CRC Announcement time...

Had to post this since it got recorded...

This might be one of my all time favorite skits from Chestnut Ridge... aside from the Family Feud skit at Christmas...

Spartan Cheerleaders | Mixer Promo from Chestnut Ridge Church on Vimeo.

ENJOY! :)

My Metabolic Change

I'm a dork. This we know.

I like science-y things. This we also know.

One thing I didn't know is that I really like endocrinology. Weird. 

Let's back up a few steps. A few weeks ago, I got a new book, "Master Your Metabolism" by Jillan Michaels. For those of you who know me, you know that I love reality TV, and Biggest Loser is just one of those great reality shows. And Jillian is my favorite trainer on the show. 

I picked up her latest book because it seemed to be a pretty intelligent read, not really so much of a diet and exercises book. And that proved to be right. 

It is all about hormones, and how they play a role in your health, mainly related to body weight and energy. It's about mastering your metabolism to live a healthy life by eating naturally, and living in a balanced way.

Since reading the book, and re-reading sections, I have really tried to implement some of the changes suggested. I can actually tell a difference overall... which is more than I expected, being a bit cynical. 

My plan is to write about some of these changes I've made and why they are supposed to be beneficial... from the perspective of the book, papers I'm reading, and my own experience. Of course I can get kind of behind on these things. But I'll do my best.

This book has made me more interested though in how hormones are affecting everything in our bodies, and how the foods we eat affect the hormones. Insert dorkiness here. It seems that even if I'm not spending my life as a scientist, I will still be drawn to those sorts of things. 

My Nomadic Life

Last weekend I moved out of my fantastic apartment of one year.  And now I'm sitting on my friends' couch to type this blog.

Why? Because I'm getting to move in with two of my great friends, Megan and Jenna, into an amazing house, to really live life together. Yay community! 

(That's them right over there ------>)

But here's the kicker. One of my roommates and I had to move out of our apartments on the 11th... and we can't move into our house until June 1st. Ugh.

What's a homeless girl, or two, supposed to do? Insert amazing friends here.

We have been so blessed to  have friends that are helping us in every way imaginable! Our friend Billy offered the use of his basement for us to store practically ALL our belongings until June 1. And let me just tell you, that basement has never been that full before. It looks like one of those pack rat shows on TLC. Or True Life: I'm an obsessive hoarder. 

Our friends Jimmy and Clare let us house sit for them the last week, and our friends Cam and Sarah are letting us house sit the next two weeks. It is amazing how God has provided us places to stay that not only allow us to not burden others, but do little house sitting things to bless them as well!

The last week of our nomadic-ness I'll actually be in Orlando for GCM staff training while Jenna finishes up the house sitting. I'll get back to Morgantown about midnight on the 31st, and then move the next day! 

It is crazy, but surprisingly unstressful. I am constantly amazed at how God is using this experience to help me grow. In trust, patience, humility, um... lack of stuff..., and just general contentment with anywhere I am (figuratively and literally).

How would you feel carrying 40 pounds of water on your head?

BH2O+ - Be Hope To Her, Nuru International

Thursday I participated in BH2O+ at WVU. I went early to help my friends coordinating the event on campus with any set up needs, and just to help in general. They were so on top of it. By the time I arrived everything was well taken care of, to the point that one of the other girls and I had time to walk down to so.zo and get coffee for the coordinators!

Originally I thought I may not get to walk, as I had been asked to help man the tables and sell merchandise. But as it turns out, I had the opportunity to walk with a couple girls I really didn't know too well. Just the experience of getting to the river with empty buckets on our heads had us thinking. Our arms were already tired just from the first mile, with no water! Once we made it to the river, a friend and I decided that we would go for full buckets of water. DANG. That was crazy heavy.

What's it like to walk with 5 gallons (give or take) of water on your head? Well... imagine your favorite 3 or 4 year old. Now, imagine strapping them to your head and trying to walk. Oh, and this toddler on your head, they like to move around, and look at things, and, well, you get the picture. That water really has a mind of its own, and it takes a good amount of focus to keep from spilling it, as well as stay focused on getting to the end of the route!

We, being in the great mountainous state that we live in, had to walk up hill from the very beginning of out route back. I mean straight up a hill from the river. Then, we encountered numerous steps and hills on our way back to the rally. It got really hard just to make it up those hills, arms shaking, neck and head throbbing, back sore. And sweating. Even though it was only 60 degrees. Let's just face it. It is so much hotter in so many place that they do this.

Along the route multiple people would stop because it was so hard. The amazing thing being, not a single person quit. Not one. They all would have help, or even hoist their buckets back onto their heads themselves, and start the journey again. A true testament to perseverance. It was great to be able to encourage each other along the way, and to share our thoughts about what it would be like to do this day in and day out. It really brought the girls together, even the ones who had never met before starting the walk.

I think my favorite moment happened about half way through the walk. One of my friend's bucket slipped from her kanga, and, well, spilled all over the place. the girl she was walking with stopped to help her, and in the process, her bucket dumped to. Not to be dissuaded, they continued their walk, wet, with empty buckets on their heads. A few minutes later, as we started up another round of steps and hills, one offered to take some of the water from another girl's bucket to help her out. Wow. We were all in pain at this point, and the fact that she was willing to give up her easy walk and take on some of the pain of someone else was phenomenal. Afterward, she left a comment on the BH2O+ blog post about her experience. Her comment reflected the fact that had she been in Africa, doing this for her own need, every drop of water spilled would be valuable. The bucket that dropped would have to be taken back to the water source, refilled, and the journey back started again.

Profound. Something we take so for granted. Something as simple as clean water. How in the world do these girls do it? I feel like I was in a car wreck because I'm so sore from one trip. And they do this multiple times a day. On top of that, I was able to eat a nice healthy breakfast before I left my house. Many of those girls don't have the luxury of nutritious meals. When I miss a meal, I get tired. Lethargic. Surely not wanting to carry a heavy bucket of water on my head for any distance to bring fresh water to my family.

Even as I've been typing this I've been making dinner. Consisting of my organic pasta, sauce, chicken. it might be the first time ever that I have really stopped to think about how blessed I am to have such a meal any time I want. Just boiling the water had a greater meaning for me today. I am able to turn on my faucet and have cool water. i didn't have to take that water I boiled only to cook my pasta, and then try to cool it to the ambient temperature to drink. It is so much more real now.

She's Just Not That Into You if you flirt and she responds with a blank stare.

You've been there. You're trying to get that certain someone's attention, and they respond with the dreaded blank stare.

"Did she not hear me? Is she lost in thought about something else?" you may wonder. And that may be the case.

But it also may mean she is just not that into you.

Flirting. Everyone does it, even if it is unintentional. Some forms are obvious, others a bit more sly. But the girl who is not into you will pick up on it, and either respond with mild (or great) disgust, or not respond at all.

You see, if you are attempting to get a girl's attention, and she likes you, you won't have to try very hard. You see, if she is into you, she will be trying to get your attention to some degree more than likely as well.

*A brief side note: This works the same in reverse. Girls, if you are trying to get a guy to notice you and he is not responding, he is just not that into you. Stop wasting your time and energy...

So as for flirting, it can come in various forms: (adapted from the fantastic resource known as wikipedia)

• Eye contact, batting eyelashes, winking, etc.

Guys, as stated before, if she is avoiding eye contact she's just not that into you.

• Casual touches; such as a woman gently touching a man's arm during conversation

This can also have a broader scope to include personal space. If you get closer to her (now don't be a creeper) such as sitting near her or standing nearby, and she does not acknowledge your presence, or seems disturbed by it, she's just not that into you.

• Smiling suggestively

or un-suggestively. If you smile, and she returns a blank stare, well, you can figure out what that means. Unless she is a really mean person (who is someone I would hope you aren't into anyway) then she will smile in response just to be polite. When that doesn't happen, there is typically a good reason why, and it may include her not feeling comfortable with you liking her because she doesn't reciprocate the feelings.

• Sending notes, poems, or small gifts

Includes texting, emails, etc. If she doesn't respond, especially in a timely manner, she's just not that into you. When a girl is interested, she will jump on the chance to communicate with you. How else is she gonna know if you are worth her time?

• Flattery

Don't go over the top with compliments if you haven't earned the right to. Although girls like being told they are pretty, smart, funny, etc, if someone random tells them these things they will find it odd. And maybe a little creepy. After all, if you don't really know her, how would you know those things about her. (Aside from her obvious beauty.) But still, to just randomly tell a girl she is pretty, especially if there have been red flags that she is not that into you will make for a very uncomfortable situation for the both of you.

• Online chat is a common modern tactic, as well as other one-on-one and direct messaging services

Boys, listen up. We are in an age of modern communication where facebook chat and other online chatting seems to be a good way to communicate. Well, watch yourselves. Because the other person may be reading what you are typing in a totally different way than you intended, or (heaven forbid) even letting a friend sitting next to her read it and tell her how to respond so as not to offended you or lead you on. And if she isn't really keen to talking to you in person, online chat may not be such a good idea.

If you aren't talking in person, don't start up a relationship (or try to) via chatting. And don't try to be all flirty when you do. It often comes across as rude or weird. And then that girl who wasn't into you in the first place (hence why you aren't talking in person) will be even more awkward around you, and will be that much less into you.

She's Just Not That Into You if she isn't paying attention to you.

If a guy likes a girl, typically he is gonna try to spend time with her. Makes sense.

But what if she doesn't want to spend time with him?

It happens.

So here's the deal guys. If you are trying your hardest to hang out with a girl that you think is pretty cool, but she is not reciprocating, she is probably just not that into you. That includes her not focusing on you in a group setting, not responding to you when you make witty jokes, or just flat out not making eye contact with you.

A girl likes to be noticed. She likes to be made to feel special. To feel beautiful. But not by everyone.

There is no reason why we like certain people better than others. No formula to figure people out. Sometimes though, as much as a girl likes to be noticed, she just doesn't want to be noticed by that other person.

And when she doesn't want to be noticed, she doesn't pay attention. So when it seems like she is ignoring you, it means she's just not that into you.

And since we are on the brink of this subject, let's just jump right into the thought that girls play hard to get.

That is just stupid.

Most girls will at least treat you like a friend if they are even thinking that they might be interested in you. (Not avoid you to make you like them more).

Now wait, stop getting your hopes up that the girl you like treats you politely and therefore she is into you... We'll cover that later. For now, go back and re-read the first part of this, and honestly think if she is trying to make an effort to be nice to you or get to know you. Not sure? Then she probably isn't.

And to reiterate: she isn't playing hard to get. That really is not a common occurrence.

And if she is, then she is working under the assumption that she can manipulate a guy to feel the way that she wants. And what guys wants to begin a relationship with anyone based on manipulation?

He's Just Not That Into You

Ok, I'm not often the one to jump onto a bandwagon of popularity.

A few years ago I remember watching Oprah (before I had learned the error in my ways) and saw an episode with Greg Behrendt, a comedian and co-author of the book He's Just Not That Into You.

Well, I was mildly entertained by the show, but didn't really think of it again.

Then, with the recent movie made from the popular book, the He's Just Not That Into You phenomenon seems to be gaining popularity again.

Last weekend I decided that I would pick up the book and see if it was all it is cracked up to be. (Since I skipped out on going to the movie with a bunch of my friends, I figured that would be the best way to be more in the know. Or something.).

Well, it was entertaining in parts, and really had some good points. It also had a lot to say that I really didn't agree with, and even parts I skipped all together.

But what kept going through my mind was, so do guys realize that sometimes She's Just Not That Into You? I know, they can't write that as a self help book, cause no guy wants to go pick up a self help book (or so they say). But shouldn't that info be out there still?

So after consulting with a good friend of mine, I've come up with a lot of different scenarios that may just show how NOT into you she may be. So stay tuned and read on to find out.

My TV Untangled...

Alright. this is where I stand in my current TV obsessions:

Heroes: bored to tears this week. They really have to get back on track

Biggest Loser: glad Joelle is gone, sad about the whole Dane and Blaine break-up, not too sure who I'm rooting for yet. Prob just one of Jillian's players as usual.

Scrubs: a week behind, but happy for the JD/Elliot of it all

SURVIVOR: STARTS TOMORROW! WOO HOO! :D

Grey's: I think the show is starting to get back to what made it good... if only they'd loose the Callie story line... and maybe the whole insane Izzy thing

Private Practice: interested to see where the crossover will lead them

LOST: keeping me pretty much intrigued. Never watched it? Or just love it? See below an incredibly hilarious breakdown of this weeks episode...



The action heroes really do make it amazing!

Multi-tasking

So it seems like my life never really slows down. As insanely busy as I am, I decided to take one of my monthly (or so) disappearing days today, and just not talk to anyone or do much of anything that didn't have to be done.

And it seems I have come across a great deal of wisdom today as I have begun to catch up on my favorite tv shows online, and watch too much You Tube and Hulu. So, I thought I'd share a little bit of greatness that I learned. Make sure you watch all the way to the end to really get the full message... it is very moving. Thank you Tina Fey.