Dreams for 2011

When I was around 10 or 12 years old, I decided that everyone at our house on New Year's Eve had to write down their resolution.  Then, I wanted them to give them all back to me so that I could read them to everyone.  I'm guessing I would have probably harassed them all year to find out if they were sticking to it.  Needless to say, the only people who joined in were my younger siblings.  No one older than me wanted to be accountable to a child.  I think that was probably the last year I made a true New Year's resolution.  However, I am a big goals and dreams kind of person.  So, I have decided to share on my blog a few things that I want to happen in 2011.  Some of these I have been working on already, but that's what makes this list different than a resolution!

* I want a vacation with just me and my husband.  We got two great nights away for our anniversary last year, but I want a full vacay--not just a weekend escape.  Thankfully, we already have our cruise booked for April 2. So, this one can be crossed off in 92 days.  Before then, though, I need to get a new passport, find a hotel, book our shore trips, and shop!

* I want to run at least two races next year.  Obviously, I am already working on training for my first half marathon on March 5 (I paid our reservation fees last night!), but I want to do at least one more than that.  After the Snickers Half Marathon, I'll see if I'm up for another half, if I can handle a full, or if I need to cut it back to a 10k.

* I want to finish our kitchen.  This has been a project we have been putting off in our house, because we use the room soooo much.  We will need to commit to a week of hard work while having to eat out or microwave all our meals, because the stove will be gone while we are getting this all done.  We've had the ceramic tile for the floors since April, but I will also need to finally decide on a paint color and such.

* I want at least one good camping trip this summer.  I am perfectly okay with this trip only being two nights, though.  We've already decided that we won't feel guilty about leaving Max behind if he's not a good trail dog, but Blue definitely gets to come.  This trip would probably be hiking into somewhere fairly remote, too.  We'll start trying Max on some trails in the spring to see how he does.  If he's okay with it, he can come too!

* I want to have more fun this year.  I realize that I am the kind of person who can get too caught up in the details of life to step back and enjoy the moment.  This is something I want to work on.  If I am less stressed over the little things, those might even be more enjoyable also.

I don't think I am asking for to much this coming year.  Most of these "wants" are pretty manageable.  It's not like I'm asking to find a million dollars or have MCG declare Devin so smart that he gets to skip the last two years of medical school.  So, check back with me in 365 days to see how many of these things got accomplished.

On a side note, there are a lot of things I am just looking forward to next year.  I'm excited for Devin to start his rotations and get out of the classroom.  I'm excited to meet my new nephew. (Happy Birthday Logan!  He'll arrive in the world this afternoon!!)  I'm excited about looking at a calendar and seeing all the holidays and seasons--a new year equals a new one of each of these.  And, I'm excited to see what life holds in store for us these next 12 months!  I never would have imagined where these past 12 months would take us, so I'm sure I can only guess and where we'll be in life next December 31st!

Happy New Year!!!

Max

Max the beagle in now home with the family!  He is about 11.5 pounds and is estimated to be about 4 months old.  We have selected August 21, 2010 as his birthday, making him exactly 18 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days younger than his big brother.  (This is the same age difference between me and my sister Kassie!)

Max (short for Maximus--as in the horse from Tangled) came home with us Sunday night.  We detoured on our trip back from WV to get him.  After a tense car ride from Marietta where Blue made it very clear that the car was too full of stuff for two dogs, we are all settling in nicely.  Monday, Blue was kind enough to tolerate him and play with him on occasion.  Tuesday, Blue was initiating play with him and sharing his toys.  Wedenesday, I came back from the shower to find that Max had hopped out of the bin we have him sleeping in to curl up with Blue on his bed.  Then they spent most of the night sleeping together last night.  They are adorable together.

Blue and Max love to chase each other around the yard and could probably do this for hours.  However, Max didn't hit the "all clear" point from being neutered until today, so we have had to curtail the cuteness a little bit.  We'll probably limit it just a bit for a couple more days, though, because he's not quite healed all the way.  When he's good to go, I will definitely be posting a video of this...as long as blogger lets it work.

So far, the count is pretty even on going to the bathroom inside and outside the house.  (Thank goodness we don't have carpet!)  However, it he has already made tremendous improvement.  He is learning that the back door leads to where he is supposed to go, and he is having much fewer accidents.  The first night, he slept straight through until morning.  The next three nights, though, we've been up with him once or twice.  Despite these minor flaws, though, this little guy is definitely a keeper!

Christmas Prep

We leave for Parkersburg, WV to spend Christmas with my family tomorrow!!  I still have plenty on my to-do list before we can go, though.  Thankfully, Devin will be gone until tonight.  (I have found I am much more productive when he is gone!)  I have to:

   * Do 3 loads of laundry (and fold 6 total!)
   * Pack for Devin, Blue, and myself for 5 days
   * Finish wrapping a couple presents
   * Clean the house
   * Go to Target and Petsmart
   * Eat dinner (I sometimes forget this if Devin's not home)
   * Make a to-do list for Devin for tomorrow
   * Anything else I've forgotten on this list...

Having so much to do is my fault.  I could have done laundry yesterday, but I want as little left dirty when we leave as possible.  I also could just have 2 loads to wash if we hadn't eaten cookies in the bed after church yesterday.  (Hence, finding piles of crumbs when we went to sleep last night.)

Also, if we had any food in the house dinner would be simpler.  But, we haven't grocery shopped in 2 weeks to try to use up the hodge-podge of food in our house before leaving.  Devin keeps reminding me that we still have a can of beans, but I don't think I want that for dinner.  So, I am probably looking at a Panera night (it's in the same shopping center as Target/Petsmart).

Ideally, my list will be completely finished by 8 o'clock so that I can enjoy a little time on the couch with the last little bit of Cranberry Sierra Mist hiding in the fridge before going to bed at a decent time with fresh sheets.  But, it will probably be midnight while I obsessively scrub the grout in my bathroom.  I'll happily settle for somewhere in between, though.  If I don't write during our trip, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

Our Growing Family

Meet the newest addition to the Stephens Family Household!

This new little guy will be joining our family after Christmas!  He has an appointment with a vet to get "fixed" before we can pick him up.  Right now, we know that he is between 4 and 5 months old and is a pure bred beagle rescued from a puppy farm in Missouri.  About a week ago, he was given a clean bill of health by a vet, weighing in at about 11 pounds.

We were drawn to this puppy over how quickly he bonded with us.  He kept giving us both puppy kisses, and his tail just couldn't stop wagging.  He was adventurous and eager to see everything he could but would also snuggle right up aw well.

The little guy's brother (held by me) is still availiable on Petfinder.  While it was hard to say no to both, we knew his brother was so sweet that he also would be adopted pretty quick.  He is currently being called Austin in his foster home, but that name isn't going to stick.  Now, we are just debating a couple of names (a name won't be offical until he's here), and getting ready for him to come!  We have pulled out a few of Blue's old items, but still need to get food, puppy bones (Blue loves BIG ones!), a new collar and leash, and a bed.  dAfter two attempts to upload a video, I have given up on sharing that cuteness for now.  So, stay tuned for some adorable pictures (and maybe a video...) of brotherly love after the holiday!

Random Thoughts

I check my google reader several times a day.  It's so fun to read updates on the lives of the people I care about. I'm sad when I have none to read.  However, I have not always been the best about posting.  I vowed to do better about writing on my own blog but am slipping again. Besides writing about running yet again, there are just random thoughts that each are not worthy of a post by themselves.  So, I've decided to compile them here in a post to avoid an even longer blog-gap.  I will also vow to do something amusing and blog-worthy in the near future.  I promise. So, here are the thoughts:

* Don't knock your favorite insulated, flying WV, conveniece store-style cup off the night stand.  I did.  After five years of drinking out of the same cup in the middle of the night, it is no more.  The cup broke!  I was sooo unhappy.  But, I was also cold, did not want to get out of bed for a new cup, and therefore spent the night thirsty.  But, I don't even know what cup I would use!

Yeah...the two layers cracked apart.  I didn't even know that was possible!

* Apparently, when your office heater brakes, it may first have to get colder before it gets warmer in there.  You may spend a whole day wearing your coat and scarf wishing you could type with gloves on.  But, you wore think knitted ones, so you can't.
* The office white elephant gift exchange is strange.  It's possible that you will go through the entire thing thinking of a nice use for every single item (maybe even stealing one or two as the opportunity arises) to end up with the the next to last opened present--which also happens to be the only one that you don't want.  It may even be a set of Corona beer glasses.  And, you may in fact be the only person in the room who does not drink alcohol.  This may then be akward for everyone else.

I think I'll save these for a gag gift...

* Even when you check the box on Amazon that says "send in as few shipments as possible" you will still get waaaay too many boxes if your order is more than a couple items.  They will come from warehouses all over the US.  It will induce anxiety in any control-obsessed person because you could end up with as many as 10 boxes spread between three mail carriers all at the same time.  And, they never. update. tracking.  Of course, the day after it came you get a text saying that it was delivered...duh.

* Overhearing your husband teach your dog while snuggling/studying for an exam may be one of the most adorable things ever to happen.  Especially when the dog seems extremely content that it is going on, and your husband seems to think it's the most natural happening in the world..

Could they be any cuter?

* I hate the cold.  Anyone who knows my probably knows this fact.  It was a motivating factor in my moving to the south.  However, I hate it more than ever.  I've felt like I couldn't get warm for the past week or two.  Last night, Devin put my favorite blanket in the dryer until it was HOT.  Then, I finally felt warm.

So, there are my thought for now.  I'll try to update again soon!

High on Endorphins

I am almost two weeks into my half marathon training.  Already, I have learned a few valuable lessons.  here's a few: 

First, drinking Gatorade after every run helps prevent muscle cramps.  This includes the type that make it so you can't move your foot.  Second, it's easier to run on a treadmill with a tv.  Watching a cheesy Christmas movie or something on Discovery Health is very distracting.  Third, yoga is an even better compliment to running than I thought possible.  It is the perfect cross training exercise as far as I'm concerned.  My favorite lesson, though, is that endorphins are awesome.

I had a really, really good run tonight.  I ran farther before a walk break than I have in a while and have already shaved a good piece of time off of my Thursday run last week.  When I finished, I felt amazing.  I pushed myself pretty hard at the end, so I was pretty worn out when I first finished.  About a minute later, I felt like I was on drugs...good drugs.  Devin and I walked several laps and talked afterwards (as we always do), and I had to keep myself from starting to run again.  This reminded me why running can be considered addictive.  After a few laps, the feeling started to wear off, and I wanted to chase that high again.  But, I didn't.  Instead, I came home, drank my glass of Gatorade, did a little yoga to stretch, and started thinking about my run on Saturday.  Now, I'm going to go play QWOP with my husband and maybe eat a candy cane!!!  If you need a good laugh, you should check it out too...

Christmas Decor

 We finally have our Christmas Tree up!  I was really excited about it. And, I took a lot of pictures.  After a few tries, we finally got one self-portrait style in front of our tree. 

We also hung the stockings (yes, that is tape, but they will be transported to WV before being filled).  Blue was extremely confused by them and stood there staring at them for a while.

These are the two "annual" ornaments that we have together since being married.

My parents gave us the first one last year. 

We picked out this year's together at Hallmark.

It has been fun sitting here writing this blog by the light of our tree listening to the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Album from 1982.  It's a pretty awesome collection that reminds me of my Dad.  (Think cowboys singing with one person singing deep bass.)  I love this season!!!

A Look at the Numbers

We have a lot to look forward to:

The end of semester..........................15 days

Going to WV....................................19 days

Christmas..........................................23 days

New Year.........................................29 days

Blue's Birthday..................................65 days

Cruise.............................................121 days

Our 2nd Anniversary.......................151 days