Running in the Warmth

Indoor running? In the winter? Where it's warm?

Absolutely. My friend Morgan mentioned this indoor Groundhog 10K run to me a while back and I was SUPER excited. It's a 6.2 mile course that winds throughout the Kansas City caves. Temperatures there are maintained at 65-68 degrees year round and it was definitely warm (and in some parts stinky). The hardest part was simply figuring out how to get INSIDE the caves without your limbs freezing off in the 20 degree weather. Thankfully, my brother came to the rescue and picked us up from our parking spot and drove us right to the entrance. What a stud.

Overall it was a long, good run. I definitely don't run as much in the winter so my time wasn't a personal record by any means. The goal was to finish well and we both did! Thanks for the finish line cheers Mom!

The Final Countdown

For anyone who knows us, this clock has been looming lately as we prepare for these last couple of weeks...

Only this much time until.....

- Two halfs become one again

- Two four legged animals get their other parent back

- Falling asleep (and staying asleep) becomes a much easier task

- I can actually hug and touch the one who I vowed to live the rest of my life with!!

CAN.  NOT.  WAIT.

Favorite Pastime

When I was young, my brother and I would spend hours days on our Atari, then Nintendo, then 64, then Xbox, etc, etc etc. We would battle until our fingers couldn't move anymore. Come to think of it, that might even be where my hardcore "competitive side" was sprung.

Well for Christmas this year, Derek's sister got the new Mario Bros game for the Wii. I think I almost peed my pants with excitement as I couldn't wait to relive my youth through the eyes of a fire-spitting, short-person with a red hat.

That was December 25th.

This is January 14th.

Somehow, this little old school video game playing has officially turned into the "2010 Challenge to Beat The Game Before Matt Returns To School". Over the past couple of weeks Derek's brother and I developed this infatuation for the game and making sure we complete it in the next week. Are there endless free lives so you never really die? Yes. Are we pretty much dorks? Yes. Do we care? Nope.

So if I'm not picking up my phone, or responding to emails, I might just be on the last level fighting off the final big guy! Don't be jealous.

Midcourt Mayhem

Just amazing.

Baby Fun!

This weekend I was asked again by several people when Derek and I were going to start a family! Both at a baby shower on Saturday, and then visiting a friends baby on Sunday! (I honestly think God is now sending blatant signals.)

First was Kayla's baby shower on Saturday. Kayla and I used to work together a few years back before she moved on to another company. She is tiny, sweet and in love with the color pink. Madelyn Kay will be born late February and you can see how blessed she'll be with all the presents below!
On Sunday, my friend Brandy and I ventured up North to see our friend Allison's new baby who was born on December 17th. Little Levi is the cutest little boy !

Photo credit is Allison's sister Jenni

Fieldhouse Fun

This past Wednesday, I went with my little brother and dad to see KU barely beat Cornell! It was our birthday gift to my father and we sure did pick THE game to be at. It was too close the entire game and the Fieldhouse was CRAZY LOUD!

Happy Birthday again Dad!

We Have a House!

We signed our contract on our Cleveland home last week and the inspections are currently taking place! It was number one on our list after visiting there a few weeks ago and it's a great deal too. It's almost the same size as our old Kansas house, much cheaper and in a great area with young couples and families. It's open floor plan, basement, 2 fireplaces and fenced yard all enticed us, but there was one key factor that played a big part... the double sink! We looked at about 10-15 houses on our first visit and this is the only house with a double sink in the master. Because they were all built in the early 1900's up there, the bathrooms are very small and had limited counter space. Well not our new house! A double sink and plenty of counter space! Those who lived there before us were a bit eclectic so we'll have to get used to the black jetted master tub and the unusual tiles around the basement fireplace!

We close early February and are very excited to officially have a home for our next step in "the adventure" (otherwise known as our life!).



More pictures to come as soon as we move in!

Trip to DC!

This past week/weekend, we spent a few days in the DC area. We were able to spend NYE with some good friends (lasting until 4:30am!) and see many of the sites while there.


One of our favorite's was the Newseum where Derek enjoyed the FBI exhibit and I loved the Presidential dog portraits (of course!).







Seeing the Declaration and Constitution were also pretty neat.



But, to be quite honest, it wasn't the historical views, or the empowering tour of the Capitol, or even the amazing sights of the area at night that were my favorite parts. It was the gamers and sweets that made my weekend!

The "sweets" were the famous Georgetown Cupcakes that we indulged in throughout the weekend. I must say, they were by far the best I've ever tasted, even a notch up from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC.




And the "gamers" were those attending the Magfest convention held at our Hilton. They were up 24 hours a day in the meeting rooms playing their video games. Many dressed up and needless to say, it was the best people watching ever.

Avatar = Amazing

Despite the fact that Derek and I are avid movie-watcher's and frequent the local AMC theatre, I rarely post on these experiences nor give my reviews. The movie, Avatar, however, deserved just that.

This Action, Sci Fi movie was beyond any expectations that I had.... and even those were somewhat high being that it's a James Cameron movie! It's not just a cheesy story about extremely tall blue people and their world with flying dragons. It's a visually stimulating, magical story with wonderful music and top notch CG imagery with an amazing James Horner score. After leaving the theatre, I would have given anything to be back into the world of Pandora and the beautiful plants and animal living in their world.

Overall, if you haven't seen this movie, I would highly recommend it. Regardless of if you are a Sci Fi lover or not, I personally believe any normal human being would like this movie. And definitely see it in 3D if you get the chance. It will really surprise you!

Gift Wrapping!

Another favorite part of the Holidays are wrapping gifts. I spend a lot of time picking out my paper, ribbons, bows and gift labels and like to carefully and strategically wrap each gift. I do realize that some people probably just threw up in their mouth reading that as it's a disliked task in certain households. I find it very relaxing to throw on some Christmas music, wrap and dance around while singing at the top of my lungs!

This year, I chose a red and gold theme and think they turned out mighty fine if I do say so myself! (Minus the few thousand glitter speckles all over the kitchen!)

Gone to the Dogs

I do think my cooking skills have improved within the past few years. I enjoy trying new meals, even if I do refuse to venture at all from the recipe. They seem to turn out well for the most part... at least edible if not yummy.

I also am a sucker for traditions so it was time again to make my favorite Christmas treat..... my mother's banana bread. So my first batch (3 small loaves) cooked for an hour like it should and then was removed from the oven. The toothpick came out soggy so they went back in for another 15 minutes. Same thing. Back in for another 10 minutes. Same thing. I finally gave up and knew something was wrong although I had gone over the recipe 8 times in my head and had followed every step to a Tee! The bread was like rubber and only the outside was cooked, and I could not figure it out for the life of me!

Anyone want to take a guess as to what was wrong? This website explains it all. Apparently I had grabbed the baking powder out of the pantry instead of the baking soda. I can just hear all of those cooks out there groaning while reading this in disappointment of my stupidity. How was I to know? They both are white, powdery and for baking. The worst part, however, is that I thought I could use them as treats for the dogs. Nope. They pretty much looked like they were choking on the most disgusting thing ever tasted when I tossed them a nibble. Pretty sad when your own dogs won't even eat your cooking.

Oh well, got more bananas and will be on loaf #7 tomorrow!

2 Peas in a Pod

Lacy has always been an Alpha towards Bailey and sometimes (rarely) can even get a bit pissy with her. That's changed a lot over the past year and they seem to be becoming more like sisters should.

I was working yesterday and Bailey was laying on her bed next to me as she always does. Lacy decided she wanted in on the comfort and laid down on the bed as well. Yes, NEXT to Bailey and no, she didn't GROWL at her to get off first! I quickly snapped this picture with my phone as it just warmed my heart to see the two together.

** You can see Bailey's face looking at me with an "WTF?" face!

Cleveland

I thought it would only be appropriate to somewhat recap our weekend in Cleveland by listing some facts we learned about our new city! (Don't expect any pictures as we were purely just house-hunting all weekend!)

- Cleveland has the 2nd largest Theatre District behind NYC. (Don't worry - I didn't believe it either until we ventured down there to spontaneously see a play!)
- When they say it's 30 degrees, it feels more like 2 due to the FREEZING winds coming off the lake!
- Cleveland has gone from being the 33rd largest city in 2000 to now the 40th largest, due to a steady increase in people leaving the city.
- The school districts there have Elementary, Middle School, Junior High and High School. (We only have 3 here!) They are K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12.
- The Cleveland Metropark Zoo has one of the largest collection of primates in North America. (Can't WAIT to visit the zoo!)
- Last year, the city was ranked the 7th most dangerous city in the nation among cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000 and the 11th most dangerous overall. Awesome, right? (What is odd about that fact is the lack of security systems in homes, and better yet, our realtor doesn't even lock her doors at night!)
- This city had the first traffic light ever! It began on Aug. 5, 1914.

Decorating Twice!

This year, because Derek and I are homeless, we didn't have our own tree to decorate. Fortunately, both of our parents needed help decorating theirs! I always enjoy hanging the ornaments with my family as there are special memories for most of them. It was also fun to listen to Derek's parents talk about the memories from theirs as well.

Christmas is definitely my favorite Holiday and I think one reason why is the decorations. I definitely didn't mind decorating TWO trees!

(To the left is my parents tree and to the right is my in-laws tree... ignore the camera flash issues!)

Wicked was WICKED!

I was so sad this summer when Derek and I tried to get a ticket to this musical in NYC only to find out it was sold out every night. Fortunately, my mother surprised the family with some great seats to this show this past weekend. I've heard the rave reviews and all of the good publicity and was super excited. And now after actually seeing it? I'm officially on the bandwagon.

I'm not sure if it was the amazing actors, or the costumes, or just the plot and humor within. Whatever it was, Wicked was an absolutely amazing musical. It made us fall in love with the 'villain' that we grew up to hate as children watching the Wizard of Oz. I even had dreams that night involving the cast and STILL have those songs stuck in my head!

Needless to say, wherever you are, you must find the nearest music hall showing this musical and buy yourself a ticket!!

Book Review - Sarah's Key

Although it's taken me a while to finish, this book was wonderful and was a fun, different read.

Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay, tells the story of Sarah, a ten year-old Jewish girl, who is arrested in 1942 by the French police. Wanting to protect her younger brother, she locks him in a cupboard and promises to come back for him as soon as she can. Another story is woven throughout the book in every other chapter that sits in a more modern world. This story revolves around Julia Jarmond, an American journalist. She's asked to write about the 60th anniversary of the Vel’ d’Hiv’—the infamous day in 1942 when French police rounded up thousands of Jewish men, women and children, in order to send them to concentration camps. Sarah’s Key is the story of these two families, forever linked and haunted by one of the darkest days in France’s past. The back and forth creates a very interesting, emotionally intense read.

I'm giving this book an A and would recommend it to anyone!

I was especially drawn into this book when a personal, special connection came to be known. Sarah's younger brother's name is revealed as "Michael" a couple of chapters in. Not only is that my younger brother's name, but the connection that they share in the book is similar to ours. I'm very fortunate to have a wonderful brother with whom I have a strong relationship and love to death!

10 x 30 Space

I've personally spent many hours over the past month or so packing up the house, arranging utilities to be stopped, shopping storage units, signing paperwork and of course drinking rum due to our new path in life! Ever since our wonderful realtor, Shannon Lyon, sold our house in only 5 weeks, we've had a lot on our plates to figure out and get arranged. And who got stuck with most of that work? Yes. Muah.

Although I did most of the 'planning' and packing, we had a BUNCH of people help this past weekend with the move. With our realtor's truck, a rented dolly, tons of caffeine and pizza as bribery, we were able to get everything moved in under 10 hours!


It's very bittersweet to think that all of one's personal belonging can fit in a 10x30 space. (Well - almost fit... we do have a few items at the in-laws house that we couldn't squish in!).

Derek and I are definitely going to miss our first home. We lived there over 3 years and had grown to become quite fond of it's charms and the wonderful neighborhood. We are looking forward to the next stop in our life journey, but will never forget our first home on Gallery Street.

Thanksgiving 2009

There are just too many things to be thankful for this year to list off on our blog. To keep it short, Derek and I are most thankful for each other, our wonderful family, friends, jobs, dogs and our health.

Thanksgiving 2009 was spent with Derek's family as my parents were on a surprise birthday cruise that my dad got for my mom! We enjoyed all the classic foods until our stomach's were about to bust.

We hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

Home Office is a GO!

Well, I survived.

Barely.

I can't remember the last time that I worked 60+ hours. Or the last time that I felt like I needed a ventilator in order to help me remember to breath. And I can't remember the last time that I ended up with a major stress migraine because of work. But I also can't remember the last time that I didn't shower before work and sat at my desk all day in my PJ's!

It was a rough week, but it was just the first from home and there were many kinks to be worked out. I know I'll get into a routine and will learn these accounts like the back of my hand, but WHEW am I glad that first week is over!

For at least the next few months until we move, I'll be "home officing" from the in-laws house seen to the right. It's a great space and there's plenty of room for me to lay everything out.... that is, except for our old, tiny desk. I'm making it work, though, at least until we move that is!

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd just like to point out that I'm terribly lucky to have a wonderful job who's letting me stay with the company remotely. I'm definitely thankful for the flexibility and partnership in this journey that Derek and I are taking!

PS - I also don't mind staring at the "3 second Mario shot" poster on their wall daily!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I hope you are having a WONDERFUL time on your cruise (I'm only slightly jealous) and here's to a Happy 60th Birthday! LOVE YOU!

(click here to see pictures from the surprise party!)

Can you find the sun?

Lacy is JUST like her mommy in that she can find the smallest area that there's sun at any time. She LOVES the warmth on her back and in the winter, unfortunately, she has to do her sun-bathing inside.

Just look for the sun in this picture and she'll be right in the middle of it!

Where's the Freeze?

We are REALLY hoping that it freezes soon or else Lacy is going to go crazy gnawing at her feet. The poor girl suffers from allergies every fall and this year it's been an extended season for her. Generally the freeze takes care of her pain and suffering so fingers crossed that's very soon! If not, her back feet are going to quickly go bald from the constant licking.

And yes, she's on some medication to help, but you can still see the frustration in her poor little eyes!

SURPRISE!!

So about 4-5 months ago, I decided to team up with my Aunt (left) and organize a surprise 60th Birthday Party for my mother. 60 is a fairly big milestone and I knew my mom would appreciate the gesture. We began by selecting a date, then a location, then the decorations and then finally - the guest list. We ended up getting in touch with about 50-60 of her friends and family members to share in this wonderful surprise, and let me tell you - she was SUR-PRISED!

My cousin caught the action on video and you can actually see her confusion at first followed by her realization of what was going on!



It turned out so well and Nick and Jake's was great to work with for the food and drinks! Thanks to everyone who helped make mom's birthday so special... I know she appreciated it very much.




AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!