May Taught Me

1. I wish I had sheets made of Ranunculus.
2. For those of you who didn’t work a brief stint at a florist and therefore aren’t quite sure what Ranunculus is, I’ll have you know it is quite possibly the softest flower in existence.
3. The more carrots I eat in one sitting, the less I like them.
4. It is highly inadvisable to get your oil changed the day you wake up with a mysteriously painful crick in your neck that prevents you from turning your head to the left, therefore making it virtually impossible to interact with the service tech at your window.
5. The first letter of every continent’s name is the same as the last: America, Antarctica, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. I like this.
6. One tablespoon is equivalent to three teaspoons.
7. Blackberries and almond butter heated in the microwave for 20 seconds is my new favorite treat.
8. Cory Branan’s new album, Mutt, is a musical masterpiece.
9. Riding your bike from downtown to midtown to see a movie makes the movie that much better.
10. I’ve written fewer blog posts this month (a measly three) than any other since I started this thing 29 months ago. Sorry about that.

Forfeiting Your Memories

If we are standing in an audience at the foot of an admired musician, and I see your hand raise and wobble around while holding an illuminated LCD screen trying to capture a picture or recording of said performer, I can’t help but shake my head. Chances are, your production value isn’t going to be of any quality worth reproducing, and more importantly, you are missing the point of live music. It’s about being there in that moment without distraction, appreciating the art in front of you. While it is being performed. You lose the beauty of the moment when you allow your iPhone in. Essentially, what you are saying is that your reality is less interesting than the story you are going to tell about it.

Put down your cameras, people, and just be present.

I once attended a Wilco show at the Orpheum (circa 2009) where Jeff Tweedy literally held a video-recording spectator’s phone hostage, accusing the offender of “forfeiting their memories to an imperfect medium.” Maybe that was a bit harsh, but I respect the principle behind it. If you spend your night zooming and clicking in an effort to capture the event on your smart phone, you are robbing yourself of the real-life experience, and what’s better than being totally engaged in the here and now? By electronically documenting the moment, you are letting go of something that was uniquely yours (your memories and personal experience), something that no one else can have, and giving it away, and there’s something somber about that loss.

I’m not saying I’ve never been guilty of this behavior, because I have stage photos (never recordings) from the past (though certainly not since Tweedy reprimanded the audience for living life second-hand). I’m also not saying it’s the ultimate crime if you are watching the show from behind your iPhone screen, or that I like you any less for doing so. More accurately, I’m just sharing some fresh food for thought, encouraging you to have a more present, and therefore more fulfilling, experience next time.

Besides, what are you planning on using that picture for? Are you going to look back at the out-of-focus blur fondly? Or are you just posting it to your social media outlet of choice to prove that you were there?

I Just Might Go Paleo

I have always been interested in food. Interested in eating and enjoying it, absolutely, but also more recently in its composition and effects on the body.

Fortunately, I’ve eaten relatively well for as long as I can remember. I swore off fast food and soft drinks my senior year of high school and never looked back. I’ve always loved my fruits and veggies, I eat whole grains, I chose the low sodium option, I drink lots of water, and I know how to make dessert an occasional treat rather than a nightly occurrence. You know, the basics. In college, I took a nutrition class that taught the scientific fundamentals of a carbohydrate and the detriments of a Vitamin A deficiency, but while I absorbed the information, I didn’t fully put it all together or apply it to my lifestyle in any meaningful way. I ate what I knew to be good, but I didn’t really know why.

Despite my ongoing natural tendency of eating a balanced diet, it’s only been in the past several months that I’ve begun eating with a new mindset. More than ever, I’ve been interested in feeding my body foods that will give it healthy nutrition. Not necessarily the lowest calorie food, but the food that makes my body the happiest. Foods that come in Mother Nature’s packaging, that are natural and fresh (added bonus points for being organic and local).  

It doesn’t feel like deprivation, it feels natural, satisfying, clean, and pure. It’s about respecting my body, being thankful for this vessel God gave me, and taking care of it as best I can. It’s hard to describe, it’s something you have to experience on a personal level, but just know it’s a good place to be. Which is why I’ve been considering going Paleo. Paleolithic eating, for those of you who don’t know, is a type of eating that mimics the habits of our ancestors. The ways people fed themselves before there was high fructose corn syrup and highly processed candy bars. It comprises a diet high in (good) fats with plenty of protein and not so many carbohydrates.

At this point, as I said before, I have not absolutely decided on this conversion; I’m just merely researching the details of this lifestyle. It may not be all that different from my current patterns, though I’m positive there are tweaks to be made. There’s a wealth of information out there, and I’ll keep you informed as I uncover more.

April Taught Me

1. Wrap dresses and windy days = not a good combination.
2. Eating dinner directly before playing an intense soccer game is not the most agreeable situation.
3. The state of Arizona does not participate in Daylight Savings Time. Rebels.
4. Those catchy songs that get stuck in your head in an aggravating loop are called earworms.
5. Record books no longer recognize “youngest” feats.
6. A couple minutes lounging in the steam room after an intense yoga session is a magical combo. Must do that more often.
7. The Olympic Marathon course has more than 90 turns.
8. Friendship bracelets are just as meaningful now as they were when I was 12.
9. It is illegal to kill honeybees in the state of Tennessee. My grandmother learned this the hard way.
10. It takes a whole new level of coordination to kick a soccer ball with your nondominant leg.

Greek Yogurt Conversion Chart

If you are as obsessed with Greek yogurt as I am, then you might find the conversion chart below highly useful. And if you are not as obsessed with Greek yogurt as I am, might I implore you to become so. It is absolutely the way to go, boasting double the protein and half the sugar of regular yogurt. Not only is it a quick and healthy snack, but it can also easily be incorporated into your other cooking endeavors as well. How very versatile!

Number Your Days

Every once in a while, often unexpectedly, something happens that jolts you into the heavy realization that our days are not guaranteed. Each moment is a precious gift, and how we spend those minutes matters. Life is not the time to hold back; it is the time to bloom. It’s the time to try new things, to find beauty in the small details, and to live victoriously.

Which is why I instantly fell in love at first sight with Psalm 90:12.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

What an eloquent reminder of the brevity of life, of how rapidly our days pass away, and how certainly they will eventually come to an end. This Scripture tells us not merely to count our days mathematically, but to number them. To make them worthwhile. We have not enough time at our disposal to justify misspending a single quarter of an hour, nor are we sure enough of life to rationalize procrastinating for another moment.

So fill up your days, and fill them well.

Book that flight. Sign up for the 5k. Give sushi a chance. Do something that makes you uncomfortable. Paint your bathroom green. Forgive your trespassers. Go out on a limb. Love like crazy. Grow your relationship with God. Try something new. Forget the excess. Stop worrying. Notice the scent of honeysuckle in the air. Hug your parents. Make something beautiful. Spend time with the ones you love best.

Whatever it is that’s weighing on your heart, do it, because this life is precious, and it is fleeting. Customize yours, and make it count.

Calendar Overload

I have been going, going, going nonstop, and I’m beginning to feel it. Over the years, I’ve developed a unique talent for fitting plans into small blocks of remaining open time slots until my days are so tightly arranged that I barely have enough time to fly from one event to the next. Ask me what I’m doing on a random weekend in September, and chances are it includes some event involving physical stamina, live music, travel, or a loved one’s important life event. I’m the queen of the calendar, and while there are some benefits that flow from that, there are negatives as well. It’s no secret that I like to keep a full schedule, but I’ve found that too many consecutive days of too much activity a rested Mel does not make. More is not always better.

My plan-filled week looks something like this: dine with the fam, attend Grizzlies game, prepare and host a dinner for friends, try out a new dance class, play in a late-night soccer game, catch up with an old friend over dinner, attend a rocking concert, swing by a bachelorette party before heading to Nashville, belay and rock climb the morning away, then turn right back around to catch another round of the Grizzlies taking care of grizzness. And that’s just the evenings *catches breath*. Overlay that onto a full-time work week, your typical daily errands, a rigorous workout schedule, and performing normal daily functions such as eating and showering and occasionally sleeping, and you can see how it’s difficult to find a moment of stillness.

I thrive on filling my days with various and random activity, that’s plain to see, but somewhere deep down, I know we weren’t made for constant action. We need down time. It’s a necessity, a requirement. We need time to rest, to reflect, to be quiet and still. I fight this notion, though I know it has merit. If the Author of Life prescribed rest on the seventh day, He must have had a very good reason for it.

So, I think I’ll give it a try.

I’m excited for the remaining days in this week, thankful for the people I’ll get to spend my time with, for the ability to push my body in these ways, for the opportunities I might have to bless others. But I’m also looking forward to Sunday, my day of rest. I await the spiritual renewal that comes from attending church, the emotional rejuvenation that comes from sunbathing with my mom. Might throw a yoga class in there for a little relaxation, perhaps a nice run. Spend time with the family. Sure, some good tunes will be thrown into the mix, and undoubtedly a little reading too, but I’ll also make time for quietness. And stillness.  

Yes, this is what my Sunday will be made of.