15 items or less

Well, I have a confession. Day 1 on the road to normalcy was an epic failure.

Okay, maybe not epic.

But in an effort to make my morning routine, I slept in 30 extra minutes, missed my date with Billy Blanks and his Boot Camp clan, and did not stay on campus until 5pm to study. I did however work on some school related stuff like my resume when I got home, so I guess that still counts.

Actually, it wasn't that bad. I'm realizing the whole reason for the "21 days to normalcy" is to help my life be a little less stressful, and for me to feel like I have some sort of control on my school work and on my time.  It is not a pursuit of perfection. It is not another unrealistic expectation that I am going to put on myself to be flawless.  It is just a goal of forming good habits and good time management.

So, I will put day 1 behind me, and strive again for a normal routine in day 2.

Philippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

And I'm having some trouble with WalMart right now.  I think I should write them a letter. This is what I would say:

Dear WalMart,

Why in the WORLD do you have 45 check out lines? I have never in my life seen more than 10 open at once. You are wasting space. And giving me false hope of finding a short line.  

WHY at 9:00 at night, in a city such as Knoxville, which is full of people that stay up late, do you only have 3, yes 3, checkouts open? Where is the logic there? And just because you have the "express" line open doesn't mean it is "express". When it is one of three lines open, EVERYONE who came in at 9:00 to buy something quick will end up in that line. You should rename it the "sloth" line. Yes, still 15 items or less.  And who thought it would be a good idea to close all of the self checkouts? Even though they take longer, it feels shorter because the customer is doing it them-self.  Keep them open. Please. And one more thing? Why is one of those 3 checkout clerks the most ill person alive? Seriously. If the person checking me out, touching everything I am purchasing and bringing into my home, is sniffling and blowing his nose, I really would rather just put my stuff down and leave.  That is just not good for customer relations.  

That is my advice. Take it or leave it. 

Sincerely, 

Your most valued customer.  

Ha. If only.  

I should probably share this verse.  It is one of my favorites, and by favorites I'm not really sure if I mean that because it just convicts me and puts me back in my place every time.  

Philippians 2:14

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God . . .

I forgot to mention that the reason I went to WalMart tonight was to get the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shread. Each video is only 20 minutes long. I'm starting tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it goes. And yes Jillian, you can send me the check for that endorsement now.  

21 days to normalcy

I've heard before that it takes 21 times of doing something to form a habit.
Its been just over a month into the semester and I've started to see lots of BAD habits beginning to take root. So after finally having enough of myself, I decided that I'm going on a 21 day trek to a normal routine.

One big reason for doing this is that fall is one of the worst seasons for me for migraines. I've had several in the last 2 weeks that have been awful. Having a normal routine, specifically normal sleep patterns, significantly helps migraines.

Another reason is that I want to try to get into a routine of having a "job." School is technically my job (only for 3 more months, praise JESUS!!) but I want to get into that routine.  I do well on routines, and college is definitely one of those times in life when no two days are the same.

I don't like having to do homework at home. I'd rather stay on campus, get my work done, and relax when I get home.  Having a routine will help that because I'll know what needs to get done at school, and then it won't feel as though school is running my life.

Lastly, I was very inspired by a Nutirgrain commercial.  It was all about making good decisions, and how one good decision leads to a whole bunch of other good decisions (watch it).  Its totally true. If I wake up and pull myself out of bed and go work out, I feel better all day, I eat better all day, I'm more productive, and I even go to bed better.  It goes the same with my relationship with God. If I get up and spend time in the Word, I am more focused on the Spirit, more in tune to what He is saying to me, and more apt to run to Him with every need.

For whatever reason I'm not so good at being regular with running right now. And I always have a tendency, like most runners, to increase my mileage, which just takes more and more time.  SO, because of that I'm going to let my friends Billy Blanks and Jillian Michaels help me out.  Yeah, thats right. Billy's Boot Camp or The 30 Day Shred every morning for the next 21 (well, 30 I guess) days.

This could turn out to be a very hilarious endeavor.
Well call today day 0. I'm also very curious to see if this habit thing works too.

Bring it on discipline!!

Hebrews 12:11

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  

Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  

Well, I'm off to coach some flag football. My friend's team is playing the all campus champions from last year. I made them some brownies to soften the blow . . . pray it doesn't end as I'm anticipating.  :)