Pay It Forward

**Thanks to Paige for continuing this game. Click on Paige's name to read all about her family!!**

THE RULES: The main focus is doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and pay it forward.

I will send a small, fun gift to the first 3 bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and then the game will continue!!

If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment!!

The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found, anything you want!! Just a gift that will make the person's day!!

You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link back to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog.

Oh and P.S. You have to comment on my actual blog, not on Facebook so if you are reading this through FB click on "originial post" to leave a comment.

Who's game?!!!!

CHUKI will you kindly get out of my head!

When we lived first moved to Nashville I RARELY took time to exercise. For a few of reasons. 1) I am fantastic at excuses 2)We were for the most part broke and I HATED the thought of doing anything outside, so I had no access to a gym. 3) I worked a lot, barely saw my kid, and saw my husband less than that.

I tried the jog stroller maybe once but again I had to be outside on a road where I have been guilty numerous times of harshly judging women who -run funny- wear the wrong clothes- jiggle too much fat -submit their children to sitting down WAY too long so THEY can jiggle said fat in public (Oh come on you do it too!). Anyway I was not a fan of allowing strangers to silently judge me (Yes, I am aware I have issues but if you don't know that about me you clearly have never spoken to me or stood within earshot of an conversation I have had.) I digress....

With time things changed. We had a very small balance in our checking account, I had a fabulous job with a boss who is now one of my dearest friend, Wes survived his intern year and had a few more hours at home, Peyt went to work with me and now had a new "little sister". We decided that a gym membership was next on the priority list.

After a few weeks of elliptical torture I was seeing no results (i.e. I was still eating like nobody's business) so I decided that I needed a huge kick in the rear and joined a "boot camp". I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I should have known there was something clearly different about this instructor because of her personal blurb on the gym's bulletin board. It was written in TEXT SPEAK. The entire thing. What? Anyway, I had seen several women who looked to be in worse shape than me running around outside jumping off and over and under whatever the day's "camp activities" were. Surely, it couldn't be horrible? *Insert dramatic pause*

So I show up for day one and in walks "Jillian" (she's the super fit Nazi trainer on the Biggest Loser) on CRACK!! Her name was CHUKI, just CHUKI, no last name. And no, I am not capitalizing for dramatic effect, that was how she spelled her name. She loved to quote Yoda by saying "Do or Do not, there is no try" in the worst British accent known to man. She donned the same sports bra and camo pants combo as Jillian, that showcases that same unnatural "6 pack" abs that every woman knows she will never have unless she quits her job, neglects her family, starves herself, and moves a sleeping cot into the gym. To top it all off CHUKI had spent so much time in the tanning bed that it was hard to guess her age. I am guessing late 40's but who knows, could be 30's, could be 60's..... Oh and I forgot about the 20 something streaks of dark purple in her hair. No, I am not exaggerating her appearance, I couldn't come up with this if I tried!!

Moving along.... We started with a one mile timed run. Great. I always sucked at this in high school as I was a super slow runner who most always came in last. But as in turned out my time was better than high school and I came in 3rd. I was feeling good, thinking this would be cake. We then proceeded to do "drills". We used jump ropes, medicine balls, huge rubber bands, soccer balls, stairs, walls, each other, and any other device that she could come up with to torture us. I did okay...it was hard but at least I finished. Then we had one last thing to do before we could leave.

Push-ups. Now I do not enjoy push-ups but hey, we women can always do them on our knees, right? Wrong. Not only did we have to do them on our toes, we had to go down low enough for our chest to touch her fist on the ground! If you didn't touch her fist, it didn't count. Did I mention that you had to do this individually while everyone stood over you counting and cheering you on? Oh and then she proceeded to put your "number" on the board for all to see. I should have bolted. I decided to go second so I could get it over with. I figured it would be bad but I had no idea it would be HUMILIATING! First off CHUKI thought it would be cute to nickname me "Stubby". Not funny. In the least. Secondly, I did not do one that counted. Not one. All the others said "Hey, I'm sure I can't do any either". They were ALL wrong. Every other woman there did at least 3....some did as many as 12! Are you freaking kidding me? I went home deflated but also determined. I would, I had to learn how to do a real push up. Or so I thought. The next 3 weeks were not any better. I NEVER had a single push up recorded on the board, I did however pull something in my back that made getting out of bed a nightmare. I stopped a week early and didn't go back.

Fast forward 2 years to the present. There has not been a day that has gone by that I do not think about my inadequate upper body strength. I foolishly have challenged everyone I know to do a CHUKI push-up, trying desperately to find someone, anyone who is also in the "I suck at push-ups" club. I haven't found many. Even Peyton asks me to put my fist down to see if she can do more than 15! That little turd! A few months ago Wes and I started doing Body Pump. It's this group exercise class that combines weightlifting to music. He goes at the crack of dawn with a friend from the neighborhood and I go with my friends after Peyt gets on the bus. One night I asked Wes to lend me his fist. He rolled his eyes and sympathetically said, "It has been months since you tried this". I know, I know...just humor me? So he did, and I did 2! Now all I need is to move back to Nashville long enough to sign up for that class and erase that big fat zero that sits next to "Stubby".

Score!

Downtown trick or treating should never be done without a hidden flask of something potent.

Safe from traffic, yes. Safe from being mobbed by sugar crazed halflings, no.

I had choir practice afterwards so I was forced to fight the horrendous crowd with the slowest human on the face of the earth in her big ole hoop skirt bumping into everyone as we went along with all my senses fully intact.

Oh yeah and somehow we did everything against the flow of traffic.

My only happy out of the whole thing (other than the "snow princess" loving the gross abundance of miniature sized torture to her mom's lack of self discipline) was when she saw the Hot Tamales in the candy bowl at the sports table, she thought of me... and grabbed 3 packs.

"Here Mommy, I got these for you!"

Thanks kiddo!

What is your list of "non-negotiables"

*Tip 2 (Try this for one week) Instead of using paper towels to dry your hands use a kitchen or hand towel.*


I just want to go ahead and say this may not sit well with most. But this blog has really opened my eyes in light of the upcoming election. This particular post by Jim Wallis (click on his name and read the post before going on) asks the reader to come up with their own list and then share it with family and friends.

"In 2004, several conservative Catholic bishops and a few megachurch pastors
like Rick Warren issued their list of “non-negotiables,” which were intended to
be a voter guide for their followers. All of them were relatively the same list
of issues: abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc. None of them even
included the word “poverty,” only one example of the missing issues which are
found quite clearly in the Bible. All of them were also relatively the same as
official Republican Party Web sites of “non-negotiables.” The political
connections and commitments of the religious non-negotiable writers were quite
clear.
I want to suggest a different approach this year and share my personal
list of “faith priorities” that will guide me in making the imperfect choices
that always confront us in any election year — and suggest that each of you come
up with your own list of “faith” or “moral” priorities for this election year
and take them into the voting booth with you."

Now I am not a biblical scholar or have a degree in political science so bear with me if these sound a little simplistic. Here goes....

1. I will choose the candidate who is most likely to take care of the poverty stricken people of this country and those of the world. I will willingly take more personal responsibility to take care of my local community with money and time. I will learn more and educate myself so that if the government fails on their promises I will be able to act.

2. I will choose the candidate who can no longer justify this seemingly never ending war. I will choose the candidate who will protect us without bullying others, one that will consider alternative means to war that are peaceful and respectful of all human life. I will longer pretend that innocent lives are not being lost and that our country is a big reason.

3. I will choose the candidate who will preserve the sanctity of ALL human life. Unborn and living equally. Period. I will support a consistent life ethic based on the premise that all life is sacred as it pertains to abortion, capital punishment, assisted suicide, economic injustice, euthanasia, and unjust war.

4. I will choose the candidate who takes the responsibility of protecting our environment seriously. I will support wise choices in the use of our world's resources and make more strides to use only what is needed and renewable. I support better stewardship of God's creation and will make greater strides to live and teach our children about a more sustainable life.

5. I will choose the candidate who leads by example in their daily lives. I will support one who promotes healthy, moral, ethical, and mentally stable families. I will support the well being of children in families no matter what that looks like. I will not support taking rights away from families based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation.

6. I will choose the candidate who treats every human with equal respect. I will not support any form of torture or inhumane practice done in our country or by any American.

7. I will choose the candidate who is a voice for the people. One who does not only adhere to the policies of a particular party. I will support a candidate who will not back down because the elite says so.

OK, I want your lists! Even (or maybe I should say especially) if they strongly disagree with mine. I think the key thing in this election year is that we as individuals refuse to be silent and take more personal responsibility in this great country where we have so many opportunities to make a difference.

Looking for a little inspiration

So I know a while back I said I wouldn't "waste time" with lists on how to be more environmentally friendly, instead I thought it might be fun to add a "tip" to each post from now on. Now when I say tip I am not talking about huge financial investments like solar panels on rooftops, tank less water heaters, energy efficient washer/dryer (not that those aren't good...just probably not feasible to a typical household especially now!) but things that we might could try today with little to no costs. Wes and I have tried different things throughout the years....some have stuck, some not so much.

So, first up is recycling. When we lived in Nashville I was obsessed! It was easy because the city made it so that almost everything you would normally throw out could be taken within 100 yards of our apartment and put in huge bins. Here in Auburn it takes, in some instances, huge efforts and time spent for very little recyclable materials. However to me it is worth it not to fill the trash can and thus the land fills.

This is not a hard project to start in most cities. You can call your local recycle center and ask if they do curbside pick up. Some cities will even give you a bin for free. Auburn does curbside pickup for no extra charge (taxpayer dollars go toward this so you pay whether you use it or not) but you have to buy your own bins. We went a year just using extra small trash cans around the house to separate the newsprint, cans, plastic bottles, and glass. I just recently went to Target and bought $8 stackable milk crates for easier storage. The few things you can't leave curbside we take across town to the city's facility.

Save your plastic grocery bags!!! You can take them back to the grocery stores or Walmart and they have their own recycle bins for the bags. If you live in Auburn you can go one step further and take them to the Community Market behind Durango so they can use them to bag groceries for low income families.

OK so my "tip" turned in to the post...oops! I will leave you with this precious drawing of Peyt at a local fall festival we went to last night. This lady did this for all the kiddos for FREE and it only took her like 5 minutes per kid.

Change

I am sure everyone is sick of this word by now. I am. I would love to turn on the radio, television, or go to any news website and not hear/see the word plastered everywhere. If it wasn't there then maybe I wouldn't have to do it.

I am tired of it because I am worried that it is just a slogan and change will never happen. I am worried that no matter who we elect everyone will go about their business as usual. I am worried that we will continue to ask everyone else to "bail us out," feed the hungry, keep our unborn children from dying, teach our children about God, pay for our medical expenses..... while we do nothing in our daily lives to change ourselves.

And by "we" I mean me. I am really not happy with myself these days and I need to remedy this. I have all these thoughts in my head about what I believe, but practicing these beliefs seem to be very minimal if not nonexistent. Hypocrisy is such an in your face word and one that makes me incredibly uncomfortable. I really dislike and can even get angry when someone is a blatant hypocrite, however my fear is that my entire day to day life is engulfed in it. Does anyone have days like this?

I think my problem is pretty simple (ahh "simple" is another one of those tricky little words). I have to choose. I have to choose to get up every single day and consciencely weigh my decisions.
Do I really have to have another shirt from Target even if it only costs $3?
Do I need to buy Cheerios instead of Toasty O's?
Could I use my "me" money to pay for just one low income senior citizen to have food for a month instead of stopping at Starbucks?
Am I really and truly going to give money to the local church who helps families keep their heat on in the winter or will I just smile that "someone else" is taking care of that?
Will I make sure that local produce comes into my house instead processed stuff that has to be shipped from thousands of miles away?

So far, on this very day, the answer to all of these questions that I am asking myself is a big fat NO. My question to myself now is will I write this post, wallow around in self pity, and then in a few weeks look back and see that nothing has been done differently, or will I....change?

If only...

If there ever comes a day when I disappear off the face of the earth you can be 100% sure my location will be here!