I'll Have The Curry.

Many women tell stories of how they loved being pregnant, loving feeling the baby kick, loved that “pregnancy glow”. Well, I didn’t exactly enjoy being pregnant.  I gained 65 pounds in my pregnancy. Ella’s kicks felt like she was practicing for soccer tryouts or a taekwondo competition.  None of my clothes fit.  Don’t be fooled- that pregnancy glow was actually just sweat. I may or may not have been irritable and short towards Josh and others. (I’m sorry josh) My ankles were swollen. My joints hurt. So when I went into labor, I was thrilled that that tiny human living inside my body was about to be evicted. When Ella was finally born, and they placed her in my arms, I experienced something I wasn’t able to fully understand until that very moment- joy.  Overwhelming joy.  Maybe it was a rush of hormones and the fact that I hadn’t slept in 48 hours or that I just asked my body to do the most physically taxing thing it had ever done before, b...

I preached a sermon yesterday.  Here it is: Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-16 “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.   Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The great and wise Brene Brown describes vulnerability as “uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.”  So here I ...

I tell myself that the only reason I work out is so that I can take really long, hot showers. it's what motivates me to finish my run or 20 minutes of burpies (yes, that happened today).  and if I'm completely honest, showers are a great place to get away from the responsibilities of parenting, if just for 10 minutes.  ella will just have to wait until mommy is out of the shower. #dadsarethebest  Every minute or so, I turn the knob a little to the left to make it hotter and hotter.  by the time I get out, the bathroom mirror is completely steamed over and my skin is a nice red color.  and the redder I am, the better the shower. I do my best thinking in the shower. there's something about the warm water that relaxes my body and mind.  this day was no different, but I felt compelled to reflect on my own sermon from yesterday in blog form, after being inspired by a great new minister friend who encourages me with her blog. Yesterday was transfiguration Sun...

July 3, 2014 Wow.  It's been a month since I've blogged.  Could it be because I have.... nothing to write about? brain farts? a lack of motivation? been super busy? too much personal stuff to air on the web? If it's possible to be all of the above simultaneously, then yes, all of the above. The past month has been full of adventure.  My last day of work was June 6th, so to "celebrate," my in-laws came to Austin to visit.  We went spelunking in Inner Space Cavern , ate a delicious burger at Hopdoddy Burger Bar and listened to some excellent 70's music as performed by the Austin Civic Orchestra .  It was a great weekend. Josh and I went to the beach a few weekends later and then came back in time to celebrate Joanna's 30th birthday.  She rented a party bus and we tried out a few of the new "hip" places in San Antonio. The weekend ended nicely with a World Championship win by the Spurs! GO SPURS GO! Disciple Project ...

I've been on my "re-introduction" stages for the past few days. June 1-3: non-gluten grains like rice and oats Showed no reaction to these things.  Everything seemed normal as it was the last few weeks. June 4-6: cheeses like mozzarella, cheddar and queso (whatever kind of cheese that is!) Terrible experience!  I had the worst cramping and bloating. Even though it was incredibly uncomfortable from day one, I kept trying different kinds of cheeses to see which ones effected me most . Mozzarella wins the most painful award. That's probably why I can't eat pizza. June 6: Gluten grains Today was my last day at work until September.  I have the summer off and I'm not a teacher! WOO! (But, I don't get paid like a teacher would. BOO)  My coworkers took me to my restaurant of choice: Galaxy Cafe. I am in love with their chicken salad sandwich on ciabatta. I intentionally waited until today to reintroduce glutens because I knew this day was c...

Whole 30: DONE. Well, I made it to day 30. I can't say that every day was wonderful, or that I had a great attitude about it either.  In fact, I was more grumpy and hating the rules of Whole 30 than I ever was satisfied about them. But, today is June 2nd and I have found that in the past couple of days, I have made choices that are almost exactly Whole 30 anyways.  What gives? I thought that when I went off Whole 30, I would run to the queso and the chocolate and the cookies. Strangely, that hasn't been the case.  Sure, those things are delicious, but I feel that I have really made progress with my eating habits and I can't see ruining those by running back to old food habits.  My body isn't craving sugar  like it used to. It's funny because when I wasn't allowed sugar on Whole 30, I wanted it so much! Now that I can have it (technically), I don't even want to think twice about eating it. I managed to resist the candy that is all over my office.... and ...

Day Twenty-Seven through Twenty-Nine The Homestretch Tina Fey is my hero. Day Twenty-Seven Election Day! In true Travis County Elections style, there was a buffet of tasty treats for everyone to snack on throughout the day. The call center staff is renowned for bringing delicious food for everyone to share. My weakness: donuts. And not just any kind of donuts.  Round Rock donuts. Dan always brings a dozen Round Rock donuts to share on Election Day.  Normally, I would have walked right over to that table and snatched one up before they were gone. But, this day I had to resist.  I didn't even walk into the call center so as not to be tempted. It was easier than I thought it would be! Everyone knew I was doing a special "diet" so they didn't bother to ask me if I wanted any of the treats.  The rest of the day went really well with very little issues.  Our receiving substation, ...