weekend rewind

Friday night we met up with our inter'l students that we're hosting at a nearby rec center for games and food. The organization that facilitates the hosting of students sponsored the event.

I played pool with the girls/we kept trying to hit the balls and made very little progress. The guys played 3 games to our 1, and we never really finished. I eventually just picked up the last ball and put it in. One of our girls kept calling the "striped" balls "the ribbons." way cute.

Our students were introduced to cupcakes and queso for the first time...i'm pretty sure they enjoyed all the goodies that night. it's so fun to watch them try new foods and discuss culture differences that sometimes we don't even realize are there. We have the best time with our students....they are so talkative and easy to get to know.

Saturday, Daniel had to work and i had to get my run on. I'm kind of training for a half marathon. Sarah, Mike, and Dad are running one in October that is pretty much the same course as the 15K. I'm on the fence about if i want to run it or not. I realllly hate running on gravel, which is what most of the course is.

Last Saturday I ran 8 miles and felt ok. Yesterday, I ran with music for the first time. Also the first time to ever run more than 4 miles by myself.

I started out with the new Ipod shuffle (which is way beyond tiny) and had the easist 4 miles i've ever run. Circled back, got my gatorade and water and headed out for the second loop. oh wait, did i mention that i PR'd every single mile yesterday??? yeah.....who knew?!?!

After the second loop in our neighborhood i had completed 8 miles and knew i needed more. I was hoping for 10. I knew if i had any hope of the half marathon i HAD to run 10 miles and not die.

I started the 9th mile and had a blinding pain in my lower abdomen-which i've never felt before. it wasn't like a side stitch or anything, it was more like my appendix was going to burst. Refusing to walk it off, I just 'shuffled' along for a half mile until suddenly it went away.

The 9th mile was very difficult. The 10th mile rocked my world. It was weird how good it felt and how much strength and energy i had for it.

I ran 10 miles for the first time yesterday!!!

Not only that, but i ran every mile faster than i EVER have before!! not to say that because i think i'm so great, but because if you've been reading, you know i've been struggling with my runs. I had this huge mental block i couldn't get past. Running 10 miles and feeling amazing during and after is not something i saw in my future. I'm so thankful for how good this run was. I'm needing 11 next week. we'll see!!

random:

-it was in the 50's when we got up this morning. Fall is coming. We have the windows open and i'm embracing (literally) my sweats. it's a truly wonderful feeling.

-i'm an interrupter. I do it a lot and i know it. it's very common for me to interrupt Daniel and then immediately say "sorry, go ahead." The other day, I actually interrupted myself to switch subjects then was like "oh sorry, go ahead." THEN i realized i was the one who had already been talking. ha!!

-we just had chicken ceasar salad and homemade bread for Sunday lunch. yum!! i like this meal.

hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!

love

laura

 

Oklahoma!!!!!!

Let's catch up shall we? Cos i have way too much to say!

Daniel has been working crazy hours this week, and is actually currently away working as i type. Despite the craziness of our week, we took a few hours away and headed to the state fair on Thursday. I had never been in OK, just Texas. I really just go for the food. pictures to prove that in a minute.

As soon as we got there we headed for the petting zoo. I'm not a huge "have animals live with you kind of person", but i'm a sucker for a good petting zoo!!!

you can't really tell in this pic, i'm very excited!!

me living it up!!

Goats scare me because they attack you. Let's not talk about family vaca of 08. don't worry it's all on video.

 

Daniel getting in on the action.

the yak was my all time fave!! he's so cute!!

 and then we ate...and ate....and ate...

First....chocolate covered cookie dough...mmm mm!!

Second....pork chop sandwhich...surprisingly delish!!

ummm hello!!! please appreciate the joy! we got the sampler...fried mashed pot's, fried manicotti (my fave), fried ravioli, and chicken tenders  (fried of course).

i want you to feel like you were there...

i like this pic cos it wasn't really planned but it captures the essence of our love, ha!

this poor lady took this pic for us and kneeled in the rain to get it!

it rained a little, but that didn't stop us from fried oreos!! (these were actually my all time fave!)

have a good Saturday!! stay tuned for more :)

love

laura

my fave

For all of you who don't know......my favorite show starts tonight. I revolve my entire schedule around Tuesday nights. I will let nothing and no one come between me and

THE BIGGEST LOSER!!!!!!!

We don't have DVR, so i will turn down dinner invites, weddings, friends, family, running, etc... to be able to sit in front of my TV at 7pm on a Tuesday night. (What's so sad about that is about a year ago i had gone about 18 months without TV and seemed pretty well adjusted.)

Everyone has their American dream....TBL is mine.

It's almost sad how much joy i get from this show. almost.

Here's a little prediction of what we can expect:

First few episodes, everyone is extremely large and in charge, and I watch in fascination (probably eating chick fil a or cookies), all the time telling myself that most of these people have a good 300lbs on me, so i'm doing ok.

THEN we get a little further into the show and people who are still way bigger than me start running marathons and dropping my dream weight-loss goal in a week. 1 week people!!! And I then I start a new weight loss journey every Wednesday morning because i'm so inspired about what is possible.

Of course I get frustrated and mad if i don't lose 13lbs in a week, and Daniel gently reminds me that i don't weigh 426 lbs. It's just so easy to get sucked into their world!!

I love love love love this show!!! I cry a lot when i watch it. I just get SO emotionally involved that i really feel like i've gone thru their journey with them. I also yell. Don't get me started on crazy Tracey from 2 seasons ago. anyone??

sidenote: Daniel came and surprised me at work today with a new journal (that i've been needing for a while now.) Totally made my day!!! i love surprises and gifts, and like i always say....what is better than a surprise gift??

(my goal in writing this post is to hopefully get everyone else addicted to TBL so you can experience the same joy i do, and not get bored when it's all i ever talk about on the blog, ha!)

love
laura

college and cleaning

Last night, we had our international students over for brownie sundaes! We wanted to introduce them to brownies, ice cream, and toppings. I realized they liked it when they asked for seconds!!

We had SO much fun with all 4 of them. We just sat around our dining room table and talked and talked. I hope to teach them Nertz in the future :)

Here they are teaching Daniel a few phrases...(i think they gave up on me, ha!!)

I'm so looking forward to getting to know all these guys more!

Today i pounded out 8 miles. I tried eating a piece of toast beforehand and ran a little later than usual...i think it worked out well. I had energy and my stomach didn't hurt the rest of the day like it usually does. (sometimes on long runs my stomach gives me 'issues' the rest of the day)

Then i went back to bed, ha!! i was exhausted!!

Daniel went to the game with his dad, and i stayed home to clean my little heart out. And speaking of cleaning, I found a new blog this week and so glad i did!

I'm going to start making my own cleaning products and soaps-laundry, dishwasher, hand, etc.... I was practically giddy after finding Rebecca's blog! The downside is i have to use up the rest of my cleaning products before i can make my own. And I'm going to switch from papertowels to microfiber cloths, to cut down on waste. After cleaning today i looked in my trashcan and saw all the papertowels, and wondered....who ever told us that this was ok?

I mean, why have i been living under the assumption that going through thousands (millions?) of papertowels is okay and i don't even have to consider the effects of all the waste i'm putting into the world? just cos it's in the trash, doesn't mean it's done forever. (ok, i'll get off my soap box...haha)

also, when i was cleaning today, i was overwhelmed with all the chemicals i was using...toilet bowl cleaner, tub cleaner, kitchen cleaner.....yuck. just another reason to make the swtich to some purer cleaning methods. i can hardly contain my excitement about this new venture!!!!

what are ya'lls ideas or tips about going green or natural??

love

laura

 

awkward!!

ok, i HAVE to share with ya'll what i consider to be a very funny story from last night! I am still laughing about it...

disclaimer: i am not from Oklahoma, but i am currently living here. So it's never unusual to hear words or phrases that i am unfamiliar with......

Last night Daniel and I went to a couples dinner group of our church that meets every week. I was chatting with one lady who i had just met. I asked her about her children and the convo went a little something like this...

She was telling me the names and ages of her children, then she said they had a Garden Chip.

i'm sorry a what?!!?

Me: you have a Garden Chip?

Her: Yes, she lives with us but we didn't adopt her, a Garden Chip

Me: I'm sorry, i'm not familiar with that term. What is it exactly?

Her: A Garden Chip...umm...you know, the parents sign over their rights

(her to another lady...yes, let's please include more people in on this awkward convo)

Her: how would you describe a Garden Chip?

Other Girl replies the same way

me: huh, wow I've just never heard about this Garden Chip before.

(this goes on for a few minutes, because i am bound and determined to learn this new term of "Garden Chip" and get to the bottom of what it means)

Her: Yeah, i don't really know how else to explain a Garden Chip...

me: (the light has finally gone on)  OHHHHH!!!! you're saying GUARDIANSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her: yes, a Garden Chip.

I thought i was going to die from embarassment, but it was SO funny (to me at least!) how i couldn't understand what she was saying and never even came close to connecting the dots to a guardianship.

I LOVE moments like these...slightly embarassing, 100% awkward, and beyond funny.

hope everyone enjoys that little treat for the day!!

wish me luck on the long run tomorrow!

love

laura

random..as always

SO where to start??

We met our international students on Sunday, and we l.o.v.e them!! we actually picked up 2 more too!! i told Daniel on the way home that our family just went from 2 to 6! It was a lot of fun getting to know the students (they are all from the same country) and looking forward to our fun times together. It was hard not to host more students.....170 signed up for a host family, and on Sunday only 70 had been placed. I hate that someone signed up looking for a new friend, and may not have the opportunity.

We're having them all over on Friday night for ice cream and brownies, and i am SO SO SO looking forward to it!!

in other news....i'm running injured. not physically, but mentally at least. i'm a little wigged out after the 15K experience. even though i ran it and finished, i'm a little freaked out that i'll never be able to run more than 5 miles again. idk why....but i've run twice now and have this new fear that my running will never get better and i'll never have a long run again. lame. i know. but still real.

anyways.....

we're actually digging into our Radical study at church tonight. we're excited to see what everyone else has been learning so far. Daniel & I talked thru it on Monday night, and i loved our discussion! i enjoy times like that where we aren't talking about work or schedules, but just sharing what we're learning from Father. good times my friends.

how is everyone's week turning out so far?

random: i love the smell of diesel!

it reminds me of my school bus when we lived in Belgium, which always makes me remember some good times and awkward moments of Sarah and I waiting for the bus in our huge, ankle length purple puffy coats (that we thought were cool) and giving our bus driver homemade breads my mom made, all the time arguing over who had to give him the bread...because the very thought of it convinced us that it would most definitely be our most embarassing moment ever......

anyone?

love
laura

quick recap

Just a quick post to catch up on what we've been up to lately....

We're leading a book class at church on Wednesday's-Radical by David Platt. Has anyone read it, what do you think? what stood out to you the most?
I've only read the first 3 chapters, and am eager to discuss and learn with the people in our group. I'm excited to get to know more people and find community.

TODAY, we're going to be meeting 2 international students that we're in a sense 'adopting,' They don't live with us, but we help them adjust to american culture, have them over meals, hang out with them, help them with language, etc..
I am SO SO SO excited about this opportunity! I love internationals!! There is a get-together this afternoon to meet them for the first time. I'll probably write more about this in the future and we get to know them (1 guy, 1 girl) more in the future.

I'm getting back on the horse tomorrow, so to speak. I'm running again and getting back in the game. i'm hoping and expecting for good things.

We're also both insanely ready for fall and fall clothes...long sleeves, hoodies, blankets, ahhhhh love it!!!

hope everyone had a fun weekend!!!

love
laura

THE run

Okay, so i've been dreading this blog all week. i'm sorry.

As you know, I ran my first 15K on Monday with Sarah and Dad. I would love to take you down memory lane about how this all started and my journey...but i wrote about that here. The 15K started as a goal back in June. I set a lot of goals when i'm bored. hahah!

ok, so here it goes:

Sunday all 3 of us hydrated all day long. I was constantly refilling my water bottle. I went to bed in time to get 8 hours of sleep, even though i still woke up pretty tired.

Now when i normally run my long runs, i get up early and head out immediately and run. I don't eat anything until about 1-2 hours after my run.

But since we had to drive to the 15K and it would be close to 2 hours from the time i woke up till i started running i figured i'd need food. So i ate a half bagel and half cup of coffee (to help go the bathroom BEFORE the race).

here we are heading in (yes my ears look pretty big here, i think it's the way i wear my hat)

Remember the 5K? I didn't feel as cool bc the marathoners had the shoe chip time things and i didn't. so i was uber proud to have one today!!

it was so exciting to be walking into the corral (that's what it's called i think)

a little before (funny thing, i think i look better AFTER the race)

me and Sarah:

my cheerleader:

about to start!!!!!

Daniel caught us right as we made the first turn:

Dad: (on his 55th birthday!!!) he runs faster than me and Sarah so we let him go ahead...

Daniel surprised us at mile 2 (i heart this pic)

random pics of the course:

Mile 9: (which felt like mile 19)

My aunts made us a sign!!!

 

my other cheeleader:

daniel made a sign too

after:

 

SO happy to see him!!

Ok, if you've gotten this far...bless you.

so what happened was....

I pretty much hated the whole run. Every mile was hard. I've only had one really bad run before, and that was the first time i ran 6 miles. But my 7 and 8's were both SO good i was thinking if it got hard it would be after the 8th mile.

I fought for every step that day. i mean EVERY step. Not sure if it was the bagel and coffee before, the fact that we were in direct sunlight the whole time and it was HOT, OR that i was lied to.

I emailed the race people several weeks before to see if the course was flat or had hills. Some lady emailed me back and said it was flat..and i quote "pretty darn flat."

ummmm far from it. There were a minimum of 6 very steep hills. Not the long big ones, but the short steep ones you're almost crawling to get up. not to mention running......

i was not prepared in the least for these.

I got very dizzy twice and lightheaded, i was sure i was going to faint. i didn't think i was going to make it. seriously, not fun at all.

I crossed the finish line 2 minutes after my set goal, and that was already pretty generous in time to begin with.

I didn't ever get the runners high. even though this was the furthest i had EVER run, that i had run 99% of the entire thing...blah blah blah.

I'm still waiting for the high to come. I told Daniel I've got the runners low and feel like a complete loser at life. it's hard because when i'd run my 8's i LOVED them and def had the runners high. 15K, not so much.

It bothers me that i sucked so badly at it. Because I KNOW i can do so much better and it is what it is at this point.

We're contemplating doing a half marathon the end of October. I doubt it can go any worse than how i feel about the 15K. I haven't run in a week, and am getting back on track on Monday, hoping to add 4 miles to my 9 in the next 6 weeks.

we'll see....

thanks for staying with me on the journey!!

love
laura

reunited.....

I can't put into one post everything that happened this weekend...so there will be 2 :)

 

Daniel and I drove down to Fort Worth Friday night, arriving close to 10 cos of lots of traffic. We had a quick chat with the folks then hit the sac...we were both exhausted from staying up the night before wet-vaccing our living room.

We got up the next day (without an alarm clock, it was glorius!!!!) about 8ish. Dad and I went for our 2 mile run, careful to not overdo it before the BIG run on Monday.

 P.S. I ran pretty fast with dad and our mile was just over 10 minutes.....def a first for me!!

We spent the morning eating waffles, bacon, sipping coffee, and hanging out. Daniel and I drove to Dallas for my hair cut.....lost about 3 inches!

Then the day really got started when Sarah and the boys arrived. I'm pretty sure the house wasn't quiet the whole time they were there. Mike had to work so he stayed in Houston.

me and Sarah:

me and Grant:

me and Ethan:

random pics of us hanging out on Saturday:

  

 
  Ethan LOVES to wear big people shoes. he was constantly wearing them all over the house!

BATH TIME!!!!!!!

celebrated dad's birthday a couple of days early:

sunday was church....more hanging out...and lots of hydration for the big run the next day:

ethan saying "cheeeeezzzee" for the camera:

grant's silly face:

too funny!

I hadn't seen the boys in over 5 months and it has been way TOOO long!!! Little things like reading them bed time stories, letting them crawl all over us, building houses with lincoln logs, and watching them just play and be themselves....all things i drank in this weekend. Laughing at the funny things Grant would say, the funny faces Ethan makes, and spending time with family was truly the hilight of my weekend. that and all the desserts :)

stay tuned for the 15k post...coming up next!

love

laura