Josh has his first softball game tonight! He'll be playing some at third base. He'll do great! Hopefully he won't come away with any pulled muscles!! Who knew that church softball could make you so sore?
I have to admit that I've taken an extended sabbatical from consistent exercising, pretty much since I found out that I was pregnant. Not a COMPLETE sabbatical, but a substantial one. I was wary of working out too hard in the first trimester, and then maybe I just got lazy. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder to work out when you don't work at the gym like I used to. Back then I didn't have a reason NOT to exercise. I think people's biggest obstacle to going to the gym is actually going to the gym. Once you're there, it's not bad. It's the getting there that's the challenge. Now I'm falling into that category of people. Those who are somewhat exercising-challenged because of motivational difficulties. BUT there is good news to report here. Josh and I have been going more consistently, and I've been enjoying it a lot. I forgot the joy that there is to be found in exercise and was focusing only on the pain that it is to get clothes together, change, get to the gym, etc. But it's actually a lot of fun, and it's wonderful when you can see results- see yourself getting fitter, having less trouble exercising harder for longer, finding it easier to lift heavier weights, etc. So I'm rediscovering why I became a personal trainer in the first place. It just took a re-birth of sorts.
Have a great night!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Weekend Activities
Josh and I had such a great weekend. Friday night we had dinner at home, cleaned up a little bit, and went to "Breach," which Josh reviewed for your reading pleasure. That was such a good movie- I echo all of his sentiments. Saturday we had a meeting at church for the missions trip that Josh is leading to Canada this summer, after which we went to the library to check out some good books. I don't know about you, but most of my library books don't get read. I check them out for the nice cover or interesting pictures, but rarely read them cover to cover. I think I step into a library and just get way too excited and overwhelmed at all of the possibilities. What do I want to read about today? Cooking? Decorating? Dolphin Training? Weightlifting? Clothes? Music? Nature? I was looking through the new books and picked one up written by a father who has an autistic son. It's very interesting- I definitely recommend it. I've learned a lot about autism. The dad is a great writer.
Saturday night Josh and I decided to pull out a Rachael Ray cookbook that my mom gave me as a shower or birthday gift and give the "30 Minute Meal" a try. I found some pasta that looked good and used mostly stuff that we had in the pantry. It was sooo yummy!! But I've got to say, I think her "30 Minute Meal" is a myth. No normal person who doesn't cook for a living can prepare what she does in 30 minutes. She chops through an onion in like .5 seconds, and before you practically even see her do it, it's done. What? When did that onion get chopped? Why don't mine fall into those perfect little pieces that easily? I think she's got pre-cut vegetables, or something. Maybe they all have lines traced in them that are pre-cut, so chopping truly is effortless. I mean, when I'm cutting a carrot it does take some degree of work. You can't just karate chop it and expect it to be done. Unless you've got the hugest, sharpest knife and are fearless about cutting your fingers off. So her prep time is maybe 3 minutes, where it may be 20 minutes for the same recipe for the rest of our plebians. So Rachael, if you're reading this, I think you're a farce. I like many of your recipes, but think that you're making empty promises to tired, work-worn food preparers. Don't raise false hope, Rachael. After dinner we went to Babies R Us to pick out some things for Baby Desch and had a wonderful time. We saw some cribs there that honestly cost more than our bed. What's wrong with this picture???
Yesterday was also wonderful. We went to church and Sunday School in the morning- Josh taught on Hebrews 10. We went home and made vegetable soup for lunch, which was wonderful. Then I set to work making a yellow cake with chocolate frosting for our small group meeting, which was both a fun and satisfying baking experience. We relaxed and hung out all afternoon, which was great. I've gotta say, Augusta is already heating up, folks. I swear it was like 90 degrees in the kitchen when I was baking that cake. It's exciting and a little scary all at once- I'm sooooo thankful that spring is here!! But already this hot? That doesn't bode well for the future, i.e. July, August, etc. Another strange thing about Augusta right now is that everywhere you looks is covered in a sheer yellow coating of pollen. Our car is technically red, but it's had a nasty yellow-green tint for about a week now because the pollen is so thick everywhere. We wondered about washing the car, but then decided not to since it would look exactly the same tomorrow. I went out to check the mailbox at work this morning, and my blue shoes picked up a nice greenish sheen from walking through the grass. You can almost see clouds of pollen rising with each step. I feel very sorry for people with allergies!!! But I guess that's a good sign of spring. Yippee!!
Saturday night Josh and I decided to pull out a Rachael Ray cookbook that my mom gave me as a shower or birthday gift and give the "30 Minute Meal" a try. I found some pasta that looked good and used mostly stuff that we had in the pantry. It was sooo yummy!! But I've got to say, I think her "30 Minute Meal" is a myth. No normal person who doesn't cook for a living can prepare what she does in 30 minutes. She chops through an onion in like .5 seconds, and before you practically even see her do it, it's done. What? When did that onion get chopped? Why don't mine fall into those perfect little pieces that easily? I think she's got pre-cut vegetables, or something. Maybe they all have lines traced in them that are pre-cut, so chopping truly is effortless. I mean, when I'm cutting a carrot it does take some degree of work. You can't just karate chop it and expect it to be done. Unless you've got the hugest, sharpest knife and are fearless about cutting your fingers off. So her prep time is maybe 3 minutes, where it may be 20 minutes for the same recipe for the rest of our plebians. So Rachael, if you're reading this, I think you're a farce. I like many of your recipes, but think that you're making empty promises to tired, work-worn food preparers. Don't raise false hope, Rachael. After dinner we went to Babies R Us to pick out some things for Baby Desch and had a wonderful time. We saw some cribs there that honestly cost more than our bed. What's wrong with this picture???
Yesterday was also wonderful. We went to church and Sunday School in the morning- Josh taught on Hebrews 10. We went home and made vegetable soup for lunch, which was wonderful. Then I set to work making a yellow cake with chocolate frosting for our small group meeting, which was both a fun and satisfying baking experience. We relaxed and hung out all afternoon, which was great. I've gotta say, Augusta is already heating up, folks. I swear it was like 90 degrees in the kitchen when I was baking that cake. It's exciting and a little scary all at once- I'm sooooo thankful that spring is here!! But already this hot? That doesn't bode well for the future, i.e. July, August, etc. Another strange thing about Augusta right now is that everywhere you looks is covered in a sheer yellow coating of pollen. Our car is technically red, but it's had a nasty yellow-green tint for about a week now because the pollen is so thick everywhere. We wondered about washing the car, but then decided not to since it would look exactly the same tomorrow. I went out to check the mailbox at work this morning, and my blue shoes picked up a nice greenish sheen from walking through the grass. You can almost see clouds of pollen rising with each step. I feel very sorry for people with allergies!!! But I guess that's a good sign of spring. Yippee!!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Best Movie I Have Seen in a Good While (this is Josh)
Movie Review - Breach (2007) - Spies Really Need the Gospel
Family man, sexual deviant, committed Catholic and the worst spy in U.S., all of this describes Robert Hanssen, the subject of the recent movie Breach. Betsy and I went to see this movie last night, and I was more absorbed in this movie than almost any other movie I've seen. Why? Because few movies portray the depth of the distorted and complicated state that is the human condition apart from Jesus Christ. Robert Hanssen comes across as a very evil man in this movie, but this is partly because he comes across as so authentically human. Hanssen is a very complicated man. He was both a dedicated Catholic and a spy whose actions led to the deaths of numerous people, aside from all the other damage he did to the U.S. He was also a pervert and a family man, a deeply bitter employeewho was motivated by more than money. In the end, Hanssens actions seem to be mostly motivated by the godlike power he achieved as a spy. He believed he was uncatchable, smarter than his superiors (who didn't deserve to be over him). He got his greatest thrill knowing that everyone was looking for him, and yet could not catch him. Talk about trying to find satisfaction in money, respect and power. If anybody needs Jesus, its this guy. The depth of his damage is still classified, but its amazing to think that Jesus love is so powerful that even this twisted man can be saved by putting his trust in the atoning work of Christ.
Family man, sexual deviant, committed Catholic and the worst spy in U.S., all of this describes Robert Hanssen, the subject of the recent movie Breach. Betsy and I went to see this movie last night, and I was more absorbed in this movie than almost any other movie I've seen. Why? Because few movies portray the depth of the distorted and complicated state that is the human condition apart from Jesus Christ. Robert Hanssen comes across as a very evil man in this movie, but this is partly because he comes across as so authentically human. Hanssen is a very complicated man. He was both a dedicated Catholic and a spy whose actions led to the deaths of numerous people, aside from all the other damage he did to the U.S. He was also a pervert and a family man, a deeply bitter employeewho was motivated by more than money. In the end, Hanssens actions seem to be mostly motivated by the godlike power he achieved as a spy. He believed he was uncatchable, smarter than his superiors (who didn't deserve to be over him). He got his greatest thrill knowing that everyone was looking for him, and yet could not catch him. Talk about trying to find satisfaction in money, respect and power. If anybody needs Jesus, its this guy. The depth of his damage is still classified, but its amazing to think that Jesus love is so powerful that even this twisted man can be saved by putting his trust in the atoning work of Christ.
Baby Desch, 6 Months and Growing
Baby Desch is growing! It's getting really exciting. He/she is due to make his/her appearance exactly 3 months from today. Can't wait!!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Friday Morning at Bojangles
My office has a tradition of bringing in biscuits from Bojangles every Friday morning. Bojangles, for those Northerners out there, serves all sorts of delights for the palate, but I think they are most famous for fried chicken and biscuits. Every Friday morning it is someone's responsibility to pick up the biscuits and bring them to the office. We all have our own preferences. I usually get a plain biscuit or one with an egg on it, while some of the others get a ham biscuit or a sausage biscuit. These are quite delicious.
This morning Josh and I had biscuit duty. At our old apartment, Bojangles wasn't that far away, so if we would leave the house by about 8:05 or 8:10 (work starts at 8:30), we could get the biscuits and be at work in time. But now that we've moved into the boonies, we had to shoot for leaving the house at 7:45 this morning. That may not sound bad, but for us, that's a herculean task. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when you throw Baby Desch into the mix- we're never going to be anywhere on time. It's a good thing I'm quitting my job.
We pulled up to Bojangles at about 8:10, and the line for the drive-thru was out on Washington Road. You couldn't barely pull into the parking lot to get in line for biscuits. Augusta must be a big biscuit town. Every time we have biscuit duty, Bojangles is overflowing with cars. No room in the drive-thru, no room in the parking lot. Going in to stand in line is no faster- there are just as many people waiting in line for their biscuit fix. A surprising number of the cars in line are actually these massive super-duty trucks. I'm not passing any judgments here... maybe just suggesting that rednecks like their biscuits. We finally got out of the street and into the line, and got out at 8:27, just in time to drive around the corner to work.
I love Friday rituals. Friday always has somewhat of a party atmosphere, and biscuits make it that much better. I don't know if biscuits were such a part of life in the North. They were probably there, and I just didn't know it. But I have completely embraced biscuits. They bring joy to my heart, excitement to my tummy, and anticipation for the weekend.
Have a wonderful weekend!! Go eat a biscuit today!!
This morning Josh and I had biscuit duty. At our old apartment, Bojangles wasn't that far away, so if we would leave the house by about 8:05 or 8:10 (work starts at 8:30), we could get the biscuits and be at work in time. But now that we've moved into the boonies, we had to shoot for leaving the house at 7:45 this morning. That may not sound bad, but for us, that's a herculean task. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when you throw Baby Desch into the mix- we're never going to be anywhere on time. It's a good thing I'm quitting my job.
We pulled up to Bojangles at about 8:10, and the line for the drive-thru was out on Washington Road. You couldn't barely pull into the parking lot to get in line for biscuits. Augusta must be a big biscuit town. Every time we have biscuit duty, Bojangles is overflowing with cars. No room in the drive-thru, no room in the parking lot. Going in to stand in line is no faster- there are just as many people waiting in line for their biscuit fix. A surprising number of the cars in line are actually these massive super-duty trucks. I'm not passing any judgments here... maybe just suggesting that rednecks like their biscuits. We finally got out of the street and into the line, and got out at 8:27, just in time to drive around the corner to work.
I love Friday rituals. Friday always has somewhat of a party atmosphere, and biscuits make it that much better. I don't know if biscuits were such a part of life in the North. They were probably there, and I just didn't know it. But I have completely embraced biscuits. They bring joy to my heart, excitement to my tummy, and anticipation for the weekend.
Have a wonderful weekend!! Go eat a biscuit today!!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Ode To Hot Dogs
Oh, how I love hot dogs. I love them so much. Josh and I had a hot dog for dinner last night, and it was so good. Wednesday night dinners are usually at least a little bit sketchy because we have youth group, and we're not home long enough between work and youth group to make something really complicated. Some Wednesdays are better than others. Last night was definitely good compared to what some have been.
In Baby Desch's first trimester, hot dogs were one of the only things that consistently sounded good. In my estimation, foods were dropping like flies... even seasoned old favorites sounded horrible. But hot dogs, which I've always liked, stuck with me faithfully through those turbulent months. One day in November Josh's parents came for a visit, and they wanted to take us out to eat. The ONLY thing I could think of that sounded good was a HOT DOG. Visions of hot dogs danced in my head. That sounded amazing and everything else sounded horrible. So we went to Sonic and I ate a hot dog. Josh and I went back to Peoria for Thanksgiving, and when my uncle (who is a vegetarian) heard that I was pregnant and seriously craving hot dogs, he told me that was the worst thing I could ever put in my body and to go find some soy hot dogs and eat them instead. Oof, that did NOT sound good. I have respect for soybeans on some level but usually prefer to steer clear of them, especially when they appear as meat products.
How about grilled hot dogs? Those are even a step above normal cooked-indoors hot dogs. Those definitely deserve their own mention. My Aunt Martha planned a barbeque at the park when Josh and I were home for Thanksgiving, after she found out I was craving hot dogs. Those hot dogs over the grill really hit the spot!!
But now we're through that time, and my relationship with hot dogs has gone back to normal. I still love them, but I can think of plenty of other good things to eat, a fact for which my arteries thank me. I'm thankful that hot dogs stuck with me when everything else jumped ship.
In Baby Desch's first trimester, hot dogs were one of the only things that consistently sounded good. In my estimation, foods were dropping like flies... even seasoned old favorites sounded horrible. But hot dogs, which I've always liked, stuck with me faithfully through those turbulent months. One day in November Josh's parents came for a visit, and they wanted to take us out to eat. The ONLY thing I could think of that sounded good was a HOT DOG. Visions of hot dogs danced in my head. That sounded amazing and everything else sounded horrible. So we went to Sonic and I ate a hot dog. Josh and I went back to Peoria for Thanksgiving, and when my uncle (who is a vegetarian) heard that I was pregnant and seriously craving hot dogs, he told me that was the worst thing I could ever put in my body and to go find some soy hot dogs and eat them instead. Oof, that did NOT sound good. I have respect for soybeans on some level but usually prefer to steer clear of them, especially when they appear as meat products.
How about grilled hot dogs? Those are even a step above normal cooked-indoors hot dogs. Those definitely deserve their own mention. My Aunt Martha planned a barbeque at the park when Josh and I were home for Thanksgiving, after she found out I was craving hot dogs. Those hot dogs over the grill really hit the spot!!
But now we're through that time, and my relationship with hot dogs has gone back to normal. I still love them, but I can think of plenty of other good things to eat, a fact for which my arteries thank me. I'm thankful that hot dogs stuck with me when everything else jumped ship.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Joy of Lunch Breaks
I love my lunch break. Josh comes and picks me up every day (since we are a one car family) unless he has a meeting or something and we have lunch together. Before the beginning of this week it was so convenient! He's pick me up and we'd go home to our apartment, which was just about half-way between both of our offices. It was nice to go home and get some stuff done, like a load of dishes, watching a movie, laying in bed, etc. But now we live in the country and have found ourselves homeless for lunch. I would love to still go home and rest for a while, but seeing as it takes about 20 minutes to get to my office where it used to take 4, more than half of our lunch break would be used up in the car. But that's OK because as long as the weather is nice, we can eat outside.
Josh and I were really rushed this morning because we stayed up late watching National Treasure- have any of you seen this movie? If not, please don't bother- it's actually pretty horrible. The script, acting, even props- very sub-par. (I really hope I'm not stepping on any toes here. If you liked this movie, I'm sorry for calling it horrible.) This was the first movie Josh took me to after we started dating- we went to the $1 movie theater in Peachtree City right after I graduated and saw this. I remember when we left I was almost crying because Josh was making me laugh so hard (typical) about how shoddy the props were in this movie. We decided Nicholas Cage must have been a high-maintenance main character, demanding a fancy dressing room and filet at every meal since they obviously had no budget left for set design. ANYWAY, we stayed up late watching that movie again for some unknown reason. Then we snoozed the alarm about 5 times before we actually got up, so by the time we were almost ready to go, we were running pretty late. Then I remembered that we hadn't put together anything for lunch, and since we can't go home anymore, bringing something is a must. Josh said "Leave this one to me." That was good because I think I was running around looking for a bobby pin in the post-move chaos. Looking for the smallest thing possible in piles and piles of stuff when you already should be on the way to work is a bad idea. So Josh put some leftover lasagna and then leftovers from dinner last night in a couple of bowls, and out the door we went. Picture this with me. He had a big square of lasagna for both of us and then leftovers from last night on top. Last night we had stir-fried asparagus, tomatoes, celery, and kidney beans on top of barley and couscous. This on top of lasagna wasn't looking too good. But as the saying goes, beggers can't be choosers, and those who are running really late and know how hungry they'll be at lunch time can't complain. (Just as a sidenote, Josh is the ultimate food mixer. He has no problem with all of the foods on his plate coming together to form one conglomeration of goodness. I, on the other hand, find this very offensive and would like to be eating with those kids' plates that have the sections so none of my food touches each other.)
Anyway, as it turns out lunch was actually really good! Somehow those things kind of went together in one pile of weirdness, and it tasted good, but more importantly, it filled our tummies. Lunch breaks are just so nice. It's great to get out of the office for a while, get some fresh air, and come back refreshed for the afternoon.
Enjoy your Wednesday!
Josh and I were really rushed this morning because we stayed up late watching National Treasure- have any of you seen this movie? If not, please don't bother- it's actually pretty horrible. The script, acting, even props- very sub-par. (I really hope I'm not stepping on any toes here. If you liked this movie, I'm sorry for calling it horrible.) This was the first movie Josh took me to after we started dating- we went to the $1 movie theater in Peachtree City right after I graduated and saw this. I remember when we left I was almost crying because Josh was making me laugh so hard (typical) about how shoddy the props were in this movie. We decided Nicholas Cage must have been a high-maintenance main character, demanding a fancy dressing room and filet at every meal since they obviously had no budget left for set design. ANYWAY, we stayed up late watching that movie again for some unknown reason. Then we snoozed the alarm about 5 times before we actually got up, so by the time we were almost ready to go, we were running pretty late. Then I remembered that we hadn't put together anything for lunch, and since we can't go home anymore, bringing something is a must. Josh said "Leave this one to me." That was good because I think I was running around looking for a bobby pin in the post-move chaos. Looking for the smallest thing possible in piles and piles of stuff when you already should be on the way to work is a bad idea. So Josh put some leftover lasagna and then leftovers from dinner last night in a couple of bowls, and out the door we went. Picture this with me. He had a big square of lasagna for both of us and then leftovers from last night on top. Last night we had stir-fried asparagus, tomatoes, celery, and kidney beans on top of barley and couscous. This on top of lasagna wasn't looking too good. But as the saying goes, beggers can't be choosers, and those who are running really late and know how hungry they'll be at lunch time can't complain. (Just as a sidenote, Josh is the ultimate food mixer. He has no problem with all of the foods on his plate coming together to form one conglomeration of goodness. I, on the other hand, find this very offensive and would like to be eating with those kids' plates that have the sections so none of my food touches each other.)
Anyway, as it turns out lunch was actually really good! Somehow those things kind of went together in one pile of weirdness, and it tasted good, but more importantly, it filled our tummies. Lunch breaks are just so nice. It's great to get out of the office for a while, get some fresh air, and come back refreshed for the afternoon.
Enjoy your Wednesday!
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