50 Questions that will Free Your Mind (Part 2)

If you remember a while back I posted Part 1 of this series. I borrowed this list from Tidbits.

Part 2

1. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones? This one is hard. I would rather not be able to make new ones. I would not want to loose my childhood memories, those of people who are no longer with us, and everything that has made me ME up to this point.
   
2. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first? Yes. There is something to be said about your gut reaction about something.
   
3. Has your greatest fear ever come true? No, and I hope it never does.
   
4. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now? Nope. However, my reaction to how I dealt with the way I felt mattered. I bet. :)
   
5. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special? This is a hard one, there are many, after all. I'm going to go with when my sister was born. I remember going to the hospital with my grandmother, and seeing Erin for the first time. I remember knowing it was an important day, and that's it. I was only 2.5 years old, so I'm surprised I remember anything about it. It is one of the first memories I have of my life, and one I know I remembered for a reason.
   
6. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? Anytime I travel, I feel passionate and alive. Like the world is bigger than just me, like there is so much more out there to explore, like there is so much I don't know. It's an amazing feeling I always want to replicate over and over.
   
7. If not now, then when? Soon, very soon. Sooner than I think it should be, so that I don't wait any longer or put it off any longer. There is no reason to keep putting things off, there is never a perfect time.
   
8. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose? Nothing, and everything. Isn't that the case with everything though? :)
   
9. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever? Not really. I'm the type of person that needs validation and to hear everything out loud in order to know it's true.
   
10. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars? Because people are closed-minded and intolerant, and they don't see a reason to change. Sad, really.
    
11. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil? In most cases, yes, definitely.
    
12. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job? Haha, I guess not, since I already did that.
    
13. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing? More work I actually enjoy doing. If I could find the work I enjoy doing and be able to do it for a living, I would be in a very good place. I think that most people strive for this.
    
14. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before? No. Absolutely not. I am such a different person now than I was a year ago, and I'll be a completely different person this time next year than I am now. I can't possibly repeat days if I keep changing.
    
15. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in? October of last year, when I quit my job with plans to not find another one. It's terrifying, and one I need to make sure I am putting to good use every day.
    
16. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today? Wow. Just to think about this breaks my heart a little. I would fly to Boston to see my best friend, then head up to Vermont to see my family. My sister, my parents, and my sister-in-law and in-laws. I would bring Jason with me since I would want to spend every second of that day with him.
    
17. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous? No. Time is a gift and I wouldn't give it up for anything.
    
18. What is the difference between being alive and truly living? Alive = breathing, Living = Experiencing your life.
    
19. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right? I do this too much, ignore the risk and rewards factor... so my answer is yesterday. And if you didn't start yesterday, start today.
    
20. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake? Because we may not learn from that mistake immediately, and it's hard to tell yourself it was for the best without knowing right away it's ok.
    
21. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? I would wear more dresses, brighter colors, and high heels.
    
22. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing? When I was on the treadmill an hour ago.
23. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love? I hope so. I love my husband, my family, my friends, my pets, and my life. If you are reading this, I probably love you too.
    
24. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that? Likely not, but I will remember what it was like to be me.
    
25. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you? I am making them for myself. If they are the wrong ones, I know I will figure that out sooner or later and hopefully be better for it.
    

That Time I Ran 3.106 Miles

Thank you to P&G’s Have You Tried This Yet? program and Kroger for sponsoring my writing about trying new things and breaking out of my everyday routine. Click here to find great savings on high-performing P&G products at a Kroger store near you. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Over a year ago, my husband Jason started running. Really running. Making it a goal every day, a hobby, a new passion. Last June, he ran his first half marathon. He was injured, and likely shouldn't have been running that day, but he did it. He crossed the finish line. I was so proud of him I cried. I was proud, excited, and jealous. Seriously, I was jealous that he set his mind to something like running 13.1 miles and did it, and I didn't.

I wasn't exactly jealous that I didn't do it, but more than I didn't have the determination to do it. I wanted to be part of that experience, of pushing myself to go further. I wanted to get my butt off the couch. I wanted to feel that 'runner's high' that people claim to get. I even wanted to get blisters and sore muscles, just to know I earned them.

So, this year, I vowed to be a part of it. I told myself that, if I had started running when Jason did, I would be further along than I am now. And that there's no excuse to not start.

Even though I didn't want to, and I didn't feel ready, and it was February in Minnesota, Jason signed us up for the Twin Cities Valentine's 5k on February 12th. He urged me to try, and signing up was the first step. I feel like, after registering, there's no turning back, and that's a good thing.

On the morning of February 12th, after not training the weeks before, and feeling pretty bad about myself (on top of stomach cramps and some intense knee pain, not to mention the anxiety of my first race) Jason and I set out to run our first 5k together. In February, in Minnesota.

Let me be completely honest with you, it wasn't awesome. Not even half awesome. It was, however, a learning experience. I learned I really need to work on my breathing so I don't get out of breath quickly. That my muscles (ha, muscles... like I have any) could take me much further if I could just breath. I learned that I need (need!) to do some training outside, especially when there is danger of ice and snow, since it made me nervous on the day of the race. I learned that no matter how much you sweat, if it's 30 degrees outside, your ears still get cold. I also learned that, no matter how I felt during that race, I finished, I could do it again, and perhaps most important, I WANTED to try again. I wanted to do better.

At the finish line, where they provide water and snacks and such to the runners, they also have information about the next races coming up. I looked at the sign for the St. Patrick's Day 5k and asked Jason "can we do that one?" And so, on March 12th (that's this Saturday) I will be running my second 5k with Jason. Wish us luck!

A post for my Mother-in-Law

Yesterday (if all went well, I'm writing this on Wednesday and posting it on Friday) we surprised this woman for her 50th Birthday:

Surprised, as in, elaborately planned out for 2 months how we would get to Vermont, and get her in a specific place, without her knowledge.

This would be easy if we could just drive home, but we had to book flights well in advance. We also had to get a ride from the airport (luckily Amanda came too, so that part was easy, plus we got to ride with Miss Abigail, who is basically the love of my life even though she has no idea that's the case.) We had to contact people to have them change plans. We had to ask them to lie for us!

"Grampy, can you change your trip to Montreal but don't tell Denise why you are changing it? Actually, could you lie, but lie good? We don't want her to suspect anything. Kthanksbye."

"Oh, hey, Debbie, you don't know me, but you work with Denise, can you mysteriously make no one sign up for her scrapbooking class on Thursday so that she's not busy that night and we can surprise her for dinner? Yeah, however you can make that happen would be great."

Lots of interfering went down. Lots.

And you know what? I'm pretty sure she has no idea (remember, I'm writing this about 20 hours before this is all supposed to go down.) She's even planning a trip to see Amanda in New Hampshire for that weekend, AND booked her hotel already (hoping that's refundable! Oy!)

There are so many people in on this surprise, and it's been in the works since Christmas, and it's going to be awesome.

Even as I type this my hands are shaking a bit and my heart is pounding in anticipation. I want her to cry (out of happiness, of course.) I KNOW I will cry. I'm pretty sure Amanda might cry. Maybe Abi will cry (but she's 5 months old, so maybe it will be because her diaper is wet or something.)

I will have my camera. Hopefully I will be able to get some good shots of the surprise going down.

I am SO excited to do this for Denise. We were planning a trip in March anyway, and this just made so much sense, to plan it around a milestone birthday. And I know that having her family together will make her really happy. REALLY happy. Or, at least, I hope it will!

In honor of my most amazing Mother-in-Law, and perhaps the one person I write funny posts for, here is a quick thought about something funny, just to see if I can make her laugh, on this, the day after her birthday. :)

(Sorry Denise... but this is an awesome photo and I had to post it. :))

I've been thinking a lot about chocolate lately. Mostly because I am trying (TRYing... oh, how I'm trying) to eat a little more healthy lately. It's SERIOUSLY hard to work work work on an elliptical for 30 minutes, burn 300 calories, and then go home and eat two cadbury cream eggs in 1.3 minutes which total (wait for it....) 300 calories. Um, what a slap in the face.

This our nation, we like our fast food, processed food, sugar, salt, cholesterol. Yup, all those sound pretty good to me. Add to that carbs, creamy soups, and ice cream. More goodness. But not good for your body. Nope.

You know what is good for your body? Veggies. Peppers and broccoli and string beans (......humph.) Also, water. Water is good. But you know what? Water doesn't even taste like anything! I mean, I like a nice glass of cold water on a summer day, but I LOVE a nice glass of cold lemonade on a summer day much better... or a mug of hot chocolate on a winter day! Both of which are, you know, basically messing up water. "Let's take some water and totally mess with it and add copious amounts of sugar! Americans will be all over that!" Um, yeah, I am. Thanks. My thighs thank you... they are thriving on just that concept.

So, as Americans, we can do a lot. The assembly line and NASA and Feris Bueller's Day Off... we can come up with some pretty kick butt stuff. Now, how ridiculously hard would it be to come up with a recipe for chocolate that's low calorie and full of vitamins and minerals and rainbows and happiness? HOW HARD? Apparently very hard. Because it hasn't happened yet.

Just spend $1million and just do it... you would make your money back in about 4 hours (20 minutes at a movie theater... perhaps 20 seconds at a Weight Watchers meeting) and we would all be better off for it.

Now, take that recipe, and make another billion dollars and pour that awesomeness all over some low fat donuts (I know, I'm pushing it, but you're a millionaire now, just make it happen!) or mix it up with some low fat ice cream in a shake. Open up a fast food joint using this technology... pay some guy named "Jared" to eat your donuts all day every day for a month and see how much weight he looses. Billionaires. Kazillionaires. You will be so ridiculously rich that you will have to make up a new number because you will have so much money. You will be able to pay a team of scientists to come up with that name, and to count the money, and to wipe your butt and a whole host of other unpleasant things. No more butt wiping for you, no sir. You have a lot to look forward to my friend. (I assume we'll be friends, because I gave you this idea, and that you will give me roughly a billion dollars for the idea, my birthday is September 1st if you want to surprise me, and I will be so grateful that I will let you in on another secret... one that is perhaps more important.... did I end that parenthesis yet? No? Ok, here you go... )

That other, more dire, more awesome, more betterer idea? You've all heard of it, I'm sure. Here, I'll give you a hint:

"Beam me up Scotty!"

Yup. Teleportation. It needs to happen. For serious.

My Mother-in-Law (you know, the one we were talking about way up there ^ about an hour ago?) sent me this photo a while back. The caption read "see you soon!" She knows me, she knows how important this cause is to me:


Ok, so aside from being able to see my friends and family whenever I want, and go to dinner in Paris, and save endless amounts of money on flights and awkwardness during those airport scans (you know the ones... the "someone is looking at all I've got right NOW... somewhere... right now, someone is looking..." ** shudder **)

Aside from all those things, aside from the awesomeness of dinner wherever I want, there are other benefits. Getting clean water to those who do not have access to it, food to those who are starving, vaccines to those who are sick, eliminating drunk driving, car accidents, plane crashes, stubbed toes on long walks... the whole shabang. Of course there would be disadvantages (disease would spread super quick, hello smallpox.) BUT, the advantages would significantly outweigh the disadvantages. I mean, come ON, dinner in Paris. For serious friends.

So, those smart people reading this, or those with access to a lab, or money, or all three, get on these ideas. Get on it, and get to it, and become a gabazillionarie, or whatever you and your team of "people who come up with names of things and wipe my butt because I told them to" want to call it.

There you go. Kick butt ideas for the taking. Semi-free and all-awesome. You're welcome. :)

Happy Birthday Denise!

Today is my Mother-in-Law's Birthday. And not just any birthday, her 50th Birthday! WOO! In honor of this wonderful woman (who I share a sense of humor with, because she likes to read my blog and laugh) I give you something that should make you laugh. Especially if you know her. Because this happened. And it was awesome. And Real captured it in photos. :)


Love you Denise! Have a fantastic day!