Lent and an epiphany

This year for Lent - oh, wait, this is my first year ever observing Lent - My room mates and I decided to keep each other accountable in the way we speak about people. When we speak negatively about someone, we have to do ten push-ups.

So far I love this. Not only do I feel incentive to hold my tongue instead of saying something mean (which causes me to re-think what I was going to say and to give the person greater consideration), but I feel like less negative energy goes into the world on my behalf.

Matthew 12:34b-37 "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Shazam.

Today I finally went back to work!! Yay!! (I work at an after school program for disadvantaged elementary school kids in an Appalachian county.)I loved seeing my little love bugs.

Today I had an epiphany.....I want to be a teacher. I don't know how it will ever happen or when I'll go to school to do it legally, but I want to teach. I love the structure of the school day, knowing you're prepping these kids for success, and keeping them safe. Most of their home lives are terrible but for a couple of hours during the day I get to make them smile and feel loved. Funny, the one occupation I said I'd never dream of doing is the one that has my heart.

Journalism is great - it's exciting and makes my pulse quicken - but I've known for a while that I'll never work as a journalist. I'm far too laid back and empathetic to barrage a grieving family for quotes about their murdered loved one. I can't do that "shoe leather reporting", as my professors call it.

Anyway, as for food:

Breakfast: an orange + vanilla almond Luna bar (my new fav flavor!! tasted like Rice Crispy Treats....drool.) + coffee (a rare treat that seemed to rev my hunger like nuts)

Lunch: super hungry from the coffee, I first had a carrot, then some curry-cayenne chickpeas, then some cantaloupe, then a packet of pb. Plus a few glasses of water. Once that beast of hunger was tamed, I set to work transcribing an interview from last Friday and throwing together a study guide for my Communication Law exam on Monday.

I worked, then ate another Luna bar (caramel nut brownie) on the way to the gym.

I just started lifting so that I can build some muscle (side note: growing up involved in sports I had such great muscle mass. When I stopped eating a couple of years ago, it all disappeared FAST. Now I want it back!). I'm still easing into it. Today I did 4 sets of 10 leg presses with about 100lbs (don't laugh), inner thighs, outer thighs, and arms.

Unfortunately, I have a shin splint so I'm not running. Today was a little baby cardio workout. I miss my cardio fests :( Today I did 30 mins on an elliptical-ish machine that's legs-only with a cross ramp of 10 so that it worked my glutes and quads and so that my shin wasn't strained. Then I did 20 minutes of the strength setting on the reclining bike thing. (I'm embarassing myself here, aren't I? Not knowing the names of anything I use. Wimpy workouts. Oh well, I'm just glad I'm motivated.) I've kept my New Years goal to work out 3 times a week! :)

Dinner: Vegan Dad's Tarka Dal (or my college rendition of it)
Desert: a few spoonfuls of crunchy pb and a handful of raw pumpkin seeds

Tomorrow I hunt for chia seeds!! Wish me luck!