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joshdeen
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Country: United States
State: Illinois
Birthday: 2/1/1978
Gender: Male
Interests: Running, Mtn. Biking, Reading, Watching and Playing sports, etc.
Expertise: Don't you love when people are self-deprecating when asked what their expertise is?
Occupation: Education/training
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/9/2002
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| For those of you NOT on facebook, here's a lil update on what's been going on here in Texas. So far, living here has been great. We love our house and we've found a fantastic church with great teaching a small group of couples and singles that right around our age/time in life, as well. But the biggest change has been the addition of our little girl to our family: Grace Ellen Deen. Grace was born 7/7/08 at 12:57pm weighing in at 9 lbs and 20.25 inches long. She's 6 days old now, and it's been hard and sleep-depriving, but it's all worth it--she's such a precious bundle of joy to our lives! Enjoy the pics! 
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| For those of you who still read this, here I am again.
This has all happened in the last 2 weeks, and it was a big surprise to me, as well, but here it is:
So, for those of you who don't know yet, we're moving away from Chicago.
I apologize if I haven't been able to tell you in person--it's simply getting a little overwhelming trying to inform everyone. I've accepted a position to teach and coach in the northern suburbs of Dallas, TX for this upcoming fall. I don't see us moving back to Chicago anytime soon. However, since both of our families are here, we'll definitely be coming up here for vacations quite regularly.
We will definitely miss you all greatly, but it's an adventure that God is calling us to, and we hope we can count on your prayers and support as we move forward. See you all around.
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| Hello again, everyone. Here's some info to update all 2 of you who may read this:
The marathon went well--I finished, but not even close to my goal (4:22 vs. a goal of 4:10). I'm done with marathons for awhile now. I'll stick to smaller distances like 1/2 marathons and 10ks & 5ks. In fact, I'm doing a 5k on January 1st in Lincoln Park--should be interesting trying to get up after being up late and then running fast!
As a Christmas gift, I received the Nike + Ipod Sport kit. It's nice not having to guess at how long my runs are anymore, plus knowing how many calories I've burned. Plus, I can go on the Nike site and compete in distance and speed challenges with other Nike + users. Pretty sweet, eh? I certainly thought so--it's given me some serious motivation the last couple of weeks, that's for sure!
As for life here for Mary Ellen & I, we love having our doggie Duncan here at the house. He's already 3!! He's here now that 1 of us (me) isn't working until after break is done, then he'll go back to "grandma's" (my mother-in-law's).
I go back to work on Jan. 3rd, which means I officially get 8 school days off. I think it's a rip-off compared to other school districts, but I'm not going to complain because I know many people in the working world outside of education are VERY happy to get 80 hours a year of vacation time.
As for the new year, there are no crazy plans in place--things are probably just going to along like normal. I have to say, though, that the last few days with my wife have been fantastic! With the time off, it's really great just enjoying one another's company and enjoying living together.
Oh oh, one other note: I have officially fired my first handgun--a Glock .45 GAP (don't ask me what GAP means)! Mary Ellen took me shooting to a range by our house here, and she said I'm not too bad for an amateur. She was a weapons instructor in the Navy, so she should know! Any of you reading this, beware--posted up on our garage wall are the paper targets that we shot at. Mine is ok, I guess, but hers is ridiculous! She shot out SO MUCH of the center mass area, that there was plenty of room for rounds to go through the center without hitting the paper, because she had already blown it all away! We both put 50 rounds in the targets, and ONLY ONE of hers was outside the bullseye/centermass area!! Isn't that CRAZY?! I think I totally missed the paper target like 6 or 7 times myself.
So yes, lots of adventures! And I'm staying home for most of my break just catching up on little home improvement projects and tv shows. I guess that's about it. Comment, email, IM or call me--tell me how you all are doing out there in xanga land!
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| Hey, everyone. I think the only way people will see this is if
they're "subscribed" to my xanga. But I guess that's cool.
Here's an update on me since my last entry:
I've still been running a lot (marathon in 16 days), and I'm now in the taper phase of training, which is pretty relaxing.
I've also been trying to do some mtn. biking these past few
weeks. Big props go to jschou for organizing stuff. I've
especially enjoyed Palos!
Mary Ellen had knee surgery, and she's recovering really well!
We've even been able to go on 2-3 mile walks together, and her knee
hasn't been hurting her--it's been so good to see her up and about.
Also, I'm back at work now. It's been an ok year so far, I
guess. Kids are pretty good, but life doesn't get that busy until
the winter/spring months, because of coaching.
And last of all, I'm going to my 10-year h.s. reunion homecoming game
tonight! Wow, I can't believe it's been that long (and, yes, I
feel old, ok. You happy now?). I hope it's not
awkward. When I've bumped into people from high school throughout
the years, I've found that 1 of 2 things happen. Either 1)
They're exactly the same, even in maturity or 2) They're TOTALLY
DIFFERENT and I barely recognize them, and it's usually for the
better. I hope I meet lots of the latter tonight and this weekend.
Well, all that being said, I hope you all (even those of you I never
talk to) are doing well. Yes, I've been out of touch, but that
doesn't mean I don't care. If you know me well enough, you'll
understand that.
That's about it--I'm out!
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| So it's summer again, y'all.
Things have been busy with our new house (which I haven't taken
pictures of yet). I've been Mr. Fix-it and Mr. Clean-it for the
last month or so since school let out.
We have a DVR (digital video recorder) and DirecTV, and I basically
find myself taping all sorts of things at night, and then, while my
wife is away at work, I find myself "catching up" on what I
recorded. So, needless to say, I've been watching lots of tv, but
very little of it is "live" tv. There are some REALLY interesting
things on at 1am sometimes!
Oh, and there's a huge event this Friday:
Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis SEASON (10 and 3 respectively) PREMIERS!!!
WOO HOO!!!
Other than that and lots of running (I've signed up for the Chicago
Marathon on 10/22/06), that's what I've been doing!! Call me if
you want to hang out/chill/get lunch, ok?!
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