Divine

Is there anything more delicious than an indulgent pedicure???

My poor little feetsies have taken running hard. It's been months already since I've gotten a pedicure and the combination of time and the wear & tear of running has made my feet look a little... rough. I think Michele described it best when she said, "It's been so long since I've had a pedicure and my toenails are so long I think I could climb a tree with my toes!" I dont know about her feet, but mine were certainly tree-worthy!!! But now they're beautiful and well manicured in a pretty burgundy/purple shade. No more trees for these toes. I'd probably better take the night off from running too! I'll make sure to hit the trails hard tomorrow to make up for today.

Jordan's already gotten his christmas present- to the tune of a Taurus 9mm handgun and a new North Face jacket. Lucky guy! I have to wait like the rest of America until Christmas morning (the only time for opening christmas gifts-- for those of you Christmas Eve'rs) to see what special things I'm getting. I've extended my list to include an iphone, a cute pink North Face jacket (that I saw when Jordan got his!), a new lens for my camera, and a pair of True Religion jeans. That's not asking much, right??? haha :) 

I am throughly peeved @ the BCS right now-- as Oklahoma got the Big 12 championship bid and Texas gets a lowly bowl game. Boo. Didnt we beat OU? Mizzou got the other bid from the Big 12 north... and if I remember correctly, we beat them too. That one pesky loss by one late touchdown by those jokers @ Texas Tech has ruined our hopes of any postseason glory. We had a great year, however and I hope next season is equally exciting- Colt McCoy will be a senior, which should make for some gooooood football. I cut my teeth on college footbal, can you tell?

Current song: Listening to the bubbly goodness of homemade spaghetti simmering away-- made up by my husband, which makes it all the more delicious!

Novembrrrrrr....

It's been a while since I've really blogged an update about my life and peer pressure is everything, so here goes. November's been a relatively steady month. Work has seen its share of  good and bad days. Outside of work, things are mostly normal. Still running. Still working on Christmas cards-- although, I finally received my pictures yesterday that will be on our cards, so now I can really get to putting things together. I've gotten a lot of Christmas shopping done- especially yesterday- which I think was my first early morning black friday. I didn't do the 4 AM thing, but we were at WalMart around 6.... and everything was already gone. Those of you who would have received Iron Man are now getting whatever else I could find. :)

We did Thanksgiving @ the Miller's again this year. Fortunately, I didnt have to work! I was certain I'd be there all day, especially when I woke up at 5am that morning and had not received a "you can stay home!" call yet..... that came at 5:05. So I was thrilled to be staying home- even more so after a horrible day wednesday. We watched some of the Macy's parade and made the trip out to Cresson to see Nathanael, Mary & Doug. While there, I discovered another thing I love about the holidays.....

Pomegranate 7-up!! It's delicious!!! Mary always has interesting beverage choices when we get together; flavored teas, sparkling juices, interesting sodas. This year we had pomegranate 7up and it was awesome. While @ Target yesterday, we got 2 bottles of our own! I would recommend picking up a bottle of this seasonal treat before it's gone!!! (I may just have a glass right now.)

I cant very well update my blog without giving a running update. I finally invested in a new pair of shoes--
The guys @ Luke's Locker helped me pick out a great pair-- I love them!! No more knee pain!! It was great, I went in, they measured my foot, watched me run and came up with 3-4 options. After walking around the store with a different shoe on each foot, I decided on the aasics. So the girl is getting everything together and goes, "because you'll need a little extra room when running, I suggest you go with a half to full size bigger for these." So what size did she pull out?!?!

A 10.5!!!!!!!!

I about choked. Now, they feel great and they run great and I think it was a good decision, but dang. That's a big foot I've got at the end of my leg. No shoe looks cute that big. Regardless, it's made running a little more enjoyable and a little less painful. 

Last weekend, we went to the big game-- Dallas vs SanFran. Jordan's been waiting his entire life to see the 49'ers play a real season game and he will wait no longer. 

This was the one & unfortunately only time during the game that SanFran was on top. Dallas ended up winning, which was a bummer, but we still had a great time. We had some really great seats that were very close to the field. Only problem? Almost every play we were on our feet- because so was everyone else!

Being that I'm a BIG fan of Making the Team, I HAD to get some shots of the DCC. We were never super close to the cheerleaders, but I could usually pick out a few familiar faces when they'd dance by. Despite the skimpy uniforms and crude dance, somewhere deep down I wanted to be a cheerleader- maybe it's my inner dancer that is dying to overtake my 2 left feet. Then, reality sets in... I dont know if my neck could take all that hair tossing. 

One happy boy

Earlier this month, I finally took the first step in the right direction with my camera and took a few photography classes. About an hour into it, I was thoroughly confused. There wasnt much Rick Dalton could've said to make this stuff make sense. Sure, I can rattle off the 7 cardinal movements of labor in my sleep (engagement, descent, flexion, internal rotation, extension, external rotation/restitution, and expulsion.), but I have no clue what this man is saying.  Eventually things start coming together a little better, and I really appreciated the more applicable lessons; positioning, light, rule of thirds, leading lines.... etc. In the end, I have a greater respect for those who are successful photographers and a little more discerning eye of those who arent.

So December 11 is the first day of our extended Christmas holiday, in which we'll be traveling to Augusta to see my side of the family, Jordan's grandparents and our friends. We'll be there until the 17th, I'll work the 18, 19 and 20th and we'll be off to Houston until Christmas day to see Jordan's family. We leave Houston Christmas day and I work 26, 27 and 28th. It'll be a whirlwind of traveling and visiting and eating- the visiting and eating part will be great. The whirlwind of running around? Not so much. So those of you Augustans who keep up with us by way of blog, save us a little visit time!

We have officially begun (began?) the process of finding a church. Jordan has his resume available to the seminary to send here, there, and everywhere. There are very few jobs posted here in DFW, but there's always the hope of something opening up. I keep telling Jordan he should submit his resume to this church in Charleston, SC! There are many openings in GA, lots and lots here in TX although most are west Texas (out in the middle of nowhere). We both know what we'd like, and we're praying for our desires, but also praying that God would send us wherever His will leads (this includes softening our hearts to another area!!). We'll just have to wait and see!!! Meanwhile, I grow more and more weary of our little apartment. I'm so done with apartment living- I'm ready for a house. 

And finally (this was a long update!), I am completely overjoyed for our friends Jeremy & Michele, who just found out they're having a sweet baby girl!!! It's an incredible blessing!!! Jack will be a great big brother-- we are so thrilled for this sweet family.

It's time for Christmas decorations!!!!

Current song: Crush by David Archuleta

Ps. my hubby just met Shane Everett @ the Dallas Gun show! How neat is that??

Goal...

I have the next 6 days off with no plans and nothing to do, so I'm making a goal to update my blog!!! Hurrah! Updates and news keep piling up and I look for time somewhere and will find some soon. 

...but first? Black Friday.

Current song: that new one from Jason Mraz. I like his music.

Thanksgiving???

What's happened to Thanksgiving?!?

We saw Christmas decorations up (around Houston) before halloween.  Seriously??

I'm certain this post will offend someone and I am unapologetic. I do NOT understand what happened to Thanksgiving! Where did it go??? Who decided that the Christmas season started at 11:59 PM on October 31??? All around us are houses with christmas lights, shopping centers decorated with wreaths and garland- it's only November 16! 

Now, we HAVE already started our Christmas shopping (which may make me a bit of a hypocrite), but in our defense.... we must be finished by December 11! We're taking almost back-to-back trips to Augusta and then Houston for Christmas in both places. Last year, we did the same thing and it was necessary to our sanity to have all our christmas shopping done prior to traveling. We spend 3 days here @ home between the trips and I work all 3 days! 

Anyway. I will never be one of those people who decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving is over. It irritates me to hear christmas music being played already in stores. I love Christmas- it's probably my favorite holiday. I love the lights and decorating my house and the parties and the meaning behind it- the birth of my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ! BUT, black friday is the perfect time for decorating and my harvest/Thanksgiving related home decor will stay right in it's place until that day!!! 

Oh, what else do I love about the Christmas season??? White fudge covered oreos :) 

Current Song: Hosanna by Hillsong

Running Update

Ohhh, running. My pavement love affair.

I'm pretty stoked about the progress I've made over the past 2 months. It surprises me how quickly my body changed and adapted to running- even when I've never been a runner before. I'm easily doing 3-4 miles now- they're slow miles, and they're not pretty, but they happen. With winter quickly approaching (((for those of you northerners-- Texas doesn't really get cold until late Nov/Dec. The day before yesterday, the weather was in the 70's. It's a similar winter to those we had in Georgia. It doesn't really get cold and stay cold everyday until January & February. For those of you who dont know me well, I hate cold weather. Hate it.))), I'm forced to start running more indoors on a treadmill. This may be almost worse than running in cold weather- treadmills are so boring. Sometimes I find I dont run as well on a treadmill, and I think it's purely a mind thing- watching the clock the entire time, waiting to finish another mile and not just running until I'm tired. 

So what's my other downfall recently, besides a lot of traveling around??? My knee. It worries me. In fact, I've already told Jordan that if I need knee surgery, I want an epidural with a PCEA instead of general anesthesia. :) I'm sure this is just my hypochondriac side coming out, and my knee pain is purely an issue of poor fitting, well worn shoes. I'm thinking either today or tomorrow, I'll make a trip to Luke's and get fitted for a good pair of running shoes. If this doesnt help my knee pain, I don't know what will. I'm stretching well before & after, I'm doing some strength training to build up the muscles in my legs... We'll just have to keep going and see what happens! 

Something I'm really excited about-- is finding a running partner! I've been running all by myself, which is fine sometimes, but I think having someone to encourage me while running will improve my final outcome. My mama has told me numerous times that if I dont have a running partner, I'll need a superhuman amount of discipline to get through the 8-9 mile mark. It's amazing how people come out of the woodwork when you take on a new hobby who also participate in that same hobby (or claim to.) Like, when I bought my Nikon, all of a sudden, half our sunday school class was starting a photography business, 5 or 6 girls I work with do photography as a side business, and several other friends are dabbling in photography. Same with scrapbooking, and card making.... I guess it's just because I'm suddenly acutely aware (when I take on a new hobby) of people who share the same hobby. Kinda like when you buy a new car and then all you see are people who drive the same car as you.

Oh, and finally...

Go Longhorns!!!!

Current song: Anything by Mae

Girl's Weekend!

This past weekend I was in Mineola Texas.

Me, my sweet friend Catherine, her sweet friend Lacie, and mom-in-law Rita all got together in Mineola for a Girl's only weekend!!! 

We stayed @ the Southern Comfort Retreat B&B!

It was so much fun. We were indulgent and lazy and all around relaxed. The southern comfort retreat is a specialty B&B which allows for hobbies. Miss Linda has special tables in one of the downstairs rooms, which are made for things like sewing, quilting aaannnddd Scrapbooking!!! It was awesome! We set all our stuff up and scrapped and snacked and watched chick flicks all weekend. I got well into our Christmas cards for this year, but I still haven't decided on a picture, so I couldn't really put anything together. So there are a million little pieces in cups & baggies waiting to be assembled once we get a picture picked out and in my hands. I also worked on my anniversary book, which is really starting to come along. I made a few thank you cards, some birthday cards... I got a lot done! 

Miss Linda is the best cook-- well, maybe not quite as good as Nana, but REALLY good. We ate until we needed to unbutton our pants (which, we wore pj's all weekend, thank goodness!). We had breakfast, brunch, an afternoon snack and dinner. She kept goodies in the fridge, pound cake on the counter, snacks in the craft room... it was delicious! The last morning, for brunch, Miss Linda made Sausage Bread (among many other things). Sausage Bread?!?! It was heavenly. Hello, Sausage and Bread?? Probably one of my favorite new foods. :) 

Foods Eaten:

Friday Dinner: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Corn on the Cob, Salad, Bread, Chocolate Cake.

Breakfast: Danish, Croissants, bagels, english muffins, fresh fruit

Saturday Brunch: Sausage Gravy, Biscuits, Fried Potatoes, Frittata, Fresh Fruit

Midday snack: Fresh choco-chip cookies, Black bean salsa, Guacamole & chips

Saturday Dinner: Beef Tips in wine sauce, Rice, Squash Casserole (no thanks.), salad, rolls, Peach Cobbler

Sunday Brunch: Breakfast casserole, Bacon, Cinnamon Rolls, Sausage Bread, Fresh Fruit, 

Movies Watched:

Devil Wears Prada

13 Going On 30

My Best Friend's Wedding

Pride & Prejudice

& 3 episodes of What Not To Wear

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!!! We had such a good time- and I think I gained 5 pounds easily. We looked into booking another weekend- Miss Linda's booked until April! Of course, there will be a new little addition by then, (baby Strange!) so we'll have to find somewhere prior to baby's arrival. Either way, as soon as Cat & I got home, we wanted to go scrap shopping :)

On the other hand, I haven't run in over a week. I'm so disappointed! I ran last Saturday and had a sore knee for a few days and then a few days turned into a week. I'm hoping to get out today and tomorrow. I was easily doing 3 miles last weekend, which is great! I gotta get back into it though, before I wear out at 1/2 mile!!!!

Current Song: The Entire Maroon 5 About Jane CD. I love them.