Things I am not good at: Sports/ Being competitive

I am going to start a new series. All of the other series type things on this blog have obviously taken a lengthy hiatus… so don’t put a lot of hope into this one either. This series is going to be: Things I am not good at. I thought it could provide some general entertainment to the masses. I am good at a lot of stuff, but I am bad at just as much stuff! God does that to keep us on an equal playing field (I can back it up with some verses if you would like).  For a non-biblical example: Aren't people who are good at math usually bad at human interaction? Haha! I just say that because I’m bad a math. But that is a post for another time.

This post is about traditional sports and my lack of competitive nature.

I am coordinated at some things. I have good balance and flexibility and I am decently strong. Not like crazy strong. I don’t do cross-fit or any of that crazy crap. But I am healthy and generally coordinated at skiing, dancing etc. Basically just the fun important stuff.

I am not good at traditional “boy sports.” You know, the horrible boring ones like soccer and basketball. Call me sexist. I don’t even care. I generally feel negative about anything that involves throwing, catching or kicking. Hand me a bat and I will swing it at your head. Try to throw something to me and I won’t even try to catch it. I would rather stand there and watch it hit the floor than embarrass myself trying to catch it. Unless it is a baby. I would probably try to catch a baby, but seriously bad move. I can’t catch. Why are you throwing your baby at me?

Yes. This happened. 

This photo likely highlights my one and only interaction with traditional athletic equipment. And look how I’m holding it! Pinky up!? I was clearly too girly for a full grip on that stupid bat. At least I am rocking some awesome pink overalls. I knew what was important even then.

My sister is this way too. Her friends joke about how she is the least competitive person in the entire world. Well, we are both that way. Why? Because we have to be. If we cared about winning, we would be living in constant disappointment. Oh, you want to play cards? You are annoyed that I am not as “into it” as you? Sorry, but I was molded at a young age to not be competitive. Our lack of ability in playground activities taught us to check our competitive nature at the door. This lesson began very early and has seeped into other areas of our lives. Even if it is something that we have the potential to be good at! Like cards, shuffleboard or handstand contests… Actually, we would dominate in a handstand contest. Let’s go. Let’s do this. Psych! We don’t care.

Wanna hear something hilarious? My sister is on a rec softball team. She secretly hates it and is constantly expressing her hope that each game be rained out. Duh. (Sorry Donkeys!  I hope none of you read this)

I am pretty excited about this series! I hope you are too. We'll see how it goes! Eventually I will run out of material right?...

Jessica Simpson is pregnant again.

What does this mean for her 3 million dollar Weight Watchers deal? Also, seriously Jessica? I think Suri puts it best. We do not need another 17 month long pregnancy from this chick.

I really hope this is a false report. It isn't like US Weekly is the standard in journalism.

I don’t know if the world is ready more pregnant J.Simps pictures. Are they ever going to get married?? Call me old fashioned, but wouldn't you prefer to have your baby daddy be legally bound to you when you gain all that weight? Just a thought.

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My Friends

I have a sick obsession with my friends. They are the most fun people ever. Seriously, there is no possible way that your friends are as fun as mine! My friends are hilarious (filthily so), beautiful and genuine.

After spending time with them, my stomach hurt from laughing so much… or maybe it was all the food.

My women at Rontoms. [photocred to Lauren]

And this is just a select few of the college ones! I am a very lucky girl.

I know this was a lame post. Guess what? Don't care! I am still recovering from the amazing long weekend!

Holiday Advice

I don’t know about you, but I love Thanksgiving and family activities. Maybe it is because I have a super small family and I am not yet married, therefore I am not trying to juggle multiple families.

My obligations are limited. I choose to kick it with my mom all day and cook. I get to pick out our cooking jams aka kitchen dancing music and make pies. No seriously, that is all the responsibility I have.  So… that is pretty awesome. My mom often tries to make me watch football, but I can usually get out of it.

Many people say that the holidays are stressful. I totally get that! If I had kids or more than one family to answer to, they probably would be! As this is not my situation, I would like to dish out some baseless and gratuitous holiday advice. When I say baseless I really mean it, my only commitment on Christmas Day is my commitment to not showering until at least 1pm.

Here it is:
Do what you want.

I know it sounds selfish, but it is to save your sanity! My dad decided many years ago that they were never going to spend a holiday on the freeway. And you know what!? I am incredibly grateful for that decision. They did what was right for them (and us) and invited everyone to them instead of trying to please everyone else. Everyone was included, so it really just became their call at that point. I’m sure there was some initial drama involved, people probably called them selfish or whatever… but in the end it led to happy, low-stress (for the most part) holidays extending throughout my childhood.

So that is my advice. It is my final word. Just do what you want! And when I am married and I am talking about how much I hate the stress of the holidays, please send me this so I can be pissed at how ignorant to family dynamics I was at this point in my charmed, employed, un-married life.

Here’s to your very own Norman Rockwell holiday season.

Gobble gobble. Psych! We are having prime rib. Seriously.

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A weekend of learning.

This weekend I went to a Portland Blogger meet-up. It was awesome because not only did I get to see my real life internet friends, I also learned stuff. Do you know what SEO is? I didn't either. But now I do! …kinda. I was a bad student in the back of the class talking to my friends (Linnea, Sam and Abby). I did take some practical notes though! I also got this super cute mug that Jenni made as our favor.

One thing I did learn that I will have trouble using, is the obvious point that your title and tags need to have key words and somewhat relate to what your post is really about. I struggle with that because I would rather have my title be eye-catching and weird rather than relevant. Meh, we’ll see how it goes.

Other things I learned this weekend are:

1. There is an Elephants going in down the street from my house. My heart is rejoicing but my wallet is pissed.

2. This is my favorite note from church this weekend. It was timely and lovely and beautifully put.

I hope your short T-giving weeks are as stellar as mine! Even with all this narst rain. 

Pretty Little Liars.

This is not about PLL on ABC Family… Even though it happens to be one of my fav shows.

First things first, I want to say thank you for the confirmation after that last post. I got a number of calls and texts from friends confirming how timely that post was to their lives. Which makes me think, are we all liars most of the time?

Reality is that we all deal with anxiety, fear and the unknown. Why aren't we more honest about it? It would be a lot easier to go through things together. Just saying.

You guys, we are all in this together. (Please watch this at least until Chad's toe-touch)

On a completely different note, I am going to an SEO (search engine optimization) workshop with the Portland Bloggers on Saturday! I am really excited about it because I know nothing about SEO. I love getting together with this group. No one is creeped out by you when you already know about their life! Haha. If you are a blogger you should join us! Check out the Website. And while you are at it, you should probably check out my guest post on their blog too. Duh.

The F Word.

Fear.

I know I have written about this before, but I think it is the kind of thing that needs to be mentioned regularly.

So many of us live our lives in fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of commitment. Fear of the unknown. .. Just to name a few. The thing about fear is that it can be completely debilitating. It is an emotion that can completely take away all common sense and reasoning. Ridiculous.

The thing I know I have shared before is that the Bible tells us NOT TO FEAR.

Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Philippians 4: 6-7
6) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When people read and email and status update this verse from Philippians they are focusing on 7. Well… what about 6!? Read it on its own and get back to me.

On that note, let’s throw anxiety in there too. I get anxious about a lot of stuff. For example, these past few days for me have been riddled with anxiety, like having trouble eating and sleeping anxiety. Am I the only one who thinks excitement and anxiety are from the same family? Like fraternal twins maybe?

So many people use these verses as a comfort. “Oh! The lord is with me. Cotton candy in the sky, I feel comforted.” He is with you and if you are like me you can feel that comfort. Like, seriously physically feel it.  But He is also commanding that you not fear or be anxious. And when you do and stop trusting him, you are actively defying his will for your life. You are disobeying The Word when you live your life anxiously in fear.

But doesn't that enlist a little bit of fear and anxiety in you!? Haha. Vicious cycle. “Do not fear.” It isn't a suggestion! This post probably wasn't helpful for anyone… sorry for instilling an anxious fear of fearing.

I don't blame you if you read this and think, "Eff Laura and her F-word, she is a downer." (Pun!)

How thankful are you for grace!? Majorly thankful.

I leave you with this:
Matthew 6:34
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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