I've been tagged...

I feel so special...Shane tagged me :) It's way more fun than being tagged in a game of "it" when I was a kid...this doesn't involve me running around the circle trying to catch Alice and Bryan...I don't know 5-10 people with blogs, so I'll skip that part of being tagged, but I will post on mine :) The rules are: I'm supposed to list either 5 places I've always wanted to visit or revisit, 5 unique things about me, or 5 things I never imagined being in my future when I was 25.

Seeing as how being 25 wasn't that long ago, and I don't have many unique things about me...I'll list 5 places I've always wanted to visit or revisit:

1) I've always wanted to take a trip around Europe...and I get to! Joyful and I bought our plane tickets the other day...we're going to Europe for 3 weeks in April!!

2) I would love to revisit Japan...that was such an awesome trip, and it was only a week and a half long! I'd love to go back for a longer visit...we barely even scratched the surface in our 3 days in Tokyo.

3) If/when the end the embargo, I'd love to go to Cuba before it becomes Americanized. I've heard it's actually quite beautiful and almost a trip back in time since it's one of the few civilized places in the world that doesn't have McDonalds and Pizza Hut.

4) I would love to revisit Hawaii...Joyful and I went there for our Honeymoon, and we always talk about wanting to retire there someday, but it would be so nice to go back for vacation again.

5) I would love to go on a Carribean cruise...they've even got this one cruise that goes out once a year where all your stops on little islands include running races...that'd be fun to go on a cruise with a bunch of people who share an enjoyment of running. Plus you'd get to see the "off the beaten path" areas of the islands where all the tourists don't go.

Where would you like to go? Someone other than Shane needs to answer...jerks...

Hooray for God!

Something that's really been on my heart lately is how awesome our God is...As I'd imagine you all know, I was let go from Macaroni Grill recently. On my drive home that day I talked with God...you could call it praying if you like, but I felt somewhat like David in the Psalms pouring his heart out to God. I thanked Him for the opportunity He was giving me to trust in Him and not worry. Growing up in the church, you always know in your head that God's in control, things work out according to His plan...bla bla bla; but I had an opportunity staring me right in the face to actually trust God! Sure enough...I lost my job on Thursday and the following Monday, I started my 2 new jobs! Then when Joyful and I got back from Orlando, we found out that I had gotten my bonus from Macaroni Grill (we weren't sure if I'd actually get that or not), which magically paid for the entire Disney trip and then some.

Turns out that God knows what He's doing...I hope that none of you lose your jobs or anything, but I gotta tell you...it's exciting to watch God at work right before your very eyes.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6-7

You Always Remember Your First

They say that you always remember your firsts...your first love, your first job...my first post in the magical land of the blog is about my first marathon. Joyful and I did the 2008 Walt Disney World Marathon. This was mine and Joyful’s first full marathon after doing the Lincoln and Omaha half marathons last year. All in all, it was a great experience! I thought the organization was fantastic, the pasta dinner was lovely (if pricey), and the run was great! My only 2 complaints are that it turned into a pretty expensive trip (but Disney’s good at that), and all this supposed entertainment that they kept promising in the speaker series before the race wasn’t very much…there were many miles of quiet, solitary road going through wooded areas with nothing to see or listen to. I’m sure that is awesome for some people, but we needed something to take our mind off the running. But the characters along the way were awesome! Plus it made it so that when we went to the parks on Monday and Tuesday, we didn’t feel obligated to stand in lines with the kids to get our pictures taken because we had already done so during the race! We sprung for the Runners’ Retreat and I feel that it was worth the money. If nothing else, we didn’t have to stand in huge bathroom lines before the run. Plus there was yummy food afterwards, and we got our pictures taken with Donald and Daisy and Mickey and Minnie before the race. Our time was nothing to brag about, but we finished our first marathon! I’m thinking I want to train harder and do Chicago in October (and hope it’s not so hot there this year!). Here’s some pictures of our day: