your mission...

...should you accept it:

We all need to break out of our comfort zones just a little at times.

freakishly fast

Today was a busy day at the office and I needed a bit of a break. So, during the lunch hour, I set out for a quick run around the area, just to break up the day.

It turned out to be a really awesome run, with perfect weather, and an even more awesome finishing time. It went a little like this:

Mile 1 - 8:21 (slow down, you can't sustain that for 4 miles)
Mile 2 - 8:34 (better. but slow down some more)
Mile 3 - 8:31 (what part of slow down are you not understanding? Oh look a new 5k personal best)
Mile 4 - 8:24 (fine, fine... you did it.... now hold your cookies!)
Total - 33:54

So, yea. It was much much faster than I had anticipated and much more painful on the lungs that I thought. It felt good to know I could go that fast. It felt good to get out, let my work trouble disappear, and just hammer out some miles.

I finished, took a few minutes to walk around, catch my breath, and let the thought of that time register in my head. Then I got the numbers for my heart rate; average 169 beats per minute, max 178.

The day has turned out much better too...

Meet Jonathan "Blazeman" Blais

Take the 11 minutes and watch this video. You'll thank me when it's over.


For more information on Jon Blais visit: The War on ALS

Pants on the ground

For those of you that watch American Idol, you've heard the "Pants on the Ground" song that's been going around, I'm sure. The best part, a mascot has now gotten a hold of it, and used it.



Of course, it's Hooper the Horse, from the Detroit Pistons.

Nice!

17/18 Weeks

So, I was a slacker last week and didn't get the 17 week post up. I also need to remind Robert to take some belly pictures before I get into pajamas and zonk out on the couch in the evenings....I'm probably asleep by 8:30 or so every night on the couch.

We are now part way through week 18 and the baby has gone from the size of an onion to the size of a sweet potato.

Week 17

Week 18

How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain? 4 pounds as of last week
Maternity clothes? Still in them...hoping to get enough use out of the long sleeve stuff I bought before it is time to buy things for warmer weather.
Sleep? Still sleeping through the night, but I feel like I toss and turn a little more now.
Best moment this week? Hearing the heartbeat again at the last doctor's appointment and feeling some movement.
Movement: I think so....it still isn't consistent though and feels like little taps or muscle twitches.
Gender: Only two more weeks or so till we find out :).
Labor signs? Nope
Belly button in or out? Still in...hopefully it stays like that.
What I am looking forward to: Feeling movement and knowing for sure that it is the baby, finding out the gender and getting some stuff done for the nursery.

Don't forget to vote

Don't forget to vote. There's only 19 more days left before we know whether it'll be a "Team Pink" or "Team Blue" baby!

We're both excited and counting down the days until the big reveal....

UPDATE - For those curious, Bethany's thinking girl, and myself; I'm thinking boy...

Medals for Mettle

I was browsing a local endurance training website (BeginnerTriathlete.com) regarding what to do with the finisher's medals received at some of the larger races. Some talked of hanging them on the garage wall with their race number, as a reminder, while others talked of hanging them on their Christmas Trees as decorations. One comment mentioned a company called Medals 4 Mettle, which I looked into, never hearing about it.

Talk about pretty cool thing to do...

From their website:
Medals4Mettle (M4M) is a non-profit organization founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2005. Its mission is to celebrate and reward the individual and collective courage of all human beings by facilitating the gifting of marathon finisher’s medals from marathoners to people who have demonstrated similar mettle, or courage. The recipients can be any age and might have exhibited such mettle by dealing with disease, handicaps or any similar challenge. Marathon runners around the world, and others who have won medals, give their medals to Medals4Mettle. Then our nationwide network of physicians and others award these medals to those who might not be able to run a marathon, but are in their own marathon to continue to live their life. As marathoners run through the streets, large crowds cheer the runners for their effort. Medals4Mettle lets these runners, healthy enough to compete in such an event, to return the cheers to those who have supported them.

So, basically, you fill out a form with a brief history of your medal (where it came from, the race type, and a little about how you got it), then some info on who you think should receive it (where, why) and they do the rest. They attach their own ribbon to it, and present it, just like they would had they crossed the finish line at a race... talk about pretty cool!

Amazing what you can find when simply browsing a training website...

16 weeks

Just thought I'd share how big the baby is at this point and also what is forming this week. My goal is to give a weekly update for everyone :). At week 16, our baby is about the size of an avacado. Our next appointment is the 20th, but I think that is just a check up of sorts and not an ultrasound. The next ultrasound I think is a 4D, so we should have some good pictures next month.

How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain? Probably a few pounds...
Maternity clothes? Yep... they are definitely comfortable :)
Sleep? Yep. I typically sleep through the night without having to get up.
Best moment this week? Not feeling sick.
Movement: Not yet, but hopefully soon :)
Gender: We'll find out next month :)
Labor signs? None yet... and hopefully nor for a while.
Belly button in or out? Still in, but getting shallow.
What I am looking forward to: Seeing the baby again and hopefully making some decisions on the nursery.

goals of 2010

Everyone makes a list of resolutions or goals for the new year. And, like everyone else, here are some of ours. Some are lofty, some are easy, and some may get pushed out until the next year, but we'll see. At least we have a list and can strive to achieve parts of it.


1. have a baby
2. pass the professional engineering exam
3. travel to another state for vacation
4. remove and replace the carpet in our house
5. start a vegetable garden
6. drop and maintain a weight of 160 (currently 170-174)
7. complete a half-ironman triathlon
8. increase my blog readers
9. cook a minimum of five meals per week
10. take more photographs
11. travel to another country for vacation
12. process and sell more photographs (open an online shop)
13. run a half marathon
14. correct the weed issues we have in our yard by the spring time
15. replace the fencing around our house
16. clean the garage and park at least one vehicle in it
17. play golf at least 5 times in 2010
18. install crown moulding in the living room of our house
19. donate $500 to charities
20. increase my total yearly mileage to 2300mi (swim, bike, run)
21. become an active participant in a church bible study
22. actually become a member of the church
23. purchase a macro lens for my camera
24. try a new difficult recipe twice a month, and record it
25. learn how to put away the laundry after folding it
26. pass on our "excess stuff" to those who need it more
27. take bethany on a romantic date at least once a month
28. take bethany on a date night at every two weeks
29. ride the chief ladiga trail from anniston, al to atlanta, ga in a day
30. become a positive influence in the lives of the scouters that I teach
31. pay off a sizable amount of our debt
32. start becoming a dad that my kid would be proud of
33. expand our porch, adding an outdoor grilling area
34. entertain for our friends more
35. meet more people for weekend backpacking excursions
36. live a story that someone would like to share

It's not too late into January to make our list, is it?

Go Vote

In case you haven't noticed, we've added a poll to the blog (check the right hand side) to see what the general population thinks.

Simple question: Will "baby" be a boy (team blue) or a girl (team pink)?

Keep voting, let us know what you think, and soon (when we find out), we'll share the answer with everyone!

Daily Trivia

As I have probably mentioned, I have a simple daily puzzle calendar on my desk. Some days it provides me with great problems, some days are simple 2min issues.

Today's was pretty good.

Any takers?

Red Nose Run 10mi

Just a quick couple of photos from the finish line of the Red Nose Run. It was 17*F according to the truck, yet the announced wind chill was 6*F.

Perfect weather for a run...

That's right. I finished with ice in my eyebrows, hair, and around my lips. Not too bad at all.

another trophy in the case...

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

(Photo: TideSports.com)

And Bama has done it again! After 60mins of good football, with momentum swinging both ways, Alabama prevailed and turned in a 37-21 victory to claim their 13th National Championship Title.

It was a game worth watching, filled with suspense and excitement. But, in the end, it came down to just a couple big plays, mostly from Bama's defense to win the game.

Alabama has been known for their defense. They are relentless when it comes to badgering the other teams. But, it works. As one player put it in a press interview, "This is SabanBall. Hit like your scholarship check depends on it. Take the ball away (five times in this game). Win."

And that is what they did. And that is what it took to win.

Roll Tide!

Holy SNOW

It's about to get REAL cold.

The weather here has been quite cold these last several days and it hasn't been showing any signs of letting up. Now, the great weather forecasters are calling for SNOW. Here, in the south, when the weatherman calls for snow, there's an immediate shortage for bread, milk, and batteries.

Always.

Even for the 1-2" they are predicting will actually stick.

Still, it's cold. The local guys are saying we could have snow from 9am - 9pm tomorrow, with the possibility of rain mixed in, which will lead to ice and unfavorable conditions. Great!

Oh, and I still have a RACE on Saturday in this coldness. Hoorah!

Out with the Old in with the New

Well, like most people during 2009 we had our ups and downs, but we definitely had more ups than downs. I figured I'd give a short year in review and then share a few of our resolutions for 2010.

January: One of the best things about this year, is that I decided to stop commuting back and forth to Auburn. I got a job at UAB in a research lab. It has been great to be home every night!!

February: Robert embarked on a new hobby for the year and we bought his bike. This gave us both lots of fun times this year....even though I might not have ridden it at all, but I did enjoy the trips that we were able to go on because of it :).

March: Earlier in the year, Robert talked me into doing a 5k in March called the Rumpshaker. We did this together and had a great time!!

April: Robert celebrated his 27th birthday. One of the big scout camporees was also this month....Robert managed to back his dad's truck into a tree....

May: Robert and his dad buit a headboard out of cedar for our bedroom...it is fantastic and we love it :). We were also able to go to Fairhope for Robert's first triathlon. He's now hooked and has bigger plans for these races in 2010. We had a great time and maybe we'll be able to return to this great location in 2010.

June: Robert ended up on another FEMA call. At least it was in Montgomery, but I still think this one was harder than Iowa knowing that he was only an hour and a half away and only getting to spend maybe one day on the weekends together. Even though Robert was at FEMA, he managed to squeeze in another short triathlon here in Birmingham. It poured, but we still had a good time cheering him on!

July: We managed to have a huge hole dug in our yard by AT&T. They eventually put down new sod...although it is completely different grass from the rest of the yard. Also, they put it down during one of the hottest times of the year and it promptly died. Our water bill reflected our effort to bring this grass back to life....for several months.

August: We had a bit of a splurge this month and added the iMac and a new washer and dryer to our home. We definitely have no complaints about either of these new additions! Robert's sister graduated college from The University of Alabama. Robert was also done with his FEMA tour...it was nice to have him back home.

September: I celebrated my 27th birthday and the long awaited football season started. Good friends of ours also tied the knot near the end of the month. Robert and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary.

October: Earlier Robert and I joined a running group to help us train for the Vulcan 10K. We finished the Race for the Cure (5k) this month together and had a good time....although it rained almost the whole time.

November: Robert and I completed our goal and finished the Vulcan 10K. We also celebrated Thanksgiving with everyone at our house this year. The food was great!!

December: I can finally say that I have finished my Master's Degree!! It was a long and difficult process, but I am finally done :). Christmas was a nice time to be with family and friends, and of course we managed to squeeze in making tons of Christmas cookies.

So here we are at the beginning of the new year with a few goals to accomplish:
 --Now that I have a job it has been nice to not live paycheck to paycheck, but it is really time to find a good budget and stick with it. We hope to have lots of bills paid off this year and not started again :).

--Robert has several fitness goals that he is looking forward to including a Half-Marathon in February and a Half-Ironman in August.

--Our biggest resolution this year is to have a happy healthy baby in June!! We are very excited and can't wait to make our family of two a family of three :).

Hope everyone has a happy new year!!