A Lesson Well Learned:

So whenever I'm running or biking, I never want to take my cell phone with me because I have no place to put it, and I'm like "I don't need it".

Today I went for a nice long bike ride for my workout since I've been waiting to run for another day to help my ankle heal from last week. Jared and my parents knew I was going for a ride, and I knew I would be getting home before Jared so I didn't think it made sense to even try to bring my phone.

I went on a lovely ride down midway road, and over to the little spokane road-exploring through side streets etc. I did some serious biking, because I believe a workout should be insanely intense (see previous post) and because I'm crazy. Just over half way through my bike ride, I discovered this new little park right on the little spokane river, and I thought to myself "oooo, I should ride down there and check it out!" So i did. I went through the grass to the river. Looked at it, and then decided it was time to continue on my journey, especially since I knew I had the dreaded wandermere hill to climb...(it's a looong uphill rd. for those who don't live around here). When I left the park, I noticed a stick wedged in my tire, so I pulled over and removed the stick...only to immediately hear a hissing sound "oh crap, i popped my tire and I'm like 2 miles from home!". I decided to go as far as I could on my bike before the tire went completely flat (which was about .15 miles). Then I started my ridiculously long and strenuous walk up the stupid road with my stupid bike.

Did I mention it was 85 degrees outside???

I finally made it home. Next time, I am taking water and my phone. Lesson learned.
~Angela M.

Drive Thru etiquette

So after working at Starbee's for almost a year now, and spending the majority of that time in the drive thru, I have decided to create a list of Drive Thru etiquette---trust me, there are many people who really need to see this:

-When arriving to the speaker box, let the person finish their little schpeal-they are supposed to offer certain "promotions"

-Please speak clearly and just a bit louder then normal. Often times there are people speaking into the other ear of the person taking the order--or a jack hammer if they are doing construction next door.

-It is helpful (but not necessary) if you have your money ready

-If the person taking your order asks you to repeat it, they do speak english, they just need to hear it one more time. You'd be surprised to know how easy it is to get orders mixed up.

-When you pull up to the speaker box and only say "hello, I'll have my usual"--they CAN NOT SEE YOU. If you do not identify yourself, and the person taking your order does not identify themselves as a psychic, please don't expect them to know your order.

-When there is a new person at the window then you have seen before, please do not ask them "where is the A team?" (that happened to me today...thanks)

-When picking up your order-go ahead and take the time to taste your drink to make sure it is what you want. I would rather re-make a drink then have you pay for something that you didn't want.

-A smile and a positive attitude can make the day of a drive thru worker!


There is my short little list. I'm so grateful for my experience working at Starbee's! It has really opened my eyes and shown me to be Jesus even more in this world.

~Angela M.

Minor Setback...

As previously mentioned, Jared and I are training for a half marathon on July 12 in the big city of Missoula Montana--I'm really really looking forward to it. I've been running as well as doing my Jillian Michael's workout videos.

Those of you who have been my roomate, or have ever worked out with me know that I workout like there is no tomorrow. I don't believe in working out without sweating like crazy and feeling like I have nothing left at the end. Such was my workout 2 days ago with Jillian Michael's Boost Metabolism video. Everything was going really well-good strong workout, and then I guess I just lost my focus and completely rolled my ankle outward with all my weight on it, and heard many cracks in the process. It did not immediately hurt an I could still walk on it, so I tried not to think too much of it-though I knew I had never done anything like that to my ankle before. Yesterday it was a little tight but nothing I could not handle, and then last night Jared and I went for a long bikeride downtown, and I thought to myself..."hmmm, my leg is kind of tight" and I reached down to touch my ankle to find it was swollen bumpy and bruised! Last night I elevated the ankle and tried to stay off of it for the evening, and I iced it already today. My fear is that there will be a long recovery time or that I hurt it more then I originally thought! I have heard horror stories about ankle injuries that stick around for a long time, and I just don't think I could handle that!

I guess I'll see how it is doing in the next few days and will try to find the nurse that goes to our church tomorrow!

~Angela M.

Blog Updating

Every time I go to my blog to check and see who on my list has updated their blog, I'm like "Why hasn't anyone updated their blog!?!" and then I realize it's been a good week since I've updated mine!!! (oops!)

Last week was a big week for us. It was the season finale of Biggest Loser and LOST, so needless to say, we had a few late nights at our house. Now I'm not a TV junkie and I know I have wasted waaaayyy too many hours in front of the stupid thing, but LOST is practically real life. If you have never watched the show, I encourage you to find someone who owns season 1 and borrow it, or rent it. Jared and I did not start watching until season 3 had started. I remember the day well...it was the day after Christmas, and Jared and I had bought Alex (my bro) a LOST season 1 puzzle, and Becky (my sis in law) had bought him a season 2 LOST puzzle. We worked with him to put them both together, and when they were complete, we had so many questions about all the different scenes that compiled together to create the puzzle...things like "what the heck is a hatch?" "what's the big deal with the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42?" "Where is the island?"
By the time my brother explained everything, Jared and I asked to borrow their season 1...and then we watched and watched and watched the show! It would be 1:30 in the morning and I'd ask Jared...just one more episode before we go to bed please!!!...and we would.
With only one more season to go I still have so many questions about what is happening on the island, and 2010 can't come fast enough!

Anyways, that was all to say, last week was a big week for us.



~Angela M.

Cheese and Rice!!!

Yesterday while working at the drive thru at Starbees, I had several customers complaining about how windy and cold the weather had gotten...to which I agreed. Their reply was "I just can't stand this (fill in with explative here) weather anymore!" This happened late on in the day where a customer used a gross curse word to emphasize what theyr were saying and I think they were trying to sound funny as well. What they didn't realize is how rude and offensive it came off! I just can't stand when people I don't even know think it is ok or funny to use crude curse words in their conversations!

I can still recall the day in 2nd grade when I discovered curse words. I was playing during recess and a fellow student used a swear word, and they discovered I was not also saying these words. They asked me why I did not swear. I knew it was wrong and that it didn't honor God, but I suposse I did not have the courage to stand up for myself. So I swore. All day long, I think I used about every curse word I could think of-yes I gave into peer pressure-even though the words just sounded stupid coming out of my mouth. I'm not sure what changed my mind--I don't remember if I told my parents about what happened or if I just decided I wasn't going to do it anymore, but the next day at recess, I proudly walked up to my girlfriend and told her "I'm not going to swear because God doesn't want me to, and because it sounds stupid."

Pretty profound words I could basically say still today. I know that swearing is not the worst thing I could do, and I know it does not make you less of a christian if you do...but I just don't see how it is honoring to the Lord.

Now even if you are not a Christian, or if you are and don't feel any personal conviction about it, there are several more reasons I would have for not using these words:

1) It sounds un-educated
2) It sounds rude
3) It sounds inconsiderate
4) It can be very offensive
5) There are more creative words to use
6) You never know how the person you are talking to will take it
7) It does NOT sound cool
oh and 8) Your mom might wash your mouth out with soap


~Angela M.

Our Next Adventure Challenge:

After successfully pushing ourselves to do the 7.5 miles at Bloomsday, we are both feeling inspired and challenged to try something a little more difficult. (like that isn't difficult enough) On July 12 the Missoula Montana Marathon/half-marathon is taking place, and we are going to sign up for the half! (which is 13.1 miles) I'm thinking if it is a good experience, maybe we will sign up for a full marathon in the fall!!! I'm soooooo excited to take on this newest challenge, and am really really excited to take it on with Jared!!!! BOO YA!!!!!!!!!!
~Angela M.

My Results:

Angela M Amerine

Finish Time: 1:04:20

Overall Place: 3,947 out of 44,490

Ran with a pace of 8:37 per mile

The average pace for 28-year-olds was 13:40

Placed 119th among 827 people the same age


Placed 37th among 582 people from Colbert, WA


Placed 2,992nd among 35,983 people from Washington


Placed 1st among 2 people with the same last name


Placed 996th among 26,349 females


Placed 30th out of 536 among 28-year-old females

~Angela M.

BLOOMSDAY!!!

Well the day finally came---after deciding 3 weeks ago that we were going to do Bloomsday (for those of you who don't know, it's a 7.46 mile, 12k run through Spokane). I've been running fairly ofter during the last few weeks, but had not done more then 4.5 miles. Jared had not done nearly as much running, and I was concerned that I would want to speed through it and we might get frustrated at eachother (hard to imagine I know). Did I mention earlier that Bloomsday is like the biggest timed race in North America or something like that?
Anyways, we started off well, and I felt fantastic for the 1st 4 miles...I was really surprised how easy it felt...and then once I hit mile 5 I was just tired. My legs hurt, my feet hurt my hips hurt...but there is no way I was going to stop. What amazed me and made me so proud was that Jared had to walk for a bit when his foot went numb...and about a mile and a half later he runs up right next to me!!! I couldn't believe he made up all the time!!! What a champ! The last mile was pretty tough for me, but we kept going and finished with a final time of 1 hr. and 4 minutes! I was really hoping to do it in under an hour, but that just gives us a goal for next year:) We had a great time together-I was so proud to do that race with my amazing husband in just over 8.5 min miles.
After we got our shirts and walked around for a bit, we went back through the course and waited for my mom and ran the last half mile with her--she is so great--powering through it all! She definetly did better then her last years time!! We will get all of our "official" results in a week or so I think. So proud of our accomplishments!!
~Angela M.

Celebrating Life:

So this week has been birthday week for our family of 2--Jared's birthday on Monday and mine yesterday. My parents left town on Tuesday to spend the week with my brother and his family, so we decided to celebrate with them on Sunday (which worked perfectly with my plan of celebrating my birthday for as many days as possible). Jared and I went on a great bikeride Sunday morning after attending 1st service at church--the weather was awesome! When my parents got back from church (side note, Jared and I finally took down mom and dad's christmas lights while they were gone...we didn't want to be that house anymore), we decided to go to lunch downtown at a new place we hadn't tried called the Steelhead Grill. It was fantastic food, and we decided that Jared and I want to live there we love the decor so much. Anyways, we then decided to try to find a place for dessert and drove way south, went by a golf course that had a driving range right into this lake, and we decided we needed to get our golf swing on since dad had his clubs in the trunk! After some nice hits--especially by mom--we continued our venture for dessert which led us to the Davenport hotel downtown---it was awesome AND they gave Jared and I our dessert for free since it was our b-day-NO ONE does that anymore, so we were especially appreciative.
On the way home we stopped at Auntie' Bookstore to browse around for a while--upstairs there was a live band playing, and they played the theme song from O Brother Where Art Thou, which I love for some odd reason.
After heading home, we all went off to workout together at Anytime Fitness since Jared and I had a free week's pass and made it home in time to watch Amazing Race together! We had a fantastic time with them!

On Monday I wanted to do something special for Jared, so immediately after I got out of my subbing job, I went to Just American Desserts and picked up a white chocolate cheesecake for Jared, along with a picnic dinner of his favorite things. When he arrived home, we hopped in the car and went down to Riverside state park where we walked around, ate our dinner, and just enjoyed spending time together.

Yesterday I had to open at work, and then decided I should not have to do my own hair on my birthday, so I got it cut, and when I came home my fabulous now 26 year old husband had a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting on the counter for me:) We met up for lunch later on during the day and I went to youth group last night while he was in class--maybe not the most eventful birthday ever, but still great.

Saturday we are having a big LOST party here at the house-I don't even remember the last time I had a birthday party!! It's strange how every year older I get, the more aware I become of who I'm allowing the Lord to make me. My prayer this year is that through all of my life experiences, that the Lord would increase in me and I would decrease. I'm so thankful for all of our family and friends who either called us or gave us a card, or were just kind and thoughtful to us as we celebrate this week. We are so blessed!
~Angela M.

Another Year

Another year older
Another year smarter
Another year of life experience
Another year of laughter
Another year of drawing closer to God
Another year of loving
Another year of Joy
Another year of challenges
Another year to grow
Another year to dance
Another year to laugh
Another year to change
Another year to become more like Jesus
Another year to share love
share life
share joy
share peace
share patience
share dreams
share hope

I'm so thankful for another year, I think 28 sounds pretty cool.

~Angela M.

SUGAR FAST

So many of you know Jared and I did the Daniel Fast for a month before Incredible Easter this year--good times and great discipline. What I may not have shared is that since Dec. 31 I have not had any sugar* and decided not to have any until my birthday-which is this coming Wednesday. I have done a fast like this before, but never for this long. I have been so proud of myself for resisting the urge to eat cookie, candy, ice cream and anything else scrumptious. I really feel like if I have had the discipline to do this, I can discipline myself to do about anything!
To break my fast, my friend Charese has offered to make an ice cream cake for our birthday party!!! I can't wait for that first delious sugary bite!!!

*I have had natural sugars and honey-but honestly come on, it's a pretty big deal in America to give up all the stuff I did!

~Angela M.

Bloomsday is Coming!!!!

Since my parents told me they did Bloomsday last year, I have really wanted to do it. I planned on registering really early and training for months beforehand. Well, today was one of the last few days to register for the early bird price...and Jared and I decided to sign up! The race is about 7.5 miles...and neither of us have been running (although I did run 3 miles with Mariah last week). So the race is on May 3...I think it's 3 weeks away. We better start training...yesterday.
~Angela M.

Incredible Easter Miracle!!!


I love Amazing Easter. It is probably the best day of my life every year. And this year, not only did Jesus rise from the grave (again), I had a little Stupendid Easter Miracle happen.

For about the last 5 months I have been missing 2 very important things. My ipod (which I had gotten for free from my bank in Michigan), and my car keys (so we were down to 1 set-not very convenient). I had searched through every purse and bag I own, and could not find them anywhere. I re-traced my steps months ago and came up with nothing. I knew they had to be around somewhere...but where!?!?

Yesterday as I was running out the door for church, I grabbed my brown jacket thinking to myself "self, it's kind of cold out today, grab this brown jacket."
As we arrived at the church, I put my jacket on. (it was cold memember?) I of course kept the jacket on once I got into the sanctuary/auditorium since that is always the coldest room ever...and stuck my hands in the pockets...

IT WAS A FABULOUS EASTER MIRACLE!!!! In one pocket was my ipod, and in the other were my keys!!!! I announced to the rest of the music team what an Amazing Easter miracle it was, and they all raised their voices in praise to God! (ok, maybe they were singing the song we were rehearsing, but I'd like to think they were as happy as I to find them.)

The end.


~Angela M.

Florida Update:



Well Jared and I arrived home last night around 11:30 p.m. (and yes I did open at work at 4:30 am....yes I'm tired)We had the greatest time in Florida with our dear friends the Crydo clan. Here are a few pics of our travels!


~Angela M.

A Much Needed Trip

Last year over Spring Break, our dear friends M, M, M, M, and M Crydo were heading out to Florida. Jared and I were over at their house late at night just a few days before they were going to leave. They were telling us all about what they were going to do, the campground they were going to stay at etc. I don't know who said it first, but somehow we started joking about how Jared and I should join them on the trip. Pretty soon, our joking turned into checking out airfares down to Florida at the last minute and before we knew it, we had booked tickets and planned on leaving about 2 days later!!! The trip we took last year was full of a lot of much needed relaxation, lots of fun and laughter, but most of all, really deepening our friendship with the Crydo clan. We had such a great time together that we all decided right there and then that we had to do the same thing again next year...

Which brings us to today. Jared and I get to leave on Tuesday for Naples FL for a week long vacation with the Crydo's!!!! We are so thrilled that our dream of getting together with them again, especially after moving away last summer, is actually happening! Thanks to some airmiles and saving up our tip money, our Florida Cramerine trip is possible once again! I can't wait for all the stories, fun times and memories that come from this trip:)


~Angela M.

What A Pain in the Knee

So for about the last month, I have been a dedicated die hard Jillian Michael's client...ok maybe she's not screaming at me in person, but through the television. Her 2 workouts that are my fave are her Boost Metabolism and her No More Trouble Zones workouts. Recently a few times a week I've been doing them back to back (they are an hour each). I've seen great results and think they are really fun.

About a week ago I started having some knee pain in my right knee--I had the same a few years ago when I was running a lot. I try to do everything right when doing squats and all the Plyometrics--don't let your knee go over your toe, don't let you knees go out or in, land on your toes...but still the pain-I think I'm on my way to get a little knee brace thingy.
I'm old.
~Angela M.

Can People Really Change??

Tears were streaming down my face this morning as I heard the story of a pastor in New Hampshire who has recently allowed a former inmate and convicted child killer--and convert to Christianity--into his home for a few months while the man (Raymond Guay) gets back on his feet after serving 35 years in prison. (click here for full story) Raymond met Jesus while in prison in 1993, and has only returned to this community after being ordered by a judge to spend his time there while on parole.
What completely broke my heart was how the entire community, and specifically his neighbors were re-acting to this great Christ-like act of the pastor and his family. Every time Raymond steps out of the home, someone fires a warning gun shot and yells and screams at him. They have a tent set up across the street so someone from the neighborhood can continually watch Raymond. People in town have posted signs in their yards saying "no kid killers". Neighbors are not allowing their children to go outside to play by themselves, and have tried to get officials in the town to kick out Raymond Guay. They are also purchasing firearms. Not only that, but Pastor Dave Pinckney has received several threats, including one threatening to burn down his house.
Now I want to get one thing completely clear-what Raymond Guay did in the past was in every way completely wrong. He murdered a little 12 year old boy for no reason, which brought on a lifetime of grief and pain for this boys family. I can not even imagine how terrifying it would be to go through something like that. Does what Raymond did in the past mean that defines who he is for the rest of his life????

When Good Morning America interviewed people in the neighborhood, they asked people if they thought Pastor Dave was doing the right "christian" thing. Their responses shocked me. One woman said "I'd say there are more deserving people to give second chances to. The child he murdered doesn't get a second chance. His mom doesn't get a second chance."
The sister of the murder victim was quoted as saying "You don't shoot a little boy in the face and find Jesus. A person who can do that is just not capable of that."
The pastors response to the threats is this: "I think people change. If people don't change, the Gospel has no merit," he said. "And we're kind of a hopeless society if we don't believe people change."

I simply can not believe that other Christians may feel like this act of grace was unmerited. When you look at the life of Christ--the very people He chose to hang out with were the worst "sinners" of that time. People can and they do change all the time by the love of Christ. I may not have killed anyone in my past, but I am a different person because of God's love. I have met countless people who have been radically changed by the love and sacrifice of Christ. I am praying today for Raymond, Pastor Dave, and his family as well as the Zimmerman family who are still feeling grief and pain. I hope that there will be others in the town who will show the love of Christ in this situation. If we do not show compassion and mercy, how can we truly be called a Christ follower?

~Angela M.

Where Have I Been!!!???
I have been such a bad blogger recently! All of you fans who are just sitting on the edge of your seats in anticipation for my next blog...I deeply apoligize-the waiting must have been hard!
This is the start of our 3rd week of Daniel Fast-I am planning on doing it for 4 weeks, but once those 4 weeks are over, I don't anticipate changing my diet too much from the DF. I've been enjoying being creative with meals, and have really enjoyed knowing the food that is entering my body is actually beneficial for me! I have also greatly increaed my exercise level, doing at least and hour-an hour and a half of workout videos a day. I alternate between Jillian Michael's Shred, Metabolism Boost, No More Trouble Zones, and our P90X DVD'S. I'm definetly loving having OnDemand! Although it just means no one in the family can watch tv while I'm working out!
We are thinking about buying another car. It is just getting too difficult to share the car especially when I am subbing and need the car all day. Jared tells me about every other day a new car he has found that we need to get:) I love my husband:)
The most exciting thing in our life right now is our much anticipated trip with the Crydo's to Florida in just over 2 weeks! The Crydo's have been so influential in our lives-we love all of the M's:)
Well that's the brief update on our lives. I will finish with a post of todays newest DF meal:

Sweet Potato Soup:
3 Sweet Potatoes
5 Cups Broth/Water
1/2 sweet onion
1 Cup Lentils
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp. Cumin
(I added cinnamon too)
1 lemon full of juice

Add everything to a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 min. Add lemon juice. Blend/Mash soup and serve.


~Angela M.

DF MEALS WE LOVE:

Red Lentil Stew (as shown to me by my friend Karen-although I changed things a bit)
3Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 chopped onion
3 celery stalks chopped
3 carrots chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. cumin
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 tsp. italien seasoning
7-8 C. Water/Broth
1-1 1/2 C. Dry lentils
3 potatoes
2 Tbsp Vinegar

1. Heat Oil in a large soup pot, add onion, carrots and celery and heat for 3 min.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 more min.
3. Add all other ingredients EXCEPT vinegar...bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 45 min-1hr.
5. Add Vinegar just before serving

Sufferin Succotash Salad

1 bag frozen lima beans
1 bag frozen corn
1/4 bag frozen peas
1 Can diced tomatoes (drained) --OR 1 chopped tomato
1/4 onion chopped
1 Tbsp Parsley
1/4 Cup Balsamic vinegar (I used half balsamic and half Apple cider vinegar)
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1. Cook up frozen veggies and drain
2. Combine all veggies and Parsley
3. Mix Vinegar and mustard together and pour over salad.

~Angela M.

Argyle Day at Church:

Not too sure why we did this today...because we can I suppose:)


~Angela M.