I will be a traveling girl starting this Saturday! I'm leaving Saturday morning to spend a week in Phoenix, AZ, for General Council. I work for the Assemblies of God National Office, and every other year they have what's called General Council. This is a week-long event consisting of business sessions, luncheons, evening services, Fine Arts festival for the youth, Kids Council, vendors in the exhibit hall, and lots of other miscellaneous activities. In my nearly seven years of working for the AG I have attended three General Councils: Denver, CO in 2005, Indianapolis, IN in 2007, Orlando, FL in 2009. I will be busy working in the U.S. Missions booth handing out our giveaway items and basically just talking to people all day. Friday I'll be working at our luncheon where 1,000 people will be in attendance. I'll help set the tables with our giveaway items and centerpieces. When everything is done Friday afternoon at 3pm I'll help tear it down and box it up to ship home.
My trip will be for work, but I've also found a way to make a little vacation out of it, too! When I land in Phoenix, I'll rent a car and drive west to Silver City, NM, to visit my Aunt Cheryl (my dad's sister). It's been quite a few years since I've seen her and I've never been to her place. I am very excited for this trip! It's about a five-hour drive from Phoenix, so that part will be a little long, and I'll need to be in Phoenix Monday morning, so will drive back Sunday afternoon. This will be a very quick trip, but very much worth it.
And my family visits don't stop there! My Great Aunt Blanche (my mom's, mom's sister) lives in Glendale, AZ, which is right in the Phoenix area. I emailed her asking if she'd like company one night and I think she was more than thrilled about this! We plan to meet up Wednesday evening for dinner and visiting.
I'll finally get to head home on Saturday, August 6. Unfortunately, my flight leaves at 4pm and arrives in Springfield at 11:45pm. Yuck! Oh well. At least I can sleep in on Saturday and lounge by the pool for a while before flying home!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Garden Update
Ross and I started a garden this past May and have really enjoyed watching it grow. We've been pretty faithful to water it everyday, but lately have missed a few days. It's a small garden, just 4'x4' in size. We planted four cucumber plants, one raspberry plant, one strawberry plant, one pepper plant, several green bean seeds, and cilantro.
I'm afraid my Grampa Ward, who has an amazing garden, would not be very proud of our garden! The cilantro has died off and what's left is growing out of control. Out of about 15 green bean seeds, only three have sprouted. The strawberry plant looks like it's dying. The raspberry plant hasn't produced any fruit at all. The pepper plant looks very healthy, but no peppers yet. And the cucumbers . . . oh the cucumbers! They are growing out of control. We didn't realize how big they would get once they started growing. Apparently, cucumbers need a trellis, or something of the sorts, to grow up. (Note to self for next year's garden.) I bought garden poles and tried to train the cucumbers to grow up the poles, with no luck. The weight of the cucumbers was too much for the little, flimsy poles. The cucumbers seem to be the only thing really growing in our garden. The ironic thing about this is that Ross does not like cucumbers and I only like them a little. Go figure! It has been really neat, though, to watch the cucumbers grow. I can't wait to finally pick one from the vine.
I'm afraid my Grampa Ward, who has an amazing garden, would not be very proud of our garden! The cilantro has died off and what's left is growing out of control. Out of about 15 green bean seeds, only three have sprouted. The strawberry plant looks like it's dying. The raspberry plant hasn't produced any fruit at all. The pepper plant looks very healthy, but no peppers yet. And the cucumbers . . . oh the cucumbers! They are growing out of control. We didn't realize how big they would get once they started growing. Apparently, cucumbers need a trellis, or something of the sorts, to grow up. (Note to self for next year's garden.) I bought garden poles and tried to train the cucumbers to grow up the poles, with no luck. The weight of the cucumbers was too much for the little, flimsy poles. The cucumbers seem to be the only thing really growing in our garden. The ironic thing about this is that Ross does not like cucumbers and I only like them a little. Go figure! It has been really neat, though, to watch the cucumbers grow. I can't wait to finally pick one from the vine.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Happy Birthday Cody!
Today my youngest nephew, Cody, is 7 years old! I still remember the day he was born. Stephanie went into the hospital in the morning to be induced and I remember calling her asking what she was going to do that day. I had to go to work and kept checking in with her and my parents throughout the day to see how labor was progressing. I had to teach an aerobic class after work and when that was over I headed to Joplin to meet my new nephew. I got there around 8 and he still wasn't born yet!
Stephanie and Nathan did not find out if they were having a boy or a girl until the baby was born, so that made the wait even more exciting! I remember walking in the hospital room after he was born and hearing my sister tell my dad that she had just given birth to the next Nebraska football line backer—Cody was a big baby! It was so neat holding him, just minutes after he was born.
Cody is such a fun, sweet boy. I have so loved being a part of his life and watching him grow up. Happy Birthday, Cody! Aunt Libby and Uncle Ross love you lots!
Stephanie and Nathan did not find out if they were having a boy or a girl until the baby was born, so that made the wait even more exciting! I remember walking in the hospital room after he was born and hearing my sister tell my dad that she had just given birth to the next Nebraska football line backer—Cody was a big baby! It was so neat holding him, just minutes after he was born.
Cody is such a fun, sweet boy. I have so loved being a part of his life and watching him grow up. Happy Birthday, Cody! Aunt Libby and Uncle Ross love you lots!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Candy Dishes?
A few weeks ago Ross and I went to my sister's house to help her and her husband dig fence post holes for a privacy fence they are putting in. At one point during the day, I went inside her house to get a drink and saw her candy dish sitting on the counter. The candy dish, as usual, was filled with M&M's. Each time I go to Stephanie's house, I can always count on her candy dish setting in the same spot on the counter and always filled with "good" candy. I love M&M's, so walked over to it and took a handful. I had to—the M&M's were screaming my name. Seriously. And I may or may not have had a few more handfuls of M&M's throughout the day, too.
I imagine this is a trait my sister picked up from my Mom. My Mom ALWAYS had and still has candy out in her candy dishes. I can still see some of her "holiday" candy dishes setting on the glass sections of the coffee table we had while growing up. She had "good" candy, too. M&M's, Hershey's Kisses, mini Hershey's and Snickers bars . . . you get the point!
I remember my Mom always commenting about how quickly the candy disappeared whenever our friends would come over to play. She always wondered if their parents didn't have candy out all the time like that, so when they saw it at our house, they couldn't keep their hands off of it.
I never have candy out at my house. Mainly because, quite frankly, I have NO self-control when it comes to candy. I've bought candy to have out at home a time or two before, but it's never pretty. I fall into a vicious cycle: I take a handful and go back. Take another handful and go back again. Take yet another handful and back again.
Well, I got to thinking that if I had candy out all the time like my Mom used to do, then maybe I would get used to it always being there and not feel the need to eat it all at once. One of the past few times we went grocery shopping I decided to put my theory to the test. I bought 2 bags of M&M's—one plain and one with pretzels. I found a small candy jar with a lid (loved the lid, thinking it would help me not eat as much . . . makes sense, huh?!) and poured about half of each bag into my jar.
Unfortunately, my theory didn't work like I thought. I found myself back in that darn vicious cycle yet again. Oh well! At least I thoroughly enjoy myself while eating the candy, and know that I'll work it off in one of my bootcamp classes!
I imagine this is a trait my sister picked up from my Mom. My Mom ALWAYS had and still has candy out in her candy dishes. I can still see some of her "holiday" candy dishes setting on the glass sections of the coffee table we had while growing up. She had "good" candy, too. M&M's, Hershey's Kisses, mini Hershey's and Snickers bars . . . you get the point!
I remember my Mom always commenting about how quickly the candy disappeared whenever our friends would come over to play. She always wondered if their parents didn't have candy out all the time like that, so when they saw it at our house, they couldn't keep their hands off of it.
I never have candy out at my house. Mainly because, quite frankly, I have NO self-control when it comes to candy. I've bought candy to have out at home a time or two before, but it's never pretty. I fall into a vicious cycle: I take a handful and go back. Take another handful and go back again. Take yet another handful and back again.
Well, I got to thinking that if I had candy out all the time like my Mom used to do, then maybe I would get used to it always being there and not feel the need to eat it all at once. One of the past few times we went grocery shopping I decided to put my theory to the test. I bought 2 bags of M&M's—one plain and one with pretzels. I found a small candy jar with a lid (loved the lid, thinking it would help me not eat as much . . . makes sense, huh?!) and poured about half of each bag into my jar.
Unfortunately, my theory didn't work like I thought. I found myself back in that darn vicious cycle yet again. Oh well! At least I thoroughly enjoy myself while eating the candy, and know that I'll work it off in one of my bootcamp classes!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Happy House Anniversary To Us!
One year ago today, July 21, 2010, Ross and I closed on our very first house we bought together! It's so much fun to me to think back on that time and remember our excitement! We went straight to our new house once closing was finished and Ross carried me over the threshold! We walked around for a bit discussing where we would put everything, and then went home to change clothes. We stopped by Big Fat Burrito, one of our favorite places to eat, and brought our dinner back to our new house and ate there.
I took off Thursday and my Mom helped me move our kitchen items and all my clothes. I wanted to get the kitchen set up first thing, and I just prefer to move my clothes myself. Later that day, my Dad and Ross moved our bed over to the new house so we could start living there. Friday Ross' parents came down to help us move and then around 5pm that night several of our friends came over to load up the U-Haul and really get the move underway. The whole process took about 3 1/2 hours. We loaded the U-Haul, along with several cars and trucks, ate dinner, headed to our new house, and unloaded everything. I don't remember the temperature on the day we moved, but I do remember that it was H-O-T! We went through so much water and Gatorade that night!
Ross and I have really enjoyed living in our house and are so happy with our decision to buy it. Over the past year we've painted all but one room, moved our washer and dryer downstairs (to make way for a mud room off the garage), and put in a shed in the backyard. We have a few more home improvement projects planned for this year, too.
Tonight I plan to sit on the couch with Ross and toast our house with sparkling grape juice! This is a tradition I started when I bought my first house in 2005. Ross is super excited for this! :)
I took off Thursday and my Mom helped me move our kitchen items and all my clothes. I wanted to get the kitchen set up first thing, and I just prefer to move my clothes myself. Later that day, my Dad and Ross moved our bed over to the new house so we could start living there. Friday Ross' parents came down to help us move and then around 5pm that night several of our friends came over to load up the U-Haul and really get the move underway. The whole process took about 3 1/2 hours. We loaded the U-Haul, along with several cars and trucks, ate dinner, headed to our new house, and unloaded everything. I don't remember the temperature on the day we moved, but I do remember that it was H-O-T! We went through so much water and Gatorade that night!
Ross and I have really enjoyed living in our house and are so happy with our decision to buy it. Over the past year we've painted all but one room, moved our washer and dryer downstairs (to make way for a mud room off the garage), and put in a shed in the backyard. We have a few more home improvement projects planned for this year, too.
Tonight I plan to sit on the couch with Ross and toast our house with sparkling grape juice! This is a tradition I started when I bought my first house in 2005. Ross is super excited for this! :)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Bootcamp!
I've been teaching all sort of aerobics classes for 10 years. I first started taking aerobics classes when I was a sophomore in college and remember very well why this came about.
I went on a retreat in January 1999 with Christ on Campus, a college ministry I was involved in while attending the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The retreat was in Colorado and we skied at Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain for a few days before going to the retreat. I remember being at the top of a mountain and just really out of breath. Some of my loss of breath was probably due to the altitude, but I attributed it to the fact that I was really out of shape. I didn't work out much at all my first year and a half of college and decided to change this.
When the second semester of my sophomore year began, I started going to the HPER center and taking the free step aerobics classes that were offered. I really enjoyed the classes and was getting a good workout. As the weather warmed up I started walking around the one-mile track at a local park each day after the step class. I really enjoyed this and could tell a difference in my "fit-level."
I transferred to Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, and started taking the step classes on campus. I started talking to the instructors and they told me about a workshop being offered to help train people how to be an aerobics instructor. I took that class, and then applied to a job at Cox Fitness Center to teach step aerobics. I'm so thankful that they hired me . . . and kept me on after they saw my first few classes. I was such a bad teacher in the beginning! But I kept with it, got a little more training, and now, 10 years later, I'm still teaching!
I've taught everything from step, kick boxing, toning, spin/cycling, sport conditioning, fit ball, and boot camp. This summer I've been teaching a 5:30-6:30am boot camp class at the YMCA and have loved it! Eighteen people signed up for this class and I'd say more than half have stuck with it since the first day of class on June 21. On Tuesdays we run to a parking garage and do drills, sprints, run stairs, lots of different things outside. On Thursdays we run one mile and then go to the gym for drills and sprints. I have really enjoyed teaching these classes! Here are a few workouts I have done. I dare you to try one!
Workout #1
1-mile run
Back to the gym:
Run one lap around the gym
Bicep curls – 30 seconds
Right side shuffle around the gym
Side raises – 30 seconds
Left side shuffle around the gym
Triceps dips on bench – 30 seconds
Walking lunges around the gym
Butterfly press – 30 seconds
Burpees – 30 seconds
1 minute rest
Sprint down, back pedal back
25 punches with weights
Sprint down, high knees back
25 punches with weights
Sprint with weights, 1 minute
Crab walk
Mountain climbers – 30 seconds
Push ups – 30 seconds
Stairs – up to fourth floor and back down to gym
Squats – 30 seconds
Shoulder/arm exercise:
Partner Push up/Press
Partner A does 1 push up, partner B does one press
Partner B does 1 push up, partner A does one press
Continue switching and increase one at a time – 2, 3, 4, 5, to 10
Workout #2
1-mile run to parking garage
Top of garage:
High knees across
Butt kickers
Crossover step
20 jacks
20 windmills
20 burpees
Stairs, 3 times through:
A does 1 set of stairs (all the way down, all the way up)
B does decline push ups
Switch
1 time: suicides using the white lines of half of the parking lot
I went on a retreat in January 1999 with Christ on Campus, a college ministry I was involved in while attending the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The retreat was in Colorado and we skied at Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain for a few days before going to the retreat. I remember being at the top of a mountain and just really out of breath. Some of my loss of breath was probably due to the altitude, but I attributed it to the fact that I was really out of shape. I didn't work out much at all my first year and a half of college and decided to change this.
When the second semester of my sophomore year began, I started going to the HPER center and taking the free step aerobics classes that were offered. I really enjoyed the classes and was getting a good workout. As the weather warmed up I started walking around the one-mile track at a local park each day after the step class. I really enjoyed this and could tell a difference in my "fit-level."
I transferred to Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, and started taking the step classes on campus. I started talking to the instructors and they told me about a workshop being offered to help train people how to be an aerobics instructor. I took that class, and then applied to a job at Cox Fitness Center to teach step aerobics. I'm so thankful that they hired me . . . and kept me on after they saw my first few classes. I was such a bad teacher in the beginning! But I kept with it, got a little more training, and now, 10 years later, I'm still teaching!
I've taught everything from step, kick boxing, toning, spin/cycling, sport conditioning, fit ball, and boot camp. This summer I've been teaching a 5:30-6:30am boot camp class at the YMCA and have loved it! Eighteen people signed up for this class and I'd say more than half have stuck with it since the first day of class on June 21. On Tuesdays we run to a parking garage and do drills, sprints, run stairs, lots of different things outside. On Thursdays we run one mile and then go to the gym for drills and sprints. I have really enjoyed teaching these classes! Here are a few workouts I have done. I dare you to try one!
Workout #1
1-mile run
Back to the gym:
Run one lap around the gym
Bicep curls – 30 seconds
Right side shuffle around the gym
Side raises – 30 seconds
Left side shuffle around the gym
Triceps dips on bench – 30 seconds
Walking lunges around the gym
Butterfly press – 30 seconds
Burpees – 30 seconds
1 minute rest
Sprint down, back pedal back
25 punches with weights
Sprint down, high knees back
25 punches with weights
Sprint with weights, 1 minute
Crab walk
Mountain climbers – 30 seconds
Push ups – 30 seconds
Stairs – up to fourth floor and back down to gym
Squats – 30 seconds
Shoulder/arm exercise:
Partner Push up/Press
Partner A does 1 push up, partner B does one press
Partner B does 1 push up, partner A does one press
Continue switching and increase one at a time – 2, 3, 4, 5, to 10
Workout #2
1-mile run to parking garage
Top of garage:
High knees across
Butt kickers
Crossover step
20 jacks
20 windmills
20 burpees
Stairs, 3 times through:
A does 1 set of stairs (all the way down, all the way up)
B does decline push ups
Switch
1 time: suicides using the white lines of half of the parking lot
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Little House Guests
We had "little" house guests on June 17 - my nephews, Trevor and Cody, came to stay the night with us. Ross and I both looked forward to their visit and we had a good time!
Stephanie dropped the boys off around 3pm Friday afternoon, and we went down to our neighborhood pool to swim for a bit. After swimming, we changed and went to dinner at Cici's, played mini golf, rented a movie, got ice cream at Braum's, got Krispy Kremes for breakfast, went home to catch lightning bugs, got cleaned up for bed, watched Shrek 3, then went to bed. It was a busy, but fun-filled evening.
The boys slept together in our guest bed and did fine overnight. We woke up around 7:45am (or rather we WERE woke up around 7:45am!), had breakfast, watched some TV, and then went to my parent's to swim at their house. We had a great time and look forward to them staying with us again!
Stephanie dropped the boys off around 3pm Friday afternoon, and we went down to our neighborhood pool to swim for a bit. After swimming, we changed and went to dinner at Cici's, played mini golf, rented a movie, got ice cream at Braum's, got Krispy Kremes for breakfast, went home to catch lightning bugs, got cleaned up for bed, watched Shrek 3, then went to bed. It was a busy, but fun-filled evening.
The boys slept together in our guest bed and did fine overnight. We woke up around 7:45am (or rather we WERE woke up around 7:45am!), had breakfast, watched some TV, and then went to my parent's to swim at their house. We had a great time and look forward to them staying with us again!
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| We joked with my sister that we were just going to give the boys money and let them ride the bus around town. So, of course we couldn't resist taking this picture at an actual bus stop! |
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| Cody's artwork inside the cooler door at Braum's. |
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| A free donut and milk . . all is right with the world! |
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| There goes the bus! |
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| Catching lightning bugs! |
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