Time for massive updating. Here's the family news as of late. Or more accurately, the last 3 months...

Gila joined the ranks at the 4N Ranch.

Wyatt turned 5! Birthday time was complete with a treasure map, dinosaur fossil dig, and an orange T-Rex birthday cake made by GT. Oh, and football. Lots and lots of football.

We changed things up for Christmas this year. Amber and I headed to a little cabin for some peace and quiet for the weekend. I had a picture... emphasis on the "had". Then we all gathered at the Ranch over New Year's weekend.

"Christmas morning"...

... plenty of coffee ...

... painting with M ...

... and Emme downing some homemade whipped cream.

And then more recently, DM & Julianna tied the knot in Canada!

Never short on Nickson adventure!

I was a pretty terrible sculpture student. Unfortunately, the class was a requirement for all art degrees, and while the professor was one of my favorites, my 3D abilities were quite lacking. My projects usually went like this: don't know what to do... don't have any ideas... can't think of anything... 48 hours til the due date... GREAT IDEA!... execution... class critique.... epic fail. All my "brilliancy" down the drain as I looked over the other student's work and realized that my piece better fit an elementary school art project. Bronze was my only saving grace – and even that was a stretch.

And so, I appreciate great sculpture. I think it takes a very unique mind to come up with some of the amazing and innovative pieces we see today. I came across this really creative sculptor via this really great illustrator's site earlier today. Pretty incredible. 

This clever piece, titled Scarp, uses 5,000 articles of clothing – on loan from Goodwill. It's a comment on American consumerism and the overflow of landfills. More info here.

And this one – Military Carving By the Book – is an army man replica made out of books that were written on the subject of war. War opinions aside, it's pretty ingenious. Oh, and it's hollow so that transportation would be easier. Found here.

A little Friday inspiration. Cheers!

... looked at every art book in Half Price

... walked out of Half Price having bought only one book

... got backed into in the Target parking lot
... managed to cause a "small" fire in the microwave (darn butter wrapper)
... perfected a sugar cookie recipe
... hung shelves in my room
... braved Hobby Lobby on a Saturday before V-day
... read and journaled over coffee
... explored a new running route in the neighborhood
... talked to some folks in Canada :)
... worked on a church logo
... took a power nap
... made white chicken chili
... worked on a sweet mobile – yes, a mobile – for the corner of my room (think artsy, not baby crib-ish)
... ate pretzels for lunch
... watched The Firm
... drank hot tea
... learned a new song

... and, decided to crank the 'ole blog up again.

Welcome back.

Bring in the bulldozers and cranes; it's time for a little remodel! Hopefully I'll be back to posting soon. Once I figure out the code in this new template. And turn the red text into something not red. And make the columns wider. And get the stars to align exactly how I want them to. Stay tuned.

Ah... where to begin. I'm not even sure what's happened in the last few weeks. Something about changing jobs, moving to a new city, and running a marathon. But before all of that, I made a list of some favorite times in Dallas to officially close out that chapter. In no certain order:

• the “original” 3P Challenge event: fun team, great adventure
• Fossil: holiday time, Farkel tournaments on Friday, and the tin wall
• Small Group Bible Study & Christmas party charades
• Village Burger & Glen Phillips: one of my very favorite evenings
• PC Sundays at Fortress
• Saturday morning long runs at White Rock
• camping and exploring at Ray Roberts
• FW Main Street Arts Festival
• Northbridge extravaganzas: Harrison, a room full of balloons, and hallway chatting
• Life is Good Pumpkin Festival: tower of jack-o-lanterns, homemade chili, and Disney trivia
• couch movies at Inwood Theater
• exploring the Katy Trail with running buddies
• Vertis: birthday desserts, Golf Galaxy, Brookshire photo shoots, and the lime green studio
• volunteering at the Bridge: engaging homeless through running groups
• 48 Hours of Prayer and Service at PC
• Alias and LOST: addiction with two best buds
• backpacking at Lake Texoma
• FC Dallas soccer games
• ice/snow days: snowmen, snow ice cream, and snow running
• Heritage Salt & Light activities: being hands and feet in the community
• MP Relay (x2): 240 miles on the road + close, smelly quarters = instant friends
• Café Brazil outings with Emily S.: best conversation and coffee combo
• South Padre Island: raining in Dallas? buddy pass to the beach!
• FW Cowtown Marathon w/DM
• MP's 50 Hours of Kickball
• Shakespeare in the Park outing with Allison
• Lifetime Fitness TRI: first indoor triathlon with Erica
• Grapefest with the Amer. Air crew: food, more food, and a grape-stomping competition
• Amer. Air photoshoots for Cents: paper sailboats and golden cash registers
• Matt Nathanson, Train, & Maroon 5 concert with Amber

There are many more that I'm sure I forgot to add, and I purposely didn't include excursions outside of Dallas... which means I have a whole lot to be grateful for these last 5 years. Surely BCS would dare to hold just as much adventure, yes? Or yes?

... on race week!






Life is sprinting along here in Bryan/CS, Texas. We are PUMPED to be hosting 1500 runners this weekend for an inaugural race that is going to rock some socks off as well as raise a lot of money for some sweet, sweet kids. Several updates to come – after Sunday.