Rocking 13.1

In the past year, I've really started running. I've always ran, and a typical run would be about 3 miles, maybe 3.5 miles. In February, I ran my first 10K (6.2 miles). It was the longest I had ever ran and I was beyond nervous. I ran another 10K in April and decided that I would run the White Rock half marathon.

I've been training since October (since I was already running 6+ miles as my "long" run every week). Last Saturday I ran a practice 13 miler and I felt pretty good afterwards. My joints (especially my hips) hurt the most. I've had my eye on December 5th for several months and it just seemed surreal that it was finally here.

This morning, I woke up at 4:45a.m. and started getting ready. My sweet husband, who hates cold weather and getting up early, got up like a champ with zero complaining. He drove his friend, Chris (who ran the full marathon), and I to Fair Park at 5:45a.m. Surprisingly, I wasn't really that nervous. For my first 10K, I was freaking out. Looking back, it seems so silly because 6 miles is like a rest day run for me now. At 8:00a.m., we started lining up. We were in groups based on our estimated completion time and whether we were running the half or the full marathon. It took me almost an hour to get to the starting line. I was so ready to start running! It was finally my turn and when we crossed the start line, there was confetti everywhere. It was a cool experience! I started out in a slow jog because in my previous races, I'd always started out too fast. It seemed like seconds had passed when I saw mile 1. I started tearing up because I realized I was really doing it. Holy cow! George and the Sudbecks (and Ava...yay!!) were waiting on me between miles 7 and 8. I knew I could get to that point. It seemed like no time before I was there. I stopped frequently for water and had my first pack of Gu at mile 5. Looking back, I cannot believe how smoothly and quickly the first 8 miles went by. Seeing George and the Sudbecks on mile 8 was like a breath of fresh air. I cannot believe that they all got up so early to stand in the cold and watch me run. They are all so amazing! About mile 10, I started to feel tired and my right hamstring was KILLING me. I took more Gu and had some water. Before I knew it, I was at mile 11 and then 12. The last mile took forever and the last .1 miles took even longer. Then I saw the finish line!!! I really still cannot believe it! I crossed the finish line seven minutes under my goal time. YAY!!! Afterwards I met up with the hubs and Sudbecks and we visited for awhile. Miss Ava decided it was time for a nap and Chris and I were starving so we headed back towards Fort Worth. We had delicious pizza and then George and I took a two hour nap...BLISS! Now my knees are really sore but other than that, I feel great. I am looking forward to another half in March and hopefully a full next December. Crossing the finish line is an amazing experience. I am addicted to running!!

I am so thankful to my wonderful husband for being so supportive during training. A lot of times, running took priority over hanging out at home with him. He never complained but always encouraged me and told me how proud of me he was. He is a big part of how I completed the race. I love you, George!

Bring on a full marathon, I'm ready! :)


XOXO,

Linds

Chris and I before the race.

I did it!! Half marathon complete :)

Turkey Day 2010

Since we've been married (three Thanksgivings now!), we've never had to celebrate Turkey Day without both of our families. It has been so wonderful getting everyone together for the holiday. It has become a tradition and we feel so blessed to not only get to spend it with both of our families but that our families just seem like one great big family when they're together. It is such a blessing!

Last year, we hosted everyone at our house. We had not begun construction on the upstairs yet so we had my parents, George's parents and our siblings all staying in our three bedroom house, sharing one bathroom. Well a lot has changed in the past year. We still have three bedrooms but our guest house is vacant and we have two full functioning bathrooms in the house. Plus George's parents now have a house in Granbury (only 45 minutes away) so we don't have quite so many under one roof. Being able to have everyone at our house again this year made me so happy. I didn't want to seem like we had to host Thanksgiving but I really wanted to and it made me so happy when it was all finalized. My parents, little brother and his friend arrived on Tuesday night. It was so great to have some extra time with them. Since they are both still working full time and leave 5 hours away, we don't get to see them near as much as we see George's parents and it makes me sad. I love spending time with my in laws so much and just wish we got to spend more time with my parents. We enjoyed a casual dinner at Love Shack, a great burger place on the West side with a live band outside. Wednesday, my mom and I picked up the flowers from Central Market, last minute grocery items and the rental chairs. We started working on the tables and my sweet dad hung up my curtains in the living room. It was no small task but we got it done, thanks to all of his help.

Normally we have our Thanksgiving meal around 2:00p.m. so we are ready for the Cowboys at 3:15p.m. Well Matt (George's brother) called the week before and said he unexpectedly had to work on Thanksgiving in San Antonio until noon. We moved our dinner to 5:00 and let me please say, it was the best decision we ever made! We got up Thanksgiving morning, my dad cooked a leisurely breakfast and my in laws and sister in law and soon to-be brother in law (I hope!) came over. We had such a laid back day visiting and cooking. No one was rushed or stressed out. It was perfect! Matt got off work a little early and was here by 3:30p.m. One of my sweet friends, Lindsey, came over for dinner. Her family is in Missouri and she didn't go home for Thanksgiving this year. I love Lindsey to death and am so thankful to have her in my life. She is a wonderful friend and we have gotten so much closer over the past year. One of George's friends from high school, Chris, also came over for dinner. His parents live in Michigan and he stayed in town for Turkey Day this year. Chris has always been such a great friend to George and I am glad he joined us for Thanksgiving. We devoured our yummy dinner and soon everyone was snoozing. We had Cajun fried turkey (Dad), ham (me), dressing (Mom), mac and cheese (Rachel), green bean casserole (Mom), carrotts and pecans (Laura), twice baked potato casserole (me), creamed corn (me), rice (George), peas (George) and rolls (me). It was fabulous!! For dessert we had pecan pie and pumpkin/cream cheese pie....delish! Laura also brought some yummy dessert squares that we snacked on all day. That evening we watched the A&M/Texas game and I am happy to say that my Ags ended the season with a 6 game winning streak. We are headed to the Cotton Bowl and I love it!!!

Friday, we relaxed around the house and then ventured to Granbury for a late lunch at the Buckmasters. My parents, Laura and I ventured to the Square and did some shopping. My parents loved Granbury. Just maybe I can convince them to head this way in a few years :) We watched lots of football (heaven for me) and had such a great time visiting. The Buckmasters prepared BBQ and lots of delicious snacks (as if we needed to eat more)! Then we came back to Fort Worth and looked at Christmas lights. It was a great evening. Saturday morning, my parents left around noon and I did my trail run for my half marathon. I ran 13 miles in 2:25 hours. Although I was sore, I wasn't dead which made me happy. We enjoyed Mexican food with my in laws, Matt and Rachel and then went and bought a Christmas tree. I spent the day Sunday taking down fall decor and putting up Christmas. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

I have so much to be thankful for and I am going to work on focusing on that when I get down. Sometimes I don't think we realize how truly blessed we are.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Love,

Lindsey

My sweet Abby.

Rachel and Laura.

Lovebirds!

My mom and Abby cuddling.

Table #1.

Place settings.

Table #2.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Buckmasters!

More table shots!

My hardworking Dad.

I love Linds!

Mom and I.

My sweet father in law.

Cheering on the Aggies!

My parents, little brother and sweet husband!

Gig 'em Baby Shower!

The weekend of November 20th was a crazy, busy one....but I wouldn't have it any other way.

One of my sweetest friends, Stacy, is pregnant with twins. JoAnna and I had planned on throwing her a shower the weekend before Thanksgiving. Well of course, the Aggies just HAD to be on a 4-game winning streak with Nebraska coming into town. Of course, it had to be the biggest game in College Station in a long time. Since the shower was in the early afternoon and the game was at 7, George and I decided that we definitely could do both. I'd host the shower, then we'd drive down, scalp tickets and we'd be at the game. Well George didn't feel comfortable getting there right before the game to scalp tickets because he was worried about being crunched for time. We were so back and forth about going because we didn't want two cars, we weren't sure if we could find tickets, etc. Basically there were just so many "ifs." It's Friday night before the game and we are in the movies (still undecided) and a good friend of ours, Van, texts George that he's driving down Saturday morning and George can go too. PERFECT, we think. George can go down early and then I'll meet him there. Well then on the way home from the movies, another good friend of ours (who actually played football for the Ags) texted us that one of his daughters was sick and he had two extra tickets if we wanted them. Holy cow! How can our luck be this good? It's obviously meant to be! George texts back (and I quote), "Awesome! Yes, we want them! And sorry about Emma."

Saturday is here and George is off about 9:00a.m. Jo and I hosted a pretty cute shower (if I do say so myself). We had a nest theme and the cake had a bird's nest on top with a blue bird and pink bird peeking out. All of the decor looked so cute and I think Stacy had a great time. We had the shower at an Italian restaurant in Grapevine. They had the most perfect little party room for us and we feasted on pizzas, cheese, crackers and of course, cake! I have never met one of Stacy's friends that I don't like and the shower was not an exception. It was a great afternoon! Stacy is just the cutest pregnant lady ever! She is one of those people that you can just tell is the most awesome wife and mother. I admire her so much. I hope I am half as good of a mom as she is one day. They already have a little boy, Ely, that is 4 and is going to be the best big brother. I just cannot wait to hold Molly and Luke in my arms and watch them grow up. The Amersons are another blessing we have from JCI. I am so glad to have the Sudbecks and the Amersons in our lives :)

After the shower, I raced home to Fort Worth and changed quickly and then I was on the road. I got into College Station about 7 and when I got out of the car, which was on the top of the parking garage at Northgate (on the opposite side of campus as Kyle Field), I could already hear the crowd. It was pretty amazing. I walked through campus, met up with George for my ticket and yelled my heart out. I was so proud of the Aggies that night. It was an awesome game. Seeing the unsportsmanlike conduct of Nebraska's coach also made me so proud to have Mike Sherman. He has gotten a lot of criticism over the last couple of years but he is rebuilding our program the right way. He is such a respectable man. I would trust my kiddo to be under his care for four years in a heartbeat. After the game, we celebrated a little too hard with some of our Aggie friends. It was such a sweet, sweet feeling and one that had not been felt in Aggieland for such a long time. I am so glad we were there for it. Seriously, one of the top 10 moments of my life! Gig em!!

Thankfully, I was off the entire week of Thanksgiving to prepare for the 12 people we were hosting at our house. Turkey Day post coming soon!


Love,

Linds

George's Birthday

Well, here's the birthday post I promised oh about 3 weeks ago.... Better late than never I guess :)

When George was in college, he had Buckfest for his birthday every year. He threw a huge party at his house and had nearly 100 people there, some he didn't even know! When he interviewed for Johnson, one of the questions that was ask was had he ever had to get all of the different groups of his friends together. Well, the example he gave was good ole Buckfest! My initial thought was, "Really?!?!" He was offered the job (obviously) and his then-boss admitted that they had ask every other interviewee at aTm if they had heard of Buckfest, and they all had. That was one of the reasons George was offered the job. Needless to say, we don't quite have Buckfest-caliber parties anymore but we do manage to have a great time and I think George has a great birthday each year.

His actual birthday was on Friday. I think birthdays are a big deal and balloons are non-negotiable. Friday morning, I tied the two dozen balloons at the bottom of the stairs and got George breakfast (I leave way to early to make him breakfast!). Friday night, we went to dinner at Trulucks in Southlake. It was nice to share a bottle of wine and have a leisurely dinner. We had a wonderful time. We came home and watched a movie and were asleep before midnight. It was probably just what we both needed after a long week! As far as birthday gifts go, I got George a new pair of Cowboy boots. His were getting a little worn! He parents gave him money (which he bought an elliptical with) and his siblings gave him a really nice shoulder bag for his laptop. What a fabulous birthday!

Saturday, we hung around the house all day and I cleaned like a crazy woman while watching college football. Cortney and Matt (George's brother and my bf who have been dating for two years now!!) drove down from Austin and got to our house a little after 5. We went to Pour House, a bar by our house, and met George's sister, the Sudbecks, Chris, Lindsey and a friend of Lindsey's to watch the Aggies and Baylor. Jarrod and Aleece came also. I think I was the loudest, most excited person in the whole bar :) I could barely even talk to anyone during the game (especially in the first half) because it was intense. It was so much fun to have our little group of friends together. Afterwards, we tried out a new bar on the West side before crashing at home. Sunday morning, George's parents came up and we all went to brunch at Delaney's, an Irish pub/restaurant on the West side. Fun fun fun!

I hope that George had a wonderful birthday. I was a little worried because several of our friends were out of town or had prior commitments and it was a much smaller group that usual. We had so much fun, though! It was so nice to finally hang out with the Sudbecks. We have both been so busy that we hadn't all been able to get together in a while. I miss them so much since moving to Fort Worth and even though we see each other frequently, it's just not the same as when we lived a couple of miles away from each other. I love it when we get to go out and have fun like we used to before we all got old :) It doesn't happen often (and we couldn't handle it if it did) but when it does, it's great. They blessed by bringing their precious daughter, Ava, into our lives two years ago and we love her to death. They are such wonderful friends and we are so thankful to have them in our lives!

Happy Birthday, George! Enjoy the last year of your 20's. I love you honey!!


xoxo,

Linds

Super cute of Matt and Cortney.

Lindsey, JoAnna and Rachel.

Gig 'em Aggies! Celebratory shot!

Happy Birthday to my hubs!

George, Lindsey, Jarrod and Aleece.

Jo and I having fun as usual!

Update, update, update!

I've really fallen behind on blogging! I'm so disappointed in myself. Maybe I'll cut myself a little slack since life has been beyond crazy lately. I'm one of those people that thoroughly enjoys being busy. Anytime I get overwhelmed or stressed our, my darling husband reminds me that I love all of the chaos and having so much on my plate....and he is absolutely right! Throughout high school and college, I was always one of those people who had so much going on,  and not much has changed. Here's what is keeping me occupied this fall.

1. WORK, WORK, WORK... Being a teacher is no joke. For those who think that it is a cush job where you have lots of holidays and leave at 3:00p.m. every day, please come and spend a day with me. Trust me, we teachers need the frequent breaks or we might just go crazy! I love my job and feel so blessed that God has given me the patience, energy and drive to teach my 6-year old babies every day. However, I typically leave the house at 6:30a.m. and don't get home until after 6 that evening. There is just always something to do! When the kiddos leave at 3, you have all of the paperwork, grading, organizing, planning, meetings, etc. Plus I think I am a little bit of a workaholic, so I've never really done quite enough according to my standards! Being a teacher is beyond rewarding and I love being with my babies every day, but WOW, it definitely keeps me busy!

2. Junior League of Fort Worth... My good friend, Lindsey, and I decided to join the Junior League this year. I am having so much fun learning more about the League, how they impact the city of Fort Worth and just meeting so many new girls. It's a blast! Your first year is very time consuming, though. We have two meetings a month, plus you have to work 6-hours at their three big events that are held in October, January, and May. In addition, you must attend a Saturday retreat and completely two 3-hour community service projects. The JL also has a resale shop. Each provisional is assigned a specific time of year and you must work 50-hours there. This can be tough when working full time! It has been such a fun experience and I cannot wait to get more involved with the League :)

3. White Rock 1/2 Marathon... I will be completing one of my life goals on Sunday, December 5th. That is to run a 1/2 marathon! I have never been a runner but in the last couple of years, I started running as a part of my workout. At first it was just a couple of miles and then last year I ran in two 10K races (6.2 miles). Then I decided that I wanted to run a 1/2 marathon in 2010. Training has gone really well but I never realized how much time it would take. Running 10 miles takes longer than the usual hour long workout I'm used to. Yesterday I ran 10.5 miles, which is the longest I've ever ran. I'm almost to the 13 mark and cannot wait to cross the finish line on December 5th!

4. George's Job Change... My darling husband has a degree in electrical engineering. He knew that when he graduated college, he didn't want the standard "sit behind a desk" engineering job and was beyond blessed to find the perfect fit for him - a sales job that requires his engineering knowledge. For 5+ years, he worked for Johnson Controls selling control systems for commercial buildings. Basically through his product(s), he made buildings more energy efficient. A year or so into the job, JCI bought York which is a brand that many people are probably familiar with. He was able to sell both equipment and controls and he ended up selling 2/3 equipment and 1/3 controls. He really enjoyed selling equipment. Well at the end of September, JCI announced they were taking equipment from the corporate offices in D/FW and made a deal with a rep so they would sell it now. It was a month of ups and downs and lots and lots of stress. George was offered a position with a rep that is opening a D/FW office to sell the equipment line that was previously sold by the rep that took over York (complicated, huh?). He is one of four guys starting the branch in the metroplex. At first I was so nervous but his new company is well respected nationally and their other offices are very successful. It's a "once in a lifetime" career opportunity and we are just thankful that God presented him with an opportunity like this one. I've seen a new life in George over the past couple of weeks.

5. Weekend Getaways... From the beginning of October, we were either gone or had nonstop commitments in D/FW the entire weekend. The first weekend was the A&M/Arkansas game in Cowboys Stadium. We had a fabulous time even though the Aggies didn't come out on top. The next weekend, we went back to George's hometown of Jasper for his 10-year high school reunion. George had a great time catching up with old friends. The third weekend we had a Halloween party in the Denton area and I was busy with Junior League all weekend. The last weekend (Halloween), we had a few people over to watch the Rangers and pass out Halloween candy. Last weekend, we went down to Aggieland to watch the Aggies BTHO OU. It was AMAZING! Seriously one of the top ten moments of my life (of course, our wedding day is number 1:)!). I can definitely say that we have been busy little bees lately!


I'm going to try my best to get back on track with blogging. Look for a weekend update later today. We had a great weekend celebrating George's 29th birthday with family and friends. We are so blessed in that department!

Below are some pictures of our weekend adventures! Happy Sunday :)


Love, 

Lindsey

At Blue, the new sushi place by our house. DELISH!

George's friends at his 10-year high school reunion.

Just the boys at George's 10-year reunion.



Tailgating at the Dixie Chicken before the aTm/OU game.



George and I after the Aggies BTHO the Sooners. Fabulous game :)

Aggie fans on the field, celebrating the victory.

My first time on Kyle Field!

Weekend wrap up....and a case of the Tuesdays!

I whole-heartedly planned on updating my blog on Sundays. I thought a weekend wrap up was fun and a way to really document the couple of days a week when we spend more than a couple of hours together. Well I'm 0-1 on that plan (what a surprise)! But here's my weekend wrap up....on a Tuesday!

I expressed how much I L-O-V-E college football on my last post. I joke that the first game of the year is like Christmas to me and I'm serious. So you can imagine how excited I am that the Aggies and Arkansas Razorbacks signed a 10-year contract to play in Cowboys Stadium, which is a mere 15 minutes from our house. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! Well last year I was beyond excited and the week prior to the game, I came down with the lovely H1N1. So on the Saturday of the game I was feeling better but still very weak and not one hundred percent. This year was going to be different, or so I thought. Thursday after lunch my stomach started feeling funny. Not anything in particular, just unusually full and uncomfortable. By the end of the day, I was sure that I needed to yak (lovely). I really thought that it was just the yummy elementary cafeteria cheeseburger that didn't set well and that I would yak and feel better. I started the hour long drive home from my school. Every mile I felt worse and worse. By the time I got home, I ran in our powder room, threw my sunglasses, keys and purse in the sink and started yaking. I barely got the dogs outside before I yaked again. It was terrible. I cannot remember a time that I have been more physically sick that that (usually with the flu or strep I feel awful but it's different). I missed my junior league meeting (tear) and barely had enough energy to call my principal and schedule a sub for the following day. I continued throwing up until midnight. The next morning I was so sore and weak that I could hardly get out of bed. I started feeling a little better by noon and by 4 o'clock that afternoon was actually able to head to the grocery and start making tailgate food. My tummy was hurting so bad that I had to get George to taste test everything for me. This broke my heart because I LOVE tailgate food! By Saturday I felt so much better but still pretty weak and unable to eat anything. To say we had a blast at the game was an understatement. George's company tailgate roasted a pig and although I didn't have any, it was awesome! The Aggies played so hard but broke our hearts once again. I still love them and look forward to watching them BTHO Mizzou this weekend.

Gig 'em Aggies!

 Sunday George woke up with a tummy ache and felt so bad all day. I feel terrible for getting him sick. I did find some adorable curtains at World Market for our family room. I have looked for curtains forever and am so happy to finally have found some that I love. I also got our marriage certificate framed and look forward to hanging it in the hallway going to our bedroom. Sunday was a pretty quiet day since my hubs was under the weather all day. I hate to see him not feeling well!

My new curtains! Love!

Now for my Tuesday rant.... I am feeling so overwhelmed at school. I just feel like there is not enough time in the day for me to teach my kiddos all they need to know. I pray and pray that I will be a good teacher and prepare them for second grade and life but this year I just don't feel like I'm doing it. I know that everyone in education feels pressured. And when I feel pressured, it's not my principal's fault or even my superintendent. It is not anyone's fault but the fact of the matter is that it doesn't make the feeling go away. I am beyond blessed to be in a profession where I can see the change I am making on a daily basis. I love it and I love my kids. But right now, I feel like I am drowning. I feel like I hold my breath as long as I can and then bobble my head to the surface enough to take a quick breath and then back under I go. I wish I could work in my classroom until 10 o'clock every night but then I feel like I am not being a good wife. But when I come home at 5 or 6 o'clock, I feel like I am not being a good teacher. It is such a catch 22 situation. I know I just need to pray about it but sometimes it feels good to write about it too.

Now for some sweet puppy pictures before I get back to the Rangers game.... I love these guys!



My sweet Abby.



My handsome Tyson-man.


I hope the rest of your week is wonderful! I'll leave with a great and appropriate quote that I read today: "Do not curse the rose for having thorns, instead praise the thorns for having a rosebud." I think we all need to force ourselves to see the glass a little half full sometimes!

It's time to blog!

My summer resolution was to start blogging. Well here we are, seven weeks into the new school year and I still haven't began until now. I've decided to take the leap and dive right into the blogging world.

I think blogging is a great way to document your life and stay connected with loved ones near and far. When Baby Buckmaster makes his/her debut in a couple of years, I think a blog will be a great tool for friends and family to watch him/her grow. So that's my spill on why I'm blogging. Now some quick information about my husband and I...

We met at Texas A&M and got married in June of 2008 after three and a half years of dating. We live in Fort Worth in a house that we are renovating. It was built in 1919 by a Colonel in WW1. How cool is that? We've totally gutted the inside and will probably start phase III in the next couple of years. I teach first grade and George is a sales engineer for Johnson Controls. Basically he designs and sells energy management systems for commercial buildings (schools, hospitals, museums, etc.). He graduated with an electrical engineering degree but did not want to sit behind a desk all day and has been blessed with the most perfect job for him. I am thankful every day that God chose me to be his wife. He is a wonderful man and the only man I ever met that measured up to my dad. Married life is great! We enjoy college sports (especially football), professional sports, traveling, the movies, spending time with our families and wonderful family of friends we've met in the metroplex. We have two puppies that are training us for parenthood, Abby and Tyson, and I cannot imagine life without them.

Literally, just married!



Great girlfriends, Stacy and JoAnna! Love love them!



Our great friends, the Sudbecks.



Enough about us! I am so excited about the weekend. The Aggies take on the Arkansas Razorbacks tomorrow at Cowboys Stadium. George's company has a huge tailgate where we are roasting a pig (since we're playing the Hogs). There is going to be so much delicious tailgate food that I can hardly contain myself! I am hoping and praying that the Aggies come out ready to play and that Jerrod, our beloved QB, finds his groove. He is such a wonderful person (check out some of the articles that have been written on him) and I hate to see so many fair-weather fans dogging him right now. I understand he has made costly mistakes but he is still a person, and a great one at that. College football is such a huge part of our lives. Sometimes I think I get into it more than George does. Fall is my favorite season, mostly because of college football. I love it!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I hope your team does well, too! Gig 'em Aggies!!!