Couple of Photos of Recent Memories

Graduation Day!

I passed all my classes! 

Graduate today! 

Masters of Science in Civil Engineering with a focus on Structures

Pics to come. 

Motivation

What's the best way to find motivation?    I have a final on monday but my thesis has been accepted, I started sort of running agian this week, but I am so out of shape and have no idea what i'll be able to train for.  Any ideas on finding motivation?  Quotes?  pictures? 

Almost a MASTER!!!

Hello to whoever reads this.

I passed my thesis defense!!  As long as I pass my two classes I will graduate next Friday. 

Been a long journey, but totally worth it.  I have something that is my own work and contributes to society. 

Can't wait to find out what comes next :)  Possibly working for my advisor for a couple of months. 

Christmas dinner with the 20-somthings tonight! 

Missing all my friends from college, but I have to study for my final exam, so I can't call people yet. 

Started running again, its difficult when you are out of shape.  And I'm getting this needling steroid thing done again next week. 

Probably start making projects again next week, I'll try and post pictures. 

Merry Advent to all!!!

processing...

My struggles these days aren't huge, not small either, maybe medium sized.  And they seem to have to decided to just flop down on top of each other all at once.  Nate is worried about getting into med school.  I'm worried about it too.  He broke his leg and now all the household duties and all of Nate's whims fall to me.  I need to have a draft of my thesis in on wednesday.  I have the calculations done now, but not everything is written up, its kind of a mess at this point, though much better than it was on friday.  I also have an exam on thursday that looks like it will be a doozy, not sure how much time I'll have to spend on studying either.  But I have to pass everything to graduate.  Which then means I should have already started looking for a job.  To top it all off, I'm getting sick.  Kind of wish I could just rip off my nose. 

Anyway, don't know if anyone wanted to actually read about all that, but I thought maybe writing about it would help me process and deal with it a little better. 

Fall

Sunshine.  Crunchy leaves.  Crisp Autumn air.  New orange sweater.  Mmm fall.  Maybe we'll go for a hike tomorrow and take advantage of the nice weather. 

Nate said his interview went well.  He was really excited about the school and the area.  So now we wait and see if he is accepted there.  And maybe more schools will want him too. 

The future is coming...

Well life keeps changing.  Nate is in Iowa at a medical school interview.  I'm so happy for him that he got an interview.  He has worked so hard for a chance to go to med school for so long.  Its wonderful to see someone recognize his good qualities. 

That said, it scares me to have to move to the middle of Iowa, where I don't know anyone, with no mountains or lakes or people who recycle. 

My thesis is humming along.  I have to defend by the end of next month, and I finally have a few graphs and results in my report which is really exciting.  I hope that I understand everything well enough that they think I am worthy of a masters degree. 

Not sure exactly what I want after graduation.  I mean I need a job of some sort and I think I want to design, but I kind of like researching earthquake stuff.  There aren't that many people that know a lot about earthquake engineering.  And a lot of the few that do only design to code.  I wish I could be more confident in the knowledge that I do have. 

Anyway.  That's been on my mind lately.

I Yelled!

So a bit of history.  Usually when I get really upset, mad or sad or whatever. 

Anyway, yesterday I parked at a shopping center next to campus and went to the bank and then to kinkos.  Then I was going to study at a coffee shop there, but I had left my lunch in the car, so I went to get it and there was a boot on my tire and a big orange sticker on my window that said I parked illegally and had to pay 70 bucks to get it off.  I called the number and explained that I didn't park illegally.  He kept telling me that someone watched me leave and I wasn't getting the boot off.  I said I didn't leave and I had receipts to prove it and I wasn't going to pay 70 bucks.  He said he would call the guy who watched me "leave" and hung up on me while I was still talking.  I was so furious!  He didn't even have my phone number or anything.  I waited a couple minutes and then this old guy came walking over to talk to me about it.  I explained what happened and he asked if I had a reciept and before I even showed it to him he had taken off the boot, then he asked me about running and stuff.  He was so friendly, it was just a misunderstanding.  Don't understand why the guy on the phone was such a jerk to me.  So when I went back in to the coffee shop I was totally shaking for like an hour after.  But I'm really glad it all worked out.

Then I met up with this woman who had climbing shoes on craigslist for $20 dollars.  I tried them on and they fit!!!  So now I have climbing shoes!  Can't wait to try them out!

Non-excitement

Well, we're back into the swing of things.  Not that its much different than the summer was.  I just added some classes to my days.  Nate is hopefully getting towards the end of his secondary med school applications.  I hope to finish my thesis by december.  It's hard writing about math. 

Tomorrow I have another appointment with my old physical therapist.  Don't think he's going to be happy to see me, and I'm not super excited either.  I hope this is something that can be fixed.  My iron is the worst problem though.  I can only run short amounts before I just feel exhausted, and it wipes me out even when I stop.  I hope I can absorb and accumulate iron very quickly.

My bedroom is terribly white and I can't figure out what to do about it.  I was thinking of making a canopy over the bed, but that might make the room seem tiny.  I could try a wall of curtains, but that gets expensive.  Any thoughts? 

Don't know what else to write about, not feeling very creative right now. 

Fashion

Hm.  So the last time I got into fashion, I think was in 4th grade when really baggy clothes were in style.  Had a really odd punk-type style in high-school because I was sick of looking like everyone else.  Never really thought any styles between 4th grade and now were worth it.  But I totally love all the tall boots and layers and layers! 

Solitude

Our culture tends to define our identity as all the things we do or accomplish in a day.  But sometimes we just need to calm down and spend some time soothing our souls.  Lately I've been feeling caught up in all that, but today on my run I was able to relax and spend some time with my thoughts, and with God, and just enjoying the beautiful nature that I was running through.  Its amazing all this stuff I've been worrying about I can just talk to God about it and he doesn't want us to worry about anything.  It is hard to trust all these things to someone else, but I feel so much less heavy knowing that God is right there with me carrying my burdens and working out my little problems.  And I didn't have to go out and save the world or do x number of hours of devotions, He just loves us for who we are.  Hm.  And all this on a run.  Just takes setting aside all the stress of the world and taking some time for solitude. 

?????? Questions of late ????????????

Why is it that I have to run so much to have fun running later? 

Why didn't God make fairies?

What nutritional properties do shitake mushrooms have? 

Anybody have good vegetarian recipes? 

Why is church the best and also the worst thing about religion? 



Anniversary!

I have officially been married for a whole year already.  The year has flown by.  A year ago I had just graduated from college and was quite frankly a little nervous about marrying someone I spent most of the years apart from. But the summer I spent in Bellingham had been so wonderful and we got along so well, that I kept my eyes on that.  And it has been great!  We've learned to not make a huge fuss over little things (well we try)  and to work together and act like a regular couple.  We've been trying to figure out how to make friends and where running fits in and how to decorate our apartment.  We try and eat healthy and make our own chips and hummus.  We have an herb garden and an apartment by the trails.  We don't know what we will be doing a year from now, but we're happy we'll be doing it together. 

For our anniversary we climbed Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Lincoln, and Mt. Bross.  The first one was so so crowded.  The next ones were much more pleasant, but the decent was very rough.  We basically were scaling down the side of a shale slide.  I have lots of knots in my shoulders from being so tense the entire way down.  (Pictures to come)  After the hike we got burgers in Breckenridge.  Man was that delicious. 

More visiting!

Last night my friend Avery came to visit, we took him out on the town for a bit and got some local beer. Then we came home and made a summery little cocktail. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 parts GREY GOOSE® L’Orange Flavored Vodka
1 part fresh carrot juice
1 part fresh orange juice
2 – 3 parts ginger beer


Directions

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add first three ingredients. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with ginger beer, stir gently and garnish with a fresh orange slice.

 

 

 

This morning we quickly hiked up Chatauqua to the bottom of the first Flatiron before I brought him to meet his dad.  Now I better get back to work.  Busy at work on my thesis this week. 

Surprise Visit

Today my friend Tim Langenberg came to visit. Just called me up and said "Hey I'll be in Boulder soon, you wanna hang out?"  It was great!  We went and toured Boulder and got all caught up.  Then they left to head up to snow mountain ranch.  Short visit, but really great to see a friend!

from the home of the buffalos to where the buffalo roam!!!

a couple weekends ago, my little brother kyle, and friends nathan and rebecca took a roadtrip out to visit us in boulder.  we had a lot of fun with them, went to the garden of the gods and did the short tour at the coors brewery, visited liquor mart, hiked at chataqua, saw boulder falls, and walked pearl street. 

kyle stayed the rest of the week with us, and then we took a roadtrip to yellowstone park to hang out with our family. my grandparents live in a trailer in the park during the summer and work at the general store.  we had 5 bear sightings, some of them really close.  we saw old faithful, lots of other guysers, paint pots, mud pots, the grand canyon of the yellowstone and waterfalls, saw where my dad went cliff jumping, saw a wolf, elk, buffalo, and deer.  we stayed in a little cabin near the camp.  it was a wonderful trip.  we also drove through grand teton national park on the way there, those mountains are so rugged and beautiful. 

hope you enjoy these photos. 

also, i now have a job cleaning a lady's house once a week, and have been frustrated with my thesis this week because i had to change the type of buildings i am working with and I am having trouble finding a computer model for them.  i hope next week is better for that.  nate spends all his time not at work writing med school applications, so be praying for him to not be too stressed and to get in somewhere. 

Wild! or Green?

This article is about a woman in Philadelphia who decided to let her yard do what it wanted.  She just stopped mowing the lawn and let it grow!  This is great!  When you have a yard like this you are reducing the water runoff that goes into storm sewers rather than seeping back into the ground water tables, you also increase the air quality, in addition to adding wildlife habitat.  And it didn't cost her anything. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/garden/in-philadelphia-a-garden-grows-wild.html?_r=1&hpw

My apartment doesn't quite match up to this.  Although I have kept my mini rose bush alive and my basil plant is flourishing.  I'm hoping to add a rosemary plant very soon as well :p  Maybe eventually I'll convince Nate we should have a tree or fern. 

Urban Moroccan Paradise

New Goal:

"Mr. Guerra was 30 when he moved into that apartment, a lofty space with a back terrace he layered in potted plants, imagining a Moroccan garden. He lined the floor with moss and added pine trees, Japanese maples and wisteria, until the terrace was walled in with greenery. Friends would take midday “vacations” there, sunbathing nude and weeding for pleasure."  -from article linked below

I don't have a porch or roof access, but this sounds lovely.  Somehow my basil plant is thriving even though it doesn't get much light, maybe I should be brave and try more plants. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/garden/on-city-rooftops-scrappy-green-spaces-in-bloom.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1  

article about green roofs and such in NYC. 

A Tale of Two Cities

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way-- in short, the period was so far like the present period, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." -Charles Dickens (opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities)

How many times have you heard (or said) that first line?  Now be honest, have you actually read the entire book?  I just started reading it and have been astounded by the writing.  The brevity of every sentence clings to the soul.  I am almost a third of the way through the book and almost nothing has happened, but I didn't even notice because his commentary about general life is so thought-provoking.  Even though Dickens wrote this in the late 1850's I think this opening line holds profoundly true in today's society as well.  Boulder is especially indicative of this -- I mean people think we are so progressive here and environmentally concious and friendly and open-minded, but open-mindedness doesn't necessarily just mean wisdom, it can also mean that you don't actually have anything to stand on, that you just go with whatever everyone else is doing.  I could go on and on, but maybe I'll just leave it at that.  If you all have any thoughts on the quote or my comments then let me know. 

Slut walk?

Check it out, some cop in Toronto said that women shouldn't dress like sluts so they won't get attacked. 

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/137304051/hundreds-march-against-sexual-assault-in-slut-walk

Really interesting arguments.  How a woman dresses does not give someone else a right to attack them.  But you also shouldn't be stupid.  Sure, if you dress like a slut and hang around outside by yourself at night, you probably have a higher chance of being attacked.  But no matter what it is not the woman's fault.  The attacker makes the choice, and if they are out to attack someone, I have to think it doesn't matter what anybody is wearing. 

Boulder Run

My run this morning. 

Started slow.  Ran through a field that used to hold fiesty cows, now just contained a gentle doe or two.  Headed towards some mountains rising out of the plains.  Ran along a creek that was flowing full.  The sky was full of birds and the fields full of prairie dogs.  Turned around and ran back again, but faster.  Saw a beautiful bird that sounded like a hawk, but wasn't much bigger than a pigeon and had red by its beak and under its wing and tail.  Had energy to push it in faster than before and ran over an hour.  Hopefully I can keep this up and get in good shape.

Be Present

Well turned out we couldn't have the dog in our apartment.  We've been really bummed about it, though it is probably for the best.  I don't know if I am ready to have a dog. 

Last night we had a dinner/bible study and the topic of discussion really was illuminating for me.  We talked about time and being present and productivity. Our culture really thinks of time as a commodity- something you can waste or spend or give and we have come to almost idolize productivity (doing more in less time).  It was interesting to realize how much of our identity we put in our productivity.  I was amazing to discover that is exactly why I was so depressed after classes got done and I didnt' have a job and my thesis work wasn't going very quickly.  It seemed like everyone else I knew was being so much more productive.  It is important to not become so wrapped up in productivity that you miss opportunities to build relationships with people or just gloss over other things in life that really are important to slow down and enjoy.  Or some people you can tell that even when you are talking to them their brain is thinking about their grocery list or the report they need to write (for me a lot of times when I'm doing something fun I feel guilty like I should be doing work). Being fully present to what you are doing in a given moment is so valuable. 

So my goal for the next while is to try and block my time out better, so that I have working time, and social time and that way I can be more present when I am on leisure time instead of constantly feeling like I should be working on stuff.  I challenge you to find out what you need to do to be available for the important things in life.  It may be exactly the opposite of my goal, maybe you need to make goals to work less and set aside time for coffee breaks or something else.  Let me know if you set a goal and we can keep each other accountable!

This weekend

Britta and Andrew, my sister and brother in-law, were here this weekend.  We hiked up Mount Sanitas, made pad thai, went camping on whim, almost bought a dog on another whim, saw red rocks and coors, and finished our time at Rib City.  

I've never wanted a dog before, but Nate's been showing me pictures of puppies, and when we ended up at the Boulder Humane society, we fell in love with this little sweetheart of a puppy.  Some of the dogs there were so cranky and barky or scary looking, but this one just was so happy all the time and never barked.  Right now we have the dog on hold, but we need permission from our landlord: the lease doesn't say we can't but the website says cats allowed. 

Michigan and Red Rocks!

Last weekend, Nate and I went to Grand Rapids for a wedding of a high school/ college friend.  The whole trip was packed with catching up with old friends.  It felt so great to be amongst people who accept me for me. In Colorado I'm starting to feel like I have friends, but it has taken so long to get to the point where I can have real conversations with people without having to worry about what image I'm presenting. Its hard to not care what people think sometimes.  I've never really had to make new friends before.  Anyway, being in Michigan was really fun, I don't think we went to bed before 3am the whole time we were there.  I hung out at Uccello's, the Riverhouse condos, and went to Jersey Junction for ice cream.  On Sunday we joined my Great Aunt and Uncle out at their lakehouse at Sandy Pines.  Looked like an amazing place to spend the summer. 

On Tuesday we went to the Earth, Wind, and Fire concert at the Red Rocks Ampitheater with some friends.  That place is spectacular.  It is a theater cut right into the rocks!  And the whole concert experience was just awesome.

My brother and sister in law are coming to town today for the weekend.  I'm excited to show them around, maybe go hiking or something.  Think I'm going to try to make pad thai for dinner tonight. 

Stay tuned for either a recap of our fun with Britta and Andrew and then thoughts on yoga. 

River

The river rushes by,

Unawares that all along its lovely banks,

We rush and rush around. 

The river, we think, is always there,

steadfast in its presence,

summer, autumn, winter, spring it flows. 

Around we rush and rush,

always doing, never stopping,

but where are we going?

The river rushes by,

springing from the mightiest peaks,

and where does it run to?

As people rush around,

going nowhere in the end,

the river rushes by,

telling the mysteries of the high-topped mountains

to the sea. 

The $300 Dollar Home

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/opinion/01srivastava.html?_r=1&hp

Thought this was interesting.  Different perspective on trying to help the poor.  People always think their own way is the best. 

Some poetry

     “It is the month of June,

The month of leaves and roses,

When pleasant sights salute the eyes,

And pleasant scents the noses.”

-Nathaniel Parker Willis


Okay I haven't written for a while.  Not too much too report, was a little depressed, but right now I'm so so excited to see a lot of my college buddies tomorrow in GR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should be fun running at sea level again too!!!  Maybe I won't be so depressed about how bad running feels.  Yay!  Got up and ran at 5:30 this morning though!  That was interesting, you feel groggy for a bit, but you don't have a whole days tiredness in your legs either.  I think we'll probably keep trying to do that, especially as it gets hotter here. 

I'm so distracted from my research because I get to see friends tomorrow!!!!

Maybe next time I'll write my own poetry :)

End of the Year

Well I had my last final exam today.  That means I am already done with a year of graduate school. It has been a good experience so far; I've met lots of different people and learned a lot about engineering.  Switching engineering schools really helps round out your knowledge and fill in gaps that you might have.  CU is also the first school I have been to where most people are not necessarily Christian.  So there have been some adjustments (getting married and moving to CO included), but I've mostly had fun learning to adjust. 

Next in my life:  look for a part-time job and work on the thesis

Goal for this week:  Be productive.  Get up and run in the morning. 

Women shaving armpits?

So I was curious as to why women began shaving their armpits.  It is pretty clear that nowadays people do it because everyone else does and it is accepted as what looks good.  But I thought maybe originally it stemmed from some health concern or superstition. It turns out, the reason we shave our armpits everyday was because the media decided it should be that way.  They launched a huge campaign in the 1930's when women first started wearing dresses without sleeves.  They really made ads telling women that it was attractive to have naked armpits.  Hm.  See this article for more information:  http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/625/who-decided-women-should-shave-their-legs-and-underarms

So what do you think? Should we keep on shaving?

My answer:  I am going to.  I'm following society on this one, it is just ingrained in me that it is unattractive for women to have hair in their armpits.  Not something worth making a stand over.  I just think it would feel weird (and would get sweaty--I don't like being wet) after being clean-shaven all these years.

Okay so that might have been anti-climactic, sorry. 

Challenge:  Not stress out so much.  I have so much work to do, but I need to stop stressing when I'm not working on it.  If it needs to get done, I should just go do it, otherwise decide to not think about it.  Live in the present, not in the stress. 

As a result of one of my older posts about the treatment of  chickens I've been thinking about how to not contribute to the problem.  As a poor college student it isn't really feasible to be buying cage-free and free-range chicken.  Cage-free eggs at whole foods don't cost much more so we buy those.  Anyway, I tried just eating less chicken, but you need something to replace it.  Hence:  I made tofu yesterday!!

I put it in some thai hot and sour soup.  It was pretty good although I should have cooked it in the soup instead of frying it first- it was a little bland.  Tofu has a lot of protein which is good.  I need to make sure I'm still getting iron, but we had salad too.  Shitake mushrooms are apparently also full of protein and we had some of those in our pork curry on monday. 

Just so no one is confused, I'm having steak tonight.  I'm not vegetarian. 

Challenge for the week: Be more diciplined. 

Important for me because my first final is on Saturday and I need to work harder on my thesis. 

Love you all!

4/20

So yesterday was 4/20.  One of the largest 'celebrations' of 4/20 congregates in the middle of CU's campus.  Apparently it started out as a political protest supporting the legalization of marijuana.  In theory this is still the point, but mostly now it is just a party where thousands upon thousands come and sit on the ground and smoke pot. It gets all hyped up with CU making announcements telling students not to show up and police everywhere.  The police do not ticket for possession, but are mostly just there to prevent violence or damage to school property.

Naturally I had to go see what all the fuss was about.  The Norlin Quad was packed with people, sure some students, but hippies and potheads from all over come to this gathering.  Also, I always thought pot smelled good, but my friend Jen said it smelled terrible.  Now I know that the different strains have every kind of smell you could imagine. We were just trying to work our way through the crowd and a guy next to us said  "Man getting through this is ridiculous, but everyone is way too happy to push and shove." :)   I also overheard a police/event staff say "Today is what makes it worth having this job."  Looking out above the crowd you could see a haze of smoke rising up.  There were beach balls and people waving flags and protesting oil drilling. 

I have mixed feelings about legalizing marijuana.  I have a friend who probably ruined his life because of drugs and alcohol.  So I've seen the effects it can have on people and hate it.  On the other hand people ruin their lives with alcohol and affairs too.  It honestly doesn't seem much worse than drinking to me.  It's when you are doing it all the time and it has become a lifestyle that it begins to hurt you.  Prohibition did not end the problems with alcohol, they just turned it to the underground.  So can marijuana being illegal be compared to prohibition?  Question to ponder. 

Anyway, that's what happens in Boulder on 4/20.  Anybody have thoughts on legalization or using or prohibition?  Or a story?

Hi all! 

Our new apartment is great!  Maybe I'll post some pics after we clean for Monday night Bible Study. There's so much more space, plus having a bedroom means I don't have to wake up at 6:30 everyday when Nate gets up! 

I'm almost done with collegiate running once again.  There's one more race I can do next weekend, but then I don't know what will happen after that.  Thinking about training for the Boulder Boulder. 

Question:  What do you think Christian service should look like?  After reading Shane Claiborne's "Irresistable Revolution"  I've come to the conclusion that I should be living out Christ's message more.  The only problem with that book is that it resulted in me feeling overwhelmed and not doing anything because there are so many things I "should" be doing.  I think we all have unique gifts and interests that we can use to further God's kingdom, but we are so stuck in the soup kitchen mentality. By that I mean people tend to have the idea of service as something you sign up to do and just go do it because you think you should.  I'm not saying we shouldn't help at soup kitchens, Jesus definately wants us to feed the poor.  But God can use our unique gifts as well.  For example, when I ran at Calvin, God used our love for one another and for everyone else as a witness.  Our community there sparked conversations and relationships with other teams because they saw how we were different.  In that book Shane would have people that would go out and plant flowers in the dirty sections of town.

Sorry that was long. 

Spring Break

Well, after going to gulf shores, AL, the last four years for spring break, this year was a little less fun.  I spent most of the time moving boxes of stuff from the old apartment to the new apartment.  It seemed like Mary Poppins bag, where you just keep taking stuff out, and there's just always more stuff in it.  But we're mostly all moved into the new apartment now and having separate rooms is amazing.  There is so much more space. 

Last Saturday I had a chance to run a steeplechase.  It  was very slow, but steeplechase is always fun.  Plus I got to wear my Calvin Alumni jersey for the first time! 

On Friday, I realized I needed to do something spring break-ish, so I put some snacks in a bag and hiked up Flagstaff Mountain.  The trail was a fairly easy one, very pretty, but it crossed the road quite often.  Here is a view of the plains to the east. 

Can you see the white chalk on the rock?  People boulder in Boulder :) 

The view from the Summit looking north along the Front Range. 

The trail got steeper!

Suprise find at the top.  If I wasn't married already, this would be an amazing spot to get married, at the top of a mountain at sunrise.

So anyway, the hike was a nice excursion into nature for a bit. It's fun to explore Colorado.  I'm so blessed to live in such a beautiful place. 

Friday the Eighteenth

Oh man, well we finally signed a lease for a new apartment.  It was not easy.  First of all the apartment we originally wanted turned out to have mice in it, so we decided against that and the company had two other apartments so we tried to sign a lease on Wednesday.  When I got to the office to sign the lease the agent told me she had to reschedule and rushed out, even though I rearranged my day and Nate left work early to sign the lease and we wanted to move in on Friday.  Anyway, so I got to the office today, and she starts telling me the conditions but the rent listed is the price for a two bedroom and we are renting a one bedroom apt..  She however, did not know how to fix it, so it took a really long time.  But finally we have the lease signed and have keys.  The apartment is not that much bigger really than what we're in now, but it has actual rooms!  Also, hopefully it does not have really loud neighbors.

Also, I'm steeple-chasing tomorrow! 

Goals:
Me: do the meditations from the lifting coach
Everyone: take a moment from your busy life and just sit and don't think about any of it. 

The Events of Yesterday

Well yesterday was quite full of happenings.  I woke up to a text from Nate telling me about the earthquake in Japan, so I spent the next hour reading about it.  It's horrible.  Then I noticed there was a tsunami warning out for the west coast, and my parents live in seattle.  So I called my dad, and he didn't know about the earthquake becuase he was up all night helping my brother who had crashed his car in the middle of the night in the middle of Montana.  Also, one of my friends texted me that her mother had a stroke.  So many items of bad news. 

I also had to write a report, finally it got done, it was hard to concentrate on. As I was getting ready to leave, there was a knock on our door.  It was our landlord, she had a girl with her that she was showing apartments to and the girl had seen our ad online for a sublet.  So she came in and immediately said she wanted it.  She didn't even look around really, it was just bigger than the others she saw.  So then I called around trying to find out where we are going to move to.

Today we looked at a couple apartments again, and hopefully will be moving this next weekend.  Not excited to go through the moving process, but I am excited to live in an apartment with actual rooms.  And cupboards.  And a closet. 

So I'm not sure I'll have to specifically try to put sunshine into my life this week, I think moving and starting a thesis will be enough excitement.  However, I have realized that while I do think about God a lot and what He would want, or what I should do, I haven't really been praying lately.  So yesterday definately brought me back to my knees.  So this week I am going to attempt to pray more. 

Everybody:  So I would encourage everybody reading to try and talk to God more too.  And while you are at it pray for all the victims of the earthquake and for my friends mother and my sanity this week.  :) 

Thesis

Me: Well the new thing I did this week was start my master's thesis!  I'm so proud of myself for getting on top of things and actually figuring it out.  There is no guidance for this type of thing.  So anyway, I chose the topic of Improving the Estimation of Seismic Performance Modification Factors. 

Everybody:  Do something that you have been putting off for a while.  Maybe FAFSA?  or calling someone you've been meaning to call?  Try a new restaurant?  It's different for everybody. 

Seismic Performance Modification Factors:
FEMA put out a seismic risk screening process called the rapid visual screening process.  Basically a person can take a worksheet and go through the worksheet.  Different components of the structure can be visually assessed, like the shape of the building, the number of stories, if it has a soft story or parapets, things like that.  Each category gets a score which is called a seismic performance modification factor, the scores are all added up. The final score determines if the building will probably be okay in an earthquake or if you should have an engineer analyze it and see if it needs retrofitting.   Some of these seismic performance modification factors are based on expert opinion.  My job would be to use computer models to develop a method of estimating the factors based on analysis rather than opinion.  

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what I'm doing for my thesis.  I don't know much more than that yet.  I start with a literature review so hopefully I'll know more soon. 

Everything and Nothing

Well, I haven't written for a while.  Mostly because I felt like I had nothing to write about.  So I'm going to recap everything which isn't much, so nothing. 

Running: So I had three indoor races in a CU uniform, but now I'm done with collegiate racing.  I'm still training with the team.  I have class on the days they do workouts though and I can rarely keep up with the regular pace.  So its hard to really feel like part of the team or feel like a legitimate runner.  My feelings about running are very volatile.  One day, I'll be really excited about running and the fact that I'm running with the buffaloes and the next day I feel like quitting running altogether.  I think I need to just stick it out until I'm actually in good shape and then see how I feel about it. 

School:  School is going pretty well, I think I'm close to starting on a thesis, so life will get busier.  Nate got his MCAT scores back, he improved but he wants to try again and see if he can improve even more.  This weekend we are going on a retreat with the intervarsity graduate christian fellowship.  That should be really fun, but that means that today I have to pack and get all ready to go before practice and do a bunch of homework.  I've been getting up earlier which is nice because then I get more accomplished during the day, however I haven't gone to bed earlier so now I'm kind of tired and grouchy. 

Intentional Sunshine:  Instead of talking about me all weekend I'm going to try and ask people questions about themselves and give more compliments.  I challenge you all to do the same.  Less "me" more "you". 

Everybody:  Explore somewhere new in your current town!

Me: This week I had a race at the Air Force Academy,  went okay, I'm not in the greatest shape yet, but its great to be training and racing again.  Afterwards I visited the Cadet Chapel which is this amazing building. 


The picture on the right is what it looks like if you look straight up inside.  Apparently everything in the building is important somehow.  The backs of the pews are airplane wings and stuff like that. 

Another new thing I did this week was go for a long run with the team at Magnolia.  I'm still pretty slow, but it was exciting to be running in a place I'd read so much about in "Running with the Buffaloes." 

The last thing I did was drive up Boulder Canyon with Nate, we wanted to see Boulder Falls, but the trail was closed. But the drive is gorgeous and we stopped in Nederland for ice cream in this funky little bookshop.  My kind of place. 

It was really fun to explore the state I now live in.  Colorado is so beautiful!  Hopefully you guys can discover something new about where you live this week.  A new coffee shop, or tourist attraction, or a little trail by a river or anything you can think of!

Sunshine for everybody!

So I guess my blog is a little rambling about my life.  Maybe I should keep it more to the point.  So, I'm going to try and do two things:  put up a little sunshine or challenge for everybody, and then something that brought sunshine into my life. 

Everybody: Recently I recieved a note from a friend I haven't heard from in a while.  It made me happy.  So I challenge all of you to think of someone that meant something to you, but you haven't talked to in a while and send them an email or fb message or even a handwritten note. 

My life:  I got to race this last weekend!  It wasn't fast, and I still have a lot of work to do to get into shape, but it was so great to be racing again, and in a buff uniform too! 

Happy note sending!

Lizz

Tunisia

Well, it seems Tunisia is struggling. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/world/africa/15tunis.html?hp

An hour or two ago I read that the president dismissed his cabinet but was retaining power and trying to appease the people.  Now he has fled, and the prime minister is in charge. 

The United States has problems, but even with all the issues we have I am still so glad to be living in a place where I do not have to be afraid of violent political upheaval all the time.  We have a system where politics can be changed in a peaceful manner (with the exception of the civil war).  There are checks and balances to ensure that no one takes over and becomes a dictator. 

email list

Hey does anyone want to recieve an email when I post??  I think I figured out how to do that, so if you let me know I can add you to the list. 

p.s. I'm very sore from my first full week of practice as a buffalo. 

In Response to Nicole

Miss Farr has inspired me to put up another C.S. Lewis quote I read in a Bible Study a couple weeks ago.  It is a passage from his "Weight of Glory". 

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, it at all, only in a nightmare.  All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations." 

There's more, but I'll stop there for now. 

Any thoughts on that view of humanity????

China

Hey so it turns out pressure from the masses really can promote change.  You don't see too many articles about things that China is doing to help the environment, but today's newspaper had this one:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/world/asia/10lead.html?_r=1&ref=world

(summary:  lead fumes caused 228 children to be sick, the local environmental official was canned)

China has been undergoing their own industrial revolution in the last decade or so, and in the process is wreaking havoc to the environment.  Now, we maybe shouldn't be too hasty to judge because burning coal is how we got to the top as well, however, since then we have realized the problems it has caused.  So while many of the super power countries are changing their ways and putting in plans to reduce the use of coal to help the air, China has been just as rapidly increasing their use.  The country is rising and stomping out anything in their way, or so it has seemed.  After the Olympics when there was so much pressure on them to clean up the air and the general area there seems to be more being done to keep the country cleaner. 

Stuff

It's amazing how busy you can be when you are on vacation.  This week I have been running all kinds of errands and organizing our apartment and baking and figuring out life in general.  I made a jewelry wall hanger.  It's pretty neat, I saw it in a magazine and decided to try it.  It turned out great!

I also baked bread and hummus which both turned out great too!  Feel like a regular old housewife these days.  But school starts again on Tuesday.  This semester I need to figure out my thesis, so forgive me if I write more about engineering.  And running.  I'm doing indoor track, so hopefully I'll be able to race by the end of this month.  I'm finally running everyday.  But the girls here run a lot faster than I am used to on regular runs, so I'll be sore even from the short ''easy" runs. 

It's finally snowing in Colorado.  Hasn't snowed a ton, but enough to wear hats and mittens and have to leave early to brush off the car.  Kids are sledding in the park.  And I hear it snowed in Seattle, and in Georgia.   So that seems like most of the country. 

Nate and I went to the Laughing Goat Coffee House after church.  That just makes me so happy.  I love coffee shop culture. You can just feel the creativity flowing.  There are always interesting people with interesting conversations.  Today there was some gypsies sitting next to us with the cutest little baby in a little sheepskin outfit.  Not sure what they were talking about but I'm sure it was cultured.  And they have live music and poetry readings and things.  Its not like going to a bar or club where you have the same kinds of people and the same type of music and conversation all the time. 

Anyway, til next time

Lizzy

First Christmas Together

Well, I have several friends who are off doing things abroad, so they have interesting things to write about their daily life.  Following my blog is definately not as interesting as following one like that. But I think what is different about my life right now is that I am a newlywed.  So this Christmas was the first Christmas that Nate and I spent totally together.  I think every couple probably has a very different experience in figuring out Christmas vacation, so I thought I would relate ours a little bit. 

Nate and I live in Boulder, CO, and our families both live in the Seattle area.  Not so complicated right?  Well my family is always out of town visiting relatives over Christmas.  So we decided we would spend Christmas eve and day with Nate's family and then head up to Canada for a couple of days at the Old Dutch Inn with my family.  It was really neat to actually spend Christmas with Nate this year and see what his family traditions are. 

Christmas Eve they have a large (and I do mean large) gathering with his mother's extended relatives.  We had food and sang some carols, read the Christmas story, and then.....Santa showed up!!  Presents for everybody!  It was very exciting.  Then they had a Christmas Eve service at church at 11 pm.  I sang in the choir directed by Joel Ulrich. Then Christmas morning I was rudely awakened by nate shaking me and shouting "ITS CHRISTMAS ITS CHRISTMAS!!!!"  in my ear.  But we opened presents with his immediate family and then went to Aunt Mary and Doug's house and had brunch with the Westburgs.  This wasn't as overwhelming for me becasue I know most of the Westburgs fairly well.  More presents.  In the evening the Perkins family came over for dinner. 

Whew.  While it was fun spending Christmas with Nate and being with all his relatives, I have to say I was tuckered out. 

Then we went to the Old Dutch Inn, in Qualicum, BC Canada.  While Nate's family has large loud gatherings, my family has small quiet ones.  We sit and talk and walk around the town and sit in the hot tub and play games. 

When we got back we didn't really have specific plans, though Nate's family wanted us to have plans and my family doesn't like to plan.  So we compromised and spent every other day with each family.  It sort of worked, but we picked some of the wrong days. 

Overall I think we did well compromising.  It was hard because you want to see your own family and friends, but now you have more family.  At the end of the trip I think it was getting harder for us to be so willing to aquiese to the other's requests even if they were reasonable, but we made it through. 

This is really long and you probably didn't read all of it, but thanks for listening to my monologue about my Christmas vacation.