Lazy W Marie

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

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Archives for January 2016

believe as you ask

I don’t have all that much to say today that I haven’t already said on Instagram or Facebook. Or directly to my people. It’s just that… I want everyone to be happy.

I want you to believe in those miracles for which you are aching. Stop worrying. And actually, maybe stop worrying is a bit of a misdirection, because that only tells to you spend more energy resisting something that is bad for you. Not just the Big Bad Things in your life but also the worry about all that. All of this depletes you.

So, instead of begging you to stop worrying, I want to encourage you to start imagining. Start imagining wildly brilliant solutions and peaceful reconciliations. Imagine abundance and health and freedom beyond anything you and your loved ones have ever known before.

Apply the immeasurable energy of your heart and mind to all your most precious prayers. And please continue to pray. Let your prayer life sustain you no matter what your church life looks like right now.

BLOOM WINTER
I cannot see a blooming flower without thinking of faithful prayers planted like seeds and how inevitable it is that we will eventually see those answers.

One final story/thought:

This past week, in the midst of a dozen or more orbiting crises here at the farm and also at the Commish, Handsome and I had the chance to do some long-distance adult parenting with our oldest, and it was beautiful. The loving and reaching out never stop, of course, but the concrete moments of advice exchange can be rare and are therefore really special, haha. (Yes we love it!) Anyway, after all the years of learning how to pray for the girls as children, it’s a beautiful new experience to pray for them as adults. In this case, praying for a few very specific needs for our oldest and seeing the answers come quickly was deeply refreshing. Exciting! Thrilling!! Thrilling not only because we saw the answer but more importantly because she did. To hear her sweet, strong voice just a day or two later tell us the story about the answered prayer, express her own joy, and acknowledge so much goodness, well… I can barely articulate the feeling as a mother.

The peace that passes understanding.

No matter our failures. No matter the thick cloud of trouble that hides the sun from time to time. No matter the ongoing turbulence. So much peace is available to us. And for this as much as anything, I am deeply and forever grateful.

Okay! Now, go face your problems and apply the considerable strength of your own faith and imagination. Trust in the power of prayer. Walk around this beautiful world knowing that you are loved and that good things are always about to happen. Because I cannot see it any other way.

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
~Matthew 21:22

 

friday 5 at the farm: lies I tell myself

Hopefully I am not alone in these untruths. Let me know, okay?

Also- Happy Friday! What do you have planned?

Lie #1: The Grocery Store I will just run in for five minutes. All we need is coffee, spinach, and butter. 

Lie #2: Sticks and Stones I don’t care what people think of me. And gossip doesn’t hurt at all.

Lie #3: Tex Mex Health Kick I can eat all the chips and salsa I want and still wear skinny jeans.

Lie #4: Housework I am 100% caught up on ironing and dusting.

Lie #5: The Future is Certain. Solid as a Rock.  We know exactly what life will look like a month, six months, and a year from now. We know how the turnpike construction will affect things, specifically.

Literally not even kidding. I went in for three things.
Literally not even kidding. I went in for three things.

Five lies. I tell myself this stuff all the time to get through the day. Or through the weeks and months. As silly as lies are, and as uncomfortable as the corresponding truths really are, the bottom lines are still pretty wonderful. Let’s focus on that instead:

Truth #1: We have all the food we need and a gorgeous menu ready to go at the farm. Plenty for friends to visit, too. Eating with our people? That’s our favorite. We are blessed to be healthy and well fed.

Truth #2: Living with a tender heart can actually be beautiful, no matter how much it hurts to be hurt. It opens us up to richer experiences and deeper relationships. Totally worth the risk. More importantly, being hurt by others reminds us to be more careful with others.

Truth #3: Tex Mex really should be its own food group. Actually, forget it. I don’t want to be however skinny I would be in a life without tortilla chips. So this is all positive. Never mind about this lie. : )

Truth #4: Our house is pretty clean. And we have enough of everything from day to day. And I will be caught up eventually. Not being perfectly caught up means that daily life is quite full and quite interesting lately. For this I am very grateful. Also, my miles running is up to date for the first time in a while and I am in the BEST MOOD. This is worth having dusty baseboards.

Truth #5: While we do not know exactly what life will look like in the future (and really, have we ever known?) we can trust with total calm that life will be okay. That we will be okay. Change is inevitable, faith matters, and sometimes having the controls taken out of our hands is good.
That said, please keep us in your prayers that we make the best decisions possible and stay happy, that God sort of sheds light and miracles all over this turnpike situation. And sign the petition to halt it if you are so inclined. As my husband wrote last night on Facebook, “If you have ever come to the farm and loved being here please sign this (petition) and share with your friends. Oklahoma needs to retain some of the wild lands; we don’t need highways running to nowhere. Life as we know it will completely change if something doesn’t stop.” Well, friends, you who read this blog are friends of the Lazy W even if you have never walked these nine acres with us. We sure appreciate your good thoughts. We will face a long series of heart breaking decisions if this turnpike comes to pass.

STILL, yes, faith and trust. Life is beautiful. God is good.

What lies do you tell yourself to get through the day? What’s on tap for your weekend?

We are running miles, building fence, watching movies, reading books, and cuddling our animals like there’s no tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping. As always.
XOXOXOXO

 

marathon monday: coping with the cold

Hey friends, how goes your health and fitness goal seeking? I sure hope you are feeling strong and positive and loved. All of that is more important than whether you’ve lost any pounds or shaved off any minutes yet.

I feel pretty good. Running more than what I did over the holidays, eating better (with one decadent exception this weekend) and overall just treating my mind and body more lovingly. Less internal ridicule, more nourishment of every kind. You know, the good stuff! Still… This month has been so cold and wet in Oklahoma that from time to time all I want to do is cuddle up with snacks and books or movies and not move very much. Just… Hibernate. You too? Since hibernation will not help me reach any goals except temporary comfort, I have slowly adapted a few daily habits that are helping me so much. That’s what I’m sharing today.

coping with the cold sticker

  1. Hot, belly-filling meals like soup. Lots of homemade soup. Several pots each week filled with a variety of raw vegetables, beans, lentils, lean meat (cannot get enough chicken breast lately), leafy greens, you name it. Also as much garlic and cayenne pepper as I want. This is SOUP-er satisfying, haha. : ) Fortunately I have had really good luck making recipes that also please my non-rabbit husband.
  2. Hot Tea. The after-Christmas internet is still filled with eye candy like perfectly styled cocoa bars and creamy lattes, but those are not great habits. And diet soda makes me even colder. Instead, I have recently fallen for big mugs of piping hot plain black tea, sans milk and sugar. Friends, this is a small, cozy miracle. I still drink my sweet, creamy version of Perfect Coffee early in the early morning, but in the afternoon a heavy dose of strong hot tea provides not just warmth but also caffeine, and it helps.
  3. Schedule Earlier Workouts. This is so key for me. I have found that if I don’t get my miles, etc, in before lunchtime, then I am likely to miss the day’s workout entirely. It’s just how life goes around here. The afternoons get stacked up for a variety of reasons (often Handsome surprises me earlier than dinner time, or the animals need something or I have errands) and then BOOM! It’s sunset. No after dark trail running here. And this may be weird, but I am too self conscious to run on the treadmill upstairs unless I’m alone in the house. I know, lots of oddities in this post. Anyway, making a conscious effort to grab that workout early in the day is an effective strategy. And it keeps me warm and energetic for hours besides keeping me on track with the week’s plan.
  4. Move more throughout the day, way beyond prescribed workouts. It’s so tempting to finish a workout, shower, and bundle up in soft, comfy clothes and just be warm and sleepy all day (see hibernation notes above). But instead, if I get dressed to work outside more, despite the mud, or maybe just stay active inside the house for most of every single hour, then I always feel better at the end of the day. Do you agree? Yoga, extra strength moves, more energetic housework, whatever. My favorite lately is a burst of walking and running with Klaus. He loves to play in the snow, so we go clockwise around the pond and back field a few times (because I am weird and cannot walk the same direction I normally run). The fresh air feels amazing even if it’s cold and even if there’s not much sunshine. It’s all about building positive inertia in your body.

I’m happy to have been chipping away at my wellness goals since early December. Marathon training is kicked off and I feel happy. Even in the depth of winter.

What strategies have you developed to cope with the cold?

“The future lies before you,
a field of fallen snow.
Be careful how you tread it,
for very step will show.”
~Unknown
XOXOXO

 

first literary saturday post of 2016

Happy Literary Saturday, friends! On this first such installment of 2016 I have a brief book review to share as well as a small collection of internet offerings from this past week. Hopefully you groove some of it. As always please share in comments what treasures you have found to read lately.

Cold Fear by Rick Mofina: OH MY GOSH THIS WAS GOOD! 5/5 stars from me. Highly recommend. I gobbled up this little feast believing it to be fiction then discovered it’s actually a piece of true crime, perhaps interpreted a bit but still based on a true story. (I adore true crime and am not ashamed.) Cold Fear is a missing persons story set in the Rocky Mountains and deals with all kinds of intense family dynamics. So gripping. As for the writing, imagine a thick braid. But not just an ordinary braid or even an elegant French braid; imagine one of those intricate fishtail braids you see in little girls’ hair on Pinterest. Skinny, well woven, metallic strands pulled from opposing directions at just the right moment so that this incredible masterpiece if eventually finished, and every detail comes from somewhere. Nothing is wasted. Everything connects. I can’t say anything more!! Go read this book under a heavy blanket with a flashlight and call me when you’re done. You can borrow my dog if you’re scared.

cold fear book cover

Lora the Crazy Running Girl is quitting soda, and she offers some smart strategies in this article. Also, I am on a personal mission to convince her to come run the OKC Memorial Marathon “with” me in April, and by “with” of course I just mean “also,” haha, because she is quite swift. Add some positive peer pressure, okay?

12 Foods Happy People Eat. I am basically a very happy person, and I eat plenty. I approve of this list. Only the maca root is unfamiliar to me, though I have heard recently from a friend who swears by it.

Once again Sandy the Reluctant Entertainer shares in one post food for the body and food for the soul. I cannot WAIT to try this turkey lasagna soup, and her wisdom about hospitality in the midst of big changes is very well received. As Handsome and I squint our eyes and try to peer into the future through all this foggy turnpike business, it’s nice to remember that Love and friendship will follow us anywhere. We just have to keep opening our doors.

How about 31 of the most beautiful sentences in literature? I know. So good. I salivate over well crafted sentences. 

dandelion fluff

 

One of this world’s sweetest blogging couples is having their first baby!!! Sincerest congratulations to Ashley and Brent over at Domestic Fashionista. Since they are far away on the west coast, let’s figure out how to throw them an internet baby shower.

Refunk My Junk: I am a big fan of everything Alison does, and this newest coffee table project is no exception. So fresh and pretty! Check out her unorthodox methods and drool over all that springtime living room color. She has me fully cured of all things Christmas. If you are local, you may want to know that she is hosting a big junk sale next weekend. 

The next thing cracked open from my book shelf is My Life On the Run by Bart Yasso. I’ve read passages from it these past several months since meeting him at the race in Lawton, but it warrants a cover-to-cover examination as marathon training kicks off. I have already found myself laughing out loud. Really good read, even if running is not your thing. 

Klaus my most excellent reading buddy...xoxo
Klaus my most excellent reading buddy…xoxo

Okay. Now I am off to play in the fresh snow and get some exercise. We have dinner plans tonight with two of the funnest couples we know, then perhaps a Making of a Murderer binge watch. Have your tried it yet? No spoilers please!

Your turn! Tell me stuff. Tell me all the reading things. Thanks for stopping in, friends. Enjoy your Saturday!

“There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you….
In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other;
only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches
when you can savor belonging to yourself.
~Ruth Stout
XOXOXOXO

 

 

super short video book review of hard bite

Happy Wednesday! If you have approximately 2 minutes and 48 seconds to watch a little video, you might enjoy a purely frivolous book review by Yours Truly. I promise there are no sudden loud noises. Not even a parrot scream, which is a miracle straight from Heaven.

The book is Hard Bite by Anonymous, and it is a surprising little treasure I snagged for free from that email service Book Bub. Something I forgot to mention in my video down there is that THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR CHILDREN, haha, like not even close. So, know that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyGHBZirWSU

I am linking up again with the always entertaining Kat Bouska. When I clicked over to see what video she has for us today, I was stunned to see that she is trying to make me famous. I mean, even more famous than I already am to my dog.

 

klaus me run

Speaking of that, her baby-swaddling technique looks pretty legit. But I tried that with my 85 pound German Shepherd and the results were less graceful. I will try Taylor Swift and see if that helps.

Happy reading! What is on your nightstand this week?

If you are lucky enough to have a pet monkey, please don’t train it to kill people.

The End.