tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47012775784648191862024-03-13T11:56:59.385-07:00The Good China{An attempt at no regrets}I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-63135490670467211432014-07-20T17:45:00.000-07:002014-07-20T19:22:39.959-07:00What's left of this one: my thirty before thirty.<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big 3-0. Dirty thirty. Twenty nine again. </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 4th. It's coming, whether I like it or not {For the record, I like it}, and with a thirtieth birthday, comes a blog about said thirtieth birthday. And with that blog comes the cliche, must-have list of things I want to accomplish before the big day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was doing some "research" online, and reading the blogs and lists of other brave thirty-somethings that have gone before me, I noticed that their lists were all very similar. They almost seemed panicked. 29 years, and a lot of chances that hadn't been taken. Opportunities missed. <i>So </i>much to do and see and experience before thirty. So much to check off of a list. And truthfully, I don't feel that. I guess I never realized how much life I <i>have</i> packed into the last decade, until I read about all the things that others <i>hadn't</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I <i>have </i>moved to cities where nobody knew my name. I <i>have </i>partied in Vegas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I <i>have </i>been terrified and taken the chance anyway. I <i>have</i> grown my own garden, gotten tattoos, lived alone, kissed a stranger, climbed a mountain, and chased my dream. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then I chased a different dream. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've lived on another continent, gotten in mud fights and I've opened my heart. I've been hurt when expectations and reality go their separate ways. I've confronted my doubts, and been surprised by hope. I've been content and restless {sometimes at the same time} </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and I have been <b><i>brave</i></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My twenties have been confusing, chaotic, and chock full of semi-questionable decisions, they have also been free, and wonderful, and littered with decisions that have led me to right here and now, and that's pretty cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as amazingtown as my twenties have been, there <i>are</i> a few things I wanna do before I blow out those thirty candles... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here they are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. <strike>Learn how to cook the perfect over easy egg. </strike></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why do they intimidate me so much? And why are they soo greasy? <b>/// Update: Nailed it. Oil and flip free. I just did what <a href="http://yesiwantcake.com/2012/07/18/how-to-make-perfect-over-easy-eggs/" target="_blank">this</a> lady said, and they were perf!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Get rid of #alltheclothes!!</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be doing a modified version of <a href="http://theproject333.com/" target="_blank">project 333</a>, and I'll make sure to blog about it...it's going to get real. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Go wine tasting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know, right?! How have I never done this? I shall pound grape...in the classiest way possible, of course. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Take my body back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been using life and grad school as an excuse to be lazy and stagnant, and I don't like how I feel. No more. Less Doritos, more broccoli. Less beer, more water. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Re-do my bedroom.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's bad, you guys. It's cluttered, the walls are blank, and my mattress is <i>on the floor, </i>like some kind of 19 year old frat boy. Get it together, Medina!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. Spend an entire week without social media.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've gotten pretty bad. I know I will thank myself for this one...and you probably will too! ;) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Run a 5k.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And by "run a 5k," I mean, without wanting to die. This pairs with number four. I <i>will</i> get my booty up and moving again! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. Write {at least} ten nice notes, and send them to random addresses/leave on random windshields.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because I just think about how <i>I </i>would feel if <i>I </i>got one! So fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. Make a time capsule to open on my fortieth birthday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can only imagine what would have been in a time capsule I made when I was twenty! Yikes, lol </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">10. Go skydiving. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one seems like a given. Again, how has this never happened? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11. Go to a nude beach...and join in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because, they're doing life right. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">12. Figure out what the heck I’m going to do for my
30<sup>th</sup> birthday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vegas, Disneyland, a night out on the town, all of the above?! Who's with me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">13. Make it a habit again to floss…every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am the <i>worst!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">14. Give blood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've usually been inked too recently to give, but right now would be a perfect time to save some lives. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">15. <strike>Get</strike></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strike> my dream job!</strike></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I added this one, because I thought it would be fun to cross off. OMG, you guys...I'm a real life teacher!!!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">16. Have a classic Disney movie all-nighter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, Little
Mermaid…the works. And booze, duh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">17. See the Avett brothers preform live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have tickets!!! I'm freaking out!!! If they play The Ballad of Love and Hate, I can die happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">18. Restart my succulent garden </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After I let my last beautiful collection perish in the great Portland Snowmageddon of 2014. RIP *pours one out with kombucha*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">19. Change my own oil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll just YouTube it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">20. Get my fortune read</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Just for lolz.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">21. Learn to drive stick shift</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because you never know, and I feel like it's one of those things you should just know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">22. Learn to love myself more deeply.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is so huge. It's something that I have been learning as a twenty-something, and something I will keep learning. How to be gentle to myself. How to say no. How to say yes. How to be okay with me. All of me. I already, at thirty, feel <i>so </i>much more in tune with myself, my strength and my womanhood. Here's to a decade of deeper self love. <3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">23. Go salsa dancing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Portland <i>has</i> to have some sweaty, underground salsa club that is just waiting for this girl!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">24. Start saving money.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And while I'm at it, make a budget. And stick to it. Ugh, boring. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">25. Re-watch Lost.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4-8-15-16-23-42. That show <i>changed my life</i>! And because, Sawyer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">26. Start blogging at least twice a month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even if no one ever reads it, I love how good it feels to just <i>say it</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">27. Make my own pickles!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like pickles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">28. Make a five-year dream board.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because It's cheesy, and I'm cheesy. And also because while it's not great to obsess about the unknown future, hot husbands, cute babies, and redecorating houses, and while I'm not in any kind of race to get there...those things <i>are </i>desires of my heart, and it's fun to think about sometimes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">29. The Giants win the NL west and make the Postseason.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one is slightly out of my hands, but seeing as the postseason starts the week of my birthday, it only makes sense. #BEATLA {And then they'll win the World Series in a sweep!}</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">30. Not give a shit about turning thirty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stole this one! Thirty <i>is</i> a big one. There's a reason we write blogs about it, and go skydiving because of it, but it's nothing to be scared of. I'm not behind <i>or</i> ahead. I just <i>am.</i> Right here is perfect. Happy birthday to me!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there you have it. My thirty before thirty. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're still reading, I love you, and you should join me!!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm <i>so</i> ready to pop champagne and step into a decade of new possibility, but until then, I'm going to celebrate what's left of this one. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers!!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1</span></span></span></div>
I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-19914350897151688222014-01-18T12:35:00.000-08:002014-01-18T12:40:41.783-08:00Great Expectations<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know the saying…”If you don’t expect anything, you won’t
be disappointed.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I get it. I’ve been there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You work hard, but the promotion goes to someone else. You
pour yourself into a relationship, but you’re treated like crap. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">((Insert personal disappointments here)) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You post all
the inspirational quotes, you anticipate good things, and instead are left with
disappointment, a heart that’s a little bit harder, and skin that’s a little
bit thicker. And then you do it again. And you’re tired of trying. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Disappointment is draining. It hurts. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, you start to expect less out of life, <i>and you get it</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what if instead, you dusted yourself off {again}, and
not only kept going, but kept expecting that good things were on their way--just
around the corner even? What if you believed that those things you dream were still possible, that
there existed a person who would make you feel loved and valued like you
never had before, that life had joy to offer in the midst of all the pain and
chaos, and that there were still things worth waiting for?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think about that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Iv'e spent a lot of my adult life -all eleven years of it- being cynical and negative (it's not pretty folks). When I let that girl go, everything changed. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, instead of being broken and discouraged by the inevitable disappointments life will bring, I learn who I am in the middle of it. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dare I say, </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">because</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bad stuff makes the good taste even better. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hard stuff makes you brave.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We might be disappointed {again}, we might get hurt {again}, we might
have to start over {again}…or we might not. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a scary, exciting,
unpredictable, wonderful adventure this is! Let’s guard our hearts and our
minds, yes, but let’s never stop taking risks, or stop believing for the best. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s expect great things, and I think we just might find them!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AKf2o9PuzR4/UtrcP5GwZeI/AAAAAAAAADM/1zW8zdjQ1jQ/s1600/5-13-something-wonderful-is-about-to-happen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AKf2o9PuzR4/UtrcP5GwZeI/AAAAAAAAADM/1zW8zdjQ1jQ/s1600/5-13-something-wonderful-is-about-to-happen1.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<!--EndFragment-->I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-24721001635663922952013-08-15T16:32:00.000-07:002013-08-15T21:30:27.812-07:00I wrote her a letter instead:<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She’s the best of the best. The cream of the crop. She’s the
one I always call first. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She’s my best friend. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Forever</b>.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HxiJGY1SdsQ/Ug1dhqbQtiI/AAAAAAAAACU/iQv3RlbGV6M/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HxiJGY1SdsQ/Ug1dhqbQtiI/AAAAAAAAACU/iQv3RlbGV6M/s320/photo+(2).JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you live 800 miles away from your best, it’s always
dumb--there’s just no ifs, and, or buts about that. But once in a while there are days {like
today} when you would give just about anything to be able to bike to her house
and spend the day with her. It’s not a particularly special day, but it <i>is </i>one that I’d love to spend drinking
iced tea on her couch and catching up on the last 7 hours of life {that’s a long time in best friend land}. I’d
love to lie on the floor and read books with her beautiful babies, craft the
day away while we watch old Project Runway episodes, and laugh till we cry,
because life is hilarious. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But, I can't. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So I wrote her a letter instead:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Dear Candace,</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s hard to believe that I moved away over a year and ½
ago. So much has happened! So much is different, but so much is the same. When I moved, my
stomach ached nervously for our friendship. My past is speckled with best
friends. Really amazing people who <i>absolutely
were</i> my very favorites, who knew all my best and worst, who I laughed with,
cried with, stayed up all night scaring people in the dorm bathrooms with,
drove 5 hours in the wrong direction with, and then some. I will always
treasure those loves. But when life said, “it’s time to go,” those friendships
would become faded versions of themselves. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They would never be the same. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With you, it’s different. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I don’t feel that you're any
less my best friend today than I did when I tearfully hugged you goodbye on your porch on that day-that day that seems like so long ago now. I truly feel that for the
rest of my life, when I’m talking about my best friend, I will be talking about you. We have fought to say that. We have worked hard at it. We have been painfully honest when we were hurt by one another. You have loved me on my most
unlovable days. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And now we're here, and it's better than ever! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the end of my first day teaching, it's you I'll call. When I'm wearing that pretty white dress, you'll be standing next to me. When my babies are only an hour old, they will know your face </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Skype= other BFF). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oh darling friend, <i><b>the best is yet to come</b></i>!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We will both make other really good friends. That’s okay.
Sometimes, we will go weeks without a phone date. That’s okay too. But sweep
away the craziness of life {grad school, family, distance, careers}, and there will always be me and you, babe. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Best friends. Forever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><3</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of our favorite blog posts, if you want more squishy, best girlfriend, goodness: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.thehouseofhendrix.com/2013/07/16/35-things-i-want-my-daughter-to-know-about-girlfriends/" target="_blank">35 things I want my daughter to know about girlfriends.</a><br />So good.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-75122703062736781292012-12-31T12:37:00.001-08:002012-12-31T13:09:38.277-08:00In a Nutshell:<div style="text-align: center;">
**WARNING: this is a cliche new years post**</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn71UMDmFHI/UOH2GgSnb5I/AAAAAAAAAB4/QQ2I1JGbRdc/s1600/Cookies-Decorated-New-Years-Midnight-Clock_MD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn71UMDmFHI/UOH2GgSnb5I/AAAAAAAAAB4/QQ2I1JGbRdc/s1600/Cookies-Decorated-New-Years-Midnight-Clock_MD.JPG" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I hope your 2012 was wonderful. I really do. I'm sitting here on my couch, on New Years eve, reflecting on a year that changed my life in more ways than I probably know. My heart is content, and it's full of joy. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I know that's not the case for many. I know. I know what it's like to be broken on December 31st. I know what it's like to be desperate for midnight to just come already. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I hope that's not you. But if it is, I pray 2013 is your fresh start. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I pray it's one that is full of surprises, second chances, of healing and of hope.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Reflection. </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">{A few things I learned, in no particular order}</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1. Rain boots in Portland are a good idea.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2. I am more loved than I can ever try to understand.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
3. Faith.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
4. Every breath is a second chance.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
5. Tomorrow sure isn't promised.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
6. I don't have to be aggressive or mean to be strong.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
7. Fifteen hour plane rides are much more bearable when seated next to a pretty boy. Just sayin.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
8. Hope. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
9. There is ALWAYS hope.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
10. Eating Thai food 3-4 times a week is perfectly acceptable.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
11. Walking away doesn't always mean you lost.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
12. Cougartown is hilarious. Like, my favorite. Who knew? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
13. If you don't quit, you win.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
14. Jesus is faithful.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
15. I need people. I can't do life alone.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
16. I have people. I have <i>really</i> good people.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
17. Grace. Beautiful grace.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
18. Taking chances is worth it.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
19. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by all of this that I think I might literally explode.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So, see ya later 2012. Thanks for everything. And to quote my pastor and friend, "Our best days are ahead!" I believe it, and I can't wait. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-53354783765810527112012-12-19T20:56:00.001-08:002012-12-19T23:38:45.763-08:00Lub- Dub, lub-dub, lub-dub...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last time I blogged (like a billion years ago), I was smack dab in the middle of a juice fast. I'm proud to say I completed it, and it felt wonderful! Like most of the things I get excited about, I was pumped, jumped in with both feet, got bored and moved on. {Reason #347 I'm still not married} Who the H-E-double hockey sticks has time every morning to juice, anyways? I'm lucky if my shirt is right side out!
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Moving on...this blog isn't about juice.<br />
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For obvious reasons, I, like all of you, have done some serious thinking in the last couple weeks. I have felt broken and helpless for the state of humanity, and I have felt hope, because well, I believe there's <i>always</i> hope. There is much that needs to be discussed and much that needs to be done. But that is for a different blog on a different night. Tonight is about a silly thought that crossed my simple mind.
I've always placed myself in the "don't take a single breath for granted" category. I have traveled. I say I love you often. When life has given me opportunities, I have jumped at them. When something scares me, I usually do it anyway. Don't get me wrong, I've totally spent seven hours in my underwear, eating raw cookie dough, and watching 80s sitcoms on Netflix {hello, The Wonder Years and Cheers, am I right?!}, but overall, I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp on "life is short".
So, I'm not sure if this is weirdly morbid or totally silly, or both {probably both}, but I find that when I post on Facebook, I always think about how it could very well be the last thing I ever post on the ol' book! I know, I'm ridiculous, but to me, this is a very scaled down version of "how do you want to be remembered?" I try not to post anything negative or boring, because if it <i>IS</i> my last post, I want the people that love me and miss me {this is all based on the assumption that at least a few<i> </i>of you would} to see that last post, and remember me as the girl who decorated way too early for Christmas, who took board games way too seriously, who liked eating soggy cereal, and who loved Jesus and the people around her, not as the girl who thinks the bank teller is an idiot, or complains about her job.<br />
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Morbid? Perhaps. But there's no guarantee that my heart will keep beating tonight. There's no promise that my lungs will keep filling with air. Who's to know if someone I encounter tomorrow might be hurting deeply, and in turn, decide to hurt me? I might live to be a hundred and nine and have 37 grandkids. I might be done here before having ever been in love. It's okay, either way.<br />
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So, that's just a silly thought I had about Facebook posts. I guess it kind of turned into something a little deeper.<br />
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Here's to living <i>on purpose</i>! If this becomes my last post, I hope it makes you smile, and I hope it inspires you to do one or all of these things: Go for it! Search out truth! Eat dessert first! Eat only dessert! Say what's on your heart! Ride scary rides! Other inspiring things! {If not, let's grab coffee and hug tomorrow!}<br />
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Oh yeah, James Dean. He is quoted as the one who spoke the famous "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." I wonder if he did. What a yummy man.<br />
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<br />I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-64895581589056406002012-07-28T13:29:00.001-07:002012-07-28T13:29:42.222-07:00Juice.I'm tired of drinking it.I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-72550000609791969472012-07-24T21:25:00.000-07:002012-07-25T22:21:58.535-07:00Juice on!As many of you know, I recently started a juice fast. Many of you have asked about it (how I'm doing, what's actually in each glass, etc). I thought I would spare the Facebook/Twitter world the details, and blog instead, for those who were really interested {two blogs in a week?! Be impressed}.<br />
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<b>The deets</b>: 10 days. Juice. Only juice. And water. No chewing. No coffee. NO COFFEE! Juice. A lot of juice. </div>
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<b>The benefits</b>: In a nutshell, to consume an insane amount of plant based micro-nutrients (you would have to eat platters and platters of whole, un-juiced produce to get the same amount), and to give my hard working digestive system a rest from breaking down all the animal products and garbage I feed it regularly.<br />
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<b>Pre-juice</b>: Before Sunday (my start day), I would say I made pretty healthy choices. Health nut? Not even close. But I made a conscious effort to eat clean and organic, and worked out regularly (side note: I'm still a huge junk food junkie...don't be deceived, people). Whether or not that has affected/will affect my juice fast results, I'm not super sure, but it's something to consider.<br />
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<b>Saturday night</b>: I'm not gonna lie...I ate a giant plate of nachos. They were amazing. I don't regret it for a second. I was totally freaked out about what I was about to get myself into, and wondering if it was too late to back out. Luckily, I filled a cart full of colorful produce, and I was ready to go!</div>
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<b>Day one</b>: My alarm goes off an hour earlier than usual. Half asleep, I stare at it in confusion, change it to it's normal time, and drift back to sleep. Yep, already winning; totally how I wanted to start my juice fast. High five, Cyn.</div>
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After church, I head home to make my first glass. Kale, Spinach, cucumber, apple, and a lemon. I'm nervous. It's green...like, REAL green. It smells like plants. But to my surprise, it tastes wonderful!! "I can do this," I thought. </div>
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Dinner on day one rolls around. I can hear the beets calling me from the crisper. Carrots, celery, kale, spinach, apple, beets, and fresh ginger. Oh boy...</div>
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Actually, not bad. Not quite as easy to swallow as my green drink, but not horrible. Another win!</div>
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<b>Day 2</b>: I kept waiting to feel horrible. I had read countless blogs/websites/etc that stressed how awful the first few days would be. How intense my cravings for food would be. But honest to goodness, I felt amazing! I had a bit of a dull headache (which, considering I had just dropped caffeine cold turkey, I was more than okay with), but overall, felt great! Woo hoo!! Started feeling more comfortable with the juicer, and playing with juice mixtures/recipes. </div>
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<b>Day three</b>: woke up feeling great! Added cantaloupe and strawberries today. Trying to maintain a 70/30-60/40 veggie to juice ratio, but wanted something sweet and easy to drink for brekkie. Another great day...even went for a run! Still a little headachy, but feeling energized and full (haven't been hungry once), and I haven't had any of the crazy bathroom issues I have read so much about (I'll just leave it at that).</div>
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How pretty is juicing?!</div>
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So "the worst" is over. I kind of don't believe it. I'm pretty sure I'll want pizza in a couple days, but I guess we'll see! If you have any questions, just ask! Juice on!!!</div>
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</div>I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-25874086699975380572012-07-21T23:53:00.000-07:002012-07-21T23:53:47.814-07:00The Best Part<i>I think the best part about always forgetting you have a blog, is the part when you remember that you do. Then you go to said blog, and {after three unsuccessful login attempts} you read your last post. It's full of hope and excitement, and it's full of plans. Then you sit back and realize that those plans fell through. You're nowhere close to where you thought you would be. You're a different person than you had ever imagined being. And instead of feeling defeat, you breath a sigh of relief, and whisper, "thank you."</i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">If I had to try and sum up the last six months of my life in one word, that word would be grateful. I've never felt grateful the way I feel it these days. I can feel it in my physical body; in my core, my bones. Sometimes, I almost feel like I might explode. </span><br />
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I'm grateful for this peace I feel in my heart. I'm grateful for this beautiful city that I get to live in. I'm thankful for a job that supports me, and allowed me to buy this pretty teal nail polish that's on my toes. I'm grateful {overwhelmingly so} for grace, and for the God who gives it. I'm grateful for new friends who are wonderful, and for old ones, who are faithful. I'm grateful that my life is a life free of fear and full of promise.<br />
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A little vague, maybe. But it doesn't matter. I don't think I could put it in words if I tried.<br />
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<br />I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-74054854654675517292011-11-11T12:14:00.000-08:002012-07-21T23:55:52.831-07:00and I believe him<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Turns out, I’m not very good at this blog thing. I kind of even forgot I had a blog for like, two months. The good news is, I remembered, and I’m here, and I have a lot to say. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sooo…. I’m moving to Australia! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The scoop: In a short 54 days, I will hop on a plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan. {I couldn’t resist}. I will embark on an adventure that I can’t, and won’t even try to predict. I will be working with an organization called YWAM (youth with a mission) in Perth. It is a group of people scattered around the world whose purpose is to know God and make Him known. I will be there for six months for certain, during which I will also travel to Europe and Asia (Gah!!) and will get love on people in three continents! After six months, a few things can happen: I can come back to America, changed and charged to live whatever exciting next step waits for me here, I can join the YWAM staff, or I could start training in their midwifery/birth attendant program. The idea of using my medical skills and my passion for childbirth and obstetrics in places those things don’t exist just makes me want to cry! To have the chance to love people in that way…just, wow. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is big, right? </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Huge.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> When I tell people, after the initial, “You are freaking crazy!” response that I’ve grown accustomed to, they usually joke around about how hot Australian men are (and I ain’t one to argue), or they suggest I “put another shrimp on the barbie!” But when the jokes have passed, the question I get asked the most is “<i>Aren’t you scared</i>?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can honestly say that I am not afraid. I suppose I should be, but in my soul is a crazy peace that prompts me forward, almost without trying. I am not afraid because, for the first time in years, I have made a decision that is not based solely on what I want, but what I feel I am </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">called</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> to. I am not afraid because I serve a big God who tells me not to be. He tells me he will never leave me, and I believe him. So, I’m leaving my fears behind me. They aren’t invited on this journey (and let’s be honest, there’s no place for them in my luggage). So that’s that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I will leave it at this today. Short and simple. Both characteristics of this beautiful life. I want my short time on this planet to be spent living. Truly living. I want to be alive, and not just the heart pumping, oxygen exchanging kind of alive. e. e. cummings said “unbeing dead isn’t being alive.” I want to stop fighting my heart, I want to love people with everything I have, I want to eat weird foods, I want to climb mountains, I want everything I do in this life to honor a God that loved me first. When life asks me to dance, I want to always say yes. And when I die, I want to be remembered as someone who lived a wide open and fearless life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If life is asking you to dance, say yes! Start living right now; it doesn’t have to be grand. Move to Italy, love your babies bigger, or try a new recipe tonight. Wear your hair in pigtails, because you like pigtails, go back to school, jump out of a plane, my goodness, take a bubble bath! Be brave and live with conviction. If you are afraid, leave it behind. Fear is a lie, friends. Fear holds us back, and life is just way to beautiful for that. </span><o:p></o:p></div>I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-26410068218098307702011-08-27T15:49:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:19:14.227-08:00Uncertainties and Surprises<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today, I am packing. I hate packing, but I'm good at it. Really good. You see, I have this "thing;" a gypsy soul, I suppose, that has always kept me from staying still for very long. This "thing" is the reason I have had 8 address in the last 8 years. It's the reason I have a nursing license, a degree in psychology, and more random life skills than I'm sure will ever be necessary, and it's the reason I have never stuck around in any romantic relationship for longer than...well, very long. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So I'm at it again. But this time is different. This time, I'm not sure where I'm going next. I have an idea (let's just say my passport is ready), but nothing is for sure. This time, my belongings will be shoved into a storage unit, sold at yard sales, and donated to thrift stores. This time, I'm more excited and more terrified than I’ve ever been. I think that as I get older, I am beginning to realize the weight of my every decision {I'm a long ways from the 18-year-old girl who jumped in a slug bug and moved to Portland}. What I do (or don't do) today, effects who I will be tomorrow. Tomorrow, I want to be somebody better. No pressure.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This time next year, on August 27th, 2012, I wonder where I will be, what decisions I will be making, who I will know, and who I will have lost contact with. It's so crazy awesome and equally insane to have </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">no</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> idea! I know that's simply the reality of life, but as I sit here on my living room floor, surrounded by boxes, I feel like that reality is right in my face. I can feel it breathing. I'm incredibly aware of life's uncertainties and unexpected surprises this afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, I'll see ya later, favorite lamp. I love you, beautiful book collection. Until we meet again. </span></div></span></div></div>I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4701277578464819186.post-77696319861804754452011-08-07T18:02:00.000-07:002011-08-27T16:01:08.302-07:00The Rest is History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Q7RKXI60-U/Tj8n6NRsc5I/AAAAAAAAAAg/ocY7sFrxS-k/s1600/welcome_mat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Q7RKXI60-U/Tj8n6NRsc5I/AAAAAAAAAAg/ocY7sFrxS-k/s320/welcome_mat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have to be totally honest for a moment...I have no clue what I'm doing here. Bloggers are so much cooler than me, I think {I don't really know any bloggers, but I feel like they would be}. The first post is the worst. Nobody even knows your blog exists, so you're talking to yourself essentially, which is awesome, and nothing I'm not used to.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Regardless of the fact that I already feel like a total reject, here I am. My hope is that this blog will be, for me, a place to unwind and share the happenings of my silly little life {the good, bad, and all the in between}. If, in that process, I make connections with others {i.e. you!}, then I will be the lucky one. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've never been much of a planner, which is possibly what makes my life even "bloggable" to begin with! This will be no different. I have no plans; I only promise it will be me. Simple. A real life portrayal of a 20 something woman who likes to do crafts, eat nachos, and has never been in love {or has just never admitted it}. A look at a girl who loves to do things that scare her, who hates cleaning the bathtub, and truly believes that laughter is the best way to make things better. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, if you would, join me! I'm pretty excited to share myself with you, and hope it will inspire you to do the same. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*Insert clever valediction here*</span><br />
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</span>I am Cyndi.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16303631725491098653noreply@blogger.com1