A Blog Mini-Series: Ankle FAIL Part II

Day two of the ankle FAIL here:

Yep, those are bruises starting to peak through there.

I literally think that you can pick out how many stitches in my ankle brace are there because they imprint into the swelling so clearly...Kind of weird.   Ok, really weird.

So I have this awesome brace that I've been using to keep the swelling pushed out of the FAIL joint...Here's the coolest part:

Is it childish that I find this picture fascinating?  The fluid has "puddled" right above where the ankle brace ends.  Incredible.

Ok, that's enough gross/weird pictures for the night.  Back to watching the Thunder (hopefully) beat the Lakers to force a game seven.

Man, I seriously dislike the Lakers.

Thanks and Gig'em,

Mr. Hill Cankle

A Blog Mini-Series: Ankle FAIL

WARNING:
This blog series is about the progression of the FAIL of my left ankle.  It will have potentially gross pictures, and it is not for the faint of heart and/or stomach.

END OF WARNING.



My ankle is in a sad state of affairs.

I play basketball at least twice a week.  Every week.  Like clockwork.  It is a very important part of my life/stress relief.

I was playing on Wednesday.  I went up to block a guy's shot who is particular hard to block.  A buddy of mine came down the baseline toward us in order to help.  The guy missed the shot, my buddy came down to the ground before me (my ankle is beginning to hurt just thinking about this), and I landed with my full 240 lb self on top of his foot.

*****OUCH******

Lots of hobbling, lying down on the side of the court, ice, disbelief, some pain, anger, more ice, frustration.

Lots more hobbling.

Yesterday was certainly a tough day.  Not being able to play basketball for the next month is one thing.

ADD INSULT 2 INJURY?  Why not?

Warrior Dash is this weekend.  I have been training for a couple of months for this race.  It was to be the first 5K of my young life.  Pretty generally frustrating/brutal.

Seriously, Jess is pretty much the only reason that I have remained sane.

So, here are some pictures of my ankle cankle.  I've had so much worse when it comes to ankle sprains.  Thankfully, it is certainly not the worst, but it does look pretty goofy.

Some bruises.  I wish you all could see how weird it looks where my ankle brace has been.  It has pushed the swelling into a not right above it.  Pretty gross majorly awesome.

Not all bruises in the below pic.  Shadows mostly.  The bruises haven't started to show up yet.

Yea, most certainly a cankle.

Yea, more Ankle FAIL to follow.  I can't wait to see the bruises.


Mr. Hill

Opinion: Hill

A new segment on the blog begins tonight:

Opinion: Hill

Tonight we have a perspective on the subject of Gentlemen's quarters.

Yes, folks, I'm talking about fancy bathrooms.

What takes a "can" and turns it into a Gentleman's Retreat?  I have several things that, in my humble opinion, accomplish this feat.

(For the record, for a restaurant, hotel, or club to qualify as truly "swank", it's gotta have happenin water closet.)

Keys to a truly great privy:

-Stalls with real walls, not partitions.  Heeeeello privacy.

-Full length urinals.  Let's be honest.  I don't expect the ladies to understand, but the full length urinal is something of beauty.

-Hand TOWELS...No, not paper towels for your hands, not cheap paper stuff that you can't dry your hands with, not a gosh darn AIR DRYER!  Real, soft, cotton towels to dry your mitts off with.  This is truly a thing of beauty.

-Good soap is a must.

-Mouth wash - Lord knows our breath can get stinky.

-Finally, and this is key - good hand lotion.  No scent of course, that would be unmanly.

That is all for this edition of Opinion: Hill.

Signing off, this is...

Mr. Hill

SHFP: In A Nutshell

Apparently it is the week the of the Shameless Hill Family Promotion.   I just have to add one more to the list and it is my friend Shelby Crandall's new blog.   In a Nutshell

I love it.  It is new and fun.   Shelby does a great job blogging about all sorts of wonderful things and introducing you to other wonderful people and products on the interwebs.

Please click over and check her out.   I love having her in my RSS feed :)

SWWM Edition 2: Provision INSTEAD of Pride

What would a Super Woman Wifie Mama (or a Super Man Hubby Daddy) be without Jesus?

Definitely not very super.    I know that without Jesus this Wifie Mama ( mama to a puppy, and future mama to Hill children in years to come ) would not be writing blogs, because without Jesus I simply just do not have many interesting or helpful things to say.

Please note that this Wifie Mama has not yet achieved looking good in bikini.   I just want to keep it real.   Hopefully before June gets here I will achieve this goal.  I will let you know when I do but I most certainly will not provide pictures.   :)

The past month or so God has been doing a big work in my heart in regard to provision.   Ever since I graduated college I have been trying to prove myself to the world. I wanted to prove that I can be dependent on myself and independent from everyone else.   The whole I can and will make it on my own thing.  Not that making it on your own is a bad thing, it is not.   It is a very awesome and wonderful thing.   It was just that my heart was wrong.   Notice all the "I"s in the previous sentences?  I can, I will, I won't, my purpose, my destiny, my value, my worth.  

When I graduated I walled myself up in my heart and dug into the ground and prepared for battle.  Against what - you might ask?  At the very core it was probably giving up my pride and having to submit to doing something I did not want to do.  

Remember these posts:
Bombs in your heart
No Mrs. Iron Pants

These are two of a whole lot posts (probably) where you are seeing my pride and Jesus have a little fight on the blog.  If you read carefully between the lines you can probably see it.   If you really know me then you most certainly do not need to read between the lines.   You can now say a little prayer for everyone in my office who survived me trying to prove myself.  I may be 5'2" but I am the oldest of four and think I am 6'2".   Maybe that had something to do with my Mom always telling me to project tallness?

Last week I was very tired in my soul.   Have you ever felt that way?   Where you are just weary?

I had gotten enough sleep, had quiet times, worked out, and even had a clean house.  But I was so tired.  

This past Sunday before church Chris and I got up early to have a little vision prayer session.   Where we both sat before the Lord and sought His vision for our lives right now.   Of course I thought I was seeking vision for where God wanted us to buy a house and when and all that, but the Lord had other plans.   The Lord wanted to give me rest.   Isn't He sweet?

Last week God had me in Isaiah 54, but I never really continued reading on to Isaiah 55.   On Sunday God had me in John 4 and Chris in Isaiah 55, and we both had a verse about being thirsty.

God took me through John 4 where Jesus meets the woman at the well.   The first thing I noticed was that Jesus was tired from His journey and sat down to rest at the well.   Verse 6.   I thought to myself  -when Jesus was on the earth He had to rest!   Which a lot of the time meant getting away and praying and being with the Father.  Jesus was not proving Himself, He was simply doing the Father's will:
Verse 34 "Jesus said to them, My food (nourishment) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him who sent me and to accomplish and completely finish His work."

Interesting thought huh?

John 4:14 is where God really started pulling on the strings of my heart.   "But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more.  But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life."

But get this ---- at the same time, without knowing it Chris was in Isaiah 55:1.
"Wait and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing]."

At church on Sunday the sermon was about Isaiah 61.   Yesterday morning God had me reading that over and over, and guess what that accomplished?  Understanding the Father's heart for me.  He is my provider.  He came to heal the broken hearted and set the captives free.   He came to do a lot of insteads. Beauty INSTEAD of ashes.  Joy INSTEAD mourning.  A double portion INSTEAD of shame.  Why? Because the Lord loves justice and hates robbery and wrong doing.   What did the enemy come to do?  Steal, kill, and destroy.

Isaiah 61 changed the position of my heart from pride in wanting to provide for myself to understanding that Jesus died so He could be my provision.   I have been a Christian for 20 years.  TWENTY years and the gospel is still new to me everyday.  How cool is that?

Back to Isaiah 55:1  --- this is what blew me away this morning, this one line --- [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].   I realized that I had to lay down my pride [self-surrender] to accept the blessing of provision and protection.   God does not want me to strive and be tired.  He wants me to work hard and accomplish his will, but He wants to nourish my soul and give me rest while I am doing it.  He is the living water that satisfies eternally.   He is the reason we can be new every morning.    I can depend on God to provide His will for me.  I can depend on God to provide for me everything I need INSTEAD of hashing it out on my own.  I will still work hard but I have the living water.

Do you?

SHFP: Olive Our Moments

Randy and Ellen --- some of our favorite local photographers just launched a new photography blog and it is awesome.

Check it out:  Olive Our Moments

Here is their website:  Randy Olive Photography

If I had to describe Randy and Ellen as photographers I would say they are:  funky, beyond the box,  creative, and have the talent and potential to be high end photographers.   I simply just love them.   They are always changing and researching and developing new things to add their business and skill set.  

I am totally unbiased too --- espcially since Ellen has only been one of my besties since the dawn of high school.  

SHFP: The Ellis Island

Top of the morning to ya'

It is time for another edition of Shameless Hill Family Promotions ....

Enter cheesy music.

One of my best friends from junior high / high school and her husband Adam are moving to Connecticut. In fact Adam has already moved to Connecticut and Kelley is here finishing out the school year as the most awesome Calculus teacher Cy-Creek has ever seen.

To say that I am heart broken that they are moving does not even cover it.   Chris and I love them both.   Adam even let Chris live with him when we graduated from College and before we got married.   It was awesome because Kelley and I actually got to see each other.

I met Kelley in 6th grade through Angela who was my very first friend in public school.  It just so happened that Angela and Kelley happened to be best friends for life forever in all eternity, so much so that to this day they are both teachers at the same high school.   There are a lot of stories about how all of our friendships evolved over time throughout junior high and high school.  Enough to fill several blogs.   Laura is also one of our really good friends back from the good ole' days, and now after college we are all accountability and prayer partners.   We are also Mexican food, pizza, wine, and shopping partners. :)

The one point I would like to make is that in high school Kelley and I NEVER EVER dated guys in the same group.   This caused a little tension when it came time to hang out with people on the weekend because of our different taste and preferences in boys.    But, when it came time to choose husbands Kelley and I probably could not have picked men more alike.

We both picked 6 foot 5 basketball playing, finance majors, BYX group members, Texas A&M Aggies. We both happened to work at Conoco Phillips right out of college.    Kelley and I are also 5 foot two with brown hair.   We both also have German Short Hair puppies that we love desperately named Jaida and Giada.   Weird?   Maybe ..... I think I am going to stop with the likenesses.   Although I will mention that the four of us also love grass fed beef and really good red wines.

Ok, ok, ok .... Now on to my SHFP:  The Ellis's started blogging and pigs are flying.   They are moving up to the NE where Texans are scarce and so is the BBQ.

Please check out their new blog: The Ellis Island

Super Woman Wifie Mama: Edition 1

Hi all :)

Hope all is well in your world.   Can you believe we are this far into 2010?  It is absolutely crazy but also a lot of fun.

Remember this post where I first talked about being a Super Woman Wifie Mama who looks good in a bikini?  Well, I just wanted to update all of you on my findings of how to be a SWWM.   Please be warned that this might be a long list.

I ended my last post with this: Being a SWWM - that looks good in a bikini requires discipline, self-sacrifice, and balance. AND A WHOLE LOT OF LEARNING - and probably a whole lot of mentorship.


I wrote that last post and then set out on a journey to figure all of this out.   The very first thing I did was to pray and ask God for guidance because I was completely overwhelmed and had absolutely no energy to do it on my own.   

1. The first thing God did was to provide with me with two girls to keep me accountable with my workouts.  Julie Prothro started a star system where you get to give yourself a gold star on a google spreadsheet every day you work out.    The days you do not work out, you get a black FAIL.   Out of all of the things in the world this has actually gotten me into the habit of working out between 3 and 5 times a week.   This is truly a miracle for me and has increased my energy 100 fold.
2. The second thing God did for me was to help me find Jillian Michael's book Master Your Metabolism.   This book has completely changed my life.  For the first time I beginning to really understand nutrition and the proper way to eat.   Jillian recommends eating whole and organic foods.   Her motto is if it comes from the ground or had a mother then EAT IT.  Jillian reveals all the chemicals and toxins that are in processed foods and what they do your body.   It is a complete wake up call.   Chris and I have cleaned out our refrigerator and pantry and are well into a month and half of eating better.   Our most favorite salsa ended up having MSG in it -- which was totally heartbreaking --- but we still threw it out.   My energy has increased even more since we have started eating better.   Eating whole makes me want to work out, clean, and do things that I used to have to force myself to do.   I just simply feel better inside and out.   I have not had a diet dr. pepper in two weeks.  I do not even crave stuff like that anymore.   
3. The third thing God did for me was introduce me to Costco.   My Mom prays with a woman in the neighborhood who does everything totally organically and who also shops at Costco.  The day my mom told her that I was going organic and everything I had read the lady had all this fabulous advice for us.   Costco sells TONS of organic food:  fruit, vegetables, eggs, milk, orange juice, salsa, granola bars galore,  snacks, chips, french fries, frozen fruit, beef, and chicken.  IT IS AWESOME --- and it is has made eating healthy more affordable and doable.   We also order Dirtys Chips for Chris's lunch.  They are totally natural potato chips the we began eating just because they taste good.  Did you know Doritos have tons and tons of MSG added to them?  MSG is absolutely horrible - read about it here.  Giada even started eating Taste of Wild dog food.
4. The fourth thing God did for me was introduce me to Melaleuca products.   Seven years ago my Mom started ordering Melaleuca products which are naturally based cleaning products, toiletries, snacks, and even Nicole Miller makeup.   The cleaning products are incredible and I love them.  I am crazy about my kitchen being bacteria free because I am afraid of infecting people with salmonella.   Melaleuca has a disinfectant made from lemon and tyme that is so effective that it kills H1N1.  The great thing is you can use it of food surfaces and it is not harmful at ALL.  In fact about two months ago Giada ate some of my mom's disinfectant spray and she did not have to go the hospital because it was safe!  I have always ordered from my Mom but about two weeks ago I decided to go ahead and sign up to be a preferred customer myself so I could just order off the website.  Well last week I got my first box of products -- and I LOVE THEM.  I want to shout it from the roof tops - seriously.  If you are interested in learning about them or how to order them yourself -- just ask me! It is worth it!  Especially when you realize all the junk that is in the stuff in the grocery stores.
5. The fifth thing is: I am taking the Vitamins that Melaleuca offers which have a patented formula that attaches the minerals to proteins so the absorption rate is 10x that of regular vitamins.   Last weekend I worked out more, cleaned more, and accomplished more than I ever do.  I never thought one thing about it until Sunday night when I realized that it was because I am taking these vitamins.   When something works you roll with it and tell everyone you can!

All of these things have helped me to become more disciplined, have more energy, and feel like I can start taking more things on in my day.  The reason I am on this quest to becoming a SWWM is because Chris and I want to have enough energy and time to invest in people's lives, and if I cannot get all my stuff straight then we cannot do that.   I am not there yet but I am getting there quickly.    :)

For people out there who need help meal planning I have this little notepad that really helped me learn how to organize meals and my shopping list.  You list out every meal you want to make:  breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner.  Then on the back I write out my grocery list from the meals I want to make. Then I have it as reference in the grocery store and for the rest of the week.   It is awesome.  It works for me.

Until the next edition of SWWM  :)

An Explosion of All Things Pent Up

OH MY GOSH.

Bad things happen when I get too excited.  Things get broken.  I hit things in cars.  Squirrels spontaneously combust.  It is crazy the amount of excitement energy that God has given me the ability to generate.

Frankly, I sometimes wonder if you could power a small city off of my excitement.  It's pretty ridiculous, just ask my wife.


Well, work has been crazy, and we've been out of town nearly every weekend.  (Saturday morning after my quiet time is my favorite time to blog...coffee still flows in abundance, good music on the stereo, the day is still quiet - it basically rocks.)  The business and traveling have greatly limited me from being able to release all of my silly excitement about random things in life via the blog.

I am about to explode in real life from all the fun, random, silly things that I have been wanting to write about for the last month.  I hope you have fun.



1.  The album Trouble by Ray LaMontagne might be the perfect Spring time cd.  Last weekend, I sat on the front porch listening to this cd.  The Sun was still up (God love you, Daylight Savings time!), the breeze was slight, the pond was pretty, Diamond H steaks were on the grill, the wine was a Punto Final Malbec, and my wife was looking particularly beautiful.  One of the best nights of my life, truthfully.


2.  Online Shopping.  I love it.  I can find nearly anything online for less money.  I get to compare prices, service, etc all from the comfort of my Michael Jordan basketball shorts and iTunes library.  Booya.

I love online shopping, but I have also discovered something about myself through it:

I turn into an impatient and emotional two year-old when I have that tracking number.

Seriously.  I will open my email, open the Online Shopping label in my gmail (I told you, I'm sick) and find the tracking email from Eastbay.  I will check the track of my package 3 times a day at least.  "Oh, I know that the package left Indiana yesterday, surely it will be to Texas today, right?"

For my birthday, this was particularly problematic.  I had several things that I wanted to shop online for.  Armed with my bday cash, I went to freaking town.  (BTW, I heartily endorse the following products.  They are all more than SHFP worthy.  Seriously, you should buy them.)  New 320 GB harddrive for my MacBook?  Cheap and Check.  New, RIDICULOUSLY HOTT Nike Basketball shoes?  Wes and Luke Friesen bought the same ones, Check, and triple Check.

I have never acted more completely ridiculously than while waiting for these two packages to arrive.  It was completely absurd.  I have since apologized to my wife.  Yep, it was bad.

Haha.  While repeatedly tracking my Eastbay shipment for my basketball shoes, I see that they have arrived in Conroe on a Saturday.  This is awesome.  This means that the next business day (Monday), I will see those magical words, "OUT FOR DELIVERY".  The next day, I dutifully, triply check my tracking number only to find that they have been passed off to the Post Office for final delivery.  What kind of awful joke is this, UPS???????  The US POST OFFICE?  They stink so bad they can't even make a profit with a monopoly on our mailboxes and you give my prized basketball shoes to them for final delivery?  What in God's name are you thinking???


I had a minor near meltdown, and the shoes showed up on Tuesday.  Like I said, I apologized to my wife for my frantic and completely pathetic emotional state.

Will I change my online shopping ways?  Absolutely not.  Will it likely provide me with more fodder for random blog posts?  Absolutely.

3.  I rear-ended a woman on Belt-way 8 doing 35 miles an hour.  It was awful.  No one was hurt.  Her truck was totaled an mine ends up with cosmetic damage (I guess we can still say something for good ol' GMC, right?).  Not quite sure how that happened, but apparently two car lengths isn't enough space to check your blindspot with how fast Houstonians can slam on their breaks.  Such is life, and this is how we learn our lessons.  Thank God for comprehensive insurance and for keeping everyone safe.

I sat there on the side of the road with my overactive sense of irresponsibility, trying to keep from getting pissed off at myself, and asked the Lord why He let this happen.  I felt Him gently speak to me and let me know that it was ok, and that He wanted to reveal Himself to me as My Provider in a new and deeper way.  I'm excited to see Him do this and thankful for His comforting voice in times like that.  I'll keep you posted on my poor truck, Duke, and the facelift that he's getting.

4.  Costco has changed our lives.  Jess and her mom joined this month, and it is one of the best things ever.  Not only do they sell tons of incredible organic snack food and fruit, but they also sell Lucky Jeans for $37.  Cue awesomeness and go join Costco.



Explosion is over.  I feel better now.  I am off to watch Clash of the Titans with the all the brothers today.  I cannot wait to see it.  You see, I watched the original one time while sick as a middle-schooler.  I thought it was awesome then.  I cannot wait to see the new one with CGI awesomeness.

Also, the first crawfish boil of the year is today at the Jordan's house.  I love crawfish.




I am going to quit blogging now.  Too many exciting things exploding into cyberspace.  I want to stop before this man blows up too.

With (obvious?) excitement,
Mr. Hill