Long Weekend at Mom and Dad's

I had taken Friday the 18th off and also Monday the 21st as my best friend from CT was going to come to Cincy for a visit. However she was unable to make it :(  So I decided to go ahead and keep my PTO days and go somewhere instead. My best friend in Cincy decided to come along with me to New Haven for a long weekend. We have had a ton of fun! We went to Frankenmuth, MI which is called Michigan's Little Bavaria with neat German-style buildings, food, and shopping. We had a lazy Saturday and ate some super delicious treats: giant cupcakes which were as I said, delicious! Tomorrow will entail worship service and the birthday/anniversary celebration at church. Monday, per Elina's request will include a visit to Sonic. Yes, we have them in Cincy however they're not close at all to where Daniel and Elina live. This weekend has been a much needed weekend of fun, rest, and relaxation and some quality time with some of my favorite people :) Thank you, Lord for these cherished moments.

Birthday

My parents came for my birthday last weekend and we had a great time! They always spoil me and make me feel special :) I guess that's what parents are for. We did some shopping Friday night. We had lunch Saturday afternoon with my friends Daniel & Elina then we went to the movies. Mom and I went to Kohl's and then we went out for Mexican which was delicious. So yes, most of the weekend revolved around food. We went to church Sunday morning at Central. My dad was able to get someone to preach for him. Then we went to life group Sunday afternoon. I'm really thankful they were able to stay Sunday and meet my church family and my church family to meet mom & dad. It was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. I got cards from some far away friends and some beautiful earrings Brielle got me that my friend Erin made. Then Erin sent me a beautiful necklace she made. I got a sweet e-card from Audrey with my nephews pictures, it was precious!

              Flowers from Mom & Dad

                                     Flowers from Daniel and Elina

Haircut

A new haircut makes me feel so much lighter :)

Alzheimer's Disease & Random Thoughts

I went to visit my grandparents today that live in Frankfort, KY. Their health has been poor for a while now and the Alzheimer's is progressing in both. While it's a tragic disease, in their current state, I've had more enjoyable conversations and time with them than I ever did growing up. I didn't remember my Granny being one of those warm/cuddly type grandmothers. I remember being afraid of her mostly when I was young. Now, I find her crazy/perseverating rants much more endearing. Not to say that I would rather her have Alzheimer's and be the way she is now than to not have it and be her old self. But it's just interesting how this disease affects everyone so differently, and so differently day to day too. As an adult, I have a much greater appreciation for both sets of my grandparents. Well 2 grandmothers and 1 grandfather. I've gotten to spend  more time with each as more of an adult and have gotten some more quality one on one time with them, something I didn't get as a kid. I find that I want to know more about their families and history.

The random thoughts have nothing to do with Alzheimer's but rather my own random thoughts today.
1)Food
I've had breakfast 3 times today. I will have breakfast 2 times tomorrow. So, in the past 2 days I will have had breakfast foods for 5/6 of my meals. Don't get me wrong, breakfast for dinner or "brinner" is one of my favorites. I was not expecting to have it so frequently in such a short amount of time. I also wonder when will I become diabetic due to the massive amounts of sugar I've been consuming lately. Sugar is my weakness.

2) Running
I'm happy with my 1/2 marathon training so far. My left shin hurts but I'm learning to run through it. I never thought that would happen. The runner's mentality is slowly working itself into my head.

3) Friends
I'm so glad my best friend here is back from her South American 5 week long trip. Just seeing Elina last week after she got back brightened my day and really refreshed me.

4) Struggles
This past week there's been a lot of heartache and struggles going on in the lives of people I'm close to, well the people that are close to the people I'm close to if that makes any sense. There's been a lot of hospitalizations, 2 deaths, and just other heart-breaking things going on. My parents' church is included in that list of struggles with those I just mentioned. And people my sister is close to as well. My week was long, but good. I hear about these burdens and just wonder what can I do? My first response is prayer, then cards. My mom has always been great about sending cards. It is (now especially) an undervalued and under-rated service. I'm thrilled when I get a piece in the mail that someone actually addressed and signed. It's nice to know people took the time and effort to pick out a card, write something, and go to the mailbox for you. It means a lot to me because I'm extremely lazy when it comes to taking things to the mailbox, even though I just have to drive right up the post office station and walk 10 feet to the box. Laziness at its finest.

5) Conclusion
This is the MOST unorganized and barely comprehensible thing I've written on here thus far. These are my ramblings. Enjoy and good nite :)

Tired

This week has been a very busy week at work. Our census in the hospital had been very low for months on end. This past week my floor is completely full. A good problem to have considering how much debt Drake is in each month.  I'm thankful to be busy and seeing patients. It seems that most of my patients are severely deconditioned and require at least 2 people to help them transfer. A majority of them are in the "morbidly obese" category. Needless to say, my back is feeling it this week. It seems like when it rains, it pours. And we may have a flood soon. The point in all this is that some weeks I would feel totally overwhelmed with trying to get all my patients seen and making sure everyone is getting the amount of therapy I have prescribed for them. On weeks where I am not focused and do not give my problems to God, are the weeks I feel so stressed and just aggravated and slightly defeated. Today was a physically draining day. This week, a key difference has been a prayer I have been praying on my way to work: to commit my day and problems to God, to know and trust that He will take care of them. A simple prayer that has made a huge impact on my time at work. When things seem to get a little out of control, I remember who is really in control and I can continue with my day less distracted and in the infallible hands of my God.

Birthday Bash

January 21st is Denver's birthday as well as my nephews' Hudson & Dean. We celebrated Denver's birthday Friday night at Audrey's parents' Jim and Gale. We had a great dinner of lasagna, salad and bread and with some yummy cake. It was good to have the whole family together. Happy Birthday guys!!!

Flying Pig

The Flying Pig is a Cincinnati tradition which includes a full marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K races. I have done a few 5Ks and have really enjoyed it. I've contemplated completing a 10K and even a half. I decided I wanted to run a half marathon before I turn 30. While running the other day I decided that I could in fact complete a half marathon (13.2 miles). The Flying Pig is May 1 so that gives me 14 weeks to train. I figure now is the best time, I'm running consistently and I have all the time to train for one. I'm pretty excited about this new commitment and challenge.

Thinking about running a race reminded me of the scripture in Hebrews 12 (v.1-3) that discusses our spiritual race:
 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.^[a] Because of the joy^[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. ³Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;^[c] then you won’t become weary and give up. ⁴ After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.  (NLT) 


We are called to persevere and get rid of our old ways and everything that keeps us from reaching our ultimate goal. To reach our goals we have to keep our focus on the single most important thing in our lives: Christ, who allows us to throw off the old ugly self and in turn allows us to be made righteous and bridges the gap between us and God. 
Run the good race!