A little late getting into the "new" year, part II

So if you stopped by yesterday, you read my reflection on my 2010 new year resolutions (if you made it all the way to the end...).  Today I am going to pick up where I left off and share with you my resolutions for 2011 and the word that sums them all up.  Again, I decided to leave out the things that I would probably end up doing, resolution or not.  Some examples of those from last year are: learn to sew, get a new sewing machine, visit 3 different states.  These are things that I love and would need no push to do them, so obviously I was struggling with what a good resolution is when I made mine for 2010.  Okay, I'll stop blabbing now and tell you what I've got:

 {"Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” - Matthew 4:4}

1. Be consistent in spending time with the Lord.  A great and practical way to do this is to make sure that I do my BSF studies on a daily basis as opposed to realizing that it's already Sunday and doing 2 a day.  God should get my bests and my firsts - not my lasts.  This should be a priority!

{All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17}

2. Memorize scripture on a weekly basis.  This was an important resolution that easily got thrown under the bus from last year - I am determined to not let it slip between the cracks this year.  I have a topical memory verse system that I got when I was living in Lexington and studying the Word with Frankie (one of my favorite people ever - my Bible Study leader and Lexington Mom).  Stephen and I are going to do this together - this will help to hold me more accountable.

{"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple." - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17}

3. Be healthy.  I'm not going to make lofty plans to become a runner and to be able to run "x" amount of miles each time I go to the gym because I've found that I'm a VERY mental exerciser.  If I make a goal to run "x" amount of miles when I go to the gym, and then I go to the gym and I don't run that amount I feel like a failure and defeated and then I stop going to the gym (look at me: exhibit A).  So I'm just making a resolution to work out 2-3 times a week.  That may be a long walk, that may be a run, that may be an exercise ball in my family room.  I just need to work out.

{"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:11-13}

4. Stephen and I stick to a budget when it comes to our expenses. Two things happen to our money before it even makes it into the budget: we give it back to God (it's really His money) and then we put some away into savings before it hits our budget books.  Even though we have a budget, we like to challenge ourselves to not spend all the money that we've allocated in our budget (all you Dave Ramsey fan out there are judging me right now...).  The only way we can do this is if we actually keep up with putting our receipts into our budget spreadsheet in a timely fashion.  Otherwise, we won't know how much we've spent!  Last year we were in a bad habit of putting our receipts in like a month late and while we didn't overspend, I'm sure we could've saved even more by being aware of how much we were spending when we were spending it.  This year, we are going to put our receipts into our budget on a weekly basis.

So that's that!  Those are my 4 major resolutions for the 2011 year.  The word that sums up all of these resolutions, and that says what I want to be better at this year is disciplined.  I want to be disciplined in doing things that I know are the best for me and will make me a better person.  I want to be disciplined at doing the small things: going to bed at a decent time, not wasting time on the computer or watching television, flossing my teeth, you get the drift.  I also want to be disciplined at doing the more important things like spending time reading the Bible and in prayer.  So, this year, I am working on becoming more disciplined.

 "My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline,
   and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
   as a father the son he delights in."

Proverbs 3:11-13

A little late getting to the "new" year...

I’m super behind with sharing my resolutions for this year, sorry!  It took me forever to make myself sit down and type them out and as a result, I’m not actually starting them until more like the end of January instead of the beginning of the year.  My bad.  After I reflected on my past year and looked at the New Year ahead of me, I felt so proud of myself for getting that far.  Unfortunately, the most important step – the implementation of these resolutions have been put off.  I’m finally biting the bullet, sitting down and making these resolutions much more official by posting them on my blog for the world to see.  Here ‘ya go world!

First let’s start by reviewing my resolutions for 2010…we’re going to start backwards and work our way up…

8. Visit at least 3 different states besides Illinois and Kentucky. 

-I succeeded with this resolution by visiting Tennessee, New York, Virginia, Alaska, Washington, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania – shoo!

7. Fix my sewing machine/get a new one.

-I succeeded with this resolution when my wonderful husband supported my purchase of my *new Brother sewing machine.

6. Learn to sew.

-Check.  I took a sewing class at JoAnns and since then, I’ve been a sewing fanatic.  I can’t seem to get it off my mind and I’m constantly looking for and coming up with new projects that I can try my hand at.

5.  Maintain a 3.0 GPA in grad school.

-This resolution was kept, and at the time it seemed like a really ambitious resolution as I hadn’t started school yet and I didn’t know what to expect.  Getting good grades has simply meant that I stay on top of my work and give my best effort.

4. Complete at least 25 hours of grad school.

-In the year 2010 I got 27 hours of grad classes under my belt, soundly securing my 25 goal.

3. Train to run; 5 miles regularly (2-3 times a week)

-Big. Fat. Fail.  If you’ve perused my “Work-out Diaries” page you can see that I started the year out by really making an effort to become a runner.  I was going strong until about March-April and then I fell off the wagon and haven’t seemed to be able to get back on. Ouch.

2. Memorize Scripture on a weekly basis.

-This one hurts even more to admit that I also failed at this.  I don’t even think I made it to April in trying to keep this resolution; I just flat-out failed it from early on and then continued to live life without even thinking about it.  It’s incredibly embarrassing/humbling for me to even type that out.

1. Be in the Word daily.

-I would be lying if I told you that every single day, 365 days in 2010 I was in the Word reflecting on God’s truth.  Again, I fell incredibly short at living out this resolution.

What have I learned by going through these resolutions from 2010?  That I was really good at keeping the unimportant, of this world type of resolutions and I fell flat on my face when it came to keeping the resolutions that actually matter in my life.  As a result, my resolutions for 2011 look a bit different than they did for 2010.  I steered clear of making resolutions around things that would be considered fun for me to do (and that I’d probably do with or without a resolution) and I stuck with making resolutions that were much more relevant to my relationship with Christ and my relationship with my husband.  My small group decided to come up with a word to share with each other that summed up what we wanted to work on in this “new” year.  I came up with a word after looking through my resolutions and realizing that they all had a theme.

If you’ve actually read this far, I’m impressed and am blessed that you care so much J.  I’m also sorry to tell you that I’m going to hold off sharing my resolutions until tomorrow as I realize that this post developed a mind of its own somewhere along the way and it’s way out of control now!

To be continued…

Waa-Hoo for Vacay!

So when Stephen and I were trying to decide where we were going to go on vacation we knew that one thing was for sure: we needed to either go on a cruise (where food would be endless) or to an all inclusive resort (where food would be endless)...do you see the trend here?  Let me explain, my husband could easily eat us out of house and home.  If we didn't go on a cruise or to an all inclusive resort, one of two things would happen while we were on vacation: Stephen would be in a constant state of hungry OR we would have to take out a loan to live when we returned home because all our money would have been spent on food to feed his appetite.

Just 10 months ago we ventured to tropical paradise in St. Lucia for our honeymoon and because of that, I was open to the idea of going somewhere COMPLETELY different for vacation.  That's when we decided to go to Alaska!  I had never been anywhere like it and I was pumped and clueless as to what to expect as a result.  When we decided to go to Alaska, I found myself telling Stephen's mom and sister and was pleasantly surprised when his sister got so excited and wanted to join us!  So we cruised with Stephen's sister and her husband and we had a blast!  I'll share a few pictures of our amazing vacation and I 100% recommend that you get to Alaska sometime before you die!

We started out in Seattle.  Not only had I never been to Seattle, I also realized when we were looking out from the ship that I had never seen the Pacific Ocean before!  I was really excited when I realized that I was already seeing something that I had never seen before :).

Next stop was Juneau.  In Juneau we went and saw Mendenhall Glacier which is on a lake as well as we went dog sledding at a musher's camp where Alaskan Huskies are going through summer weight training as they prepare to race the Iditarod.

The next day we stayed on the boat while we ventured to Glacier Bay National Park.  This was a fun and relaxing day because we could just stay on the boat AND we got this beautiful scenery to gawk at.  I'm telling you, I've never seen anything like this before at all.

(I played around on picnick.com)

After spending a full day checking out glaciers, we headed off for the teeny tiny town of Sitka.  You may have heard of Sitka if you have seen the movie, The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock.  Let me tell you, this town is itty-bitty!  We didn't even pull up to a pier and dock, no, they threw an anchor down and then we took little boats to shore.  That should tell you something!  In Sitka we walked around the rain forest (rain forest in Alaska?! - yep!) and enjoyed nature and totem poles :).

(We found monstrous slugs)

After Sitka we were off to Ketchikan where we took the city bus and walked around the town.  We saw LOADS of salmon and also smelled a lot of nasty dead salmon that hadn't made it in their journey upstream.

Our last stop before disembarking in Seattle was to Victoria, British Columbia.  Unfortunately, this was our shortest port of call as we were only there for 4 hours and they were at night time - boo!  I would love to go back and see more of Canada, and I'm hoping since we share the same land mass as that country, that I'll be able to revisit again soon, someday.

So there's our trip - it was a beautiful and scenic journey!  I'm sad that vacation is over, but I look forward to having a great travel buddy to share in all my grand adventures for the rest of my life! :).

Also, this trip helped me knock 2 out of the 3 states that I wanted to visit this year as one of my New Years Resolutions...Looking at that list motivates me to get back on the band wagon for a lot of the others!

What about you - where have you traveled that I should consider putting on my "To Go To" list?

The Biggest Loser

Do you watch it?  I never consecutively watched it until this year (go figure - the year of the television for me) and I have to admit that I really look forward to it every week.  I see it as a motivator - if these people can go through these grueling workouts, then I can get my butt to the gym for an hour!  The real motivator is that now, in week 13 of the season, these contestants are beginning to weigh-in really close to what I weigh-in as...SCARY!  I really need to RUN to the gym and work out more so that I can keep up with them!  

I don't know if you can see which guy from this picture but Mike (white shirt guy) from this season is the biggest person they've had in Biggest Loser history on the show.  He started the show at around 540-some-odd pounds and he's down to 372.  Let me tell you why I'm stuck on this - because he's been running 5 miles a day on the treadmill.  Did you catch that? 5 MILES A DAY AND HE WEIGHS 372 POUNDS!!!  

That is motivation at its finest!  If a 372 pound man can run for 5 miles, then you better believe that I can too!  I'll let you know my progress!

Lastly - who do I want to win?  I would love it if Sam or Koli won - they've both got determination and hard work.  Sunshine has it also but she annoys me because she's always crying and her and her dad's relationship kinda gets corny after awhile.  I dunno - I'm at the point where I hate seeing ANY of them leave the ranch because I enjoy seeing their progress so much!

I need to go be the biggest loser myself!

Runners Unite!

As you may already know, I've been trying to become a runner for the past couple of weeks.  I frequent the gym and keep track of my progress as I'm trying to prepare to run a 5k this June.  There are some things that I've noticed about myself:

1) I run best at night - I don't know why, but for some reason, when I go to the gym in the evening, I have more energy and end up having better runs.  The only problem with this is that I have night class 3 nights a week, leaving only Monday and Friday nights as my only options for a fulfilling run (I don't like going to the gym on the weekend).

2) I can't run too close to when I eat and yet I can't run too far away from when I last ate...talk about confusing!

3) I'm a sneak peeker...I like to check out the time and distance on the treadmill making my run feel all the more longer.

4) I get discouraged VERY easily.  If I have a bad run one day (this happens more often than not), I automatically think that I'm digressing and will never become a good runner.

5) I am very hesitant to run outside - I don't know why, I'm just certain that if I do, I'll have a bad run (refer to number 4).

From reading all your blogs, I've noticed that I'm not the only blogger who is trying to get her run on.  I'm wondering, if you've been trying to run, are running or have been running since you exited the womb, do you have any tips, suggestions, links, etc. to help us runners keep our heads up and continue to progress.  I'd LOVE to hear from you!

No, I'm Not Sixty...

Did you guys see this???

I know that when I saw it, it made me really want to go here:

Yep, that's right - I wanted to go to Alaska (which is really funny because they didn't really film this movie in Alaska, but in Boston - my friends Katie and Julie saw some of the filming go down while they were there!).  I've heard it's GORGEOUS and that it would blow my socks off!  Luckily I'm married to a man who really enjoys to travel (thanks to the influence of Papa Corsi) and he shared my desire to go to Alaska (although he's already been there; really, where has Stephen NOT been?) and so, it's official....this will be us:

You heard me right, I'm going to Alaska!  WOO-HOO!  (and I'm not sixty...despite what you learned about me in my blog from yesterday!).  August 6th-13th (don't worry!  I checked the weather channel for temperatures and according to them I should expect it to be in the 70s everywhere we're going!) Stephen and I will start our rendezvous here:

{Seattle}

 and then we'll sail here:

{Juneau}

and then we'll sail here:

{Glacier Bay}

and then we'll sail here:

{Sitka}

and then we're off for here:

{Ketchikan...obviously}

with one last stop here:

{Victoria, Canada}

and then to finish off back in Seattle (possibly an overnight??? We'll see how convincing I can be)!  

The best part?  We're going with these guys:

My sister & brother-in-law, Cali and Tony!

{all pictures are linked to their owners}

Fun family times in an amazing place!  Once I go I can check 2 states (Washington and Alaska) off my New Years Resolution list, making all the other states that I go to this year just the icing on the cake :)!  It feels good to complete a fun NY Resolution!

Heavy Weight Champ

How depressing.  Despite the loud, booming voice screaming inside me, I weighed myself this morning.  Immediately following the weigh-in process I spiraled into a deep sense of disappointment in myself.  It was the largest number that I have seen on the scale.  EVER.  *sigh*.  My drill sergeant husband has been insisting I go to the gym.  Before you get your panties in a wad out of anger at him for making me work-out, it's all in love and in the fact that we've paid for my gym membership all the way through September.  He loves me the way that I am and insists that he doesn't think I need to do anything (I think he's a good liar), but it peeves him to pay for something and not use it.  Too bad I didn't have him with me last year in Lexington when I was paying for a gym membership and was never using it.  I'm thankful for him holding me accountable to my New Years Resolution (be able to run 5 miles regularly).  He insists that working out is the key to losing weight, but after weighing myself this morning, I need more.
I immediately got online and googled everything I could find on Weight Watchers.  My cost conscience husband doesn't want to pay for WW if we don't have to, so I've officially joined the black market world of WW.  That was the first step.
The second step (and what should've been the first) was basking in the thought that God has made me in His image and He loves me exactly as I am.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  Ephesians 2:10

My prayer in all of this is that I don't become obsessed with the idea of a "perfect" body but that I focus my thoughts on how God loves me exactly as He's made me but that I need to honor this temple (my body) by keeping it healthy.  A little fruits, veggies and cardio never hurt anyone...too bad I feel like this is going to be torture ;)
***disclaimer - the number on the scale above does NOT reveal what my actual scale told me this morning***

Taking a trip to D.C.

This past February, Stephen and I (along with our friends Matt and Amy) decided to venture to Washington, D.C. to visit our friend Ryan.  We finalized our plans in January and quickly booked the hotel and plane tickets to ensure our prices and our trip.  Who would've thought that it would end up being the worst snow storm in D.C. in 90 years?!  By the time we got there, the snow was finished falling but there were mounds of snow EVERYWHERE!  The Lincoln Memorial was covered in snow (before we arrived people were using it as a sledding ground - CrAzY!) and the reflection pool was a solid slab of ice so we were able to just walk across it like it was no big deal.  Below are some pictures from our trip:

One of my New Years Resolutions was to travel to three different states besides KY and IL and so now I only have 2 left!  I think I can do it :)

From Super Busy to a Slug-a-dug-dug

This is the new me...ugh!

Before I left Lexington, I was keeping myself super busy.  I know that busyness can be unhealthy and distracting and I'm sure that at times it was, but at the same time, I loved everything that was filling my time.  I rarely watched television and I was rarely at home for long, extended periods of time that didn't involve sleep.
...and then I moved...
at first, I was living in Louisville with my parents.  Of course there wasn't a lot to do because I wasn't working (I was only going to be in Louisville for 2 short months, too short to try and get a job; although I did try to sub, that's another story).  I was preparing for a wedding but honestly, at that point in the game, a lot of attention didn't need to be given to it (not until 2 weeks beforehand, anyhow).  So that's Louisville - long days at home while my parents were at work spending the day with my precious pup, Rosie.  Here is where the slug within me started to escape.
...and then I moved...
Chicago is now "home".  Before I started grad-school, there were only 2 things on my daily agenda: writing thank you notes and getting the apartment cleaned and in order.  Because the latter didn't really have a deadline assigned to it, I slugged my way through it.  Now don't get me wrong, I did complete everything, I just did it at a much sloooooower pace than old Kari would've done.
Then, starting in January I began grad-school.  Let me tell you a little bit about grad-school (for those of you who have gone or are in, you'll be able to relate) - they act as if you need to read everything that was ever written by any man at any time during the history of the world.  I spend so much time reading things (and half the things I read, I don't fully understand) and most of the time I read it so sloooowly because I'm slow now (in case you missed that earlier).
But here's the thing that bothers me:  I can do nothing but read all day long and I'm NOT okay with that. I get so much sleep and I'm still sleepy - WHY?!  Because I'm exerting little amounts of physical activity during the day - in fact I'm really not doing much of anything.  I NEED TO GET A GRIP ON MY LIFE!  I need to DO things.
So today, I'm meeting a woman at 2pm at the Starbucks down the street from my apartment.  I met this woman through Janet (her husband, Joel married Stephen and I) and she is looking for a new nanny for her three kids.  Is this something that I'm definitely going to do?  I'm not sure - I'm not sure that she'll want to work around my crazy class schedule (I go to class at night so 5-8, during the summer my classes will start at 4:30) but it is something that I think I need to do.  I need to have a reason to move around during the day :).
My prayer request is that IF this ends up working out, I pray that the sluggish me can handle reading everything UNDER the sun and being a quality nanny for three precious little kids.  I pray that a little bit of the old me can be revived and the slug in me will LEAVE!
I'll keep you posted my blogging friends - even if this nanny job doesn't pan out, I need to get out and about sometimes!

Sayin' Sayonara for 40 Days

If you know me, you know that this is going to be really hard...for Lent I have given up my usual obsession with Diet Coke.  Let me tell you, I love this stuff.  When I was teaching, I fell into the trap of driving through Chick-Fil-A every morning (yikes on the pocketbook!) to get a large Diet Coke.  This is what got me through the day.  I didn't drink it for the caffeine (although I'm sure that that performed its magic without me acknowledging it) but for the wonderful, cold, bubbly feeling that I felt as I took a big swig out of my straw.  I just love the way this stuff tastes.  I even feel as though it brings out the flavor in other things that I eat and I often drink it for dinner because it accommodates so many meals so well.  

So when it came time to figure out what I was going to give up for the Lent season, it seemed a no-brainer that this was going to be it.  I know it's only been one day, and I haven't eaten out (fountain drinks are TO DIE FOR) but it's been good.
I see and hear a lot of people talking about what they're giving up for Lent, and not that I'm judging these people or questioning their personal walks with Christ, but it has really hit home to me this tradition and way of life that a lot of people have adopted without really thinking about it.  This comment is mostly directed at myself as I do not want to give up something for Lent because that's just what you do.  I want to give it up as a sacrifice to try and identify and most importantly to see the magnitude of Christ's sufferings that He went through for me and for you.  This is something that I should try to remember and encompass in my every day life in and out of the season of Lent.  My prayer is that in this Lent Season I may get in the right mindset and prepare for Easter and all the good news that this season brings!

Why Hello 2010!

Happy New Year!  I did it.  I made my salmon.  It was delicious!  Stephen and I both enjoyed it, although my kitchen did not.  You should've seen it (too bad I didn't take a picture) - the clean up was a killer, but all worth it none-the-less.  I'm looking forward to all the different things that 2010 will bring.  2009 was a good year to me, why wouldn't 2010 be also?  Here is a bit of a reminiscent of what 2009 brought me:

*I was a teacher loving every minute of my job and feeling the blessings in how I felt about my coworkers and my place of employment *I was a Young Life leader and had amazing fellowship in my community as well as was stretched by God to see How All Powerful and Majestic His ways are *I went skiing *I went t0 St. Augustine, Florida and enjoyed a wonderful family vacation *I took 60 12 year olds and their parents to Washington, D.C. a trip that I planned and was completely in charge of *The D.C. trip was a success! *I watched a classroom of 28 pieces of my heart "graduate" and said goodbye to my job at GSE *I celebrated with some of my best friends as they graduated from high school and prayed that God would protect their future *I teary-eyed said goodbye to my amazing Lexington community and moved back home with my parents *I began a deep sisterhood with my parent's dog, Rosie *I changed my name when I married my best friend and high school heart throb *I traveled to St. Lucia and wished I could live there 2 months out of the year *I took up residency in Illinois *I applied and was accepted into grad-school *I officially became an Aunt *I ended the year with all my dear KY friends in my heart amongst my new Chicago family...I am blessed beyond belief.

New Years resolutions have never been my "thing".  Maybe it's because I've never been disciplined enough to keep them.  However, this year I feel like I should throw in a little self determination and beat myself at my own game.  These resolutions are ones that I welcome accountability...I pray that with God's help I show my weak self who's boss!

I hope you're challenging yourself to go above and beyond this new year.  Feel free to share any thoughts or suggestions to my resolutions - what about you?  What are some of your's?

Cooking Crazy

I finally saw Julie and Julia over my Christmas Holiday and despite some of the negative reviews, I thought it was worth the $1 that was paid to view it ;).

While watching it, I kept thinking how I wish I would've thought to do what Julie Powell did: pick a cookbook and cook through it in a year.  Now I must be honest with you - I probably wouldn't have chosen Julia Childs cookbook - no, I would have gone for something entirely more sinful and heart attack worthy:

It's sad but true - I just think that everything this woman makes is amazing. {stand up here} My name is Kari Corsi and I am the fatty that would run at the gym while watching her on the food network.  There - I said it.  Unfortunately for my tastebuds (but fortunately for my thighs) my new husband actually detests the taste of unhealthy foods.  Cheese?  He doesn't like it in high quantities.  Fried foods?  "No thank you," he'd say.  Heavy creams or butters? These tend to make his stomach hurt.  I wish I thought/felt this way - however I don't.  But because I now have to worry about him and take into account his likes and dislikes I myself have started to pay attention to these things.  Because of this (and his Italian heritage) I've become very interested in this cookbook which I purchased last year at my school's book fair:

She's Italian (hence her name and the name of the cookbook) and she makes a lot of dishes with "healthy  fats" in their ingredients (I like unhealthy fats way better...Outback Cheese Fries?  Don't mind if I do!).  So tonight we're venturing to the grocery store (every trip to the grocery store is an adventure here) and I'm going to purchase items that I need to make one of her dishes:

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil and Salmon

This is what I'm planning on making for New Years Day dinner.  My mom always makes the same dinner for New Years Day, however her's has a purpose (black eyed peas: luck, steamed cabbage: money) - I've decided that maybe I make a fancy (fancy is totally in the eyes of the beholder here) meal every New Years Day.  My side dishes will be a spinach salad alongside Zucchini & Sweet Peppers with Feta.  I'll let you know how it goes - you can pray that I am a good manager of my cooking time as this is one of my weak points.  I'd like to become an adventurous cook and feel like I need to take advantage of my time before I start grad school.  In the meantime, I'm going to search for a cookbook that I feel would be worthy to cook through - a girl can dream, right?  Bon Appetit!