May has arrived. Where’s spring?

I’ve got a few things weighing on my heart and pressing in my mind. The busier I get, the more I love the thinking time that comes with a solo run. My Sunday run was amazing… I wasn’t alone, I was training with God. It might sound strange, but when the wind was pushing hard in my face, it was like a direct challenge to do better and fight for what I want. When the wind was at my back, it was as if He was helping me along, encouraging me, and not allowing the hardships of the rough, fast, long hills to drag me down. Anyway- here’s this week’s list. 🙂

1) The Biggest Loser. I have a love/hate relationship with this show. I am addicted to watching the weight loss success of the contestants on the show, and I’m so happy to see their breakthroughs. The hard times in their journey remind me that my story is not as unusual or as uncommon as I think. I’m also excited to think that the show could inspire many sedentary Americans to change their lives. My main problem with the show is that the contestants lose weight SO quickly. I can only imagine how “normal” people on a “normal” healthy weight-loss plan feel when they lose one pound in a week, but someone on the show loses twenty. Sometimes, even I feel unsuccessful when I watch the show, and I’ve kept my weight off for years! I wish that it was somehow emphasized that weight loss doesn’t usually happen that quickly, and that even small results are worth fighting for.

2) Recycled furniture. Do you remember the large harp project that Brian and I built in college? It was part of the COFAC’s Dansculpturcussion project: a collaboration between the dance department, the art/design department, and the percussion studio.  We’ve had this huge harp in our living room since we bought this house, three years ago. If you’ve ever come to visit, you’d remember it. It was really hard to get rid of it, because I was attached. It somehow symbolized all my creativity and all my good times as a college musician, and I wasn’t ready to dismantle those good memories- until I had an idea…my sweet husband built me a shelf. He took one of the boards of the harp with the piano pegs in it, and built me a shelf to hang my medals. 🙂 Now, I just need to get faster. That trophy looks lonely up there!

3)Radio Kaos. My friend, Randy, is the owner of this awesome record store here in downtown Stevens Point. He is a million times better than Pandora. When I walk in there, he immediately remembers all the CDs that I’ve bought from him, and my favorite types of music. For someone like me, that is a really diverse mix. He has recommended some incredibly amazing things for me. For example: he knows I’m in my annual bluegrass phase, and that I grew up with bands of the 90’s, and he came up with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. It’s like a semi-bluegrassy Matchbox 20. Awesome. Plus, he let me go behind the counter and check out his turntable. I like that he listens to actual records in the store. It’s somewhat of a novelty for my twenty-something crowd. I love supporting small stores and downtown businesses, and Randy has something that is hard to find- a wealth of knowledge and the time to create meaningful relationships with his regular customers. I usually go there with my friend/mentor/kayaking partner, Bill.  We have different taste in music, but we both always leave there with a smile (and a new CD or two…).

4)Osama bin Laden. I don’t really know that I need to be making a public statement about this, but here it is. I understand that he was an evil, terrible person. He spread hatred and ill-will to many. With that said, I can only try to show the grace of God, and I am unwilling to celebrate the death of anyone. It just doesn’t feel right.

Until next time…

Run, shoot, sleep, repeat.