Looking Ahead

Recently, I got surprised by my hubby, sister, and future brother-in-law! Turns out these guys were secretly "plotting" behind my back and planning a mini vaca for us in the Dells! As an added bonus, my parents will be joining us. Seriously, with my dad's lame track schedule my mom would never think a trip with all of her children would be possible this time of year. My weekend is going to be full of fun activities... and I can't wait!

First, Rachel and I are having a sleepover with our "little sisters", Courtney and Jessica. Jason will be spending the night with Dan at our apartment while us girls take over his and Rachel's home. It'll be a night of sweatpants, junk food, pizza, baking, movies, and games. What a great way to start my weekend!

Saturday morning I will be traveling up to the Dells with Dan and my parents. Kathleen and Brad will be meeting us there. We are staying in a two bedroom condo at the Wilderness Hotel and Resort. We will be staying there until Monday. I'm looking forward to seeing my family, playing at the water parks, relaxing on the lazy river, doing some shopping, and not having anything to worry about!

Workin' It

Lately, Dan and I have been on a bigger health-kick then usual. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is so much easier when you have a partner... especially someone that you live with.

I'm trying to keep my body from hitting a "wall" while I lose weight, so I've been changing things up pretty regularly. My reason for steady weight-loss? 1. Kathleen's wedding, 2. Summer is around the corner and 3. I'm going on a short vaca at an indoor water park in the Dells next weekend. Plus, I feel better from the inside out when I'm eating right, exercising, and drinking lots of water!

So what's my plan right now? This week I am NOT eating bread, rice, pasta, or potatoes. Instead, I'm eating chicken breast, fish, lots of veggies, and citrus fruits. I'm also cutting back on coffee and drinking lots of green tea in its place.

On top of my healthy eating I am also exercising more frequently. I don't have much time during the day, so I usually do some stepping on my Wii Fit while I watch TV and/or my basic Pilate's DVD.

My body is rapidly shaping up and I'm already getting my slender figure back! Dan is working on his six-pack and its certainly starting to come through!

If you really know me, then you know that I have a serious sweet tooth! So how am I surviving this lifestyle change? Easy! One day a week I can eat whatever I want... however much I want! I call it My Splurge Day. Usually it is on Saturday. Having a splurge day is important because it shocks your system. If your body gets used to you eating nothing but "diet" food, then it'll adjust to that lifestyle... but if you give your body a good shock and eat some junk food (or in my case, a lot of junk food), then your body will reset to accommodate the sudden change.

I'll admit, sometimes I can over do it when it comes to splurging... but I still manage to drop weight each and every week. Plus, if you cut back on your junk food that Oreo cookie will taste so much better when you haven't had one in a long time! I know it does to me.

World Vision's 30 Hour Famine

Saturday, February 27th to Sunday, February 28th, 2010, Dan and I helped with the 30 Hour Famine at our church. Both the junior and senior high participated in this special event. From 8:00 a.m. on Saturday to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday we went without food and without caffeine!

To get the day going we went over to MorningStar Mission to sort food for a couple of hours. I thought that I would be hungry working with food but it wasn't too bad. We had a nice juice break once we got back to church.

The students played some really fun Tribe games and had some great discussions. Oh... and of course there were the hyped up games of spoons! Dan didn't lose a single game!

Will [the youth pastor] ended up getting sick, so Dan and I were left to run the show. Everything went well and I actually got some sleep! The students weren't hard to wake up in the morning and they got the church all clean before others started arriving.

In between running A/V, Dan and I also taught Sunday School for the youth and got them ready for their Missions Moment presentation during the worship service. I studied the final two Tribe games while I ran A/V and had everything ready to go, on time!

I had to work at 2:00 p.m. so I had a quick bite to eat before I left the church... it was amazing! I was really ready to eat too. I had developed a bad headache and tried to drink lots and lots of water to make up for not eating. It helped, but once I ate I felt a lot better.

Work was very busy, so time went by fast! I was grateful.

It was a long and busy weekend, but it was a good one!

Free Date Night

As Dan and I prepare for his return to school in the fall, we have been careful about what we spend our money on. We also know that this summer is going to be busy with weddings, parties, and maybe even a little traveling, so we are trying to save our pennies now... while we still can.

Friday is typically our "Date Night" and this past Friday we were able to have a fun, full weekend without breaking the bank!

Thanks to my parents and their Valentine's Day gift, we used a gift card to Applebee's to have a nice dinner. Applebee's 2 for $20 deal made for the perfect meal. Afterwords, we went to Walmart to rent some Redbox movies. Thanks to the application on Dan's new phone (the Droid) we got coupon codes that made all of our movies free!

Want to get some FREE Redbox movies? Try these codes:

DVDONME
THEBREAKROOM

They're only good once, per account and over time they no longer work... so act fast!

I'm always on the hunt for a good coupon or special discount. If I come across any other date-friendly deals I will be sure to pass them along. Every couple needs a night out once in a while - if not, every week!

A/V Booth Construction

On Monday, February 15, 2010, Gordon and Floyd started construction on our brand new, custom-made Audio/Visual Booth! I couldn't be more excited! This booth will house our A/V equipment in a more safe, secure, and organized fashion.They are scheduled to have the outside done by tomorrow (Friday). We'll be up and running on the inside as we temporarily set up shop on tables as we wait for our upcoming counter and cabinets

Below are some photos that I've taken during construction.

As I type, the construction continues! I am anxious to get everything up and running in there. This booth is going to be extremely helpful.

A special thank you goes out to Gordon and Floyd for taking the time to build this fabulous booth... and to my parents for donating a significant amount of funds to this special project! May God continue to bless the ministries of Parker Road!

Earthquake!

At 4:00 a.m. this morning I woke up to the startling sound of our bedroom door rattling rather loudly. Instantly I started to pat Dan on his back to wake him up. Finally, he did.

"What?" he moaned, in a weak and tired voice.

"The door!" I exclaimed. "It's rattling!"

"It's probably just the wind," he replied.

"No, it's too loud."

At last, once Dan got a good listen at the loud noise he got up and checked the door. By then it had stopped rattling. He went out into the living room and looked around. He peeked outside and saw nothing that would explain our bedroom door's strange behavior.

Dan got back into bed and assured me that it was probably just the wind. He then fell back to sleep. I laid there for a little while longer... a bit creeped out by what had happened. I didn't believe that it was the wind but I had no other exclamiation at the time.

At 6:00 a.m. Dan got up to go to the gym and then on to work.

Just after 7:00 a.m. Dan called me and woke me up. He heard on the radio that there was an earthquake at 4:00 a.m. I was surprised by the news, but at the same time I was pleased to learn that the door's rattling wasn't just the wind - just as I had thought.

I've slept through a couple of minor earthquakes before. This was the first time I was awake for one. Truthfully, I don't remember actually feeling the earthquake... I just remember the loud rattling. We live on the third floor of our apartment, so I wonder what it was like on the first floor.

It has been reported to be a 3.8-magnitude quake and it was felt from Wisconsin to Tennessee. Thankfully, there are no reports of serious damage or injuries.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know that this update is long overdue, but better late then never... right?

First and foremost, Kathleen got engaged to her boyfriend [Brad] on Wednesday, December 23rd in the Signature Lounge in Chicago! At last, I will finally have a brother! Their engagement along with mine and Dan's first Christmas as a married couple made this holiday season extra special! We have a lot of blessings this Christmas... God has been so good to our family!

Since the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season gave me a lot of work hours, it felt like Dan and I weren't seeing much of each other throughout the months of November and December. Plus, Dan started going out to Iowa for work in December. So by the time Christmas Eve rolled around the corner we were both ready to relax and visit with our families.

The night before Christmas Eve we drove up to Wisconsin to be with Dan's family. We had a long and productive Christmas Eve with Dan's family. We got to visit his grandmother in her assisted living home and even though her Alzheimer's prevented her from knowing who everyone was, she still played nice and was a super friendly host. We even braved the mall that day... which wasn't so bad.

That evening we gathered at Mandy's house for a full-spread dinner with a variety of red wines and amazing desserts! That evening we opened presents - which takes about 4 hours! It was a beautiful day... we had a very special time with Dan's family.

VERY late Christmas Eve night, Dan and I made our trip to my parents' house. When we got there we went downstairs and crawled right into bed.

Christmas morning the house was all a buzz! First we opened presents and then my dad made his breakfast specialty, Egg McMuffins! Yum! Later that afternoon we went over to the other Koval home to celebrate with Uncle Ron, Aunt Tamie, and our cousins - including our newest cousin-in-law, Andrew (Jessica's husband).

We drew names for Secret Santa over Thanksgiving (well, actually during our Early Bird Special) so today was the day to reveal who had who. It was a blast! Actually, I think that it was my first time ever doing a Secret Santa gift exchange.

Christmas day was a wonderful and special day. It felt good to relax and be with my family. I only wish the day hadn't gone by so soon.

For New Year's Eve, Dan and I went to The Abbington for a fabulous party! We went with Jason, Rachel, and Rachel's college friend, Neelar. It was a blast! The night included:

- 5 Course Gourmet Dinner Prepared by Executive Chef Robert Fabbri
- Hot and Cold Hors d' Oeuvres
- 5 Hour Premium Open Bar
- Unlimited California Merlot and Chardonnay Wine
- Party Favors, Balloon Drop, and Midnight Champagne Toast
- Late Night Buffet and Sweet Table
-Complimentary Coat Check and Valet Parking
- The Hiline Band
- Spin Productions D.J.
- Special Hotel Suite Accommodations and Transportation with: Embassy Suites Hotel Oak Brook/Lombard and Lisle/Naperville Hilton

We took advantage of the hotel specials and free transportation - which made the night even more easy-going and carefree.

The food was delicious and we all ate way too much! We didn't have much room left for the sweet table - which really bummed us out because everything looked amazing. The band was a blast and the D.J. played a ton of dance-friendly songs. We also made sure that we stood right under the balloons for the balloon drop at midnight! It was one wild and crazy-fun New Year's Eve!

Welcome 2010... I love the feeling of a new year!