First 5K

Last week I didn't post too often.  I was running more than usual to prepare for my first 5K last Saturday.  The weekend started out with a bang!  I left work Friday slightly early to get my brakes checked.  The mechanic comes out and tells me I need front and back brakes, which I figured.  Then he tries to tell me it will be $437.  No, thank you!  That just seems too much, so I thought I would consult with my Daddy about the price before the service was performed.  (Even though I hate to ask my Daddy anything, because he is what people like to call a "know it all".)  After the consult with the father, decided to hold off until the next time I go home.  Funny, they usually price a different quote to a 6'4, 300 lb. man.  I wonder why? ;)

I took the brake quote as a bad omen for the weekend.  I went home and checked the weather for my run Saturday and it was a 60% percent chance of rain! Ugh! However, I went to bed early in hopes that the rain would hold out.  It did and it turned  out to be a pretty day for the most part Saturday.

I must say I was pretty proud of myself Saturday morning.  I ran the whole time and did not come in last place.  There were quite a few people in front of me, but I was still excited I completed it!  I started running several months back, when my ex-boyfriend started training for a half marathon.  I never exercise, other than walking my dog, and I thought it would be good for me.  I have been blessed to have a tall and thin frame, but I thought a little exercise would give me some more energy.  I chose a couch to 5K program and started running.  When I first started, I couldn't even run a minute without huffing and puffing.  I had no endurance at all.  I have to say these programs really work.  Now I run about 30-45 minutes 3 times a week no problem all.  I used a program from Cool Running.  I think it is the original one.

I never thought I would like running, but I actually do.  I worry, though I try not to, about stuff that doesn't amount to a hill of beans.  When you are running, you don't think about anything, but your goal.  It is like your mind is a complete blank, no worries.  Now will I ever run a marathon?  Probably not, but I will continue running?  Definitely, I am already thinking about running another race next month. 

After I started running I decided to buy a good pair of shoes.  I went to buy some and fell in love with an Adidas pair; however, they were a too expensive for my liking.  I decided to go with a pair of Brooks running shoes, because they were so light on my feet and I haven't been disappointed. These are my shoes, the Ghost 4.  I got mine at DSW and they were less expensive than they are on their website.

I also broke down and got a good watch, even though I haven't quite figured out how to use it yet! Good thing it is cute, because I am beginning to wonder if I will ever learn how to use it... It is a Sportline watch and I got it a Dick's Sporting Goods.  It was a little pricey, but I had an old gift card, so it didn't turn out to be too bad.

  

                                              photo source:  http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/

Overall, relaxing weekend which also included an afternoon at Veterans Park with Lucy, a pedicure and dinner with a good friend, church, and a delicious brunch of shrimp and grits with my brother.  I also think there was a football game?  :)

I ended up trying out a new church Sunday.  I am a gyspy when it comes to church, always going to different ones.  I always think it is interesting to see how others worship.  However, I decided to go to a Methodist church, the denomination I grew up in.  I haven't been to a Methodist church in a while and I forgot they say the Lord's Prayer after the preacher prays. One of the first prayers I learned growing up in church.

Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

This Should be Your Playlist: Ray Lamontagne

Mr. Lamontagne could sing to me all day and night.  You could pick his voice out of a crowd.  His album "Trouble" is one of my favorite albums ever.  Every single song on it is great; however, I love all his music.  There is a story, that I can't live down, where I cussed my brother out, because he would not quit complaining during a Ray Lamontagne set at a musical festival.  I don't like people talking when Ray is singing. :) I heard him last year at the BJCC concert hall and it was awesome.  One of my favorite songs he sang that night, "Like Rock and Roll and Radio"

"Are we strangers now?  Like rock and roll and the radio."

I had to put another one of my favorites, "Jolene"

"...a picture of you holding a picture of me in the pocket of my blue jeans, I still don't know what love means..."

If I Were a Boy....

You walk into a hotel bar and see a woman seated by herself, you think to yourself, she must be waiting on a friend.  Then you notice her skirt is slightly shorter than the average.  Time passes and no one shows up.  A well dressed man in an expensive suit comes in and sits next to her.  The woman strikes up a conversation with him. What does the bystander assume about the couple?  The man in a business suit must be a hard working man that had a rough day and needed a drink.  The woman on the other hand, why is she at a hotel bar with a short skirt on?  She must be a gold digger trying to get in that man's pocket.  You might even go so far to wonder if she is a prostitute...

Welcome to the double standard! 

Women that go into bars alone are skanks.  They must be crazy and not have any friends.  Men go to bars, because ,bless their hearts, they have had a hard day and need a drink.  A man walks into the bar by himself and no one bats an eye.  Even if that man has a wife and/or kids at home.  He needs to have a drink and get away from that nagging wife or those annoying kids.  Never mind that his wife also worked a full day, just like him, she needs to be home with "their" kids!

Nothing, I mean nothing,  is more unattractive than a man with children that sits up at the bar multiple nights a week.  Further, I don't like to see a married man, with or without children, at the bar flirting with women, even it is harmless (and sometimes it's not)  I just never understood it.  Do you think single people go to the bar, because it is just loads of fun? They go to meet someone, to fall in love, to get married, to have children.  So...why when that happens do people want to go back to the start?  I guess the grass is always greener.

A married woman with children could never get away with the previous mentioned behavior.  Being a mother is far more important than being a father and you are judged much more harshly if you are not a good one.  A man leaves his family and does not support his family, no one is surprised.  A woman leaves her family with her husband, she is lower than low, and the man is placed on a pedestal.  He must be "born in a manager", as my brother likes to say.  The pedestals always seem to be misplaced when it comes to mothers.  Let's be honest there is not enough pedestals in the world...

Don't get me started about physical appearance!  Men can be old, overweight, and bald and by all means they deserve someone at least 10 years their junior that is drop dead gorgeous.  Women practically have an expiration date that falls around 35, past that point they have too many wrinkles and are getting too old to bear children to these old men that have waited well into their 40s to settle down.  I mean look at Hollywood, everyone swoons over George Clooney.  He is such a handsome playboy! No woman can tame him.  Now think of any 50 year old woman that everyone swoons over.  You can't because there isn't one.  Nobody swoons over a 50 year old single woman in Hollywood or in real life for that matter.  I mean people already question why I can't find anybody to marry and I am just 29! 

Men get bachelor and playboy, women get spinster and old maid.  These women that never get "married off", everyone pities.  "Bless her heart, she could never could find a man to marry her".  Obviously, there is something horribly wrong with her.  I mean it couldn't possibly be the fact that some women choose not to get married, choose not to have children.  Women who don't want to get married and not have children....society frowns on that!

I guess with my 30th birthday fast approaching I have got a lot to look forward to!  :) I mean I am getting wrinkles, will soon get gray hair, and I am sure my ovaries are not spitting out as many eggs.  My worth in the eyes of society is slowing decreasing by the minute. I could go either way.  I could prepare and buy a lot of cats for my spinster role or start dating men a a lot younger than me and become a "cougar".  The problem with these options is A) I don't really care for cats and B) I have trouble rounding up a date with anybody, young or old!

I guess I will just accept my wrinkles and gray hair, to hell with double standard, I have decided it doesn't meet my standards! :)

I thought I would end with Ms. Beyonce....

1 Corinthians 2:9

No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.

Sunday Morning...

What do you think when you think of God?  Do you think of an old man with a long white beard that sits on a throne with lightening bolts in his hands scorning everybody that does not follow his rules?  Not quite the image in my head, in fact, I don't really put physical characteristics to God.  I associate feelings more so with God:  comfort, peace, unconditional love, compassion.  The feelings that come from a relationship with God or unlike any earthly relationship you will ever find.  Faith has always come easy to me, never questioning, always believing without a doubt.  It baffles me that someone can walk outside and see what God has provided for us, the love he has put in our hearts, and not believe God is good... ALLTHE TIME!

  

photo source: http://elprayerblog.tumblr.com/page/23

So do you have to go to church come Sunday morning to have a relationship with God?  I know some people feel like they need to go to church or else they will get in trouble with the man upstairs.  Then others like it so much they go every time the doors are open.  I think I fall somewhere in between.  I enjoy church.  I like to go to church.  I like to sing hymns and hear a good sermon! I go because I want to, not because I am following a "rule".

As an adult I have gone to a variety of churches, going where I feel most comfortable, regardless of the denomination.  I always operate on the principle God doesn't care what church you go to, as long as you are going!  People worship God in different ways, that is why they are so many churches.  I recently moved to Pelham and across the street from my house every day I saw people working tirelessly to build a church; it was a campus of the Church of the Highlands.  The main church is located off I-459 and their congregation is huge!  I think 3/5 people in Birmingham go to Church of the Highlands.  I would see the parking lot full every Sunday.  I thought I have got to see what all this fuss is about.  This pastor must be doing something right...that many people wouldn't be going to his church!  So I decided to go a couple of weeks ago. 

For those of you who haven't been, it is a very contemporary service with a full band that plays contemporary Christian music.  Now I must say it was nice to see people fired up about worshiping God;  however, this girl still likes those old hymns.  I still like to sing "Amazing Grace", "Victory in Jesus", and "It is Well with my Soul"!  Then the pastor comes on via satellite from the main church and I got why people relate to this church.  He's a great speaker. His message that Sunday was how the Bible teaches you to overcome anger.  I am pretty quite girl, but trust me I do have some pent up anger, particularly recently, and was pointing some fingers, that needed to be pointed at myself!  I needed to hear that message that day!

So what is my consensus on Church of the Highlands? Great pastor, great message, but could do without the rock band.  Call me old fashion, but I still like an organ!  Hey...just my opinion. :)  However, would I go back?  Definitely!  Here is the link to the sermon I saw a couple of weeks ago.  If you get angry easily or have judgment in you heart, it really is a good message!

http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/anger

Thought I would end with this video.  It has been floating around facebook.  Interesting...discusses the difference between Christianity and religion. 

Thought with the big football weekend coming up I would end with a certain football player's favorite verse.  If you don't know who I am talking about you must have been under a rock for the past several months!

John 3:16   For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Guilty as charged....

OK....yes, I did it.  After searching for an address in my old facebook messages, I found them....the old messages from the ex-boyfriend.  So, of course, foolish me decided to just read one, which proceeded to me obsessively searching my facebook messages for every message he had ever sent me over the course of our relationship.  Then for good measure I decided to retrieve all the cards he ever gave me (which of course I kept neatly together) and throw a major pity party.  FYI....of course I am not the only one that has ever done this or that is what I will tell myself, so we well know that no good can come out of situations like these. 

So after the pity party you just remain confused.  Well, he said he loved me, he said he wanted me to marry me, he said he was the luckiest guy in the world, he said I was his favorite thing!  What went wrong?  Then the obvious conclusion comes.... you went wrong.  You must have done something wrong to make him change his mind and then you analyze what you did wrong till your blue in the face.  There I sat on the edge of my bed on the verge of tears.  Then I decided this had gone too far!  The devil wasn't gonna steal my joy, or what was left of it ...

So the obvious questions came to mind  1.) Do people just fall out of love?  and 2.) Is it really possible for someone to say I will love you forever and really mean it?  Forever is a really long time!  The older and older I get this statement is harder and harder to believe.  Are people that are married a long time still "in love" or have they just learned how to put up with someone successfully with minimal disagreements?

In relationships why do people change their minds?  Why do people say things they don't mean?  Why do people want to be in love when it is a known fact that the majority of those relationships will end in heartache, hence the skyrocketing divorce rate.  So the question remains:  Is the feeling of being in love, worth the heartache that happens when the other person changes their mind?   Hmmmm...and, no, this is not a trick question even though it sure sounds like one!  This reminds me of a "Sex and the City" episode where Carrie questions if she ever really loved Mr. Big.

After much consideration, I guess I will have hope.  I guess I will choose to believe that someone will love me forever...one day.  Hey....it is better than the alternative ;)

Hebrews 11:1 
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Just as you are.....

Lamentations 3:22-23

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.


Happy Birthday Big Brother!

Today is my big brother's birthday, though he isn't that much "bigger" than me.  We are only 15 months apart, so as children we often got mistaken for twins.  As I blogged earlier, we lived in the country, there were no neighborhood children to play with, so we were thicker than thieves as little kids.  We grew up in a 4 bedroom house, but me and my brother shared a room until I was in the third grade, because we didn't leave each other's side.  Then after that came the years where we didn't much care for each other, the years where we fought constantly, the years where your friends seem so much more important than your family.  Can you tell we are related?

photo courtesy of Meagan Jefferson

I always joke that I am so passive because of my brother, who as a child was the worst sore loser ever.  Being the younger sibling I usually never won, whether it was a board game or sports; however, every once in a blue moon I would be about to win.  Of course, my brother would quit or throw the pieces off the board, anything to not allow me to win.  My mother always said I never batted an eye and just went about my business.  To this day, I am the least competitive person you will ever meet.  Second, third, and fourth is fine with me! :)

I am very grateful I have a sibling and can't imagine how it would feel to be an only child.  In my brother, I find someone that knows who I am and loves me regardless. I have someone to call and complain about my parents.  I have someone that thinks and views things almost exactly like me because we were raised with the same values, in the same house.  Most importantly, I have a built in friend for the rest of my life (hopefully, God willingly) after my parents are long gone.

So happy birthday to my big brother!  The person whose idea of "I will be there in a minute" means at least a hour and fifteen minutes later.  The person who if you say you are going to pick him up, you will get there in he will be just then be getting in the shower.  The person with little to no fashion sense and I always feels needs his t-shirts in a size bigger.  The person who is the quite guy in the corner, but one of the funniest people once you get him to talk to you.  The person I know would do anything  for me, his family, or his friends, whether he just met you or has known you forever, and not ask for anything in return.  I am lucky God gave me a sibling like you!

I took my brother out to eat Friday night for a "fancy" meal at Cafe Dupont for his birthday and I must say it was one of the best meals I have had in a while.  The restaurant is located in downtown on 20th Street North.  It was a pretty small restaurant with a quiet and quaint atmosphere.  I got the grouper and my brother got the lamb chops.  Dessert was chocolate almond pie and creme brulee.  Everything was delicious and I would definitely go back.  Service was adequate.  Our server seemed a bit overwhelmed, but we were never left unattended for a long period.  I would definitely recommend.  I need to find a date and go back!

photo source:  www.dupontcafe.net

photo source:  http://blog.al.com

Sidebar when you first come in the restaurant..

One of my favorites:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.