It Ends Tonight

This morning I gathered up my running  gear-- there is a lot in the winter-- to meet Danielle for a run.  It was kind of perfect that today, the last day of 2011, I would meet with Danielle and do this activity.  It is also kind of perfect that it was followed by a lunch with Karla and a quiet afternoon at home with my husband.
This year, I fell in love with running.  I do it out of pure enjoyment rather than competition or weight loss or anything else.  It is what I wake up to now, a habit.  But a habit that has steadily been improving in speed and form.  My distances are longer than ever before, I have hit higher speeds, I have accomplished grander goals.
I made new friends this year, something that is difficult for me to do.  Danielle and I have run together a few times and spent some time together and it's been so nice to have someone my age to talk to.  She is driven, intelligent, hilarious and kind.  She invites me to things; to run with her, to do races, to go to Christmas plays that last entirely too long.  Her and her husband Nate are new friends that I hope we can continue to get to know in the coming year. 
Karla can described in one word; spunk.  She is spunky, upbeat, fun.  She is also very nice and a great asset to the music community here in Ogallala.  Kurt, her son, has been my clarinet student for quite some time and it's been really fun having occasional lunch dates with Karla and seeing how a private instructor who has been at it longer than me handles things. 
And this afternoon, I plan on reading a training guide for Triathlons with David laying at my feet.  I would never have been interested in this sort of thing before and Jim would not have either, but now I am helping him train for his first.  I am reading about the glycemic index and how it can help athletes to understand it.  I'm actually an athlete now... I, the band geek and social loser of high school, am a health conscious runner with friends.  Who would have thought.

This year had a lot of big events take place that will hold it in our minds and hearts.  Joan, my mother-in-law passed away.  My little sister-in-law graduated.  My older sister-in-law had a son.  My dad was in the hospital.  My father-in-law retired.  Jim and I went to Salt Lake City and Chicago. 

But this year also held a steady growth and change in a good direction.  We're healthier, I am busier, our dogs are more well behaved. 

Have a happy New Year.  2011 ends tonight and won't ever be coming back.  May your 2012 be blessed and God-centered.  That is our goal in our home and our prayer for yours.

("White board" sticker on my music room wall where I usually write inspirational music quotes)

You Are What You Eat

Tonight, Jim and I went on our big grocery trip for next month.  As we moved down the aisles, I thought about how often I've been asked about my "diet".  It's hard to explain to people, since it's not really a "diet", but more of a lifestyle change. 
But in an attempt to explain a little better, I thought sharing a picture of one of the most personal places in the house-- the fridge-- would be a good start.
So here is the tour of what I eat on a monthly basis.  Obviously, not everything I eat is in the fridge.  But, you get the idea.
My food "philosophy" is pretty straight forward.  Make the best choice in the situation you've been given.  So, we have cage-free eggs instead of regular eggs.  We have fresh ground peanut butter instead of regular.  We have homemade jam and more fruits and veggies than anything else.  I have pita pockets instead of bread, a block of organic cheese for those pita pockets.  Yogurt, almond milk, nuts...
And, dinner just got done.  Sweet Potato Dumplings in Turkey Casserole.  The recipe is found here, at Whole Foods.  And while I can go on and on about food, I am starving.
So, for now, goodnight!

The Things You Notice

Today, we played tourist in our small town with "Simon" and Gail as they spend time with us.  Their arrival yesterday was unplanned and the time they are leaving is still unplanned.  As far as I know, I think they are leaving tomorrow morning, but they may get bored and take off this afternoon after we finish the movie, Despicable Me. 
Yes, I did just say movie.  Which means that it took less than a morning to show our family all the touristy places we knew of in town that are open this time of year.  After a leisurely morning with crock pot oatmeal *yumm* and a run on my part we started the day-tripping.  A quick trip to Boot Hill, a looooong walk through the Petrified Wood Gallery, a visit to Lou Kraus Music where I work and a drive out to the lake.  Lunch at Homemade Heaven (um... this is the third time in the past week I've been to Homemade Heaven...) and then home where I now sit typing this as the movie plays. 

I like experiencing our little, odd-named town.  It was interesting to see what other people come to visit for.  I see Ogallala every day and notice all sorts of things about it that I really love, but they aren't things that would necessarily attract other people.

For instance, as the "Crazy-Walking-Lady" and a local runner and biker, I notice all sorts of things on our residential streets.  I see the many breeds of dogs that Ogallala residents own, the cats that are always a little cautious of passers-by, the rabbits in all stages of life that take over the town in the summer.  I notice the way people decorate their houses, how much better they take care of their lawns than I do.  I even notice cracks in the sidewalk, or the times when those filling them get bored and initial the asphalt.  This is on the corner of East M and 8th, close to my house.  I feel like I could claim that street, since my initials are on it.

My New Favorite Place

The subject of this photo wishes to remain anonymous and suggested his own alias.  Dad, I mean "Simon", is pictured here enjoying his burger at the new burger joint here in Ogallala, the Open Range Grill.  I have been itching to go since they opened, hearing some good reviews on the quality of food and rumors about the kind of food they serve, all of which are true. 
The meat is local, open range, 100% natural no-hormone beef.  That makes this girl pretty happy.  Not to mention the slices of cheese that come directly off the organic cheese blocks instead of sandwich cheese slices.  That and it's all absolutely delicious.  I am a little concerned but nonetheless a little curious to try the "Goober" a burger whose first ingredient is peanut butter.  But tonight, I had a "Gomorah", with more traditional ingredients like mushrooms, smoked cheddar and bacon.  I didn't try the bun, but it has Jim's seal of approval.  And the homemade french fries made "Simon" happy as well.
I noticed a lot of things that I liked at this restaurant that I may have never noticed or cared about two years ago. Not only is the food no-hormone beef and organic ingredients (with the occassional bad-for-you that makes it worth going for Jim), they offered a more earth-friendly alternative to most things you see in the typical restaurant.
So the food was delicious, the atmosphere was great and it represented some things I feel good about.  I do plan on waiting for a while before we go again because it still has "new restaurant disease" where there are too many people and the food is slower than it will be later, and because we are doing a "no spend" January (don't worry, I will explain that one in a later blog).  Locals, check this place out.  Not locals, come visit and I'll take you here!
And as for "Simon", he came today and might be leaving as early as tomorrow morning.  We just never know now that Dad "Simon" retired.

A Walk With My Husband

My nickname here in town is the Crazy-Walking-Lady.  I get that nickname from exactly what you would expect.  I walk everywhere and all the time.  I walk to work in high heat, high wind, high snow.  I just like to walk.
So today, when new shoes came in the mail for both Jim and I (yay for zappos!), cross-trainers for him and new-- you guessed it-- walking shoes, we decided to go test them out.  With my new blog in mind I brought the camera along to capture the occassion.
My husband and I walk together often in the summer.  When we are both off of work, the sun is still up, the dogs get a chance to stretch their legs and we walk hand in hand.   In the winter, it's cold and dark and walks are a little less frequent. 
So today was a nice change for the winter.  It was nice enough out for light jackets and a stroll hand in hand through Ogallala.

Christmas Feast

I've started this post a few times.  If I start on the true meaning of Christmas it will end in a mini-rant that really doesn't fit the picture.  So, I decided to just add this right off the bat-- what I'm about to talk about really isn't about Christmas.

Anyone who knows me knows that I've become health conscious in the past two years.  The food in this house has made a huge transformation.  We are primarily an organic family now.  My philosophy is to make the best choice available.  If the only food I have available to eat is a candy bar, I'm going to eat it if I'm hungry.  But if that candy bar is sitting next to an apple, I'm choosing the apple.  When I grocery shop, I chose the best available in everything-- organic unbleached flour instead of plain white, fresh instead of canned, etc.

So, for our Christmas dinner, even though there were only two of us, I decided to do the full on Turkey dinner- Parrish style.

Of course we had the turkey, all-natural.  Organic Wild Rice Stuffing with Portobello mushrooms, green peppers and celery.  Butternut Squash saved from the Ewert's (Thanks, Gail!).  Hot buns.  Organic green bean casserole, with the exception of the French's Fried Onions.  Homemade gravy.  Cooked spinach.  Fresh pomegranate arils (pomegranate is my winter addiction, I love them!).  And fresh brewed blueberry iced tea.  Not pictured is the rhubarb custard pie I made for Jim.

Everything on the table is either healthy or the healthy version of the dish.  My rice stuffing is half the calories of regular bread stuffing, as well as gluten-free.  I know that we could do without the green bean casserole, but it's a traditional dish that just has to be on the table sometimes.

Hope you had a great Christmas with your families.  The next few days will undoubtedly be about food.  As you can see, we had a lot of it and there was only two of us.  So, we have a lot of leftovers.  Turkey Chilli anyone?

Chicago

Last weekend, Jim and I took the California/Zephyr Amtrak East to Chicago to visit Joe and Alicia.  It was possibly the shortest long distance trip I've ever been on but it was also one of the more fun quick trips we've done.

We showed up at McCook, NE around 11PM to a deserted building where we were supposed to wait for the train.  We were the only ones there.  No employees, no other passengers, and no door on the bathroom.
They ushered us on quickly as soon as the train arrived.  We are a small stop, no time for delay here.  They gave us a seat, we fell asleep and got up in the morning for an expensive breakfast in the dining car.  We sat next to John, a software engineer and baritone player from Colorado.  He was headed to a Packers game.
Everything was much closer than I anticipated so we walked everywhere.  First to the hotel, the Buckingham Athletic Club, which is on the 40th floor of a business complex.  It was possibly the best part of the entire trip.  Our view was of Willis (Sears) Tower and Lake Michigan. 

We got to watch the sunset in the windows of Willis Tower while we ate our Chipotle before we headed to the theatre to watch the Chicago Symphony.  I would post a picture of the amazing, multi-level performance hall, but they are illegal.  That didn't stop me from keeping them, but I won't be sharing them publically.
The next day we met Joe, Alicia and Girls at Union Station, walked our way to Due's Pizzeria, then to Millenium park where we took pictures at the famous "Bean" statue, then a quick hot chocolate break at a Starbucks (there really is one every 90 feet there!) and back on a shorter train ride to Carol Stream, where our hosts live.  This was all after a quick work out at the exclusive and very fancy gym at our hotel.  I was the only one working out that morning so I can't tell you any cool "running right next to a CEO" stories.  Maybe next time.
We watched movies and talked a lot.  Alicia and I are both extremely interested in health, so we exchanged ideas and talked about work out routines and food.  The last time we spent time together, neither of us were watching what we ate or how we treated our bodies, and now we are both very aware of it, so it was fun to talk to someone like-minded regarding food and exercise.
Their little girls were all absolutely adorable and sweet, we had fun seeing where they live and how to manage as a homeschool family. 
As we got ready to leave we stocked up on food at PotBelly's Subs (did I mention the expensive train food?).  Jim, who if you didn't know has been proof-reading my posts so far, thought I should mention the food there.  It. Was. Awesome. Then, with me feeling a little under the weather, I slept on the train ride home.

It was a great trip full of new experiences.  Downtown Chicago was safe, our hotel was awesome,time with friends was priceless.

Have a very wonderful Christmas Eve with your families and a Merry Christmas and good morning service.  I will be back tomorrow afternoon with pictures of a (hopefully delicious) carefully prepared turkey dinner.

Time, Words and Pictures

We capture memories in a variety of ways.  We write down important dates on the calendar to remember the most important memories.  We celebrate them once a year in honor of the original event.  We write things down.  We share with a friend.  We take pictures.

Today, I do all of those things.  My calendar proudly displays OUR ANNIVERSARY in the small box, with squiggles and hearts around it because writing it just wasn't enough.  We have been planning our anniversary evening for a while now and since all of those plans fell through, we are prepared to celebrate with an air mattress on the living room floor, watching my Christmas present on the big screen and eating take-out Chinese food.  Today, we celebrate that 5 years ago we made a commitment to each other, exchanged vows and became man and wife.

Which is why I chose today to start my personal challenge.  A lot has happened in the past few years and I haven't written enough of it down, I haven't shared enough with anyone and my camera hasn't seen enough action.  Someday, I may forget those events that I didn't write on the calendar and celebrate every year.  But maybe I can document a few things this year to remember for the rest of my life.

A picture is worth 1,000 words the saying goes.  And I plan on documenting this year with 366 (2012 is a leap year) pictures.  The equivalent of a picture a day, but I won't be blogging every single day-- that would be exhausting.  If you plan on counting my words, you'll be the only one.  I just wanted to challenge myself into 1. becoming a more regular and more disciplined blogger, 2. make some great memories and get some great pictures of them and 3. let the people I make them with know that they are important and loved. 

So today, as I celebrate my marriage of 5 years to the greatest husband, I also celebrate the start of something I've never done before.

Drum roll, please...

the first picture of the 366 picture challenge blog is of the flowers I received at work from my husband this morning.