Back in Action

There has been a severe shortage of blog posts lately, but there has also been a severe shortage of exciting events going on with us. Here's the rundown:

We're still doing P90x and are almost done with the 2nd week. It's a pain (literally) and takes a lot of time but seeing the results has been worth it. We've also been shoveling protein in, so it seems like all we do now is cook, eat and work out. The combination of being poor and incredibly unimaginative has left us eating really well, though - our George Foreman is getting a major workout and we've been eating a lot of chicken/fish and fruits and veggies. Oh, and egg whites. We ate 90 eggs in 7 days last week!

If you don't follow our Peace Corps Blog, you're not really missing out on a lot right now. We were un-nominated from our original program and then re-nominated (to teach English again) in Asia in June (we think China or Mongolia but who knows....). We've had (and passed!) our dental clearances and are scheduled to get our physicals and labwork done later this month. We started volunteering at El Sol to get experience teaching English and have made a lot of new Guatemalan friends who have taught me more Spanish in two days then I learned in all of highschool/college. And we're trying to figure out what to do until next June - it's been stressful and crazy but we're getting there. More on that as we figure things out....

So that's about it. My parents are coming down to visit for the 4th of July this weekend, we're going to Haiti at the end of July, and David's family is coming in August. It's amazing that things can feel so busy and yet so boring at the same time.

Bring It!

After talking about it for the past few months, Nicole and I have started our new workout plan - p90x! We did some reading about it, watched some infomercials, talked with some people currently doing it, and decided to take the challenge. We have made it through four days of the 90 day gauntlet and I don't know if my muscles have ever been this sore. It has been difficult to lift a fork, button a shirt, wash my hair, or do anything else involving my arms but we've decided it's worth it. We're committed to "Do our best and forget the rest!"

The other tough part about p90x for us has been the crazy change in our diet we'll have for the first three weeks of the program. Because our workouts are so intense and we are doing heavy weight lifting, we've had to increase our normal calorie intake and eat TONS of protein. We normally try to eat pretty healthy but we struggle to get a normal amount of protein, and it's extremely difficult when we've tripled our normal protein amount. It's led us to buy over 50 eggs at Sam's, eat tons of chicken and turkey burgers, and make the oh so delicious protein shakes. Go buy yourself a giant container of this wonderful treat!

Protein shake for breakfast and after dinner? Check! Shoveling down protein all day long? Check! Incredibly difficult workouts where we're drenched in sweat and our muscles are throbbing? Check! Getting in great shape and ripped? Check!

Back to the Island

Well it's official...we are going back to the island! We'll be in Gonaives, Haiti again from July 22 to August 3.

I think this trip will be a little different in terms of what we will be doing, since "school" will be out for the summer but I feel much more prepared since we'll be staying with the same family and I am practically fluent in Creole (well...I know the basic colors and how to say "sit down!". What else is there to learn?). I'm excited about seeing some of the people we met last time, too, like the translators, Christopher, Claudine, and all the women/children from the neighborhood.

"I've looked into the eye of this island, and what I saw was beautiful."

Back Home

I haven't done much writing on this blog but I'm David, the other half in many of our fun adventures. Nicole does a great job keeping everyone updated with what is going on in our life but I want to start contributing more to our blog and sharing about some of our experiences.

We have had a great time spending the last week in Georgia. We have loved hanging out with friends, spending time with Nicole's family, and taking fun trips to Atlanta. There are so many great things to do in Georgia and we have realized how much we miss southern hospitality. We've tried to take some pictures of some of the stuff we've done and here's a few highlights!

Finally getting to have our wedding cake! It's a bit after our one-year anniversary but this was our first chance to have some. Not great, but not bad for being 13 months old.

We spent one afternoon walking around campus at UGA. It brought back lots of memories and it was a little weird to see all the changes that have already been made after the past couple years.

We celebrated Senor LaHaie's birthday by taking a trip to Atlanta to get a kayak and by having dinner at Bonefish Grill.

I think this is my favorite new discovery in Watkinsville. Nicole told me about The Granary on her last visit to Georgia but I hadn't had a chance to check it out. It's a local bakery that makes fresh bread, muffins, cookies, and has all sorts of other good stuff. The oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and sticky buns are AMAZING.

And in true southern fashion, we went to a bluegrass concert on the lawn at Ashford Manor in downtown Watkinsville. The weather was great and it's cool that Watkinsville does so many community things that are family friendly and unique/local.