I got in!

Hi everyone!

I have great news!  As you probably know, I applied to Ball State University's Master's in Nursing program in July.  Well, I found out on Monday that I have been accepted to the program!!!  I begin in January.  The program will last three years and when I am finished I will be a Family Nurse Practitioner.  The classes themselves will be completed online and then I will be doing my clinicals in various offices and clinics.

Back in August, Matt and I went down to his parents' house for the weekend so that I could run the Little Miami Half Marathon in Morrow, Ohio.  It was the third year that I completed this half marathon.  It was a very warm day with very high humidity, which made it difficult.  I finished though, and it was the 11th half marathon that I have completed!  Matt, Bob, and Sheila all came to the race and it was nice to have a little cheering section.

Also in August, I had a nice weekend up in Michigan visiting my cousin Allyson Roelofs.  On Friday the 21st, I arrived and we enjoyed dinner at her condo followed by miniature golfing.  On Saturday, we explored downtown Milford (where she lives) and then went on a two-hour kayaking trip.  It was a beautiful evening for kayaking!  On Sunday, we went to a nice church service and then went to a local park where they have a farm.  We loved looking at all the cute baby animals!  It was nice to visit Allyson, and I wish that we lived closer so that we could hang out more.

Matt's brother and sister-in-law, Rob and Leanne, were in the area on Saturday to visit a friend, and they called Matt to see if we wanted to get together for dinner.  I obviously could not attend, but Matt had a nice time at a local restaurant called Charbono's with Rob and Leanne.  Thank you for taking him out to dinner!

On my way to visit Allyson, I stopped in Milan, MI to see my friend Kristine.  Kristine and I used to work together at Riley in the PICU, but she and her family moved away earlier this year when her husband took a new job.  It was nice to see her and her one-year old daughter, Grace.

On September 10, Matt's cousin Hailey had her stem cell transplant.  She had a rough few days afterwards, but it seems like she is doing better now.  Please continue to pray for Hailey and for her family!

On September 12, there was a "Puppy Pool Party" at a local water park.  Before they drain the pool every year, they let people bring their dogs to go swimming.  Thor wasn't quite sure of the pool at first, but he really liked fetching the ball in the shallow water.  He only swam at one point because he fell in, and he definitely did not enjoy it!

Last Saturday, I was supposed to run a 10k race.  When I woke up to get ready, it was pouring down rain outside.  Since the race was taking place close to our house, I went ahead and went to the race.  It was very rainy and windy.  The race was supposed to start at 8:15am, but the race director said that they were going to postpone it until 8:30 and then decide whether or not they would cancel.  I sat in my car and waited, but it was pretty clear that the race was not going to happen.  The tents that were set up for packet pickup in the parking lot were all mangled and blown everywhere.  The food table got knocked over and there were bagels and bananas everywhere!  At 8:30, they went ahead and canceled the race.  It was a bummer, but the weather was horrible!

This week, we got a new couch for our living room.  We had purchased our previous couch when we bought our house five years ago, and sheets of the faux leather were peeling off of it.  We took advantage of good Labor Day sales and are excited to have a sofa that doesn't leave black fake leather shavings all over our floor!  Plus, it is nice and comfy :-)

That is all for now!  We are hoping that the Colts beat the Titans today.  Their past two games have been awfully sad and disappointing.

Stacey, Matt, and Thor

Hi everyone!

I am hoping to go back to graduate school in January in order to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.  I have been accepted to Walden University, which is an online-only school.  Several of my co-workers are studying with them right now, and several more have graduated and are now working as FNPs.  I also applied to Ball State University, which is in Muncie, Indiana.  Their FNP program is also online, but they also have a physical campus.  I should find out within the next 6-8 weeks whether or not I am accepted.  I really want to go to Ball State, so please pray that I get in!

A couple of weeks ago, Aunt Michelle and Jason were in town as Jason competed with his swim team in a competition downtown at the IUPUI Natatorium.  Between work and other commitments, I was only able to make it to my parents' house once to visit, but it was nice to see them.  Matt stayed at home and worked on our lawn, as we have been having so much rain this summer that it is hard to find an opportunity to mow.

My little cousin isn't so little any more!

Matt's dad, Bob, celebrated his 60th birthday on July 31st.  Happy birthday, Bob!  Matt and I went down to Kentucky for the weekend and enjoyed having a dinner at Outback Steakhouse with Bob and Sheila, Rob and Leanne, and Matt's grandparents.  After dinner, we had dessert back at the house.  Bob has Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance), so being able to have dessert is always a struggle for him.  A local Indianapolis cupcake shop, The Flying Cupcake, has a location that only makes gluten-free desserts.  We brought a half-dozen special cupcakes just for him!

Happy birthday, Bob!

We had a nice time visiting with the Drapers.

 Last Saturday, Matt and I went to see our local professional soccer team, the Indy Eleven, play.  I had won tickets from a TV station.  It was a beautiful night to be outside for a game, even though the Eleven lost 1-4.

At least it was a nice night to be outside, since the Eleven got pummeled!

 Today, I received an email stating that I have been identified as a potential bone marrow match for someone in need.  I joined the registry in 2008 when a drive was held at Purdue in honor of a fellow student who needed a transplant.  Matt's 9-year old cousin, Hailey, was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) last month.  The only treatment available that can potentially stop or slow the progression of the disease is a bone marrow transplant.  She has found a match (yay!) and will undergo chemotheraphy and a transplant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital very soon.  The timing of the email is just crazy considering the fact that Hailey will be receiving this treatment soon.  I literally had goosebumps as I spoke on the phone to the "Be the Match" person, confirming that I am interested in donation.

I will learn within the next two months whether or not the patient I am matched with and his/her doctor will be moving forward with transplant and find out the next steps at that time.

Please pray for the person for whom I am a match, and for Hailey and her family.  Hailey will need to spend an extended period of time undergoing treatment and recovering.  In order to have a transplant, chemotherapy will be used to knock out her immune system in order to allow her body to accept the new cells.

Hailey and Matt when she was 4, serving as the cutest flower girl ever at our wedding in 2010!

Until next time,
Stacey (and Matt and Thor)

That's my kind of night

Hi everyone!

We have been keeping busy here.

At the end of June, I went to a "Wine and Canvas" painting class with my mom and my friend Katie and her mom.  We painted very vibrant sea turtles!

We started out July with a big Seitz family vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC.  All 15 of us (including our former exchange student, Alex!) stayed in a condo right across from the beach.  We had a great time horseback riding, deep sea fishing, going running, looking for seashells, taking a boat ride, trying new food, and just relaxing on the beach!  We arrived in Myrtle Beach on the 4th of July and there were lots of people shooting off fireworks from on the beach.  It was entertaining and scary all at the same time!

On our way home from South Carolina, we stopped at Bob and Sheila's house.  They were kind enough to take care of Thor while we were on vacation and it was nice to see them for a little while as we passed back through.

I was originally supposed to work the weekend of July 24 and 25 and was surprised when I was scheduled to work different days that week instead.  Luke Bryan, a very popular country singer, came to town and did two shows that weekend, and Matt and I ended up getting tickets for the Friday night show.  We had seen him perform back in 2008 at Purdue when he was an opening act for Dierks Bentley.  I think he had one song on the radio at that time, and now he is a multi-platinum recording artist and sells out almost all of his shows (both nights in Indy were sold out)!

On our way to the concert, my car suddenly went haywire.  The power steering went out and lots of warning lights started flashing at me on the dashboard.  Luckily, the gas and brake still worked and we were able to pull of into a church parking lot.  We called my parents, who have AAA, and they came to our rescue.  Dad let me borrow his car so that we could get to the show and he and Mom waited for a tow truck to take my car to be repaired.  A new battery and alternator were put in yesterday, and Dad and I will swap cars today.  Thank you guys so much for all of your help!

We had a great time at the concert.  We ended up missing the two opening acts, but luckily made it in time for Luke Bryan's set.  I literally sang and danced to every song.

I continue to train for some upcoming races.  I will be running the Little Miami Half Marathon in Ohio on August 16 and the Indianapolis Marathon on October 17.  The weather has been crazy humid here, which makes training more difficult, but I have been trying to get outside early in order to beat the heat of the day.

That's all for now!  Enjoy some photos from our July adventures!

Katie, Cindy, me, and Mom with our paintings

Riding on the beach was amazing!

Just hanging out with my BFF, Banjo.

Sitting in the Batmobile was the icing on the cake of an amazing vacation!

Holy mackerel!

In honor of shark week, Matt caught an Atlantic Sharpnose Shark!

We had beautiful weather in Myrtle Beach.

Matt enjoyed taking photos.

I'm seeing triple!

The whole Seitz family.

Sitting on the lawn, enjoying Luke Bryan.

Thor sporting his new summer 'do.

Rockin' my cowboy boots.

I'm insane x 3!

Hi everyone!

Thank you all for the generous support that was shown when I raised money for Team Riley while I trained for the Mini Marathon!  If you donated, you should have received a thank you note and a Riley Hospital for Children bracelet.  If yours did not arrive, please let me know and I will send you another one!  Team Riley raised over $9700 for Riley Hospital for Children!  Mini Marathon day (May 2) was great.  It was a beautiful day for a run.  I was pleased with how I did, especially with my lack of training due to my thumb injury and surgery.  I was even interviewed on TV and got to talk about my involvement with Team Riley and I Run 4.  I was happy to be able to talk about my little buddy Anthony.  I will post the video if I can figure out how to upload it to Youtube from my phone!

My favorite photo from the Mini

My thumb is feeling much better now.  I have been back on my normal night shift schedule since May 18 and last week I was discharged from my doctor's care with no restrictions.  My range of motion keeps improving every day and pain is minimal!

The scar from this pin actually doesn't look too bad!

Matt and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on June 12.  Thank you for all the nice cards and messages that we received!  On June 11, we went to see "Jurassic World" in IMAX 3D and had a great time.  On the 12th, we celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, and Matt got me a beautiful anniversary ring!  We purchased it at Jared before dinner and the sales staff are good friends with the management at the restaurant, so they called over and had them give us a free appetizer in honor of our anniversary.  The restaurant also gave us a free dessert!  We had a wonderful meal and a fun night.

Today, my dad and I went on a new adventure.  We have both talked about completing a triathlon for a while, and today we finally did one!  With only 4 weeks worth of training, we finished the Tri-Insanity Super Sprint Triathlon in Danville, IN, about 15 miles west of my house in Avon.  The triathlon was composed of a 250 meter swim (10 lengths in an Olympic-sized pool), 10-mile bike, and 2 mile run.  Here are my thoughts regarding my first triathlon experience:

-I am so glad that we selected such a small race for our first triathlon.  There were just over 100 competitors total, with only 40 in the "super sprint" division.  The swim portion was just a mass of flailing arms and legs and it was very hard to actually swim properly, especially for a middle-of-the-pack racer like me.  I got kicked in the face, my arms hit other people's legs as I was trying to do my freestyle stroke, and I know I accidentally kicked other people as well.  I ended up using breaststroke/doggy paddle most of the time due to lack of space.
-I was very pleased with how quickly I was able to transition between the different portions of the race.  Between the swim and bike and between the bike and run, you have to stop into the transition area and change out your gear for the upcoming event.  It took me less than 2 minutes each time to switch shoes, take out or put away my bike, etc. and to transition between events.
-I need some serious bike practice.  Any advantage that I gained during my decent swim and fast transitions quickly dissipated due to my slow biking.  I love my new bike ("Juliette") that I purchased on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago, but it need to put in some more riding time.  I also need to learn how to properly use different gears to my advantage.
-I felt very strong during my run.  When I am just out for a run, I usually run 11-12 minute miles.  My two miles were under 11 minutes today!

In the end, it was a good day and a fun experience.  It was fun to race with my dad and to try something new.  I think I will participate in triathlons in the future, and I am looking at doing an all-women's event (the "Go Girl Triathlon") at the end of August.

Thanks for reading!  I can't promise that I will continue to blog on a regular basis, but this is better than nothing, right? :-)

Love.
Stacey (and Matt and Thor)

Hi everyone!

It has been a busy couple of weeks since I last posted!

On Monday, May 5, I got together with a couple of friends from work for a nice walk around a local park, followed by dinner.  We decided on a Mexican restaurant, completely forgetting that it was Cinco de Mayo!  We were a little confused as to why the normally quiet restaurant was so busy when we first arrived, haha!

On Wednesday, May 7, Matt and I attended the Nickel Creek concert.  The band has been on hiatus for the past seven years and now they have reunited with a new album and tour.  We had wonderful seats, about 9 rows from the stage in the center.  They put on a great show, and we are looking forward to seeing them again soon (preferably sooner than seven years from now)!

We had great seats!

Waiting for the show to begin

Happy birthday to Dad and cousin Amy on May 8!

On Friday, May 9, Matt and I drove up to the north side of town to celebrate my birthday a little bit early with dinner.  We went to a fairly new Outback Steakhouse location near their house.  While there, they surprised us by telling us that they are sending Matt and me to California to meet my running buddy Anthony and his family!  I was so excited that I started crying happy tears in the middle of the restaurant!  We have not finalized any plans yet, but we are looking at a couple different weekends in September to fly out there to spend time with them and for me to push Anthony in his first 5k!

Out to dinner at Outback for my birthday

Happy Mother's Day on May 11 to all the moms who are reading!  We hope that you all had a lovely day!

Saturday, May 17, was my birthday and I decided to celebrate by running another half marathon.  I ran the Geist Half Marathon in the town of Fishers on the north side of Indy.  I was aiming for a finish in 2 hours and 30 minutes and the race provided "pacers" to help people meet their goals.  The "pacer" I followed was holding the 2:30 sign and he was an experienced runner who is good at maintaining the pace necessary to complete the race in a given time.  The race was pretty hilly, but I did a good job on sticking with the pacer for the first 10 miles.  There was a large hill around mile 10 that finally did me in and I was unable to maintain pace any longer.  I ended up finishing in 2 hours and 34 minutes.  So close!  I was proud of my time, however, since I shaved 7 minutes off my Mini Marathon time! 

I finished my seventh half marathon!

 While I was running the half marathon, Matt ran/walked the 5k.  It was a beautiful day for a run, and after we were both finished, we refueled a little bit before heading home for a nap.

We went for a birthday meal at IHOP and Matt gave me some cute cowboy boots!  Thank you to everyone who called, texted, wrote on my facebook wall, and sent cards!

Happy birthday to Sheila, who celebrated her birthday on May 18!

On May 18, I headed off to Denver, Colorado, with three other Riley PICU coworkers so that we could attend the NTI (National Teaching Institute) Critical Care Conference.  During the conference, we attended lectures given by other nurses who are at the forefront of critical care nursing.  The conference was from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm each day.  In the evenings, we were able to explore Denver a little bit.  On Wednesday May 21, we had "nurses night out" where we received free entry to Denver Zoo and the Denver Science Museum.  We got home on Thursday evening.  It was a neat experience, and Denver is a very nice city.

Hanging out in a helicopter

Yesterday (Friday), Matt and I were able to hang out, get some things done around the house, and go see the movie "Godzilla."

We hope that you all have a lovely Memorial Day weekend!

Love,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor

Mayflowers bring Pilgrims

Hi everyone!

I sent out an email last week, but in case you missed it, the article in the Geist Community Newsletter about Anthony and me has been published!  You can read it by clicking this link-- http://issuu.com/tombritt/docs/geist_8bceba252d7224/1?e=1606101/7677330
The article begins on page 74.

Matt and I did not end up seeing the advanced showing of "The Other Woman" like we had planned.  There were only a set number of seats available for the movie and they were all taken by the time we made it to the theater.  Instead, we went to dinner at Skyline and then saw the Johnny Depp movie "Transcendence."  It is a sci-fi movie about artificial intelligence.  I thought it was just okay.  Matt liked it better than I did.

On Thursday, April 24, I drove up to Westfield to meet with the photographer from the Geist Newsletter so that she could take my picture for the article.  Afterwards, my mom and I went shopping for some new business casual clothes for me for my conference in Denver and out to dinner.  Then, my dad and I went for a 4.5 mile run on the Monon Trail.  It was a fun day.

After a nice run on the Monon Trail

On Friday, May 2, I went downtown for the Mini Marathon race expo to pick up my race packet and to wander around the different stores and exhibits in the convention center.  I bought some energy "goo" to eat during the race to keep me fueled, as well as a new headband to wear while I ran.  That evening, Matt accompanied me to the karate "dojo" (school) to watch me promote from my gold belt to my yellow belt.  After that, we had Fazoli's for dinner to carbo-load before the race!

Doing my kata

Taking down my sensei (instructor)

Yellow belt = earned!

Mini Marathon day (May 3) started bright and early.  Matt opted to stay home while I ran (he hadn't slept well the night before, and he has been to lots of my other races so I let him off the hook :-) ).  A friend let me borrow her parking pass so that I could park (relatively) close to both the start and finish lines.  It was a beautiful day to run the 13.1 miles and there was a lot of energy from the spectators along the way.  There were so many different bands and performers during the race that I should have just left my headphones at home.  The music from the performers was so loud that I could barely hear my iPhone playing anyway!  I ended up finishing the race in 2 hours, 41 minutes, 36 seconds.  I was trying hard to finish in 2 hours 30 minutes (the cutoff for being placed in a "preferred" corral at the start line for next year's race), but didn't quite make it.  However, my time was faster than all three of the half marathons I ran last year!  I am aiming for that goal time again at the Geist Half Marathon in two weeks.  Dad and Eric also finished the Mini.  It was Eric's third Mini Marathon (and sixth half marathon), and Dad's 16th Mini Marathon!

After finishing my second Mini Marathon, and sixth half marathon!

Group shot of the Mini finishers with our cheer squad!

After the race, Matt and I drove up to Westfield to have dinner with my parents, Eric, and Sarah.  We were going to get giant hamburgers at Bub's Burgers, but the wait was long and we were all really hungry, so we went across the street and ate at Scotty's Brewhouse instead.  We still ended up getting big burgers :-)  Matt and I didn't stay too long...just long enough to watch the first half of the Indiana Pacers basketball game.  I was exhausted and as soon as we got home, I coma-slept all night!

That's all for now!  We hope that you all have a wonderful week!

Love,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor

We love this weather!

Hi everyone!

We have good, busy couple weeks since the last time I last posted.

I wrote before that Matt and I will be attending the Nickel Creek concert in early May.  We hadn't bought our tickets at the time that I posted, but we finally purchased them last week.  We got great seats!  We have floor seats, not too far back from the stage.  We are excited!

On Friday April 11, Matt and I headed down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with his parents.  We had a very nice weekend.  We spent most of Saturday hiking, and I got pretty sunburned.  It was almost 80 degrees!  We had fun hiking and doing a little bit of shopping.  Our hotel was near downtown Gatliburg, with a balcony that looked right over the river.  Thank you for the nice weekend, Bob and Sheila!

Bob and Sheila at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, right between Tennessee and North Carolina.

At the top of Clingmans Dome

Matt continues to drum up computer repair business.  He struck up a conversation with a worker at the McAllister's restaurant, and the guy wants him to fix his laptop.

The 500 Festival Mini Marathon is coming up in less than two weeks (May 3)!  I am excited for it, and just hoping that I have trained enough.  We have been pretty busy lately, so it has been hard finding time to run.  I have been able to squeeze in a couple 9 and 10-milers, so I know I will be able to finish, but I am hoping that I have done enough to be able to finish strong.

Speaking of races, I will be having my photo taken on Thursday to go along with the article that is being published in the Geist Community Newsletter.  I will be meeting the photographer on the north side of town, on the Monon Trail, so that she can take some pictures.

I have started making a tutu to wear during the Geist Half Marathon.  Yes, a tutu!  Geist will be my seventh half marathon, but the first where I wear a tutu.  Since I am running it on my birthday, I decided that it would be fun to do something a little different :-)  Should make for some entertaining photos!

We spent Easter with Matt's family in Fort Mitchell.  It was a quick trip, but it was nice to see everyone.  We were able to see Matt's brother Rob and his wife Leanne.  We had not seen them since their wedding in November, so it was good to catch up a little bit.  After church on Sunday, we went to lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory with all of Matt's aunts, uncles, and cousins on his mom's side.  We headed home that evening and arrived back home around 9pm.

Happy Easter!

I continue to take and enjoy karate classes.  I have my gold belt right now, but I will be promoting to my yellow belt on May 2.

Matt and I got an email today inviting us to see an advanced showing of the movie "The Other Women" tomorrow night.  The movie doesn't officially release until Friday.  It looks pretty funny, but it is not a movie that we would ordinarily pay to see in the theater, so it will be nice to go and see it for free!  After the movie, we are supposed to go home and take a survey and write a review for others to see.

We hope that you all had a wonderful Easter and that you have a great week ahead!

We had this cute little wooden sign made while we were in Tennessee!

Love,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor