Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Happy Anniversary Jason!

Happy Anniversary Husband! It's been quite an eventful two years. Three houses, two states, multiple jobs and one cute lab later, things have never been better. Here are a few pics of the last few years. I love you and hope you have the greatest day.












Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Hey Ketters! It's Been Three Months!

Most of you know by now that my best friend Meredith married her husband J.R. in a surprise wedding ceremony on Sept. 11th...making today their 3 month anniversary. I remember me and the hubbies three month anniversary. We were settled into our 520 square foot Virginia apartment, and I was learning what it meant to live with a BOY! The smells, the dirty laundry and the morning routine of not being able to find anything himself ("seriously...how can you lose something in a 520 square foot apartment?!" I would ask myself everyday).

But back to Meredith and J.R.

So the big surprise was that J.R. had invited all of their close friends and family to a surprise engagement party at the Yacht Club in Marble Falls. There he was going to pop the question to Mere and we would all be there when she said yes. When J.R. told me the news, I almost cried. I thought..."he knows Mere so well...of course she would want everyone there...how romantic...how thoughtful...how Meredith! And the YACHT CLUB! Way to go J.R.!" I emailed him to see how we could help. If I should bring champaign or sparklers or a CAKE that says SHE SAID YES. I was so ready and willing to help keep this secret a SECRET (which is no easy feat for me). This went on for months. MONTHS!!!!

Until one day.

When I received an early morning phone call from the supposed clueless bride-to-be.

"I found the ring," she whispered on the phone.

"WHAT?" I said, trying to act like I knew nothing about a ring.

"Yes...J.R. hid a big, diamond ring in his boot this morning and I found it."

"MEREDITH...PUT THE RING DOWN. PRETEND LIKE YOU NEVER SAW IT."

"I just can't," she squealed. "I'm driving into town and I'm going to pick you up for lunch and show you."

"WHAT! DO NOT PUT THAT RING ON MEREDITH. DO NOT RUIN THIS!!!!!"

click.

Sure enough she showed up at my office, wearing a diamond ring. I was furious with her. But then something happened...something that caught me completely off guard.

In the middle of my lecture, telling her how marriage takes work, and you can't just spoil every thing because you are impatient...blah, blah, blah...she handed me a pink card. I noticed the pink card had her and J.R.'s picture on it. And then I read the card, and what did it say?!

Surprise! Meredith and J.R. surprised their friends and family with a secret wedding ceremony...

So the plan was to tell all their friends and family J.R. was popping the question, when in reality, we were all going to show up not to an engagement, but to a WEDDING! Britney Spears style.

Lucky for me, Meredith couldn't hang on to the secret any longer, and she needed some serious help with all the last minute details, including getting the Twins to sing a very specific song. Since I live down the street, I was the logical choice. It was such a fun time, and a great time seeing everyone's face at the wedding.

So my gift to everyone today, Dec. 11th, Mere and J.R.'s three month anniversary, I give you a few pictures I managed to take of the pre-wedding festivities. Let me stress the word FEW.



Here we are on our way to the final fitting of The Dress.



Meredith posing while she is taking The Dress out of the bag.



This was a very important moment. The Dress was nearly impossible to lace up the right way. We had a couple of trial runs, but this is the best pic of what it was like getting this thing on her.



Here is the then beautiful bride to be.



Here we are on the actual wedding day, before anyone knew what was really going on.



Here are the twins when they found out that we were singing at a wedding, not an engagement!



And here is the hubs and I at the reception.

Mere and J.R, we are so glad to be your friends and your neighbors. We love you both and Meredith, I personally wish you many many years of dirty laundry, empty toilet paper rolls and smelly softball socks. I look back at our years at Tech and can't believe that we are both married, and thank God that we were blessed with amazing men that put up with us. I can't wait to see what the next decade has in store for us!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Finally...a KITCHEN

So I realize that October is almost over, but we have finally finished our kitchen. This project has taken months away from us. We seriously underestimated the difficulty, the time commitment, oh and the number of marital spats involved with a kitchen remodel, but in the end, I would say it was worth it...wouldn't you honey?

Edit: To get a view of what the kitchen looked like before this project, click here










Thursday, October 8, 2009

hello?

So, um, yeah...it's been a while since we've posted. Like a whole month. I blame the wife :)

Since then we've both been east of the Mississippi for at least a week, Lizzie got sick and is better, and the countertops were finally installed and there's light at the end of the tunnel of this neverending project that I'm pretty sure is going to be on Renovation Realities next season. At least I have an excuse to buy more tools. Like this which will likely be purchased in the next couple days just because I feel like it. So, now that we're up to speed on the life of the Fentons, let's get on to the good stuff!

Yes, I realize it's probably not normal to call running "good stuff" but there are a few deranged folks out there. My running has gone well so far and I'm up to 12 mile long runs and around 30 miles per week. This week I'm dialing it back a notch to just 3 easy 5-6 milers because I've been completely drained of energy this week, so I'm going to let the body recharge. It coincides well with Gerry taking some time off, though his is due to injury, likely tendonitis. So, if you can throw out a couple prayers for his quick healing so he can get back on the road, I know he'd appreciate it.

The big news, though, is we're less than 2 weeks away from Carmen's big 5K in downtown Kyle. She's been trainig with some folks from a couple area churches and she's ready for her big debut race. I've been designated operator of the "Carmen Cam" so we'll have all kinds of pictures and video to post shortly after she's done. I really wish I'd had the camera on hand about a week ago when she went out for one of her training runs. I ran to the grocery store to grab dinner while she was running, only to leave the store and see a MASSIVE downpour in the area of our neighborhood. I got home quick to see she was still out running in the monsoon so I grabbed a couple towels and headed off in the car to find her, fully expecting to find an upset woman angry at the weather gods. I found her pretty quick, but there was no smoke coming from her ears. In fact, she had a grin from ear to ear in spite of the rain. Since I don't have a picture of Carmen on that rainy day, I found a picture that gets the idea across.


[I promise I checked with Carmen to make sure she thought this was funny before posting it...I'm not THAT bad a husband ;)]

I asked her if she wanted a ride back and she just grinned a little bigger and said "No...I'm having fun so I think I'll splash my way back home!" Glad she had a little fun and now her good attitude helps me push through on runs where the weather doesn't exactly make me feel like staying out on the roads!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Victory!

I got back out for an 8 miler into town and back yesterday and it was GLORIOUS! It didn't seem like it was going to be as I started out REAL SLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWW....my body didn't start moving until about the 2.5 mile point. After that, it woke up and I was cooking along faster than my race pace from the half mary back in February. Pretty good feeling. Not sure what the workout's going to be today, but I think it's time to pop the runs during the week up to 6 and kick this training up a notch!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...


So I joined up with the Hays Hills Baptist Church choir to sing in their annual Christmas program. So far so good, but I have to confess that I am no choir singer. I can't read music and I am not very good at harmonizing, but hey...it's not about me right. We've been practicing every Wednesday night and will continue to do so until December and since I can't read music that means a lot of memorizing the Christmas CD they handed out...which, much to my husband's dismay, means lots of cheery Christmas music on the way to and from work.

While I do love Christmas and am super excited about the program, I must say that right now...my mind...is on what I, and probably my husband, would deem the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR. And that is FOOTBALL SEASON.

I am a huge Texas Tech fan, and Jason is a huge Redskins fan...so basically that means we get booed everywhere we go, living in Austin, Texas. I am not really sure how TTU will stack up this year, but I do know one thing. MIKE LEACH IS THE BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH EVER. And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

And just for the record, I am not giving up on Tech before the season starts like so many will. Is is true that Texas Tech always breaks your heart? Well...yes. See exhibit A. But is it also true that they are the most dramatic team in college football, and just when you've thrown in the towel and conceded to the Longhorn fans of the world, what do they do? They turn around and throw a winning touchdown...that's what they do.

Can I get a Wreck 'Em!!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

I hate hitting the wall...

Well ladies and gents, I had my first discouraging run of the training cycle this weekend. I headed out Saturday for an 8-mile long run and was feeling pumped to pound the pavement for over an hour (seriously...what is wrong with me???) To preface this, I've been out pretty regularly hitting 5 miles with no problem. Even did another 8 miler last weekend. You'd have never guessed that from Saturday. I got 6 miles in and my heart rate was completely out of control. Thanks to a combination of waiting too late in the Texas morning to start, the humidity from the recent rains (which are gone again now, unfortunately), the lack of breakfast, and the idiotic decision to start at a faster pace than I have run in the last couple months, I was left completely frustrated and humiliated over the course of the last 2 or so miles.

Fortunately, there's an upside. It REALLY ticked me off. I've hit the street with a newfound vengeance. I'm lacing up the running shoes with the goal of putting that day as far out of my memory as I can. In the 4 days since the failed run I've had successful runs on 3 days and played softball on the 4th day, so I was still as active as a slow pitch pitcher can be. My goal the next few weeks is to focus on stretching out the distances and getting the heart back into shape like it was post-race this spring. Focusing on running three 5 milers a week now and that long of 8. Hopefully in 2 weeks I'll be at a point to increase that up to three 6 milers and bump the long to 9-10.

On a more fun running note, my running buddy is MUCH happier with the cooler weather because it means I'll take her out for longer distances. Lizzie is very glad to be up and running at 4:45 rather than sitting in her crate waiting for us to wake up and let her outside. After the run, she's usually not so excited about what she just did. In fact, here's the typical reaction.



On that note, happy running to everyone. Until next time, I'll leave you with this little bit of wisdom: if you ever remodel your kitchen, make sure you're not sans-sink for 3 weeks. Just trust me on that one.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Completely Obsessed...

So I am completely obsessed with this bedroom decor. I am thinking for my second guest room...someday, or if I have a teenage daughter, although by that time it will be out of style. It is so charming and girly, yet sophisticated. I love it, love it, love it.



I already have a bench that could be recovered to look similar to this and a desk that needs to be painted. I love the bright white furniture with the deep linens. So after the kitchen...maybe I can talk my husband into some version of this, refurbishing the linens and furniture we already have of course. Thoughts honey?

Oh and yes pics of the fabulous kitchen remodel are coming...eventually. I just can't bring myself to post any pics until I have the final product.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Rabbit

Before anything else, I need to give a big old Fenton welcome to Ava Grace Huntley. Ava was born perfectly healthy on Friday night and mother and daughter are both doing swimmingly. Justin, however, reports that Ava's little finger is numb thanks to Justin being firmly wrapped around it. Congrats guys!

So as I mentioned in my last contribution, I'm training for a marathon. Training's going pretty well in general. I hit 22 miles last week with a long of 8 miles. Not a bad place to start from, but probably not the best. We'll make it work. Some of my workouts this week have been insane, though. I have a little bit of an agressive rabbit.


No no no...not THAT agressive rabbit (bonus points to any reader other than Justin and Neal that can name the scene and the weapon used to vanquish the mighty beast).

My rabbit is actually my running partner Gerry, a buddy from church that lives in the neighborhood. Gerry's in good shape and loves to run like I do. We meet 4-5 mornings a week to train. However, he and I couldn't be more different runners. Gerry's built for quick, powerful speed. He definitely leans toward the sprinter side of the the runners spectrum. Given my height and lankiness, I definitely fall more toward the endurance side of things. I can still move, but Gerry's going to beat me in a sprint most of the time. It's generally a good running partnership because on the long runs I push him and on the sprints he pushes me. Well, the rabbit took it to a whole new level this week.

We decided to run some mile intervals - mile warm up then alternating mile sprints with mile recovery jogs (3x) and then a mile cool down. For reference sake, when I ran the half marathon in February, I finished the race at an average of 8:45 per mile. The 10k not too long after that I finished in 8:02 per mile. My tempo runs are usually in the 7:30 per mile range. Well, last Wednesday morning, good old Gerry and I took off on our first hard mile and I could tell we were hauling. Little did I know exactly how fast we were moving. When I hit the lap button on my watch after that mile I almost had a heart attack. We had covered that mile in 6:34 - almost a full minute faster than my previous fastest training pace. We both agreed we should probably slow it down just a little. So, Gerry took the lead again after our recovery and we pushed and pushed through the 2nd mile - 6:40. Some slow down. The final mile started up and I was hurting, but there wasn't a chance I was going to let Gerry finish the workout alone. No less than 4 times in that mile did I seriously consider stopping. Through the pain I made it to the mark and put in a final lap of 6:48. I know you're supposed to go negative on intervals and any hard training run, but I'm sorry - there's no way I was going negative off of 6:34.

So, now is the time that I'm supposed to come up with some witty closing to bring this post to an end. Unfortunately I can't come up with anything, so I'll leave you with a tip on slaying the vicious rabbit seen above.

Monday, August 24, 2009

They say...

That people and their pets start to look alike after so many years. Is that the same for roommates?



I met Ashlee for dinner tonight at Cracker Barrel. She was in from Washington, D.C. for work so we met up in Buda. I mean we lived together for three years, but seriously...this is a little weird don't you think.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Snow Cones for Dinner

So husband...hmm...what did I do while you were away on your Canadian adventure? Well I was very very busy. I took down some backplash...





Hung some decorative plates above the bar...



I sanded a few cabinets...



I taught our puppy to get on the furniture...




I ate a snow cone twice for dinner...YUMMMM...



And I punched a hole through the wall. Well actually two holes...




Hopefully you'll be overjoyed to see me and not notice.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

O Canada, part deux

So ladies and gents, I've spent the last 4 days here in Canada in the lovely little town of Gimli...




No, no, no! Not THAT Gimli...


There we are...that's more like it! I've been up here for a work deal all week and it's been kind of lonely. It's a sleepy little beach town that's really a pretty place, just not much to do. The only place to do ANYTHING after 9 is in the hospitality room the conference put together. I officially miss my wife (awwwwwww..... :) ) At least I have this guy to keep me company.



While the trip has been a little long, it has actually been a nice break from the heat back in Kyle. While it's incredibly humid, the highs have been in the low 80s. A welcome break from the 100+ degree weather we've had for the better part of 2 months back home.

Now that we're caught up on where I'm running around these days, I have an announcement to make. Justin, Josh, Matthew, Gerry (maybe), and I have decided we're going to test our mettle against all that Mercury and his old running buddies in the Parthenon can throw at us. Foolishly or not, we've decided to compete in the Cowtown Marathon on February 27, 2010. That's right ladies and gents...this merry band of misfits will brave the mean streets of Fort Worth to push our bodies to the brink by running 26.2 consecutive miles. Why? It's not quite as easy an answer as to why I decided to run the half marathon last November (sheer boredom). Something about all that running grabbed hold of me as I trained for that race and continued to run after it was finished. The competition with myself to improve both on the road and physically has proven to big a draw to just quit running. Fortunately the improvement has come. When I started training I ran a 10 minute mile and thought I would die after finishing. This afternoon I logged 5 miles in an interval workout and clocked in at an average speed of 7:13 per mile. I'm pretty happy with that sort of improvement over the course of 9 months.

It's not just the desire for better health and faster times that draws me to the marathon, though. The marathon is hallowed ground of the running community. The biggest of the big, the baddest of the bad (okay, there are ultra marathons out there, but those are for the folks that are seriously warped), the marathon is not for the faint of heart. Which is why this merry band of recreational runners has decided to take it on. The marathon isn't just a physical battle, though there's a reason I'm already training in August for a race the last weekend of February. It's a battle of your will to finish off what you've trained for over the course of months. I've heard people say the marathon has 3 stages: the first 10 miles you run with your legs, the second 10 you run with your brain, and the last 6.2 you run with your heart. I'm looking forward to testing myself against that final, soul-sucking 10 kilometers in just a couple months. So, my contribution to the blog for the next little while will primarily consist of training updates so people that care (all 1 of you) can keep track of how it's going. My goal is to be up to 30 miles a week by November when we start a training plan in earnest for this thing. So far this week I'm up to 13 with an easy 3 or 4 planned for the morning and a 7-8 miler on Sunday morning which will put me in the low 20s. Not a bad position to be in. So, if there's anyone else out there that feels like pushing yourself to the brink and testing yourself in extreme ways, give me a shout and we'll get you in training mode too. And don't be afraid of the marathon. The Cowtown offers up a half marathon, 10k and 5k at the same time, so runners of all distances should get involved. Until next time!

Monday, August 10, 2009

O Canada!

So husband is on his way to Canada for a week-long business trip, which means Lizzie and I will have to protect our house from murderers and robbers. I don't really hate it when he leaves town...I just hate the part when he is on a plane. Once he lands, I feel much better.

Anyways, on to other things. We had a great weekend. My parents and grandparents were in town. Friday night we returned home from work to find an amazing meal all cooked and ready to eat. It was so nice to NOT have to cook or eat a hamburger. Thanks Mom and Granny! Later we played a Terry family tradition...dominoes. That night it was Mexican Train. Now, you must understand that my family is EXTREMELY competitve...especially my Granny. For one of their wedding anniversaries, my Pa bought my Granny an air-hockey table, because that was her favorite game. She is good...really good. And she doesn't let you win, she beats you. She doesn't even let my two-year-old cousin win. She's hard core. You must also understand that Mexican Train is a very LONG game, so finishing is a feat all in itself. So imagine my excitement when I not only made it to the end, but also WON the game...putting my poor precious grandmother to shame. Did I mention she is competitive?




Granny, Mom and I spent hours in Hobby Lobby on Saturday, before heading to Lowe's to look at our new countertops. I got three new plates to hang on the wall in our dining room. I have been looking for some type of decorative thing to put on the wall in the dining area since we moved in, and these three plates seemed to do the trick. The goal is to get them hung tonight, however...that could be tricky without the husband. If I do succeed, I will be sure to post those pics.

That night we met our friends Scott and Amy at the Oasis for dinner. If you've never been to the Oasis you are truly missing out. The food is OK, but the view...well it is awesome! My parents and grandparents had never been, so we made sure to eat on the patio right at sunset. This pic isn't the greatest, but it gives you some sort of idea.




Sunday was all about church and Cracker Barrel, before they got on the road.

Husband and I were able to spend a few hours hanging out before he jetted off early this morning. I went from having a house full to being home alone...again...for a WEEK! Hurry home husband and hurry back family!