Fictionary Friday - Magnitude

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Magnitude n. greatness of size or amount.

Fictionary Definition:
Magnitude n. an over-important attitude or disposition, typically found in teenagers and politicians.

I'm Not Superwoman, and That's OK

This is not me.

Oh, do I wish it were.

The really funny thing is, while I was scoping out online images for Superwoman I kept finding them on blogs by women whose posts were pretty much the same: "I'm not Superwoman, and That's OK."

They totally stole my thunder.

Ok, Ok, maybe it doesn't all have to be about me. And maybe it shouldn't. Because really, none of us is Superwoman (or Superman, for that matter). None of us can do everything we think we should do, and sometimes we can't even do everything we want to do. But what's really killing me is the fact that I'm writing this, at 10:50pm, from my office. Because I'm still here. Working.

Yes, technically I'm not working at the moment. But once it hit 10:30 I figured I'd take a break to blog so when I get home I won't even have to turn on the computer, all I have to do is take out my contacts, wash my face, and go to bed.

It's really funny... I'm single. I have a cat (not something high-maintenance like a dog with a small bladder). I work, I go to Zumba, I go to Bible Study, I go to Worship practice (when I'm on), I go to school Sunday nights, and I sleep. And I eat.

Does that sound like a lot? 'Cause I guess it kinda does.

What just grinds my gears though is the friends of mine who are married, have multiple children, and seem to be way more productive than I am. Of course some of them don't have full-time jobs, but still. Is it actually possible that my job is so very stressful that it's sucking the life out of me? Because I don't know how I can't handle work and my activities lately. Maybe it's just because I've had a lot of projects and I came in twice over the New Years weekend. And I'm still here tonight.

But what this post is really about, what it needs to be about, is the realization I had today when I was in the bathroom (seriously if I had a toilet at my computer I'd probably get so much more done... not because of the time savings but because there is just something that makes you think well when you're on the john). And that realization is...

Maybe it's ok that this is all I can handle.

*Whew* That was hard. Like really, really hard to type. If you read my Wit and Wisdom post yesterday, you'll see a quote that I likewise had difficulty with.

If you do just enough to win just 51% of all your battles, you'll win the war.

Really?

Like seriously, really? Because a 51% is an F.

Hi, my name is Janet and I'm a recovering perfectionist.

And I ask myself how, seriously how on earth can I not handle everything on my plate?

But today I had to think "You know, maybe it's just that my plate is small right now." Oooh, ouch. That's another hard one. Does that mean that I just naturally can't handle much? It's kind of like taking an IQ test and thinking really? That's it? That's the best I can ever be? (And to show you how insane I am, the last time I took one was on Facebook, the pinnacle of accuracy, at 2:45 in the morning, and I got a 127. That's not too shabby. I clearly just have issues.)

So what do these jumbled thoughts become now? Well, I had to put them together with a couple of other things. First--as I said earlier, when I went looking for Superwoman images I found a number of blogs by women who felt the same way. Perhaps even you do, on occasion. So I'm not alone, no matter what my situation is, in feeling overwhelmed by it.

Secondly--I think to something I read in The Power of Accidental Increase today, about how we can only go so far on our own power, and then we absolutely have to let God handle the rest. So really honestly, no matter how big or small your plate is, and no matter how much stuff is piled on it, there is no one (NO ONE) who can handle it all without the grace of God. So when the plate feels a bit too heavy, maybe we just have to stop trying to carry it all by ourselves.

And Third--I have to quote myself back at myself. (I hate it when that happens, especially in the same day.) I'm keeping up a second blog that I write in the mornings. You see, I'll be getting up in 7 hours from now (and remember I'm still at the office) to listen to some worship music, read the Bible, and generally attempt to hear from God. And today I got a fantastic Moment of Majesty... I realized that Jesus can fix anything.

Wow.

So yeah, I'm not Superwoman. I'm not ever going to be, no matter how much weight I lose, no matter if I get a movie deal tomorrow and quit my day job and hire a cadre of servants. I. Am. Not. Nor. Will. I. Ever. Be. Superwoman.

I'm just Janet. An Inspired Dreamer.

And that's ok.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

~

"Instead of planning to be perfect, plan to do a little better. Win 51% of the battles, and you'll win the war."

~Martha Beck~

Be My Guest Monday!

Alllllrighty, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the first of hopefully 52 (and then some) Be My Guest Mondays!!!!!

*applause, applause, wild manic cheering*

Really sir, put your pants back on. Seriously. It's not that exciting.

But wait... it is!

Because I'm super-duper excited. Why is that, you ask? Because I've decided to start something big with my blog this year. Big. Huge! I've decided that I want to have a guest blogger Every. Single. Monday. (minus this one, of course).

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the lady's crazy! Crazy I tell ya! In order to have a guest blogger every Monday each of her readers will have to do a guest post. AND she'll have to get at least 12 more followers!! Can she do it before the second hand on the clock strikes noon? Will she meet her deadline? Or will she be left... BLOG-LESS??? (Duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhh.)

Seriously folks. This is why I need guest bloggers. Because I'm a little bit nuts.

Ok, honestly, really seriously honestly. I want to post a new Guest Blogger every single monday for the rest of 2010. I've done some reading on guest blogging and it's a pretty cool deal. I mean think about it, it's all about the laws of reciprocity. I ask you to guest blog, my followers read you and maybe fall in love with you (not instead of me, but in addition to, of course) and you get new followers. Meanwhile, on your blog you've informed your readers that you're doing a guest post on my blog, so your loyal followers come to my blog to check out your post, and they nose around (because your followers are all nosy people, I'm sorry to say) and they decide that I have a writing style that is quite awesome also (although in no way better than your own) and they decide that life would be perfect if they could just follow the both of us, which, thanks to modern technology, they now can.

Now, because I value what little amount of street cred my blog has (which I think is now nothing since I actually just said "street cred") I do have ground rules for being a guest blogger. I posted them back on November 29th, back when I first got the idea, but I will reiterate them here, because A) I have a few clarifications and specifics, and B) I think it's important that you all know how I'd like it to work. Because I do want this to work. I'm terribly excited at the idea of having you wonderful people make my blog even more extraordinary than it already is. :)

So, without further ado,

The Ground Rules for Guest Blogging at Out Of The Extraordinary:

1. This blog is about finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary. Now, don't be alarmed. If you look at my posts they're not all world-class treatises on transforming the world into an extraordinary place. Sometimes you just have to recognize that the ordinary... is extraordinary.

2. If you've ever commented on a blog post of mine, there's a good chance I'd want you to post. So please, comment below to say you're interested (if you didn't the first time around), and make sure you have your email set up so I can get back to you.

3. You must follow this blog. It's the laws of reciprocity here. I would hope that you enjoy reading my blog enough that you want to be a part of it, not that you want to hijack someone's blog just for fun. But then I know you'd never do that.

4. Please send your post in a Word Document and no more than 1000 words. (.doc please, not .docx) unless you know of a better way. And, if you've got tons of videos or crazy bloggy things that I've never done before, please be willing to help me learn how to post them. And seriously, 1000 words is a lot. So they'd better be good words. :)

5. Please send your posts in as soon as possible... I've got lots of Mondays coming up! If nothing else, I need your post by the Friday of the week before I post it. But feel free to send me a post any time, and I'll fit it in the next open week.

5. I do get final say over what gets posted. I'm not trying to be a control freak, but it is my blog. So please, understand that I've only got my reputation and my readers' interests at heart. I don't see myself slashing through your posts with a red pen. Unless you have tons of grammatical errors. Then we might have to talk. :)

So ok, that was how to be a guest blogger on Out of the Extraordinary in 5 easy steps! I do hope that you're still reading, and that something in you says "why yes, I would like to post something." Even if you're not sure what, leave me a comment, and we'll talk. I look forward to working with you. :)

And remember... Have an Extraordinary Day!

Not That I Don't Love Peanut Butter...

Hey readers!!! I need your help. If you read my last post, you'll know that I just started a 21-day fast. I'm excited about it, but I also freak out just a little bit every year when it comes to the fast. Why? Because I don't cook. I love to eat, I love to set a pretty table, but I do not cook.

So here's the thing... I have 3 rules for my fast: No Meat, No Wheat, and No Processed Foods. Now, that last one is just a tiny bit flexible because otherwise I'd only be eating apples for the next 19 days. Put it this way: Corn Chips pretty well toe the line on being not processed. :)

This is where you come in... do you know any good vegetarian receipies? I'm ok with dairy and I have a huge bag of rice I'm planning on eating my way through, but I'm gonna need more forms of protein than just peanut butter and cheese.

There's a little box right down below my post... do me a favor, and give me your favorite no meat/no wheat recipies, would ya? If you have a link to your favorite recipe that you or someone else has posted that's awesome too.

Well, that's my blog post for today. It's not flashy, it's just a cry for help. Please help me. :)

**Plus, stay tuned Monday for my first Guest Blogging post. I will set the ground rules for how it's all gonna work out. I do hope that you would consider being one of my guest bloggers this year.**

Ok that's it for me. Have an Extraordinary Day!

Let the Fasting Begin

If you read the title quickly you'd think I had said "feasting." Or, if you know me, you'd assume I merely left out a letter. Alas, it's not the case. I will, in fact, be fasting for 21 days. Beginning now. Well, technically beginning two hours ago (12:00am on Saturday January 2nd for those of you who don't read this the very moment I post it. And why don't you, anyway??) :)

Anyway, my church begins each year with a corporate fast. The main body of the church follows this schedule: Week 1: Cut down all eating to two meals a day (no snacks). Week 2: Still no snacks, and only one meal a day. You can drink juice and have broth when you're not officially "eating a meal." Week 3: no meals. Juices and broths only. Well, "soup" is ok but it can't be like steak and potatoes soup. More along the lines of Cream of Potato.

Now, this fast doesn't work well for everyone. I will be honest and tell you right now that this fast did not work well for me. Why is that? Because it messes up my already not-happy metabolism, because I would gorge myself during my "meals" and then starve for the rest of the day. Of course, the point of a fast is not to change the rules in order to make it easy, mind you, but there is a consideration for dietary needs. Someone who has diabetes, for example, may choose to fast other things rather than food, or they may fast one type of food (like all junk food) and also fast television. In the past two years, however, I have found a structure that works well for me. I didn't think I was going to do it again this year until I was on the phone with a friend and it hit me that yes, I need to do this. What I do is eat by three simple rules: No Meat, No Wheat, No Processed Foods. In the spirit of Full Disclosure, "no processed foods" isn't always a literal rule. What I try to do with that rule, however, is remind myself that Doritos are not allowed.

So I can eat as much as I want, as often as I want, but I can't have sandwiches (If you know where I work you know how hard this is), spaghetti (the only thing I can cook well), chicken (the only other thing I can cook), or Macaroni and Cheese (seriously people, this really cuts out everything I normally eat). The additional twist is that I don't have the money this year to spend on buying salads every day, so I actually have to budget for what I will eat, go to the store and buy enough to keep me from eating my fingers but not soo much that it goes bad, and I have to remember every day to bring it in to work. If those aren't things that will remind me to pray every day, I don't know what will.

Also, we were all urged to consider fasting something in addition to food this year. Since I don't watch TV at all, that's not an option. I could choose to fast Facebook or email or (gasp) blogging, but right now I consider any sort of social networking system a part of my attempt to grow towards creating income outside of my workaday world, so those are out. But one thing I can give up, and one thing that will make me really aware that I'm doing it is... sleep. Yes, I have decided to give up one hour of sleep a day for the next 21 days. What that means is instead of getting up at 7 for my 9-6 job, I will now get up at 6, and try desperately hard to stay awake long enough to read the Bible (or books about the Bible), listen to worship music, and otherwise spend time alone with God. I'm kinda excited about this, although since it is 2am and I have to get to the office for a little while I am already realizing that a whole hour is going to be interesting.

But I think it's going to be worth it. So what I will be doing now is keeping up with an additional blog. This blog is essentially my online faith journal, and you are under absolutely no obligation to check it out, but if you have any interest in following along with my fast (and hopefully this will go much longer than the 21 days), please check out http://momentsofmajesty.blogspot.com/. Who knows, maybe God will speak to you through this blog. I certainly hope He does, should you choose to stop by. But never fear, Out of the Extraordinary is my primary blog and I will be keeping up on it as well. So please continue to follow and leave your comments... I don't think I would still be doing this if not for all the support I've gotten from you wonderful people.

So, here's to 21 days of fasting and prayer. I pray that I will have the strength to overcome my physical urges and the wherewithal to persevere, and that my ears and my heart would be open to what God has for me in this next 3 weeks. And I pray the same for you, dear reader.

Do you fast ever? What do you fast, and for how long? I'd love to hear some of your stories.

Last Year | This Year

Last year I went to England.
This year I will follow my heart.

Last year I organized a recognition ceremony for the entire company.
This year I will recognize who God has made me to be.

Last year I turned 30.
This year I will turn heads.

Last year I lost 25 pounds.
This year I will lose my fear and negativity.

Last year I saw the Addams Family.
This year I will redefine "family".

Last year I was alone.
This year I will realize that the Holy Spirit resides in me forever.

Last year I didn't know how I could get by.
This year I don't know anything that can stop me.

Last year I didn't know how to love.
This year I will see and feel with the eyes and heart of God.

Last year I tried to see what I could get.
This year I'm gonna see how much I can give.

Last year I couldn't wait for the year to end.
This year is what I was waiting for.

Welcome to a new day, a new life, a new year.