Signs of Life

They're everywhere, but some are subtle. This is our affectionately termed "Sideshow Bob" fern. It turned all dry and crumbly about mid-December. Look what I found popping up a couple days ago:

The next picture is from the front of our house - they just look like a bunch of sticks...


...but this summer you better believe I'll be loving the blooms of the crepe myrtles and making blackberry pie :)

North Haven Gardens

I LOVE my local gardening store, North Haven Gardens! They've got everything I need for my garden and everyone who works there is amazingly knowledgeable on everything from bulbs to tomatoes to fairy gardens and compost. I wanted to show y'all their website, which is really good about posting when to plant what. If y'all are looking to get started in a garden, I'd recommend you find your local awesome garden shop and talk to someone :)

and SPEAKING of seasonal veggies, I just found this link on the Real Simple website - it not only shows you what fruit and veg are in season, but how to cook it!  Some of y'all have asked me about incorporating more veggies in your meals, and I think this is an awesome tool to get you started.

all kinds of fun things happening in the garden

All better!

This won't be a long post, just letting y'all know that I'm feeling a lot less like death today :) 

As soon as it warms up I'm going to go on an easy jog - this and last week I was to jog 30 minutes 4x a week. I am excited 'cos next week I start concentrating on going miles instead of minutes. I'm also headed to the doctor today to get some thyroid tests done. I'm the kind of person who used to get ooged out by having to get blood drawn, and then I started my music therapy program where I had to get poked for all kinds of random vaccines. Now I'm used to it, but I have to watch the nurse intently or else I get woozy.

I'm just one stomach flu away from my ideal weight.

I wish.

So last night, K made the most amazing Mediterranean feast for me, my sis, and my niece. Strangely, I conked out for 45 minutes after the fam left, and then started feeling like tossing my cookies would be imminent. NOT a fun feeling. Mind you, I hate throwing up so much that I will do dang near everything to keep from doing it. So, the Hubs tucked me into bed and I prayed that I would not be LATER praying to the porcelain.

12:50am - I woke up, trotted into the bathroom and tossed every single cookie I had. Seeing as some barf had made it onto the ends of my pajama pants, I took a shower, then crawled, defeated, back into bed.

3:00am - Woke up AGAIN, thinking of spinach, and barfed.

Now, any of you reading out there who are prone to taking the smallest sniffle as pregnancy signs, please don't freak out. This week I hung out with a kid who definitely had a stomach bug, and then I went to my friend's kindergarten class, where 7(?) kids had been out the last week for stomach flu. I have spent most of my time these past few months alone, in my office, procrastinating on writing my thesis. You do the math.

This morning, I slept 'til 11 and have spent most of my time on the couch, re-reading the February issue of Domino, may she rest in peace, and watching Walk the Line. Hubs fetched me some goodies like vitamin water, crackers, ginger tea, bananas, and chicken and stars! soup but all I've been able to handle is vitamin water, tea, and just now I'm trying my luck on a banana.

Sigh. This is what you get when you say, "Gosh, it's been so long since I've been sick..."

shout out

BIG MEGA THANKS to Daina and Joanna for donating to the Lance Armstrong Foundation :) You ladies are amazing...I'm working on proper thank you notes, so as soon as I get those designed, I'll thank you properly but for now this will have to do! Thank you so much for supporting me and supporting the cause!

love,
christina

Passion & Purity

I apologize for the anger-ball-ness of the previous post. I had just had one of those experiences that make one regret putting so much time and effort into a friendship. I hate to make this blanket statement, but guys can be so blind to the fact that although they may need to make proclamations, said proclamations can be rather hurtful to a girl.  Things like, "You were there for when I needed you for certain things like cheering me on or someone to talk to but I don't need those things any more," or a more distant version, "I just don't have a place for you in my life any more." Somehow, guys (exes, to be specific) seem to think that instead of just gracefully letting a relationship go, they have to say these things that they think is the right thing to do, to do right by their soon-to-be wife/fiancee, but it is hurtful to hear. Be a gentleman, for goodness' sake, and just let the emotional and physical distance do its work. We are smart ladies, we don't need it to be spelled out for us. And besides, spelling it out in that way will ensure that you will get something thrown at you.

I don't know how I came by Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot in my early teens, but it is one of few books I have read and re-read throughout the years. It speaks of virginity and restraint that one must uphold in a dating relationship and yeah I know I'm married and all now, but I also think that Elisabeth and Jim's courtship and marriage story is a beautiful, romantic one. Seriously, if you can get your hands on anything written by either Elisabeth or Jim Elliot, you will not be disappointed. Even now, her words and the Word in it continue to be relevant.

Anyway, I read a passage today that really spoke to me...Elisabeth received a letter from a woman who had met an amazing guy who "had walked into her life, given her every reason to believe he was crazy about her, then drifted off into someone else's life. He had the chutzpah to come back from time to time to tell her how his new girl was "filling voids" in his life which no one else had ever filled. (What rubbish, I thought, what ails a man who would do such a thing? WHat ails the woman who will listen?)" then then Elisabeth includes verbatim the letter from the woman and is as follows, "The Lord has brought about growth in me through knowing him, something I cannot regret, though there have been times when I wished I'd never met him. I have to give him to the Lord regularly...I've told the Lord I want to be an obedient servant, and He shot back, 'And are you willing to face grief and pain or whatever it takes for Me to make you that?' Even though I felt unable, I said, 'what choice do I have? I know too much to drop the ball now. There's no turning back.' I'd belying if I said I wasn't afraid. But He has brought me this far and already my joy is unspeakable."

Even now, typing those words, different things stand out to me. I am admittedly not very good at letting things go, especially in the areas of past hurt relationships. It hurts me deeply to hear others put those relationships in a box so that they may move on, when I have a hard time cramming all that very real emotional into a box. Or in some cases, burning that box. Relationships that were not only romantic but even family relationships, friendships. I am learning though that there is a difference between letting one's habits be formed and continued because of those relationships or learning from them, and giving them over to God. It's not easy, and if anyone out there has figured it out or has walked a similar path, how have you triumphed over it?

Family Secret

If you know me, you know my mom's been sick for a long time. The fact that she's alive is really honestly a daily blessing. Part of her recovery came when she visited a health clinic for 3 weeks, where she worked on her physical and mental well-being. When she returned, she had this zen-ness about her that was enviable. That and she was vegan. And skinny. It was amazing. 

So one night we went out to dinner in Austin at Casa de Luz with my brother and my cousin and we sat down in this little outdoor pagoda and she told us a story.

When she was at the health clinic, she had the opportunity to be treated by the most educated, talented doctors with the most state-of-the-art equipment. One such doctor was a therapist, a graduate of Harvard. During a session, she talked about her life, her joys, her despairs, about relationships that had really pissed her off and things that had not gone her way. When she was done, she sat back, and the doctor looked at her with his hands crossed and said, "Do you know what I do when things get to be too much?" My mother leaned in, hanging on his every word. "I take my hands like this, and I pretend like I'm drawing a bubble around it and then I flick it and say..." She leaned closer.

And Mr. Harvard Educated said, "F*#@ it."

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.

Saving Thyme...

So there we were, making homemade Pho when suddenly Kyle said, "Op...the sprinkler's on....you'd better go save your thyme..." What ensued was me dropping my cell phone, scrambling into the yard in my socks and pjs, and rescuing a plant while getting sprayed in the face with a sprinkler. See, I thought that the sprinkler I dumped dirt onto had a cap on it. Not the case in the least bit.

Is It Spring Yet?

Above are my starting seeds for basil, jalepeños, two kinds of tomatoes, green peppers, lettuce, spinach, and poblano peppers.
I decided to try more with flowers this year - and I cannot help but repurpose stuff. This clementine box was about to get tossed, so I put rocks on the bottom and filled it up with soil and compost, then added flower seeds! Bachelor buttons, marigolds (good for pest repellant),  and multlicolored cosmos. I have never been particularly successful with flowers, but I am committed to being persistent with them.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Team Livestrong 2009!

SO EXCITED!!!

I have been accepted to be part of Team Livestrong 2009 for the Austin Triathlon! This means a lot to me because waaaay back at the beginning of last year I said that I wanted to get fit and do races to raise money for cancer research and now I finally get to realize that dream! 

Why cancer? Well, everyone knows that cancer sucks, but it strikes really close to home for me. In college, I was entertainment chair for UT's chapter of Colleges Against Cancer, which put on a Relay for Life event at the tower. It was all-night fun and insanity and we loved every minute of it. During a CAC meeting, the president of the organization asked us each to get up and say why we wanted to be a part of this. I was caught off-guard and am usually scared stiff at moments like this, but then I started listing off the people I knew who had had cancer:

My mom - thyroid, when I was born. My dad - skin cancer from spending countless summers in the Texas sun. My paternal grandmother - did not get the care she needed for colon and lung cancer because she was in a Eastern religious cult in California. My maternal grandfather - I watched as the ravages of pancreatic cancer took him away. My friends Chris and Joanna who got the cancer diagnosis the very same summer.

My sister and her husband do bike rides supporting AIDS research, and while I've always been interested in the thought of racing for a cause, nothing resonated so deeply with me as the fight against cancer. Just this morning during my run I thought of my grandmother cheering me on as I am finally overcoming my hatred of running so I can do things like this because seriously folks, as much as I have a deep joy when it comes to swimming and biking, I HATE running. I have to work very, very hard at it to not hate every second of life while doing it. However, when I start slowing my pace and thinking that I can't go on I know it sounds cheesy but I think about everything that the people who've dealt with cancer have been through and it keeps my feet hitting the ground.

So anyway, in thinking about the races I want to do this year, I wanted to do the Danskin again and then do another one. Friends had done the Austin Triathlon last year, so when perusing the site, I found this link, and was totally inspired so I applied and was accepted!!! Hooray!  I am excited because this is the first year they have added triathlons to their list of supported races! I have to turn in my acceptance and I have to raise about $1000, so there will be updates soon regarding all that business. I hope you'll keep reading as I start this great adventure!

Love!

Christina

eating healthy in the recession

on a friend's blog I found this article.

I can only speak from what I know, so here goes. Buying veggies that are in season, seeking out farmers markets, and cutting down on meat consumption saves you a LOT of money. I actually wish I had become more veggie loving when I was in college because I would have saved a TON of money. 

I thought the most interesting part of that article was in the last sentence, "today we aren't necessarily cutting back on the quantity we eat, but the quality." I think that's a shame, really. I do know that we as Americans just flat out eat way too much and people are unwilling to give up things that are bad for them just because they love them. For example, I read in Vegetarian Times about vegetarians who don't eat enough veggies. It happens. So, a good fix is that if you love pasta, and you're going to cook 2 cups of it, why not substitute 1 cup of it with say, zucchini? You're still getting the same amount of food, less calories, and it's a way healthier option.

Workout update

Well, this week started the run 25 minutes, walk 5 minutes segment of my Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer book. I've been looking forward to this week for a few days, especially in the middle of my third day of run 20 minutes/walk 5 minutes REPEAT workout last week. I've also been to Yoga 10 out of the last 14 days (I just cannot pry myself away from my house/husband on the weekends. Maybe next weekend.) so I feel great. I pulled on my troublesome jeans last night and they even fit a little different...not so much looser but just...different. 

The Danskin info finally came out and it's in Austin on June 7th! That means I'll be triathaloning in 117 days! I need to also decide if I want to do another sprint or do an olympic this year. I think really even though I said I would oly this year, I would like to do two sprints and then do an olympic next year. As this is only my second year and I haven't started the bike or swim training yet (pending new tires and a place to swim) I think I would like to take it easy, train solidly for two sprint tris.

Spring Fever

After months of the weather being dreary and chilly, we saw 70-75F this weekend, and I swear, it feels like I've just woken up from a very long nap.

I have been a busy little bee!  First, check out my sweet little workspace in the office :)

Next we go out into the garden...I expanded it so now it's about 7' x 7'. It only took shoveling out the grass (ugh), 1 trip to the garden center, 2 trips to Home Depot Richardson and 1 trip to Home Depot Plano, 20 pavers, 7 bags of topsoil, 5 bags of compost and 2 bags of Humax. Right now I've got Nasturium and Violas (pictured below), which are both edible flowers. I planted them in the shadier section of the garden, hopefully they'll be happier there. I also started seeds for spinach and lettuce for the cooler parts. The sunny spots are reserved for the green peppers, poblanos, jalepeños, cherry tomatoes and Brandywine tomatoes that I started seeds for today. 

Running Playlist

Zingy - Aksent

Single Ladies - Beyonce

Forever - Chris Brown

Shake Some Action - Cracker

I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness

Tambourine - Eve

Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand

Faith - George Michael

You and I Both - Jason Mraz

I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

The Dynamo of Volition - Jason Mraz

Leavin' - Jesse McCartney

Cold Hard Bitch - Jet

Gonna Get What You Need - Jet

Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet

Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat World

Love Lockdown - Kanye

Somebody Told Me - The Killers

All These Things That I've Done - The Killers

Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon

Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall

Change - Lightning Seeds

Push - Madonna

Sunday Morning - Maroon 5

Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson

The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson

Here It Goes Again - Ok Go

You're So Damn Hot - Ok Go

Can't Stop - Ozomatli

Take On Me - Reel Big Fish

Creator - Santogold

Overdrivin' the Mic - South Austin Jug Band

Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Stevie Wonder

We Are Young - Supergrass

Live Your Life - T.I. & Rihanna

That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

True Story.

From this site. Wildly appropriate. 

Did I just say that? Darn you, Carnochan.

Blooming late sucks.

I don't know what it was, I woke up yesterday morning thinking about everyone I know, how they worked so hard to get where they are in life - my mom from government housing in Laredo to the first to graduate from UT in our family, my dad from a farm in Memphis constantly reinventing himself as a businessman, my siblings all pursuing their dreams and taking decades to get there, everything. So, I decided to quit blaming my work ethic on anything else and decided to see what would happen if I got back to working hard to get where I want to be. After being in school for so long, it's been tough for me to find that inner oomph to get me going, but at least I know it's in there, and I need to foster it.

In talking to my sweet friend Alina the other day, we came up with a good analogy, since I'm training for the triathlons and doing this crazy 60 day yoga challenge where you go every day...more on that later. We compared it to spending daily time in the Word and how sometimes it's awesome and you feel refreshed and sometimes it feels more like a chore, but that doesn't mean you don't go back to it every single day, just as in running and yoga you know that the daily diligence is leading to something much greater. Same goes for working hard for something you want. I would be ungrateful if I didn't put all of my heart and soul into finishing my degree and finding a job because I am blessed to be pursuing my dream job.  So yeah. Go team.