Running is not for proud people.

Running for me means three things:

1. Lots of snot, coming from my nose.. like an African orphan in a World Vision commercial.

2. Freezing sausage fingers.

3. I get confused when I have head phones on about other peoples ability to hear me, if I can't hear them. This mainly leads to me laughing out loud at how ridiculous people often look around our neighborhood. I then try to pass it off like I am listening to something funny on my phone.

My neighborhood is a whole other story that deserves a full description. Teaser: I saw two men in floor length fur coats with Russian style matching fur hats walking out of a super ritzy movie theater during my run. I wasn't phased by their coats, because this is not that uncommon an outfit to see in my neighborhood. I was more curious as to whether they were actually foreign, an older male couple or a combination of the two...which seems to often be the case around here. Not that I care, just that it's definitley the norm in the Central West End(even the name is snotty).

I always thought people who were runners were way too impressed with themselves, and disliked them. I ran on and off through high school and college but would never have considered myself a runner. This is mostly due to my inability to run consistently for more than a couple of months at a time, and my gruelingly slow pace that is also my top speed. Really, I'm not just being annoying and saying that to make myself somehow sounds more humble...I am a painfully slow runner and always will be.

I assume that I am not the only person who has thought that people who call themselves runners often come off as overly impressed with themselves. I realize now that, among most other things that make us jealous, this feeling is often our way of making out laziness feel like the norm and other peoples productivity seem pompous. There is no excuse for not taking care of your body. I am not claiming to be the most healthy person in any way, but at least I try. This has to be the #1 most ignored sin in Christians and other faiths alike. I started to type an apology to follow that statement but erased it. It's true and I hope it makes you take a better look at how you are treating the only body you have to work with.

Water Only

A lot of things have happened in the past 1.5 months. But all of those things probably deserve their own posts...so I'll do that later I guess.

I have talked to a few people who have decided to give up shampoo. It seems like a funny/gross thing to stop using. I read a lot of things about all the crap that they put in shampoo that we put on our heads. A few of those commonly used chemicals are banned from food packaging and can't be ingested because they are toxic. Anyway, read for yourselves if you want.

From what I have read there are two different approaches to this. 1. using alternative washing solution(baking power, vinegar, etc). 2. Water Only.

I decided to go with the second option, water only.

The basis of the idea is supply and demand. When we strip our hair of it's natural oils, it will conitnue to over-produce oil to make up for what the shampoo is doing. If we stop using it, our hair will stop making too much oil and will stabilize back to it's natural state. Think, baby hair.

Unfortunately your hair doesn't automatically let out a sigh of releif and become naturally beautiful. It's actually quite the oppisite.

Today is day two for me. It's not the best honestly. Tonight I decided to blow dry it after my shower in hopes that I was in the middle of a mission trip at work tomorrow. I think it helped.

So anyway, I plan to stick it out and see how long it takes for my hair to return back to how it's meant to be. We'll see how it goes!

Steve and I bought a bed, it's really pretty, it was a great deal, can't ask for more. We found it on craigslist and the people selling it were really nice and suprisingly not scary or skanky.

Here she is, I'm excited to get it set up in our room! And they had some tall lamps they were getting rid of so we got a bonus lamp!

Yesterday I went to the lab with Steve to "help". He needed to get some things prepared for another lab class to use today. He's kind of like the petri dish fairy. He mixed this really fine powder with some water in a huge beaker and put in on the stirrer for a while. Next it was time to boil it for a bit. My one job was to make sure it didn't boil over. The stuff he was boiling is what goes into the bottom of petri dish's to hold cultures or dna or other sciency stuff. Once it is boiled and poured into a thin layer it sets up into a gel.

I got distracted from my job.

Before I knew it the beaker turned into a 7th grade science fair volcano turning the whole counter into a huge petri dish.

Whoops.

In other news, Steve got an interview for the PHD program at Washinton University in St. Louis! I am very proud of him, he's a smart little stink.

I have an unrealistic fear that he will be doing cancer research and one of our children will come down with that very same kind of cancer and it will be a rush to find a cure. Obviously I have seen too many dramatic movies. But it's just the truth. Those are the kind of things I worry about. I can't help it.

Thank you Cecile Spielberg for passing along all of your Jewish guilt and worry.

I found these on some really cute blogs while I am slaveing away at work........ they are simple, handmade, and perfect.

Kittens, presented by Kittens!

We are getting a kitten next weekend. I am overly excited about it. I think it's pretty well known that I like animals. I don't think that most people understand to what extent I love animals. I grew up in a family of extreme animal lovers so I never realized it was excessive. Whatever, I will continue to be overly excited when I get to hold a tiny little baby turtle at a fall festival or talk to a beautiful big red rooster about how handsome he is.


It's not that I think all animals are just the best thing ever, I am mostly in love with the creativity that it took to think of soooo many neat and unique kinds of animals. I love it. Good job God. Steve would like me to add that Jurassic Park is the best movie of all time, that kind of involves animals...........?

In not a very long amount of time I have had 4 friends lose parents. Three dads and a mom. On Friday I will be attending a funeral in the morning, coming home to work, then leaving to drive to Florida. It should be a winning mix of emotion and exhaustion. At the same time as these death's I have been re-reading Tuesdays with Morrie. It's such a great book. It brings good perspective about death and the live's we live leading up to our death's.








I am anxious for this semester to start. It will be my last semester of classes, then one semester of internship, then donezoooe. I am getting excited. I am happy that most of my friends will be returning from their summer adventures to camp, and home, and lots of other fun things.

Liz on the Left will come back and Liz on the right will leave to start a new and fantastic life. I have a bitter-sweet liz emotion right now. They are both sweet sweet friends that I am so thankful. I guess you can't have your Liz and your other one too? dang I'm so funny.

My parents have been married for 29 years this week. I am so very proud of that. It gives my even more confidence in my marriage and it's chances in such a crazy time of prevelant divorce. They are the most supportive, wonderful, quarky people I know. Good job mom and dad!

student loans= survival of the fittest

Until this point in my life my mom has pretty much taken care of the financial side of my schooling. I take care of most of my crap but that was the one thing she always did. Well, then I got married and that stopped. I definatly think that's good and healthy and all, but dangit... it's soo confusing and stressful! And thanks to President Obama it is now even more complicated with all of these tests to make sure I am not dumb enought to think I don't have to pay them back. They are called loans for a reason. If you don't understand that you pay loans back then you should let the rest of us have your loans and just go ahead and be done with school. Maybe that sounds harsh, but really.
I think fruits and veggies should at least prompt the idea of God's existence in our minds. They occur naturally, they can sustain out human bodies by themselves and they taste good to us. We cook them to change the flavor or texture but they are most healthy in their most natural state's. It's like God's most basic sign of existence in my opinion. Just saying.

I have a Bo Staff in my livingroom, just propped up against the book shelf. My husband is a ninja and the staff is long and heavy and makes me feel confident that in the event of a zombie invasion or intruder I might have a chance to defend myself. Steve told me the key was to "swing like you are going to swing right through them". So moral of this story..........don't mess with me. I will bring my Bo Staff down on your life!!

In a few weeks I will be with Steve's family in Florida, tar balls and all. I am super excited, I've never been to Florida....weird I know. And Steve and I have booked a cruise for our 1 year anniversary, which will be a couple more firsts for my life! How could we possibly be creeping up on a whole year of Marriage? It's so crazy! But so good.

I have recently been loving this www.stuffchristianslike.net it's freaking hillarious!

I have a 6yr old in my swimming lessons that is so large that I can barely lift him, IN the water. Holy crap, being in a pool makes everyone feel like they are 20lbs. Not this kid. He's at least 150lbs, no kidding. It's a problem.

Steve and I have been discussing where and what we want to do in the next few years. It's hard to figure out how to weave it all together. We both agree that we don't want to look back and regret getting comfortable and never accomplishing the things we have set out to do.

I really love JayZ, and I don't care who knows it.