Lent

Lent begins today. For the last few years I've been observing it as a time to give up something. One year it was pop, one year it was fast food, last year it was all social media.

This year I'm again doing the fasting from social media and all things 'extra', like the games on my phone, blogging, and obviously facebook, twitter and instagram. Why all these things? Because they all take my time away from things that I should really be focusing on.

Since social media hit the scene back in the mid-2000's and everyone got smart phones thereafter, I feel like we've lost our focus. It's so easy to spend an evening at home watching TV and playing on facebook and reading blogs about other peoples lives instead of actually having relationships with people and learning about their lives through face to face interaction.

I'm not dissing social media or blogging at all. I've actually met some of my dearest friends through these mediums. Brittany and I met three years ago through a Kelly's Korner link up, which resulted in us then meeting lots of other bloggers from Columbus at a 'meet up' and I get together and do fun dinners and things with them all the time. So blogging has been a real blessing in my life and I'm so thankful for the wonderful friends I've met through it and the encouragement I've gotten from others that I don't know and will probably never, ever meet.

But back to social media being a time sucker upper. I have been late to work mutliple times because I lay in bed of a morning and scroll through pinterest, twitter, instagram, facebook, email, etc. all before getting out of bed in the morning. Then I go through them a second time just in case anything has been added as everyone was waking up and getting on social media as well. And I can't even count the number of evenings I just sat at home and played online instead of doing something productive.

But it's time to get my life back on track. Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. I've done that before and I'm doing it again. This year it's a little more meaningful, as the true purpose behind Lent is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

Last year while I was on my social media break, I started attending a bible study with a friend. I loved it. Prior to that, I had gone to church for holidays, but never on a regular basis. During Lent I really started going and understanding the bible. It all made sense and I really felt a complete change in myself - with confidence, less anxiety, ease that things were going to work out how God has planned and that I can just trust him.

Attending church every Sunday continued until summer came and I got busy, and to be honest, lazy. I'm still going to bible study on Monday evenings, but I can tell a complete difference of how I'm focusing now and how I was focused last year. I'm not focused at all, basically. I miss class or show up late. Sometimes I don't have my lesson completed. My mind is somewhere else and not there. So it's time to cut back and focus. Get rid of the materialistic things (even though you can't actually hold social media) and get back in touch with what really matters - my friends, my family, my faith.

So, I encourage everyone else to take a little break from something that is absorbing your time and focus on the important things in your life. :)

Columbus Ink

Tried to think of a quirky post title and that's all I got. My spin on Miami Ink.

Last spring my work hosted an international festival for students and one of the booths was free henna. I have never wanted a real tattoo, but getting a temporary one was appealing to me. Well, I had a meeting and it didn't work out. So Tuesday morning when I found out it was festival day again I literally ran downstairs to get in line for the henna guy.

I was so excited I didn't know what to get. And I had on my boots. Not exactly henna friendly footwear when you want a tattoo on your foot. So I went home and changed shoes to my flats and came back. I scrolled through my pinned designs (yeah, I made a board for my fake tattoos on pinterest), but when I got there, I didn't use the paisley design I'd taken with me.

I wanted something like this on the side of my foot, or one of the designs on the top of my foot:

 And this is what I left with:

right after it was done.

today.

also today.

I got cheetah spots on the top of my right foot. And Script Ohio on my left wrist. Molly also got the cheetah spots on her right forearm, which looks awesome. The guy did it a little bigger than she originally wanted. Like a lot bigger.

For now, I'm just going to stick with henna tattoos once a year, when they're free at the festival. Anything more permanent is definitely out because I'm super annoyed with how I don't think my script Ohio is centered and the dot touches the top of the "I". So I'm glad it's just temporary. Plus, I could never decide on one thing that I'd want on my body for the rest of my life. I go through too many phases. How many times do you hear of people saying they wish they hadn't gotten that Tasmanian devil tattoo on their calf when they were 18!? :)

Wonderful Weekend and a Whiny Cat

This was one of the first weekend in probably months that I didn't have anything on the books. Not one thing. And I was THRILLED!

Friday night I went out to dinner with my friend Maggie. I've had a gift certificate to an Italian restaurant in our city for a long, long time, so I suggested we use it. Tony's Italian Restaurant was super fancy, but the food was amazing! She and I sat for hours laughing and talking. I am so glad that we have become friends over the past year and always look forward to our dinners. One of these days we're going to align our schedules and knit or quilt together.

new red and gray cheetah scarf for my 'date' with maggie.

Saturday morning I attempted to sleep in, but that's impossible with Bowie. Gone are the days of her sleeping in the living room and me having to wake her up. Sigh. After doing some massive cleaning up and laundry, I headed to the gym. Since my 1/2 marathon race is 20 days away at this point, I know I needed to run. And run more than 2 miles. So I decided I was going to stay at the gym for as long as I needed to and run at least 5 miles. Well, surprise, surprise, I ran 10 miles! 10 MILES! That's a record for me and I was so unbelievably proud of myself. I wish I'd sucked it up and done another 3 just to do the whole half, but I was tired, sweaty and hungry.

Bowie doesn't ride in a cage. Bowie rides shotgun. (I was not texting and driving. I was parked.)

Saturday evening was low-key. I drove home to Piketon, went out to eat with Mom and Dad and made a visit to Walmart with Ty. Obviously it was a super exciting day.

Sunday morning I headed to church bright and early for the baptism of my godson, Layton. :) I'm so honored that his mom and dad asked me to be his godmother. I love this little boy and his mama.

Sunday afternoon was also low-key with my mom. I slept for a long time. After dinner with the folks, Tyler and I went to Mam and Papaw's to watch the first half of the Super Bowl. I really had no interest in the Super Bowl at all this year. I was cheering for the 49ers because Ohio State had FOUR former Buckeyes on that team. And I was also cheering for the Ravens because Michael Oher was playing, and it was Ray Lewis' last game. To be honest, I did't even know who Ray Lewis was prior to that game that was his 'last game' where he did the dance. Where they in a wild card game? I don't even know!

Ty and I watched the game with Mam, Papaw and Uncle Randy. I had such a good time. Game commentary by my grandpa is even funnier than game commentary by my sister. We watched the half-time show there too. That was a hoot! I was so excited for Beyonce's show. More so than the actual football game.

True 'dat.

When Destiny's Child came out my grandpa said "They must be new. I've never heard of them before." ha. I thought the half-time show was good. It wasn't as good as Aerosmith, N*Sync and Britney Spears back in 2000, but how can any show ever top that? And it was SO much better than Madonna last year.

We left when the power went out in the second quarter. THE POWER WENT OUT AT THE SUPER BOWL! How in the world does that happen?

Monday morning I had a doctors appointment scheduled and it worked out that I could drop Bowie off to get spayed. After I'd done all my errands and before I could pick up Bowie (5pm), I visited my mom at school. She's the principal at her elementary right now while the permanent principal is on medical leave. I helped kindergarten students write journal entries, played "Cat in the Corner" in PE class and opened 3,493 ketchup packets at lunch. I had a blast. I definitely enjoyed spending the day at the elementary school and someday think I might want to work at one. Someday. Not any day soon. There was also 3 cases of head lice in the classroom I helped with. Do you know how much I itched that day? Ugh. I'm itching again just thinking about it.

twitter shout outs i got from Chuck Wicks and Terrell Pryor for the OAA tests a few years ago. Still hanging up at Jasper.

Cue the Sarah McLaughlin songs. I locked her in the carrier and she about had a fit. 

Bowie was NOT happy when I picked her up. Girl has an attitude. When we got back to Columbus, she was a hot mess. She tried to run from me, but she was in a lot of pain, so she cried. She tried to jump on the couch, but cried. She tried to jump on my bed but only made it half way up before letting out a loud cry. We finally got situated in the bathroom, which is now 'her room' and I went to bed. She cried from 2-3am, so I got up and sat with her. Yes, I was that cat mom that sat on the bathroom floor with my cat til she went to sleep. I think she has separation anxiety. She eventually fell asleep and I went back to bed.

Tuesday night she did great. I let her out of the bathroom, she took her pain pill and just laid around all evening. After I got home from work, we watched Hart of Dixie and the Bachelor together. It was a girls night in. ;)  And she slept at the foot of the bed the entire night, never made a peep.

Her incision is super tiny. Not even two inches. And she has bright pink stitches! I was so worried about how I was going to take care of her, but cats seem to be pretty self-sufficient. Thank goodness!

It was a good weekend of working on my goal of not being so busy! I consider it a success.