thanksfulness

I think that Jillian Michaels says it best [yes I subscribe to her emails and blog posts]:

"Today [yesterday] is Thanksgiving, and I want you to take a new twist on it this year. Be thankful for YOU, and how far you've come so far in your journey. Give yourself some props! If you're like me, you spend so much time throughout the year struggling with the day-to-day stuff. Then, come holiday time, when you should be celebrating, we're so tired we can barely get through the day! Listen, you know how much I love pushing you guys to the max, but the whole reason I do what I do is so that people can realize their full potential and be the best that they can possibly be.

So I'm going to keep this holiday note short and sweet (well, to the point at least). Today, and for these next few hectic weeks, look past the calories and exercise for once and focus on the real stuff. This is your life...your life! How far are you really going to go with an amazing body but zero confidence? Start working on the attitude to match the effort you're putting into this."

Well said.  If I am the fittest person in the world (HA!) but don't have confidence, I am, well, not enjoying the hard work and effort I put in at the gym everyday.  AND I may not be too fun to be around.  Therefore, the body ain't everything and being thankful for ME is a concept hard to grasp sometimes.  Thank you Jillian Michaels.  But I am really trying to enjoy this holiday season...treats and all...without shame and disgust as I usually spend most holidays.  But balance is important.

We had ourselves an amazing Thanksgiving...filled with four friends, football, fun, food, and frost.  I was hoping for some snow but that isn't scheduled until this weekend.  Some of our closest friends came over to share in the special holiday.  Mayhem only broke lose when we discovered the turkey had been in the oven for two hours and it hadn't been on.  **Correction**  The oven had been on, the timer was set, but low and behold, when the timer goes off the oven turns to 'warm' so that the food won't burn.  Ingenious invention, but it would have been a good question to ask before we started house sitting.  So, in our defense, we were operating a completely updated version of an "oven" that wasn't even ours.  But everyone was fed and happy by 7 pm...before the women turned nasty towards the men...well...nastier.

A short list for what I am thankful for:

• my husband and the marriage we have
• our one bedroom apartment
• craig's amazing education he is receiving
• our family who loves and supports us
• the church we have found in spokane
• our churches we still hold tight to back home
• our jobs
• the small amount of time we do get to spend with each other
• our friends near and far
• coffee :]
• the ability to run!

Happy Thanksgiving

Love, The Haskins

Out of Town-Bound

Sometimes I wish I had a transporter machine that would instantly transport me to Federal Way, McMinnville, and back within the hour or day.  Both places hold so much meaning to me and encompass a lot of my history.  They have been places of growth, heartache, tears, and treasures...always with bittersweet reunions.  I have had the privilege of living in a lot of different places.  As a towheaded youngster I lived in Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, and Federal Way.  From there I went on to spend my summers in Carnation, some of my school weeks in Olympia, and family visits to Ohio and Kentucky.  And as I approached college I chose to spend four solid years in McMinnville.  Now we reside in Spokane.  They are all places of uniqueness with qualities that attract visits back, but Federal Way and McMinnville hold so dear to my heart.

Last weekend Craig and I drove 800 miles EXACTLY to McMinnville, Oregon to visit friends and family and to cheer on the wildcat football team!  It had been two years since I had been down there for a visit.  The Linfield campus looked the same, the trees were still in full bloom, and the atmosphere still felt like home.  Seneca and Jordan drove over to go the the game with us and Cassie met up with us afterward for Thai Food and Frozen Yogurt!  While wandering through town I ran in to the family I used to nanny for...their two little girls, Lila and Opal!  And got to visit with one of the ladies I had worked with in the Registrars Office all four years.  Sunday, Colleen drove over from Salem for a quick coffee date and a stroll through the campus.  It reminded me of the times we used to have "pre husbands."  We found our goofy sides and pretended like we still lived 30 minutes away from each other.

Linfield was a place where I spread my wings a bit...a place where I experimented, failed, experimented, succeeded, experimented, graduated!!!  I met my bestest of best friends there (not including my husband) and I felt free to be myself...something I never felt able to do in High School.  Overall, it was a warming feeling to be back down there for a weekend!  

And today I just returned from a visit to Federal Way!  Ah, so sweet of a ghetto place and how it still holds sentimental value despite the shootings, homicides, vandalism, breaks ins, loitering, littering,  j-walking, etc.!!!  Moms and Pops flew me home so that I could spend some quality time with a quality friend...and it was QUALITY!  It is encouraging to have friends that I can go without seeing for a year or two at a time and then pick up where we left off.  Let's be honest.  I am lonely here in Spokane.  I am not alone, just lonely.  I lack the deep, rich, friendships that reside in Federal Way.  I thrive off of one-on-one's, coffee dates, and time well spent.  Here in Spokane I work, workout, eat (sometimes), sleep, and then do it all over again!  But when I lived at home with my Mom I made time for so much more!  And whenever I pop over on that side of the state for a visit I am reminded of what I long for.  It hurts sometimes to think about.  

I got to visit with some of my closest friends this weekend!  And I also got to spend precious time with Mom, Dad, and Molly!  Craig and my prayer is that we can find that here in Spokane.  But it was nice to have the reminder that there ARE people who genuinely love and cherish their friendship with me...they just live across state...or across Earth!

Unfortunately, no pictures were taken this weekend.  I was too wrapped up in heart-to-hearts to pause for a quick cheesy pix.  OH WAIT!  I did take three!  Here they are...

What I wore on Friday...

I had to send a pic to Molly to make sure it was okay I borrow her shirt...

She of course said I could!

My furry husband for the weekend...

My Sister Michelle Rock and I at the BIRD...

Running Update

I am up to $52.80 in running since Sept 1, 2011...!

September = 64.69 miles/$0.50 = 32.345

October = 62.22 miles/$0.25 = 15.555

November (thus far) = 19.6/$0.25 = 4.9

Reality Strike

So, a good friend once pointed out to me that all the blogs she reads always make her feel like her life is not as good as other people have it.  I thought about it and now believe that this is very true.  As I look around facebook at the statuses and read other blogs that I subscribe to, they always have the most positive spin on life.  Don't get me wrong, I think life is what you make it!  You can look at the dark or bright side of things.  But not everyone's life, all the time, is peachy keen.  And if a blog or status IS posted about something negative, there is usually a positive twist to it.  For example, "I can't stand my life right now! (negative)  But I know God will use this to make me stronger! (positive)"  Is that really what the individual is thinking or telling themselves at the time, or do they just write it to make themselves sound good?  It is hard to tell, but I completely agree that blogs and statuses CAN be used as a cover up.  They can always be used to make the individual feel better about situations they are currently in.  It is easy to write with words what we wish we were feeling or how we wish we could view a situation.  Making sense?  All I know is that I don't want my blog to leave a reader feeling crummy about their own life.  I don't want them walking away thinking, "gosh!  Craig is so good to Megan!  Why can't my husband be like that?"  Because the truth is, Craig and my marriage is probably just as rocky, if not rockier than theirs!  I want my blog to be inspiring and encouraging.  I want it to be an inside to our first few years of marriage -- the ups and downs.  And I challenge myself to not put up anything "spiritual" or profound if it is not genuine.  If I am mad at God, I promise not to post, "I Love God right now!"  :]

Thank you good friend for that insight!

On a different but the same note, that good friend came and surprised me for my birthday!  She showed up on my doorstep a week ago today!  I was beside myself!  She flew here from Oregon to spend the weekend with us.  What a neat surprise!  The only downfall is that her immune system decided it wanted to crash and catch strep throat while she was here.  But she was a trooper!  It kept us from running and walking 100 miles while she was here because God knows that is what we would do!  It was a nice time of relaxation and homemade chicken noodle soup!!!

getting ready to tie die...heck yes...!...

...while Craig is waiting on us hand and foot.

Nonfat Latte Please!  With Foam!

besties for life

till death do us part