Champ, the crazy, destructive dog....Basketball, My bro's band, and other fun!

Yea, I am posting more than 1 post in a month, this is big time!  Anyway... thought I would post some random pics and tell ya what we've been up to..

Basketball is in Big 12 play, started a little rough at first, but now Tech's on a 2 game win streak, with a game today at home against OSU (Wreck 'Em Tech)! 

I have been working hard, getting content up on http://www.theempowernutrition.com/, my company's website (check it out if you haven't had a chance, we're pretty proud of it)  Also, David Dunn's song "This is for YOU" is featured on the homepage video! 

My brother, Curt, and his band came and played in Lubbock for the first time. My mom & dad, and my uncle Darren & aunt Vickie, Wally's teamate Rob, and my good friend and business partner Erin & her husband Jon, as well as all the cousins at Tech and in Lubbock (we have a family dynasty of Red Raiders...there are 9 of us here currently) all got to go watch him!  We were all excited (Curt may have had a different opinion haha!), but we had a lot of fun together. 

Champ (our golden retriever) is such a sweet, fun dog.  However, he tends to be fairly hard on toys.  So yesterday, I decided to have a doggy date and take him to PetSmart and get some new toys, because he destroyed all his other ones (OK, thats bad reasoning, but oh well)...we picked out a little basketball rope toy, and a duck with squeekers in each of the limbs.  He loved them, but they had a life of about 2 hours before they were destroyed into pieces.  I've decided the squeeker toys (even though they tend to be big hits), possess my dog...Champ is mesmorized and can't let the toy go until the squeeker is ripped out and punctured!  Pretty funny to watch though...

Enjoy the pics....(captions below)

Blessing until next time, Micah

Seattle, about to go to Pike's Place Market and eat some amazing crepes for breakfast

Skyline in Seattle with the mountains in the background....beautiful!

Rob Lewandowski's cousin....Wally's biggest Fan :)

Wally at Washington  (I got to sit right behind him)

Keith, Becky, Joe, Me, & Wally at the Midland Bible Christmas Eve Service

Me and my cute hubby!

Me, Wally, Rob (Wally's teamate) , Erin (my business partner), & Jon (Erin's husband, soon to be Dr.)

All the Christian cousins hanging out, watching Curt's band play

Curt jamming in the middle

My brother Curt's band "Wiskey Rebellion" jamming in Lubbock (we're really proud of him)

Snuggling with Wally on the couch (Yes, our dog is really lacking in attention and love, if you couldn't tell)

The "I didn't do anything wrong" look....don't ever beleive it!

Champ enjoyed his brand new duck toy...soon to be destroyed

And not even 2 hours later, my living room, destroyed with shreds of rope, chunks of toy, broken squeekers, and duck limbs.....so much for the new toys!

Last Ever "First Day of School"

So, Wally & I had a pretty big accomplishment yesterday...our very last "First Day of School".  Can't say either of us are too sad or anything haha!  I have two more classes in grad school and finishing my thesis (the never ending dreadful torture I chose to put myself through), and Wally has three classes he is in, finishing up his business minor.  WOOHOO, I think this is cause for some celebration!

Another exciting event, EMPOWER NUTRITION has an official website http://www.theempowernutrition.com/!  I am super pumped, go check it out, we are pretty proud of it!  Tell all your friends, post it on good ole facebook, anything else that could spread the word would be much appreciated (;) thanks)!  We are constantly working on it, and our bootcamp and membership are coming soon, so check back often....and be on your way to wellness & health.  I thought I would share a little bit about us and how we came up with this whole gig too (this is the blog, be yourself, "raw" version... on the website we're a little more, could we say...."professional", whatever that means LOL!  So here it is, from the heart...

      "Ever had a dream?...We did and taadaah (ok, so we don’t really know how to spell that, but you get the point)…you’re looking at it! (http://www.theempowernutrition.com/) Welcome, look around, and enjoy! We can’t help but thank the good Lord for bringing two personalities as crazy, spontaneous, and impulsive as ours together (just ask our husbands, they have their hands full!) and now we get to work together every day!  It all started in a coffee shop in Lubbock, Texas (FYI… we LOVE coffee, wherever, whenever, with whatever…and we apologize in advance if we talk about it too much, just one of those little passions in life to be thankful for…) we were supposed to be discussing the logistics of a corporate wellness program we were doing. You may learn this about us well (and maybe you can relate), we tend to get off topic rather easily, not necessarily a bad thing, just causes some random hour phone conversations here and there. Anyway, the meeting about the wellness program turned into what we wanted to do in life and what some of our dreams were (somehow, not exactly sure how we got there…) We both love all things nutrition and fitness and we love encouraging and motivating people and wanted to combine our enthusiasm for the two. Through the wellness program, talking to our clients, and other experiences, we realized two things 1) dietitians and good, evidenced-based nutrition and fitness are hard to come by; and 2) nutrition and fitness advice is often times impractical, rigid, strict, and unrealistic in the reality of busy everyday life. What’s the solution, we asked ourselves? A web-based, come-to-you company to provide simple nutrition and fitness advice, and EMPOWER people (wherever they are in their journey) to get healthy and live life abundantly. So here ya go, EMPower Nutrition, a name to encompass our goals and encompass a little of us too (E for Erin, M for Micah, clever we thought!)"


Just a few more thoughts....pray for the Texas Tech basketball team, they've had a rough start to Big 12 play, but come support them if ya can!  Also, my thesis study is going through the process to be approved to actually do, so pray for my patience and perseverance, its been fairly tedious

Until next time....Wally and I have found encouragement from these verses and are working on memorizing them (Part of our New Year's resolution, more time in the Word together)....join us!

Colossians 1:9-14
"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood,[c] the forgiveness of sins. "

EMPower Nutrition: My new business!

Hey! Just wanted to let you guys know my new business "EMPower Nutrition" has a blog! Check it out at www.theempowernutrition.blogspot.com! Thanks so much for your support...spread the word!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Yes, I know.....I am REALLY, REALLY behind, and haven't updated my blog since, ummm, well, yeah, before school started ( yikes, that's bad).....So, now that we are ending this semester, taking finals and such, I will give ya another update (FINALLY right?!?)

Man, how do I even begin updating a blog I haven't kept up with in 4 months.....oh well, here goes nothing, catching ya up on a whole semester!

Well, Wally and I are both in our last hoorah at this whole school thing (Praise the Lord), we can't hardly even take it anymore....one more semester....I have been doing the tedious process of a master's thesis....Vitamin D and Athletic Performance...that is pretty much the definition of my whole semester in a nutshell. Its been fun learning and researching but needless to say I will be extremely ready to be done (cross my fingers, in May)

I also worked with an employee wellness program, doing fitness bootcamps and nutrition counseling, which just recently wrapped up right before Thanksgiving. I hace always had a passion to do this kind of thing, so it was awesome getting to be a part of some great journeys toward health.

I am also very excited to be in the process of starting up my own company with one of my dear friends and fellow personal trainers and dietitians, Erin Nelson. It's called "EMPower Nutrition, Inc." and we're expecting to really launch and take off in January to aid in all the New Year's resolutions :). I will keep you updated and would love all your support. We're doing everything from nutrition counseling, an online membership program to help with meals, snacks, workouts, tips, etc..., personal training and bootcamps, grocery shopping tours, pantry makeovers, and anything else we can do to help people achieve some health and fitness goals. Let me know if you have questions....I'll post our website just as soon as we get it launched!

Wally is continuing leading worship for FBC Wolfforth and Campus Crusade for Christ. It's been really a lot of fun to see him in his element....the Lord has truly gifted him with music, and the church just loves him (Who doesn't right....okay well maybe I am biased) We are really enjoying the church and have gotten involved in a small group. I am also helping teach 3-5 year olds (hilarious to say the least).

Wally's senior basketball season as a Texas Tech Red Raider kicked off in October, with the first game in November. Wreck 'Em Tech! That keeps us busy with practices, games, and traveling for sure! In pics below, you can see our neices and nephews supporting their Uncle Wally in shirts I made for them :)!

Tech played in Padre for Thanksgiving in a tournament (can't say I will miss spending holidays next year without my husband)...but I had a great time running on the beach, hanging with family, and eating some wonderful, fresh seafood!

We got our house decorated right before we left (yes before Thanksgiving, which Wally wasn't thrilled about, him being the MOST traditional person ever!) I love this time of year and wanted to spend as much time enjoying the festivities as possible! We jammed to Christmas music (if you have never heard of Paul Cardall, listen, he is incredible), which I am always so pumped to do! Also, Rob Lewandowski, Wally's best friend and teamate, and Wally, my amazing husband, surprised me with having my lights up on the houes when I got home one night ...it was so cool!

Wally participated in his final athlete talent show, which supports the Special Olympics, where he placed 3rd. He didn't want me to put up the video, because he thought he did bad, but I thought it was great, so I put it up anyway!

Well, I better wrap this thing up before it turns into a book, but I promise I will be better about keeping up.....Well, until next time, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Enjoy the pics, they are some fun ones from this semester

Joe (nephew) sizes everything to "Uncle Rob"...and Uncle Rob always wins!

Uncle Wally's biggest fans!

Go Tech!

Wally got initiated into Tech Men's Club, quite an honor!

My family celebrating Wally's bday at a cookout/tailgate before the Tech game, fun times!

The coolest dog ever, CHAMP, he is huge now by the way, 80 pounds!

Wally's homeade red velvet cake for his birthday

Farwell homecoming celebration with my cousins Shelby and Laney

Friends Adam and Anna, who have a precious son, Topher, now.....He will definitely be the biggest Red Raider fan

Chillin at the Tech game!

TEXAS, Campfires, Morning Hikes, and S'more!

With summer rapidly coming to an end, Wally & I, and some of our wonderful friends, Brad and Tara, thought we would end it with a bang, and go to the outdoor play "Texas" at Palo Duro Canyon for the last weekend production, and camp out afterwards! We had been wanting to do this getaway for a while and were super excited we followed through!

Our journey began about 5 o'clock Friday afternoon, packing all our gear (coolers, tents, pillows, etc...). We had to take Brad & Tara's Suburban because we had so much stuff (for just one night!) After loading up, we were on the road, making a quick stop in Tulia at the El Camino resturant for some delicious Mexican food (we had to practically inhale it though, because, and if you know Tara or I, you may not be too suprised by this, but we were running behind :)

We screeched into the canyon just in time for the show...which, if you haven't been to Palo Duro Canyon, you really need to go...it's beautiful! We were talking on the way, as we arrived, how random it is to be driving (a very boring, flat drive to be honest) and all of the sudden this huge canyon, with gorgeous layers of color, appears out of no where! That must have been a crazy discovery by the settlers of this area, for the scenery to change that drastically, and all of the sudden this giant hole appeared.

Anyway, we watched the musical TEXAS, underneath an awesome stormy sky (luckily no rain though), where God placed lightening strikes, right along with the script and story...it was cool. It made you proud to be a Texan...in fact, we got cracked up at just how proud all Texans seem to be of our great state....the cheers and yells were louder for the Texas flag, than the American flag, at the end of the show, when the horses come running by, with riders carrying the six flags of Texas.

After the show, which was over about 11, we still had to find a camp site, build our tents, and of course get the campfire going so we could enjoy some s'mores. This proved more difficult than it should have been....first of all, we only had one flashlight, and second of all (seen in pictures below) Wally & I had the craziest, most difficult tent ever to set up (we borrowed it, and maybe should have looked at it beforehand, so we could have figured it out a little better) But with Eagle Scout Wally and Mr. Outdoorsman himself, Brad, and Tara & I, we got our campsite up, and enjoyed some mighty good smores before bed (We were laughing about a two man tent taking four people to set up).

Although the ground was a little hard, and we didn't get as much sleep as we usually like, we awoke the next morning about 7 to watch the sunrise over the canyon (one of those sites that proves how wonderful our creator truly is). We enjoyed coffee with the help of a French press, and some good ole breakfast burritos (always better over a campfire....okay and maybe with the help of Brad's handy dandy little Coleman road trip grill)

We cleaned up, packed up, and headed for the finale of our trip, the hike to the lighthouse....unfortunately, we were under time crunch to get back to work so we didn't make it all the way to the lighthouse, but we definately booked it almost 5 miles in less than an hour and a half! (Wally has some awful blisters to prove it too!)

We had a blast on our short "before school starts back" bash...a beautiful canyon, and some great friends to share it with!

Enjoy the pics (some randoms from Shannon and Allison's wedding also included):

Reflections on our first year

Wally and I recently celebrated our 1 year anniversary on June 27th....WOW! We decided we would go to the hill country and have a little time away together to celebrate. We found a wonderful bed and breakfast called the "Walden Plantation" about 13 miles outside of Llano. It was hilarious driving there because it was literally in the middle of nowhere. We took a bunch of country roads about 13 miles outside of Llano (Wally was getting kind of worried the further we went, he was asking me if I was sure this was the right direction haha)...and all of the sudden a beautiful hacienda style plantation appeared, with the Llano river running right behind it. We had a blast during our stay....we went into Fredericksburg on Friday night for some amazing mexican food at Mamacitas and wonderful homeade ice cream for dessert at Clear River. On Saturday morning, after a delicious Belgian waffle breakfast, we went kayaking (thanks to our friends Brad and Tara loaning us their kayak for the weekend) and renting one at the plantation. We swam at the pool, watched the USA World Cup game, and just relaxed. We highly recommend this place for sure! Sunday, our real anniversary day, I woke up early and decided to go grab some coffee and sit out on the porch overlooking the river (a gorgeous view)....as I was sitting, reading my bible, I had one of those moments where you just encounter God's presence and he overwhelms you. It was the coolest thing for Him to open my eyes and reflect on how much He has truly blessed me, and how thankful I am for this past year, the most wonderful year of my life. Its been so cool that God has allowed me to be joined in marriage to my best friend, and how amazing it is that He allows us to represent Christ and the Church and share His gospel as husband and wife. He has been so gracious, and grows, challenges, and sanctifies us daily to become more like Christ in how we love, serve, honor, and respect one another. I think of Phil. 2 when I think about God's design for marriage, and how it's not always the most fun thing, but how we are pushed and challenged to continually look to the needs of others and love God and others before ourselves....Wally has been such a wonderful husband in making me feel so loved each day, encouraging me, and filling each day with joy and adventure! I am truly blessed and thankful God gave me the best husband in the world!

Walden Plantation and Llano River front

Dinner at Mamacita's in Fredericksburg

YUMMY!