Tuesday night after the majority of our snowfall I decided to go outside and try to capture what I could. I also wanted to experiment with different shutter speeds. I haven't done much night photography and figured this was a perfect time to get in some practice.
One of the silly things I did was I forgot that since I had the camera on manual that I had to focus the picture myself. I caught this well before I was halfway done, but if any on here are blurry that is why.

Overall I am pleased with how they turned out. I am excited to take more night pictures and experiment. I am also excited for more snow. Maybe Christmas morning. A girl can hope.

I like this one a lot.

Can anyone guess what this one makes me think of?

Junction City was my home away from home for the weekend. I went to stay with my Dad, step Mom and step Grandma. They are a fun crew. I definitely had my fill of Lifetime and Hallmark channel Christmas movies. (extremely cheesy santa characters who had even more ridiculous ho-ho-ho's. I enjoyed spending time with them though.

Saturday morning I met with my uncle Ronnie who is amazing. My whole life I have looked up to him and have learned so much from him. We spent three wonderful hours talking about work, life, the L-rd, and so much more. I cherish every second I get to spend with him, and I hope for many more years of intelligent, loving, real life conversation.

After my hang out time with Ronnie I decided to drive around Junction to find a place to take pictures. I decided to drive out to Milford Lake-Grandma Jan told me it is the largest lake in Kansas. I was there once before a couple of years ago. I didn't where I was going. It was fun to wing it. The place I found probably wasn't a very popular spot. There was a little dock and a cool rocky point that I walked out on. Other than the wind the day was beautiful. The sun was shining bright and the sky was dotted with clouds. I took a lot of pictures out there. I am excited to go back to other locations at the lake to take more pictures. Freezing temperatures + water = icy rocks on the point. While I was taking pictures on the point I noticed a large white area over on the little beach. I figured it was something covered in ice. Was I correct? Yes I was.

It was actually pretty cool. This was the only spot like this in the whole area.

I finally uploaded pictures of the macaroons that I made a few weeks ago.

I also did some baking for Thanksgiving.

I used my Great Grandma's recipe for the dough. It was a lot of fun to make it from scratch. I made this cherry pie and a pumpkin pie.

"Teach us, O God, that nothing is necessary to Thee. Were anything necessary to Thee that thing would be the measure of Thine imperfection: and how could we worship one who is imperfect? If nothing is necessary to Thee, then no one is necessary, and if no one, then not we. Thou dost seek us though Thou does not need us. We seek Thee because we need Thee, for in Thee we live and move and have our being. Amen."

A.W. Tozer speaks of the self-sufficiency of God. A topic presumed to be known, but how often considered and truly pondered?

While reading this chapter I noticed an objection rising within me. A thought that would indeed make me a necessity to God Almighty. Tozer addresses this train of thought. A way of thinking among some in the Body of Messiah that God needs us, that we are necessary to Him, and that without us, Christians, His good news would not reach the most remote and primitive places on earth.

I kept thinking how impersonal Tozer was making God sound. How "above us" He is. (Who does he think He is? Oh, that's right. He is.) I felt like I wasn't needed. That I am not necessary. I felt that I wanted to be needed. I suddenly had the truth that God doesn't need me forced into my thoughts. I knew this before, but I now realize that it hasn't been informing my daily life. I have been living under a false impression, worshiping an idol instead of the Lord. Lord, forgive me. I am humbled that You would even consider working through me; much less have a relationship with me.

"He needs no one, but when faith is present He works through anyone."

It's not that the Lord needs us to meet the needs of others. That is absurd! The important thing is for us to recognize our place and our dependency, our NEED and NECESSITY, for God.

"That God exists for Himself and man for the glory of God is the emphatic teaching of the Bible."

Fountain of good, all blessing flows

From Thee; no want Thy fulness knows;

What but Thyself canst Thou desire?

Yet, self-sufficient as Thou art,

Thou doest desire my worthless heart;

This, only this, doest Thou require.

Johann Scheffler

Last Thursday evening I baked coconut macaroons for the very first time! I am trying to be more conscious of my dairy and sugar intake so I used agave nectar in place of white sugar. (I do understand that agave nectar is not sugar free, but I do tend to feel better about what I bake when I use it) They tasted great. My one complaint is that the coconut I bought had sugar listed as the 4th ingredient. I don't know if I can (probably can), or should, buy unsweetened coconut. I don't know if the macaroons would taste as good with unsweetened coconut. Does anyone know or have an opinion on this?

I also made almond milk, well, almost. I didn't, and still don't, have cheese cloth so I wasn't able to complete the process. Therefore, I have nearly completed almond milk sitting in my fridge. Next time I will certainly read the whole recipe and have the necessary tools on hand.

The Results Are In...

In my age group (20-29 year old women) I finished 9th out of 19.
Overall I finished 47th out of 100 with a time of 2:04:39.

Great experience overall. Hopefully my first of many adventurous physical endeavors. Which reminds me that I need to clear something up from my last post. I decided to not run in the Nov. 22 half marathon here in KC for a few reasons, but I am about to start working on my swimming and will have access to a gym so that will be good for triathlon training. I have to be disciplined to do these work outs if I am serious about wanting to do a triathlon, 1/2 marathon, and even a full marathon. Self-discipline isn't my strong suit especially with time, physical training, and how I use my energy, but it is something I am trying to improve. I have the ability and the drive within me no matter how hidden it is at the moment. Ultimately I know that the Lord has given me these abilities, so who am I to not work on developing what He has put inside of me to share with the world? (No, I do not think I am superman or greater than anyone else.)

Praise You, Lord, for my vision, hearing, my voice, a strong heart beat, the ability to walk, breath, think, reason, learn, stand, sit, run, swim, hike, sleep, wake up, hear Him, my community, my friends, family, a body that functions pretty much how it is supposed to, You, Your love, Canada, and so much more.

We did it!

Sunday, October 18, 2009, Jacklynn Walters and I completed our first half marathon in Hays, Kansas! 13.1 miles of the sounds of feet pounding on pavement, deep and shallow breathing, the thud-thud of my heart beat, wind blowing intensely against us, off and on conversation, and at times mindless running. At different times during the run I would realize that I had no idea what I had been thinking about. That sounds a little strange, I'm sure, but that's the truth. It was wonderful.

My time was 2:04:38 which is 9.49 minutes/mile. Jacklynn guessed that we might run it in about 2:10 which is just about a 10 minute mile. This makes sense going off of our long run times. I don't know where I finished overall, or even for my age group. Let me assure everyone that I probably was not in the top 10 in my age group. When I find out I will update.

The last mile I ran by myself. It was probably my favorite mile and not because it was my last. As I ran I saw mile 13 spray painted on the ground and I was overwhelmed with thankfullness. I thanked the Lord for helping me get so far. I also thanked Him that the run was almost over. I almost became emotional as I knew it was coming to an end. I was so close and I was giving it my all. I didn't sprint to the finish, but I definitely picked up the pace. That mile was my fastest mile, and that is probably because it was at the end and I knew I could go ahead and exert my extra energy. After I crossed the finish line I did a little jogging in place. One of the guys who had run asked me how I was still moving. I told him I didn't think I could stop. Not yet at least.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. I am going to sign up for another half that will take place on November 22. I hope to finish it around the same time if not a little faster. My good friend Maeret is planning on joining me this time. Jacklynn won't be running this one with me which is a little sad, but completely understandable. The last few long runs we went on her knee would start hurting really bad around mile 7. This happened on Sunday but she didn't stop. She did great! I am very proud of her. Without her I wouldn't have made it this far. She has given me more motivation and encouragement than she knows. Thank you so much my dear friend.

Thank you to Lauren, Jess, Leah, Maason, Matt, Cristina, Cass, and everyone (I apologize if I forgot you) for the special gifts for our first run. I was (am) deeply touched that you all thought about us, wrote us notes, and provided us with goodies. Thank you for supporting me with encouraging words and listening to me talk about running. : )

Race Results from my two 5k's a couple of weeks ago:
Jared Coones: 10.10.09. In my age group (20-24) I finished 5th with a time of 25 min 39 sec. Overall I was 217 out of 3,256 (over half were students from the Olathe schools)
Abby's Run: 10.11.09. In my age group (20-24) I finished 16th with a time of 30 min. 35 sec. Overall I was 331 out of 1,047.

I have not kept up my mileage tracking. If I back track I apologize.

Sunday 09/27 Jacklynn and-10
I think we rested Monday
Tuesday 9/29 Erin and I-1.5
Wednesday 09/30 Jacklyn and I-5
Thursday 10/01 Erin and I-1.5
Friday-Rest
Saturday-Erin and I-1.5
Sunday-Jacklynn and I-11
Monday-Rest
Tuesday-Erin and I-3---I am so proud of my Sis! She seemed to run this 3 miles with ease. She is ready for our races this weekend! After we ran I did some interval training. The intervals felt great, and I realized I should do that more often.
Wednesday-Today-Jacklynn and I are planning to run 5. We have a week and a half until our 1/2 marathon! I am excited!!

A couple of weeks ago my nephew, Cyle, told me he and his mom, Erin, were going to do a memorial run in Olathe for Jared and Jayne Coones. The proceeds from this run go to a number of different organizations to help with cancer research and provide for patients and their families. Here is the link if it is something you want to look in to: http://www.pumpkinrunwalk.org

That is what I am running on Saturday. Sunday Erin, Jacklynn and I are going to do Abby's Run. I am doing this run in memory of precious Zeke. I am emotional just writing this out. I wonder what Sunday morning will bring, but it won't cause me to change my mind. If I cry the whole time I run then that's what I'll do. I imagine there will be a mixture of emotions. I'm sure I will be overwhelmed with feelings of love and loss, among others, from everyone running, walking and those there to support on Sunday morning. So many people being united. 100% of the donations go directly to Viral Myocarditis research (info taken from web page). The link is: http://abbysrun.com

Run Start Times:
Jared Coones- Saturday, October 10-8 am at Black Bob Elementary in Olathe
Abby's Run- Sunday, October 11-8 am at Town Center Plaza 119th and Nall

09/22- ran 1 mile with Erin
09/23- 5 with Jacklynn
09/24-1.5 with Erin-she is doing great!
09/25- 4 ish- on my own
09/27- 10 with Jacklynn
My knees have been a little sore after the 10 miles. I usually walk around more after my long run, but yesterday I did a lot more sitting. I also don't think I stretched good enough after the run. Makes a huge difference. My legs are feeling pretty good today though. Something I am extremely grateful about.
09/28- Rest

Today I am in a bit of a funk. I think one of the main contributors to this funk is work. I realized over the weekend that work is stressing me out more than I thought. Not because I am overloaded with stuff to do, but because of how vague my job description is at this point. I don't even know if I want to do what they have for me. It might be more money, but do I go after more money even if it is something that I dread or really don't want to do? Money isn't worth it at that point, is it? If I don't, what then? Would they still have a position for me here? Good question.

We did it! Last night Jacklynn and I ran 9 miles! We ended up being adequately damp, but we weren't drenched so we didn't mind! Our half is 26 days away. Will we be ready? Without a doubt.
October 18th, here we come!

For my birthday my Mom gave me running shoes. I have decided to track my mileage on them since shoes should be replaced every 300 - 500 miles.

09/18 - 5 miles
09/21 - I used my old shoes since the weather was so nasty. I didn't feel like turning my new white kicks brown my second time using them.

She also bought me a stop watch. Yes! I am excited for two reasons at least. 1. Ever since I was little I have liked stop watches. I remember collecting the proof of purchase off of Frosted Flakes and getting a Tony the Tiger stop watch. I can still remember the day I received it in the mail. 2. As I run I really like to know exactly how long it takes me so I can work to improve my time.

Goals

I have decided to blog this next month about the 1/2 marathon that I am training for on October 18, 2009. Had I known for sure that I was going to be running one this fall I would have started this months ago. I am training for this half with my dear friend Jacklynn, without her I would not have made it this far. I like to run, but her companionship has been vital.

This journey started early May, end of April. I told my friend Angela that I was thinking about running a half marathon in the fall, but I hadn't told anyone yet. I wanted it to become a reality, but I wasn't sure if it would happen. Beginning in May(? Maybe June) I started running with my good friend Maeret, and a few weeks later I was running with Jacklynn on different nights. These runs, though hard at times, were really fun for me. I cherish the time that I have spent getting to know these ladies and how open we have been with each other. Who knew so much could happen with sweat dripping off of you? This was a summer of pushing myself beyond self-imposed limits. I don't think we give ourselves enough credit as to what we really can do. The human body is incredible. I wouldn't take back running in the humid summer air. Not a chance.

A couple of weeks ago I ran my first 5 mile race, and it was a lot of fun. Somehow I finished 2nd in my age group of women! Woah! Unexpected to be sure. Soon after that, or right before, Jacklynn and I decided to run our first ever half marathon! I am stoked. My goal from earlier this year will be achieved.

What I am doing to prepare

Over the summer I have been trying to start eating healthier. I have been off and on successful. However, I am determined to eat smart while training, and will try to keep track of my diet on here. Great accountability. Also, I will post how much I have run that particular week.

So far this week in running...
Sunday 09.13. Jacklynn and I ran our scheduled 10k (6.2 miles)
Monday 09.14. We ran 4.5 (might have been more like 5) + weight training

I will start posting diet soon. Presently it is late and I am tired.

One more goal that I have is this...To learn how to change my blog background. I have done it before, but tonight I have not been able to figure it out. It hasn't been working at least.

Happy Day

Today is a great day. Why? For multiple reasons. The Lord made it, the weather is beautiful, and so on... There are two specific things I would like to say. Happy July! and Happy Canada Day.



Since today is Canada Day I thought I would post some links to some fun facts, quizzes, and other random pieces of information for the enjoyment of whomever would like to participate.







Enjoy!



First off...



Are you a True Canadian Kid? Find out by taking this quiz http://www.kidsturncentral.com/games/kidquiz/cankidq1.htm



How well do you know Canada

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/games/quiz/cdquiz.htm



Word Search Time

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/games/wsearchcanada.htm



Geography Quiz

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/games/jumble/jumble3.htm



Canada Day Facts


On July 1, 2009 Canada will celebrate it's 142nd year since Confederation.
Before 1982 Canada Day had been known as Dominion Day, First of July, Confederation Day, and July the First.
Canada Day celebrates the events that occurred on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act created the Canadian federal government. The BNA Act proclaimed "one Dominion under the name of Canada," hence the original title of the holiday, "Dominion Day." Dominion Day was officially renamed "Canada Day" by an Act of Parliament on October 27, 1982. This change reflected the policy of successive governments to down play Canada's colonial origins.
Canada's national celebration is always observed on July 1, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case it is observed the following day.



Canada Day is considered a Family Day with outings, picnics and celebrations of the birth of our nation. We wave flags, sing songs and enjoy the day!

(information taken from http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/canadaday.htm)



For some history behind Canada Day this next site has some good info about symbols, public life, and more http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/canada-day



Thanks to everyone who participates, and to everyone who doesn't. This is supposed to be a fun and memorable day for our neighbors to the North, and I wanted to let others in on it!

For some pictures of the beautiful Butchart Gardens in lovely Victoria, British Columbia follow this link http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

I apologize in advance if the links don't work, or if the page you come to is blank. I am not the most computer savvy, and while this should be relatively easy I might not have done a few things correctly.

Yesterday I went to Manhattan to see my aunt and uncle. I met my uncle and his friend at Bluestem for some coffee and breakfast. We sat there and talked for about an hour and a half.

After that my uncle and I went to the post office where he sent off a package to Walter Hooper. I have never sent anything to anyone in England before. I didn't do anything except stand there and let my uncle tell me about when he met Walter. We had a successful trip to the post office.

We went to my aunt and uncles house where I spent the remainder of the afternoon. Ahhh... I love family. I love sitting and talking with my uncle. He is so full of life!

My adventure begins after I left the Fox and the Forest show. I was about to head back to KC and decided to go back to Bluestem to get some coffee and a lite bite to eat.

When I got back to my car I realized I didn't have my phone. I looked all around the driver area of the car, on top of the car, underneath the car. I re-traced my steps to Bluestem, and back to the car, but I didn't see it anywhere. I almost decided to just leave-I have an extra phone I can use-but decided to find it.

I asked a couple of girls if I could borrow a cell phone. I called my phone and a guy answered. He told me that he talked to my friend Sam and was going to meet up with him and give him my phone. That would have been fine, but since he was in Aggieville and I was in Aggieville, I decided to retrieve it myself. He told me where he was, and I set off. Well, I had no idea where he was. I am so unfamiliar with that tiny place.

Not having a cell phone to call him and figure out where he was I stopped and went into Subway where the gentleman kindly let me use the phone.

Alas, I found Hunam's Chinese Restaurant and the young man, Steven, who picked up my phone. I called Sam, my mom, and Cassie to let them all know I had it, and after a 45 minute delay I started home.

What I keep wondering is when exactly did I drop my phone, and when did he pick it up. I re-traced my steps maybe 5 minutes or less after I realized I didn't have it. I wouldn't be surprised if we had walked passed each other right after my phone dropped, and right before he saw it to pick it up. He told Cassie, I guess he called her, that he found this phone and wanted to get it back to the owner! He was a nice guy.

Overall good day! I saw my uncle and aunt, saw my friends play, and got home with my phone. Success!!

One day after signing out of my hotmail account I noticed that I wasn't redirected to msn like usual. Instead I was taken to Windows Live Search. This page had a picture of a man at a festival somewhere in East Asia I think. I thought it was a little cool, but was annoyed that I wasn't taken to msn. Big deal, I don't do anything on that page anyway. I think the problem was with the fact that it was randomly different. I wasn't used to this extra step.

This happened a number of days in a row with a new picture each day. One day it was back to normal. MSN came up instead of this live search page with my new picture on it. I realized then that I really enjoyed this new page that takes me to a new place every day.

I try to go there everyday now to see the picture. I started saving them because I like them so much, and I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

These pictures are of places that I have either already been to, or places that I dream of going. Other pictures are wonderful surprises of places that I have had no idea about.

I enjoy pictures...a lot... there is something about pictures.

Sometimes there are pictures of animals-there have been Jackelopes, Zebras, a Robin collecting for a nest-I don't have all of them saved on this computer.

God's creation is what really inspires. The great thing about these pictures is that they don't capture the whole beauty of the place. There are other angles, views, weather conditiong, etc. yet to be explored and captured.

I am inspired

To Do: (in no particular order)

scuba dive
surf
learn languages
get married
have a family
go backpacking (more than once)
canoe the usa-canadian boundary waters
take amazing photographs
read
study
have adventures-whether mini or mega

To Go: (in no particular order)

canada-vancouver, b.c., alberta, all over
new zealand
indonesia
israel
scotland-isle of skye
england-oxford, cambridge and other lovely places
ireland
china
japan-during the cherry blossom festival
usa-maine, washington, grand marais, mn, national parks, and more
europe-switzerland, and more

(note: this list can change at any time. activities and locations may be added or taken away, but most likely added)

What a beautiful day. Oh my goodness. I really want to go on a trip too. There is a trip that I am going on this summer that I look forward to every year.

Isn't it lovely? Yes, yes it is.