Another semester over

The fall semester is now finished, well at least for me it is! For the first time in my higher education history, I had no finals to worry about. That's right! ZERO FINALS!!! HA!!!

Now, I must not lie here, because even though I have no finals, I do still have to turn in grades for my PE class on Wednesday. Also, I am continuing to collect thesis data up through the 21st, so really now it's more like working a job rather than doing schoolwork. There will be some days (like tomorrow) where I will have to be at school before 8am to meet a subject for a session and stay until after 5pm to meet another subject, but I really don't mind it. As long as it gets me closer to getting all my data collected, I'll take whatever I can get.

Half Marathon pics

Here are two pics of me when I ran my half marathon at the beginning of the month. The top one is of me crossing the finish line, and the bottom is us running through downtown Raleigh. I like the bottom one because it looks like I am leading a pack of people (notice most of them are guys, haha!)

Extreme Cuteness

I couple weeks ago, I was over at Andy and Michelle Casad's house, hanging out with Michelle and having some quality girls only time. Andy and Michelle have a small farm, and among their animal menagerie are a family of Holland Lop-eared rabbits. Above are some pictures of me holding a couple of the bunnies. They are so soft and SO INCREDIBLY CUTE!!!

No more tests

Last night, I had a midterm exam in my Exercise Testing and Prescription class. The class itself is 3 hours long, one night a week, so naturally the test was also 3 hours long. This test was also the last test I will have to take for my masters degree (I don't have any final exams, and next semester is all thesis work). So I am done taking tests! Well, at least until next year. . .

Training-the final result!

Today was the day! This morning, I ran my first half-marathon: The City of Oaks Half Marathon in Raleigh. My day started at approximately 4:45am, when my alarm rang. I got up, got dressed, ate a light breakfast consisting of a cereal bar and a glass of orange juice. I left my house at about 5:15am to drive to Raleigh. The race organizers recommended that we get to the race an hour before the start so that we could find places to park and such. So anyway, as I was driving down I-40 this morning in pitch black, I was thinking, "Some part of me must be crazy to be driving to a road race before dawn on a Sunday morning!" But I guess that's part of being a runner!

The race started at 7am by the Fairgrounds. It was a really pretty morning; sunny, cool, and crisp. The race took us through downtown Raleigh, past NC State, and over by Meredith College, looping around other parts of Raleigh that I'm not familiar with, and we ended back where we started. I was feeling great throughout the whole race, and my official race time was 1:50:37, which is a pace of 8:27. My goal time was somewhere in the vicinity of 2 hours, so I definitely met my goal, and I feel like I did better than I thought I would. So I am really happy with the result of my first half marathon. I can definitely say that I want to do this again next year. I will be honest though; my legs are really sore, and I think I may be feeling this for a few days!

As all of you know who have been reading my blog, I started my half marathon training 16 weeks ago. Very auspiciously, Runnersworld.com launched a free online training log at about the same time, which I have used to record every workout. In the past 16 weeks, I have run a total of 503.6 miles. In addition to completing my overall goal of running a half-marathon, I have improved my training run pace, and set a new PR for my 10K race time. My next goals are to keep improving my pace and to run some more 10K races and do the half-marathon again next year!

Training-Week 15 summary

Half-marathon: Last week was my last high-mileage week for the training period, with a record-long run of 14 miles on Sunday. Since this week is my final week in the training period, it is an easy week with 3 4-mile runs and 1 5-mile run. The race is on Sunday in Raleigh. I am looking forward to it. I also found out that one of the first-years in my program is running the full-marathon portion, and one of the doctoral students is doing the half-marathon like me, although I think he will be running it considerably faster than I will! I am also looking forward to the post-race refreshments, haha!

15 weeks down, 3 days to go

Comprehensive exam results

I PASSED!!!

Training-Week 14 summary

Half marathon: This past week was supposed to be another 40-ish mile week. However, Ben and I were out of town for 2 nights on a Fall Break camping trip, so I missed a day of running. That's okay though; I know that I can run 13 miles without collapsing, so it's not a big deal that I didn't meet last week's quota. This week is my last high volume week; the following week is the week of the race!

14 down, 2 to go.

I am a runner

This is a nice essay that I found on Runnersworld.com.

I AM A RUNNER because my runs have names. I do tempo runs and threshold runs and fartlek runs. I do long, slow runs and track workouts. My runs are defined, even if my abs are not.

I AM A RUNNER because my shoes are training equipment, not a fashion statement. The best shoe for me is the one that makes me a better runner. I choose the shoe that goes with my running mechanics, not my running outfit.

I AM A RUNNER because I don't have running outfits. I have technical shirts and shorts and socks. I have apparel that enhances the experience of running by allowing me to run comfortably. I can say "Coolmax" and "Gore-Tex" in the same sentence and know which does what.

I AM A RUNNER because I know what effort feels like, and I embrace it. I know when I'm pushing the limits of my comfort and why I'm doing it. I know that heavy breathing and an accelerated heart rate--things I once avoided--are necessary if I want to be a better runner.

I AM A RUNNER because I value and respect my body. It will whisper to me when I've done too much. And if I choose to listen to that whisper, my body won't have to scream in pain later on.

I AM A RUNNER because I am willing to lay it all on the line. I know that every finish line has the potential to lift my spirits to new highs or devastate me, yet I line up anyway.

I AM A RUNNER because I know that despite my best efforts, I will always want more from myself. I will always want to know my limits so that I can exceed them.

I AM A RUNNER because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far.

I AM A RUNNER because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not.

John Bingham

Training-Week 13 summary

Half marathon: Last week I ran a total of 40 miles. Oh yes, that's right, 40 miles. And let me tell you, I was feeling it yesterday afternoon and this morning! I had another 13-mile long run yesterday morning, which I did in 2:01:00. My goal time for the race is around 2 hours, so I'm right on track. Now that the morning temperatures are in the upper 40s/low 50s, my runs are even more enjoyable, as I am not completely soaked with sweat when I'm done. There's also something kind of cool and refreshing about running as the sun is coming up.

13 weeks down, 3 to go.

Training-Week 12 summary and Carrboro 10K

Half marathon: This was a really good week for running. I had no speed workouts and no long runs. It was all easy runs, with the exception of 1 day. Yesterday, I ran the Carrboro 10K. This was my third 10K, (the last one I ran was in March), and I wanted to see if I had improved. Well, I am happy to report that I set a new PR! My official race time was 49:56, which is an improvement of about 2 and a half minutes off my previous PR. I was excited not only that I set a new PR, but that I also broke 50 minutes. I came in 5th in my age group (25-29 year old women) and if I counted right, there were 26 women in my age group. The top 3 places in each age group won prizes, and I missed 3rd place by 51 seconds. This is definitely good motivation not only for my half-marathon training, but also for future 10K races.

I would also like to congratulate Ben, who also ran the Carrboro 10K yesterday. This was his first 10K, and he came in with a very good time of 1:01:11. I was quite proud of him, especially since he did not officially train for the race. I'm not sure he's quite caught the running bug, but I wouldn't count him out of future races.

This coming training week will be another hard one as now enter a training volume of 40-45 weekly miles, as well as another pace increase. I'm now basically in the home stretch of training, and the race is less than a month away.

12 weeks down, 4 to go.

Rio Jesus

This is a picture that my thesis advisor sent me. It is on top of a cliff in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My thesis advisor is from Brazil, and he's been up to see this statue in person. This photo was taken by a photographer named Ricardo Zerrenner; if you visit his website (www.zerrenner.fot.br), you can see some more pictures.

Another hurdle

So in our masters program, we have 3 major hurdles to get through during our second year: passing comps, proposing the thesis, and defending the thesis. I took comps a little over 2 weeks ago, and today, I successfully proposed my thesis. I do have to make some minor revisions on my methodology, but basically this means that I can now start recruiting subjects and collecting data.

Training-Week 11 summary

Half marathon: Well, just about 1 more month to go until the big race. This past week was another high-mileage week with a long run of 13 miles. This coming week is an easy week with no long runs or tempo runs/speedwork. However, I will be running in the Carrboro 10K on Saturday. The last 10K I did was in March, and my time to beat is 52:37.

11 weeks down, 5 to go.

Training-Week 10 summary

Half marathon: This week was another high mileage week, at 36 miles. I did my second 12-mile long run today. We've experienced a bit of a warm-up this weekend, despite the fact that it's now officially fall. So anyway, today's long run felt a bit harder than last Sunday's long run, because it was about 15 degrees warmer this morning. Hopefully, the hot weather and the humidity will fade away soon, and I can have my cool mornings back. Of course, in about 3 months, I'm sure that I'll be talking about how cold it is!

10 weeks down, 6 to go.

In other news, my thesis proposal is a week from Tuesday. I thought that the week after comps would be a bit more relaxed, but not so! I spent a greater part of the week working on thesis revisions, as well as working on a research project for one of my professors. I kind of felt like I was back at my old research job, and it was kind of nostalgic. Anyway, my next big deadline is this coming Tuesday; I have to give copies of my thesis proposal to my committee so that they can have a week to read it.

Training-Week 9 summary

Half marathon: This week I increased both the weekly mileage and my pace. My long run today was 12 miles, the longest I've ever done. It was not a bad experience because we have recently experienced a drop in temperature. When I went out this morning at about 7:30, it was only like 55 degrees. It was so awesome.

9 weeks down, 7 to go.

Comps: Well, they're done! I took them on Friday. I am so glad it's over. Well, okay, I can't officially say they're done until I find out if I've passed or not, which won't happen for at least another month. But I can take a small rest in any case and move forward with my life, as in getting back to work on my thesis.

Training-Week 8 summary

Half marathon: I'm now halfway through my training for this event. This past week was an easy running week, as I alluded to in the week 7 update. All my runs were either 5 or 6 miles, so it was a bit of a "recovery" week. Now we are stepping up the mileage and pace once more.

8 weeks down, 8 to go.

Comps: Well, last week, I worked on several of the remaining practice questions. This week is it! Just 3 days till comps. I will be SO happy when it's done. I feel pretty well prepared; of course, there are some topics that I feel less proficient in than others, but luckily we do get some choices to pick from when answering the questions. Wish me luck!

8 and a half weeks down, 3 days to go.

Training-Week 7 summary

Half marathon: This week was my heaviest weekly mileage yet, at 34 miles. I did my long run this morning; another 11-miler. This morning was great weather, when I started my run, it was in the mid 60s and not too humid. My legs were a bit sore this afternoon, but they're feeling better now. This coming week is going to be an easy week with no long runs, so that I can get a bit of a break before I increase the mileage and running pace again.

7 weeks down, 9 to go.

Comps: Man, I am getting tired of studying. I am really looking forward to getting this thing over with, although I am glad for the remaining time. I've now pretty much gone through all my materials from last year's classes; now I am finishing the practice questions. Next, I will go into high-intensity review mode, now that I have the big picture ideas down, I need to make sure I keep all the little details straight.

7 weeks down, 2 to go.

Fun music pic

I was browsing the Pittsboro Bach Society website (see link at right), and I found this picture from a concert we did back in February. This is me looking over my music during a break (I don't have the long hair anymore!). The Pittsboro Bach Society was founded about 3 years ago by a man named Ted Ehrhard, a violinist and fellow parishoner at my church. We are a group that organizes bimonthly concerts and is dedicated to the joy of social music making.

Training-Week 6 summary

Half marathon: It is still really hot and humid, so the massive stink and sweat production continues. I am now in the 30-35 weekly mileage range, which is more than I've ever done before. Today's long run was a record 11 miles. Unfortunately my ipod battery ran out right around mile 6, so the last 5 miles of my run felt like a long time since I didn't have my music to distract me. Now that I am into the heavy weekly mileage (well, heavy for me), and since it will keep increasing, I have to really make sure that I eat enough carbohydrates and drink lots of water. The former isn't too hard; I do like my carbs :) However, I could always be better about hydration, so I just need to make sure I keep my water bottle full.

6 weeks down, 10 to go.

Comps: Well, we're entering the home stretch. I'm almost finished going through all the topics; I just have a section on anaerobic training left to go over. After I finish that; I will work on the remaining study questions and review notes. In my Seminar class, our professor is going to give us some test-taking strategies to help us with time management on test day. One really good piece of news: there is a strong possibility that we get to type our comps answers this year.

6 weeks down, 3 to go.

A new semester

Well, the fall semester officially began this week. Campus is crawling again with students, and classes are back in session. On the one hand, I feel like I had a pretty long summer vacation, but on the other hand, it feels like I never left. I only have 2 real classes this semester: Seminar in Exercise Physiology, and Exercise Testing and Prescription in the Healthy Population, and then I am also taking 3 credit hours of thesis research. My assistantship is a bit different this year too. Last year, I taught a bunch of PE classes, and I was the TA for the undergrad Human Physiology class. This semester, I am only teaching 1 PE class (YES!!!!!); for the rest of my assistantship, I am once again the TA for undergrad Human Physiology, plus I am a research assistant to one of my thesis committee members. I think this is going to be a good year. I am looking forward to getting my comps out of the way so I can propose my thesis and start collecting data. Other highlights of the semester will include applying to the PhD program in Human Movement Sciences at UNC, and maybe applying for some predoctoral fellowships.

Training-Week 5 summary

Half marathon: This week got a little more intense, as I not only inreased the overall mileage, but also the pace. It is still really really hot and humid. I went out early Thursday morning to do my tempo run, and it was like 76 degrees and 90% humidity, even at 6:30 in the morning! Needless to say, I have reached new levels of sweat production, both in volume and stink. Yes, that's right, girls sweat too!

5 weeks down, 11 to go.

Comps: I had gotten a little behind when Ben and I were on vacation in Asheville, but I played catch up this week, and now I'm back on schedule. This week, I'm learning about all the wonderful physiological things that happen to us when we age (good news, exercise can help slow some of it!).

5 weeks down, 4 to go.

The fun has begun!

Yesterday, my schoolyear officially started with TA orientation. We did usual things like going over policies and procedures, but we also did team-building activities on at the ropes course at UNC. I think we definitely got closer to one another, in that by the end of the day, I was covered in not only my own sweat, but that over several other people. It was also cool to meet the new first year grad students. Classes begin on Tuesday, so I still have a few more days before the REAL fun begins. Until then, it's back to studying for comps.

Nephews

The latest pic of our two nephews: Ethan (born just over a month ago) and Isaac (3 1/2 years old)

Try saying these 5 times fast

Basic tongue twister: "cinnamon anemone"

Advanced tongue twister: "Yosemite cinnamon anemone"

Training-Week 4 summary

Half marathon: This past week was intended to be an easy running week, with all easy runs and no long runs. The weather was still really hot and humid; man am I ready for fall! We went to Asheville Tuesday-Friday, so I had to rearrange my running schedule at bit, but I got it all done.

4 down, 12 to go.

Comps: I am a little behind schedule because we were out of town, but that's okay because I planned for that when I was creating my study schedule. I can't believe that I've been studying for this thing for almost a month now; I mean, I've covered a lot of material, but there's so much more to go! In any case, I ploughed my way through the endocrine and immune systems, which are the most confusing and complicated in my opinion, and I'm not sure I really have a great handle on them. This week though, we relax a bit with some sports nutrition topics like body composition and dieting.

Incidentally, comps are exactly one month from today. (cue ominous scary music)

4 down, 5 to go.

Training-Week 3 summary

Half marathon: The mornings this past week was hotter and more humid than in the past, in my opinion. It's a good thing I decided to slow down my easy runs because otherwise I would have been very uncomfortable. Today I hit a milestone as I did my first 10 mile run. Haha, I've broken through to the double digits! When I finished, I was soaking with sweat, really really thirsty, and a little bit sore. I am really looking forward to cooler weather.

3 weeks down, 13 to go.

Comps: I did some practice questions on metabolism, muscle, cardiovascular, and respiration physiology and started delving into the endocrine system. The endocrine and immune systems are next on my list, and this is the point where I start to get a little scared because we went into a lot of depth with these topics, particularly in our Advanced Topics class this past spring, so there is a lot of information to process. Also, this past year was the first year we had and Advanced Topics in Exercise Physiology class, meaning that there aren't really any previous comp questions about the immune system or in-depth endocrine topics for me to practice writing.

I think I need a bigger brain with more memory and a faster processor!

3 weeks down, 6 to go.

Bunnies!

Our friends Andy and Michelle recently aquired a family of Holland Lop rabbits. Ben and I went to visit them last night, and they are SO INCREDIBLY CUTE! Here are a few pics from Andy and Michelle's website.

A happy bunny family-Mom with her babies.

A closeup of Mom

A closeup of a baby. How can you resist that face????!!!!!!

Training-Week 2 summary

Half-marathon: Unfortunately I didn't meet my weekly mileage quota; I woke up too late this morning to get my 9-mile long run done, so I just did a 5-mile easy run. I also realized that I was doing my easy runs too fast; I should be doing them 60-90 seconds slower than my race pace and I was doing them about 30 seconds slower than my race pace. However, I did have a really good tempo run on Thursday.

2 weeks down, 14 to go.

Comps: This has been a good week for studying. I practiced a couple metabolism questions and started studying muscle, cardiovascular, and respiratory physiology. After I finish respiration, I'll practice some more questions. I also made a change of scenery and took my books to a coffee shop to study this week. I am generally feeling at peace.

2 weeks down, 7 to go.

Subconsciously anxious?

Although I've told my conscious self that I'm not going to get stressed out by comps, apparently my subconscious isn't listening. Here are two dreams I've had so far about comps.

1. I took comps, but I only passed 4 of the 6 questions. The answer to one of the questions didn't even have anything to do with exercise physiology; instead, it was some physics equation, which incidentally, I actually did get right. However, I couldn't really be that upset about failing 2 questions because I hadn't studied at all.

2. I was in the middle of taking comps, but this time the test had 9 or 10 questions on it. I was near the end, with like 2 questions to go, and I realized that I had not provided enough information on any of the previous questions. To make matters worse, I only had about 20 minutes left to finish. I didn't know whether I should just finish the test or go back and fix the questions I'd already done. Either way, I was screwed.

If any of you out there have had/are currently having similar anxiety dreams, please feel free to leave your comments. We can all share a good laugh.

Training-Week 1 summary

As I wrote in a prior post, I am currently training for both a half-marathon and my masters comprehensive exams. I've now completed 1 week for each. Here's how everything is going.

Half-marathon: Everything is good so far. I did all the assigned runs for last week, including a 9-mile long run yesterday morning. It felt great. Today is a rest day, so instead of running this morning, I went out and bought myself a new pair of running shoes (my other ones were about 7 months old, so it was time for the switch). I'm looking forward to hitting the pavement with them tomorrow.

One week down, 15 to go.

Comps: I feel like it's slow-going, but maybe that's just because there's so much material to cover. I started out with metabolism, macronutrients, and vitamins/minerals because they're all sort of inter-related. I had intended to start a new set of topics today, but I'm not finished with proteins, and I really want to try to start working on answering some of the prior years' comp questions. And having said that, time to hit the books.

One weeekd down, 8 to go.

The date is set

My masters comprehensive exams are set for Friday, September 14th.

At least it's not a Friday the 13th.

In training

Today, I begin two training periods of sorts. The first is for a half marathon on Sunday, November 4th, about 16 weeks away. This will be my first half marathon (the longest race I've done so far is a 10K). To prepare, I went to Runnersworld.com and used the Smart Coach tool to create a training plan so that I know exactly how many miles to cover each week and what pace I should be aiming for. The nice thing is that the initial weekly mileages are the same as what I've been doing so far this summer, so it's not going to be a huge shock to my body. Of course, I may feel a bit dfferently a couple months from now!

The second training period is a shorter one, but much more serious, time-intensive, and a lot more difficult, and that is the preparation for my masters comprehensive exams. I don't yet know the exact date for comps, but I do know that they are sometime in the first part of September, so that's roughly 8-9 weeks away. I took a look at my syllabi from this past year's classes to see what topics I need to study, and I've grouped them so that I'm studying similar topics together. This week, I will begin with metabolism, macronutrients, and vitamins/minerals.

Well, I've already done my run for today, so now I guess I need to hit the books!

Victory!

In tonight's Scrabble game, I finally found victory! It was a close one: 260 to 257, and my score of 260 was a personal best for me. One of my good plays was the word "quite" on a triple-word score for 36 points (I used a blank for the "i"). However, I have yet to play a "bingo" which is when you use all 7 of your tiles to get a 50-point bonus. Now that would be a sweet day indeed!

Scrabblin'

For the past few nights, Ben and I have gotten into the groove of playing Scrabble together. It has been slightly mind-fatiguing but highly enjoyable, even if Ben is currently undefeated, grrrr!!! Our scores have been fairly decent I suppose, with Ben consistently scoring around 270-280 and me around 200-210. However, last night, we both recorded personal best scores of around 350 (Ben) and 250 (me). Ben's sky-high score was due to one extremely fortuitous play of the word "underdog" which spanned 2 triple word scores, a double letter score (I think), and he used all 7 tiles (the "n" was already on the board) giving him a 50-point bonus, to earn 104 points on that single play. Afterwards we talked of buying a Scrabble dictionary so that we could learn some more esoteric and potentially high-scoring words. Who knows, maybe we'll enter some Scrabble tournaments one day! Okay, I'm really kidding about the latter; the nerdiness has to stop somewhere :)

But Scrabble is more that just a crossword board game, it's also a word with several meanings. Here's what Dictionary.com has to say about the word "scrabble."

1.	to scratch or scrape, as with the claws or hands.

2.	to grapple or struggle with or as if with the claws or hands.

3.	to scrawl; scribble.

4.	to scratch or dig frantically with the hands; claw (often fol. by at): scrabbling at a locked door to escape the flames.

5.	to jostle or struggle for possession of something; grab or collect something in a disorderly way; scramble.

6.	a scratching or scraping, as with the claws or hands.

7.	a scrawled or scribbled writing.

8.	a disorderly struggle for possession of something; scramble

Quite an action-packed word for such a quiet game!

Early mornings the in the lab

Since 2nd summer session classes started a couple weeks ago, I've been TA-ing the lab portion of the undergraduate exercise physiology class. My thesis advisor is the professor for the class, and I've been having a lot of fun helping him out. For the past two lab days, I've had to get to school at 7am to set up eqipment and turn on the metabolic system, which is incredibly early, but I really don't mind it at all. I am also really really glad that I took Dr. Hackney's Assessment of Physiological Function class because now I feel way more comfortable in the lab than I did a few months ago, and I'm not so afraid of breaking equipment anymore :) Okay, I've never actually broken any equipment in the exercise physiology lab, but I have messed up data outputs on a couple things, including the metabolic system.

Anyway, back to the undergrad lab. We've been teaching the students how to run submaximal exercise tests to predict VO2max (i.e. aerobic fitness). We did the Modified Bruce Protocol on the treadmill, the YMCA test on the cycle ergometer, and the Queen's College 3-minute step test. Next, we're going to start practicing measuring body composition. Tomorrow we're going to start off with underwater weighing, and then next week we'll teach the students how to use skinfold calipers and the BIA machine.

In other school news, I have given a copy of my thesis proposal to my committee for review. We'll see how badly they bleed on it!

The Pachelbel Rant

This is a really funny piece by comedian/musician Rob Paravonian. He talks about how the chord structure of Pachelbel's Canon in D shows up in a lot of modern popular music. I'm sure his list is not exhaustive either! Anyway, this clip is REALLY funny, especially if you're a musician. Click the link below to check it out!

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

My favorite animals

In today's post, I am highlighting my four favorite animals: dogs, horses, lop-eared rabbits, and sheep. Of these four, the only one that I have any substantial personal experience with are dogs. I grew up with a dog, and Ben and I used to foster for the Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue (see link on the right). Dogs are great family companions, they display perfect unconditional love, and they can make excellent running partners. Ben's family has owned horses for quite a few years, and Ben used to ride. I like horses because they are really pretty, and they can be pets as well as used for work. As for lop-eared rabbits and sheep, well, they are both just so darn cute and cuddly! Okay, I've never actually tried to cuddle with a sheep, and maybe they aren't actually into being cuddled, but still, they look really sweet. Maybe one day, we can buy a place with some land and we can own a couple dogs, horses, lop-eared rabbits, and sheep. To the mix, I'd also add some cows, goats, cats, ducks, and geese.

Below are pics of my favorites of my 4 favorite animals: A Golden Retriever pup, a Clydesdale horse, a French lop rabbit, and a flock of fluffy white sheep.

It's here

This afternoon, it arrived in my email inbox. Yes, it was the study guide for my comprehensive exams, set to take place in early September (date TBA). There's no denying it any longer; comps are sitting out there, like a tropical depression that's destined to become one of the worst land-falling hurricanes in history. And it's coming right for us, and there's absolutely nothing we can do to stop it! At least we have te solace in knowing that while the process of studying for and taking comps have messed with many a grad student's emotions, and while a handfull have failed completely, the actual death toll still remains at zero.

New Arrival

Yesterday, our new nephew was born! Ethan Jackson Evans arrived some time around 4pm yesterday. I don't have his official specs, but I think he was something like 8 lbs 3 oz. Even so, Alicia only had to push twice and he popped right out. Not too shabby! Anyway, here's a couple pics of him, one by himself and one with his dad Paul.

Retiling the kitchen floor

Ben and I have just finished our latest do-it-yourself: re-tiling our kitchen floor. We removed the tile that the previous owners had installed, which used to be bright white ceramic tile, and replaced it with slate tile. Here are some pictures detailing our endeavor.


Okay, this is actually our foyer, but it has the same tile as the stuff we ripped out of the kitchen. Notice that the grout is dark; it is actually supposed to be white, like the tiles.


We ripped out the old tiles and 2 layers of linoleum. It was pretty disgusting. This is the underlying cement.

We used thinset and screws to secure Hardibacker cement boards to the underlying floor so that we'd have a smooth surface to work with. We also started laying out some tiles so we could see what pieces we'd need to cut.


Ben with his trusty hammer.


Me showing off a new tile.


The tiling process itself was quite messy and involved a lot of goopy thinset. Ben also became a pro at using our new tile saw. However, since it was a wet saw, every cut would send a spray of cold water and soggy tile dust right at his middle. We both looked pretty gross.

Here, the tiles are setting. The gray things along the edges are the tile spacers.

Next, we grouted the tiles, which was also quite mesy. Here they are, freshly grouted, waiting to dry.

After the grout was dry, we applied a sealer so that water, dirt, and other wet things would soak into the tiles and grout as little as possible. Then we put the appliances back and re-installed the quarter-round by the baseboards. Here it is, ALL FINISHED!!!

Recent happenings

On Wednesday, Ben had the very weird experience of getting hit by a tree riding his bicycle home from school. As he was riding down Airport Rd, he heard some rustling overhead and then a tree fell across the sidewalk and one lane of traffic (think TIMBER!!!!) and landed right in front of his front tire. While Ben just missed getting flattened by the trunk, he did get scraped by the tree's branches, but it was not very serious. His bike was not quite as lucky, as his front wheel is slightly bent and the tire is flat.

On Thursday (May 31st) Ben and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Since I had to go to bell choir rehearsal, we didn't go out, however we will be officially celebrating this weekend by going out to eat at the Weathervane.

Tomorrow, we are having a bell choir cookout after Mass. If I remember to bring my camera, I'll take some pics and post them. Additionally, we'll probably be making a trip to the bike shop to get a new wheel and tire for Ben's bike.

Scientists on the road to success

First and foremost, I must congratulate my friend Michelle on receiving a grant from the American Heart Association. Michelle is a grad student at Duke, working on her Ph.D. in cell biology, additionally, she is an excellent pianist and handbell-ringer. GO MICHELLE!!!

Today, I started back to writing my thesis, as I have a meeting with my advisor next Monday, where I am supposed to turn in rough drafts of Chapters 1-3 (introduction, lit review, and methodology). I now have VERY rough drafts of Ch's 1 and 3, and a rough outline of Ch. 2. Our goals for the summer are to get these chapters written so that I can propose my thesis when school starts back in August. Then it's onto the really fun stuff: getting IRB approval, recruiting subjects, collecting data, analyzing the results, and figuring out what it all means.

In the words of Bill Nye the Science Guy, "Science rules!"

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit

As an aspiring exercise physiologist and PE instructor at UNC, I study things like human performace, fitness, sports nutrition and human physiology, so I am constantly being reminded about how proper nutrition and exercise are vital to staying healthy and fit for life, athlete or not. I have always been fond of the verse from 1 Corinthians where Paul says that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. If we all thought of our bodies in that way, there would be a lot less obesity and other behavior-related diseases (including those related to substance abuse, sexual activity, poor nutrition, and being sedentary). I've included an excerpt of 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, where Paul talks about our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit. In this section, of 1 Corinthians, Paul is specifically talking about this in relation to sexual practices, but I've taken those references out to make it apply to all behaviors.

"You say, 'I am allowed to do anything'--but not everything is good for you. And even though 'I am allowed to do anything,' I must not become a slave to anything. You say, 'Food was made for the stomach and the stomach for food.' (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) They [our bodies] were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Don't you realize that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body."

My Mac-ified PC

Thanks to Flyakite OSX, I have transformed my Dell laptop into a Mac! I mean, the operating system is still Windows, but Flyakite OSX has allowed me to configure the appearance of my desktop and programs to look like Mac OSX. I even have the blue apple icon on the top left-hand corner and the dock taskbar with the bouncing icons. It is so cool!

Going to the next level

As you probably already know, I am a recreational runner, heavy emphasis on the word "recreational." For a long time, I stayed around the 5K distance because it was pretty easy, didn't take much time to train for, and there are 5K road races virtually every weekend. But last fall, I decided I wanted to take my running to the next level and train for a 10K. I ran the Carrboro 10K in October and the Cary Wakemed Distance Festival 10K in March, and really enjoyed it. Now, I have decided to go to the next level and train for a half-marathon. My goal is the City of Oaks Half Marathon in Raleigh on November 4th. Right now, I am kind of in maintenance mode with my weekly mileage, but I will officially start training for the half in July, approximately 16 weeks before the event. I will be in good company; two of my classmates are going to train with me, so hopefully we will be each other's motivation and accountability partner. Wish me luck!

The best grocery list of all time

This is an article from Runnersworld.com which is one of my favorite websites (see link to the website on the right under "favorite links." It lists 15 foods that every runner should consume on a regular basis for optimal performance. I think that any active person should consume these foods regularly no matter your sport.

Here is the article URL:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--10200-0,00.html?cm_re=HP-_-Quick%20Links-_-The%20Best%20Grocery%20List%20Of%20All%20Time

Easter Triduum Pictures

Here is the link to our Easter Triduum/Easter Sunday photo album from St. Thomas More. If you go to the Easter Vigil album, you'll see me playing oboe in a few of the pics.

http://www.extendgallery.com/stthomasmore/gallery/triduum07

Updates

I have updated my "favorites" lists on the right side of my blog. I've added Favorite Sports and Favorite Musical Groups/Artists.

Blackberry Strawberry Apple Crisp: Antioxidants x 3

Last night for our advanced exercise physiology "final exam" (i.e. cookout), we all had to bring foods that had anti-aging qualities. I made a blackberry strawberry apple crisp. Blackberries, strawberries, and apples contain polyphenol antioxidants which can help reduce inflammation, coronary artery disease, and wrinkling of skin. I used the apple crisp recipe from the Joy of Cooking, which makes a great-tasting crisp every time.

Also making an appearance at the cookout were two salads, mashed sweet potatoes, grilled portabello mushrooms, couscous, banana walnut chocolate bread, spring rolls, almonds, dark beer, red wine, a veggie tray, and a fruit tray.

The light at the end of the tunnel

I can see it...the end of finals...it's almost here! Actually, I am pretty much done wth my finals. I turned in my research methods final on Tuesday, I had my lab oral final on Wednesday, and we had our advanced exercise physiology "final" (cookout) last night.

The only things I have left to do are to turn in grades for the PE classes that I teach, and to redo the two items on my lab oral final that I missed. Then I can officially say that my first year of grad school is done. I will celebrate by getting a good night's sleep.

Psalms, Prayers, and Visions: the music of Roger Petrich

Yesterday at St. Thomas More, we vocalists ad instrumentalists presented a program called "Psalms, Prayers, and Visions." It was a collection of pieces written entirely by our Music Director, Roger Petrich. Some pieces were for vocal solo, some included voice and instruments, some were for small vocal ensemble, and a couple were sung by the whole choir. Many of the pieces had been done several times at St. Thomas More in the context of various liturgies, but some were completely new to our ears. I think we all had a great time learning and performing Roger's pieces, and hopefully some of the newly-heard works will appear in future liturgies.

Donating my body to science-the results

The results are in, the stats have been run, the lab report has been written, and the powerpoint presentation has been given. I have the results of the exercise/cold exposure experiment for which I was a subject (read my 3 prior posts for a description of the experiment). Briefly, we found that the combined exercise/cold exposure trial elicited a significantly greater cortisol response than either exercise alone or cold exposure alone, but only during recovery. Secondly, we found that salivary cortisol levels change more significantly over time than do plasma cortisol levels. Thirdly, we found that plasma cortisol levels and salivary cortisol levels are positively correlated, however this correlation was only significant during the combined exericse/cold exposure trial.

Since I was also a co-lab director for this experiment, I did a joint powerpoint presentation today with the other co-lab director, and we presented the results of this experiment, along with a discussion of potential physiological mechanisms. This particular lab analysis was difficult to do because existing research studies involving exercise and cold exposure are scarce, but I think we did alright with what we had.

The completion of this particular lab experience also marked the completion of class for the semester. Yes, classes are over and finals begin on Monday. I have a take-home final for my research methods class due on Tuesday, and my lab oral final is on Wednesday. I am also proctoring and grading finals for my PE classes (2 on Tuesday, 1 on Friday, and 1 the following Monday). Oh, I almost forgot! my final exam in my advanced exercise physiology class is a cookout at my professor's house. Since we just finished a 3-week module on exercise and aging, our assignment is to bring an anti-aging food to the cookout, along with an explanation of why that food is considered "anti-aging." Maybe I will bring my awesome blueberry crisp, although I'm not sure if the ice cream and the crunchy topping cancel out the effect of the blueberries. . .

Donating my body to science: a 3-part series

PART 3. On Friday, we completed the exercise/cold exposure lab. To recap; on Monday, I did the exercise-only trial and on Wednesday, I did the cold exposure-only trial. On Friday, we put the two together, so I arm cranked for 30 minutes with my feet in the 10 degree Celsius water. I didn't notice the cold water as much this time; I was more focused on completing the exercise bout, which felt noticeably harder than it did on Monday. Also, it is really hard to generate 2mLs of saliva after exercising for 30 minutes and breathing into a mouthpiece (we breath into a mouthpiece for several minutes at a time in order to collect inspired/expired gases which we used to calcuate oxygen consumption and other metabolic data). But I am finally done donating my body to science, and now we can start analyzing the data to see what kind of cortisol reponses I had to each stress. Once we run all our assays, I'll post the results.

Donating my body to science-a 3 part series

PART 2. Yesterday, we did the second of our three trials for our lab experiment, looking at exercise and cold exposure effect on cortisol. Wheras on Monday, we did the exercise-only trial, yesterday we did the cold-exposure only trial. This time, I sat in a chair for 30 minutes with my feet and legs immersed in water that was 10 degrees Celsius (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit). Let me tell you, that is FREAKIN' COLD!!! I felt a couple different sensations, all simultaneous, and all for the entire 30 minutes. It was fairly painful, but mostly just on the tops of my feet and my toes; like someone was shoving pieces of wood underneath my toenails. Also, I felt sort of a constrictive feeling, like I had rubber bands around my legs and feet. The coolest thing that happened was that my heart rate skyrocketed right when I stuck my feet and legs in the water, but it slowed back down after a couple minutes. Walking was a bit difficult after I got out of the water, kind of like when you try to walk in your normal shoes after you've been ice skating for a long time, but much more pronounced. Lastly, it took a good hour-plus before my feet and legs warmed back up completely.

Tomorrow is the 3rd session, where we put exercise and cold exposure together. So I'll be using the arm crank ergometer while putting my feet and legs in the cold water bath. Should be eventful!

Donating my body to science: a 3-part series

PART 1. This week, we're conducting our last experiment of the semester in Assessment of Physiological Function. I have previously referred to this class as "the monster 3-credit-hour laboratory class." Despite the fact that this class was time-consuming, it wasn't as bad as I initially though it would be, and I have enjoyed working with my classmates on the experiments.

So anyway, in this last experiment, we're looking at the effect of exercise and cold exposure on the stress hormone cortisol. We're doing this in 3 trials; 1 trial with just exercise, 1 trial with just cold exposure, and 1 trial with both exercise and cold exposure. For this lab, I am both the subject and the co-lab director. As the latter, I work with my other co-director classmate to design the lab, work out all the logistics, assign jobs to our other classmates, and compile all the data. As the former, let me tell you what I did today.

So today's trials was the exercise-only trial. I did a 30-minute submaximal exercise bout using an arm crank ergometer (think of taking a stationary bike and just having one wheel with the pedals, which you'd turn with your hands instead of your feet). I had to do the exercise at a high enough intensity to theoretically elicit a cortisol response, but not so high that I couldn't complete the exercise bout. We were shooting for an intensity of about 50% of heart rate max using the Karvonen formula, which comes out to an exercising heart rate of about 130 beats per minute for me. In addition to the 30-minute exercise, I gave blood and saliva samples at 3 time points: before and immediately after exercise, and then 30 minutes into recovery. We'll analyze my fluids later in the week in order to measure the cortisol response. All in all, the session went quite well today, which me and the other co-lab director are pleased about.

Our next session is on Wednesday, where I will be performing the cold exposure only trial. Stay tuned for more exciting details!

New Do

This is me, holding the ponytail of hair that I got chopped off this afternoon. I am going to donate it to Locks of Love, and organization that makes hairpieces for children with medically-associated hair loss. The last time I had my hair this short was 2 years ago! The new "do" has come at a perfect time; my hair was just long enough to donate, warmer weather has arrived, and I had a $4.99 coupon from Great Clips that was about to expire. Although it is a little funny to think of someone else wearing my hair on their head, I do hope that who ever gets my hair will enjoy it.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Okay, chronologically this post is a bit out of order, but had I been more organized, I would have gotten this up sooner! Last month, Ben and I went to New Orleans for my cousin Michael's wedding. Coincidentally, it was also Mardi Gras weekend. Being that both my parents are from New Orleans, I've heard a lot about Mardi Gras, but I'd never been down there when it was happening. But this year, we were in luck. Now, when most people think of Mardi Gras, probably the first things that come to mind are mobs of people, utter chaos, lots of drinking, and flashing of certain private body parts in exchange for beads. While some of that does go on, those activities do not represent the majority of the festivities. There are lots of parades down many of the major streets, and each one has a name and a theme. We saw 3 parades: Babylon, Chaos, and Bacchus, all of which were family-friendly. Each parade has a king and a queen who ride at the front of the parade, and they are escorted by Dukes on horseback. Following them are a string of floats, and the people on the floats throw beads, coins, stadium cups, stuffed animals, and other such trinkets to the crowds below. High school marching bands and dance teams also march along behind the floats. I was excited that I finally got to experience some of Mardi Gras in its home city. The pic I have posted above is a fraction of loot that we brought home.

The Evans Clan

Below is a picture of all of us, taken last summer. Well, almost all of us; Marty (my father-in-law) is the one taking the picture. We're a pretty big family, so here's the breakdown. Ben's parents are Marty and Brenda. Ben has two older brothers (Paul and Andy), and one younger sister (Megan). Paul is married to Alicia, and they have a 3-yr old little boy, Isaac. Andy is married to Anne, and of course, Ben is married to me.

Back row, l-r: Paul, Ben, Megan, Anne, Andy
Front row, l-r: Isaac, Alicia, me, Brenda

Spring Break in Gatlinburg

Ahh, spring break is finally here! We kicked it off by spending the past 4 days in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg with family. It was so great to get away for a few days and just hang out. I posted a few fun pics below.

Ben and Isaac, our 3-yr old nephew, sharing a really cute moment

Isaac playing with his "Dark Gator" (aka Darth Vader) action figure.

Early Monday morning, we headed to Cades Cove to check out the wildlife. We mostly saw deer, woodpeckers, and turkeys. Here is one of the deer that we saw. Ben took this picture using the binoculars.

Me and my mother-in-law Brenda chillin' on the couch. Apparently the couch was not made for short people!

My second 10K

Yesterday morning, I ran the Cary Wakemed Distance Festival 10K. It was excellent running weather; sunny with the temperature in the 50s. This was my second 10K race; my first one was back in October. I finished in 52:37, beating my first time by almost 3 and a half minutes. I came in 79 out of 198 total competitors, and I was 11th out of 46 women in my age group. I was very happy with my results, and I look forward to the next race!

Full results may be viewed here:
http://www.active.com/results/viewresults_multiple.cfm?filename=1399642_20070304015130.txt

Pittsboro Bach Society in the news

Here is the link to an article about our concert from this past weekend.

http://www.heraldsun.com/features/54-823630.cfm

In the group picture, I am wearing a pink shirt and black pants, and I'm standing back-to-back with the pianist.

Happy Birthday Pittsboro Bach Society!

Today we celebrated the 3rd anniversary of the Pittsboro Bach Society with a wonderful concert at the home of Tom and Lynn Egan in Chapel Hill. The ensemble is the creation of Ted Ehrhard, a violinist, piano technician, and fellow St. Thomas More parishoner. The mission of the Pittsboro Bach Society is to participate in the joy of social music-making through a series of bimonthly chamber and orchestral music concerts.

Today's music menu featured W.A. Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca, J.S. Bach's Clavier Concerto in f minor, and G.F. Handel's Concerto Grosso in F major (Op. 6, No. 9). We were a decent-sized ensemble today; 6 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 1 bass, and piano. I played 2nd violin. I think my favorite piece was the Handel; you just can't help feeling happy when you play a piece by Handel.

For more information about the Pittsboro Bach Society, please visit their link that I have posted on the right side of my blog. Hopefully there will be some pictures posted soon.

Tough week

This week has been quite a doozie. Ben and I are flying to New Orleans tomorrow for my cousin's wedding, and we won't get back until Monday. In the meantime, I have been scrambling to get as much work done as I can before leaving. In the process, I have probably averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep per night. Between Monday and today, I have written 2 article critiques, completed a research methods homework assignment, written and posted a quiz for the physiology class that I TA, and graded upwards of 100 dietary assessments that my students turned in yesterday and today. When I get back on Monday, I will have more article critiques and a lab report to write, both due on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am taking some of my work with me in the hopes that I can get some done on the plane or after everyone else has gone to bed. Oh yeah, I also have to prepare next week's lesson plans for my PE classes that I teach. And our plane leaves at 6:20 am tomorrow morning and I still have to pack! Eek! I fear that I won't be getting a good night's sleep until sometime late next week. . .

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. Happy birthday Mom! We love you!

Laboratory excitement

This week, we 1st years finished our 2nd lab experiment in our Assessment of Physiological Function class. In a prior post, I referred to this class as that "monster 3-credit hour lab class" and I had expressed some apprehension about it, mostly because I had gotten the impression that it was one of those classes that was going to consume all my time and kick my butt in the process. Well, I will say that we have been spending a lot of time in the lab, but it's been okay so far, and I'm actuallly enjoying myself. We get to work with a lot of blood samples and run things like hematocrit, hemaglobin, glucose, lactate, and other various blood parameters that you might have measured when you go to the doctor's office.

This particular lab experiment has been an interesting experience because the 6 of us in the class have been finding new and innovative ways to cause equipment malfunction and screw up data. Last Tuesday, it was my turn to do so, as I discovered a new way to freeze the computer program that analyzes expired gases (when someone is exercising on the bike or treadmill, we have them breathe into a mouthpiece that collects their expired air). In any case, learning how to fix our problems now will hopefully make us better at trouble-shooting, which may come in handy for the ominous oral final (more on that later).

A house divided

Wednesday was the UNC vs. Duke basketball game, held at Duke. UNC isn't usually favored to win the games they play at Duke, but tonight they won! We watched the game at our house, and we invited Michelle & Andy, Linus the Beagle, and Michelle's labmate Natasha. It was a house divided, as Michelle and Natasha cheered for Duke and Ben and I cheered for UNC. Andy generally stayed neutral, although I think he was starting to lean towards Duke, NOOOOO!!! Linus wore both a Duke blue collar and a UNC collar, but I think his alliance was towards anyone who dropped crumbs on the floor. I have posted some pics below depicting the shift of moods from the beginning of the game to the end.

In other news, Michelle found out that she passed her prelim exams; GO MICHELLE!!!














Michelle and Natasha wearing their Duke garb and Ben and me in our UNC garb. Michelle and Natasha sure do seem confident that their Blue Devils are going to win. . .














Michelle, Natasha, and Linus, lamenting the Blue Devils' loss.














Ben and me, celebrating the Tarheels' win.














Michelle and Natasha mourning, while Ben and I watch.

Are you a Bible Scholar too?

You know the Bible 85%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Favorite Links

I would like to draw your attention to the one quasi-interactive portion of my blog, which is my "favorite links" section on the right. "Stay Moving" is a blog belonging to Karla, one of my classmates, where she talks a lot about healthy choices involving food and exercise. The next two are personal websites belonging to my friends. Laura is an Olympic diver, and Andy and Michelle are friends from St. Thomas More. I have talked about them several times in my blog. The two after that are the websites for the two churches we go to: St. Thomas More and Chapel Hill Bible Church. The next one is for the Pittsboro Bach Society, a bi-monthly chamber music group I have been a part of for about a year. The last few websites are sports-related. Runners World is an awesome AWESOME website about everything running-related; from training plans to nutrition info, to area race-finders. Although I am not a gymnast, diver, or Olympic team member, I am a big fan of diving and gymnastics, and the Olympics, and I enjoy keeping up with those sports and athletes. Feel free to check them out, as they may become some of your favorites too. Happy surfing!

Buried in the books

So things have been a bit busy lately. We really hit the ground running this semester. I had a lab report due last Friday, and I have a powerpoint presentation to give in my advanced exercise physiology class this afternoon. I feel like I have been literally swimming in articles and textbooks. But after today, things will slow down a bit for a week or so and I can finally come up for air.

I also want to give a shout-out to my friend Michelle (co-owner of Linus the Beagle in my prior post). She is a grad student in cell biology at Duke, and she is taking her prelims on Monday, so she has really been buried in books for a while. GOOD LUCK MICHELLE!!! I'm sure she'll kick butt.

Amazing bargains

After lab on Friday, Ben and I drove to Portsmouth, VA, to spend the night and all of Saturday with his grandmother. Ben's mom was also up there for a visit. Ben's grandmother, whom we call Nana, is 86 years old and healthy as can be. She is very active in her community, belongs to all kinds of organizations, exercises 3 times a week at the YMCA (the budding exercise physiologist in me couldn't be happier about this), and eats lots of chocolate. One of Nana's favorite things to do is to shop at thrift stores, and that's exactly what we did on Saturday. I bought 2 pairs of jeans for $4 and Ben got a batting helmet for $4 to use at the batting cages at the park near our house. In addition, Nana had a pile of clothes at home that belonged to Ben's cousin Nancy, who is a manager at Express and is always having to buy the new merchandise to wear at work. Very luckily, she and I wear the same size, so in addition to my thrift store jeans, I came home with about 10 new shirts, totally free! This is the 3rd time that I've collected free hand-me-downs from Nancy, and she has saved me so much money on clothes this past year. We're hoping to visit Nana again in the spring so that we can go to Williamsburg for some of the 400th anniversary festivities.

Beagle-sitting

This is Linus, the 6-ish year old Beagle belonging to our friends Andy and Michelle. They were out of town this weekend, so we got to take care of Linus. He's a very sweet dog, very well-behaved, and quiet. Well, until we go to the dog park, that is! There, he howls away, like a true Beagle should. Arroo!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday. I won't say his age, but my mom and I have kept him younger than his years (good diet and regular exercise don't hurt either). Happy birthday Dad! We love you!

All good things must come to an end

I don't know how it happened; it went by so fast! Yes, I am referring to my winter break. The spring semester starts tomorrow, so it's back to school. I have a feeling this is going to be an intense semester, mostly because my TA load has increased, my advisor wants me to start what will probably be my thesis research, and one of my classes is a monster 3-credit hour lab class that I hear is rather time-intensive. We'll see how it goes.

Cheap Sheep

If you look on the right side of my blog under my list of favorites, you will see that sheep are one of my favorite animals. I was browsing Petfinder.org the other day and found these two girls named Curley and Liz. They are a mother/daughter pair and are available for $100. If I had some land, I'd totally adopt them! But alas, I don't think that our condo complex will go for pet sheep wandering around. They'd be great lawnmowers and fertilizers though. . .

Ben Evans Photographic Studio

Our church bulletin board will soon be featuring pictures and biosketches of all of us Pastoral Council members, as a way for the congregation to get to know who we are. I sit on the Council as the music ministry representative, so I decided to do a music-themed picture. Ben had a regular photo studio thing going on, with various lamps in various positions, trying to find just the right angle. The only problem is that the best pics were taken without the flash, but its hard to hold the camera still enough to get the full exposure. This is one of the better ones.

Wintertime fun in Duke Forest

Ben and I decided to take a walk in Duke Forest today. Yes, that is me in shorts and a t-shirt because even though today is January 6th, it was 75 degrees outside this afternoon. Wintertime my foot! On the plus side, it was nice to be able to take a nature hike without worrying about running into large spiders or other such creatures.

Christmas pics

These are our stockings, lined up on the couch so Santa Claus can fill them with goodies. This year we got lots of Almond Roca, Ghiradelli chocolate squares, disposable cameras, oranges, and us girls got slipper socks. From l-r: Paul, Alicia, Isaac, Andy, Anne, Ben, Beth, and Megan.


















This is the Evans Christmas tree. It was considerably smaller this year than normal. Megan and I decorated the tree.














This is Isaac, our 3-year old nephew with his dad Paul. They were shooting clay pigeons in preparation for the quail hunting adventure I described in a prior post. Isaac is wearing ear protection because the guns can be a bit loud.

Isaac and Paul wearing their new hats on Christmas morning, with Marty in the background.

Never to early to start

It appears that our friends Robert and Emily are already teaching their 1-month old daughter Anna how to drive a car. Look out world! I just hope that the car was not actually IN motion when this photo was taken. . .

Happy New Year!

We celebrated the arrival of 2007 with a bunch of our friends from St. Thomas More. Our friend, Jim Hynes, hosted a party at his house last night which featured good food, good drink, and good company. A particularly noteworthy dish was made by our Italian friend Alessandra. She made Tiramisu and it was definitely some of the best I've ever had.

This morning, we went to Mass at St. Thomas More. I sang and there were also two trumpet players. The music was excellent; the two trumpet players performed a piece at prelude by Henry Purcell, and I sang Salve Regina at Communion, which is a piece that Roger our music director wrote a few months ago. Fr. John was especially appreciative of us musicians this morning. All in all, it was a great way to start off the week and the new year.