Weekend in Tulsa

We had such a great weekend in Tulsa! We drove up on Friday after work, "checked in" at our matchmaker (literally) Jan's house where we were staying, and then headed over to Justin's parent's house to say hello. Lifelong friends of the Steiners, Bill and Connie Borden, also came up from Texas to see the ORU game.
The game was at two on Saturday, and was being broadcast on ESPN. We all got free white shirts, and it was really neat to look across the arena and see a sea of white!
Here we are--Justin's shirt actually fit him--mine was just a dress!
The game was really good. It was a low scoring game, and pretty much stayed neck-and-neck the whole game. Bummer of an ending though--20 seconds left, ORU with the ball, one point down with a great chance to win...In-bound the ball...wait....9 seconds left....shot....miss...rebound, shot....miss....rebound, shot....miss....buzzer. Bummer!!!!! Oh well--ORU will still be in their division tournament, and hopefully in the Big Dance!
Here's an action shot, with the sea of white in the background.

The rest of the weekend was great as well--yummy food at some fun Tulsa places. Saturday morning we had a great time of prayer with Bill, Connie, Gene, and Kathy. I can't tell you how wonderful it was, and how much I needed it!

We took some fun pictures right before we all headed back to Dallas...

Justin and his look-alike mom...

All of us...Bill, Connie, Gene, Kathy, and us.

What a great weekend!

Long time, no post!

Okay, okay, so after 20 days of no posts (and many reminders and requests from those I love), I am finally sitting down to actually post what has been going on in my life since the beginning of the month. I figured I'd would post the pictures I've been taking and fill in all the blanks...so if you have time, keep reading!



No pictures on this first one--but I guess it is my excuse for lack of blogging...=)


New Job~
I started back to work full time at the beginning of this month. I am a full time reading tutor at a school in McKinney. I can't believe that I'm back, working full time, for the district I quit last year, but I'm actually liking it. I wanted and needed less stress in my life, and this job gives me that. I tutor about 145 kids throughout the week, from kindergarten through 5th grade. I'm pretty busy each day with groups, but have built in planning time every day. I actually get to school every day at 8, and leave by 4, with nothing to EVER take home!! It is my perfect job (for this year). I'm still doing what I love--teaching and working working with kids, but not having ANY of the stress of being their teacher!! I even have my own classroom and get paid almost as much as I did as a full time teacher! What a great opportunity!



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Superbowl Party~
We hosted our lifegroup for a Superbowl party. We've been looking forward to this ever since we moved into our house that came with a big screen tv! I had intentions of taking pictures of every couple who was there to put up on the blog, but at the end of the night, I realized that these were the only three pictures I ended up taking! I just can't get the hang of capturing every moment! Oh well!




Here was the food that came early--much more yummy stuff came (and was devoured!!)

Here is the one picture that actually showed some of our friends that came!! L to R: Pete, Ronni, Lance, Henry, and I'm not sure who was behind him.

Justin had an awesome idea to have a little contest--everyone got to try to guess the winner and the final score--winner won a $25 gift card. It made watching fun, everyone hoping that they were the closest. Christy ended up being the closest!!

It was a great time--most of the time, the girls were upstairs and the boys were downstairs (with the high def TV--go figure!), but we were instructed to come down for the exciting last two minutes, since our tv was about 7 seconds ahead of theirs. We had fun cheering ahead of time, and trying to trick the guys into believing that there had been a touchdown. So we decided that we would come down and watch it all together--good times! It was fun to see the underdogs pull it out!

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Town Lake Park~
I'm not sure the exact day we took these, but we had so much fun taking Betsy for a walk around beautiful Town Lake Park here in McKinney. I honestly think this is one of the prettiest areas in McKinney. I know that some of the areas in Stonebridge are pretty too (if you're not familiar with McKinney, just ignore that!), but I just love this park. It would be cool if it wasn't so crowded, and right next to the highway, but it is still a great place to be on a nice Texas day! Someday we'll live somewhere that there are a whole bunch of beautiful places to walk!

It is even prettier when there are leaves on the trees!

My two favorite people--well, I feel like she's a person!

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Freshly Groomed...


Smiling for the camera!



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Valentine's Day~

My sweet husband did a great job this year--like he does every year! I feel loved and cherished by my man every day, but there is just something about Valentine's day. I think it is so much fun to be treated extra special!! I know some people, including my husband, think that Valentine's day is just a hallmark holiday, and shouldn't mean that much. Don't get me wrong, I want to show our love each and every day, but I guess I'm selfish and love being treated like a queen! Thank you, Justin, for always making my days wonderful!!!

We went to III Forks, a very nice restaurant in Dallas. We had early reservations and enjoyed a yummy meal! We had the Sweetheart Special--salad (me), lobster bisque (Justin), two filets, a lobster tail, yummy potatoes and veggies, and a small tray of delicious chocolate desserts to share, including chocolate covered strawberries. I even got a long stem red rose! What a great night!!

My Valentine!!


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I just had to add a couple more pictures of my adorable puppy!!


Completely out!!

I don't know how she manage this one--but it lasted about 30 minutes while I was reading my book! She is happiest when she is practically on top of us!!


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Texas Weather~
This past Saturday, after days of bad weather warnings from the forecasters, we were awakened at 6:30 am but these little babies knocking on our windows!! After I grabbed my robe and an umbrella, I had to go out and collect a few. I've always been fascinated by hail, but at the moment, extremely thankful for our garage. Many cars were damaged in the storm, including some our friends from lifegroup. These were about quarter size, but we saw on the news golf-ball sized and egg-sized!!! Texas has CRAZY weather!

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Molly~
Last but not least....I have a new sister!! No miracles or anything... =) My parents adopted a cocker spaniel!! Molly is such a cutie--I can hardly wait to meet her in person! I was completely shocked when my mom told us the news. I honestly NEVER thought my dad would get another dog--ESPECIALLY an inside dog!! My brother and I are wondering if he has officially lost it !(Just kidding, Papa--we love you!) Molly is four years old, and is trained, hardly barks, and is my dad's new tag-along. I know that it is just a matter of time until she too, like Bella and Betsy, sleeps on the bed with them. There is just nothing better than having a cocker spaniel!!!

My precious new sister ;-)

Molly and her Mommy

Molly and Daddy--his new best friend!

Okay--I think that was all of the major events of the past twenty days! We're going up to Tulsa this weekend for an ORU game--I promise to take pictures and post them on Monday!

Boot Camp Graduates!!!

Whew!!

Justin and I made it through four weeks of Fitness bootcamp, five days a week!! We ended tonight strong with a 3 mile run. I can tell how much more in shape I am because I could actually do it!! We really enjoyed it and feel SOOO much better than we did one month ago! Here are our exciting results-I'm happy to share them!

Alyson~
Weight loss: 6 pounds
Body fat %: went from 24% to 22%
Inches: Lost 5.5 inches total from waist, hips, thighs
I definitely feel a difference in myself, even if I haven't lost that much weight. I've noticed my clothes fitting better and getting baggier! My parents bought me four pairs of pants at Christmas, and now, some of them are too big! Overall, I just feel better and have more energy--it's great!

Justin~
Weight loss: 16 pounds (How do men just melt away pounds like that?! AHHH!)
Body fat %: went from 24% to 16%
Didn't measure inches, but I can definitely tell his inches are melting away as well!

We are going to take a break for a bit, since Justin is going to work the late shift next week. He will probably do a few more weeks of boot camp after that. We even built a relationship with our "drill seargant"--he invited us to his birthday party in a few weeks!
I am so glad that we did this. For me, it is so much easier to get a really good, quality workout when someone is pushing me to do it. I'm also glad that Justin and I did it together. We have really had a good time together, and it is so much easier to keep accountable if we are both doing it! My plan is to keep up with the exercising. I definitely don't want to fall out of the habit!


Are you doing the Year of the Body?? It is great--you should join the club! =)