Laughing Is Good For Your Abs

I received an email the other day that contained several Christian cartoons.  Can I just say, hilarious!  So I went to the website and I found TONS of them!

In an effort to narrow them down, I typed in the term “exercise,” and here are a few of my favorites!  I hope you enjoy them.  After all, laughing is a GREAT ab workout;-)

 

 

 (Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com)

Enjoy your day, guys! 

xoxo

90/10

Well hey there!

I’m in somewhat of a funk this morning, so I thought I would share something with you that my sister emailed to me this week.  It’s fantastic and can totally change our perspective if we let it.

Discover the 90/10 Principle

-It will change your life, or at least the way you react to situations.

Author: Stephen Covey

What is this Principle?

10% of life is made up of of what happens to you…90% of life is decided by how you react.

What does this mean?  We really have NO control over 10% of what happens to us.

You cannot control a red light.  However, you can control your reaction.  Do not let people fool you.  YOU can control how you react.  Let us use an example:

You are having breakfast with your family.  Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. 

You have no control over what has just happened.

What happens next will be determined by how you react.

You curse.  You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over.  She breaks down in tears.  After scolding her, you turn to your wife and you criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table.  A short verbal battle follows.  You storm upstairs and change your shirt.  Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish her breakfast and get ready to go to school.  She misses the bus.

Your spouse must leave immediately for work.  You rush  to the car and drive your daughter to school.  Because you are late, you drive 40 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour speed limit zone.

After a 15-minute delay and throwing away $60.00 on a traffic fine, you arrive at school.  Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye.

After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you realize you forgot your briefcase.  Your day has started terrible.  As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse.  You look forward to coming home.

When you arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your wife and daughter.  Why? 

Because of how you reacted in the morning.

  Why did you have a bad day?

A) Did the coffee cause it?

B) Did your daughter cause it?

C) Did the policeman cause it?

D) Did you cause it?

The answer is “D”

You had no control over what happened with the coffee.   How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.  Here is what could have and should have happened:

Coffee splashes all over you.  Your daughter is about to cry.

You gently say: “It’s okay, honey, you just need to be more careful next time.”

Grabbing a towel you go upstairs and change your shirt.  You grab your briefcase, and you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus.  She turns and waves.  You arrive for work 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff.

Notice the difference?

Two different scenarios.  Both started the same.  Both ended different. 

Why?

Because of how YOU reacted.  You really have no control over10% of what happens in your life.  The other 90% is determined by your reaction.

Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems, and headaches.  We all must understand and apply the 90/10 Principle.  It can change your life!

…Enjoy it…

It’s great, right?!  Talk about some fresh perspective!  Thank you, Jessa, for sharing it with me.  I think I’m going to read this at the beginning of every day…maybe copy it and put it in with my daily devotional book. 

Have a GREAT rest of your day… and REACT WELL!

xoxo

Pounding The Pavement To Praise!

Greetings!

Wanna know how I’m feeling about this FABULOUS weather we are having??

Oh yeah!!  Again this morning it was a much-less-humid-temp-in-the-60s kind of morning.  So I seized the opportunity and rocked an early outside run again today.  I played some: and dug into my morning run.  It’s so nice not to be completely soaked with sweat only 5 minutes in.  The praise and worship songs on this CD are all pop sounding and really make me pick up my pace.  Nothing like praising the LORD while you’re running down the road through the beauty He created!  Thank you, Father, for making such a beautiful place for me to run.   I am pretty pumped with my time!  Here are the stats:

DISTANCE: 6.25 MILES

TIME: 56:07

PACE: 8:59/MILE

Booyah!!  It kinda made me feel like this:   You like my “FIGHT” Bondiband??  OMGosh, me too!  I got it through a fundraiser for a woman battling breast cancer and although the fundraiser has ended, you can still find Bondibands here.  And it’s still good because Bondiband donates 10% of all profits to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  They are AWESOME to hold your hair back and soak up the sweat while working out or whatever.  Super cute and super functional!  Yay!!

So today is looking like it’s going to be a catch-up day…catch up the laundry, catch up some cleaning, you get the picture.  I am so thankful for the day-to-day stuff after a year and a half of the jumbled life that is breast cancer.  So bring on the laundry and the mop!  LOL:-)

PS-Princess says “Hi!”

xoxo

The Spring In My Step

Thank you LORD for the cool(er) temps this morning and the low(er) humidity!!!!

It was an absolute GORGEOUS morning for a run outside!  It was about 67*, the lowest it’s been in MONTHS. Ahhhhhh…..  I think I even felt an extra spring in my step today;-)  And it made for some very good times:

MILE 1	9:21
MILE 2	9:03
MILE 3	9:03
MILE 4	9:05
MILE 5	9:06
MILE 6	9:07
MILE 7	9:00
MILE .25	3:18
TOTAL 7.25 MILES	1:07:05

I even managed a NEGATIVE SPLIT!!  This almost never happens because I tend to start out way too fast and am so winded by the end, but not today!  Wanna know why my last mile was so speedy??  Well…..a couple was driving by when I had about .30 left to get to 7 miles, and the guy in the passenger seat yelled out the window “Nice headband!”  when they went by!  My Bondiband headband says “CANCER SUCKS!” on it, and knowing that he read it gave me an extra boost!  So I sprinted it out to my car, feelin’ all bad, ya know?!  Hehe;-)

I’m off to go get Tiff now and we are heading to a meeting with our sponsors for our Canoe/Raft Race for Lending A Hand!  Hope y’all are having a great Monday!  Let God use you today!  

xoxo

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  Ephesians 6:13

27 Years Ago Today, I Got Twin Sisters <3

Hey!

And Happy Sunday!  I trust y’all have had a good one <3

I have had a busy day, that started at 530am.  Yes, it’s long run day!  But, when I got up and made coffee and saw that it was already 81 degrees I decided to hit the good ol’ treadmill instead.  I did 13 miles in 2:08:24.  I was shooting for 10 miles but I got to watching a movie and wanted to keep going until it was over.  What was the movie that kept me going for 13 miles you ask??  It was this: And here’s why I love it so much:

“Living Proof” is the true story of oncologist and researcher Dr. Dennis Slamon, the UCLA doctor who helped develop the breast cancer drug Herceptin, and his effort to keep the drug trials afloat. His inspiring journey shows the sacrifices he makes in his personal life and the obstacles that he faces to get the drug approved. Thousands of lives have been saved because of his dedication. (Based on Robert Bazell’s book “Her-2.”)

Notice a familiar word or two in there?!  Yep, I owe my life to the research and dedication of Dr. Slamon who developed my CURE, Herceptin.  Thank you Jesus for giving this doctor this gift!  If you are interested in purchasing “Living Proof,” you can get it here, and watch for it on Lifetime movie network, especially during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I swear it brings me to my knees every time I watch it.  To think that if I had developed my breast cancer just a few years earlier, I would probably not be here today.  My type of invasive ductal carcinoma, triple positive,  is only found in 12% of patients.  Triple positive, meaning my cancer feeds off of all 3 receptor types: estrogen, progesterone, and the HER 2 protein makes my cancer very aggressive, coupled with my very young age which makes it even more so.  Wow.  Thank you Jesus.

After my run we headed out to my mom and dad’s house to celebrate my sisters’ birthday!  They turned 27 today, and it was a great day.  The only thing missing was one sister:-(  Layne and her family weren’t there, but Jessica and her family was, and our little brother, Matt, and his family were there…his fiancé Charli is also having a birthday in a few days so we celebrated hers as well! 

Some sights from our day:

Jessica and her hubby Jason (and my crazy hubby trying to screw up my picture!):

My sister Jessa and I:

Our brother Matt, his fiancé Charli, and their son Mason:

The cake:

Me and my Mama:

Old pic of me hanging at my parent’s house…I am looking longingly at my hair…I miss it.  Grow, hair, grow!! 

Something else I discovered today, was the Parade magazine issue from last week’s Sunday paper.  You know the little “magazine” thingy inside the paper??  Well, I’m in it!!  Mom said she was sitting there reading the paper last Sunday night and she stopped and said “David!” (my dad), “is this Erica?!  It looks like Erica!”  Well by golly it sure was!  The article was on the book “Promise Me” by Nancy Brinker, the sister of Susan G. Komen, who start the foundation in her sister’s name after she battled and passed away from breast cancer.  I bet she never imagined how big the Komen Foundation would grow and the wonderful things they have done for breast cancer patients and research!  How amazing!  I can’t wait to read the book!!  To read an excerpt and get your copy, you can go here.

Can you see me?!  I’m right above the “rv” in Survivors!

Before I sign off for tonight, I just want to take a second to wish my baby sisters the happiest of birthdays. 

Layne & Jessa, I love you so guys so much!  I have always been your biggest fan and your protector, and I always will be.  I have been in such love with you since, at the age of 5, they came and got me out of Bible School to tell me that my sisters were born.  It was without a doubt one of the happiest moments of my life.  So whether we are joy-riding in mom’s van, eating ice cream straight out of the container while we complain about men, or gripe at each other for stretching out each others shirts…just know that I would rather do those things with you two than with anybody else on the planet.  I am absolutely crazy about you both and am so blessed to have you as sisters and best friends.  I love you!!  

Have a great evening, friends:-)  Love you!

xoxo

What To Do

I am writing from the parking lot of the church in PB where Zachary's Hunter's Safety course is being given. He had 3 hours of the course last night, and has 9 hours today. And since I'm not leaving my baby boy over here by himself I am killing time here all.stinking.day.

I'm pretty bummed about missing the Cards/Cubs game that's happening at 3, but I can always listen to it on the radio. I am quickly running out of things to do though. I went to the gym this morning and ran 5 miles on the treadmill, for a weekly total of 48 MILES!!!! Yay me! And then rode the recumbent bike for 20 minutes while my sweat dried and I caught up on Twitter and Facebook;-)


I went to Kroger and picked up a Oikos yogurt and an apple for breakfast and sat in their parking lot thinking about what else I could do today...and oh yeah, it was only 1030 by this point. Hmm.

I decided to go to Hasting's and look around and came out with this book:


I'm pretty excited to read "Food Rules" by Michael Pollen, I saw him on Oprah and I found his food theories interesting. Like this page in the book:


I need to make a trip to the health food store after I pick up Zachary and take him to get some lunch. I am almost out of Nutritional Yeast powder and need to restock on a few other things. Jack, Tyler, and Katie are also on their way here so we can eat lunch together. Until 5pm, here I sit;-)


xoxo

Wanna Race A Canoe?

Can we all get a "AMEN!" for Friday?! Oh yes:-)

I just finished up all my payroll and bookkeeping stuff for the week and, unless my hubby brings me something else, I am finished for the week! So at the moment I am just sitting here sippin on a Fuze, Goji Wild Berry Fla-vahhhh...antioxidants and Komen sponsors, yep love it.

I have to admit I was a little more excited earlier in the day about Friday than I am now because after a 5 minute phone call from my Dad this morning I saw my weekend go to the dogs...or, the deer and elk rather. I'll explain... Pretty much all the men folk in our family are going to Colorado elk hunting in the fall. They are super stoked...but not as stoked as us girlies who are also taking a weekend of shopping and relaxing verrryyyy seriously;-) Anyway, in order to hunt you must have your Hunter's Safety Card (obvi) and you can't take the test until you are 12. Zachary didn't get his last year, so here we are 2 1/2 months from their trip and he has to spend his weekend getting his Hunter's Safety. Woo and Boo all at the same time. You see? See how quickly the weekend can go to poo?! Hehe;-)

On another note I was so excited to email my friend, Lindsey, at Sound Eats this morning to let her know to please include me on her latest venture! I am now a member of the positive community of Healthy Living Blogs! I know she has been working on this for quite some time and I sooooo appreciate all her hard work and time and money that has went into this. It's quite awesome, and the list is also arranged by location so I can't wait to see how many more fellow Missourians there are out there! Big hugs and high fives to LINDS!!!! Proud of you, girl!

Another work in progress in the next big fundraiser for our Lending A Hand Fund! It is set for October 2nd and is a RIVER RACE!!!! We are going to race canoes and rafts on the beautiful Current River, and the slogan is:

NO RULES, PADDLE 'TIL YOU WIN!

That's right, so there are no rules for this race (other than the fact that you CAN'T use a motor)! So you can tip, bump, or whatever to your opponents and the winner takes all! It all ends with live entertainment on the gravel bar at the river by a well-known (to us) bluegrass band and a good ol' fish fry with all the fixins! It just doesn't get any better than that folks! We are super excited for this fundraiser and we hope to raise a bunch of money to continue to help cancer patients in our community. More updates as we get closer, but I just had to tell y'all what we've been working on!

Well I'm off to go get ready for Hunter's Safety Class! On the plus side, I don't have to cook because dinner will be in PB:-D

xoxo

Post Away!

Hey guys!  So I started writing a post last night, after Big Brother (WHY do I watch this show??  It is mind-numbing TV at is best…and I’m hooked.) and while sipping my Green Monster.  But as peace was settling upon the house…enter Katie with a splinter in her foot.

Oh my is all I have to say.  I’m so glad we don’t have close neighbors because I know they would’ve heard her screaming in terror!  You would have thought I was cutting her foot off!  That’s our princess, the little drama queen <3

So needless to say, the post didn’t get finished…but we DID get the splinter out!  You aren’t missing out on anything though, the post was just a recap of the day.

So onto TODAY! 

Last week, a blog friend (blends as we call them in the blog world) had her first book hit the shelves!  Caitlin, who blogs over at Healthy Tipping Point, started a movement to end what she calls Fat Talk…you know, the negative things we tell ourselves ABOUT ourselves.  These are things we wouldn’t dare tell others, but we so loosely say them to ourselves,

“This dress makes me look fat.”

“My thighs are too big.”

“My face is too round.”

“I am not pretty.” 

Caitlin started a website called Operation Beautiful and made it her personal mission to end Fat Talk by posting random post it notes with inspirational messages.  Like, “You are beautiful!” on the mirror in a bathroom.  Or “SMILE!  You are amazing!” in a dressing room at a clothing store.  See?  Fun!!  As word got around, the actual movement picked up steam and the rest is, well, history.  In the past week Caitlin has seen the release of her first book, appeared on The Today Show, and has done countless other radio and TV interviews. 

I was so excited to purchase Operation Beautiful last week, and as I was reading it, I came to the conclusion that every teenage girl in the world should read this book.  Period.  It is inspiring and uplifting, and teaches us to love and embrace our bodies and our healthiest selves!  You won’t waste any money buying this book, I promise!  You can find it at any major book stores, and online.  You could even participate!  Leave your own post it!  I did, in the middle school bathroom at my son’s school…it was so fun!  I get excited when I think of what young lady found it!  So grab your pen and pad of post its and join in!  

So enjoy the rest of your day, friends!  It is HOOOOOTTTTTT here so I’m hiding indoors!  Love y’all!

xoxo

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but the Lord is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalms 73:26

It’s A Sign

In my attempt to try and become not such a lazy blogger, here I am! 

I am stealing a few moments away from household stuff…which actually means, I am procrastinating majorly about the 3 loads of laundry that need to be folded and put away, the upstairs [read: Katie’s room] that needs a massive straightening up, and the office bookwork that needs to be done.  Sigh.

I suppose I should focus on the positive and think about what things I have accomplished today: ran 7 lovely TM miles (it is waaayyyyyy too hot here), renewed license plates at DMV, and been to post office and grocery store.  So yeah!  Not too shabby.

Sooooo I’m going to go start on my procrastination to-do list.  But first I want to share some pictures with you.  Have you seen the church signs where they have some really cute messages?  The ones that make you laugh, but also make you think??  Well I think they’re great, so after a search I thought I’d share with you some of my favorites!

     

And one that would be particularly appropriate HERE this week:

xoxo

Two Teenagers

Hello guys!!  I hope everyone is having a great start to the week! 

We are getting back into the swing of a “normal” week after a long weekend of birthday celebration. Zachary’s birthday was Saturday and we celebrated at the cabin and took some friends of Zachary’s with us!

On our way to the cabin we scheduled a layover in PB for lunch and the afternoon at the water park!

This is becoming a tradition!  Poor kid!  He even knew it was coming but it was not to be avoided;-)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per usual, the boys did not pause long enough for me to snap their picture when we got to the water park, they were off and running.  And I decided to be a cool mom and not make them stop for pics.  I pouted on the inside.  And of course got pics of Katie! 

 

 

But while we were having fun and playing all weekend, I kept saying to myself over and over,

“WE HAVE TWO TEENAGERS…HOW DID WE GET HERE SO FAST?!”

How did we go so quickly from this:

To this:

I can’t believe how fast it’s gone.  Seriously.  One day you are cradling your newborn in your arms, and the next they are starting Jr. High and the middle seems somewhat of a blur…  Crazy. 

I hope, though, that even as these boys continue to grow and mature, that they will always find the time to humor their baby sister and participate in the tea party she so lovingly laid out for them.  Oh yes, these are yearbook savers for sure!!  But I DID have to promise them not to put them on Facebook…they never said anything about the blog;-) 

My sweet little boy has been a teenager for 2 whole days now.  I am excited for his future and yet sad to see him grow more independent, which inevitably means that he won’t need me as much.  But I am not going to waste a moment of that time, because I will spend it on my knees praying that God will guide Zachary and bless him.  That He will protect Him and keep him safe and healthy.  And that God will use him and help him to be a blessing to others.  May God place a hedge of protection around him as he goes through each day.

I’m off to parent my new teenager for a little while…he has a bedroom and bathroom that desperately need his attention!

Have a good day!

xoxo

Lazy Blogger

Well...it's Monday. And that's about all I have to say about that!

After a great weekend which included a shopping trip with my BFF Michelle and our girls, church, great outside runs, and lots of family time...here we are on Monday morning, rip roarin' and ready to start another week!

I am NOT RUSHING this week at all, though. Why?? Because on Saturday, my baby boy Zachary turns 13 and we will officially have TWO TEENAGERS!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! You know, even when the kids were toddlers and we talked about "when they are teenagers..." when you are living in the moment day-to-day, it really never seems like it will happen. Or when it does, it's still so far in the future that it's not even relevant right now. But we are oh so relevant right now! When I look back I can't believe how far we've come and how our lives have just moved right along so quickly...too quickly. BUT! Saturday will be a happy day, or weekend actually, as we spend time with friends and family at our cabin and loads of quality time on the river. So bring it on!!

In other news ~~"Hi everyone. I'm Erica and I'm a lazy blogger."~~ Go ahead and say it, I know you want to ---> "Hello, Erica."<--- Seriously! Geez, I am SUCH a lazy blogger. There are several times that, in the course of every day, I will think "Oooh, I should write a post on that!" But every day, time passes and most days (duh) the post doesn't get written and I'm left feeling like a failed blogger. And then in moments like right now I actually have time to blog, but so many things have piled up in my brain (what's left of it) that I am at a loss at where to start! How do other blog--mom's do it?? Is there a set time that you sit down to write something every day? Is it eventually something you just work into being a habit? Like laundry, or cooking dinner?? But for some reason having clean clothes to wear, or getting dinner on the table doesn't hold the same importance as "Mommy needs to get this post typed up." Hmmm, maybe blogging falls too low on my list of priorities right now. And I've come to a realization that that's ok. It is what it is!

In case you're interested in what thoughts/activities have crossed my mind this weekend, here goes:

• The arrival of my fabulous Vitamix on Thursday!!!!! OMGosh, she and I are going to get along great! It blends my Green Monsters like nobody's business. Ironically, though, the first 2 things made in it were a chocolate milkshake and chocolate chip cookie blizzards for the kids...Ha!
• The girl's shopping trip to STL on Saturday, where Katie proclaimed when we were almost home, "We should DEFINITELY do this more often." I like the way she thinks;-)
• Bro. Ron's sermon yesterday about "Let Go and Let God." And how when we feel like our binding's coming off (referring to the binding of a book), the book of Acts chapter 4:23-31 tells us what God says to do in these times. I get SO MUCH out of his sermons, I take notes like it's a chemistry class because that's how I learn and I don't want to forget a thing. Love it.
• My 10.1 mile run before church.
• Our wonderful family dinner at my parent's house, which sadly hasn't happened much this summer at all due to traveling and busy schedules. Layne and her family was missing, but the rest of us were there and it was so great to see Mason and Brayden (and their parents of course!). I love my family so much. I am bursting with it right now I promise.
• And of course, being a breast cancer survivor is always on my mind. Sometimes I think I have this survivor-thing mastered, and others not so much. I go back and forth, which I guess is pretty normal. In a text from my very fave chemo nurse Renee (and one of my fave people ev-ah) she had some sweet words, "A huge and frightening chapter of your life is over. It overshadowed everything. The sun (Son) is shining bright again sooooooo get SONGLASSES!" Um, yes, I love her...God made her special fo' sho';-)

So there you have it! I hope y'all have a great Monday, and to end this post on a smile here's one of my very favorite quotes from Audrey Hepburn. Every word of it is so true and speaks to my heart.

xoxo