He wins GOLD!

My ever-so-talented husband fought at the National Qualifier Tae Kwon Do tournament this past weekend in Kansas City, Missouri. Jesse never ceases to amaze me! Not only did he make weight again at 136.4 lbs, but he also fought like I have never seen him before. He was a bit nervous when he was about to fight, but as soon as he stepped in the ring...he was in his zone. He kicked incredibly well and scored 5 punches. It is very difficult to score punches in Olympic style Tae Kwon Do because there is the rule to score a punch is that it has to cause "trembling shock and displace the opponent". Most fighters can't do it even once and Jesse did it 5 times! All the spectators were saying "Man, that guy can REALLY punch!" And in my head I was thinking "That guy is MY husband" :)

Jesse was coached by the new Texas A&M Coach Chris Smith. I have to admit, I was impressed with his coaching skills. What I found impressive was not his ability to read Jesse's opponent (which was incredible) but his genuine warmth toward his athletes. He carried Jesse's bags so that he wouldn't have to worry about them before his fight. He made sure to scout Jesse's opponents in other fights to gather a game plan and then shared it with Jesse. During Jesse's fight, he continuously reinforced his moves with "Perfect" or "Beautiful, do it again!". Lastly, when Jesse won, I could see it in his eyes, that he was proud of Jesse, genuinely. He gave him a big hug and told him he was GREAT. Here is a man with a genius ability to coach, extensive knowledge of the sport, and a heart of gold. I am glad he is the new coach of Texas A&M Tae Kwon Do. Jesse has also decided to train with him in Houston next year. Chris Smith doesn't demand respect. He doesn't have to. He earns it by treating his athletes with that same respect.
And now....

...the Kuhns are off to San Jose, California July 10-13 to fight at Senior Nationals, World Class Division, where the top 2 fighters go to Olympic Qualifiers.

Do you remember...

the first time your "crush" let you borrow their sweater/jacket because you were cold? Then when you slipped it on, you were surrounded by "his/her" smell? Well, as I was gathering my materials to head out to my usual coffee place to work on my dissertation, I stopped to pick up my sweatshirt. I love this sweatshirt. It was given to me by my brother Gerardo back when he was in college. Its one of those worn in a little-too-big but extra comfy sweatshirts. It's the one sweatshirt that never gets put away with the winter clothes because it follows me to those really cold movie theatres. Well....it just so happens, that Jesse LOVES this sweatshirt too. I don't know why, but I guess this sweatshirt has that "look" that is soooo comfy. Anyway, as I slipped it on before heading out, I got a huge fragrance of my "crush". It made me melt. Funny thing is, Jesse has the potential to make me swoon, even when he is not around. Ahhhhh....the power of married life....

Our new toy....

that we bought after waiting for 3 weeks to buy... I am not sure what is better, playing or watching him play!!!!

Dissertation Woes

I haven't posted in a while, due to my "little" paper called the DISSERTATION. I shudder at the word. Thankfully, I have been able to go to the sweet little coffee shop about 3 blocks from my apartment "Sweet Eugene's" every day from about 6 to about 1am and diligently work on this little obstacle. I keep on add the word "little" to anything that describes this paper because it helps me realize that its just a little hill in this life. Right now, its not a hill. Right now its the Mount Everst of my life and I don't have much more rope to hold to to keep me from saying "Geronimo!!!" Although I have to admit, it is kind of cute when Jesse out of sheer curiosity asks me over some brisket at Rudy's "So...tell me where you are on your disseration?" I begin to tell him how I am preparing my data for my analysis that involves comparing my complete data with my non complete data to make sure my data isn't missing at random. Somewhere in this sentence I get the "I don't get it look". So I respond with my "I am not sure how to explain it". And Jesse immediately looks down, disappointed. So, I try. And Jesse is such a good sport about it. I am sure that 99% of the time I end up talking to myself about what I should be doing, and why I should running one analysis over another until I realize that I've lost him again, to which he says, "No..keep going...I am interested in knowing what you do." Who really wants to hear about regression models and attrition analyses? I guess that is one of the million reasons I married the man. It doesn't matter what I am talking about. He likes to listen anyway. Well it is 4am. And should probably get some sleep. I have to work some more analyses early in the day, I have a wedding rehearsal at 6:30, a TaekwonDo Formal Sports Banquet at 7:00 and a wedding on Saturday. Busy weekend!! Oh and guess who is camping outside of Circuit City Sunday morning to get the new Nintendo Wii??? ;)

New Meaning to Stretch Jeans

So I saw these in another blog and thought they were the coolest thing!!I know Jesse will be dying to get his hands on some of these!!! Okay, maybe not...

Apologies

Spouse 1: I am sorry about what I said yesterday.

Spouse 2: Its okay, you already apologized yesterday.

Spouse 1: If still feel bad, can I apologize again?

Spouse 2: Sure.

Spouse 1: I am sorry.

Spouse 2: Its okay.....What did you do again?

Spouse 1: I don't remember. But I remember I feel bad.

My oldest brother, Enrique is now 31!

I want to extend a special shout out to my brother Enrique who turned 31 today. Unfortunately, he is now here to celebrate with us but I know he is well taken care of. Many of you have heard me talk of my brothers. I have the utmost respect for them, becuase they in part had a role in raising me. My brothers have been a veryspecial part of my life. They are the angels taht God placed on this Earth so that even when I stumble, they are there to help me up, dust me off and every once in a while look back to make sure I haven't fallen again. I could share a million stories of how they have been great people, bust most of you already know these stories and they don't do them justice anyway. Specifically, enrique has beena great guiding star for Gerardo and I. He led the way, and left directions for us to follow. he has been a great leader, and taught Gerardo and I how to lead in our lives as well. He is the example of the All-around great guy and I am honored and blessed to call him Brother.

Let me share a story that is very dear to Enrique and I. In the winter of 1994, I accompanied my brothers to a couple of days of hunting at our beloved ranch, Santa Rosa. It was December 31, probably around 4 or 5 in the morning. Enrique and I were dropped off to begin our walk hunting. It was perfect hunting weather: cold, a little wind, and enough light to see. We began to walk and walk, and walk – nothing. No deer, no movement. Like any normal bored child, I began to drag my feet. My brother scolded me so harshly that I started to tear. After about two hours of walking, he turned and asked me if I wanted to go home. “We started this, now we are going to finish it” was my response. We continued our walk. All of a sudden my brother hit the floor, so I kneeled down next to him. He said he had seen something move, so he checked with his binoculars, and there it was – a buck. My brother sighed and said it was too small, but we stayed on the floor to rest. Then, we looked at each other and he said, “ Clarissa would you like to kill your first buck?” I nodded not knowing what else to say. I had no clue on what to do, so he drew a rough diagram of a deer with his finger on the dirt and circled the target area. He handed me his .243 caliber Winchester bolt-action rifle and put the barrel on his shoulder and used one finger to cover his ear. I then aimed at the chest area, took a deep breath, and as I let it out I squeezed the trigger. Next thing I know, the deer was on the ground, and while I was crying of happiness, my brother instructed me to kneel next to the deer and thank God for this opportunity.

Enrique, never once doubted me. To this day, I can always count on him. He is a special guy. Kudos to him on his special day!!! Te queremos mucho Enrique!!!

Collegiates was a success and Baby Bug Continued!

I have partially regained my normal routine after last week. Thankfully, Collegiates was a success! We had athletes from over 35 schools and over 350 competitors. The Texas A&m TaeKwonDo Team took home 1st place for Color Belts, 2nd place for Black belts, and 2nd place Overall (Berkeley won First). Our team fought very well and I was very proud of all the members who kept volunteering even though they were hurting after their competition.

Jesse fought very well. First, I was very proud of him for making weight (He weighed in at 136.6 lbs.) He then coached most of the color belts. Jesse's first fight was against Dana Willoughby from Florida. I didn't seem Jesse or Dana move that much although Jesse came up with the win. Jesse's second fight was against Andrew Oh from New York. I may be biased, but I felt that the reffing was totally unfair, and even had the whole crowd calling her out. In TaeKwonDo it takes 4 full point deductions to get disqualified. Each minor infraction causes a half point deduction. Well to make a long story short, Andrew ended up with 3 full point deductions when he should have had 5 full point deductions and therefore disqualified. I was very upset after the fight and after making a comment about the guy cheating Jesse said to me with a smile, "It's only cheating if the ref says it is." True, but it still makes me mad ;). On the bright side, I saw Jesse fight like never before. I saw him get into the "zone" and fight wth his heart. Unfortunately, he didn't come up with the win and worse yet, some "friends/old teammates" of his thought it was appropriate to tease him about it, when it just wasn't funny. Some people just never grow up and we will keep them in our prayers. One thing is for sure. His team - the team that he trained was by the ring the whole time yelling and screaming his name because not only is he a Great athlete, but he is a great person, and everyone knows it. This is me cheering as loud as I can!!!

So now, Jesse goes to Portland in a week and a half to fight at another qualifying event. Unfortunately, these flights are expensive, and we can't both go.
Now....its back to the world of dissertation. Oh well....it had to come back. I will probably be at Sweet Eugene's tomorrow night.
And to continue on the Baby Bug....its still there....and we've been praying about it....and we ask for yours too! (Its kinda hard to wait when you see the cutest little redhead boy at Wings and More). Its also hard when there are babies EVERYWHERE hehe. Its the sweetest temptation. At least our future children now how much we longed for them!!!!