I LOVE Valentine’s Day. I love it as a single mingle & I love it as a taken token.

It’s a whimsical holiday full of red and pink explosions, hearts and arrows, chocolate-filled everythings and all around ooey gooey-ness. I know, I know…it’s a made up, Hallmark, money-maker day, but with all that being said …I still love it.

Because of my adoration for Cupid’s Shuffle, I want to take some time during this month of hearts and giggles to mention some of the things I LOVE.

I LOVE…

Holding hands.

It’s like a direct connection to the heart.

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Looking at old photographs.

Sharing past memories with heartstrings allows the other to better understand our present selves.

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Surprises!

Whether it’s a ‘just because’ gift, a ‘thinking of you’ card or an unexpected visit from someone I love…they all spell L.O.V.E. to me.

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What are some of the things that you LOVE?

]]> http://emandasays.com/2012/02/08/i_love_love-part1/feed/ 0 http://emandasays.com/2012/02/08/ms-understood/ http://emandasays.com/2012/02/08/ms-understood/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:00:36 +0000 Amanda Fisher http://emandasays.com/?p=732 I have a deep, innate desire to be known and to know.

I’m a connector: I like to connect with people, allow them to connect with me and then connect those people with other people.

I’m a sharer. I love to share my feelings, thoughts, fun tidbits. factoids and what ifs all day long…and I want those that I love to do the same.

I’m a resolver. I CRAVE resolution. Even if the resolve is a means to an end, it’s still better than the dreaded purgatory of non-resolution.

I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m deeply relational, zealous about relationships, passionate about worship and earnest about communication.

Most would say those are all fine and dandy, but, I have to say…the girl who comes with those, is also the girl who tends to over communicate, over analyze and desire the affirmation of being loved, respected and known.

The people who hold my heart understand why I cry when I watch Lord of the Rings, refuse to watch Ricky Jervais host anything live, write long emails, belly laugh too hard at puns and lose sleep over conflict.

Not everyone will (or should) understand and appreciate the odds & ends and ins & outs of our hearts. And the tough thing is, we can’t know this until we put it out there, become vulnerable and take a chance. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. Our hearts can be slippery suckers and when they’re dropped, it hurts.

Emanda’s Fortune du Jour: Be ever wise of who you let HOLD your heart, but be ever generous with your LOVE.

I used to think there was something wrong with me because I avoid dating games like the plague, dive into the deep end of conversations early on and really do believe honesty is the best policy. But, come to find out, there’s nothing wrong with me. I love BIG. I love out loud and that’s OK.

What about you? Do you ever feel misunderstood?

Some of My Favorite Moments of 2011:

Ran my first 5k.

My firecracker niece, Bella, turned 3.

My quirky thug dog, Henry, turned 3.

Jumped off a 35′ cliff and didn’t die, but learned how to live.

Got heat stroke and spent 2 days laughing in a hospital with a new friend.

Went on my first 1st date since 2007 and it was fantastic.

Learned how to “Wobble.”

2 of my BFFs got married & I got to get all fancy pants & be in their wedding.

Met 3 guys from Jars of Clay & almost didn’t swoon over Dan Haseltine …almost.

Won a spitting contest.

Flew to NYC with two of my best friends on a last minute whim.

Met the beautifully authentic Anne Jackson.

Slept on an air mattress for 2 months.

Gorged on my favorite desserts at Serendipity while looking for John Cusack.

Began leading a community group at my church…and absolutely LOVE it.

Bobbed my head at a few Mutemath & Meet the Sky shows.

Got to be the narrator at a Clue themed Meet the Sky show.

Fell more in love with my job at Crosstowne.

Saw my church come together in true community through tragedy.

Became a better public speaker.

Lost 15lbs.

Spoke at Crosstowne during the main service for the 1st time.

Put my heart in someone else’s hands for the first time in a long time.

Fell in love with my niece more than I thought I ever could.

Rode my bike in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia & South Carolina.

Made some AMAZING new friends.

More than likely watched more Mystery Science Theater 3k than you.

Had my 1st New Years kiss…ever. (yeah, I know, right?!)

Laughed so hard I cried on a ride at the county fair with my mom.

Rode my bike over 1,000 miles.

Was overwhelmed by the generosity of friends, family & church as they helped fund my way for the Ride:Well Tour.

It’s official. 2011 was an awesome year!! It was probably one of the most challenging years I’ve ever had, but I loved it.

I’m much stronger, more grateful, way more thankful, thoroughly joyful and big time blessed.

What about you? What were some of your favorite rearview moments of 2011?

Later on today the mums, Bells and step-dad are going to the Barrel of Crackers to eat some home cookin’ that we didn’t have to cook or clean up after and then after a good long walk, I’ll go to my beau’s house and get drowsy on love and pumpkin pie.

To say I’m thankful is an understatement. But, I don’t know another word to use…so, let’s just say, I give mega thanks.

Just a Few Things I Give Mega Thanks For:

1. Grace

2. Coffee

3. Anthemic Songs

4. My Heartbeat Friends

5. My Awesome Church

6. My Amazing Mom

7. Riding My Bike Cross Country

8. Clean Water

9. My Cute Patoot Beau

10. My Firecracker Niece, Bella

11. My Purposeful Job

12. My Crazy Pupster

13. Cardigans

14. C.S. Lewis

15. My Cozy Home

Those are just a few of the many, many things I am mega thankful for. My heart’s all BIG and FLUFFY with love, thanks and caffeine.

“Happy Thanksgibbing back” to you!

There were days I wanted to quit the tour and go home.  Times I hated my body because it wouldn’t function properly. Days I struggled with who I was, who I needed to be and who I was becoming. But with each peddle stroke, every hoop and holler for my teammates and each time I got the chance to tell someone about why we were riding, I became stronger, more purposeful and much more intentional.

And I would absolutely do it all over again.

I used to be a girl who was scared to take big risks, afraid of what people thought of me, assumed I wouldn’t be good at something, so I wouldn’t even try. I can honestly say, that I left a lot of that in a desert, over a hill, on a steep downhill, on top of a cliff and in a big ocean. Being a part of this tour, this cause and my teammate’s lives has been life-changing and it’s also been the hardest thing for me to sit down and write about.

It’s hard to talk about something ending when you’re not ready for it to be over.

My life is forever changed and I can’t summarize that in a clever blog, status update or rambling story. But, I do pray that my life will resonate the strength, passion, love and faith that I’ve gained because of this tour…now and always.

Live:Well

It’s official…hospitals smell the same no matter where you are.

After a bag o’ saline, blasts of good ole O2 and some tests that I didn’t study for…they admitted me.  So, there I was in room 10 (yes, 10 of the 20 beds they had) for two nights. I was scanned, poked, prodded, lobbed and mobbed but two things made it a very enjoyable time. The first was that I was feeling oh so much better than when I hobbled in and the second was that my lovely friend Ellen stayed with me the whole time.

I’m certain I’ve never laughed that much in a hospital before.

It was hard to be away from my friends and family back home while machines took their sweet time monitoring thingamabobs and scanning whatchamajigs. It made me miss them so much more than I already do. It was also weird being away from my team for so long. After all, we’ve been with each other 24/7 for weeks and are now used to each other’s noises and smells.

The day after I was admitted, my steamy team all came to the hospital to bring me smiles and pie after their trek to the infamous Pie Town. I had a heart monitor on, oxygen up the nose and an IV in my hand so I looked much more pitiful than I felt. I had planned on lying in bed, eyes closed while saying “Beep…Beep…Beeeeep…Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…” out of the corner of my mouth and then scaring them by jumping up and yelling, “Just kidding!” after they began weeping and gnashing their teeth for me.

But I resisted the urge.

My tests came back pretty much all fine and dandy and after two days of chocolate pudding, multiple mid-night wake ups and lots of Discovery channel, I was released back into the wild. They don’t know the whys, whats and hows of it all, but rumor on the street is that I may have had a heat stroke.

After a week of not riding, my legs were twitching to be on my cycle and ride with my team so I started peddling and ended that first day back with my very first CENTURY! (that’s 100 miles!)

But, I (and many others who love me oh so much) think I should lay low on the bike. So, if I do ride, I’ll ride in the morning while the sun’s still drinking its latte and then I’ll hop in the van (we lovingly call, Mother Falcon) and help water and feed the team and hoop and holler for them as they ride.

It’s not where I prefer to be, but probably where I need to be.

Whether I’m in the van, talking to people from stage, riding a bike or meeting strangers, I’m still a part of this amazing team and together we’re making a difference for Blood:Water Mission, along with all of you who have supported, encouraged and prayed (and continue to do so) for us.

It’s weird when things don’t turn out like you think they should or would or even could. But, God’s bigger than all of this. He’s bigger than my struggle. He’s bigger than my expectations. He’s bigger than our cause. And for all of that, I’m so very grateful.

Have you had the wind knocked out of your expectations lately? How did you handle it?

Understatements of the Century: Mountains are tall. Deserts are hot. Water is good.

Before arriving to San Diego, I had visions (read: nightmares) of being the last to finish, the slowest on the team, the one who holds up the whole trip and somehow actually takes clean water AWAY from African babies. OK, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea.

So, our first day of tour we took off excitedly from San Diego and headed for the hills. Mountains to be precise. After my THIRD fall and my SECOND weep fest, my sad sack of bruised bones took the van the rest of the way to our campsite.

Failure whispered sweet nothings in my ear and self-loathing stroked my hair.

The next few days we headed to the desert. I’m from the South, so I know hot. I live in hot and I actually kind of like it hot. But, hot doesn’t really translate what it feels like to ride a bike in the desert. I wish there was another word for how hot it is.

Just imagine…If a blow dryer stuck on high and a field of asphalt covered in sandpaper had a baby, it would be a cuddly white kitten named Snow Cheeks in comparison to the desert.

Like I said…it’s hot.

The second day of trekking alongside the sand fields was magical. My legs lit up with a sexy heat rash, which surprisingly accented my mountain bruises quite nicely and I’m fairly certain I could’ve won some sort of beauty pagent after dry heaving in a cactus and plopping my spandex down on the first patch of mini shade I could fumble onto. I attempted to keep smiling, but my lips were so burned and wind-whipped that my Chapstick simply refused to come out.

And there I was again…last.

Just like I had feared, I had been last every day and worse than that, some days I couldn’t even finish the whole ride.

(Side Note: “Dear Donald Miller, Thanks for making outta shape non-cyclists everywhere think they can do something crazy like this. Love, Mandy’s Lungs”)

My teammates eat our rides for breakfast most days and some even ask for seconds. They’re amazing and I caught myself lingering on the outskirts of their cheers at the end of each day because I knew I hadn’t won the prize or set a score.

I was the filling in a bruised mountain desert sandwich. (And it didn’t taste very good.)

But something happened one day while riding, I kicked my self-loathing in the teeth and with each peddle I knew that I was in the process of doing something I had never, ever done before. Instead of saying, “Man, I can’t believe I only rode (insert # less than the allotted miles here) miles today,” I looked at my mileage in the face and gave it a high five. Like the big, cheesy, get-a-running-start kind of high fives. (you should click on that by the way.)

I mean, when have I ever cycled 85 miles in the desert before? When have I ever climbed mountains at crazy elevations and when was the last time I got banged up while adventuring? Never.

I’m succeeding because I’m DOING.

Day after day we push our bodies, minds and guts to do things we’ve never done before. Whether heaving up a mountain, eating hot sand for lunch or standing in front of a crowd telling people why we’re doing what we’re doing.

This tour is about so much more than finishing first, always being last or comparing who has the most amazing bruise (which, by the way, is me. I’m pretty sure I saw David Beckham’s face in one.)

It’s about PEOPLE who are our NEIGHBORS. And we get to do this for them…for God…and for ourselves. As Venture Expeditions puts it, “Benefit the World…Discover Your Soul.”

So, that’s what I’m doing.

What about you? When’s the last time you’ve gotten “banged up” for a cause, a mission or a dream?

P.S. “Dear Donald Miller, don’t listen to my lungs. I’m really happy I’m here. But a little heads up for ya sister would’ve been nice. Love, Mandy”

Boy, was I proven wrong.

In ONE day, ALL the money that I needed to fund my trip came in and in addition to that, together we gave 1,000 Africans clean water for a whole year! I have to say it again…

1,000 people’s lives have been forever changed. Unbelievable.

I cried when I looked at my Ride:Well report and saw how the donations flooded in. I admit, I contacted a couple friends to ask them to check their statements because I thought an extra zero was accidentally added to the end of their donation.

Oh me of little faith.

I’m honored to know so many people who see the dire need to help end the water crisis and I’m so extremely blessed to know so many people who believe in me.

I’m overwhelmed. I’m thankful and I’m more motivated than ever to start my trip and see it to its completion.

Thank you. My heart bubbles over with love.

Mands

P.S. If you still want to give, please do so! The need for clean water is ever present. You can give money directly to me or to Ride:Well.

I’m now in the home stretch of crossing things off of my To Do list, raising nickels and dimes and kicking my diet and training up a notch or four. Our Tour de Southern USA costs a whopping $5,250. I’ve saved my pennies, raised dollars and have been blown away by so many generous donations. And now…

…I only have $1,000 left to raise!!

It’s due by the end of THIS week. So, instead of selling my roommate’s flat screen or putting my kidney on Craigslist, I wanted to ask you for help. For those of you who have wanted to donate, but haven’t yet, here’s your BIG chance!

Go to: http://www.ridewelltour.org/, click on “Donate” and pick Amanda Fisher (that’s me!).

For those who have donated or are going to donate this week…NOTE: Yes, the’ k’ is backwards. Writing backwards to make it forwards isn’t as easy as it skool.

You guys rock my bike,

Mands

]]> http://emandasays.com/2011/05/10/29-days-1000-bux/feed/ 0 http://emandasays.com/2011/02/27/pride-postcards-pee-wee/ http://emandasays.com/2011/02/27/pride-postcards-pee-wee/#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2011 02:17:09 +0000 Amanda Fisher http://emandasays.com/?p=480 There was a day not so long ago that I was 99.99999% sure that I would never, ever…ever squeeze myself into a pair of spandex and walk outside to even get the mail, let alone hike my spandexed touche on a seat slightly larger than a kiwi and ride around like everything was A-OK.

But today…it happened.

I walked into my favorite bike shop, honed in on the bike shorts, grabbed a few sizes and styles and marched into the fitting room and pushed and shoved myself into a pair.

(NOTE TO SELF: Invent the Body Shoe Horn.)

Why, you ask? Did I lose all of my unwanted poundage and now prefer wearing shorts that look more like body paint than actual clothing? Nope. I’ve been riding my gorgeous bike A LOT more and my Meka Leka Hi Meka Hiney Ho* told me it would simply jump ship if I made it ride one more minute without the proper padding.

I now own my first ever pair of bike shorts. Viva la Spandex!

So, don’t laugh and point when you see flesh squishing and squashing out of the bottom and top of my shorts in desperate attempts to breathe. Forget pride, Meka Leka is happy and that’s what’s important.

Speaking of pride, prepping for this bike ride has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life.

I’m a 30something gal who, before a few months ago, had never even been near a rode bike and now, I’m training to ride across the country on one. It’s uncomfortable. My knees hurt, my training is hard, my diet is strict, my stomach stays in knots and I still have plenty of funds to raise.

HOWEVER…(this is one of the most powerful words we have.)

…I feel more alive now than I have in years.

I have a big, fat goal to reach and I’m not running away from it. I’m facing it dead on, jaw set, eyes focused and fists clenched.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my comfort zone in months. Maybe I’ll send it a postcard this summer.

Then again, maybe I won’t. I don’t want it to find me again.

What about you? Have you squeezed into something uncomfortable lately?

P.S. If you’d like to donate to my ride for clean water, you can here: http://www.ridewelltour.org/ and just click the “donate” tab and make sure you choose me (Amanda Fisher) OR simply donate on this site via PayPal. THANKS!

*NOTE: In case someone didn’t get my Meka Leka Hi reference, which would totally make my 1983 scrunchy cry, he was the genie in Pee Wee’s Playhouse. If you don’t know who or what that is…don’t tell me.

Now let’s all sing this together…