A Really Long Walk

On Friday, it was so beautiful out that I decided to get on my walking shoes and go for a really long walk. I love to go on walks. You see so much more of an area when you walk places, rather than drive. Don't you agree? (Stay tuned for a picture blog of my walk)

I know that long walks take time, and I had a lot of errands to run on Friday, so I thought where could I go that would be a longer walk and an errand run?

I headed out to get some Jamba Juice gift cards for my faithful reader, and recent winner Natalie, and one for my newest readers Dan. Congratulations you two!

Jamba juice is about 2 miles from my house so I thought that would be perfect.

Long walk √

Run an Errand √


The sun was shining, the birds were singing, spring was in the air here. By the time I got to Jamba Juice, I was for sure ready to get my Jamba Juice on as well. I ordered a pomergranate pick me up. Mmm Mmm good! Well, and then because it was so beautiful outside I decided to keep on walking.

I ended up here;Discover Yoga.
I have to say that I wasn't intending on going in and partaking, because it was beautiful outside, but I have been meaning to check this place out for a while. I just wanted to go in get some info. and get out. But I did end up taking a class that was about to start. The lady at the front desk was so welcoming, and I thought what the hell, why not ? Have I mentioned I am spontaneous? I am so glad I did take the class. It is just what this tired momma needed.

Here is my segue to my title, A Really Long Walk....

I have been so intimidated to take up Yoga again here in Redmond. I'm not really sure why. Before we moved here and while My Giant was here in WA. renovating our cabin, he kept calling me(I was back home NV. with the Fab 4, yeah remember that? Not fun.) He would say, "Babe", (he likes to call me babe alot. It doesn't offend me. I know he's not thinking of the pig :) Anyways, he said "Babe, you are going to love it here. They have a so many yoga places. There's one around every corner".

He knows I love Yoga.
I know I love Yoga.

So why, oh why has it taken me 2 whole years to get to my first Yoga class?
Well, a lot of reasons.

Do you want to hear the reasons?

If you don't want to hear the reasons, now would be a good time to wander over to another site.

If you want to hear the reasons, but were looking for a pause button on this really long blog, about "A Really Long Walk" here it is: ∆

And if you do want to hear my reasons, get comfortable, this might a take a minute or two or three.

First- I have to say that when we first moved here, we were on survival mode. Really, I mean we had left NV behind with a foreclosed house, and not a penny in our pockets. Or as my mom would say, "not a pot to piss in." If it weren't for the kindness and generosity of our friends, and family I'm not sure how we could have made it.
Needless to say, we didn't have money for something as silly as stretching.

B.-The year before we moved here I had really, really let myself go. I was so stressed about our
house that I used it as an excuse to eat,drink, and Not exercise. Repeat cycle for 2 more years and you have me. Right now.

X.- I was depressed about not being able to exercise with my sisters or friends, or sister friends who exercise. I was also bummed about leaving one of my favorite fitness instructors in NV. And well, I Didn't get out much to do anything let alone yoga it up with a bunch of strangers.

4. I was intimidated. With a lot of yogi's out there, I knew that people take their yoga for reals here, so I was thinking I would be a small fish in a very big pond.

Lastly- I just wasn't feeling it. Ya know what I mean? Ya get me? Ya trackin what I'm laying down?



So there you have it folks. All the excuses in the world and yet... while I lay there on the floor at the end of class, I thought... Why? Why did I wait so long to do this what I love?

The Pastor that married MY Giant and I used to say in a very Texas accent, "Life is short, and Death is Real, ever seen me light a match?" And then he would proceed to light a match and blow it out to prove how short life is.

It stuck.

It's true Life is short.

Don't wait to do the little things that make your heart sing.

Which brings me to this question for YOU, is there something, some special thing that really brings you such joy? What is it? I want to know. Are you actively enjoying it on a regular basis?

Yoga was/is for sure a simple thing that brings me such joy. Yet, I wasn't partaking.

I am now signed up and ready to participate in this simply joy I love. I hope this blog encourages you to get out there and do what you love. I hope you don't wait as long as I did to do it. And I hope no matter who you are, if you have read this whole post, just know that I love you for it :)

I am thankful to be able to process all of that here with you.

A Really Long Walk alone, would have been worse.

Dieting, Puppies, and Other MoNoSco Updates

A funny thing happens when you go on a diet.
Food just becomes a tool, rather than something you enjoy.
To some extent life changes entirely and I find myself getting kind of depressed.
This of course makes me realize how much food and drink(can't forget the drink) has become somewhat of an idol in my life.
The diet I am on is extreme, and I would tell you the name but... the only reason I am not sharing it with you is because I don't want that to become the topic of our conversation, but needless to say, it is limited what I can and cannot eat... BUT it's working!


Having a puppy in the house after several years of not having a baby of some sort has made me realize how selfish we all are.
Barley( our new Yellow Lab pup) has pushed us all to the brink of exhaustion.
He is so high energy that even our Jack Russell, Bella (supposedly the most hyper dog around) is wiped out and tired of him by the end of the day!
Still, in the end he brings me so much joy, as does Bella and well Joy is a rare commodity these days!
Those 4 legged friends sure are something, can't quite put my finger on what, but they are SOMETHING all right!

We had a communion moment at church last Sunday.
It started out bad and painful, but I hope ended up good and memorable.
We came home and let all 4 of our kids watch Passion of the Christ.
We of course edited quite a bit and actually only showed them bits and pieces.
This movie still makes me bawl like a baby.
Jesus without a doubt is SO AMAZING!
I know it made a lasting impression because they are still asking me questions.

We, Monosco are still having moments,
sometimes whole days ...
where we are wondering what the H E ..double hockey sticks we are doing in Washington??
But today when the sun is shining and we recently got to visit with a good old friend that feels like family I feel happy to be here.

I miss my mom.
Can you at 36 years old still miss your mom?
Is that legal?

Well, even though the sun is out this cabin has turned into an icebox.
I must go start a fire now to cozy things up in here.
Sure wish I was having this conversation face to face with those of you that might read and comment on this.
If we were, I would have already put the coffee pot on and the smell would be divine because...
Raven's Brew is what I am brewing these days. If you haven't had this brand of coffee go out... RIGHT NOW and get some.
It is Divine!



One more final thought and then I really am going to go , okay maybe two
I am reading;
Fiction-Salamander by Thomas Wharton
and
Non- Fiction-Follow Me to Freedom by Shane Claiborne and John Perkins
both great books so that alone makes me happy to have good books waiting for me late at night.

and really here it is my final thought...
New All Time Favorite Tea
Stash brand Licorice Spice, it's like dessert in a cup

And So I Start Again...

I like the idea of new beginnings.

I am amazed by the fact that our bodies no matter where we are in life can respond to starting over with exercise and eating right.
I have for several months not done a single thing in the exercise department. It is an area of great frustration for me how inconsistent I have always been with all things physical.
In January of this year I set out as all New Year's Optimistic people do to finally be consistent in this area. I lasted until the time change occurred in March and since then have not lifted a finger or a muscle I should say.
About a month ago my sister encouraged me by signing me up for a new gym. I was on my way to getting around to do this myself, but I can procrastinate like it's nobodies business when it comes to something I don't want to do. Don't even get me started about my upcoming, pressing need to register for a math class in the fall!!

Anyway, back to new beginnings. I am back at it again and have been going strong with the weekly workouts for over a month now. I am hopeful that it will last and I will finally be consistent in this area. I am hopeful that I won't come up with excuses or reasons why I can't do something that should be as important to me as bread, water and air.

I like the fact that God is a God who supports new beginnings. In fact He is all about new beginnings. His middle name could be NEW BEGINNING. I love how His motto is NOT- "Oh you screwed up forget it. You are a loser and you will never get it right but rather Grace and Mercy triumph over Judgement. That is His way. I think that is why He made us so that even our bodies respond so well with new beginnings.

Okay now for the random song in this blog;

This all reminds me of that old 80's song or maybe it was 90's...ya know how pretty much everything can remind me of a song right?

"Here I go again on my own,
Going down the only road I've ever known"

Okay all you song trivia people out there who sings it and what are the rest of the words??

Oprah and Me

I , on occasion indulge myself in two magazine purchases. One of them is People, of course I know full well how silly this magazine is but I enjoy it anyway, and the other is Oprah or O magazine. I know that last one is shocker right? I really do think her magazine is one of the best out there.

Anyway, this month's issue immediately caught my eye because as an occasional viewer of her show I have noticed that she has been going up in size and like the rest of the world I was wondering what the heck was going on. I was sad to find that it was due to some health problems and unbalance in her life and it made me think about my own weight issues that I have dealt with my whole life.

Then last night  the episode on the O show that day was her personal interview of herself speaking about "what the heck happened" to her this time. I sat down after the kids were all in bed and I was surprised by how emotional I got watching her show. Again, I think this episode hit home because of my own issues, but also I felt very sad again for her. It's funny how you can become so intrigued and interested in a person you have never met but I am and I was very sad for her. 

Anyway, there I was balling like a baby and thinking what is going on here? I think what really hit home was when her friend, Bob Greene looked at her and basically said that he thought she might be suffering from a mild case of depression. I knew that was exactly what had happened to me. These past few months pretty much since my coming home from Europe last year in March, I have been in a battle against this ugly monster called depression.

I know why I was depressed which really helps but that didn't seem to change any of the ways I was dealing with this depression. I am most certainly and emotional eater. This becomes quite evident to me when I am eating unconsciously or without reservation.

I had before the New Year began decided that I really needed to get back to exercising regularly and eating better which I was doing before we went on break but then I totally got off the wagon, Again!! 

So here I am once again dealing with this issue of not really being so concerned about my weight but healthy living. I have never in my entire life consistently for more than a year had a healthy way of eating, exercising and just otherwise being human. 

I am determined to once again learn from this hiccup along the road of health and take away what I can from it. I am still very discouraged with myself for letting it get this bad, and although I am not Oprah who went over 200 pounds again I am for my body not feeling as great as I could. 

I want to get really good at this healthy living not only for my sake but for my daughters who are quickly approaching an age that really picks up on any underlying unhealthy weight issues.

I want to be a good example to them in this area. I want to do this for myself though because it really comes down to making time for yourself which I think every mom and dad knows that can be hard to do. It means I have to make some changes, adaptations, sacrifices that might affect others but is primarily for me, myself and I.

I am determined, I am stubborn, I am tenacious and God help me,  I will do this!!

Ode to my Sister Jen

My older sister Jenny accomplished what many, many people would never attempt on a good day- she has finished and finished well, her first triathlon.  When I read her update and saw the pics of her on her blog I cried. I read it again to my kiddos and again I cried. I am getting awful emotional in my old age. I just cannot even begin to say how proud I am of her for this. I remember when she was home last summer and the thought first crossed her mind to do this. She just was looking for something to keep her motivated to exercise and also something to keep her busy since she knew she wouldn't be home for a year.  So what does one do when needing a hobby, or motivation to exercise- but of course sign up to do a tri !! She is an inspiration to me in more ways than one and here's to her job well done. Jenny I love you and as your lil sis I couldn't have a better friend to look up to. You ROCK!!

A letter of Appeal

I am putting my letter of appeal in the mail today to Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance company. Upon completion of this letter I felt a deep sense of sadness and anger for even having to take the time to do this.
As some of you know our precious Chloe had an appendicitis back in July. It took many months for the final bills to come rolling in and when they did the amount was staggering and our insurance company had failed us miserably because apparently the hospital we went to in a state of panic and shock at 1am in the morning was an out of network hospital. Sorry, it was the light at the end of the tunnel to get my 7 year old daughter some relief, sorry I thought any and all hospitals in a health related emergency is the right hospital. Errghhhh!! So as you can see the anger comes in right there. But the deep sense of sadness that I feel is that I know I am not the only one who has had to deal with similar type situations and some people dealing with these issues are still also dealing with those painful health situations.
Something has got to change in this country regarding our health insurances and medical industries that are raking in the big bucks on account of our misfortunes. Something has got to change and thank God next fall things will. Oh wait, I mean things will be promised , talked about , and then forgotten.
I guess that's where the sadness comes in.

Yoga Junkie

I believe I have become a yoga junkie. I have been doing these stretches everyday for the past few weeks and if I miss a day I can really start to feel it. I feel like gumby afterward(although I am not exactly sure this is how gumby feels) and not quite as old as I am.
Today while doing yoga with the children even Isaiah got in and struck a pose. Wish I couldv'e snapped a shot in time but imagine his lil body bent over with one arm stretched up to the sky. I thought his big head would topple him over for sure but he held his position strong for a good long time.
TOO CUTE!!!