It’s going to be cold here the next couple of days.

Like, close-all-the-schools-in-the-entire-state-of-Wisconsin cold.

So, since it’s still above freezing today, I decided to throw on a hat, lace up my sneaks and head outside for a brisk walk.  I bought the Run, Zombies! 5k app recently and thought I’d give it a whirl.  It’s funny because I don’t like zombies, but I do like stories and I heard this app was fun, so…why not?

I stepped outside, pressed “Start Mission” and began to walk.  It began with a two minute clip of a woman in a plane taking supplies to a remote village when suddenly the plane was shot down.  The radio operator from the village kept trying to make contact and eventually advised anybody who was still alive to get to safety.  Then…

Nothing.

Just silence.

Apparently the app couldn’t connect to my music.  The timer was still going, but it wasn’t telling me anything about how far I had gone or how much time was left.  I was really frustrated, but just kept walking.  Would another clip start to play at some point?  Did I do something wrong?  Every now and then, between dodging patches of ice, I’d pull my glove off with my teeth and fiddle with my phone, trying to figure it out.  Nothing seemed to work.  Eventually I just gave-up and walked home.

When I got home, I realized something.  Even though the app didn’t work the way I thought it would…it still got me out of the house and I ended-up walking for 30 minutes.  So, it kind of did work.  After the fact I figured out how to setup the Quick Playlist for the music and got deeper into the settings, so I’m confident it will work better next time.  And sure, I could have taken advantage of that time and “cleared my mind” or prayed or whatever, but I’m not going to beat myself up over that.  My goal was to walk and that’s what I did.  Mission accomplished.

We all want things to work as planned.  That’s natural.  It’s also inevitable that things will not go as planned sometimes.  What I learned today is that just because something goes differently than planned, it doesn’t mean all is lost.  It can still work.

In fact, sometimes those are the best, most interesting times to learn something.

Has that ever happened to you?

UPDATE 4/17/14: Holy smokes! Are you read for ROUND TWO?! Sarah has graciously agreed to give away ANOTHER 20-PIECE SET (gloss finish) of KNORK flatware to one lucky person! That’s a $90 value! Participate via the Rafflecopter widget below and I’ll announce the winner next week! Share, share, share! 🙂

We are seriously still loving ours some six months later!

A couple weeks ago I received an email from Sarah at KNORK.

She was like, “Hey, we have these utensils that are made to work super rad with one hand and we’d like to send you some so you can tell us what you think.  And we’d love for you to do a review on your website. Especially if you also think they’re rad.”

I probably shouldn’t have used quotation marks there because that isn’t really what she said at all, but the gist is the same.  And the cool thing is… I DO think they’re rad.

Look at that KNORK fork! It’s a thing of beauty, eh?

Watch this video I made to see me un-box my set and then use them. It’s super dorky, but my reaction is genuine.

Basically, I’m a huge fan of the KNORK flatware. They’re solid, beautiful and incredibly efficient. We’ve been using them throughout the week and we all (my wife and kids included) love them. My wife and kids have all of their hands, too, so it’s not like being one-handed is a pre-requisite for enjoying their awesomeness. I used mine tonight to eat some ramen AND a bowl of Golden Grahams. WORKED PERFECTLY. Seriously, though, we had a pork roast last night and my KNORK fork cut through it like BUTTER.

So, go to KNORK.net and check ’em out. Then see if your local stores (like Bed, Bath and Beyond) have them and git some!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. Obviously, I got mine for free, but I’d tell you if I hated them. Seriously.  And I don’t get anything if you buy them, so I’m not just hocking you some junk to make some paper.  I really do like them and think you will, too.

Today I’m excited to host a guest post by my friend Elizabeth Stinson.  Elizabeth is an amazing young woman, currently doing her grad work in microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

“No, I can do it ALL. BY. MY. SELF! I do not need your help.” How many times have you thought this or heard your child say it, whether you/they have a limb difference or not? I think it is completely normal to want to be self-reliant and not ask for help. When I was growing up, though, it went beyond that for me. I felt I needed to prove something not only to myself, but to the world.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth and I am twenty-two years old.

Me!

I was born with a left radial clubbed hand (my wrist was bent so my hand looked like an ‘L’) and I do not have a thumb on my left hand. I also have an incomplete wrist, elbow, shoulder, and clavicle. I had seven surgeries between the ages of ten and fourteen to straighten my wrist and lengthen my forearm to increase function through the use of an external fixator.

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