Why Does My Garbage Disposal Hate Me?

This morning I tried to play plumber and flooded my kitchen.  I'll get to the flooding part soon, but there is a preface to this story...

When I lived in my super tiny apartment in IL, I didn't have a garbage disposal.  It worked great...I just threw away my egg shells, vegetable peels, leftovers, whatever.  I did take the garbage out often, but it was seriously no big deal.  When Tim and I got married, all of the sudden I had a big fridge and an full size oven, a dishwasher and a garbage disposal.  These things have all been awesome, except for the garbage disposal...because IT HATES ME!

I don't think we had been married a month before I clogged the sink with potato peels.  It was a Sunday morning and I'm pretty sure I made Tim's day when I told him that the sink was clogged.  I watched him unclog it and I've never put potato peels in the disposal since then. 

Clogging the sink has happened a few or alot more times since then and I've watched Tim enough and even unclogged it myself to know what I need to do.  I should also mention that I rarely use the garbage disposal because it truly doesn't work for me.  Everyone else in the house can use it just fine, but not me.

This morning I made eggs for breakfast.  Because I've clogged the sink with eggshells before, I usually don't put them down the drain.  However, this morning, I used only two whole eggs and then four whites, so there were yolks and eggshells mixed together.  I turned on the water, I started the disposal and then I proceeded to shove one egg at a time down the disposal.  Tim says that I don't use the disposal correctly which is why it clogs, but I'm pretty sure that I used the proper procedure this morning.

We had our breakfast and then Tim went to study for his exam tomorrow, while I started to clean up breakfast...except the sink was clogged. SUPER!  I finished loading the dishes in the dishwasher, put a pot under the pipes under the sink, and started testing out my plumbing skills...and failed MISERABLY! 

All of the sudden there were eggshells...lots and lots of tiny pieces of eggshells...and LOTS of water SPEWING from the pipes...ALL OVER THE KITCHEN FLOOR! 

Very calmly, I called out to Tim, "I need your help."  Then, I hurried into the bathroom to grab ALL of our towels. 

He came into the kitchen and said, "What did you do?!"  Then, he started laughing.  We started cleaning up. 

He said, "I'm glad I came in here so fast. Perhaps next time you should have some urgency in your voice." 

I said, "I didn't want to freak you out." 

He said, "I'm the plumber in this house and this is something to freak out about."  Then, he laughed some more and gave me a big hug.
He said, "Do you see how much work you've created for yourself?"  I guess he was talking about the 2 loads of towels and rugs I'm currently washing, as well as mopping the kitchen floor.

I said, "Well, I was planning on cleaning today anyways, so I guess I've got a good start."

The kitchen is all cleaned, as well as the rest of the house.  The laundry is going.  I'm pretty sure I'm done with the garbage disposal.  I just wish it didn't hate me so much!

The Challenges of Christmas Shopping and Giving

Tim and I have been working on our Christmas shopping.  This year, I'm being a stickler about the budget for many reasons. Mostly, because we don't really have the extra to spend, but also because I feel like we don't need to. 

We are so blessed in our lives.  Tim has a good job that provides not only the necessities of life, but also some of the luxuries.  We have a very nice warm home.  The kids definitely  have what they need and want.  I also have what I need and want.

As we've tried to come up with ideas for Christmas gifts for ourselves and the kids, we've kinda been stumped.  Tim says that he buys stuff for himself all year round so he doesn't want anything.  The kids haven't really had many suggestions.  So,  I've been trying to be creative with our shopping.  And trying to talk Tim out of spending $23 for a set of measuring cups.  :)  Not that I don't need a new set of measuring cups...I just think $23 for a set of measuring cups might just be a LITTLE pricey.

Tim took care of Kyra's shopping so she's all done.  Rylan has been much trickier this year.  He's right at the age when he's getting too old for toys, but he's not ready for the typical teenage gifts.  Plus, he's growing SO fast, that it's hard to get him any clothes or shoes because I'm fairly certain that he'll grow out of them within 2 months.  I think we're almost done with him, but I'm hoping he'll like what we've got for him.

We haven't bought anything for Kona yet.  I'm still hunting for a gift for my parents.  We're done with Eric and Karen.  I still need to get my neighbor gifts together, but I know who and what I'll be giving.  I just need to get it together and do some shopping and baking.  We still need to come up with something for Tim's parents. 

The shopping has definitely been challenging this year.

One of the other reasons we're cutting back this year is because of the commercialization of Christmas.  I'm SO glad Christmas is on a Sunday this year.  I love going to church Christmas morning.  I love singing the Christmas hymns and I love having that focus on Jesus Christ throughout the day.  I'm hoping to keep that spirit in our home by really paying attention to it and not focusing so much on the gifts under the tree.  Plus, we don't have the kids until Christmas afternoon/evening, so they'll have already opened presents at their mom's and extended families.

Anyways, the last thing I wanted to mention about gifts and shopping is a quote that our Stake Presidency put in their Christmas letter.  It talks about gift giving and I love it!  It says,

"In 1906, on Christmas day, Orson F. Whitney, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke at the tabernacle in Salt Lake City.  He spoke of three essentials to consider when giving gifts:

The gift should not impoverish the giver.  While designed to promote the happiness of the one who receives it, it should also give happiness to the one who bestows.  Therefore it should be such a gift as the giver can afford to give, one that will benefit in the highest sense the bestower, and one that will exemplify the truth of the divine declaration: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:35.)

The gift should be appropriate - suited to the time, the place, the person, and the condition...

Lastly, and firstly, and all the time, it should be given ungrudgingly, not for policy's sake, nor to conform to any mere custom of fashion, it should be an expression of pure friendship, of exalted affection, and the giving should be heartfelt and sincere. ...Well and wisely has it been said: 'The best Christmas gift is not the one that costs the most money, but the one that carries with it the most love.'"  

I feel like we've followed this counsel this year and I feel like its going to be a great Christmas...now, if I can just get in the mood to bake, we'll be all set.  

CVCA Gallery Walk

Last night was the Gallery Walk here in Logan.  A few weeks ago, John, the owner of a great local sandwich joint called the Italian Place, said we could set up our giant reindeer in the Gallery Walk and try to sell them.  I really really really wanted Tim to be in charge of this part because I'm SOOO not a salesperson or an artsy person and I'm really not even a people person.  However, Tim had to work and take Rylan to a soccer game, so I got to be the lucky person to hang out at the Gallery Walk.

Yesterday afternoon, we loaded up our 6 reindeer (there were already 2 there) and dropped them off and then I went back over there to hang out from 6-9pm.  What an interesting experience!  Of course, I completely did not fit in.  I'm not a hippie.  I believe in daily showers.  I really am not the least bit artsy.  I'm totally a hard science person and while I REALLY appreciate art and music and I'm SO impressed with those talents, I don't really fit in with the artsy crowd.  I wasn't even dressed right...which isn't that surprising if you know me.

Needless to say, the night was kind of a flop.  I sold one small reindeer to my friend Chelsey who I already knew was going to buy one.  That was it.  I talked to one college student who loved my reindeer but of course, he had no money.  Three old ladies walked by and said the reindeer were cute.  The rest of my evening was spent talking to the super friendly and super duper smelling potter who parked next to me.  He was so nice and talked to me about pottery and metal working and books, but wow...did he smell.  He did have some AMAZING pieces though and if I would have had any cash on me, I definitely would have bought a couple of his urns...except I would not use them for cremated bodies.

Anyways, we still have 9 reindeer to sell...I'm okay with keeping 4, but I really don't need all of Santa's reindeer hanging out on my front porch in December and in my garage for the other 11 months of the year.

Being a "Wicked" Stepmom

There are alot of ideas out there about who or what a stepmom is.  Honestly, in my head, I picture the typical "wicked stepmother" from all of the Disney movies.  I even joke with Kyra and Rylan about being their "wicked" stepmom, especially when I'm bugging them about doing chores or telling them "no".  However, I think that being a stepmom is a unique experience and its probably one of the harder aspects of my life to explain to people.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting with a friend and we were talking about raising kids and the challenges that come along with that.  She asked me if I felt like I had changed since I got married and became a stepmom.  I thought about it for a moment, and then replied, "Nope, I don't think so."  She was surprised and asked me why I thought that.  How in the world could I not have changed?!

I told her that before Tim and I got married, we sat the kids down and talked to them about my role as their stepmom.  I explained to them that they already have a great Mom and that I was definitely not going to try and replace her.  I told them it was completely and totally fine to call me AJ and that I would probably find it a little weird if they called me "Mom."  Tim and I talked with them about our "House Rules" and asked them for input.  We, especially I, tried to be very very upfront about my expectations because I feel like if everyone is not on the same page with expectations, we're setting ourselves up for some major upsets.

I honestly feel like having this conversation was really key to making our family work.  It also helps that all of the parents and step-parents are on the same page about raising Kyra and Rylan and that there is communication going on between all of us.  The schedule of when we have the kids is pretty normal, and we can make it to all of the kids activities because we all live within 10 minutes of each other.  So, really, we have the best worst-case scenario.

All of this is what I explained to my friend about why I don't think I've changed since Tim and I were married.  However, I've given that question alot more thought.  I even talked with Tim about it and he agreed that I haven't changed since we've been marrried.

Probably alot of that has to do with getting married at age 31.  I think I had plenty of time to figure out who I am and my personality is pretty set.  I also think that because I'm a fairly laidback person...probably the most laidback person who lives in our home, I don't really feel the need to change much since how I am works.  Does that even make sense?

Anyways, there are alot of really great things about being a stepmom and I thought I should probably take the time to list them because, like I said earlier, its difficult to explain what being a stepmom is like.  So, here's my list.

1.  Part-time kids.  :)  How awesome is it to be able to have kids and then send them back to their other family?  We really look forward to having the kids come and all of the noise and chaos and taxi-driving and laughter and fighting and fun that comes with them.  I think we probably enjoy this much more because it's not the typical daily thing for us.

2.  Being able to support Kyra and Rylan in all of their activities and "stuff."  How cool is it to watch kids be successful?  While driving around to soccer practice and back and forth to scouts and Young Women and track/cross-country practice, is not my favorite way to spend my time, I think seeing Kyra and Rylan achieve goals and develop their talents is awesome!

3.  Not having the "serious" role of parent.  Because I'm not "mom," I think Kyra and Rylan open up to me more about stuff going on.  I've learned that the best place to get them talking is in the car.  I think that's because there's no confrontation going on at all.  I'm looking at the road and paying attention to what's going on around me, while they're looking out the window and just chattering away.  I also think they share stuff with me that they maybe wouldn't share with Tim, although I share it with him, because they know I'm not going to react.  I'm not a "reactor" so I sometimes wonder if they test info out on me, just to see what the response will be.

4.  Having instant teenagers.  I don't have to deal with poopy diapers, or whiny toddlers, or teach someone how to tie their shoes (I can hang out with my cute niece and nephews if I feel the need to play with small humans.)   I do have to deal with picky eaters and nagging people to take showers and wear clean clothes. I don't have to teach Kyra and Rylan how to behave...mostly.  That's all been taken care of.  So, really, I just have to set an example and followthrough on my expectations.  I'm pretty sure I missed the "nurturing/motherhood" line in heaven, so dealing with teenagers works for my personality.  Oh and I don't have to put leashes on them in stores or yell at them to watch for cars or make sure they don't catch themselves on fire or stick a fork in a wall socket.

5.  Being able to have "adult" children in 7 years!  How cool is that!  By the time I'm 40, Rylan will be done with high school and we'll be able to move on to the raising adult children phase of our lives.  That brings a smile to my face.  :)

Being a stepmom is great!  I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I would say that if you're wondering about taking on someone else's kids, being a stepparent is not as bad as it seems.  You probably just need to go into the experience with your eyes wide open.  At least for me...

Oh and one more great thing about being a stepmom, hearing your stepdaughter introduce you to her friends saying, "This is my stepmom AJ and she's awesome!"  Who wouldn't want to hear that?

The Putrid Coconut

Yesterday, I blogged about my new pumpkin pie recipe.  See here.  I mentioned that I bought a whole coconut to use for the "shaved coconut" that tops the pie.  I also said that we would have my dad open it since he's an expert.  However, when Tim read that in my blog, he decided to look up videos on youtube about how to open a coconut.  By the way, there are some interesting ways to open a coconut...one involved using your teeth.

We did not use our teeth, but hit Tim the Tool Man's tool box for a hammer and screwdriver.  First, we poked holes in the "eyes" of the coconut.  This should have been a clue when we didn't smell that yummy sweet coconut milk.  It was a tiny bit smelly.  I haven't opened a coconut before, so I thought, "hey, maybe that's what it's supposed to smell like."

We poked out all three "eyes" and then let the coconut water drain out.  It smelled a little like coconut but not so much.  Even Kona wasn't that interested in it.

After the coconut water was drained out, Tim started tapping around the outside of the coconut.  Apparently, this tapping is supposed to make the coconut crack open into two halves.

Unfortunately, we did not get two halves...  The skin of the coconut peeled right off, which is absolutely not supposed to happen.  It smelled horrid...disgusting...foul...  And yet, Tim still thought, maybe the coconut is good in the middle.  So he sliced it open.  That was when we hit putrid.  Both of us were gagging and dry heaving. 

I was frantically trying to find a plastic bag to put the putrid coconut in so it could be disposed of.  I'm pretty sure our trash can will smell like putrid coconut all winter long.

So, needless to say, we did not have coconut on our ginger pumpkin pie.  I also learned that apparently, you can't trust a coconut to be fresh and yummy.  Oh, and that rotten coconuts smell absolutely AWFUL. 

A Grateful Heart

Today, I got to wake up early and think about all of the many, many things I've been blessed with in my life.  I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving and take one day out of the year to focus on all of the "stuff" we've been blessed with.  The other night, Tim and I were talking and I asked him to list the top 3 things he's grateful for.  To be fair, I thought I would post mine here...in no particular order.

TIM

I'm so grateful for my husband.  He has brought so much MORE to my life.  I'm grateful that we get to do all sorts of fun things and that we truly get to live life!  I'm grateful for all of his love and support in all that I do.  I'm grateful for his hard work and that I get to spend so much time with him.  I'm grateful for his patience with me and I love him more each and every day.

MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS

I'm grateful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I'm grateful for the spirit that we have in our home.  I'm grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful that we are led by a prophet, President Thomas S. Monson and that we receive such amazing counsel and blessings.  I'm grateful for my testimony and for the scriptures.

FAMILY

I'm grateful for my family.  I'm pretty sure that I have the very best family in the whole world.  I'm grateful that I get to be a stepmom to Kyra and Rylan.  I'm grateful that we get to spend so much time with them and for all of the joy and excitement and stress they bring into my life.  I'm so grateful for my parents and for all they have done for me and all they continue to do for me.  I'm grateful for my brothers and sisters-in-law and all of my cute nieces and nephews.  I'm so grateful that I get to be an aunt.

LIFE

I'm grateful for the life I get to lead each and every day.  I'm grateful for all of the adventures I get to have.  I'm grateful to live where I live and to be able to enjoy all of the beautiful creations around me.  I'm grateful for my body that is healthy and strong that allows me to do all of the fun stuff I love to do. 

CHALLENGES

I'm grateful for the challenges, trials, and hard things in life.  I'm grateful for the strength that I develop through them.  I'm grateful for the personality traits that I've been given that allow me to endure my specific trials.  I'm grateful for my desire to challenge myself and for the drive and determination that is in me.

Those are just a few of the things that I'm grateful for.  I hope you all have a grateful day and enjoy the feast!

A Monday in the Life of a Trophy Wife

I should probably explain the "trophy wife" in the title...I think being a housewife sounds so dull and drab and boring.  Trophy wife sounds WAY better and definitely more glamorous...so when people ask what I do, I tell them that I'm Tim's trophy wife.  Of course that comment gets all sorts of looks, but I'm amused by it.  Anyways, on to my Monday.

Mondays are always super busy for me.  I do that to myself on purpose.  I prefer to get all of my cleaning, laundry, errands, tasks, duties, etc etc etc done on Monday so that I have the rest of the week to hang out with Tim and to do whatever other stuff comes up. 

Here's what I've done today:

-Read my scriptures
-Worked on my lesson for Sunday
-Made oatmeal for breakfast.  Tim cleaned up breakfast so he gets lots of gold stars and lovin for that.
-Unloaded and loaded the dishwasher.
-Took the dog out to do his "business"
-Went over my calendar for the week
-Took the dog out to do his "business"
-Got ready for errands
-Went with Tim to Lowe's to buy paint for our reindeer project.
-Went with Tim to his dad's house to work on the welder.
-Went to Praxair with Tim to get parts for the welder.
-Checked out my mom's thumb since she's injured.
-Ate some of my dad's yummy pineapple.
-Took the dog out to do his "business"
-Ate lunch with Tim.
-Started the laundry

-Used the lady drill to unclog the shower drain.  I joked with Tim that it may be time for me to cut my hair.  He said absolutely not.

-Cleaned and mopped the bathroom.
-Cleaned and mopped the kitchen. Decided not to "restore" the floor since it takes 24 hours to be completely dry.  Who has time to not use their kitchen for 24 hours???
-Dusted, vacuumed and cleaned the ceiling fan in my bedroom.
-Worked on the laundry.
-Took the dog out to do his business.
-Worked on my blog while waiting for the kitchen floor to dry.

I still have 3 more loads of laundry to do, a workout to get done, a floor to "restore", dog school with Kona, and make dinner for my cute husband.  Oh and we need to do FHE.  Like I said, Mondays are busy, but hey...I'll take one busy day if that means the rest of the week goes smoother.

Happy Monday!

How to Give a Great Dane a Bath

Kona has needed a bath for awhile...but I've been waiting until its warm enough for him to go outside in the sun to dry off.  Wishful thinking on my part I guess.  Anyways, this morning Tim and I were getting ready to go and do some errands, so while Tim finished up his morning computer time, I decided to give the dog a quick bath.

I've had several people ask how in the world I give Kona a bath.  It really has never been an issue, mostly because he's been having baths since we got him.  I will say that getting him to the bathtub is a little tricky and sometimes involves some bribery.  I have been known to give him an entire hot dog to get him in the tub.  However, this morning, Kona only made me chase him around the house for a few minutes before I got him to hop in the tub.

Once he's in the tub, he usually just stands there while I rinse him off.  He looks thrilled, doesn't he. One time he did jump out of the tub and ran around the tiny bathroom (the floor is covered with towels prior to the water turning on) which resulted in me being super wet and him unhappy to get back in the tub.  Today he was awesome and stood there the entire time.

After he's wet, I lather him up with some oatmeal sensitive skin shampoo.  That's shampoo squirted all over his back. Its supposed to smell like coconut...I'm not sure about that, but it does smell nice.

He loves the lathering part.  I'm always surprised at how much hair comes off when he gets bathed.  I think he just likes being warm and massaged.  He was shaking off in this picture.

Then he gets rinsed off.  No big deal there.  I just have to make sure to keep the soap out of his eyes and make sure that he gets completely rinsed off.  He has sensitive skin, so I always try extra hard to get all of the shampoo rinsed off.

Probably Kona's favorite part is getting dried off.  After I towel him off, or attempt to towel him off, he heads out into the house to do zoomies.  He runs around like a maniac, picks up all of his toys, runs up and down the stairs, jumps off and on the beds, and then he runs to the door, rings his bell and heads outside to pee.  Apparently, he also looks like demon dog in the midst of the zoomies.

When he's dry, he gets vacuumed off.  Yes, actually vacuumed off.  He loves it.  In fact, whenever I get the hose out for the vacuum, he comes running.  Today he got vacuumed off in the garage and again in the house while I was cleaning the house.

Finally, he lays in the sunshine relaxing.  What a life he leads...

Little Bear Bottoms Corn Maze

At the beginning of the month, Kyra and I got to go to Little Bear Bottoms Corn Maze with the young women and young men from our ward.  We had fun...mucking around in ankle deep mud...but Rylan was very sad because he wasn't old enough to go.  So, since we didn't have plans last night, we decided to take the kids and their friends to the corn maze.

Rylan loves going to Little Bear Bottoms Corn Maze, I think mostly because of the big giant hay bale maze. This is actually a picture from their website.  I didn't think to take one last night.  Tim tried to get me to go inside.  I think I made it in about 3 feet before I was on my way out.  Apparently, I do not do big giant straw forts.  I'm WAY too claustrophobic.  Tim also says this explains my aversion to long-term snuggle time.  Perhaps he's right?!

This is a great place to take kids because there's alot of stuff to do.  Besides the straw fort, there is a string maze.  Kyra said that the string maze is where you get to look like an idiot in front of everyone.  I guess my friend Andrea's daughter totally clotheslined herself when they did the string maze last week.  I haven't tried it but it does look fun.

Tim and I headed into the corn maze with Rylan and Tyce.  I should probably mention there are two mazes...a long one and a short one.  I should also mention that I had never exited a corn maze at the exit so I was just planning on wandering through the corn.  When we did this activity with the young men and young women, the girls said you just take every left and you'll come out in the end.  So, that was my plan.  The boys decided they always wanted to choose the right, so we quickly lost them.
We proceeded to walk and walk for quite awhile...like maybe 2 miles or so.  Oh and I thought, hey, let's take some pictures.  Here's what I learned about taking pictures in a pitch black corn maze with my husband.

Apparently, it's very tricky to get your husband to be serious while taking pictures in the pitch black dark.

After we made it out of the corn maze...yes, my first time ever exiting the exit of a corn maze, Tim and I went over to sit on a hay bale and watch Ichabod Crane and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  I was entertained and actually laughed out loud a few times.  That movie is definitely a Halloween classic.

Once the movie was over, Tim and I headed over to the fire and stayed warm while the kids finished up their stuff.  I would definitely recommend this corn maze as a great place to take your family.  There's lots to do.  There are also several interesting conversations you will here.  Oh, and they have a haunted river trail and a haunted tractor ride.  I still haven't done those yet, but maybe next year.  I guess this has become a new family tradition.

Choose to Become

In September, I had the opportunity to attend Time Out for Women here in Logan. For those of you who aren't familiar with this amazing awesome weekend, check out this website. It's basically an evening and a day of inspirational music and speakers for women only. I've gone 4 times and plan on continuing to go whenever I have the opportunity.

This year, the theme was "CHOOSE TO BECOME" which I LOVE! This is something I've spent alot of time thinking about and I think I'm finally ready to write about my goals. During the opening remarks, we were encouraged to DISCOVER ALL OF OUR POSSIBILITIES. We were encouraged to make a list of things that come to mind and we were reminded of the scripture in Mark, that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Here is the list of things that I wrote down.

Writing a book
Becoming a strong cyclist
Setting a PR at the 70.3 triathlon distance
Taking voice lessons
Completing an iron-distance triathlon

As I sat down and pondered (yes, I've actually been giving this quite a bit of thought), I noticed that, of course, 3 of my goals involve triathlon and training. Since I got engaged, I've let my training and racing goals slide quite a bit. No excuses for that...except getting married, getting a puppy, having 2 part time teenagers, moving to a new state, etc etc etc. I also feel like I've had to sort of figure out who this "new" AJ is and what she looks like. That probably sounds funny, but it's sort of hard to explain.

So, in an effort to establish my goals and start moving forward, I'm posting my CHOOSE TO BECOME goal.

I'm CHOOSING TO BECOME A TRIATHLETE...AGAIN...specifically an long distance triathlete.

In order for this to happen, there are several things that need to take place. Things like losing weight, getting back into the "training" habit, finding a place to swim that's not 20 minutes away and only open from 5-6:30am, etc.

I've sort of put together a rough draft of a timeline for this happening...hopefully, it will play out this way, but I also know that life is tricky sometimes, so... we'll see what happens.

October 2011-January 2012 - Work on losing weight and regaining strength and fitness. Work on cleaner eating.

February 2012 - Start training for Boise Ironman 70.3

May 2012 - Run the Ogden 1/2 Marathon (one of my favorites) with my hubby, Kyra (my step-daughter) and my friend, Andrea.

June 2012 - Boise Ironman 70.3

September 2012 - Bear Lake Brawl 1/2 Ironman and hopefully (it's a lottery) LOTOJA with my Dad.

At some point, I would like to sign up for an Iron-distance triathlon. I'm sort of thinking Ironman St George, Ironman Arizona, or maybe Ironman Coeur D'Alene, but we'll see. I know that in order to train for an IM I absolutely need my whole team (ie. hubby, kids, dog, etc) on board.

So, that's it...that's my CHOOSE TO BECOME goal. I've already cut out the candy from my diet, started focusing on eating lots more fruits and veggies, journaling my food, and most importantly, working out 6 days a week. Now, I just need the scale to start dropping, and my fitness level going back up. I'm hoping that the blog will be a good way to keep myself honest and up front about how this whole journey is going.

Oh, and I need to remember that

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM (or her) WHO BELIEVETH!

What Have I Been Up To???

Yes, I have seriously neglected this blog. Life has been insane. I'm learning that pretty much life is always insane, so I need to just embrace it. Here's a brief (probably not so brief) list of what we've been doing in the last several months.


June 4 ~ Did 50 miles of the Little Red Riding Hood Century Ride. I had to stop at the midpoint in order to head to Dallas, TX with Tim for his mom's bypass surgery. Tim and I spent our 1 year anniversary there, mostly hanging out in the hospital. The good news is that his mom came through a quadruple bypass with flying colors. The bad news is that we had to cancel our week long trip to Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks.

June 14-16 - Ward Youth Conference. Our youth went down to Camp Utaba in Ogden Canyon and had a Back to Basics Boot Camp. This included playing in Pineview Reservoir...which I skipped due to my aversion to freezing cold water, a ropes course, along with several team building activities, a fireside by a magician, and a trip to the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms for the dead. President Thomas S. Monson stopped in to speak with the Young Men. It was truly awesome!

June 17-18 - WasatchBack Ragnar Relay. Yep, I did it again. I was runner #7 and we had a blast. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it again next year, but my friend Chelsey and I are considering Ragnar Colorado???

June 24-25 ~ Tim and I, along with our friends, Tyler and KeniaAnn, headed down to the Miller Motorsports for Cruiserfest! Friday was a really fun trail ride. Tim has the pictures on the other computer, so I'll have to post them later. We stayed in Park City Friday night and had a great breakfast at the Eating Establishment. We also took the long way home...like from Toole, all around the west side of the Great Salt Lake, ended up in Snowville, UT, but did make it back to Logan. It was a blast and we can't wait to go next year!
July was pretty busy with garden stuff. I was picking peas like a crazy person, as well as weeding, watering, and staying busy with Young Women stuff.
July 15 ~ My new nephew Jay Edward Hansen was born. Yep, Karen and Eric had boy #2. He's adorable and of course, I'm his favorite auntie!
July 19-22 ~ Young Women Girls Camp ~ We headed up Ogden Canyon to Camp Liberty and spent the week camping with the girls. There were showers, which totally made my week and I took advantage of them daily! I also had an opportunity to bear my testimony about the importance of preparing to attend the temple. It was a really great experience. Oh...and I turned 33 while I was there.

July 23 ~ Tim and I, along with our friends Tyler, KeniaAnn, Brad, and Dustin, hiked the Wellsvilles. The Wellsvilles are the steepest mountains in the world and they happen to be right across the valley from us, so up we went. I think it might have been the hardest hike I've ever done. Tim said he would rather do the Narrows, although I'm not so sure about that. It took us about 8 hours and was fun, but I'm not sure I'll need to do it again in my life. I ended up with stinging nettle on my legs, as well as a nice sprained ankle. There were also many falls on the way down...that's how steep it was!


July 30 ~ Tim and I took the cruiser up Franklin Basin Road in Logan Canyon. The drive was gorgeous. The wildflowers were amazing. We even came across a plane crash site from the Korean War.

August 6 ~ Tim and I took the kids on a hike up Green Canyon. It's a 4 mile hike round trip, but is pretty steep on the way up. It was a challenge, but it was really cool to hear the kids talk about how cool it was to be able to do that and how overcoming challenges helps us in our life. Definitely a fun day!

August 13 ~ Tim and I, along with our friends Andrea and Tom, and my Dad, rode our bikes up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. It was super windy when we got to the mouth of the canyon, but all the hard work was well worth it when we came flying down the canyon! We made plans to ride again last weekend, but the cold, wet weather changed our minds.

August 17-21 ~ Tim and I took the kids to spend the weekend with my family in Park City. We swam alot, went to the Farmers Market, hung out with cousins, went to church, Tim and my Dad went mountain biking, played ping pong, and had alot of fun. That will be a new family tradition I'm sure. Although, I'm planning to take my road bike since there's so many great places to ride.

August 19 ~ While we were in Park City, Tim and I took the kids down to Timpanogos Cave in American Fork Canyon. Once again the trail was steep, but we had lunch at the top and the tour was awesome. I will admit to feeling claustrophobic and a little freaked out, but I did it...with a smile on my face. The drive through the Alpine Loop was gorgeous as well.

August 27 ~ I ran the last 7 miles of the Top of Utah 1/2 marathon with my Mom and her friend Tami. They actually got medals this year, which made me want to do it next year.

September 3 ~ Man vs. Mud... Tim and I, our friends Tyler and KeniaAnn, and Tom and Andrea, along with lots of others did the mud run at the American West Heritage Center. I don't have any pictures, because I didn't run with my camera. That turned out to be a good thing, since we had to go down super steep fast waterslides (I almost got taken out by a super big guy, after I slid off the slide and almost into a fence), we had to swim/crawl/muck through a good 1/4 mile of 5 foot deep trench, we had to swim across a super freezing cold pond. Yep, it was a blast. Definitely it will become a Labor Day weekend tradition.
September also involved canning 50+ quarts of green beans, 150+ quart bags of frozen corn, 50+ containers of freezer jam and at least 100 pints and 75 quarts of salsa. I also froze zucchini, both shredded and sliced for my winter cooking. My first attempt at zucchini bread last week was a hit, so I'll have to remember to freeze more shredded zucchini for next year. Apparently, I have become quite domestic.
Also, in September, we've been spending lots of time driving around to Rylan's soccer games. He's playing on a competitive team, so that means lots of practices and games. He loves it and we're enjoying it as well.

September 16-17 ~ I got to go to Time Out for Women, with my friends Chelsey and Amy. The theme this year was Choose to Become. The speakers and music were AWESOME! It was super inspirational and I've been working on what I've chosen to become. I can't wait to go again next year!

September 25 ~ Tim took me on a drive up to Bloomington Lake in Idaho. I've ridden my bike around Lake Bloomington in IL several times, but who knew there was another Bloomington Lake. It was gorgeous and definitely the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Yep, I've been busy. I'm pretty sure I haven't listed everything, but like I said, I've been super busy. :) Hopefully, I can do a little better job of keeping up on the blog now that I'm caught up.