Hilarious,

Watch and enjoy.

This is a little boy I babysat for a couple of afternoons. He is just so stinkin' hilarious and adorable. Here he is singing and being silly for the camera. 

Broken

     My heart is heavy tonight. After a long (and amazing) conversation with Adam, I am just so much more aware of how prevalent broken relationships are. Marriages and relationships (friend and romantic) are definitely one of Satan's biggest targets. I really believe this. Just look at the divorce rate for America. Outstanding. Ridiculous. But so, so painful. My art aches for the relationships I see around me that are just broken. Plain and simple. They are lacking. I want so badly to "fix" the problems, but I can't. I can only pray and believe that Christ will heal them. More specifically, for healing for those two halves of the relationship. Broken people make broken relationships. It is only through Christ that relationships can be made whole. 

     But what does that even look like? What does it mean for Christ to live in our relationships? What does it mean to let Christ "heal" us? I know it starts with an open heart and A LOT of prayer. It has to be fueled by hope and belief that Christ will prevail. I know it takes determination and a heck of lot of perseverance. It takes the realization that we are broken, and acknowledging that the only hope comes from Christ. It teaks us releasing control over what we want our relationship to look like and allowing Him to lead. Wow. What a huge step!! I struggle with this everyday!! Letting him lead. I can only wonder how frustrated He gets with me each day!! Often, I don't even THINK about who is guiding my steps, I just do it. I am a hot mess, Jesus!!! Most importantly, it takes us stopping and listening for His will. The Lord often speaks in a gentle whisper. A whisper that gets easily overpowered by our daily lives. 

    Sorry if this post seems jumbled, it's just what is on my heart at the present moment. This fact has tugged at my heart strings for quite some time!! I wish so badly for relationships to be perfect and whole and complete this side of Heaven. But at least it's something we have to look forward too. God promises our bodies will be whole and complete, and I personally believe that relationships are not exempt from this fact!! I have faith that they will be "revamped" as well!! Praise the Lord!! 

Tips to eating healthier--little tricks I have learned over the years (Mainly from my wonderful roomie Katy) If you don't care about eating healthier, then read no further! Haha this will bore you to tears. 

-First off, it's easy to confuse hunger with thirst. You might think you are hungry for a snack, when in reality, your body is craving water (ANY form of water) so you might feel hungry when you just need a nice glass of water! 

-Snack on high protein and high fiber foods (nuts are a great way to pack on the protein and have a low calorie value to them!). Fiber and protein help you feel fuller longer so you won't snack as much or as often! Fruits and veggies are high fiber foods. Meat, oats, whole grains, milk--these things have fiber and protein as well. 

-Try to eat more frequent, smaller meals instead of three huge ones (If you are in nursing school, you are cracking up at this one--we hear it for almost all diagnosis' but it is so helpful!) Larger meals are harder to digest, they often make you feel sleepy afterwards [because of stimulation from the peripheral nervous system (this "chills" out your body and prepares it for digestion and is stimulated by a full stomach)]. When you eat more frequently, it keeps your metabolism stimulated and you don't feel famished whenever its time for the next meal (which makes you overeat!). It also keeps your blood sugars at a steady level and you avoid the big rise and fall after a large meal. You can avoid that shaky, jittery feeling you sometimes get when your blood sugar drops.

-If you like to drink your calories, have a coke. Those babies pack in more than you think! A coke or mountain dew can sometimes have up to 54 grams of sugar....which is a lot. Try diet coke or coke zero if you need that caffeine, carbonation fix (I know I do!!!) or just drink water or propel or something of that sort. A coke every now and then is completely fine. But some people drink these all day long and don't think about how much is actually in those things because they consider it a drink and not food. But it can be equivalent to a piece of cake or a large cookie.  

-Read labels before you purchase things! I just recently read the back of a sausage egg and cheese biscuit (the frozen jimmy dean ones) and those things are awful! Like 600 calories and 50% of your daily allowed fat in one tiny sandwich! Yikes. You could eat like a bowl of cereal, piece of fruit, and piece of toast for that calorie count. And you would be much fuller and satisfied. 

-A good general rule of thumb to find how many calories you should eat in one meal is dividing your daily allowance by four (most people a 2000 calorie diet is sufficient if you are not super athletic). So that's 500 calories for each meal and a total of 500 calories for snacks. Or if your not a big snacker, eat 600 at each meal and have one 200 calorie snack before bed. If your like me and like to eat 5 small meals, just divide 2000 by 5 and you get 400 calories per mini meal.

 -I encourage you to check out your favorite restaurant's nutrition menu (fastfood and regular). You can do this by going online, or download the sweet application on the iphone called "restaurants." Just check out the calorie, fat, and carb count on that meal. IT is insane. I promise you will not believe some of the stuff we eat! Like for instance, a chicken finger basket at the Dairy Queen or Sonic is like 1500 calories! I just couldn't believe it. I used to eat those like all the time when I was little. Which is fine every now and then, but wow. That is almost all of your daily allowance for calories.   

-On food labels, the main thing you should be looking at is the fat content, carbohydrate, and overall calorie count. More specifically the saturated fats (these are the "bad" fats). It's good to know about the other stuff liek cholesterol and sodium but you gotta start somewhere! Generally, you should only eat something if the total fat content is less than 1/3 of the item. So, at the top of the label it gives you the calorie count and the total calories from fat. Do a simple math problem and figure out if the ratio is greater or less than 1/3. If it is, avoid it. Unsaturated fats are better for you, but still not in mass quantities. 

More to come....

Oh Nursing School....

This is how I am spending this beautiful Sunday afternoon ---> 

                   

And this is how I WISH I was spending my Sunday afternoon. (On a lake, at the beach, or anywhere but my couch really...) *SIGH*

     

The only thing that makes this afternoon a TINY bit bearable is the new music Adam gave me yesterday. Beulah, Bloc Party, Tilly and the Wall, etc. But I think they would sound a million times better through some boat speakers on a lake............. 

Dear Left Foot.

Dear Left Foot,

I wish that you would stop tingling so. I have grown to despise your constant "I'm Falling Asleep" burning sensation. Just wake up already!! It has been almost a week, I think it is finally time.

Love, 

Erika 

     Okay so for real, my foot has been doing this weird sensation since Sunday night, after I worked a 12 hour shift. Well, finally on Thursday I got tired of it and went to my trusty Chiropractor! Turns out I have a bulging disk in the L5 space which is pressing on my sciatic nerve. WONDERFUL! I've been icing my back like 4 times a day since Thursday and have to get adjusted twice a week for two weeks. As if I needed another thing to fit into my schedule... OH well...I just want the tingling to go away. 

     I also found out that I have a birth defect in my spine--a mild form of Spina Bifida called Spina Bifida Occulta. Who would have known? Apparently a lot of people have this, like up to 30-40% of the population, but it doesn't normally produce symptoms. Basically, my L5 didn't finish ossifying (the bone forming) so the vertebrae is weaker and the surrounding muscles have to work harder. Which is explains why I have had chronic low back pain since I was 14. It never has been excruciating pain or enough to take pain meds, just an annoying ache if I am on my feet a lot, exercise too much, etc. I just thought this bit of information was interesting! 

Here is a picture I found on my computer of me and my Dad! I thought it was precious and had to share!

The 25

My 25.

1. I have recurring nightmares that I am forced to put a giant contact into my eye. I can never get it to fit.
2. I used to watch Baywatch like every afternoon when I was little. I was obsessed with David Chokachi. Mmmm....
3. My biggest dream or desire in my life is to have children of my own. I have this irrational fear that I won't be able to.
4. I have never made a B before--on a report card or in a class. I am an overachiever. But I am sure my day is coming...
5. I am persistent and stubborn. Sometimes these qualities are great, and sometimes not. Adam and I have had to learn how to compromise when it comes to disagreements :) More like I had to learn haha (and am still learning)
6. I have thought about this 25 list for the past two weeks...I couldn't get it out of my head so I decided I should just do it so I can stop thinking of my 25...
7. Whenever I talk to old people (especially if they are my patients), my voice gets about two pitches higher and transforms into a thick, southern accent. Weird? Yes. Annoying? Yes. 
8. I honestly believe Katy and I were made to be best friends. I don't know anyone else that clicks with me the way that she does.
9.  I still love my highschool friends! We would still hang out all the time if we weren't so far away.
10. It makes me laugh to think that Adam and I were in the same 5th grade class together. I met my "potential hubby" in the 5th grade!! CRAZY...But he doesn't remember me hahahaha
11. I wish my hair were thicker :(
12. I once helped to save a life--a choking 1 year olds life! Praise God for CPR courses.
13. I never realized, until a few nights ago, how close I came to losing my baby sister when I was younger!! She was hit by a car but walked away with scratches...
14. I hadn't really thought much of it since it happened way back then, until I had a nightmare about my dog being run over by a car. Which led to me thinking about Hannah...I still have that image in my head of her running out in the street. 
15. The summer after my freshman year of college was one of the best and most challenging summers I've ever had. I did an internship with Shoal Creek Community Church in Liberty, MO. I learned so much about myself that summer and made some incredible friendships...some I wish I still had. My heart aches when I think about how much I miss that summer.
16. I think im going to have to have like 20 bridesmaids one day! 
17. Adam is one of the most genuine and kind-hearted people I know. He is 100% loyal to whatever he commits himself to. I still get excited when I think about how much he loves me. 
18. The Lord has spared me from a lot of heartache thus far in my life. I am incredibly blessed to be where I am now.
19. I want nothing more than for people to look at my life and see Christ. I want people to feel and see His love through me. This sounds so cliche but it really is something I desire. I cannot imagine walking this earth not feeling the love that I do each day from Him. I can't imagine not having His strength to rely on each day. 
20. The coolest thing to me is this: God's grace is renewed each day. There is nothing I could do that will separate me from His love. I am a wretched person! I do and think and say awful things!! I have an ugly heart, yet He still chooses me? Unfathomable. 
21. I see this picture of God's grace through Adam.
22. I read people's blogs daily that I have never met before. Call me pathetic but I love reading about people's lives--their struggles, pains, joys. Raw life is beautiful and it is something that interests me. People are fascinating!! 
23. I have to have the right amount of ice to diet coke in my glass. Otherwise, it doesn't taste as good to me. 
24. I HATE when cold things touch my skin!! Ewwww.
25. I sometimes long to be a child again. I miss the beauty of innocence and dependance. Being an adult has its perks, but I sometimes wish.....just for one day....