Ready to Run

It is finally warm enough to enjoy the outdoors. It was 65 degrees today! Yes, I do know this won't last, but with the ice gone, I can at least go running again. I have missed it the past few months, but unless you had a death wish, it was pretty dangerous to run on the sidewalks covered with inches of ice (expecially with a dog that could pull you over). I was a little disappointed because I bought a lot of warm layers in hopes of running through the winter, but it was definitely not worth risking another broken bone to try and run on ice. So alas, I am starting essentially all over (I did retain some of my endurance, but it is pretty humbling). But man, it feels good to breathe that spring air, and I think Mosby might be even happier than me about it!

I have run pretty much since high school, but I always hated it. I pretty much just did it because it was good exercise. But for some reason, last year I really started to enjoy it. I ran a couple of 10K's, definitely the longest I had run, and it was really quite comfortable (in other words, I wasn't dying). The pictures below are from one that I ran a few days before my dad had a heart procedure, so I ran it in honor of him. I just found it to be such a great stress reliever (especially as I was teaching my first class at the college level).

I am trying to pinpoint what was different about last year (why I enjoyed it), and to replicate it this year:) All I can figure is that I started out really slowly and let myself stop whenever I wanted. I never started out with a goal or anything; when I felt good I just kept going, and eventually it ended up being more and more miles. Keeping it fun like that has already proved to be more difficult this year because I have a goal of running a 10 mile race this year, so I have a plan of adding milage as the season goes on. I really hope I can take it slowly enough to keep enjoying it though, because I love the time outside, hanging out with the puppy, and people watching. I also have a friend that is training too, Shannon, who is going to run races with me this summer, so I will have someone to talk to:)

Happy Spring!
Kirsten

A well overdue post

It has been a while since our last post and for good reason- it has been a busy few months! Will's hours have really picked up. He has been working long days (one day last week he left home before 7 am and didn't get home until after 9pm), and I have to brag about how dilligent he is:) It is definitely not always easy work either, so our weekends have been spent charging up the batteries for the week. I just defended my doctoral preliminary exam last week, which has been taking up much of my time, so now I get to move on to my dissertation proposal and preparing a class I am teaching this summer at the U.

At least being so busy made the winter really fly by. We packed in some fun times to keep us going (here are a few pictures):

*Dinners with friends

*Hiking at state parks

* Going to concerts

* Going to hockey games (Gophers and the state tournament)

*Getting ready for Kirstin and Stephen's wedding

A very white Christmas

We had a classic Minnesota Christmas this year, complete with a bona fide snowstorm. The winter storm warning lasted three days, starting on the day before Christmas Eve. Now we are used to forecasters exaggerating around here, so we were not expecting it to be too bad. Will and I worked until about 7pm that day and headed down to Caledonia just as the snow began to fall. The roads in the Cities were fine, but after we passed the Hastings exit on 52, the snow started blowing pretty hard. A few miles outside of Cannon Falls, the cars in front of us started braking and as soon as we tried to do the same, the car fishtailed and spun us into the ditch. We were going about 50 mph, and though everything turned out totally fine (thank God), I would prefer not to do it again- it is a pretty helpless feeling not knowing when you are going to stop! After that little adventure, we drove ridiculously slow the rest of the way.

We had a great time down in Caledonia with the family. It was awesome to have Kirstin and Stephen with us from Chicago (Kirstin's family is from MN too). They are in the midst of planning a wedding that we are looking forward to in May! The four of us read and lit the Christ candle at the service on Christmas Eve- it just wouldn't be a Christmas at home without being roped into taking part in the service in some way:) Unfortunately, the weather did change our Christmas Day plans. We weren't able to go up to the Guthries'. It is the only time that our whole extended family can get together, so we were so sad to miss it this year!

So now it is 2010. To me, this is the year of becoming ABD (all but dissertation)- all that will stand between me and a job as a professor is that little thing called a dissertation. Though it sounds like a lot left, it will be really exciting to have classes, my prelim (cummulative exam) and my dissertation proposal behind me. As of now, we don't have any other major plans set in stone, so we will let the year take us where it wants!

Until next time,

Kirsten

O'Brien Christmas Greeting!

So I wanted to make a nice Christmas Card this year and post it to our blog, but unfortunately the photo card makers actually want you to buy prints of their pretty designs, so instead you get a funny card! Click the link below to check out our video Christmas greeting! It really took Mosby a while to get the moves down....

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/m1OdEyIjHdnM9wTmk5N6

Couldn't help myself,
Kirsten

Words of Wisdom

A friend of mine, Ryan Alaniz, from the department is doing research in Honduras this year and is documenting his time on his blog (http://buildabetterworld.blogspot.com/). He has such a heart for people. The other week he put up a quote that was really encouraging and thought I would share it with you all.

Ryan says, "The Archbishop of El Salvador, Oscar Romero's story is a beautiful one of conversion and sacrifice for the poor. Indeed, activists throughout Latin America continue to call on his spirit for inspiration. I do the same below, citing one of his most famous homilies:

“It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us…We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.”

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I finally was able to decorate for Christmas. I am usually all about Christmas immediately following Thanksgiving, but this year it took me a couple of weeks to really get into it. I think it was probably because we had the second warmest November on record here, so it still felt like fall. Well fall is definitely gone now and we are supposed to get 7-10 inches of snow tonight, so it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Here are some fun things we are looking forward to during this season:

*Holidazzle Parade

*Mates of State concert

*Cohort Christmas party

* Waiting in line to get Swedish Sausage at Ingebretsons

* General Swedishness

*Attempting to take a "family picture" in which Mosby will sit still, preferably wearing a Santa hat

*And of course, Christmas movies!!!

Until next time,

Kirsten

Thanksgiving in Willmar

We had a great time in Willmar celebrating Thanksgiving! Most of our time was spent laughing until our sides hurt and catching up with one another. For some reason I was not in picture-taking mode, so here are just a few pics to give you a "taste" of our Thanksgiving.


Pic 1: Grandma must be telling one of her hilarious stories. She is cute AND funny- at age 94!

Pic 2: Telling some more stories (and me sitting exactly like my mom).

Pic 3: My cousin Jean and Uncle Doug (AKA Connan O'Brien).

Pic 4: The best table at the Willmar Bowling alley:)



It is always so fun to get together, so we are already looking forward to Christmas at the Guthries!

Procrastination for Fashion (it almost rhymes...)

Now I do not think of myself as a fashionista by any means, but I like to shop just as much as the next girl. I'm not sure if there is a name or an overall consistency to my fashion choices, but I do gravitate toward 50's-ish structured pieces and anything that involves creative draping or gathering. If I had to shop at 3 stores for the rest of my life, they would probably be places like Fossil, Anthropologie, and Levi's....classic, but with a creative twist. The reason you probably would have no idea that this would summarize my style is because 1) out of sheer laziness and comfort, I usually wear jeans and a sweatshirt and 2) because we have a tight budget so if I do purchase anything, it has to be extremely practical and can be worn in nearly any scenario. Sigh....

Well, the whole reason for this little story is because I have found a website that I love called ModCloth. They sell designs from independent and up and coming designers, and it is actually somewhat reasonable (it's no Target or T.J. Maxx, but it's also not as pricey as the previous stores I mentioned). They also sell 1 vintage piece everyday-it's pretty fun to see what they find. Here is their link: http://www.modcloth.com/.

And here's a sample of just a few of my favorites right now.

Sunday nights

I kind of feel like blogging, but I have nothing really interesting to say or any fun pictures so I will just tell you a fact. Every Sunday night, no matter how cheesy it is or crazy Ty is, I almost ALWAYS get teary eyed (okay, sometimes a little more than that) watching Extreme Home Makeover. All I need to watch is the beginning and maybe even the end when they see their new house, but I tell ya, it never fails.

Have a wonderful week friends (or friend....or self..... depending on how many people read this)!

Until next time,
Kirsten

The return of fall

Apart from the 4th of July, fall is certainly the most Americana-esque time of the year. Something about it takes us back to the late 19th century farms of America, where all everyone ate was apple pie, and the women were happy to be plump:) I find that to be especially true in our neighborhood since we are surrounded by such historic homes. Here are pictures from our fall walk today in the neighborhood.

As a family scholar, I surely recognize the that this is an idealized image of the past, but I am amazed at its power in this season. I myself have had some serious nesting instincts the last couple of weeks. All I've wanted to do is bake, cook, make warm soups, drink apple cider, and decorate the house. I wish I had the time to actually do these things, but Pumpkin spice lattes will have to take the place of the various pumpkin baked goods I have dreamed of making in the past week (although a pie is in the near future). I try to ignore all of the Christmas stuff out already, because I like celebrating the Thanksgiving season first. Plus, it is strange to think about Christmas when I am still in flip flops (especially here in Minnesota- you know Christmas is nowhere near when you are able to wear flip flops and not get frostbite). So for the next few weeks I will be soaking up the last of the fall colors, 50 plus degree days, and the images of Americana that are so present in our minds.

The great thing about our Thanksgiving plans this year is that our dinner will be far from a farmhouse in New England. In fact, rather than smells of apple spice, we may more likely get wafts (sp?) of smoke and old shoes. Yes, we will be eating at the Willmar Bowling Alley along with hundreds of other families at the Thanksgiving buffet. We couldn't be more excited though. Why? Because it is time spent with our family, enjoying one another. Not only that, but it is also being a part of the community and sharing in one another's holiday and thanks giving. There is just something really fun and festive about it. And hey, maybe we'll burn off our turkey by bowling a few rounds!

Until next time,

Kirsten