CrossFit

[amen to that!]

I'm almost ready to run my half marathon!

YAY! But not today so more on that later.

But what do I do after I've completed that goal?

I'm signing up to run a half marathon in May -

but what am I gonna do until then.
Run. Run. Run? Boring if you ask me.
Mud run? Other races? Gym it? Lift?

Nah. I found my answer a few months ago.

A blogger I follow did CrossFit and loved it!

I've been thinking about it for a few weeks,

and over my break my brother brought it up
and he said I'd be perfect for it cause of what it takes.

I'm a competitive, no nonsense and don't stop until you're dead

kind of person - and that's how I exercise too [it's pretty tough.]

My motto when you work out with me:
If you aren't passing out or throwing up - keep going.
You won't get better if you don't push yourself.

So I'm looking into 2 CrossFit gyms around me,

and I'm going to be trying it out shortly.

I'm ready to get in the best shape of my life

while being competitive, challenged and having fun!

[Seriously this is right up my alley.]

Watch and find out about it!

It's motivating - believe me :)

Anyone interested?! I AM!

[It's pretty bad ass if you ask me]

Good Ole Days

First things first - 

A shout out to my girl Rachel

who just turned 21 today - woot woot!!

She's one amazing girl and friend.

Thanks for sticking by me always and 

showing God's love constantly to everyone around you.

I wish you lived next door to me in the worst way,

but we'll celebrate together real soon!

Happy 21st Birthday RaRa!!!

And now our feature presentation:

---------------------------------------------------

THE GOOD OLE DAYS

You're a 90s kid if,

You remember watching:

-Kenan and Kel

-Doug

-Ren & Stimpy

-Pinky and the Brain

-AAAAAAAH Real Monsters!

-Rocko's Modern Life

-Animaniacs

-Gargoyles

-Tom and Jerry [when they didnt talk]

-Hey Arnold

-Out of the Box

-Bear in the Big Blue House

You've ever ended a sentence with the word PSYCHE!

You just cant resist finishing this: "In west Philadelphia born and raised...

You remember:

-Step by Step

-Family Matters

-Dinosaurs

-Boy Meets World

You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

When everything was settled by:

-rock paper scissors or

-bubble gum bubble gum in a dish or

-miss mary mack

When kick ball was something you did everyday!!

You used to listen to the radio all day long just to record your FAVORITE song of ALL time on a tape.

You remember when Super Nintendos and Sega Genisis became popular.

You always wanted to send in a tape to Americas Funniest Home Videos . . . but never taped anything funny.

You remember watching:

-The Magic School Bus

-Wishbone

-Reading Rainbow

-Ghostwriter on PBS

You remember when Yo-Yos were cool.

And you played with Silly Puddy and Sticky Tac that you stole from the teachers walls.

You remember those Where's Waldo books.

Those awesome Buzz Lightyear shoes that light up.

You remember eating Warheads and Splashers Gum

You remember watching:

-The 1st Batman

-Aladdin

-Ninja Turtles

-Ghost Busters

You remember Ring Pops!!!

If you remember when every thing was da BOMB!

You remember boom boxes vs. cd players

You played and/or collected Pogs

You had at least one Tamagotchi, GigaPet, or Nano and brought it everywhere u went

You watched the original cartoons of

-Rugrats

-Wild Thornberrys

-Power Rangers

-Rocket Power.

All your school supplies were Lisa Frank brand

If you collected those:

-Beanie Babies

-Yu Gi Oh and Pokemon cards

-Coins with the states on them -

Carebears

-Silver dollars, which were cool to have

Everyone watched the WB

If you even know what an original walkman is..

You know the Macarena by heart

"Talk to the hand". . .enough said.

You went to McDonalds to play in the play place

Before the MySpace frenzy...

Before the Internet & text messaging...

Before Sidekicks & iPods ...

Before PlayStation3 or X-BOX 360...

Before Spongebob...

When light up sneakers were cool and you had spiral spring shoelaces

When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs

When gas was $1.

When we recorded stuff on VCR

You had slap bracelets!

You actually played outside until it was dark!

Way back-Before we realized all this would eventually disappear

---------------------------------------------------

Haha how great was that :) and so true!

a thankful heart

I have so much to be thankful for

so my heart is very happy today!

-Jesus Christ, my ultimate savior.

-My faith in Him and life serving Him.

-My family, all together again,

and those who are like family to me.

-My boyfriend who is my ultimate best friend

and love of my life - he's da bomb.

-My best friends who I can always count on

through it all, even states away.

-2 wonderful churches that I have grown so much in.

-My education: with professors who have taught me more

than I ever expected to learn in a classroom.

-The opportunities ahead of me in the upcoming year.

-The country that I love and live in.

-The men and women who keep me safe everyday.

-The football game that ended the perfect way:

Pennridge beating Quakertown - like it always goes.

-And the food I'll get a coma from later, holla!

-And that tomorrow is the best shopping eva :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!! :)

ps. two and a half weeks left!!!!

can't even wait.

to do list

I love breaks. I love breaks.

I can't wait for Thanksgiving Break!

one.more.week.friends.

...'nough said.

the shine project

Winner! Winner! Winner!

My very first ever blog giveaway winning was a pair of earring..

that I love and received through The Shine Project!

Well for this giveaway, I won a Shine necklace

from The Shine Project through Glam Girl :)

[notice a pattern or anything?! loyal follower]

Thank you for my gifts :) I think of both of you when I wear it!

The necklace ties in perfectly with what I wanted to talk about today.

I decided that between now and the end of the year 

I will being doing something extra for others each week

so that I can spread God's love to those who are in need

and bring a little extra cheer to them this time of year.

Ashley's necklace is a reminder that I need to shine for God.

How did I shine today?!

Nick and I made shoe boxes for children who have nothing.

Why?!

Because we believe that every child deserves to have
something to make them smile.

The Mission?!

Operation Christmas Child by Samaritan's Purse.

How to make a box:

Step 1. Pick your age group and buy goodies!

Nick and I went to Target and bought 2 bags full of fun stuff!

For a girl 5-9:

Construction paper, crayons, pencils, pencil sharpener,
bouncy ball, play dough, baby doll, hair ties, necklace,
socks, gloves, hat, candies, soap, princess toothpaste and toothbrush.

 For a boy 5-9:

Construction paper, crayons, pencils, pencil sharpener,

bouncy ball, slinky, monster truck, play dough, hat,

gloves, candies, cars toothpaste and toothbrush.

Step 2. Fold up the box by following the directions. 

Step 3. Pack the boxes full of all the goodies!

Step 4. Label what age and gender the box is packed for.

Pray 5. Pray over the box and send it away with love and $7!

Give someone else a little bit of your time and resources this week.

Spread God's love to those in need with something to make them smile :)

SHINE ON!

sneakers

I posted before about training for a half marathon.

Didn't read it..forget... here you go - click.

Anyways...training is great! Thanks for asking :)

I have an amazing running partner!

I couldn't ask for a better girl to run with.

We challenge each other and have great girl talks.

You read that right - we can run 6 miles at race pace AND

chat the entire way about life! We're talented :)

We're so busy with school, work, volunteer hours, and life

but we always manage to get our workout in!

Plus it helps me get through my stressful weeks!

I've started a running and food log.

I know how far I run each day and what I eat every day, all day.

I write it all down so that it is constantly in front of me and I can look back.

This helps me to be training not only on my run, but before and after.

This journey has been more than I expected.

It's fun and relaxing but kind of time consuming...

but hey who doesn't wanna kick all the boys butts!

So every day I've been lacing up my black and pink nikes

and getting out there and running my heart out.

I don't regret a single workout I do - even when my legs are tired.

Tips if you run or are thinking about starting...

Good shoes are the key to success!

1. You need ones that fit your feet- everyone has

different feet so get someone to look at your walk/run

and assess what shoe will be the best for you.

[Go to a running store - NOT the mall people.]

2. Also get new ones every 6 months or 300 miles.

3. Fun color sneakers make wearing them better :)

4. The reason why I believe in good sneakers - 

you can't run if you mess up your feet.

So love those feet and take care of them!

Need some fitness motivation?!

Click!

a heavy heart

I want to be real... it has been a tough few days.

I don't want to put everything out there for the world to read.

But this is my blog so I'll share what I feel I can.

Death, sadness, and uncertainty has plagued those closest to me.

I have seen and heard so much sadness and hurt recently,

and I am coming before God tonight with a heavy heart.

I was sitting in class tonight when my professor asked:

"Does anyone have anything we should pray for?"

And I instantly felt my heart sink as I raised my hand.

I can't believe so much as happened in less than a week.

I feel like asking for prayer is the only thing I can do.

So I'll ask you to do this and that will be it for now.

PRAY

...for 2 boys - who have experienced miracles but still need a lot of prayer.

...for a boy's heart to be softened so that God may work in him and take control of his life.

...for 2 grieving families - both prepared for death but in the end it came so quickly.

...for strength and wisdom for myself and others close to me.

...that God's will is seen in the end of all this suffering.

...that more people will come to Christ in the midst of suffering.

With that - I leave you with these lyrics from two amazing songs.
And if there is anything you need prayer for - let me know!

I don't have much else to say right now.

I'm not going to apologize for the lack of posts...

it just isn't on the top of my list recently.

But I'll be back this week... at some point.

Amazing God

By: Brenton Brown 

We can hear it growing louder

songs from every nation

rising to your throne

Saints in every generation

singing for your glory

telling what you've done

from the north and south, we are crying out

there is hope in Jesus' name

You're amazing God, You're amazing God

You can bear the weight of every heavy heart

You can heal the pain, you can clean the stain

You can turn our tears into songs of praise

You're amazing God

Beauty rises from the ashes

sorrow turns to gladness

when our God is near

You speak light into our darkness

you heal the broken-hearted

you wipe away our tears

songs of praise surround us, songs of praise surround us

hear it growing louder, we are growing louder

my scar

I am very sorry for not being around in the past week.

This might have something to do with it.

The snowstorm that hit my area on October 29, 2011.

We got 8 inches. Lost tons of trees. Lost power. And had a trip to the ER.

I am one sore chica after moving trees and shoveling for hours.

My brudder gets to shovel the next storm. Nose goes!

[Below is my mailbox and the tree outside of my house.

Times this by 20 and that would be my neighborhood.]

I hope you understand my absence now!

That plus half marathon training and life has kept me away.

So sorry! But I'm back :)

Okay so onto the feature presentation:

MY SCAR.

No picture - don't worry.

I wouldn't do that to you.

But it isn't big or gross.

Okay we have to move to someone else in order to get to me.

So raise your hand if your Mama has a scar because of you.

[hand raised] oooh me me me! and probably many of you.

My Mama had to have a C-section with me and my brother.

She has a scar that shows she carried us for 9 months,

went through labor, and then was cut open for us.

That scar means she gave birth to me - but it means a lot more.

She read me stories, tucked me in, left little presents in my lunch,

wiped my tears, taught me to be a godly woman, taught me to drive,

went prom dress shopping with me, gets her nails done with me just because,

cooks amazing dinners, travels with me, and so so much more.

She has that scar as physical proof she is my Mama.

And I  know she wouldn't trade it for anything - I mean she has me:)

I'm only 20 and soon approaching 21.

Read about my 21 birthday goals here [click it].

I am a daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend, Christian, 

but I am not a Mama.

I don't bare the scar from having a C-section.

I do bare a scar on my stomach though.

And my passion and love for children caused that scar.

I went to Haiti this past March.

I went there to bring hope, love the children, and serve.

I went because God called me go there and provided for me.

I went because I wanted to show God's love to the Haitians.

While I was there I got a staph infection.

I won't go into details but the aftermath was awful and painful.

My doctor was wonderful but had open up the infection so it could heal.

[note: many sermon illustrations could come from this...]

And when all was said and done - a scar was left in its place.

It wasn't massive but it was a scar nonetheless.

And every single day I see it.

And every single day I remember Haiti.

I truly believe that my spiritual gift is working with children.

Ever since I can remember I have been drawn to young children,

and they have also been drawn to me. It is my gift from God.

I understand them differently and love them all the same.

So my scar is a reminder from God.

It reminds me of the children I long to hold again.

The naked babies I held and fed from bottles.

The toddlers I carried into the ocean for a dip.

The younger ones I played ball with in the dirt.

The older ones I let braid my blonde hair.

The families that let me love on their children.

It reminds me of who I am.

It reminds me of why I am here.

It reminds me of my distinct calling.

It reminds me where I want to go.

It reminds me to thank God daily.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

So I have a scar and most people do.

Does your scar have a story?

Something beyond "I fell a lot"?

I would love to hear your story!

Leave a comment or email me:)

[alittlethis.that@yahoo.com]