Love Is....

Love Is....

Saturday, February 25, 2017

NBA Basketball Game


NBA tickets?!  WHAT?!  Heath called me a while back and asked if I would rather go to a basketball game or a hockey game.  We had originally decided hockey, but upon further evaluation of our schedules, basketball ended up working better.  WOW, what a great choice!  Bill was given 4 tickets to go to this game.  I am honored that Bill invited us to share in this experience!  Thanks Bill!

It was a very privileged experience from the parking to the food to our seats.  We got to park right next to the stadium and basically were escorted onto the floor for our seats.  (Like, smell and see the sweat on the players close!  Right behind the media with the cameras sitting on the baseline.  Watch them dunk it and see the hoop rattle!)  Then, they, said to go help yourself to all the food at the "club."  WOAH!  When I'm talking food, I mean GOOD food, not just your typical stadium hotdog and popcorn (which is fun at a game).  This was a gourmet, hot, five course meal....and it was a buffet so you could go back as many times as you wanted (for FREE)!!

Me and the *Love* of my Life

My Niece *Belle*

Friday, February 24, 2017

Bountiful Blessings

Late last night after looking at my training schedule, I decided that instead of swimming today, I still needed to get in another run and bike.  With that, I texted my friend Raquel.  It's a whole lot more fun and usually much faster to run with a friend.  Raquel said she'd love to run so we met at Starbuck's this morning.  We ended up running 6 miles.  She qualified for Boston, so she is super fast.  She definitely pushed me this morning as we watched the sun rise over the Stonebridge Lake.  We kept the same time I had on Wednesday for only 3 miles.  Getting stronger!

*Blessings*


Done with the run, onto the bike before  heading to work at 10 am.  My friend, Lisa, got me started training with an online program called Zwift for the winter.  It's pretty neat because I can ride from the apartment (on my trainer) and still gauge how much power I am using via some computerized mechanism she loaned me.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

What in the World is THIS?

Heath was out working on a demolition site today.  Before they demoed the old dilapidated house on the property, he went inside and discovered some awesome cabinets, doors, mirrors, and this object pictured below.

Last night as we were headed to supper, Heath handed me this....thing.  He asked, "Do you have any idea what this is?"


Any thoughts anyone?!  What's your guess?

WOAH, what is it?

After several minutes of handling this object, turning it over and over in my hands, pondering, I finally grabbed my phone to look up the word "Jaccard" which was stamped on the side.  Turns out it is a super duper meat tenderizer!

Win-Win!  Who would have ever guessed!  One man's junk is another man's treasure!  It's always fun to see what he finds on these sites!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wednesday - Run - Swim - Beads - Fellowship - Work


Feeling accomplished this morning after finishing an awesome run (with Cooper Fitness Runners) and swim (with my Cooper Master's Swim Team) by 6:51 am!  Done with workouts for the day!  This leaves me feeling good physically, mentally, and emotionally as after I got home, I had a lovely hot breakfast and a nice quite time with God!  Totally charged up and ready for my day!

After the awesome early morning, I went to spend a couple of hours with Mr. and Mrs. Gound to help prepare the individual earring packets for our craft night coming up.  It was really fun to see how Mr. and Mrs. Gound were so in tune with each other, each ever-so-kindly helping the other.  (Marriage is a beautiful thing when God is in the center!  Thank you for your inspiration Gound's!)

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

*Fun*Fresh*Healthy*

*Salad Ideas*


Cheeses
You can use goat cheese - unique taste, but something different
Feta - a #1 favorite in my book
Parmesan - freshly grated (with freshly ground pepper)




Toppings - chop, chop, chop...you can't go wrong here, add anything you like!
Granola
COLOR - grilled veggies, colorful peppers, carrots - crunch
Celery, leeks, green onion, onion - flavor
Frozen blueberries, berries, corn - flavor and texture
Flax seed
Chia seed
Wheat germ
Apples, oranges cut into small pieces - sweet and juicy


Protein
Any type of nut (that might be on *SALE*) macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans - crunch
Meat/protein - leftover from previous night
Shredded chicken, beef, deer, fish, duck, goose, whatever is in the freezer!


Dressings - get creative!
Plain
Peach vinegar
White strawberry vinegar
Freshly cracked pepper
Pesto (especially good with arugula)


Lettuce Varieties - be adventurous and try something new, you never know what will be your new favorite!
Arugula
Spinach
Spring Mixed Greens
Iceberg - mainly for crunch


Miscellaneous
Throw on a wrap or piece of bread for some carbs
Toss in some oats

Just remember to have fun with it!  It's a healthy creation that should taste good and be something you enjoy making and eating!  Be creative and have fun!  :)

Monday, February 20, 2017

Beads, Beads, and More Beads


Swim practice, make breakfast in bed for Heath, take a short nap = CHECK!  Off to my Bible study with Mrs. Gound.  She is the nicest lady!  We have started reading The Holy Spirit by Billy Graham together.  This week, we might not have made it to our Bible study.  Coming up in a couple of weeks Mrs. Gound is going to be sharing her testimony along with a long time passion of hers....beading.  She is going to be showing a room full of women how to make earrings.  At this point there are over 70 women signed up so Heath had an idea.  He thought that I could learn how to make the earrings and then help her teach the class.  She thought this was a great idea!  Honored at the opportunity, we thought we would use today to practice making the earrings so I could in turn help the women at this Craft Night.  I am so glad that Heath came up with this idea!!

*Just LOOK at ALL those beads!  Those were ALL donated!  AMAZING!*

"OK," she said, "Pick some and let's get started!"  What?!  Do you know how many choices are laying before my eyes?!  I quickly learned that the design phase takes the longest as many decisions are made.  :)

These are the beads I decided to
begin the process with.

WOW!  SO.MUCH.FUN  I am very glad that Mrs. Gound decided to share her passion with those around her.  What a blessing this will be to many.  Memories made, gifts to give, earrings to wear and enjoy!  After many hours of design and assembling, you can see my final products below.  Mrs. Gound did such an awesome job of walking me through each step of the way.  She is a wonderful, patient, teacher in so many ways!  Thank you for your fellowship!  :)











Sunday, February 19, 2017

A Sunday Back in Colorado

Briggs is the big yellow one and Mya is the smaller 3-legged one!  :)

A week ago today, my Daddy sent us these pictures of our dogs lounging on a lovely Sunday afternoon.  Since he is babysitting his grand dogs, we get pictures quite often.  It is lovely to see the privileged life they lead.  It's rough being our dogs.  They keep Dad moving as he can't say 'no' when they ask to go for their daily hike.  It's great for everyone since we are currently in an apartment and Dad gets the wonderful company.  I know it is a mutually beneficial relationship for which we are grateful!  :)

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Awesome Saturday Morning!

This morning, I headed out to ride with Lisa and Lifetime Fitness bike group.  We met at Cooper to park and then rode our bikes to Lifetime.  It was a good group.  I even knew one of the ladies from Cooper Run Club!  This sport is such a blessing to me, I cannot even explain it.  It brings joy as we are riding in the sunrise, watching light come over God's creation.



After the awesome bike ride, Lisa and I went to Cooper Master's Swim Clinic.  Coach Cole, our swim coach, put it on for us to learn more about freestyle.  (This is the stroke of choice for triathlon as it is the most efficient over a long period of time.)  We met in the classroom for about 45 minutes and then transitioned down to the pool.  By that time, the sun had fully come out from behind the clouds and it was perfect for filming.  Coach wanted us each to have our swim filmed so that we could review it and learn by seeing what we are doing.  Since most of us swim in the mornings, the light does not allow for this.  Today, we each got to take home a video of our stroke.  His wife was so sweet to join us to help with the filming!  Thank you Mrs. Cole!

Ahhh, shower time!  Cooper has showers, towels for swimming, towels for showering, soap, lotion, hair dryers, dry sauna, steam room, whirlpool and the list goes on and on.  I am totally at home at this place as they even have a retail store that sells shoes and a cafe that serves healthy 'made-to-order' food.

When I got home, Heath was till working.  He is working on a demolition site, helping to clear it for new development.  So, I decided that I would do some housework, although not much since he had done that all earlier this week.  I then wanted to make some refills on my essential oil products.  I remade my peppermint/lavender sports hydration lotion (see recipe below), tea tree and lemon kitchen cleaner, peppermint vitamin C spray (for skin softening after the pool), and pure lavender in a roller bottle mixed with a little coconut oil.  This should last me a while!

I just added Oregano to my supply.  This is good for when you are sick.

Finished products!

Recipe!

Time to get beautiful for date night!  Heath and I had been talking about getting my ears pierced for quite a while now.  Today was the day.  He told me this morning to find a place to do it, so I researched.  I found a lady who specializes in piercings.  I sent her a message and told her that I was 31 years old and wanted to get my ears pierced.  She was super sweet and messaged me back and forth all morning, answering all of my questions.  When Heath called and said he was on his way, I knew that I couldn't back out now.  :)

Before!

After!

Yay!  I did it!  Thanks Heath for your support!  I was nervous, especially since there were so many people in the waiting area....I had lots of time to think about it.  One of the other girls looked at me and asked, "Are you nervous?"  How could she tell?!  Maybe it was the pacing around or the tapping of my foot...LOL!  She was super sweet!

Time to eat!  Babe's is a really good chicken place down here and it was close, so that's where we went!  To be fair, this is where our idea came from for our grain bin gazebo!  With a 50 minute wait, you know it is good!  They had Allison Krauss and bluegrass/country playing in the background, the temperature was perfect, and our evening had begun!


Babe's = Family Style Dinning = Great Time with MY Babe!

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Prayer and Share Today

Great morning ~ lifting and a bike ride!  I was able to train with an online program called Zwift today at the apartment.  Works great and it keeps you moving at a certain functional threshold power level for various intervals.  Keeps the mind working for sure!

After my second breakfast, I took a thirty minute nap before heading down street for the monthly Prayer and Share with a lady's group from my church.  I met them last April when we first moved to Texas.  They reached out to me and are an absolutely wonderful *BLESSING* to me!  We meet at a quaint little restaurant in a beautiful location called Adriatic.  They meet every 3rd Thursday of the month in the morning for breakfast and praying.  I have been blessed to attend a few sessions when I am not working.  It is an AWESOME group of ladies!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Morning Blessings

I woke up before my alarm this morning which was awesome because Heath could keep sleeping.  I LOVE MORNINGS!  My Daddy always told me that they are the best part of the day.  Now, as an adult, I appreciate that much more than when I was a kid.

Blessed to run with my friends from Cooper Run Group this morning before swim practice.  We ran 3 miles at an 8:35 minutes/mile pace.  After a great run in the dark, I switched gears and deck changed at the pool.  78* water temperature today made for a nice break from the chilly wind on the run.  Great group today in the pool, as always.  My friends/tri family have been incredibly amazing to me and my goals.  I am forever grateful for this sport that has truly changed my life.

After swim, I enjoyed a nice shower and relaxed a few minutes in the sauna before eating my second breakfast/snack and hitting up Maribel's restorative yoga class.  She has an hour long class where you basically just lay in poses in the dark.  It is totally an awesome mental break too!  In fact, I believe I  actually fell asleep today during the last pose!  At the end she gave us each a swipe of peppermint essential oil behind our ears to perk us up for the rest of our day.

Having 30 minutes to spare before PT, I went upstairs and worked on my computer at Tenley's Cafe.  Ms. Kathy made me a made-to-order all *fresh* burrito and homemade salsa!  It is so SOOO good.  Heath told me that when I work out hard that I have to get this because otherwise I am usually starving the rest of the day.  I need "real food" as he calls it.

A beautiful picture of my pool captured after the sun came up this morning.

Off to PT for my shoulder.  I found a therapist who came highly recommended.  His name is Mr. Aaron Pierson, check out his website:  http://www.piersonpt.com/.  He that works on solving the root problem instead of just putting a bandaid on it.  I really like this approach and look forward to seeing what he can do for my shoulder.

Back to the apartment for a brief lunch.  It was an awesome surprise to have Heath was home over lunch.  I got to see him before we both headed out to work.  That was a highlight in my day.

Another highlight of my day was getting off work late and coming home to a man in my kitchen!  Heath had bacon in the oven and french toast and eggs cooking up on the stove.  The whole house smelled awesome and he served it with proud smile.  I AM BLESSED!

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Totally Surprised!

I have been reading and listening to Focus on the Family and Family Life alot this past week trying to get as many tips as possible to make Valentine's Day extra special for my man.  We did get to sleep in as we listened to the rain coming down through our open window.  I asked Heath if we could celebrate another day because I would be working late.  He was totally fine with it knowing that I wanted to do something special for him.  With that agreed upon, I gave him a fun little coupon book  (thanks to the help of Family Life resources) in the morning before leaving for work.  Just a little something.

The rain was a blessing in disguise because Heath didn't have to work today.  He was then able to drive Gram to the airport for her flight home.  Everything happens for a reason!

Meanwhile, I were in a crazy rush at the clinic and I saw a tall person wearing a dark coat out of the corner of my eye.  Trying to focus on finishing with the client in front of me, I didn't greet this person right away.  He was greeted by my colleague.  When I was finished, I turned around and sure enough it was MY MAN!  Heath surprised me with a beautiful pink rose, probably the biggest one I have ever seen!!  He wanted to take me to lunch, so I told him that I would be available starting at 12:10 pm.  Little did I know, he waited so kindly and patiently for me in his truck.

We ate at Firehouse Subs and I had my favorite, the Beef and Cheddar on wheat with mayo, steamed!  Yep, I don't know what it is about this combination with the bbq sauce and mayo, but it is amazing and keeps me fuller longer than my normal lunches!  YAY!  Middle of the week surprise date!  This moment kept me going all day.  When I texted Heath to tell him that I was going to be even later than I had originally planned, he graciously texted back "bike or food first."  What a man, he knows me soo very well!  Since it was Tuesday and I didn't ride this morning, he knew that I would be needing to do that tonight.  I replied, "food!"

As I was walking up our apartment stairs, I could smell something wonderful cooking.  I was so graciously greeted by my man at the top of the stairs waiting for me to get home!  The first thing I saw was that he had set up my bike in the our living room and laid out my biking clothes, shoes, and heart rate monitor.  He even aired up my tires and placed my yoga mat under it.  WOW, this truly almost brought me to tears.  I had only asked him to bring it in off the deck earlier because I don't like her getting rained on, but all of this!?!


WOW, Heath had all of these flowers....everywhere!  It was absolutely amazing as he had totally cleaned our place, done laundry, set the table, had dinner ready, and a bath drawn.  It was beautiful.  Absolutely beautiful!  I am totally on cloud 9!  It was a Kinsey crafted meal of my favorite salad of mixed greens, feta, craisins, and peach vinegar.  He had prepared the best chicken and baby potatoes and cheesy mixed veggies.  INCREDIBLE!  I had no idea!  And here I was thinking we were going to have a regular night.  Turned into a magical fairytale topped off with sparkling grape juice!


"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  ~1 Corinthians 13:4-8~



I forgot to mention the 3 types of new ice
cream too!  :)  This man truly knows
my heart!


Saturday, February 11, 2017

A Saturday in Texas

Heath and I both worked a little bit this morning and then met up for lunch at the apartment.  When we finished up with lunch,  we headed out to Denton.  Gram and Tiny are here visiting and they are on a writing retreat out at the Denton house.  Gram and Tiny continued writing while Lexi did her homework, Heath went fishing, and I relaxed.  The property is great, allowing each visitor to accomplish what they want to do.

Resting, relaxing, and blogging!

With a beautiful view.

I was ready to join Heath to start fishing as the sun was just starting to go down...usually our best fishing has been about dusk.  As I came over the hill, Heath was just catching his largest fish of the day (see below).  I love fishing with my honey!  It is so incredibly peaceful and I truly enjoy being in nature and getting to experience the expectation of catching a fish.


I SPY a fishing pole....in a TREE!  :)

Don't ask....I decided to join Heath with his fishing.  So, I had the whole pond to fish in and I ended up getting my pole tangled in this lovely tree...lol.  Heath fixed it for me!  He is wonderful!

Friday, February 10, 2017

Marriage Tips from Mr. Dennis Rainey from Family Life

Here are 3 tips from Dennis Rainey to help you battle isolation—and win—in your marriage:

“Pray together every day. I’m sure you’ve heard me say this before, but it’s worth repeating because it’s probably the single most important piece of advice.”

“Don’t skip date night. This isn’t just a good idea; I’m not sure our marriage would have survived if Barbara and I hadn’t set aside some time each week to connect with each other. It doesn’t have to be fancy. When our kids were little, every Sunday night Barbara would decompress while I put the kids to bed, made dinner, and cleaned up the kitchen. Then we’d lock ourselves in our room for dinner and uninterrupted conversation.”

“Get a mentor couple. Whatever stage of life you’re in now, you know a couple at least one step ahead of you. Ask them to make a year-long commitment to mentor you once a month. Connect with their experience, get their perspective on where you are and where you’re going, and encourage them to keep you accountable for growth as a couple.”

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Welcome Back!

Hi Friends and Family!! Please send me a word to let me know how you are doing! It will be SOOOO great to hear from you! If you have a chance to connect, let me know so we can Skype/Facetime and have a coffee catchup date! 

Quick recap: We went back to Nebraska the week before Thanksgiving and got to see the boys, Heath's mom and dad, and my daddy and our dogs! After Christmas, we got to go to Illinois to see my mama! My sister is in Morocco teaching English as a second language. Life is good here....God is good! Heathy and happy. I now work at a small animal hospital and really like it as I work with wonderful people and it is a great schedule for my triathlon training.

I have been training really hard in the off season and humbly learning to balance training with being a Godly wife to Heath. He is SUPER supportive of my habit as I get out of bed at 4:30-4:45 am most days and falling asleep between 8 and 9 pm after eating supper and making lunches for the next day. I am passionate about the sport and just amazed to see God working in my life through the sport. I have met so many incredible people along the way. I just cannot talk enough about how awesome it is. I am excited to see how God will use His gifts of passion, desire, and ability through me. :)