has happened and it's been emotional and draining and, in many ways, life changing. I don't want to get into all that. But what I do want to get into are the new dresses I bought this weekend :) That's right, this first entry back will be frivolous and fun.

Growing up, I did not wear dresses. I don't remember hating dresses, but I don't remember having dresses. I remember wearing a skirt at least once in sixth grade. But they were just not a part of my wardrobe. When I was 17, I gave my life to Jesus while visiting a conservative spanish pentecostal church. The kind of church where girls did not wear pants to the service. When I first visited, I wore the one boring black skirt I owned. Then God changed my life forever and in my heart, I knew I had to go back to church. But first, I had to buy a dress. So, I bought a long, sleeveless, flower print dress with a short sleeved brown knit top. I loved that set. That's when I started loving dresses. Because I was now going to church, I had a reason to build my wardrobe of dresses and skirts.

But then I stopped going to that church. Theological and cultural reasons. I still wore those dresses to churches I visited. Eventually, I found my way to BRV where jeans and a tshirt are the norm. Slowly, I stopped buying dresses. Although I still loved a good skirt. Knee length skirt, fitted tee, and sandals - yeah. Then I married a boy and I started gaining weight because I'm a happy eater and he makes me very happy. So, I didn't fit into any of my skirts any more and I refused to buy new clothes in bigger size. It's like committing to being heavy. No no. So, for the last couple of years, it's been jeans and loose tshirts. I haven't had any nice clothes to wear. Special occasions were annoying for me because it meant having to buy something that didn't make be feel fat. That was the goal of new clothes - not "oh this is pretty" but "this doesn't make me feel terrible".

But now everything has changed. I am nine months into my new healthy, active life style. I have dropped 35 pounds and 6 pant sizes. It is so much fun to go shopping now. Mainly because everything fits. It might not fit exactly the way I want it to. Or it might not be my style. Or I might not want to spend that kind of money; I am still cheap afterall. But now, when I pass on an article of clothing, it's usually because I know I can find something better. I can find something that isn't just about not making me feel terrible. I can find something that makes me feel good and pretty and maybe even a little sexy.

This weekend while looking through winter clothes clearance ranks, I found summer dresses and I bought eight of them! Flower prints and pretty colors and two of them were even strapless - but don't worry I also bought cute little sweaters to wear them when the occasion or my husband demands I wear it :)

And it feels great. It feels really great. I work out hard. I spend six hours a week at the gym and an additional two hours a week driving to and from the gym. But, for me, it's so worth it. And not because I can get a fun new wardrobe but because I FEEL GREAT. I feel young and energized and playful and sexy and pretty and feminine. But now I have four months to wait until I can wear of any of them.