I'm tired!

I am starting to realize the cost of training for the marathon. Today on my schedule was a 12 mile run. Prior to this, I had never run farther than 10 miles. It was kind of warm even this morning, so by mile 8, I was pretty much over it. By mile 10 I had rubbed my chest raw and the front of my shirt was bloody. Afterward, I could hardly lift my legs to do my post-run stretching.

But I completed it in under 2 hours. I averaged about 9 min 15 sec miles, although at first I was under 8 minutes, and I slowly took more time each mile as the pain increased.

We had a ton of stuff to do today, and I am exhausted already. We have friends coming over for dinner, but I'm ready for bed now.

Dang this is hard!

Amgen Tour of California

Something kind of cool happened today in our neighborhood. The Amgen Tour of California bike race concluded in Escondido. The finish line is about 3 km from our home. We drove by the downtown area after church and it was already packed! We decided to just enjoy our afternoon at home and walk down to El Norte around 3:00 to watch them ride past. It was fun hanging out with some of our neighbors and talking photography.

After the inital 2 leaders passed by around 3:40, there was a huge group of racers following about 2 minutes behind. I'm pretty sure Lance Armstrong was in that group. But I'm having a hard time identifying him in any of these photos.

The racers passed by like this: 2 leaders way out front, a huge group of racers together, followed by a lone rider, and then 8 minutes or so behind the leaders, the final group of racers passed by.

It was really cool to have all this international attention focused on our hometown!

Good things keep on happening to us...

I've been thinking all day about how we have seemingly had a really long stretch where things just didn't go our our way. This blog is full of the thoughts we have learned along the way including the struggles we have faced financially, spiritually, and emotionally.

This week seems to be moving us in the opposite direction. Our financial situation is still exactly the same, but the opportunity for growth now exists with my new job starting on Friday. Jenetta's website is still slowly moving forward, but we finally got news about something that will definitely increase her readership.

The online version of the Redbook article came out today. You can read it here. And YES! The author plugged the website. I probably would have written the article differently and emphasized other things, but people are already clicking the link from the Redbook site and we imagine many more will visit Jenetta's site as the magazine is received by subscribers. Here is the photo we went with: Kind of serious for my taste, but...


I've spent a lot of time praying today and being thankful. I must confess that I like the good stuff a lot more than a lot of the negative things we have been experiencing! But my prayer is that we won't forget the lessons we have learned over the past three years.

Thanks so much to the friends and family who have been there for us as we complained and struggled. Thanks for your prayers and your support. Your love and friendship means infinitely more to us than financial stability or business growth.

New Job

Today was a whirlwind of events! Let me back up a bit. Jenetta and I sat down last night to watch an episode of "Freaks and Geeks" and I received a voice mail about a job I'd applied for a few weeks ago. I was thinking about blowing it off until the morning, but I decided to call back. We spoke for about an hour.

I met with Derek today at a co-op deli in Ocean Beach. We interviewed for about 2 hours. He answered all my questions, and I learned a lot! After that time, it was clear to both of us that I was the perfect match for the position. I was offered the job and I accepted right away. We talked for another half hour about specifics, and then I returned to catch up on the rest of my Sony stuff.

I start on Friday as the executive assistant for Kiwaii. It is a startup water company that will be delivering product directly to consumers and sold at high-end and health specialty stores very soon. The website is not where it needs to be yet, but it gives you an idea about the concept. Check it out.

I am very concerned about the quality of food that I put into my body. If we could afford it, we would eat locally produced organic food for everything. But prior to last night, I hadn't really thought much about what kind of water I put into my body. I think that will drastically change. Derek gave me a case of the water to try out. I'm excited to learn more about what unpolluted water means and to contribute to making the company a success.

What I am most thrilled about though is that I think I've finally found a position that is a perfect fit for me. I will be doing organizational things, everyday stuff like book-keeping and filing, preparing power point presentations and written materials for investors, and supporting the sales efforts of Derek. I'll be using the skills I've developed as a teacher/stage manager/photographer/office worker/marketer/writer/production coordinator, etc.... It was clear through our time spent together today that I bring to the company exactly what he is looking for. It's nice to feel needed! It's nice to feel like the weird path I've travelled is seen as an asset and not a liability!

Here are some specifics: I start at an hourly wage that is slightly more than I earn at Sony, but the commute is almost 60 minutes each way. So that is definitely a downer. I start at 10:30 am so I can wait until the traffic rush is over, so that helps somewhat. I will work at Derek's home office, but he plans to relocate soon to Encinitas. That would help cut the commute time in half (and make surfing before or after work a lot easier!) After a trial period, I would transfer to a salaried position which eventually would include stock options. So this definitely allows for the career growth I am looking for. It will involve some travel as we finish production details and meet with investors. Someday, I hope to travel to New Zealand and check out the bottling facilities.

I had been praying that if I were to find something, it would begin before March 2 so there would be no layoff time. Well, I start on this Friday!

There is no doubt in my mind that this is meant to be. Thanks for your support and for praying with us. I'll let you know when the product will be availble for you to try out!

Valentine's Dinner Party

Last night, we enjoyed hanging with our friends at Crystal and Brandon's new apartment. We had a really great meal and had fun just being together. Sadly, four of our group are missing from the group photo because they were sick :( But those of us who were there enjoyed the evening. After the kids went to bed, we got really crazy playing Wii Fit.

We found out that Crystal is an awesome ski-jumper and that I am absolutely terrible at Wii Yoga. :) And nobody rocks the marble balance game like Robbie!

Hope your Valentine's day was special!

What's up

Here is what has been going on with our family in the past few weeks:

- Running improving.
I am finally starting to adjust to the running schedule. I ran 8 miles on Saturday and was able to actually pick up the pace on miles 6-8. My knees are still very sore afterwards, but it is slowly getting more manageable. Stretching has improved my ankle pain problem. It sure is different doing this level of training at 36 than it was at 18! :)

- Latest on employment.
I have a few leads and another interview scheduled for Wed. 2/11 with another placement agency. I'm not too confident of a position through them, but I am doing my best to cover my bases. We'll see where the other leads take me, but I am starting to get my head around the idea of being unemployed after 2/27. We are starting to talk about what that means and how I can take advantage of the time. One thing that excites me is contributing to Jenetta's online businesses. I think that with the organization and writing skill I can bring to the table, we may be able to increase her growth rate substantially. She has been doing a great job building readership at FF and D. We are just getting rolling again on the revamped version of Bridalscoop, and we have some good ideas for going forward on this.

The good part about all this is that we will be working together and bringing our strengths together on the project. It will also allow me to transition back to the lifestyle I enjoyed so much in the past - specifically surfing more and having more time to invest with friends.

The bad part about this is that our income will be slashed again. Right now, Jenetta is earning about 1/3 of what I earned at Sony on her one site. We have seen steady growth and feel the opportunity for significant growth is there. Still, it will be a good stretch before it grows enough to replace my Sony income. I'll still keep looking for another job, but it is nice to have a focus at home if nothing works out for me in the corporate world.

- Adoption update:
Nothing new to report here. There was a child that sparked our interest and we communicated that to the right people, but there is a relative in the picture, so it's not looking very likely to happen for us. We are attending a monthly support group filled with other waiting couples. We actually will attend that again tonight and the special guest is a family that adopted two 9-year old twins. That should be interesting. But in the meantime, we wait, knowing God has what is best for us.

- How we are doing:
Jenetta and I had a nice evening yesterday. We did a photo shoot for a family at the beach in Del Mar. They were very nice and it went well. Then we went for a mini date at Peet's Coffee and Tea on the way back. I think we are both communicating clearly right now and enjoying the time we spend together.

- Other Stuff:
Our pastor is preaching on Haggai. A friend of mine challenged me to memorize the whole book with him. Getting sick put me a bit behind, but I've still been able to memorize all of Ch. 1 and have started working into Ch. 2.

This obviously isn't my most introspective (or even interesting) writing. It's been a while since I've posted, and I wanted to let you know what has been going on with us lately.