Let's Back Up A Bit... Christmas 2011

Please allow me to back up a bit and write a few posts about past events.  While I don't blog as often as I had always hoped I do think it important for future me to be able to look back.

Christmas 2011: Hampton NH

While last year's Christmas in Texas was fun, there is nothing like being home with family for the holidays.  We were very lucky to have the time to drive home (yes drive) with the two pups and still have enough time off to spend a whole week in New Hampshire.  We spent the first part of the week in Maine having our family photos taken, visiting with great friends and adding to my every growing collection of body artwork.  We were very lucky to have a friend who was very flexible in her photography career to make a photo session work for not only our wallets but the short time we had up north.

Here is a look at just a few she took, and dare I say we have some pretty good looking fur kids :)

And once again I was able to visit my favorite tattoo artist Matt in Portland.  This time it was to add to my left arm where there is already 603.  My left arm is quickly becoming the story of my life and so with last year marking the 10th anniversary of September 11th, I felt it only fitting to add that to the story.  Above that is the phrase La Mia Famiglia.  With losing post paternal grandparents in the past year and a half and adjusting to being so far from my own immediate family I wanted a permanent reminder of where I have come from.  I have plans to honor both grandparents in a separate piece and I am working with my sisters to come up with something we can all get together.  Here is my latest and certainly one of the greatest: 

And as if all of that wasn't enough... it was the holidays!!! It was so awesome to see my family and spend time with everyone.  The dogs couldn't believe that houses existed with multiple floors... Smokey (my parent's dog) couldn't believe that his parents could like any other dogs.  This photo would prove otherwise, sorry Smokey:

As one can imagine there was lots of holiday fun to be had. Cookies, J-Dawgs birthday party, Christmas Eve Chinese food and of course... Christmas.  I think you'll get the gist of how great our time north was with the following photos:

Time with family was the best gift... All corniness intended...

Until June when we celebrate Mariana's graduation (What the ??!!!) Thanks Family :)

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 :)