Thankful Thursday: Running Schedule, Crab Ragoon & Pedicures

It's Thankful Thursday! That means another week has flown by! Time for another double header softball game. The weekend is almost here. The weeks seem to be getting shorter and shorter lately. Soon it'll be Christmas! Whoo-hoo!! So what are you thankful for this thursday? Could be something that happened this week. Could be something you realize you take for granted. Could be something that brings you joy! While you ponder your thankfulness, here's our lists.

Monica's List:

I'm thankful for Crab Rangoon! Yes, yes you read that right! The delicious Chinese sensation of creamy and crunchy!!! YUM!! If you haven't had it before.. you do not know what you are missing! If you've had it and didn't like it, all I can say is.... something is just wrong with you! ;) We don't treat ourselves to Chinese too often because we have an eating out budget and it's not the most healthy eating option. When we do get it though, crab ragoon always hits the spot! MMM!!

I am thankful for my job! I just got my next raise and it was a whole $1 an hour raise! :) May not seem like much to some... but I am thankful for it nonetheless! Every little bit helps in this household!

I am also thankful for pedicures! Another thing I don't treat myself to often (I've had about 4 in my lifetime)... but when I do I really appreciate it! Technically my friend Kristy treated me to this one, so I am also very thankful for a friend who likes to do sweet things for me! I appreciate it so much!!! Thank you again Kristy! I love you!!! (I especially love getting them with Kristy! Not only for the good company but because I get to watch her giggle as they scrub the bottom of her feet, haha... HILARIOUS!)

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for a running schedule this week. A fellow co-worker of mine is big into running and so is her boyfriend. He is a hardcore marathon runner. They guy (we'll call him "Speedy") can run a marathon (26.2 miles) in 2 hours and 40 minutes! That's just over a 6 minute/mile pace! That's insanity!

"Speedy" offered to make me a running schedule for a 5K that I have coming up in late October to benefit people who have had lung transplants. My goal for this 5K is under 27 minutes. I'd like to make it in 25, but we shall see. My fastest so far is 29:33.

I'm thankful for "Speedy" and his kindness to make me a schedule. I can't wait to start hitting the pavement and train for this run, which will also help move some mucous!

Monsoon Run

A buddy of mine and I went on our usual 4.6 mile run tonight. It was a little cloudy but looked like it was going the opposite direction and would pass by. Wrong! If you remember it was only a few weeks ago we had a similar situation occur with tornado type clouds looming overhead. Of course, holding to our typical fashion, we said to each other "We got this!"

We decided to run it anyhow. A little after mile one, the rain started. Monica was passing us, running back to the car. (She tags along often on our runs and is much smarter than either of us.)

We kept on truckin'!

Just before mile 2 it began down pouring and did not stop until we were finished, at which point it let up. Haha! Had to laugh about that.

Anyway here's our post run interview. It was with my iPhone, which is now stuck in headphone mode and will not play sound through the speakers. It's in a bag of rice as we speak which hopefully will fix it. It's my own fault but still extremely frustrating, lol!

Moral of the story: When it looks like it may be bad weather when Matthew and I get ready to run....... it will be. AND, don't run with my phone when bad weather is present.

Thankful Thursday: Friends, Fall & Softball

It's Thankful Thursday Time!! I can't believe it, but I actually almost forgot it! Monica is going to a men's hater meeting tonight (as her dad refers to Joyce Meyer conferences, lol), and I have a softball game. As soon as I got home, it was eat, treat (my lungs), greet (my wife), and get ready to bounce! Luckily, someone posted on facebook asking about our Thankful Thursday post. So here it is folks! Thankful Thursday!

Monica's list:

I'm thankful for my friend Kristy! We got to hang out this morning and I had so much fun!!! Her birthday was recently so we were finally able to get together and go out for her birthday. Kristy is one of those women who is truly as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She inspires me to be an even better person and I think that is a Great thing to have in a friend! I believe God brought our friendship together when He knew we both needed each other the most. I love you Kristy! Thank you for everything! And Happy Birthday again!!! ;)

I am thankful for fall weather. It is so beautiful out that most days I just want to be outside all day!! LOVE IT!!!

I am thankful for my hubby!! (Sigh) He is just wonderful... and I love him SOOOO MUCH!!! I'm so thankful to get to wake up with him everyday and share this wonderful life of ours together! I couldn't ask for a better man! Forever and ever babe!!

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for softball leagues! I'm not a drinker, so I don't play softball to get drunk. I play because I'm one of those guys who always dreamed of being an MLB player, and this is as close as I'll get, lol! I loved playing baseball as a kid! Most little boys do, but I loved it! I played summer and fall ball growing up. I even worked as an umpire for 3 years, starting when I was 13. It gives me a chance to hang out with my buddies. It's a really good workout, when you get a hit or when you're playing in the outfield chasing balls all night. It's also awesome having your wife there cheering you on and getting to show off for her when you make a good play, or get a good hit.  I'm thankful it's time for softball again! We usually do terrible, but we have a blast losing!

Sorry it's so short this week! What are you thankful for?! There's always something! Don't live life full of regrets and looking at what you don't have. I'm a glass half full kinda guy. Actually, in my opinion, my glass is overflowing. Some may not think so looking from the outside, but it's amazing from my point of view! So now what are you thankful for?! :)

Morphsuit fun!

Here's a video of me trying to scare Monica in my new morphsuit. After busting a move for awhile. I know.... I dance like a white boy. :)

Feels Like Fall

It officially feels like fall here in St. Louie! Our house is a cool 71 degrees with no ac or heat on, and it's just chilly enough outside that the good ol sweatpants and house shoes went on today. It's really overcast and kind of windy out too. Perfect for an evening in! We'll probably watch a movie after eating a big hearty meal, and snuggle on the couch under a blanket. I forgot how much I do enjoy fall. I would rather live in a climate where it's sunny and warm 24/7, 365, but I enjoy fall.

Soon we'll start having bonfires, drinking hot chocolate, and dressing in hoodies and sweats. It may sound silly but I think there's nothing more comfortable than a hoodie. I love wearing hoodies. They're perfect to take naps in! lol! In college I wore hoodies all through the fall and winter, and took a nap almost every day in a big leather chair in the "quiet" room. Good times!

Another advantage to cooler weather, it makes running slightly easier. When I don't have gallons of sweat dumping off me, I find I can run a little farther and faster. Tuesday I was able to complete 4.5 miles without stopping for any walk breaks. It took me 46:42. Monica's fastest time is 43 minutes I believe. Yesterday I ran it again. I didn't stop this time either and completed it in 43:15! I shaved over 3 minutes off my time. It was slightly cooler, and may have made a difference. If I can break 40 minutes, I'll be ecstatic! I'm trying to gear up for a 5K in October that benefits lung transplant patients. My goal for that is 25 minutes or less. Really I would like to only run 10K's. I think I'm getting close to being able to complete one. A few more weeks of running 4.5 miles and I'll start running 6.1, which is a 10K.

Hope everyone is enjoying this cooler weather! (If it's cooling down where you live) I know Monica and I are. Hopefully my updates on my running abilities will encourage you to get out there and GET MOVING!!

Thankful Thursday: Dad, Sis & Warm Showers

It's Thankful Thursday Tiiiiime! It's Thankful Thursday Tiiiiiime! I typed that while humming a tune to the typing, lol! What are you thankful for?! There's tons to be thankful for! Whether it's simply to be alive, have a roof over your head, food on the table.... even if you have only your life that's still a pretty big one to be thankful for! Here we go, our lists!

Monica's List:

I'm thankful for warm showers! We are so spoiled in this nation and take for granted little everyday things that would be a luxury for some people. We have clean hot and cold water at our fingertips all the time. I haven't been feeling top notch lately. I'm not sure if it's allergies or if I am coming down with a cold, but my eyes are itchy and bloodshot, I'm chilling, my nose has been running, and I have a nice little phlegmy cough (Yuck, I know!) If I stop what I am doing, take a nice warm shower, and just let the water run over my face, no matter what I feel better than I did beforehand! It is blessing that I am thankful for!

Last thankful Thursday I mentioned I was thankful for almonds. I am thankful for healthy snack options throughout the day. Not only have I still been munching on the almonds, but I've also been munching on frosted mini wheat cereal dry. It really hits the spot and settles my tummy! Yum!!!

I'm thankful for our running trail. I know we mention it a lot... so maybe that shows how much we like it!? :) When we were there one evening this week, we saw 9 deer total! It was so neat! They were just hopping along in the field right next to the trail like we weren't even bothering them. At one point it was like they were keeping pace with me just curious about us. We got to watch them for about 15 minutes of our run. We both really enjoyed that! There was even some tiny little baby ones, SO CUTE! I love getting out in the fresh air and seeing wildlife!

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for my dad! My pops! ¡Mi papi! and my sister. :) They are both awesome family members! My dad has been such a great example as to how a man of God should live his life! He depends on the Lord for everything and has taught me to do the same. Growing up hearing that he ate lunch often by himself in his truck reading his Bible while he ate, to watching him lead song service and sing specials, to seeing him teach sunday school and children's church. My dad has always put God first and I'm thankful for that!

He's been through some rough times too. He was laid off a lot growing up, but always worked hard to provide for us. He was in 2 bad work accidents. He was knocked off a ladder, breaking his arm and tearing his ACL, MCL, and patella tendon in his right knee. Put him out of commission for almost 9 months if I remember right. Then not long after returning a 2 story scaffolding collapsed and threw him through a window. Well partly... he was hanging from a piece of glass that was stuck in his bicep. He sliced the ulnar nerve in his right arm and barely missed the artery.  He currently only has, I believe, 30% use of his right hand. Yet he has not let any of that slow him down or discourage him. He has always put his faith and trust in God, and it has always paid off.

After all that he still works. He's taught me to be a hard worker. Never stop until the job is done, and if you're going to do it, do it right the first time!  So glad I've learned these things. My dad is awesome!

My sister.... well she's alright. Haha, no my sister is great! She has always been very supportive of everything I've done. She's not one that enjoys being around teenagers but would endure the torture and help me when I was a youth pastor years ago. My sister is tender hearted and very sweet. She tries to play tough but doesn't fool anybody! :) This week it was her birthday as well! She was born the day before my dad. He always says she was his birthday present. I always said I would have taken her back! Bu dum dum Pish! You knew it was coming!

I'm thankful for my dad and sister this week! What are you thankful for?!?!!?!?!

Thankful Thursday: Running Experiences & New friends

It's Thankful Thursday time again! Another week down in the history books of this thing called life! Seems that lately our life timeline has been full on a week-to-week basis. That's a good thing though, it means more awesome life experiences! As usual, there are a lot of things to be thankful for! Monica may or may not get to add to this post. Poor wifey has had several cakes she's doing this month, which means she spends most of her evenings (especially Thursday and Friday) working on the cakes. This week it's a cake that looks like a 1930's/40's Chevy. It's coming together awesome! We'll definitely post some pics after she delivers and the customer sees it first. :) I won't make you wait any longer for the meat of this post though. Here's what I'm thankful for!

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for running experiences. Well, life experiences really, but one happened today while a buddy and I were running at a nearby park. Evidently there were severe thunderstorm warnings out for my area and the makings for tornadoes. The sky didn't look too shabby so my buddy and I decided to run anyways. The path is a 5.1 mile loop. Needless to say we didn't make it the whole way, haha! The further we got down the path, the sketchier the sky looked!

We finally decided to turn back when the clouds above us started in a circular pattern. The path outlines a field as well. There a are a few spots where you run through the woods, but most is right out in the open. Not good when lightning is present. It was pretty crazy watching the clouds sweeping over our heads. There were light spots, dark spots, all kinds of different kinds of clouds, and it was really pretty actually! Nature is just plain cool sometimes!

I'm also thankful for new friends. A little while ago I met a guy from work and have been talking to him quite a bit. We share similar interests, fishing and God, and get to talk a lot about the two. After several failed attempts to fish together, we made it out with my bro-in-law, best bud, and another buddy. We went night fishing! We started about 8:00pm and fished until 1:30am. We would have stayed all night but both had to be somewhere Saturday afternoon. We built a nice bonfire and were fishing right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River! It was awesome! It's cool fishing at night, looking at the stars, hearing the crackling of the fire, feeling the warmth coming from the fire, chatting it up with some good pals, listening for the pole bells to start ding-a-ling-a-ringing!

It was a successful trip. My new pal caught a big flathead! Looking forward to many more fishing trips and good talks about life and God!

So what are you thankful for this week?!