Clean it up

So in addition to dry mouth, I’m always combating large pores with blackheads.  Isn’t that the bane of all women? I’d like to think so.  I’ve been getting facials from my friend that is going to school to be an esthetician. Since December, I’ve had about one facial a month.  My skin is changing in amazing ways.  My pores are shrinking and clearing up.  Yay, yay, yay.  Again, I’m also getting better at sticking to a morning and evening ritual of cleansing, toning, and moisturizing my face (I’ve been using Dermalogica) .  I try to do a mask and pore strips once per week.  So  I had watched some YouTube videos and been sold on trying the Korean black charcoal peeling mask 3 step kit.  I’ve done the mask about three times now and been extremely disappointed each time.  I seem to come away with the black mask in my pores and not the black stuff in my pores being removed.  This last time, after pulling the mask off my face and not seeing a single blackhead on the mask, I decided to apply pore strips.  The pore strips came off my face covered in blackheads! 

I don’t think it’s necessarily the product that is the problem.  I’ve used the charcoal pore strips from Biore and found the same thing:  blackened pores with nothing being present on the strip upon being removed.  I think I’ll use the sebum softening serum and the pore after care serum from the kit in combination with regular Biore strips.  My friend, who does my facials, said she also has the same problem with charcoal products.  I don’t know if it is just our skin that doesn’t work well with charcoal or if everyone has this problem.  I just like seeing less and less pores on my nose, cheeks, and chin! Even more exciting, I have another facial this Friday! Hug your esthetician.

Pick up the dang book already!

My reading rate has been dwindling.  I am really into my River in the Sky book.  I’m only on page 50 though.  I need to actually sit down and spend some time reading.  This last week, after working out, I’ve mostly been vegging on the couch, Pinteresting (ugh), and watching T.V. with my parents as they play solitaire on their iPads.  I need to spend less time browsing Pinterest and more time expanding my mind with books. 

So far, in A River in the Sky, the couple, archaeologists in the Middle East, are back at home (Britain) and twiddling their thumbs; all why their son is in Samaria at a dig.  The “country” has called on the couple to go abroad to Palestine and keep an eye on what the Germans are up to in the Ottoman Empire.  They are just about to set out and claim their son from Samaria to join them on their mission.  So again, I'm just getting to the good part.

Here is the best I can do for a map of the region that I am talking about.  You can see why the British were very eager to know what the Germans were up to in the Ottoman Empire at a time when the Ottoman Empire was on the verge of crumbling.  The British already had their interests set up in that region of the Middle East, and in Empire, more is always better.

Moana

It was suggested that I’d really like Moana.  So I sat down long enough to watch it.  It was ridiculously adorable.  Filled with those Disney clichés we all love: you can do anything you put your mind to, women’s power, we have a destiny, nothing can stop us when it is our destiny, it is us that make us who we are and not what others tell us we are like.  It was a cute and funny movie.  It had beautiful imagery and storytelling.  The story of Moana is based off of a Polynesian mythology.

Moana is the chieftain's daughter, set to take over.  Her grandmother has been going on and on about an old legend of the heart of Te Whiti being stolen by Maui and it being lost. When she is young, she is chosen by the ocean.  It parts at her feet and reveals to her the lost heart of Te Whiti.  She tries to tame her inner desire to be out on the seas because she wants to make her father and island proud. As she is about to take over leadership of her island home, the crops begin to fail and the fishing begins to turn up empty… handed (dare I say, empty netted). Her grandmother presents her with the heart and shows her that her destiny is linked to her ancestors’ voyaging spirit.  She takes on the adventure of first finding Maui, the demi-god, and making him return the heart to Te Whiti.  This proves to not be as easy as she had been hoping.  Against the odds, she perseveres.  At times she even wants to give up her destiny for a different one; but realizes that this is her mission and she can’t just give up. Close with Disney happy ending.  The end!

Embrace the Struggle

Ahh! I had this all written and just never ended up posting it last night. I was severely lacking motivation last night.  It took me HOURS to make it to the gym. 

Physical

I have been working out on the regular for about a month now.  I haven’t seen any changes with the scale, but I have had a non-scale victory of noticing my cardio/lung capacity increasing.  I was able to run for 6 minutes straight without taking a break (as of today, Friday, I ran for 15 minutes straight)! EXCITING!  In addition to hitting the gym about 5 days (or more) a week, blending weight lifting, yoga, and cardio, I have been taking the dogs on long bike rides.  The warm weather wave has made it amazing to get out and soak up the sun and blow off the dogs’ cabin fever and mine!  Vitamin D, not from a bottle!  Yay 😊

Relationships

I am working on changing my rather reclusive lifestyle to a little more social.  My dogs keep me pretty tied up.  I love them to death, but my life pretty much revolves around them.  I love cuddling and training and exercising with them.  They just aren’t human companionship.  I am posting on a local website to get a book club started up.  This will do double duty: making me be social sometimes and getting me back to reading on the regular. 

Career

I will be starting my new job SOON!  It is all in the works.  I can’t wait.  Mostly, because I just want the structure of having a job, I’ll be learning new systems, and to be able to pay off my debts!  That is the best part.  And then I can start saving for buying my own home 😊 I have been scoping out some land that is for sale and really decently priced.  Dreams, dreams, and more dreams have been filling my noggin.

Spiritual

I know that struggle brings endurance and character.  I also know that God is faithful; He will bring me through any storms or trials.  I can learn from these hard times and grow in His word and promises.  My God is a big God.  He is an amazing, incomprehensible God. 

Favorite Song(s) of the week:
I've been enjoying my workout/yoga playlist.  Some of my favorite, that help me push through, are Bitch I'm Madonna by Madonna and Yoga by Janelle Monae.  They just get my blood pumping!


Favorite Quote(s) of the week:
May we not turn away from the struggle of the cocoon. - The Truth Project

Me to vet: "Are betas toxic to dogs?  I think my fish jumped out of its tank and I haven't found the body.  I think my dog ate it.  He's pooped a lot this morning already."
Vet: "Not from what I have read, are they toxic to dogs."
Me: Ok.

*Two mornings later, fish swims to the top of the tank!


Favorite thing done this week:
Lots of walks and bike rides in the sun.
Nearly 70 degree weather in mid-February
Teaching lots of yoga

Favorite show/movie of week:
Fear thy Neighbor - very interesting and a little annoying. 

Favorite thing read:
The Donald Trump entry in the Cultural Intellectual Devotional book.
I've also been getting into my "Blind date with a book" book.

Favorite event:
Finding my fish in the tank!  (Seriously, I pulled the conch shell out of the vase and search the sea glass at the bottom and Mara, my fish, was no where to be found).  She just swam right to the top of the tank yesterday morning. 

Most inspired moment:
Feeling strong and fit. 
Raising my face to the sun.
Studying The Truth Project with my DGroup

Thought(s)/Epiphany (ies) of the week:
There may be struggles in this life, but this is simply the changing stage.  We are being made new and changed into something beautiful.


Weirdest dream:
I can't even remember any of my dreams this week. 

He spoke, and so it was

WATCH FIRST

I’ve been really confronted lately with the power of my words.  In addition to this powerful 3 Minute Theology video, I have a devotional on Taming the Tongue.  Talk about CONVICTION!  I tend to be pretty nice and polite with my words, but I also have a viper’s tongue.  I can be cruel and judgmental, harsh and demanding, demeaning and proud, and a braggart and a betrayer of trusts.  It has been a desire of mine to get this out of control tongue under control.  I’ve been adding it to my morning prayers, to place a heavenly guard at my mouth.  It is a Fruit of the Spirit to have self-control, which means I can’t do it on my own.  I know I will still fail from time to time.  And that’s where this amazing thing called GRACE comes into play.  How amazing it is to have a God that is willing to forgive us over and over, even when we keep doing the same stupid things.  Remember those chosen people of the Old Testament, the “stiff-necked people,” we can all just include ourselves in there.  Stiff-necked is such an accurate description of the human spirit and pride.  May our stiff-necks be made more flexible by practicing bowing our head to pray to the Lord of the Universe.  Please watch the 3 Minute Theology video, I am positive it will open your eyes to the importance of words (even far beyond that of appreciation of lexicology and extravagant words).

Yoga and Breath

I have been trying many things for my dry mouth for years.  I recently got TheraBreath to try.  It seems to help with my dry mouth, especially over night.  I feel like it could be better. Having a family history of sinus problems tends to lend itself to mouth breathing at night.  I drink water like it’s going out of style, I’ve tried oil pulling in the past (and loved it, however, I do it in the morning and my mouth tends to feel dry afterward).  I need to work swishing into my nightly and morning schedules a little better.  I’m also going to try and make oil pulling tablets (maybe make a few with turmeric) and try that.  I will report on that as soon as actually get around to doing that.  My dry mouth doesn't bother me throughout the day.  It's mostly that I wake up with the driest mouth and worst morning death breath.  My mouth has that dry, crust covered feeling.  I'm almost desperate for a drink of water as soon as I wake up.  I just know that the dry mouth can cause lots of problems for my teeth.  That, and my propensity to clench and/or grind my teeth when I am highly stressed.  I am wondering if combining tongue scraping and oil pulling prior to brushing and rinsing with TheraBreath after would help. I should probably also investigate if a Breath Right strip might help reduce my mouth breathing at night; therefore, eliminating the need to go through all of these steps.

This last week, I helped a friend move.  She was going to get rid of a wine rack (“I never keep enough wine around to fill this or make it useful, I always drink it right away!”).  I like wine, but I don’t typically collect it and keep it around.  I usually buy it with the intention to drink it soon.  I took it anyways.  When I was bringing it into the house, I was struck by my muse.  It was a little rickety, so I used our hex screw set to find the right fit and tighten up the screws.  It needs a rubber foot added to the bottom of one leg and maybe a paint job.  Those things might have to wait until summer. I might be able to do it this week since it’s been in the 50s and 60s recently.  I found a board in our scrap collection in the garage.  I set the board across the bottom rungs that hold the two opposing sides together.  On top of that, I placed my blocks, strap, towel, mat spray.  Across the rungs at the top, I set my yoga mat.  This keeps my fancy cork mat from I Love Gurus from sitting on the floor and being an open target for a dog to randomly pee on.  I placed this along the one free wall I have in my room.  The plus side is, once I take my mat off, I can easily move the rack out of the way and use the wall space for playing with handstands and other  poses with a wall prop modification.

*Funny side story: I let my Toby boy in and as I was in the bathroom, he peed on the un-cleaned up wine rack.  Figures, I want to use it so I can avoid accidents happening on my mat and he pees on it straight after coming in from peeing.  Since I’ve had it all fixed up, none of the dogs have expressed an interest in it (which is fantastic).

Blind Date

I have about 30 pages left in my Intellectual Devotional: Modern Culture.  It takes longer to read than a novel, just because it is so dense. 

Last Friday, I biked to the library with Titus and picked up a “Blind date with a book,” book.  It came all wrapped in brown paper, with a very brief description of the book; mine was marked as, “Mystery set in Egypt.”  In addition, they gave me a goodie bag.  It had pop corn, tea, hot chocolate, some candies, and chocolates.  What an awesome promotion!  I love the library  😁  In addition, Titus did fantastic waiting outside while I grabbed a book and checked out.  My book turned out to be A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters.  I’ve only managed to get a few pages in, but it already seems right up my alley.  It is set around 1910 with a British aristocratic, intellectual family.  They had been anthropologist in Egypt and their son is now working over in Samaria.  I wonder if it is going to turn out a lot like the Mummy; or maybe, a grown up Mummy.  The son is prone to trouble, which seems very much like the Mummy (And I love the Mummy).

Split

I haven’t been watching a lot of movies recently, but I did manage to watch Split.  I was wanting to watch that movie since I first saw the trailer last summer.   It was an interesting movie.  I really wish there had been more development of the characters.  The main character/focus is Kevin.  He has multiple personalities, 23 to be exact.  One of these personalities kidnaps a set of girls.  The movie then focuses on both the girls trying to escape their confines and the progression of Kevin’s  more shady personalities.  I wish there had been more development of the other personalities.  There’s the weird twist ending, typical of M. Night Shaymalan.  It would also be very interesting if they opened it up for a sequel.  I don’t know how well it would do, but they did leave a cliff-hanger ending that could be developed into a further story. I'm not usually a scary movie person, and I wouldn't exactly say this scared me.  It was more intense action and drama based fear than actually scary (like monsters or make you jump out of your skin scary); definitely not Sixth Sense scary.  I would, however, recommend you watch it at least once.

Jame McAvoy does an amazing job in this movie.  End of story.   

Truth Time

Health: I am back up in weight.  160 again on the scale.  It is very disheartening.  This winter has been pretty darn cold and so I haven't been taking the dogs out so much.  I had to buy another headband wrap for my ears last night. That wasn't what I wanted, but it's all they had at the store and I was desperate. The night before my ears were ringing and aching, making it hard to sleep. My hats just seem to let the wind blow right through and into my ears.  Which then leads to me being sick and miserable and not wanting to take the dogs out for walks.  Trinity, when it's really cold, will do her business and book it back to the house.  It's cute, because it's how I feel about the cold.

Relationships: I'm still feeling pretty lonely.  I'm sure once I start my new job, I'll have lots of new friends and faces and I won't feel so lonely.  I probably won't mind alone time once my job comes around.  I am also thinking of starting up a book club again.  I miss it! 

Career:  I had a massive set back this last month.  I was supposed to start my new job on January 23, well now it's pushed back until March 6.  I am ridiculously bummed.  By March I was supposed to be getting health insurance and having my savings getting bolstered.  The hold-up was my background check from France.  It's honestly a piece of paper with a line through it.  Meaning I didn't do anything wrong and they blocked off the free space so nothing could be added in the blank space. The background check company responsible for finding all of my background information, I guess forgot to do the French one.  Until the company I am starting with reminded them.  Then they sent me a link to request my background check from France.  It was 19 days before I was to start training for my new job.  The request says it takes 2-3 weeks to process the request (if the form, in French, was properly filled out).  That was cutting it close!  Then, the French government doesn't email it, fax it, or overnight.  They slow posted from France.  The company gave me a few days extra (the orientation day and safety instruction days were ones I could make up at a later date, while the other training I could not); but alas, it arrived the following Monday.  I am trying not to be upset or want to sue the pants off the background company (at least for the pay for the 6 weeks of full-time work I would have had from January 23 to March 6). Now I have that background check fully submitted to the company, I retook my DOT drug screening on Tuesday, now I just need to start!

Spiritual: I joined a DGroup (discipleship group) in the Fall of 2015.  It was a great idea.  We've gone through several studies: Hebrews, Revelation, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah.  We are starting one now, called The Truth Project.  It's a DVD lesson/book discussion study and we've only covered one lesson so far.  I was blown away by some of the things.  I never thought of prayer as walking into God's throne room and Him leaning His ear towards me. (*Mind Blown*).  Another thing that was said that hit me in the feels was: our beliefs will dictate our feelings and actions, it is faith and hope that help us overcome
our feelings (fear, anger, sadness, loneliness, etc.).  If I believe that my Almighty God has me and knows all the plans HE has for my life, then why should I fear or be upset when something like a late background check keeps me from doing what I thought I should be.  There is a plan and a purpose to all.

Words Power

So I really like studying lexicology.  I like learning how words and phrases came into being, but it is really concerning when television shows, with unlimited retakes, get sloppy in using phrases and correct word order.  I was watching HGTV's Dream Home 2017 today and the lady talking about the local culture, describing a church from the 18th century, called the windows "glass-stained windows." I don't know what color glass is or how you can stain something with it; because that is how she stated it.  It is stained-glass windows, because the glass is STAINED with color.  Another designer talked about putting art on a wall from "ceiling to floor." It just seems sloppy to me.  I love other languages melding with English, I like phrases developing over time, and morphology of language; but come on!

On the other side of the spectrum, I was reading a document that used the word "albedo."  I had to look this up.  It comes from the Latin word, "albus," which means white.  I kind of geeked that the implications of this would mean Albus Dumbledor was like Gandolf the White.  Anyways, albedo means the whiteness and reflectiveness of the white object.

COOKIES and Tests

So I had the pleasure of going back for my second drug screening today.  My drug screening lapsed because my background check didn't arrive in time; thus, I was unable to start my job at the scheduled time.  So I drove 30 minutes to the clinic and submitted my second sample.  The lady that was taking my sample today was explaining the process and training someone new.  It is definitely interesting having two people stand over your pee and discuss it.  Also, incredibly awkward.

Anyways.  I had found a recipe on...you guessed it, PINTEREST! I made up a batch of Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.  We took some over to a family friend.  The few we had left disappeared!  My mom immediately requested that I make some more.  It took me a few days before I finally got around to it.  This time I made a double batch.  My mom giggled, and said, "so we have enough to last us tonight." I took a plate over to a friend that is eagerly awaiting her baby's arrival; nothing like cookies to soothe that anxious soul when your baby is a week over due!  We still had plenty for our house.  The recipe is really easy to follow.  The first time I made them, I forgot to scoop the dough into balls before refrigeration.  It didn't make it impossible to scoop, but doing it before hand made it a lot easier. 

 

Barefeet in the Sand to Heal the Soul

I am currently making my way through my Cultural Intellectual book.  I am not much for one single page of reading at a time, the way this book is set up.  I love random knowledge and facts, so I like reading this stuff.  I like reading in chunks.  So I'm about halfway through this mountain of knowledge. It's got 7 different categories from politics to music, from sports to literature and film. 

Anyways, I recently read a novel called Barefoot, by Elin Hilderbrand.  I really enjoyed this reading.  I was another gym book exchange pick-up and another one I stayed up all night to finish.  It's really been a while since I've just wanted to dive into books and escape.  It is so much more refreshing than scrolling endlessly through Facebook.  Which, side note, I was trying to stay off Facebook from Monday through Friday and last week was the first time breaking it since the start of the year.  It is bad.  I broke again today.  Excuses, excuses, my phone has been acting up and messenger kicks me out all the time and acts like I just downloaded it.  So to get my messages, I go in and then I get sucked into the vortex.  I just need to not. It really is amazing how much time you have for other things. Back to the book.  It was one of those "gets to your heart" novels. It's a multi-person perspective novel, so you see the story from everyone's point of view.  I like novels that give you the story from many different angles.  It just makes the story feel broader and well-rounded. 


The story is of three ladies that move out to Nantucket for the summer (which I just learned where that is the other day while watching the weather channel...nerd, I know; but it was on at the gym. I also learned where Montauk is located).  Two of the three women, sisters, and owners of the house their family has held on the island for generations.  The third is a friend of the eldest sister who has come to escape the city and some troubling relationship problems.  All of  them are dealing with issues and trying to solve them with "a little Nantucket sand in their shoes." The first day arriving on the island, they meet Josh.  He is going to school to be a writer.  The moment he sees them, he knows there is a story.  His path keeps brushing up against theirs and he eventually becomes the babysitter for the eldest sister's two small boys.  The story continues from there.

Nantucket and Montauk on the map, because I know you wanted to know

Friyay Updates

Favorite Song(s) of the week:
Favorite Quote(s) of the week:
"You have an aggressive need to lick." - vet about my dog as he was licking his head, and ear, and hands, and face 😏😄

Favorite thing done this week:
Puppy cuddles
Making yummy cookies and dinner tonight

Favorite show/movie of week:
Split was really interesting. 

Favorite thing read:
I've been hopping between a couple books.  I really enjoy my intellectual devotional.  I like random trivia knowledge.

Favorite event:
I got a job. I start training tomorrow at 7am!

Most inspired moment:
Yoga and lifting at the gym; feeling strong.

Thought(s)/Epiphany (ies) of the week:
Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming.

Weirdest dream:
I had one where I was three different people; well not different, we were all me, there were just three of us.  I was told I couldn't leave the house or I'd never be let back.  So I went back into the house instead of leaving.  I (all three of me, one of whom was mentally handicapped) went to the bedroom, the man that had told me I couldn't leave was apparently my partner/husband.  We all crawled into bed, but I was in a single bed adjacent to him and my other two selves. Then the light over me blew up!  He was going to try and fix it/stop it, but couldn't in time.  So then I was picking these long slivers of glass out of my feet.  End of dream.  SO WEIRD!

Juggling Act

Lately, I have felt like my life has been a juggling act.  One performed by a very poor juggler.  I seem to find a rhythm and think things are going well and then BAM! All the balls come crashing down on my face.  I was supposed to start a new job last Monday, but the background check company didn't submit my French background check until to late; it arrived this Monday.  BAM.  My finances are a mess. BAM.  It always seems to be one thing after another with the dogs needing to see the vet. BAM.  Workout multiple times a week, yet gain 10 more pounds. BAM. I'm trying my best, but it never seems to be good enough.  I keep waking up every morning, just putting one foot in front of the other.  I know someday it will all make sense and get better.  Heck, I want to go back to school to be a life coach and counselor , so I guess I better know what it's like to be kicked down by life.  Even if the rest of my life is like this, I am secure in the promise that what is coming next is way better than this life.  God's got a plan, I just need to trust.  I will praise him for my trials and my successes.  All of them are making me a better person.
These pities are keeping me going and give me a good reason to keep waking up.  They give me a reason to smile and laugh every day.  I love them so much!

 

Playing Twister with the Truth

It's so hard in these crazy times to not have something to say. I am slightly concerned that all this drama at the forefront of the news is a cover-up for something going on behind the scenes.  A nice slight of hand trick to keep us looking the other way.

It really is scary to see people twist and turn things to say/show exactly what they want to believe.  These are not "alternative facts," my friends.  Refugees and veteran care shouldn't have to be an either/or when billion dollar planes and wars continue and we suddenly seem to have money to commence building our "huge" wall.  Today I read something, written by a woman, saying other women were disrespectful for demanding equal pay because she didn't mind making less than her husband.  Her husband did manual labor while she was a nurse.  Equal pay for women is not that every man and woman make the same despite what career field in which they were working.  It is if I, a woman, have the same job, started at the same time, and my performance is equal to my male contemporary, we should be paid the same wages.  Not making a fraction of what my male coworker is making; even if that fraction is 9/10.  Don't change the context and don't say others are being disrespectful when stating that they deserve to be treated fairly.  I was never offended or jealous of my husband making more than me when I worked as a hostess and he was the chef.  I know he was in the kitchen busting his butt to make the most delicious and beautiful sushi I have ever seen.  My job was to smile, seat people, and wipe soy sauce off the menus.  But I would expect if he started the same season as I did as a hostess, that he'd be making the same as I did a night. 

I also saw a clip of someone calling into a show to ask why America didn't/couldn't vet Puerto Rican people coming into the United States.  IT'S BECAUSE IT IS PART OF THE UNITED STATES.  Seriously people! I admit that I have been ignorant in the past, am now, and will be in the future; however, there is this thing called RESEARCH!  Do some.  Learn.  Ask questions.  The only problem will be that "alternative facts" may become the truth in history.

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." - Matthew 7:12.  I wish as many people who claim to be "Christian" would follow this rule from the Bible.  I was devastated to see someone post that they have actually become scared to practice Islam in public because America is the land of religious freedom, only for Christians.  I am a Christian and I love America for our diversity and freedoms to practice whatever religion we choose. Christians are supposed to concern ourselves with changing hearts with forgiveness, mercy, and love; not judgment and forcing laws into place to try to remake paradise on earth.  In all you do, do it was love and kindness.