fabulous friday video goodness—mumford & sons

Accordion.

Steel guitar [I think].

Incredible lyrics.

Please to enjoy Mumford & Sons goodness.



In these bodies we will live
In these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love
You invest your life

thankful on a—what the heck it's friday already!?

TIME FLIES. And folks, I have so much to do before I leave for TWO WEEKS OF VACATION on Monday. Really, I shouldn't even be writing this. I should be printing out documents for Board packets and sorting through my inbox, then I have to send this massive email [which still needs some edits btw], and don't even get me started on all the qualitative data I've got to quantify. And that's just today at work. WHEW. Why isn't the coffee ready yet?

If I'm so busy, why the blog? Because you gotta pause. Because I have to pause. I have to stop, close my eyes, and take a breath. Otherwise I will go crazy. So this is my pause.

This Thursday Friday, I am thankful.

1. For an empty office so I can turn the music up and get stuff done in my own crazy way.
2. A run with a friend after work that is guaranteed to clear my head and bring me down from a ten to a two.
3. Cool mornings and warm summer evenings.
4. Homemade sushi and honesty.
5. The familiarity of home away from home.
6. Thirteen days away from the office...the last time I did that I was unemployed.
7. Getting to see Nish in person. [Squee!]
8. The beeping of the office coffee pot, it's not french press, but it's found its way into my heart.
9. A southern feast cooked for family.
10. Running eight miles when I didn't think I'd make it more than five.
11. His patience with me when I make time for everything and everyone but Him.

Much love friends. Now it's time to go kick this to list apart!

CB10: one week

Here I am, all set to write about how there's one week until CB10 and now I have Bare Naked Ladies "One Week" stuck in my head. Whatever.

One week until:

• Speed Scrabble
• Ten Thousand
• Sleepy Monk Coffee consumed AT their coffee shop
• Beach gifts
• Toe Rock
• Gin yer hert be cauld I canna warm ye
• Alright, everyone grab four pieces of wood
• Laughing until we cry
• Crying until we laugh
• Three generations
• Jokes years in the making
• The familiarity of a little twin bed shoved close to the window

One week until Windwhistle.*


[Pronounced Whhindwhhistle.]

encouragement

After yesterday's mini-meltdown about not being able to run the half and being worried I wouldn't be ready to run the full, I was in the midst of venting to Kathy when I got an email from Kelly on dailymile*. If I was still on the fence about running the full, that email clinched it for me. Here were a few of Kelly's reasons:

1. You still have 12 weeks! That's plenty of time to get up to speed. I can help you with any training questions you have. We can also look for a training group in Portland.
2. There is no foul in walking. My mom did her first marathon walking the entire thing. She was the last to finish, but came in with tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face. We can come up with a plan so that you walk every 15 minutes and still finish this thing.
3. Run to the nearest bar after 13.1. If you're not feeling good after 13.1, let's share a pint at the nearest bar. No pressure!
4. We'll be there to help you through it.
5. It's gonna feel really good to cross that finish line. One of the best feelings in the world.

He also suggested running in costume, but all I can think is how shrivelly it would feel to run in something other than running clothes. :)

Portland Marathon, here I come.

*Shameless plug: if you're not on dailymile yet, you need to fix that, stat!

let's do this

Hip issues early on in my marathon training slowed me way down. "No worries," I thought. If worse comes to worst I'll just run the half.

Well, worse seemed to come to worst at my last physical therapy appointment when my PT said he was concerned about me being prepared for the marathon in October. I was discouraged, but not all that surprised.

I kept my chin up and gave myself a few weeks to mull things over. Then last week I decided I would email the race director and ask about running the half, certain it wouldn't be an issue. It is an issue. The half is sold out. This leaves me with the following options:

1. Blow off the race.
2. Take a DNF.
3. Just go for it.

My first reaction was to do #1. My second thought was a slightly defeated, "yeah, I guess I could DNF...." My third and final thought was, "LET'S DO THIS."

[Image is from Threadless]

CB10: sunsets

When you look back through old photos of our yearly trips to the beach, there are always, ALWAYS pictures of the sunset. I would venture to guess that there are hundreds of pictures of the sunset, all taken from within five feet of each other. And every year we take more. Because every year the sunsets are beautiful and different from the ones, not just that previous year, but different even from the previous day's sunset. Just like those sunsets are different each year, our trip to the beach is different each year, even though each year we stay in the same house, sleep in the same beds, enjoy fires in the same fireplace, and play endless games of 10,000 and Speed Scrabble at the same table.



E I G H T E E N D A Y S

CB10: the countdown is ON

Dudes. It is almost here. What's almost here?? The BEACH. That is what is almost here. Only 19 days.

N I N E T E E N D A Y S.

fabulous friday video goodness

After a ridiculously amazing hike along the Dipsea trail, beers on the beach, and dinner at the Sand Dollar in Stinson Beach, we wound our way back to San Francisco along the 101. All five of us, Kathy, Kelly, Ben, Tess and I played the "let's all share our favorite YouTube videos" game. As a result of that game, I've had the Local Natives acoustic cover of "Cecelia," by Simon and Garfunkle, stuck in my head almost all week. It's the perfect summer song. I encourage you to grab something pale and delicious, lemonade, a Corona, plop your feet in some water, and enjoy...but maybe keep the computer away from the water. I don't know if you've heard, but water and electronics don't really mix.

thankful on a really hot thursday

I know even I, the perpetual lover of rain, got to a point just a few weeks ago where I was tired of the consistent precipitation. And I knew this would happen. I knew that as soon as it got above 85 degrees I would start complaining. But you know what? This is a THANKFUL day, so that is what I am choosing to focus on.

1. A long weekend away with the lovely Kathy Simpson. It was long overdue and every minute was absolutely wonderful.
2. Strapless dresses and strappy sandals.
3. Ice cubes and ice cold water.
4. Living water that never runs dry.
5. The proximity of my house to a fantastic gelato place.
6. My uncle Peter has gained four pounds even as he is in the midst of chemo and radiation for esophageal cancer.
7. Good Southern comfort food.
8. A good summer read.
9. My fourth Avett Brothers concert NEXT weekend!
10. His thoughts are not my thoughts and His ways are not my ways.

I'm off to stick my toes (and the rest of me) in a tub full of cold water and watch a movie. Loves.

thankful on a thursday—exceeding expectations

I expected this week to be overwhelming. I expected it to be too much. I thought the days would be too long and the nights too short. My expectations were, for the most part, met.

What I didn't expect was that this week would be so good. I didn't expect encouragement from unexpected places. I didn't expect that I would love my quiet mornings in the office before everyone else arrived as much as I do. I didn't expect to enjoy running this week.

This week has been so much more than what I thought it would be, and it's not over yet.

This week, I am so very thankful.

1. For quiet mornings and fresh, hot cups of coffee.
2. The gift of friendship, and all the many forms it takes.
3. A WHOLE weekend in San Francisco with Kathy.
4. A reminder that sometimes it is the storms in life that He uses to save us.
5. The softening of my heart toward things I'd promised myself I'd never do...like baking pies.
6. Fresh berries from local farms.
7. Running with the One who gives me the ability to run in the first place.
8. New jeans.
9. Celebrating with friends as they commit their lives to one another.
10. The smell of the salty air on a sunny summer day on the Oregon Coast.

simpsoka

It's the second semester of my freshman year of college, first week of classes. I'm leaving class, walking side by side with a girl I've just met. I'm intrigued by her intelligence, her independence, and the spark that ignites when two people just get each other.

Fast forward a year and a half. It's the end of my second semester of sophomore year. School is about to start, and this same friend and I are headed to our respective homes for the summer, me to Vancouver and she to Alaska. Inspired by Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (yes, really), she suggests that instead of sharing pants we mail journals back and forth all summer. This remains on of my favorite highlights of our friendship to this day.

Another year and a half goes by and we are roommates living in three-quarters of a garage that's been converted into a small house. There are Saturday morning breakfasts, movie nights, road trips, quote boards, and memories that have faded into the fabric of friendship only remembered in the familiarity that exists between us.

After only six months of being roommates, she moves. Then she moves again, and I move where she is. We spend a summer hiking, biking and laughing our way through Skagway, Alaska and its surrounding wonders. And then summer is over.

Real life sets in. She moves. I move. I visit. She moves. I move. I move. She moves. I move. She moves. I move. She moves. And all of a sudden it's been several years since we've seen each other. How does life move so quickly? It doesn't feel like years because we talk every week. But when I think about the last time I SAW her laugh, not just imagined it as she tells me she's laughing over gchat, the time becomes evident.

On Friday the wait will be over. It will no longer be years since we've seen each other, and I cannot wait.

fabulous friday video goodness

I was all set to post a different video today. And then Nish reminded me just how much I loved...Blink182. Those boys with their potty jokes, their tattoos (mmm...tattoos...) and their piercings, playing their sugary bubblegum punk. How I loved them. So in honor of the past, here is Blink182.

thankful on a thursday—under the wire

Here it is, only 39 minutes from Friday, and my TOAT post is still unwritten. Because there's so little to be thankful for? Not so much, see last week's post on all of the busy in my life for more information.

Friends, here is my list of things for which I am thankful:

1. Early morning runs marked by sunshine and a cool breeze/
2. Deep belly laughs.
3. Wisdom and love imparted by cousinsisterbestfriends.
4. A weekend away at the cabin with family.
5. Learning to trust that He who began a good work in me is faithful to complete it.
6. The anticipation of a more than long overdue weekend in San Francisco.
7. That first glass of cold water after a run.
8. The process of reconciliation.
9. The high school students who brighten up my Wednesday nights with their laughter and love.
10. Opportunities to go big or go home.

Good night my friends.

fabulous friday video goodness

I discovered this video when I was over in Scotland. Several things to notice:

• The size of the cell phone you see around 1:50
• The awesome dance moves
• Eyebrows [you'll know them when you see them]

I only have one question for you...why can't we dig each other and just hang?

thankful on a thursday—a little crazy

Life these days feels a little crazy. I feel like I have so many different things to manage, and I never sit down and organize all of them at once. I'll be in the midst of putting together a to do list at work, and something on my list will remind me of an email I meant to send to a friend. So I'll open up my email and get half a sentence in before I realized I've abandoned my previous task of organizing my to do list.

A few years ago someone asked me how I kept myself organized, where was my calendar? I smiled, tapped my index finger against my temple, and said, "it's all up here." Now, I'm not at the point where life is so crazy that I'm forgetting what I'm doing when and with whom...but I am at the point where my schedule is a little more than crazy. My homebody self is not getting enough time at home, while my extroverted that-sounds-awesome-lets-do-that! self is getting PLENTY of time out with others.

I get that it's MY CHOICE to say yes or no to spending time with friends. No one is forcing me out of the house. Maybe the problem is reminding myself to stay in. Self-imposed lock-ins, or designated nights each week that I'm always home? That seems a little too rule oriented for my taste.

It's not so much about rules as it is making sure I make time for the things that, regardless of how crazy life gets, keep me grounded. It's making sure I have time to just sit with my Bible and my journal, without anything else to distract me—this is why I no longer attempt to read my Bible during lunch at work or on the bus. It is taking time to be alone, in my room, on a run, but to just be alone without music, TV or a book to distract me.

1. The peace and quiet that accompanies every run.
2. Library books.
3. A handwritten card full of love and encouragement.
4. The familiar ache in my quads as I climb the stairs, a byproduct of running regularly.
5. Hood strawberries fresh from the farmers' market.
6. The smell of coffee as I prepare to take my first sip of the day.
7. My nephew Jonah Bear, who is about to turn ONE.
8. Homemade pie, lemon meringue to be precise.
9. The light in the kitchen, early in the morning, and the inevitable sigh of relief I breathe as I sit down.
10. Last, but CERTAINLY NOT least,Kathleen Alice Simpson, who was born 28 years and one day ago today.

remember

"Remember who you are and what you stand for."

My grandpa, Pop, would say that to me, and the rest of his grand kids, as he and my grandma, Mamie, would hug us goodbye. It's not as easy as it sounds, remembering who I am and what I stand for. The enemy is crafty, with schemes and enticements for each and every day. But more and more I am learning to stand in who I am, who I am created to be. I am learning that just because the waves crash against me, doesn't mean I will be knocked off my feet. I am learning that when the storms rage I can lean against my Rock.

fabulous friday video goodness—BONUS AVETTS

A little bonus Avett Goodness via the always awesome Joe Kwon[the cellist for The Avett Brothers]. A lovely Friday night to you all, and please to enjoy.

The Fall - The Avett Brothers feat. G. Love from Joseph Kwon on Vimeo.

fabulous friday video goodness—AVETTS

It's been a while since I've posted any Avett Goodness here, but it's not because these brothers have been far from my heart. No, no. Check out this video of their song, "Tear Down the House". It's one of my favorites, and this video makes it even more so.



PS. Anyone around this summer and want to go see them at Edgefield??

thankful on a thursday—friendship

I cannot believe all the amazing people God's put in my life. Tonight, sitting at my kitchen table with a little Jack Johnson on in the back ground, I am overwhelmed by the women and even a few men I get to be in community with on a regular basis. The more time I spend with people, the more I KNOW that we are not meant to be alone. We are not meant to live independently of one another.

We are meant to be in one another's lives. Not just when the house is clean and there's a delicious meal to be shared, but when the house is a mess and I haven't showered in three days, and I'm on the verge of an emotional breakdown. That is when it is the MOST important to open the door and let my friends in.

It can be SO DIFFICULT to let people into my mess, but it is so much better than the alternative, which is loneliness and fear. The fear that led me to plop down in the middle of the mess, certain that life would always look and feel like this, dissipates when another person sits in that place with me, with YOU, with us. Why miss out on that in an attempt to appear perfect, to try and prove that I've got it all figured out? THERE IS NO GOOD REASON TO DO THAT. Yeah, that was a rhetorical question, but I answered it anyway because I want to be VERY CLEAR that I am learning that community exists because God, in all His infinite wisdom, knew that we couldn't make it through the mess alone.

What about you, is it easy to let people in? Or are you slower to let others in?

1. FRIENDSHIP
2. Handwritten cards and letters
3. The anticipation of a Friday evening run that will push my running limits
4. The Wednesday Farmer's Market
5. Rodeo
6. Laughter with friends
7. The joy that comes when we share and bear each others burdens
8. Stove popped pop corn with kale chips and garlic
9. Celebrating with friends
10. Coffee dates with friends that cover the mundane, the profound, and everything in between
11. The anticipation in the four minutes before the the first cup of french press

fabulous friday video goodness

First it was the Single Ladies cover. And now...NOW POMPLAMOOSE DOES GAGA!

Please to enjoy this Fabulous Friday Video Goodness.