Checklist

Toes Painted?

Check!

Flip-flops dusted off?

Check!

Completely packed in only a carry-on?

Check (you bet there are 4 pairs of shoes in there)!

Cold weather confirmed for Kansas?
Check!

See YA!

Freezing Fog

Weeks ago, we had a freezing fog. I wasn't sure what to expect, but found it was one of the more beautiful days in Kansas.

It made these sharp looking triangular crystals form on the trees -all the trees. It was beautiful when you saw a grove of trees together. The dark bark of the trees contrasted so well against the white crystals.

This one looks like rock candy.

We thought it looked pretty cool at work. So I went out and took some pictures.

It was another day to remember what a creative Creator God is. 

What would you do?

You are at the movie theater. You are sitting in your seat, waiting for it to begin when you start to think that you would really rather see that other movie. The one that is in the bigger and better theater down the hall. You find out that it hasn't started yet and you make the decision to switch movies. Do you:

A. Just go into the theater for the other movie and wait until it starts.

B. Stay and watch part of the movie you paid for and slip into the other movie when it starts.

C. Go to the counter, exchange your tickets, and then go sit in the theater to wait until it starts.

D. Stay and watch the original movie.

The Oven Homemade

One of the biggest things I miss in Lincoln, Nebraska was our favorite restaurant, The Oven. There, we were introduced to Indian cuisine and loved it.

In my quest to make new recipes, I found a recipe for my "usual" at The Oven. Excited to try it, I then searched for a recipe for our favorite Indian bread, naan. Last night, I tried both recipes.

First, the naan bread. Super, super easy to make. And delish! The only unusual ingredient that you may not have is yogurt. I added garlic powder to the bread after brushing it with butter, because we like it that way. The Oven serves this bread with a mint chutney sauce - which I also found a recipe for. I will have to make that next time. Click here for the recipe.

The main dish - Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken). Also surprisingly easy to make. A strange combination of spices to marinate the chicken in overnight. Then, just about 30 minutes of cooking over the stove in the sauce. Click here for the recipe.

As I cooked it, I felt like I was walking into The Oven instead of my house! I got more and more anxious to taste it. Sure enough, it has the same taste as my usual dish. Hubs cleaned his plate after having seconds! It went over well.

There are a few things I might tweak to this recipe next time, but overall we were both very excited to have Indian food at home. I am happy because it is easy and CHEAP! Now that I have the spices, It should cost less than $10 for all the ingredients. Plus, it makes soooooo much food, that we have leftovers for days!

By the way, this recipe was so good, I will actually make it for guests! If you come over, it is very possible you will be eating this!

Guess who came to visit?

Cousin Holly!

And my parents, of course. And although Holly hates getting her picture taken, she hates something else even more.

Holly and Ransom's history has been less than good. Holly, like most moody cocker spaniels, hates Ransom. Ransom, like most playful labradors, thinks Holly should want to play with him. This has led to snarls, barks, and growls.

I, of course, am determined that they will be the best of friends tolerate each other to the point of being left alone in the same room without bloodshed.

Walah!

They won't look at each other, but at least they are on the same couch - WITHOUT my encouragement.

They even humored me by looking at the camera! Best of pals one day...I can feel it. And if not, we are light-years further along than the previous meetings. Secretly I am hoping that when I go back out to the living room they will be snuggled up together for warmth...

Wuv and Mawwaige

Mawwaige is the weason we are gathuwed today....

... and wuv, twue wuv...

Hubs and I celebrated V-Day all weekend long! We started off by going to a marriage conference in Wichita from Friday to Saturday. It was a nice get-away. We heard some great reminders about God's design for marriage and how to practically work together. Plus, we got to hang out and meet other couples - which was also a blast.

After the conference, Hubs offered to take me shopping! But get this - I turned him down! I was exhausted and really just wanted a nap. So, we headed back home where my brother was watching our house the dog. We relaxed for the rest of the day and let friends come over to play xbox on our TV.

We decided to keep V-Day low-key. We rented a movie and got a pizza and hung out. Is anyone else addicted to the Olympics? We had those on all day. So awesome.

V-Day just really doesn't matter to me a whole lot. It is fun to do something different some years, or get each other something other years, but what really matters is that I love Hubs everyday of the year and I want to show him that every day of the year.

The note on my desk

When I got to work today I 1) had a bag of Dove chocolates on my desk from my office-mate and 2) had this note on my desk (my comments to the note are in parentheses).

Hi there this is your favorite person (that's debateable)

Just thought I would write you a little note.

Oh your just such a great sister

Way Way better than any blister (I think that is a compliment)

The times that we have had

All good and definetely none bad (In what world?)

I will follow you to whatever town you go (Great.)

I will go east, or west, high or low

This is a poem just for you

Yep it's from Jake...What was your first clue (Hmmm, was it the corny rhyme scheme or lack of puncuation?)

I woke up grumpy today, as I have for the past 3 days - I must be going to some hormonal imbalance or something - grumpy is not normal for me. So, it is always nice to have fun surprises when you get to work.

Cuddlin'

I had a headache on Monday. Just my luck, Ransom was in a cuddlin' mood.

We cuddled up with my kindle and put planet earth on the TV.

Tonight, however, Ransom was not so keen on cuddlin' up with Hubs.

Sorry for the inappropriate position. We are still working on being modest...

Anticipation

Two years ago, I fell in love again. Hubs and I took the vacation of our my dreams. We went to Hawaii.

I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. But I found that as much as I feel comforted with giant trees enclosing me all around and varying shades of green calming me against the brown bark and dirt of the forest, I also feel relaxed with the background noise of the ocean's roar and the tropical birds' songs while the light breeze drifts delicious scents around.

I often picture myself either in the woods or on the beach. During a rough day. When I am anxious. When I worry.

Vacations are a key component of my life. I love living for the next vacation. It makes me work harder. It gives me a goal. So, since Hubs and I have not gone away for a whole 9 months, I have been aching to plan a trip.

My one desire - warmth. The sun heating my cheeks. Palm trees would be nice. Plenty of things to do. And the verdict...

San Diego, California.

It's not in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but at least that beautiful ocean is right there to enjoy. There are palm trees and it should be sunny, in the 60s. I. Cannot. Wait. We'll be strolling the oceanside, visiting the zoo and Sea World. We may go whale watching or tour a aircraft carrier. It doesn't matter, though; we will be on vacation!

Maybe living in a boring place isn't such a bad thing. It makes me want to go away even more often!

Week Three

Week Three
Miles: 6.5

General Thoughts:
Yikes. Obviously it wasn't a very good week. This is where I need you all to keep me going. At this point, I doubt any of you would care if I backed out of the commitment. That's not good because I am very tempted to do just that. When it is only me encouraging me, I am apt to let myself down.

However, the other reason why it was a low-mile week is because of my knee. One day during week 2, I woke up with a sore knee - it felt like I slept on it oddly. Since then it has hurt. Some days worse than others, but always worse after a run. Therefore...

Long Run:
I am skipping my long run today. It was supposed to be 5 miles and it actually was perfect this morning. Hardly any wind and 32 degrees (which I have found is a great temperature for a long run). But, Hubs is advising me to do other exercises for a few days and give my knee a break from running. It works well, since next week's long run is also 5 miles. I don't feel like I will get too far behind.

Goals for Next Week:
1. Gain enthusiasm for running and for the race.
2. Get back into running regularly.
3. No pain in the knee.

Other:
When I get back into my running schedule, I am going to change it up a bit. Right now, it has me running 3 consecutive days, which I don't really like. Instead of running Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and resting on Saturday, I am going to run Wednesday and Thursday, break on Friday, and run Saturday. I think that will help me stick to the plan.

Ransom is getting pretty smart based on our routes. He knows where to turn and how to get home. One morning, I let him lead so I could see where he would take me. He knew exactly how to get home. That is good to know, in case he ever gets loose. However, he still has no regard for the danger that vehicles present. He doesn't pay attention to traffic before crossing the street.

Even if he does know how to find home, he would definitely get hit by a car before he made it.

Some Favorites

There is one thing I love to get at Starbucks besides coffee. A cranberry-orange scone. They are so incredibly delish. But I don't know that I will ever have to buy another scone at Starbucks. Why? because I've got the recipe.

Well, I doubt it is Starbucks's actual recipe, but it is just as good. Perhaps even better. It's easy. It's quick, And it costs less to make them myself! And this way, I can have them whenever I want! I've already made them - ahem - twice this week, and everyone that has had them, has said they were good. Success.

Click the picture below for the recipe!

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Hubs loves boysenberry syrup. I can't find it here in the middle of Kansas. So, he has had to treat himself to it on Wednesday mornings when he meets friends for breakfast. One morning he asked the waitress if they sold their syrup. She said no, but low and behold this morning she had a surprise for Hubs.

A GALLON of Boysenberry Pancake Syrup! It wasn't free, of course, but it was worth it to have this yummy syrup. I'm guessing we won't run out for a really, really, really long time.

Week Two

Week Two
Miles: 11

General thoughts:
Week two met me with challenges. I didn't want to run. It snowed. It was colder. My knee hurt. You get the picture. I should have run 12 miles, however Friday morning greeted me with 5 inches of snow, plus it was still snowing. So, I skipped.

The long run:

This is what it looked like when I went outside to run. In spite of that, today's 4-mile run went really well. After running with the dog all week, it was freeing to run alone. And, actually it was probably one of the more beautiful runs I will ever have in Kansas because the trees were gorgeous with snow. It was spitting some moisture, but not unbearable. Actually, my ipod shuffle had frost all over it and the wires for the headphones!

I wore my watch for the first time so I could see how long it took. It's too embarrassing to share with the world.

I'm thinking about running for City Council (not really). Sidewalks are very rare in this town, but on the few roads that had sidewalks, they were still covered in snow. I really think this needs to be changed. Until then, there is this handy-dandy website, http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/, where you can map out your routes. I was able to map out a nice route through neighborhoods so that I could run in the road.

Goals for next week:
I want to steady out my pace more. And, I know I could be picking up the pace. I get home and I am barely winded, so I am not pushing myself at all.

Other:
One morning Ransom and I ran when it was super foggy - a freezing fog according to the weather people. When we got home, I burst out laughing because this is what he looked like:

Notice he does NOT look tired!