Skoleboller and Troll Hunters.

Watched the most amazing Norwegian movie tonight, called Troll Hunter. Not for young kids or the faint of heart, but if you like cheeky fake documentaries about trolls, it might be for you.

Run: 6 miles easy with Troy and Dillon. 9:45 pace (might remember wrong here).

Food:
- Oatmeal w/ apple sauce, two fried eggs.
- Three slices of bread with misc stuff on top, two carrots, protein shake.
- Two chicken and one fish taco.
- Snacks: Two granola bars, half a banana. Skolebolle. Handful of chips.

Ethiopia:
Paper work taking way too long on our side. Especially all the health forms. Had no idea that this could drag out the way it has. No forms = no visa. Not worried yet though. But there isn't really that much time until we leave. Mostly our fault though, we should have just organized everything straight away, set up appointments, etc., as soon as we got the list of required paperwork from NMS.

NMS sent a Norwegian volunteer out a month or so ago to work on our future home, here's a few pics. Not much but at least it'll give us an idea of how we'll be living.

Btw, as to time line: leave Greenwood right after Christmas, visit family in Norway, then move in mid-January to Addis for language school to learn Oromo. Then go home to Norway for missionary training in summer 2012. Only after all that will we actually move out to Bodji.

The second reason

We're moving to Ethiopia as missionaries in Jan 2012. There'll be lost of stress, joys and weirdness related to that, so this mit be a good place to put some of that into words. More on this later.

Later...

We're going with the mission agency (NMS) that sent us to Hong Kong in my childhood. We'll primarily be partnering with Mekane Yesus (the Lutheran church in Ethiopia). We'll primarily be helping train local pastors, evangelists and lay leaders in the western part of the country. We'll living in Bodji, so small it doesn't show up on Google Maps(!)

Food:
- Scrambled eggs, bowl of oatmeal w/ maple syryp and frozen blueberries.
- A lot of meat, two potatoes, salad. Two brownies, scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Two servings Mac and cheese with peas and ham.
- Scoop vanilla ice cream and a pie e of Leah's apple almond tart.

Run:
Nothing scheduled; recovery day... Sorely (pardon the pun) needed, knees and calves are really sore.

The first reason

I've finally taken the step to sign up for a full marathon (Kiawah on Dec 10th). Hoping that if I keep regular posts on here, I'll feel like I'm being held accountable, especially when it comes to my diet. It's far to easy to snack on junk when I'm at the office. There's always leftover cakes, bags of chips, bottles of soda, etc just laying around.

Run:
This morning I ran 14 mi (22.5km), at an avg pace of 8:53, goal pace was 8:30. Troy was kind enough to run the first 7 with me. Felt a lot better than I did during last Saturday's 12 mi. Though running past Westside Baptist's pancake breakfast at mile 10, felt like cruel and unusual punishment. The air was filled with the wonderful aroma of pancakes and bacon. Thankfully Leah had some ready when I got home.

Food:
- Banana and slice of plain bread.
- Two blueberry and two cinnamon/pecan waffles. Small glass of apple cider. Approx 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt.
- 4 slices of HW homemade bread, with turkey, cheese and bell pepper. 1 cup raw milk.
- Hand full almonds
- 4 pieces fried fish, grits, slaw.
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauce, chopped pecans.
- 100g Firkløver chocolate.
(I do fine during the day, it's just the insatiable craving for sugar at night that gets me.)

Here's to another attempt...

It's made me sad to not keep this thing updated. another attempt is coming as i now have reasons to post. more later.

I'm running Cooper River Bridge Run this weekend with Troy. Should be fun. Haven't run a race since November i think. Really haven't trained for it at all, a part from running with the track kids.

I find it very difficult to get excited about blogging. To attempt to do this twice a month seems to have been too ambitious. Yes, Troy, you still get to slap me.

I just ate a whole bag of Cadbury's Miniature Chocolate Easter Eggs in one sitting - my stomach is a little unsettled.

I want to go on a trip to a place i've never been before. The think about an international marriage is that all free time and money goes towards traveling to the country you're not living in. And even through going home is absolutely fantastic and i wouldn't change anything, it'd be so much fun to go somewhere completely different.

Below is another gem from Norwegian pop music Hall of Shame: "Bombadilla Life" by Franklin .
I listened to this song over and over and over on my yellow Sony Sports Walkman. I made ample use of (what i think was called) the "auto-reverse" button; no need to flip the tape!

FYI

Leah is posting to her blog again.

Music at K-Mart

So i was in there tonight helping to pick up a recliner for my grandmother-in-law, when Crash Test Dummies' "MMM MMM MMM MMM" came on over the PA. Since it has been stuck in my head ever since, and because the Olympics are in Canada, i figured i'd spread the love:

Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm (Official Music Video) - Click here for more blooper videos

Thoughts on my fourth decade

As I am now a few months into my 30s I realize that age doesn't matter. I feel more or less the same as when I was 20 or 25. There are many people much younger or older than I, that I'd much rather spend time with than many people my own age.

My only goal this decade is to finish a marathon at least every other year. I don't want to be one of those guys who stayed in decent shape and then all of a sudden give up and added forty pounds when they hit their 30s. Staying in marathon completing shade will hopefully keep me healthy for a long time to come.

We can barely fathom just how gracious God is. We know we struggle to comprehend all the "omni" attributes about God, but i am convinced that his mercy and grace are far more difficult to truly realize fully. (I guess if we did, even the thought of sinning would be beyond distasteful to us.)

Few things come even close mattering like God and family.

i didn't make any resolutions...

...but I'm going to post here at least twice a month. Keep me accountable. You may slap me without warning if I forget.

I like writing here, but feel compelled to have something to write about, so therefore i more often than not simply don't. I probably just need to be more observant.

I'm not sure they're resolutions, but here are some hopes/plans/dreams/desires for the coming year:

1. I want to try to branch out socially this year. To really get to know at least two people that I now don't. Preferably, someone not in the little Christian Church bubble I exist in now. (this sounds negative, but it's not meant this way; i love my bubble, but i think that's part of the problem)
2. I only read one novel last year - this MUST change.
3. I have been quite upset at my own selfishness and self-centeredness. I seem to have become more-so in the past year or two, it should be the other way around, my sanctification progress seems to have slowed down and even gone backward in some areas. I see so much self and so little Christ in me at times. This really bugs me, yet I don't do much about it. THIS MUST CHANGE. Those of you who pray; remember me in this if you don't mind.
4. Sleep more and watch Hulu/Netflix less - there is a strong correlation between the two.

i'm hungry, so i'm going to go get something to eat

Class

back in it now, last semester. it'll be busy, but oh my i can't wait!

Cross COuntry is going well, at least i hope so, we're having fun. First meet today. Will report back as to whether we did well or not. not really "in it to win it" this season. more of a building year, i guess. there's some awesomely fast kids on the team though, certainly don't want to sound negative.

going to Durham, NC Friday and Sat of next week. Counter Culture Coffee has a free two day seminar/training thing. should be good. because we have no money, i'll camp at a nearby state park. excited about that too. Been a long time since i camped on my own. there's something about the solitude in this that i find refreshing. pretty excited about the whole thing.

We're busy painting. not my favorite DIY project. Matias is moving into our old room and we're moving into what used to be the study. our old room has a horrible incredibly dark navy on the wall that we never got around to painting when we first moved in. so we're trying to knock this out before the baby comes.

i am sick of politics, the whole health care, Obama, republicans vs. dems. i know a lot of you find this very important. i'm not saying it's not important, i'm sure it is. it's just that i feel saturated. there's so much viciousness on both sides.