Bounce

I have really curly hair. Like really. curly. hair. And I have always kept it long. Long, luscious, curls. But not any more! I chopped it all off! Muah ha ha ha. Now my hair bounces. Everywhere I walk. Bounce. bounce. bounce.

I decided I wanted to donate my hair a while ago. I work in a Cancer Center and walk through a facility where people receive their chemotherapy treatment through an IV. I walk through all the time to get water and ice from a dispenser in the back. I walk past people that have no hair. Every day. Every single day. So I felt the urge to do something. Some people looked so sad. Or I felt they were looking at me longing, for their hair to grow back, like mine. Pretty life-changing, life-tugging, emotional glances. I also walk by a room that is filled with wigs. Filled! And I wanted to help. I wanted to give something of me, that could be life-changing for someone else. Hair. As simple as that. Cut it off. Donate it. Give. Share the curls. Let someone else be able to bounce down the hallway. Spring in their step with confidence that they have luscious, curly locks. Yep, sign me up.

Hands DOWN one of the coolest things I've done in a LONG time. I walked in to the Salon, (I went to a woman named Adeline, she is FANTASTIC! check her out the next time you get a hair-cut, if you live in Duluth.) pretty nervous and timid. Sat down in the hair-chopping chair, about to pee my pants in terror. But Adeline totally knew what she was doing. Before I even had time to process what was going on, my hair was in a pony-tail, then it... wasn't. Gone. GONE were the locks. Still in a pony-tail, but not on my head. WHOA! Totally crazy/awesome. Then she went to work, sculpting a bob of bouncy curls. Phenomenal. My favorite part was braiding the now cut-off pony, and putting it into a puffy package to send to Wigs for Kids. A non-profit that relies on donations to make wigs for children who have cancer or some sort of disease that prevents them from growing hair. So great. So. Great.

So now I get to bounce. My inner-happy-bouncy-nature can express itself wherever I go. On a run? Most definitely, wind in short curls, bouncing all the way. In the kitchen? Oh yeah, bouncing around making bread like a champ. On the way to work? Well, who really wants to go to work. But now I can bounce around to get my ice water, knowing that soon, someone else might get to feel just like me. Bomb diggity.

Great job, parents! Thanks for the curls. Truly blessed

Motivation

HELP. My motivation has been misplaced. I can't seem to find it anywhere. I've looked for it at work. Nothing. I've looked for it at home. Nope. Under the couch? Nah. On facebook? Big fat NO. So where is it hiding? Where, oh where!, can my motivation be??

   I've been pondering this all day, as I sit in my cubicle. I need a jolt. A lightning strike of super power multi-tasking bliss. There is just a huge list of things that I want to accomplish, but am lacking motivation. Studying for the MCATs is a LARGE BLINKING LIGHT at the top of my list. I want to start. But I'm afraid? Tentative? Hesitant? Freaked-out? WORRIED THAT I WON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING? And cry in the corner while I'm tempted to run for the hills? Yeah, I need to start. Enough whining.

   So who has motivational tips? Who has the answer to my being freaked-out and scared? Hmmmm, I wonder....
   In my daily devotion, I found the answer.
      "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55: 6-9

   Lightning bolt? I think so. Just when you feel like there is nowhere to turn. Or that you're trying so hard to plow forward in one direction, you realize GOD IS THE ONE WITH THE PLAN. His thoughts are WAY BETTER than my thoughts. His ways are WAY BETTER than my ways. I don't have the capability to fully understand anything because I have a sinful brain. His plans for me will always be better. So I don't need to worry, or panic, or be afraid, because He totally knows what He is doing. He will help me find my motivation. It may seem completely lost to me at the moment, but it will come back.

    Trust in Him.

First Wave

I did it. I ordered the first round of MCAT study books. I have my lovely Gold Standard, that I so lavishly talked about in one of my first posts, but there is more. Oh so many more books...

Exam-Krackers. Doesn't sound like a book that is really going to help me. Sounds like something that I would rather put my smoked fish on that I got at Applefest this weekend. (cracker, haha, get it?) But really, this means I have to start studying. I have to pick up these kracker books and infuse the knowledge in them into my brain. I can't hide anymore. Studying will commence. The first wave has begun.

Despite me kind of wanting to study for this lame test of death, a friend of mine keeps errking me about it. He keeps poking my thoughts about how I'm feeling now and where I'm headed. He wants me to find happiness in my current work situation, or DO something about it if I'm not. Lame, right? Yeah, such an awful thing to think about, right? Anyways, it's like having someone bang those stupid large plastic blow-up tube things that you can get at a major league baseball game, that you smack together and they make a SUPER ANNOYING hollow banging noise. Yeah, you know what I mean. That's what my friend is like. It's kind of hard to ignore. Hard enough for me to ignore, to actually get me to buy the first stupid wave of books. He currently has a broken foot. I kind of wanted to kick the thing, but that might be a tad harsh....

Well, who wants to come study with me? I will have enough books to go around for like 10 people. They will be on my door-step in 3-14 days. Whoever decided that was an appropriate time to ship books? They may arrive by Friday, but they most certainly will be here by Halloween.

This shall be epic?... Maybe by the time the books arrive I will have a better attitude... : )

Smack

I'm clumsy. There, I said it. People who know me understand this. They have seen the carnage. For those of you who don't know me, I fall. A lot. Usually when I'm running in the woods. I mean, it's a little trail, covered in roots and rocks, people fall, right? Ha. Apparently I'm an exception. I asked a friend once, when we were blasting our way down some trails in Hartley. 'Hey dude, how many times would you say you fall in a week?' He looks at me and goes, 'Are you crazy? I can't remember the last time I've fallen.' I about fell over laughing. At that time, I had already fallen twice that week. I think it was a Tuesday.

     This past weekend, I went running in the woods. Seeing as it is Fall leaf-changing season here, the trails are riddled with leaves. Leaves covered everything. The trails, especially. It was beautiful, no doubt about it. But there should have been a large, blinking red stop sign posted where I hopped onto the trail that said, 'CAUTION, TRAIL IS COVERED IN LEAVES. MAKE SURE YOU ARE CAREFUL. YOU COULD FALL.' Not saying I really would have paid any attention to the large, blinking sign, but I might have thought twice before plowing forward.... Needless to say, my dainty running skills were nowhere to be found....

    I was running along, enjoying the gorgeous afternoon, totally happy and free in the woods. My favorite. But then, SMACK. It was like my left foot hit a brick wall. Boom. I am DOWN for the count. Practically fell on my face, but somehow I grabbed a random wimpy tree next to me and kept myself from going head first into a large rock. Did I mention I was wearing my Vibram toe shoes? The ones where each toe fits into a certain spot like a glove? Yeah, pretty sure I thought I left my left pinkie toe somewhere behind me. Like I was going to have to turn around and go scrape it off of the rock that I just smacked. Man alive, my whole foot was numb! I proceeded to continue jogging (because what else was I supposed to do, I was in the woods) and after a while I pulled off my shoe and examined the carnage. My toe was already swelling up. I could feel it pulsating. And when I went to put the shoe back on, it was tight. Gosh. Darn. It. Well, I managed to half run/half gimp my way back home. In one piece, just a tad worse for wear. 

   The best part now? My toe and foot are purple. Yeah. Gorgeous coloring, I must say. Sort of reminds me of the leaves changing color. Red to purple to yellow. Beautiful. 

   I will leave you with this: Take caution in the woods. And don't kick rocks. 

Cookie Baking Weather

So I said this blog would include some tasty recipes. I won't disappoint in that department....

Oatmeal Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks room temp. butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 extra large eggs, also room temp. (This is a secret. This is why cookies are good. If you use cold eggs, you just defeated the purpose of creaming together the butter and the sugar. In cooks terms, this tip is worth at least $20. If you see me, and you made these cookies, fork over the moola because I'm sure you reaped the benefits of this tid-bit.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 375.
Cream the first 8 ingredients together. Make sure to really, really get it soft and light colored. Whipped up into a deliciously smooth consistency. Makes a HUGE difference in the dense-ness of the cookie. You will have to scrape the bowl down occasionally. I know, use your guns. Then add in one egg at a time, along with the vanilla. *Make sure you stop and take a good whiff of everything you just combined in the bowl.* (You will be happy you did.)
Then add in the oatmeal and flour about a 1/2 cup at a time. Don't over-mix. Never over-mix. Sad news bears when you over-mix a cookie dough recipe. You will get hard cookies. I promise. I've found out the hard way.
Once everything is combined, stir in the goodies. My friend really likes butterscotch chips, so I added some of those. But you can add whatever you want. I think cinnamon chips would have been good in these too.
Drop by regular spoonful onto a cookie sheet and bake around 10-12 mins. I would keep a close eye on them. My first batch, according to my friend, were a little on the 'done' side. I stuck out my tongue to that. Whatever, they tasted good to me. I turn my pans in the oven half-way through. I think it helps bake the cookies more evenly. *I know, sounds annoying, but it works. I promise.*

Then, once they are done and cooled, stuff your face. Eat a lot of them. They are good. Really, really good.

So, enjoy this wonderful little fall-weather recipe. My roommate had a tummy-ache, so I brought one of these in to her room when it was still warm, and she felt better. So these cookies inadvertently cure tummy-aches. Awesome. Make them. You will be happier after you did.

Yip Yip... On By... Ha... Ge...

   In a past lifetime, I would have been a sled dog. Hands down.
Beautiful, strong, and fast. Ready to run, happy to run, in the freeeeezzzing cold, and on trail. Running for hours and never getting tired. Running when the sun goes down, and running when the sun comes up.

Yep, I would have been a sled dog.

So I got to experience this magical land called the U.P. this past weekend. That would be the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for anyone who is deft enough to not know what that is. If you live in northern anywhere, you know what the U.P. is. I, unfortunately, had never been there. And man alive, what a happy day it was when I realized I could now join in on conversations about this glorious land! Before I simply said, yeah, I've heard its awesome. Now, I can say with confidence, the U.P. is the bomb. Totally, ridiculously, fantastically awesome. Dream land. This is where you want to spend an extended amount of time if you love the woods and towns where animals out-number people. And where the alaskan husky dogs/puppies run and run and run some more.
Imagine being on trail, back in the woods with 14 dogs pulling an ATV in neutral, during the fall color leaf-changing season.That is where I spent the happiest moments of my weekend. Besides giving some love to the fantastic dogs, watching them run is by far the next best thing. They are amazing! I want 20 of them. Well, actually, I want 40 acres of land in the forest only accessible by 4-wheeler where I can keep 20 of them, to be exact. Yeah, without a doubt, I found that my soul-mate is covered in hair, has a wet-nose, big beautiful eyes, a long wagging tail, and winter running instincts.

My good friend, who graciously took me to the land of woods and dogs, will now have to put up with a girl who is jumping out of her skin to head back... whooops... She definitely should have thought twice about finding me my soulmate... : )

Cheers, U.P., you are are quite spectacular! Can't wait to return to your woodsy ways.

Run fast

I can run again. I can run, and run fast again.

    So, I fractured a bone in my foot during the middle of July, and was in a walking boot for 6 weeks and didn't run for 8 weeks. It was torture. Absolute torture. I tried LOTS of different kinds of exercise, and nothing worked. Nothing felt the same as running. I swam, and biked, and rowed, and tried to keep doing p90x.(Upper-body stuff at least) But I always came to the same conclusion... Running is the ultimate work-out of all time and nothing will ever compare.
    Needless to say, God threw the bone fracture in my path as a way to say, stop taking running for granted. You have two gloriously wonderful feet that will take you many places, but now, you must rest and get to know what life is like WITHOUT two gloriously wonderful feet. Lesson learned. I will never, EVER, take the simple act of running for granted, ever again.
   This morning, I got up and put on my fall weather running garb. (This requires my special felt headband that I got at Target from the little kids section for $2.) I slipped on my vibrams ('toe shoes') and bounded out the door. I proceeded to blast into the early morning darkness and immediately feel 'home'. Really, I felt all the most ridiculously cheesy things that you could come up with, all rolled into one. Free, happy, giddy, peaceful, excited, soothed, flying, strong, brave, fierce, whole. I felt together again. Like all of my thoughts clicked together, into a straight line. Nothing was hounding me in the back of my mind. Nothing was keeping me from experiencing the act of moving one foot in front of the other. I was in the moment. Running with a clear conscience. I was savoring the chilly morning. I wasn't taking it for granted.

   Such a blessing. I know I'm being sappy, but too bad. I will be sappy happy for as long as possible.