Why?

This is the question I have asked myself numerous times over the past several weeks...WHY? But despite my doubts, I "drank the koolaid" and decided to register to run the Country Music Half Marathon on April 30th. You see, it has always been a dream of mine, a "bucket list" if you will, and so many people in my neighborhood are doing it that I jumped on the band wagon. Now, for those of you that think I literally just signed up and that's it, you will be happy to know that I have been training. I have been running about 5-6 days a week and have gotten up to a SIX mile run. That's more than I ever did when running Cross Country (contrary to what my coaches probably hoped I did). So here I am getting up at 5:20 am to run with a 100 lb dog who is as slow as they come. Luckily, when I run in the afternoons I go with my friend Sarah and her dog who keeps Henry running like a champ. The long runs I have done on Saturdays, and I have yet to do any other exercising like crunches, push-ups, etc....I guess I should be starting that soon.

Anyways, another WHY question is WHY do I always choose desserts to give up on Lent? The answer is simple: because it is the hardest. Harder than coffee, harder than Facebook, texting, etc. Just plain hard. But I do it because it helps me remember that I am not the one in control, it is God, and he is really the only thing I need. I can do without desserts for forty days and it WILL NOT KILL ME! After all, we rely way too much on getting our comfort and satisfaction from food therapy, retail therapy, massage therapy, you name it, while we should be relying on God to be the source of fulfillment. So goodbye, sweets. But you better believe that tomorrow, Fat Tuesday to those celebrating, I will be living it up with the sweets!

On the agenda? El Toro Loco for some Mexican (Randy is giving up cokes so he will throw several back with his mexican food) and then YoLo for ice cream! Good thing I'm training for a marathon, right?!

My excuse...

My excuse for not blogging in so long is that I have lost..misplaced..my camera. I was hoping to locate it by now to have pictures, but I guess that isn't going to happen in the near future. Since it HAS been so long, here are the highlights of lately-

Binghamptoween- Yes, I made this word up, kinda clever, huh?! Well, Halloween in the neighborhood was a lot of fun. We went to a October Extravaganza at a friends house where we won the costume contest thanks to our homemade Chilean Miner costumes. We had wonderful food, grown ups bobbing for apples, and a pumpkin carving contest which I placed in and got a slip-n-slide which I then gave away to the kiddos that assisted me with my haunted house pumpkin. Also, I attempted a homemade (everrrything) chocolate three layer cake that fell, which I then went out and bought a store bought cake which NO ONE ate. It is okay though because I made cake balls out of the original cake...thus making lemonade from lemons.

October birthdays in MEMPHIS- They came to us! Pa, Mike and Glenda, and my Mom and Dad all came to Memphis to celebrate birthdays. They came to our house first and brought a wonderful kitchen island cart for my kitchen, met Henry, swung on our tree swing, and then went to Sandi and Jack's for delicious ribs in their gorgeous backyard. We had so much fun although it was a short trip. Oh, and I made a cake for that that actually turned out!

Henry update- He is 63 pounds and officially 6 months old today. We took him to the park the other day while we played a soccer game, tied him up only to find that he chewed through his leash and ran out on the field. He's a beast.

House Church- Our dear friends the Donlon's have a new baby in the family, Helen. Since we normally have church at their home (which is far bigger than ours) we offered to have it at our house during the first few weeks of the newborn being home. Thus, we had 36 people at our tiny home Sunday morning for worship. It was crowded, loud, full of energy, fabulous, and I loved it. We will have it again this weekend and I've learned some little things I can do to accommodate such a large crowd. This was an event I really wished I had had my camera to capture.

Open for Rent- Our house guest has moved out to a home in Orange Mound. Her and a roommate are living near an outreach center and we are really excited to hear about the work she does there. She has already met a lot of kids to get to know, and this will hopefully be a way for more people to move into that neighborhood and be witnesses for Christ. We will miss her as a "tenant", but happy for her to find a home and glad to be able to offer a bed to the next person in need.

Babies- No, not me. Get your mind out of the gutter, ha. My two sister-in-laws, Jen and Jenna, are both pregnant and due within 6 weeks of each other. Yay for two new nephews/ nieces/ twins? Haha, you never know, right?!

Fall Break- I successfully painted the living room, dining room, and kitchen with LOTS of help! It looks great (again, wish I had the pictures to prove it)...not that the home really needed it, but it makes it feel more ours. I also went to the dentist, a.k.a. my husband, over the break and got the royal (pain) treatment. Honestly, he did a great job (I got a filling) but the whole process was a lot more difficult than either of us had imagined...I complained and he got frustrated. Good news is that I have work that might get to be used for his boards next year. And yes, I know, I will have to be on my best behavior as a patient if that is the case...no complaining.

That's it, well the big stuff that is...everything else is, well, life in the Hartman home. Crazy at times. Boring at times. Just us.

Camping, Visits, and Birthdays

What happens when you get behind blogging? You end up with a bunch of random happenings lumped into one post. So bear with me here...

The first weekend in October was the fulfillment of something I have been wanting to do for a loooong time now...and we had the best weather! The Hartmans finally went camping! Whoever it was that got us our tent that we registered for for our wedding, thank you because we have now finally put it to use! Eight of us (four couples) packed up and went to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. It was about 3 hours and 15 minutes away but absolutely worth the drive.

Jon, one of the guys that went with us, decided we had the nicest camping setup he had ever seen with all of the equipment and food. To me, it was just camping...guess I don't know how to "rough it".
Two nights...a really packed car (this was one of two).

It just so happened to be Sarah's birthday that day, so Stacy made her a super cute birthday cake. What better way to celebrate a birthday than by a campfire?
Sarah and her "dirt cake"...very fitting for a camping weekend.
Our tent for the weekend...we had to set it up at 11:30 on Friday night!
Delicious pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning. Nothing like an iron skillet on open flame...that's good cookin'.
Randy and the great outdoors!
Our little hiking trip trailed along a beautiful river, took us to a giant waterfall, and super cool cave!
Beautiful day!

This picture definitely doesn't do the waterfall any justice, but it was really big. Problem was, I couldn't get close enough to the edge for a good picture, and we didn't have time to go down to the bottom of it. :(

Girls picture. Stacy, me, Emily, and Sarah.
This would be Jon inside the cave. No he is not naked, but it did make for a pretty funny photo op.
Beautiful cave. Again, not too great of pictures.
This is mainly what our weekend consisted of. Sitting/standing around the campfire and talking about life.
Awesome hammock thanks to Adam who was prepared with all things camping.
Meat night. Chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers. Delicious.
Sarah's birthday dessert #2: cupcakes!
And no camping trip is complete without a good batch of smores....mmmm!
We ended our trip on Sunday morning after a wonderfully amazing breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

2nd part of blog...great visits from great friends! The first of which came from my Australian mate, Sarah Kate. She left a couple of years ago to do some work with a church in Perth, and two years later, she is married to a wonderful Australian surfer dude...sounds too perfect, right? Well, she deserves it all! We had a great time catching up and eating some yummy yogurt. I love hearing about her life halfway across the world, and although I miss her dearly, I couldn't be happier for her. Maybe the next time we meet up should be in her neck of the woods?!
(This is an old pic, because we failed to take one in the 2 hours we had to catch up.)

Second visitor was Kelsa, a friend twenty years in the making. We have been childhood friends, teenage moody friends, roommates, and now are almost like sisters. She came for the weekend just to catch up for one of the last times for a while because she is planning to move to the west coast. We did nothing but walk, eat, talk, and eat...oh yeah, we did manage to go see a movie. We had an amazing time just talking...it's so funny how our conversations have changed over the years from school to boys to actually meaningful stuff. From the pic below (which is also old) you can see that we share the same bizarre sense of humor.

And here you have a picture of our amazing breakfast pizza we made. I just had to include a picture because it was that. good.

Last but not least, Randy's birthday was this past weekend, and he is now a quarter of a century old! Such a cougar I am. We spent a pretty simple night eating at the local mexican restaurant, El Toro Loco, with our friends Josh and Amanda. They sang to him while putting a sombrero on him and stuffing whipped cream on his face which was a pretty funny sight. At home, we ate some ice cream cake and then just enjoyed a quiet night in.

I'm not going to go on and on about how much I love this guy, but I will say that I am one lucky girl. As we like to say in the Hartman household, we are "two peas in a God pod". I'm happy to have him as my faithful and trusty pea to travel through this crazy journey that is our life.

Happy 25th Birthday, Rando!

A Casserole Explosion

So, tonight we decided to have some people from the neighborhood over for dinner. On the menu? Chicken Casserole, salad, fried squash, bread, and chocolate lava cake for dessert with homemade whipped cream. Everything was looking delicious, and our guests had just arrived. Sarah had just gone to get the door, which left me, Randy, and Adam in the kitchen. The yummy, bubbly chicken casserole had been out of the oven for five minutes tops sitting on top of the stove. As we stood around talking as I finished preparing the last of the squash, the ENTIRE casserole exploded into a million pieces...none smaller than one inch in diameter. No joke. I am not exaggerating in the least.

Not only did my casserole explode, but it exploded over everything in my kitchen...including the squash and the dessert. The two boys were also wounded with some shrapnel so we had a little bit of blood lost over the incident. Luckily, no one was hurt...nor were either animal. With nothing but some salad, bread, and a set dinner table, we decided to go eat mexican up the street. Still had a great dinner with friends, but nothing like what I planned.

Those of you who know the Mary and Martha story in the New Testament, Randy said that maybe it was God's way of telling me not to be a Martha in hosting a dinner. (I had been stressed about not getting the food done. The extreme heat in our kitchen didn't help. Maybe that was because the burner was left on from the tea? I won't say names of who left it on but I will say that it was not me who made the tea!! :) Whether it was a lesson learned or just a huge mess to make a memory in the new house, it is all cleaned up and now we can laugh.)

I hope the next dinner party goes well. If I get pictures sent my way of the entire disaster I will post them for your entertainment.

Goodbye, Sweets!

Those of you that know me know that I LOVE sweets! My eating habit is a dentist's worst nightmare (good thing I'm married to one and he'll have to put up with it whether he likes it or not). Well, starting today (and ironically it was a really tough day at school) I am eating no desserts. Period. Nada.

No I'm not on a diet, even though I have watched my metabolism soar down hill recently. I am celebrating Lent. Not because of a denomination, but because I think it has great meaning behind it. These 40 days, and 6 Sundays, that I do not eat sweets will hopefully give me more time and bring more of my attention to preparing myself for the Easter celebration, when my Christ was resurrected in the ultimate sacrifice. I am not the best at disciplining my self, which should be a defining quality if I call myself a "disciple" of Christ. Not that giving up sweets makes me a better Christian, but it is a small reminder that I should find joy in more than earthly, yummy things. Yes, it will be hard to give up my most loved sugary foods, but for the past couple of years that I have taken part of this tradition it has been extremely rewarding.

So here I go...it will be tough, but that is the point. If you have never tried giving something up and putting prayer, bible reading, etc. in it's place, I would definitely recommend it.

More to come on the fascinating Easter celebrations our eclectic church environment is a part of...Randy and I have learned so much about this time of Lent and the history it holds.

Birthentine's Weekend

Taken from gossip magazines, I have coined this weekend "Birthentine", since it has been a blend between my birthday on the 11th and Valentine's Day on the 14th. Birthentine's weekend has come and gone, and here is how it went...

(Warning: To those of you who make a big deal of your birthday AND valentine's, you will be sorely disappointed with this post. But it was just what I wanted).

Thursday (my actual birthday) was a late day for Randy at school, so I started making a homemade pizza for us to eat when he got home and watch our favorite shows of the night, The Office and Project Runway.

Friday was our day to celebrate. Unfortunately, I did not feel well that day and instead of getting all dolled up on the one night that it made the most sense (and after my cousin had taken the time to cut and color my hair), I pulled it back in a ponytail and put on a comfy sweater wrap. I chose Benihana for my birthday dinner, and it was delicious! I got to get sushi (which Randy hates) AND all the other good stuff. We sat next to four way-trendy guys who we found out were a rap group (but then couldn't look them up online so they either are not who they say the are...maybe bigger, or are no names...who knows what rap groups look like?). With it being my birthday, I got the whole sha-bang, and our table got very excited with the celebration! Luckily, the medicine kicked in and got me in a great mood by this point, too. After dinner it was Redbox for a movie and while I could have decided to get dessert, we were far too full to do anything but go home and lay on the couch.

Valentine's Day.

Not Randy or I's favorite, just because it is mostly based on spending money and getting flowers, not really anything personal; and as Randy says, he would much rather get me these things as a surprise...and also wait until what he buys is coming from his paycheck, not mine. Haha, how I love being the breadwinner! All these little thoughts of his are fine, but he is setting himself up for some big shoes to fill later...

I thoroughly enjoyed cooking our dinner for Valentine's night, and that was our gift to each other. We went shopping at Whole Food's to splurge, and the final result was Steak (mine had blue cheese, Randy grilled them), garlic green beans, baked acorn squash, and garlic bread with dipping oil. And some Merlot. It was absolutely delectable, amazing, scrumptious...(okay, I'm done bragging now). And our table even looked nice! First time since we've been married possibly. Randy refused to use his good cloth napkin and used paper instead! The reason there are pictures of the table and not us is because we were in sweats...I didn't think the two matched very well. Our dessert was eaten on Saturday so to save a little on the calories, and I made a giant cookie dough skillet with ice cream on top! yummm

Today I have the day off, AGAIN, though not for snow. I kinda wish we were going in and not having to make up snow days later on, but I guess I better just enjoy it. Carpe Diem. So I am. I am making BRANana bread...bran, bananas, chocolate chips, walnuts, mmm. Even Jack wanted to help!

And last but not least, what do you get when you're married to an art teacher? Cheesy valentine's day magnets of course!...sorry so blurry.

Thank you, Randy for being my best friend, my Valentine, my source of laughter, my encouragement, and for making this weekend a great one!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Merry Christmas, everyone! A little early, I know, but I can tell you right now that I will be much too busy enjoying family time in the upcoming weeks to write anything on this blog. Thus, there will be a very long post after the holidays for those of you that can bear it.

This is Randy and I's 2nd Christmas in Memphis, and I got a few more decorations this year. It isn't quite a winter wonderland, but it gives the intended festive vibe. The story to go with decorations goes like this...

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....(forgetfulness)

A week or so ago I talked Randy into doing decorations complete with music, baking, etc. which was a difficult feat considering he was deep in study mode. He agreed to go get the decorations out on the deck and came back with nothing...A call later, we realized I had left them in Nashville last year and INTENDED on getting them on Thanksgiving! oops. Luckily, my aunt was coming from Nashville to Memphis and brought them.

These are a few of my favorite things...about Christmas:

*Baking: I spent all day yesterday making toffee bars, mint brownies, and a brownie mocha trifle...mmmm. I also went to a Holiday Treats Exchange and have a box full of goodies for the whole week. The bad part? My clothes are tight....TOO tight!

*Family: I get to spend Christmas with so much family and I cannot wait to see them all! Randy and I are spending the most time with Danny, Jenna, and Luke in Louisville. I've also enjoyed time with my Memphis family and Church family. We decorated Christmas cookies with the Burundi girls last night which was the biggest mess I've ever seen, and then spent the night playing games and laughing..laughing..laughing.

*Cheese: Both in the ball form (I loooooove cheese balls) and in the cheesy Christmas way...aka the Singing Christmas Tree at Bellevue Baptist. It is equivalent to a Broadway performance in a megachurch. Ridiculous? Yes...but amazing.

*Shopping: Most got done on Black Friday and online, but I got to go shopping for my angel through school, a 1st grader in Memphis and loooooved it.

*Music: I've lately called Randy the Christmas Killer because he complains about the Christmas music in my car...

*Lights!

*Movies: Favorites are It's A Wonderful Life and Elf...also love Home Alone.

*Fire: We made our first fire the other night when we had friends over. I don't know who loved it more...Jack or me....probably Jack!

*Time Off!: Randy is already done (the worst is over) and I will be done after this week. Pheeww!

Jack in his ski vest. Sadly, I couldn't get much better shots of him because he hates it so much!

Believe!! And our lone ornament, which reads "The Hartmans 2008"...we will get a tree one day when we have a house and more room for our cat to roam and not try to climb it!

Christmas Card ribbon...some are old and some are new!

Candy cane centerpiece with snow-filled martini glasses! Yes, I am aware that I need a runner to complete it, but because I have a beast of a cat who pulls at all fabrics, this must do for now.

And last but not least, for those of you that have never seen It's A Wonderful Life, click on this link to watch the Tucker version...with me having the best line: "Look daddy...every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings"...now how did my aunt Sandi know to put me as that character?!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/jrrW00sT9d3ktckj

Thanksgiving Highlights

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."- Psalm 107:1

This was our year to be in Nashville for Thanksgiving, and we got into town late Tuesday night. Wednesday I went and visited some old friends where I used to work, All Fired Up. That night, my mom and dad took Randy and I to Blue Coast Burrito...yummy fish tacos!

Thursday I helped (well a little bit) cook. The Tuckers took two turkeys, two casseroles, two pies, and fruit salad! And that was about 1/5 or less of the total amount of food we had! Randy and I got sent home with a honey baked ham so I'm not complaining!

Jack and I ready to cook. Yes, that is a turkey apron!

The family (minus Jodi and Matthew) :(

Happy Thanksgiving! Hard to believe Randy and I got engaged almost exactly two years from this date! Always will be an extra special holiday for that reason.

My parents looking good in brown.

My cousins have taken this picture ever since the youngest was like 3 years old. Oh, memories!

The following day, Randy and I did BLACK FRIDAY shopping. We have now for every year that we have been engaged/married. After waking up at 4:10, I dropped Randy off at WalMart and drove myself to Target. After being successful and getting two lattes from Starbucks, I realized I didn't have my cell phone...and was about to enter only the single worst place to find someone...WalMart! As I walked in with two grande Starbucks cups, prepared to have Randy called on the intercom, he is the first face I see! Phew! We went on to Cool Springs and did a lot more shopping before getting grumpy and going home...luckily we had a nice warm breakfast waiting for us when we got there!

At 2 o'clock that day was a Hartman celebration. Luke had his 1st birthday party in Hendersonville! He actually turned 1 on Nov. 11th, but his party was when everyone could be together. He was as happy as could be and loooving the attention! Happy Birthday, Luke!

Luke at his birthday party!

Grayden at the birthday party with balloons tied to his right leg.

Luke eating his dairy-free cake with Grayden staring from afar.

Birthday boy in green--all over! His daddy got the memo and wore green, too!

Luke opening his gift from Uncle Randy and Aunt Lynsi--LEGOS! (What else could a boy possibly want?)

Aside from LEGOS, every boy needs a snazzy red car.

Hartman Sisters.

Hartman brothers...Danny, Robby, Randy

Us with our precious nephews...aren't they handsome?!

Grayden eating his 2nd cupcake...notice the green icing on his shirt from the 1st.

3 generations of Hartman right there.

That night we had a chili supper with the Tuckers and Wileys and then went to see The Blind Side as a family. Definitely enjoyed the movie, especially since it is based on a kid out of Memphis. Saturday was spent in Cookeville visiting all the grandparents, Mac and Lulu both being in the nursing home but had a great visit nonetheless. We brought a smile to my Lulu's face which makes the whole trip worth it! After picking up my Pa and checking out the renovations on his house, we went up the mountains to Rocky Point Tree Farm and picked out a Christmas tree. It is a sentimental tradition for me to be my daddy's little helper with the Christmas tree, so it made both of us very happy to saw down a tree together. We were also the SUV with the tree on top making everyone on the interstate get into the Christmas spirit!

Today we left and came home to Memphis, although the cats became the best of buds and Jack showed no hurry to get back to his bachelor-style living in Memphis. They were like crazed cousins soaking up every minute together!

Oh yeah, did I mention we watched LOTS of football?

During the holidays and always, there is so much to be thankful for!