Die Fische haben keine Beine

A little running and too much elliptical = my life

2012-02-07T19:51:00.000+01:00

Welcome back to the "Tiffany talks about working out" show haha.

Honestly, nothing else is going on in our lives right now so this is really all you are going to get until we get a bit more exciting ;-)

Our boss's husband is the director of a super fancy pants gym in the area and we were able to get a free month trial - SWEET! I believe we are already in week 4 of our trial, crazy! It is an awesome gym with great facilities and classes but rather pricey. We have been going 3-4 times a week lately tho and decided that it is worth the health benefits, especially for me strength training as part of my rehab, and will try to sign up until the end of April. There is a hefty sign-up fee but if the director can swing it that we don't have to pay that (they do it off and on through the year, so it isn't so strange) then we will go for it. If not... well, it has been fun :-p

We have been enjoying kettlebell class and Luke moved up to the 20lb bells last week. I tried the 10lbers last saturday and was ok for part of the workout but had to use the 5lbers for the rest of it. I was SO SORE and needed to use the 5lbers the whole time yesterday in class, ouch, but I'm feeling good today so no permanent damage haha.

We branched out a little last week and tried a beginner spin class - torture, pure torture... but I think we will go again this week. Tonight we are aiming for the "butts and guts" class... will let you know how that is if we make it. Hoping for 4 classes total this week and 4 lunch breaks at the gym too. So far I've been to 1 class and worked out for 2 lunch breaks - doing good! Thank goodness Wednesday is a rest day on both accounts tho... I'm gonna need it!

I was able to run today on my lunch break - decided to go with the good ol "run .5, walk .2" scenario... couldn't quite make myself stick to it completely but I didn't run more than .75 straight and still did my 3 miles in 31:45 - pretty darn good for me! Half a mile of that was jogging at a 6.5mph pace which is a good push for me, leaves me winded but not wheezing like a fat kid... but I think I'll go a little slower on Thursday just to make sure I don't hurt anything.

Also picking up my prescription for PT sessions tonight from the doctor and will try to schedule a session for this week with the PT at the gym. It is actually a separate fully functioning practice, but for women only, which is kind of nice and nice that it is right there at the gym. Not planning on going more than once a month... can't afford it otherwise but hopefully they will be able to help me out a bit and get me on the right track to being stronger and running again.

We decided to give up hopes for a half marathon in April. I am bummed but I just can't start training this month without getting myself hurt and it isn't worth it. We are also spending our race money on the gym through April so it is good to wait. There is a race in Philadelphia on May 26th that I am still hoping to train for - will have to start March 4th so we'll see how things are at that point. If I can't do so much yet, we will do a 10k on June 16th and my goal for that is to do it in 1 hour. A consolation race for not being ready for a half marathon... I can handle it :)

Other than cardio and taking classes, Luke has been able to play some pick-up soccer games at the gym on Wednesdays which is great because that kid sure does love soccer :) There is also an indoor league beginning in April and you don't have to be a member to join so even when we leave the gym at the end of April he can still play. We also found out that an old friend organizes outside soccer games on Saturdays in the summer so that will be fun for Luke once the indoor season is gone. He likes working out and taking classes with me, but I know that soccer is so much more fun for him and I am so glad he can play again.

Next Monday Luke will be starting his certificate in project management at UDel and will be pretty busy and I start my translation certificate courses from NYU a week after that so between classes and the gym, we aren't going to be doing a whole lot. Not a bad way to spend the cold, wet days of Winter/early Spring tho so I can't complain.

All is well even if not changing much... grateful for no change if it means no bad changes ;-) Hope things are good or better with all of you too!

A new PR.. and a new injury, ahhhhhhhhhhhh

2012-01-31T13:12:00.001+01:00

Last week I went to visit the Physical Therapist at the gym we've been attending and got a free evaluation. She and the other PT were super informative and helpful in explaining the MANY things that are wrong with me and why I keep getting injured so often. It mostly comes down to weak hips and butt, and the fact that biomechanically I have some issues along with being a giraffe but mostly the lack of muscle support makes those things worse. Soo.... my plan is to keep taking strength training classes like kettlebells mixed with cardio and some strength training on the side and hopefully eventually things will get better. I honestly cannot afford to go to a PT so hopefully I can work on these things on my own. May eventually have to shell out the money for 1 or 2 sessions but I will avoid that as long as possible.

Apparently my form on the treadmill is even worse than my normal bad form running outside and that is what has been causing the pain in my right calf I've been experiencing for the past few weeks. I've been told to stay off the treadmill and only run outside short distances at first and stop immediately if anything hurts. REALLY annoying since it has been snowy, cold, and rainy here - mostly cold and rainy but that snow/mush/ice was a nasty mess a week or so ago too.

As always, I decided to test my limits after a week break and hopped on the treadmill yesterday just to see if running without an incline would help at all. It did, no calf pain, so I decided to be really stupid and see how fast I could run for a mile. Good news and bad news... I set a new PR - 9:15/mile - yay ... bad news tho, I pulled a muscle I think and caused myself some major pain in the pelvic bone area. Too much information I know lol but it is such a weird injury I had to share :) No clue what is going on but I am still a bit sore today so I am skipping my lunchtime workout and hoping to get outside in the 50 degree weather after work and run a few laps if I feel better.

My mom told me I am getting old (28) and probably not made for running if I keep getting hurt so much, but hey... men weren't made to fly and we do it all the time in airplanes so I'll just keep trying and hope it gets better... before I am ancient ;-)

A new year, a new start, & new shoes!

2012-01-12T12:40:00.000+01:00

It is a new year and I feel like my workout goals are off to a GREAT start! I ran 5 days last week - only 1.5-2 miles and then some elliptical and weight work around that, but it felt great! I will only get in about 3 days of running this week because I've been so busy but I am getting in 2-2.5 miles a run and still feeling good.

While we were in Germany we went running twice but I kept it at 15 minutes and a comfortable pace - probably around 11min/mile. I didn't want to push it after taking 2 weeks off completely but I needed to start somewhere. Started up again at jogging only 15 minutes last Monday to start off the new year and have been adding on around 1 min/day. No ITB-knee pain so far and I feel like my endurance is getting better and I am getting stronger. 2.75 miles yesterday (including .35 walking at a brisk pace) was a tough stretch - esepcially pushing myself to run 2 full miles before taking a .1 mile walk break was rough but I did it. I am getting around a 10.5-11 min/mile average pace which isn't so bad, especially with the walking breaks here and there. Just doing my best to take it slow, build up slowly, and listen to my body. If all goes well I will be up to 4 miles by the first Saturday in February and ready to start 1/2 Marathon training the first full week in Feb - wish me luck!

To help with this new start to training, Luke and I both got new running shoes. Instead of upgrading to this year's model, we decided to save 50% and get the same model we currently have. I was REALLY lucky tho and was able to get mine in PURPLE! Happy happy joy joy haha. Have started slowly breaking in these babies during my rehab runs so that they will be nice and comfy for when I start 1/2 marathon training again. It is fun having a new color and "new" shoe with it still being the same model I am used to and comfortable with.

Def. good to not get swept up in the "I need the new color and enhancements!" craze, especially when those enhancements don't make much of a difference if your old model was super comfy already, and it sure saves a lot of money on expensive running shoes especially when you need 2 or 3 pairs a year!

Hope your goals are off to a good start this year and if not, you have plenty of time to work on them so get started today! :)

Little trip to Strasbourg, France

2011-12-29T10:19:00.000+01:00

2 more days left of 2011, crazy! This year feels like it has flllooowwwnnnnn by!

We are enjoying our last week of the year here in Germany with Lukas' family. They live in Linkenheim, which is near Karlsruhe, Germany. A nice little area of the country but not much to see and do, especially since it has been chilly and rainy. Mostly we have just enjoyed our time with visitors including: Lukas' grandma and great aunt that live in the nursing home nearby, his sister and brother-in-law who bought a house nearby recently, his brother who lives about an hour or so away, and his aunt and uncle who came to visit from Nuremberg which is a few hours away.

On Tuesday however our friends the Clarke family who used to live in PA but are now living in Bayern area of Germany for a few years came to visit. I love this family, Luke has been good friends with Stewart for years and it is always wonderful getting to see them. They have 4 children ranging from 12 - 3.5 years old. Lukas and I took a little trip with them across the border to Strasbourg, France to go see the Christmas market. I was a little disappointed that much of the market has been broken down since we went after Christmas, but there were still some decorations in the city to see and the city itself is lovely. Here are a few fun pictures of our day trip:

A very lovely trip with the lovely Clarke family :)

Afterward we of course had to stop at a huge grocery store nearby, seriously bigger than a super walmart if you can believe something like that exists in Europe! We got some more of our favorite french bread and cheese and drinks and the Clarke's stocked up on some things for the kids and other regional goodies. Always a nice way to end a day trip, yummy food! :)

We don't have much else planned for our trip here. Yesterday we wandered around Karlsruhe and did a little shopping and today we will just be hanging out and will go visit with Lukas' grandma and great aunt again in the afternoon. His sister and brother-in-law have been papering and painting their ceiling and walls all week in their new townhouse so we might drag them over this evening to take a break and play cards with us... we'll see if they can be convinced.

Tomorrow we will head to Darmstadt to stay with Lukas' best friends, the Wiese family. We will have a big New Years party at their house on Saturday with lots of their friends and eat some yummy raclette. A good way to end a nice long trip, as we will be flying home on New Years Day.

I miss my puppy and miss being in my own home and will be happy to be home on Sunday. I always feel like that after a long trip tho, even if I am enjoying seeing friends and family. It has been a nice break from home and work and has been good to see everyone. Hopefully in 2 years we can come back again.

Hope everyone is having a lovely last week of the year and I wish you all a very happy New Year! Party it up but stay safe! :) Helllooooooo 2012!

Merry Christmahanukwanzaaka everyone!! :)

2011-12-22T12:41:00.002+01:00

Have yourself a merry little Christmahanukwanzaaka everyone! :) Cheers until 2012!

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas...

2011-12-20T16:06:00.000+01:00

This song has been stuck in my head for days on end... ahhhhhh! Want to know why? Because I DID get a Hippopotamus for Christmast haha!

Be careful... he is one cranky Hippo! Meet my new puppet pal - "Slim"

Freaky right? Best Christmas present opening ever haha.
Here is a less scary picture:

My good friend knows how much I love puppets, espec. because she was subjected to the "Tiffany can give life to any puppet imaginable" show one day while we were out shopping - embarassing to say the least but I just can't hold it in lol. Soooo in honor of my insanity, she got me this cute little fella for Christmas - yay! I always wanted a Hippo for Christmas and now I have one :)

Wishing you all a very very Merry Christmahanukwanzaaka and a Happy New Year!

How do you do, new hairdo ;-)

2011-12-09T01:03:00.002+01:00

After a second trip to the salon to have them fix what they did yesterday, and really frustrating the girl today, I have a super cute haircut!

There is no way I will be able to get it to look this good tomorrow for work but I will enjoy it tonight while I can haha.

The running blues..

2011-12-04T21:42:00.001+01:00

Runs this week - aka all I was able to do before my ITBS pain started - Tuesday1.6, Thursday 2, Friday 1.1, Saturday 1.25... LAME :(

After running a 5k at almost PR speed on Thanksgiving morning I REALLY thought this week was the week I was going to get back into running steady 5ks. Monday's run at the gym killed that and killed my mood for the day, that is for sure.

After Thursday's run I hoped that I could at least stick to 2 miles and work up from there... now I am not even so sure I can do that and it has me down down down :(

Guess all I can do is run as far as I can each day, stretch, and do those stupid strength training exercises at home that I hate... and hope for the best. We were supposed to start half marathon training in January after our Germany vacation but I know I won't be up to a steady 3-miler by then. Hopefully by Feb. 1st I can do 3 - 4 miles without any pain and start working up from there and start a 12-week half-marathon training schedule. If not, I will cry.. and whine... and you will hear all about it :-p

New Title Explanation and other ramblings

2011-11-29T13:30:00.001+01:00

You may have noticed that we have a new blog title - "Die Fische haben keine Beine".
This translates into "fish have no legs".

I know a certain Canadian living in Alaska that may get a kick out of this title, as this is one of the German phrases I taught her and she uses it well haha. It has no deeper meaning, just a product of me being a master of the obvious in German class ;-)

Just thought it was time for a change and since I'm usually rambling about us Fischers going running, it seemed appropriate :)

Speaking of rambling... I have some more for you!

Last night Lukas and I decided to check out "map my run" after I came home cranky and frustrated and needing to get out and work off some energy. I HATE that it is dark by the time I get home from work on Mon/Fri and none of the parks by us have lights. Seriously people, do you think all joggers have no jobs and only use the park during the daylight? Ridiculous... especially when we are still having 50/60 degree weather at the end of November... we need light!

So after finding no where to run, we decided we need to make our own running path and this is where 'map my run' comes into play. It is a free site where you can do just like the title implies - map your run. It will tell you the distance and elevation change and even your average speed and calories burned if you put in all your personal and workout information - not bad! We found a 3.3 mile loop from our house, up the road at about a 200ft elevation change, and back. A little nervous about this path because Lukas had run it before and said it is difficult with the constant incline on the way up and downhill all the way down, but if the weather dries up tomorrow night we may just give it a try.

Today is a yucktastic rainy day tho, so I will be attempting a 5k inside at the gym. Wish me luck... I'm sure I'll add to this post afterward to complain or share my good run ;-)
.........................................

Yep, definitely time to compain ... ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I made it 1.6 miles but the ITBS knee pain started and I forced myself to stop. I wanted to push through it and just keep going but I KNOW from experience that is just bad bad bad news.

I am so frustrated tho... I want to scream and cry and kick things :( I am going to go back down to just running 2 miles and see if I can get through that without pain... once I can do that I will work my way slowly up probably 1/2 a mile at a time if I can. Apparently jumping from 2 - 3.2 was a bad idea but man... it felt SO good last Thursday... I hate this rehab crap!!

*sigh* ... time to suck it up and get back to work... whine whine boo hoo...

5k time again, yay!!!

2011-11-28T15:11:00.000+01:00

First of all - I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Ours was good - good family time, good food, and good deals on Black Friday - can't complain! My dad and sister and her 3 kids came out to my mom's house for a few days and we went down 2 days to see them all. Stole some time with my dad on Saturday to take him out to lunch for his birthday and chat which was really nice. Always good to see everyone more than just once a year :)

Thanksgiving morning I went out and ran a 5k by our house while the hubby played football. I was so proud of myself that I was able to make it the whole way AND I ran it in 33:25 - only 10 seconds slower than my PR from October! YAY! I had a bit of knee pain for the last half mile but I couldn't stop at that point - fortunately stretching and rolling it out helped a lot and I felt fine for the rest of the day.

I did end up walking 3 or 4 times because I was running too fast at first and I also had some knee pain towards the end and needed a minute to let it calm down. Even with those few short walks tho I still had a great speed for me. Leads me to believe that I am getting faster inspite of the break I had to take for ITBS recovery and gives me hope that I can get to my goal of a 5k in 30 min early next year - we shall see!

Training plan is as follows: 5k 2-3 x's a week - 2 days on the treadmill and then saturdays outside - not pushing the tempo too much, just building my endurance and muscles back up from a month of walk/run/walk/run rehab. Once we get back from Germany in January we will start half marathon training so I need to be at a steady 5k pace by then. Soooo happy that my rehab plan is going well - just need to make sure I keep strength training on my legs.

3.5 weeks until we leave for vacation in Germany! Unfortunately our dog sitter needs surgery so we are on the lookout for a new one. A little stressful but we have a few leads so hopefully that will work out. Def. don't want to be worried about our big fuzzy monster while we are on the other side of the ocean :-/ Looking forward to a nice long vacation and it will be nice to see Luke's family and friends for the holidays. He is getting super excited whic makes me happy - it has been 2 year since he was able to go home so I'm definitely glad we were able to afford it this year.

Hope everyone's between holiday time is going well - remember to enjoy the season and time with family and friends!

Kettlebells kicked our butts!

2011-11-17T16:29:00.001+01:00

On Sunday we took dessert over to a new couple in our ward at church to get to know them a little better. She is super adorable and so nice so I decided we needed to be friends :) We had a great time chatting with them over cheesecake, yum!
At one point we were talking about hobbies and mentioned that we like to run and use the climbing wall. She chimed in that she really likes to exercise and as she is super tiny and fit I fully believe that!
Then yesterday I got an email from her inviting us to come to a Kettlebell class at the fitness center she attends. What is a kettlebell you ask? Well here is a picture for you:

So imagine alternating exercises with 1 and 2 of these, swinging them around, doing arm lifts, doing squats and lunges while passing them between your legs... yes, lots of craziness! Now throw in there jumping jacks, jackknives, flutter kicks, pushups and all other sorts of torture and that basically describes the 45 min class we took with her lol. Honestly it was a lot of fun and a great workout - inspite of the fact that I was one of the few people using a 5lb bell haha... Luke had 15lbs and our friend had 20lbs... so I'm a wuss, it is really ok with me :)

I am REALLY uncoordinated and Luke and I definitely ran into eachother a few times - awesome couple that we are haha. If she isn't too embarassed by us hopefully we can go back again sometime, hehe. I really need an iphone to be able to document with pictures these silly things that we get ourselves into!

After that awesome class we decided we REALLY like classes and want to do more. That gym might be a little out of our price range but the YMCA by us is a little more reasonable and has lots of classes so we are going to go take a tour and try one out next week if it works out. They don't have a kettlebell class there, nor do they have our friend, which makes her gym much better... but I'll take what I can get.

Another awesome thing about this class and others like it is the cross-training opportunity that I've been wanting and really needing! My thighs are SO sore today but I can tell that all of the sore muscles are ones that I've been needing to strengthen for running - fantastic! If I could do classes like that for a couple months I really think our Spring half-marathon training would be a lot more successful. We'll see in the new year... maybe a gym membership can weasel its way into our budget :)

Until then, Luke is taking a rest day and I am off to decide if I want to attempt a jog or just go for the elliptical. I am on day 4 of gym days for the week and feeling good about getting a full 6 days in this week! 5 more full weeks to lose those last 5lbs I've been carrying around since Winter 2007... I can do it!! And my running rehab is going ok... I overdid it on Tuesday and had sore knees yesterday so I'll have to scale back if I do run today (or tomorrow which is more likely after that butt-kicking class yesterday haha).

Yay for progress, yay for new friends, and yay for butt-kicking classes! :)

Germany here we come!!!

2011-11-09T14:02:00.000+01:00

Some news that has nothing to do with jogging for once.... we are going to Germany for Christmas! Yay! We will stay there for about 11 days which will be a really nice break from work and nice for Luke to see his friends and family. Will be hard to stay with other people for so long but as it is over Christmas and New Years I'm sure the time will fly by since we will be so busy. We got non-stop tickets which is fantastic too... hate all of those layovers when we are flying overnight... makes it easier to sleep if you never have to get off the plane!

We have an awesome dog sitter that will come stay with Winston so I won't have to worry about him too much... even tho I probably will because that is what I do hehe. I will miss my big fuzzy dog but I'm looking forward to the vacation for sure!

15 days until Turkey Day - looking forward to seeing my dad and maybe my sister and her kids if they come too - let the insanity begin! :)

Rehab running, I'll take what I can get!

2011-11-09T13:59:00.000+01:00

I was good all last week and did not run at all at the gym but in the nice sunny weather on Saturday I could not resist! Lukas and I went up to the reservoir and I ran 1.1 miles (1 lap) with him and then walked 2 more laps and then ran another .25 at the end. Probably that last part that ended up making my knees hurt later... silly me. I couldn't resist tho... I'm an addict and this withdrawl is bad stuff! haha

I forced myself to just do the bike on Monday and have been using the foam roller daily and stretching which seems to be helping. Soooo I decided I should start running this week :) I came up with a great plan for walk/jog/walk but then ignored it once I was at the gym haha.

I was able to jog 1.8 miles of my 5k and still did the whole walk/jog 5k in 36 minutes so I was pretty happy with that. Walked between 13-14 min/mile and ran at 10 min/mile. I think the alternating between walking and jogging is really going to help in my rehab, lets me run so I don't go insane, but keeps my IT band and knees from getting stressed out. Will try to tone it down a bit tomorrow and not go overboard like yesterday but *sigh* it is just so hard to walk sometimes when you just want to RUN :)

One thing I'm still neglecting is my strength training... that is going to be essential for staying injurgy free when I start jogging so I really need to get on that. I keep saying I will do it at home but it never happens... maybe tonight? Maybe tomorrow? haha

No race day for us :(

2011-11-01T12:41:00.000+01:00

The sad truth is that we will not be racing this coming Saturday. My IT Band issues are worse and I couldn't even run 2 miles without it being a problem and making me limp on that side. Glad I gave up after 2 tho and just did the elliptical because it was sore and painful on Sat. and Sun. ... don't even want to think how much it would have hurt if I had tried to run more!

I cried a little at the gym when I told Luke I needed to stop and the compression band was not helping... fortunately it was our work gym and no one else was there on the weekend. He gave me a hug and I stopped being a baby ;-) I am just really frustrated and disappointed but o well... it happens to seasoned runners too so it is not like I did anything wrong or there is anything wrong with me. I will just have to stay off the treadmill for 2 weeks, stretch a lot, and hope to slowly build back up to a 5k by the end of the month with luck. I guess the elliptical and the stationary bike are going to be my new best friends for a few weeks.... LAME haha but better than nothing.

Luke decided not to do the race either - we will both train over the Winter and shoot for a faster and stronger half marathon in the Spring together.

All in all training was great and I made A LOT of improvement... here are a few highlights:

March - started at 15 min/mile - could barely run 1 mile
Now - My fastest 1 mile pace is 9:24, my fastest long run pace (8 miles) was 10:30/mile, my best outside 5k pace is 33 min, and my longest run was 9.5 miles total - not too shabby for 6 months of work!

I also lost 15 lbs and went down 2 jeans sizes which is always good... 5 more lbs to go until all of my "graduate school" weight is gone and I'm back down to around what I was 4 years ago when we got married. Very enjoyable side effects :)

So... I'll stop my whining, be grateful for what I've accomplished, be smart about resting and rehab and will start again in December at a slower pace and build up my strength and speed and kick that half-marathon's butt in the Spring! :)

Good luck to all my friends racing this weekend and in the upcoming 30 days - so excited for all of you and the progress you've made! You are going to rock your races!!

Scary... last chance run test tonight - last chance run tomorrow!

2011-10-28T22:34:00.000+02:00

I am freaking out on the inside, trying to not let it come to the outside since I'm not home yet and out of the public eye haha. I have not been able to run all week, not even half a mile, so lame! I biked 2 - 10ks and that has been it for me - lots of ice cream and snack cakes tho, but I digress.

So, once I get home tonight there should be a UPS package waiting for me with my compression band in it. I am going to test it out at the gym tonight and see if I can run a mile or so with it without sharp shooting pain. If it works, I will do my last training 10-11 mile run with it tomorrow, either in the rain/snow/yuck we are getting or we will come to work and use the good treadmills here and be in for a REALLY long boring indoor run haha.

Seriously, I would MUCH rather have a long boring indoor run than no run at all! No run at all or at least not a successful 10-11 mile run tomorrow means no race for me next Saturday. I am all upset about this and it has been all I could think about for the past week - seriously, FREAKING OUT!

I know it is not the end of the world or my new running career... but it is still super upsetting because we have worked so hard and made so much progress to be cut off a week before the race :-(

... just had to post even tho I don't have an update, just had to get this out of my head and share it with... I dunno... anyone? lol *sigh*
AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Last training week... not looking good :(

2011-10-24T17:48:00.000+02:00

Maybe I picked a cursed race date or something because I REALLY think fate is working against me on this one :(

Our 8 mile run on Thursday was GREAT but there is no way I could have any longer at the park that day - my leg was already pretty sore by the time I was done. I was hoping Saturday would be just as good and I could run longer but it def. did not turn out that way.

I made it 2.6 miles and needed to walk for a bit - tried to get going again and just sent Luke on by himself. Just could not get into it and my leg was hurting and I felt like throwing up for the first few miles... not fun at all.

Luckily for me my friend Leslie came jogging by after I had walked about half a mile alone so I turend around and jogged with her. She is training for the same race that we are! We ended up doing 4.5 miles together which was awesome - way more than I thought I was going to do that day! The distraction of having someone new to talk to really helped me to keep going even when the pain started getting a bit worse. She finished her laps and went home and Luke and I started off on another lap so I could do 10 miles for the day - did not happen. I could barely make it .3 and my leg was screaming at me in pain... walked the .3 back to the car and just waited for him. SO LAME :(
In total I jogged 7 and walked 8 - a lot better than it seemed like I would do that day after the rough start but less than I needed to do 2 weeks before race day :(

After a hot shower and an ice pack, my leg was ok for the rest of the weekend, thank goodness, but I am REALLY disappointed about our training and the chances of me running the race are not so good at this point. It is just so hard to face that possibility after last Thursday's run - we were doing a faster pace than I ever run, made it 8 miles and it was great - I was so psyched up and positive. *sigh*

So... plan is I will take it easy this week and hope for the best on Saturday. Saturday is our last long running day before the race and the last day we will sign up for it.
I need to run 4 laps on saturday (10.4 miles) and still be able to walk just fine after that in order to sign up for the race. If I can barely walk after 8, which is what has been happening lately, there is no point in paying money to try and run 13.1 and just not being able to do it and pushing myself too much out of frustration and injuring myself further.

Incredibly disappointed but still hoping that maybe, just MAYBE there is a chance that a rest week will help. I will just do a 5k tomorrow and bike the other 3 days of the week at work and hope my leg feels like behaving on Saturday. If not ... well... at least I know I gave it my best try. Physically I can def. do the 13.1 - I am fit enough and have trained enough - it is only that knee pain caused by my IT band that is holding me back. Without the pain I would have run 4 laps at the park by now and would have been ready to go for race day. *sigh* O well... you live and learn I guess. If we have to postpone until the Spring that is life... very sad and frustrating... but so is life :-p

Wish us luck... maybe it will help! ... 5 days until I sign up or declare defeat :(

Another PR!

2011-10-21T12:47:00.000+02:00

Man someone must have put the crazy juice in my water this week because we set another PR on our longer run yesterday! Another 5k in 33:17 - and our full 8 mile run was 84 min of running, plus a 4 minute break at mile 5.2. Running was 10.5 min/mile the whole time - add in the break and we are still at 11 min/mile - AWESOME! If you want to know a secret, we also walked .2 of that because of my knee... so the running time was really fast for me to keep up that average!

If we could run that pace the whole race on the 5th then we could hit 2:30 for our race time - I would be SO happy. Only issue would be the hills... PA is VERY hilly, especially Lancaster County - which is why I won't beat myself up too much if we don't hit 2:30 - anything under 3 hours is fine with me because at this point I am just going to be happy to run the race!!

Speaking of which... right now it is looking like a 75% chance that we will be running in the race. Tomorrow we have 4 laps scheduled at the park - 10.4 miles. Not 100% sure I can hit that after yesterday's fast 8 mile run, espec. because I am having major problems walking this morning. So bad I messaged my boss this morning and asked her to bring in an icepack since she comes in a few hours later than I do and was still at home - it is that sore and stiff :( Next week I am only doing 3 - 5ks and then our long 10-11 mile run on Saturday and that is it - need more stretching and resting time for this poor leg of mine. If I can live through next Saturday and can still walk, we are def. signing up for the race.

Wish us luck! 2 weeks from tomorrow... ahhh it is getting SO CLOSE!

A new 5k PR!

2011-10-18T13:04:00.000+02:00

Although our training plan called for a 6 miler yesterday, getting home only 20 min before sunset makes that a bit difficult. Luke had a headache and since running alone is boring, I decided just to do a 5k. To justify a shorter run, I decided to work on speed and guess what.... I set a new PR!! 33:15 - my best time before was 35. Felt SO good even tho I thought my lungs were going to burst on that last quarter mile. My goal by the end of the year is to get a 30 min 5k on the treadmill with a 1% incline - but for now I'm SUPER happy at shaving 1:45 off my current outdoor PR. Happy happy kid :)

My knee wasn't bothering me too much during the run, just a few pricks of pain here and there. Hoping that if I rest and roll and stretch today it will be ok for our longer run on Wed/Thurs (whichever ends up not being rainy - boo to weather interfering with training!)

19 days... just 19 more days to go :)

20 days and counting down!

2011-10-17T21:45:00.000+02:00

Let's talk about Shot Bloks... do they have a physical or just a psychological effect?

In this package are 6 little gummy cubes that are supposed to give me energy while running more than 1 hour. I'm not sure if they really work, but even if they are just a placebo it seemed to help my run on Saturday! 9.5 miles and I wasn't dragging the last couple like usual. Now, this could be due to the fact that sharp shooting pain in my knee made me walk .5+ of a mile within the first 2.5 miles, as well as take 2 drink/shotblok breaks where I was able to sit down, rest my leg, and catch my breath... but considering the fact that it only took me 2 hours to get through 9.5 miles, I couldn't have been THAT slow. (Slow is a relative term... we are talking about 2 hours not being slow for someone who runs a 11-12 min mile on average :)).

The draw backs to these little gummies include the following:

1. Hard to chew while running - must stop to chew up 3 and drink enough fluid to get them down

2. You spend the next 5 min focusing on licking them out of the crevices in your teeth, which may slow down your race pace due to lack of concentration

3. The package is hard to get open - I had to chew it open

4. These little things are STICKY which is ok for the first 3 but the other 3 that you roll back up in the package and put in your pocket to eat in 45 min might be a bit of a mess

All in all they were tasty and I do think they may have helped sustain my energy level and keep me from hitting "the wall" - but not very practical.

Wednesday we will run 7 miles so I figure at mile 4 we will try a Gu this time around:

A small packet of less solid goo to slurp down with water while running - should have the same effect as a shot blok - just easier to carry, open, and no chewing involved. We'll see if I can gag it down or not ;-)

... as far as a training update let's just say that my IT band is causing me issues but I'm going to keep trying to work through that in these final 2 weeks of training. We have 20 days until Race Day and I have every intention or holding out hope until the last minute that I will be able to run. The 29th will be our 11 mile run and the last Saturday before the race - we will decide then if I can do the race or if Lukas will do it alone or not at all.

Run - roll - stretch - strengthen - rest - repeat will be my life for the next 20 days - wish us luck!

Dear leg - you suck - love, Tiffany

2011-10-14T19:23:00.000+02:00

Apparently I hurt myself a lot worse last Saturday than I knew. I was in pain on Sat. and Sun. and come Monday stairs of any type made me just want to cry. I think it may have been my IT Band that got stressed out last Sat. because the area on the outside of my left knee sounds very much like what all the IT Band injuries online describe.

So... TRYING to be a responsible adult, I put training on hold this week. Tuesday - Friday I've been doing a 5k-10k on the exercise bike and then 1-2 miles on the treadmill and that has been going well. My knee/leg was hurting so bad on Tues/Wed/Thurs, working out seemed to be the only thing that helped. Today it is feeling a lot better but I'll still go for the 5k stationary bike and 2 mile plan just in case.

Tomorrow we are scheduled for a 8-9 mile run since we did not go on Wednesday. I am super excited about it, but a little nervous. If I can't make it this week on my long run, I might not be able to do the race. After this week we only have 2 more weeks of training and both have a 10-11 mile run in them. I NEED this run to go well tomorrow... send positive energy my way please!!

On a good note however, my short runs have gotten a lot faster! Even on a 1 incline on the treadmill I ran my 2 miler on Wednesday in 20 min and my 1 miler on Thursday in 9:24 - so exciting! Today I am hoping for a 19 min 2 miler... we shall see. If I can keep it at 20 I'll be cool with that too. At least its some improvement, helps ward off the disappointment of putting training on hold for the whole week.

So there is my whine, yes I would like some cheese with it :) Wish us luck and hope you have a lovely weekend!

3 more weeks... the countdown starts!

2011-10-10T14:37:00.000+02:00

(No pictures... just lots of rambling about running... you've been warned! :))

Only 3 more weeks of training to go and then a "light running week" on race week - I'm getting so excited but so nervous too! We still haven't 100% decided if we can/will do the race or not. We are waiting until the 22nd to decide and will either sign up then or find another race in the Spring to train for.

Last week was a mix of good and bad days.
Monday was awesome - we ran 5 miles at 11:10 min/mile pace which is the best I've been able to do outside and the best I've been able to do for that distance.
Wednesday was AWFUL and slow and blegh but we still ran our 4.4. It was too hot, I was too cranky, and it was just a bad running day all around.
Thursday was better, our timing was great other than me feeling like I was going to throw up and needing to walk half a mile in the middle of our 6 miles and sit down for a few minutes. Not sure what was going on but we finished and still only averaged 12 min/mile including the walking time.

Saturday... the big mileage day ... turned into a bit of a fiasco. It was hot out again and super sunny so I wasn't doing so well with that. We still kept it around 11:15-11:30/mile and we were doing pretty well(other than me needing more drink breaks) but around mile 6 things started going bad. All in all I ended up with a cramp in my right thigh, a cramp in my left calf which then moved up to my knee which then settled at the side of my knee and calf for the remainder of our run and the whole weekend as well.
My pinkie toe also turned into a full blister, seriously like 50% of my toe was and still is a blister... so that was not too fun either. I was limping and upset and not a happy kid at all for the last 1-2 miles. I told Luke to go on ahead and I finished my 8 in the end with some walking/jogging /stretching alternation and he finished 9.

Saturday's issues really worry me because with only 3 weeks left I can't be getting cramps and leg pains and huge blisters or I won't be able to do the race :( And after a painful weekend for my legs I'm still feeling sore and my knees are screaming at me when I'm going up and down stairs. I'm a little nervous about our 6 mile run today and especially nervous about our 9 mile run on Wednesday. I guess all I can do is get out there and give it a try tonight and see how it goes. :-/

Wish us luck! :)

Cold weather speed boost!

2011-10-04T13:05:00.000+02:00

Thanks to browsing the internet and tips from someone which whom I went to HS, I've started doing leg exercises for my quads to help out those painful knees of mine. The dog was very confused and wanted to attack me as I lay on the floor kicking my legs around and the hubs was rather amused at my patheticness... but I got through the suggested reps and most of the exercises on my list last night.
I'm going to try to do these exercises 4-5 times a week and hopefully will see some improvement and not just soreness - like this morning :)

Saturday before General Conference we went to our favorite long loop at the park and ran 8 miles. I will admit that I was pathetically slow and we averaged about a 13 min mile for the whole thing, but at least we did it and at least it was a steady pace! That included stopping for a quick potty and drink break, but I still can't blame the slowness on that.. *sigh* o well. Slow and steady might not win the race, but it will help me finish the race injury free!

Fortunately it was a bit colder last night when we went running after work and somehow that gave me extra energy because I pushed my pace the whole way and we averaged 11:10 / mile for the whole 5 miles. That is probably the fastest I've run outside this year - felt GREAT! Hopefully I can get close to that tomorrow on our 6 mile run and get my 8.5 mile run on Saturday down to 12/mile instead of 13. Wish us luck!

Due to the colder weather setting in I was finally able to wear my awesome purple tights! O boy... do I love them! They are so comfy and there is no riding up, rubbing, etc. and they keep me warm enough to be comfortable but not over heated. If race day is in the 50s I'm going to have a GREAT race!

I've noticed a rather odd thing while running with Lukas tho - I'm always cold at home, and he is always warm - but while running, I get over heated quickly and need to wear just a tshirt, while he is cooler and needs a fleece jacket - strange right? I figure its probably because running at my slow speed is more taxing on my body than on his, since he runs around 8-9 min/mile, so maybe that is why he is cooler. Who knows... but that is why someone invented the idea of layering... so you can strip while running as needed haha.

Other than a head cold that set in on Sunday, we had a lovely and relaxing weekend. General Conference was fantastic and there were some really great talks that I personally needed to hear. I am looking forward to the Ensign (church magazine) coming out with all of the talks in it so that Lukas and I can reread them together and discuss them more indepth. Looking forward to Stake Conference this weekend... mostly because that means no Sunday School or Relief Society, haha, but in general its always a good experience as well. Some how General Conference is more motivating for me to set goals and try to make positive changes than New Years - I guess because its based on inspiration and not just the "end of the year - must make a change!" fever that everyone gets. I definitely will be writing down some personal and spiritual goals and try to improve between now and the next conference in April.

Definitely not the bee's knees!

2011-09-26T19:10:00.002+02:00

**Update** - saving you from reading my whining below lol:

I called the doctor today and got an appointment 1 hour later - sweet! I just needed to make sure, for my own peace of mind, that nothing was injured with my knees and that I am ok to keep training. I also needed to talk about my new and ongoing knee pain (2 different areas) and find a solution.

Before I went I did some research and it seemed like my under the knee pain is just runner's knee, need to strengthen my thighs (quads). The inside on the side of my knee pain is just due to stretching.

... paid $30, doctor checked out my knees, bent my legs, moved them around all weird (awkward in a skirt, yikes!) ... and agreed with the above. He prescribed me 12 visits to P/T. I called when I got back to work and found out that it is a $50 copay per visit for P/T. Nope, I will not be going even once - thanks tho doc! :-p

Honestly, I'm glad I went and eased my mind about my knees. I don't have crappy knees... just weak thighs. Apparently sexy muscular thighs are useful, not just good looking... I need both of those benefits so time to start on the thighmaster! Haha just kidding... I found some good exercises online for both stretching and strengthening my quads so hopefully by the time we run the race ( 5 more weeks of training, ahhh!) my knee pain will be gone gone gone gone GONE.

AND knowing I don't have bad knees gets me more excited for a long running career and who knows... maybe one day even a full marathon! No worries... that's even further off than my "one day I will get pregnant" and we all know how far THAT is...(if you don't, its VERY far off in the future, so far I can't even imagine it lol.)

Anyway... peace of mind was worth $30 and now I just need to do daily exercises to work on those muscles and maybe I too can have the bee's knees type of knees ;-)

... speaking of which, do bees even have knees?

***End of update ***
--------------
Is it weird to be jealous of someone's knees? Haha. Luke is doing great during training and doesn't mind going slow with me which is a huge help. We are both adding on the mileage together and feeling good about our goal. Unfortunately for me, my knees are just not the bee's knees... meaning they suck... majorly lol - and I am super jealous of Luke's pain free knees :(

Usually I get the "under the knee cap" type of pain but starting last Friday I have developed this weird "on the inside side" of my knee pain. After doing a 5k on the treadmill both of my knees hurt in the same spot, as if I had been banging them together while running - which I assure you I was not haha. Then we went to a movie on Friday night (The Help - so good! :)) and I felt like an 80 year old woman trying to stand up afterward... pain, so much pain.

No clue what I've done or am doing to cause this pain... just wish it would go away. Its ok that I'm wheeze-mc-fatkid and need to run slow and build mileage slowly, but this knee pain is really putting a damper on my half marathon training and I don't like it one bit.

Our 6 mile run on Saturday turned into a 3 mile run - partially due to lack of time but also because I could not handle the extra distance. This week our mileage should be 5/6/4/8 -... do you see that big fat 8 for Saturday? How can I do that if I can't walk after the other 3 days of training without pain? *Giant Sigh*

Whine whine whine whine.... and now that that is over... what do I do?

Purple People Eater!

2011-09-23T16:17:00.000+02:00

I think my love of running may stem 50% from my love of work-out clothes haha. Maybe I just run so I have an excuse to buy cute things... hrm... o well, at least its a healthy habit ;-)

Our 1/2 Marathon is scheduled for November 5th, which I'm thinking is not going to be track shorts weather. I LOVE my new shorts for training and will wear them until it drops below 60 but I figured I may want something a little warmer for the race.

I found these lovelies on nikestore.com and knew they needed to be mine:

Nike low-rise running capri - so comfortable and super cute! I love that they come below my knee and are snug, have a zipper on the back waist band for my house/car key, and sit right on my hips and do not ride up at all. Fantastic all around!
Nike had them on sale for 30$ but they did not have my size. I found a coupon and went to buy them at Dick's Sporting Goods on my lunchbreak yesterday and found out they were on sale for 30$ there too - jackpot! I ended up getting a matching purple sports bra and the pants for the original price of the pants, what a deal! Super happy kid... now I wish it was cold enough to wear them!! :)

Get out of your head and on the road!

2011-09-22T13:39:00.002+02:00

#1 most valuable fact I've learned this week about running - it's hard!... and your head makes it harder than your body!
Its fun (most of the time), its rewarding, sometimes its easier than others, but in general it's hard... and it should be!

Some days are more difficult than others tho... and yesterday was definitely one of those days.

Issues that caused a bad run:
1. Weather - only in the low 70s but overcast, humid and sticky
2. Knees were sore from Monday's 4 mile run
3. - and the most problematic - Bad day at work, no motivation to run, and I just could NOT get out of my head!

1.2 miles into our 5.2 mile run I gave up and walked. Luke did not abandon me, just kept going and circled back for me... so after .1 of walking I started in again. Jogging... walking... jogging... walking. Finally Luke just stopped and walked with me the last .4 of our 2.6 mile lap. I grabbed a quick drink at the car and started up again - the next 2.6 mile lap was way better - hard physically but easier mentally and I finished it. I ran 4.6 miles of our total run and only walked .6 so that isn't so bad for such an awful start. Sometimes you just have to give yourself that angry walking time, get over it, and keep going.

Things that made my run better:
1. Walking a short distance and then going again
2. Walking the last short stretch of the lap and starting fresh on the next lap
3. - and the most helpful - a supportive husband who does not push me or get upset with me, just sets a good example and circles back for me once I've had time to cool down/calm down.

Thanks sweetie - you are the best running partner I could ever hope for :)

So, note to self: Not every day will be your best running day, not every day will make you happy and feeling awesome, but if you calm down and keep on going, you'll feel a lot better in the end instead of giving up and being frustrated.

2 more training days this week - 5k at work on the treadmill on Friday and a 6 mile run on Saturday.
I can do this, I will do this, and it will get better.

After this week we only have 5 more training weeks and then a slower rest week before the race... yikes!

Alaska Day 7 - Farewell dear friend!

2011-09-22T01:03:00.000+02:00

Day 7 - our final day in Alaska and with MC - sadness!!

MC was able to take Friday off too so we went exploring. I could finally walk just fine so we decided to do some more hiking.

First however, we headed to the Alaskan Pipeline - can't miss a chance to see that!

Trying to figure out which way to go?

I guess Germans can't read signs - get off that pipe Lukas! :)

It was interesting to see and crazy to think of how far this pipeline stretches! Apparently there is some controversy about wanting to route the pipeline through Canada - hence the "Canada my ass, its alaska's gas" sign in some very well-educated person's yard ;-)

Next we headed toward Chena Hot Springs and stopped off at Angel Rock for some hiking:

Hrm... could this be a dead end? :)

No pictures of the hot springs - we were too busy enjoying their mineral bath-water like goodness. It clouded up and started raining while we were hiking so it was perfect weather to enjoy the naturally heated baths. We stayed in for over an hour, chilling on some chairs and relaxing after a long and adventurous week in Alaska. A great way to end our stay for sure!

Thanks so much to MC for hosting us and showing us around - you rock! So glad we got to spend time together... muahhhhh for having good friends so far away :(

Dear Alaska - you were awesome, we will be back one day - love, The Fischers

... and now its back to deary every day work life... *le sigh*

Alaska Day 6

2011-09-21T01:11:00.000+02:00

MC had lots of research and a conference to prepare for so Luke and I chilled most of the morning/afternoon on Thursday, which was really nice! Remember, we are on VACATION! So that meant sleeping in, eating breakfast, watching a movie, then taking a nap hehe. In the afternoon we went to campus and walked around, checked out the university bookstore and then picked MC up from the lab.

For a fun little trip we went up to Murphy Dome and picked cranberries on the tundra. Awesome, I know :) Another picture string for you if you aren't sick of them already:

Murphy Dome

The lovely view from the tundra

Cranberry Picking

More cranberry picking

My feet sinking into the trampoline like moss - very fun to bounce on, I tried it ;-)

After a lovely little hike we went back and chilled at MC's. A lovely relaxing day if I do say so myself, just the type of day one MUST have while on vacation!

Alaska Day 5

2011-09-20T12:57:00.000+02:00

Back safely from Denali on Tuesday night, we went out to dinner in a lovely restaurant that looked like someone's house - pretty cool! I had the yummiest pesto pasta EVER and the desserts were pretty awesome too. A nice reweard after braving the wild and eating nutella sandwiches all night/day :)

We were ready for a bit of relaxing on Wednesday. I had a nice big blister on the side of my heel and my toes were super sore from my new hiking boots. The boots which are getting sent back tonight I would like to add - grumble grumble grumble. Somehow I also hurt both of my calves and had issues walking - needless to say a relaxing day was definitely in order.

We decided to do a bit of driving around with MC since she was able to take some time away from her research - dear girl! Here are a few of the awesome things we saw and places we visited:

We went for a little hike to start - lovely field and path in the woods

Finally found out why MCs car needs to be plugged in - apparently -40 is cold ;-)

Visiting North Pole, Alaska!

Luke chillin' in Santa's sleigh

I think this one was Prancer, he was not up for autographs tho

Those invisible reindeer are fast!

MC and I .. awww :)

Hanging out with Santa and his squirrel friends

Met my first polar bear, and got mauled!

FINALLY saw a moose - our only one while in Alaska

The hats say it all... hope Santa doesn't mind us borrowing his chair

O yes - these crossings really do exist

I refuse to take a picture of the moose crossing sign since the stuffed one in North Pole was the only one I saw the whole time we were there. We saw some antlers sticking out of the tall grass in Denali but that doesn't count really... ok it kind of does, I'll take what I can get haha. However, I hear that moose hang out in people's back yards, by the school, see them all the time around town ... nope, don't believe it, no moose in Alaska so not point for moose crossing sign pictures :)

Alaska Trip Day 4 - Denali Day 2

2011-09-19T22:39:00.000+02:00

Welcome back to the Alaska picture sure, courtesy of the Fischers ;-)

Day 4 in Alaska - Day 2 in Denali National Park

The main season for the park ended the day we arrived and a new bus schedule for the final 1.5 weeks was posted Monday night. Unfortunately that final week+ schedule is a lot lighter than the normal schedule so our options for leaving the campsite were 8am or 1.45pm. Since its a 5 hour bus ride back to the entrance of the park and another 2 hour drive back to MC's place in Fairbanks, 8am was really our only option.

Bright and early at 6.30am we drug ourselves out of our tent to be greeted by this beautiful sight:

That's right - even tho only 30% of people get to see the mountain we got to see it both days! Love this sunrise photo - seriously majestic.

And then we got back on the bus... and here is another picture string of lovely things we saw:

6:30am - tired but excited to see Denali

Mt McKinley (Denali) at Wonder Lake

Caribou - Reindeer's wild cousin

Enjoying the wide open spaces

Apparently staking my claim on this valley :)

A little patriotism in the park

Awesome camper bus that got us in and out of the park safely!

Bear #3 - eating a pile of something dead

Pack of 11 wolves that chased bear #3 off and stole its food!!

Grizzly bear butt - #4

Side shot of silly grizzly #4 - sleeping right at the side of the road

Grizzly Bear #5

Grizzly #6 - collecting cranberries

Fall at Denali National Park

And that my friends is the end of our time in Denali - such an awesome park and a wonderful experience! We feel a little less like tourists and a little more like natives... ok not really, but still, we are awesome for surviving a night of camping and hiking in Alaska haha.

Stay tuned for more Fairbanks adventures coming up!

Run Fischers run! - A weekend update

2011-09-19T17:28:00.001+02:00

Interrupting my Alaska posts for a little weekend update:

Friday - had a great 4 mile run in 46.5 minutes. That may be slow to some people but it was a good pace for me, especially since .35 miles of that was uphill in the beginning. Averaging around 11.38 min miles the whole way... not bad! That is probably the best we've been able to hit outside at the reservoir - that course is so short (1.1 miles) and slightly hilly so I'm usually super slow up there so I was feeling really good after we did so well.

Saturday -

In the morning we watched the Philadelphia Temple Groundbreaking Ceremony through a live broadcast at church which was awesome. If you would like to know more, please to go: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/philadelphia/

It was a great occasion to remember why temples are so important in our church and to strengthen my testimony of temples. It was also a good reminder to us to plan as a family to make going to the temple more of a priority.
The temple in Philadelphia will not be completed until around 2014 so we will still be driving down to DC for the next few years, but eventually it will be nice to have one less than an hour away. We will actually be heading down this Saturday since we just realized there are only 2 weeks left this month - yikes how the time flies!

After the temple groundbreaking broadcast, we went out to ice cream with some friends. A great way to get ready for our 7 mile jog in the evening! haha. Had a bit of lunch at home and then took a 2 hour nap... lovely way to spend the day.

In the evening we headed over to Glasgow park for our 7 mile run. That is the most either of us have ever run and the longest stretch of our half-marathon training so far. Over 1/2 of the distance we will have to run on race day.... and we made it! Slow but steady - took us 88 minutes - so about a 12.5 min mile average once you could in my quick potty break haha. The 2.6mile course makes it a lot easier to run long distances than our usual 1.1 mile course so it was not so bad running that long. In 2 weeks we will have a 8 mile run... hopefully we'll be up to it by then! Slowly and steadily we are getting ready for this race... so proud of us, especially myself because I am definitely NOT athletic and am proud of the progress I have made so far.

Sunday -

No muscle pains after the long run on Saturday! Yay for us!

Church was good and we just chilled/crafted/etc. afterward for a nice relaxing afternoon.

I love weekends.... why is it Monday now? Why.... WHY!!!????

Alaska Day 3 - Denali National Park

2011-09-15T13:58:00.000+02:00

On Monday - Labor Day - Day 3 of our Alaska trip we picked up our rental car and drove 2 hours to Denali National Park for a day of bus riding, hiking, and camping. Are we insane... yes, yes I do believe we are. Was it worth it... yes, totally!

Weather... 60s? Weather at night... 40s or lower? Brrr...

So many pictures to show you - will try to narrow it down!

Fall from the bus - cranberry fields

Could not get enough of these fall colors!

First signing of "Denali" aka Mount McKinley from the bus

View from our first stop - gorgeous!

Let the windy "alaska hair" pictures begin! haha

These river beds look so fun to explore

Our first sighting of Dahl Sheep roaming around the hills

Stop #2 - man we love these mountain views

Dahl sheep chillin' by the bus

Hello there sheepie, want to come home with me?

Golden Eagle soaring by the bus window

Golden Eagle

Grizzly Bear #1

A crafty little fox sneaking through the bushes by the road

Stop #3, getting a little chilly and windy

Grizzly Bear #2 - sleeping about 10 feet off the trail

Bear sign keeping us off the trail due to Grizzly #2

Map of the 85 mile road our bus was slowly taking through the park to our campground

5 hours later - Wonder Lake Campground - Destination reached!

Closer view of Denali - only about 20 miles from our campground now

Happy to be off the bus in nature!

Wonder Lake

Feeling a little romantic ;-)

Start of our 3 hour hike

Bear paw on our path... look at those claws, yikes!

1.5 hours into the hike, cold and tired

Lovely path - does not give much visibility when looking out for bears tho!

3 hours later - the hike is done! And apparently so am I :)

Sunset in Denali

Sunset on Mt McKinley

Cold but excited about dinner

Bear Proof Food Locker

Staking our claim at the campsite

My first campsite outside of my backyard!

Cold and tired at sunset but loving the adventure

Changing pants behind tent while watching out for hikers

Denali - So clear and lovely!

And that my friends was our first day in Denali National Park!

My feet were pretty sore after the hike and we were pretty nervous looking for moose and bear along our path but fortunately it was a safe and beautiful hike. We were pretty cold and a bit uncomfortable while camping... espec. since we forgot to close the valve on our airpads and were basically just sleeping on the hard ground haha. MC gave me a sleeping bag that will keep one warm up to -40 degrees F... unfortunately we could not figure out which one it was when we got there. I def. did not end up with that one tho, it was so cold! Then the wind storm came... shake shake shake shake... all night long... yea, it was a rough night haha. We survived the night tho and lived to tell about it ;-)

Stay tuned for day two in Denali with more scenery and wild life sightings!

Alaska Report - Day 1 & Day 2

2011-09-13T12:48:00.000+02:00

The following few posts will be re-caps of our FANTASTIC trip to Alaska over Labor Day weekend/week.

Day 1: We arrived around 8pm at MC's house after being picked up an airport with a stuffed (as in taxidermied) Polar Bear and Gizzley Bear and Arctic Wolf in glass display cases.... interesting...

Her little cabin (in the woods, on a hill, up 3 steep gravel roads) was SO cute and I am SO grateful that she did not have a "dry cabin"... aka DID have running water and an indoor flush toilet, wooo hoo! It's about the little pleasures in life I tell ya ;-)

She has a normal apartment downstairs and then loft upstairs with her bed and storage area up there. It was interesting climbing up and down a ladder every day to get up there, especially at 6am when I had just woken up to potty. There were no accidents of the pants wetting nor falling kind, thank goodness.

Due to the 4 hour time difference we were pretty beat and went to bed around 10pm... 2am Delaware time, yikes.

Day 2: After a chill morning and breakfast, we drove MC to school and then went to church. After an hour of church we left to explore Fairbanks... the booming metropolis that it is... not... ;-)

Adventure #1: Pioneer Park
This is a little tourist village full of cabins and huts and a museum and other attractions about Fairbanks' history. Hopefully you will enjoy the following pictures from our treck around there:

Ride the giant alaskan salmon at your own risk!

Apparently Salmon bite

When confronted by a blac bear, punch it in the nose!

Old steamboat that used to be fully functional

After wandering around Pioneer park for a bit, we headed up to the large animal research station and checked out a few furry friends:

Musk Ox

Reindeer

Nearby was the botanical gardens where we stopped to enjoy the beautiful sunny weather, even tho it was only in the 60s and crazy Alaskans were wearing shorts and tanktops!

Alaskan Giant Cabbage, yum!

When the mood strikes you, sometimes you just have to go for it :)

After those thrilling adventures we picked up MC and headed home for a fun cookout with a few of her friends. A lovely first full day in AK.

New favorite store - Delaware Running Company!

2011-09-12T22:44:00.001+02:00

Last year Lukas and I went to Delaware Running Company and found out how we both pronate - one of us over and one of us under - and got new shoes that correct our issues. Mine took away most of my knee pain within the first week of running and his are pretty comfy too. 9 months and several false training starts later we are sticking to our half-marathon training and our shoes are holding strong!

Then, the DE Running Co. offered me a suggestion of the Feetures socks to solve my sore toes/sliding socks issue when I went in to browse/complain. I love them so much I bought a second pair on Saturday and refuse to wear any other socks while jogging.

And THEN, believe it or not.... to the rescue again came DE Running Co for my various shorts issues. "The legs ride up and my thighs stick, the top rides up way too high, if I roll them they are too short, etc." all solved by 1 pair of shorts! I bought these Adidas Marathon 10 women's running shorts on Saturday and took them out on a 5k that evening. It was super hot and the legs did not ride up at all - the silky material helped them slide on eachother and did not make my tighs stick together like my other shorts always do. They do ride up a little due to my exaggerated pear shape, but if I fold the band inside the shorts, they sit perfectly and feel great!

I ran another 5k with them today at work and decided I absoluately have to purchase another pair! DE Running Co had them on sale for 50% off and still has another color in my size so I'm going back today.

Happy happy girl with her new favorite store!

Thanks for helping me stick to my goals by solving my various wardrobe issues DE Running Company!

Love affair with my gym socks...

2011-09-01T13:38:00.001+02:00

If loving my new socks this much is wrong, I don't want to be right! I tried my new "feetures" - multi-sport light cushion - socks out at the gym on Thursday. My feet felt like they were being snuggled on the elliptical and bike. My 2nd toe on my right foot always gets a blister right by the nail and it hurts everytime I work out. Also, last week during our "practice training week" the bottom of my feet were getting rubbed by my old socks and were really sore. I took these lovely new socks on a 6 mile jog yesterday and had no sore toe, no sore feet, and even when I stepped in a massive puddle my feet were dry within 5 minutes while I could hear Luke's shoes and socks squeeking and squishing for a lot longer than that. Amazing! If these give me the same wonderful results on Fri & Sat I will def. be buying another pair after vacation.

So yea... 6 miles yesterday... it was hard but awesome! We went to Glasgow Park in Bear, DE which has a 2.6 mile loop - way better for long runs than the 1.1 mile loop by our apartment. We finished our 6 miles in 70 minutes - averaging 11:40 per mile - way better than my 12-13 min average last week. Not too sore today so I think I will do some light crosstraining at lunch, a 4 mile jog on Friday, and we should be ready for our 7 mile long run on Saturday. So excited - that is a little over half of our total distance and if I can do that on Saturday already with 8 more weeks to train, we can def. get ready for this half marathon in time. Yay! It feels so good to accomplish something you've wanted to do for so long and push yourself farther than you've gone before... I'm def. getting addicted :)

Saturday we also happen to be hopping on a plane and flying to Fairbanks, Alaska for the week. Even more excited about that than my run that morning ;-) My good friend MC is living there and working on her PhD so we will visit her for the week, go check out Denali National Park while she gets ready for a conference, and generally just enjoy visiting a new state and having a week off work - woot woot! :)

I'll probably be too tired and busy to blog on Saturday, so lets just assume I live through the 7 mile jog and unless I get eaten by a bear, I'll be back in Sept. with lots of pics and stories of our Alaskan adventure. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

Good news, cheesecake, and gym socks - a winning combination!

2011-08-30T13:51:00.001+02:00

First - the good news:

I passed my entrance exam for the NYU Certificate in Translation: German - English program! YAY! I was so worried that they were going to take a long time to evaluate them but apparently they had nothing better to do over the weekend :) So relieved and happy! I will probably postpone until January for my first class but I should still be finished with the 6 course program by the end of next year, yay!

Next - check out this cheesecake!

Its not even just cheesecake... its a recipe for oreo cream cheesecake cupcakes - wow, are you drooling yet? I know I am!

Luke and I are going to try a new recipe once a week for dinner and a new recipe each weekend for dessert. This is #1 on my dessert list for sure! Just have to force myself to wait to make them until we get back from vacation. Homemade mac'n'cheese might be first on the dinner list as well - I'll keep you posted on our "Kitchen Adventures" in September :)

Last night Gina, Lukas and I went to get fro-yo on Main Street. One thing I love about where we live, we can take a nice long walk to Main Street for dinner or dessert. It was a lovely cool evening and it was nice to take a stroll together. I've learned from one of my new favorite blogs - The Hungry Runner Girl - that Fro-yo and/or ice cream are essential parts of the training process ... who am I to doubt an expert? haha.

Next door to the fro-yo place is the Delaware Running Company - where we purchased our wonderful shoes last year. My feet have been getting sore in various places lately while jogging so I went in search of some new socks and came back with these lovelies:

Feetures multi-sport light cushioned socks. They have awesome ribbing around the center that hold onto your feet to reduce slippage, great cushioning in the heel, toes, and bottom, and are also moisture wicking to keep your feet sweat free during a long run. The great thing is they also have a lifetime garuntee. They feel like heaven on my feet just walking around the house - excited to try them out for cross training today. I'll let you know what my verdict is this afternoon - I'm expecting a lot from a $10 pair of running socks but the review all seem to be positive so I have high hopes.

Hope everyone has a lovely Tuesday!

Can I get some fries with that shake?

2011-08-29T00:01:00.000+02:00

We made it through the earthquake... we made it through Irene... can we make it through Godzilla? Who knows! :)

We were very fortunate in our area - no trees down, no power lost, water is still running and clean. We even have a beautiful Sunday afternoon here - in the 80s, great breeze, took the dog on a mile walk and sat up at the reservoir for a bit just enjoying the weather. Many were not so lucky... keeping them in our prayers!

On Friday I took my entrance exam for the Certificate in Translation at NYU. It was online, timed, and very nerve wracking and I have no idea how I did nor when I will find out. I was shaking from nervous energy so I was super happy when Luke got home and we could go on our 4 mile training jog.
I'm still SO slow - averaging between 12 and 13 min miles which is so lame because I'm closer to 11 on the treadmill, even when I'm doing a 5k. No clue why there is such a difference but hopefully I'll get used to the pavement and get a bit faster. Luke is way faster than me but I'm grateful that he stays with me, way more motivating than jogging on my own. My mp3 player died and my charger is at work so it was hard enough to keep going already!

Saturday morning was super grey and overcast but since it was not calling for rain until noon I went on a 5 mile jog while Luke went to help a family move. I averaged around 13 min/mile again and ended up messing up my hips pretty bad - I've been walking a little funny this weekend due to sharp pains in my hips but it seems to be getting better so hopefully I can still go for my 4 mile jog tomorrow morning. So thankful for Sunday rest days, in all respects! Apparently I have too much hippie-hippie-shake for my own good haha ;-)

Grateful for jogging time with my hubby, grateful to have weathered the storm with no damage, and grateful for a beautiful sabbath day with Luke & Winston.

... o yea, they cancelled church already on Saturday morning. Why is it that being allowed to stay home from church is not nearly as fun as skipping? Opps... did I say that outl oud? haha. It was weird having no where to be today, espec. as the weather was just fine. I got some sewing done and a 3 hour nap in tho.. very productive :)

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend! Anything of note you want to share?

There she blows.... all hands on deck!

2011-08-26T17:48:00.000+02:00

And here comes the beast...

To be honest, it looks to me like a mass of dementors from Harry Potter are heading to the Carolinas... but unfortunately it really IS Irene and she is a weapon of mass destruction :(
If you look at "Baltimore" - we are right above the M. We won't get hit as bad as the Carolinas fortunately.

Keep those in the path of the storm in your prayers!

I would walk 500 miles.... but can I run 13.1?

2011-08-25T15:15:00.001+02:00

This is the thought that is literally running through my mind constantly for the past few days. No, not men's legs haha... but running. Running a half-marathon to be precise. Insane? I think so... but can we do it? That is the million dollar question.

I've wanted to run a 1/2 marathon for the past 2 years and everytime I've "tried" training, I get knee pain and give up. We bought good shoes last Winter and they have made a lot of difference in my knee pain and ability to run faster and longer. I am up to a steady 5k - still at turtle's pace but I'm ok with that. Luke and I have been working out 3-4 times a week at the gym at work and its helped a ton but really... I want more. And that more is a 1/2 Marathon.

So, step 1, pick a 1/2 Marathon - DONE! November 5th, 2011 - Amish Country Half Marathon in Lancaster, PA.

Step 2, start training - scary part! haha

Basically this is the plan... following a 9 week training plan until the end of Sept (1/2 way through the plan). If my knees can handle it up until that point, Oct. 1st we will sign up for the 1/2 marathon and keep pushing ourselves through training. If my knees need to train slower to not get injured tho, we will just go back to Step 1, pick a date for the spring, and train slower.

I really really hope that November works out tho. I'm soooooooooo excited about this goal and I really feel like I'm way more prepared this time to start than the last 2 times. I've not been this active for an extended period of time since probably freshman year of college and it feels great.

So, being a little over zealous, I ran 2.5 miles at work yesterday and then another 3.3 with Lukes after work and walked another .7. Seriously... am in insane?! lol I'm stiff and sore today and regretting it, but really, it was exciting ;-) We need to run 5 on saturday to get ready for week 1 of training beginning next week. Wish me luck! You can wish Luke luck too but I think he can already handle a 5 mile jog, especially at my turtle pace, its me that will need dragged the last mile haha.

(And expect a lot of blah blah blah training blog posts to come after this... sorry but if I'm thinking about it constantly, it helps to talk about it too.)

Beach day beach day, hurray!

2011-08-24T20:39:00.000+02:00

Last Saturday we had our second beach day of the year and let me tell you, it was one of the best!

There was napping...

Luke taking a Siesta

Reading...

My best buddy in Delaware - Gina

And some awesome dogpaddling done by me - yes, that is right, I SWAM IN THE OCEAN!!! I realize millions of people do this every year but it was my first time actually getting in and playing... and I loved it! Can't wait to go back!

Me doggy-paddling while Luke belly-surfs a wave to shore

Such a gorgeous beach day - just one part of a fantastic fun-filled weekend!
On Friday Luke and I had a great date night at California Pizza Kitchen, followed by a stroll around the mall to relax our full bellies. Roasted and toasted at Rehoboth Beach on Saturday. And Sunday we made some new friends and were reuinted with old friends at a game night at Gina's house. Can't ask for a more perfect weekend :)

One last weekly tidbit to share with you - Adventures in furniture assembling!

Did you know they made gliding lawn furniture for Giraffes? Apparently we thought so when we were assembling this... it is supposed to be ground level and swing back and forth... hrmmm...

I'm 5'11 and I would have had to hop to get my bum on this seat lol. We are geniuses... I know. Being the nice people we are tho we did help Gina rebuild this, instead of leaving her with a strange piece of lawn furniture haha. O the good times just keep rolling on in...

An Earthquake in Delaware? Really???

2011-08-24T20:28:00.005+02:00

Around 2pm EST on Tuesday August 23rd, 2011 we were sitting in our cubicle, looking around confused. The windows were vibrating and so were the ceiling panels, but we couldn't figure out how someone upstairs could be making so much comotion... then the desks shook a little, and it was all over. "We just had an earthquake!"... hahahaha was our first joking response. Then we stood up and realized this vibrating happened all over our floor because everyone else was standing and looking confused... and then we found out it really WAS an earthquake!

... let me just say that I'm SO excited that this happened, but no one was hurt, so I don't have to feel bad about the excitement haha. Never in my life living in Indiana/Ohio/Delaware did I think I would experience an earthquake!!

In case you are interested, here are some of the news details.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 struck Tuesday afternoon near Washington, D.C., the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia. The quake was four miles deep, according to the USGS.

The Pentagon has been evacuated, CNN's Barbara Starr reports. "When the building began shaking rather violently, hundreds of people began streaming out," she said, because many people thought that the building was under attack. Starr was standing in the Pentagon's press office when the roof started to shake.

Twitter traffic suggests the quake was felt all over the East Coast.

In Philadelphia, HunterPence3 tweeted, "Wow Earthquake just shook the entire locker room!"

In Cleveland, "tribeinsider" wrote "I'm no expert but i think we just had an earthquake here."

And even in Toronto, Canada, tweets said that the shaking could be felt for minutes.

The earthquake could be felt in NC, VA, DC, MD, OH, NY, PA, DE and even in Toronto, Canada... crazy!

Upon arriving back at work on Wednesday, there was an email warning waiting for me about Newark's drinking water. Apparently our little earthquake caused a water pipe to break which has contaminated all of our drinking water and we may all get Ecoli... o joy. So now for the next 2 days I need to be boiling water for dishes, drinking, and brushing our teeth... and ofcourse for the dog too. Just wish we would have known this yesterday before we ... drank, did dishes, and brushed our teeth!
... and in other news, we have a hurricane on its way... Armageddon? Perhaps! :)

To the zoo!

2011-07-19T13:58:00.000+02:00

A few highlights from our trip to the Philadelphia Zoo

My zoopass which we bought last year for my birthday expires at the end of the month so we made the most of our list trip there - including another camel ride for me, woo hoo :)

He looks so snuggly! :)

Baby Giraffe on the left - born last summer

Crazy wild animals ;-)

Awww, even cheetahs like to groom and snuggle :)

Awesome... what more can I say?

And then I rode off into the sunset on my camel

Playtime in the kitty-pool

Caution - she may bite!

The Philadelphia Zoo - apparently America's 1st zoo

Luke's been working out :)

Back home again in Indiana...

2011-07-19T13:40:00.001+02:00

Over the 4th of July weekend we made our annual trip back home to Indiana. It was filled with family, friends, and lots of fun - here are some highlights:

A quick stop in Kirtland, OH to see the first LDS Temple ever built (no longer owned by the church) - the tour was fantastic!

Next stop - Dad's house - more specifically his pool :)

Luke ofcourse got his chance to mow the lawn ... less grass ended up in the pool this year, thank goodness ;-)

Our good friends Molly and Nic Subtirelu got married in Muncie that weekend as well so we went down to see them - a few highlights from the wedding:

A beautiful wedding, a wonderful time with our family and friends, and a nice little side trip for church history... can't ask for much more on a lovely 4th of July weekend :)

Amish Country Visit

2011-03-09T15:48:00.000+01:00

We had rather cold, snowy weather while Lukas' parents were visiting at the end of January. On the day we went up to get them from the airport an ice and snow storm hit and we drove back home with white-out conditions. We were fortunate that their flight was not delayed, as it was one of the last into Philly that day due to the weather.

We did not have a shovel so the 6 inches of snow we got overnight was a bit daunting. Lukas was a wonderful husband and dug me out the next morning so that I could get to work, and then enjoyed a snowy day at home with his parents and Winston.

We got a shovel the next day so poor Lukas wouldn't have to use a bucket lid anymore and got both of our cars dug out the rest of the way. Fortunately that first dumping of snow was all we had to deal with so it was pretty manageable after a few days.

Even tho the weather took away most of our exploration opportunities, we made a sidetrip up to Intercourse, PA to check out Amish Country on the weekend. His parents have been up in Lancaster County, PA with us before but it is always a novel and enjoyable area to visit.

We visited a few of my favorite fabric and quilt shops, had a wonderfully yummy fresh made pretzel at "Immer Gut" (Always Good), and all in all had an enjoyable walk around town.

Here are some more pictures to highlight our visit:

The ever present horse and buggy scene

I have a feeling they won't be stoping to fuel up here

This horse does not look quite up to the job... he must be German :)

And last of all... some pretty sweet Christmas Tree decorations :)

Lukas' graduation, yay!

2011-02-14T03:56:00.001+01:00

Wow... I am really bad about blogging on here these days. I have switched over to my craft/quilting blog @ thiscraftyfox.blogspot.com - however I never post anything personal on there so I guess I need to pick up the slack here, hrmmm :)

ANYWAY... on to some awesome news... Lukas graduated with his MBA on the 30th of January! Woo hoo!!!!!!!! His parents flew out from Germany to visit with us for a week and to attend his graduation which great and made the day all the more special for Lukas to be able to celebrate with them. I'm so proud of him... not only did he say he was done done DONE with school after his BA in International Business, he completed this Master's in a foreign language, while working full-time, and had an A GPA the whole way!

Other than that excitement - there is not really anything new going on here. Same apartment, same jobs, same big fuzzy dog, no additions to the family to announce now or anytime in the near future... same old same old I guess. But hey... no news is better than bad news I suppose :) .... if I happen to be browsing some pics later I will do some back-updates of the past 8 months but until then... enjoy checking out my crafts on the other blog and just email or call if you miss us :)

Graduation Day May 28th, 2010

2010-06-01T14:45:00.000+02:00

I had a wonderful graduation day on Friday with my family and friends. I officially have my MA in German Literature, YAY! My dad drove out from Indiana, my Aunt Bonnie came from Tennessee, and mom and Lukas both took the day off as well to celebrate with me. It was a great (and short!) ceremony followed by a super yummy meal at The Cheesecake Factory. I received the graduate student award for excellence in the classroom, teaching, and for passing with honors on my comprehensive exams and my final GPA was 3.927... not too shabby ;-) Definitely glad to have finished so well and above all I am just glad to be finished!

We were able to spend Friday and Saturday with my parents and Aunt Bonnie and then Sunday again with my parents which was wonderful. I love having time with family, especially as I do not see them so often. It was a great weekend although busy and Im so glad everyone came out to celebrate this wonderful occassion with me!

My good friend Autumn graduated from the French department as well so it was great to share that day with her. I was also really happy that members of my German department came out to cheer for me. These grads are awesome and I know they will rock the comprehensive exams next year and hopefully I will be able to come cheer for them next Spring as they graduate.

Not sure yet what the future holds... still have not heard back from CSC so I am getting a little nervous. I will probably have to start a real job search next week which is not going to be fun, I am sure. We are heading out to Kansas on Thursday to see my grandparents who are both not doing so well health-wise and it could be the last time I see either of them so I'm not even going to worry about anything else until after that trip.
I have a part-time job for the summer if needed and Lukas has a good job so we are counting our blessings and will hope for a good job for me to come up in the near future.

I passssssssseeeeeeeeddddddddddd!!!!

2010-05-12T19:05:00.000+02:00

That rambling subject line is basically how elated I felt on the day of my Master's exams when, after almost crying during the exam because there were 3 questions I could absolutely not answer because I forgot the plot of the books entirely, and after waiting 5 min in the hall for my teachers to decide... they came out and smiling said I passed! WOO HOO! I am 100% going to graduate on May 28th with my MA in German Literature. SO awesome! And, to make matters even better, I passed with a "high pass" which was VERY unexpected but pretty awesome too.

I have 2 papers due tomorrow and another paper as well as 2 finals next week. Somehow I will get through all of this even tho I am completely not motivated to do any more homework EVER again haha.

In other good news, I have a job interview next Friday at CSC, where Lukas works. I really hope that the interview goes well and I: 1. Get a job but 2. Get a good job that isn't just an ok starter position
Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Ok... back to those papers I suppose, blegh.

Test time is here!

2010-05-04T03:40:00.000+02:00

Its so hard to believe that those 4.5 weeks already went by and I just took my written Master´s exam last week. It was pretty stressful to prepare for and although Im pretty sure that I passed and am taking the oral exam this Friday, I still have not heard anything from my teachers and I am getting a little nervous. I have a very full week of work and classes as well as Lukas´ induction ceremony into the business honors society on Wednsday... no clue when I am going to study for Friday! The written exam was difficult but not nearly as hard as the oral exam will be, as the written was rather open ended and left a lot of room for choosing my own works to discuss. Im getting super nervous every day but I guess all I can do is try to study bit by bit and hope in the end, Friday at 12.30 I will have something to say in front of a panel of teachers asking me questions about all of German literature for an hour, yikes!

Lukas is doing really great in school and Im proud of him for holding onto his 4.0 now through 7 classes. Im looking forward to his induction ceremony on Wednesday into the honors society. For someone who always told me how awful he is at school, he def. seems to be flourishing at Wilmington Univ. which is great. Im so proud of him for getting his MBA inspite of his negative attitude for school... it will definitely bless our family and increase our income as well as my chances of EVER being able to stay at home some point during our children´s lives. (Yes... those children I am still avoiding having and super freaked out by haha... but still, they are a future goal, even if a scary one, and its nice to know they will be taken care of by my hardworking husband and I.) Anyway, he is planning on doubling up on classes again one term this summer so that he can graduate at the end of the year which is fantastic. He will probably start looking for a new job which will be a financial as well as stress relief, since his company can be a bit frustrating at times. Who knows if we will stay around here... I guess we shall see what his current job offers when he has his MBA and what other companies in the area are looking for and offering. We are also toying with the idea of California because his brother lives out there, but Im not seeing it as a super realistic possibility unless if it was truly meant to be and the perfect job came along.

We shall see... that is all a while off. First I have to pass this exam on Friday, graduate on the 28th of May and find a job myself! Booooo to the real world, booooo :)

Otherwise life has just been a big ball of studying stress... not much interesting to report so I will leave it at that.

My dirty little secret...

2010-03-31T23:15:00.000+02:00

So do you want to know my dirty little secret?... I LOVE RUNNING! Its only a dirty secret because it has been pouring rain for 2 days and I went jogging on Monday in the rain but held out for the sunshine today. I had no clue that I loved jogging so much until I jogged 3 miles straight today and then walked another mile with Winston and Luke and just felt amazingly good! I think its a combination of sunshine and warm weather after all of the rain we have had, and the adrenaline from getting off my butt, away from my homework and books and studying, and just getting out and getting active. I love Spring because it gets me to put my cranky-pants away and look forward to Summer :) Yay for Spring!

4.5 weeks until my comprehensive exams... other than the occasional jog basically ALL I EVER do is read and study, read and study, read and study... with a little bit of sleep mixed in there. I will be so elated when my written exams are done on the 30th, my oral ones are over on the 7th of May and then by the end of May I will be completely finished with finals/papers/EVERYTHING and graduate! WOO HOO!!!

But until then... 4.5 weeks of grueling work and studying... ugh... I CAN DO IT... RIGHT?!
(Can you see why I was so excited to get outside for an hour today? :-p)

New second blog

2010-03-18T22:09:00.002+01:00

For anyone who reads this and loves online shopping/browsing as much as I do, I have a new blog I have started: http://wednesdaywindowshopping.blogspot.com/

I was going to combine both but I figured my family doesnt need to hear me rambling on and on about clothes and people who want to check out cute clothes don't need to hear me rambling on and on about personal stuff. Anyway, check it out, follow me if you like it, hope you enjoy my growing wishlist :)

More "baby" pictures...

2010-02-05T17:12:00.009+01:00

You know how everyone who has a baby thinks that every single thing it does is just "SO CUTE" and needs to be photographed/videod and shown to the world? Well, that is how I feel about Winston :) SO... on that note... a few more pictures of my super cute puppy. He is a year old this month and around 92lbs but he still has the cutest little puppy face. He is super in love with all things made of string/rope but unfortunately he has amazing chewing powers and can rip everything and anything apart within minutes. We got him this large rope ball hoping it could withstand his gator-like jaws but alas, it too is dying slowly, being eaten and torn apart piece by piece. That is why it lives on the fridge and is only give to him when he is being really annoying and needs distracted, haha. But doesnt he just look so cute and happy playing with it?

Other than chewing things, Winston's second favorite love is running and jumping in snow, and most of all EATING it. When it is snowing he runs around wildly jumping at it trying to bite it out of the air. Hilarious to watch. When its already on the ground in mass piles he loves to lick it as he walks around. As Lukas put it, when he goes on a walk there are 2 types of tracks to be seen... paw and tongue tracks :) Here is a picture of Lukas and Winston in Winston's second big snow. We were gone for the blizzard that hit around Christmas but our friend Autumn sent us a video of Winston playing in it. Its horrible missing your "baby's" first snow, ya know?! Fortunately we got a good one on Saturday night in the 4 inches that came (and strangely got church cancelled?) so Im attaching that video too. It looks like Winston is more excited about attacking Lukas than playing in the snow, but I think he likes both. We shall see if the latest blizzard actually hits us today and tomorrow as bad as the weather reports say it will. If so, I can assure you there will be more snow+dog pictures to come, haha.

Speaking of the pending blizzard by the way... school has already been canceled for Monday, which was to be the start of the spring semester. Students are now going to move in Sunday/Monday due to snow so we get an extra day off, yay. I don't have school on Mondays anyway, just 2 night classes Tues/Thurs this semester, but at least I don't have to start doing my research assistantship until Tuesday or later... woo hoo!

Winston Fischer 3rd

2009-11-25T02:28:00.005+01:00

Winston Fischer 3rd! My first dog! I never had a pet in my life before and was actually a little bit scared of dogs as I never had any experience with them. Tiffany really wanted to have a dog and we finally got Winston this summer after talking about it a lot and Tiffy spending hours (maybe days ;) ) searching for a great dog for us. A mid size female dog was the goal and we found a big size male dog. A mix of Newfoundland and Labrador. We love him! He is a mellow dog and fun to hang out and surprises us with some barks every other day confirming that he has a bark indeed. He is very pretty with nice white spots in different parts of his body which makes him look even more friendlier and pretty. We got him when he was 45 pound and six month old and now he is 10 month and 75 pounds. We think that he will probably be around 90 pound when he is fully grown. We already went to Doggy school with him to teach him the basic. We still continue (trying at least) to train him at home with the method of positive training from the Doggy school. As he is still a puppy he loves to chew on people (luckily not on furniture) to show them how much he likes them. At the beginning he is very shy with everyone but if you leave him alone and bribe him with treats he warms up to new people. Once he starts chewing on people we know he likes them. One of the coolest thing is to come home on and have Winston wait by the door (he knows the sound of our car and comes to the door once he hears it) and being so excited to see us and have a big smile on his face. That definitely makes Home even more homier! It is def. not easy to have a dog and to take care of him but it is def. worth any effort. Besides going on long walks and playing fetch Winston loves to dance. He is def. a very fun dog even in times when he is licking your leg and the only thought you have is yuck. But that is his way of showing that he loves me ;).

A simply wonderful simple day...

2009-06-25T02:24:00.004+02:00

Yesterday Lukas and I decided to go to the Newark reservoir to go jogging/walking around sundown. It is such a beautiful peaceful place to go for a walk, especially as the sun is setting. As much as I love Glasgow park, not having the noise of the cars on the road makes such a difference! It will be especially nice when Lukas and I move right next to the reservoir and can go walking/jogging there everyday, especially when we get an energetic dog that is going to need the exercise! :) It was nice to get a 6.2 mile work out in... but even better that for around 4 of those miles I got to walk and talk with Lukas and just enjoy the fresh air and peaceful setting with him. That to me is good quality time... just being able to unwind together, enjoy nature, and chat about our days.

Before we went on our walk I tried my hand at a 5 ingredient recipe I had borrowed in a magazine from my mom. Im pretty skeptical about cooking because I hate wasting ingredients and having things not turn out in the end but I figured I could spare 5 ingredients and give it a try. Suprisingly it turned out super yummy! It was a chicken and tortelli dish with peas and a yummy cream cheese with onion sauce. Sounds pretty impressive to me, since I cant cook at all, but it was super easy. The best part is I could leave the peas and chicken out of half of it, add mushrooms for myself, and both of us had a great meal we liked!

After my cooking experiment and our lovely walk, we watched Pink Panther 2 together. It was pretty funny... not as good as the first one but good for a sequel none-the-less. Such a wonderful and relaxing evening at home with my hubby... definitely a needed respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Ok my daily life is pretty easy and boring... but with school/work/life in general it seems like Lukas and I just dont have enough quality time together other than dinner and random tv watching before bed so I was excited for our "home date" :) Its the little things that make this life sweet and yesterday definitely did that and more.

Cold lonely summer....

2009-06-18T20:20:00.003+02:00

Ok apparently summer doesn't officially start until Father's Day but it had better warm up then on Sunday because Im so sick of being cold! Im free from classes and I still just stay inside and read all day because 1. Everyone moved away so I have no one to play with, and 2. Its so darn cold and rainy here there is no chance to play outside. Bah...

I guess that is what Im SUPPOSED to be doing this summer anyway, reading a ton of books and preparing for my comprehensive exams, but some entertainment or escape from my apartment atleast would be nice. ~sigh~

Im starting to realize just how much I miss having close friends around. I have several new "friends" from church and other places who are great to spend time with once in a while, but even they are mostly moving away or are busy with their own families and kids. Its hard to get to know people, especially when you either are married and they are not, or you are not part of the "mommy club" and they are. Now that Im not only busy with graduate school but also kind of in between both groups of people Im around, it is really hard to form stronger bonds with them and that makes me sad.
Life was much easier as an undergrad... more time to play and more people to play with.
And those people who I do have such strong bonds with I only get to see once a year, if Im even lucky enough to see them that often.

I was however fortunate in the past week or so to be able to spend a lot of time with my friend Judith before she moved to NYC since we were both free from grad school stress and that was fantastic. We went to Newark night, which was.... interesting to say the least. Had a few dinner and game nights, went to the gym, mostly random stuff but it was nice getting to know her a lot better. I really wish I would have had more time to spend with her during the school year because she is an awesome girl and a great friend and Im really going to miss her. Fortunately she is only 2.5 hours away right now and I will go visit her next month before she moves back to Germany :)

So yea, as Im obviously very blue and lonely right now, Im looking forward even more to our trip to Indiana over the 4th of July weekend. We are going to stop on the way in Ohio for a day to visit one of my best friends, Carla, and that is going to be so awesome. Wish I had more time with her but I will take what I can get! Then I get to see my friend of 10+ years, Becky, in Plymouth and my family so that is going to be great as well. I never thought I would be so excited to go back to the Midwest but I guess seeing the people I love there makes it a very exciting place to visit.

Other than my complaints, things are pretty calm (read: BORING) but good around here. Lukas just finished his second MBA class and now has a break for the summer for which Im sure he is VERY grateful. School isnt his favorite thing and Im really proud of him for going back and getting his MBA and doing such a good job at it. Its hard enough for me to focus completely on school, not sure I could do that AND work full-time. Definitely grateful for his sacrifice and effort, but so glad the poor kid gets a break to play during the summer too!

Now that Im done rambling/complaining, I suppose I should get back to reading. There is a nice stack of German books waiting to be read and studied and unfortunately they won't read themselves.

Here's hoping for sunnier days and looking forward to visiting friends soon and friends coming back to visit Delaware too!

There is sunshine in my soul today... and outside!

2009-04-26T20:07:00.002+02:00

This weekend's weather is AMAZING! It was 88 yesterday, is 90 right now... but unfortunately Im stuck at home with a really bad headcold, ack! Thank goodness for Dayquil but there really is only so much it can do!

Fortunately Lukas and I were able to get over to Glasgow park and go for a nice 2.5 mile walk in the sunshine together and then enjoyed the sunny weather by doing errands and couch shopping, definitely a great relaxing Saturday. The first one in a LONG time where we havent had to do any homework, woo hoo!

Some good news other than the sunshine... Lukas and I for sure have a new apartment, woo hoo! I was getting really worried because the deadline was getting pretty close but fortunately we have a 1 bedroom + den apartment to move into at the end of July right before we go to Germany. Joy of joys, no more living in a tiny shoebox!! So excited that we will finally have more room to have people over, enjoy being at home, and even have a small spare bedroom in the den for when people come to visit, SUCH a nice upgrade even if it is still small by normal people's standards. AND that means I DEFINITELY get a dog August 15th which is SUPER awesome in my book :) Lukas is still warming up to the idea but he already said yes and wont back out now because he loves me... so hopefully eventually he will love our dog too :)

Another thing that made me happy this week... I got observed by my teaching coodinator 2 weeks ago, who Im super intimidated by. I had a talk with her this week about how that went and she said I was a great teacher, had a list of things that I did well in the classroom and her only comments for improvement were actually helpful and didnt make me self-concious and cry so I was super excited! AND I won a book award for my achievments in the classroom through the German club or something like that, so that is pretty cool too. Definitely awesome for my first semester teaching, espec. for someone who feels like passing out when speaking in front of a crowd! Definitely owe half of the success to my awesome students who did a great job paying attention and participating that day and who make my job A LOT easier by being such great students.

So there is my sunshine report for the day... in spite of being sick there is sunshine outside and sunshine in my soul... cant get much better than that :) (other than being healthy I suppose haha but hey, we cant have it all!)

Wonder of wonders, miracles of miracles!!

2009-04-08T03:53:00.003+02:00

Im so scared that something REALLY bad is going to happen because I have had 2 awesome miracles happen in the past week which is so overwhelming but seriously is making me look for the plague of locusts to strike next.

Perhaps this isnt that big of a deal to most of you, but the first miracle was one I definitely did not see coming! I have been bugging Lukas for months now about getting a dog... actually since we started dating and talking about maybe getting married I started bugging him about how I WILL have a dog as part of my family. We are moving into a different apartment in August and they allow pets and I was sooooooooo excited because by then it will have been about 4 years since I have had a pet living with me (other than my moms cats) and if you know me that well its a REALLY big deal! So anyway I was really hoping we could get a dog when we move... after several conversations ending with Lukas saying we will talk about it later and me crying because im a sensitive wuss we finally had a serious conversation about it while taking a walk on Sunday and..... Lukas finally agreed that I can have a dog in the middle of August! WOOOOOOOO HOOOO! He seemed kind of upset afterwards, I think he is being a very nice husband for doing something that is going to make me VERY happy but at the same time having an inner conflict thinking on no what wrath have I unleashed on myself by allowing this! haha... seriously tho, he has never had a pet and is kind of scared of dogs, so I definitely understand his aprehension. Its going to be a big process finding a dog that works with our needs, future family goals, size constraints due to the apartment, and fear factor from Lukas but where there is a will there is a dog! :)

Ok second miracle which is actually even cooler than the first, if that is even possible! :)
Lukas' friend Robin is getting married in Switzerland at the end of July and Lukas really wants to go. Robin flew out from Germany to Chicago for our wedding and it would be really nice if Lukas could be there for his. The major problem tho is that July/August is the biggest travel time to go to Europe which means SUPER expensive tickets! They have been fluctuating between 1000 and 800 which is way too expensive for our poor 2 person family. Lukas' parents nicely offered to help us out a bit, but still the prices needed to go down a few hundred dollars for us to still be able to afford for Lukas to go. There is no way I was planning on going tho... it was going to kill our budget enough to send him.
We thought maybe he could go in May when the prices are only 400$ round trip which is perfect, but I still had school and could not go with, and then he would miss his friends wedding and maybe not see him at all, which would have been a bummer.

BUT wonder of wonders... even tho I checked this morning and the prices were 820$ a person... Lukas randomly checked this evening and they were only 500$ per person! AMAZING! So we quickly booked his flight after checking a few times to make sure it wasnt the wrong dates, just a one way ticket, etc. Then after we got to thinking about it... with the help from his parents and some smart budgeting in the next few months, we can totally afford for me to come too! So we quickly booked my ticket as well and then I did a happy dance. Ok for me its more like wiggling and jumping around every 5-10 minutes randomly :)

ANYWAY.... so not only does Lukas get to go to Germany for a week, I get to go too and we get to go to his friends wedding in Switzerland which is pretty sweet and see his other friends and his family and its just awesome :) We fly out the day after my birthday and then about 10 days after we get back I GET A DOG! Seriously my 26th birthday is going to be the BEST EVER at this rate :)

We hopefully move into our new apartment on July 25th, 4 days before we fly out to Germany, so hopefully that all works out without problems and doesnt mess up the outpouring of miracles and blessings we have in store for end of july early august :) They havent found us an open apartment yet so please keep your fingers crossed for us since if it doesnt happen before about the 20th of this month it isnt going to happen and we are stuck here and I get no dog so yea.... one more miracle PLEASE!!!!

Short update....

2009-03-20T01:45:00.004+01:00

Not much else is going on, Florida has basically been the highlight of this semester.

Im teaching German 105 now which is basically the first German class these kids take. I like my students a lot but they can kind of be pains in the butt, like normal college kids, and its a lot of work on top of my classes so Im still 50/50 on whether I like it or not. I was REALLY blessed and got an awesome class tho, I dont have any problems like most of the other teachers so I am definitely thanking my lucky stars for that! I just need to remind myself of that when they are being whiney and having an off day... or week... :-p

My 2 classes are going well that I am taking. Lukas also started his first class for his MBA last week so we are both mostly sitting around these days doing homework together. Kind of boring but hey... that is life I guess. Im really proud of him for going back to school, espec. since English isnt his native language... I know how hard it is taking classes in a foreign language!
He should graduate Spring of 2011 and I will be done Spring of 2010 so hopefully I will get a job for a year or so and then we shall see where the wind takes us after that. On to bigger and better things I hope!

For now I guess life is just homework, homework, homework, with maybe some fun in between with friends. We went to the birthday party of my german friend Judith (in pink) which was a lot of fun. It was all girls and Lukas which was kind of funny... but he is friends with her too so she was nice and invited him :) She is probably going back to Germany this summer and finishing her studies there which makes me sad. She is definitely one of the coolest people I have met here in Delaware since we have moved back and I am going to miss her alot. Its hard being so busy with grad school and not having time to hang out with people and knowing they will be leaving soon... sadness... :(

Went also went Iceskating about a month ago with a friend (wow, its been that long... insane) which was fun. Im kind of lazy and just let Lukas pull me around but he was a good sport about it and didnt let me fall down, not even once :)

I guess its all about finding good times in between the work that makes life happy and makes the work seem not so bad. I really need to work on that more... there are so many people at school and at church I would love to become better friends with and have missed so much time already because I have been so busy with school and half of them are leaving this summer and never coming back. I guess I will just have to make the most of the next few months and find time in between the reading and teaching and papers and and and and and and and and.... :-p

Florida Trip Update!

2009-03-20T01:32:00.008+01:00

Its totally been FOREVER since Ive posted, holy cow... Im not really sure anyone reads this all that much tho so maybe I dont have to feel so bad, haha.

Anyway, in January we had a great week long trip to Florida to visit my friends Sam and Lindsay. They are awesome and it was nice to have some warm weather although unfortunately it was rather cold while we were there... but we had 2 sunny days and it was warmer than Delaware so I cant complain!

We went to St. Augustine and checked out the beach one day and also got to drink from the fountain of youth! No joke... crazy tourist trap, nasty water, but hey... atleast Im going to live forever, right?! lol

Lukas and I went to Sea World which was AMAZING... seriously one of the coolest places I have ever been...amazing shows. I recommend it to EVERYONE!

Otherwise we visited Sam´s school, saw a butterfly garden, saw some gators, and generally just had good times hanging out with our friends and enjoying the vacation.

TONS more pictures on Facebook if you are interested... and if you arent on Facebook, well then, I guess you just arent cool enough to see the rest of our pictures then! (Yea mom, that means you... if dad, aunt bonnie and uncle john even all have facebook you know you are falling behind! haha)

Want a plane that loops the loop.... me I want a hula-hoop!

2008-12-31T14:50:00.007+01:00

I suppose that since today is New Years Eve its a good time to write my Christmas post before I forget and it becomes summer again :)

We had a Christmas party for Lukas´work a couple of weekends ago at a country club which was nice. One of those typical sit down, eat, and chat with your co-workers for a few hours and then escape when you feel its not TOO early and rude to leave :)
I have to say however, it was a lot weirder at my department party with almost double the number of staff and faculty standing around than students! We tried to hold out but still left after about 1.5 hours. Fortunately to reward us from all the silly parties we HAVE to go to, my friend Yasmina had a "End of Semester/We forgot to celebrate her birthday" party the next day which was a lot of fun. Although we learned that the Germans show up on time and everyone else shows up 3 hours later.... but o well, it was fun regardless :)

Work was pretty slow for Lukas on Christmas Eve since he has European clients and if anyone was working they probably left at noon which is 6am our time. Fortunately his boss is very cool and brought in treats for them.... espec. as Lukas forgot to set his alarm and woke up at 6.55 when he should be at work at 6! He got there 1.5 hours late with no breakfast and only an apple for lunch so Im glad they fed him :) Then the day got even better because at noon they let him come home! Late to work... early to leave, Merry Christmas from CSC! :)
I had wrapped his presents and hung them on the wall which was funny because he wasnt sure why there was no present for him under our little tree, and wondered what was on the wall. We unwrapped our presents and hung out a bit and then headed down to Smyrna to my Mom´s new 4 bedroom house. I dont have any pictures of it yet but let me just tell you, its huge and beautiful and I love it!
We spent 4 days watching movies, eating lots of food, crocheting and making cookies... it was fantastic! I was very sad to have to come back to our tiny apartment Saturday night but I guess that is what happens when you grow up, get married, and move out... sad! :-p It was a really relaxing and cozy Christmas with my mom and Im glad she lives so close that we could celebrate with her. It would have been nice to see the rest of my family and some of my friends but maybe next time.

Other than Christmas, not a whole lot has been going on here after Hell Week... o, I mean Finals Week... finally finished. I ended up with pretty good grades and didnt die from all the stress, so I´d say it was a successful first semester in the German program! fortunately I have 7 weeks of vacation as we have a Winter session but cannot take classes nor teach during it. The fabulous thing is we still get paid during this session... so Im getting paid to sit at home on my butt for 5 weeks, woo hoo! We start back the 9th of February or some far off wonderful date like that... Im definitely enjoying the down time at home and just being lazy and doing all the fun things I have missed during the school year like reading books for fun IN ENGLISH, crochetting, and just relaxing.

Plans for my month+ off: Yoga twice a week with my friend Autumn, a very interestingly titled class called "butts and guts" once a week with Autumn and Lukas, reading tons of German books to study for my comprehensive exams, and the best part..... GOING TO FLORIDA FOR A WEEK! Wooo hoooooooooooooo :) Its kind of cold here, not Midwest Im up to my butt in snow and cant feel my body parts anymore kind of cold, but still... Im very much looking forward to some warmer weather down south!

Thats about it for my rambles... here are some pictures of our Christmas decorations in our tiny apartment. It feels homey and christmasy and that is what matter, right? Right!

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Nothing like Thanksgiving to get you in the mood... for Christmas!

2008-12-05T19:42:00.008+01:00

The week before Thanksgiving Lukas´ parents flew out from Germany for a week to visit. That was nice and Im happy for Lukas that he got to see his parents. They flew on further to California to spend Thanksgiving and over 2 weeks with his brother and family who live out in the Redlands area.

My dad´s 50th Birthday was on the 25th of November and he flew out that night to Delaware to spend Thanksgiving with Mom, Lukas and I. We had lots of yummy food thanks to the wonderful cooking skills of my mother and had a good time talking, watching movies, and playing games. We all sat back later and did the "Thanksgiving full-belly-slouch" on the couch, as you can see my dad and our reindeer demonstrating :)
(I was pretty excited to get this ginormous Reindeer... although Lukas seems to monopolize all of her snuggling time :-p )

On Black-friday Lukas and I got up at 4am to go shopping, and then came back home for a nice nap :) My parents went shopping for a bit too and then we decided to go down to Smyrna to check out the new house my mom just bought! Its a ginormous with 4 bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half bathrooms, and 2 stories with a full finished basement. Definitely a lovely house and Im so excited for my mom that she will finally be moving into her own place and out of the apartment she has rented for the past 7 years. Unfortunately she will be about 40 minutes south of us, instead of only 2o minutes away like she is now, but that is ok... we will still find time for crafts and hanging out :) Pictures to come soon since she moves in on the 20th of this month!

After taking a family tour of her new house, we headed down to Dover to check out the Chocolate and Candy festival. Although there was a lot less chocolate and candy than hoped and more vendors and advertising, there were still some lovely gingerbread houses and a village on display which was pretty neat. I love how the focus turns immediately towards Christmas right after Thanksgiving... its my favorite time of the year for sure starting out with Halloween and going out with a bang on New Years Eve :)

Play time! Go Team Germany!

2008-12-05T19:28:00.010+01:00

Lukas started playing soccer on an intramural team here at University of Delaware. They were called Haphazard.

Our friend from church, Josiah (ignoring the camera in the picture below with Lukas) knew the team captain and they decided to play together.

It was fun watching the boys play and their team did rather well but unfortunately did not make it into the semi-finals. As you can see by his bloodied up knee, Lukas did his best to save the last game but sometimes its just not enough.

Indoor season should be starting soon and Lukas is ready to get back in there. Hopefully this season will be a little less violent and hopefully just as much fun as the last!

Celebrating our 1 year Anniversary in September

2008-12-05T19:19:00.007+01:00

For our one year anniversary on September 21st we decided to spend the weekend in NYC and see the Lion King! It was fantastic as far as the costumes and theatrics. The music was cute, not as good as Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera, but overall a great show! The following day we wandered around downtown NYC for hours and hours and walked over 60 blocks. It was fun but tiring. Lukas did however make a sweet new friend...

We also visited the temple again in October which was rather lovely as always. Its so fun to see the temple from the highway while driving towards DC. Can´t help but smile when you see this beautiful Temple of the Lord pop up out of the trees :)

It was a good trip and a wonderful way to celebrate our first year of marriage.

Home Sweet Home!

2008-12-05T18:55:00.013+01:00

As of the end of August Lukas and I moved into Graduate and Family housing on campus.

It is rather small but we are doing our best to make it as cozy and homey as possible :)

As you can see we decked the halls a bit for Halloween and Thanksgiving, yay for Fall!

We will most likely be living here for the next 2 years while I finish my Master´s program. I dream of a bigger apartment, eventually a house, but we are content for now and counting our blessings :)

DC we love you!

2008-08-28T17:26:00.004+02:00

I am horrible at posting about things right after they happen... it always takes me a couple weeks to organize my free-time, even when lately I have had a ton of it! Apparently being lazy can take up an amazing amount of time! And now that we just moved and I have a ton of things to unpack and need to get prepared for school starting on Tuesday, I seem to have found the time to blog... hmmmm

Anyway, so a couple of weekends ago Lukas and I took advantage of a lovely sunny day and headed down to DC to go to the temple. As you can see it was a beautiful morning and we figured we should take advantage of the location and weather so we headed over to the DC Zoo to spend the afternoon. It was lots of fun and basically consisted of me running around saying " I want to pet the cute fuzzy animal! Lukey, can I have one?!" and Lukas just shaking his head and laughing at me. :-)
We were lucky and got to see one of the baby pandas as it was playing and chewing on things. Sooooo cute :-D
It was a great mini-trip for Lukas and I. Im so glad that we have the temple only 90 minutes away now and its pretty cool that we can couple that drive then with going to see something in DC since the zoo and museums are all free. We are certainly enjoying the benefits of being on the east coast for the next few years.

Sunny-sandy good times!

2008-08-02T15:45:00.003+02:00

Since we didn't go to NYC on Thursday we decided to go to Rehoboth Beach on Friday instead. We spent about 4 hours chilling in the sand and enjoying roasting in the sun. We went for a nice long walk along the beach which was nice... the breeze from the ocean was cool and refreshing after so much sun and we had fun searching for seashells in the waves. As always I ended up with sand in places I never really wanted to have sand but hey, i guess that is the price you pay :-p After we were sick of roasting, we took another walk, got some shells at the seashell shop and ate a bucket of greasy boardwalk fries. Definitely a lovely friday afternoon trip for sure :-D

Fun-filled week :)

2008-08-02T15:35:00.004+02:00

Well this week turned out to be a lot of fun :) Monday (my 25th Birthday, yay!) we just chilled at home and then my mom took us out to dinner at Olive Garden. The food was super yummy and then they brought out a super chocolatey birthday cake and sang to me. That was pretty embarassing but mom was nice and asked them to keep it low-key so there were only 3 of them there singing.... the cake was amazingly good tho so it was totally worth it! hehe

Tuesday night we went to Philadelphia to the Franklin Museum to see the "Real Pirates" exhibit about a pirate ship they found off of Cape Cod and made the first exhibit with real pirate treasure. They even reconstructed what parts of the ship would look like and people could go in and explore them... it was pretty sweet! Afterwards there was a 3D movie of Sea Monsters which was fun... espec. as these giant fish kept zooming at the screen and with the 3D glasses it looked like they were going to eat us and Lukas kept ducking out of the way. It was his first 3D movie I think. Definitely a great birthday present from my mom :)

Wednesday I had a girl's night with my friends again which was nice... mostly just eating and talking but hey, what else does a group of girls need right? hehe.

Thursday we were supposed to go to NYC to the temple and a free Flogging Molly concert in the park but basically Im a huge wuss and was too scared and stressed out to drive in downtown NYC so we changed plans. We are going to go some other time when Lukas has his license because he is much better driving in big cities with lots of cranky traffic than I am.

Chapter 2... Newark, Delaware

2008-07-28T04:15:00.003+02:00

And now we are back in Delaware and enjoying a nice long vacation period. We are living with my mom for about 8 weeks, half of which is up at this point. We flew in the 3rd of July and had a relaxing 4th of July shopping, napping, and just being glad to be back in the good ol´ USA. The following Thursday we headed to Indiana to visit family and friends. My sister Emily came up from Indianapolis, my since-junior-high-close-friend Becky came up also to visit us and brought her new baby Brooklyn with, and we had a nice time with my dad and Audrey and her kids and of course I was happy to see my puppies :) hehehe. It was also nice to go to church at my old ward and see some longtime friends and acquaintances from my childhood. All things considered it was a nice trip.

Back in Newark we have been relaxing, reading, swimming (thanks to my fabulous friend Sarah and her extra pool pass!!) and just chillin' the days away. It has been nice seeing my mom and friends and spending time with all of the above.

The best news of all however... after only one interview and one week of hardcore job searching and applying Lukas has a job! My bishop from my student ward at church owns his own business, a rather successfull business called CSC, Corporation Service Company, and he was nice enough to set Lukas up with an interview. After a 2 hour interview with more than 4 people he was told that they would let him know the following week. By his own merits he landed a great job with great benefits and I could not be prouder :) He starts on August 4th so we only have one week of vacation left but we are incredibly grateful for this new job and the huge blessings brought by its swift acquisition.

On Friday we headed to the beach since it was one of our last opportunities before Lukas starts work. We had a nice time shopping the outlet malls and a beautiful sunny and relaxing afternoon in the sand. Saturday we spent the afternoon playing in the pool which was rather nice as well. This next week we have lots of fun plans, especially as tomorrow is my 25th Birthday, wooo hooo! More to come as the fun events of this week unfold...

To Germany and beyond!

2008-07-28T03:48:00.009+02:00

Our first stop after Salzburg was up north in Bayern to visit Lukas' friend Robin who then took us to Neuschwanstein, the gorgeous Cinderella Castle outside of Munich, Germany. We had a nice little hike up the mountain (reminding me yet again how very out of shape I am!) and were very well rewarded with a stunning view of the castle, valley and lake below from a VERY windy and Japanese tourist packed bridge! It was a great last outing as we said goodbye to our home area for the past 10 months.

After visiting Robin we continued our long drive to Lukas’ parents house farther west into Germany. Lukas had fun driving super fast on the Autobahn (silly German’s and their lack of speedlimits!) and I was content to hide in the passenger seat. Ok… its not like I even noticed we were going over 100mph but still :-p After not much sleep we got up on Saturday and prepared for a going-away party to which his sister, brother-in-law, and several friends came to. It was a great bbq with good food, good friends, and a very good time. It was hard saying goodbye to everyone after the BBQ as they all headed home but fortunately on Sunday, the following day, we had the chance to get together with Jana and Daniel to watch the final game of the European Championship, Germany –vs- Spain. Sadly Germany did not see us off with a victory but it was a good game and a great evening afterwards chatting with Daniel and Jana so I guess we cannot complain so much. There is always next time!

We spent lots of quality time with his parents and grandma for almost a week which was definitely a nice break after all of the packing, school, leaving stress of Salzburg. Lukas and I made a 30 mile roundtrip bike ride to the zoo in Karlsruhe, Germany which was a lot of fun, especially for this animal crazed kid, hehe.

We also took a day trip with Lukas' parents to Speyer where there was a really cool 1000+ year old Cathedral.

It was nice getting to see all of Lukas’ family and friends before we left for the USA, especially considering that we do not know when we will be back again to visit. We had some drama at the airport including a clueless worker, an equally clueless yet more stubborn supervisor, 6 VERY over packed suitcases but in the end (after LOTS of prayers!) it all worked out and we got checked in without the impending financial burden we had been expecting (seriously, we were soooo incredibly blessed!). Lukas’ parents saw us off at the security check with some hugs and tears and after a few hours we arrived safely in Dublin, got through customs and got Lukas registered as a permanent resident, wooo hoo! After a long and not very restful intercontinental flight we arrived in Philadelphia to my happily waiting mother and started a new chapter in our lives.

End of (my stay in) Salzburg highlights....

2008-07-28T03:07:00.005+02:00

My last post left me during Spring semester in Salzburg, Austria and so much has happened since then! However, there are still a few highlights of that adventure left to share.

June sped by rather quickly after our visit to Lukas’ parents house in Germany. My final papers, projects, presentations and tests all spiraled out of control at a few points including getting falsely charged with plagiarism (wow that was not a fun battle, which I however DID win!) and it was a pretty overwhelming last couple of weeks. In then end however, I am happy to report that I ended up with 2 A’s and 1 B… a successful last semester with Bowling Green State University. And boy I am glad that is probably the last semester I will EVER have with them! :-p

Lukas and I had a fun afternoon walk to Schloß Hellbrunn, a castle down the street from us one sunny day. It was a nice break from all of my studying stresses to just get away and enjoy nature with my hubby J It also resulted in some fun pictures, as you can tell… hehehe.

The semester end highlight would however have to be when Carlotta, one of my bestest buds in the whole world (and I can truthfully say that because I have friends allllll over lol) came to visit us for a week! Ok so the first few days I had classes and finals and then the last few days I had to clean, pack, etc. and then we were kicked out a day early from our apartment and headed to Germany on Friday BUT.... it was still a memorable week during the time we did actually get to spend together and I am VERY grateful for her visit! It was exactley the "end of the school year" celebration I needed!! She had just finished up a year at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and then an internship in London at a PR company so Im very glad I ended up on her list of "MUST-VISIT" people in Europe :) As you can see from the attached photos there was a lot of mayhem and silliness involved but seriously, what would be a visit from Carla without a bit of craziness?!

And thus we said goodbye to our beloved mountain surrounded Salzburg, saw Carla off as she headed off to other parts of Germany to visit friends, and in our super packed rental car rode off into the sunset... or something like that... haha...

Im still alive in Dela-where?

2008-07-28T03:00:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone! Its me again... Im still alive, I promise! I have just been super busy lately with lots of things going on including finals, Carla coming to visit, vacationing at the in-laws in Germany and then moving to Delaware! I promise an update will come sooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnn..........

Gaisberg Trek

2008-06-01T21:06:00.008+02:00

We had such a fabulous weekend, even if rather tiring.

On Friday night we went to a BBQ with some friends from church, or moreso "friendly acquaintances" I would say. Anyway, there were about 10-12 of us there and we had a good time all hanging out, talking, having LOTS of good food. One thing that made it super fantastic... they had 3 cans of AW Root Beer from a friend and we had root beer floats... sooo yummy! The silly Europeans other than Lukas didn't really like the root beer... whatever, us Americans enjoyed it a lot! haha It really reminded me of summer and home and it made me a bit more homesick, but it was really nice too. We ended up getting home around 11pm which was kind of crazy since we wanted to go hiking the next morning but hey, cant stop a good thing once it gets going, right? :)

We planned to head out around 7 or 8am but in the end we got out of the house around 9.30 and got to our hiking start at 10... not so bad :-p We had a crazy 2.5 hour hike up the mountain. I think it would have been a lot faster but I was super tired and super out of shape so that made it a bit slower. We also were retarded and didn't bring any food with, just water, and since I have problems with low blood sugar anyway that was pretty dumb. I got really dizzy for the last 40 minutes of the hike which then made it even longer because I had to take even more breaks than before. I'm surprised Lukas didn't just leave me and hike on without me, or push me off the mountain for complaining so much lol.

Anyway, the first part of the hike was a nice scenic route through beautiful Austrian countryside complete with darling farm houses and lots of cute cows :) It was a bit rough tho because the road was REALLY steep at parts when we were climbing up. After an hour of hiking we got to the woods and that is when the strenuous part really started. It was slightly slippery due to all the grass, moss and dead leaves. On top of that it was also very stony with random large stones and sticks all over blocking the way. I stepped on one branch and it swung up and smacked me in the hand harder than a catholic nun with a ruler! That wasn't too fun :-p lol. There were a lot of steep switchbacks going up which added to my slowness but hey, the map said it would take 2.5 hours and we took maybe 2 hours and 40 minutes... not so bad if I do say so myself! It was a great work out tho and at the top we were super glad we did it.

Unfortunately we missed the bus by a couple of minutes and the next one wasn't going to come for another 2 hours so we got some food and hiked back down... another 1.5 hours.

It was a long and strenuous hike but definitely good for us and I'm glad we did it. My goal is to get in better shape so that next time (provided we aren't stupid and DO remember to bring food lol) I will be able to keep up better and not be such a whiny wuss :-p

Today at church went well and then we came home and laid out in the sun a bit and just had a relaxing afternoon at home which is always welcome and always appreciated. I have to say that I definitely love the fact that we believe in honoring the Sabbath Day and keeping it holy. I love just being able to focus on the Lord and family and friends instead of work, homework, exercising, shopping, etc. Its just great having no commitments other than church and just being able to relax one full guilt-free day :)

Mini-vacation in Germany

2008-05-27T09:27:00.005+02:00

Last Wednesday Lukas and I traveled to Western Germany to visit his parents and friends. We both had a holiday on Thursday (gotta love Austria with all these Catholic holidays!) and then he took Friday off as well so we could spend a fun and relaxing 4 days in Germany. We got in around midnight on Wednesday night and stayed up for a bit talking to his parents after that.

On Thursday we saw his grandmother who is 93 for a bit and then in the afternoon we took a trip across the French border as it is only 30 minutes away. They make a special kind of pottery in Alsace (bordering area between France and Germany, used to belong to Germany but is now French territory) and it can only be made there due to the special kind of soil-clay they have. It was fun looking in the little shops and hearing Lukas speak French... super sexy I must add, hehehe. Afterwards we went to a gigantic super market (seriously atleast twice the size of any Super-Walmart, etc. in the states!) and got some wonderful French bread, cheese, etc. I have not had "Chevre" (French goat cheese) in YEARS and wow it was soooooooooo good :-) Best dinner in a long time, that is for sure, yum!

On Friday Lukas' grandmother came over in the afternoon and we hung out in the yard with her enjoying the sun and talking to her and his mother. It was really nice to see her so happy and talkative, as she seemed a bit down around Christmas time when we saw her. Luke's parents said she usually just has a winter-depression and is always much better in the summer... which was nice as she was much more talkative this visit. It is super funny tho because she has a tendency to repeat things over and over because she forgets that she has already said them.... probably gets pretty old for those who see her daily but it was fairly amusing for Lukas and I. I am always glad when we can spend some time with his grandmother as she is 93 and who knows how much longer we will have that opportunity, espec. as we are moving back to the USA soon. We decided to spend the day with his family instead of going to see friends that evening and it ended up being a good idea as his grandmother was over for a while and then his dad came back in the evening after work and we all played cards together until 1am. It was a nice relaxing day and nice for me to spend more time with my in-laws and get to know them a bit better.

On Saturday morning we headed to the LDS temple in Frankfurt, Germany and did a session there with his parents which was nice. Well ok... oddly enough they got pulled out of our session and put in the one that started right after it because there was some "organizational problem" at the time.... which is strange in the temple but whatever, germans will be germans, haha. Regardless, it was wonderful being in the temple again espec. as we had not had the opportunity to go since we were visiting at Christmas-time.

Afterwards we went to our friends in Darmstadt and then 2 other couples came over and the 8 of us had a nice bbq and hung out and talked all afternoon-evening. Jana and Daniel are pregnant, she is due in about a week, and it was so cute seeing tiny little Jana with her big pregnant belly. Sarah and Ralph have a 1.5 year old boy and Ingo and Amalia have a 6 month old boy so it was basically "mommy-talk" between the girls but that is ok.... I didnt feel left out, more grateful that I am NOT pregnant and do NOT have any kids yet, hehehe. Jana loved playing with the kids tho, she is going to be a great mother... I stayed away from them mostly because as you all know... KIDS SCARE ME! lol
REALLY cool experience tho.... Jana said that the baby was moving around and let me feel her belly and I could feel their little girl moving around... so amazing that there is a little person in there just waiting to be born into a loving family :)

Lukas and I stayed a while after everyone else had left so that we could spend more time with Daniel and Jana. Unfortunately no time is ever enough time when you only see your friends twice a year... but regardless it was nice to hang out with them for a bit. Fortunately in 5 weeks we will be back at his parents' house for 5 days before we fly back to the USA and will hopefully be able to get a little "going-away party" organized and will get to spend some more time with everyone before we go to the states. I have to say that I am sad we cannot take Daniel and Jana with us... Lukas is best friends with both of them and I have to say they are by far my favorite from his group... I already feel like I have known Jana forever and love being able to talk so openly with her and always have a great time when the 4 of us get together. It is sad to have such good friends in so many places as it makes seeing them all much more difficult but I guess that is what happens when you are a traveling-nomad like me :-p

On Sunday we went to church and Lukas' sister and brother in law where there which was nice to see them as our plans to see them on Thursday did not work out. Afterwards we headed to the train station to head back home. It was truly a wonderful and relaxing vacation for us and we are very grateful to his parents for funding our travel so we could come visit.

Funny story from the train however... at the next stop a large drunken marching band group (so not joking!) got on the train with all of their instruments and of course, being as drunk and load and crazy as they were, started playing and singing on the train. It was soooo funny to hear a marching band on a train... and of course we got some pictures :-D In Heidelberg where we had to switch trains, they switched as well and were playing at the station which was pretty funny too. O the crazy things that go on in European trains :)

Midterms are killing me... ahhhh!

2008-05-16T13:52:00.003+02:00

So I have realized that I am not the most studious student there ever was... I really suck at studying and staying on task. I have a midterm on Monday and its like pulling teeth to force myself to sit down and outline the 70 pages that will be covered on the test as well as the 5 stories we covered outside of the main text. BAH! I am quickly running out of time but have only gotten through about 10 pages in the last few days... bah I suck lol. Its harder to study too when Lukas isn't around. I think that when I am lonely and bored its even more difficult for me to concentrate... I obviously need to get over that and get to business but "Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites" (10 book series on tape) and random shows online are way too good at distracting me lol. I am a graduate student, you would think I would have gotten over this procrastination and whining stage by now but nope, its as strong as ever :-p

Ok ok... a few more minutes of my break and then I am getting back to taking notes.. I swear!

The land of the SHEEPIES!!!!

2008-05-10T22:16:00.010+02:00

Mountains

Sheepies

And my sexy husband...

What more could I ask for on this beautiful Saturday in Austria? :)

Creepy men and wisdom teeth... hmmmmm

2008-05-09T12:43:00.002+02:00

Ok, super creepy experience to share...
Wednesday I was on the way to the dentist to get one of my wisdom teeth out and as I was looking for the right street, a man walked by me and full on grabbed my breast as he went by. Seriously just reached around as he got next to me and grabbed me and then just kept walking. I yelled at him in German " what is wrong with you!" but he just kept walking. It was so creepy and scarey! What is wrong with people these days, seriously!
Then the rest of the day I was pretty freaked out anytime another guy got near me, which is pretty difficult considering I live in Europe where people don't know what "personal space" is and everyone walks everywhere which ends up putting me in A LOT of situations where men are just " too close for comfort". I guess I should be grateful nothing else happened but I'm still pretty paranoid walking around on my own. Hopefully that feeling will dull with time...

My dentist appointment afterwards wasn't so great either. They had to cut away the gums on one side of the tooth that was still overlapping and the numbing shots didn't work 100% so that was pretty painful. Then the darn tooth didn't want to come out and so one girl had to hold my head, the other one my chin, and the dentist was rocking the tooth back and forth trying to get it out. Pretty uncomfortable, that is for sure... I was trying my best not to scream or freak out but fortunately it finally came out. I have a really nice dentist and his assistants are great too, that is atleast one positive thing.
Another awesome thing is my dental insurance here in Austria... it covers EVERYTHING which is amazing because ours in Delaware really sucked and that is why I waited to get my wisdom teeth out here. I wish I would of know that before and I could have saved my mom a few thousand dollars last summer for my dental work! O well, anyway I'm glad to have my wisdom teeth out and my gums are healing well even tho its awkward eating and cleaning out the holes afterwards, ick! lol

My husband is AWESOME!!

2008-05-08T19:05:00.006+02:00

So I have the best husband ever, just so you know ... and I will tell you one reason why:

On Monday I had my first midterm. There was this shark at Ikea that I really wanted and I told Lukas that if I got a 3 (about a B) on my exam then I get the shark. Well... it didnt go so well and I was REALLY disappointed afterwards and wrote Lukas about how sad I was and how I deserved the shark anyway as a consolation prize for sucking so badly on my test. I was pretty bummed out because I had studied A LOT for that darn test.

During dinner Lukas and I were talking about the shark and he said maybe we could get it this weekend, which was good enough for me. Then we were talking and I went to ly on our bed with him (nothing dirty, we just dont have a couch to sit on! lol) and something was crinkling under my side of the blanket so I flipped it over and there was Sharky with a bag of gummy bears in his big floppy mouth. I was shocked and so excited but mostly just grateful for the sweetness and thoughtfulness of my loving husband. After he got my second email about how bad my test went and how sad I was, he went to Ikea after work to get it for me to cheer me up. Definitely unexpected and so nice of him :)

So you see, I have a fabulous husband that takes great care of me....
Unfortunately.... he got eaten by a couple of sharks!

Fortunately he lived through it, hehe.
AND... today in class we got our grades for the test back and I did end up getting a 3! She graded differently than I expected and I also got some "lucky free points" along with half of the class because we accidentally wrote an answer that COULD be right in another context so she counted it. Lucky us! lol

Hot new ride!

2008-04-26T20:49:00.004+02:00

Im so excited I could almost pee my pants.... good thing I am housetrained, I will hold back lol.

Sooooooo I got AMAZING news from my mom this week!! Lukas and I are moving back to Delaware this summer in July and were going to have to search for a car which was going to be a huge hassle, espec. as we are not going to have that much money to start out with. I had a sweet car, his name was Heber, shown here in all his lovely orange glory. He is a 2004 (year?) Chevy Aveo that my mom got for me 2 summers ago since my car from High School was dead and I needed one once I got back from Austria and graduated. SUPER awesome of her and I was REALLY grateful. I had him for half a year while I was home that summer-fall until I went to Russia and then last summer when I got back until Lukas and I got married and moved to Austria. I love that car, its flippin' sweet, the perfect "Tiffy car" for sure. When I left mom had her car and mine and was going to trade them both in for a new one, completely understandable. Then she ended up giving hers to my sister and so she was driving mine and had decided recently to start looking for a new car so I figured she would trade mine in. Well, wonder of wonder, miracles of miracles, she was able to refinance the loan for much less and also get approved for a loan for her new car so she is giving us Heber when we get home. SUCH a HUGE blessing, we are still in shock and overwhelmed with gratitude! It is going to make so many things so much easier when we get home, and wow... I love my car, lol so glad to still have him when we move back.

Then I just got even cooler news.... my mom was looking for new cars and found a perfect one for her and was able to get an AMAZING deal on it today right away from the dealer.

Its a 2008 Mercury Milan, red with camel leather interior. Such a HOT car and it has an amazing package included. Im so excited for my mom to have gotten such a sweet car at such a great price. I am not for buying new cars as they lose a lot of value as soon as you drive them off the lot but she works herself to death and she deserves to have a fun new toy.

So excited that we are all now secured with wonderful, safe, pretty cars, hehe.

2008-04-22T18:36:00.000+02:00

Last Wednesday my amazing roommate, Magister Joanna Podgorska, completed her Master's examination and we all had a fun get-together with her at Argekultur, a cool student restaurant-bar in Salzburg. I am so incredibly proud of her! She worked so hard and is such an inspiration to me. She was studying in Poland thought hey, a lot of the research I am doing ends up being in German, I guess I will learn German and continue my studies in Austria. Then she moved to Austria and stayed there for a couple of years, got a position working at the University as well as at a Hotel in Salzburg, both of which are AMAZING for a foreign student to accomplish in Salzburg. She then decided that Portugese would be fun as well so after she wrote her Master's Thesis she got a scholarship to go to Brazil for 7 months and became fluent in Portugese after only a couple of classes in Salzburg and the rest learnt in a "hands-on" basis in Brazil. I mean seriously, this girl is amazing. If you think I am language and travel crazy you haven't even begun to scratch the surface on that category until you have met her. I have her to thank for one of my favorite vacations, a week in Istanbul, Turkey Spring of 2006, and let me tell you this girl knows how to have fun in foreign countries!

Even more amazing than her academic, intellectual and cultural accomplishments is her huge heart and loving, giving spirit. She truly is one of my best, closest friends and I will be ever grateful to the staff at our dorm in Austria Fall of 2005 for putting us together as roommates. We spent many a night staying up late having long discussions about life, culture, boys, school, and everything in between. She was definitely a huge part of what made Salzburg "home" to me last time I lived here and the best year of my University career by far.

In the spirit of these wonderful times, our friend Kai, who studied with me in Austria in 2005-2006 through BGSU as an Undergraduate and was also friends with Asia, came from Heidelberg to visit. He is finishing his senior year there this school year which is nice as we are atleast on the same continent. He and Asia came over for dinner last Saturday night and we had a wonderful time chatting and catching up since we have not all been together for a while. It was a lot of fun and I was grateful that Lukas was there too to get to know my friend's better and to give them a chance to get to know him better too. I must say, as I have amazing taste in friends and even better taste in husbands. I love sharing my favorite things with those I love and my husband and close friends fit both of those categories for sure :)
It was fantastic seeing the 2 of them last week. Asia has moved back to Poland for a job interview with Google and to continue her job search since she is finished here in Austria. I am hoping to see her again before I leave for the USA in July but if not, one way or another, I know we will see each other again. We have the type of friendship that years and distance cannot change and I know that we will always stay in touch and always be close which makes the separation a bit more bearable, even tho I miss her a lot already :).

Wellllllllllll hello there...

2008-04-22T16:46:00.000+02:00

Wellllllllllll hello there to all my family, friends, and random "interested readers" (that is politically correct for stalkers, right? haha)
I decided that I wanted to try out a new blog as my other one hasn't been used in o, FOREVER and also that large pink cat on it was REALLY annoying me! If you have never seen it before I probably sound crazy but if you have seen it, yea, you know what I mean lol.

Anyway so to get up to speed, I am in my second semester of my MA-German with BGSU and studying abroad in Salzburg, Austria. While the Alps are ever beautiful and impressing, the weather has been rather lame this time around and Im getting rather annoyed with the constant grey and rain. Just as I'm thinking of moving back to Russia where they MUST have at least a LITTLE more sun than here, the sun comes back and smiles on us poor valley-dwelling folk for a few days. Unfortunately those few days were a few days ago and darn it, I'm not a patient person! Come back sun... please!

On to more informational ramblings, so yes... Austria... classes are great this semester. A lot less stressful than last semester which is fabulous for my sanity, health, and the safety of Lukas. (I have found that German grammar gives me quite a temper much to the dismay of my poor husband. Fortunately the rantings of "I hate this flippin' Language!!" have lessened in frequency this semester and life is much more bearable in the Fischer household :))

Lukas is working with a friend of ours from church which has been a HUGE blessing. It was rather frustrating for us for a while, and super stressful as being poor is one thing, being negatively poor is much worse and so I'm glad we didn't get to that point. We are saving all we can in the next few months now that he has a full-time position and we are both very much looking forward to moving back to Delaware this summer where his job prospects will be MUCH more favorable I have a feeling. In our area they were just not interested in recent college graduates. They loved his credentials and thought he was a wonderful candidate and he got a lot of interviews, they just continually asked for more experience and therefore passed him over often for older candidates with experience. Im still not sure how they expect a college graduate to get experience ever if no one will hire him for that reason, but hey.... who I am to tell this silly country how to run itself :-p

So for now I just have to survive the next 9 weeks of graduate school and then its on to sunny Delaware to start a new path for these traveling Fischers... stay tuned!