exciting news

I'm so excited! I just purchased my very first digital camera. I know, better late than never. So, stay tuned for images from my future photo expeditions!! Just need to learn how to use it first.

New Years in Colorado

I spent a week near Wolf Creek, Colorado, recently with some friends. It was so beautiful and restful. Our rental cabin was sitting next to a frozen lake and we could see people ice fishing on the lake from time to time. And actually being in snow ... real snow ... was amazing! It was so deep, in some places the drifts were probably 2 feet deep! (which is probably not saying very much actually, but to me, a Texas girl, that's a pretty big deal! =)

On Reading

The Desiring God blog had an excellent post today: On Reading

On the Run

I ran another 5K this past weekend ... not because I'm in shape AT ALL ... but because I felt it might motivate me by seeing my horrendous time (29:27). I will try now to shave some minutes off of it!

On another note, I am delighted to report that my dear friend and faithful running buddy, Faith, has resumed running again!!

Things I Want to Accomplish

After finding a similar list on another blog, I thought I'd make one of my own.

1. A painting. Or two ... or more. Most of the art sitting in my studio is unfinished, and I can't seem to bring myself to complete it. A very long artist's block I am having!
2. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro ... or another smaller venture first here in the States.
3. Become fluent in Spanish ... so much so that I can speak easily with someone else in their language.
4. ... And then move on to another language, like German or Chinese.
5. Read every book on my list. After discovering a couple of excellent book sites like goodreads.com and librarything.com and cataloguing all of my 'current reads' and 'ro reads,' I have determined I have at least 200 books on my 'to read' list.
6. Live for a least a year in a foreign country. Getting completely outside of your comfort zone is an amazing challenge and learning experience.
7. Visit Italy ... the Dolomites, Milan, Venice, Rome, Florence, Sicily ... see the art, take in the culture.
8. Start running again ... I have ceased completely ... not a good thing.
9. Completely redecorate my house ... or at least paint the walls ...
10. Become extremely adept at gardening, so I can know better how to take care of the plants in my yard.
11. Become equally skilled at photography. But first I need to invest in a better camera.
12. Learn something new ... perhaps how to knit or weave ... this might come in handy for future gifts!

art moment

I went on an awesome road trip to the Texas National recently with my art buddy, Mel. Read about it on her post here.

On the Run

Ran first my 5K of 2007, clocked 27:29 and even managed to get a medal. Whoa! ... Will wonders never cease!

On the Run

White Rock Marathon! (well, the relay anyways) Go teams!!

On the Run

Race for the Cure : We arrived just a little before the race began, but we were able to get through the enormous crowd to start close to the front. I'm amazed at how many people participate in this event. Clocked about 29:20 ... a little better than last time.

The shirts are super cool ... even with the pink.

On the Run

Did my first 5k of the season at the State Fair 5K race. Clocked 29:49 ... eww!

Treasures

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20

Treasures

"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Excellent Article!!!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/9c1/9c1034.html

Project Read

Finally! I have finished Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky ... an excellect book!!! *****

Also, another recent read that I must recommend is Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza. This was such a heart-wrenching book about a young woman who endured and managed to survive the conflict in Rwanda, though she lost most of her family. *****

Alaska '06

Check out these pics from my trip last month to Alaska! =)

Alaska 06

Famous Words

"I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal." ~ Jane Austen

On The Run

We ran the Heroes for Children 5K last Saturday. The weather was terrif, and the course was nice and flat ... smooth sailing. Clocked 26:49 (approx. 8:30 pace).

The overall winner of the race was a girl!! Woohoo! =)

Treasures

"I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you — the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." 1 Peter 1:18-19

Project Read

Just finished reading The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins. Gosh, this book was so good; I'm now a huge fan of Collins.

My favorite character in this book was Marian Halcombe; she was a very strong-minded, intelligent woman ... so much so that at a few points during the story, her mind was considered 'manly'. I found that intriguing, but I suppose during that day, very little was expected of a woman. Quite the opposite is true of our culture today. Also, Count Fosco was such a fascinating character and served very well as the villian of the story.

Also, I recently completed Night by Elie Wiesel. I've read this one so many years ago and wanted to read it again. It is such a heart-wrenching story of his days in the concentration camps during WWII.

Cool Ride

Another seriously cool car ... Lotus