Never been more ready to FINALLY be a 13.1-er. Lots of hard work. Lots of miles. Lets do this. 5 days....
School is winding down. Its nice. Yearbooks were delivered today, and I probably won't do this every year, but I'm having my students sign mine. It'll be a nice way to commemorate my first year of teaching. Sometimes it seems like the year went by in the blink of an eye, and other times it feels like this 9 months has been about 8 years. Maybe I'll miss the 8th graders.....maybe not. : )
I know I've blogged about this before...but in the month of June alone, The Hearns (Nathan and I) are going on not one, not two, but THREE vacations. As each day passes I am becoming increasingly more excited about each one. The whole concept of summer has always, but more so since college, been a thrilling one to me. This summer will be especially relaxing, and I can almost literally not wait. Just 11 more days. Mmmmm. The anticipation of summer is strangely akin to the anticipation of a day off work. Its absolutely amazing until you get there, and then on the day (or in the season) its almost tainted a bit because you know its only a matter of time until its over. Dang....thats quite pessimistic. On to the next!
Colorado is up first, and I'm thinking that this vacay will be my favorite. I love this place. We leave June 6th! Just a few more weary days and then, we'll drive away.
So for a random change of subject, I have some STATE CHAMPION cupcakes to make! Thats right, my little sisters graduated AND won a 4A Soccer championship all in 24 hours. They're beastly. So SO proud of them. I better stop! Every time I start to think about those girls growing up I get weepy. Happy for them, happy for my parents who are officially "empty nesters," come August. Well, besides little brother Joel. The winds of change are blowing, thats for sure. Nathan's little brother, Blake, is graduating this Friday. When did we all get to grown up?!?!
Now its time to watch last week's Biggest Loser episode then hit the hay. Love you all - happy early summer!
Grace
Monday, May 16, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
When you're happy like a fool, you let it take you over...
So so much to happy about and grateful for. 17 school days left until summer. Lots to do between now and then. Happy to be doing what I love with people I love.
Well the half marathon is less than 3 weeks away. Last week was awesome. 23.38 miles - but in only 3 runs. I did a 9 miler, and a 10 miler, with a 4.38 in the middle. I really feel like I am going to do this! Lots of discipline required, for sure. This week I'm struggling for motivation for some reason. Ebbs and flows.
I had my first real heartbreaker today at school. Its solo tryout time for our Patriotic Tribute and little Amelia wanted that xylophone solo SO BAD. Tears tears tears. I felt so terrible I wanted to cry right a long with her. The fact that she begged me to change my mind nearly did me in. I'm in love with the fact that my little program means a lot to these kids. They are all so talented and precious. I love all of them...even the naughty ones.
Nathan and I are getting super super SUPER excited about this summer. We're saving up all of our extra money for our anniversary trip to Colorado. Also getting VERY excited about 2 camping trips - one thats just the two of us (our first ever, just us), and the 2nd annual Hahn/Hearn sibling camping trip! Both to Roaring River State Park in Missouri. We LOVE this place. So much fun.
Besides our vacation and camping trips - I am just so ready for a relaxing summer. I haven't had a summer without an actual job since I was 16 years old. It'll be nice to just do cupcakes. Nathan got me signed up with his family's plan at the YMCA so I can do classes and work out there this summer. Thats awesome considering TU's fitness center is way out of the way for summer time. I can hardly wait.
Time to go finish some solo tryouts....I will be relieved when this year is over. First year of teaching under my belt in a little over 2 weeks - CRAZY!
G
Well the half marathon is less than 3 weeks away. Last week was awesome. 23.38 miles - but in only 3 runs. I did a 9 miler, and a 10 miler, with a 4.38 in the middle. I really feel like I am going to do this! Lots of discipline required, for sure. This week I'm struggling for motivation for some reason. Ebbs and flows.
I had my first real heartbreaker today at school. Its solo tryout time for our Patriotic Tribute and little Amelia wanted that xylophone solo SO BAD. Tears tears tears. I felt so terrible I wanted to cry right a long with her. The fact that she begged me to change my mind nearly did me in. I'm in love with the fact that my little program means a lot to these kids. They are all so talented and precious. I love all of them...even the naughty ones.
Nathan and I are getting super super SUPER excited about this summer. We're saving up all of our extra money for our anniversary trip to Colorado. Also getting VERY excited about 2 camping trips - one thats just the two of us (our first ever, just us), and the 2nd annual Hahn/Hearn sibling camping trip! Both to Roaring River State Park in Missouri. We LOVE this place. So much fun.
Besides our vacation and camping trips - I am just so ready for a relaxing summer. I haven't had a summer without an actual job since I was 16 years old. It'll be nice to just do cupcakes. Nathan got me signed up with his family's plan at the YMCA so I can do classes and work out there this summer. Thats awesome considering TU's fitness center is way out of the way for summer time. I can hardly wait.
Time to go finish some solo tryouts....I will be relieved when this year is over. First year of teaching under my belt in a little over 2 weeks - CRAZY!
G
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
How far do I have to go to get to you....many the miles....
Sorry for being a slacker with this blogging thing... These days have been suuuuper busy. I'm running, AND making cupcakes like no one's business. Last night, for example, I ran the farthest I have ever run in my life (at one time) - 9 miles!!! I also made 3 dozen A+ apple cupcakes for office lady appreciation day at school. The run was exhilerating - I got rained AND hailed on. But I think if it were raining during the half marathon, I could probably do it...twice. I just adore running in the rain. The lightning and hail I could do without. But hey, no one ever said that this would be a painless process. It actually makes it just a little more meaningful - because it is not easy!
The cupcake-making/being on my feet for 3 hrs after the 9 mile run wasn't as much fun. I'm super happy with the cupcakes though. They're pretty presh. Here are some pictures of the ones I made last night (the apple ones) and some I made over the weekend....(the owl ones):
I'm having such a great time making cupcakes! I'm so excited that I get to do this for my summer job! I'm making graduation cupcakes for my sisters' graduation party this weekend, stay tuned....
We're about a month away from school being over here at St. Mary's. Nathan's last day of classes at TU was Monday. He's still got some finals to knock out, and I still have my patriotic assembly to pull off. Its gonna be pretty cute. These childern are just absolutely precious. I'll miss them over the summer...but not too much. : )
Countdowns:
My baby sisters graduate - 16 days
Half Marathon - 24 days
Last day of school - 30 days
Colorado - 38 days
One year anniversary - 45 days
Fun times, people!
G
The cupcake-making/being on my feet for 3 hrs after the 9 mile run wasn't as much fun. I'm super happy with the cupcakes though. They're pretty presh. Here are some pictures of the ones I made last night (the apple ones) and some I made over the weekend....(the owl ones):
We're about a month away from school being over here at St. Mary's. Nathan's last day of classes at TU was Monday. He's still got some finals to knock out, and I still have my patriotic assembly to pull off. Its gonna be pretty cute. These childern are just absolutely precious. I'll miss them over the summer...but not too much. : )
Countdowns:
My baby sisters graduate - 16 days
Half Marathon - 24 days
Last day of school - 30 days
Colorado - 38 days
One year anniversary - 45 days
Fun times, people!
G
Monday, April 18, 2011
Six days and counting until I can have a Mountain Dew...
Mountain Dew is calling my NAAAAAAAME! 6 more days and I can have all I want. Giving it up for Lent has been good for me. If for no other reason than the fact that sometimes it is good to deprive yourself of things. We don't always get what we want. Thats just the way it is. I also feel like I can empathize with all of my Catholic co-workers - even though I can eat whatever kind of meat I want to on Fridays. Haha. Also, the suffering that Jesus endured was, obviously, way worse than my nostalgia over Mt. Dew. Puts things in perspective white a bit.
This really is quite a lovely time of year. This morning Liz and I went for a 6 mile run at 5 AM. Sounds disgusting, but I love starting my day this way. It an awesome way to wake up and get the juices flowing. It makes for pretty full days though. I haven't gotten up at 4:45 in years. Liz and I are both getting pretty excited about the Half-Marathon in 5 weeks!!! Hard to believe it is coming up that quick, but we're right on track (pun intended, or not).
I have 3 orders of cupcakes this week. Wedesday I'm making an order for Nathan's Junior Voice recital at TU. Should be pretty awesome. Friday is my day to bring dessert at school and everyone is requesting cupcakes so I'll probably make some for that. And Saturday I have an order of owl cupcakes to do for a birthday party. Busy week in cupcakes, should be fun! Too bad I'm only getting paid for 1 order out of the 3. I'm alright with it.
My first year of teaching is coming to a close and it has been a successful one! I have made great friends in the teachers I teach with and have gotten to know some really precious children and parents. I can't wait for what next year holds for me at School of St. Mary! First things first, though, is my patriotic assembly on May 10th! Also coming up incredibly fast. Should be fun and entertaining for all. The kids are excited about it, and I've actually be able to teach them some pretty impressive stuff! Its such a cool experience to be able to teach children to be musically literate. I can't imagine not being able to read music - it is definitely quite the gift to be given. I absolutely love that I get to be the person to give that gift to children. It really is pretty special. Of course that is not all I do, but it is a wonderful part of the job. Its also amazing to see students who struggle with classroom work completely blow their classmates out of the water on a musical instrument. I love being a part of that child getting his/her chance to shine - there's just nothing sweeter as a music teacher. I can't figure out how to not make that rhyme. In other words, I love my job - and I'm grateful that I get to do this for a living - talk to sweet kids all day and share the most precious of gifts.
Need to get off of here and go get the remainder of my cupcake supplies so I can start on those bad boys. I'll be sure to post pictures of all of them soon. Hope you're reading this in good health and peace of mind. Have a lovely and blessed week, friends.
Gracie
This really is quite a lovely time of year. This morning Liz and I went for a 6 mile run at 5 AM. Sounds disgusting, but I love starting my day this way. It an awesome way to wake up and get the juices flowing. It makes for pretty full days though. I haven't gotten up at 4:45 in years. Liz and I are both getting pretty excited about the Half-Marathon in 5 weeks!!! Hard to believe it is coming up that quick, but we're right on track (pun intended, or not).
I have 3 orders of cupcakes this week. Wedesday I'm making an order for Nathan's Junior Voice recital at TU. Should be pretty awesome. Friday is my day to bring dessert at school and everyone is requesting cupcakes so I'll probably make some for that. And Saturday I have an order of owl cupcakes to do for a birthday party. Busy week in cupcakes, should be fun! Too bad I'm only getting paid for 1 order out of the 3. I'm alright with it.
My first year of teaching is coming to a close and it has been a successful one! I have made great friends in the teachers I teach with and have gotten to know some really precious children and parents. I can't wait for what next year holds for me at School of St. Mary! First things first, though, is my patriotic assembly on May 10th! Also coming up incredibly fast. Should be fun and entertaining for all. The kids are excited about it, and I've actually be able to teach them some pretty impressive stuff! Its such a cool experience to be able to teach children to be musically literate. I can't imagine not being able to read music - it is definitely quite the gift to be given. I absolutely love that I get to be the person to give that gift to children. It really is pretty special. Of course that is not all I do, but it is a wonderful part of the job. Its also amazing to see students who struggle with classroom work completely blow their classmates out of the water on a musical instrument. I love being a part of that child getting his/her chance to shine - there's just nothing sweeter as a music teacher. I can't figure out how to not make that rhyme. In other words, I love my job - and I'm grateful that I get to do this for a living - talk to sweet kids all day and share the most precious of gifts.
Need to get off of here and go get the remainder of my cupcake supplies so I can start on those bad boys. I'll be sure to post pictures of all of them soon. Hope you're reading this in good health and peace of mind. Have a lovely and blessed week, friends.
Gracie
Monday, April 11, 2011
LOVE this time of year!
Everything seems to have turned green over night! I adore it!!!
So last week was a big week for the Hearns. Nathan had rehearsal every night, a recital jury, NATS (college solo singing competition), and a concert on Saturday night to perform in. It was lonely without him, but good for me in some ways. I thought I would be miserable all week without him, but I was able to work on being a little more independant - something I struggle with, so it was good! I also got a lot done and was even able to enjoy some alone time. Thats a big deal for me! Nathan's concert was absolutely sensational, and I got to go with his mom, sister Bethany, and both of my parents. He also passed his recital jury with flying colors - made one of the judges cry. Thats how you know you did great. I'm so SO proud of him.
I had work all week, and 2 cupcake orders due in the same weekend (first time that has happened...) and I spent a lot of my time in the evenings either running, cleaning house, or making cupcake decorations. I made 96 tiny flowers last week and the cupcakes turned out beautifully! I also ran a total of 22.11 miles last week, and 15 of those miles were within 3 days! Because of all that, I won King of the Road for my third time! SO proud of that. I had a great running week, and I am super encouraged and hopeful for the half marathon in just 6 short weeks. My heart races just thinking about it!
Here is my weekend in cupcakes - the flower cupcakes were for a bridal shower on Saturday afternoon, and the "R" cupcakes were for a baby shower on Sunday afternoon. Had a lot of fun with them, and was also able to make some Eastery sprinkled cupcakes with extra supplies!
Grace
So last week was a big week for the Hearns. Nathan had rehearsal every night, a recital jury, NATS (college solo singing competition), and a concert on Saturday night to perform in. It was lonely without him, but good for me in some ways. I thought I would be miserable all week without him, but I was able to work on being a little more independant - something I struggle with, so it was good! I also got a lot done and was even able to enjoy some alone time. Thats a big deal for me! Nathan's concert was absolutely sensational, and I got to go with his mom, sister Bethany, and both of my parents. He also passed his recital jury with flying colors - made one of the judges cry. Thats how you know you did great. I'm so SO proud of him.
I had work all week, and 2 cupcake orders due in the same weekend (first time that has happened...) and I spent a lot of my time in the evenings either running, cleaning house, or making cupcake decorations. I made 96 tiny flowers last week and the cupcakes turned out beautifully! I also ran a total of 22.11 miles last week, and 15 of those miles were within 3 days! Because of all that, I won King of the Road for my third time! SO proud of that. I had a great running week, and I am super encouraged and hopeful for the half marathon in just 6 short weeks. My heart races just thinking about it!
Here is my weekend in cupcakes - the flower cupcakes were for a bridal shower on Saturday afternoon, and the "R" cupcakes were for a baby shower on Sunday afternoon. Had a lot of fun with them, and was also able to make some Eastery sprinkled cupcakes with extra supplies!
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Spring season. I'm treasuring every day. Oh yes, Nathan and I are officially going to Colorado the first week in June for our 1st anniversary! Can't wait for that - we're going to re-live our honeymoon on a smaller scale. Gonna be a blast.
Thats all for now - have a blessed and safe week, friends!
Grace
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
These are the days of our lives
What a busy time. I've started this cupcake thing, and I love it, its just a lot of work. Also, I've started this half-marathon thing. I've put a lot of hard work into it - quitting isn't an option. Also, I have a full-time job, and an apartment to keep clean, and dishes to wash and clothes to fold. Oh yes, and I'm also married. Haven't seen my husband since Monday. This might not seem very long to most people, but it feels like forever to me. There are the times I have told him goodbye in the morning while he's still asleep, and the times he has told me goodnight when he comes home and I'm already in bed - but I don't really think that counts. Trying really hard to keep everything in perspective..."This isn't permanent, its just for a little while..." Not the easiest time in the world, but it'll be over soon.
I've been lacking motivation to run lately. That's kind of putting it nicely - I've actually been dreading my runs. So yesterday I took off for a 3.5 miler and decided not to take anything but my apartment key - no phone, no iPod, no running belt. I didn't actually have a purpose for doing this, I just felt bogged down and terrible about the run even before I had started. Well once I started running, I didn't miss my music, I didn't even really think about it much - I just started praying.
I prayed for all of the people in the apartment buildings I was running by. I prayed for kids on school buses, for the people in the cars that drove by. When I ran by a school I prayed for all the people that attend/work there. Anything I saw, I prayed for. What did I pray? I prayed that God would bring healing to broken families and anyone affected by them, that He would restore hope to people who have given up, that He would draw children to Himself at a young age so that they wouldn't have to go through the heartache that bad decisions bring to so many. I prayed for parents to be godly examples to their children by making God a priority, and having an authentic relationship with him that makes their lives different from other people. I prayed that young families would choose to put God first in their homes. I prayed most of all that he would reveal to the people of Owasso who do not know Him their need for a Savior.
I can't really explain it, but this was such a special time to me. God has laid on my heart to dedicate the time that I spend running to prayer for the people of Owasso and the people in my life. God revealed a lot to me through my running/prayer time yesterday - and I am so grateful because now I'm looking forward to my run today! How amazing God is, that He could help me to have motivation, and that He would reveal Himself to me in spite of myself.
"Everyone should be both conservative and radical. Conservative in preserving our faith, and radical in applying it." (Don't know who said it, I think it was from a sermon at church, but I love it!)
Have an awesome day.
Grace
I've been lacking motivation to run lately. That's kind of putting it nicely - I've actually been dreading my runs. So yesterday I took off for a 3.5 miler and decided not to take anything but my apartment key - no phone, no iPod, no running belt. I didn't actually have a purpose for doing this, I just felt bogged down and terrible about the run even before I had started. Well once I started running, I didn't miss my music, I didn't even really think about it much - I just started praying.
I prayed for all of the people in the apartment buildings I was running by. I prayed for kids on school buses, for the people in the cars that drove by. When I ran by a school I prayed for all the people that attend/work there. Anything I saw, I prayed for. What did I pray? I prayed that God would bring healing to broken families and anyone affected by them, that He would restore hope to people who have given up, that He would draw children to Himself at a young age so that they wouldn't have to go through the heartache that bad decisions bring to so many. I prayed for parents to be godly examples to their children by making God a priority, and having an authentic relationship with him that makes their lives different from other people. I prayed that young families would choose to put God first in their homes. I prayed most of all that he would reveal to the people of Owasso who do not know Him their need for a Savior.
I can't really explain it, but this was such a special time to me. God has laid on my heart to dedicate the time that I spend running to prayer for the people of Owasso and the people in my life. God revealed a lot to me through my running/prayer time yesterday - and I am so grateful because now I'm looking forward to my run today! How amazing God is, that He could help me to have motivation, and that He would reveal Himself to me in spite of myself.
"Everyone should be both conservative and radical. Conservative in preserving our faith, and radical in applying it." (Don't know who said it, I think it was from a sermon at church, but I love it!)
Have an awesome day.
Grace
Friday, April 1, 2011
Ladybug Cupakes!!!
I made 2 dozen cupcakes and a "smasher" cake for little Brooke Weston's 1st birthday party! I am so excited about these! I had a lot of fun with 'em.
I love these cupcakes - hope you enjoy the pictures!
Grace
Grace
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