Are we crazy?!?!?

Day 1:
Well, Ben & I began our biggest Do-It-Yourself project today! We are installing Pergo flooring in our living & dining room! Today we tore up the carpet & removed the baseboards in the dining room. We would like to finish the dining room tomorrow. Next weekend we'll tackle the living room & hopefully finish! While Ben was working on the floor, I painted our kitchen/dining room wall.

I'm excited to get this yucky & worn carpet outta here!

This is what our floor WILL look like...


The rest of our stuff!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16

Happy Easter?!?!?! It's snowing today!!!

Coffee With A Story

I love coffee. I have not always preferred coffee, though. It was not until I lived in Turkey & had a roommate that insisted I take a sip, did I try it. (Thanks Alison!) Ever since I returned to the states in 2000, I have rarely gone without a cup each morning. Just as there are many days in which I drink it soley for the caffeine, there are many a times that I drink it for the social aspect. There's something about sitting down with a good friend over a cup of coffee. Some of the best conversations I've had involved great friends & great coffee.

I also love my church. There are many things I love about it - authentic community, true worship, mission focused & that it serves coffee! More importantly, I love that it serves coffee with a purpose. The coffee is from Rwanda's Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee.
The money donated helps coffee growing families. Part of the proceeds also help the women of Inyakurama (widows working to restore their lives). This country was devastated by one of history's largest cases of genocide in the '90s which left families torn apart & a country crippled economically, socially & polictically. It's great to see something I cannot live without each morning contribute to making a difference in the life of a family halfway across the world.

Training

So, my training up until Sunday mostly consisted of short 2-3 mile runs. I have been training at Garden of the Gods which is pretty hilly, but builds endurance fast. I run 4x's/week with my long run on the weekend. Before Sunday, my longest run was 3 miles. However on Sunday, I managed to run 5 miles! The weather was gorgeous, the run went smoothly & I was highly encouraged afterwards. My legs were a wee bit on the wobbly side, though.

It is a great to be at the point where I feel that I can keep running for a long, long time. There is this hurdle at about the 3 mile mark that once I overcome it, I don't get anymore out of breath at mile 5 than at mile 3. HOWEVER, my leg muscles have a hard time keeping up until I've run the longer distances a bit more consistenly. So, I'm glad that I'm over the 3 mile hurdle. Now, if my legs would just keep up!

Opening Day!

As far back as I can remember Spring = sports, outdoors & more sports. Whether I was playing catch with my dad, shooting hoops with my brother, playing softball, soccer, or tennis, I was outside. I simply love the exercise, comradery, competitiveness, and challenge of sports. I also enjoy all of these aspects as a spectator, too.

So, today is opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals! Opening day brings with it the chance for a new start. 160+ games to go with the pennant race wide open & the World Series Champs on level ground. While living in St. Louis I always knew when it was game time. The city goes absolutely Crazy for the Cardinals! I will miss going to games with friends & the excitement of game day. And although we will be watching the game over 800 miles away with fellow St. Louisans, Jon & Lindsay we will no less enjoy all that Opening Day & Spring means - warm weather, green grass, the fresh smell of flowers & the sound of PLAY BALL! Good-bye winter, see-ya next year!

Oh, & GO CARDINALS!

10 Mile Race?!?!?

So, I have been thinking about running in the Garden of the Gods 10 mile race in June! I feel that I've mostly made up my mind but since I haven't told too many people just yet, it's still only an option. I figure that if no one knows & I decide to back out then I won't feel as guilty or worse, like a failure. However, if I share this with others, then I will have no option but to carry through with it!

So, with that, I would like to say that I am going to run the Garden of the Gods 10 mile run! It will no doubt be a challenge, but with perseverance and hopefully accountability from people like yourself, I intend to make it! Check out the website: Garden of the Gods Race

My motivations for this challenge:

1)To get in better shape
2)To enjoy God's beauty
3)To prove to myself that I can still run a race even though I turn 30 in June!

I'll try to include weekly updates on my training so you will know how it is going!

March Madness!

When I was a student at IU, I always got excited about basketball from the start of the season. My friends & I bought home game tickets each year & enjoyed every minute at Assembly Hall. One year I even traveled with some IU pals from Indy to Bloomington to watch the first home game of the season (even though we were still on Christmas break). However, since graduation, I never seem to get as excited about basketball until the NCAA tournament. Maybe it's because most of the games aren't televised outside of Indiana or, who knows, maybe it has something to do with good 'ole Bobby no longer being at IU...

Whatever the reason, I just know that March is here & I'll be wearing my Hoosier & Buckeye gear. I have a feeling that this year I'll be cheering on the Buckeyes a bit longer. Hey, wait, I thought OSU was only good at football?!?!?!?