Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: With the weather being sunny & then gray & then sunny & then snowy & all the time cold still, I've had an itch to get to the gym more often. While getting to the gym is one thing, the itch is crazy & the high after the workout is wonderful! I've seen a number of friends post that they're doing the 21 Day Fix lately. I totally am inspired by this, but haven't quite gotten to this trend yet. So keep being awesome & inspiring friends! In other good news, this week was a mix of a little down time & then full swing back into the go, go, go.

BAD: If you haven't heard Indiana politics have been a little crazy this past week. As somebody who will always find home in IN, this piece of our history is purely embarrassing. Are people going to be carded by their sexuality & race & religion & anything else we can think that can not only bring us together, but separate us from all those who are different than us? Not only could this identity judging be done, but then service entirely denied. GROSS INDIANA!

AWESOME: There is always room for change & a better tomorrow. <--- i="" in="" reference="" said="" style="font-weight: bold;" that="" to="">BAD
. In other awesome news is all the continuous good food we've had lately. We've been inspired to try new recipes & so far so good. I find that new recipes bring new life into a kitchen.
WORD: Today's Gospel lesson is a little long. But guess what, it's the start to Holy Week! In fact it's Palm Sunday. A day of celebration followed by a week of realizing what our sins have brought to this world. Mark 14-15, check out the entirety of it for the full picture.

coming up: April & Easter & hopefully warmer temps!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome

Happy Sunday! I'm changing it up a bit. As my readers know, the ugly is often stuff we see in the news & something I struggle finding anything to share about. My heart doesn't stay in the ugly part of my days very easily. I've been conditioned to do otherwise & I'm not gonna fight that. So this past week while watching some sort of television show - if only I could remember which one! - I saw a segment on the 'good, bad, & awesome.' I knew in that moment that needed be something I tried with my Sunday Snippits, so here we go!

GOOD: The little ways those we love say hello. My bff, BGEG, has seen hearts popping up all over her life ever sense her Grandy passed away nearly 2 years ago. I was eating lunch the other day only to look at the core of my apple & see a heart. I thought to myself, "Why hello Grandy Mary & whoever else you have with you!" I say whoever else because death has been very prominent this year already & definitely in my life time of those I love. This heart was definitely unexpected & while the picture doesn't show it well, I especially loved that the apple seeds - which I enjoy eating - filled the heart. My good friend JMC convinced me some 4 or so years ago that it was okay to eat this part of the apple too. So hello to JMC in NJ! Yes, the little hellos come from the living & the dead. Call me crazy, but I believe in a God that gives eternal life & these hellos are one way God is working in the world.

BAD: Did I mention death? Yeah, I can't express enough how important it means to be in community & to be constantly reaching out to each other as part of community & sharing love with one another. We fall short of doing this for everybody & maybe even feel that others fall short of doing this for us, but try & try again is all I can impress here. On another note, our fur baby doesn't like the grass & seeks out the ever shrinking piles of snow to use the bathroom. However, even this doesn't convince her to always use the restroom outside. We we try & try again. Sigh.

AWESOME: I So much like ending on a good note! Going along with the little hellos & the apple heart, I read this week that people, Drew Barrymore in particular, also looks for hearts in her day-to-day life to simply see the love in the world. She even compiled enough materials to create a book titled Find It In Everything.

WORD: This is Holy Week for those who practice Christian traditions. That means this week we walk with Jesus in his last days on earth as a human & celebrate his resurrection as all peoples' salvation on Easter Sunday. This week, Christian believer or not, I encourage you to find an experience to take part in around Holy Week. There's worship services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, & depending on where you live possibly something special on Saturday & a multitude of celebrations on Easter Sunday.

coming up: This & that, those are my days right now. Enjoying Netflix, reading a piece of daily scripture, doing yoga, blogging, keeping the laundry done, & practicing my basic French. This week I will also toss in a little Bible Study prep for working at camp this summer.

Sunday Snippits...the good, the bad, & the ugly

It's Palm Sunday! The church nerd inside me is fully soaking up all the Holy Week festivities this week.

photo courtesy of Bliss Street Studios 3/24/13

Today I'm linking up again with Kate & Kati for the GOOD, BAD, & UGLY to cover the last week & move into the week ahead. If you didn't check out their blogs last week, take a few minutes & enjoy life with some other bloggers at Incorporating Color & Classy Living.

the GOOD: Life is good, though crazy busy as I thrive living in the fast lane. Remembering back more than a day ago is challenging though when you live in the fast lane. I know I had lots of meetings & appointments this last week. So I thrived in networking & collaborating with others. I also participated in Humble Walk's monthly Beer & Hymns finally! It was splendid, good times & I finally got to officially meet the talented Rachel Kurtz & reunite with a few other youth & family ministry folk that I don't see too often like Tay Wilson. Tuesday Z & I went to Anchor Fish & Chips to meet up with some friends that I hadn't seen in years. We got our food & headed over to Dangerous Man Brewery for some beer & soda. Friday night was the first of several SENIOR FUN events & this one just happened to be my event. We focused on a family friendly event with the movie Happy Feet, popcorn, root-beer floats, & photos with me in a penguin suit (thanks to AButler!). Saturday I spent all day being certified, with about 50 others, as Zumba Basic 1 Instructors. I'll let yall know when I'm able to join the ZIN program & start teaching! This morning we went to worship at St. Anthony Park Lutheran & I was reunited with a friend from working @ Camp Wapo & then came home to clean up our drying laundry for Rikki from Thirsty, Nerdy, Cats & Justin to visit. A couple of weeks ago I won a giveaway that Rikki did on her blog & it gave us a reason to see each other for the first time since 2008. We originally met through Spoke Folk years ago & have kept in touch through blogging & facebook. Here's some photos of the good stuff!

3 Spoke Folkers & their spouses

Z kissing his penguin wife!

RR, Me, J (our instructor), & SB at Zumba Instructor Training

Rikki & I! So blessed by friendships that withstand time & distance

the BAD: My thesis is a thesis & a word that I have dreaded for years now. I have a cover sheet, but that's about it. Thankfully I have till April 20th & the research work is pretty much done since I'm taking my Diaconal Ministry project & editing it. It's a good thing I'm passionate about Children, Youth, & Family Ministry & Pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit)

the UGLY: Two chiropractor appointments, a massage therapy session, some kenesio tape, & two slips that ended me scooting across the ground till I could find dry ground to stabilize myself on have all been helping to better or worsen my wacky muscle & joint issues. I have two more chiro & 2 more massage appointments this week & I am really hopeful that will do magic because insurance won't cover these treatments for long. Z told me I'm not allowed to talk about being old till I'm 65, so I have a few years to go!

coming up this week: I WILL WRITE 10 PAGES OF MY THESIS! This is my pledge in front of yall, to myself. A few meetings of this or that, classes through Wednesday, Holy Week festivities with the communities of Humble Walk & St. Philip's Lutheran (Z's home congregation) & Easter brunch with Dad & Mom N. Here's to productivity & a piece of holiday break!

What was GOOD, BAD, &/or UGLY about your week?