New Goals!

I was reading my friend Kayla's blog and she was talking about some goals she has set for herself to complete before she turns 25. I thought that was a great idea and came up with some of my own. So here goes!

1. Take a knitting class
2. Go camping (like tent, sleeping bag, etc. kind of camping).
3. Blog at least once a month. (Hopefully more, but lately that has been difficult for me.)
4. Pay off a student loan. We have paid off some of them but we have the 2 biggest left. I am hoping to knock out at least one of them.
5. Train for a half marathon. WHAT?? Yes, you heard right. I have been running since June pretty consistently and the other day I was thinking, why am I doing this, I have no goal. Clint is running a full in the Cowtown (the Fort Worth marathon) so I thought, what the heck! Jokingly I have said that I will run a full when I turn 30 just to prove to myself that I am only as old as I let myself be. So, I am 5 years away from 30 so I better prove that I can at least do this much!!
6. Have my wedding pictures made into an album. At this point, I really don't care about it being fancy or anything. I just want an album that can at least prove that we are married!
7. Volunteer at the Humane Society.
8. Get re-certified in CPR.
9. Take a dog training course with Cherry.
10. Make an apron.
11. Maintain my current weight or lose another 2-3 pounds. I have lost like 6 pounds this last year and I really want to be sure I don't gain that back. And, if I can muster some more self control, I want to go for another 2-3 pounds. This would bring me down to my high school weight!
12. Take a multivitamin everyday. I take them some times but not very consistently like I should.
13. Finish decorating my room and the guest room.

Well, I hear a crying baby so I better go!

Oh, and why 13? Because it is half way to 26!

From Texas Medicine Magazine

Clint gets this magazine now that he is in medical school and sometimes I will read them. Here is a little excerpt that I found interesting.

"Evidence shows hospitals with policies supporting exclusive breastfeeding are realizing multiple benefits for patients, the communities they serve- and themselves. These hospitals report improved infant health outcomes, lower infant readmission rates and less infant time in the NICU. Mothers recover more quickly from birth while also receiving protection against type 2 diabetes and breast and ovarian cancers. Overall patient satisfaction is increased and hospital costs are reduced...Despite the compelling benefits, the majority of Texas hospitals still lag behind in assessing and updating their breastfeeding policies...The reality is that the short and long term benefits-to both the hospital and your patients-far outweigh the initial costs.

Update

Yes, Clint and I are still alive. It has been too long since I posted last!! So, what has been going on, you ask? Well in September I opened my own business. Okay, that makes it sound fancy but I started watching a few kids at my house. I have 2 right now and will get a third in November. I absolutely love it! It can be really hard work and sometimes I want to cry right along with them but it is so rewarding. One is about 5 months and the other is 3 months. There is lots of bottles, diapers and rocking to go around! I never thought I would be doing this in a million years! But my thoughts on it are, I knew I could do it because I did it throughout high school and college, I found moms who needed it and I know that one day I can pursue the "professional career". It isn't at all what Clint and I thought up for me but I honestly am content with it. No bosses breathing down my neck, no commute in the morning, I can get stuff done around the house during the day and I am not totally wiped out at the end of the day. I am really thankful to God for giving me this. I have had to swallow some pride. But, you know, I got a great education, something that will be a launching point for me when I decide to jump back into the "real world" one day. And I wouldn't give for that.

Clint is doing well. He is full blown into second year. He is really enjoying this year because he doesn't have class as much, it is more self study so he likes that much better than lecture. He is playing soccer again and he is training for a marathon with a friend. And sometimes he helps me out with the babies. He stays pretty busy but recently things have really calmed down so I get to see him even more which is awesome. I think the third year of marriage is one of the better ones. We are really enjoying our time spent together and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves despite his demanding schedule.

I have posted before about some of our friends starting a small group. It is 2 other couples besides us and they both came to us from med school. We are so blessed to have them. Being in medical school is a very unique experience, one that makes it hard to identify with other couples. Not saying we isolate ourselves because we do have friends from church but these 2 couples have been amazing. We have laughed, cried, prayed and shared together and it has really helped Clint and I with our own walks. We meet with them once a week for community but we also see each other almost every weekend.

Things I like about living in Fort Worth/ medical school: lots of stuff to do, not too much traffic, finding more and more local places to eat, meeting new people, our house, indoor soccer (this one is for Clint), being able to walk to museums and ice cream shops, downtown, lots of rain (so far)

Things I don't like: even with little traffic, it still takes at least 15 minutes to get anywhere, things are generally more expensive, I don't feel as safe, learning how to get around Fort Worth and finding places, can be really overwhelming sometimes (though this is getting better)

Oh yes, and I can't forget about Cherry! Cherry says: I love: that mom is home all day, my doggy door, my grass outside (also known as a backyard), my new bed and getting attention whenever possible. I don't like: getting a bath, having my nails trimmed, or being scolded by mom.

Well, I guess that is it. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. I planted some garlic. 3 in the front beds and 3 in the back. The back beds get a lot more sun so I am going to see which ones do better.

Now It's Time to be Serious...

Ok, so I said a few posts ago that I have been really thinking about what I believe, why I believe it, etc. This all started well, I guess really, when my dad died and nobody had a good answer for me. But my spiritual journey really got interesting this last year in unemployment, starting med school, etc. I picked up a book called Soul Survivor in August and didn't put it down. I loved it. Suddenly, things that never got answered, things that I just couldn't fit together, did. Here is the analogy I have for all of it, and excuse me for using science, what can I say, I am a nerd. In organic chemistry lab, we would go into class, not really knowing what to expect. Many times we had to take something like a Zantac, and using what we knew about what made up the Zantac, we could eventually isolate some compound in the pill. So we would spend probably 2 hours doing that and then we would be expected to perform experiments on that compound. Now, if we isolated the correct compounds, it should melt at a certain temperature, it should look a certain way, when analyzed, it should come out pure, with no other compounds present. (Now, was that the case for me personally, many times, no. Maybe if Clint had been my o chem partner...) Anyway, I guess that's how I feel my religion should be. I want to isolate it. I want to try to take out all the stuff and be left with what is pure. I want people to be able to test me and analyze me and find nothing extraneous. Just me and my God. I know that isn't possible but that is what I want to strive for. Mainly, I want to provide answers to sceptics and love and peace to everyone. That is what I want. At the end of the day, it comes down to faith. I can't reason with people about God if they don't want to open their minds to the idea of him but if nothing else, I want to love them. I also am questioning our role, as Christians, in war when Jesus preached nonviolence. I am tired of relying on a government to take care of the poor when Jesus told us to do that.
Something else I have been struggling with lately is...meat. I know, sounds weird. So here it is. I just finished The Lion and the Honeycomb by Leo Tolstoy. Great book even though he is a bit off, I think. One thing he talks about is that he gave up eating meat. Not because of Christianity or anything but because of the treatment of the animals. He talks of going to a slaughterhouse and how horrible it was. I asked myself if I went to a slaughterhouse, if I could keep eating meat and I decided I couldn't. I would probably go running off crying. Honestly, I think it would really mess me up. I can't stand the thought of animals getting hurt. I told Clint this, and I stand by it, that if he killed a deer, I would eat it. My reasoning is because that deer had a good life. He ate in the fields, maybe fought and won over some cute does and then one day, it was all over. That I can handle. Cows being left to walk around in their own poop, being fed a diet of corn (which is not their natural diet and probably makes them sick). Chickens that go their entire life in a pen that is so small, they can't flap their wings. I can't do it. Sigh. So for now, I am not eating meat. I don't know when I will start eating it again, we will see.
Well this is plenty long. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Pics of August

Since I have badly neglected my blog, I thought I would go back and post some highlights from August and September. On Labor Day Weekend, we went to Joanna's parent's lakehouse. It was an absolute blast. All the dogs came. Here is Cherry on the bridge that goes down to the dock.
This is Duke, Brad and Stephanie's dog. He loves the water. We were hoping that Cherry would see how great it is, but she never got close to the water. Duke could fetch for hours in the water. He loves it.

This is the back of Brad and Stephanie and Clint and Daniel are on the tubes. Apparently real lake people have tube wars and they try to bump each other off the tubes. I have never heard of that. Stephanie and Joanna represented the girls on this one. They both were able to puch their husbands off the tubes. Way to go girls!

This is Daniel. He has a bug in his fingers. He ate the bug. Yes, he is in medical school. Do I need to say anything else?

This is the new addition to the gecko family that lives in our mudroom area. Welcome, Susie! I hope you don't get eaten by the family of garden snakes living in the grass. Good luck!

Like I said in my last post, mom and I went and saw Paul McCartney. Unfortunately, we were so far away, Paul couldn't see my beautiful mom, fall in love and propose to her right then and there. Oh, well, maybe next time mom!

Yes, that's right, there were actual fireworks that went off INSIDE the Cowboy stadium. This was the part of the concert where everyone was on their feet, clapping and dancing. And during one of the songs talking about peace, I put up the peace sign and went right on with the crowd...I am not ashamed to say it!

Look at the size of that place! And this was by no means the whole building.

Okay, my one picture of Blair. Isn't she so cute! 6 months on Thursday.

Update

I have been so bad about updating this thing for the month of August, so here is an abbreviated version.

August 17, 2009 mom and I went to see Paul McCartney at the new Cowboy's stadium. He was awesome. The music was awesome. The company was awesome...It was awesome. He played for 2 1/2 hours. And he really did sound good. It was great to hear these songs that I have heard since I was born, played on a live stage by one of the most talented musicians ever.

Clint and I and 2 other couples formed a small group of sorts. We meet every week and eat dinner together, pray, talk about our week and discuss our strugles and victories. It's like going to the gas station. You start running on fumes after being bombarded all week and all you can think is, I just have to make it to small group. Then my needle slowly goes back to the F and I can make it through for another week. It has been such a blessing.

After much prayer and thought, I am going to be a stay at home mom....well, not really. I am not pregnant but I am going to start watching kids at our house soon. God has provided me with 2 moms that want to go back to work but don't want to leave their kids at a daycare. So starting Sept. 14 I will get my first little one. She is 4 months old and then in November I will take on a little boy of 3 months. This has been a huge answer to prayer. God is good. Sometimes, He just wants us to wait around a bit.

I just finished a book called Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey. It is and has changed my view on a lot of things. Many of them are controversial and I am very afraid to even put them down here so for now, I will leave it at that. I am not going to turn into an atheist or anything crazy, but it has some ideas that I think are wonderful but totally not at all what I expected to be thinking about right now, at this point in my spiritual walk. I know I am being vague, but these are things that are on my mind a lot, things I want to pray about and research more into but I even put them to paper.

I guess that's it for now. Hope everyone is well and had a great August. Today, the high was 90. What a wonderful blessing.

Frisbees Save the World!!!

I was reading the Dallas Morning News today, and came across an article about global warming. They were saying that some scientists have come up with ways to reverse global warming. So here are their suggestions, and I am not joking about these.

1. Fling into the air, fribee-like-discs that will block the sun. They will be sent so high, that they will be pulled by the earth's rotation and suspended there. It will be like an eclipse all the time. This is to help block the sun's rays. Potential issues with this: hello, these are frisbees, how well can this idea possibly work? What happens if one falls out of the sky? It could kill someone!

2. Spray sulphurous gas into the atmosphere. Again, this blocks the sun's rays. Potential issues: I am reminded of general chemistry for this one, sulphur + hydrogen (H2O) = sulfuric acid!!! Acid = burn people, animals, crops, not to mention ruin water supply, acid rain destroying everything. And believe it or not, this is the most viable option. Also in the article, they said that the minute you stop spraying this stuff into the air, you will have reversed all of it, another words, this doesn't get rid of all the carbon in the air or anything like that. Basically, it will cause the planet to heat up very quickly because it hasn't gotten rid of the carbon. It's like putting a bunch of band aids on a deep, gaping wound. It will hold off the flow of blood, but you need antiseptic ointment and stitches to heal the wound. Also, I am confused why carbon is so harmful but sulphurous gas is ok?

3. Send big ships out into the ocean equipped with giant sprayers that will spray ocean water so high into the sky that they form clouds, again blocking the sun. Wow.

I am beginning to think our world is lost if these are the great scientists working to save the planet. I am so glad that God created this world and will have the ultimate say on what goes on around here. Otherwise I think our species would have long ago died away.

For a differing opinion on everything, I would highly recommend this article. It was sent to Clint, via his uncle. http://www.crichton-official.com/speech-ourenvironmentalfuture.html

I don't know what the answer is. Nor if there truly is one. I guess I try not to get too hyped up about anything, whether it is global warming or boyfriend cut blue jeans.

I do know, I will never look at a frisbee the same way.