If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

As our Thanksgiving holiday (and break from the normal routine of life) slowly begins to wind down, I am so thankful that it has been a rejuvinating, relaxing and overall very fun week.

Wednesday was my first day off, but Landon still had to work that morning, so I had a few hours to myself to run some errands, work out and get a few things done that I'd been putting off for weeks--fun stuff like cleaning my car and getting my hair cut, haha. It was a relaxing morning though and a wonderful way to start our Thanksgiving break. Then, that night we had some friends over to hang out and eat dinner (2 guys Landon grew up with and their wives) and it was such a fun night. We ate and laughed and caught up and told stories and laughed and reminisced about ACU and planned a vacation for this summer and laughed some more. It was a fun night--we are so blessed by their friendship and can't wait to see them again at Christmas.

Then, Thanksgiving morning we woke up bright and early and, after a stop to get Landon a paper and me a Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks, we headed out to Bryan to spend the day with Landon's family out at his grandparents house.

We spent about an hour visiting and then headed out to eat our thanksgiving lunch at Golden Corral--which was surprisingly good and surprisingly CROWDED. I was amazed at the number of families spending thanksgiving there. Landon was happy though--this year instead of turkey and dressing (which he is not a fan of) he had pizza and spaghetti and rolls and dessert--he said it was his favorite thanksgiving meal so far! :)

After lunch we headed back to his grandparents house, where we spend the day relaxing and looking at Black Friday ads and watching some football game on TV. It was fun being around family--since we don't always get to see my extended family during the holidays since none of them live in or even near Houston, it's always nice for me to get to hang out with all of Landon's cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents and the enjoy the fun chaos that comes with being with large numbers of family.


Then, before Landon and I headed to my parents house, Elizabeth, Jana and I took their kids to the little playground down the street from the house--it was a beautiful day and the kids were so cute. I think they had a good timeplaying tag and playing in the rocks and running all through the play area!


Then that evening, when my family got home from the Michael's girlfriend's family's house, where they were doing Thanksgiving, we headed over to their house. We spent the rest of the evening snacking on leftovers, talking, laughing and looking at YouTube videos. I loved it and was so glad we were able to see them, even just for a few hours. Especially since it's rarer now that we can all be together in one place at one time. All in all it was a wonderful day and we have so much to be thankful for.


That night Landon and I hit the sack pretty early because we were both planning to get up at 5am to do a little shopping. Landon was shopping for my gift and I was shopping for some extended family gifts, so we headed in different directions. It was my first time to get out early with some specific deals on specific gifts I was wanting to get (aside from the computer monitors Landon and I got last year together)--and it was actually a lot of fun! I got everything I was hoping to get and got a good deal on everything--enough to justify getting up at that horrible hour :)--and the crowds where I was at really weren't that awful, which was nice. And, as I was leaving my last store there was a breathtaking sunrise that brought a smile to my face. I promise the picture below doesn't do it justice; I was wishing I had my real camera with me, but all I had was my cell phone.


Landon got home a little before me and when I got home I had fun showing him all my goodies--one of my favorites was this little sweater I got Baby ( a bonus find, haha) that she's actually not seeming to hate.
And then I found all of the presents in the chair for various members of our extended family. So fun! And, I managed not to spend a lot on random things for me that were a good deal, which I was proud of. :)

And then, totally unexpectedly, Landon gave me my Christmas present from him (or the big part of it, he says)--a new computer! And, which I am equally thrilled about, Lightroom--the photo editing software I have been wanting forever! I am SO excited--I really needed one because mine died about 6 months ago, but I had NO idea that was what he was out buying...and had no idea he had installed Lightroom on it until I stumbled across it as I was opening a picture. I seriously have the best husband in the world. I absoltely love it (and him!).

And, as if that weren't enough, he spent the rest of the day setting it all up for me--installing things, putting on my pictures and music, organizing everthing to the way that I like it etc--all the things I don't know enough to do on my own. :) He's awesome. And the day was awesome--around 8am I took a nap and thenwe just lounged around the house working on my computer and went out to Fry's to take advantage of one more deal, then lounged around the house some more until we met his family (the other side that we didn't see for Thanksgiving) for dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen. It was a fun, low-key way to end a wonderfully relaxing day.

And today we had absolutely no plans, except for dinner tonight at my parents house. And we relished in that fact--because really, that doesn't happen very often, especially around the holidays. We got some things done today but there was nothing we HAD to do--and while I have a tendency to give myself a to do list a mile long on days like yesterday and today, I've been trying hard to not do that this week. I've tried to enjoy just being with my husband and to take advantage of the time to give my body some time to rest. We watched a movie together. I read my book. We went on a bike ride. We talked. It was nice.

And then tonight we had a fun evening with my family. Dinner was wonderful and it was nice just to catch up with everyone--we ate and talked and laughed and I'm already looking forward to the next time we can do it. And for any family reading this--next time we promise to get there early to cook instead of just showing up at dinner time!! :) And, thanks for putting up with all of our running talk...we'll also try to broaden our conversation topics, haha.

It has been a rejuvinating week. and one that was much needed. I feel like tomorrow starts us back to real life, but it's ok. I feel ready to take on life again and I'm already getting excited for Christmas--even though I definitely wouldn't mind another week of vacation!

These are a few of my favorite things...

1. BRITT NICOLE--she's definitely my latest music obsession. I love her music, her message, her voice. I have a tendency to get stuck on a song or on an artist and only listen to that person for days, weeks, months, on end and right now for me, she's it. Her and Taylor Swift. :)




2.OUR FIRST FAMILY AT CHURCH. We had so much fun hanging out with them last night--we ate, talked, laughed and ate some awesome homemade birthday cake. It was such a fun night and we are so blessed to have a wonderful group of friends--this group of people is such an awesome answer to prayer.


3. DAYS WHEN LANDON HANGS OUT WITH HIS FRIENDS AND I GET THE HOUSE TO MYSELF-- While I wouldn't want him to be gone any more than he is, I revel in days where I can do what I want when I want all day long. He went and played golf (in the rain) with some friends on Saturday and it was such a nice break. I slept in, worked out, got some things done around the house, read my book. Glorious. Though I was glad to see him when he got home. :)


4. RUNNING/WORKING OUT-- At some point during out marathon training I got to the place where I enjoyed running. It doesn't make me nervous anymore, it's not something I dread having to do. And while I sometimes would much rather lay on the couch and relax all afternoon (like today for example) I always feel SO much better after I go for a run. It's become a normal part of life and definitely a de-stressor. I love it. What a difference a year can make--when we first started running in January of 2009 just the thought of going for a 3 mile run would make my stomach be in knots all day long--now, I look forward to it (most days at least!).


5. LIVING NEAR FAMILY-- I love that we can hang out with our family on random weeknights and go to church with them and be a part of everyday things with them. I love that we can see everyone on holidays (though it does make for hectic day sometimes!). I love that when we have kids they will be close to their grandparents and (I'm still trying to convince my brothers that we all need to live close to one another! :)) their aunts and uncles and cousins. It's probably because it's getting to be the holiday season, but I just love that we live near to family.


6. GLEE! Though we will always be Dancing with the Stars and 24 fans, Glee has taken a spot up there among them for me! I love the singing--it's totally what makes the show for me. Interesting plot and interesting characters, but I pretty much just watch for the singing. And to see what happens when Mr. Schuster finds out that his wife is not really pregnant. That's gonna be some drama.


7. The Blind Side. Oh my gosh. Go see it. Right now. It is by far the best movie I've seen recently. It was clean, it was well- cast, it was an amazing story. I pretty much laughed and cried and smiled all the way through it. I want to be Leigh Ann Touhy when I grow up.


8. THE BLOG WORLD--That, combined with Facebook, makes the world so small. I've been able to reconnect with people I would have completely lost touch with from high school and college. I've been able to "talk" to families that I worked with/was friends with in Abilene but haven't been able to talk to since I left. I've been encouraged by things people say in response to my blog posts and been encouraged/inspired/touched by things that I read on other people's blogs. Though there are moments when I just have to laugh because I run in to someone that I haven't seen ages and we don't really have to catch up, because we already know the details of each other's lives--and that makes conversation a little awkward at first--I love that we were still connected after not seeing each other forever. It's like all these never ending books I get to read about people's thoughts and lives and struggles and triumphs and everyday stories. And, it gives me a place to capture our story. I love it.

t.h.a.n.k.f.u.l

Today when I got home from work I was way more frustrated with kids I teach than I literally ever remember being before in all the years I've taught. The craziness began at 7:55am when kids walked in for my first period and honestly did not stop until after the bell rang at 3:10pm.

And earlier today, I wanted to blog about the kid that I had cuss me out this morning during first period. And the kid who I had to chase into the boys bathroom during the next period. (And yes, there was another poor little 6th grade boy in there who I'm fairly sure was traumatized.) And the kid who ran away from me and another teacher during today's lunch detention and only stopped running when we called the cop. And the kid who, when I told him he would have to stay after school with me for a few minutes after 9th period with his partners in crime, opened the window in my classroom, jumped out and ran for it. Jumped out the window and ran home, screaming "I told you I'm not staying!". I've seen a lot, let me tell you, but that was a new one for me. It's bad when Jose, the ringleader on the couch below, says "Even I'm not stupid enough to do that and I do a lot of stupid things".

But now I really don't want to focus on that. I don't want to focus on what's hard and bad and frustrating, because there is SO much I am thankful for today, even though I definitely got home in a horrible mood and wasn't able to shake it until I went out for a jog with Will to clear my head and switch gears.

I'm thankful that I am blessed to have 75 wonderful kids this year, who are sweet and easy and want to learn (most of the time anyhow :)). They make me love my job--and WAY outnumber the kids that give me trouble. Though they don't get as much mention on here as they should, I really am blessed with a sweet bunch of kids.

I am thankful that tomorrow is a random early dismissal day--and thankful that our inservice is about working with disengaged students--because I've definitely got some of those this year. And, I've got high hopes that the inservice will actually be useful!

I am thankful that I have such an understanding husband.

I am thankful for the cooler weather and that I can finally start wearing some of my cold weather clothes.

I am thankful for my girls in the Name That Book club at school--they could tell I was having a hard day and were so sweet to me at lunch when they came in my room for practice.

I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday and that we're hanging out with our friends from church on Saturday night.

I'm thankful to Landon for telling me "why don't you blog about the good kids instead" when I told him all the crazy stories I could write about on here from today. I'm thankful that he planted that seed in my head and reminded me that happiness, thankfulness, if a choice. Each and every day, it's a choice we make.

And I am thankful for my family, who drove over to eat dinner and spend the evening with us. It was the perfect ending to a hard day--and they never once asked about how work was going, which I think is a God thing because they always do and it definitely was NOT what I wanted to focus on tonight. We had a wonderful evening with them and look forward to doing it again soon.

Oh--and I am SO thankful to my mom for doing the dishes before she left because if she hadn't I'd probably still be in there doing them now! We made a mess, haha--but it was well worth it!

Landon and Matt hanging out after Matt got off work--he was preparing the banana leaves for our fun dessert

the remnants of our fish tacos dinner--yummy!

Landon and my dad talking running and Garmin watches

My mom and I found some old family pictures--like from her childhood and mine--while I was scrapbooking a few weeks ago and had a fun time looking through them tonight, reminiscing. :)

putting the finishing touches on the dessert--it was very good!

Thank you guys for driving down to our neck of the woods--it was the perfect ending to our Thursday!

Today

Today...
I'm grateful for our wonderful after school program and that it allows our kids a place to be kids and to be influenced by good people who care about them and their futures.

Today...
I'm still at a loss as to what to do with some of my kids--how to motivate the ones that are totally unengaged from school, how to form a relationship with the ones that are so defiant and so defensive and how to not let the "difficult" ones take all my time away from the students that are working hard and need my time and attention too.


Today...
I'm really excited about my new gym bag that Landon brought home for me yesterday. I've been using an old re-usable Kroger bag to carry my clothes to the gym for the past year (I'm a nerd, I know), so today, as I carried my new bag in to Bally's, I felt like I actually belonged there, haha. :)

Today...
I had to laugh (because it was either that or get SUPER frustrated) when I walked in to my classroom. On Monday one of our administrators came in to my room and told me that they were having people come in on Tuesday to fix our windows that were cracked and leaking. And really ugly because they'd been previously "repaired" with glue or something. So I was pretty excited. Until I walked in this morning and saw that this--not quite what I had in mind, haha!

And then, when a pipe from the art room above my room started leaking through the ceiling tile and got water on two of my students who happened to be in the unlucky seats (even though it was water, I was really grossed out, as were they), I had to laugh with them again. And when they said "man, we go to a GHETTO school", I just laughed along with them, because really, what else could I do. Especially since my windows have been cracked and my ceiling leaking from the art room pipe since my first year teaching here three years ago. On days like this I feel for my kids--at the very least they deserve not to have plywood windows and leaky ceilings.


Today...
I'm thankful for a nice night with Landon, enjoying watching Glee, and looking forward to having my family over for dinner tomorrow night. We're making fish tacos and my brother is making a dessert...it's a surprise, but I'm sure it will be delicious! :)

San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon

This weekend Landon and I went with his parents to San Antonio to do the half marathon with his dad. It was a quick trip--we drove in Saturday morning and left Sunday afternoon--but definitely a good time.


When we pulled into town we headed straight for the Expo at the Alamodome to check in and peruse all the different booths, looking for running goodies. The Expo is one of the things I look forward to about the race--I love seeing all the different people that are going to be running and feeling the energy in the room.

Then, Landon and his dad thought it would be fun to pull out the map and drive the course. I found it to be pure torture (almost worse than watching the video of the marathon course before the marathon) because I could feel every elevation and the route seemed to go on forever, haha! I managed to distract myself with my phone though as they enjoyed looking around, and before I knew it we were finally at the hotel. :)


After a quick check in we decided to go and get an early dinner because we hadn't had lunch and we were starving. So, we took a river taxi down the Riverwalk to a little italian restaurant, which was fun. We felt very touristy. :)

When we got to the restaurnat around 530pm we were so thankful that we'd decided to head to dinner earlier rather than later because when we arrived there was already over an hour wait--us and all the other 30,000 people running the marathon had apparently had the same idea!


When we finally got a seat, it was right on the river--and the weather was gorgeous and the food delicious (though I think anything would have tasted good at that point :)), so it turned out to be a really nice night.


And around 8pm, with our bellies finally full, we headed back to the hotel to lay everything out for the morning and hit the sack early, since we were having to set our alarm for 445am. We watching a little tv, got our bibs attached to our shirts, packed up the room and I got to talk to both of my brothers in the same night--it was a good way to end the day. :)


The night passed in what seemd like an hour and before I knew it Pam was dropping us off near the start of the race and we were joining the other running in walking the last half mile to the start corrals. The weather was cool but humid, even at 5am.


Once we got to the starting area, we decided to join a lot of the other runners and get out of the cold--by hanging out inside the Taco Cabana across the street. We got to just sit and relax for about an hour, which was nice. Except for the fact that I got really sleepy just sitting there--and a little anxious about the race. By 7am, when we headed out to line up, I was ready to just get started already, even though I knew it would be another hour or so before I would actually get to cross the start line.

Because I was running the 1/2 and Landon and his dad were walking it together, we were in different corrals. Around 7am we said our good-byes and went our seperate ways. I was prepared to be seperated from Landon this time, so I didn't freak out like I did when we had to split up early on the morning on the marathon.

After standing in the start corral with the other people trying to finish in 2 hours and 15 minutes for about an hour, we finally were able to run through the starting line. I was feeling good as we started, but it was hot and humid. Within the first half mile I was already wiping sweat off my face, which was not a good sign--and it was SO different than my Chicago experience, where the weather was perfect.

Around mile 5 or 6, I started to get tired--probably a combination of the hills and some elevation, the humidity and the fact that I was trying to run it about a minute faster than my marathon pace. I prettty well kept my pace until about the halfway mark, but then I could feel myself fading--and the rest of the race I just had to take one mile at a time. I never let myself slow down intentionally, but I just couldn't keep up the 10:20 that I started at. And, my Garmin wasn't working right, so my pace was kind of all over the place, which was hard. So, I just kept my focus on running at a steady pace about as fast as I could maintain. I kept looking around, noticing the people out cheering us on and the things we were running by--there were some parts of the course that were beautiful--and listened to the audiobook I had on my Ipod.

And, before too long, I finally saw the sign for mile 12! I tried to start picking up my pace a little and pretty soon I could see the last hill we had to run up before we turned and ran towards the finish line. I pushed it as hard as I could as I weaved around people running towards the finish line and crossed right at 2:20:23. During the last half of the race I realized that I was not going to be able to make it at 2:15, so I changed my goal to under 2:20. So, at first I was really mad when I crossed (well, mad and also ecstatic that it was over!) because I was SO close to reaching that goal. But then I kept obsessing about it over the course of the afternoon (because that's just what I do) and decided that I was OK with my time because it was a hard fought for 2:20--there were times when I wanted to give up and slow down and even walk (not that I really would have, but the thought crossed my mind, haha), but I never did. And, I now have a new PR--15 minutes faster than our first half marathon in January!

And, I have incentive to go out there and try again next time--which is why running is so addictive! :)

Because Landon and his dad had a camera and were actually able to take pictures during the race, I'll let their pictures do the talking--which is much more interesting than just me talking!

Waiting with the other 30,000 people at the starting line

I love this picture of Landon :)

getting closer to the start line...it took them about an hour to get there after the race officially started

starting off strong

we got to run right by the Alamo in mile 2, which was super cool

Pam ran all around the course to see up and take our pictures--I never actually got to see her, but the guys did 3 times!

All along the course there were bands set up playing music--it was fun and gave us something to look forward to as we were running

One of the coolest moments for me was when I ran by the band somewhere in mile 6, when things were starting to get hard for me, and they were playing a Christian song. It surprised me and really energized me--so cool. I just thanked God for the encouragement as I ran by with a smile on my face.

And these men and women from the nursing home who were out there with our signs also made us smile.

We also got to go by the Space Needle thing, which was pretty cool too.

my cute husband :)

Elmo came out to cheer Landon and his dad on!

Mile 10 and still going strong :)

the parts of the course where there were a lot of people out cheering people on were a lot of fun

I wish I could have seen this guy out there running--too funny!

After I finished running I picked up my bag and ran over to meet Pam at Mile 12 to see the guys

We sat on the curb and cheered the other runners on as we waited--I love people watching and I love seeing all the different kinds of people who get out there and do these races. It's inspiring--and sometimes surprising, which I also like.

Finally we saw them rounding the curve, looking good with big smiles on their faces. They looked like they were having a blast :)

It was so cool to see him out there during the race--this was probably the one and only time I'll ever finish before Landon so I tried to enjoy it as much as I could, haha!

Half a mile (and one last hill!) left!

Pam and I tried to run over to watch them cross the finish line, but didn't make it in time, which I was so bummed about.

They did SO awesome!! They were going for a 3:30 finish and ended up making it in 3:19:55!! I am so impressed!! :)

When we finally met up with them, they were relaxing and enjoying the medals.

all three of us :)

Wes and Pam

another photo op :)

After the race we made our way back to the hotel to pack up and shower etc, and then ate a delicious lunch at the Alamo Cafe--yummy mexican food. And from there we hit the road, heading back to Houston.

We finally got home around 7 that night and picked up the dogs--and I think they were just about as happy to be home as we were! It was definitley a fun weekend, but it's always so nice to be home again. And, I'm glad the half marathon is over and I can relax some without a race right on the horizon...

... at least until the Goofy Challenge in January! :)