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Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Letter 2010


For pictures of Trash the Dress click here


Pictures of our race click here



Writing Christmas letters is hard. This is only the second one that I've composed and it's like being in high school all over again. Either you build up every high point of the year and seem like an insufferable bragger, or you do a monotone update of every detail and bore people. So much pressure...


On February 21 we celebrated our one-year anniversary. Our first year was amazing. The Vector trip in early March was to Costa Rica so we were excited to spend it at a beautiful resort. We had considered doing a “Trash the Dress” photo shoot since before we were married. Miriam sent tons of e-mails and eventually found an amazing photographer in our budget. The results were unbelievable photos that we will cherish forever.


Now for reality: Miriam got food poisoning on the flight to Costa Rica so she spent the first 41/2 days sick in bed. Don't worry, I was fine. My days were spent leisurely strolling around the resort, occasionally stopping by the gift shop to get her more Gatorade. Her days were considerably less fun. When it came time for the shoot, our photographer drove four hours to pick us up at the hotel. He barely spoke English but his assistant helped bridge the communication gap. Since we were driving to various locales to shoot, Miriam had to be in her dress the whole time. Seeing her climb into the back of a poorly maintained compact car in her beautiful dress was a sight. It was like a David's Bridal vomited in the back of a Geo Metro. We stopped at Subway for lunch which caused much excited conversation among the patrons.



We drove for more than two hours to the site, lightly reassuring ourselves that we were not, in fact, being abducted. As it turned out, our photographers did not kidnap us and instead we spent six hours shooting carefully choreographed shots, and we are so grateful to them. Rest assured, the dress was successfully cleaned and is now sitting in a closet. Not sure what to do with it, but it's comforting to know that it's there in case of an emergency.


This experience highlighted why my wife is amazing but insane. Amazing because she thought this out, set it up, and was willing to ride a bicycle and even crawl through barbed wire in her wedding dress. Insane because of this quote: “You know, thanks to the food poisoning my dress fits even better than on our wedding day!”


As always, our families are a huge part of our life. August we cruised Alaska with her parents, my mom, and my brother Chris. The trip was incredible, and such a blessing to spend that time with family. Larry and Paula were married in Alaska 35 years ago, so many memories were shared, and even more created. The Carter side is doing great, and I finally experienced a Smith Family Thanksgiving. I think there's 39 people in the photo. We also welcomed a new niece on her side and cousin on mine. Both beautiful baby girls.


We finished the year by participating in the White Rock Marathon. Miriam and I ran the half marathon, my brother Chris ran the full. You'll see a picture of us after a triumphant 13.1 miles.



Now for reality: Miriam trained hard and committed to the Half months ago. Because of ego and stupidity, I said, “Sure, how hard can it be?” For the record, that was a stupid question and I am a stupid man. The training schedule (what I did of it) was brutal and race day kicked off at 40o. I don't know what sadist thought December was a good time to plan a marathon, but I hope they suffer from shinsplints for the rest of their life. The race was hard, but fun, till mile eight when my right knee decided it was done with this nonsense. I hobbled my way through the last 5 miles, Miriam patiently slowing down to finish with me. But finish we did, and I have a medal to prove it.


This shows why I'm also amazing but insane. Amazing because I'm open to doing challenging things I've never done before and seeing them through to the end. Insane because I have no sense of the preparation needed to do these challenging things my wife thinks of.


For more photos of our year, go to www.WorldofCarter.com. We hope 2010 has been an adventure for you, too. God Bless you and your families as you celebrate the season. I look forward to hearing your great stories from the year past.




Merry Christmas!



Brian and Miriam Carter

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Running a half

They have my money, there is no turning back. Dallas White Rock Half Marathon…I’ll be there! I love how goals take you places. When I started my ‘summer goal list’ goal number two was:

2. Run twice a week. The distance isn’t as important as simply getting on the treadmill twice a week and running. I want to be a better runner and I’m not getting better by not running so I will run twice a week this summer.

I ended up completing a 90-day workout program called Body for Life which had me running 3 times a week. After this I kept up my running and I started thinking about doing a 10K and eventually a half marathon. I was right on schedule to begin training for a half in December so I googled some ‘first time half marathon runners’ schedules and whoola, here I am training for a half. It’s been the most interesting experience to see how I CAN push myself to run farther than I’ve ever run before in my life. Every two weeks my ‘long weekend runs’ move up a mile. My body is constantly being challenged to do more. Sometimes my body hits a wall and I come home, fall on the bed and take an hour power nap, other nights I clean the apartment, run my short run and cook dinner. I wish I could be super-girl and never have to re-charge, keep my same schedule but that’s not how it works. Learning that my body needs rest, stretching and proper eating habits is a learning adventure and I look forward to learning more. I wouldn’t be where I am without the encouragement from my husband, who keeps encouraging me. Thank you Brian!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Ironing, Ironing, Ironing

My goal of ironing each week proved to be a challenge for me. I would let it pile up just a bit and these past few weeks it REALLY piled up, I mean, I had 21 shirts/pants/blouses to iron! That’s the biggest it’s gotten! But, I stuck to it and finished up the ironing in two nights. Whew. Don’t want to let that happen again!














Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Cowgirl boots: CHECK!

I got my cowgirl boots! Enjoyed checking this one off my list for sure! My brother-in-law, Chris, also needed some boots so away we went on a hot Saturday afternoon. We shopped at three stores, Sheplers, Cavender's and Pink's Western Warehouse. Cavnder's had the best price, people and variety of boots. Here's what we came out with:




Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Dyson BHAG!

This weekend was the perfect weekend to check off my "read the manual for our Dyson." Now I've had several of you ask "So do you not know how to use your vacuum cleaner?" Of course I know, I just figuered there were several things this awesome Dyson could do and I want to be taking full advantage! So I sat down ready to read the manual.


I was surprised when I didn't see any text instructions, rather pictures! Yes, pictures of how to do everything! I laughted out loud.

I was happy to learn how to remove the spinny wheel thing to clean it off. Whoola!
Next I learned that I'm supposed to be cleaning the filters EVERY MONTH...oops.

So I promptly cleaned all the filters and attachments that could be cleaned:

Good as new Dyson, how I love it!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

7 Pull Ups! BHAG # 6 Checked Off!

That's right, I've completed BHAG #6! This week I completed 7 pull-ups! It was harder to get to than 4 but I'm so glad I did it, don't think I've ever done 7 pull-ups at once!


Monday, August 9, 2010

I'm not a runner.

Though I’ve been running for the past few months, about 3 times a week, I am not a runner. I love to sprint for quick runs but I’ve never been a long distance runner. I’ve never quite mastered pacing myself, never had the lungs to go the distance, and I just haven’t wanted to. I like to see quick results. When lifting weights, I would MUCH rather lift heavy weights a few times then lighter weights for longer reps. I would rather work quickly to get things cleaned up rather than slow down, take my time and clean at a slower pace. When putting photo albums together, I don’t like to fiddle with pictures for minutes upon minutes. When dieting I would rather do a hard quick diet, get the results I want than slowly diet and exercise to see the results. I like a quick fix.

This summer of goals has been tremendously helpful in molding me into a better person, or like the book I’m reading Seven Levels of Intimacy quotes all too frequently, “Become the best version of myself.”
Goal # 2 (Run twice a week) turned into doing the 3-month program Body for Life (which I just finished a week ago!) and now doing Body for Life has turned into running a half marathon in December! Similar, goal was # 9 (helping my mom completely clean out one room in the house) turned into cleaning the attic out and having a garage sell at my parent’s house! I made $70 out of the deal too! It inspired me to clean out some stuff in our apartment getting a few boxes together for the garage sell while helping my parents. I love how goals inspire people. I live my life with daily checklists (either mentally or actually writing down lists) but goals are different, I can’t just quickly check them off my list, they always require some planning and usually a little sweat to get a goal accomplished. I’ve been so excited to look back on my summer goals so far and I’m excited to finish them up in the next few weeks.

A few things I’ve learned. Don’t focus on the things you CAN’T do, rather step back and see what you can do right now. It’s not always about seeing ‘fast results’. Keep at your goals and you’ll see the results before too long. I’m a happier person when I’m working out and eating right. Getting enough sleep is extremely important. Share your goals with others, you never know when you might inspire others and it helps keep you accountable.

Monday, July 26, 2010

BHAG #9...Checked off!


This weekend I helped my mom completely clean out one of the upstairs bedrooms. I forgot to take a ‘before’ picture but trust me, it was some hard work. We separated everything out in to boxes.


-Garage Sell


-Ebay Boxes


-Keep box (this stayed to only one box!)


-Classroom box (my mom teaches science classes)


-Toys (for the grandkids)


-Craig’s List items


It was fun, hard, tiring and rewarding all in the same experience. It felt good to completely empty out a room then put back in the room only what you absolutely needed. The use for this bedroom was for 1) and extra bed for company. 2) A room to hold all the toys for the grandkids to play with when they come over. 3) A storage closet for the boxes and supplies needed to Ebay items.


Here’s what the room ended like at the end of the long day:





My mom and I laughed a lot throughout the day and even ran across some old toys, what memories those brought.

Friday, July 2, 2010

BHAG #5...Complete!

My 5th goal on the list was to complete 4 pull-ups by the end of Summer Conference 1 (which is a conference my husband's office does). Here are the results:


Monday, June 7, 2010

4 Weeks!

4 weeks. 4 weeks of working out 6 days a week, 4 weeks of working out 6 days a week on a strict diet. I’ve learned how to enjoy baked potatoes with salt and pepper only. Learned how to cook with little or no oil/butter. Learning how to get 2-3 veggies in my diet daily…this is hard! So I continue on my journey. I’m not actually sure if I’ve lost 1 or 4 pounds but I know my clothes are getting looser. Victory!

I’m now up to 2.5 pull-ups. This is going to be super hard to meet my goal but I’m trying! I upped my weights this week and am feeling it! My goal is to complete a 12 week cycle of Body for Life. After that you ask? Start another 12 week cycle! J

Sundays…are bliss. Sunday is considered my “free” day where I don’t work out and I can eat whatever I want. I don’t go crazy with the food, last night I did enjoy pizza, soo good but this morning I started right back on the schedule.

Next on the list I completed reading the book Miserly Moms. CHECK!






Monday, April 19, 2010

My Summer BHAG List

Hi, my name is Miriam Carter and I’m the wife of Brian Carter. My husband works for Vector, a marketing company that sells Cutco Cutlery. I’ve started this blog shortly after our one-year anniversary as I’m about to embark on my second year of a Vector summer being married. My husband works long and hard at his job all year long and during the summer he works even longer and harder for his business. Last year we were only married a few short months before summer arrived. I spent the summer learning how to be a wife, working on our wedding scrapbook, getting involved in a young married women’s bible study and not to mention learning to cook. This summer I don’t have a scrapbook to work on and my bible study has ended and I’m still mastering my cooking skills so I came up with a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) list to complete this summer. This list isn’t just to keep me busy but several things I’ve put off this year and I thought what better time to start than this summer!

The 14 BHAG Goals


1. Read the book, The Seven Levels of Intimacy by Matthew Kelly. My husband gave me this book before we were even dating and I’ve yet to read it! It’s not that I don’t like reading, because I do, but I’m slow at reading (and I can hear my mom telling me, “well, you’re not going to get faster at reading by not reading”) and have a problem starting 3-4 books but only actually finishing one! My husband has heard Matthew Kelly speak and is energized each time he hears him. So this summer I will read The Seven Levels of Intimacy.

2. Run twice a week. The distance isn’t as important as simply getting on the treadmill twice a week and running. I want to be a better runner and I’m not getting better by not running so I will run twice a week this summer.

3. Read the manual and learn the proper way to use my Dyson vacuum. This might sound strange to you but unlike it sounds, yes, I do know how to vacuum and use my Dyson but there are so many gadgets and doohickeys I know I’m not using it to the fullest of its capabilities so I will read the manual and learn the proper way to use my Dyson vacuum this summer.

4. Read the book Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. I read Power of a Praying Woman years ago and it changed my prayer life. I’ve picked up Power of a Praying Wife a few times to read but have never finished it so this summer I will read Power of a Praying Wife.

5. By end of SC (Summer Conference) 1 I will be able to complete 4 pull-ups on our pull-up bar. (currently I can do 2)

6. By the end of SC 2 I will be able to complete 7 pull-ups on our pull-up bar. (This one is defiantly a BHAG)

7. Since we’re talking about fitness goals, I want to be in the next size down in jeans. This will be done through diet and exercise and no worries, I swore off crazy lemonade diets when Brian and I got engaged. Good old exercise and eating right should do the trick, well; the trick is to stay with the diet and exercise. This summer I will get into the next size down of jeans.

8. Iron once a week. Now, I do iron but keeping up with it each week has posed as a challenge to me. I don’t want to keep wads of ironing hanging up on door frames anymore. This summer I will iron once a week.

9. Help my mom completely clean out one room in the house. My two brothers and I left the house years ago, but some of our stuff has lingered around in our old bedrooms. This summer I will make one bedroom at my parent’s house sparkly clean.

10. Buy a pair of real cowgirl boots. I’ve been wanting a pair for quite a while so this summer I will find (new or weathered) pair of real-deal cowgirl boots.

11. Read the book Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy. I’ve started this book a couple times but have yet to finish it. This summer I will read Miserly Moms.

12. Start each morning with a glass of water. So many days I’m busy or simply forget to drink water first thing when I wake up. (The science behind this is your body is dehydrated first thing in the morning and one of the best things you can do in the morning is drink some water). So, in an effort to be more healthy I will start off my mornings with a glass of water.

13. Relax by the pool 1 hour each week. I live in an apartment with an awesome pool and only a couple times last summer did I go out to enjoy it so this summer I will work on soaking up some vitamin-D and layout by the pool 1 hour each week.

14. Create a Life.Doc binder. I was reading a blog a while back that talked about the importance of having a Life.Doc binder that holds together all your important family reference information (banks, passwords etc.) Getting married double our documents and we’ve been trying to get them all into the same place for a while so I thought why not make this a goal this summer. This summer I will create a Life.Doc binder.

There you have the 14 BHAG Goals. You’ll get updates with pictures as I complete and work on this goal list. Let the checklist begin! Wish me luck!