And then we went on vacation to Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
Aaaahhhhhh. Much better. It had been a few years that our family had gotten away with no purpose other than to be together. A couple of really awesome guys made it possible for us. Thanks, guys! You truly blessed our family.
Because I'm still not in the mood to write a full out blog post, I'm going to give you some bullet points of randomness floating around in my brain. Eek. That's kinda scary.
- At Christmas time we finally took Julie's advice and tried ugly steaks from Dickman's Meat Market. Oh my goodness. Deeee-lish! We took them on our vacation to grill at the cabin we stayed in in Sedona. They were perfect for our picnic in front of the giant red rock formations.
Oh Yeah. So good.
Seriously. Is that an incredible picnic view or what?
- I have a recurring shoulder issue. A friend of mine injured her shoulder when we were in college and a really mean stupid doctor told her if she lost weight it wouldn't hurt anymore. Do you know what is crazy? That is one of the main thoughts that swirls in my head every time my shoulder does its crazy painful thing. Well, guess what. I've lost some weight and my shoulder still hurts. It didn't work for me. Stupid doctor.
- Because of my shoulder/back issue, I've visited a chiropractor when I really throw it out. (No lectures about how you hate chiropractors, please.) When my shoulder went out right before vacation I tried to get in to see him, but he was booked. My wonderful strategic arranging wooing husband remembered a random conversation he had at a coffee shop, and voila, a new chiro. I really like her, but I'm afraid she's a new age quack. I can't quite discern if I'm being paranoid or if I'm being discerning, so I'm taking my time before I go see her again. She incorporates Chinese medicine which I think can be very legit because we are connected mind, body, and spirit. But, I would have more problems than just a hurt shoulder if I opened myself up to spirituality that doesn't jive with Jesus. Anyone that loves Jesus and understands Chinese medicine that wants to have a conversation, let's do it! Jamie??
- I'm going to make homemade laundry detergent and shampoo. I'll tell you about it soon.
- Politics are annoying. I got a recorded phone call that started like this: "Because you are a Christian voter, I know you will make the right decision when you vote because you care about the same issues I care about." Um, excuse me?
- I've been totally nerding out over Clifton Strengthsfinder for the last few weeks. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out. This is a great tool to help you better understand who God made you to be. I bought the kid's edition for Kyle and Esther. I can't wait for them to take the assessment!
- Leadership is constantly on my mind these days. Recently I read about a poll where 10,000 people were asked to give four characteristics they admired in leaders who had a positive influence in their lives. 1,000 of those people, 10%, gave the same words. That's nuts. What are your guesses? Purpose? Clear communicator? Humility? While those are great qualities, they were not the top answers. ~~Trust, Compassion, Stability, Hope~~ Put that in your book and ponder it.
Just one more vacation photo because it's just fun...
What have you been thinking about? I would love to hear about it!
