Happy Monday!

These mugs made me smile! Who wouldn't like to have coffee with the BFG every morning?

Also, Tone It Up's Beach Week started today and sweating out my anxiety perked me right up for Monday! For more info, go here.

Love, Grace, and Kindness - It Makes Every Day A Better Day

Today was a day that has murky origins in pagan festival and multiple saints, that was popularized by greeting card companies, and has become a day about things. I'm taking today back as a day about people.

Today I am going to remember to say, "I Love You," to all the people in my life that I love.

I am going to be kind to the people that I come across during my day.

I am going to try to give people a little grace.

If there is any reason to celebrate, it is celebrating love and generosity of the human spirit.

So, take back today from the greeting card companies and make it about people, not things.

A Couple Dents in My Fender and a Couple Rips in My Jeans

Today is love list Wednesday and what is more appropriate the celebrating the God that loves us endlessly.

This post isn't about recipes or fitness, but having one of those days when God is so apparent in life, that you can't help but overflow with joy!



This song by Francesca Battistelli is a great reminder that God only asks that we be ourselves and that he takes us the way we are, dings and all.

One of my favorite passages of scripture that has bits and pieces quote a lot, but that is even better as a whole:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 


Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 


Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfections comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflections as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 


And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13 NIV

I actually prefer the King James version of verse 12 (For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.)

In God's heart we are:

I am always awed by God's love and plan for me, but sometimes it just seems even more clear. Life can be confusing, troubling, tough, and downright unfair. Lately, those darker parts of life seem to be making more frequent appearances. Thankfully, God is just and and constant and always keeps his promises, so I know that despite the hardship in life, that God always has a plan and he always loves us.

Here's to living our days knowing that we are enough and that God's love NEVER fails!

Love List Wednesday

Lately I feel like my blog has been getting a little stale. Lots of counting down, a little bit of moving apprehension, and not a lot of recipes or running recaps. I'm not actually sure who really reads my blog, but I'm afraid I've bored everyone away. I was running out of inspiration and then I read the newest blog I've been reading (go here to check it out). It's written by a fellow AF pilot spouse that I met at our last base. I've always loved her sense of humor and her in general, but I never knew she was such a gifted writer. Reading her wonderful words has inspired me to introduce a "Love List Wednesday". To see the specific source of my inspiration, check out her Love List.

Wednesday always seems like such a bummer. The weekend is definitely over, the next weekend is far away, and routines are reaching out to choke us. So, on Wednesdays I'm going to start celebrating the things I love that make life wonderful. Thanks friend for the amazing idea!!

• Lazy Mack Moments
• Pinning wings on WM
• Mornings in pajamas
• Peppermint Mocha creamer being sold year round
• Flowers
• Dixie Chicks
• Hugs
• Bonds of Sisterhood that have nothing to do with being actually related

To illustrate my point:

Who doesn't love the squint?

The Songs that Stay With US

Sometimes songs just seem to reverberate with me. I find out something about a song and part of me just latches on to that. One of those songs is A Horse With No Name by America. I had never even heard of this song till about a year ago.

I was talking to my Dad and our conversation turned to my grandmother that passed away in the fall of 2009. He told me that out all of his records he had, my grandmother used to ask him to put this record on because she loved this song. I'm not sure what about this song attracted my grandmother. It could be the poetic lyrics, the soft and soothing melody, or just the moment when you find a song that seems to take hold of your heart for no good reason. Now, sometimes I'll be thinking of my grandma without realizing it and this song just seems to come to mind out of nowhere. It always brings some tears. They're tears that are full of love for a woman who was amazing and who I loved very much.

So, take a moment and listen to a song that leaves my heart full and empty all at the same time.




A Horse with No Name


On the first part of the journey,
I was looking at all the life.
There were plants and birds. and rocks and things,
There was sand and hills and rings.
The first thing I met, was a fly with a buzz,
And the sky, with no clouds.
The heat was hot, and the ground was dry,
But the air was full of sound.

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name,
It felt good to be out of the rain.
In the desert you can remember your name,
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain. 


After two days, in the desert sun,
My skin began to turn red.
After three days, in the desert fun,
I was looking at a river bed.
And the story it told, of a river that flowed,
Made me sad to think it was dead.

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name,
It felt good to be out of the rain.
In the desert you can remember your name,
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain. 


After nine days, I let the horse run free,
'Cause the desert had turned to sea.
There were plants and birds, and rocks and things,
There was sand and hills and rings.
The ocean is a desert, with its life underground,
And a perfect disguise above.
Under the cities lies, a heart made of ground,
But the humans will give no love.

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name,
It felt good to be out of the rain.
In the desert you can remember your name,
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain. 


( I left out the la la's because there are a ton of them.  They do add to the song, though)

Happy Father's Day to an Amazing Dad

In the hysteria of my work week, prepping for WM's birthday, and just being a good UPT spouse, I almost forgot this weekend was Father's Day. Needless to say, I am quite ashamed of that.

I have an amazing Dad. Since I got married last July, I have lived far away from him. There have been many times this past year I have wished there weren't so many miles between us. I think of all the things he taught and the things he tried to teach me, but I had a hard time learning. One example of the latter, is driving a stick shift. It just doesn't happen for me. As far as the things he did teach me go, there are so many examples. For instance, I can actually check my oil and most of my basic car fluids. He also taught me most of what I know about finances, the economy, and a lot about politics. He gave me a love airplanes that turned out to be a pretty important thing. If I hadn't been taken to air shows, shown the F-117 video, and taught to look up every time a non commercial plane flies overhead, I might not be such a good UPT spouse. Those early years and all the memories he and my mom talk about helped me know about bases, protocol, and lots of random plane facts.

My Dad, along with my mom showed me what it means to love your child with unconditional love. Throughout my life, my Dad encouraged me to do achieve success and not sell myself short. He helped me with my math homework and made me feel better when I had to drop my Junior High art class. I was getting a terrible grade from a very judgmental teacher. My Dad shared a similar college experience with me that made me feel that I was not a loser for being unable to get a good grade in art. My Dad told me that I could be anything I wanted when I grew up. He didn't care if my career meant making tons or no money. My Dad just wanted me to take advantage of opportunities presented to me and to find a life that would make me happy. My Dad also sacrificed many Saturday of my High School years to judging at my Forensics tournaments. I think I'll stop on this topic here because there are so many examples of how my Dad loved me that I could blog forever.

My Dad also taught me how to love when it's hard to love. My Dad and I have not always had the most fantastic and smooth of relationships. I'm not sure if I went back, if I could change my reaction and my attitude, but I sure wish I could sometimes. Since we can't rewind life, I just did the next best thing. That was trying to make up for those years by loving my Dad even more. The thing is, it worked. I'm so much  closer to my Dad now that I'm an adult and we have both have our space. Someday, I hope we live a lot closer to each other. For now, phone calls, emails, and cards will have to do.

So, to honor my Dad, I'm posting a picture of another thing he taught me about. That is Star Trek. I myself am a TNG fan, but this is a picture of Leonard Nemoy being visited by his son on the set of the original Star Trek. Here is to all the nights we put the cutlass cruiser into cloaking mode!

So, Happy Father's Day to the best Dad in the World!