Monday, July 19, 2010

The Games

For those of you who still haven't discovered the gloriousness of CrossFit, this past weekend was the 2010 CrossFit Games. Yes, the Games I competed to qualify for at the end of May. The Games I came so close to making it to, but just missed that I wanted to cry (oh wait, I did...shocking). Anyway, CrossFit streamed the entire weekend live over the web with commentators. It was amazing. Most CrossFitters were glued to their iPhone or computer screen all weekend watching each second of The Games.

If you are curious about what the CrossFit Games look like, the Saturday and Sunday events are archived and can be watched back by the hour. Pretty cool! Go Here. In the bottom left hand corner you will see "Missed Something? View the archives below, organized by he hour" Pull the drop down menu and select your time!

It might be hard to grasp just how incredible these athletes are and how taxing what they are doing is on their bodies. The top competitors went through nine events in less than 48 hours. Our affiliate owner, Breck Berry, placed 21st overall for the men. Quite a showing! If nothing else, watching The Games is truly inspirational. Seeing competitors cheer on their peers after they have completed an event is something you don't see often in the athletic world, but it is something you see everyday in CrossFit whether you are an elite athlete or a beginner. The CrossFit community continues to grow and The Games will continue to get bigger and bigger. I'm excited to see where it all goes! Pick an hour and check it out. There are individual events, team events and masters events (50+).

Now we wait another year to do it all again...

Friday, July 16, 2010

A Few Wonderful Things About Today...

  • It's my birthday!
  • Baby WOW will more than likely be making his grand entrance into the world today.
  • My dear friend Lauren is celebrating five blissful years of marriage. She picked a good day!
  • The 2010 CrossFit Games are kicking off! Woo! Woo!
  • My sister is arriving in town.
  • I'm going to see Inception and I will probably eat some Twizzlers.
What a great day! Happy birthday to me! These came from Kody all the way from Michigan. Ok, well not directly from Michigan, but you know how it works.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Just Kidding...

I was in the middle of sending this text to Kody:

"Heading to Wal Mart. Do you need anything?"

Then I remembered we don't live in the same state right now. HA! Oh well, at least I was trying to be thoughtful. He will apprecaite that even though we have different zip codes.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Update on The Oklahoma AND Michigan Kings!

What a crazy life we lead....

Michigan King Update:

Kody is now in the full swing of his intern year. His first month is general surgery and he is on orthopedics next month. He has a really great schedule, at least I think so. Maybe that is because he is on general surgery while I'm not there so if he is busy it doesn't really matter! He is making friends. Thank goodness! He is already spreading his love of the Rubix Cube. Kim, I'm sorry. He has met a third year general surgery resident who is also a Florida alum. Yes, we have befriended Gator fans in Michigan! If only you could see my radiant smile as I say that. I can't wait to wear my Florida gear around Big 10 country. Kody is happy and working hard, like he always does. I think he is adjusting to life very well. Other than getting used to doing his own laundry, I would say life is good up north.

Oklahoma King Update:

The house has still not sold. I'm getting a bit frustrated at this point. We dropped the price and that has increased traffic a lot. Unfortunately, our neighbors seem to be hindering the sale of our home. The four couples who have really liked that house said their only concern was our neighbors. They don't mow their yard very often and the siding is in serious need of a paint job. It just looks unkempt. I get it. If I was buying a home I would want to know the surrounding homes were going to be kept up well. I'm not sure what to do. We have mowed their yard before, but how do you have that conversation with someone you don't know well? Prayers on the situation are very appreciated. We need to sell. It has been two months now.

My mom is coming up on Saturday to help me pack up more stuff. I'm looking forward to spending time with her and getting a lot accomplished. She is a great helper. I'm very lucky to have her! I was also able to spend the last two weekend with my family and Robin! I haven't spent that much time with my sister in ages. We had a great time. We saw Eclipse, spent time with friends, worked out together, ran with Midori, watched a lot of TV.

Speaking of my sister, Kody and I are buying her car. We need an all wheel drive vehicle for the wonderful Michigan winters. My Acura, yes the one I have had since I was 16, isn't really a winter weather kind of car. It still runs great, but we just need something that will get Kody to the hospital no matter what the weather is like. Robin is leaving for her deployment in a week. She was planning to store her car and buying something new when she returned in February. When she realized we were going to buy something she offered to let us use her car during her deployment and then buy it. We don't have a lot of extra funds right now and we aren't going to take out a loan for a car. We are giving her the proceeds from the Acura as a down payment and then paying her over the course of her deployment in no interest payments. She is so incredibly generous. Her car would trade in for $13,000 and she is selling it for less than 50% of that! It is a 2005 Audi A4. Beautiful. I absolutely love her car. Kody and I are thrilled. The best part is she is driving from Tucson to Tulsa to drop it off. I get to take her to the airport because she is now leaving from Tulsa for her deployment. I think it will be special that I get to be the one to send her off. My parents will be cruising the Alaskan sea with my aunt and uncle at that time. We weren't invited. Whatever.

I haven't been much in the blogging mood lately. It is pretty hit or miss at this point. My updates may be infrequent until we get settled in Michigan. I promise to update as soon as something incredibly exciting happens...like our house sells!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

First Day

Today was Kody's first day of his internship. That is weird to say, type and think. Everything he has worked so hard for started today. This week is orientation. He will be going through certifications, HR paperwork, schedules, benefits, hospital tours, etc. The real fun begins on July 1st. He finds out tomorrow about his schedule. Intern years are pretty similar no matter the hospital or specialty. Most of them go through a month or so of some sort of internal medicine, ER, general surgery, family and a few others scattered here or there. Interns don't do much in their specialty until their 2nd year.

He texted me today and said, "My badge says Dr. King". I laughed a little bit. How amazing and strange all at the same time!

I'm praying hard that we will get an offer on our home soon. As sad as I am to leave our home, I am so excited to be with him in Michigan and start our new life. Bailey is ready too. She already misses her daddy.

In other news, I'm gearing up for my ten year high school reunion this weekend. I'm looking forward to spending time with friends before the big move. I know this will be the last time I will see a lot of these people for a very long time. I'm so blessed that I am still so close with so many of my wonderful friends from high school. I know I will stay close with them for years to come as well. Thanks world wide web and Al Gore.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Home Away from Home

I officially found us an apartment in Michigan until we buy a home. We totally lucked out. I know it is a God thing because I have been praying that all of this would work out and slowly, but surely it is. We didn't really look for a temporary home in Michigan while we were there last weekend. Partly because we didn't want to mess with it and partly because we were both in denial. However, Kody actually does need somewhere to live when he leaves next week. Imagine that. I spent a good portion of Sunday and yesterday calling apartment complexes. Most only have twelve month leases and most "pet" friendly apartments are occupied until August. Well, that simply would not work.

I found a place that I thought would work. It was a bit more money than I wanted to spend and they would only take a twelve month lease. We don't plan on staying in an apartment for twelve months (once our house sells we are buying). However, it was the best I could find. The downside is if we broke our lease we would have to pay a two months rent penalty. Ouch. It was a little further from the hospital than we wanted, but it was manageable. Oh yeah, and they did not have a microwave. Boo.

Kody was OK with it. It was the best we could find. However, I decided to try one more place and it was like magic! The lady was insanely nice. Turns out they had one unit in their "pet building" left and it was a one bed one bath...just like we wanted. Plus, they have a three month lease option! I know, this might sound silly to be excited about, but the timing on it is just perfect. Also, since Kody is a hospital employee now he gets all the upfront fees waved. Awesome. We are paying a little more per month for the short term lease, but we won't have to break the lease and mess with all that junk so in the long run it saves us quite a bit of money. Plus, this place is less than three miles from the hospital.

I'm so grateful Kody will have an actual place to live next week that will be his. No sharing with other residents or extended stay hotels. He'll have his own bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Plus, Bailey will have lots of friends in the "pet building" when we get there in August! YAY!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Time is Near....

Two weeks. Kody has two weeks left in Tulsa until he heads up to Michigan for orientation. It is a very weird feeling. Last night we were getting into bed and he said, "I only have one more Tuesday night at the house before I leave." Strange! We were in Michigan this last week house hunting and getting to know the are better.

A few things I am really excited about:
* Cheeseburger in Paradise
* Partridge Creek Mall - yeah that's right, Ann Taylor Loft, Bebe, Banana Republic, Coach, Forever 21, H&M, J Crew....yes, be jealous of me. We strolled around one night and it was so much fun. They also have a really great cupcake place and a dog bakery. Heaven! They have a stage in the middle of the mall with live music during the summer too. We were rocking out.
* Lake St. Claire - it feels like the east coast. Ahhhh North Carolina. There is a beach, cute little restaurants on the water and lots and lots of boats.
* The lack of summer heat. OK, I know it is going to be "hot", but it will not be Oklahoma hot. It was in the high 70's and low 80's the entire time we were there. YAY!

So, in short, I have some things to look forward to and I have a really good attitude. We found a couple houses we like, but we still need to sell ours. We keep telling Bailey she is about to become a "Michigan dog" and she seems to be OK with that. What a trooper.

This weekend our CrossFit gym is having a going away party for us. I love them all so dearly. They have become our family. We did try out a CrossFit in Michigan and really liked it. The great thing about CrossFit is that no matter where you are the people are always friendly and welcoming. We really felt at home and I know that will be a wonderful place for us to build new friendships.

Next weekend my sister is driving from Tucson to Oklahoma. She is getting deployed in July to Kuwait. My parents are keeping her two cats for her during those six months. That should be very interesting. The timing is perfect because Kody and I will get to see her before he leaves and before she deploys. She is supposed to be back in January. I can't even begin to imagine what that is going to be like for her, but she is very excited. I'm so proud of my sister. She just became a Captain in the Air Force and I know she is amazing at what she does. I'm so thankful for her and all the others, like my brother in law Kasey, who decide to devote their lives to serving our great country. I don't believe they will ever get enough praise.

Oh yes, and in case you were curious, I finished seventh at the CrossFit South Central Regional over Memorial Day weekend. I wrote a recap of the event on my nutrition blog. You can go here to read all about it. I still don't feel like I have fully recovered, but it was a wonderfully horrible weekend. :)