Blogging Attempt, Take 2

My apologies, ladies and gentlemen, for being away so long.  It's been kind of a crappy few months and I could barely tie my own shoes, let alone blog.  Fortunately, it's (sort of) spring here in Wisconsin.  Despite the chill and high wind, things are green, some trees are leafing out and the daffodils are up.  That's a good start.


One month ago today, I was traipsing the streets of my spiritual home.  That's right, I was in St. Paul, MN.  My dear, dear, lovely friends, Mark and Rae, have a little farm about an hour from the Twin Cities and I was fortunate enough to be invited to spend 5 fun days with them.  One of their daughters has gymnastics practice in St. Paul every Saturday, so that day a bunch of us piled in the car and drove there.  Mark's mom and the kid went to gymnastics, while the other daughter and I roamed Highland Park and sort of got lost in the vicinity of the Excel Energy Center (home to my darling Minnesota Wild).  I say sort of lost because I had my trusty GPS with me.  My motto that day became, "Never be afraid to explore a new place because there's no such thing as lost when you have GPS".  I must say, GPS or no, we should never be afraid to explore.  But, I digress.  Anyhoo, I discovered Starbucks' rival, Caribou Coffee.  The closest Caribou to me is somewhere in Milwaukee, and I think that's a damn shame, because one of my oldest friends got me hooked on Caribou's Blended Mint Conditions with dark chocolate.  It's a chocolate-mint version of a Starbucks' frappuccino, but it's SO DAMN GOOD!  Let me tell you, I was a happy camper sucking on this drink whilst motoring through beautiful St. Paul.  I really think I'd be happy there.  It's got a great vibe.  It's busy but not crazy.


I love going to Mark and Rae's.  Whenever I visit I always end up doing or learning or eating something new.  This time was no different.  Mark got me hooked on pickled whitefish and homemade muesli.  He also took me to my first Bible study.  I'd never been to one before and I must say, it was endlessly fascinating.  I'm now looking into joining a weekly study here in town.


Another wonderful thing I got to do is go with Mark and volunteer.  He takes care of ordering food for a backpack program for low-income kids in 2 or 3 counties.  Each weekend, every kid in the program gets to take home a pack full of several days' worth of food.  That Tuesday, Mark did the ordering for this month, and I got to help him.  It was the saddest but most rewarding thing I've ever done.  It was devastating to actually see how much need there is in that area but satisfying to know that we did the best we could do with basically no damn budget whatsoever.  And those kids are lucky, because Mark is a chef.  He understands nutrition and meal planning, so they get fruits and veggies at every meal, and he works his ass off to ensure they have plenty of nutritious, filling food.  I'm hoping to return to Mark and Rae's later next month and stay for a couple of weeks.  Summer is a busy time around their farm and I want to help out.  Not only that, but I want to volunteer with Mark some more.


Later that afternoon, we all piled into the van and went to the Mall of America for the Phillips Craig and Dean concert.  Now, I am not into Christian Contemporary music at all, but they did one song that had me terribly faklempt: Tell Your Heart To Beat Again.  For the past few months, I've been trying to get my own heart beating again.  I'm trying to zap the ghosts from the past, plus C.G. is gone and I'm working to get over him.  My trip to Mark and Rae's/the Twin Cities was a nice break but it was also a clear wake-up call.  The past is past and I've got to get over it.  C.G. is not going to happen and I've got to get over it.  I've got to get busy and try to make some damn dreams come true.


Since returning home, I've gotten busier.  I've resumed T-Tapp and walking.  I've got a long way to go, but I'm seeing results already.  What I'm looking into right now is the Daniel Fast.  Basically, you go vegan for 21 days.  I'm not sure if I can go that long without poultry or a little beef or a few eggs.  I'm a girl who really needs her protein.  However, I've heard that the Daniel Fast can really jump start weight loss efforts, straighten out blood sugar, reduce/eliminate the homicidal rage and crushing depression that accompany PMS, help blood pressure and cholesterol, and so on.  I'm intrigued.  If I go on it, I'll definitely report my observations and results.