Blog facelift

So everyone seems to be giving their blog a facelift...so I caved to the trend and updated mine as well. What do you think?

Sporty Goals

So, as promised, I said that would blog about my athletic goals for this year. Now that the leg is healed, I feel like I can finally start actively pursuing these- there are really only two big goals, and a LOT of training that will need to happen in between!

1. Compete in the Clear Lake International Triathlon-Olympic distance (swim 1500m, bike 24.9 miles, run 6.2 miles)
2. Run in the San Antonio Rock and Roll Half-Marathon in November (13.1 miles)- (Lisa and I are both gunning for this one, since we missed out on the Houston Half)

I'm doing a sprint tri in May, I am hoping to find a short course (a distance between a sprint and Olympic- although I've only found one in Texas...I may have to hold my own practice short course tri if that's that case!) and the CL tri is towards the end of August. I'll probably thrown in another sprint tri or two before then as well...we'll see...

Anyways, there are my goals. Bring it on! :)

Recap

Ah, home sweet home.

I ate Blue Bell ice cream for breakfast :D. I love America.

Interesting flight back...we hit bad weather coming into Houston and were put into a holding pattern...for about 1.5hrs...lots o' people felt quite sick- thank God I took my Dramamine...we ended up running out of fuel and landing in New Orleans to get some more (my first time to the Big Easy...the airport tarmac is quite lovely). I made it home about 3.5hrs after I had planned to...but yay to a super great roomie who had Mexican food from Gringo's waiting! Yummm, enchiladas (I've heard of one Mexican food restaurant in Moscow called Pancho Villas...and I have heard that it is awful :) )

Oh yeah and the Moscow Book List? I got through 5 of them! Yay for reducing the stack.

Laundry time.

Last Day

Before my last shift, I headed over to the Fisher's for one last visit. Jude was in school, but Amy and Angus were ready to go with their HUGE imaginations! I spent a couple of hours being the servant who had to clean the entire palace and the mean step-mother...and then I got to be a fisherman who was pulling in my catch (Amy and Angus lying on a blanket in the dining room and me dragging them around (they were whales and dolphins...oh and a mermaid at one point...). In between the crazy make-believe, Emily and I had a chance to chat. A great start to my last day in Moscow!

Angus deep in though after showing me pictures of the Dolphinarium they went to


Amy, post ballerina costume, now a mermaid


Angus as Batman (who later became Prince Batman)



Me and Amy (who was being distract by Angus, but she still managed to put a winning smiling on her face :) )

Faster than a speeding bullet...

Okay, well maybe not a speeding bullet...but guess what (enter drumroll)... I just ran 3.2 miles! Yep, 5k distance. Wahoo!!!! I have not done that distance since my tibia decided to stress fracture back in October. I had planned to do the Lonestar Sprint Triathlon at the beginning of April, but after two brick workouts (bike then run), my leg was definitely protesting. So I decided April wasn't realistic and took it easy for a few more weeks. I still haven't done another brick workout since then....but the leg is feeling good after the 5k, so, I am aiming for the Silverlake Sprint Tri in May. Yay for triathloning...and I am looking forward to being able to run again with my running buddy Lisa! I do have some other pretty major athletic goals for this year, but that's better left for another post :).

Promoting Foreign Relations

Well, as the title says, yesterday Nik and I promoted foreign relations for NASA...which means getting to attend a small party held by our counterparts to celebrate the mission. Now, we still had three days left of the mission, but its hard to get everyone together. As always, they provide a huge spread of yummy goodies and selection of tea.

Twix and Milky Ways, compliments of the Americans

Alexander actually played his guitar for us over the weekend, but he did pull it out once or twice yesterday as well (not the greatest shot...he caught me taking a picture)

Alexander and his guitar

There was a new musical aspect to our party...they brought in a flute for me. Oh yeah (Molly I hope you are reading this). Back in the fall when our counterparts were in town, Molly and I got together and played a flute/piano duet for them (since they are always gracing us with a concert when we visit). Well...I got over here and the first question I was asked was: did you bring your flute.? I had completely forgotten...like honest-to-goodness forgotten. So they said they woudld track one down, despite my protesting that I had no music to read (I don't do improv). Thank goodness I took Moose and Erin's advice and printed some music off the internet, because we walked into their office...and out came the flute. Yay for free downloadable sheet music. I don't have any pictures, but there were several cameras out and I am sure (sarcastic face) I will be seeing those videos for years to come...just like the one of us singing "Yesterday" at the BBQ 4 years ago...

Nik is quite the artist and he was showing them some of his work

Good stuff

So for the past several months, I have been studying in the book of Isaiah. I'm up to chapter 45 and this was just so good that I had to share:
"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'? Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting'" or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor'"? (ESV, Isaiah 45:9-10).

This actually made me laugh! Because this is what I visualized when I read this...think about a time when you were making something, cooking something, doing SOMETHING where you KNEW what you were doing, but someone was standing there at your elbow (who has never done what you are doing) and watching you and giving you "helpful" advice. What was your reaction? Hehe, I can tell you that mine wasn't very nice...probably something along the lines of "leave me alone, I know what I am doing"...followed with an exasperated sigh and possibly an eye roll...

Think of that time, when someone was telling you what to do, even though they didn't know what the outcome was supposed to look like, and compare that to when we try and tell God when things are supposed to happen...interesting huh? We can't see the big picture, God can. We don't know how things are supposed to unfold, God does. So, how presumptuous is it that we try and tell God what to do and when to do it (and believe me, I do this A LOT)? And what a gracious God we have that He doesn't say "Oh my GOSH would you just shut up already!?"...instead He patiently teaches us to wait on Him, through lessons (easy and hard, sweet and painful). He may let us have our own way for awhile, until we see what a mess that is and come running back to Him or we may get a big fat, no-bones-about it "NO". It's a daily decision we believers have to make each day- giving God the control, yielding to His wisdom, letting Him take the reins we so desperately want to hold. Next time you find yourself aruging with God about His timing, think of yourself as a little clay pot saying "um, hello!? Where are my handles?" If that doesn't make you grin and take a step back from your presumptuousness...well let me know and I will pray for you ;-).