What I've Been Listening To and Watching This Month

I am taking a little break from reading, so for this month's wrap-up, I'll share some of what I've been listening to and watching this month. Instead of everything, though, I'll just share the good stuff:

Listening:

The Bible Recap (the companion to my daily Bible reading)

Lent and Fasting with Dr. Darren Whitehead on That Sounds Fun (a helpful discussion about the value of fasting)

Time Management for Real Life: How to Plan Your Week Without Overwhelm with Megan Sumrall on Make Fit Simple (an interesting take on time management for women and budgeting for "unexpected" tasks)

Equinox Trainer Amanda Katz on Nailing the Basics (Fuel!), Eating Disorders, and "Looking" Fit on Lane 9 (I appreciated Katz' take on what "balance" looks like as a fitness professional and marathon runner.)

Why Ozempic Isn't a Miracle Weight-Loss Drug with Amanda Martinez Beck on Rethinking Wellness (Skip over the Ozempic talk and consider the discussion about gluttony as a sin because it takes from others-an interesting thought)

Big Sister Pep Talk: You're Not Selfish on The Lazy Genius (Kendra Adachi has some important things to say here. I can be selfish, but I can also fail to take care of myself, which has negative consequences for the people around me.)

Coach K: Love in Winning, Love in Losing on Everything Happens  (Watch out for one swear word at the end, but otherwise, this is a great talk on character and leadership.)

Watching:

Although I have watched a few videos and TV shows this month, the only thing I can really recommend is Levi Kelly's house tours. We found Kelly via the Tiny BnB TV show, and then discovered his YouTube channel which includes tours of not just tiny Air BnBs, but a variety of homes. We enjoy viewing and discussing what we do and do not like about each home. It is good relationship building and also helps us think about what me might like in a future home, should we leave where we are.

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Anyone want to share what media they've been into this month? Please drop your best podcast listens and movies or TV shows in the comments!

Favorite Marriage Podcasts

Marriage is ever a work in progress, and I constantly need help, encouragement, and support. Enter marriage podcasts. I found the first one during a moment of desperation, and since then have added a few more to my repertoire. While I do not listen to every episode every week, these three podcasts regularly provide solid wisdom for my relationships:

Fierce Marriage: from Ryan and Selena Frederick (who also have a Fierce Parenting podcast), these episodes cover a gamut of marriage topics. The Fredericks purposefully include scripture and personal stories along with their content.

Focus on the Family Marriage Podcast: short clips from longer talks with commentary by Dr. Greg Smalley and his wife Erin before and after. (My only caveat with this podcast is that the episode titles are sometimes misleading when it comes to the episode content.)

Marriage After God: similar to Fierce Marriage, but from Aaron and Jennifer Smith, who approach their content with a slightly different flavor. Aaron and Jennifer like to have fun and incorporate that lightheartedness into their episodes, even ones that cover more deep and serious topics.

And there you have it, my short, sweet list of resources that can fuel marriage growth in profound ways.

My Favorite Running Podcasts

I wrote about some of my recent training and nutrition strategies in my Mesa Marathon 10K recap. I haven't learned that on my own. I have picked it up from professionals, mostly professionals on podcasts. (I spend a lot of time commuting, and listening is therefore a good way for me to learn.) So that others might benefit, I thought I would share some of my favorites:

Ali on the Run (A mix of inspirational running stories from pros and regular people)

Fuel for the Sole (Real life running advice from two coaches and a sports dietitian)

C Tolle Run (Mostly runner stories)

Nail your Nutrition (Nutrition advice from two sports dietitians and athletes)

Running Explained (Not one I listen to every week, but helpful as reference for specific topics)

Run to the Top (Another good reference podcast)

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If you listen to podcasts, please let me know if you have any favorites (running or not). And if you listen to any of these, please let me know your favorite episodes!

My Lack of a Smile Doesn't Mean I'm Unhappy.

If you've read my blog for awhile, you know that I'm a fan of the Chasing Joy podcast. As I listened to Episode 45 with Marian Mellen, I was struck by her comment about smiling in pictures. She noted that Americans feel forced to smile in pictures and show that they are happy, while this isn't so in other countries. As I pondered her statement, I got to thinking about how this country, and especially Christian culture might too strongly associate happiness and smiling.

Although I consider myself a happy person, I'm not necessarily a smiley person. As I've started singing on worship team at church, I've gotten several comments about how I need to smile more. Okay, I'm working on it. But really, do I need to smile while I sing? God is a high and holy and awesome God. Sometimes when I sing, I'm not smiling because I'm standing in awe of God. Sometimes when I sing, I'm not smiling because I'm focusing on the words, lyrics, or music. Sometimes when I sing, I'm just not thinking about smiling and my face is in its natural resting state. I'm okay!

I'll keep trying to smile while I sing, as I know it improves the worship experience of others, but in the meantime, can we work on accepting non-smiling faces? Sometimes people are hurting. Sometimes people are thinking. Sometimes people are sad. Sometimes people are even happy. They just might not be smiling.

I'm linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons for this Thinking Out Loud post.

My Prescription for Good Mental Health

I wrote this post awhile ago, as life and work got a little crazy. I'm revisiting it now and realizing how much I need a dose of good mental health. I've stopped doing some of these things, but I need to start again.

1. Three rows of crochet: I don't get to this every day, but overall, it's an activity that calms my brain (by crossing the center line, EMDR folks) and makes me feel like I've accomplished something for the day. More than three rows is not good self-care because of my "dystonia."

2. Positive mental input via podcasts and radio: In the midst of external criticism and feelings of inadequacy, filling my mind with the good stuff (aka crowding out the criticism) is vital.

3. Daily Scripture intake: Usually via reading, but sometimes via the audio One Year Bible recording. If I'm not starting the day with truth, I'm starting the day with no foundation

4. Good nutrition: It's easy to forget eating or eat junk when I'm busy, but neither turn out very well. Meal prep and snacks are vital during this time

5. Comfy clothes: When days are long, it's not good to be uncomfortable. I'm not talking sloppy here, but wearing clothes that fit and cover me thoroughly is vital to survival. Layers are also helpful for the widely varying temperatures in Arizona.

6. Floor sitting: There's got to be some science behind this, but sitting on the floor (usually to crochet) winds me down and helps me relax before bed.

7. No social media during nighttime snack: Scrolling Instagram or Pinterest before bed isn't a good idea. I'm in a brain-numbed state and I can't seem to stop. And if I do it while eating, I often violate point four by eating junk food mindlessly.

8. Crosswords: The antidote to my social media scrolling. These engage my brain and help me not think about the day past or the day future, or much else but my intense drive to finish. (Yes, I'm competitive with myself.)

9. Creative outlets: I need to make and create, even if I'm not an artist. This also goes back to number one, but also feeds into my need to make fabric cards and cook.

10. Prayer: I often don't want to do this, but I need to, and before the crisis, not after or during. Prayer is my power connection, as well as a way to calm my mind and remind myself that I'm not in control.

11. Yoga: I am trying to get back into practicing, at least once a week. Yoga is a good way to create a quiet space to detox mind, body, and spirit. It is also a way to stretch and unwind the kinks that build up in my body after a log week of work.

I'm not saying that I'm perfect, or even that I practice these things well, but I think it's important to make a list, to realize what works and what doesn't, so on those bad days I can remind myself to "take the pill" of my prescription for good mental health and chill.

What is your prescription for good mental health? Please share in the comments section.

*This post is inspired by Georgie Morely of In It For the Long Run.

Wisconsin: Day 2

We rose bright and early Tuesday morning so that we could head to brother's work. He lives about 30 minutes away and arrives by 7 am. Hats off to him!

I crocheted and listened to podcasts while brother went to meetings. Some of my latest favorite podcasts are:

The Chasing Joy Podcast
Sounds Good

Brother graciously took half a day off work to show me his workplace. It's pretty cool! Granted, I had to endure 30 degree cold temperatures and wind (I know, that's warm for Wisconsin, but it was cold for this sunshine girl.). First stop, seeing this tree house built with scrap lumber from the actual buildings.

Then we saw the farm campus. (Each campus has a theme.) I asked brother to take pictures of me in front of the buildings, rather than just taking scenic shots.

Each campus has a cafeteria, and we dined at one. This white bean chowder was spicy, and to be efficient, brother picked the same thing, and it was too spicy for him. I felt really bad about that!

After lunch, we visited the fountain. Brother tells me it runs until it freezes over, which is apparently a real thing up north. One stream that feeds the fountain was already partially frozen. There's a pond which eventually freezes hard enough for ice skating.

Another campus we visited had a Lord of the Rings theme. Here I am in the grip of an Ent:

Brother said we didn't see all of the campus, and I believe him! Still, we walked over four miles to see the parts we did.

We climbed quite a few stairs, as shown by the elevation map. We also went down a slide. (How cool is it that a workplace has a tube slide for adults?)

Post tour, we rested a bit at home and then hit up the grocery store for some needed Thanksgiving supplies. Let's just say the cupboards needed a little stocking:

We shopped at a two story Target. When we got to the escalator with the cart, Brother had to show me that the cart had its own escalator:

The city-folk probably laughed at me as I took pictures of the cart, but hey, I've never seen a cart escalator before. Have you?

Dinner was vegetable bao zi at The Dumpling Haus. Brother knows that I like trying new food, so he intentionally took me to exotic restaurants.

Post dinner, I sorted food and organized the kitchen. Then it was to bed for me.

Day 3 to come tomorrow.