Silly Face

The many silly faces of Gracie!

Ok, maybe one of them was more of an unhappy child face, but it's still pretty silly to me!

Mantra

I love Pinterest, because I stole all of the following Mantras from other people!

My mantra this weekend, as I ran the Oktoberfest 5K:

 

This is now one of my favorite mantras from a book. It almost makes me cry just thinking about it. What a great book! I hope Gracie grows up knowing she is kind, smart and important.

And a few more mantras that I hope to instill in Grace:

Favorite Picture of All Time

Ugh! How can I possibly pick just one picture that is my favorite?!? There are so many great memories in photos from throughout the years, and I just don't have the time or will to pick just one moment.

But one of my favorites has to be our first family picture with Grace. It's not a pretty picture. I've been up for over 24 hours and am barely in the picture, and half of Trinity's face is covered with a mask. Yep, we're one lovely bunch right there.

But seeing this picture takes me back to Grace's birth day. The longest day of my life, but also the absolute best! I will never forget the emotions that rushed through me when they poked little Gracie's head over the curtain, and Trinity told me our first born was a girl.

Nothing about that day was as I expected, but looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Addiction

It seems that this election season, our nation has an addiction to the division and drama between the two parties. It is sad to see this country torn apart because of the different opinions.

Our pastor gave a wonderful message today in church. It was not meant to support either the blue or red. In fact, he did not speak either candidate's name or any platforms they support. He spoke about Paul's message on politics throughout the Bible. He talked about Paul's fear that politics would divide the church.

It seems that is where we are today. Instead of showing love to both sides, we are supporting one while beating down the other. Why do we feel that we can't choose one candidate without putting down the other? Why do we immediately judge those that don't agree with our opinions? I am as guilty of this as the next person.

So, our pastor asked us to be a Christian witness throughout this election process by being different. He asked us to pray and make an informed decision on who we decided to support. He asked that when we get into a debate about politics, that we show love and respect for both candidates and those we enter into debate with. He asked us to pray about our responses to views that differ from our own. And above all, love and respect those with views contrary to our own. In this way, we can make a difference. In this way, we might change the current addiction to the derision that is prevalent throughout the United States.

This message really spoke to me, and it reminded me that Republican or Democrat, we can come together in support of our next nation's leader. Republican or Democrat, we can make a difference. We can feed the hungry. We can heal the sick. We can shelter the poor. We can love our neighbor as ourselves... Whether they agree with our political views or not.

Goal

This morning I ran in the Addison Oktoberfest 5K. My goal was a little lofty at under a 10 minute mile pace, seeing as how I haven't run in several weeks. But races always bring out the best in me. I think it is my competitive spirit! Plus, running is partially a mind game, so it helps when I am not running alone.

The first mile seemed easy, other than the first big hill, but I was still surprised when I looked down at my watch to see only 9 minutes has passed since I crossed the start line. Mile two wasn't too bad since the first half was downhill, an I clocked just over a 9 minute mile. But mile three was rough. The beginning was running back up hill, which took a lot out of me. But I wouldn't let myself stop and picked a girl in front of me to try to keep pace with.

When I turned the last corner, I saw the clock was at 27 minutes and knew I needed to pick up the pace a tiny bit. It took everything I had to run a little bit faster, but it paid off! I met my goal and beat my best previous time of 30:40 with a 28:35!

Maybe my next goal needs to be an 8 minute pace. I better get to running!

Recipe

I am by no means a good cook or baker. In fact, sometimes it is hard for me to follow the simplest of recipes.

Two weekends ago, we went to Jen and Mike's house for a cookout and football watching. I was in charge of a side dish and dessert. At first I was at a loss for side dishes, but then I remembered that I had cut out a corn salad recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

I have to say it was a huge success (maybe because there was no cooking required?!?). It was easy and tasted delicious! A definite win!

Maybe I should be a raw chef. Too bad I don't like sushi.

The dessert was an easy decision... My standard brownie box mix! And Grace was a huge fan of the brownie baking, especially when I let her lick the spoon!

If you look closely, you can see the magazine page with the corn salad recipe on the cookbook stand in the picture!

HOT

It's funny how the most ordinary evening can be so perfect.

After getting Grace to bed, Trinity and I sat down to watch tonight's episode of Glee. It happened to be about Rachel proving she could be hot and sexy, while Brittany fell into depression and had a "Brittany Spears" revival. After last season, I was a little afraid that Glee wouldn't continue to live up to expectations, but so far the episodes have been fresh, and splitting screen time between the high school and college kids is working well.

Once the episode was over, I snuggled into the couch with my Red Hots and iPad to read for an hour. My mouth is now on fire, but it was totally worth it! I have read several days in a row this week, and it's been a great way to relax after crazy busy days at work.