p90xing

We'd like to introduce you to a guy we've been spending a lot of time with over the past six weeks.

Meet our new trainer. His name is Tony Horton. He's FIFTY-ONE years old. And he's the creator of a little home fitness program you may have heard of - P90X.

Six days a week, you will find Brian and me in front of our TV, dripping in sweat as we attempt to beat our bodies into submission by mimicking Tony and his fit friends. The workouts range from 1 hour to 1.5 hours and they are HARD CORE.

P90 (the 90 stands for 90 days) operates on a principle called "muscle confusion." Tony constantly introduces us to new moves so that our bodies never plateau, and so that we never get "bored." Ha! Bored? I look longingly back to the days of boredom on my trusty elliptical. This so-called muscle confusion might be better explained as never-ending soreness. I now know it is indeed possible to feel constant pain throughout my body for 32 days straight.

As far as results go, I'll be honest, we were probably expecting a little more than we've seen so far. We both are definitely stronger. Yet for all we have endured, we have yet to lose much weight (I've noticed a small difference in Brian, but don't think I've lost a pound myself).

Anyways, I'll keep you posted. In 60 days, hopefully we'll be glad we stuck with it! In the words of Tony, BRING IT! :)

numbering our days

Brian and I can hardly comprehend that have now lived in Indianapolis for a full year! Since moving in, we've been counting down the remaining months on a little chalkboard in our kitchen. We started at 26, which makes our current number 13 look pretty good!

While this can't-wait-until-the-end-of-school exercise is certainly exciting, last Sunday our worship pastor presented us with a countdown far more significant.

Though we all know that our time here won't last forever, thoughts about the end of life are rather vague. We know it's out there, but since we don't know when, it almost seems like it's not really going to happen. Most people, including myself, just hope that God will grant them a long life. And then we don't think about it much past that.

Let's say that God decides to bless you with 90 years before He calls you home. The following stats are 90 years broken down, from birth to death:

MONTHS: 1,080

WEEKS: 4,680

DAYS: 32,760

HOURS: 786,240

WAKING HOURS (if you factor 8 hrs of sleep a night): 524,160

Don't just glance at these numbers - look at them again. Look hard. Do they take your breath away like they do mine? 32,000 days - such a concrete number - sure doesn't seem like very many. And at 29 years old, I have already lived more than 10,000 of them.

Oh Father, may You find me faithful.

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!'

For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are brought to an end by Your anger; by Your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

For all our days pass away under Your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Who considers the power of Your anger, and Your wrath according to the fear of You?

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

- Psalm 90: 1-12 (ESV)

progress in the garden

I'm pretty happy to report that two months after planting, my little garden is doing great!

Overall, it hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought it would be. It really just takes a little bit of time, research, some good fertilizer and plenty of water.

ALREADY HARVESTED:

- romaine lettuce

- buttercrunch lettuce

- spinach

- cilantro

The lettuce was AWESOME! It was really low maintenance, which was great for this beginner. I CRAMMED it into a container and although it quadrupled in size, it did just fine. We ate salads from it every night for weeks! The recent heat caused it to bolt, but while it lasted, it did really well. The spinach also had a short lifespan but was very yummy. Plus, it was nice to not have to think about all of those e-coli spinach scares. The cilantro was also delicious - I'm now waiting for the coriander seeds to dry out so I can use them.

CURRENTLY HARVESTING:

- cherry tomatoes

- early girl and better boy tomatoes

- blueberries

- jalapeno peppers

- sweet, lemon and mammoth basil

- rosemary

- oregano

- sage

Cherry tomatoes

Sweet Basil

Lemon Basil and Mammoth Basil

Blueberries

Jalapeno peppers

Early Girl and Better Boy tomatoes

WAITING TO HARVEST:

- broccoli

- strawberries?

- green bell peppers

Strawberries

Green bell peppers

Broccoli

The broccoli has been a little testy, but I think it's doing ok. The plants are enormous! I'm not sure how to tell when it is ready to be picked... I think I'll wait for it to grow just a little more. Also, I learned that strawberry plants don't typically produce berries until their SECOND season. Boo. The green peppers are almost large enough to start harvesting.

We've got tons of green tomatoes just starting to turn red - I'm hoping to learn how to stew and can them so I can use them throughout winter. Any advice or good recipes? Please send if so! My kitchen will also be turning out lots of fresh pesto, basil oil and salsa.

It's been so rewarding to be able to grow our own food! Completely worth the effort, in my opinion. I'm officially addicted! :)

reason to read

A quote by John Piper caught my eye today. It so wonderfully communicates the anticipation I feel every time I turn the first page of a new book.

"What I have learned from about twenty years of serious reading is this: It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the 1% of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don't begrudge the 99%."

This reality, the way God can use ONE sentence of truth to change a life, is what drives me to pick up book after book.

I haven't had much to write about on our blog lately - not a lot is happening between Brian's residency and my job. But in our hearts, it's a different story. Brian and I are changing. God is doing a transformational work in us. And I believe that this work has taken root through written words, both of His inspired Scripture and of others grounded in it.

If you're at all curious, the following books are on my reading list this summer. I hope to be finished with all of them by the end of August. The only thing I love more than reading is talking through a book with a friend, so please let me know if we have any of these books in common! I'd enjoy so much hearing from you.

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, by David Platt

When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty without Hurting the Poor... and Ourselves, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, by Francis Chan

One Million Arrows: Raising Your Children to Change the World, by Julie Ferwerda

summer sale

Brian and I are about to wrap up our study of James, so I just went to order the next book we'll be working through.

I was very excited to discover that Grace to You (MacArthur's ministry) is offering 25% off all of their resources, now through June 29!

This makes his Bible Study books only $4.90 each. We are stocking up!! I know I've mentioned these books before, but let me plug them again - they are THE BEST if you are looking for an intensive study of Scripture!

If you took me up on Radical, I could not suggest a better accompanying study than James. This daily study, that we "just happened to choose," was preparing our hearts for the truth of this sermon series even before we started listening to it. It is simply amazing to me to see how God often orchestrates the coinciding of lessons He wants us to learn - we hear the same message everywhere we turn!

the final frontier

Some of you know that my brother, Austin, recently traveled to Ethiopia to capture video and images of the work of several ministries in Africa.

One of his projects there centered around the work of a couple of veterinarians in a very remote part of southwest Ethiopia (like so remote, the only way to these people is by helicopter). This husband-and-wife team are committed to sharing the gospel with the last three unreached people groups in Ethiopia. And they are using veterinary medicine as their ticket in.

Austin just completed a video (below) that tells their story. Not only is the piece extremely well-shot and edited, the message is powerfully shared. It is extremely exciting, and at the same time challenging, to catch a glimpse of how believers around the world are using their gifts to further the Kingdom to the glory of the Lord!

Enjoy watching a brother and sister in Christ do their thing!

The Final Frontier from Austin Mann on Vimeo.

s'more pie, please

As mentioned in my previous post, one of my all-time favorite desserts, EVER, is s'mores. I seriously love them. Since I don't often have access to a campfire, I settle for the next best option and create them in our toaster oven. I do this quite a lot, as my husband will testify.

If I'm at a restaurant and see a s'mores themed dessert on the menu, I will ALWAYS order it. But usually I'm a bit disappointed, because it just never seems to taste as good as the real thing. For example, smores fondue at The Melting Pot, or the Mount Rushsmore custard concrete at Sheridan's - both excellent, just not the same.

Well, thanks to my fabulous friend, Val, I have FINALLY found a dessert that is just as good as the real thing and maybe even... dare I say .... better?!?! Val passed this recipe on to me last week and I made it right away. This pie is seriously amazing.

Thick graham cracker crust, creamy chocolate center covered by a homemade marshmallow topping. Oh my. Just before serving, you put the pie under a broiler to toast the top, which also makes the mallow and chocolate just a little bit melty and gooey.

I'll admit we polished off the pie in less than 24 hours. Granted, we had the help of another couple, but still. It was that good. Brian declared it one of his favorite desserts that I have ever made. This is a huge proclamation considering the number of desserts I have made for him during the past five years!

Make it yourself, and let me know what you think!

PS - Even if you don't like s'mores and aren't interested in this pie, you should still check out the smitten kitchen blog. She's got tons of really yummy recipes and pretty pictures to browse through.

happy birthday, tine

As I do during every trip back to Kansas, I spent some revitalizing time with my lifelong friend, Christine, while staying in Wichita last month. Over tableside s'mores one night at Mike's Wine Dive, we realized that we rarely, if ever, feature one another on each other's blogs! It's not because we're not involved in each other's lives... rather, our friendship is so perpetual that we don't think about taking pictures together or writing about one another. She's just kind of a given in my life! Being together is simply the way it is, the way it always has been.

But that doesn't mean she should never have a presence in my online musings! So now, drumroll please... I proudly debut Christine on my blog!

We were around three years old in this picture - from left to right: Christine, Brian (now my husband), me and Greg Bailey. Check out her tie, I guarantee you that this is her favorite part of her outfit.

Here we are at Brian's birthday party - maybe his fourth? Christine is the one sucking her thumb (she did this up until kindergarten) and I am sitting to the left with an angry look on my face. I think we are wearing matching shoes. Brian is the handsome guy in the dashing yellow sweater.

I literally can't remember life without Christine, or Tine, as I nicknamed her when we were young. How else do you shorten her name? Certainly can't call her by the first syllable! :) We "met" when she was born and I was three months old - we lived on the same street, our houses a mere two blocks apart. Our parents were, and still are, the best of friends, which means we've gotten to spend A LOT of time together over the years. We've had pretty much everything in common since infancy, including our names (my middle is Christine).

Truly, we could write a book, a THICK book, chronicling the story of our friendship. There would be hilarious memories, growth in the Lord, tears, giggles, a little bit of anguish, but most of all joy and lots and lots of laughter.

Christine's birthday is tomorrow. I used to be so proud that I was three months older... now I'm the one wishing she had three months on me. :) So, to my dear bosom friend, happy birthday! Hope this year is your best one yet. Love you.

swimming lessons and pizza club

We had a pretty low key Memorial holiday around here, and it was just what we needed! In my humble opinion, three day weekends should grace the calendar more often than they do.

We started Saturday off by taking the dogs to a nearby park. This particular park has gorgeous hiking trails, but our favorite part about it is a shallow creek that feeds into a river that runs throughout the city. It's very clean, crystal clear and not too cold. Perfect for doggie swimming lessons, we thought.

As we expected, and as you can witness below if you wish, Annabelle immediately loved the water. She is as impulsive as Stryder is cautious. Constantly making us laugh, we call her our little tank - truly, nothing scares this dog.

This was her very first time in the water, mind you.

Although she just wanted to jump around for a while, she quickly picked up the doggie paddle. The observation of Stryder's excellent swimming form couldn't have hurt. We walked at least a half mile up the middle of the creek, and by the end of the morning, she was swimming like an old pro.

We tossed around the idea of going to the Indy 500 this weekend. But eventually we decided against it - the crowd of FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND plus 90 degree heat and 95% humidity just weren't very appealing. But we have promised ourselves we'll be there next year. You can't live in Indy and not go at least once, right?

So, instead of braving the race, we spent a leisurely food-filled evening with friends. A couple of months ago, we started a Pizza Club with Mike and Ryan (Brian's classmates) and their wives. We're planning to visit as many local pizza joints as we can before we have to leave Indy. A year from now, hopefully we'll be able to tell you where you can find the best pizza in the city! Our latest stop was Greek's in Broad Ripple (the neighborhood we all live in). Overall, we scored it a 9.3. It's pretty awesome.

Mike, Ryan, Megan, Rachel, Me

See that scrumptious looking confection in the background? Rachel made it for us - a decadent Chocolate Brownie Cake - oh, it was so good. We feasted on it while playing Catch Phrase and watching highlights from the race.

I don't know about you, but we're already looking forward to Labor Day. :)