I haven't blogged in years. And I do mean years as in the plural form. I could name off a bazillion excuses as to why I don't document my life the way I should, but I am too tired to do that, and really...who cares. What I can tell you (for anyone who actually reads this) is that over the past few years our lives have changed dramatically. 

Jason is in his third year of law school. I would be lying if I said it was easy, but I'd also be whining about this great opportunity my husband has been given. I can't complain even though we moved out of our roomy home with lots of closets to Waco so he could be closer to the law school. And I really can't complain now that we live in a tiny tiny little apartment with our 2 kids (yes...2), our pup, Lizzy, and Jason's cat, Jake. 

My life is full of work, a lot of driving, bottles, baths, tea parties and lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

And its awesome. 

Because everyday I get to see these 2 adorable faces.

 And kiss these sweet cheeks.

And snuggle with this little gal.

I get to hear Ella Jane talk about how Jesus loves her and I get to hear Hays giggle at me because I tripped over the baby gate and said a few choice words which I am sure he will repeat in the not so distant future.

Life is so good, and I want to remember that. So I am attempting to blog again...but we'll see if it sticks. I am crossing my fingers.

Big BIG Changes

So far in 2010, we have completed a kitchen remodel, applied to law schools, was accepted to law schools, decided to sale our first home with our perfect kitchen to pursue law school, bought a new puppy, found out we were pregnant, bought a new BIGGER fixer-upper foreclosure, moved all of our stuff, quit one of our jobs, and started law school.

Needless to say a lot has happened in the last six months. We've been blessed I know, but I can't help but feel a little stressed out.

Did I mention we are having a BABY?! Things are changing in big ways for the Fentons, but I do believe God has an amazing plan for our little family, and while...right now I am feeling a little overwhelmed looking at my growing stomach and all the empty rooms and bare walls of our new home, I know that there are great things to come. Really great things.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Summer Reading List Time

It is so close to summer that I can hardly stand it! I know that the Fentons have been MIA for a couple of months, but believe me, we have good excuses as to why we have been so preoccupied. More to come on that in two weeks. Anyways, for anyone out there who still reads, I am working on putting together my summer reading list.

So far...



The Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin



The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Baylor is for really smart people...

Guess what?

Jason got into law school.

Exciting right?

Well, he got into one of the best law schools.

Baylor!

Which is in Waco, TX.

Which means we have to move to...North Austin.

BOOOO!!!

It's no lie, I am very sad to leave our little community, our church and our first home. I like North Austin...I really do, I just really like how South Austin is still small. But I know God has bigger plans for our family and I am excited to see those plans unfold.

And I am really proud of my husband for going after his dream in a big way. And I am really really excited about all the oportunity Baylor will offer him. And I am really really really excited that he is going to a Big 12 school with a football team...even if its not a very good football team. This will double our college sports enjoyment.

I am so proud of you husband.

Can I get a Sick 'Em Bears?!

In 2010 I Wanna...

Not make any NY resolutions...

because I never can seem to follow through with them. Instead I am going to have seasonal themes. 4 things I want to do (excluding losing weight and working out...because that is an ongoing battle) by the the end of the year. It's going to go something like this...

Spring Theme-Get organized
Summer Theme-Get to know your city
Fall Theme-Become a better baker
Winter Theme-still undecided

For some reason this kind of excites me. This could be a challenge I might be able to complete. And I am going to blog about them...in detail...with pictures. So stay tuned. It's bound to be an exciting year.

I hurt!!!

Carmen's EDIT: This is the husband's entry. I do not believe in torture. (haha...for those politcos who got my joke)

So, it's been a while since I posted about anything at all. However, this weekend was an auspicious occasion in my training cycle for the marathon, so I figured what better time to get back into the swing of things.

To begin with, perhaps it's time to start coming to grips with the fact that I might just be deranged...or an idiot. Both are probably accurate. On Saturday I ventured off on a 3 hour tour of Hays county as I embarked on the first of three 20-mile runs included in my marathon training. The opening line of this video pretty much sums up how I felt after the run.



How does running 20 miles feel? I don't know that I can truly put that in words. Pain is one of the words that definitely belongs in the description, though. Honestly, other than the temperature hovering in the low to mid thirties for the first 2 hours of the run (yes I just used the phrase "first 2 hours" to describe a run), the first 15 miles wasn't all that bad. My feet and ears were a little numb to start, but my oh-so-sexy tights (yes, men do wear tights) and a couple new Christmas gifts kept me nice and toasty as I started my journey...alone. Apparently everyone else was smart enough to stay inside in such cold weather. While I typically see around a dozen or so runners and bikers on my weekend long runs, I was the lone soul on the roads Saturday morning. I think this is where the "idiot" part comes into the equation.

Like I said, the first 15 miles or so of my 10 mile, out-and-back course were relatively uneventful. Aside from heading downhill at swift pace, that is. Miles 6-9 saw me lose 230 feet in elevation. While this did wonders for my pace early on, the only thing I could think about at the time was every foot of climbing I'd have to do to get back to that point. Fortunately for me, I survived the climb in spite of the pain that I felt. Along the way I saw a bald eagle fly off to the Blanco River where I assume its nest is. That was actually really cool. I had no idea there were eagles in the area, but there it was in full flight as I ran by.

Mile 16-20 proved to be every bit as difficult as the first 15 seemed reasonable. Perhaps it was al the climbing, perhaps it was the cold catching up to me, perhaps it was just running that distance in the first place, but those last 5 miles were pretty tough. My legs and hips stiffened up, I could feel a blister forming on one of my toes, and intentionally depriving my body of fuel took a toll on my ability to keep going, but keep going I did. Just like I will on race day, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and pushed through until I was back at the house.

All in all, the run was a success. I covered the course in 3:06:39 which comes out to a 9:19/mile pace. To meet my race goals I need to shave quite a bit off of that, but I wasn't pushing the pace yesterday as I will on race day. I also climbed more yesterday than I will in the full 26.2 mile race in February which encourages me. The Cowtown course climbs 469 feet total. Saturday's run saw exactly 100 more feet of elevation gain in 6.2 fewer miles. It wasn't the greatest run I've ever had, but I consider it to have been a good measuring stick early enough in the process that I have time to work and meet my goals. At least I have two more opportunities to run 20 miles and push my body even more.

We are LAZY BLOGGERS

Things haven't been crazy (well except for Christmas) and we've had plenty to blog about, but for some reason we have both been so uninspired. Ugh. I guess you could say we are in a Blump or a blog slump (and yes I invented that word). Christmas was great...we had so much fun. New Year's Eve engagement party for Emilie and Collin was awesome too...and then the Alamo Bowl (minus Mike Leach) was very entertaining. Jason has applied to law school, and we should here from at least one of the schools any day now. He is also training for his first marathon at the end of Feb.

So things are progressing in our life...we are doing fun things, taking fun pics, and traveling to fun places.

We just haven't talked much about it. I've been meaning to make some resolutions...so I guess I can start with our blog. I've tried this before and I failed miserably, but I will give it another shot. Afterall, I know you are just dying to read more about our exciting lives. In the meantime, here are a few pics I managed to post from a few of our exciting adventures. Sorry...no Christmas ones just yet.



Poppy and Wes' wedding



Emilie and Collin's NYE Engagement Party, and the rest are from the Alamo Bowl.

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.

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!

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

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!

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!

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!!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.