I'm so excited about....Hawaii!

<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_CNnNgV_32CmDLb4exziyL9g-WgAJHvix53d3_sbWtg1UutMMO0XZj4Usfb30AA7oNYNVF2o-t_LuRZ3nG2Jr_9UNvZ5IIk_OMt9u3phiJLqu_GYslKS2LEXwa3KE30ZXsy3k3-vsn1O/s1600/a-24-tropical-day-web-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_CNnNgV_32CmDLb4exziyL9g-WgAJHvix53d3_sbWtg1UutMMO0XZj4Usfb30AA7oNYNVF2o-t_LuRZ3nG2Jr_9UNvZ5IIk_OMt9u3phiJLqu_GYslKS2LEXwa3KE30ZXsy3k3-vsn1O/s400/a-24-tropical-day-web-lg.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div align="center"><br /></div>I just got off the phone with my niece that lives in North Pole, Alaska (near Fairbanks, AK). It's currently -32 degrees (that's below zero). We're planning a girls' trip to Hawaii in March, my two nieces, my sister and myself. We kind of talked about it when I was there in December, but we decided to make it happen. It's going to be super fun.<br /><br />The only trick is I have to be back by March 20 for the <a href="http://www.llswa.org/site/PageNavigator/BC_homepage">Big Climb</a>, and we plan on leaving for Hawaii March 11.<br /><br />I haven't gone on a "girls only" trip since college! <br /><br />I skipped the gym this morning, on purpose. I've only had two days off in the last 16 days. I had a 7:30 a.m. breakfast date with my two best girlfriends at IHOP (ugh!). I had the Slim and Fit Mushroom and Tomato Omelet with fresh fruit for 5 Points (330 calories). It was actually pretty good, and I had them use egg substitute so maybe even a little less on the calories. <br /><br />I love that they put the calories on the menus now. I think that's just about the coolest thing ever. Of course, it was only calories (and my girlfriends' breakfasts were 1,200 calories each!). I still had to go to the website to get all the nutritional info for the Points calculation. The calories alone really helped me make a good choice.<br /><br />Even though no gym today, I managed to walked our 60 steps of stairs at work during lunch, <strong>twelve</strong> times, or 720 steps. Part of my training plan for the Big Climb is to do this twice a day (in addition to my gym workout). The Big Climb is 1,311 steps, with no stops. I'm a little worried about what I got myself into with this thing. I just hope I don't totally embarrass myself and need a medic to resuscitate me when I'm halfway to the top!<br /><br />About Hawaii, I've been to the islands many times in my life, maybe eight or nine. I can't really remember for sure, but it's been a lot. Remember, I'm from Alaska and that's where people from Alaska go for a vacation. Also, I've worked for an airline for 27 years. I even went to college over there for a year. I totally and completely love Hawaii. And I love my sister and nieces so this trip is going to be a blast!<br /><br />Now not only do I have to get in shape for the Big Climb, but also for the beach!

I'm so excited about....Hawaii!

I just got off the phone with my niece that lives in North Pole, Alaska (near Fairbanks, AK). It's currently -32 degrees (that's bel...

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Envivo De Michoacan II

Every day I forget that my purposes for what I do are only my purposes. God invariably has larger plans. Today I set out to study Spanish, and so I did -- in the morning – more irregular verbs and rules for when to use and when to omit articles. (Those who speak languages are strictly bound to obey the rules; but those who create the rules make up exceptions at will. Where is the justice in that?)<br /><br />This afternoon, I was supposed to go with the other students on a guided (in Spanish) walking tour of the city. But the tour was cancelled so I walked alone and found myself at the Cathedral – a beautiful old Gothic building. Along with a scattered group of clearly devout people, I spent some time praying in the nave, then went to pray in the Lady Chapel which was crowded with people praying fervently on a Wednesday afternoon. It is a holy thing to be surrounded by so much reverence. As I began to leave, I heard the beginning of mass at the main altar so I stayed for worship. It was an unexpected blessing.<br /><br />I then walked back to the school for Conversation Club, an informal gathering for casual discourse, the point of which is to practice one’s language. I went to practice Spanish, but found myself at a table of young Mexicans who needed to work on their English. So we spoke English most of the time, as we sat outside on the roof the school, the darkness falling around us.<br /><br />One of the young men at my table is an artist, a sketch artist who wants to become a “real” artist and his passion is to paint sacred art. He was a bit shy about this since his teachers and fellow students have told him he is in the wrong century for that kind of painting. This issue set me off and I found myself giving a lecture on theology – how religion is a language about the ineffable mystery, it is a set of symbols pointing toward things that cannot be spoken – and art can sometimes suggest the mystery better than words – Caravaggio was the greatest theologian of his day.<br /><br />Then I rambled on to what we mean by “God” and how for the past few centuries we have identified “God” with dominating power – and if “God” means our highest value and God is defined by such power, then we worship power. The effect on our souls is to make us power mongers and that is the religious root of violence.<br /><br />But an older view of God as the Supreme Beauty has been reclaimed by contemporary theologians beginning with Hans Urs Von Balthasar. We call to mind the greatest beauty we can imagine. Then we consider that there may be a beauty beyond that, something we cannot touch even with our imaginations, and in that thought we begin to approach God. Such a view of God opens us to pay attention, to apprehend beauty, to be transformed by beauty. The transforming power of spiritual beauty is the meaning of the beatific vision in Dante.<br /><br />I noticed this group of young people was utterly and completely with me, caught up in my spontaneous sermon on faith and the visual arts. The artist was genuinely inspired. So I said to myself, “And I thought I was just here to study Spanish. Maybe God intended to nurture my soul with the silent reverence of those people praying in the cathedral. And maybe God gave me a message someone needed to hear.” I actually believe God did. Maybe someday someone’s soul will be touched in some blessed way by a painting, and they will be grateful for this work by Rivera (his name, like Diego) but will never know that Rivera’s approach to painting drew in a small way on spiritual guidance he received from a nameless American cleric in Morelia circa 2011 – or that the nameless cleric spoke out of the silence he had just experienced among the nameless faithful gathered to pray on a Wednesday afternoon in the Cathedral, people who prayed for their own purposes, not knowing that God intended their piety to touch a foreigner who would in turn touch a young artist who would someday touch someone not yet born.

Envivo De Michoacan II

Every day I forget that my purposes for what I do are only my purposes. God invariably has larger plans. Today I set out to study Spanish, a...

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20 weeks

<p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQvIQqvs1uCxSSaQ-U3rY2AqUO2P2HJU3Gi6UP90LwMWy6-BL8iKDr1O7GQe7oM25EEFH0jeOSjwcZweAYO7q2W2okgZg3IYGneia2vuAVP5RjTKWJ4ARyqjTVHI-8oqnTCScTfOx2T7s/s1600-h/20%20weeks%20-%202.2.11%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="20 weeks - 2.2.11" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9efi_My6xRf66vAf0K3aeMXmQ5BOiu9fRJNHej5pF7hZAOYddEJZ1TqIe8fqdsp9ZpAhKN1p1Slc82aQY94ANQ5_O_Yz-50r36h6K5xeRVCN73KspZCcwqNNAeWcqUDGrWK-YZtGvkqS/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="20 weeks - 2.2.11" width="304"></a>  <strong>Pregnancy Highlights:</strong> <blockquote> <p><strong>How Far Along:</strong> 20 Weeks <p><strong>Size of baby:</strong> Baby Bangert is the size of a cantaloupe <p><strong>Total Weight Gain/Loss:</strong> gained 18lbs <p><strong>Maternity Clothes:</strong> I wear maternity jeans and pants but everything else is regular.  Things are getting tighter though! <p><strong>Gender:</strong> It’s a girl!!! <p><strong>Movement:</strong> Beginning to feel my little girl more lots more these days!  <p><strong>Sleep:</strong> Not too bad, I get up a few times throughout the night to go to the bathroom. I guess it’s preparing me for a newborn! <p><strong>What I miss:</strong> Sleeping on my stomach and a bigger selection of clothes! <p><strong>Cravings:</strong> I don't have specific cravings. I just like to eat! ;) I don’t think ice cream counts, I love that anytime! <p><strong>Symptoms:</strong> Really can’t complain! Feeling pretty well! <p><strong>Best Moment this week:</strong> Finding out & seeing our baby girl! Amazing!</p></blockquote> <p>Last Tuesday we had our ultrasound appointment. Kyle was there (of course) and Aunt Wendi came too! It was so amazing to see that little life inside me!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U0VAN6ASmugLlzQXyzWiAGIqLe5HggVTtPzycLB2LYHMY5Z4BWp_uWXdIG4NKvL_tYoCj2h2zJ7AhmFkaSPWnOarhkTFFFu_Ks6_ZjBc9F7Nsax8dMEyNbhrKNBSi9hUEql3bGQGtPix/s1600-h/1.25.11%20ultrasound%5B5%5D.jpg"><img alt="1.25.11 ultrasound" border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHHr4_RW6MK_2LyY9myBJpjSfi4I5hdZx9KBJkidyaLqEm7oXmHfZRzhGvtUbBzhTDZF7vUp7AxmQHTIdKtQJIOPfUIubWBfv8mIAGHIkcp1RjTWlwK4reWeKCf9gkY0dl_no_g7vViwI/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="1.25.11 ultrasound" width="404"></a>Thursday we had our follow up appointment with the Doctor and said she looks perfectly healthy. Kyle got a kick out of her saying “baby looks proportional”! They measured me about 6 days ahead, but wanted to stick with my original due date, maybe that means Baby Girl Bangert will come before June 16th! <p align="center"><strong><em>Nursery Preview!  </em></strong> <p align="left">Kyle painted while we were off work over Christmas break. We chose <a href="http://www.restorationhardware.com/">Restoration Hardware</a> “light silver sage” for a color. It’s a light blue/gray. I knew it would (obviously) work for a boy, but thought if we added pink to the room it would look great for a girl too!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwSK9WCv-xDnEANA25QYRRu2XV4wr8VrRTVKQKa8VKYOC0L4DGNQS49NCAl3f4QHF4v5dq8-pbEr6nbU9GxneipsULsW1z3LcP078pXlmoO-ngGDxLJGLX7_2oyirBVpypxXFQax5q6jt/s1600-h/image-6082303950851780%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="image-6082303950851780" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6v6QjZ2xucls2zBUXmbl8Fznxr1p4DQqpkW52JXzqtimAhOyiK0Nnu9VFfA7RN7RZSG7K21fhj_xOuT2N_NmTk5XUAv9d8_0uHNRoVQzS1ti1pmwCoRUvcNt1vkVLaq-cTCkNaA4J0pDl/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="image-6082303950851780" width="304"></a> <p align="left">Last weekend Kyle installed a closet organizer in the nursery. I just LOVE how it turned out, I’m all about organizing!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9x6-28hzAgXeEsJn1VOIaZwa2NsvqsupLK4Dz04HKm1R3Pns67gXLxKOKQ8hkb2sKvYouXm9H-lWIFtLiyAUpoTW3i_nXZs6DbaaDi4-aHa8LXtJgKur8J1gLMGgW5bG_YkXoRHXX8WwN/s1600-h/DSC09772%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09772" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hkiPe28ZX8x3KRWq2EFt-FX9_Ri68UK3ErGicd-c_5B9EQjU2udugoYrhNi1IlooSgvwT1kaSDBsNxj91IfQfYTi-7p9WlWMKwpGka716QWcW-rFRkgGx465UrWYq_lS7c4g0wVmj91R/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC09772" width="304"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApx7z9FAzdrGoT3aYw-ne3wKz3FlAmWc_6l6G2NZrBxc903vJ3OH-cmTVMKVis3_ISdUEZj5TkvGsM38Kq4JtHSFQ_LkIWx2ITnAncAacmTT8NbWIgNLPtYYkgHsQQ-KTKhwrkiNyd017/s1600-h/DSC09771%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09771" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltscY1QR-IGq-0-Dkf5Z_cif8BO7nMUlRpUIbmkjOow3_3LUZ9Sl8Sdtze6HdhE0RSe91lk33jeB_hUL12QZ7EOnipiikIjA8ApoGtrmCg7Q60h3Y5021dHrq1mdARK0Y5Ek-wrkhPxzY/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC09771" width="304"></a> <p align="left">Tuesday afternoon Kyle & I got off work early because of a snow storm, so I worked another nursery project. I REALLY, REALLY wanted to purchase a new dresser, but we’re trying to do the nursery on a budget! So we are using a dresser we already had, but I wanted to “dress” it up a bit. I added some pop of color inside the drawers. Idea courtesy of <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/03/nursery-progress-lining-our-dresser-drawers/">Young House Love</a>! We are also going to add some handles too! <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="500" align="center" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="middle" width="250"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0OQy96wfNdslp5fiMEH_h75xPipxaeD-guyI6JUynwASSSPzO3t1RO56wjvs0oj3UZWPkV38QI6nHpYWzvmMdm74kX8T-1UWhBgm0eOd5SPSvbasdGFQ-U40TXV7xLhX3rqnJ_jdMFFc/s1600-h/DSC09758%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09758" border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaGWRpzG_Eewh4_mSUuTUQOXdDFsYNCt38yobCMngE3qLFZFP02eL9bl_ewBcqkLvWWNcWZeXCF4OcfvmDhYmssmEeMhV8Fr33zVFuD1r_U3tK3Q_DkECw0jUz9C4Y-dO_yLfHf38FEIv/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC09758" width="254"></a> <p> </p></td> <td valign="top" width="250"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNT1tl-Gn9isJt2Vp1aHJ5aiIoDf3disFj0UjKruhEoUr3O6GovmIKQConIER6iSI0RfdrGKe8hFcgjDide7P3XZF36YaLneUSKbq-GIxPTP1teppW7hglDcIgFJKY9whPn2KIhXZfS6F/s1600-h/DSC09760%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09760" border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsamRV6VLUvLcaOtNeF4LFdgohyphenhyphenxV_Jm7R-ojmnHtV7ZEcvuI30n3WpjUwXEj2zn-EoPRGKsPOfRt2zH0q0lIoaCPfnEoUqSUCRbMxVt9jvO7eD2iidS6JmmNtNEo9D8RAdx2l5AAQgVV/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC09760" width="254"></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Here is a sneak peak of the bedding. This is something I purchased from <a href="www.potterybarnkids.com">Pottery Barn Kids</a> a few years ago on super clearance. I think it was back in 2006 I had <em>MAJOR</em> baby fever, but after lots of chats with Kyle we decided it just wasn’t the right time yet. But since we’re having a girl we still get to use the bedding!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieirDw4j53tDG9LqxF4WqfeeVFyYCcMU81PS1VaTP8PrTXFjFos4W7qsOQ7nBy9svJJLVWB8ZGi2mVLPfrXefljFXUStVejBtI3STJEBttmDCefabNWLw2GFFP5XIf_DYLnaBep0St2sel/s1600-h/DSC09761%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09761" border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANOpYka0BLWlF1iM4l05emaE0snJRifWDpaa5ATL7CgH10nq03iUj6bhlOpzt8W__tLHzcb0TAwG6glS9zODm4FLgwW1EV9FJT5AHm3Ddb665gKAEMm9174-cQY44ILYctduI0JGDpc48/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC09761" width="304"></a> And you can see from this picture too that we have a white crib. Kyle set up the crib over our Christmas break also. Last weekend I washed all her bedding & made the bed! The crib was a generous gift from some friends who moved out of state a few years ago and their little guy was ready to move to a big bed. We purchased their crib mattress for only $25 (they paid over $200) I guess it pays to plan ahead! <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>That’s all for now friends! Kyle & I are enjoying our snow day off work today. Going to do a few more projects in the nursery!! :)</p>

20 weeks

  Pregnancy Highlights: How Far Along: 20 Weeks Size of baby: Baby Bangert is the size of a cantaloupe Total Weight Gain/Loss: gaine...

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