Right Now I'm...

Listening: I've been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls lately.  I'd never seen it before, and so I started with Season 1 Episode 1 a few weeks ago, and I have pretty much fallen in love with Lorelai, Rory, & Stars Hollow.

Reading: It's SUMMER, so that means it's time to dig out Lori Wick's Bamboo & Lace. I've read it every summer since I was 16, and I'm certainly not going to stop now!

Eating: Well, I started Weight Watchers on Sunday, and so I've been eating a LOT of fruits and carrot sticks.  So far, so good!  Special shout out to my friend Sarah, who is keeping me accountable.

Wishing: That it wasn't so hot outside.  I hate extreme heat almost as much as I hate extreme cold.  Unless I can go swimming... then I can even enjoy the extreme heat.

Needing:  Some good recipes and snack foods that work out on Weight Watchers.  And also, I really want a treadmill, but I'm too cheap to buy a new one, and I can't seem to find anyone that wants to give me one...

Rejoicing: We were able to go out as a family last night and just enjoy each others company.  Super fun!  Also, I'm rejoicing that I was able to see my friend Aunt Nancy on Wednesday!

Indulging: Coffee Creamer.  It costs me 2 points per cup, but I LOVE my coffee, so it's worth the point spending!

Loathing: Nothing at the moment.... except the usual (see previous posts if your curiosity plagues you).

Saying: Well, we currently have a family joke about "False Advertising," so I've been using that phrase from time to time... and it always gets a laugh... no matter what.

Meditating: My new favorite coffee mug is this hideously colored flower mug that is painted inside with a color we call "Whimsy" at our house (it's a minty green color).  It's part of a set of mugs that mom bought at the Christian bookstore, so each mug has a verse on it.  My hideous Whimsy mug has Matthew 5:16 on it.  We used that verse as our theme verse my Senior year of high school, and I've always kinda loved it.  It says "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven."  Every time I see it, I think to myself "Is my light shining?"

Picturing:  Our outing to Nauvoo last night.  We went for the food, not for the religion.

Reflections

Sometimes I have great life updates to write about.

Sometimes I have little snippets of insightful inspirations to share.

Today, I just have some random thoughts.  Some of you will probably stop reading here, as I'm sure the thoughts to follow will not interest you in the slightest, but for those of you who want to know what on earth floats around in the mind of Lacy: forage on.  And kudos to you.

For starters, I've been thinking about how I always seem to be in a hurry to get to what's next.  But once I finally arrive, I'm anxiously awaiting the next big thing.  Will I ever stop to just revel in the moments of joy and laughter?  Will I ever contentedly appreciate the life lessons I'm learning Right Now?  At what point do I stop being so focused on the "What's Next" and start focusing on the "What's NOW?"

Then there's the ever raging battle between "I LOVE Being Single" and "Please, Can I Just Get Married Now?".   I look around and see many of my friends happily married and starting families of their own.  But I also see a handful of truly amazing women, some much older than I, who are still single.  And I think to myself, "at what point do you come to terms with life-long singleness?".  I'm not there yet, but sometimes I think that's the train I'm on.  Don't worry, I'm not totally depressed over it.  Just contemplatious (yeah, that's not even a word).

I think about how great some people's lives look to me and how great it must be to be them.  Then I look at my life, realize how truly great it is, and wonder who's wishing they were living my life?  Do I show enough appreciation and joy over this fabulous life God has given me that people wish they could be me?  Or do I mope and complain enough that no one ever in their right mind would want to live my life?  I'm working on being happy and content just being me... who I am... where I am... in this life stage.

Of course, when I'm done mulling over all of this, there's always the five-year high school class of 2008 reunion to think about.  Could it be that I really graduated five years ago?  And am I really actually considering not attending (the venue select is the local tavern... yeah... not a fan)?  Five years ago, I never imagined I'd be where I am today.  Yet, five years ago, I kinda planned to be exactly where I am.  I was working at a local bank, thoroughly enjoying what I did. So much, in fact, that I seriously considered not going to college, keeping my job, and living at home to save money.  In hind sight, I'm VERY glad I didn't follow that particular path, but nonetheless, let's take a look at where I am today: working at a local bank, living at home to save money.  It's almost like no time has passed at all, yet... here I am... five years later.  I loved high school, but it definitely feels like a lifetime ago.  A really, really great lifetime ago, but a lifetime ago nonetheless. I tell ya what, if you need some serious reflection time, think about high school.  That'll do it.

And finally, I've been thinking about last summer and all the great memories that came with it.  And the life Helen and I lived in Des Moines.  Our Yellow House family.  Our Trinity church family.  We went up to visit two weekends ago, and we're headed up again tomorrow, but we both agreed:  there is nothing about our life there and our life here that mesh.  It's like we have two amazing, yet completely separate lives we're living.  It's really weird, but also really great?  I don't think that can be explained.  In fact, when I was thinking about it on the drive home last time, all I said to Helen was "I feel like our Yellow House life and our real life don't mesh."  And she totally understood what I was saying with no further explanation. Sometimes I think people aren't really so far off when they say that Helen and I share the same brain on some stuff.  It's amazing.

Anyhow, that's all I've got for now.  Again, kudos to those of you who actually found this interesting.

'Till Next Time

The End of May

Well, for all those wondering, May is OVER.

Now, how did I do on my "life-changing May" project?

Not too shabby.  I did pretty great with eating healthier and exercising.  I feel like it was well worth it, and I'm glad I put the time and effort into it.

Will I keep up with it the rest of the year as intensely as I did during the last month?

Probably not, but I do feel like I made some lasting changes, so that's great!

On the Spiritual side, I didn't finish memorizing Romans 6.  BUT I did spend time working on it, and that is never in vain. In fact, I barely got past the verses I memorized last year, but I still love that passage, now more than ever.

That's it for this year, I guess.

Thanks for following along!

The Necessity of Modifications

Sometimes things just don't work.  You make a plan and think you've worked out all the details.  You get started and things seem to be going fine.

Then suddenly, you find yourself being the crankiest of all crankies because you can't eat chocolate.

That is the story of what happened to my "life changing May" project. I'm still working out like I planned.  I'm still eating healthier like I planned with smaller portions and healthier options. I did GREAT on the "no sweets" part for about two weeks.  And then...

I decided that no sweets at all wasn't working for me.  And I got a chocolate bar at church for Mother's Day (because our church recognizes all women over age 18 on Mother's day with chocolate and a flower).  And I decided that a little chocolate wouldn't kill me.  Eating a square of chocolate bar wasn't going to make or break my "life changing May."  So I ate it. And I've eaten several sweet things since then, all in small portions.

And you know what?  I don't feel guilty one bit.  I'm the only one doing this "life changing May" thing, and so I can modify it when necessary.

All that to say, I'm really LOVING how I feel.  I've been exercising a little bit every day since May 1 and have only missed 3 days (which I'm allowed one skip a week, so I have kept on track!).  And surprisingly enough, I'm actually ENJOYING eating healthier!  I'm excited for our garden to start producing so I can eat fresh veggies, too!

I'll update you again at the end of the month, but from where I'm sitting right now, I'm pretty sure I'll keep up with the exercise and the eating healthier because I love how it makes me feel!

On the spiritual side of this "life changing May," I am definitely struggling with memorizing Romans 6.  I think I've only added one verse from where I was last year.  I am TERRIBLE at memorization.  That's why I hated tests at Bible college that were mostly full of random facts. I am however, still enjoying Romans 6 just as much as ever!

Total Body Cleanse, Part 2

Last June, I did something I called the Total Body Cleanse.  Basically, between June 1 and June 22, I watched no secular tv, listened to no secular music, read only Christian books, and spent extra time in devotions and prayer.  I also drug myself out of bed earlier every morning to go running.  And I attempted to memorize Romans 6. 

I wasn't planning to make this an annual thing, but in the six weeks I've been home, I've put on a few pounds.  Not too many.  Just a few.  Most people don't realize this, but two years ago I went from a size extra large to a size slightly-larger-than-medium-but-not-quite-large in the course of about six months without trying. I had surgery to remove my gall bladder, and six months later I was wearing pants four sizes smaller. I'm terrified of putting all that weight back on, and so even the HINT of weight gain has me determined to make it STOP.  I will NOT put that back on after I lost it all.  

So, I've chosen to make May my "Total Body Cleanse" month this year.  I'm modifying it to my current needs, and since it's MY program, I guess I'm allowed to change the rules. Last year, I needed to focus hard core on my spiritual/mental life.  This year, the focus will be more on my physicality, bit will include the other two categories as well.

Starting tomorrow, I will:

• exercise six days a week. I can choose any day I want as my "free" day. I will be following a 6-week program I found online. (Physical)
• Eat healthier.  This means NO soda, NO junk food, & smaller portions. (Physical)  
• Drink at least 4 glasses of water every day. (Physical)
• Read my Bible every day. (Spiritual)
• Finish memorizing Romans 6. (Mental/Spiritual)

This might seem easier than last year's, but I only did 3 weeks last year.  This year I'm doing an entire month, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but May is a LONG month!  Seriously.  Anyhow...

Prayers and encouragement are much appreciated for the next month! Hopefully, this year's Cleanse will be as successful as last year's!