I have seen several articles lately about Pinterest making women feel bad about themselves... about their lack of craftiness, good cooking, or clean/organized house. I can certainly see how that could happen if you think you should do everything there is on Pinterest (how overwhelming that would be!).
Realistically, I know my house is probably not going to ever be as clean/organized as some of the ones pictured on Pinterest. However, I have personally found Pinterest to be the most valuable in my life for creative gift ideas and (mostly) yummy meal recipes. In this post, I'll share some of the things I've made recently as a result of ideas I got from Pinterest.
For Mother's Day, I made my mom some cinnamon sugar pecans (because nuts are one of her favorite snack foods). She really liked them!
Due to subtle hints, we made Dustin's mom this flower pot for Mother's Day. It has Graham's feet on it as the wings of the butterfly. That was an interesting experience.
Finally, for teacher appreciation gifts, I put together these gifts which included beach towels, little activity books (like Sudoku/puzzles), candy the teachers indicated they like, and mini sunscreens all wrapped up in a bow. I think they liked their gifts too!
While websites like Pinterest and Facebook have been taking a lot of slack for creating unrealistic images of what our lives should look like, they aren't all bad. They can help creativity-impaired people (like me) brighten others' lives and that's something I'm thankful for!
If you're my Facebook friend, you already know that I participated in and finished the Primal Challenge Race recently. Sound scary? It should! Having "challenge" in the name of the race is quite fitting. This probably doesn't mean much considering how little experience I have with races now (this was my third), but this was by far the physically most challenging thing I've ever done!
It involved 4 miles of running with 15+ obstacles in between. The obstacles ranged from running through deep muddy ponds, taking a tightrope over another scummy looking pond you do not want to fall into, army crawling under "barb wire," climbing/jumping over tall walls, climbing ropes to hit the bell at the top, monkey bars, and more! It was definitely tiring.
It took me 1:23:10.8 to complete the course. I placed 13 out of 35 individual women (as opposed to teams) in my age range (20-29), which I think is pretty good considering I'm on the older end of that age range! I placed 32 out of 99 individual female participants and 131 out of 261 overall individuals (so I guess the men whooped me). Again, I'm no speed demon but my main goal was to just finish the race so I was pleased with where my time ended up!
I was very sore the next day and hurt my shoulder coming down from one of the big walls, but I am slowly recuperating and hoping that my shoulder will heal completely on its own. Some battle wounds a few days later:
And a special treat for those who spend the time to read my blog. It looks kind of like art, if you ask me. Enjoy:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Very recently, I ran the Hogeye 4-person relay marathon. This was a much larger and more formal race than my first race, the Poker Run. That made me nervous, but also very excited. I ran the second leg, which was 6 miles. I ran at a 9:50 pace and was ranked #9 out of the 33 other women relay runners on my leg. My team was ranked #7 out of 33 and we were very happy about that. We weren't running to be competitive and win first place so we thought that was very good! It was only my second race and first relay and I really enjoyed it! Something about having teammates who cheer you on was really motivating to me. I even got my first race medal, which I was so excited about! Here are some pictures from the race:
Me and my teammates cool and smiling pre-race.
My medal; pretty cool!
After I ran my leg, I went to cheer on my sister as she was finishing the 3rd leg and then went to the finish line to cheer on my teammate, Holly, as she was finishing her leg. That being said, like so many others, I was shocked and saddened to see and hear what happened at the Boston Marathon.
It hit close to home because that's exactly where I was standing at the Hogeye Marathon. I stood at the fun finish line with dance music bumping, people dancing and cheering, and food and drinks flowing, waiting to cheer on my teammate and take pictures of her as she crossed the finish line. It was so much fun and not once was I concerned about danger. I'm sure that's somewhat like the Boston Marathon finish line was.
I am so happy that law enforcement tracked down the suspects and hopeful that the second suspect will recover and we will find out more information about their motives and use that information to do what we can to help prevent future events like this.
Like others, I was glad to see the good side of humanity come out during this time as well. The first responders and civilians helping the injured, and the nation pulling together to support Boston, were inspiring. I am still praying for all those impacted in Boston (as well as West, Texas).
My friend, Mandy, made this statement on Facebook and I thought it summed up nicely some of what I was thinking during this time as well:
"I saw
a comment today that said that all people are born good. It's a nice
thought, though not entirely accurate. True all people are born with
the ability to do good, but with the propensity toward evil. Not that
all people will become crazed killers, but even my 17 mo old will
demonstrate an understanding that he is not supposed to do something and
does it anyway. We all intentionally or unintentionally
hurt others in a variety of ways, act selfishly more times that we
would probably care to admit, and under the right circumstances can snap
out of fear, anger, frustration, and desperation. This comment, while
it is a nice thought, causes me to reflect on what is good about me and
what are traits or behaviors that are not. Upon this reflection, I
become evermore grateful for the grace and mercy shown to me by God and
forces me to acknowledge that really and truly the only good things
about are because of and from God himself."
Next post, I'll catch you up on the Primal Challenge, which I ran this weekend. "No pain, no gain" should be the motto of this race!
"And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..." - Hebrews 12:1(b)
It's been a long time coming, but I finally ran my first 5k... the whole thing! My friend, Jessica, came up from Little Rock to run with me and it was so much fun to hang out with her and run together. Here's a picture of us before the race.
The race we ran is called the Poker Run. Each kilometer you run, you get a playing card. At the end, the person with the best poker hand wins a grand prize and the person with the worst poker hand also wins a prize. Guess who had the worst poker hand out of all the runners? This girl (they wrote our hands out on a card at the end)! I had 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 of different suits... pretty impressively awful hand if you ask me!
The weather was cold, but once I started running, it was perfect! I was surprised to have a whole cheering section at the finish line! My mom, Graham, my sister Lori, and my nieces Maggie and Marin were all cheering for me and it definitely gave me the energy to finish the last uphill stretch strong! My nieces even made the sweetest signs that said "You are the best!" and "Go Aunt Lyndsey!" I LOVED their signs; here's a picture of me running that last uphill stretch and then holding the signs afterward:
Because the race was more laidback, there wasn't official timing, but I made it across the finish line in around 28-29 minutes. My cheering squad got there right before the race began, so they saw all the finishers and told me I was somewhere around the 3rd female and 6th personal overall to cross the finish line. Not too shabby for my first 5k!
They also gave out door prizes and Jessica won one of those! Us with our glasses and prizes:
T
Jessica won her door prize later so there wasn't as much to choose from, but she got a nifty gift bag from the natural food store. It had tons of stuff in it!
Afterward, we celebrated with drinks and pizza. All in all, I had a great time and would even say it was fun! Considering that I've always said I don't like running, the fact that I enjoyed this was a surprise to me!
I think becoming a mom has made me much more sentimental. The time going by so fast and Graham growing up so quickly has just blown my mind. Though I know I'm bound to, I don't want to forget the little things about Graham as a baby. There are many way to remember these things. I have been filling out a baby book for Graham and a Mom's One Line A Day journal (the one my friend, Lydia, gave to me, I mentioned a couple of blogs back). I also write notes to Graham every once in a while for him to read when he's older.
A friend, Sarah, mentioned a scrapbooking software called My Memories Suite Software. Just like her, I'm not much of a scrapbooker, but you can make labels, cards and probably much more with the software. Now I could definitely use it for those things! Anyway, she is having a giveaway on her blog where you can win the software. So exciting! If you are interested in scrapbooking or making creative/crafty things, definitely check her blog out.
I know I have a lot of crafty friends that might be interested in this software, so I thought I'd share this opportunity with you all!
Until next time,
Lynds
For this Valentine's Day, Graham and I made some gifts. First, we made some "long-distance hugs" to send to the grandparents and great-grandparents. Here is a picture of one of those hugs:
We simply took Graham's handprints and cut around them, measured and cut ribbon out the length of his arm-span, and taped the ribbon to the handprints. Though the painting part was a little messy, that was my own fault. I blame lack of experience; I have since gained valuable tips on how to get a less messy handprint experience in the future.
For Dustin, I made a root beer float kit (because he likes root beer... and ice cream, of course!). It included a homemade card, root beer, ice cream, glasses, an ice cream scoop, some cute Valentines straws, and a cute card that said "Valentine, You float my boat." Here are some pictures:
I think he liked it! I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Until next time,
Lynds
"We sometimes fear to bring our troubles to God, because they must seem so small to Him who sitteth on the circle of the earth. But if they are large enough to vex and endanger our welfare, they are large enough to touch His heart of love. For love does not measure by a merchant's scale, nor with a surveyor's chain. It hat a delicacy which is unknown in any handling of material substances." -- Torrey
No matter where you find yourself this Valentine's Day, ... single, looking, dating, engaged, married, there is one thing we can all rejoice in: we have all already been given the best, most complete, most fulfilling love there is (whether we choose to accept it and return it or not): God's love.
Don't get me wrong, human love is an amazing and wonderful thing. As Henry Ward Beecher put it, "Love is the medicine of all moral evil. By it the world is to be cured of sin. Love is the wine of existence... No man can afford to invest his being in anything lower than faith, hope, love - these three, the greatest of which is love." But no matter how much you love someone else or they love you, in the end we are all just human and, by extension, imperfect. We can be kind, we can be selfish, we can comfort one another, we can hurt one another (intentionally or not), we can have great days and not-as-great days. In other words, no matter the goodness of the person or intentions, if you are looking for a perfect love in humans or anything on this earth, you will always be let down in the end. It doesn't take much living life to realize this.
But this love that I spoke of earlier, this love that God offers us, is a pure, a perfect, and a complete love. A verse that many of you have probably heard before describes this love, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Further, if we wonder how God factors into the love equation, the answer has been made clear: "God is love." - 1 John 4:16
What has God done to show His love to us? Where is the action behind these words? "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
This statement involves unbelievably huge sacrifice and is, to those who believe in it, literally one that transforms. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17
At one point in my life, before I became a "new creation" in Christ, I was certainly in bondage. I was seeking happiness in this life through many different things, including people and relationships. And yet, I still felt there was something missing... a hole that had yet to be filled. When I chose to accept God's love instead of avoiding it and seeking happiness elsewhere, it undoubtedly and forever changed me... in a good way. The Bible says that in that moment, we are no longer "slaves to sin," but instead have been freed from that bondage. (Romans 6:6-7). And what amazing feeling it is to be free!
On this Valentine's Day, I not only hope you've experienced this freedom, but I hope you know this amazing, life-changing love. Happy Valentine's Day, friends!
