Frothy Goodness

I really don't need a good excuse to drink coffee. It takes very little justification on my part to purchase a 5 dollar, 500 calorie, 12oz sip of heaven.

Thanks to the genius' at Starbucks and the good hearted people of (Product)Red I have a new excuse to purchase my deliciously sinful treat.

If you haven't heard of this great winter promo, let me inform you. If you purchase an Espresso Truffle, Gingersnap Latte, or a Peppermint Mocha Twist, Starbucks will donate 5 cents to the Global Fund to help save lives in Africa.

Okay, so you can once again justify your overpriced coffee purchase. Go to the (Starbucks)Red website and you can even make a commitment to help out. Now, your spouse should completely understand the $30 in coffee purchases this month. You are helping children in Africa get medicine, after all.

It may sound like I am making light of this but in truth this is a something dear to my own heart. If we can help anyone, in anyway, we should. If you don't think your five cents can make a difference, here is the quote from a recent (Product) Red post.

In just the few weeks that the drinks have been available your purchases
have helped generate a contribution to the Global Fund that can provide more
than 1.4 million days of antiretroviral therapy for people who need it. This
means 3800 people living with HIV could get a year’s worth of medicine, all
because of you making a simple choice at your favorite coffee shop.

Hank Williams Got It Right

I had two really bad weeks in a row. At least that is how I felt. I was slow and mad because I had to workout on the Dreadmill. I would love to always have a positive post for our training but it is so easy to get discouraged. Holiday eating is not helping either, makes me feel ick because I just eat too much of it. Last week, every workout was comparable to a dentist appoint. I even talked myself out of working out twice in the morning. Eventually I did them in the afternoons because I knew I needed to.

Ted says that it is important to keep things fun and try not to make our running feel like work. He has a point. It felt like work last week. I knew I needed to do it and it was hard to find the motivation. In my mind I can't imagine that every time I go out and run that it is suppose to be a good time. I mean, this is six months of training. Oh, and I want to run a marathon. Ted is content with the benefits of what is happening today. He would be thrilled to make it to marathon day and actually run it. Me, I want to run it. I want to run the whole thing. Somedays, that is so completely overwhelming that it knocks the wind out of me.

This Monday, I got on the scale as I do every Monday. Expecting to see a weight gain or breaking even I was pleasantly surprised with a 2.2lb loss. WooHoo!! Not expected, at all. This weight thing drives me nuts. One week I kick butt all over my work outs and gain a lb. The next week, I feel like I have had a root canal and I loose two. I know it is a process of time and metabolism, etc...but really?! So, I am now down 11 lbs. And, that got a little more motivation for this week.

I was able to run outside on Monday because it wasn't raining and it was actually over 40 degrees. Yeah! I pushed myself a little too much and ended up with my knee bugging me all day. So, I iced, compressed and took Tuesday off. Back on the horse on Wed and I felt great. Great workout today too.

My playlist pick this week is for the old school rocker in me and christian music lover (okay, I know I have multiple personality issues) but it is a new song (Aug 2008 release) and new to my playlist and great for picking up my pace on the Dreadmill.

Decemberadio: Gasoline

Eat Too Much, Drink Too Much

Dec 8th was the beginning of our Week 11 in training. Ted started with all good news and a 4lb weight loss....seriously....Me on the other hand put on another .4 lbs....my competitive spirit finds it extremely annoying that he is loosing weight so easy and yet I am very proud of him for all of his hard work and the truth is, easy isn't a very good word to describe all of the determination and commitment that he is putting into this.

So, the week was a pretty uneventful one. Most of the running was done on the Dreadmill due to really cold and wet weather. Still, not my favorite way to go running so I have added in alternating the elliptical machine because it isn't as hard on my knee and I find more joy in it. Oh, yeah, my knee has started bugging me a little bit. I don't think it is anything serious but it feels tight. I haven't been spending my usual time doing yoga and stretching and I think it is having an effect on it. I will get back to yoga this week and see if it helps out.

We are having trouble making time for our long runs on the weekends. The commitment is there but we are having trouble finding time. We now need about 2 hours for the run. Madi is currently playing basketball and has a game every Sat until the end of January. To top it off, we need a sitter. Someone to come and play with the girls while we run. So far, we can't find anyone. It is also the holidays and there are lots of to-do's.....I am in need of a little refocus and solution finding.

As you can tell from my tone, I have been feeling discouraged. There are just times when the goal is just far enough away that all of the obstacles become distracting and make it hard to see where we are headed. I know where I want to be and I know hurdles are a part of the process. So, on to a new week.

My song pick for this week is Dave Matthews Band: Too Much (disclaimer: the video is the live version and the language isn't censored.)

All Right Now

Week 10 was not a particularly great week for training. I put on a pound over the the Thanksgiving holiday. Not bad but not great. I had a really good run on Monday and then....

....the crud got me and I was down for the rest of last week. It was hard to convince myself that I needed to rest and get better before going out and running in the cold. Dang, it sucked though. I get tripped up so easy and missing 4 days of running is not a good thing.....

Trying to look forward and keep moving....

This is my playlist choice of the week, mostly because sick days come and go and it is going to be alright.

Free: All Right Now

Deliverance and A Revelation

Have you ever had one of those eerie, scary movie moments in your life?

On a recent date night, we were going with some friends to a Third Day concert. Our friend Jacque took the girls for the night, Ted came home early from work and we headed out to meet up with Curtis, Robin and Adam. All of us piled in the mini-van by a little after 4pm and we were on the road. The concert was in Asheville, so we had about a 2-2 1/2 hour drive in really cruddy weather.

The trip was moving along great. Adam was surviving the intense crash from the energy drink he had ingested during the first 10 min of the drive. We stopped at a BK for potty breaks and burgers. A very intense red shirted lady was irate at our slow movement at the soda fountain, then we all waited another 15 minutes for our food. Nothing like hurry up and wait. On the road again, we googled the Civic Center address and plugged the info into Jill (the Garmin so affectionately named).

No reason not to trust Jill, she knows where to go. Well, she knows where we told her to go. Things are good until our left turn becomes a right and we are in a suburbanite neighborhood. No worries, Jill knows. Another left, right, around a bend, now things are looking a little rural. Seriously. Maybe she knows the back way, we will get great parking. It is only 7:02, we are just missing the beginning of Brandon Heath, no worries.

Now, there is something that in all of Jill's great functions that she is missing. Instinct. Like when Curtis pulls up the road and sees it turn to gravel and without hesitations has us completely turned around....where, out of know where is a pick up truck with it's head lights blaring straight at us (can you hear the banjos playing)...now, at the same time Robin gets a phone call from an unavailable number, some crazy Southern preacher talking about whores in East Tennessee and going to Hell. It was so totally time to get out of there, regardless of Jill's opinion on the matter.

With some panicked urgency we found the real address to the Civic Center and made our way to the concert. After the insane traffic we should have been battling 30 minutes earlier, we made it in time to see Brandon play his last couple of songs. Didn't miss a minute of Third Day. (Can I get an Witness?!)

It was a great night. Our Deliverance moment makes a great story. It is nice to get out and listen to great music that glorifies our Father. I have seen Third Day six times now and would go again tomorrow.

For your listening pleasure:

Third Day: Revelation

Set Apart

On November 30th we were honored to support our friend Zach as he accepted the Lord’s call to serve and be Ordained. Zach (now Pastor Zach) and his family are a blessing to Canvas Fellowship… and to our family. We are all proud of his accomplishment, but we know it’s not in Zach’s character to think any of this is about him. Zach serves the Lord… and we know everything he does is meant to glorify God.

Thank You Pastor Zach! You honor God as well as so many friends and family with your service.

Ordinary Days Are Full Of Extraordinary Moments

If you ever wonder where time goes, take pictures. I couldn't believe I was two weeks behind on making posts here....then I started going through the pics. My goodness.
We had a great visit with Grandma. Ellie and Madi love to curl up for movie night.

We got a little snow and had to run out as fast as we could before it melted away...

Madi's Basketball season is in full swing. We are having a great time watching her learn all of the fundamentals of the game. She still needs a little help with her competitiveness but that should come. In her first game she made a free throw, an assist and a rebound....

Ellie is already Madi's biggest fan. "Go, Sissy!"