The New "Normal"

The week of Christmas is a hard week for me, but that's not the way it's always been. I remember being really excited for Christmas and time with my family. My parents always made a point of making Christmas "big" and full of traditions. One of my favorite traditions was picking out/shopping for Christmas dresses with my Dad. His sisters would often tease him about how much he enjoyed taking his daughters shopping for dresses. A few nights before his accident, Dad was able to take us Christmas dress shopping one last time. We had a record evening with only having to go to one store in one hour. When we picked out my dress I had no idea it would be the dress I would wear to his funeral. I've grown to dread this time of year, missing him the most between the 20th and New Years. The new "normal" is easier to embrace other times of the year and I'm slowly starting to enjoy Christmas again. I wanted to thank everyone for all of their support and love they've given me. I'm so grateful for the atonement and the blessings of the temple. I know that families can be together forever. Merry Belated Christmas! All my love :)

Gathered Clutch Project

Sewing for me is therapeutic and makes me happy. This morning I had a smile on my face as I made this cute gathered clutch today as a Christmas present. I got the idea from the blog "Sew Mama Sew," which lead me to a tutorial on a blog called "Noodlehead." See the gathered clutch tutorial at this link: http://noodleheads.blogspot.com/2010/04/gathered-clutch-tutorial.html My clutch doesn't look as good as the sample, but I have to admit it was my first time sewing a zipper. It was really easy and wanted to pass the idea along!

Scarlet's Quilt

Say hello to one of my latest quilting projects. I made this baby quilt for one of my new nieces, Scarlet. The bright and cheery colors of the fabric are awesome! Justus was tempted many times to hide this quilt because he said it was too beautiful to give away. Don't worry, the quilt left Arizona on Saturday to be delivered to Scarlet (along with hugs and kisses from Aunt Katie-Kate). In case you are curious, I bought all of my fabric from Joann's and used a pattern called "Paper Chains" from QuickQuilt's Winter 2009 magazine. I added red flannel as the backing for extra coziness (as you can imagine, living in Phoenix does not motivate me to use flannel in my quilts).

Shall we dance?

I needed a smile this morning and thanks to Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes I got one :) (Source: sodahead.com)

Real Simple Recipes

For three years I have subscribed to Real Simple the magazine (thanks to a wonderful sister-in-law this year!). Each month brings at least 5 new recipes that are simple and delicious.

We live in an apartment and so space is a premium. To help with space issues we decided to get rid of the 3 years worth of magazines, but not before saving all of the recipes and cooking tips. It's so easy and convenient! Thanks Real Simple!

All Bikes: Rye, AZ

On our way up to our Ward campout, I pointed out what looked to be a bike junkyard. I've passed this junk yard many times through out my life as I have traveled to parts of Northern Arizona. After a recommendation of a friend, we decided to stop by on our way home. Little did we know that we would spend over an hour exploring this jewel. The owner is an amazing man who knows where every single item is located in this jungle. You can ask him for specific part and he'll tell you exactly where it is. The pictures that I've gathered/borrowed from the web do not even begin to give this place justice. It has every kind of part you would need for a bicycle or motorbike. If you need a special part, I would look here. It is worth the 1-1/2 drive outside of the Phoenix valley. Justus truly was a kid in a candy store and says that this was his favorite part of the weekend. Another note, the prices are fair, but don't expect to come away with a steal of a bargain.

Ward Camp Out

On Friday, September 17, Justus and I joined our Ward Family on the Ward Campout. I loved it! I love camping and we haven't made the effort lately to get out and go. I loved having the excuse to go and being in the outdoors! We had smores and a wonderful breakfast in the morning. On our way home we stopped by an old bicycle junk-yard in Rye and Justus was like a kid in a candy store. I'm so sad that I didn't take any pictures of this amazing place.

Walking along the Creek

Justus and I took a wonderful morning walk/hike along the creek

View along the creek

Cute kids from my Primary

Strawberry Jam

Over Labor Day weekend I decided to try to make and bottle my own strawberry jam. We went to a Farmer's Market in Mesa and found some great looking (and tasting) strawberries. I hulled the 4 pounds of strawberries, while Justus used his great strength to help me crush them. We prepared the bottles ahead of time and kept them in the oven at 200 degrees to prevent cracking when we put in the boiling hot jam.

Boiling the Jam

Watching the Jam so it doesn't burn or boil over

Near the end, water-bathing the jam to seal the jars... It was hot and I understood why people in Arizona don't always bottle their own fresh summer produce. It's too hot!

I don't think I could have done it without the help of my friend Cynthia who taught me how to bottle beans in July. I special shout out to this:

The Ball Home Canning Discovery kit. I probably could have done it without this little kit, but it was worth the $10 to have piece of mind that I was doing it right.

I'm thinking of doing salsa next. Any suggestions?

A Week with the Kids

In August, Justus and I spent a week with my little brother and sister while my mom went to Oklahoma to be with Lisa and our new niece/grand-daughter. We enjoyed having extra time with the kids and could not have done it without the help of neighbors and friends. We had cross-country and football practicies, Cub Scouts, and school projects, but managed to find time to teach Sarah and Ryan how to play miniature golf. Pictures above are from Ryan's football game. He is quite the football stud and plays Right Tackle most of the time. We are happy to say that they are still currently undefeated in their season. Sarah's as funny as ever (and is growing up too fast in my opinion). I went to her Cross country meet last week and was so impressed with her ability to compete. I'm glad we could help out, although, it didn't really feel like we were helping out, we were hanging out!

Back in the Saddle

Training will be officially starting again tomorrow morning! Yay for excitement! Plus, I'm hoping to have time this weekend to upload pictures from our latest adventures!

Gunther Marathon Training Part 18

As many of you already know, just before we left for our trip to Utah, one of my cases at work blew-up (workload wise) and I nearly had to cancel our trip. Since our return, it's been super busy and crazy at work with long hours and evenings. Justus has been a super help and is very understanding. I just have to make it through September 9th! So with that said, since more time is required by work I've had to cut a few things. First to go was recreation time (with the exception of working on a quilt) and second was running. (Gasp!) I know that I shouldn't cut running because the work-out should actually give me more energy, but there are so many other good things that I just can't seem to cut. So my new resolution is to find time for running, even if it is a short run. I know that I've been happier when I've been able to run.

Utah Trip August 2010

Lots of pictures from our family excursion to the Bingham Copper Mine in Utah. I could name off a few random facts about this huge mine, but I'd rather share some cute things my nephews said.

- Jens: My truck, my truck, my truck (pointing to each big truck)

- Justus: Which one is Daddy's truck?

- Jens: Daddy's truck (pointing to the regular pickup truck)

Gunther Marathon Training Part 17 - excuses

Horrible week of training this last week. We drove from Chandler, AZ to American Fork, UT (12-14 hrs) on Thursday the 29th and back on Monday of last week. I got in one quick run while I was there, but didn't get a chance to get another one in due to all of the fun I was having! (Hint of future post with pictures of fun times) The rest of the week did not go well either since I was exhausted from all of the driving (the trip was worth it!) and the hard hours spent at work trying to catch-up from being gone. I am pleased to say that I did get up this morning and did a 40 minute work out and am planning to run tomorrow morning. I may have lost some of my endurance, but I am confident that I will be able to get some back.

Gunther Marathon Training Part 16

Nothing out of the ordinary this week, with the exception of a small stomach bug that crawled into our apartment near the end of last week.

Also, sometimes I tell myself that I am the energizer bunny and that I can just keep going, and going and going and going and well, you get the idea.

Gunther Marathon Training Part 15

I sit here at my work desk disappointed in myself. Why? Because I didn't get up and do my workout this morning. Luckily this does not happen too often, but sometimes I just don't have it in me. I know that the whole process is well worth it's while and so I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for motivation. One of the things I found this week was the Marathon Training Academy. They provide free podcasts about all things related to running including one on proper hydration and sweating (who knew there was a right way to sweat?). I've only listened to one of the podcasts, but already I'm excited to listen to more. If you have any interest in running a marathon and are not quite sure "how to" do it follow the link here. It's a husband and wife team where the wife is an experienced marathon runner and the husband is a novice and just learning. I have found that I appreciate (and need) both perspectives.

Thanks again for everyone "letting" me blog about my marathon training. It does help to feel like I have to "report" to someone each week (even if it hasn't been a great week).

A Place for Everyone

One of the things that I appreciate about my faith is that there is a place for everyone. Everyone can feel welcome and feel at "home." We can belong. It's a very nice feeling.

Gunther Marathon Training Part 14

Another week of marathon training has come and gone. During the week my runs are now around 40-45 minutes and then my long runs on Saturdays are based on mileage. I surprised myself yesterday on my 6.5 mile run. Our apartment complex is right next to the freeway and so the streets surrounding our apartment are pretty busy. As a result, I end up jogging in place until I can safely cross the intersections with the pedestrian signal. Yesterday I ended up having to stop at every single light. The surprise was not that I had to stop at every light, but that as a result I ran/jogged for over an hour and a half without stopping. I still can't even believe it myself.

Gunther Marathon Training Part 13

To no one's surprise, it is just HOT here in Arizona. We've been above 110 degrees for most the week. For the next two or three months the motivation to run outside will be a little bit lower than usual. Right now I think I would rather face the cold than the heat...

Got this photo from a FWD email, sorry I can't name the source!

Anyways, I'm starting to get to the point where I'm running for about 45 minutes at a time. I've been pretty strict with how I choose to do my runs. I don't use an i-pod, and when I rarely run inside I don't let myself watch tv. I've tried to have different songs run through my head, but I usually get stuck on one song which then plays over and over again in my mind. Thinking about primary, work, or family usually can take up a bit of my time, but somehow my mind goes blank about halfway through and all I can think about is "how far it is to the next street?" Any other suggestions of what I can do with my mind during my runs? At this point, I think I might go crazy in mind when I run the full marathon! :)

Marathon Training Part 12

We've been very dedicated this week. We even convinced some of our family members into hiking the Three Ponds trail at Snow Canyon State Park in Utah on Saturday. Thanks for putting up with the heat and the horrible sand! Sorry, no pictures. One of those times we realized halfway through our 8 hour drive that I forgot my camera. We had a fabulous time camping with family and want to go again soon!

The answer for last week's quote is: Sparky Palastri from "Bring it On." He is the "spirit fingers" guy who also says something really horrible about how in cheer you lift people"and fat people don't go as high."

Gunther Marathon Training Part 11

AKA: "You. You have weak ankles." - 10 points to anyone who can name where that quote comes from.

Ok, nothing too serious. I rolled my ankle pretty badly Wednesday morning as I was heading down the stairs to start my run. Luckily it was on the last step or else this would have been a completely different post. I took it easy on Wednesday and did an easy run yesterday (very little pain). Today is cross training day - so lifting weights instead of running. I'm hoping taking it easy the past few days will make tomorrow's long run possible. So in summary, be careful going down stairs.

Diamondbacks!!!

Last night Justus and I had the opportunity to take Ryan to a Diamondbacks game against the Cardinals. For fun, we drove down to the park-and-ride station and took the light rail to stadium. Ryan enjoyed seeing both downtown Tempe and Phoenix on our ride. We sat in Section 133, along the 3rd baseline, and ducked nearly six times as balls came flying into the section next to us. The DBacks also scored two home runs in a row! We are very proud of our Diamondbacks!

Ryan sitting down while riding the light rail home. It was a pretty crowded ride back.

We took this picture mostly because I wanted Justus to have to see the award that the Dbacks won from the Yankees.

The infamous Gerry Hickman Brick ... He was "this close" (hold two fingers about a inch apart) with Jackie Robinson

Gunther Marathon Training Part 10

One of the consequences of the running habit, is that I'm now waking up each morning by 5:15 whether I set my alarm clock or not. It's pretty nice to have more time in my mornings, but sometimes I wish my body would let me sleep in until 7:30 on Sundays. :)

Gunther Marathon Training Part 9

Current statistics:

- Able to run 30 minutes without feeling like collapsing afterwards

- Able to run 40 minutes with lots of exhaustion afterwards

- Long runs are up to 4+ miles (thank goodness for the slow but steady training program)

- Feeling much better than we did two months ago is worth it!

Gunther Marathon Training Part 8

As part of our training this week, we spent some time hiking around a local City Park, known as Papago Park. The park has lots of walking trails that feature some of the best views of the Phoenix skyline. It's also across the way from the Phoenix Zoo (highly recommended). It was great to hike around outside before it got too hot!


Photo courtesy of City of Phoenix Website

Gunther Marathon Training Part 7

AKA: Falling off the horse and getting back on again...

This week Kate was slightly lazy for two days and then got back on the horse, losing some of her endurance in the process (yes I am talking about myself in the third person). Hopefully I won't need to learn this lesson again!

Also, I found a list of marathons that are offered on Saturdays. It can be hard to find one outside of Utah. Try the link here. Some of the dates are listed for 2009, but I am sure by looking up the name of marathon you could find out what this/next year's date will be. Right now, the Sedona marathon sounds really tempting.

2nd Anniversary

Two years ago, we thought this picture was absolutely goofy and a little over the top. I've come to think that it's captured the true love silliness that we had then and have more of now. Happy 2nd Anniversary Justus!

Gunther Marathon Training Part 6

Instead of babbling on about how we're running and doing our best to train, try this great poem out instead:

Champion

(Author Unknown)

The average runner runs
until the breath in him is gone,
But the champion has the iron will
that makes her carry on.

For the rest the average runner begs
when limp his muscles grow,
But the champion runs on leaden legs,
her courage makes her go.

The average man's complacent
when he's done his best to score,
But the champion does her best,
and then she does a little more.

My mom first brought my attention to this poem while I was a runner in high school. The words have always stayed with me, especially the plug for perseverance.

Stay tuned next week as we will name the final four marathon race selections!

Gunther Marathon Training Part 5

Two words: discipline and desire.

Gila Valley Temple Open House

Last Monday, Justus and I joined my family on a roadtrip to the Gila Valley Temple Open House. It was worth taking a day off from work and school to walk through the beautiful rooms of the temple and share such an experience with my family. One of my favorite parts is when Sarah (my 11 year-old little sister) asked me about when I got sealed to Justus in the temple. I got to bear my testimony about the sealing power and talk a little bit about the holy spirit of promise. It was such a wonderful experience to be able to share with Sarah those sweet and tender feelings I had nearly two years ago on May 17, 2008.


© 2010, David Palmer.

Screensavers are available for download at the church website (click here for link).

Gunther Marathon Training Part 4

Report:

In December Justus was hit while riding his bike. Luckily, he received no major injuries (due mostly to the fact he was wearing his helmet and two sister missionaries). However, he suffered some severely strained muscles, including those surrounding one of his ankles. He wore a brace for a while, but choose to take it off when he felt it was starting to "favor" his ankle too much. Now that we've started our training, his ankle is sore and not cooperating. Justus continues to ride his bike to school (26 miles every school day) and I am running (following the training program). He'll take it easy on the new ankle and is doing some ankle "strengthening" exercises.

One of the many lessons learned this week: Kate needs to run in the mornings. I find that if I don't run in the mornings, I let work or my other commitments drain me, leaving little motivation to run in the evenings. Like right now, I'd rather blog than do my 30 minutes of cross-training.

Also wanted to thank you all for the support you give us! Every little bit of motivation goes a long way!

Marathon Training Part 3

As I sat down to right this post I realized how many "parts" there will be to this marathon training adventure... over 40! So yes, I do realize that this has a high probability of becoming redundant and even boring. So...
Here's the quick wrap-up: Gunthers wavered a little this week. We're still moving forward, but seem to be losing that initial drive that we had. This is somewhat disconcerting considering we just finished Week 3; what will Week 20 be like? Hopefully confessing this to the blog world will make us kick ourselves in the behind and get running!

The Brick House

Our apartment is in an area that relatively recently used to be farm land. In fact, we still have a field next door to the complex. Most of the land is slowly being developed for commercial and residential purposes. On one of our usual walks you can see our favorite house. It's an older brick ranch style house and it lies in between an apartment complex and a townhouse development. For us, it was love at first sight and we soon started dreaming of owning and fixing it up. We've been curious as to why it seems abandoned and who owns the property. This little love affair has been going on a year, we even took a picture, but it didn't turn out well. If you are curious here's a link on google maps: link.

To end our story, we decided to act on our curiosity and went to our county recorders website. With most major counties you can look up information on a property online. Some are not free, however, and the counties are using the internet to raise revenue. We entered a close address and then used the parcel map to find out the parcel number for the house lot. To our sad surprise, we learned that the land is planned to become a town-house subdivision. Now instead of seeing myself buying and fixing up the house, I have dreams of being able to salvage the brick for a later project.

Gunther Marathon Training Part 2

Week Two of Marathon training has come and gone. We're please to say that we are still going strong. The mornings are slowly getting warmer and I am already dreading the thought of running in the summer. I just have to remember the story of the Little Engine That Could. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.



We learned another interesting detail about ourselves this week. I like to talk while running to make the time "go by" faster and Justus thinks talking makes the run seem longer. We'll have to see if we can reach a compromise, or else I'll just be the crazy lady who talks to herself.

Bloom

I love to read the blogs of my friends and family! I also love it when I find a great blog that focuses on great family, financial, and spiritual values. Bloom is one that I am currently following. It is headed up by two fabulous women who love their families. I found it while reading one of my friend's blog. I had some free time at lunch one day and decided to click on the "Bloom" button. I'm not sure if this is why they chose to call it Bloom, but I like the thought of how it applies to "bloom where you are planted." As Justus and I think more about our future, we have always talked about how important it is to "lift where you stand" (President Uchtdorf in his October 2008 General Conference Address click here for a link). They have posts about healthy snacks, living on a good budget, and helpful parenting articles (no that's not a hint that we're pregnant). For me, I enjoy the blog because it's always positive and insightful (plus they have giveaways like this one: http://placetobloom.blogspot.com/2010/04/le-creuset-anyone.html - who doesn't like free stuff?).

Gunther Marathon Training

The Gunther household is shifting into training mode. We've decided to train for and hopefully run a marathon. We're hoping to run one of the many that are available in AZ during the months of January and February. To help keep us motivated, I'll occasionally provide updates on our progress and maybe even include our statistics on charts and graphs. I know that you are all super excited to read all of this (hint of sarcasm), but we're wanting to keep this "exciting" for us. Maybe I'll even post a poll for which marathon we should run! It will be kind of like "Who's Line is it Anyways?", where the points (in this case votes) don't matter.

Justus got the inspiration from a PBS/Nova study where they took couch potatoes and trained them to run a full marathon in 10 months. The link for more information is: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/marathon/calendar.html

Week One Summary:
This week we started out pretty strong. We completed all of the required training! However, I learned that I am really out of shape and my endurance is slim to nothing. No injuries, just sore muscles. Justus and I are enjoying the extra time that we have together, especially when it's slow enough of a workout for good conversation.

Toy Collection

Justus loves his family very much and so it is not surprising that I get to hear lots of stories and insights from his childhood. One of the insights that he has shared is about his mother and her toy collection. According to Justus, my mother-in-law has her own special toy collection. Lately I've found myself creating my own similar collection. Currently these two are my favorites. I've found them at local thrift stores and they've been cleaned thoroughly. Any many people know, giraffes are my favorite animals and so naturally it's special to me. On the other hand, the polar bear may seem to be pretty boring until you move its head and hear it give you a cute little roar.

So if you have any kids, come over to our apartment, I may just have to share my toys.

Birthday Party

My little sister's birthday was Saturday! She's growing up so fast! Justus and I helped my mom throw a party for her. The theme was all about cupcakes and sweets. The girls decorated cupcakes, played the chocolate game, and got manicures. The girls had a great time and enjoyed the cupcakes and ice-cream for dessert.

For party favors my mom found some spatulas and filled the rest of the bags with taffy and other candy. I helped by making simple aprons as party favors as well. I just sewed a piece of ribbon to a rectangle of fabric. I'm pretty impressed with myself.

Quilts!

You know that you're an avid quilter, or just someone who really appreciates quilts when the following pictures make your mouth water... Or maybe I'm just crazy. These are some pictures from one of my favorite designers: Tula Pink. Her website is: http://tulapink.com/ The pictures (which I copied off her website) showcase some of her fabulous fabric.

Bird Nesting - Cub Scout Project

http://wondertime.go.com/create-and-play/article/nest-quest.html

Last night the Cub Scouts enjoyed making this project. It is an onion sack filled with different nesting materials for birds. Apparently, the birds can pick between the holes and pull out items to use to build their nests. Some of the items include:

• stuffing
• hay
• small sections of string or yarn
• hair
• small strips of cloth

I did not get a chance to make one myself, but I am curious to see if any of my scouts see some results. I thought some of you might enjoy doing it yourself!

By the way, I am technically released from my cub scout calling, but the person who was called to replace me, is unable to start until mid March. Since the Primary Second Counselor (now me) is responsible for Scouting, I get to continue to have fun with the Scouts for a few more weeks!

New Calling

Last Sunday I was sustained as the 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency. I am overwhelmed and very busy. AAAAHHHHHHHH!

My life according to my bags

Work/General All-purpose - Given to me by my fabulous Aunt Kari for my birthday in 2005 for me to use on my internship at the Smithsonian Institution.

My "new calling" bag... what's my new calling? You'll have to wait and see. This was given to me by Justus for our first Valentine's Day.

This is my Cub Scout Den Leader bag. Notice how it zips up so that my curious wolves won't go digging around in it to find out what fun thing we're doing? This one came from working at a Charity Golf Tournament put on by TRC while I was still working for them. Ahhh, memories.

This is my primary teaching bag. I love teaching my friend who has special needs each week. He gives some of the best hugs, although I would be in trouble if I did not mention that Justus does give the best hugs! Each primary teacher in my ward is given a similar black tote to borrow while they are primary teachers.

Last, but certainly not least is my favorite, my North Face backpack. I love it! If I could take it to work, I would. Right now it uses are typically limited to travel and hiking. Guess I'll need to use those excuses more often! I bought this one for myself. :)

There you have it. My life according to my bags. One for work, three for church, and one for fun. Each is kept organized so that the only things I have to change out are my keys and wallet.