And I Ran...I Ran So Far Awaaaaay.....

Come on, I know you know that song... Flock of Seagulls anyone?? Anywho that's what comes to mind when I think about what I've been up to this last month and a half.  Since my last post I have been training a lot for my 1/2 marathon.  I did the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and happily finished with a time that will allow my to register for Houston's 1/2 marathon early next year.  I ran with friends of ours Crystal and Ed and it was so great to have people there for support and well wishes when Jarrod can't be (he had to work and sleep).  Unfortunately I don't have a post race photo since Jarrod wasn't there, but trust me it was fun :)

Then came my 1/2 marathon.  As I mentioned in previous posts Jarrod and I wanted to run a 1/2 together, but he got into the Houston 1/2 and I did not.  At first I was really bummed, however after running mine this past Sunday I must say I am SO glad we ran separate 1/2s for our first time.  It was so awesome to have Jarrod along the race course cheering me on, handing me water, taking my gloves, and taking pictures.  I felt so supported and encouraged that I know it is a major reason I did so well.

It was cold and cloudy for most of the race with the sun not coming out until about mile 12.  It was quite perfect actually.  Perfect temp, no sun in my eyes and it was if the sun guided me into the finish at the exact moment I needed it.  The 1/2 marathon was for women only.  It was such a positive and fun experience! Lots of hot pink and fun outfits that gave a less serious tone to things.  My goal was to run 9 minute miles.  I ended up running 151.26 minutes for the 13 miles which is about 8.5 minute miles so I was super happy.  There were about 150 women in my age group, about 900 overall and I was 11th in my age group and 58th overall.  Not bad at all...

The only negative of the whole event was the anti-climactic feeling when it was all over.  Here I had been training for this one day since August and it was over in 2 hours.  Perhaps this is why many people become addicted to road races like they do tattoos... You desire the next and the next and the next because it's something to work towards, to push yourself to.  I am already thinking about marathons... and more halfs, and more 10Ks and 5Ks.  I know some of you are thinking "ewww she likes to run for fun" but man it feels good!

For now it's on to Jarrod's 1/2.  We'll see who did better... I mean I am sure he'll do great! ;)

I'll end with a few pics from the race and it's off to grade.  It's midterms week and lots of holiday celebrations week.  So excited to celebrate and then make the long trek home!!!  Happy Holidays one and all!!!!

   

Fall Sure Does Happen Quickly Around Here

One day it's 85* and sunny... the next it's 65* and cloudy!  Fall has certainly hit Texas this weekend with brisk air, lots of wind, and the winding down of football season.  We're not sure how long the weather is going to stay like this, but while it's here we are enjoying it feel a little more like it should this time of year.  Reading the posts by our Northern friends we feel very happy to only need long sleeves rather than snow parkas... And we're super glad that it's such good running weather.  Jarrod and I are both training for 1/2 marathons and this cooler weather definitely helps out.  Jarrod (lucky duck) got into the Houston 1/2 in January and I will be running an all woman's race in December.

Today we kicked off the start of our fall race season with a 5K supporting the Texas Heart Institute.  It was right by our house so we didn't need to worry about parking and they highly recommended costumes... score!  My goal this race was to beat Jarrod.  After all, I have been running more than he has and I figured a couple who races each other, loves each other... or something like that.  Alas he beat me by 30 seconds, which is pretty good for me seeing as I shaved off about 3 mins from my last race time.  30 seconds... must have been all of those slow people in their bulky costumes who kept cutting me off at the beginning.  Now I'm sure anyone reading this is wondering if we wore costumes... The answer is, kinda.  We were definitely not as good as the One Thing/Two Thing ladies or the tutus galore, but we held our own in terms of Halloween spirit.  Here ya go:

 Jarrod in his skeleton t-shirt... it's the thought that counts here.

















I was a pumpkin as you can see

                                                        Lots of people had my    
                                                        tights...


















A few other fall events to note... Athena is getting much bigger and it seems as if every morning when we open her crate she has grown more!  Mostly around the mid section, but she definitely has gotten taller too which is a good sign in terms of being more on par with Portland.  The only thing that doesn't seem as if it's grown is her head.  We're hoping this catches up soon otherwise we're going to have a very funny looking dog on our hands!  Here's a picture from when we first got her and one from today so you can hopefully see the difference:

Clearly the ears have gotten bigger!

And last but not least, with cold weather comes the end of Cross Country season at school.  This season has really been great and it has been so nice not having to rush off to another sport.  Our girls did very well in every race they ran and at our district wide meet we won 1st place in all three divisions! Granted the competition is sadly nothing to write home about, but they were well deserved wins none the less for all the hard work they put in.  Here's 1 shot (since posting pictures of kids is not really my thing) of my wonderful team! :

I am already looking forward to next season when many of these girls will be seniors!  Crazy to think I will have been with them then for 3 years :)

Happy Fall Everyone!!! Sorry it's a winter wonderland for you Northern folk, but just think, that mean's Christmas is just around the corner!  Jarrod and I will be driving home with the pups for Christmas! But before that we're getting ready for my Turkey Trot 10K, Thanksgiving with the Manzer Parents and my 1/2 Marathon!! 

Now Introducing Athena...Puppy Goddess!

After much hemming and hawing over whether a 2nd dog would fit into our life style, Jarrod and I decided that yes! A 2nd pup was something we could handle, and something we wanted.  We returned to the pound where we got Portland and found a very tiny, very cute, very energetic girl puppy.  Her name at the pound was Edna...(nothing against the name Edna, but you know, not for us).  We chose Athena because we're fans of Greek mythology and she's already seems fairly powerful.  Portland is not sure yet what to make of her, and she is definitely pushing the personal bubble boundaries so hopefully in time it will become a more loving relationship.  As much of one a brother and sister can have.  Like Portland, she is too cute for words.... So I'll just let the photos do the talking :

Attempting my first escape...

Being like Big Brother

I want to play in the big dog park!

Well fine... I'll just eat my leash

I'm pretty tough! Watch Out!!!

Hahaha Im just playing :)

Sprucing the Place Up a Bit...

Today Jarrod and I spruced up our bedroom a bit with some color and photos. Very crafty, of both of us :)

These use to be those wooden mirrors you get from Ikea.

We popped the mirrors out and covered them in handmade paper.

They don't seem to match. Trust me, if you remember our new

bed cover, they do.

Then we added photos to them. Some of my sisters and I.

Some of Jarrod and I.

Then we worked them around our map to create one

large collage space.

Home Again...

Since returning to Houston we've been quite busy...

We've been following rainbows.

We've gone on long car rides to conferences.

We've enjoyed "hand made" cotton candy while seeing

the last Harry Potter movie.

We've witnessed trickery in the local fountains...

Bath anyone?

We've worked hard to keep the sun out of our eyes.

School's right around the corner. Hard to believe that the summer is over and it's back to the daily grind of working, teaching, coaching and trying to live a little :)

5 Thing Tuesday...

While reading a friend of mine's blog I came across this idea of sharing 5 things that have happen or will happen recently in your life.  Often I struggle with not writing for awhile versus just giving a blog post of words and no photos.  This 5 things idea is a quick way to check in with the blog world while hopefully keeping it short.  Though I may not have photos for every post, hopefully non flashy posts are just as interesting... from time to time.

5 Things Tuesday:

1. Jarrod and I recently returned from a wonderful...WONDERFUL... trip north to see family and friends.  After returning to Houston I realized that while our little apartment was good enough, it now felt so small in comparison to staying in my parents house on our trip.  Since the Spring Jarrod and I have talking about buying a home in Houston so we can be more settled (and so we can put all we have "learned" from HGTV to good use).  Going from my parents' large house to our tiny apartment only solidified the need to move to something with more space, better use of space and more sense of OURS. Then we get a letter from our leasing office.  Our rent is going up a bit for the next year and if we only want to stay for 6 months (original plan) and then buy a house, our rent would be far too large to save enough for a good down payment.  For now we have to decide between what is smart, and what we really want.  So in order to make smart choices, we are staying in our tiny apartment for another year... However just you wait until we do finally get to buy that house!  You'll be able to feel the excitement (and security with our decision) oozing out of the computer.

2. Speaking of oozing.. haha...eww.... While home I got poison ivy.  When I finally realized it was poison ivy and not bug bites, I was surprised that my face hadn't exploded into the something that resembled the marshmallow man.  Ever since I was a kid, whenever I got some kind of poison plant on me it would make it's way to my face and seal my eyes shut.  However this time around it has stuck strictly to my arm.  While it is not pretty, I still look like myself and that is a really good thing :)  I never realized that people can grow out of (and into) allergies.  I am super thankful for this evolution of myself.  Looking like the marshmallow man at my conference this week would have been not so fun and probably highly distracting to the other teachers.

3. Speaking of conferences, it seems fitting to mention that the week after returning home from New England my school sent me off to Seguin Tx to attend a conference on how to teach AP Human Geography.  It is a 4 day conference and I was lucky enough to bring Jarrod along for a few days so we could explore the area after each daily session.  Only 2 days in and I have already learned so much that my brain feels physically stretched!  It has also made me think about a possible direction for another masters, or at least a +30.  GEOGRAPHY! Who doesn't love studying the world and all that is in and on it.  Stay tuned to see if I can make this happen any time soon.

4. In Jarrod news, we learned that due to new laws, there has to always be 2 people at his work at any given time.  Prior to this law, it was ok for only 1 person to work each 12 hour shift on the weekend which meant that Jarrod only had to work every 3rd or 4th weekend (honestly after a year I still can't figure out or remember his crazy schedule).   Now that 2 people have to be there Jarrod will have to work every other weekend.  My first reaction was to be extremely bummed.  There are already weeks where we don't see each other very much because of his schedule and my extra curricular obligations and so to not have the weekend seemed horrible.  After being bummed I came to the realization that while this new schedule will indeed stink, at least I actually live with my husband and get to see him at least 3 or 4 times a week, even if it's only for a few hours.  I know women who lived without their husbands for way longer periods of time and yet their love is still extremely strong.  If they can do it, than I can definitely handle an on and off weekend deal with mine.

5. Last but not least, I will end with something I am looking forward to.  Though not all plans have been solidified, it appears that this fall is shaping up to be a fall of out of town visitors!  For sure my college roommate nancie will be joining us for a long weekend (yes one Jarrod is working incase you're wondering) and I am super excited to introduce her to Houston finally!  I am also hoping to see a few DCites *wink wink, nudge nudge*.  Anyone else looking to escape those first few months of chilly weather are welcome to come on down!  We have a loft that has a full size bed in it (no more futon thanks to our awesome new bed) and plenty of clean sheets to go around :)

Summer Time and the Living's Easy

Woooo not a whole month since my last post... ok just shy of it by 3 days but hey, progress is progress!

It is now officially summer vacation and as soon as I could I hopped on a plane and flew north to my parents house.  I took Portland with me so it would be easier on Jarrod's schedule as well as so I could introduce him to people and surroundings he'd never see in Texas and so far he's doing pretty well. My parents' dog Smokey is still somewhat leary of him and the cat has scratched his face twice (clearly he did not learn from the first time) but my family loves him and he's getting more love than he's probably gotten thus far in his life!

I arrived on Monday June 13th and the very next day went to visit my grandmother in CT.  She is not doing very well, so it was good to see her and talk with her between all of her cat naps.  She remembered who we all were and even was able to tell her nurse that I am a teacher in Texas!  Her biggest concern was that we had cold cuts to eat... That's the great thing about grandmothers, no matter how ill they are, they are always worried about feeding their grandkids :)

Wednesday I took Portland up to my Other grandparents' lake house on Sunapee Lake, NH.  My younger cousins were there for the week, so I got to spend the day with them as well as introduce Portland to my grandparents....and the Lake.  If you have read the post about the beach, you can already imagine how that introduction went.  The weather was B-E-A-Utiful and we even got a boat ride that Portland loved! So nice to be in New England!

He looks calm here, however let me assure you getting him in there took a good 10 mins of whining, dragging, and pulling.  He was looking for every oppurtunity out and once again had the "How could you do this to me?" look. Oh well, I guess some dogs just don't do water.

Looking out on the lake from my grandparents dock.  Not a bad view Aye?

 Much happier to be on solid ground.

New friends and new adventures make for a VERY tired pup!

The rest of that week was full of relaxing (some) and working on school work (lame).  A co-worker and I are rewriting all of the lesson plans for World Geography/Human Geography for next year.  Needless to say it is a much larger project than perhaps either of us thought.  There goes the rest of my summer once I get home to Texas.

It's amazing how sometimes you're just in the right place at the right time.  The first week I am home the Bruins (hockey team for those of you who don't know ;) ) win the Stanley Cup! That in it's self is pretty cool, however what was even better was being 45 mins north of Boston when they did it and being able to go to Boston to celebrate! Now I will admit that I do not follow hockey as much as other sports, but bandwagon or not a championship parade is not something to be missed!  So my first week home ended with seeing the Stanley Cup, braving 1.5 million people in Boston and then relaxing all day Sunday with my family for Father's day on the boat.  So far NH is treating me mighty fine....

WE WANT THE CUP!!!!



Home made t-shirts by my sister :)




The CUP!!!



Black and Yellow :)



And Then it was May...

Sometimes time really does fly... At this rate it will be time to blog about Christmas again soon.

What has our household been up to?  We have been attending awesome festivals, visiting with parents, going to the State track meet and getting a new bed!

The iFest was awesome!  International festival was filled with yummy food, very cool trinkets and AWESOME music!  The night ended with an hour and half or so show with Michael Franti and Spearhead.  What an awesome band! I first learned about them at Horton Center (summer camp) and it's so nice when that life crashes back in every now and again.

Both sets of parents came to town in late April/May. Tons of fun and glad we got to show both sets around our new home of Houston.  We ate so much food (haha), went to the drag races and celebrated Mother's Day and birthdays!

School has been flying by and feels like it has been going non stop.  Our students were reviewing for state testing and our athletes were practicing to go to the state meet.  Testing was a long process that took 4 school days.  They tested all morning and then went to classes in the afternoon. Needless to say we didn't accomplish much during those afternoons.  For track we were going to district and regional meets and all the girls' hard work paid off because 4 of our girls made it to the state meet.  The meet was in Austin and we took the girls on an overnight trip and over all we came 2nd in the 4x400m race.  Not bad considering the competition!

With track officially over Jarrod and I have been trying to sleep better and relax and we finally realized that wasn't going to happen in our little full size bed!  Not to mention the hot weather has arrived and settled in and so the furnace that is Jarrod is overheating things even more. We began shopping around and found an awesome deal at Mattress Firm that we couldn't say no to.  Introducing the reason I am totally sleeping better than I have in a long time....

It's a king size bed, (go big or go home, right?) which almost fills our bedroom, but so far it is totally worth it!  I love it soooooo much :)

I'd like to say it won't be a month before I blog again but with the way life has been going it may just be that long.  Finals are next week, I have to go back to Austin for training once school is over, we are house/dog sitting for our awesome friends who are tying the knot back east, ANNNNND I'm heading home to the north east for a month...PHEW!  I am super excited to go home for a month to see friends and family.  I am especially looking forward to spending time with my sisters and celebrating life milestones with friends(engagements and weddings oh my!!).

So sorry if it's another month, but you can be sure the next post will be a good one :)

There is a first time for Everything!

A few weekends ago I think I hit my breaking point.  While our home made coffee was proven ok, I was tired of having to go to Starbucks to get something that was quick and resembled ice coffee.  I was feeling the itch and even though it is totally out of the way I convinced Jarrod that we simply NEEDED to go to the ONE Dunkin Donuts here in the Houston area.  MY WAS IT GLORIOUS!!!  

Until you live without it for 8 months you may not understand just how good this East Coast staple is.  I know that I should be finding that perfect local coffee shop, and I have, but I don't know what it is... No one has ice like Dunkin!  It's magical or something.  While going to Dunkin was absolutely wonderful I am afraid I have "Broken the seal" so to speak and want to make the 15-20 trek for the coffee all the time now.  We have only gone one more time, so I guess that's a good sign.











The next "First" was taking the dog for a good long "hike".  I use quotes because let's be honest, we're in Houston Tx and so by hike I mean a nature walk.  It was such an awesome day! Great weather, nice 2 mile walk and a great way to walk the dog with no hands.  Portland did great and even allowed me to stop him from his sniffing for a few pictures :)

 Can you tell from the photo that Portland is UBER excited to be in the woods?! He pulled quite a bit but we couldn't fault him... we love the woods too!

What a cute pup!!

Clearly Portland has hit his teen years and feels too cool to be in a photo with his pops ;) (I am sure it was just a bird...)

After lots of pulling we realized I could just put his leash around my waist and he could roam as he pleased and I could walk with both hands free.  It worked really great and was a good work out when he decided to go in the opposite direction...

I'd just like to point out that my pup doesn't mind taking pictures with him mom :)















Clearly the walk worked it's magic! He was out
before we got home!!

And my favorite first of all.... PORTLAND SWIMS IN THE OCEAN!!!! As you may remember Portland less than likes water.  We've tried to get him to chase balls into the dog park pond and he just won't do it!  He hates hoses and don't even get me started on baths...  On Sunday we decided that if Portland was going to go home with me for the summer that he needed to be introduced to the ocean at least once before we left.  Luckily Galveston is only about an hour or so away and so to the beach we went.

I will be honest... he did NOT like the ocean.  However his instincts did kick in and we saw some real swimming action.  Though the water was not his favorite, he definitely found another beach activity that he LOVES! You'll see what I mean in the photos and video :)  I will say that when we do have kids, this new love will be quite helpful!!!  Our day at the beach....

This look says "I can NOT believe you're making me do this!"  He was not excited at all and eventually Jarrod had to pick him up and bring him further out.  It had to be done...

In the deep end!

And now to the new favorite activity... DIGGING!!!!

Wait until you see the video!!!

The aftermath of his new favorite activity....

Just a man and his pup... at the beach :) (each with their own markings ;) )

"Maybe this beach thing isn't so bad"

Again another job well done... Out like a light for the rest of the afternoon :)
















Behold! The video footage...

Please excuse my high pitch voice... I swear my phone's video camera hates me....

And the Digging.... Not sure what the sniffing thing is.  Perhaps checking for gold?!