5K and Other Updates.

So, it's been awhile since I've posted.  Life has just been carrying on and things are going well.  I thought I would take a little bit of time to update anyone who is interested on how the Virginia Beach Dahls are doing :-)

My husband continues to be hard at work on the USS Montpelier.  His boat is still in dry dock in Newport News.  It looks like it will be there sometime undergoing repairs...  Everyone asks what Brian does at work all day when the boat isn't out at sea or preparing for a mission.  Honestly?  His job isn't all that much different?  He still has several divisions to run, and needs to stand watch in the engine room or on the deck.  At sea or in dry dock, subs still need a full crew :-)

Molly has been with us for over a few months now.  She brings such joy... and such trouble... into our lives- as only a 5 month old puppy can!!  I spend half the day keeping her out of things, but I am so thankful that we have her.  She is a very smart puppy, and is learning a lot!  She is in the middle of teething, and eats about 10 ice cubes a day.   

A couple weeks ago, Brian took a few days off so we could go to Ohio to see his sister Amy graduate.  It was AWESOME getting to spend some time together, and then to join family and celebrate!!  

After graduation, I came home for a week and had a good time!  I spent a lot of time helping my parents with a garage sale, and with things around the house...  I also got to see Les Miserables (on stage!) twice!  I loved it!!  

Brian's mom came back to Virginia with me- it was great having company for the trip back & having her visit!  It was a relaxing time :-)

I am really looking forward to my friend Meredith coming next week.  Having her close-by is something I miss like crazy living here in VA!  We are going to go to the beach and sit by the pool and go to Chick-Fil-A...  We are also:

GOING TO RUN A 5K!!!  Mere has been a runner on & off for as long as I have known her, but I have only ever really run when I had to in gym class.  Brian's whole family has gotten into running, and all of them have been in a race.  I just didn't want to be the only Dahl who hadn't!  Plus!  I really want a 5K t-shirt.

So, for the last few weeks, I've been training for that.  I have improved a lot, but I am not quite ready for the race.  Thankfully, I have some time still to get there!  

I have to admit that running isn't something that comes naturally (or very easily) to me.  But I had a really great run this past Saturday, and the feeling when I was done was awesome!!  I had never gone that far in my life, and I had never before had a long run where I didn't have to stop and walk for a stretch.

Now that we are fully into spring here (which feels a lot like Rochester summer), I am trying to come up with some meal plans that use the oven less.  I think my husband & I will be having more salads, but I am looking for other options too.  Anyone have any good summer recipes?  ...  We do have a community grill we can use in our complex.  We've only used it once, and didn't have a great experience (we couldn't get it to get hot enough), but we hope to try again.

I think that is about it for now?  I hope to have more updates soon :-)

Love,

KT

We Didn't Start the Fire.

1.  When I was a Junior in High School, we got a jukebox for our cafeteria   I have no idea where it came from; one day it was just there.  All the songs on it were older, and I didn't know most of them.  I think my most of my classmates were in the same boat...  I remember that every day, someone would play (what I remember to be) the most famous song it had:  Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire.  Occasionally, it would get played multiple times; I remember once someone got really mad because THAT SONG IS ON AGAIN!?

2.  Since I mostly heard that song in a noisy cafeteria, I only knew the chorus.

We didn't start the fire.
It was always burning,
since the world's been turning.

And when I was in college, I decided that I should learn all the words to it.  It became a pointless goal of my sophomore year.

And.  I spent a bunch of time (that would maybe have been better spent studying) learning all the words.

SUCCESS!!!

At one point in my life, I could have sung the whole thing for you.

3.  When I think of We Didn't Start the Fire, now I always think of the Office.

RYAN STARTED THE FIRE!!!!!!!

4.  You would think that this is my favorite song, but it is not.

5.  Before I drove back to VA from NY yesterday, I added some music to my player.  And it had been well over a year since I'd heard this song, and decided I should put it on there.  I listened to it 3 times yesterday, and found that I only remembered 85% of the lyrics.  Which is still a lot.  But.

Part of me wants to relearn the ones I have forgotten.  But, I just can't imagine devoting any more time to this song.

6.  I wish there were catchy songs to learn Bible verses.  Because, frankly, knowing We Didn't Start the Fire isn't a great skill.  But Bible verses would be a good use of memorization.

7.  The End.

Libertarianism & Same-Sex Marriage

So.  I tend to usually keep my politics pretty quiet.  Other than with my closest friends/family, I don't typically get really fired up about my political views.  For a couple reasons:

1.  Most of the time?  It makes me crazy when people are over-the-top vocal about their political opinions.

2.  My stance is not necessarily very popular within my circle of friends & acquaintances...  I am not embarrassed by my politics.  But I also don't want to get in unnecessary disagreements with people.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. - Romans 12:18

But, the last few days, I've been getting really agitated over this whole same-sex marriage thing.  And for the first time?  I feel like writing about my views.

I am a Christian Libertarian...  In short, a Libertarian believes that there should be a very limited government.  We go back to the Declaration of our Independence...  We hold these truths to be SELF EVIDENT, that all men [and women] are created equal.  That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that are among these: life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness.

I believe it is not the government's job to withhold rights from it's citizens.  It is the government's job to UPHOLD our rights; it's role should end there.

A Christian Libertarian is slightly different from a "regular" one...  To me?  The biggest difference is in our stance on abortion.  Traditionally, Libertarians believe in protecting the right for women to choose abortion.  A Christian Libertarian believes the government should protect an unborn baby's right to life.

So, let's look at this example of how a Christian Libertarian might think:

John Smith is a Christian.  He believes marijuana is bad for you, and using it does not honor God.  His abstaining from smoking is an act of worship.  And if he has a friend who smokes?  He might share the truth in love, and encourage them to quit.

John Smith is also a Libertarian...  He believes the separation of church and state is good & essential.  God says that gossip is bad.  But the government has no business telling people they can't gossip.  The same is true for smoking pot.  So long as someone else's marijuana use does not infringe in his rights, it is the not government's job to tell people they can't.

Which brings us to the real catalyst of this post:

Same-sex marriage.

First, it is important to me to say:

1.  I believe Jesus loves gay people.

2.  I love gay people.

3.  I believe that the church has not always handled things with our homosexual brothers & sisters very well.

4.  I also believe that some, not all, gay people have treated Christians badly.  I have personally felt judged by a gay person for being a Christian.

I don't really want to go into my religious beliefs on this topic.  What I believe God says about homosexuality is beside the point.  This post isn't about whether or not homosexuality is good or bad.

It is about what role the government plays in same-sex marriage.

When it comes to this whole Supreme Court thing??  It's not that I believe same-sex marriage should be legal or illegal...  I believe that the government should not be in charge of marriage.  Period.

-The government should not be able to say that marriage should just be between a man & a women.
-The government should protect the rights of same-sex couples; they should not be denied spousal rights.

But.

-I also believe that it is not the government's job to say: everyone must be pro same-sex marriage.
-The government should not force pastors to marry same-sex couples.

You might disagree with me.  And that is okay.  Again, it is your right as an citizen of the United States to have whatever political views you want.

But my view??

Dear Government,

Instead of spending all this time on same-sex marriage, how about you come up with a plan to stop spending all your citizen's money.

Love,

Katie

She Won't Be a Puppy Forever.

Hey friends!

It has been a busy time for Brian & I!  After a nice trip back to Rochester, I came home and it was time to pick up our puppy Molly!!  She is a 9 week old Australian Shepherd and is completely adorable.

We've had her here at home with us for 5 days now, and I keep finding myself saying:

She won't be a puppy forever.

Sometimes I say it to encourage myself:

The night she got me up every hour and a half insisting that she needed to go out?  And the following exhausted day with her?  She won't be a puppy forever!

The potty mistakes??  She won't be a puppy forever!

The constant "No Molly!"...  She won't be a puppy forever!

When she tore my jeans this afternoon??  ...  She won't be a puppy forever!

Other times, I say it with some sadness:

When I kiss her sweet little head covered in that soft puppy fur?  She won't be a puppy forever.

When she sits in my lap and cuddles up?  She won't be a puppy forever.

That awkward puppy walk, or her cute excited gallops?  She won't be a puppy forever.

When she is eating dinner, and sits her butt down right in her water bowl?  She won't be a puppy forever.

Sigh.

I really do love her.

There are moments where I find myself wishing away her puppy-ness, but I am trying to hold onto all those moments when she is being my sweet fluffy little buddy.  Because the reality?  She won't be a puppy forever.  In fact, puppies don't stay puppies all that long. and before we know it she will be all grown up!

Moving.

Life is about to get a little crazy here in the Dahl household!!

The lease on our apartment is up in a few weeks, and we talked before we got married about wanting a bigger place.  Our apartment now is really nice, but we want more space.  We'd like a guest bedroom for visitors.  And we have a whole bunch of stuff in a storage unit, and it would be nice to have that stuff more accessible.  We also wanted a first floor apartment, because that would be loads easier with Molly!

We starting researching for a new apartment awhile ago...  After making some pro & con charts, and doing some visiting, we ultimately decided to stay where we are.  So, we'll be staying in our complex, just getting a new unit :-)

We really like the area we're in.  We're close to several grocery stores (though not Whole Foods), and Target.  Our new church is less than 10 minutes away.  The management here is great, and it is very people & pet friendly.

So...  Things are going to get crazy:

-A week from tomorrow (the 28th) is my mom's birthday, and I am driving back to Rochester.  I'll be there from Thursday until Thursday.
-When I get back to VA, I'll be home for a day or two, and then we get to pick up Molly on the 9th or 10th and bring her home!!
-Then... between the 13th-the 19th we will move from our old unit into our new unit.  Brian will still be working, so I am going to try to move most of our stuff while he is on the boat.  I am hoping that all he'll need to do is get a couple guys & move our big furniture...  Getting the couch in was no small feat, and getting it out will probably be tricky too!

... also.  Yes, we know it is crazy to get a puppy 3 days before we move.  But, it is just how it worked out.  We didn't want to wait another 8-12 months for a new litter of puppies.  And.  We'll be moving again in about another year anyway ;-)

... also.  The 19th??  I turn 30.  30.  Ugh.  Hopefully things will be pretty settled in our new place, and we can just kick back and enjoy.

I am really really excited for my visit to Rochester.  And I am really really excited for Molly to come home.

But yesterday, Brian & I were realizing that with my trip & bringing home our little buddy, the first 2 weeks of March were going to be nutso!

So.  I started packing & making a pre-move game plan.  I want to try to have quite a bit done before I leave next week, because all I am going to want to do when I get back is chill with my husband for a day or two and play & cuddle with Molly when we bring her home :-)

Puppy!!!

I am a sucker for cute baby things.  Just ask my husband or my parents.  If it is a cute baby anything I want it.  So, you might be surprised that the only reason my husband & I didn't get a puppy immediately after we got married was because I said no.

When we expected Brian to be deployed in the spring, I thought a puppy would be a mistake.  I was worried that with him out of the dog's life for 6 months, that when he got back, the dog wouldn't see him as an owner.  And would maybe even be mad that some guy came home, and was taking all his mama's attention...  I was also not keen on taking care of a young dog all by myself while he was away.

A lot of people tried to tell us we should get one...  Our apartment complex is very dog friendly, and when we'd go to the office, management would always ask why we hadn't gotten a dog.  Some of Brian's Navy coworkers have dogs & one of his good friends on board is a recent puppy owner...  PEER PRESSURE!

But I stuck to my guns and said "not yet."

Then.  The schedule was thrown out the window & we realized that Brian would most likely not be deployed again...  That realization lead to us adjusting many of our life plans, but one of the funnest adjustments we could make was a puppy!  When the issue of a dog came up again, I said "now that you'll be home, we can get a dog anytime... how about tomorrow!?"

Tomorrow was a little too soon for us.  For starters, we are moving in March (more on that in another post)...  We wanted to wait until we were in our new place (first floor) before we got a little buddy.

Secondly...  I tend to over-research things.  And I hadn't done any research on puppies.

So, for the last month I've been reading books, visiting websites, hitting up people at the SPCA, and getting as much information as I could.

We decided we wanted a medium sized dog.  I am a fan of bigger dogs, but that isn't fair in an apartment.  So a medium seemed like a good compromise...  I had it narrowed down to a Springer Spaniel and and Australian Shepherd.  Both are good sizes, very friendly, smart and easy to train.  Brian liked Aussies a little more, so we zeroed in on those (want to see what an adult Australian Shepherd?  Click here).

We found a breeder with a litter about 2 hours from us and made arrangements to go for a visit yesterday.  All the puppies were very very cute...  When we got there, they were all sleeping in a puppy pile, and we had to wake them up.  I was in love with all of them, so it was up to my husband to pick the one for us.

He picked "yellow collar," who the breeder recommended for us.  She is so sweet and lovey!!!  On the way home, we decided to name her Molly.  That wasn't my first choice before we met her, but once we did, she just looked like a Molly :-)

Right now our little girl is just 5 weeks old.  We won't pick her up until she is 9 weeks, so the next month will be long as we wait for her!!

Here are some pictures of our sweet buddy:

We are so excited to have a little fluffy friend!  And can't wait to have adventures with her!!!!

We are going to crate train her, and start using a clicker to train her for basic obedience as soon as she comes home.  Anyone else have any puppy tips for us?  Or any dog products you can't live without??

That Time I Threw Out the First Pitch Dressed as a Giant Cucumber.

So last night I was remembering one of my best stories, and even though it is slightly embarrassing, I thought I would share it with all of you.

Back in the old-days at Alpha & Omega (circa 2006??) one of my coworkers made a Larry Boy costume for special events.  It was pretty impressive considering it was home-made; it was as wide as the hula-hoops used for it's structure.  But it wasn't as tall as it needed to be for most people to wear it; you needed to be under 5 and half feet for it to look right.  This severely limited the number of people qualified to dress up as Larry Boy.

One summer A&O was having a "Night at the Ball Game."  We would watch the Rochester Red Wings play, and then following the game, they would invite people onto the field to watch the new Veggie Tales movie on the jumbo screens.

Somehow.  And I am not really sure how.  I was elected to dress up in the costume for this event.

I was not super excited about it.  Because the last time Larry Boy made an appearance at the Red Wings game, the kids completely clothes-lined the girl wearing the costume.  Seriously.  They knocked her down... Sometime after that incident she resigned.  I have no proof that Larry Boy was the reason why.  But I have my suspicions.

So.  I was not particularly excited.  But I was gonna be a team player and do it.

It just so happens that the manager at the store was my friend Meredith (I am not sure why SHE didn't have to wear the costume, she is the right height...).  And the afternoon before the game we were hanging out.  She got a call from the store's owners.  The conversation (from my perspective) went something like this:

Bosses: saying something I cannot hear.
Meredith: (looking at me) um, I don't think she is going to want to do that.
Bosses: saying some more things I cannot hear.
Meredith: (still looking at me) um, I really don't think she is going to want to do that.
Bosses: saying some other things, I still cannot hear.
Meredith: Okay we are on our way.

She hangs up and tells me that they need us to go to stadium right now.  Because they want Larry Boy to throw out the first pitch of the game.  Which means they want me to get in front of the crowd, dance around, throw farther than I have ever thrown in my life... dressed as a giant vegetable.

I didn't want to do that.  I really didn't want to do that.

I can't remember how she convinced me to do it.  I imagine that cotton candy was involved.  But.  We left for the stadium.

Once we got there:

They put the costume on me... You can only have about 75% visibility out of it; which means once I got in it, everything was a surreal blur.

Meredith and I got in an elevator that took us down to the field.

They lead me out and I waved at the millions of people in the stands.

I was brought to the pitcher's mound and handed a ball.  The costume only allows you to use your elbows.  So I couldn't even throw using my shoulder.  I couldn't see 3 feet in front of me, let alone home plate.  So I just sucked it up and sort of tossed the ball, the best I could, in what I hoped was the right direction.

To this day, I have no idea where the ball went.  I just know that the stadium laughed.  And then I was thankful that I was dressed in a cucumber suit and 99.9% of the people there had no idea it was me.

They lead me back to the elevator.  Handed me a baseball that said "First Pitch" on it.  And up we went.

Then some guy in the elevator took my ball and signed it.  And handed it back to me.

I got out of the elevator, and met a whole bunch of kids.  None of whom knocked me down.  And that was that.

So, at home, in a fancy baseball display I have a Red Wings first pitch ball.

Oh.  And the guy who signed it?  Buck O'Neil.  The first African American to coach in major league baseball.  A major player for Negro League baseball...  Mr O'Neil died a couple months after I met him.  After I met him, dressed up as Larry Boy, and made a fool out of myself in front of the masses.

The end.