The lesser of two evils

I was starting to feel really sorry for everyone back on the East Coast (mainly my teacher friends...then again you still get the summer off). The amounts of snow there are horrendous. And everyone thought that I was moving to the snow capital of the world, ha.

But now I think that the jokes on me haha. As I jumped in my car this morning, I knew it was cold but I didn't realize how cold it really was. And the closer to work I got, the colder it got.

So what was that magical temperature you wonder?

A terribly blurry picture...I think its time for a new phone.

Yep. That says -20 degrees. So which is the lesser of the two evils now?

Do you have a golden voice?

Since viewing the video yesterday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Ted Williams and his golden voice which truly is a God given gift. It's smooth and has a calming nature to it. Williams has been given a second chance at life after battling drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness. With offers from companies like the Cleveland Cavaliers and KRAFT foods, the man with the golden voice has been given the golden opportunity to get off the streets and start his life fresh.

But as I thought about it in my own life, I couldn't think of something that I needed a second chance in. Of course my life doesn't look anything like Williams' did just a few short weeks ago but do we necessarily need to have it be something that large to get a second chance?

I think that everyday we are looking for that second chance; looking to re-do a day in our lives, looking to stop doing something that is causing us pain, looking to fight that Goliath that is scaring us away. And Ted's story seems to give anyone looking for it some hope.

And I pray that he holds tight to this second chance. He's made a few promises to people that will hopefully allow him to be successful in this second life. The first was to his mother who reconnected with her son in New York City following his Today Show appearance and the second was to God, whom he prayed to everyday asking for his mother to be able to live to see the day when he was off the streets.

I hope and pray that when you are looking for that second chance, you will be as successful in finding it as Williams was. I hope and pray that you are able to make promises to people to stay successful just like Williams did. And I hope and pray that whatever it is that you are looking for, you will all find your golden voice.

True Life: I Canceled My Gym Membership

Ah, New Year's resolutions. The time of year when the gyms make bank on the amount of new memberships while their loyal customers often drop off the radar for a month. It's not hard to see why. Waiting 15 mintues for a treadmill isn't fun, especially when you are watching someone walk at a zero incline and a pace of 1 mph.

I'm going to admit that at the time when my fitness regiment should have been at its all time high (the 6 months leading up to my wedding) the gym was just a faint thought in the back of my mind. But Griff and I wanted to start the New Year right and get back into our regular gym routine. After all, there was only so much of a hiatus we could take before the pounds started piling back on.

So what was the first thing that I did after the New Year? Why I canceled my gym membership of course. Ha, take that you over-priced health club. Ok, ok. I'm not like super woman. I still need to go to the gym but that gym wasn't helping my waistline and it certainly wasn't helping my wallet either. Instead, we now use the gym on base....FREE of charge. Number one, it's closer to our house and number two, I can almost promise you that it isn't as packed as the health club that we used to belong to was going to be.

So what was the second thing that I did after the New Year? I changed my workout time in my schedule. Hello 5:30 am. No, I'm not kidding. When I first moved here my sister started her workouts at that time. It was easier for her...I honestly thought that she was crazy. But now I see the reasoning in it. It was so easy to come up with an excuse for not going to the gym at the end of the day.

When I was in Connecticut, that was the best time for me to go. I didn't have a house to take care of, my mom was still making dinner for me every night and Griff wasn't there to keep me occupied. Now it's a different story. After work is the worst time of the day for me to go. And not only that, the gym is only filled with serious people at that time in the morning. No people staring at the equipment like it's a foreign object, no one sitting on a bike (not pedaling) just watching TV. And I have to say, I think it could become addicting.

So with just a few days under my belt, I have no complaints. Let's just hope I don't give it that two weeks and decide that sleeping in is more appetizing.

Christmas tree denial

This morning as I sat on at my kitchen table and drank my morning coffee, I surveyed the living room that sits to the right of me. And over in the corner sits my beautiful Christmas tree that is still green as can be and keeping most of it's needles. Maybe I'll take it down this week...or maybe I can just hold out till the weekend. I admit, I'm in Christmas tree denial.

Today is January 3rd, 9 days after Christmas Day and I have no desire to take down my Christmas tree or the decorations that are outside on our porch. I just can't seem to part with the holiday season. So many people I know took their trees down the day after Christmas. They couldn't wait to pull out those boxes and pack it all up. Not me.

As of right now, the lights from the tree are adding to the lighting in my living room. I know, lame excuse for wanting to keep an evergreen with ornaments sitting in my living room for a few more weeks. And I'm sure that I will kick myself when the needles start falling everywhere and the tree begins turning brown.

This year's tree disassembly just might be a job for my husband. I know that he's itching to take it down.

As I write this now, I think about all of the reasons that I don't want to take my tree down...the holidays came and went so quickly for us, it's that dead time of winter when there isn't another holiday in site, and we are settling in for a very long winter here in Montana....all things which feed into my Christmas tree denial.

I guess for now it will just be like the white elephant in the room. Maybe it will come down this week, maybe it will stay till the weekend. But for today, I'm going to be happy with my Christmas tree denial.