To Sweet Carol

Happy Birthday Carol! We love and miss you so much. You're unwavering faith, unconditional love, optimism and selfless attitude is an inspiration to us. We feel very blessed to be part of your life. Have a wonderful birthday!

WINTERFEST 2008

Mike and I decided to spend Saturday in the beautiful town of Lake Geneva where WINTERFEST 2008 was being held. It was an excellent day full of snowy, icy, and cold activities. WE LOVED IT.

First was a very cold, icy and hilly 10k. Although the race was poorly organized, and the hills kicked my butt, this was by far one of my favorite races I've ever done. Mikey is a good husband to come and watch me race in the freezing cold

Lake Geneva was completely frozen. People were ice fishing, snowmobiling and even driving cars on the ice.

The highlight of the day was the Ice Sculpture competition. Teams from all over the country, including Alaska, New York, and Florida came to Lake Geneva to compete in the competition. Here are some pictures of the teams hard at work. The pictures don't do justice to the detail put into the sculptures.

Some of the finished projects. So impressive.

Fun in the Sun

A couple of weekends ago Mike and I had the chance to go to PHOENIX. Mike had a couple of residency interviews there and I figured what a perfect time to leave single digits temperatures to go to a nice 60 degree sunny Phoenix.

We had a fabulous time while we were there. We got to hang out with the Dwyers. It was great to see Lindsay and get to know JD a little bit better. JD made the BEST steak I have ever eaten in my life. No joke. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

We also got to see one of my dearest friends from college Kati and her husband Billy. They also treated us to an excellent homemade meal for us. It was good to catch up with Kati and Billy.

Thanks to both friends for making us feel so at home and treating us so well!

We also went to the Arizona Temple. It's one of the older temples and very unique. While visiting the temple grounds we picked grapefruits with some sister missionaries. I loved that Arizona had orange, lemon and grapefruit trees everywhere ready to be picked!

We went to Tucson one of the days and saw tons of these....(It really is a desert out there!)

We even got a little taste of home while we were in Arizona.

It was the perfect weekend to get away! Who knows, maybe Arizona will become a permanent home for us in the next FIVE months.

Eat Pray Love

I just finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I know there are others who have read and finished this book. I have mixed emotions. I'm curious to hear what others thought after finishing the book. Please share your thoughts and comments! All opinions welcome. 

A WORD

" Giulio said, "Maybe you and Rome just have different words."
"What do you mean?"
He said, " Don't you know that the secret to understanding a city and its people is to learn-what is the word of the street?"
Then he went on to explain, in a mixture of English, Italian and hand gestures, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there....And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don't really belong there." ....

"Giulio asked, "What's the word in New York City?"
I thought about this for a moment, then decided. "It's a verb, of course. I think it's ACHIEVE."
(Which is subtly but significantly different from the word in Los Angeles, I believe, which is also a verb: SUCCEED....

"What was the word in your family when you were growing up?"
That one was difficult. I was trying to think of a single word that somehow combines both FRUGAL and IRREVERENT. But Giulio was already on to the next and most obvious question:

"What's your word?' "

Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert

I'm usually all about New Year resolutions. I'm very goal oriented and competitive so naturally I like to achieve. Let's be honest, my New Year resolutions usually don't make it to May, probably not even to March. So this year I needed something new to motivate me. I have been intrigued by the idea of having a "word" to focus and drive my actions. My sister Mandy's word is LEARN. My mom's word is PREPARE. I've been thinking about what the year 2008 will bring for Mike and I and several words have crossed my mind, SURVIVE, PERSEVERE, or ENDURE. But I didn't love them. Well now that January is half way over with, I think I have finally come up with my word....

A D A P T

1. to adapt is to make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose

2. to adapt is to change an idea or behaviour to deal with a new situation successfully

3. to adjust oneself to different conditions, environment, etc.: to adapt easily to all circumstances

I'm come to terms with the fact that I can be uptight and rigid. I'm not always good with change. The year of 2008 will bring many exciting changes to Mike and I (location, time, environment, life style). I would like to adapt to make the most out of all situations and experiences that come my way.

Adapt to a new house, perhaps in a new city I have never lived in.

Adapt my lesson plans to meet the needs of ALL my students.

Adapt to my time to train for races- perhaps a marathon.

Adapt to Mike's crazy busy residency schedule come July.

Adapt my needs to benefit the lives of others.

What's your word?

Eyelash Icicles

This is what happens when you go running with your friend, in 20 degree weather, with wind chills of 10 degrees, and it's snowing like crazy!!!! (When it comes down to it, we really are fools for running in weather like this.) Check out my left eyelash, can you see the ice chunk? No, it's not a snowflake, it is actually an icicle!!! My eyelashes were full of them, but they had melted by the time we took the picture. However there are also small icicles on my eyebrows. I've had snowflakes on my eyelashes, never ICICLES! No wonder I had such a difficult time seeing while running. I know this is a lame post, but I needed to document this crazy event.(Thanks to my friend Lauren who ran with me in this crazy weather, and who took this picture with her super cool iphone) 

Gladiators READY!

Is it bad that Mike and I can't wait to watch this?