A Guth, Coco, and Amend Thanksgiving

Jordan had to work the day before and after Thanksgiving, so for the second year in a row my entire family packed into our apartment for a feast.  Well, first we ran in the Thanksgiving Day Run.  It was 29 degrees when the race started.  Seriously, I don't know why we did it.  Running wasn't terrible, but when we finished, those that had run had to stand around while our sweat evaporated off of us (and risk freezing to death) to wait for the walkers in the group.  Hey, I'm not complaining!  I actually think the walkers were smarter than us.  They weren't freezing and then still had a great time.  But the best was still to come!  I have the most AMAZING turkey recipe.  My sister found it and sent it to me last year to try and it was an instant hit.  I would have taken a picture of it to put on here, but at the end of the cooking time we put a sweet onion jam on it and it looked like sludge.  Looks aside, it was easily the best turkey I've ever tasted. 

After dinner everyone but Jordan piled on as many layers of clothing as possible and drove to the plaza to watch the lighting ceremony.  Jordan stayed home to watch the Cowboys game.  The Cowboys are terrible.  Anyway, the plaza lighting ceremony is another thing we did last year as well, and we walked away saying "I don't remember why we decided to do that again."  Sure, its festive to see the lights come on, but its cold and traffic is terrible.  When we got there we stood in the cold for 1/2 an hour listing to Kansas City's version of a show choir sing half of Glee's soundtrack, and then BOOM the lights are on.  Not its time to walk to our cars and sit in a parking garage for an hour waiting for traffic to lighten. 

Easton licking the chocolate off of his face and showing me how
 he can touch his nose with his tongue

However, I'm sitting here smiling at the memories from the past 2 years and for some reason I still think that the running and the plaza lights were fun.  Strange, huh? I guess maybe its because we danced like idiots to the music on the plaza to stay warm, froze together on Sprint's campus in the morning to watch every family member cross the finish line, and watched my 4 year old nephew try to lick chocolate off of his face all afternoon.  I guess its having family around that makes it worth freezing. 

I love Thanksgiving!

Woo Hoo! The lights are on!

And Now the Award for "Miss Competitive" Goes to...

When I was little my sister was in a pageant.  I saw all the pretty dresses and watched the girls dance on stage and just knew that I would do the same.  I watched my sister at the end of the week stand up on stage and receive award after award and dreamed about which awards I would win. 

I never ended up doing a pageant but I'm pretty sure if I had, I would have won "Miss Competitive".  I would have been unplugging girls' curling irons when they weren't looking, throwing away their make up, and breaking the heals off of their shoes.  Okay, maybe I wouldn't take it THAT far..but I like to win.

The past 2 mornings I've done fitness boxing at my gym.  Its taught by some super hard core professional boxer, and he apparently thinks I want to be in fighting shape.  We start with cardio and punching bags and then move on to more torturous things.  10 minutes of nonstop abs followed by 5 minutes of tire flipping (only instead of a tire I flip a 130 pound dummy I named Kevin).  After that we'll lift and hold punching bags over our heads and then lower them "while controlling yourself".  Yeah right.  A 100 pound bag is falling on my head, I'll move however fast is necessary to avoid a concussion.

At the end of today's workout the teacher told me, "Your effort is awesome.  Stick with me for a month and I'll have you doing pull ups like their nothin."  Whoever said I want to be able to do pull ups?!  Even as I write I feel pain in my legs, back, shoulders, forearms, and wrists.

But, despite my body's objections I LOVE these workouts!  I love walking away and feeling like I accomplished a whole list of things I never thought I could do.  Yesterday the instructor kept giving me "special girl instructions" and I was determined to show him that I could work just as hard as the guys.  This morning he didn't try to tell me to do anything differently than the men.  TAKE THAT!  Don't try to tell me I can't do something, I'll prove you wrong (even if it kills me, literally). 

So here's a shout out to a Dad that wouldn't let me quit, a mom who gave me my sassy streak, a sister to look up to, and a brother who taught me to not only to throw a punch - but how to defend myself from one as well.

My Favorite Weekends...

For most people, the weekend is a time to relax and be refreshed for the week.  Unfortunately for my husband, its only every other weekend that he gets to relax.  Unless its the holiday season, which means he only gets 1 weekend a month.  I'm not going to lie, it gets pretty old.  BUT, this weekeend is his weekend off, and so far its been one of the best.  We've both made it a priority to simply do whatever we want.  I made fudge and cinnamon rolls in the morning.  Then I read a couple of chapters of my book and watched football with Jordan.  By 6 pm we had 2 couples over to watch football and ate dinner while watching the MU-OU game (in case you haven't noticed, Jordan and I love having company over).  Today I'm going to lay on the couch and read some more, maybe go for a run, and leave the worrying for a weekday.  I've had so many picture moments this weekend that I would love to post here, but my camera is at my parents house.  So, in honor of our fabulous weekend I will leave you with a list of my favorite things to do on the weekend.

10.  Lay on the couch and watch our cats destroy everything we own.
9.  Cheer for the opposite football team that Jordan is (Unless its a Missouri game, then we'll join sides)
8.  Sunday Night Football
7.  Forcing Jordan to take a walk around the lake, then listening to him talk about how much he loves walking around the lake.
6.  Sleeping until 8 am (thats sleeping in for me)
5.  Sit and chat with the girls while the guys "play" soccer on Friday nights
4.  Demonstrating how much of a morning person I am, which drives Jordan crazy
3.  Waking Jordan by singing, "Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory.  Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory. RISE AND SHINE AND GIVE GOD THE GLORY, GLORY. Children of the Lord!"  (He enjoys it a lot as well)
2.  Reading books....lots of books
1.  Waking up early to make dough for cinnamon rolls, the sleeping for the next hour to let it rise, then waking Jordan up with the smell of fresh homemade cinnamon rolls.


Can't wait until next month when we get to do this all over again!

I Hate Running But I Love My Husband

I've been on a bit of a running kick lately.  I really want to get back into shape, so I've decided to set some goals for myself.  Okay, here it is.  I'm announcing it to the world so I can't back down.  April 10th, 2011 I will run a 10K.  I'm pretty sure some of you just started laughing.  Is the idea of me running 6 miles that funny to you? Or are you laughing that I'm planning 6 months in advance?  But for real, pray that I actually follow through with this.

Okay, so my last post was all about how horrible of a person I can be.  Today, I want to focus on what I can do to help my husband.  I've been reading The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartain, and I totally recommend it to any married woman.  Some of her stories seem a little extreme, since Jordan and I aren't on the edge of divorce, but it is some seriously good advise!  Most of us have been told, "Well, just pray about it".  I have to admit that most of the time when someone says that to me I shrug it off  because "of course I'm going to pray that God changes Jordan, he's the one whose wrong here anyway!"  However, after a year of praying that God makes Jordan more sensitive, spend less time at work, and be more eager to sit and talk about our feelings, I can say I haven't seen the results I desired.  The thought that maybe I need to pray that God reveal a way for me to deal with my frustrations instead of changing who He made Jordan to be.  Dos that make sense?  Maybe I need to change before I expect Jordan to.  Anyway, I just wanted to share a list of things that I love and never want to take for granted about my husband.


10.  His chest hair is so thick he could probably shave it and make a rug by braiding it all together. (Have you seen him?!  He's a hairy guy!)
9.  He has a very strong personality, he's not going to change who he is just because you want him to.
8.  He is a fanatic sports fan.  One time I woke up at 1 am to find him on the couch watching some Australian sport that he didn't understand. 
7.  He is my biggest fan.
6.  I know he'll always fight for what he knows to be right.
5.  While the thought of talking about our feelings makes him break out into hives, he's always willing to hear me out
4.  He loves my cooking
3.  His ability to talk about everything and nothing astounds me every day.
2.  I couldn't have asked for a better provider.
1.  He loves the Lord more than anything in the world, which gives me the freedom to trust him and not worry about our future.

How Can I Help?

"How can I help?"  How often do we hear that phrase?  It was something that was drilled into me when I was young.  Mom rarely turned down an offer to help do dishes or house work, and just in case my husband is reading- I won't turn down the offer either.  But today I was thinking about how often I want to help someone if there doesn't seem to be any benefit for myself.  Sure, I sometimes do things to give myself a pat on the back, but how often do I help someone because I simply want to?  I'm very selfish with my time.  When Jordan is home I want his full attention, and we hold Wednesday nights sacred.  When I'm alone on weekday evenings I like for cook to myself and watch TV to relax.  When the weekend rolls around I get together with my friends all day long to watch football and hang out.  But when do I actually serve anyone?  Isn't that my calling as a Christ follower?

I'm selfish and stuck in my own self righteousness. That's really the only answer. I'm too concerned about myself and the amount of sleep I'd have to give up if I volunteered for something on a weeknight.  I'm making the decision right now to change this pattern of behavior.  Now, I'm not going to be one of those people standing on a corner downtown with a megaphone screaming about God at you.  But I will make a better effort to be very purposeful with my time and to find ways to love on the people I run into every day.  Because, the truth of the matter is, that if I had God's heart for humanity I would be thrilled by the opportunity to serve.  It all comes down to loving people like God does, not with a reward in mind, but because it makes my heart sing.  Now, this particular blog is not meant to be depressing or to bring myself down.  It is just an examination of how me-centric I have become.  It is time to break that cycle.   It is time to start serving.  Starting with you.  How can I pray for you today?

A long time ago I read Isaiah 61:1 for the first time and felt it tug on my heart.  I was so moved by it that I realized that I was called to action.  In my head, when someone looked up that passage my picture was going to be beside it because I was going to live those words to the fullest.  My prayer today is that I can start living my life like I desired to years ago.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
      for the Lord has anointed me
      to bring good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
      and to proclaim that captives will be released
      and prisoners will be freed.
-Isaiah 61:1

An Ode to Goulash

My husband is Hungarian. This is important to know because once every blue moon he becomes very proud of his Hungarian heritage and talks about it for a couple of days.  Tonight we celebrated his Hungarian ancestors by eating goulash.  If you've never had goulash before, its a type of Hungarian meat and vegetable pasta/stew.  It kind of defines a category, like Spam.  BUT unlike Spam, goulash is YUMMY.  I paired it with a glass of Malbec my friend Sara left at my apartment this weekend.  Honestly, it wasn't the best pairing in the world but it was good all the same.  Jordan never even had heard of Goulash before we were married, but I grew up eating it all the time at my Grandma Coco's house.  I would sit between Grandma and Grandpa at their little kitchen table and talk to them about school.  Grandpa would always have canned pears while Grandma and I would eat canned peaches.  It was our little tradition that the girls always got peaches, but I don't know why.  Anyway, my Grandpa passed away several years ago and my Grandma is on her way to joining him.  She's been in the hospital for a couple of months fighting leukemia.  We rarely saw eye to eye, but when I made goulash tonight the memory of eating it with my Grandparents almost made me cry.  I wanted to call her to tell her about the food I made but its too hard to carry on a phone conversation with her because her ability to remember things has pretty much disappeared.  So this meal was for you, Grandma.

Football Cakes and Polar Bears

I'll start with the craziness that was last night.  All of the guys had a soccer game, but they also wanted to watch the KU football game.  Since they were at the same time, everyone agreed they wouldn't watch any of it until they all met at our apartment where they would start the game at the beginning. So, ten o'clock rolls around and my living room is filled with hungry, tired, sweaty boys (since they had just come from their soccer game).  Well, just in case you didn't know, KU lost.  And when I say "lost", I mean big time.  It was terrible.  They guys were all jumping around and screaming.  We're lucky we didn't get into trouble for being too loud again.  On the up side, I made a FABULOUS chocolate cake shaped like a football.  I was pretty stinking proud of myself. 

Everyone left around midnight, which just gave me 7 hours to clean up, sleep, and get ready for the Kansas City Zoo Run.  To be honest, I don't enjoy running at all.  I tried every way possible to get out of the race, but I was stuck.  So at 7 in the morning my family picked me up and we headed out.  I was so relieved when I saw how many people were there!  I thought, "Surely not everyone here is going to run a 5 minute mile!".  It made me at ease right away.  The crowd was so large that it took my mother and myself several minutes to even reach the start line.  But, once we finally got going we realized we were in for a treat.  We ran through Africa, Australia, China, and several more.  We even ran through the sheep's pen!  By the end, my body definitely knew I had gone 4 miles, but it was the most enjoyable run I've ever done.  Next year I'm going to run with my camera around my neck.  So, since I'm into lists lately I'll make another one for reasons why everyone should run in the Kansas City Zoo Run in 2011.

1. Every year the Zoo gives the proceeds from the race registration to help an endangered species.  This year we ran for the polar bears, last year it was for the Chimps.
2. CrAzY volunteers who point you in the right direction, cheer loudly, and dance around to show their support.
3. If you're anything like me, the insane hills give your legs a workout like you haven't had in years.
4.  If you have a killer instinct, several of the paths are so full of curves that it takes some serious strategy to pass.
5.  Free food after the race
6.  You get to spend the rest of the day at the zoo! (heck yes!)  Race spectators also get in for only $6 and can spend the day there as well
7.  T-shirts with polar bears on them
8.  People of all ages run/walk/push strollers.  I even saw an elderly couple walking and the man had a cane.  Don't think you can run/walk 4?  Try the 1 mile race!
9.  The monkeys line up in their pens and cheer for you, or mimic your actions depending on how mean they are.
10.  EXERCISE! If you don't care about polar bears, maybe you care about fighting obesity?

After 1 Year of Marriage...

I have learned more than I could have possibly imagined in just over 365 days.  Who needs school?  Doing life together will teach you more usefull things than your Math 105 class (and for the record, I took Math 105 and learned absolutely NOTHING!). So I decided I would start this blog off with a list of 10 important things I've learned about thriving in my marriage so far. 

1.  Find things you can do together.  I can watch the Cowboys lose over and over again as long as Jordan helps me clean up after the crazy football parties we throw every Sunday.
2. A flying elbow in the middle of the night is nothing personal.  Sometimes people struggle to adjust to someone else in their bed.
3. If you want permission to go buy a fabulous new cocktail dress, ask in the middle of a KU basketball game.
4. The sentence, "My mom/dad always did that for me." never leads to a productive or healthy conversation.
5. Take time to turn off your phone and just hang out.  I know that sounds silly, but it can be the sweetest hour you spend together all week.
6. Having a mutual distaste for Missouri can bring you closer together.
7. Watching TV together might be fun, but should never be considered quality time.
8. Trust each other's instincts.  Know each of your strengths and play towards them.
9. However, if one of your strengths is that you're competitive and your spouse is also competitive, don't play sports or boardgames together on a regular basis.
10. If all your spouse wants to eat is red meat, let him.  Just have some good life insurance for when he has a heart attack at 35.