Food for thought

I read an interesting article this morning that claimed the following eight foods actually help to "fight fat": Almonds, berries, oranges, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, soybeans, mustard, and Swiss cheese. Why you might ask? Let's dive in.

The claim actually seems feasible upon further investigation. Almonds are high in alpha-linolenic acid, which can speed the metabolism of fats, but their natural high fat content can be counter-intuitive if you eat too many, so stick to 12 per serving.

Berries that are loaded with Vitamin C such as strawberries and raspberries can help you burn up to 30 percent more fat during exercise, but their high sugar content can also be counter-productive if you consume too many when on a low calorie diet. Oranges contain a compound called flavones that has a natural ability to burn fats, coupled with its citric acid this food is a great find.

Sweet potatoes can be tricky. Most people do not eat this vegetable unless it is smothered with butter, sugar, and nuts, so beware. Eaten alone, however, this high fiber food prevents your body from drastic peaks in insulin and therefore reduces the fat that your body holds onto. Add a little cinnamon, which also prevents a post meal insulin spike that normally occurs after you eat and signals the body that it should store fat rather than burn it, and you are hitting two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Soybeans are green vegetable that are rich in choline, a compound that blocks fat absorption and breaks down fatty deposits. This is becoming a great new super food, that just until recently had very little publicity.

While I personally do not like mustard, the spice that gives mustard its color, turmeric, may slow the growth of fat tissues, and I am all for that.

Finally, Swiss cheese. This one stumped me. According to Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, "Calcium-rich foods reduce fat-producing enzymes and increase fat breakdown." Put toe to toe with some of its cheesy counterparts, Swiss is a heavy hitter in the calcium department and has less fat too.

Now that is some food for thought! I know that I need all the help I can get with all of these holiday parties coming up. Maybe they will have some mustard covered soybeans, fruit salad, or some cinnamon & almond covered sweet potatoes.. haha, or maybe not.

Beauty in Eyes of the Beholder?

Last night we attended a dinner party for some of Chris' work colleagues who had just moved here from Chicago and were trying to get to know new people. The dinner was exquisite and their house was immaculate. A brand new three story town house in the Heights with beautiful custom details and furnishings. It was really refreshing to talk to new people and get to know their life story.

As we were driving home last night, Chris and I were discussing the different personalities at the party. Some women come across as, I guess you could call it, "putting on a face." I would love to have an "outside my body" type of experience where I could see myself through someone else's eyes, but knowing that will never happen, I only have my own perception of myself and what I see in others. After observing the different personalities and their interaction, I can only assume by what I enjoy in others what my personality is like, if that makes any sense.

Oddly enough, the women that Chris thought I would not enjoy were actually my favorite conversations of the night. I tried explaining to him that I truly respect women who embrace the concept of "what you see is what you get." Don't get me wrong, this can be a very harsh trait to have if you have a very dry personality and sense of humor, but given the right mix and bubbly type of attitude can come across as very genuine and warm to be around. Truthfully, I found it very relaxing to get to know someone who says it like it is as opposed to the women that are hard to read and understand.

This brings me to question men's view of women. I suspect that Chris finds it hard to like someone that does not sugar coat things naturally because men are not complainers just by their very nature. Women on the other hand are so use to trying to "put on a smile" when meeting other woman and at social events. There is a reason people call this "chewing the fat."

Next time you meet someone new and have a chance to set your first impression, try to take a different approach and see how things go. My gut feeling is that if you are real and honest from the get go, you might just form a new long standing friendship, which let's face it is very hard to come by.

Picture Updates for the Traveling Cars

I finally uploaded our pictures from our many vacations and decided to post them here for those who have been asking.

As a brief summary, in 2006 we traveled to Italy on our honeymoon and in 2007 we journeyed to San Fransisco, Monterrey, and Napa Valley, both which I have not uploaded pictures for. In 2008 we headed to the east coast, traveling from Boston to Plymouth, Cape Cod, and finally Newport. Later that same year we made a trip back to the east coast to see New York. Finally, this year we took a ski trip to Steamboat Springs in March and then our recent trip to Ireland in August.

We are trying to plan our next trip for 2010, but we are coming up short on ideas at the moment. If any one has some ideas let us know!

My little Cayley bug!

This past weekend was an absolute blast to say the least! I got to see the two most beautiful ladies and enjoy their laughter. Living with a man, I often forget how great it is to be around women that you love and understand. Unfortunately, in May of 2004 I went through a bit of shock when my sister, best friend, and roommate of 21years graduated from A&M, moved out of our house in College Station, and relocated to Dallas. The last 5 years have been very strange for the two of us. We have both switched our jobs a few times, got married, and moved houses. With full schedules and 4 hours between us we have missed a lot of each others' lives.

Cayley is Wendy and Greg's beautiful six month old baby girl, and let me just say that I was a little nervous going into the weekend for two reasons, both of which I explained to my sister ahead of time. Since my sister was going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding and her husband was busy coaching a high school football game, I would be in charge of Cayley for most of the weekend. My nervousness initially was because I had only been around Cayley for a limited amount of time and wasn't sure that I would know what would calm her in the event that she became upset. As the weekend approached and I started to feel more comfortable with the idea of spending time with Cayley, I started to become nervous that I might actually like spending time with her and not the other way around. Why is that a problem you might ask? Well, the fear of deciding that I might be ready for a baby was overwhelming.

Much as I had anticipated, I had a lot of fun, with absolutely nothing that I couldn't handle. I finally got to spend some quality time with my sister and the most important person in her life right now, which obviously meant the world to me.

When I got home from my trip, Chris and I were looking at the pictures from the weekend and he asked me, "So does that make you want to have kids yet or did it not?" I sort of chuckled to myself, and replied, "No." He was confused, and as he should be, what was I saying no to? I explained that I left with a pretty neutral feeling, nothing really changed inside of me. I loved spending time with Cayley and if I could guarantee that my child was as happy and easy going as Cayley, I might consider starting our family right now. However, spending the weekend "filling in for mom", toting her around, spending the night with her, experiencing her schedule and the high demand needs of a six month old also gave me a sense of reality. For good or bad, it was a great experience and really gave me a good feel for what life will be like someday as a mom.

I cannot wait until Thanksgiving to see my little Cayley bug again!

Check out the pictures from this weekend to the right!

Church and State

I read a disturbing story this morning about a young girl that ran away from home for fear of her life. The part that disturbed me was that she was scared that her own father was going to kill her because she had converted to Christianity.

The teen was threatened by her father after converting from Islam to Christianity this past summer. After fleeing from her home in Ohio in July, her parents requested that their daughter be forced to leave Florida and return to Ohio. Their wish was granted by a Florida judge this Tuesday.

While I have seen far worse than this occur over far less regarding religion, the thought of killing your own daughter sort of seems more disturbing than anything else. This family came to America for who knows what reason, but I would assume a better way of life, and yet the sheer thought of a child turning her life towards a different religion was enough to set this father off in a rage big enough to end his own daughter's life.

I do not claim to understand Islam, and I have no desire to start a heated debate about the "rights" and "wrongs" involved within each religion, however, I have a hard time believing that "Allah" would justly accept killing your own daughter over her religious freedom.

Many actually think that the mere thought, versus the action itself, is enough to be considered a sinner in most religions. With that being said, if this girl felt threatened enough by her own father to seek refuge with total strangers then I believe that this involved more than just a mere thought.

My thoughts surrounding this case are far beyond the religious aspect. Our society has tried to separate church and government so much so that we cannot prosecute a father, possibly due to his religious affiliation or because he is foreign, and instead we force a threatened daughter to return home and face a very dangerous situation that we cannot possibly understand.

What has our government come to? Let's turn the tables and say that this happened to a Christian converting to Islam in the Middle East. Would the teen be forced to return home to her Christian family? Would the government prosecute the Christian father for threatening the Islamic daughter? That is such a heated topic and loaded question. I will let you ponder and leave you with this:

Many push for the separation of church and state to protect the church from the corrupt state, while others think church should not be forced upon the citizens of the state and therefore must be separate. Perhaps both sides are wrong. Church needs to be governed by the state to protect against corruption and state needs to be governed by the church to protect the citizens.

Blessings from God

Can you imagine losing your child to an unforeseen, tragic event, maybe a car crash or a fatal disease? Probably not. In fact, studies have shown that most people never truly recover after going through the loss of a child. According to Stephen Marsh, "Many people report that immediately following their loss, they lost the ability to stand, talk and think at the same time. Severe loss is incapacitating. The period of substantial incapacity normally lasts one to three years when a child dies, nine to fifteen months for a miscarriage."

What if your child were taken from you, perhaps kidnapped by a stranger and you were forced to live out the remainder of your life not knowing where your child has gone and possibly spending all of your time trying to find them? The bond between a parent and child drives many in this situation to seek out their child with only a small glimpse of hope keeping them focused.

Now, imagine that your child has been taken from you and you know exactly where your child has gone. Would you be able to accept that you will never see your child again? Sadly this is common amongst international couples that go through a divorce and depending on which countries are involved the outlook is more often than not very bleek.

In the case of one American man, his recently divorced ex-wife took his two kids to Japan and when the father tried to bring them back home to America he was arrested and held as a prisoner in Japan. Oddly, Japanese law states that when a couple splits, one parent makes a complete and life-long break from the children.

This story was extensively covered on CNN today, and while I thought I was going to blog about coping with the loss of a child, I have suddenly realized that this entry should just be an extension to my previous blog about marriage.

Let's face it, the issue surrounding this story is not really the differences in international divorce law. The issue here is really WHY ARE THESE ADULTS GETTING MARRIED AND HAVING CHILDREN?

I will try not to harp on this for very long because I have clearly said my fair share about this, but for the sake of finishing what I have started I will say this, marriage should be entered into lightly with someone you know, trust, love and share a strong foundation with. Furthermore, parenthood should be considered only after your rock solid marriage has had time to cool off from the hot flame that was used to mold the two of you together. And finally, divorce is not an option! I realize that is a strong statement, but if you followed my previous statements you would not be at this stage anyways.

Children are blessings from God, given to us from God for a short time, and never truly ours in the first place. It is God who chooses when we will receive them, how long they will be with us, and when they will return to him. It is never our decision to keep them from the life that God has given to them, including the parents they were born to in a marriage that God has blessed.

Show & Tell

Every Tuesday night Chris and I attend an adult bible study at a couple's house that we met through church. Periodically throughout the studies we set aside nights to get to know each other better and take a break from our routine. This week we are having a "Show & Tell" night where each person brings one object that reveals something of importance about themself and then explain the significance of the object to the group.

After a week of brainstorming I found myself confused, frustrated, and a little disappointed in myself to be honest. Not only was I finding it difficult to find an object that revealed something about me, but I was having a hard time even thinking about myself at all. For some reason reflection is something that I find very difficult for myself. Actually, let me rephrase that because it is not entirely accurate. I seem to find it easy to scrape through my life with a microscope and a critical eye, but when it comes to giving people a piece of my childhood happiness, I cannot seem to put my finger on it.

About 30 minutes before our gathering I found myself at my parent's house with my mom telling me what I should bring. I cannot describe the excitement that my mom had as she pulled out a collection of items from my childhood, each with a unique story behind them. And of course with each item came my excuse to not want to share the attached story. I settled on my first FFA corduroy blue and gold jacket that I had earned through a green hand honor award and as I told the group the story about Chris and I's first meeeting while I was wearing that jacket I felt my eyes well up. Overall it was a good item to bring and revealed more about myself than I thought it would. It turns out that being in FFA is not very common for people who grew up outside of Katy. In fact, most people were in awe that I raised a pig each year and wore cowboy boots. It really puts things into perspective about what aspects of my life have really played an instrumental role in shaping me as a person. I cannot imagine my life without that 4 year experience, and as an added bonus I get to share that feeling with my husband. I am more appreciative now, knowing that I got to do something that most can hardly imagine doing. Once again I have my parents to thank for pushing me to be in a program that I otherwise would not have chosen to participate in. And who says parents are not the most important influence that a child receives?

Single... only to a greater degree

If you are married you will probably follow this blog easily, nodding in agreement, and if you are not you will need to make a mental note, some of this information might really save you some time, confusion, and let's face it, pure frustration for lack of a better word.

When I first got married there were many mornings I would stare at my husband as if he were a total stranger thinking to myself, how well do I really know him? What don't I like about him? Is he really as great as I thought he was? Will he stay this person or become what every other husband seems to become over time? I remember thinking I could not explain this feeling to anyone, and nor should I. How would that sound? Not that I ever doubted my choice to marry the man I did, but the sheer nature of marriage itself. I did not realize until a few years later that this is a natural reaction to marriage and although not everyone talks about it, most have experienced this feeling at one time or another.

The truth is... marriage can be a very scary thing! We all think we know the person we have fallen in love with and I am lucky enough to say I was right about him, but the divorce rate in America would not be as high as it is if there were not many people out there who were not right about their instincts.

This topic is fresh on my mind, maybe because I watched Jim and Pam get married on The Office last night, or perhaps because one of my best friends will be getting married soon. Suddenly I have realized that it is very hard to tell looking from the outside in, and even from the inside, whether or not two people are meant for each other.

Why do people rush into marriage? Chris and I were together for 5 years before we got married. At the time it felt like an eternity and yet looking back I know I could have waited longer but felt an urgency to be married after I graduated from college. There seems to be a pressure on women to get married, be successful at a career, and have children. Could this be the reason for such a high rate of divorce? Are women blinded by these pressures and not clearly seeing love the way God intended for it to be?

I have come up with three hard and fast rules that I think would alleviate this blurred vision (let's assume a woman's perspective for illustration purposes)...

First, do you spend more than 10% of the time thinking about how you will get him to change what he is wearing, how he wears his hair, or how long he watches football on Sunday afternoons?

Second, do you find yourself gossiping to your mom about the things he does that really irritate you or upset you?

Third, do you tell him what he should do _____ (fill in the blank) that would really be good for him, such as go to the gym, read a book, call his brother?

I think these three things could tell you a lot about yourself, your relationship, and your true feelings about your partner. If you spend time critisizing him, in your mind you are unconsciously not happy with who he is. If you gossip to your mom about his bad traits, again your true feelings about him are not favorable because most people seek approval from their parents for the things in life that they really enjoy. Lastly, you are not his mother and if you find yourself trying to be then you are not with him for the right reasons, i.e. controlling him.

These are my personal opinions, and while they are not perfect, I have found them to be mostly accurate for each successful marriage that I have witnessed.

Bruce Fisher and Robert Alberti said the top reasons people get married in order are "1) to overcome loneliness, 2) to escape an unhappy parental home, 3) because they think that everyone is expected to marry, 4) because only "losers" who can't find someone to marry stay single, 5) out of a need to parent, or be parented by another person, 6) because they got pregnant, 7) because "we fell in love."

This may or may not be true but the fact that is sounds reasonable is what seems worriesome to me. My personal thoughts are that we must be careful, cautious, and slow to find our true love and not accept the first serious relationship we have as the one God intended for us to embrace.

What you are as a single person, you will be as a married person, only to a greater degree. Any negative character trait will be intensified in a marriage relationship, because you will feel free to let your guard down- that person has committed himself to you and you no longer have to worry about scaring him off. ~ Josh McDowell

Be who you are, say what you feel, and see everyone for who they want to be as God made them.

Hunker with your Clunker

For those of you that own a home, you may understand the stress of keeping up with the dozens of bills, repairs, and upkeep of your house. Fortunately few of us have experienced the most stressful part of owning a home, failing to make our mortgage payment. This week First American Corelogic, a research firm that aggregates data, published a report on our current mortgage situation in America. The report revealed that more than 15 million (well actually 15.2 million, but what's another 0.2 million amongst friends?) American mortgages were upside-down as of June 30th. That is just over 32% of all the mortgaged properties in the US. That means 1 in every 3 mortgage holders! The report broke it down further into states, with the worst cases in California at 42%, Florida at 49%, Arizona at 51%, and Nevada at.... wait for it....a staggering 66%. If you read my previous post on July 29th, you will know how I feel about the government telling us we are out of the recession. We may in fact be out of the recession, who knows, but history has showed us time and time again that bank lending problems rise and fall with unemployment and are a key indicator of the economy. With that in mind, I am still cautious about the current market and still hesitant to make any big purchases... which brings me to my next topic, "Cash for Clunkers."

On the topic of stimulating our economy via consumer spending, I find it to be somewhat effective given the appropriate medium. However, given the amount of money each American received, $4,500, to put towards their new car, with an average purchase price of $15,000, well let's do the math. That means the average American
either spent $11,500 of their own money, or took out a loan for that amount. The latter is probably more likely which in my mind would create a bigger problem for the consumer, even if it helped the automobile dealers a little. The Commerce Department said today that consumer spending rose 0.2 percent in July, matching economists' expectations. Personal incomes, however, were unchanged. My concern is that consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, may not be strong enough to propel a sustained recovery from this recession, the longest in history since World War II. In fact, some analysts worry that the country could be headed for a double-dip recession in which the economy resumes growing for a brief period only to fall back into a downturn.

I peronally plan to err on the side of conservation and try to "hunker down", if you will, on my spending. I fear the worst is yet to come and the unknown is just too scary for me.

Beef Stew, Potatoes, and Guinness

We returned home Saturday, safe and sound, after a unnecessarily long journey. We boarded our departure flight in Ireland at 12:00 noon (6:00 a.m. central time) on Friday morning and arrived in Katy thirty-one hours later. To make a long story short, after a diversion, three hour delay, cancelled flight and an overnight stay, let's just say I thought we would never make it home. With that being said, now I can tell you about the important part, our fun filled week in Ireland!

Whoever said the weatherman is never right has never been more wrong than in Ireland. Every morning the forecast predicted a "light rain" with "cloud coverage" and "sunshine." As ridiculous as it may sound, we had just that every day. The only minor flaw in the forecast was that I would not call the mist that floats down from the clouds "rain." It was absolutely breathtaking the way the rain actually floated around, weightless, the same way that snow does.

Day 1
We arrived in Dublin, absolutely exhausted, worst case of jet lag I have had to date. After an hour nap we ventured out onto the town, well sort of, it was 11:00 a.m., we were walking around half asleep like zombies, and most of the shops had just barely opened. We soon figured out how tired we truly were when we could not agree on anything to eat. Honestly, we had no idea what we wanted and we were both so tired that we didn't want to have to make a decision. We finally found ourselves staring at the McDonald's menu in shock at the 8 euro value meals (for those of you that don't keep up with exchange rates, that is the equivalent of $12). We could not bring ourselves to do it. We settled on a quaint little crepe shop called Lemon. With full tummies and a brief walk around the busy town center, Grafton Street, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for our welcome event at the Guinness brewery. At 8 stories tall with a 360 degree view of the city skyline, a full dinner and bar, and the most unique building I have seen, the Guinness "Storehouse" was a great way to start out our vacation. We met up with some of Chris' colleagues and chatted about our trip and brief view of the town.

Although I would not call myself a "beer drinker" I found the Guinness to be surprisingly good. The Irish were quick to inform us that Americans actually store stout beers too cold. They should be served at 52 degrees and any colder would give them a bitter flavor. Many say that Guinness tastes best in Ireland, and I would have to say that I agree.

Day 2
We woke up early and jumped on a bus for our tour of the Irish country side. On the agenda was a trip out to a famous castle, a historic, an currently active Catholic monastery, and lunch at a local pub. The Powerscourt castle at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains, the original home of the Wingfield family for 350 years, was owned by the famous Slazenger family (you might recognize the name as a tennis label). Words cannot describe the gardens behind the home. Stretching over 45 acres, they are a blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary, and ornamental lakes with over 200 variations of trees and shrubs. This is what I imagined Ireland to be like. Absolutely stunning!

Our next stop, "The Glen of the Two Lakes", or Glendalough, was an early Christian settlement, founded by Saint Kevin in the 6th century. The monastery, with its simple and austere buildings (notably the round tower and stone churches), remains in an impressive state of preservation. While at the monastery, I learned two important things about the early Irish settlements. Although 90% of Irish are Christians today, when they first settled the island, they worshiped the sun and the moon as their gods. If you are familiar with the shape of the Celtic cross, you will recognize how Saint Kevin incorporated Christianity into the existing pagan beliefs. I also noticed a certain dark tenting on the buildings, specifically in the mortar. Our tour guide explained that it was common practice to use Ox blood when mixing mortar rather than water. While this may not surprise some, I found it interesting nonetheless.

Our leisure lunch at the pub was a very typical Irish meal. Stew and potatoes with a pint of Guinness and a form of, what we call, apple cobbler for dessert.

Later that night we met up with two of our friends for some dinner and entertainment at Oliver St. John's Pub at Temple Bar. We all ordered fish and chips, another local favorite, sipped on some pints, enjoyed the live music and dancing, and finally headed home around midnight. It felt like the locals were just getting started on their night, but we were still feeling the jet lag.

Day 3

Another early morning with much of the same weather as the previous days, a light mist and a cool temperature. From our hotel we headed north, following the tour guide for a illustrative walk through the city followed by a bus ride.

Along the journey I admired the architecture and the ornate details that decorated each building, church, castle, and manor. I have always admitted that architecture is one of my "should have been"s in life. We oowed and awed at history of Dublin, the British influence and Celtic traditions, the liveliness of the people, and the booming economy. I could have, no doubt, done this every day of our trip, but I could tell after about two hours that Chris' eyes were glazing over... he needed food and some good ole Irish whiskey. We grabbed some tea and a bite to eat at a local sandwich shop then made our way across the river, Quays, to the Old Jameson Distillery. We were told by our tour guide earlier in the day to be careful should we venture north. The old Irish saying goes, "The only reason an Irish woman crosses the river north is to get her purse back." With this in mind, we were not quite as shocked as we might have been with the change in scenery. Nevertheless, when we arrived at Jameson, we were pleasantly surprised to see the crowd waiting in line to tour the distillery. We bought our tickets for € 13.50, wow, and waited 30 minutes for our tour. Chris was like a kid in candy store, literally. He was so excited that he could not make up his mind what he wanted to buy. Originally one of the six main Dublin Whiskeys, Jameson it is now distilled in Cork, although vatting still takes place in Dublin. With annual sales of over 31 million bottles, Jameson is by far the best selling Irish whiskey. After the tour and free tastings, we bought a few nice, tax free souvenirs and headed back to our hotel to shower and meet up with friends for dinner and a fun night out.

Day 4
On our last day in Ireland, we decided we had seen enough of the city, so we took the train south on the coast to a small town called Dun Laoghaire and ate at a beautiful restaurant, Ivory, on Castle Street. It was nice to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the city and be amongst the Irish without the tourists. The trip seemed way too short, but we had a big evening planned.

On our final evening, I really got to experience something I had not been a part of in awhile. When Chris and I first started dating in college I saw him succeed on a daily basis at all that he did, grades, intermural sports, work, and school organizations. Then we worked at the same company for our internship, and all I ever heard from Chris' boss was constant bragging. I feel like I know Chris better than anyone else, and yet it never ceases to amaze me the kind of impression that he leaves on people. His first year at ADP, a tough year on his company to say the least, the lowest number of attendees to the club in years and here we are sitting amongst people who have been doing this for 15+ years. I could not help but be so proud of his hard work. We were by far the youngest people on the trip from ADP which also made me more aware of how big of a deal this really was for Chris. After the recognition dinner and the celebration party at the Burlington Hotel we headed back to the Conrad, our hotel, for our final night in Ireland, and the rest is history.

Although it took me a few days of rest and writing this blog to realize how much fun we had, I recognize that this was a once in a lifetime trip. We couldn't have gone at a better time to a better place with better people. I am grateful for the opportunity we had, but more importantly I am overwhelming inspired once again by my husband's abilities in life. God has truly given him some amazing gifts.

There you have it, another notch on our belt, another 9,144 miles added to our life long journey together! Where will the road dare to take us next? Tune in to find out.. haha :)

Top of the Morning to You

Ireland here we come!

Chris and I are leaving for Ireland this weekend and are really looking forward to a week away with no worries. Up to this point we have taken trips to places we both have been anxious to see, but Ireland has never really been on our list of "Must Sees." Because Chris is such a hard worker and dedicated individual, he made the "President's Club" trip which is awarded to a select few at his work. As a reward for his hard work, his company is sending us on a paid, one week vacation to Ireland. Now that is what I call Go maire tú an lá!, or Congratulations!

I have not packed, and really have not planned out anything about this trip, which if you know me very well, or just a little probably, that is totally out of character for me. I have come to realize that I know very little about Ireland, its weather, the dialect, and what there is to do there. What I do know is that we will be drinking lots of beer, well Guinness, and doing a lot of sightseeing. The nice thing about this trip is that I don't feel like I have to get "the bang for the buck" and cram everything I can into the vacation, because we are not paying for it. Hallelujah!

I cannot wait to tell you about the trip when we return, our adventures with the leprechauns (just kidding), the blarney stone, the Book of Kells, the Castles, and the folk music... okay so maybe I have done a little bit of research...

Signing off, or as the Irish say, Slán go foill.

It all started with a mouse

When I was growing up, I, like most other kids my age, was a walking fantasy. I would pretend to live in a castle, cut my barbies' hair at the barbie salon, which never seemed to grow back, build a fort in the forest, hide from secret ops.... My imagination was loony, ludicrous, and unreasonable, but I loved it. My mom would anxiously wait to hear my latest story and listen in awe as I told her about my adventures. She always allowed me to feel alive through my imagination and never tried to deter me from such silly fun.

Today it is hard to fathom where that childhood imagination goes. Video games, movies, board games, and computers consume the majority of kids' time these days. Very little time is spent outside playing or inside a room without an electronic means of entertainment. It makes me wonder how this affects a child's development, both mentally and emotionally. Creativity and emotional involvement versus a reformatted detached game that requires little foreward thinking.

Speaking of imagination, in 1909, when Walt Disney was seven years old he was hired to work at the Kansas City Star newspaper. Did you know that later he was fired from the paper because of a lack of creativity. Years later The Disney Company bought ABC which owned The Kansas City Star. How strange that one of America’s best loved film makers was fired because he was "not creative enough". Just goes to show what little you can tell from a child and what huge potential they have.

In Walt's later years, when asked about his success as a film maker, cartoonist, and the world’s largest entertainment conglomerate, Disney replied, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.”

The world we live in now would not even be recognizable to Walt Disney. Our children will not be able to play outside alone, or explore on their bikes until dark, as I did. How will we cope with this change? How will we ensure that our children have the imagination, curiosity, and mental capabilities that we have without being a robot that is plugged into an electrical outlet?

I for one am going to take this very seriously when we have children. The alternative is just too frightening.

ROR

Since today is Friday and this week has been really tough on me both personally and professionally, I thought we could all use a laugh. These pictures speak for themselves. Click on the picture to take a closer look. ENJOY!

Skeletons in the closet

There are many advantages to being the youngest employee at a company. The learning curve is steep, your colleagues are always well-mannered around you, and the experiences they have gone through can be used to nurture your development.

Today a colleague that has been with the company for 13+ years was reminiscing about some of our old customers, Goodyear Tire, Ford, and Kodak. He said the most interesting visit he had was when he went to Peabody, Massachusetts to the Kodak factory. When he got there he was in shock. They were burning cow bones to make their camera film. So as he is telling me the story I guess my jaw dropped or my eyes popped out because he stopped in the middle of a sentence. He said that wasn't even the best part, in 1999 the company bought over 80 million pounds of cow bones for their film production. Who knew Kodak had so many skeletons in its closet?

At first I was actually amused and maybe a little skeptical. Then it crossed my mind that with the new digital era, maybe the "animal sacrifices" were no longer necessary. I should have stopped and filed it away as an interesting story, but my curiosity got the best of me. Upon further investigation I now know that cow bones are apparently a frequently used, black market traded, highly sought after product on the market. Call me naive, but I honestly had no idea that cow bones are in Jell-o, Marshmellows, many different kinds of candy, and gummy bears.

I guess I grew up naive and sheltered, but part of me likes that. I feel sad when I see kids who have experienced too much too young. I'm just learning myself what the real world is like, and I am glad I could wait this long before I had to deal with reality. I can agree with Tobey Maguire when he said, "I might have some character traits that some might see as innocence or naive. That's because I discovered peace and happiness in my soul. And with this knowledge, I also see the beauty of human life." Perhaps this is a weakness that I have, or perhaps it gives me an advantage over others.

Two years at this company so far and my knowledge has expanded ten fold. How exciting and yet scary it is to think of where my mind could be ten years from now!

Don't drink the Kool-Aid

Each day I learn more about how strange the world works. Monday afternoon our friends delivered twin babies, both of them do not have a history of twins in their family and they did not participate in fertility treatments either.

This morning I turned on my computer and the first story my eyes were drawn to was about a village in Kodinji, India with 230 sets of twins. This is absolutely astounding to me. After centuries of research and medical support, doctors have insisted that the ability to have twins was based on one's genes, food habits, or age. The story in Reuters actually claims that the cause of the phenomenon is the water!

If this mystery if further investigated and scientists discover a cause, can you imagine the pandemonium that would arise? I hear that fertility treatments can be very costly, and the opportunity to have multiple babies without the help of a doctor could increase the world's population exponentially!

For those of you that do not know, twins are highly, let's say, "contagious" in my family and Chris's family. The chance that we may have twins some day, based solely on genetics, is very high. I have never been to India, never really plan to, but if I know that a plane so much as flew over India, I might be hesistant to board it.

Is this really a plausible explanation? How is it possible that this is isolated to the Kodinji village of India? I have no medical training, have not done any research on this topic, but my gut tells me this is going to have a profound impact on our society in the near future. Once again scientists will use their petri dishes to create something that only God was meant to touch, and next thing you know every country will be overpopulated like China and adoption will be free.

Okay maybe I went off the deep end a little bit on this one, but you have to admit it is a little scary. All I'm saying is "DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID."
(http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drink+the+kool-aid)

My Clearance Puppy

This weekend I finally got a chance to watch the movie "Marley & Me." Even though I had been warned about the ending, I was still an emotional wreck, just boohooing and gasping. If you have not seen the movie you may not want to read any further... I have cried in many movies before, and in most cases a quick reminder from Chris that it is just a movie suffices and I return to reality. In this case, however, the reality was that some day I would have to say goodbye to my "clearance puppy."

Our little guy, Dusty, a.k.a. Boots, a.k.a. Dusty Boots, was born July 1, 2007 as a mix between a Pomeranian and a Chihuahua. The day we went to see him, we met at a Whataburger and were patiently waiting for the puppy to arrive when we saw an old '85 buick pull up. In the driver's seat was a middle aged woman wearing a t-shirt with no sleeves, no bra, and her granddaughter sitting in her lap. In the passenger seat was her husband, and yes, the puppy was in his lap. Chris and I got out of our car to go see the dog. The man placed the dog on the grass while the little girl tried to grab him. At this point, the 6 week old, flee infested, worm filled tummy, shaking puppy dog started to cry. I was overwhelmed and convinced that regardless of what Chris said, I had to rescue this little guy. I picked him up. He was honestly very strange looking and not at all cute considering his bulging belly, lack of hair due to malnutrition, and he was not even comforted by me when I held him. We offered her $50, she was asking $200, and she accepted $100. We immediately left Whataburger and headed to Walmart to buy... well who knows... we had no idea we were really going to buy this puppy.

2 years later I can hardly imagine not having him around. He lights me up when I see him and I know that no matter what kind of day I had he will welcome me at the door with a wagging tale when I get home.

If you have a pet that you feel the same about, you may find the following website to be interesting. The website describes your pet's personality based on their astrological sign. You will need to figure out which sign applies to your pet before you can figure out their personality. Let me know how accurately it describes your pet. The Cancer personality is RIGHT ON for Dusty. I could not desribe him any better.

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/pets/your-pets-personality-462598/

What's your "Jacob"?

The sermon on Sunday was about Genesis 32, and if you recall, in this story God changed Jacob's name to Israel, thus giving him a new identity. Jacob was literally defined by his name, a "heel grabber", because he was born after his twin brother. The take-away from this story is that we are all defined by things in our lives that are not Godly and we must change.

I find myself moved by this story, and mostly for the shear fact that I can associate with Jacob. I find myself wrestling God on a daily basis, just as Jacob did. I often challenge God, saying, "Why won't you let this happen? Why don't you want this to be part of my plan? Why did you take this away from me?"

I realize, and have probably always known, that there are a lot of things in my life that define me and constitute my identity. Without my job, my husband, my friends, my car, my clothes, my weekly television shows, etc, who would I be? Truthfully I would probably find myself feeling very empty. Is that not what God is trying to tell us?

A month ago I totalled my car, last week nothing seemed to go right at work, and who knows what will happen this week or next month to me?

We may not always like God's way of showing us that we are not focused on him, that we are not filled up with his spirit, that we are not living through his word, but if God's actions catch our attention then his goal is achieved.

What part of your life is defining you right now? Maybe it is your job, your possessions, or your physical appearance. Is it preventing you from seeking God daily and encountering him in every aspect of your life? Is it holding you back from having a peaceful heart or a peaceful marriage? Whatever the case may be for you, if you do not take action to correct it, God will find a way to show you.

On that note, I know that I have a lot I need to re-prioritize in my life. Work has become the center of my attention lately. I have to remind myself that I work to live, I do not live to work. My work ambitions and drive to be a successful business woman should not define me or put a strain on my life, my relationships, and my walk with Christ. I know whole-hearted that without my job I am still the same person, without the income we would still be happy, and without the career I would still be successful in my life.

Not everyone will understand where I am coming from on this matter. Some will not see the need to seek God first, so let me just say this... at the end of the day once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box, and from that box, as equals, God will decide who is worthy to spend eternity with him. I am grateful that we have a God that saves us from ourselves.

God desperately wants to change your identity!

What If?

The conversations that go on at work between men and women is eye opening. The boundaries are very gray and the humor is on completely different levels. If men tell each other they look ugly, laughter will erupt. However, if one woman tells another woman that her hair looks messy, woowee, watch out.

Have you ever wondered what Adam and Eve talked about sitting in the garden? Let's face it, the two had never seen another person before, they didn't have jobs, families, friends, hobbies, celebrity gossip, politics... the list could go on forever. How simple life was and yet I can't help but imagine how the conversation went....

"Look at that pretty tree..."

"Man I am hungry..."

"Look at that snake..."

"What are those?..."

...and then it crossed my mind that at one point Adam must have said to Eve, "Back up, I don't know how big this gets." The first man, the first woman, and the reason we are all alive today. Was it an accident, did God educate Adam, or was it part of the manly intuition and therefore not a surprise at all?

Is this where the phrase morning wood came from? Eve must have thought Adam had a tree limb in his pants... an interesting thought to ponder. Any thoughts?

It's tough being wrong, but someone has to do it

The cover story in Newsweek magazine this week is called "The Recession is Over." I would have to say that is a pretty strong statement considering we have seen absolutely no sign of recovery. In fact, just as we thought the oil and gas market was showing a bullish trend with positive economic indicators, the market starts a downward spiral with oil down $4.

I find it interesting how sure everyone is about everything and how wrong they end up being. The truth is that in order to be told you are right and therefore a genius you have to stick your neck out and make a statement. Unfortunately, only fifty percent of the time are you actually right. Politicians, the media, our friends, our families... we are all wrong at least half the time. That is just the facts.

God did not intend for us to be proud creatures, and yet admitting that we make mistakes is always such a feat. Today is our 3 year wedding anniversary, and in light of the topic, I have noticed an exception to the rule when it comes to marriage matters. Recently I have become aware that in my marriage I am wrong more often than not. In fact, I am wrong at least 75% of the time when I put my foot down and am certain about something. I am dumbfounded when I am flat out wrong. I can pick out different aspects of my life where I am right at least 80% of the time, and yet not in the case of marriage. After 3 years of marriage I have stumbled upon the secret. Men reserve the moments where they insist they are right to a minimum because the thought of admitting they are wrong keeps them on the sidelines. As soon as they know without a doubt that they are right, they pounce. Now that I know this, oh how the dynamics can change! :)

Did he just call me a typhoon?

Work today left my soul speechless. I find myself working exceptionally hard and at times extremely frustrated with others' effort towards the cause. I don't have a lot of insight to contribute today except that expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are an honest worker is like expecting a bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.

On a side note, a co-worker called me a tycoon today. After jokingly thanking him for referring to me as a huge storm in the Pacific Ocean, he corrected me and informed me that a tycoon as defined by Merriam Webster is "a top leader, a businessman of exceptional wealth and power". Surprisingly, the word was directed as a complement for my hard work and not a criticism. This reminds me that often times the world isn't as dark as it looks, I just need to take off my sunglasses!

I will leave you with these thoughts from various people in hopes that they will motivate the both of us!

Don’t get mad. Get everything! ~ Ivana Trump

A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit. ~ Arnold H. Glasgow

Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal. ~ Vince Lombardi

The Bandwagon is Full

Another great year of CHLB (Church has left the Building) was completed on Sunday. After 3 months of preparation and last minute unexpected changes, I am in awe of my husband's leadership skills and compassionate heart. Chris led the project and ultimately coordinated all of the details from the very beginning. This year we spent 3 hours at the Krause treatment facility in Katy with children ages 11-18. These children have come to the center from various backgrounds, including drug addiction, abusive homes, prostitution, and gangs. Unfortunately, the center only allowed us to visit with the group of kids that they considered the most socially capable and furthest along in the treatment process. Of the 65 kids that live in the facility we visited with 15 of the girls. Each girl decorated their own throw pillow with fabric markers, which they got to keep, and decorated their own sugar cookies with colorful icing.

At the end of our day, as we waited to gather and dismiss, a few families came to visit some of the children in the lobby. Although I did not personally get to know any of the children very well in the short period of time that we spent with them, I felt an overwhelming sense of pain and fear for the children. The fact is this small group of kids is a very small fraction of the children in this world with these backgrounds and only these kids are fortunate enough to get a second chance at life. I cannot even fathom how many children are put into prostitution by their parents, or given drugs from their friends, or even the ones that drop out of school and do not have a role model there to tell them it is not acceptable. The innocence of the children of this world is sadly lost because the parents are not fit to teach them right from wrong.

A few of us met for lunch afterwards and a friend ask us if we are planning to have kids soon. My response was a definite no. After an emotional morning, I couldn't help but feel that I was not ready to have kids. Look at what happens to children when their parents are not ready to be parents, not fit to be parents, or not selfless enough to be parents. How am I suppose to raise a child at the age of 25 when I am still trying to understand life and God's plan for me? In the words of Oprah, "Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility."

I am dwelling in that privilege at the moment, but also knowing that Jesus said, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you." Matt 17:20

The one thing I have learned from friends and family is to never make a decision based on emotions and don't jump on a bandwagon especially when it is full. With that being said, the decision to have or not to have kids ultimately lies beyond my control, and I will reserve my emotions either way.

The TEN Speed Bike

Last night as Chris and I were installing a tile backsplash in our bathroom as one of the final steps in our renovation I started to think about my life in comparison to a bike, and not just any bike, but a ten speed bicycle.

Growing up as the youngest of three and as a daughter, it was always easier for my family to do things for me than to teach me. When I felt uncomfortable trying something new, asking for help become the norm, but as I get older and find myself more and more in unfamiliar territory I am finding it to be much harder to ask for help than I did as a child. As an adult I have become determined and somewhat stubborn about just doing things myself.

God designed us much in the same way that a ten speed bicycle was designed, with multiple facets and abilities to cope with the ever-changing terrain that we are confronted with. Unfortunately, most of the people in the world, myself included, would rather rely on someone else for help than to learn the needed skill for themselves. The truth is that most of us have gears that we never use, and probably never will. The problem is... Have you ever used the wrong speed on your bike when you are headed up a hill or perhaps around a curve? The reason the bike was designed with ten speeds rather than one was to make the ride easier and more enjoyable.

Not that installing tile is an impossible task, and not that I openly volunteered for it either, but on any given day of the week I would, typically, have hired a contractor to do the job. The house renovation has made me want more than ever before to learn how to use each of my "gears", and even before that, marriage instilled in me a new eagerness to be well-rounded and independently sufficient. Consider the different feeling that you get when you are asked for help to complete a task versus the feeling that you get when you have to ask for help.

Win Borden once said, "If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it is right, you will probably never do much of anything," and Charles Schwab says, "When a man has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what he can do."

My mid-year resolution is to take this to heart. With a little bit of humility and a lot of patience God will help me dust off my gears and test them out on some new terrain. Wish me luck!

Through the Carr Looking Glass

Although I currently do not have time to keep up with this blog, I am hopeful that in the near future I will find it to be a relaxing hobby.

Chris and I have finally moved into our new house and slowly, but surely, we have started to become situated and comfortable in our "new skin". We are grateful to have found the house that we did, but more importantly we are happy we are finally living in it. Thanks to everyone who lent us a hand in what seemed like a very long process. We are looking forward to our first gathering where we can share the excitement with our friends and family.

"Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction."

Check back to see the before and afters of our house, the adventures we went through along the renovation journey, and the most recent news on the Carr front!