perhaps

on blog hiatus and should be sleeping

2009-09-21T00:19:00.002-04:00

it's bad when you know you need to sleep because you're waking up at 4:30am to open up a gym, and you can't b/c your mind doesn't stop working...including writing a silly blog post like this one. there are so many things going on in life right now that, whilst i often think of things to post on here, i'm overwhelmed at the thought of trying to post. so i'm taking a break. for now i'm at school full time. working only one more month at the gym (till the end of sept) and starting a new job at church coordinating the Work Day ministry! --which i am very excited about doing; it fell in my lap and God has been supremely confirming that i should take the job and has given me lots of peace. in the mean time i leave you with this random picture i ran across today of the nasty nasty 'dreadlock' i sort of secretly grew last year. it was an experiment...ha ha. it makes me laugh. (angela can attest to the degree of grossness, as she found it in her mailbox commemorating the day it got cut).

this goes out to the bride of aug 29th

2009-08-24T17:20:00.004-04:00

and it's here too

er, it was...if you go to youtube and type in: total eclipse of the heart, literal version, you might be able to find it again. very funny

'noogavisit

2009-08-24T17:04:00.016-04:00

i made whirlwind trip to chattanooga and back in 2.5 days. i saw everyone (or most) that i could who isn't going to be at rachel's wedding. it was very sweet. as i drove up the rolling hills of Monteagle i started squealing...and was prompted by my innards to put on some celine dion (after michael jackson had run its course). then i arrived at lookout mountain, drove by the overlook, and i squealed again. i couldn't believe i hadn't been back in a year and a half! it felt reminiscent of home for sure.

lupton field where i coached lacrosse for 4 years. a memorial we put up for palmer after she passed.
some of my lacrosse players. we hopped the fence at the cemetery together after hours. it was the best memory of my short visit.
my old co-workers at Why Know, which is now called On Point
Sarah LaRose Kane and her son Collin. Sarah painted me an awesome awesome awesome painting, pictured above.
angela let me borrow her camera and i had a few minutes to walk around downtown by myself. i enjoyed that quite a bit

...there's just something about these bridges (market and walking)
Susan Green :)

rain advantages and disadvantages

2009-08-17T22:45:00.003-04:00

i have been reading articles on running barefoot. a lot of research has been done, and is maybe more recently is picking up momentum in the world of people who do research, on the benefits of going without shoes....er un-shod. (can get a shout out to james ward? thank you new city-ers). several marathoners (from south africa and ethiopia) have done amazingly well, becoming world champions, while barefoot. and there is more documentation on various famous people who are barefoot proponents. basically the point is that shoes have been increasingly over engineered over the years, potentially largely related to the need to market and make a profit off the running industry, and as a consequence our feet and subsequently the rest of our bodies have suffered. so the benefits of running barefoot are multi-fold, and according to these articles, contain many scientific improvements related to oxygen and energy and biomechanics.

as a quick summary, running barefoot is: better for your running posture/alignment/stride, better for your heels (thick souls on shoes have trained us to be heel-strikers instead of mid-soul strikers --> just notice how you run without shoes and the difference in how your foot lands), better for your feet (improvement of muscles, nerve stimulation, oxygen, etc.), better for your ankles (more awareness of the terrain, less twists and turns due to 1 inch elevation off the ground etc.), better for your calves (development of muscles is more natural etc.), better for your knees (less twisting and shock absorbing strain is put on these joints etc.), and up the rest of your body--seriously: back, shoulders, posture, head...

so it rained today. the one day i had free to lay out and get sun to be a beautiful brown babe (bbb) for rach's wedding. it downpoured the minute i left work. BUT i had a cool conversation with my roommate Amy because i got home earlier, and as a result we decided to go to Forest Park and go running in the rain. barefoot. on grass. UP hills. i felt very athletic, but also very much like a kid...especially as we ended our athleticism with some frolicking in the nearby fountains [see picture above taken on a different day]. sometimes i love rain; and playing in the rain reminds me of summer days in Florida (but showers in Florida are SO much shorter than they are here in the midwest).

disadvantages of rain: no tanning. no ultimate frisbee championship game tonight :(
(yes, my summer league team made the championships! and yes, i am in an ultimate frisbee league. but unlike we did in high school, we do not yell "ultimate!" when we throw off to the other team between points. no, um, that's called a "pull" (but we don't yell it). court, can i get you to say "chilly"? :)

today i was Burmese

2009-08-16T17:49:00.006-04:00

i went for a picnic with the Burmese family i have gotten to know over this past year. after exploring the creek in Tower Grove Park and the mother, Salimarbe, dug up certain seeds she was looking for, we decided to eat. right then it started to down pour rain so we ran into a pavilion. we sat on the ground and ate yummy rice and spicy food that i cannot identify with our hands. it was a good memory. at their house they gave me this Karen (type of people) 'jacket' (i think they call it that). i was honored by the gift. you can't really see it, but my face also has Burmese makeup on the cheeks that Muslim women wear.

this one goes out to a girl named mark

2009-08-10T06:52:00.004-04:00

John Perkins wrote a book called Beyond Charity. In it he quoted a Chinese poem that is relevant to methods of community development that is not harmful but empowering. I thought the poem was great:

Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what you know
Build on what they have:
But of the best leaders
When their task is done
The people will remark
"We have done it ourselves."

---

I tried my hand at making whole wheat pancakes. They were good. And batch #2 was really good because we put so many chocolate chips in it we couldn't even flip 'em... Here's the recipe for ya Tanya:

1/3-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp honey (I tried raw honey, and also pretty much doubled this portion...)
1/2 cup milk (I used rice milk, which is also sweeter)
1 1/2 tsp oil
combine dry ingredients. combine liquid. stir liquid into dry mix.

I also added a few Old Fashioned Oats, blueberries, and peaches
Batch #2 had nutmeg (which combines well with chocolate!)
--so how's that for a nutritious whole wheat meal? I'm so healthy

reminded

2009-08-03T23:31:00.003-04:00

i went to a free concert at the arch on friday! it was guster. that was a flash back to chattanooga :). and the lead started making up a rap. it was bad. but hilarious! and all the white people started laughing and clapping. and i turned to hardi and said, "white people love it when white people try to rap"--just like this guy said (why do i refer to him so much on this blog?)

on another note: this looks funny.

in the process of

2009-07-30T13:40:00.003-04:00

grieving. have you ever noticed this process? have you noticed how sometimes the process is sometimes more about your interactions with people because of their reactions to you? no, i don't know how i'm doing today, or tomorrow. i'm not always sure that i'm 'okay'. or what i'm learning. sometimes i'm quite thankful for the experience, which surprises people. but sometimes the angst and sadness also surprises people. it's hard for people to handle. so "yes, thank you for asking, i'm okay". it's sort of a funny (?) thing, this process. the widest range of emotions you could feel, are felt. at different times. surprising times, disappointing times. it comes and goes in waves. it's the high and low, as laswell says. the psalms and additionally music has been so good...often expressing that place where the gut and the heart meet; where the tears sit and wait and build up till they can no longer patiently not-burst.

rachel's gonna do this

2009-07-27T19:03:00.002-04:00

if you haven't already seen this. it's awesome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

i think the muppets are mainstream cool again

2009-07-25T00:29:00.000-04:00

more stuff

2009-07-22T14:37:00.002-04:00

that white people (apparently) like. this line in particular makes me laugh:

"...But more importantly, once a book has been made into a movie, a white person can no longer read that book. To have read the book after the movie is one of the great crimes in white culture, and under no circumstances should you ever admit to doing this..."

2009-07-21T11:41:00.003-04:00

"my mind is my main problem almost all the time. i wish i could leave it in the fridge when i go out. but it likes to come with me. i have tried to get it to take up a nice hobby, like macrame', but it prefers to think about things, and jot down what annoys it."

don't you guys ever feel this way? i laughed when i read this...the 'i recognize that!' kind of laughter. i've enjoyed (and read in just one week!) anne lamott's book plan b: further thoughts on faith

the climb

2009-07-06T18:09:00.000-04:00

the day i realized i liked a miley cyrus (hannah montana) song. and i don't just like it a little bit...

2 photos that make me smile

2009-07-04T13:52:00.005-04:00

in my house in florida there is a space under the stairs (with the water heater) that we called "the hideout". it has now been passed onto the next generation (aka the mininger grandkids). look how many people can still fit into such a very tiny space! i like that.

gretchen: amazing singer. aunt joni: amazing accompanist. april: entirely-immersed-in-the-moment-interpretive dancer.
i love it when photos can evoke the laughter that bubbles out of your stomach, especially when it's unexpected. these did that

there's always a song in my head

2009-06-26T01:08:00.003-04:00

this song is almost too much to handle, but one that is in my heart...

father hear me now when i am humbled,
i fear that i will soon forget.
now i have no strength to stand and stumble
i have no wish to leave you yet.

oh holy father, hear me now
when flesh is strong and spirit weak.
please break my back if i won't bow,
oh won't you have your way with me.

father hear me now when i am humbled,
when i am bent with holy shame.
all the lies that i believed have crumbled,
the blood of Christ my only claim.

i cannot trust my own designs;
my heart is prone to disobey.
so listen Lord while there is time,
chain me fast if i won't stay, take my life and have your way.

please hear me Lord this blessed hour,
when sin has loosed his hold on me.
thy mercy is a mighty tower,
so why should i not trust in thee, father have your way with me.

"have your way", andrew peterson

frozen raspberries are such a good idea

2009-06-10T22:59:00.004-04:00

so far i've eaten them with:
-orange juice, limeade, tequila
-hot chocolate
-by themselves

next i'm going to bring out those super brown bananas i stuck in the freezer (telling myself i would make banana bread one day, fat chance), blend them up with the raspberries, some soy milk, maybe a little honey. hmm.

my absolute favorite thing about my apartment is the sunroom. it has 2 french doors that walk out onto the back porch. right now it's storming, and i'm sitting on the couch, in the dark, with the doors open, listening to the sound of thunderstorms, watching fireflies and lightening. we've had some crazy storms here in st louis over the past couple of weeks. i love thunderstorms--it's a floridian thing. but every storm i've been at work (including the one on monday with hail that blew our front doors open and knocked out the power to the gym!). this storm i get to enjoy here tonight in the quiet alone. it's nice. thanks God.

philly

2009-06-04T00:59:00.007-04:00

for you nonfacebook people who haven't already seen some of these pics:

that girl's getting married soon! i need to start thinking of stories and witty comments to embarrass her and mark with...

not cryin'

2009-05-13T00:34:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64a_1fWTsls

facebook in real life

2009-05-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

a friend of mine told me about this tonight. (a real friend, not just a facebook 'friend'). not sure if this is what he was talking about, but this link is pretty funny.

it's exam time: a time to reflect (slash information download)

2009-05-07T14:50:00.007-04:00

what are we fighting over that hinders the proclamation of the gospel?

mi papa

2009-05-04T20:30:00.001-04:00

wrote this article in Table Talk. i found it interesting and helpful.

thankful for dust

2009-04-24T13:38:00.004-04:00

and pollen.
neither of those 2 things produces very great things in homes (or in eyes, as evidenced by more morning gunk in mine...). BUT it is a reminder that spring has sprung and my windows and doors are open almost around the clock now. and i love it! as i was wiping off the noticeable dust layer on almost every ledge reflected by the bright sunshine in my room, i actually smiled.

a piece of jeweled glass

2009-04-23T10:15:00.001-04:00

Ed Clowney in Called to Ministry: “The gifts of Christ’s grace are like a majestic stained-glass window in his church. Each Christian is set in place like a piece of jeweled glass, so that the radiance of God’s grace may shine through him to add a beam of crimson or emerald or azure to the orchestration of color blazing within.” (28)

CST

2009-04-23T09:56:00.006-04:00

stand by me

2009-04-20T13:27:00.001-04:00

paul showed this to me: check this video out!