Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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Archives for August 2015

love letter to NOLA 10 years after katrina

August 30, 2015

One decade has passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. I just want to send a short little love letter to our beloved city, New Orleans, to let her know we haven’t forgotten.

Years before this terrible event, Handsome and I fell in love with the city, the French Quarter in particular, and started visiting every chance we got. Since the storm we have visited just as frequently, and our civic affection has only gained strength. We know the streets better. We know the restaurants really well, in fact in at least one local spot the waitstaff recognize our faces and often remember that we are from Oklahoma. (This is the same restaurant where the bread pudding is so good I usually cry a little.) We each have our favorite views and and sensations that draw us back over and over again.

The surrounding areas are visibly changed by Katrina, scarred really. But as with all scars many of them are perfectly beautiful.

NOLA jackson square

NOLA trees and row houses

NOLA artsy displays

NOLA swamp

NOLA gatah

NOLA bead door

NOLA alley

NOLA beignets

NOLA signage

NOLA fortune row

NOLA green

NOLA art alley cuddle

Keep on keepin on, New Orleans. This big, beautiful world would never be the same without you.

See you soon.
XOXOXOXO

5 Comments
Filed Under: memories, New OrleansTagged: Hurricane Katrina

friday 5 at the farm: Handsome’s 40th

August 28, 2015

Hello friends, Happy Friday! Today is not just any Friday… Today is Handsome’s birthday! And not just any birthday… Today is his fortieth birthday!! This is a HUGE milestone and a very happy occasion here at the farm.

For Friday 5 this week, I’d like to share five things you might not know about my guy and five photos to illustrate each wonderful truth.

handsome with baby girl

#1. He is a kid magnet. This man, serious in many ways and responsible to the core, well strapped to a fast-paced, stress-laden professional day job, is just a kid at heart. In the very best ways. He has a playful childishness that I adore. He can connect with toddlers and teenagers alike, provided he is free to just play and break all the parents’ rules with abandon. (This is why he prefers to hang out with kids here at the farm: His farm, his rules, you know? Ha!) He is not above throwing children in the pool, letting them play blood drenched, morally questionable video games, allowing ridiculous table manners and all kinds of grossness, or wearing sparkly pink cowgirl hats when the situation dictates. My heart melts to see him with children of all ages. It reminds me of how he was with our girls when they were small, and it previews for me what kind of grandpa he may be in the future. The super smart, dependable, really fun kind.

handsome as batman

#2. He is the Dark Knight. Since he was a little boy, my husband has had a penchant for dressing up as Batman, and over the years his costume has evolved respectably. (Thank you, afore-mentioned day job. $$) He looks really good as Batman, friends. I am totally used to attending costume events together where girls and women hand ME (dressed as Super Girl) their cameras and ask ME to take THEIR photo together, ha! “Yeah sure, it’s cool. I mean, you don’t have to CUDDLE him, but whatever… I’m fine, I guess.” Not only does he look great in his costume, he also fights crime and injustice and has a dark side of his own. See? Batman. Look closely and you will see that my Batman is holding Tiny T. They fight crime and injustice and also pity fools together. It’s a good arrangement.

handsome with buff trough

#3. Jack of all Trades. He can and will happily build or fix anything that is broken, except tile floors. Please, he is begging you, okay, no more tile floors! His design ideas are always exciting. His skills come out of ancient family memories and his own research, often gleaned from the internet. His confidence with tackling projects around the farm just astounds me. Nothing intimidates this man. On a related note, he is the only mostly sane person I know who will turn his back to a bison.

handsome with tickets

#4. The Life of the Party. We stay pretty busy, and I like it that way. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, he is at the center of the fun. I love hearing him laugh hard from across a car show. I love watching him play with kids or joke with friends, often doing impersonations which only happen spontaneously. Do not expect to make a request and get one on the spot! He tells the best stories. He’s not really afraid of offending anyone. He’s spicy. He’s like the sriracha sauce of party guests. Everything’s better when you add him.

handsoem and me at dinner

#5. The love of my life. I think you knew this part already. This man has been my husband for fourteen years now, and every year gets better and better, more loving, more locked in, more comforting and tantalizing. All of it. He is true, perfect romance to me. He is safety and strength, adventure and risk. He is home base. I cannot imagine being more fulfilled or more motivated to be my best and to live really well than I am, together with him.

I love you sir. Deep and wide, always now and forever. I wish you the happiest, most memorable milestone birthday yet. I wish you stress relief, better and lasting health, comfort for your sorrow (which you hide from everyone), and wild and crazy dreams come true. You are more than a dream come true for me.

Smooch
XOXOXOXO

4 Comments
Filed Under: family, Handsome, memoriesTagged: birthdays

jessica michelle

August 27, 2015

You were here with me again. Did you know?

Somewhere between Monday and Tuesday, in the sueded navy blue deep, you illuminated everything.

You were all at once young and vulnerable and old and wise, but this time you were no longer gritting against pain.

Instead, you were pulsing joy and radiating love with the most gentle pink and gold peace. Your aura had a fragrance better than any perfume.

We chatted and giggled and I touched your velvet skin and you played with my hair and asked me about my herb garden.

I asked you about your writing and are you in love? Your twinkling brown eyes said that you want to be.

One minute we were on your grade school playground, noisy and happy, the next floating on a muddy lake, blue sky above us, quiet and calm.

A new face emerged around the corner and wondered who I was, then she knew and turned away. Running. Not afraid, just… ashamed. You smiled at me and wrapped your arms around my middle, squeezing tight. I held you still and inhaled sunshine from the top of your head.

There’s a change happening isn’t there? I feel it. I feel you. And this opens such a floodgate.

I have been smiling through my pain, too.

But while you were here, glowing in the dark, neither of us had to.

Because nothing is stronger than love.

jess sweet 16

I’m linking up this week with Kat Bouska, grateful for her invitation to write in twelve lines.
I took some liberty, but she is very forgiving.
And without the safety of restraint I might not have even tried to share this.
XOXOXOXO

8 Comments
Filed Under: faith, Mama KatTagged: dreams, Jessica

motivation monday: buckling down for 6 weeks

August 25, 2015

Hello! How was your Monday? Are you off to a great start for the week, whatever it holds for you? I’m checking in for the second time today to talk a little about end of summer fitness and health. I have spent the last few months kind of following my own groove, doing whatever exercises feel good that week and eating what works in harmony with our easy-breezy summer schedule here at the farm. Not surprisingly, this has meant a few skipped miles and more than one bowl of ice cream. It’s no big deal; this approach has also meant lots of new HIIT workouts, extra very yummy yoga, and delicious, healthy meals in between those ice cream bowls, haha! I still feel really great and have maintained my stamina, maybe even gaining a tiny little bit of speed. But now? Now it’s time to focus. I am giving my mind and body six weeks of TLC for these reasons:

  1. I’ll be running a half marathon the first Sunday in October, and while finishing it is not a worry, I want to finish it really strong, like maybe under two hour. This may not seem so amazing to more experienced runners, but for me it would be quite an accomplishment. Also, I want to feel comfortable running it race in shorts, haha! Personal vanity, yes, but it’s a goal that will require some discipline.
  2. The next three weeks will be HECKA busy here at the farm. We have Handsome’s fortieth birthday, yay! I’m not sure yet what we’re doing but it should be a fun and busy week. Plus, he has some car-related projects upcoming that may require extra time and energy. We have our niece’s wedding here on Labor Day weekend (over the moon excited!) and possibly some lovely overnight guests thrown into the mix. It’s also time to transition the gardens. So clearly my to-do lists are beautiful and filled with loving things, but they keep growing and gaining density. So, yeah, keeping my energy up and my nutrition really vibrant will help everything go well.
  3. Accountability. Some close friends, mostly here locally, have joined forces with me to encourage each other toward healthier living. We chat pretty regularly and share hurdles and ideas. I love it. Everyone is in a different boat health-wise, but we all motivate each other. In a recent conversation on Facebook I jumped in with Mysti (also a book club buddy!) and joined a challenge to meet any personal goal by October first. Perfect, right? For my race date? So my October 1st goal is two-fold: Trim down my legs enough to break a weird 7-pound yo-yo cycle I’ve been on since April., and get my mile pace to a comfortable and sustainable 7 or 8 minutes.

The cool thing about making cleanish eating and challenging exercises part of your normal life routine is that everything else you do is then made so much better. Our energy levels skyrocket. Our appetites tend to adjust to crave fuel foods more often than bad habit foods. Our thinking and concentration is easier, swifter. Our complexions clear up. Our moods are lifted. And, oh yeah, if we stick with it, slowly but surely, our clothes fit better and better or maybe even not at all.  : )

So those are the three reasons I am focusing sharply for the next six weeks. Here is my plan, against which I invite you to hold me for even more accountability:

Increase running mileage starting this week. Over the weekend Handsome bought me a treadmill, which I broke in today. Yay, I love it! No more driving to either Harrah or Midwest City and not feeling safe while running at public parks or golf courses. Things were getting pretty sketchy in recent weeks, but I just didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t stand the thought of not running long anymore, and looping the quarter-mile in our back field for two hours, well, we went through that last year. The treadmill is repetitive, sure, but the speed work is controllable. A huge plus. And the treadmill of course is impervious to our weather fluctuations. Anyway! Much more running starting today. Kicked off the new week with 5 miles plus strength and an elliptical cool down.

Shake up the variety in my miles. Short runs will be all about speed work. Most longer runs will be intervals, like first a warm up, then a lightning fast half mile, then a slower one, then fast, etc. There is a cool workout called lassos that makes a lot of sense to me. The treadmill timer should help me tackle that. Very excited. Also, the HIIT nature of this workout is supposed to be great for fat burning.

Slash the foods that always trip me up, just for six weeks. Tortilla chips, late night bowls of cereal, and excessive scoops of peanut butter. I will enjoy birthday parties and the wedding reception, and depending on the day I might have a controlled portion of tortilla chips, but these things will not be the endless summer treats they have been lately.

Continue good habits like drinking seven thousand gallons of water, taking iron and vitamins, and doing strength and yoga on off days. Yes, for sure, the foam roller feels great and makes a difference. Doing more of that.

Just daily stuff, you know?

On Saturday Handsome and I went to an invitational car show that was partnered up with the One Healthy Bod fitness expo in downtown OKC. We had a ton of fun! The cars were all gorgeous, of course, and we chatted with several people with special Smokey and the Bandit memories. Fun fun fun!

This cutie is my husband.
This cutie is my husband.
That Trans Am there is his.
That Trans Am there is his.

 

The fitness expo part of the day was a great mix of stuff, and overall it was all super inspiring. The men and women who do Crossfit are a whole other breed. WOW! So strong! And those who compete in bodybuilding? Well, my friends, this is how I feel about it…

AMAZING

Finalists!
Finalists!

Okay, thanks so much for checking in twice today! I wish you the healthiest, happiest, most trailblazing week you’ve had in a very long time. Treat yourself well, okay?

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”
~Mahatma Gandhi
XOXOXOXO

 

 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

motivation monday, short & sweet

August 24, 2015

This morning’s post will be short and sweet, friends. Already since Handsome left for the Commish I have had the most wonderful couple of hours of refilling my tank with Love (thanks for the phone call Marci!) and knocking out a few piles of organizing stuff to get the week started. Now I am on to the last bit of morning work and then a tempo run on my new treadmill! Yay!! So excited about this!!

get to work out graphic

I am happy because I get to work out. Exercising hard just makes the day better. It sharpens my mind; it energizes my body; and as a result the remaining hours are so much more productive. As I lace up I feel super, truly, deeply grateful for the freedom and the health to do this.

Happy Monday everyone! I will check in later today with a more detailed post, but for now I hope your new week is off to a beautiful start. Take care of yourself.

XOXOXOXO

 

3 Comments
Filed Under: daily life, gratitude, motivation monday, running

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Hi! I'm Marie. Welcome to the Lazy W. xoxo

Hi! I’m Marie. This is the Lazy W.

A hobby farming, book reading, coffee drinking, romance having, miles running girl in Oklahoma. Soaking up the particular beauty of every day. Blogging on the side. Welcome to the Lazy W!

I Believe Strongly in the Power of Gratitude & Joy Seeking

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