Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas so far...


We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas this year...we're actually not even done around here! Erik's family arrives Monday for more celebration. Can't wait! As always, I will let our photos do the talking. We had a wonderful time yesterday with my family in Oak Ridge. It was such beautiful weather, we even took a long family walk after dinner. Sunny and about 55 degrees. This month is always so crazy for us, Erik's birthday was this past Monday, my birthday is next Monday, then our Anniversary is Tuesday! Crazy, but fun.


This morning we woke up (LATE!) and enjoyed some fresh French-pressed coffee. It was so good, I drank my entire cup black. I've always wanted a French Press...this year my wish came true!


Amber and I on our Christmas afternoon walk. My Dad gave us all walking sticks to use! It was cracking me up, there were 6 of us walking down the street in their neighborhood with walking sticks! We lovingly became known as the "asphalt stick-walkers". True originals.


My Mom and Dad are so cute. Get a room you two! :)

Matching toe-socks! These things are super uncomfortable, everyone knows it, but for some reason we're still fascinated by them. Must buy some! And wear them once...

Warning: Erik got a new camera for Christmas, so this very well may turn in to his photo blog. Just yesterday, we took over 200 pics! It's crazy. Thanks to a very generous gift from his grandpa, he got a Canon Rebel XSi. He may even take a photography class at UT this coming semester. I don't think he's put it down since he opened it!


Go to our Flickr page for a complete album of our Christmas '08!

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Bringing it with Plyometrics and P90X

In case you didn't already know, I've been doing P90X. It's basically a 90-day workout challenge where you follow these videos for 1 hour every day. I've always had a difficult time staying motivated, but this video has really helped to provide a framework for me. Going to the gym, I was stuck in a routine and felt like I had reached a plateau. P90X provides a great schedule and I've actually enjoyed the workouts so far. Plus, I've got 2 friends who are also doing the program, so that helps with accountability, too.

Yesterday, was day 2 of week 3. The video du jour was Plyometrics, or "jump training". Some say this is the "mother of all workouts". This is the third time I've done this routine and I can honestly say that it's getting easier, but it still kicks my a**.

Here's a little video I put together to show what I put my body through every day. Keep in mind, every one of these exercises lasts 30 seconds (some are 1 minute) and they go back to back with only maybe 8 30-second water breaks in the whole hour workout. Needless to say...it's INTENSE!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Local Holiday Shopping

As Christmas is approaching, Erik and I have been talking about what to buy for all of our family, and most importantly, WHERE? We were thinking it would be really great to support the local economy here in Knoxville by shopping in locally owned boutiques, shops, and restaurants. Then I found this ad in the Metro Pulse, asking Knoxvillians to pledge to spend $100 of their Christmas shopping at local retailers. It's a great initiative with a lofty goal of helping to keep $12 million in our local economy. I just signed up with my pledge...now it's time to go shopping! (Well, first I have to take a few final exams, write a paper, perform a comprehensive video-taped physical assessment, do the write-up, etc...) So, hopefully I'll get to it next week! :)

Monday, November 17, 2008

The Board Room


Our friends, Nathan and Regina Phillips, just opened up a new board sports store here in Knoxville. We're in awe of all of their hard work this past year - they have successfully opened the sweetest board shop in town. Skiers, snowboarders, skateboarders, Long boarders, and wake boarders, should be very excited! They've got loads of unique apparel as well as gear. If you live here (or even if you don't), you should check it out. Open Monday thru Saturday 10am-8pm on Kingston Pike on Bearden Hill, next to Calhouns.


Below, Erik and Nathan practicing their high-five.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

What's so funny?

This was the shot we were going for:


Not sure how we digressed...


Laughter from Sonya Luchauer on Vimeo.

Election Reflections

It's been extremely difficult for me to concentrate on school work these past few days. I've been on the edge of my seat, mesmerized by the most important election in our lifetime. For example, this morning, I got up at 8am (despite not going to bed until 2am) and had high aspirations for getting some good studying done. In actuality, I have watched a few morning shows and scoured the internet in pursuit of the different reactions of Americans across the country as we woke up this morning to a new President-elect. Barack Obama! I must confess, I had tears in my eyes as I watched his speech last night.

A few interesting facts I learned this morning; despite the majority of the country going "blue" in this election, the state of Tennessee actually voted even more "red" than it did in 2004. Here's a local newstory about the phenomenon - wbir.com. I think Erik and I have definitely felt that we were in the minority here, especially in East Tennessee, but when you look at that electoral map, county by county, it's pretty astonishing to see how little blue there is. I guess I didn't realize it, because there were pockets of Obama supporters, especially in the urban areas. So, what caused our state to become even more polarized from the rest of the country? Perhaps many people felt that voting was a lost cause, as Tennessee had been considered a lock for McCain from the beginning. The voter turnout, state-wide, was down by about 125,000 this year. Who knows. The important thing is that our country as a whole is moving on toward better days.

Regardless of how you voted, I think we can all be proud of the fact that we have elected an African American into the highest office in our country. I spent some time in prayer this morning for Mr. Obama as he takes on the challenge of a lifetime. I am going to commit to continue praying for our leaders (something I never have really done). I will continue praying that God will become more real to those who don't know Him, and that our country will come together for a more peaceful and united United States of America. Even more specifically, here is a GREAT pledge of prayer and accountability from Sojourners.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Be a tourist in your own town

Saturday, we decided to explore downtown Knoxville by bicycle. We love downtown, but we rarely do "touristy" things. There is this thing called the Sunsphere. It's leftover from when Knoxville hosted the World's Fair in 1982. Too awesome. There's an observation deck, so we went up for a look-see. It was a beautiful fall day, and we needed a break from our ridiculous week, so Erik slapped some new tires on his bike, and we were off. We had never been to the UT gardens (off of Neyland Dr.), it was great. Here's a photo log of our day...

University of Tennessee gardens.

View from a swing in the gardens.


ha ha, I caught the yawn!




Walking towards the Sunsphere.


Observation Deck

Local printing press, Yee Haw Industries shows support for Obama.


I love to pick up the weekly Metro Pulse.


Biking on the campus of UT. Lots of HILLS. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, the trees exploded with color this weekend. We thought it was going to be a brown fall. Not so!


Our church is actually in Oak Ridge, but I love the sign! We have loved being a part of this church since January. It's a warm place filled with people who love Jesus and who are constantly seeking out ways to serve others. It's great.

Monday, October 27, 2008

A quick trip to New York

Hi friends and fam,
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their calls, thoughts, and prayers as Erik's Grandpa has been in the hospital after his hemorrhagic stroke. We were so thankful that we got to go up to Long Island to be with him for a few days. He's doing better! Still has his jaw wired shut and has some rehab to go, but compared to where he was even just last week he's made a remarkable recovery. We just heard last night that he is home now after a long 3 weeks (or more?) in the hospital. We had a great trip and got some quality time with Bob, Nancy, Mark and Jess.

Just thought I would leave you with this classic shot of Mark, Erik, and their Dad (Bob) walking down to Jones Beach (notice the hand...).

Monday, October 06, 2008

Love it...



Side note: Hope everyone is registered to vote! It's the last day to register in Tennessee...go do it NOW!

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Nursing Buddies 2008


Last week, I went to Washington,D.C. for my annual "Nursing Buddies Reunion". These ladies are how I kept my sanity during nursing school, and we share a unique bond. It really made me think about this Masters program that I'm in now, and how I miss the camaraderie of fellow students. My virtual peers are great, and I'm learning a lot, but there is something to be said for the face to face interaction of classroom learning. Maybe it's just a reflection of what a social being I am. I love interacting with others. I crave it, in fact. Don't get me wrong, this program so far is absolutely great. I'm learning so much, and it's actually a lot more rigorous than I expected. BUT, there have been a few days where I thought I was going mad. Sitting here at my table, (sitting on a pillow so my butt doesn't go numb on this wooden chair), reading and typing ALL day. It's a TOTAL change of pace for me. The verdict: so far, so good. Here are some pics of my crazy weekend in D.C....


Capitol Hill

Jessicca and I on the train into the city.

Alisha's little girl, Aria, and I were tight. We hung out together at the Newseum. Which, btw, is the one of the most interesting museums I've been to in the United States. We spent a whole day here, looking at galleries dedicated to some of the greatest news stories in the world, and the reporters and journalists who broke the stories.

The Pulitzer prize photograph gallery was my fav.

A trip to the Newseum is not complete without the 4-D movie. I look way too excited about this.

Maurine and her sweet little boy, Monroe.


Jessicca feeding her baby :)


Wendi, Alisha, & Aria.

Suz and I at dinner one night.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

House Full of Ladies

A few weeks ago, Ali and Shawna stayed the weekend with us. Shawna's little girl, Ana came too. Poor Erik, a house filled with ladies. For a whole weekend. It was great!


I don't think there could be anything cuter than this. Ana loved taking a bath in my sink!


Erik is wonderful with little ones. And big ones too :)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Outtakes

Outtakes from the Rootclip intro for the Traverse City Film Festival. I still laugh EVERYTIME I watch this...


Outtakes From the Good Luck Intro from Rootclip on Vimeo.

Isle of Skye, Scotland

Sooo...I've been a lazy bum and just NOW got this video put together. This is only of Scotland from our trip to Europe back in March. At this rate you can expect to see a video about London in 2010 and one for Paris in 2014...but don't hold me to that!


Scotland from Erik Luchauer on Vimeo.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Jesus loves you...even when you look like a _____! [fill in the blank]

Wow! What else can I say? Check out these interesting videos that I found on YouTube. Surely, God still appreciates this kind of worship...even if it's hard for me to watch. Hahah!

Though he reminds me of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, I can't help but see this guy being in one of my all-time favorite movies Breakin'? Pay attention at 1:58.


On this next one, note the phrases at 0:55 and 1:50. Classic!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Politics, Theology and The Daily Show

Interesting bit on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart about how some GOP pundits are changing their stories since Sarah Palin has come onto the scene.

I'm saying this to myself as much as all of you, please think about where you stand on the issues at hand in this election and don't assume that any specific news channel or political talking head has all of the facts. I'm often tempted to repeat what I hear somebody on the television/radio saying about politics because it think its clever or interesting, but often times, I haven't done all of my research and come off just being a mockingbird who doesn't know what he's really talking about.

For this election, I'm going to overlay each issue with my theologies and see how they stack up against what I believe about God, His people and the world in which He has allowed us to live and serve Him. I hope that you will do the same and not just ride the coattails of any specific party without knowing where they're going.

Wow, who knew you could mix faith and politics in one blog post?!

-Erik

Friday, August 29, 2008

Do You Want To Work With Me?


Hey all 3 of you readers! I just got word from my manager that they've officially posted the position for another Project Manager (with a focus on Vendor Relations) in my group at Scripps. I've been asked to spread the word to any interested parties and I thought I'd start here!

If you're looking to move to Knoxville, and could suffer working in a cube across from mine, check out this job description and send me your resume. Cheers!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Help Rootclip Get On DiggNation

I just made a similar post on the Rootclip Blog, but wanted to mention it here for those of you who don't keep up with that.

We have a goal to get on DiggNation and we need your help to do it. If you have a digg.com account, please follow the link below and "digg" that link. If you don't have an account, make one, then digg it!

http://digg.com/movies/Rootclip_Rocks_Encourage_Creativity

If you're not familiar with it, DiggNation is a weekly web show starring Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. They run down the list of some popular things on digg.com during their show. Our goal is to get the above digg story on their show.

How can you help?
  1. Send a mass-Email out to all of your friends with this link, asking them to digg it.
  2. Use your facebook account to post a link to it, or mention it in some other way.
  3. Send the link out on your Twitter account.
  4. Put it on your own blog, telling people to digg it.
  5. Get creative and use any other networking tool you have to get the word out.
We'll need a pantload of people to digg it, so pass it on and help us out. Thanks everyone!!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Traverse City Film Festival


We had a great time in Traverse City a few weeks ago. Quick recap...

-Rootclip debuted on the big screen
-We got to hang out with Michael Moore
-Impromptu Anvil Concert
-Quite possibly the most beautiful weather imaginable
-FREE entrance to countless screenings of new films (mostly independent works that won't make it to theaters)
-So much popcorn
-Driving all the way to Michigan by myself (Erik flew up with Rootclip peeps)
-One on one time with my precious in-laws while Erik rubbed elbows with film makers and movie producers
-Walking barefoot in the sand along Grand Traverse Bay
-Watching the sun set over Torch Lake




Here's a link to more photos from that weekend, if you're interested.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Back to School


Some of you may know that I've decided to become a full time graduate student. I'll be working towards my degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner, and I'm super excited! I just got my acceptance letter in the mail the other day, so I've been busy registering for classes, which start August 25th. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! It's an on-line program, which I have mixed feelings about, but for the most part I think it will be great. The program is through East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, about an hour and 1/2 from us. I will be doing all of my clinical hours here in Knoxville, with different local clinics. Hey, if anyone has any wisdom to throw out about on-line education, bring it on!

I just wanted to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers as I've begun this process. Now, keep it coming, as life is about to get a lot more hectic!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Wow.



Saw this today as I was driving in Oak Ridge. I think I got a few stares as I abandoned the Volvo and stood there with my camera phone! How strange...

Monday, June 02, 2008

Support Local Stuff


Knoxville has a great little Farmer's Market downtown in Market Square, every Wednesday and Saturday, late April thru November. Last weekend we spent hours milling around, meeting up with old friends and partaking of some of the amazing cuisine. Our friend Ashley has a booth (below) where she sells her homemade hand pies. SO good...


It's really important to me to support local businesses, and the Farmer's Market is a great way to do that, with local produce, plants, herbs, and art to choose from. This was Memorial Day weekend and the weather was perfect! Below, it's Erik with Ashley's daughter Elena.


We love downtown Knoxville.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Local News

Erik and Kevin's website, Rootclip is big news! I'm so proud of them. Check out this local news story...

Monday, May 12, 2008

This past week...

Has been full of fun and surprises! At the beginning of the week, we had the Tucker's staying with us for a few days. SO much fun to hang out and catch up. Their new little girl, Ana, is so precious and Gaines is getting so big! He says, "this is MY Chud" as he hugs my neck (I'm "Chud", for those of you who didn't know). It's a long story...



Then for my sister's Birthday, Erik and I stayed up way too late one night making cinnamon rolls for a family breakfast birthday celebration. Mmmmmm, they were GOOD. We should open a bakery. or NOT. By the time my family started arriving, there was smoke billowing out of the open windows and front door! Butter had oozed out of the rolls and started burning at the bottom of the oven. The neighbors were probably about to call the fire department! Even so, the cinnamon rolls turned out great.



Also last week, I was excited to talk to my dear friend Jessicca, who is now PREGNANT after a long journey of infertility. I'm so stoked for them! This has been a wonderful week indeed.


I'm throwing in this random pic of my cats, because there's not much better than a kitty in a sunbeam. Really. It's one of my favorite things...