joshanderin's Xanga

NEW WEBPAGE!!

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 17:21:55 GMT

Yikes! It's been too long! Here's our new website:

web.mac.com/evans5811

MARATHONS AND MORE!

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:42:13 GMT

Hello all! Well, we are back safe from Chicago and Josh survived! He did so great. He finished with a 9:21 pace which is really good. I can't even run two miles at that pace I don't think. It was pretty cold that day but it didn't rain or snow like they were predicting, so that was a blessing. The weekend was fun, got to spend time with Josh's family which was fabulous. The marathon was so fun! There were 35,000 runners and 1.5 million spectators! We mapped out the course and drove all around Chicago to catch Josh and cheer him on. We saw him 4 times which was great. He recovered very well, though he was exhausted afterwards and the 45 minute train ride home was pretty painful I think! But he celebrated with yummy Chicago style pizza. Here are some pics !

This is Josh with his friend Geoff from Charlotte that ran it too. Josh's sister Jen put his name on his shirt so the spectators would cheer for him - and it worked! I guess everyone would yell "Go Josh! Good job! etc" and Geoff said, "man they love you!"

And whereever he went, he was RUNNING!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:04:37 GMT

I know I haven't updated in forever. There isn't really a whole lot to report. We're leaving for Chicago on Friday, yippee!! I'm so excited for Josh to accomplish this awesome feat. Work has been busy lately, but very good. I really love my job.
Gosh, you'd think I'd have more to update! We're just living life and loving it! Here's a pic of me with a belly. :) And one I took on the work retreat to Black Mountain, NC. It was awesome!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:14:15 GMT

Thanks for all the well wishes and congratulations, friends!! We're so excited for this amazing blessing. It is overwhelming and scary, but that is to be expected for such a major life change! I've been feeling pretty sick for the last month or so, but nothing too terrible. I'm hoping the nausea and morning/afternoon sickness lessens in the second trimester (which is a week away!). I'm very happy today because I'm wearing a maternity skirt with a stretchy waistband! I'm not really showing that much yet, but my pants are definitely getting tighter. My due date is April 5th or so. The grandparents are STOKED (this will be the first grandbaby on both sides!) but of course sad that we are so far away. Last weekend was Goddess Weekend in Wichita where I got to tell my Goddesses the big news (it took longer than I anticipated :). More good news is that Jessi and Joel are expecting their second child at the end of April! AND on my flight from Atlanta to Wichita a friend from HS was on the same flight! That was fun catching up.

In other news, Josh is well on his way to running the Chicago Marathon. This weekend he had an 18 mile run (whew!) and the marathon is about a month and a half away. His left knee was bothering him this weekend but feeling better now. We drove to Raleigh on Saturday to pick up a piece of furniture we ordered from Crate and Barell (Charlotte is getting one in November). It seemed like a long drive (3 hours) but it was pretty.

I am again attempting to become more of a football fan (on account of our new big sports-watching friendly TV AND living in a town that has a good football team.) BUT the Panther game yesterday was not a good step in that direction. They lost 20-6 to Atlanta. Boo.

Anyway, that's about all from here.

Photo/Hangman Fun!!

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 23:48:09 GMT

Well, pictures can speak a thousand words...or in this case 3 words! Here's your clue(s):

E _ _ _ i _ p _ _ _ _ _ _ _!

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Here are some photos to help you figure out the rest of the hangman puzzle

Charlotte

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:14:13 GMT

Well, it's probably time to post again so I thought I'd take an idea from some friends who recently moved across the country (Brandon&Emily/Matt&Emily) and list the things I've learned since moving to Charlotte. Not quite as interesting as NY and Seattle, but things I've learned nonetheless.

1. NOONE is from Charlotte. Noone. Noone was born here, noone grew up here, everyone is what is affectionately called "transplants". Most are from NY, DC and Florida.

2. Noone has heard of Kansas. Well, they may have heard of Kansas because of the Wizard of Oz, but other than that people say "I've NEVER met anyone from Kansas!" So there's not many of us out here.

3. There are NO east/west, north/south streets. They are all northwest, southwest, northwest, southeast...etc. And streets change names at least twice for no reason. Makes it a little hard to find your way around. I guess it does add character though.

4. There are lots of trees. Mosty pine trees. But lots of vegetation.

5. The sweet tea is out of control. Why are you gaining weight you ask? maybe because you drink a cup of sugar everytime you eat a meal. It adds up. What's really funny is when people say that they have to drink sweet tea because they are from the south. And then people from the north say they are from the north so they drink unsweet. Hey, here's a thought. Decide which you like and then drink that. Who cares where you're from.

6. State line rivalries abound. The North Carolina/South Carolina rivalry is almost as heated as the Kansas/Missouri. And we live like 2 minutes from the S. Carolina line. When you just say "Carolina", that means North Carolina. If someone says "Carolina" and they mean South Carolina, they will most likely be chastised in an embarassing manner.

7. ACC rules all. And I don't mean that in a "yeah, ACC rules all!! Rock on!!" I mean that during basketball season you can't catch a Big 12 or Big 10 game because they've all been pre-empted for Maryland/Virginia Tech or Wake Forest/Clemson (I won't even mention the overexposure of UNC and Duke). Even if there's a KU game supposed to be on according to digital cable. Oh no. We have learned to not plan our evening around an exciting KU or Illinois basketball game if it is supposed to be on. It probably won't be on, but if it is bonus.

8. Lots of people play tennis. That's pretty cool.

9. I've never seen so much building of new houses and townhouses. It's crazy. I guess there's a lot of people moving here (the stat is 4000 a month, because it's so cheap to live compared to other east coast places).

10. Gosh, my list is wearing thin...but I've got to get to 10...it really is beautiful! Sunshine, lush landscape, beach and moutains 2 hours away.

So I guess that's it. Even if there are negative thoughts in my list, we really like it here! If anyone wants to visit we have plenty of room!

We're off to Highlands, NC this weekend to hang out in a mountain cabin, do some hiking and maybe white water rafting. Woo hoo!

Ode to Dogs

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:15:30 GMT

I know what you're thinking. They're smelly, they're slobbery, they're expensive. You no longer buy white clothing because of them. They scratch up your hardwood floors, eat your plants, pee on the floor. You spend hundreds of dollars on a fence you can't even see - yup, it's invisible - simply so they stay in the yard.

BUT...they do have their advantages. They are really great company when you're alone. When you're upset...they just know, and come and try to comfort you. Today Tess and Reuben got so excited when Josh pulled up in the driveway - they could hardly contain their excitement. Reuben (the 110 pound lab/rottweiler) cowers at the sound of a trash bag. Tough guy? Not so much. They are sooo excited to get up in the morning, but after they eat they just want to lay around and sleep.

It's hard to explain how much I've learned from having dogs for the last 3 years, but let's just say now I'm a dog person! Here's to dogs! And yes, those are Josh's boxers on the dogs, but we don't make a habit out of dressing them.

Ah...the blessings (and curses) of home ownership

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 00:06:55 GMT

OK, so this post might be mostly the curses :)

So my biggest beef is with yard work. My mother-in-law loves the yard, plants stuff, it all looks pretty and in the right place. Of course, she has been doing it for upwards of 30 years, but that's beside the point. I want to be an expert NOW!!!
So I go out on a nice Sunday evening to pull some weeds in the front yard. I'm minding my own business and a HUGE ginormous flying insect starts flying around as if to say "Hey, this is my block. Go away." It's just big enough that I have to run inside and look out the window until I don't see it anymore.
Then I get done with that and head to the backyard to trim up the rose bush and unclutter the vine that has ever so kindly wrapped itself around my whole house. So as I'm clearing away these branches from the vine thing, I uncover what appears to be a birds nest with two blue eggs. You've got to be kidding. In my attempt to be Martha Stewart I have wrecked the home of a nice, unsuspecting bird family. So I show Josh and he says to just leave it as it is, maybe the mom will come back. The nest is still intact. Lest we forget my two huge dogs that probably scared off the tenants already.
And the kicker. I come inside and take a shower (not so much because I'm smelly or hot but because bugs creep me out and I feel like they are crawling all over me after working in the yard). I get out, look in the mirror, and lo and behold I have a bug bite the size of a golf ball (seriously) on...

he he he... you're wondering where right...

MY FOREHEAD!!! NO!!! The most noticable place on a person, and of course this is a big week for me at work with the upcoming golf tournament and a bunch of meetings. I mean, I even put on bug spray because last time I got some bug bites on my ankles and such, but silly me I forgot to spray the awful repellent ON MY FACE. Geez. I'll remember next time to risk blindness so the inconsiderate bugs in my elephant ear plant won't take a bite out of my forehead.

So, that's my story. Other than that home ownership is grand :)

A post from Joshua

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 22:56:04 GMT

Hey Everybody! Thought I'd update you on our last couple of weeks. I will warn you in advance, however, that the quality of my writing falls many notches lower than Erin's.

The weekend of June 17th and 18th we were blessed with the company of my best buddy from K.C., Matt, his lovely wife Jennifer, and their beautiful baby boy Brinton Davis. We had a great time while they were here in Charlotte! We ate out a lot, mostly in outdoor seating areas which is always an enjoyable experience when you're with friends. Jen and Erin took in a Broadway show (Chicago) on Friday night, while Matt and I went to see the Mighty Charlotte Knights take on the lowly Durham Bulls fight to the end in a riveting AAA matchup that had a final score of 13-1. The Knights won, of course!

Other than that we went to Church, tried to get in sufficient relaxation, watched a move or two, and watched Matt and Jen in their parenthood roles of changing diapers, feeding, and changing diapers again! It made Erin and I realize that though babies are hard work, they are more than worth the effort!

Erin is doing very well at work with the YMCA, and she's also enjoying playing in a Charlotte Tennis League Singles Ladder for women. She has worked her way to a ranking of 23 out of 48 with a 2-1 record. She'll be the best soon, I'm sure!

My work is going well, with my territory improving drastically in sales results since I started at the end of January. Hopefully that improvement continues. I am also training for the Chicago Marathon which will be held on October 22nd. The training is going well, but the Saturday morning long runs are hard to get up early (and motivated) to do!

This weekend we will be heading to Wichita to visit Erin's folks, hopefully her brother and sister-in-law, and possibly my grandparents in Missouri if we can take a drive on Friday and Saturday. We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend in Wichita and on the road!

Well, I won't bore y'all any more, so here are a couple of pics from our weekend with Matt and Jen!

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 19:08:58 GMT

We had a fun weekend in the mountains! It was absolutely beautiful, the cabin is completely isolated. Just a 10 minute drive to town, though. Josh really fell in love with North Carolina this weekend, knowing that this is only a couple hours away. We hiked down and then up a waterfall, drank coffee on the wrap around deck, played tennis, and
heard tales of a 9 foot tall bear - yikes!