Start of a New Week

(Blowing bubbles on a warm, sunny day)

So...I got up on Sunday morning and biked 3 miles to the bank to deposit some checks. My goal was to get a little exercise while at the same time saving the earth just a little bit by not starting up the car. I was hoping that wasn't the last exercise of Sunday but sadly, it was.

Due to our summer schedule, we haven't been going to church regularly so we went on Sunday for the first time in nearly two months. The sermon was interesting. They are doing a series on the difference between the different Christian denominations. They started the series with Mormon and last week was Jehovah's Witness. Though it was interesting to learn the differences, I would have liked the information to be presented without bias. So much to say on this topic but I'll save it for an in person conversation.

On a personal note, I've been having a really hard time keeping the "crazy" inside. I'm hoping this week will be better. Thank goodness Kong and the girls love me. Hopefully working out tonight will help calm me. Yikes!

Milwaukee Coincident

Just a few new pictures of the girls.

Taylor will be a flower girl in her Aunt Shaneva's wedding in September

Ayden cheerfully walking down from the park after dropping Taylor off at tennis lesson

I spent two days in Milwaukee for a meeting this past week. It was funny because as my colleague and I exited down to baggage claim to meet our driver at the Milwaukee airport, I heard a voice shout, "Kaohly!" I looked up and saw an old friend of mine from my days managing AEFA Retirement Services Institutional clients. He saw our driver holding up a sign with my name on it and he wanted to see if it was really was me. It turns out he bought a car in Milwaukee and flew down to drive it back to MN. After chatting for a while, our driver brought us out to the car and to our surprise we were lead to a huge, black, stretched limo. We had a good laugh. You should have seen the look on the people at the hotel's face when we came out of this giant limo.

Kong and I took Ayden and Taylor to see Ratatouille today. It was funny but not worth paying $26. The girls enjoyed themselves. Afterwards, we spent the evening watering our plants and blowing bubbles.

Exercise log
- Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - Elliptical: 33 minutes, 331 Calories, 2.61 Miles; Treadmill: 25 minutes, 250 Calories, 1.85 Miles. Total: 58 minutes, 581 Calories, 4.46 miles. Exercise today was a big milestone for me. I've never in my life been able to run a 13 minute mile.
- Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - Did not work out. Was traveling for work.
- Thursday, July 26, 2007 - Ran 2.2 miles.
- Friday, July 27, 2007 - Did not work out.
- Saturday, July 28, 2007 - Elliptical: 33 minutes, 336 Calories, 2.67 Miles; Treadmill: 25 minutes, 261 Calories, 1.89 Miles.

Weekend in Appleton, WI

This past weekend, we visited Pong, Bobbie, Max and Courtney in Appleton. We had such a great time. It was so nice to spend time with everyone. Max and Courtney are such smart and wonderful children and Pong and Bobbie were truly gracious hosts. We spent nights sitting out on the patio by the fire pit and we talked until early in the morning. We also made s'mores, had wonderful food and great company.

On Saturday we spent a good part of the day on the lake. We cruised around the lake on Pong and Bobbie's boat and played on the sand bar for hours. Here are some pictures. It was the most perfect day to be out on the water. Thanks to Uncle Pong, Aunt Bobbie, Max and Courtney for making our trip so fun and relaxing. We were sad to leave and miss everyone already!

Here is a picture of Ayden hanging out on the back of the boat.


Here's Courtney doing an awesome jump! Great fun.



Taylor loved tubing. It was her first time. That's my Taylor, fearless!



And last but not least, here' Max feeling right at home with three of his favorite things in life: beer, bait and girls : )



I can't forget to report that I exercised on Thursday before we left. Did the Elliptical - 40 minutes, 3.2 Miles, 423 Calories during lunch. I did not work out over the weekend but run 2.2 miles on Sunday night. I also played volleyball for 2 hours tonight. It was a good workout.

Attempt to Stay Honest to my Life Changes

With the help of my sister Stephanie, I started regularly excising about three months ago. Now that Steph has moved to Colorado, I have no one to be accountable to so in my attempt to stay honest about this 'life' change, I'm reporting Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's activities.

Monday, July 16, 2007 - Did nothing, was too lazy and tired from a long weekend
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - Got up at 6:15am and ran 2 miles
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - Worked out over lunch at Bally's. Used the elliptical (the one without arm motion) for 33 minutes, for 2.6 miles and 331.6 calories. Ran 1.5 miles and walked .5 mile. For some reason I couldn't run the full 2 miles tonight.

My Stinker Turns Four

With my consumption in preparing for the weekend I described on July 16, I did not mention that my stinky monkey, Ayden Ntsaag Ab, turned 4 on July 12. We had a big birthday bash at Edenborough Park (a big indoor play area) on July 7. We had a huge turn out, around 50 people attended. The kids had a great time and the adults had a chance to catch up, talk and enjoy adult company.

It's during times like this that we are so thankful to be back near family. There is a sense of comfort knowing that your children are surrounded by people who love and care enough about them to travel long distances just to attend their birthday party. A special thank you for our Wisconsin and Illinois family who made the trip to celebrate with us. We are truly blessed!

For those who could not attend, we missed you and you were in our thoughts. To catch a glimpse of the fun party you missed, see Ayden's 'Thank You' card.

Flash Back to My Past

Preparing for this past weekend was quite the ordeal. My cousin, Chonh was married on Saturday, July 14 to his fiancé Jamie. Though I would like not to admit this, I was very nervous because I was going to see people from my past that I hadn't seen in nearly 13 years; people I went to college with, people I played sports with, relatives, and...yes, my ex. For those who didn't know me back then, let’s just say I looked "different" and I mean "different" in a good way.

Once we made it to the wedding, all of my fears, and thoughts were laid to rest. Not because everyone else had changed in the same way I had but because of my place in life. I looked at my husband and my two girls and realized that my past, the people who helped shape me, and the events that occurred during that time, brought me to the place I am today.

After seeing my ex this past weekend, what I've known for many, many years was confirmed...that God had a much better plan for each of us. Though I did not speak to him during the event, I would like to believe that he also feels the same. I know that I was forever changed for knowing him. The time we shared taught me to define love for myself and not what I learned it to be from movies, love songs and my peers. It taught me that love doesn't just happen but I am an active participant and can choose the person I want to love and let love me. But by far, it taught me what I did not want love to be like and that my worth, my pride, my values, my beliefs do not need to be compromised for love.

What I learned brought me to Kong. I love more deeply than I could have ever imagined and this would not have been possible if I had not learned to define love for myself. All in all, my nerve wrecking weekend turned out to be very emotionally productive. I have nothing but well wishes for my ex and his wife. May the blessings God has and will bestow unto them be overflowing and never ending.

Up and Running!

Wow! I'm up an running. This is a big step for me. I'm not sure what or how I want to use this blog site. Since having my two girls, my life has changed so much. Having children has shown me the meaning of true love (organic, innocent, uncontrived), the meaning of life and my purpose. My career will no longer define me.

Though life is tough and always will be, I'm blessed to be with my soul mate, Kong, and to have two smart, beautiful and charming girls. With such wonderful little lives so precious and pure, I feel a huge sense of duty to nurture not only their souls, spirits and minds but also their bodies.

This past year, we've made some major life changes with our diet and excercise. We've slowly made the move to organic foods, whole grains and increased our consumption of fruits and vegetables. We have also eliminated TV on weekdays, increased our play time and are opting to travel more by foot.

The changes have both been beneficial and rewarding.With so much that has happened this past year, there is much to reflect upon, share and learn from. That also means there is a vast amount of space for continued learning and growing. More to come!