Craftiness meets Running-ness

With Melanie's help I created this little gem that I LOVE!

It's so fun to flip through my race bibs and see what I've been able to do over the past two years.

Escape

Watching the news tonight I am forced to recall a book I read earlier this year.  It's called Escape.

It's the story of Carolyn Jessop and how she escaped from the polygamist organization in Hilldale, UT.

I really would suggest that you read this, it makes the news reports even more meaningful and scary!

Carolyn does a great job in the book of pointing out what it was really like, but still shielding you from some of the more 'private' moments that she had.  

Really makes me want to go on a crusade to awake and enlighten the people there -- I know that sounds like I know what the right thing is.  But I guess that's exactly what I am saying.  I think there is value in human life, in the life of women and children. I believe that there is not suppose to be oppression in religion's name.

How do you convince a fanatic that they are a fanatic?  I still want to try though -  

The news tonight really, really bugs me.

GoodRead

I can not stop thinking about the series of books I just finished.  I find stupid ways to think about my daily life in reference to the books.  

I contemplated their meanings and thoughts all through stake conference today.

I even devoted my whole evening to finishing the books while at Jeff's company Christmas party. It's really hard to focus on blackjack when desperately wanting to pull out my book and read.

Oh, Mistborn,  I love you.  Brandon Sanderson, you're a genius!!

P.S.  Thank you to the Sumsion's and Dillon's who suggested this book to me!

Family Photo

My Mother-in-law wants family photos from each of her 6 kids, as her Christmas gift this year.

So, I've snapped photos for two of Jeff's siblings.

My own family's photos . . . still undone.

** a bit unhappy that I struggle to get people all in focus, clearly and sharply.  Any suggestions? **

Fall Run

I think this may have been the last time I see South Fork Canyon without snow until spring.

Sad . .. 

There's hard, and then there's harder

I'm a regular complainer lately.

Somewhere along the way we've turned a corner,

and parenting the boys has become very hard for me.

I feel like I have less control,  that they listen less, that I am less of a parent.

I'm struggling!


But, as is the case, when I whine -

I get it pointed out that my life ain't so bad.

I've heard heart wrenching parenting stories at work,

from parents and grandparents.

I call to make appointments to help kids,

And get sobbing parents and grandparents who are at their breaking points.


Yes, suddenly my hard life doesn't look so bad.


There's Hard, but then there's Harder.

And then I feel grateful and try to re-group.

While I pray for total strangers.

What do you get?

What do you get when the Science teacher hands out these:

To this person:

A BLACK EYE!!:

Thanks, science teacher, for handing these poppers out to boys who want to see what happens when they stick them to their bodies!  Dur!

26.2

I wanted to share my experience with you all by posting one photo for each of the miles I ran yesterday.

But I ran into some snags with that idea . . . . 

So here's the first 13 miles in photos!

This is mile 0 -- More accurately, this is all of us in a tent trying to stay out of the rain pour that started just before the race started.  This is our view when the start gun (muzzle loader) was fired. Ah, nice start!

 

Mile 1 -- People think they are hot and leave clothes on the side of the road.  We are all bundled up and running at this point, not willing to give up any clothes.

Mile 2 -- Time to use the Handi Hut!  Oh, Honey Buckets, I missed you.  You are the best port-a-potty around, this one just wasn't the same.

 Mile 3 -- First aid station.  Apparently this set of folks run the mile 3 station every year.  They are runners also, but like to help out in this way.  The flags were an awesome touch!

Mile 4 -- Pretty run down the canyon!

Mile 5 -- There were some great signs along the course.  It was really fun to see the message that were left for people.

Mile 6 -- We just came through our first hail storm!  Look at my freezing arms -- at some point I thought my arm would just fall off!

Mile 7 -- Here's are awesome race bibs.  Melanie is 3055, Jamie is 3052 and I'm 3044

Mile 8 -- I have a steady drip of rain water running off my hat.  I think that's gonna be the worst of it, but I was so, so wrong!

Mile 9 -- Two miles after it happens we take a closer look at Jamie's leg.  She has fallen out of the Handi Hut and had a crash landing.  That's two falls in the last two races for Jamie, maybe it's a sign.

Mile 10 -- More hail.  We run in it, we cry in it, we end up laughing in it.  At some point this race has become completely ridiculous!

Mile 11 -- Low lying clouds.  We hear lots of thunder claps over head followed by intense rain.

Mile 12 -- More water .. . this time we like it because it's in a river.

Mile 13 -- We are about to the bottom of the canyon.  A waterfall in the distance is nice, but we are soaked!  The camera is soaked and the battery is dead.  We hand the camera off to Jeff at Mile 14 and wish we could hand ourselves off too.  

We ended up finishing the race in just over 6 1/2 hours.  It was very hard and quite the accomplishment for us.   I was happy that I didn't ever get completely overwhelmed or angry.  We kept our wits about us.  I appreciated Jamie for bringing along some stories that she'd read to us every once in awhile.  I appreciate Jeff and Emma coming along and checking on us during the race.  And it was great to see Tani and the kids at the finish line!

This was really a hard thing we trained to do.  The time it has taken away from my family, my schedule, Ethan's football game, Josh's Homecoming dance, and many other things, has been hard.  I think that although I feel great about finishing, I won't do this again.  It was a sacrifice for my whole family for me to do this, and I love them for helping me finish!

And to my two running partners, I couldn't have made it without you gals.  Thanks for going on these crazy adventures with me and pushing me through to the end!

P.S.  When I get a photo of the finish line and medal I'll post that!

Freaking Out

So, for over a month I've not blogged.

And apparently not blogging has made me hold in all my stress.

So today, I'm FREAKING out.

What am I freaking out about?

Lots --

1st -- Running a freaking marathon next Saturday.  I can't just be stressed about running 26.2 miles, but I'm freaking out about how coming in last will be perceived.  I just can't be happy with the miles, I have to not be last either.  Don't know why this is bothering me so much, but it is.  And there's nothing I can do about it now.

2nd -- Homecoming.  I'm freaking out that my baby is going to the Homecoming dance on Saturday.  He's so grown up now and I'm not loving that. (Except for when he can drive himself places - and then I LOVE it).  And the freakin' part of this is that I will be running a MARATHON instead of being at home to help him with the day date and maybe getting ready!!

3rd -- Sunday School & Embarrassing my kid.  So I teach Sunday School now.  Specifically, Ethan's class.  I'm 2 for 2 on embarrassing him in class.  I like to add a little 'personal' touch to the lessons which involve stories about my and Ethan's relationship.  He would like me to go teach another class.  Maybe this item is more of Ethan Freaking out.  I just feel bad that I can't keep my mouth shut.

4th -- Amazing Race & Biggest Loser are starting in the next few weeks.  Although I'm not really freaking out about it, there is a certain amount of anticipation that is making me happy right now.

5th  -- And to not leave out Emma, I could probably say I'm freaking out about here homework and violin practice.  I am just not getting into the swing of things with her yet.  It's a tough one to get these two things done with her.

Ah goodtimes!

Browsing

Seems like this summer has been one long sick day.

Jeff has been hacking and coughing for two months now.

Josh has been ill with Bronchitis for a good three weeks.

I am getting a sore throat (which I hope will be super bad on Saturday so I don't have to run 16 miles), 

And Ethan can't seem to get sick no matter what he does.  Poor kid hasn't been able to lay around the house at all.  

And Emma has had an 'Ear Confection.'

At least that's what she calls any little bit of water in her ear. . . . 

So I went on line to do some browsing to learn more about 'Ear Confections'.

And here's a picture of one:

Tasty, eh?

Skeleton

So, skeleton was a stupid word to get in the middle of summer.

I really toyed with how to approach this. . . . 

First, I thought I'd take a look at my own skeleton just to see how it was doing.  Conclusion:  I don't even think there's a skeleton underneath all this flab.  I should go on a diet.  I don't like diets, therefore I don't like skeletons.

Second, I thought about a skeleton crew this week when they split our ward and redrew boundaries.  We were left with a skeleton crew of a ward, and so was everyone else.  Once again, I don't like ward splits, so I don't like skeletons.  Although I do like crews -- it's just a cool kinda word.

Third, I thought about skeletons in my closet.  I decided that if I have one in there - it's staying there!

Anyway, skeleton was a bad word to pick this week, and it made me take to long to post about how I hate the word.  So let's pick a new word, shall we?

And the new word is:

BROWSING

Word 6

And the word is:  SKELETON

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

Tulle

Cardboard

Cotton batting

Ribbons

Beads

Running Shirt

Iron Ons

Running Skirt

Muddy 4 Mile Obstacle Course

3 Runninng Buddies

RESULTS:

The Cotton Rockettes running in the "Kiss Me Dirty" Race

Thanks to Jaime, we were rockin' celebs in our costumes.  We had people laughing and wanting to take our photos.  One group of people watched us walk by and we heard one ask her friends if we were chefs.  Her friend said, "Those aren't chefs . . . . "  

Another little girl asked her daddy what we were, he took a second look and just started laughing.  Poor girl won't find out what we were from him and probably not for another 10 years from anyone.

We ran over hay bales, through tires, over a climbing wall, under an army crawl, down a COLD river and through tubes.  It was really hard coming off of no sleep at girls camp, but it was fun!

And my awesome family surprised me by getting up early and coming to watch us.  I'll have to add a photo later of me and Josh and Ethan.  Not sure how those boys felt watching their muddy mom dressed up like a tampon. .  ..   Ha!  So funny!

Word 5

Word 5 is INGREDIENT!

Please do NOT think I'm going to use that word in relation to cooking.  Although that would make a real interesting blog post . . . . 

Whoop!

Whoop!  My week of crazy is OVER!

I have survived girls camp, 

And so did all of the girls!

At this point:

Chieko is tired of telling me that the girls and leaders Don't Get Me.

My back is completely out of whack from sleeping on the ground.

I've framed my camp award for having a potty mouth (big oops!).

I owe Ted something HUGE for cooking a great dutch oven dinner for everyone on Thursday night.

I'm trying to get over how the big spiritual moment of camp is directly related to me being unprepared.

And I've started therapy to deal with Jeslie's Whoofy.

Sounds like a successful camp, eh?  We really whooped it up!

Word 4

And the new word is:

Whoop!

Avaricious

I admit it!  

I was avaricious this week.

Jeff took the boat to Lake Powell and I had HIGH hopes that someone would buy it.

Which would fulfill my need to get MONEY!

I've had boats sitting around this place for so long, 

And money flowing from our pockets, 

And limited space along the side of our house!

So I was completely avaricious to think of putting an end to the outflow of money!

But after looking at these photos I really just want to go boating . . . . 

Word 3

Dumb random word generator!!

Here's my word:   Avaricious

Thank goodness for dictionaries!

Panel

I've recently discovered a crisis here in my town.

It's a crisis of significant size in my life, and others.

The DUNFORD CHOCOLATE DONUT DISTRIBUTOR has gone  BANKRUPT!

What this means to you and me, is that there are NO donuts at Harts, or any other gas station.

This is devastating!

I took my concerns to a PANEL of experts to discuss this.  The panel consisted of Josh, Ethan and Emma -- people deeply affected by this.

Moderator:  What will we do without any chocolate donuts!!

Emma:  Get one later when they get them.

Josh:  *shrug*

Ethan:  Huh?

Moderator:  How does this donut shortage affect you?

Ethan:  It won't.  You never bought me one anyway.

Josh:  I can't have a quick breakfast anymore.  I'll have to make me something else.  And by "Me", I mean "You".

Emma:  I'll just get one later when they get them.

Moderator:  What should the President do about this donut problem?

Josh:  Maybe he could sue someone?

Moderator:  Do you really think the President will sue someone?

Ethan:  The President should bring us a donut

Emma:  We can just get one later when they get them

Moderator:  I don't think you're taking this panel discussion seriously!  I had to buy powdered Hostess donuts this morning - without the jelly centers!  Go eat your lunch somewhere else - 

Word 2

And the random generator has provided the word:

PANEL

Check back in 3 days-ish for a post. . . . . .

Deceptive

In honor of Relief Society:

D is for DECEPTIVE

Frankly this word has seriously stumped me this week.  Having it come up as the word of the day seemed deceptively easy.

E is for Ewwww!

Ethan was deceptive about what his underclothing was today.  He chose to wear his swim jammer all day today instead of underwear.  Seriously, Ewww!

C is for CANDY

I've been eating a bazillion Giant SweeTarts this week.  They make me all sweaty when I eat them.  The Tart part is deceptively stronger than the Sweet part, which you'd expect in candy.  But man I LOVE the purple ones!

E is for ENGRY (or angry)

This past week I was accused of being a deceptive person.  The accuser let my son know she was upset with me and asked him to convey the message.   I admit this made me angry.   Ah, the joys of volunteering your time to help people!

P is for PEOPLE

I'm specifically speaking of people who sneak into random wards and share their LONG testimonies in a deceptively 'religious' husky voice.  I'm on to you!  I actually can tell when you are speaking from your heart vs your psycho mind!

T is for TIME

Thinking that you will eventually have Time to do anything you want and actually finish your To-Do list is deceptive!!

I is for  ICE CREAM.  

Those little Ben N' Jerry's that cost $1 at Walmart and come with the little spoon have 240 calories.  That's completely deceptive -- small container should be small calories! 

V is for VINCENT BOY

One of my Vincent boys thought I was being deceptive when I told him NOT to put his suit in the washing machine.  Luckily he only washed the pants (because he had put a cookie in his pocket).  I'm now wondering what I do about that. . . .  other than yell at the Vincent boy (Josh).

E is for ENTERTAINMENT

My good entertainment for the week was reading Brandon Mull's Beyonders.  I really do enjoy Brandon Mull's writing.  He is very talented and the style of book is great for me.  I really hate having to wait for sequels though.  And there was a really great quote in the book about Deception.  But it was deceptively hard to find, even though I thought I'd remember the page number I saw it on.  

Word

To spur my blogging to a more normal routine I've found a Random Word Generator,

And every three days I'm going to generate a word,

Mull it over,

And then form a blog about the word.

The blog entry will most likely have something to do with my life AND the word.

This is going to be some good summer fun!

And the word I'm mulling over is:

DECEPTIVE

Rain

Can't help but think of this movie when it rains, 

and rains, 

and rains.  

It's burned into my memory since I saw it in middle school.

Warning -- Makes  Jane Eyre look like a happy tale. . . . 

Suits

Can't resist posting these photos everywhere.

The suits are a result of Josh's too-tight-Sunday pants that we've had to paint on him each week, 

And the fortunate happenstance that Mr. Mac had a BOGO!

There is a little problem with our timeliness in purchasing suits, 

As it occurred one week after the new baptism boys wore suits to church and the bishop commented on it.

Now I look as though I'm making my teens compete with the 8 year olds.  

Ah well . . . 

Save

I can't believe how much couponing use to be a part of my life!

But looking forward, I need it to be a part of my life again.

So to inspire myself I started with a little trip to Smith's, 

where I saved 85%.

That's 3 boxes of cereal, 2 shampoo, 2 packs of soap (8 bars each), 5 tooth brushes, 10 Quaker snacks, 2 Body Wash for $11.37

Maybe I'll keep at it for awhile

Today

The first thing I do every morning is . .  .

Grunt at Jeff to give me the remote.  

Jeff wanders off to shower and get ready, and I turn on the TV.

And I always turn it on to the Today Show.

(yes, except for Saturday and Sunday)

I like the first 90 minutes of the Today Show. 

I like getting all the NEWS as I wake up.

But as of June, I'm not going to be watching like I use to.

In fact, I may find a new way to wake myself up and get moving.

Why?

Because Meredith is leaving.

But that's not really the problem.

It's that Ann is replacing her.

Aaaaggghhh -- 

That Ann Curry drives me nuts! 

I just don't think she's sincere.  She uses a different 'pity' voice when she's trying to suck someone's story out of them.

(Josh and Ethan think I have that same voice change when I try to teach someone something -- ew!)

Starting my day with Ann is just not going to work for me.

I will cross my fingers that Katie Couric gets her own morning show so I can survive.  But I'll sure miss Matt . . . . 

Yup, I'm just this nerdy to care about the Today Show!

Thanksgiving 1/2

Wow!  My 3rd half, and it was harder than the first.  This was a pretty rolly course and the snow at the beginning was not particularly fun for me. 

But the company was good and they kept me going!

I refuse to talk about the marathon . . .  this race just didn't go THAT well.

Procrastinating

I have to write an Easter program today.

I have sworn to sit at this computer until it's done.

I am now blogging for the first time in over a week because I'm procrastinating.

Yesterday I procrastinated the writing by going to Salt Lake with Emma.

(Josh has been at a week-long Lifeguard class and Ethan had play practice).

Anyway, Emma and I had lunch with Jeff at Ekami Thai, a little hole-in-the-wall establishment.  I had Pad Garlic Black Pepper Beef that was DELISH!

Then we popped next door to another hole-in-the-wall for a Liege waffle, served at Bruges Waffles & Frites.  Mine had bananas and delicious cream on top.  YUM!

After fattening up on good food, we dropped Jeff off at work (Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg) and took a stroll around the temple grounds.  It was a gorgeous day!

  (hat display in the Joseph Smith Bldg -- reminded me of Grandma Marie)

What shall I do now so I can avoid the writing of the Easter Program?



Things I Think About

Lots going on here, in my mind.

Stuff like:

1.  I will never go to the bathroom again, or buy furniture from others:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

2.  I am still busy being completely BUGGED by my telemarketer phone call the other day.  I asked to be put on the Do Not Call list, and got an earful of lewd, sexual comments.  After being referred to a manager, I got another earful of dirty, nasty talk.  YICK!

3.  I want a dog

4.  I miss my favorite Thai Masaman Curry.  The restaurant that I LOVE has changed hands yet again and with the change came a new recipe.  I don't like it as much.

5.  Can we please stop giving Charlie Sheen any media attention?  (This does not count since there's so few people who read this, and I don't think he'll take courage to keep "winning" by reading my comment)

That's just the tip of a giant iceberg of thoughts. . . . .

I Cry

Unwind

Read another great book this weekend.

It's called Unwind, and is written by Neal Shusterman.

The premise of the book is that parents have until a child is 18 to decide if they want to keep their child.

Parents can choose to have their child 'unwound' between the ages of 13 to 18.

(Oh, so tempting . . . .)

This was a great, interesting read!

Again, pick it up, read it, let's do lunch!

I Hate St Patrick's Day!

I hate St. Patrick's Day

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh.
I totally respect St. Patrick for removing snakes from Ireland. 

I would like him better if he would've removed snakes from Utah.

Also, I would like St. Pat more if he didn't come with the whole Leprechaun and pinch-me-for-not-wearing-green thing.

I just don't think that Leprechauns and pinching are a reflective way to celebrate snake removal.

Adding to that,

St. Patrick's Day also stinks because there are some moms out there who are letting Leprechauns in their house!

I told Emma that I don't let treat-bearing, house-messing, green-food-color-armed Leprechauns in my house.

She cried, and cried and

Cried!

I have just completed writing a note to the Leprechauns and leaving it on my door.

I told them if they were nice, they could visit next year.

Emma stopped crying.

Since when did bargaining with imaginary Leprechauns become my life? 

I have to let St. Claus in, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and now Leprechauns?

I just don't like holidays this much!

Great Read

The blogging goes down . .  .

Reading has increased.

I have read several books the past few months,

And I must recommend to you:

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs.

I really, really enjoyed reading this.

I confess that I laughed a LOT and read so many passages to the family that they were happy to see me finish!

The premise is that the author will live the rules of the Bible as literally as possible for a year.

This makes sense when you consider rules like pay a tithe and love thy neighbor.

But you're just asking for trouble with some of the rules regarding stoning and unclean women.

Ha!  I laugh just thinking about those sections.

Come on, go read it!

And then call me and let's go to lunch to discuss.

P.S.  A little shout out to Patti -- I really want you to read this and tell me what you think.

Glimpse Into the Future

Had the missionaries over for dinner tonight.

It was great!

And I'm not just talking about the steak & potatoes.

But it was sad.

It was glimpsing my future --

Looking at my boys sitting across from someone else's boys. . . . .

Not sure I can handle letting mine go one day.

But I will.

Until then I'll hold them a little closer,

While I can.

Dear BYU,

Dear BYU,

I love you.

I love that you have an Honor Code.

I love that you are standing up for the Honor Code and what it means.

But I'm heart-broken!

I'm now eating a tub of ice cream.

I will still watch you on Saturday,

Please don't make me eat more ice cream then.

Sincerely,

Me

Where Have All The Good Men Gone?

NO!  I'm not looking for a Good Man. . . I got one.

But where are all the good men for all these good women that I know?

I associate with a few good women at my work,

Who are freakin' amazing and so darling.

The are educated,

They are creative,

They are cute!

They chat with me sometimes about there not being good men around who will date them.

Where have they all gone?

Because they are missing out!

R & R

Nothing like a little Rest and Relaxation to put yourself back together.

Jeff and I spent a weekend in St. George.

This is our annual trip to see the Home Show and take in some sunshine.

We started this tradition by going with our good friends,

But time and life get in the way and we go alone now,

But it's still good.

It's  become our way of celebrating our anniversary now.

So, happy anniversary Jeff! 

It's been an eventful 21 years, and I'm happy to have been on the journey with you!