Reflections

Don't let those delicious looking cookies and smiling Mindy fool you...running the Reflections program at school is hard! Ok, well not hard, but a ton of work. I was only over the awards ceremony and I was crazy busy. I think it's a worthy cause to donate my time to though. Seeing the creativity of so many children brightens my hope for the future.

In the end, watching Amelia win a trophy for her painting made it all worth it!

P.S. This is the 1000 post on our family blog! Wow! 

29

My birthday was a pretty busy day but my friends and family still found a way to spoil me and make me feel so loved. My present was new boots and a jacket to get me outfitted for winter! I'm ready for the snow!

Turbinoplasty

I have spent the summer working with Dr. Porter (an ENT/Allergist) because my allergies, stuffiness, and itchiness finally became more than I could bear. I did multiple rounds of allergy testing which showed I was allergic to basically every outdoor allergen...weeds, trees, pollen, etc...and I'm starting immunotherapy to deal with that. The stuffiness and breathing issues were actually not related to my allergies, but were a result of the size and shapes of my internal nasal structures. So, I had a turbinoplasty on September 3rd. {It did not change the size or shape of my nose and didn't cause any bruising or swelling.}  It was painful, but only bled for a day or two (see super awesome nose hammock below) and now I CAN BREATHE! It's amazing! I highly recommend it!

Hobble Creek Half Marathon.

 

This was my 4th and final marathon of the summer. It was a beautiful course down Springville canyon and along the Hobble Creek golf course. It was the most fun because of the friends I got to spend time with...Even though they are all super awesome runners and run way faster than I do! P.S. Do not wear a pink sports bra under a white shirt or you will end up with a nasty sweat stain as seen above! Yuck! I competed "The Slam"!!!! (4 Utah valley races in a summer!)

Timp Half Marathon

 

Wait? What?! Was that a photographer?

 

Almost to the finish line!

 

 

I finished! Third half marathon done!

 

 

Brian and the kids came to cheer me on! I cannot even put into words how awesome it is to be so exhausted, but almost done with a race and then all of a sudden hear people cheering your name!

Hobbler Half

 

The Hobbler Half was not the best organized race and the course was kind of dumb...We started in someone's driveway at the top of the canyon and then ran the trail down...It was very hilly which I was not expecting! But I finished. Hallelujah!

My first 1/2 Marathon: AF Canyon Half--Cancer Fundraiser--In Honor of Pa

 The first 5 miles were great...The sun was coming up and the canyon was beautiful!

About mile 6 I wanted to sit down and be done. But I pushed through and was fine until about mile 10 where I totally hit a wall...My back hurt, my quads were super fatigued,  my calfs were cramping and I was starving. I had been running by the 2:20 pace runner the whole time and she cheered me on and kept me going. 

Almost to the end...

Crossing the finish line and looking like death...

Done in 2:20:36!

Jan. Wrap up and Feb Goals:

January's goals were made in order to help me re-establish some good habits. I did well keeping to them. February's goals are along the same lines:

January was kind of a roller coaster ride though. I'll spare you all the details but here are the highlights:

*Annabelle learned how to burn toast...I mean make toast & Coleson learned how to make microwave scrambled eggs. 

*I discovered Lush bath bombs.

*Annabelle was potty trained! 

*Zack and his friends surprised us with a visit!

*Yzma and Aladdin started laying eggs. (We now get 3-5 eggs per day.)

*We went to Vegas.

*Amelia got 8 stickers for staying in her bed all night! This is a big deal! 8 whole nights of uninterrupted sleep!

*Brian has been working like crazy on the Missionary iPad Project. 

*I hit my PR running and then injured my neck... It's getting better though.

Festival of Trees

Festival of Trees is a large event done each year in Utah for the benefit of Primary Children's Medical Center. People from all over the state come to decorate trees, wreaths, center pieces and even quilts to be auctioned off. I worked on 2 trees this year.  On Monday I loaded up the car with our trees and decorations and headed up to the expo center with my friend Kristen to start decorating! It took ALL day but I was really happy with what we were able to donate. 

The first tree I did was this 2 ft tall pink tree. It was decorated with hair bows, headbands and necklaces that could be taken off and worn.

Kristin working on the tree!

The second tree was done by the Baby Love Foundation. Volunteers made ornaments and others donated the tree & decorations. It was an 8 ft Nutcracker themed tree.

I was soooo happy to take the kids back last night to look at all the trees and see that both my trees had sold! The Nutcracker tree sold for $300 and the hair bow tree sold for $75! That money goes directly to Primary Children's Medical Center!

I'm already planning my trees for next year!

28

My birthday was on Monday and it was a great day. I went to lunch with some friends and Annabelle actually sat and ate! It was the most well behaved she's been in a while...until she took the top off her water and spilled it all over herself. It was hilarious, but she was not happy being all wet. 

That evening my niece came over to baby sit so Brian and I could use the Groupon's he got me for Mother's day. Yay! (Better late than never right?!) 

We ate dinner at Chef's Table. We just ordered a bunch of appetizers and it was delicious. Then we headed to Gomm Studios for a stained glass class. We each made a glass star. It was so fun!

One of *those* days.

Today I woke up determined to be productive. I got something done for relief society & went for a run before Brian left for work. Then I made breakfast, got the laundry going, and did a Bob Harper Ab video. Coleson went to play with his friend next door and I put the girls in front of a movie to take a quick shower. I got out of the shower and heard a crash and Buggy screaming. I high-tailed it, in my towel, to the kitchen where the girls were trying to get candy out of the owl jar. They had dropped and broken the top and were fighting over pop rocks. Awesome. I cleaned it up and sent Amelia to get dressed and I did the same. I was still feeling good at this point so I finished getting everyone ready, grabbed Coleson and headed to Costco...it was all down hill from there. Long story short: I was trying to push a cart with 300 lbs of water softener salt and keep track of all 3 fighting kids. Not fun. I made it to the car with Amelia and Coleson bickering about something dumb and Annabelle screaming bloody murder as I wrestled her into her car seat. I was just about to loose it, throw my kids out of the car and drive away {not really, but I was really frustrated} and a teenage boy walked up and asked if he could load the bags of salt into the car. 

That sweet boy and his simple 3 minute act of service helped me get the situation under control and saved my day. 

"God does notice us and he watches over us. But, it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore it is vital that we serve one another..." Spencer W Kimball

Today I am thankful for that boy and his mother who either taught him well or said "Go over there and help that poor girl!"

Under Construction

I make it a habit to not get political on Facebook because, lets face it, no good comes of it. I usually don't even read, let along respond, to other people's political FB posts...but last week a friend made a sarcastic comment about Big Bird so I sarcastically wrote a comment back. Then, someone I don't even know judged me very harshly and posted incredibly rude comments. Don't worry, I defended myself with out further engaging. However, It was the perfect illustration of why I stay away from politics on FB. But it made me think...

I have heard people make comments about the supposedly evil or dumb nature of Facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. "It's just a way for an ego maniac to say: Here I am! Look how awesome I'm doing and how perfect my life is! Or for complainers to feel like they finally have someone listening!" While I agree that can happen, I don't feel that it the purpose behind social media and certainly not my purpose in using social media. There are definitely those who abuse social media but that doesn't make it all bad...but I digress.

I went to the temple the other day and as I pulled up I noticed that even though the exterior of the building was surrounded in scaffolding, it was still beautiful. It was a stormy, rainy day and yet the temple stood bright and white. I thought that I too, am under construction. I know that I watch too much tv, loose patience with my children too often, and the list goes on and on. But, I'm trying. I'm trying to weather the storm and become more beautiful through the construction of life. I try to make life fun for my children and that sometimes means that the laundry doesn't get done. (Actually, it will get done but it will sit in a folded pile in the hallway until it gets worn again.) I like to try and make my house pretty, do crafts I see on Pinterest, and read good books but that doesn't mean I have everything figured out. I'm just doing my best.

 

 I'd like to say that the previously mentioned judgement just rolled off my back...It didn't...however, I'm choosing to turn those hurt feelings into something constructive for myself. I'm writing this post not because I'm fishing for compliments or need validation. I'm writing it because I need to remember that sometimes it's ok to just be who I am and know what I'm trying to be my best self. This is my journal after all and occasionally I need to remember that practice makes perfect...and I'm trying.

27

We celebrated my birthday on Friday with dinner at Brick Oven and the BYU game. BYU killed Hawaii so it was a really fun game to watch. I don't like that I'm 27...it seems so much older than 26 for some reason. But turning 27 has definitely been fun!

30 bags in 30 days!

(click on image and save it if you want to use it on your blog!)

My friend Kylee linked to THIS blog with a 40 bags in 40 days challenge! Basically filling a bag every day and getting rid of it (to Goodwill, a friend who could use it, trash, etc.) for 40 days. Amazing idea right! Getting a jump on spring cleaning? The everyday kitchen garbage doesn't count. :)

I think it's brilliant but made it a little easier/realistic for me by making it a 30 bags in 30 days challenge. 5 bags down, 25 to go! Who's with me?

On a totally unrelated note: Brian and have tried really hard to eliminate our debt this last year...you know Amelia's medical bills, college, etc...

Well, the photo above it a screen shot from my Mint.com.

It feels pretty awesome to accomplish a great goal!