Aud's Odds

I am now in my third year of marriage. Monday, the 26th marked Jadon and my 2 year anniversary which makes today my second day in the third year of marriage. WOW! I so clearly remember daydreaming with Amanda about what kind of guy I would marry. I was probably in junior high, but it kinda feels like yesterday. Sometimes I can hardly believe that Jadon is my husband, that I'm married, that we own house, that we have a dog, etc. etc. etc. I think girls probably spend 99% more time than guys dreaming about who they will marry and what their life will be like. I remember spending hours playing "MASH" with my friends. It's a game where by random selection you find out who you'll marry, where you'll live, how many kids you will have, what kind of car you'll drive and more. The cool part about the game was that if you didn't like the outcome you could just play it again. I'm pretty sure I ended up marrying Nathan, having 8 kids, driving a Porshe, and liv...

I've been wanting to blog all weekend, but somehow never found the time. For some reason I was wide awake an hour before my alarm went off so here I am blogging (actually I know why I'm awake, it's because on almost every other morning I wake up at 4 a.m. for work, so 6 a.m. is actually "sleeping in") Thanksgiving weekend has been full and fun. Adam came to spend Thanksgiving with us and it was a blast. We started our Thanksgiving with a 5 mile Turkey Trot at the snowy, freezing Iowa State Fairgrounds. During the first mile I have to admit I was a little ticked to be running in frigid weather, "just for the fun of it". But after that my competitiveness kicked in and I knew I was going to finish the race. As with every race I run, I'm always amazed at the different styles of running. Some people make amazing progress moving in what seems to be very unconventional ways. There was a man in front of us who had a profound waddle and yet he covered...

It's snowing outside right now. It's our first snow of the year and I have mixed feelings about it. When it first started coming down, I was at work, I felt all cheery and jittery inside when I looked outside and saw the flakes drifting down. Then when I was walking back to my car and the snow was blasting me in the face my feelings changed a little. I didn't feel like an excited kid anymore. I felt cold, and wet and all I could think is, "you're almost there, you're almost there" Driving home in the snow brought out even more feelings, such as, fear, inpatience, annoyance, tension, anxiety, and relief once I was home. And now that I am home with Jadon and there is a fire in the fire place and it's warm and cozy, I feel.... cuddly (that's not really a feeling, but that's how I feel) and at ease and totally content. So, all that to say, "It's snowing outside, and I have mixed feelings about it" It's gotta snow sometime, might a...

I'm pumped!!! I ran my first "Living History Farms" race today. It's probably the funnest run I've ever done. It's a 7 mile run and the largest Turkey Trot in the United States. There were around 6,800 people who registered to run and I just read that 6,240 people finished the race. The rest of the results aren't posted yet so I don't know if I won or not :-). Actually I know I didn't. There were hoards of people in front of me and hoards of people behind me. It kinda felt like the Exodus and I bet a guy named Moses won. Jadon and I finished in 1 hour 10 minutes and 25 seconds. Not bad considering we had to walk for about 5 minutes at the start because it was so packed, and I stopped to go the bathroom in a corn field. There were people from lots of other states and even other countries. We also discovered that dressing up is kinda the thing to do. There were people in santa costumes, indian costums, half-naked, bare foot, with masks, you name it, ...

I love watching people, and working at starbucks I get a chance to see so many different people. Today a man came in with his dress shirt untucked and buttoned up wrong. I told him he was looking little casual. He said he had picked up his work clothes from the dry cleaners on his way to work and had changed while he was driving. He didn't seem to care that he was rumbled and crooked. He said he would get it together after he drank his coffee. There are also two indian men who come in and order a Grande Brewed Coffee with an extra cup. Then they go over to the condiment bar and split the coffee and fill the rest of their cup of with milk. They've figured out that it's cheaper that way. They take turns paying. There is a blind man who comes in almost every day. I love helping him. He is so cheerful and friendly and it's fun to tell him what all the pastries look like so that he knows what he wants to order. Another man orders a shot of espresso, then downs it in one gu...

I went running today and I decided to treat Iowa like Wyoming. I considered all the land, public land and I went off roading. It was blast. I had Maya with me and together we ran through corn fields, hay fields, ditches and tree lines. There were deer tracks everywhere and Maya was going nuts trying to keep up with all the new scents. The sun was also going down and it was beautiful. The whole run was exhilerating. As I ran I was overwhelmed with how amazing God is. He created it all, He gave me the ability and the strength to be running, He blessed me with a dog who loves to run more than I ever will, or ever want to, He gave me the most wonderful husband in the world, He provides for all my needs, and He blesses me with much more than I deserve. So as I ran I cried too, out of awe and gratitude to God. Looking back I realize it may have been one of my most dangerous runs. It was dusk, the terrain was uneven and unpredictable, I wasn't following a road, I wasn't ...

Where do they keep the 24 year old, married, modest, outdoorsy, sporty, slightly classy clothing in a department store? Today Jadon and I went shopping. I was looking for a pare of black or kahki pants. I didn't think it would be too hard. Wrongo! The pants I found were either extra low rise, stretch, extra flare, extra tight, making me look like I was trying to be one of Jadon's students instead of his wife. Or the pants were high rise, pleated, spandex waste, with a tappered leg, making me look like elementary librarian. I just wanted a normal pair of pants. I wanted to look 24, not 13, or 52. After much searching I found one working pair of pants. I wish someone would just hang one of those signs above the single, solitary rack of normal pants that says, "start here". But then it wouldn't be "shopping", it would just be called "finding" oh well!

So, the strangest thing happened today. After working all morning, going for a run and doing some cleaning I was looking forward to a leisurely soak in the the bath tub. I had just gotten in, the water was still running as the tub filled up. When the temp was right and the tub was full, I went to turn the water off. To my disappointment the hot water would not turn off. I twisted the knob as hard as I could and still hot water poured from the faucet. Well, since I had just gotten in I decided to continue bathing and worry about it when I was done. It was the fastest bath I've ever taken. Most baths end with a person climbing out because their water has gotten cold. Not this one. I was soon leaping out because I was being boiled alive. I did make it out safely, and what dirt I didn't have time to scrub off was definately seared off. Earlier that day Jadon and I discussed what to do with our Saturday evening. We tossed different ideas around like going to watch a movie, staying h...

Morning is so beautiful. It's new, it's fresh. I gives us every opportunity to live the day for Jesus. There are always consequences from the days before. But the potential of today and the days to come are so much bigger and stronger than the past. And the only reason for that is Jesus. What if we were stuck in yesterday? What if there was no fresh start? What a hopeless situation. But Jesus brings mornings, new days, fresh starts, light, another chance to glorify him.

So, I read Jadon's blog and decided I wanted one of my own. I'm not to great with computers and technology but really this isn't too hard. I've been sick at home all day so setting up my blog gave me something to do as well. Hopefully I'm not to out of it to make sense. So this is what I feel like right now. I feel kind of like a baby, my head feels much bigger than my body. It actually feels like it could explode. There is this pressure behind my eyeballs that makes me feel like a whipcream can. It's all pressurized in there. And I sure wish someone could push on the side of my head and make it all come out. But alas, we all know that nasal congestion doesn't play the game that easily. No, it makes you sniff until you feel light headed and then blow until your nose is raw. If you lean to the left, it leans too, if you lean to the right, it leans too. But, the neat thing about it is that it's like a sippy cup. You can lean, and it will slosh, but it does...