Thought I'd take a quick minute to post some pics from the Houston Half Marathon from last Sunday, and give a short update!
So I went skiing this past week which was GREAT - the weather was perfect, very much like spring skiing which of course is my *favorite* and the mountain was pretty empty as far as people go... we went to Steamboat to see the Cowboy Downhill which was comical... a bunch of cowboys on skis and boards (some of which who have never skiied EVER) who are in town for the Denver Livestock Show & Rodeo trying to compete for prizes by going through an obstacle course on the slopes - hilarious and the purpose for our visit as my mom has always wanted to see this "spectacle." It was great - of course a lot of wipeouts by some rough and tumble men that would make most people not want to get back up, but we had to remember these were bull riders and bareback bronc riders, etc. so if they totally ate it they just got right back up and kept on going... it was great! We had an awesome time - it was me, Kendyl, Mom, and Michael and although a really quick trip, good quality family time (Mikey is pretty much like family - probably the closest thing I have to a little brother I would say)!
As far as jury duty goes - man, what a long story... it makes me tired to even think about writing it all down in a blog post, but basically I took it really seriously and it was an interesting experience I won't soon forget. What was scary about it was how many criminal testimonies we had to hear and it really opened my eyes to another world that we all tend to forget about in our respective "bubbles" of daily life... I heard testimonies from criminals that had been in and out of jail so many times from everything to DWI's, to drugs, to burglary of habitation (houses) and commercial (businesses), and apparently there was supposed to be a murderer testify as well that didn't show up (WHEW!) so needless to say it was very interesting. Despite their rap sheets, I listened intently to what they had to say and believed them, for the most part as they didn't really have anything to gain by taking the stand (on the contrary, to the subject they were speaking about they had a lot of pride to lose, and I can only imagine how it was probably difficult for a lot of them, despite their pasts). It revolved around a incident of sexual misconduct, but that's all I'm going to say about it here - if you want to know more I can share with you via conversation. I thought the system was very fair, though, and I enjoyed doing my civic duty!
And here are a few pics of the half marathon - I know I said I'd write more but I'm not really sure what else there is to say, really?? I mean it was totally great and I was so proud of myself, and I'm really going to try and keep up the running thing (like doing a long run on the weekends and shorter ones during the week) so I don't lose it, you know? I did 5 miles yesterday which was the first time I'd run since last Sunday, and it was fine... I can tell a few of my joints are still a little sore in my feet, but I think skiing really helped my muscles stretch some so muscle-wise I was fine!
Hope everyone has had a great week and enjoy the pics!
Love,
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Half Marathon Pics
Me and Dad at the gathering point for Wave 2
Me waving at Curt and Dad before the Start Line
A picture of racers in general
(Curt took these pics with my Nikon and I thought this one was so neat!)
Me running before the finish line
Me running before the finish line
Me and Curt after the finish!(Note my cool signs that Kendyl and Mom contributed to as they couldn't be there - this one says, "They were my magic shoes" from Forrest Gump)
Me and Dad
Me and my shiny medal with the finish line in the background - YEA!
One step closer to the full marathon...
Sunday, January 18, 2009
2009 has been eventful thus far!
So today I ran my first half marathon and it was great! I completed all my goals - did it under the time I wanted (no speed records of course), my foot didn't bother me enough to take me out of it (thank goodness), I ran every step of the way, and I finished with a smile and didn't want to totally keel over and die! YEA! So a success all around... I'll write more about it later...
Also had jury duty this week for 3 days which was interesting to say the least, and I'll write more about that later, as well.
On my way out to Steamboat tomorrow, so will have a few days of skiing with the family as a "goodbye" to the slopes for now, so that will be a blast and I'll write more about that later, too...
I'm basically only posting this I think for my own health since it doesn't seem that anyone reads my blog, as I don't get any comments whatsoever even when I say something crazy like oh yeah, we're moving to China... oh well... here's to writing a blog for my own health/record anyway!
Love,
Also had jury duty this week for 3 days which was interesting to say the least, and I'll write more about that later, as well.
On my way out to Steamboat tomorrow, so will have a few days of skiing with the family as a "goodbye" to the slopes for now, so that will be a blast and I'll write more about that later, too...
I'm basically only posting this I think for my own health since it doesn't seem that anyone reads my blog, as I don't get any comments whatsoever even when I say something crazy like oh yeah, we're moving to China... oh well... here's to writing a blog for my own health/record anyway!
Love,
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Ni hao!
(Pronounced knee-how, we'll be saying that a lot...)
So yes, after many allusions, rumors, and panicked-looking faces, it is now an open fact that we are moving to China - Suzhou, China to be exact.
Curt received an offer to be plant manager, and as it's a great opportunity that we can't pass up, you will soon be reading of our experiences living in a new country... so here are a few answers to the questions we most commonly receive:
Where will we be? Suzhou, China about 100km outside of Shanghai
How long will we be there? Anywhere from 1-3 years (I'm shooting for 2 or less)
What will I be doing? To be determined - I'm discussing options with my work at the moment but it's up in the air
What are y’all doing with Maverick? To be determined (and yes, this is what keeps me up at night)
Where will we live? A high rise condo where many other expats live with some nice views of a lake, and fireworks all the time - LOL
What are y’all doing with the house? Leasing it out (know anyone?)
When are you leaving? Curt is already back and forth and Tasha will join him in February/March timeframe
We are hoping for as many visitors as possible - we have a guest room begging for friends to come stay with us, so I hope that many of you will splurge and take the opportunity to see China while you have a free place to stay! :-) Our only request if we are blessed to receive you as a guest is that you bring a comfort from home for us (break n' bake chocolate chip cookies, Lucky Charms, CoCo Wheats, or something like that). Seriously, though, anyone is welcome and it is more affordable than you'd think - ticket prices start at $800 roundtrip, which heck, these days you can't even get to New York for that, right?!
The good news is that Curt, who of the two of us is more averse to this sort of thing, has adjusted well enough while he is over there, and we do think it will be easy for us to make friends as there is a large expat community there. And other GREAT news is that we have a gym membership already at a gym that is an American franchise, and they have HIP HOP classes! Yes! That might be interesting, but I'm looking forward to it, and I'm happy enough that we will have a gym complete with normal equipment, it's really nice with a pool, and they have classes that I enjoy taking (along with hip hop they have pilates, yoga, belly-dancing, etc.) so hopefully I will occupy myself having fun there - haha!
So of course things are busy in between daily life activities to try and get us ready and mobilized for this new adventure...
Also, in one week I run the Houston Half Marathon which, with my fasciitis whatever, I'm getting nervous about (no improvements there, I've just been trying to stretch and not tax it so somehow I can run the whole thing on Sunday)...
So that's our big news - stay tuned for more details, and in the meantime here are a few pictures of our new home (they're a little dark as it was night time when Curt was checking it out, but it is furnished, which is nice, though we'll have some work to do to make it "home") - enjoy, and again, we hope you will plan to visit us!
Living Room
Master Bedroom
View
Another View
Dining Area
Kitchen
Love,
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Agreed!
Yea! I'm so glad I have friends who share in my obsession! I am still waiting for my hardback copy of New Moon (book 2) to come in and I’m dying of anticipation… (my mom bought the paperback in case I couldn't wait but I'm letting anticipation build b/c I want to read my OWN copy – I’m weird about that sort of thing, I *love* hardbacks and “wearing” them in)…
Elizabeth, I *completely* agree with you about the movie. After much internal debate I decided I wanted to go see it – I’d heard of course it wasn’t as great as the book, etc. but what I was MOST worried about was the movie characters changing the version of who I see them as in my head… I had clicked around on the internet and seen the cast, and while I think K. Stewart is a great fit for Bella, whoever the guy who plays Edward is good looking, but not how I pictured Edward in my head, and I was so worried that for the rest of the books I’d have HIS face in my mind and not MY version of Edward if that makes sense (I think MY version is a cross between Channing Tatum and Henry Cavill - swoon!)?
But curiosity won out – we didn’t have any plans last night so Curt and I made a date of it ( this is him humoring my obsession, such a good sport) and I enjoyed it as well, though I was thinking the same thing (that to non- readers it was terrible and probably on the cheesy side)… I think it's amazing how in your mind everything fits and it's all perfectly normal and when put on film (like him sparkling in the sun or how fast he can run, etc.) that it looks a little silly – I guess I'll stick to my imagination's version, then! p.s. I did love that Stephenie Meyers had a cameo - I would SO do that, too! lol!
Anyway, enough rambling, but as my comment started to become a novel I decided a post would be more suited… sigh!
Love,
Elizabeth, I *completely* agree with you about the movie. After much internal debate I decided I wanted to go see it – I’d heard of course it wasn’t as great as the book, etc. but what I was MOST worried about was the movie characters changing the version of who I see them as in my head… I had clicked around on the internet and seen the cast, and while I think K. Stewart is a great fit for Bella, whoever the guy who plays Edward is good looking, but not how I pictured Edward in my head, and I was so worried that for the rest of the books I’d have HIS face in my mind and not MY version of Edward if that makes sense (I think MY version is a cross between Channing Tatum and Henry Cavill - swoon!)?
But curiosity won out – we didn’t have any plans last night so Curt and I made a date of it ( this is him humoring my obsession, such a good sport) and I enjoyed it as well, though I was thinking the same thing (that to non- readers it was terrible and probably on the cheesy side)… I think it's amazing how in your mind everything fits and it's all perfectly normal and when put on film (like him sparkling in the sun or how fast he can run, etc.) that it looks a little silly – I guess I'll stick to my imagination's version, then! p.s. I did love that Stephenie Meyers had a cameo - I would SO do that, too! lol!
Anyway, enough rambling, but as my comment started to become a novel I decided a post would be more suited… sigh!
Love,
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Happy Birthday to Curt, and I'm obsessed...
I have a new obsession, and I knew it would be, but was building up the anticipation so it would be even better… I just read Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, and along with the entire population of teenage American girls, I’m in love with this book… I asked for the whole series in hardback for Christmas even though I hadn’t read one of them yet, but as I knew I would love them I went ahead and asked anyway. I finished Pride and Prejudice over the weekend (love that book, too!) and went straight into it and had to refrain from staying up all night to read it… I wanted to *savor* it so forced myself to stretch it over 3 days and it’s all I’ve been able to think about…
I’m going to try and wait a few days to start the second one otherwise I’ll have to be like a couple of our family friends’ girls who keep reading them quickly and over and over (they’re each on their 3rd time already because they’re so good)! I think the thing about it is that I remember high school so well, even if it is getting farther and farther away in years, and how I would have swooned over someone like Edward Cullen – I guess that’s why it’s fun? I don’t know – whatever the draw is, I’m hooked! In the meantime, though, I’m satisfying myself with Stephanie Meyers’ draft of Midnight Sun… it kills me that she’s not going to complete this book, though!
We celebrated Curt’s birthday over the weekend in Giddings, which was a ton of fun as Courtney and Adam were also there! It was more low-key than last year as of course you can’t have huge bashes EVERY year, but we did a lot of celebrating, first with Curt’s Dad and Judy (we also did Christmas with them as well as they were in Illinois with Judy’s family), then on Sunday night Carrie, Don, Courtney, and Greg came up for dinner – Curt’s choice was Saltgrass and I had one of the best steaks I’ve had in awhile (I love filet mignon and their mashed potatoes)! So that was awesome… then my Mom came over Monday night to give Curt his present and enjoy some cake, so it’s been a great New Year, so far!
Also enjoyed The Bachelor Monday night, and holy smokes! DeAnna comes back saying she made a mistake?! Maybe she did, I don’t know, but my heart broke for Jesse – what torture it must be for him to watch something like that! But it looks like Jason’s heart breaks before he gets to the end – should be a great season, interesting, no doubt!
On another note – training for the half marathon has taken a down turn, NOT because I’m breaking resolutions already or anything, but the arch of my foot has been paining me since I ran those 11 miles that day… I had felt it before in a 5-mile run, then the 11 miles went well but walking home felt the pain was more pronounced, and then as my muscles settled, relaxed, and then got sore, it started to hurt! I took it easy, went for a short run and then it was really painful, so took a week off, bought some new shoes with more cushion, have been icing it into a hypothermic state, and trying to do everything right b/c by gosh I will run that 13.1 miles in two weeks!!! Even if I have to hobble and walk it, I’m determined to get a finisher’s medal and t-shirt, so please pray that I can stretch it and ice it into submission (the sports medicine guy at Luke’s Locker think it’s the tendon that runs from your toe, to heel, to achille’s so it’s fasciitis something – most likely due to shortening of my calf muscles from wearing high heels all the time, so that tendon and my calve muscles aren’t as long as they would be or something)… ugh… it’s hard being a girl! I bought Yoga Toes though, so hopefully that will help, too – Judy swears by them!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful 2009 so far – Happy New Year!
Love,
I’m going to try and wait a few days to start the second one otherwise I’ll have to be like a couple of our family friends’ girls who keep reading them quickly and over and over (they’re each on their 3rd time already because they’re so good)! I think the thing about it is that I remember high school so well, even if it is getting farther and farther away in years, and how I would have swooned over someone like Edward Cullen – I guess that’s why it’s fun? I don’t know – whatever the draw is, I’m hooked! In the meantime, though, I’m satisfying myself with Stephanie Meyers’ draft of Midnight Sun… it kills me that she’s not going to complete this book, though!
We celebrated Curt’s birthday over the weekend in Giddings, which was a ton of fun as Courtney and Adam were also there! It was more low-key than last year as of course you can’t have huge bashes EVERY year, but we did a lot of celebrating, first with Curt’s Dad and Judy (we also did Christmas with them as well as they were in Illinois with Judy’s family), then on Sunday night Carrie, Don, Courtney, and Greg came up for dinner – Curt’s choice was Saltgrass and I had one of the best steaks I’ve had in awhile (I love filet mignon and their mashed potatoes)! So that was awesome… then my Mom came over Monday night to give Curt his present and enjoy some cake, so it’s been a great New Year, so far!
Also enjoyed The Bachelor Monday night, and holy smokes! DeAnna comes back saying she made a mistake?! Maybe she did, I don’t know, but my heart broke for Jesse – what torture it must be for him to watch something like that! But it looks like Jason’s heart breaks before he gets to the end – should be a great season, interesting, no doubt!
On another note – training for the half marathon has taken a down turn, NOT because I’m breaking resolutions already or anything, but the arch of my foot has been paining me since I ran those 11 miles that day… I had felt it before in a 5-mile run, then the 11 miles went well but walking home felt the pain was more pronounced, and then as my muscles settled, relaxed, and then got sore, it started to hurt! I took it easy, went for a short run and then it was really painful, so took a week off, bought some new shoes with more cushion, have been icing it into a hypothermic state, and trying to do everything right b/c by gosh I will run that 13.1 miles in two weeks!!! Even if I have to hobble and walk it, I’m determined to get a finisher’s medal and t-shirt, so please pray that I can stretch it and ice it into submission (the sports medicine guy at Luke’s Locker think it’s the tendon that runs from your toe, to heel, to achille’s so it’s fasciitis something – most likely due to shortening of my calf muscles from wearing high heels all the time, so that tendon and my calve muscles aren’t as long as they would be or something)… ugh… it’s hard being a girl! I bought Yoga Toes though, so hopefully that will help, too – Judy swears by them!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful 2009 so far – Happy New Year!
Love,
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