Beast

I do not ever advocate calling your wife a "beast." However, when you are married to someone who chews up and spits out road miles on a bike the way my wife does, the list of appropriate words is just too short. So, beast it is.

Stare into the face of domination.

This past Sunday, I decided to on a 40+ mile bike ride - the sun was out (literally, one of about 10 times a year here), so better not waste it! Plus, I had just tuned my bike up a few days before. It was game-time. 

When I mentioned it to Stacy, she was like, "Oh, just 40 miles? I'm in. But don't make me have to tow your weak sauce home. You better finish on your own." That's exactly how it went down.

Me begging Stacy for mercy.

The ride was really fun for both of us and it gave me an incredible amount of respect for my wife. Mostly because she's a beast.

The last known photo of me before I was publicly shamed.

when irish eyes are smiling

5 years ago today, Aaron and I went on our first date.  Fitting for an Irish man to take a girl out for St. Paddy's.

a week after our first date
dancing at a Tibetan restaurant

I love St. Patrick's Day now.

ya suspect

We must've been looking a little too long and hard into the neighboring complex causing them to wonder what we would do, because the neighboring complex put up barbed wire around the wall that separates us from them.


Either that, or our complex decided we are in general a danger to society and we may try to escape the complex they have made to contain us.


It makes the gray skies feel even grayer.  Plus - those tree branches up there are next door's delicious fig tree.  How are we supposed to steal figs anymore?

visiting friends

By this time next week, we will have had four different visitors and it is making me so happy!  Guess who the one that we got to see just last night was?

Kelly!  I haven't seen Kelly since her wedding almost FOUR YEARS ago.  After their wedding, they moved to California.  We never made it out their way and missed them when they came to North Carolina.  And then I see her again for the first time in China.  Crazy.  Kelly was passing through out city on a whirlwind tour through China, so we got to sneak in a few hours with her and catch up.  Brian couldn't join her on this trip, which we were bummed about - but we're hoping that there will be future visits with both of them.

 And she brought us some girl scout cookies!  double sweet.

un, dos, tres Esteisi ("stacy" in spanish)

So, there was one point where I was on track to run a half marathon….then i got hit by a car…..then the winter came and it was so cold i didn't want to run outside….then thailand came and i decided i wanted to sleep in, instead of run….then we came back home and it was still cold….

so what's a girl to do when she lit-rally can only run outside for a few feet, before she says "i don't care if i'll eventually warm up, i am so cold right now."  She goes inside and zumba's her little heart out, that's what she does.  and that's what I did.

Zumba is super fun, but you don't ever really want anyone to watch you do Zumba.  and when you live in a small two bedroom apartment like we do, it's inevitable that someone is going to see you doing Zumba. 

Especially true when you have to do the robot part of this Zumba song:

Okay, I coudn't find a clip, so here's the song and a video of someone doing the robot.  now imagine someone doing these two things together.  in fact. mute the video with someone dancing, and play the song.  you'll see what i'm talking about.

dancing:

the song:

Seriously the robot??? It's shakira's HIPS that don't lie.  Not her stiff arms and head movements.  

The weather is starting to warm up, so I'm back to running outside…and still doing Zumba.  me gusta bailar.

I need to pick up the running though because when we go home Aaron's dad is going to dominate me at running - he's still regularly running 5 & 6 milers.  Maybe to even the playing field I'll invite him to Zumba for 50 minutes.  Then we'll see who can keep up with who.


Domo arigato, mr. roboto.

March

I like March, March is a pretty good month. And traditionally in Chapel Hill, March is a great month. 

Big Game James in '82

The 2009 National Champions - the University of North Carolina

Given that we live on the other side of the world, March means waking up at strange hours in the middle of the night to watch the University of North Carolina Tar Heels continuing a tradition of basketball dominance. Not that I'm complaining. The year has been pretty good so far, and it's not looking down anytime soon!

The Black Falcon and Company. ACC Regular Season Champions and not done yet...

The 2012 NCAA Tournament brackets have been released and the Tar Heels are a number one seed. Next stop, New Orleans.

Goodbye China's rose

Today Josh and Danielle leave China and head back to America.  This is an ode to them.

It seems to me you lived your life 

2005

like a candle in the wind

never fading with the sunset

turns out that I printed all my pictures from China.  and now don't have them on my computer, since I changed computers.  So this one is from senior year - a few months before they all moved to China.  I'm not sure what's going on.

 when the rain came in

Christmas 2010

Harvey! So glad I got to meet this little man.

your footsteps will always fall here along China's greenest hills

Okay...okay - maybe Elton John's Candle in the Wind is a bit much since they're going home, not dying - but we just watched the movie The Queen with Helen Mirren about Princess Diana's death, and that song (though never once played in the movie) has been in my head ever since then.

Josh and Danielle have meant a lot in our lives.  When we first moved to China (when we were not yet "we" and they were not yet "they") Aaron lived with Josh, and Danielle made sure the boys didn't eat just bachelor food.  Since we've been back in China it has been really sweet to visit them, always finding time with them refreshing, as we've been transitioning to being back in China, and encouraging, as we've seen just how God was using them in the city they lived in.


This isn't actually goodbye for us - we have family in the city they are from and the city they are moving to.  But we will miss them over here.


We're really proud of them and excited for their next step - as they are going to Memphis to be a part of Memphis Teacher's Residency.  Check it out:

Now is the Time from Spektical on Vimeo.

And this one is Aaron's brother who graduated from the program in 2011, and is currently teaching in Memphis.  I bet he doesn't even know we've seen this.

Micah O'Hare from Memphis Teacher Residency on Vimeo.

Also - what's up with the font, blogger?  they all say they're the same, but they all look different.