If you sit by the river long enough...

I don't believe anything is happenstance. I know that the word itself has its place, and I even use it from time to time. But, I just don't believe that anything happens randomly without a purpose, no matter how great or small. I believe that God loves us enough to give us the free will to do as we please, but also longs for a relationship with us in return for His unconditional love for us. This is based on everything I've ever read in the Bible, and based on what He has spoken to my heart over the years during and after meditation and prayer.

I have watched two different prime time shows this year that both used a famous quote from an old Japanese proverb attributed to Sun Tzu: "If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by". The first time I heard it was on "The Mentalist", a show starring Simon Baker. Everyone who knows me realizes that I'm obsessed with this show...okay, AND Simon Baker. :-) The second time I heard this quote was on last weeks episode of "Flash Forward". (In unrelated news, the star character of the show is played by Joseph Fiennes; if you don't know how to pronounce his name, just take a good look at him, and that's how it's pronounced - FINE. My gosh.) Sometimes I think that if I wasn't so into my husband (in EVERY way) he would leave me due to these silly, albeit excessive celebrity obsessions. :-)

After hearing the quote for the second time in less than two weeks, I spent a few moments lingering on how exactly this quote may be relevant in my own life. You could just note the context that was used in both shows to get a good idea of the quote itself actually means: the people that are out to get you will eventually meet their own demise, so to speak, and you will usually hear a secondhand account of it how it all went down.

Last night, I spent about an hour on the phone with a really good friend of mine that I used to work with. She still works for the company that I was laid off from, and she gives me updates about things from time to time. I am increasingly disappointed in some of the things that were confirmed for me. One of life's hard lessons is that there are some people that you simply CANNOT trust; my gut usually makes me aware of this, but one of my inherent "flaws" is that I always try to find the good in people, even those that don't deserve it. I sometimes go as far as befriending some of them. But most of the time, untrustworthy people will ALWAYS be just that. That's just the way it is, and can only begin to enjoy our life more when we accept this and adjust ourselves accordingly.

I'm not sitting on the dock with a pair of binoculars waiting on bodies to float by, but I get the feeling that in due time, I might see a couple that I wasn't expecting. Too bad...

Learning From My Failures

The definition of insanity, according to Albert Einstein, is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I wonder if it's a normal human flaw to stick with what we know or what we've always done, regardless of what the outcome is or has been time and time again. I can speak for myself and say that my ability to procrastinate in doing important things that happen to NOT be so exciting to me has not ceased to strengthen itself over time. It's picked up momentum, in fact, and now I've become an expert at doing what is immediately exciting to me, in exchange for things that really matter. By putting off the important items in my life, I always find myself stressed out and wondering "why didn't I just do it when I had the chance?" This thought brings several things come to mind, namely COLLEGE.

Well, right now, it's very important to me that I get in really good shape. Time isn't standing still, and I need to develop a healthy way of life while I'm still fairly young. I plan to STAY in shape this time. As I mentioned yesterday, I found an online trainer who has given me an exercise and meal plan. He updates it every two weeks so that the body will be shocked, which is how we see results quicker and prevent hitting that dreaded "plateau". Well, it took me 2 weeks to get into the groove of the plan my trainer set up. I didn't stick to the diet 100%,I didn't go to the gym on all of the days that were suggested, I did NOT do every single exercise that was suggested, nor did I drink a gallon of water each day as my trainer suggested.

I took progress pics two weeks ago. This morning, I took more pics in the same poses. I ALREADY see the difference in my body! The difference isn't HUGE yet, but my muscle definition is already starting to present itself in my shoulders, neck, and arms. My legs are starting to firm up just a bit. What motivation!! Just the thought of the results that I could have seen had I stuck COMPLETELY with the plan really gives me the motivation I need to do this thing right for the next two weeks. I can't wait to see the progress pics in two weeks!! I'll be 35 years old by then! :-) :-)

An Exercise in Brevity

I'm challenging myself to give an update from the past several months, but without spending the next hour typing about it. I have about 15 minutes, before I pass out due to exhaustion so here goes:

1) My newborn is now a 12-week old. He will be officially 3 months old on Friday. That time FLEW by! He's holding his head up now, and sleeping through the night, as of last night. Life is good! He spits his milk back up a lot more than his brother and sister did. I'm keeping an eye on that because it makes me a little nervous; but in my heart of hearts I believe that everything is completely fine.

2) My 5 year old and 4 year old are such a joy, even at these hyperactive ages. I love them so much. They are both so brilliant in different ways. I see a little bit of young Tami in the both of them. Good and bad qualities. Math comes easy to one of them, the other one is completely vain, one of them doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, while the other can be knocked down with a feather if you don't give her praise. It's simply amazing. And they're such sickeningly beautiful kids inside and out. God TRULY blessed me in a way that I can't ever measure.

3) Haven't been able to find work, so I'm enjoying being a stay-at-home mom. I go on the kids field trips with them, I make dinner (and dessert) every night, I'm involved at their school more and have established a small network of associates in the other moms, I go on play dates with other stay at home moms, and most importantly, my 3 children get ALL of me, not just the ragged, worn out parts leftover from a grueling day at a thankless job. Many would argue that being a mom is the most thankless job ever, and I wouldn't debate them. But I don't think you can beat greeting your kids at 3pm, being home by 3:15pm and having an entire time with those innocent angels FREE from stress. I wouldn't trade this for anything.

4) Hope to have great news to share this upcoming Friday. If the news isn't good, I won't say anything...if it's great, you'll know about it; the whole world will, if you leave it to me! :-)

5) Been working out INTENSELY the last two weeks. I found a wonderful trainer online, and he set up my daily meals and my daily workout plan. Haven't stuck to the diet as well as I should have, though. But I've lost a good 8 -10 lbs and have lost another pants size (fitting back in my 8's; my goal is to get back into my winter pants which are a size 4 -how could I ever have been that skinny????) I'm going to be a fine mofo by Christmas or bust!!



6) Still have an unhealthy obsession for Simon Baker. Pretty pointless to deny it; even my hubby is hip to it. He's not ecstatic about it, but he's known me for the better part of 14 years now...he knows that I'm ALWAYS going to have some type of fascination/obsession over some type of celebrity. Fame intrigues me; always has for some reason.

7) Cultivating, pruning and watering my friendship garden. There were a lot of weeds, that were causing me a lot of grief, and making it impossible for me to enjoy the beauty of the real friendships that were waiting to blossom. I have some really good friends that really love me, and it's high time I start expressing how much I love them as well. I'm getting better at this.

8) 35 in about two weeks. Having a yummy brunch at a wonderful location in Dunwoody the week after my birthday; waiting a week after my actual birthday so that my sis will be back in town and can be there. I can't wait to spend the morning/afternoon having brunch with people I love!!

9) Hubby is enjoying his new job. In-house counsel for an insurance company in metro Atlanta. He brings home the bacon and I fry it up in a pan...and always make him feel like he's the MAN!! Okay, you get the gist...:-)

Not bad for someone who runs their mouth like an out of control faucet. I can update more often if I can keep it simple like this. Until next time!!