Good Idea? Bad idea?

So...my brother and I signed up to run the Indy mini-marathon on May 2nd. Since I have ran three times since my 10 mile race in August, I figured I should start running. But since I live in Michigan (aka the artic) and it has been too cold to run outside, I ventured up to my grandparents to use their treadmill. I walked one mile, ran one mile, and lifted weights. As I was leaving, my grandma handed me these...

Warm, gooey, scrumptious, chocolate chip cookies. Yeah...thanks Gram...that really helps my workout. I did only eat two...so i'm hoping I still made out on top. The next time I walked out with leftover food. I'm wondering if this exercising at grandma and grandpa's is a good idea or not. I think I'll keep going...at least until it gets 30+ degrees outside.

A Glimpse Into Motherhood

I have been involved in the Big Brother Big Sister Mentoring Program since September. I was matched with an 11-year-old girl, Faith, who described herself as "athletic but still girly." Sometimes descriptions are deceiving. I am pretty sure the description should have said, "I'm boy crazy and extremely girly. Sports aren't really my thing." Anyways, that's beside the point I am trying to make.

I meet with Faith once a week and it seems that as of late, everytime I go to pick her up and have something planned to do, Mother Nature decides to send a blizzard. So, this past week I was going to pick her up and take her back to my house to make a gingerbread house that I had since last Christmas(2007). I was hoping it was still good, but of course right when I was leaving work, the snow started coming. I figured it wasn't the best idea to risk both our lives driving all the way out to Parma and back so as I was talking to Faith's mom she suggested I take Faith to Target to use her gift card to get an outfit for church. So, we enter the girls' clothing department. She has $18 on her gift card and has been instructed to only buy a skirt or dress, nothing else. There is not much to choose from that fits those requirements, but in my attempt to help I suggest a few items. Faith responds with, "Um...no...i don't think I like that." I suggest another, Faith says, " I would never wear that." I try another and she responds, "I like that, but thats not what kids at school wear." As I continued to suggest things, I realized I was like my mom and grandma. I was now on the OTHER end of the shopping deal. I was trying to be cost-effective, getting something that fit her budget. Well...it wasn't what she was looking for.

She ended up calling her mom to get the okay to purchase something other than a long skirt or dress. After the okay from her mom, the search started all again. She ended up with hot pink sweat pants and a hot pink shirt with a design that I already forgot. I suggested that she can also wear them separately. She didn't think so. She wants to wear them ONLY together because hot pink and hot pink can only go together;).

Oh well...guess I have a lot to learn before I have an 11-year-old of my own.

Humility

I play volleyball every Tuesday night with people of all ages at my church. I HATE "backyard" volleyball, but this is decent volleyball. I played volleyball in high school and my freshman year of college at Bethel College in Indiana. Since then, I'd say some of my skills have improved (serves and pancakes) and some have decreased (vertical jump and quickness). I try to block often but rarely do I touch anything and even if my pinky finger touches the ball, I am excited and usually everyone knows. Last night, I was playing against a guy who hadn't been there before. He appeared intense and hard core. He was hitting from the outside and I went up for the block...and BAM! I blocked him all by myself! I don't know what came over me, but I was so excited that I began jumping up and down and high-fiving my teammates...until I looked back through the net and he was just looking at me. I am pretty sure he did not think it was as awesome as I thought it was. I slowly stopped by demonstration of excitement, walked over with my hand down, reached out to shake his hand, and apologized, "Sorry, that just doesn't happen to me very often." I guess I have to remember that it's not all about me :)

Welcome!

Hello everyone! Actually, I am not sure who "everyone" is or if anyone will actually read this post, because as of right now, my parents are the only ones that know this exists, but if you are reading it, i'm glad you found me. I'm somewhat new to the blogging world. I had a blog while I was on my 11 month missions trip called with World Race, with Adventures In Missions. (Please feel free to check out my adventures there at http://emiliejanson.theworldrace.org/) It was easy to blog then because there was always something new and exciting happening.

I have wanted to write a blog for some time, but after being back in the U.S. for over a year and returning to a pretty "normal" life, I wasn't sure I could keep it interesting. Many people my age have blogs but they are usually about the joys and woes of being newly married or having a newborn baby. Since I don't qualify for either of those categories, I wasn't sure what would take up this space. With this being the beginning of a brand new year, I figured there was no better time to start.

So this is my attempt to laugh and process my way through this journey we're all on called...LIFE.

ENJOY!