Fav.Friday & a bit of introspection

It's been kind of a crazy week and today was like the icing on the cake. It was a sad and humbling day, and an exciting one. All at the same time. So before getting into this week's favs, I just want to ramble on a bit about some things floating around in my head that I'm compelled to share.

It's Friday night and as I sit here working on this post while J watches his beloved Angels play the Yankees (I know, it's a bad word because I'm a Red Sox fan, but I wanted to be descriptive), I feel especially calm and grateful. My world isn't perfect right now. In fact, it's far from it. I've seen a lot of tragedy around me lately, and experienced my own small day-to-day tragedies that pale in comparison. My patience has been tested and sometimes it feels like things can't get worse and won't ever get better. But through all these moments of sadness and at times, hopelessness, there always comes a sense of humility and clarity that change me in ways I struggle to even comprehend.

I have been blessed with so many things in life and sometimes, I take those things for granted because I'm so wrapped up in all the things I think are going wrong. I witnessed something very sad today. I couldn't hold back the tears and I felt as though my heart actually hurt. A friend of mine went through something really difficult and I felt like I couldn't do anything to help him. I didn't think it was fair and I couldn't do anything to stop it. But even amidst this situation, I realized something about life and about myself. I realized how important it is to support those around us. How just the smallest gesture of kindness, goes further than you ever imagined it could. I realized how blessed I am to have friends like him and how being there to support him, helped me in so many ways. And most importantly, I realized that while life can make you feel sad and mad and alone, there are those moments when you know in your heart that everything is going to be okay. That all the things around you that you sometimes take for granted, can bring you a sense of peace and comfort, even on the darkest of days.

That being said, I just like to say that my heart is full of gratitude. Gratitude for my faith. My husband. My family and friends. And very specifically, my freedom. Freedom to think the way I want to and to pursue a career I'm passionate about. Freedom to choose and freedom to feel. I've never been one to hold in my emotions and it's really amazing how expressing them to others (the positive ones in particular) can make you feel so alive and connected. So on that note, it's time to mention a few of the specific things I'm very appreciative of this week. It's time for Fav Friday!

1. As J and I were driving home in traffic this evening, I found out via twitter that I won this.


I found out about the contest to win this seriously cool processing tool earlier this week via a tweet from the [B] school. J was actually the one who told me to enter and even though I didn't think I'd ever win, I retweeted the information and went about my week. You can imagine how surprised I was when I found out. Especially after being present for the aforementioned difficult situation with my friend. When I saw my name on twitter, I screamed, turned to J, and high fived him. Yeah, I actually high fived him! Who does that?! That's how excited I was. And if I haven't already mentioned how awesome the [B] school is, please add it to my list of ultimate favs. Thanks [B] school and Mr. Kubota!

2. Modern medicine. Okay, I know this one is really general, but I'm very grateful for modern medicine this week. I don't know if I've said it before...I probably did because I feel like I tell everyone, but I tore some core muscles in yoga a few weeks ago and I've been so frustrated ever since. I can't go to yoga, I can't workout as hard as I want to on my cardio machines, and I can't lift anything remotely heavy. You can only imagine how much I've had to ask J for help. And I don't always like asking for help. From bags of groceries to my lesson manuals for church to the baby love. He's been lifting it all and I feel like a lazy bum. With the help of modern medicine, I've been able to relax my muscles more fully so that I don't tense up while I sleep and it's made all the difference. I'm not free and clear yet and I've been told that it takes a long time to heal, but I know I'm on the way and that it won't be too long before I'm in tree pose once again. Although I won't be doing the triangle on my left side anytime soon (:

3. Remember how I talked about s'mores last week and said that the s'more cooker in the picture I posted was vital to my survival? My dad read the post, agreed with me, and made me one!!! Yeah, because my dad is just genius like that. He can seriously create anything. I remember when I was in 5th grade and pogs were cool. He made me slammers out of metal and all the kids in my class were jealous. Excuse the quality of the picture and just focus on the fact that it's a s'more cooker! Thanks dad!


Have a great weekend everyone!