October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Finding a cure for breast cancer is such a noble, lofty goal, and most likely still has years to go before a cure can be found.
One of my aunts and 2 of my good friends' mothers are all SURVIVORS of breast cancer! One woman had to have a mastectomy, but the other two were able to beat it without losing any part of their bodies. I'm so thankful that these women beat this horrible disease!

One of the current statistics I've seen is that 1 in 7 women will get breast cancer at some point in their lives. This means that out of my closest college friends, at least one of us will get breast cancer. This needs to be stopped!

I encourage everyone who reads this to wear pink to show your support this month, and to donate to Susan Komen for the Cure here http://ww5.komen.org/ or your favorite breast cancer organization.








Image credits from Buzzle.com

Wise Men

"Mountains speak. Wise men listen." --John Muir

The Great Exodus Out West Begins on October 17!

My husband Eric & I are moving from Cincinnati, OH to Seattle, WA, and we're starting this Great Westward Exodus on October 17! We've been working like crazy over the past few weeks to clean the house, pack, and do some last-minute repairs. We're hopefully going to be able to put our house on the market sometime late this week or early next week. On top of this, we're trying to sell one of our cars and Eric is working on a freelance project that is such a blessing because it will give us a little extra, much-needed money during this transition. Needless to say, we are extremely busy and running around crazy trying to get everything finished in a timely manner!
Eric's parents are flying from Seattle to Cincinnati on Oct. 17 to help us move, which means they will also be driving across the country with us. We're going to rent a UHaul truck, load it up, and drive it and my car across the country, hopefully making a fun road trip/vacation out of it. I've never been in a car for 4 days straight, however, so I will most likely go stir crazy! I can already hear myself asking about 6 hours into the first day "Are we there yet?" Oh well. We're going to stop in South Dakota to visit some of Eric's family along the way, so that will be very fun.
Also making the trip with us is our puppy Levi (who is happy anywhere, as long as he's with us), and our 2 squirmy ferrets (Oscar & Oliver, our little furry "kids" as we call them). So our little zoo, the 2 of us, and Eric's parents are all going from Cincinnati to Seattle, and we predict it will take about 7 days total, including staying one full day in South Dakota to rest.
We've been so busy making arrangements, dreaming about this day, and working so hard to get everything ready & packed, that I really haven't had time to sit down and wrap my brain around all that's happening! It's probably not going to really sink in until I'm waking up in Seattle that first morning.
And when that happens, I'll sit up in bed, take a big breath of that fresh, chilly mountain air, look over at Eric next to me, smile a huge smile, and giddily proclaim: "We're finally here!"
And on clear days, this will be our view:

(ok so this is closer to Mt. Rainier than we'll typically be, but it's just as gorgeous from far away!)

In Motion

I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of "moving"; of being "in motion." I love this picture of Karena Dawn in an Oakley ad, running through a backlit forest. The body in motion truly is a beautiful, stunning picture. When a longtime runner runs with a long, practiced stride, the cyclic movements of the legs are fluid, continuous, and graceful.
Exercise is probably the 1st thing that comes to my mind when I think of "moving." And as you know, exercise and moving your body is one of the healthiest choices you can make.
Another form of "being in motion," for me, is a "Deep Thoughts About Life" philosophical concept. My husband Eric & I are in the middle of packing up all of our belongings and moving across the country soon to Seattle! We are extremely excited about this new phase of our lives; this new adventure; this change of locale. In this packing & moving process, we are in a constant state of motion. We are busy cleaning the house, moving furniture out to the garage, & packing our belongings all at the same time. Our bodies are busy working, and our minds are busying checking things off our mental To-Do list. We are embarking on an exciting and slightly terrifying adventure in the far-off land of Seattle, and it's a stressful mix of working nonstop to complete all our tasks, but at the same time being forced to wait for things to fall into place (like Eric getting a good job & our house selling).
Both our lives literally feel like they are moving down this path toward our future, which right now is hazy. We are in motion, walking down this twisty path and we cannot see around the next bend. However, we trust that God will lead us & clear the road ahead of us as we begin our pilgrimage out West.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It is my birthday today. I am 26 years old today. Yikes! When I was young, I never could've imagined myself at 26. But when I'm 40, I'll say that I never could've imagined myself at that age either.
I desperately wanted to move out to Seattle before I turned 26, but oh well. Maybe, hopefully, it'll happen soon! We have been praying non-stop that my husband gets a good job in Washington state so that we can move there without delay. And we've been working on our house like crazy, getting it ready to put on the market soon. Just this morning, we re-painted a wall that had been damaged last month while doing other renovations. It felt great to be so productive and get an important job out of the way! (Now there's only a dozen or so more things to do around the house, then we're all set!)

Isn't it funny how birthdays usually become times of reflection? We think about how we're living our lives. Are we who we want to be? Are our lives going in the right direction? Are we achieving our dreams? Are we using the years we've been given wisely?

And I am not immune to these questions. I've been reflecting on similar thoughts all day today, and really all the time, ever since I began this blog. Because I often discuss "Big Life" ideas on this blog, I think about things like this all the time. There's no reason to be obsessed with self-evaluation, but I think it's healthy & good to re-asses your life every once in awhile. If you like what you see, then great! Stay on that path! But if not, it's not too late! Make changes! Turn around and go in the other direction! Do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams and live the life you desire. And most importantly, ask God to give you dreams and His path to follow. I promise you, you won't be disappointed in yourself, or Him.

I know that God has never disappointed me, not in all my 26 years of life. He may make things turn out differently than I'd imagined or planned, but it's always better. God is in the business of "bettering" us, and He uses all types of methods, circumstances, & people to achieve this purpose.

I heard someone say once that "God loves us exactly as we are, but refuses to leave us that way." What a beautiful concept! I certainly feel that God accepts me this way, but refuses to let me remain as I am now. He always wants more for me. A better heart, a better life, a better relationship with Him. God has already done so much inside me, but I look excitedly towards the future, and wonder what kind of adventure God has in store for me in my next 26 years.

Keep Calm During The Dreaded Waiting Period

I hate waiting. Waiting in line, waiting for technology to work, waiting for slow cars to get out of my way when driving, waiting for that annoying lady on my voicemail to quit talking so I can fast forward through the old messages to my new messages, waiting for weight loss to happen, waiting for companies to call back about job applications......

There's A LOT of waiting in life. If you don't think you spend lots of your free time waiting for stuff, then I say you need to take a good look around. Chances are that you may be waiting for something at this moment as you read this. So much of our lives are spent waiting for things to happen or work, whether they are on a large scale (like getting a new job), or small scale (waiting for a traffic light to turn green).

And I hate it. Seriously, it makes me crazy sometimes. I guess that makes me a fairly impatient person, I dunno. I've always thought of myself as a fairly patient person, but I think I'me becoming more impatient as I get older. Like life "owes" me something or something ridiculous like that. Like I'm special, so I shouldn't have to wait like all you 'regular' folks. He he, just kidding.

But seriously, isn't what we say about other people sometimes, especially drivers who cut us off or do something stupid that puts both our lives at risk while driving? We sarcastically think something along the lines of, "Well, I guess where that person is going is more important than where I'm going." I know I think that all the time about other drivers. Everyone is an idiot driver except for me!

And what's great is that other people probably think that about me. But we can't all be the best drivers in the whole world, now can we? Somebody has to be wrong here, and if I'm honest, it's probably me. Boo.

But back to waiting. It's scary. It's difficult. It's nerve-wracking. And it's NO FUN AT ALL. But guess what? We have to do it. And these negative emotions do nothing to speed it up. As a matter of fact, negative emotions simply prolong the pain & insecurity of waiting. It's been easy for my hubby & I to get caught up in feeling panicked, depressed, or anxious in the midst of this job search, but being calm and having patience eases the burden a bit. So we've been trying to remember this and keep calm, like that saying I've been seeing everywhere. It varies somewhat, but the overall attitude is the same: "Keep calm and carry on," for those of us who eat their feelings: "Keep calm & have a cupcake," and for the Harry Potter fans out there (you can't deny it any longer): "Keep calm and carry a wand".

Have you seen this saying? It's clever & cute, but has a great message. And I will try to follow its advice. Will you join me in "keeping calm & carry on" during the difficult waiting periods in your life?


Image credit: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Keep-Calm-and-Carry-On-Posters_i4149819_.htm

The Blessing of Basic Good Health

Good health is not a given in life.  It is not something you deserve, or are automatically given.  It is something to aspire to.  Just like all good things in life, it takes hard work & dedication to attain it.  It is a blessing, a dream come true to those that have it.  If you're young and healthy, then you'd better treasure it, for it will be more & more difficult to keep it as you age.  You cannot do nothing to take care of yourself and simply expect health to find you.  Sometimes it works that way, for those of us who are extremely lucky, but it's rare.  

Those that do not have health never undervalue it.  If you are sick, or have any sort of chronic illness, you probably long to feel better.  You know the value of good health, because you have gone without it for quite some time.  You would give anything to have health, and for good reason.  If you don't have health, it's hard to enjoy anything else.  It can consume your life if you're not careful.  And if you are healthy, don't take it for granted, for there are many people who are ill.    

I think Americans in particular do not value good health.  If you eat organic, practice yoga, spend time outdoors, and look after your health in most places in America, you're seen as kinda kooky, obsessive, and a  tree-hugging hippie.  I myself do not practice much yoga, but I understand why people do & the health benefits of such a practice.  I also do not eat organic produce very often because of financial constraints, but I absolutely would love to.  I occasionally buy organic bananas because they are only 20 cents more expensive than regular ones, but typically the organic stuff is too expensive by far. 

But I think it is supremely important to gain or regain health.  Make health a priority.  I've heard sayings & slogans about making health a priority, like Lululemon's "Sweat everyday," or Nike's "Just do it," or Teva's "Go. Do. Be."  
I concur.  Good health should be a priority in your life, and if it is, you will most likely live a longer, fuller, happier life.  So it doesn't really matter what you do.  Just DO SOMETHING.  Eat well. Cut out most processed foods & sugar.  Exercise.  Even if you can't or don't want to partake in traditional exercise, DO something.  Garden.  Mow your grass with a push mower.  Shovel the driveway in the winter.  Do vigorous housework. Walk around the mall.  Do an exercise tap in your living room.  It doesn't matter.  Just DO something.  Find something you like, then "Just do it!"  

Just because you have to work for something doesn't mean it's not a blessing.  It's worth it.  Everyday is a new day, a fresh start.  So get to it!