My Friday the 13th Meeting w/Jason

I never get tired of telling the story of the first time we met in person! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!

awkwardly graceful

On this, our 100th monthiverary, I wanted to re-share our first date story. I can’t begin to express how much I love that this specially milestone also falls on the ever-lucky Friday the 13th.

Jay and I had decided via MySpace messaging that we would meet on Friday the 13th of October at Johnny Carino’s.  When I got home from work that day, I started getting ready.  I had selected a pink corduroy blazer and a tan camisole.  Unfortunately, my good booty jeans were dirty, so I had to go with a back up pair.  I proceeded to straighten my hair and leave my apartment 30 minutes before I was supposed to meet up with him.  I grabbed a book on the way out because I knew that it wouldn’t take me that long to get to the restaurant (which is about 10 minutes away), but I didn’t want to…

View original post 991 more words

Loving My Actual Life – Book Review

This past week, Alexandra Kuykendall released her book”Loving My Actual Life: An Experiment in Relishing What’s Right in Front of Me.”

One of the things I love about MY actual life right now? Opportunities like this to be a member of a book launch team. I received an advanced copy of the book, and wanted to share some of the notes I made as I went through each chapter.

Each month, Kuykendall chose an aspect of life to focus on living with purpose. Following the description of her goal for the month, she writes daily notes logging how she experienced the heart of what she is trying to accomplish.

Striving to Moderately Perfect Planning

Since the moment my feet hit the floor on January 1st, I’ve been geeking out about my 2016 planner. Even before that, I was legitimately bummed to not be able to start using it the moment in December I opened the shipment.

Turning Traditions into Memories

When considering what makes the holidays special, I think mostly about those which define Christmas for me and my family. Some have slowly fallen away, while others I am purposeful about keeping alive each year.

My Father the Hero

An icy day 5 years ago changed my dad’s life forever. A small act of heroism cost him his livelihood. In the moment life seemed unfair, and with each ripple I’m discovering that I am simultaneously right and wrong.

Rather than some grand gesture, my father’s story was an act of every day courage. He didn’t deliberately set out to be a hero, but rather showed up, did his job, and worked a small miracle for a stranger.

Melting Pot of Family Traditions

Since childhood, my holiday expectations have been built around family traditions. I’m sure this isn’t unique to me, but I am incredibly partial to our rituals.

For Thanksgiving, my aunt would bring a poster board and a marker. Each of us had to write what we were thanful for, then everyone would review the year’s wworth of blessings. I recall one year predicting “Fred Thompson will be president in 2000!” Understanding I’ve always lived a blessed life, I cannot recall while I failed to give thanks for something which had actually happened.

I also don’t know why she stopped bringing the poster board. Perhaps she grew weary of teenagers (and then twenty-somethings) mocking her festive attempts. This past year we were all grateful to get together, but never gave voice to our blessings.

Jay’s family never traditionally had ham for turkey day, but his mom added it into routation because I don’t eat turkey. She also takes special care to bring  chocolate based desserts to satisfy my sweet tooth.

With each year, we melt slowly into a family. Not me & Jay, and my family and his, but rather all of us. Family.

I hope to write more in-depth in the weeks leading to Christmas. What are some holiday traditions you insist upon?

Linking up with Jaime for her Stream of Consciousness weekend gathering.

welcome!

Welcome to my new blog home. I’m Brooke, the blogger formerly known as Frugal Trophy Wife. While I love the tongue-in-cheek nature of the name, I found that it really didn’t fit with the nature of my blogs.

Wardrobe Angst

 

 I have nothing to wear.

Cause that is one corner of the closet of someone who has a shortage of wearable clothing. I replay those old standard lines in my head, missing the forest for the trees.

These days I spend my money on a clothing all right, just not the kind a girl would wear out and about. I have work clothes, I have have church attire, and I have run gear.

 But when it comes to casual wear, I don’t have much between casual fleece and office sweaters. Truth be told, I don’t often need them. Rarely do I go out that a fresh sports bra and race tee don’t count as “cleaning up.”

This past December, I found myself singing the same ole song. I’ve got nothing to wear. I’m fat. I wish I weren’t poor. None of those things is true, but I find myself easily defaulting to those tired lines.

Since fashion isn’t something that excites me, I decided to change my attitude. Why stand out, when you were born to fit in? I don’t mean personality-wise. I am me. The older I get the more I’m okay with that. Happy with it even.

Struggling to look cute is not something I’m okay with. For one Christmas party, I opted for the standard black and white sweater with a red scarf. Nothing that was memorable for anyone but me. And I loved it. It was comfortable, the appropriate level of dressiness, and left me feeling that my wardrobe was a non-issue.

Then for Christmas my hubby got me a super-cute tee with skulls on it. Please forgive my goozle in the above pic. Its our family curse. As my cousin so lovingly said that day “You’re not fat, you’ve just got bad genes.”

But back to wardrobe. My sis and her family got me a super cute scarf set.

A bit of unintentionally twinning – paring a plain pink tee with a cute scarf. Both of these things got me thinking – maybe I’m over thinking this fashion stuff. Me over-thinking anything? Not exactly a stretch for anyone who knows me to believe.

As my 35 birthday rapidly approaches, I’m starting to think I won’t be stuck in an athletic wear wardrobe after all.

What’s your personal style? Do you try to be trendy? Classic? Or do you see clothes as a way to not be arrested for indecent exposure?

Livin’ Part of Life

Today I’m using a blue-tooth keyboard for my iPad mini for the very first time. I tend not to blog when I’m away from my desktop, which can limit me certain times of year. A friend let me borrow the keyboard she never uses, so we’ll see if I like it.

So far so good!!!

I keep thinking I should say the words  “sorry I’ve been a bad blogger” cause that’s what everyone else says when they go for long stretches without posts. But my regret about blogging has nothing to do with my blog friends. If it did, the correct phrase would be “sorry I’ve not been an available friend.”

Which there is some of that.

But mostly my blog regrets are to myself. I’ve had these epic life moments and failed to record them for memory’s sake. How is that a thing? Guilt for being too busy with life to record life. Shouldn’t I be happy to have made those memories?

Maybe this means I should vow when life slows down to blog them any way – even if its months after the events happen. I have pictures to jog my memory. And maybe just beginning the writing will help. If not, I suppose it wasn’t much to retain any way.

Seriously, times up? That’s all you get from me?

I’m linking up with Jaime – let me know if you do so I can read yours! I’ve definitely been a bad blog reader these days. I’d love to be lazy yet still keep up with how things are going with you.

The First Post is the Hardest.

Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I’m waaaaaaaaaaaay behind in my posts, so I thought I’d break the ice by telling you what’s to come. And if I don’t blog about it you pester me until I do. Please? Last year I very much regretted not blogging about my Ragnar Relay experience, but by the time I got around to it I’d forgotten the important details I wanted to savor.

Vacation

• York, ME – Cliff Walk
• Acadia National Park
• Southwest Harbor, ME
• RI Cliff Walk
• Baltimore, MD

Ragnar

• Sleepover, night before
• Signal Mountain – 5 miles
•  Fun in the van
• 6.7 overnight run
• 6 mile sunrise

Other running

• Halloween Pub Run
• Farragut 13.1
• Foothills Half Marathon
• Double Half weekend
• Upcoming half race plan
• Upcoming 26.2 training plan

General

• Eric Church concert
• Thompson Square concert
• 6th wedding anniversary (coming up on Saturday)
• Prayer requests