Why Facebook?

I've been wanting to write a post about why Facebook is important to me.

I know some people avoid the site as if the devil himself is behind the whole invention, and I respect that - to a certain extent.  If you feel as if Facebook - or some other social networking site - just isn't good for you and yours then I totally support your decision to not partake of it.  However, on the flip side of that coin, I would expect that you would then respect MY decision to make Facebook - or one of its counterparts - an important part of MY life.

But you may ask, "How could a social networking site be an important part of your life?  Wouldn't the time you spend on Facebook be better spent elsewhere?"

Well, first, let me say this.  If time spent on social networking sites infringes on your time with God and/or your time with family, then you should ask yourself if being a part of Facebook or Twitter or whatever is something that is healthy for you.  If the answer is no, then, as I said, I totally support your decision to ban these things from your life. If you decide to keep things like Facebook as a part of your life, finding balance between time online and time spent on obviously more important things can be difficult.  Thankfully, for myself, I think I navigate this well enough.  I'm not perfect at it, but are any of us perfect at anything in this life?!

All that being said, I have found Facebook to be a very important tool in my life - one that, to me, is indispensable.

For example, when I woke up one morning and my car wouldn't start, I posted on Facebook that it looked as if I was going to miss my doctor's appointment that morning. Stupidly, I had left the inside light on in my car, and now I was going to miss a check-up with my OB-GYN (I was pregnant with Beth at the time). However, not two minutes later, a neighbor posted that she could come by and give my car a jump. A good Samaritan to the rescue!  Without Facebook, I would have missed that appointment.

I could relate so many stories to you about how Facebook has facilitated my life...

When I've needed to find a babysitter, Facebook was there to help.

When I've needed to know how to vote on an important issue in education, Facebook friends were there with the resources I needed to make an informed decision.

When I've needed prayers, my Facebook family always steps up to the plate!

When I've needed accountability for my fitness progress, my Facebook "family" was there. 

When I've needed advice, Facebook friends are always ready to respond!

When I've needed to vent, they have listened.

When I've felt compelled to get the word out about an issue that - in my humble opinion - was important to my community, I have very easily shared that with those connected to Facebook.

When I've needed validation - sometimes, admit it, we do need this - I have easy access to those who will cheer me on or have me reevaluate my choices. 

When I've needed a quick and easy way to send out invitations - because sometimes the paper (old school) invitations just take too much time for a busy working mom - Facebook was there to help me get the word out in no time at all!

And most recently, my Facebook friends were there to offer assistance in case of an emergency.  Not knowing if we could safely drive home in the winter weather that so quickly hit our area two days ago, friends on Facebook offered their homes to me and my family if we had to abandon our car in a failed effort to get home.

I could go on... and on... and on... relating other ways Facebook has played an important role in my life, but they all pretty much center on this one thing: community.

Facebook is quick access to my community of friends and family, and that access - to me - is invaluable.

So, I love Facebook.  If you want to be an active part of my community, you can find me there. 

Today's forget-me-not: friends and family

I run for chocolate!

Today, I ran the sweetest 5K ever - The Hot Chocolate 15/5K!

At the conclusion of the race (the 5K for me, of course), we got a mug complete with hot chocolate, melted dark chocolate, and a marshmallow, a banana, a rice crispy treat, and pretzels for dipping! Fondue!! It was a fraction of heaven in a plastic mug!!!

The finisher's mug!

I will run this race again. I say, I - WILL - run this race again!  If only for the awesome hoodie and the grand finale of chocolate, it's worth every minute!!

One of my running chicas ran it with me today. My dear friend with the same name - Jaimee.  She just spells it wrong. hehe  (Sorry!! ;-)

It was cold! Not unbearably cold, but CoLd nonetheless!!!  It was so cold, I had the worst race time I have had in a long time - 37:01.

 

Bundled up!

But despite the poor race time - for which I put partial blame on the weather AND the slow pokes in the crowd who wouldn't get out of my way - the end result was BEYOND worth it!!!!

 

Like I said, I would do this again.  #cantwait

Today's forget-me-not: Chocolate is your friend!

a winning life

Now that the new year has come and the routine of school has been established, I've been a bit reflective, and watching The Biggest Loser helps to facilitate reflection.

I need to take a minute to say, I love this show.  It's people striving to be better - to live better - despite their circumstances.  That's catchy!  So if you need inspiration to get started and accomplish whatever, I encourage you to watch this show!!

As I was watching the latest episode of The Biggest Loser, I wrote down some things that a few of the contestants said. I don't remember exactly which contestants said these things, so I can't put that down.  Just know that the following quotes belong to persons participating this season.

"You can make excuses, or you can get the job done - but you can't do both."

I love this one.  There are times in my life that stuff comes up, and I often let that stuff de-rail me from being the person I want to be.  NO. MORE.

Let's take a look at my resolves for 2014...

      1. Hubby and I will resolve to make one day out of every other month a day just for Beth or a    day just for Hannah.  - We haven't done this yet, but Beth's birthday is this week. It will be all about her this coming weekend.  I've just got to find a babysitter for Hannah so we can take Beth out for a special dinner. No excuses though. I can do this.

2. I will try to finish reading one Christian non-fiction book a month.  - I got the first book. Gonna start it after I finish writing this post!

3.I will run 30 mins twice a week. - DONE for this week.

4.I will run outside once a month for 30 mins and try to push that to two times a month. - Will be DONE for this month. I ran yesterday a 5k outside with my hubby, AND I will run the Hot Chocolate 5k later this month with a friend.

5.I will drink one bottled water a day while trying to increase that to two. - DONE  This is easy to do during the week at work.  One bottle, yes.  Two, some days.  It's good!

Doing these things makes me feel better about ME.  Connecting with my children and my hubby, spending time on myself, and keeping fit and healthy - all these things help me love me.  And that's a good thing - a GREAT thing.

"That's the powerful thing in loving yourself. You are now able to love someone else completely."

In my old age of 36 - hehe - I'm finding the keys to living a great life.  And God willing, I'll have plenty of years to keep using those keys. 

Today's forget-me-not:  Life can be beautiful. Just unlock the potential. 

Thank you, Jesus. You are the ultimate example of this!

from resolutions to resolves

Another post in 500 words…

I read a post by Jeff Goins – the man who started the 500 words writing challenge – entitled, “Why You Shouldn’t Bother with Resolutions This Year.”

The title gave me pause.  Don’t make resolutions?   Don’t reflect on how you want to improve you and your life in the new year?

But that isn’t what he meant at all…

Jeff Goins clarifies, “This year, a lot of people will make resolutions and then immediately break them. Why? Because they’re not really resolving to do anything different. They’re just wishing.”

Now, after I read that, I thought, “Okay. This is true. Time to stop wishing, Jamie, and start DOING!”

He expounds, “Goal-setting, while admirable, is essentially pointless. Goals, in and of themselves, aren’t sustainable. They tell you where you want to go, not how you’re going to get there.”

This inspired me, so I’ve revised my resolutions and made them resolves:

1.      I’m gonna steal this one from a friend of mine – Hey, Nicole! Hubby and I will resolve to make one day out of every other month a day just for Beth or a day just for Hannah.  January we will find a day to spend just with Beth.  February we will find a day just for Hannah… and so on.  Connecting with our children will do my spirit well – I know it has these past two weeks off, for sure!

2.      I will try to finish reading one Christian non-fiction book a month.

3.      I will run 30 mins twice a week.

4.      I will run outside once a month for 30 mins and try to push that to two times a month.

5.      I will drink one bottled water a day while trying to increase that to two.

I’m happy with these. I could add more, but I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew in my already complicated life. 

It’s back to work on Monday. I’ve been off for two weeks.  Making sure that I accomplish all I’ve resolved to do will be challenging; however, I don’t mind a good challenge. 

Being a good Christian – it’s challenging.

Being a good wife – it’s challenging.

Being a good mother – it’s challenging.

Being a good friend – it’s challenging.

Being a good teacher – it’s challenging.

There is much stacked against a child of God who attempts to do all of these things…

Romans 7: ^17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. (The Message)

However, there is hope…

Romans 7: ²⁴ I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? ²⁵ The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Today’s forget-me-not: Time to cling to Jesus. He is the power behind godly resolves.

another 500 words

Well, in my previous post, I said I was going to type out 500 words every day for the month of January... then I proceeded to skip days 2 and 3 in this process.  I had A LOT going on, but you'll read about that in my verbal vomit below so I won't spoil it for you. :-)  Although I haven't gotten off to a good start with this self writing challenge, I'm not going to stop trying!  So, here it is. Another 500 of my words...     (Disclaimer: Remember, I do not edit my 500 words.  They are what they are...)

January 4, 2014

Only four days into 2014. I’m exhausted!  And I haven’t gone back to work yet!!

We rang in the new year with a diaper free house in 2014.  Potty training started on Sunday, December 29^th and ended on January 1^st of this new year (4 days).  I’m happy to report that the boot camp was a success!  Hannah now poo poos and pee pees on the potty most of the time taking herself there to do the deed. It seems as if she grew up all of a sudden over this break.  She’s talking a lot more – and I can actually understand her better.  And she matured.  She’s showing signs of being a compassionate little girl while having a light hearted demeanor.  I’ve enjoyed this time off with her.

Beth read a lot more over this break, and I think her reading is improving.  Her birthday is this month.  She will turn seven.  My big girl is a BIG girl, yet she hasn’t lost her innocence completely yet.  She loves playing with her dolls!  We went to the American Girl store, and she got her first American Girl doll.  She’ll have a sleepover on her birthday weekend – American Girl doll themed.  I’m excited for her.

Overall, it has been a relaxing break from work.  These last two days were particularly stressful having to deal with figuring out the new insurance my job forced me into.  As a result of this insurance, we can’t see the girls’ pediatrician anymore. Man, I really REALLY loved her!  And she knew my children - understood them – particularly Beth.  It’s just not fair that as much as I poor into other people’s kidos day in and day out, that the state in which I do this won’t enable me to do what I think is best for my own kids – give them the opportunity to see their own doctor.  Continuity of care – very important in my book – has been ripped from them, and when momma ain’t happy YOU who caused the unhappiness will be UNHAPPY too! At least, that will be mission over the next couple months…  Maybe that’s too harsh, but I’m gonna do my darndest to try to right this wrong.  Maybe it’s futile…  We’ll see. I know this: it’s worth a try.

Anyway, I go back to work on Monday feeling discouraged and unappreciated.  That’s not good for a teacher.  But I will go to work and when I see my students, I will be inspired, roll up my sleeves, and get er’ done!

Life is good.  Despite lousy healthcare. Life is good.

As for my new year’s resolutions (body, spirit, soul), they aren’t off to such a great start just yet. As for my body, I haven’t run at all these past four days.  As for my soul, I’ve been reading a devotional via a bible app, but I haven’t gotten the new Christian book on the history of the Bible that I ordered in the mail yet, so I haven’t really spent as much time on nurturing my soul as I would have liked.  As for my spirit, I think I’ve been more loving lately…  Spending time with my hubby and kids helps.  Gonna try to focus on that the rest of today. 

my 500 words

I came across this challenge on Facebook: "My 500 Words: A Writing Challenge."

Here's the gist... "My 500 Words is a 31-day challenge designed to help you answer that question. [The question of what it takes to be a writer.] It will help you get more disciplined, hone your craft, and finally become the writer you’ve dreamed of being."

I'm not really "dreaming of being a writer."  However, I did, at one point in my life, want to be a published poet - does that count for anything? A life of poverty maybe... not too far off from teaching.....  Anyway, this just sounded like a fun January challenge, so I've decided to do it! 

WARNING: For the purpose of these posts, I write stream-of-consciousness style.  That is, I put "pen to paper" - so to speak - and just let it loose. I don't worry about grammar or revising or editing; I just write - 500 words or a little more - so keep that in mind when reading the posts this month.

Also, these posts will moreso be for ME, so I'm going all selfish up in this here blog.  Read or don't, it's up to you.  Actually, you might not want to read all this... this... I don't know what this is.  Anyway, here you go...

 January 1, 2014
            The past few days have been great and awful and inspirational and exhausting – emphasis on the exhausting. 

            I’ve been potty training Hannah (my two-and-a-half-year-old) for the last four days now.  Overall, I’m pleased with the progress.  She’s doing good!  However, there are those “accidents” – the waterfall of pee you turn to see your toddler baptizing your carpet with – that make you reconsider embracing the pull-ups until… say… elementary school? Maybe?

            Anyway, when you look past that – which you have to encourage yourself to do OFTEN if your aim is to more quickly potty train your child and end the pee pee and poo poo wars – she’s about 75% pee in the potty and 90% poo in the potty.  Day four complete – I’ll take it.  There’s no going back, folks.  It’s a diaper free zone in our house in 2014!  And they old Christian hymn begins to play in my head, “No turning back… no turning back…”

            As for Beth, she was completely jealous that her sister was getting chocolate rewards for putting her bodily fluids and solids in the commode, so I had to come up with something for her to do as to reward her for outstanding effort/behavior – for an almost seven-year-old.  As a result, we decided that each time she read me a book, she would earn a chocolate.  The inspiration for this came from a reading challenge she brought home from school: read 200 minutes and earn a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut – courtesy of the Book It! program.

            I can remember when I was her age and completely enamored with the Book It! program.  (Yes, it’s that old.)  For every book I read, my teacher gave me a gold star to put on my Book It! pin.  After the entire pin was covered in stars, I got a coupon for my own personal pan pizza from – yep, you guessed it – Pizza Hut.  Proudly, I would strut into that franchise and claim my prize. Pizza!!! Who doesn’t love pizza?! 

            Anyway, I loved reading, so the program was just icing on the cake for me.

            So… between potty training successes and, well, let’s just call them “learning opportunities”, and encouraging my reluctant reader to read via mini peanut butter cup bait, my children have – as I said earlier - been great and awful and inspirational and exhausting.

            But you ask, “Jamie.  Can you elaborate on potty training as ‘inspirational’?” To which I reply, um… no. Not really.  HOWEVER, the time I spent with her on Monday – the second day of training -  had some nice moments. That is to say it was found in-between the potty successes and, um, learning experiences.

            Because of those moments, I was going to write a blog post entitled “A Day Spent With My Rainbow.”  Then the hours and the days got away from me.  Suffice it say this, I realized that day how very beautiful my Hannah is – not her physical aspect but her personality.  I’ll leave you with some adjectives that describe my Hannah: compassionate and silly… affectionate and strong.  She completes us.