Monday, July 31, 2006

"H2Own It" week update:

i feel a little sloshy.

Friday, July 28, 2006

H2Own It!!


Ok, so I've been on a lot of kicks lately, kicks that I want to turn into good habits, like riding my bike, growing vegetables, being friendly, and now...drinking water. recently i've been getting these weird headaches. some of them deny me of peripheral vision for 15 minutes or so. some of them pound that area right above my eyes. others send shooting pains into my ears. and still others make me feel a little bit shaky and sick. but have no fear, i've been to the doctor. he wasn't concerned. he blamed stress which, considering everything that i've got going on right now, COULD be a possibility.

but, i was recently talking to a classmate friend of mine telling her about my headaches. i told her that the doctor thought it was stress. and we laughed together knowingly. but then she got all excited and said, "sara, you just need to drink more water!" apparently she has been experiencing similar headaches, only she's been having them since high school. she said that she read a book about water and discovered that water has been known to CURE people who suffer excruciating migraines. just water. no pills. no gimicks. so, i have self-diagnosed myself as being constantly dehydrated.

i never drink water. it's not that i don't like water, it's just that i like flavor drinks so much more. juice, coffee, coke, lemonade, tea...but i know that these things could never compare to the good affects that water has on my body. so, i've decided to regiment my daily water drinking.

right now i'm just working on the standard 64 oz a day. this is actually pretty difficult. it's really A LOT of water! my stomach feels kind of full and sloshy, kind of like how you feel coming out of lake michigan after a day of swimming in rough waves. but my goal is to drink even more water than this. so what better way to get myself to drink more water than a friendly competition?

that's right. next week is officially "H2Own It" week. i've somehow convinced four people from my office that they need to drink more water too, even though some of them already drink lots of water. so, we are all competing in a water drinking challenge for one week (this is not like "one car week" that week is for helping the environment. this week is for helping my BODY.) we have already drawn charts on the white board in our basement and will start filling them in next week. one nalgene bottle's worth fills one space on the chart. when you finish a bottle you must stand up and declare, "I H2Own It!"

all of us are strategizing about how we will win the offical top prize--a bottle of water. here are some of the strategies thus far:

Me: i come in two hours before everyone else. i plan to get one nalgene's worth before anyone even arrives. to their surprise i will already have filled in part of my chart before they even get here! i also work 10 hour days, three days a week. a lot of water can be drunk (drank?) in 10 hours. some may call this "unfair" i call it me having to get up a lot earlier than the rest so "suck it up."

Josh: he is going to bring in salty chips so that he is more thirsty (this may detract from the "healthy factor" but a strategy IS a strategy...). he also plans on bringing in his camel back. this will give him access to alot of water at all times. this is a good strategy.

Liz: she plans to drink out of a straw. she believes that this makes drinking more fun. perhaps she's right...

Mike: he's new. he probably has some strategies brewing but is still to shy to speak up. either that or he thinks this office is crazy.

Christy: she has a smaller nalgene bottle so can psych us out by saying that she's finished one...when really she has to drink two to be equal. but she may have the psychological advantage.

Courtney: she is new too. she's on vacation this week so doesn't even know about this little challenge. courtney is going to lose.

Already this competition has brought about some great conversation like who pees more, boys or girls? and, who has the smallest bladder? next week is shaping up to be a good one...

-SN

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

now me...

my pal sdk did this on her blog b/c her boyfriend's step-sister did it on hers. and now i do it on mine.

1. My home is...begging to be painted green.
2. I am listening to...the clickity clack of other people working. um...
3. Maybe I should...work.
4. I love it when...the sun is going down and i am outside.
5. My best friend...and i are going to scotland in three weeks.
6. I don't understand...why my tub drain won't work. it's not hair...
7. I lost...my virginity.
8. People say...such beautiful things sometimes that they make me weep.
9. The meaning of my blog name is...describing michigan weather 11 months out of the year.
10. Love is...the way brett and i greet each other after a long day of work.
11. Right now, somewhere, someone is...stepping on a landmine. not everything can be happy...
12. I will always...love my parents.
13. Once upon a time...i never looked back.
14. I never want to...drink fermented mare's milk again!
15. My personal motto is...do what is right, even if it is really hard.
16. When I wake up in the morning...i scratch my arms.
17. I get annoyed when...i know i'm being annoying.
18. People always...do that.
19. I sing...at my desk with my headphones on. sometimes i think my co-workers give me funny looks.
20. Hugs are the best when...they come with sweet kisses.
21. Today I...counted my tomatoes
23. Tomorrow I will...count them again.
24. I really want...to be on the show, "so you think you can dance." first step, dance lessons.

Monday, July 24, 2006

one car week

awhile back brett and i read an article in the spark (or was it the banner?) about a couple who has no car. instead the pair invested in a couple of good bikes, a carrier for their kids, and saddlebags. now, they do all of their chores by bike. only in case of an emergency do they rent a car. and it's not like this couple lives in florida or southern cali where the weather is cooperative. they live in colorado, where it snows and gets really really cold sometimes.

in today's age i think this is one of the most admirable things you can do. so admirable, in fact, that brett and i have decided to take small steps to mirror their ways. we're holding our first "one car week." we're going to see how we manage with just one car. i think it will be pretty easy. and once we know for sure how easy it is we hope that our "one car week" extends into further weeks. heck, we may even try a "no car week." -SN

UPDATE ON "ONE CAR WEEK"--well, as luck would have it, the weather for today, the first day of "one car week" and the day i rode my bike to work, is calling for severe storms and possibly even tornados. i'm grounded b/c of the rubber bike tires right?

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

a season for every activity under the sun

a time to be born and a time to die.

last night i received a call from the sister of my good friend. the wires carried her soft shaky voice through my receiver and into my unbelieving ears. my friend's baby, unborn, had died, just two weeks before the world waited anxiously to greet her. on the third of july this little girl stopped moving in her secret place and her mother, who had gotten to know her intimately, carried her, fed her, supplied her oxygen for nine months knew something was wrong. she went to the hospital and delivered. besides experiencing the pain of birth she now is experiencing a deeper pain, a harsher pain, the pain of loss. i have never delivered a baby...but i know that the pain she's feeling now hurts worse b/c i can feel it too.

after hearing the news i felt like i needed a little air. i made my way outside where i was immediately greeted by my neighbor. he asked me to come over to meet his new son. you see, on the third of july, the same day my friend lost her baby, my neighbors rushed to the hospital. it was two weeks before their baby was due, just like my friend, and there had beed trouble, just like my friend. only during their trip there was an emergency c-section, a cord wrapped around a small fragile neck, a dangerously low heart rate, and the cry of life from a 5 lb baby boy named timothy. in the same ten minutes i experienced death and held the hand of new life.

a time to grieve and a time to dance.

god's ways are mysterious. but i trust him b/c he is THE ONLY ONE who in the same breath as death, killing, tearing down, crying, grieving, scattering, losing, tearing, hate, and war offers me LIFE, HEALING, REBUILDING, LAUGHTER, DANCING, GATHERING UP, EMBRACING, MENDING, LOVE, and PEACE.


Ecclesiates 3:1-8