Schrant Family: 2007

Monday, December 31, 2007

Christmas Pictures

We're back home! We had such a wonderful time over Christmas. We went back and forth between Beloit and Hays to see both of our families. Here are a few pictures from our time there!

Ben, Danny, and Tyler! This picture is great...it really shows off their personalities.

The whole Schrant family--only Tyler's girlfriend Heather is missing--on Christmas morning.

Ben dancing the polka with his Grandma! This picture is great! I never thought that I would catch Ben dancing on film....He'll be thrilled that I posted this one. Sorry honey!

I hope you all had as good of a break as we did! Happy New Year!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Merry Christmas to Us!

This year for Christmas, Benj and I decided to get new furniture instead of giving gifts to each other. We got a new couch and love seat to match. Our apartment is a little small for the both of them, but they will out-last our stay here. We got microfiber, so they are supposed to be super easy to clean; we'll see....I'm sure it won't be long until we have to give it a test. Anyway, now when you come over, there is plenty of room to sit! Come visit us and check it out!

This will probably be my last post until after Christmas. Ben and I are going to get to go home for about 10 days. The clinic he is working at is closed for the holidays and so we thought that we should take advantage of the time.

We wish you a Merry Christmas full of family, fun, and blessings!

Call the doctor...

So, I know this shouldn't come as a surprise to me, but it seems so weird to think that Ben is actually going to be a doctor soon. I think that this little fact finally hit me yesterday when our neighbor came over and asked Benj to come take a look at his sick son--Ben's first house call! He grabbed his doctor bag and ran through the snow to check on him....okay, really, he just needed his otoscope and there was hardly any snow, but still. Poor AJ; his dad (also a medical student) had been trying to look down his throat using a spoon as a tongue depressor, consequently he was not a happy camper when Ben got there. But, Ben was able to take a quick look and told them to give him some Tylenol to take down his fever and then take him to a real doctor today, since it looked like he had strep throat. Anyway, it was all no big deal, and I guess I should get used to this, because Student Dr. Schrant is almost done being a student. Who knew this would sneak up on me so fast? Four years sure have flown by.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

ICE!

Check out some of the pictures I took of the ice that we have had around here. It has been beautiful! Thankfully the roads have been really clean. I haven't had any trouble getting around town.
And, it finally started melting off today.

Unfortunately, all this ice has really weighed down the trees. Here is our neighbor's yard. It snapped a big branch off one of their trees. Luckily, we didn't lose our power. I heard several people say they were out for quite awhile.

Friday, December 7, 2007

This and That...

Here's a post about a little of this and a little of that. I meant to post some of this last week, but Benj took the camera home with him for the week before I got the pictures off of it.

Anyway.....Here's the plant update. Thanks to those of you who gave me plant advice, but it looks like I might have to give up on this one! Maybe I'll try again in the spring....or maybe I should just go with the plastic plants in the future :-)

I finished all of our Christmas wrapping last weekend. I thought that the gifts turned out well, so I took a quick photo before they went under the tree. Merry Christmas!

And finally, here is a picture of Ben and Grandpa Norman. He just got home from a week of hunting. He got a small buck (so small he didn't even want a picture of it) and four pheasants. He couldn't have been happier...a whole week of vacation with nothing to do but hunt.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

I've been tagged

My sweet friend Bonnie tagged me, so now I am supposed to list 6 facts or habits that you might not know about me. Here it goes...

1. I love apples! I eat one pretty much every day. My favorite thing is to try out the new varieties that I find at the grocery store. If you haven't had a pink lady, you have to try one!

2. I am terrible-- and I mean really, embarrassingly awful--at dancing. The sad part is that I took dance class for years and years when I was growing up. Ben and I didn't even dance at our wedding! He's not good either :-)

3. I am taking a biology class right now with a bunch of college kids. Before this I hadn't taken biology for about 9 years (since I was a freshman in high school.) I'm a little rusty, to say the least.

4. I won't go out of the house without my hair done and at least some make up on (except when I am going to the gym, but that doesn't count, right?)

5. I love to nap. Almost every Saturday while my laundry is going I lay down to sleep, wake up to switch loads and go back to sleep again.

6. I am scared to death of snakes, for no real good reason. It's not like I have had a bad experience with one; in fact, I have never even touched a snake, but I am absolutely terrified. Last summer I saw a snake slithering out from underneath our porch, so now every time I come to our house I have to check to make sure it's all clear. It's ridiculous, but I can't help it!

Now, I get to tag a few people, too. If you have already been tagged, sorry!

Lauren
Laura
Elsie
Lacey

Friday, November 30, 2007

I got elfed!

Hey, I just made a total elf of myself! This is too cute! I found this on Ashlie's blog and I thought that it was really funny, so I tried it out. Click on the link for a laugh!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1116631340

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Back Home

Ben and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families. We went to Beloit first to spend some time with my Mom, Dad, and extended family. I hadn't seen any of my cousins, aunts, or uncles for over two years! I also met 4 new babies...well, they are more like toddlers now. It's hard to believe how fast time goes. We had a yummy dinner and a nice visit. Then it was off to Hays. We got to see both of Ben's grandparents and Mom, Dad, and Tyler. We missed seeing Danny and Vicki! We'll have to come see you guys in KC soon. Ben and his Dad went out hunting while Mom II and I went shopping and got pedicures! It was lots of fun. Now that we are back home, it's really time to get ready for Christmas. I need to get to wrapping our gifts and start on those Christmas cards.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

It's Christmas!

It's Christmas Time....at least it is here at our house. We put up our Chritmas tree and other decorations today. We wanted to get it up before we go home for Thanksgiving break. That way we don't have to worry about it when we get back. I think it looks pretty good. We have tons of fun little ornaments, everything from angels and snowmen, to hunting and fishing Santas and the Three Stooges. Now, I just need to get our presents wrapped. I love having a lit tree overflowing with presents all wrapped up in beautiful bows. It makes me want to eat cookies, drink hot cocoa, and sing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
Oh, and check it out....In the background you can see our sad plant--it's down to just one little leaf now :-(
It sure is standing up proudly, though!

Here is a picture of a new addition to our tree this year--sorry, it's a little blurry. Ben's Mom sent us home with a few ornaments last year. Ben made this in second grade (in 1989.) We also have his first Christmas ornament hanging up. I just wanted you to see this special ornament did make it to our tree, Teresa!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Black Thumb

So, I don't know what is going on in the Schrant house, but evidently we are in the business of killing plants.

This first guy has continually gotten weaker and weaker since this summer. It's a hosta, in case you were wondering. It is now down to three sad little leaves.

This second plant is not actually ours. Our friends, Josh and Wendy, are on an out-rotation and left this poor thing in our care....and look what happened! Sorry guys! I don't know what to do. I am really not neglecting it, I promise.

And here we are at the last example of my very black thumb. I have had this plant for about three years and have done really well with it, until now. All of it's leaves are turning brown and falling off. There is going to be nothing left of it in a couple of weeks at the rate it is deteriorating! Are there any gardeners out there?? I could use some help before my plants die off completely!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Pictures from the weekend

Beautiful fall colors somewhere between St. Louis and Springfield. I just love this time of year.

Here's a picture of the two of us before we went to the Wine Feast and stuffed ourselves! Not too bad, but Ben just can't take a picture without the goofy, fake smile! I can't understand that....I mean really, just smile, how hard is it??

Too Funny!

Check it out...Benj and I saw this in the parking lot of the Columbia mall and thought that it was hilarious. This dog looked like he was actually driving. What a fun pup!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Cookies!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

More Interviews...

What a busy time!
We just got back from St. Louis for an interview and now Ben is off again today to fly to the next one. His interview at Des Peres was fine. There was a small reception the night before where the students could talk with residents and ask any questions that they had. Then, on Saturday morning he had one really short interview and that was it. It took maybe 15 minutes. He felt like he answered their questions well and that's about all he can do at this point. Today he is flying to Toledo, Ohio. Then next week, he has an interview in Mississippi and one in Kansas City. This interviewing stuff is getting expensive, but what can we do?

Anyways, we did have a really nice weekend. I took off of work on Friday and we started on some Christmas shopping. We stayed with our friends Mike and Marie in St. Louis on Friday night. They took us out for sushi that night. It was such a neat place. Then, after Ben's interview we went down to Springfield. Sunday afternoon we attended our second "Wine Feast." We went last year and it was so much fun that we just had to go back again. It is located in this huge conference room and all around there perimeter of the room there are lots and lots of different types of wines to sample. And in the interior there are restaurants from the area. There is sooo much food and it is all sooo good. We sampled lasagna, meatballs, soups, shrimp, duck, tuna, the list just goes on and on. And the desserts are amazing; homemade chocolates, carrot cakes, tiramisu, cheesecakes.....I mean really, I just can't describe it. I went into this thing telling myself that I was going to have a little self-control this year (unlike last time.) But, it's just so overwhelming. You want to try everything! Needless to say, Ben and I came out feeling so stuffed and really not good at all. It's okay, though, we only do that once a year, and it was completely worth it!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Boo to You!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here is the pumpkin that Benj carved this year. If you know who this is, then I will venture to say that you watch too many internet cartoons! For the rest of it, it is a character called "Bubs" from the Homestar Runner. Last year Ben carved out Homestar, himself, so this year he stayed with the theme. I think it turned out really well. Bubs has a good face for a halloween pumpkin! I hope we get a few trick-or-treaters this evening. I am thinking we'll have 4--just our neighbor kids. But, that's two more than last year! We made up special little bags for them and filled them full of candy. This way we won't have so much left over, too. Anyway, hope you get lots of treats today...

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Relaxing Weekend

I haven't done much at all this weekend. How great is that?! Sometimes it sure is nice just to sit back and relax. Ben and I cleaned the house and did laundry on Friday, so the past two days I feel like I am at a loss as to what to do....not that that is a bad thing.

Ben had his interview here at Kirksville on Friday. He felt like it went pretty well. I know he is glad to have it over. Now, we just have to hope that they will give him a spot. He is really wanting to stay here for the anesthesia residency, but so are a couple of other students, so we'll have to wait and see what happens. He's got more interviews coming. Next weekend is Des Peres in St. Louis. He's been so busy lately that he hasn't gotten to do his favorite activities. Today he is out turkey hunting. I am hoping that he doesn't bring one home, we don't need any more game in our freezer. Anyone want some turkey or dove??

This weekend was Truman's homecoming and they had a 5K race on Saturday morning. I decided to go ahead and run in it, just for fun. It's weird to say this, but I think that running the 5K was nearly as hard as doing the longer distances. There's not much time to get into a rhythm, plus, I swear they picked a course with the most hills possible. Really, I didn't realize there were so many hills here! Anyway, I finished in 24:34 and came in 4th for my age group.

Oh, and I got an email about some pictures that were taken at the marathon....Here is a link if you are interested in seeing a few more pictures of me.

http://www.backprint.com/go.asp?24128013

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I did it!

Well, I made it through my half marathon! And I'm not too much worse for the wear. My goal was to run it in less than two hours, so mission accomplished! Here is a copy of my stats from the KC marathon website:

Summary number of finishers: 2585
number of females: 1487
number of males: 1098
average time: 02:13:02

Laci Schrant
bib number: 4448
age: 25
gender: F
location: Kirksville, MO
overall place: 746 out of 2585
division place: 67 out of 368
gender place: 248 out of 1520
time: 1:57:20
pace: 8:58
gun time: 1:58:19

I was pretty happy with that for my first time!

The course was really beautiful. We started at Crown Center, ran around the Plaza, past the Liberty Memorial, through the Jazz district, and ended at the Freight House District right by Union Station. There were several fountains to look at, bands playing, and lots of people all along the course to cheer us on. It was really a neat experience. I had a great time.

As far as running the race, I started off with the 3:45 marathon pacer--these pacers are crazy, by the way. The are supposed to run the marathon in a specific amount of time and carry this stick that says their time on it for the entire run so others can follow them and get their pace. I don't know how anyone can do that, but anyway... So, the full-marathoners ran with us until mile 6. I felt really good and about mile 10, I was thinking maybe I could have tried the marathon. Not for long though, about 2 miles later I was wondering what had gotten in to me. I started to feel a little nauseous in my last mile, but I knew that I was so close, so I tired to pick up my pace as much as I could at that point. As I turned the last corner I saw Ben's mom and brother Danny and it gave me a burst of energy. Then as I came down the home stretch I spotted Ben, his other brother Tyler, and both of my parents. I was able to wave at them and finish up with a smile on my face. It was so nice to have people there to cheer me on! I really appreciated everyone coming out so early in the morning to see me run. After we finished we were given medals and some food to snack on. Unfortunately, my nausea came back as I tried to eat something and within 10 minutes of finishing I had to throw up. I know....kind of disgusting...sorry! But, the good news is that I felt so much better afterwards and was able to really enjoy the day. Sunday I was a little sore, but really, not too bad. So, now I can say I did it, I ran 13.1 miles, something I never, ever thought would be possible.

Here is a link to a few pictures from the race.

KCmarathon

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

It's Coming...

Well, it's already Wednesday. I can't believe that my race is only a couple of days from now. We are leaving here around noon on Friday, so that we can get to KC and check in to get our race packets. I think that we may drive around the course a little to get an idea of what it is like. I was reading about it online and I think that I am going to be pretty lucky. It sounds like there are only two major hills on the route and the last four miles are flat or downhill. Yay! Thank you to the course designer!! I am starting to get a teensy bit nervous, but I am pretty excited, too. Pray for me!

On another note, I went to a stampin' up party at Jodie's this week and made my first stamp purchase! So, I guess I have a new hobby, now. I am not so much of a creative person, but I think it will be fun to make cards and see what I can do. So, if you get a home-made card from me...don't laugh, I'm really just starting! I haven't gotten my supplies yet, so I'll have to keep you updated on this little venture.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Yum-O

These are the BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever had. The Manhattan makes them and I am just so excited to eat them tonight. If you have never had them, let me just say, you are really missing out. Tom and Jodie asked us over for chili this evening. Benj and I were already planning on making alpine potato soup for Josh and Wendy, so we're just going to all get together for a night of soup and games. And what goes better with a bowl of soup than a nice warm cinnamon roll?? It has been cold and rainy all day...a perfect night for this. We also went to the farmer's market and Red Barn Arts and Crafts festival today--the Kirksville event of the year. It would have been better if the weather had coorperated, but it was neat to see all of the vendors. It made me want to be a little more crafty. Anyway, I hope your dinner will be as tasty as ours will be!

Friday, October 12, 2007

I love The Office!

Which Office Character Are You?
	You are Pam. You are sweet and likable, but your shyness makes it hard for you to express yourself sometimes. Regardless, you are always there for your friends and will usually come out of your shell to help anyone.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Turns out I'm most like Pam...

I don't know how accurate this is, but I like Pam, so I guess it's okay :-)

And...as a little bit of trivia....Jenna Fischer did attend Truman State University!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Fun Evening

I had a busy night last night (at least it was busy for my exciting life). Right after work I met with a friend and had dinner at Il Spazio. I just had soup and a side salad, but it was really good and nice to catch up with Lisa.....thanks for thinking of me while my hubby is gone! Then, I went to cooking club for SAA. In the three and a half years that I have been a part of this organization I have never gone to cooking club. Boy, have I been missing out! There was soooo much food and it was all so good. I'm going to have to frequent this club more, I think.

On another note, I talked to Benj last night. He said that his interview at SLU was really laid back and he felt good about it. I'm glad he is through the first one. I think that Kirksville is next on the list. He really likes the program, doctors, and residents here, so he's crossing his fingers about the spot here. We'll see...

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Happy Birthday Mom!

It's my Mom's birthday today, so Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day! My parents came up to visit us this past weekend and we had such a great time. They always spoil us when they are here--taking us out to eat, buying us groceries, taking care of our cars, fixing all of our broken things--can't get much better than that!

I talked to Benj last night. SLU wined and dined all of the students that are interviewing today. They got to go out to a really nice restaurant on The Hill (the Italian district in St. Louis). He said that the food was really good and the residents were nice and seemed happy, which is always a good sign. I am looking forward to hearing how his actual interview goes today, though. He'll have to take off straight from the hospital there and head to Omaha. He has two more weeks of rotations up there and then he can finally be in Kirksville for awhile. The weeks go by fast, but it's been hard to have Ben gone on so many out-rotations this year.

Thanks for the comments, girls! It's fun to see that someone is reading this! Tara, you asked about my preparations for running this race. Well, I think that I started running (really slowly and very short distances) sometime early last summer. As I said in my last post, I swore that I would never run...I would do anything to lose weight, except run. But, I soon found out that running was the most effecient way for me to burn calories and so I gave it a try. In the spring of this year, when it started getting nice out I got more serious about picking up some distance. Instead of going to the gym everyday, I was able to run outside, which is a lot more fun. I did my first race, a 10K, in April at the Osteopathic Fun Run. Of course, I didn't come anywhere close to winning, but I really did enjoy it. Over the summer I ran between 6 and 7.5 miles each day, which is maybe a little excessive for regular exercise, but that's what I did. I just decided to do this half marathon maybe a month ago or a little less. So, in preparation I am running 4-7 miles five days a week and then doing one long run of 10-12 miles once a week and taking a day off to rest. So, I guess that I have been working up to this race kind of slowly over the past year and a half. Since winter is on it's way, I'll have to head back to the gym and cut back on my running, but I am glad that I am getting the opportunity to run this race, while I am still in shape for it. Anyway, that is probably way more than you really wanted to know, but there you go!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Once Upon a Time...

Well, it seems like everyone has a blog these days, so I decided to join in the fun. I'll try to keep everyone updated on the stories of our little family.

As an introduction...
Ben is a forth year medical student, doing his clinical rotations in Kirksville. He is actually in the midst of interviews for a residency in anesthesia. Tomorrow is his first one at SLU. I'll have to let you all know how that goes for him. School keeps him really busy, but when he has time he likes to hunt, fish, camp, and play video games. As for me, well, I work at Truman State University as a chemical laboratory manager. I am also taking a biology class this semester and staying really busy. Currently, I am training to run my first half-marathon in a couple of weeks! This is really exciting for me because it wasn't that long ago that I swore that I would never run, but here I am 80 pounds lighter and a lot happier!

Anyway, here's to my first blog entry! Hope you all enjoy!