Begin day with black tea and milk. Tea of choice right now is loose leaf Earl Grey or Irish Breakfast from Harney & Sons. I like enjoying tea while I’m talking to Jesus.
By 7am I will have drunk 1/2 to whole pot.
By 8 am: Smoothie Breakfast (made with Nutrilite Meal Shake or Shakeology with lots of frozen berries and frozen kale).
By 9 am: Begin Coffee; medium roast with a splash of 1/2 & 1/2 (right now I have a Storyville coffee Subscription because I like them and they have a rad non-profit aspect to their business.)
10 am: Coffee Refill (Possibly black so as not to overdue the caloric intake which is not conducive to my sedentary job – although I do stand for 73% of my job. My back is happy with this arrangement.)
10:30 am: remember I also need water throughout the day, so I chug 15 oz.
Refill water bottle and start drinking at a normal pace.
Lunch time… I will like enjoy a can of sparkling water – I prefer the pink can flavors.
2 pm: Afternoon lull makes me want to nap which makes me think I should have caffeine… but I drink more water holding out for tea time.
All the beverages
3:30 pm-ish is tea time – more black tea with milk. 1/2-whole pot with milk. (Note: I do not enjoy sugar or honey in tea. To each their own.) This is not a beverage but I do wish to point out that usually at this time, I highly endorse a small tea cookie, toast, or something similar to accompany tea. Yesterday my mother made frosting to go with our delightful tea cookies.
Aynsley From England
4:30 pm may require an iced tea or coffee or vitamin infused energy drink (Xs in sparkling grapefruit or root beer is favorite)
Dinner time I try to drink more water and occasionally have a glass of mile to accompany to meal.
7:30 pm: Decaf coffee
9 pm: I will finish the last 1/2 cup of coffee while deciding if decaf tea is needed. It usually is. Currently switch between the bags of decaf Northwest Breakfast or Twinings Decaf Lady Grey – both I drink with a splash of milk while finishing off the evening with either a conference call or reports
Confession: Flossing is not my favorite thing. Growing up, I would use ANY cool tool to floss rather than use the traditional string.
So when they told me I had to use these weird flexible toothpicks called “threaders” and I’d be flossing multiple times a day with my braces, I was definitely ready to accept my crooked possibly disease inducing teeth and leave. But wisdom won out and I went through with it.
The next day, I googled, “best toothbrush for braces”. Of course, I got lots of great recommendations – but then this beauty came on screen!
The magical “flossing” machine
The Philips Sonicare Flosser promised to “floss” my teeth with air and water AND it came highly recommended for braces.
So – I kept my fancy Norwex toothbrush and bought this mouth tool. It’s fantastic – it’s a glorified water pick. AND awesome.
The moral of this story… buy the tools to take care of your investments… and trick yourself into doing the right thing.
My dentist recommended I have an orthodontics consultation. I had some issues with crowding and gum disease and how it was going to wreak havoc in my future. You know no big deal. (Ha… I was kinda scared.)
I went in for the consultation on a Thursday morning and 5 hours later (which included a MOD pizza 🍕 lunch and prayer break to make fast decisions), I walked out with a full set of metal braces.
I got to my car and burst into tears!
I felt like this…
In my head vs. reality
Considering I am a 36 year old and now I look almost 18 you could understand my tears.
I went to play with my nephews (who did NOT notice them!!).
I have now been in braces 2 weeks and I have a few tips for you, which I will strategically drop in another post in a couple of days.
I have to admit, they aren’t so bad, and may even turn out to be an answered prayer. More to come. Until then – eat some pudding and enjoy your beautiful smile – metal or not!
Churches everywhere refer to themselves as “Family”. Well now, it’s an opportunity to really act like one!
For this present time you have to change your routine.
No longer can you sneak into the back of a giant room, pray on your own, nonchalantly wander up for communion, drop a $20 in the offering plate, and grab a coffee in the foyer for 8 minutes wondering if there is anyone to talk to before leaving.
In order to love and protect one another – we need to act like it. It means being vulnerable, honest, and kind. And literally meeting in very small groups – like during a family meal. Small, comfortable.
Allow me to introduce you to a way of worship and communion you may not be aware of. It has a variety of names like Satellite Group, Small group, Home-church, or maybe, Fellowship. It’s where you not alone get to know the names of the few people gathered but you actually listen to one another. You don’t have to pretend to care about one another… you actually do! 😉
Just reading the Bible – Psalm 22
For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. – Matthew 18:20
It provokes some questions to ponder:
What is the purpose of church?
Why do you go?
How do we “church” if we are not able to meet in the building or as a group as usual?
When was the last time you really stopped to listen to the person next to you and sincerely pray with them?
Since the state of Washington has wisely prohibited large gatherings, here are some ways people I know are having church today:
Host brunch with a few friends and live stream the service together
Gather your family together to read the Bible, pray, and sing
Volunteer to clean 🧼 the facilities where people are gathering
Meet outdoors around the campfire 🔥
However you decide to worship today, remember, you are not alone and God’s people are worshipping this morning ALL over the world.
Its amazing how a little germ can cause so much trouble. When you stop to think about it little things cause trouble all the time… little lies, little leaks, little hobbits 😉. 1st up – I do not have coronavirus and I feel perfectly well. (Thank you for your concern.)
My brother recently told me that I needed to blog about my life. He said that it would encourage others. And my brother is usually right… so I hope you can join me in this crazy journey of county quarantine.
It’s been 1 week since I started working from home and 1 week since I joined the elite club of adults who wear braces (a lot more on that soon, cross my heart and kiss my elbow).
As an extrovert – working from home is challenging on many levels. So I thought to share over the next few weeks how this is working for me.
March 8th, Sunset at Snoqualmie Falls
Just in case you were thinking all of us in King County were hiding away… this is Snoqualmie Falls last Saturday. God’s gift of the great out doors is ours to enjoy.
One last thing before I go to sleep… We have something We CAN do for one another. We can pray for each other. Send me a message or drop a comment in the thread. I will pray.
Time to rest and I pray you will sleep in peace tonight.
We arrived at Blarney Castle in the best weather and just as it opened. Good thing too – Because we beat the lines. Some people wait for over an hour to reach the top of the castle.
Blarney Dungeon… also known as Hobbit Coffee Stops
We only had to wait in the claustrophobic ancient staircase for a few minutes before we were at the top of the castle!
The Winding StairArcher lookouts along the stairs.Inside Blarney
My polish dance partner from Killarney told me the top of Blarney Castle offered the best views. I agree with him!
Waiting on the ledge at the top to pucker up!
Of course, I kissed the stone!
According to the legend, I have now been blessed with the gift of gab and sweet rhetoric. Join me for coffee and we’ll see if it worked!
The Blarney Pond… which they call a lake. The Back Road
The Beautiful Irish National Park of Glendalough is just south of Dublin. This park gave me the gift of walking among ruins and trudging in the forest.
A Duck on Upper LakeThe Glendalough Valley
Standing on sacred ground…
Through a Worshipper’s Window
I met with saints across the centuries…
Resting in Peace
To remember and receive…
Reminders & Remembrance
To listen and share…
And just like this guy… to speak the truth with those who come my way. This cross stands as a reminder of Jesus’ victory in my life and the lives of those who have gone before.
The beautiful, colorful, Monk-painted calf-skin, book of the 4 Gospels, compiled around 800 AD, has been lost and found, robbed and ransacked, is on display at the Trinity College Library.
I have wanted to see this book for years. In so many ways, this was like a Pilgrimage for me. Nearly 6,000 miles of travel to visit its home in Dublin
Trinity Entrance
I went to honor nameless artist monks, who carefully copied the 4 Gospels – ornately, colorfully, and prayerfully.
I went to press my face as close to the glass as I could to see the details and delight in the careful copy of God’s word.
I went to appreciate and delight in the ancient copy of the book I treasure most.
Kells was displaying 2 sections
– Matthew 9:10-20
– Mark 15:20-24
Like Socrates below… I shall ponder the delight and privilege I have in seeing this book.
A Bust to Ponder
Photography of the book itself was not allowed – but here are some beautiful sites from the Trinity College Library.
The Long RoomThe “New” Addition to the LibraryMy books want a ladder.
Someone is studying something there.
Pangur Bán
P.s. The exhibit is a bit underwhelming if you think it’s more than The Book of Kells. The audio tour is a must! And the long room makes up for it in my opinion.
Annie Mae Write 