Oh, the exciting places we'll go

After work tonight, Brian & I met to shop for new running shoes. I hadn't realized just how bad my old Nike Shocks were until last weekend when I noticed that the bottoms were falling apart and much of the treads had been worn away. I celebrated by taking these Brooks bad boys on a 3.5 mile run at the Y. Nice ride. Very comfy. These are my first Brooks shoes. Previously, I've tried shoes by Puma, Nike, New Balance and Asics.

I can't help but get a little sentimental about all of the places my old shoes and I have seen together. Here's a sample:

• Hiking in Arkansas (see left).
• Canoeing in Oklahoma.
• Tailgating in Lawrence and KC.
• Volunteering in inner city Chicago.
• Taking in the Katrina-ravaged beach in Biloxi.
• Sweating through countless TurboKick classes at the Y.
• Trying to keep up the pace at Wichita road races, including Race for the Cure, the River Run and the Turkey Trot.
  
• Climbing to the top of a telephone pole at a ropes obstacle course in Arkansas City (see below).

You've done well, shoes. Don't worry. I'll pick you first now when it comes time to garden and mow the lawn.

We're all in this together

The youth group at church last week filmed short movies based on Bible stories. (My group had the story about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.) On Sunday, we'll have an awards night with a red carpet walk, film screening, acceptance speeches and more. The sponsors (Brian and me included) will perform our traditional closing number. Let's just say I've spent a lot of time this week watching this YouTube video:

He's just big-boned

When Brian & I took Dakota in for his annual shots on Saturday, we received some sad news for our regal red retriever: He needs to go on a diet, doctor's orders. Dakota has too much junk in his trunk, and the Science Diet Large Breed Light isn't cutting enough calories. (He's nearly 100 pounds. Doc wants him down to around 90 so he doesn't develop arthritis in his joints and other health problems.)

So here's our pet weight-loss plan: More fresh fruit for treats. (He loves bananas. And those slices are better than Beggin' Strips, no doubt.) No more letting him sneak Lilly's food. More three-mile runs with Brian. Sorry, Snoders. I know it's tough being a pup.

Do you think it was an omen?

We've managed to cram a lot of fun things into our weekend, including:

celebrating my father-in-law John's b-day,






enjoying a snowfall with gorgeous, fluffy snowflakes






and hanging out with relatives who were visiting from out of town. Eric drove in from KC, and Matthew, Brian's cousin, was visiting from K-State. Both guys met up with us at Oscar's to watch the KU game Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks lost. To an unranked team. By one point. With only a few seconds left. I wonder if Matthew's sweatshirt had anything to do with it:

My hubby, the triathlete

Brian & I left the house around 7 this morning to head to the downtown YMCA, where he competed in a mini triathlon. That requires a 500-meter swim, six-mile bike ride and two-mile run. Whew! When we left, he was in 11th place with a time of 41.06. I'm so proud.

UPDATE: Brian placed 7th out of 20 in his age group (21- to 34-year-old men) and 22nd out of 98 overall!

I've had a good few days of workouts, too. Since Thursday, I've logged in a mile in the pool, 3.5 miles on the treadmill, 2.25 miles on the elliptical machine and nearly 12 miles on the bike. But my current fitness plan is to continue swimming toward 100 miles. (I'm nearly halfway done!)


A funny side note about this morning: Brian was athlete No. 303. For some bizarre reason, they wrote the number -- in permanent marker no less -- on his arm and leg for the race. We were trying to decide whether his faux ink looks more like a tat that says "Wow" or "Mom." What do you think? (Yes, I'm seizing the opportunity to showcase his crazy-cool arms and tattoo, which he designed and got for his birthday two years ago.)

Ski photo reprise

It's been fun sharing my stories and photos from my Angel Fire ski trip. Thanks for indulging me! As promised, here are some of my favorite pics from the disposable cameras Brian & I took up on the slopes:

Looking down at the base from the slopes.


Ouch. (Courtesy of Amanda, my personal paparazzi.) Note to self: I'm not quite ready for moguls.


Me SO HAPPY to have conquered Jasper's, one of my first blue slopes without a major wipe out.


The skiing clan, from left: Ryan, Brian, me, Dad, Amanda & Kurtis


Ski master Brian


Me and my sisters, Jen & Amanda


Snow bunny Amanda

Skied, indeed

We're back! Brian and I rolled into town Sunday night after our awesome ski trip in Angel Fire, N.M. We had a blast. The weather was perfect (I skied with my jacket unzipped much of the time), and we had just a little bit of snow on the mountain.

We spent part of Wednesday afternoon shopping in Taos, and then joined my parents for a nice dinner at Doc Martin's, where we feasted on the famous chile rellenos.




Our Valentine's Day present to each other was taking an intermediate ski class, during which I learned how to parallel ski. And thanks to that, I skied on my first blue slopes. It was scary, but very fun and rewarding.

I did have some major wipe outs (Amanda has promised to share photos of them ... she was my own personal paparazzi) and a diva moment when I was really frustrated and threw my poles. Yep. That was classic. But I didn't break anything and made some serious improvements to my limited skiing skills.



The condo where we stayed was fun. There were four bedrooms (including the room Amanda dubbed "camp Angel Fire," which had two bunk beds ... guess who nicely took that room), kitchen, and living room with a wood-burning fireplace. We didn't spend much time hanging out in the evenings, though. We were all so tired that we slept 10 to 12 hours a night!

Brian and I each took a disposable camera with us up on the slopes (we were worried we'd damage our digital camera), and I'm getting those images put on a CD tonight. So watch for more fun skiing pictures to come! For now, though, here are some of my favorite photos (so far) from the trip:

Happy Valentine's Day, doggone it

Brian's parents gave us this Valentine's Day card early since we'll be headed west after work today:


It inspired us to purchase Smash Mouth's "I'm a Believer" to add to our road trip playlist, which also includes Goo Goo Dolls' "Slide," Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" and Greenday's "When I Come Around." Yes. We're just that nerdy that we built a playlist just for our upcoming 10-hour drive.

Look's like we've got a stowaway

Brian & I pulled out our suitcases so we're ready to work on packing for our ski trip tonight after work. Meow Meow climbed right into our smallest suitcase and made herself at home. I think that she wants to go, too.

My funny valentines

Today was a long, but fun, day. Nicole and I sang a duet together ("You Led Me" by BarlowGirl) at Aldersgate's three morning services. I love that song. And strangely, as long as Nicole and I have been friends, we've never sang together. At an indulgent Granite City brunch after church, we decided that we must do it again.

This afternoon, Brian and I ran errands for ski trip necessities. We're headed to Angel Fire, N.M., later this week for a family ski trip with my parents, Jen & Ryan and Amanda & Kurtis. Yay! I haven't skied since my family went to Breckenridge during Spring Break of my senior year of college (seven years ago), so I'm really excited.

I ended the day at youth group, where we talked about love and made valentines:

One dog-eared book

I still need to track down a copy of my book club's February read, "The United States of Arugula" by David Kamp. In the meantime, I've read a couple other books of my own choosing, including one I received as a Christmas gift: "Good Dog. Stay." by Anna Quindlen.

Here's an excerpt that I loved:

But the life of a dog is not much of a mystery, really. With few exceptions, he will be who he has always been. His routine will be unvarying and his pleasures will be predictable -- a pond, a squirrel, a bone, a nap in the sun. It sounds so boring, and yet it is one of the things that make dogs so important to people. In a world that seems so uncertain, in lives that seem sometimes to ricochet from challenge to upheaval and back again, a dog can be counted on in a way that's true of little else.

I think they think they're Huskies

It was a snow day for Dakota & Lilly today. Lucky dogs.

Can you spot Meow Meow?

I couldn't find Meow Meow earlier and had wondered where she was hiding. The answer sounds a little like a Dr. Seuss riddle:

On the chair,
In the bag,
Tucked in a quilt.
Look at the snuggely nap spot my kitty built.

(And, yes, that's the quilt I just picked up from the quilter. Meowsers definitely should not be curled up with it until it's a completed project, but how could I ever be mad at such an adorable sight?)

Day of dresses

After a weeklong flu-induced blogging break, I'm back.

Amanda was in Ta-town for a whirlwind wedding weekend. We tasted and looked at cakes ...










looked at dozens of dresses ...


























and helped Amanda pick The One. (I've promised not to post the photo of her wearing the gorgeous gown, but I can promise it wasn't this pink lacy number.)


Amanda promised not to turn into this between now and August:


And appropriately, we included a trip to the theaters to see this flick: