Racquetball

Now that the 10k is behind me, i'm looking forward to more sane levels of working out. i know, i know, a 10k isn't a lot compared to a half or full marathon, but it was a big deal for me. Enter racquetball. i think it may be my new favorite cardio workout, even though (in the words of Brian Regan) :

"Racquetball is the only sport where simultaneously you can be looking at the ball...aaand it'll hit you in the back of the head at 90 miles per hour."

Michael's been playing for a couple months now, but yesterday was my first time playing...ever. It consisted of me failing 95% of the time, even after Michael started playing with his non-dominant hand, and me whacking the ball square into his back at one point. (Bonus points!) It was still really fun. Toward the end, my hand-eye coordination brain connections started coming out of deep hibernation, and i was getting a better handle on reading the ball. i worked up a pretty good sweat too, and it's always great when you can merge "fun" and "working out."

Anyway, besides chronicling my un-prowess at racquetball, i have to say i am thankful to God for good health. i've thought about this more in the past few weeks as i was preparing for the 10k, but most of the time i take for granted the healthy body, mind, and activeness God has granted me. i know He can take it away in a heartbeat - through illness, a car accident, whatever, and even then i should still be joyful and grateful since His grace and goodness to me transcend any physical circumstances. But for now i should be more thankful that my current trials are not health related, and should also pray more diligently for those who are facing such issues.

Time again to look back...and forward

*Cue uninspired cliche...now* It's hard to believe another year has already flown by.

Really though, it's gone fast. The new year is always a good opportunity to reflect on the things God has done over the past year, and look forward to what He will do in the coming one. 2010 was certainly a big year. It held our move across two and a half states to Houston, a dream-come-true trip to Alaska, the passing of Michael's grandfather, a second anniversary for Michael and I, joining a new church, new jobs for both myself and Michael, and countless other new and exciting and trying experiences. In all the hubbub, I am increasingly grateful for God's unchanging faithfulness in the midst of all circumstances, good and bad. But really, trusting God in crazy circumstances should be nothing new by now, as God has given me at least one major lifechanging experience each year for the past eight years, since 2003. A brief look back at those game-changers, if only to fondly remember and savor all the ways God has grown me into who I am today...

2003 - graduated from high school, spent a life-changing summer in Poland, Hume Lake, and Fiji and started college at UC Irvine

2004 - experienced a major family heartache that changed my family and I forever but brought us closer with a deeper understanding of God's grace and sovereignty

2005 - studied abroad for a semester in Turkey and visited Israel for the first time with a unique view to the conflicts there that will forever color my perception of the issues

2006 - spent a summer of growth, rest, and crazy fun in Estes Park, CO with the Navigators Summer Training Program

2007 - graduated from UCI, traveled to Israel a second time, had my ideas of what I wanted to do with my life turned upside down, and started work at Children's Hunger Fund

2008 - starting dating, got engaged to, and married Michael

2009 - walked through the intense trials and joys of our first year of marriage and made the decision to move to Texas

And now we're up to the present. There's so much more God has done, so many more life-changing experiences I haven't mentioned, but looking back on all the twists God has put in my life only makes me more excited for what lies ahead. I have long ago given up on guessing what will happen next. Nothing has turned out how I thought it would, but ultimately I couldn't be more grateful for that!

Was 2010 all roses and fun? Was I exempt from trials and sorrows for the year? Of course not. There were some very hard things to deal with and am even still working through some of them. But God is always faithful. Do I always believe that perfectly, and trust Him always without wavering? No. Do I still need much more refining and humbling? (Insert the most vehement word for yes you can think of here.) Do I look forward to 2011 and the ways He will use my circumstances to accomplish that and glorify Himself? Absolutely!

2011, here it comes!

Slacktivism*

*i did not coin this term.

The "campaign" to change your Facebook profile picture to "raise awareness about child abuse" is incredibly flawed/pointless for the following reasons...

1. It's not actually connected to a real cause http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2010/12/05/cartoon-characters-on-facebook-is-the-facebook-cartoon-campaign-a-hoax/ (via Wendy Chandler)

2. Raise your hand if you didn't already know child abuse existed - the one guy raising his hand was born and raised in a cave on a desert island isolated from civilization...and he doesn't have a Facebook account anyway.

3. If you want to change your profile picture, fine...just don't congratulate yourself on making the world a better place until you've actually done something tangible for abused kids. Those children don't care that you changed your profile picture until that act is accompanied with real action.

4. Social media is a fantastic tool for effecting some real change for a cause. This "campaign" does not qualify in the least for that category.

This isn't the first and won't be the last instance of slacktivism gone pointless. i'd just encourage everyone (myself included) to be discerning and intentional when it comes to real issues that need real action, before we jump on any bandwagons.

Kindle: Furthering My Literacy

With the help of my new Kindle (compliments of my dad) and some relaxing free time during Thanksgiving break, I recently read:

• The Twelfth Imam by Joel Rosenberg - The writing is weak in a few places, but his ability to weave an engrossing story is alive and well. He's definitely got another great series started.
• Sense and Sensibility - I like the Emma Thompson movie better.
• A Christmas Carol - For some reason and for all the film and theater versions I've seen, this story is always framed in my mind through the lens of the Muppet adaptation. As I read I kept converting all the characters to their Muppet versions.
• Heart of Darkness - Man, that Conrad guy can write! Like Lord of the Flies, I'll keep revisiting this book because of the depth of story and the worlds created in my mind through the writing.
• Dracula - I just started this one and so far it's pretty entertaining.

I've decided to make my way through classic literature included on all those "Books Everyone Should Read" lists. I had the opportunities to read such classics in high school and college, but let's be honest, I never actually read those books in their entirety. I also figure this can only help my vocabulary and writing, plus most of the older classics are FREE Kindle books. A sidenote, if you get a Kindle you might want to hold off on buying the ESV Study Bible Kindle version. It's only $10 and definitely better than nothing, but in its current state it's pretty tedious to use. You're probably better off waiting until they come out with a more user-friendly version.

I would definitely recommend the Kindle to anyone who enjoys reading even a little. It's such an efficient way to read and store books (3,500 of them!), it's very easy to figure out, the battery lasts forever (I've read all the above and the battery hasn't even gone down to 50% yet), and at this point they're not that expensive. Granted mine was a gift, but this new version with wireless is only $139. I love that it's much less cumbersome than a book to hold and turn pages. And those skeptics who think reading from a screen will hurt their heads and/or eyes probably just haven't seen a Kindle and held it in their hands. It truly is like reading pages in a book - no glare, no backlight. There are also a bunch of features I haven't even used yet, including highlighting and note taking capabilities within the text. All in all it's definitely worth the investment!

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." -Joseph Addison

Alaska Day 2 - Drive to Denali National Park

Okay Blogger is giving me drama, so i've only uploaded 4 pictures for this post. i've posted more pictures on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2524804&id=6007285&l=ece321ab45

In the morning we headed to church with the Sims. After an encouraging morning of worship and a message from Acts, Michael and I headed off toward Denali. On the way we stopped to get groceries at this store called Fred Meyer. It's such a great store! It's like a super Wal-Mart in that it has EVERYTHING (groceries, clothes, electronics, etc.), but the quality of all the stuff is a lot better, plus they have a really nice health/organic food section. Not like we eat that stuff all the time, but it was nice to have the option since Houston gets a D+ for grocery options that carry anything beyond the basics. Anyway we hit the road and made the 4 hour trek from Anchorage to our motel 13 miles south of the Denali National Park entrance. The drive was beautiful. The weather was amazing and we saw a pretty clear view of Mount McKinley along the way. Sadly we both were stupid and didn't stop to get better pictures. In the back of my mind I knew it was a really rare thing to see Mount McKinley (usually it's covered by clouds), but for some reason I thought, “We'll see it later.” Too bad we didn't see it the rest of the time. Anyway like I said the drive was amazing. Here are some pictures from along the way.

Mount Denali/Mount McKinley This was taken from the car and you can only barely see it. It looks like a cloud but you can see the peak.

i love this photo, it turned out really good. We pulled off the road for a bit to walk around. These tracks were near where we pulled off the main road.

Taken from the car.

We arrived at McKinley Creekside Cabins (13 miles south of the Denali National Park entrance) in the late afternoon. The accomodations were very spartan, but the place was clean. There was also a nice creek running next to our cabins. We took a walk along the creek and took some pictures.

At McKinley Creekside Cabins

The rest of the evening we just chilled and finished watching Syriana. Still a bit confused by some things, but I have a higher opinion of it then I did before.

Alaska Day 1 - Arriving in Anchorage

Well since i'm sitting here in the airport i thought i'd start my blog entries for the trip. i accidentally deleted the only picture i have from Day 1, so this will be all text. i'll have pictures up for the other entries though.

We were up early and left from Houston Interncontinental on Saturday morning. We had a layover in Seattle and started watching "Syriana". I'd seen it before but didn't really remember it. It was still a bit confusing the second time around. Moving on, we got into Anchorage in the afternoon. The rental car agency we used turned out to be a little ghetto, but we ended up getting a discount and free upgrade to a truck because they didn't have any economy cars. It worked out because the truck got really good gas mileage all things considered. After a quick stop at Wally World, we headed to meet the Sims. They are friends of friends who graciously offered to let us stay with them at their home in Anchorage. We had a lovely evening getting to know them. After dinner, part of the family took us on a driving tour around Anchorage. It's a really beautiful city, one of those rare ones with both ocean and mountains. We learned a lot about Alaska, Anchorage, and how they're different than “the lower 48.” We also searched for some “moosen” but only saw one real fast in the brush. We also experienced our first night of extra daylight. There's about 21 hours of daylight in Alaska right now, and it was so strange to be going to sleep around 11 with the sun out like it's early evening. All in all, a great first day!

Alaska Itinerary

Well i thought i'd revive this thing with posts about our Alaska trip. Some people have asked about what we'll be doing so here's our tentative itinerary.

Day 1
-Fly into Anchorage and explore a bit
-Stay the night with some friends of friends. Thanks to the wonderful Sims family who is graciously hosting us for the night!

Day 2
-Church with the Sims
-Leisurely drive up to Denali National Park

Day 3
-Explore Denali

Day 4
-Leisurely drive back down to Anchorage
-More Anchorage exploring and another stay at the Sims house

Day 5
-Leisurely drive to Valdez, AK

Days 6 & 7
-Spend time in Valdez with Michael's friend Leonard
-Glacier day cruise or kayaking

Day 8
-Leisurely drive back to Anchorage
-Depart on red eye back to Texas

i'm REALLY excited for this trip! Alaska has always looked so beautiful in pictures, and Michael and i would usually rather see gorgeous nature than city stuff for vacation.

Everything ended up happening really fast. i had mapped out and researched this trip weeks ago when we first thought of going to Alaska, but things were uncertain with Michael's job situation. We decided to wait until he got a job offer to take the trip. Then by God's grace, he was offered a driving job yesterday. We're unsure as to how the job will work out and whether the schedule will be decent (i.e. not taking him away from home and church stuff too often) but for now, we're grateful to God for His amazing provision!

More pictures and blog entries to come!*

*if i make an effort to not be lazy...

p.s. Any of you photographers out there have any last minute photography advice? Right about now i'm wishing i knew more about photography and my Rebel. Hopefully i'll get some good shots anyway...

Anniversary #1

A conversation snippet from a few weeks ago...

Me: Welllllll i think you're right. i am more excited for the Mexico trip than i am for our anniversary. BUT!!! It's only because, well, we're going to be married as long as we're alive so really, what's one year?
Michael: I'm glad you're not sentimental.

As much as i'm more excited (at least in the short term) for our Mexico trip with my family starting Wednesday, Michael and i had a lovely anniversary day yesterday. Unfortunately i don't have any accompanying pictures, so too bad for you kids with no imagination!

We didn't do anything too amazing or exciting, but we went on a nice hike off The Old Road in Santa Clarita. It was a gorgeous hike and since we went in the early evening, the trail was shaded the whole time. We also saw an owl fly across the trail just maybe 15 feet right in front of us! i don't think i'd ever seen an owl in the wild before so that was neat. Then further up the trail we saw a couple of deer in a meadowy space. After the hike we headed to Black Angus to use our coupon haha for a great dinner. Mmmmm steak. Then we headed home and watched Knowing with Nicolas Cage. It was pretty entertaining up until a certain point. *SPOILER ALERT* i've got to be honest, the second the answer becomes "aliens" in a movie and it actually shows the aliens, my brain just shuts off and i automatically declare the movie stupid. If it's a movie that's supposed to have aliens in it, that's fine. Like District 9. Brilliant alien movie.

Alien digressions aside, it was a fun day. Our relationship was so different a year ago, and i have enjoyed this past year of immense growth for me personally and in our relationship. i am more and more thankful for Michael as time goes by. God has been so good in sustaining our marriage. One year and counting!

packed weekend...and some thoughts

This past weekend was pretty busy, but i've got no complaints...


Friday evening Michael and i headed over to my parents' for a somewhat-rare-but-becoming-more-frequent family dinner. My sister's family and my brother and his wife came. It was a fun evening. As you can see from the above picture, Kari mastered horseshoes. It was pretty incredible, she just chucked the horseshoe and made it around the stake. TWICE.


Saturday morning Michael and i set off to Whittier for my uncle's memorial service. It was a short service in a beautiful chapel. i didn't know him that well, and neither did pretty much everyone else in our family. He was a quiet, intelligent, well informed man who seemed to have had a thing for sports cars and motorcycles. Some in the family have speculated he had a double life. :)

i regret i did not get to know him better. We don't know for sure whether he's with the Lord or not. He rejected the Gospel his whole life but seems to have made some sort of positive response after my other uncle shared with him just the day before he died. So who knows? All i can do is trust that God will always glorify Himself no matter what. And in any case, the Gospel was presented at the service which is always an encouragement.

Honestly, the normal deep thoughts about the brevity of life didn't really come to mind as i thought about my uncle's death. Instead, my thoughts kind of tied in with a passage i read this past week. "...each man's work will become evident...the fire itself will test the quality of each man's self. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1 Cor. 3.13-15) This passage struck me, that even if by God's grace i am assured salvation, my works in life can be burned up in the end if they weren't works that furthered the Kingdom or glorified God and His church. i don't want to waste my life, and i want as little as possible to burn when it's all said and done. My uncle, if he is saved, will still suffer much loss as most of his life was lived without regard to the Lord. i pray that God would grant me the grace to live well, even knowing how much i've already wasted.


After the service, an EXCELLENT Chinese banquet style lunch at a real Chinese restaurant, and some time catching up with extended family, Michael and i tried to catch a showing of The Hurt Locker. We've really been wanting to see it for some time in the theater. Long story short, we failed in that quest but ended up spending the rest of the evening with some good friends, steak, and good beer.


Sunday rolled around and we were off to church in the morning. After church i rushed off to Irvine to hang out with my still close friends from college. It was an impromptu get together and amazingly only one of us wasn't able to make it. We've all known each other since our freshman year. Each of our lives has gone in such different directions (especially mine!), but i love the encouragement and fun it is spending time with them. We had a picnic at Woodbridge, made the necessary stop at Yogurtland, then found a City of Irvine sponsored park concert featuring a cover band of five late 40-something women rockin' out. Needless to say, we left after about five songs.


i came home that night, exhausted and in the mood to watch a movie. It was already 9:30 when we started Bedtime Stories and i knew i'd pay for it the next day, but my impulsive urge to watch a movie overrode being sensible. It was actually pretty good. It was pretty funny and just good lighthearted fun. And i think i've decided Keri Russell is one of my favorite actresses. i blame the show Felicity for creating that preference. (Yes, Felicity. i didn't think i'd like it but it was a great show. Yes, all four seasons.)

It was a great weekend. God is good.

Caribbean food, a wonderful surprise, and a new toy!

i had a GREAT birthday yesterday! After work, Michael and my parents and i went to Mojito in Santa Clarita. It's a Caribbean/Cuban fine dining restaurant and the food is excellent. You can check out their menu here. After we ate we headed back to our apartment, and i was pleasantly surprised by my sister's family who came with homemade cards, gifts, and a yummy mango cake!

Then there was more!

i've always enjoyed photography a lot. i've never taken a photo class and don't really know anything about apertures, F stops, shutter speeds, blah blah, but i've always wanted to learn. i decided a few weeks back that i wanted to get a DSLR to play around with. My dad has a Nikon D-whatever with like 5 different lenses or something, and i wasn't looking for anything that intense, just a good quality camera to learn on. Well, my wish was granted yesterday. Michael with the help of my dad researched and got me a Canon EOS Rebel XSi with an additional telephoto lens. i was sooooo excited! i'm looking forward to learning and playing around with it.

i am so thankful for God's many blessings.