All That and A Bag of Chips

Yes, you read that right. This week, I am bringing back sayings from antiquity!

I have been insatiable these past few weeks. Seriously, I have been eating everything in sight and when I am not eating something, I am thinking about eating something (Even now I am fantasizing about some chips I have downstairs, smh). I joked to someone the other day that I am glad I am not in any danger of being pregnant or I'd be worried!

All jokes aside, I am not sure what's going on with my appetite. Am I emotionally eating? I don't know. I haven't felt particularly emotional lately. In fact, I haven't really felt much of anything. Maybe that is the problem. I am, however, starting to see it show up in places (O_o).

One of my goals is to enter my 30s in a healthy place in most areas of my life. I also have some very specific fitness goals for my 101 in 1001, so maybe it's time I got really serious about all of that.

Beginning February 1st, I will be committing to body health. I give myself a tangible goal of one month of healthy behaviors and will extend that out as I can. But, for now I am going to get those chips!

Poetry Made a Radio Star

...um... not really, but here is the link to the reading I did on the UGA radio station last year. They put this really weird jazz music over it. It really changes the cadence and tone of most of the poems :-/ . I kind of hate that, but I was super grateful for the opportunity.

Also, I just want to apologize to all of you that know me in real life. Listening to my voice over the radio makes me cringe. Why do I sound like that?!  Geez.

Well, anyway, here is the link: http://www.divshare.com/download/15900085-dd8   My segment can be found starting about the 47 minutes mark until the 68 minute mark. There is also a really awkward conversation interlude in the middle.

I promised I'd put it up, so there it is. I PROMISE I will not be offended if you don't listen to it or if you listen to some of it, but not all.

I Have Been Crowned

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. - Matthew 23:27

Today, I got a crown on one of my teeth. Don't worry I will avoid TMI, but the whole process got me thinking about "whitewashed tombs."

In the Bible, Jesus likened the Pharisees to whitewashed tombs. They presented a righteousness to the world, but they were not clean on the inside.

Crowns (dental crowns) are different. Dental crowns are used to protect what is left of a broken or decayed tooth from being damaged further. They form a shield over the tooth and help that tooth to serve it's purpose within the mouth. [side note: I promise I did not set out for this post to be a religious one, but it's trying to preach on its own].

My focus for this year is to live a life that is authentic to who I  truly am: flaws, quirks, oddities and all. To fight the urge to "put on" a self that I feel like will win me affection if it means denying who I am. But, I also don't want to be a broken or rotten person. I have growth areas that need to be addressed. In some areas of my life, I do need to put on new ways of being. Not to deny who I am, but to better showcase it. Being true to one's self does not give license to be any kind of way.

There is a core that I need to preserve, but some other things that need to be filed away and replaced with sturdier material.

I guess what I am saying is that I learned a lesson at the dentist today. Sometimes, you need to crown yourself: protect your core and cover yourself in strength. So, the GMLRC for 2012 is proving that I can. I think it is a propitious striving.

I, too, Have Decided

So, keeping in step with my new focus for this blog, I am not only going to envisage the ways that I am can live the life I imagined, but I am going to claim and start doing the things that allow that to happen. I really want to make some headway on my 101 things list. So, each week I will commit to working on/toward and/or completing one or two of the things listed there (see list on the right hand side).

My sweet, sweet aunt got me an acoustic guitar for Christmas (#blessed)! So, one of the goals, which will be a progressive one, is learning how to play this thing (#77). I plan to begin formal (paid) lessons in February, but my goals this month is to start getting comfortable with the instrument. I have been YouTubing videos about this a little bit since the new year began, and think it would be good to get into that practice before I start formally. Perhaps by the end of the semester, I'll be able to play a song or two!

The other thing (#71) is that I really need to start learning more about politics. It's a presidential election year and I want to make an informed choice when I go to the polls. Hmm... now where to begin?!

I will chronicle the journey as it unfolds.

Until next time,

Saying Farewell in 2012

Being proactive is not a mysterious quality that we have, or don’t have. It is a way of dealing with things, that we can develop and strengthen. ProactiveChange.com

It has taken a while for me to post here this year, because I have been trying to figure out what I want this blog to be this year. And, if it weren't for Andre I probably wouldn't have posted for a while (You rock!).

I successfully posted every month last year (one of the 101 goals) and I am trying to decide if I want to continue that through 2012. If so, I want it to be a little different. I think self-reflection is a good discipline and I like have a medium of sharing some aspects of my life with my friends that I don't get to talk to and/or see very often. So, I will definitely update periodically with that kind of thing, but I think this year I want to say farewell to just focusing on life as it unfolds.

I'd like this blog to be more proactive. What I mean by that is I want this to be a reflection of a life well lived and a way to put out into the atmosphere those things that I hope to gain, accomplish, do and be. I don't want to just write about what has happened or my reflections (Lord knows I have the introspection thing down to a science!).

No, this congé of the old blog (and consequently way of being) is my first movement toward a more enriching life experience. This year, I have plans to accomplish a lot more on my 101 list (thanks again to roomie for the encouragement to craft it) and in addition to that to take more risk. Life is for the living right?

I don't want to live a life where things are just happening to me. I have been given the power (we all have) to be the co-author of my life (God's the other author, of course). So, this blog be different. I will write more about accomplishing my 101 and living a more "take charge" life.