Friday we were able to go to Jeff's graduation party! He and Lisanne are such great people and friends. We were so happy to support Jeff in this wonderful accomplishment!
Love you guys!
Beach Photo Shoot
4 years ago
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Both Washers in our Apt. Complex are Broken.
So we have been doing our laundry here....
...Well I have been doing laundry here. Anthony comes and eats doughnuts....
...I cannot believe how much I love this boy.Gingerbread Time!
Every year the Grant's have a tradition the day after Thanksgiving to make gingerbread houses. For many of these years growing up the Kern girls have joined us. Even when I am away from home every other year for thanksgiving I still always find a way to do a gingerbread house. This year (being away from C-Town) was especially fun because the Kern girls invited me to do houses with them. This was a very fun day: The girls doing their thing with the gingerbread houses and the boys hitting the links. So thank you Sara for once again opening your home to me and Anthony! We love you guys!
Utah V. BYU
Thanks to our wonderful cousin Sara and her Husband Jay we were able to go to the BYU/Utah game last minute! This was such a great opportunity and we had a blast. Of course when you get tickets from a coach of the Utah team you wear red. So this is why myself, a BYU student, is wearing a red hat with a Y on it. Of course Anthony fully supports his soon to be Alma matter with is U hat. It was an excellent game to watch and the Utes played great!
When people find out the I go to BYU and Anthony goes to the U, they always ask one question.
"How do you make it work?"
My Answer:
When people find out the I go to BYU and Anthony goes to the U, they always ask one question."How do you make it work?"
My Answer:
"We compromise."
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
100 Things About Me
A long time ago my good friend Alisa did this tag on her blog about 100 things about her. I loved it and wanted to do it to. But I didn't have the dedication to do it right away, so I put it on my to do list. Now half a year later I have finally gotten around to it. This was really challenging but enjoyable. I hope that everyone would try to come up with 100 (or at least 25) things about
themselves and put it on their blog!
100 things you might not know about me:
1. I love being tall, and I love wearing tall shoes, therefore I am grateful that Anthony is taller than me even in my highest heels.
2. I think I was blessed with nice looking hands.
3. Anything (pictures, video ect.) put to inspiring music makes me cry.
4. I love family and love being around them.
5. Secret professional aspiration I have always wanted to pursue: a photographer, author, artist, beauty stylist, chef.
6. Secret athletic aspirations I have always wanted to pursue: Gymnast, Ballerina, Cheerleader (the good kind that go to nationals), Swimmer, Cyclist, Triathalon-ist ( pretty much anything you can think of actually).
7. Secret musical aspirations I have always wanted to pursue: guitar/singer/songwriter, Opera singer, Piano, Oh and don’t forget American Idol.
8. I like to highlight things. So I don’t even go there in my textbooks, or it would be one solid block of color.
9. I can palm a men’s basketball.
10. I am co-president and founder of Club-blade, a rollerblading club for cool people. This is how Anthony and I met.
11. Music makes me feel cool: When I workout, when I drive, when I walk.
12. I love Anthony’s deodorant and the way it smells on him, so yes I sniff his armpits.
13. I love manual cars.
14. I have taken over 155 tests in the BYU testing center and still have five months left.
15. There is nothing better than a sharp knife in the kitchen.
16. I tend to not like people the first time I meet them (but after that I usually love them!).
17. I wish that I knew as much about politics as Anthony.
18. When we have our first child, I hope that it is a boy.
19. I love surprises (good ones).
20. My current struggle: Get my masters degree in speech pathology after I graduate vs. start a family.
21. I set a school high jump record in high school.
22. I tore my ACL and MCL in a soccer game during my sophomore year in high school.
23. I get really excited in late spring when I start to get a flip flop tan line.
24. My favorite color is brown.
25. I think farts are really funny. Every time I hear one (from whomever) I can’t help but laugh and laugh and laugh, until I smell it, then of course the fun and games are over.
26. I like to get cheesy emails, my favorites: emails that talk about how blessed we are, emails that are long story jokes, and emails that have funny pictures.
27. I love the food network, and dream about having my own show.
28. I can’t wait until I have the property to plant a fabulous garden.
29. I love to color; it is one of the most relaxing things in the world.
30. I think that I am in heaven when Anthony gives me a foot massage.
31. I wish that I could have the body that I had in high school.
32. My life is emotion. Good and bad.
33. I was the Student Body President of my high school.
34. I wish the weekend was four days long.
35. My favorite holiday is 4th of July.
36. I still get butterflies when I hear Anthony pull into the garage (ok so its not a garage, but our apartment is right by our parking lot and I hear him pull in)
37. I get road rage.
38. I have never been a big accessory person (purses, necklaces, earrings, sunglasses) but I have always wanted to be. It’s just really hard for me to spend money on them, but I am starting to get a good little collection.
39. I HATE studying for tests, but I think it is fun to take them and kind of look forward to it.
40. Someday I want to travel the world with Anthony
41. I like reality TV (the more fake the better!)
42. I miss the old Martha Stewart and her show.
43. I have always been a morning person, until I married Anthony. I still try, but it is hard because we are complete opposites in that sense.
44. Recently I have learned to live life in the present, not always waiting for the future to happen.
45. It will be a miracle if I come up with 100 of these things.
46. I hate it when the plastic things come off the ends of shoelaces.
47. I don’t like wearing make-up.
48. I hate long nails.
49. I can’t wait until we have enough money to buy a Mac computer.
50. My favorite number is 12.
51. I like to mow the lawn and plan on doing it in the future. (Anthony doesn’t know this yet)
52. If my knees would allow, I would love to become a marathoner and do 5 or 6 a year.
53. I find it absolutely delightful that my whole family is on Facebook.
54. I get teary eyed during certain country music videos and old church endorsed commercials (“Family: isn’t it about…time?”)
55. I have serious considerations to go to culinary/pastry school or become a cycling instructor.
56. I look forward to the day that we will have a big comfy couch (a 3 seater) so that Anthony and I could snuggle while we watch movies.
57. Speaking of movies, I think Anthony and I are addicted to the art of picking out and watching movies Redbox and Blockbuster style.
58. I love to laugh.
59. I’m not a very touchy-feely person when I am around people. I love hugging my family and my husband, but with friends and such I feel awkward, consequently it is that awkwardness that causes me to hug them because I don’t know what to do.
60. I think awkward should be spelled differently, like this: aqward.
61. That is probably because I have never been good at spelling. Some words I still have trouble with to this day: whether (this is more of a grammar problem), weird, thought, collage, calendar, grateful, counselor, schedule, chocolate, piece, and tongue.
1. I love being tall, and I love wearing tall shoes, therefore I am grateful that Anthony is taller than me even in my highest heels.
2. I think I was blessed with nice looking hands.
3. Anything (pictures, video ect.) put to inspiring music makes me cry.
4. I love family and love being around them.
5. Secret professional aspiration I have always wanted to pursue: a photographer, author, artist, beauty stylist, chef.
6. Secret athletic aspirations I have always wanted to pursue: Gymnast, Ballerina, Cheerleader (the good kind that go to nationals), Swimmer, Cyclist, Triathalon-ist ( pretty much anything you can think of actually).
7. Secret musical aspirations I have always wanted to pursue: guitar/singer/songwriter, Opera singer, Piano, Oh and don’t forget American Idol.
8. I like to highlight things. So I don’t even go there in my textbooks, or it would be one solid block of color.
9. I can palm a men’s basketball.
10. I am co-president and founder of Club-blade, a rollerblading club for cool people. This is how Anthony and I met.
11. Music makes me feel cool: When I workout, when I drive, when I walk.
12. I love Anthony’s deodorant and the way it smells on him, so yes I sniff his armpits.
13. I love manual cars.
14. I have taken over 155 tests in the BYU testing center and still have five months left.
15. There is nothing better than a sharp knife in the kitchen.
16. I tend to not like people the first time I meet them (but after that I usually love them!).
17. I wish that I knew as much about politics as Anthony.
18. When we have our first child, I hope that it is a boy.
19. I love surprises (good ones).
20. My current struggle: Get my masters degree in speech pathology after I graduate vs. start a family.
21. I set a school high jump record in high school.
22. I tore my ACL and MCL in a soccer game during my sophomore year in high school.
23. I get really excited in late spring when I start to get a flip flop tan line.
24. My favorite color is brown.
25. I think farts are really funny. Every time I hear one (from whomever) I can’t help but laugh and laugh and laugh, until I smell it, then of course the fun and games are over.
26. I like to get cheesy emails, my favorites: emails that talk about how blessed we are, emails that are long story jokes, and emails that have funny pictures.
27. I love the food network, and dream about having my own show.
28. I can’t wait until I have the property to plant a fabulous garden.
29. I love to color; it is one of the most relaxing things in the world.
30. I think that I am in heaven when Anthony gives me a foot massage.
31. I wish that I could have the body that I had in high school.
32. My life is emotion. Good and bad.
33. I was the Student Body President of my high school.
34. I wish the weekend was four days long.
35. My favorite holiday is 4th of July.
36. I still get butterflies when I hear Anthony pull into the garage (ok so its not a garage, but our apartment is right by our parking lot and I hear him pull in)
37. I get road rage.
38. I have never been a big accessory person (purses, necklaces, earrings, sunglasses) but I have always wanted to be. It’s just really hard for me to spend money on them, but I am starting to get a good little collection.
39. I HATE studying for tests, but I think it is fun to take them and kind of look forward to it.
40. Someday I want to travel the world with Anthony
41. I like reality TV (the more fake the better!)
42. I miss the old Martha Stewart and her show.
43. I have always been a morning person, until I married Anthony. I still try, but it is hard because we are complete opposites in that sense.
44. Recently I have learned to live life in the present, not always waiting for the future to happen.
45. It will be a miracle if I come up with 100 of these things.
46. I hate it when the plastic things come off the ends of shoelaces.
47. I don’t like wearing make-up.
48. I hate long nails.
49. I can’t wait until we have enough money to buy a Mac computer.
50. My favorite number is 12.
51. I like to mow the lawn and plan on doing it in the future. (Anthony doesn’t know this yet)
52. If my knees would allow, I would love to become a marathoner and do 5 or 6 a year.
53. I find it absolutely delightful that my whole family is on Facebook.
54. I get teary eyed during certain country music videos and old church endorsed commercials (“Family: isn’t it about…time?”)
55. I have serious considerations to go to culinary/pastry school or become a cycling instructor.
56. I look forward to the day that we will have a big comfy couch (a 3 seater) so that Anthony and I could snuggle while we watch movies.
57. Speaking of movies, I think Anthony and I are addicted to the art of picking out and watching movies Redbox and Blockbuster style.
58. I love to laugh.
59. I’m not a very touchy-feely person when I am around people. I love hugging my family and my husband, but with friends and such I feel awkward, consequently it is that awkwardness that causes me to hug them because I don’t know what to do.
60. I think awkward should be spelled differently, like this: aqward.
61. That is probably because I have never been good at spelling. Some words I still have trouble with to this day: whether (this is more of a grammar problem), weird, thought, collage, calendar, grateful, counselor, schedule, chocolate, piece, and tongue.
62. I hate talking on the phone unless it is with my mom.
63. My ideal vacation scene would be spend two months in China and two months in Africa with Anthony, exploring as much as we can, using unlimited funds for travel, souvenirs and food. (Add souvenirs to the list of words I can’t spell, thank goodness for spell-check!)
64.Warm sunlight is the best medicine for feeling down. My future home will have many windows to let the sunlight in!
65. I believe knowledge is one of the best things that we as humans can possess.
66. Being a primary teacher has truly added to my testimony.
67. I hope to be an influence in the world, even if it is just in my own home.
68. I am thankful for the influence that Anthony has had in my life, he has developed and cultivated in me a love and tolerance for other religions, cultures, and people.
69. If I could be any other race I would choose to be Latin American of some sort preferably Brazilian.
70. I doodle and re-trace my notes when I talk on the phone.
71. My favorite celebrity is Bobby Flay. I love his culinary style and hope to one day go to Mesa Grill in Las Vegas!
72. I love the smells and colors in Fall, the holidays in Winter, the feeling of anticipation in the Spring, and the warmth in the Summer.
73. Each season brings a new palate of food, I love this cycle, and enjoying each item in its season.
74. If I had to choose between a family of all girls (max 4!) or a family of all boys, I would choose all boys.
75. I look forward to the joys, blessings and trials of motherhood.
76. If I start my day with a workout, it goes 10 times better.
77. I loved being in high school.
78. I don’t touch things it public bathrooms unless I have a barrier of paper towel between my hand and the object. Thanks mom!
79. I like to make people laugh.
80. Sometimes you just need a cheesy Lifetime movie.
81. I want to learn French.
82. I do my best work when I have procrastinated and am crunched for time.
83. I believe selfless service and unlimited outward expression of love is the key to a happy marriage.
84. I was a dancer when I was younger and sometimes wish I would have stuck with it. I think I would enjoy the extreme demand of ballet.
85. I absolutely HATE putting away folded laundry.
86. I go though phases where I don’t care what people think of me, I wish I could live my whole life like this. (to a healthy degree of course)
87. I like random holidays that people make up. At work we used to have one on the calendar for every day of the week and would really celebrate them.
88. I feel that I have a very deep and unique relationship with my dad.
89. I hope to one day live in Idaho. I love Idaho!
90. I wish I could be a better friend.
91. It is weird to imagine life when Anthony and I will graduate in the spring. All we have known for the last three years is being in school and part time jobs.
92. If someone sneezes in the car, a window must be rolled down immediately. I have a fear a sneeze clouds.
63. My ideal vacation scene would be spend two months in China and two months in Africa with Anthony, exploring as much as we can, using unlimited funds for travel, souvenirs and food. (Add souvenirs to the list of words I can’t spell, thank goodness for spell-check!)
64.Warm sunlight is the best medicine for feeling down. My future home will have many windows to let the sunlight in!
65. I believe knowledge is one of the best things that we as humans can possess.
66. Being a primary teacher has truly added to my testimony.
67. I hope to be an influence in the world, even if it is just in my own home.
68. I am thankful for the influence that Anthony has had in my life, he has developed and cultivated in me a love and tolerance for other religions, cultures, and people.
69. If I could be any other race I would choose to be Latin American of some sort preferably Brazilian.
70. I doodle and re-trace my notes when I talk on the phone.
71. My favorite celebrity is Bobby Flay. I love his culinary style and hope to one day go to Mesa Grill in Las Vegas!
72. I love the smells and colors in Fall, the holidays in Winter, the feeling of anticipation in the Spring, and the warmth in the Summer.
73. Each season brings a new palate of food, I love this cycle, and enjoying each item in its season.
74. If I had to choose between a family of all girls (max 4!) or a family of all boys, I would choose all boys.
75. I look forward to the joys, blessings and trials of motherhood.
76. If I start my day with a workout, it goes 10 times better.
77. I loved being in high school.
78. I don’t touch things it public bathrooms unless I have a barrier of paper towel between my hand and the object. Thanks mom!
79. I like to make people laugh.
80. Sometimes you just need a cheesy Lifetime movie.
81. I want to learn French.
82. I do my best work when I have procrastinated and am crunched for time.
83. I believe selfless service and unlimited outward expression of love is the key to a happy marriage.
84. I was a dancer when I was younger and sometimes wish I would have stuck with it. I think I would enjoy the extreme demand of ballet.
85. I absolutely HATE putting away folded laundry.
86. I go though phases where I don’t care what people think of me, I wish I could live my whole life like this. (to a healthy degree of course)
87. I like random holidays that people make up. At work we used to have one on the calendar for every day of the week and would really celebrate them.
88. I feel that I have a very deep and unique relationship with my dad.
89. I hope to one day live in Idaho. I love Idaho!
90. I wish I could be a better friend.
91. It is weird to imagine life when Anthony and I will graduate in the spring. All we have known for the last three years is being in school and part time jobs.
92. If someone sneezes in the car, a window must be rolled down immediately. I have a fear a sneeze clouds.
93. I hope newspapers never become obsolete.
94. I had a near perfect childhood with wonderful parents and a wonderful home life. I can only hope to come close to creating this life for my children.
95. I painted for a school district for four summers (buildings and stuff). I still have cravings to paint things, and I am always analyzing peoples paint jobs to see how well they were able to edge.
96. I wish Lauren Hill would come back and do her thing.
97. If I could be an author of any book I would choose a cookbook
98. Anthony is the greatest thing in my life
99. I loved our wedding day, some days I wish I could go back and do it all over again!
100. I am truly thankful that Anthony will be mine forever.
94. I had a near perfect childhood with wonderful parents and a wonderful home life. I can only hope to come close to creating this life for my children.
95. I painted for a school district for four summers (buildings and stuff). I still have cravings to paint things, and I am always analyzing peoples paint jobs to see how well they were able to edge.
96. I wish Lauren Hill would come back and do her thing.
97. If I could be an author of any book I would choose a cookbook
98. Anthony is the greatest thing in my life
99. I loved our wedding day, some days I wish I could go back and do it all over again!
100. I am truly thankful that Anthony will be mine forever.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Little Updates; Big Deals
This is my official post about little meaningless things but somehow create a big deal in my world. Perhaps a few of you can relate.
Lately we have been finding a few more of these friends around our apartment than we would like. A couple months back for about two weeks in a row, I killed a spider every morning. I actually got used to it and got to the point where I didn't scream, and I didn't think that the spider would jump up and bite me before I got to it, and I didn't think that it would attack me through my shoe. (OK fess up ladies, I know some of you have had these thoughts before doing the unspeakable) I even was able to get used to the crunch that it made, though it still made me gag. That was before this little guy came along, and two other family members in the following days.
Why it is a Big Deal:
DO YOU SEE THIS! Just be thankful you don't have this guy crawling around in your house. If you haven't noticed, it is red. If you put this guy on a quarter, his legs would extend past the edges.
2. Little Thing: Caramel Apples
Fall is my favorite month for food. I love the warmth and spice of the dishes. One of my favorite things to make and eat are caramel apples.
Why it is a Big Deal:
When you have an apple pie caramel apple recipe that is super easy and tastes amazing, caramel apples turn into big deals.
For those who care:
Crush up vanilla wafers, add some cinnamon and white sugar, roll onto your favorite caramel dipped apple and drizzle with white chocolate. So easy but it tastes just like apple pie!
3. Little Thing: Twilight
I am reading Twilight for the first time. It took me about 50 pages before I was completely hooked. I never thought this could happen to me.
Why it is a Big Deal:
Some already know this, but for those of you who don't, I severely made fun of and let readers of this series know how much I hated everything about it, even though I knew nothing. So for me reading this book and admitting my addiction is a REALLY BIG DEAL. Who knows, next it may be Harry Potter. I do not know what changed that made me want to read it, maybe it is perhaps the movie that came out, and the feeling that I have to read it in order to see the movie. All I know is that I saw the paper back at Costco for $6 and I thought I would give it a shot. It's easy mindless entertainment and who isn't a fan of that right? My only regret about not reading it earlier is that the book I bought was honoring the movie so it shows all the characters on the cover. This disables my ability to create my own characters because I am forced to use the characters from the movie, and anyone who enjoys reading knows that the best part is how you paint it in your mind!
DO YOU SEE THIS! Just be thankful you don't have this guy crawling around in your house. If you haven't noticed, it is red. If you put this guy on a quarter, his legs would extend past the edges.
2. Little Thing: Caramel Apples
Fall is my favorite month for food. I love the warmth and spice of the dishes. One of my favorite things to make and eat are caramel apples.
Why it is a Big Deal:
When you have an apple pie caramel apple recipe that is super easy and tastes amazing, caramel apples turn into big deals.
For those who care:
Crush up vanilla wafers, add some cinnamon and white sugar, roll onto your favorite caramel dipped apple and drizzle with white chocolate. So easy but it tastes just like apple pie!
3. Little Thing: Twilight
I am reading Twilight for the first time. It took me about 50 pages before I was completely hooked. I never thought this could happen to me.
Why it is a Big Deal:
Some already know this, but for those of you who don't, I severely made fun of and let readers of this series know how much I hated everything about it, even though I knew nothing. So for me reading this book and admitting my addiction is a REALLY BIG DEAL. Who knows, next it may be Harry Potter. I do not know what changed that made me want to read it, maybe it is perhaps the movie that came out, and the feeling that I have to read it in order to see the movie. All I know is that I saw the paper back at Costco for $6 and I thought I would give it a shot. It's easy mindless entertainment and who isn't a fan of that right? My only regret about not reading it earlier is that the book I bought was honoring the movie so it shows all the characters on the cover. This disables my ability to create my own characters because I am forced to use the characters from the movie, and anyone who enjoys reading knows that the best part is how you paint it in your mind!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Birthday Mom
November 1, 2008
Last month in one of my classes, we were asked the question: " Who has the most influence in you life?" In years past my habitual answer to this question would have been my dad. He has always had the outspoken and loving nature to warrant this title.So in thinking about this question, by default, the first answer that popped into my head was just that; my dad. However a competing opinion took over my thoughts; mom. Unlike my dad, my mom was rarely outspoken but she was equally loving. She never had time to be outspoken because it was all she could do to be a perfect example to her children (cheesy but true). I grew up being a daddy's girl, but more and more I find myself subconsciously becoming a carbon copy of my mom. She has instilled and cultivated tradition, culture, love, service, talent and creativity in my life. She prepared me to be a wife and mother without ever letting me in on the secret. Of course it isn't possible to get a lifetime of "Priscilla" skills in 18 years, so to this day, my mother is my number one lifeline second to Anthony. There has never been a time when I haven't heard the joy in her voice when she hears me on the other end of the phone. She is elated to continue to share her life knowledge with me whenever I need it, like when I called her from the grocery store early this morning to ask her opinion about the best kind of beans to put into the infamous Halloween chili.
Mom, I love you so much and I am so thankful for the immeasurable love that you have for me and Anthony. This past week he has regularly reminded me to do something for "mom." He loves you more than you think a son-in-law could, but thankfully you make that really easy for him. You are my number one blogging fan, and my biggest cheerleader.
This is the part where I would typically post a picture of my mom to remind everyone of her astounding beauty, but I know that she wouldn't appreciate that.
Happy Birthday Mom. Perhaps you might enjoy a nice movie in the theater by yourself ?(hehe)
Last month in one of my classes, we were asked the question: " Who has the most influence in you life?" In years past my habitual answer to this question would have been my dad. He has always had the outspoken and loving nature to warrant this title.So in thinking about this question, by default, the first answer that popped into my head was just that; my dad. However a competing opinion took over my thoughts; mom. Unlike my dad, my mom was rarely outspoken but she was equally loving. She never had time to be outspoken because it was all she could do to be a perfect example to her children (cheesy but true). I grew up being a daddy's girl, but more and more I find myself subconsciously becoming a carbon copy of my mom. She has instilled and cultivated tradition, culture, love, service, talent and creativity in my life. She prepared me to be a wife and mother without ever letting me in on the secret. Of course it isn't possible to get a lifetime of "Priscilla" skills in 18 years, so to this day, my mother is my number one lifeline second to Anthony. There has never been a time when I haven't heard the joy in her voice when she hears me on the other end of the phone. She is elated to continue to share her life knowledge with me whenever I need it, like when I called her from the grocery store early this morning to ask her opinion about the best kind of beans to put into the infamous Halloween chili.
Mom, I love you so much and I am so thankful for the immeasurable love that you have for me and Anthony. This past week he has regularly reminded me to do something for "mom." He loves you more than you think a son-in-law could, but thankfully you make that really easy for him. You are my number one blogging fan, and my biggest cheerleader.
This is the part where I would typically post a picture of my mom to remind everyone of her astounding beauty, but I know that she wouldn't appreciate that.
Happy Birthday Mom. Perhaps you might enjoy a nice movie in the theater by yourself ?(hehe)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
FALL
I think fall is my favorite time of year; Especially now when the mornings are brisk, the afternoons are warm and the night is just cool enough to snuggle a little closer to Anthony. I love the smells, the colors and most of all, the seasonal desserts! (I am waiting for pumpkin cookies to come out of the oven right now!) Anthony and I are also enjoying all of the football. We spend our Saturday's scheduling and flipping channels between BYU, Utah, USC and BSU. We also love Halloween. We usually don't have set plans for halloween, but there are two things that we always make sure to do. The first is that I make a big pot of chili with cornbread. This is a tradition that my mom always did (and still does) and now it is one of my favorite parts of October 31st! The second thing we always like to do is carve pumpkins! This year we celebrated a little early and carved our pumpkins a couple weeks ago with our favorite family the Hollands!
Jessica's Pumpkin
Anthony's Pumpkin
Oh, and I'm blonde now if you didn't notice.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Late Summer Catch-up
It is already fall and Utah's weather went from 80 degrees to 45 degrees in two days. Classic. With this cooler weather brings some of may favorite fall activities. But before I get into these I need to catch up on the last of our summer memories!
So you don't get confused here is a titled list of the pictures you are about to view.
1. Visit family in Idaho
2. Make an apron
3. Run a marathon
4. Go camping
1. The first of the of our last summer memories was visiting my family up in Idaho in late August. One of my favorite parts of visiting my family is seeing my nieces and nephews!
We spent the whole weekend playing in the sun and catching up on some board game time!
2. I made an apron with some very diligent help from my talented friend Rachel Q. Many may think that this is normal, not for me. I consider myself talented when it comes to "crafts," but let me tell you, sewing was never my thing. I always somehow managed to break the sewing machine. But thankfully, this time, I actually pulled it off!
3. The Top of Utah Marathon was such a great experience! My goal was to run the whole thing without stopping and I did! Below are some of the more fabulous moments.
Here I am putting my number on before the race. My hands were shaking because I was so nervous! I'm surprised I didn't stab myself with those little gold safety pins.
My good friend Suzie ran the marathon with me! We decided back in April that we were going to run a marathon and then we picked one and trained all summer. Looking back on the summer, I have great memories of going on long Saturday runs, and getting up before dawn so I could get a run in before work. And when I wasn't running I was reading about running!
Here I am getting on the bus that took all of the runners up the canyon. The bus ride was 45 minutes long! It was scary seeing what I was going to run(and how long it was) before I actually ran it.
Anthony was at mile 13, which was such a surprise because spectators were not allowed on the course until mile 14. Of course Anthony never follows rules like that. Somehow he got past the security early in the morning. There were even a few runners they didn't let up the canyon when they were late. I guess my husband knows whats up.
This is Anthony's proof that he ran the race with me, (at least 1/4 mile of it). He snapped this picture while running. He was so cute, he would snap some pictures and then run ahead of me, turn around and snap some more, and then run ahead etc. etc.
Isn't the canyon beautiful. It made the run so much easier!
This is my surprised look when I saw Anthony at mile 18! I wasn't expecting him until the finish line.
The one above was just coming up on mile 25. I was had really been struggling for the previous 5 miles but when I crested the last hill all of a sudden I see a whole group with Anthony! His mom and dad and the Holland family! I had no idea they were going to be there and I was really overcome with emotion to see that they all came out to support me. It gave me the boost of energy that I needed and the last mile was one of my best splits!
FINALLY! I am about to cross the finish line. It was a great feeling. And then I stopped. That is when everything started to REALLY hurt, worse than when I was running!
Anthony was so sweet throughout the whole race, he was so supportive. As you can see I got a little teary eyed about it.
So you don't get confused here is a titled list of the pictures you are about to view.
1. Visit family in Idaho
2. Make an apron
3. Run a marathon
4. Go camping
1. The first of the of our last summer memories was visiting my family up in Idaho in late August. One of my favorite parts of visiting my family is seeing my nieces and nephews!
We spent the whole weekend playing in the sun and catching up on some board game time!2. I made an apron with some very diligent help from my talented friend Rachel Q. Many may think that this is normal, not for me. I consider myself talented when it comes to "crafts," but let me tell you, sewing was never my thing. I always somehow managed to break the sewing machine. But thankfully, this time, I actually pulled it off!
3. The Top of Utah Marathon was such a great experience! My goal was to run the whole thing without stopping and I did! Below are some of the more fabulous moments.
Here I am putting my number on before the race. My hands were shaking because I was so nervous! I'm surprised I didn't stab myself with those little gold safety pins.
My good friend Suzie ran the marathon with me! We decided back in April that we were going to run a marathon and then we picked one and trained all summer. Looking back on the summer, I have great memories of going on long Saturday runs, and getting up before dawn so I could get a run in before work. And when I wasn't running I was reading about running!
Here I am getting on the bus that took all of the runners up the canyon. The bus ride was 45 minutes long! It was scary seeing what I was going to run(and how long it was) before I actually ran it.
Anthony was at mile 13, which was such a surprise because spectators were not allowed on the course until mile 14. Of course Anthony never follows rules like that. Somehow he got past the security early in the morning. There were even a few runners they didn't let up the canyon when they were late. I guess my husband knows whats up.
This is Anthony's proof that he ran the race with me, (at least 1/4 mile of it). He snapped this picture while running. He was so cute, he would snap some pictures and then run ahead of me, turn around and snap some more, and then run ahead etc. etc.
Isn't the canyon beautiful. It made the run so much easier!
This is my surprised look when I saw Anthony at mile 18! I wasn't expecting him until the finish line.
The one above was just coming up on mile 25. I was had really been struggling for the previous 5 miles but when I crested the last hill all of a sudden I see a whole group with Anthony! His mom and dad and the Holland family! I had no idea they were going to be there and I was really overcome with emotion to see that they all came out to support me. It gave me the boost of energy that I needed and the last mile was one of my best splits!
FINALLY! I am about to cross the finish line. It was a great feeling. And then I stopped. That is when everything started to REALLY hurt, worse than when I was running!
Anthony was so sweet throughout the whole race, he was so supportive. As you can see I got a little teary eyed about it.
This is the absolutely beautiful Holland family who came to support me! Alisa even made a quick little blog about all of the pictures she took:http://yourungirl.blogspot.com/
And one last thing. If you are planning on running a marathon anytime soon...be prepared for blisters like this one!
And one last thing. If you are planning on running a marathon anytime soon...be prepared for blisters like this one!
4. The last of our summer memories was a perfect camping trip! We went with (who else) the Holland's! We had good food and stayed up all night talking around the fire!
Here is our amazing tent for your viewing pleasure.
Here is our amazing tent for your viewing pleasure.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Ultra Marathon Man
I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was the summer of 2006, Anthony and I were living in New York and he was working 13 hour days Monday through Saturday. It was six months into our marriage and to keep myself from missing him so much, I got a fun little waitress job. I was making good money yet still only working barely over part-time. That left a lot of extra time to miss my husband, so I took up reading. I remember going to the second hand thrift store and loading up on books at a dollar each. When that got old (after like a week) I started going to Barnes and Nobel and reading books in the store. I came across this book called Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner. By Dean Karnazes. It looked interesting so I decided this one was worth buying (thank goodness for paperback!)
After reading the first chapter I was hooked. This guys was amazing! One night he decided he needed to turn his life around, so he ran all night and never looked back. I would definately recomend this book to anyone. Even those who have vowed never to take a running step in their life, I promise this book will inspire you in most aspects of your life.
I'm sure you are all familiar with the "I can do it too" Phenomenon, with it's peak season being the Olympic Games. Let me give you an example. You are watching Dara Torres or Michale Phelps do thier thing and these little thoughts keep creeping into your mind: "If they can do it I should be able to do it," "She is 41 years old, he is just a normal guy." And then you start devising a plan of how you will be competing in the next Olympics, starting with #1. learn how to swim. I know we have all been there. For me, the I can do it too phenomenon is more than just that, it's a disease. One that I have to battle daily! So about 10 pages into this book I laced up my running shoes and decided to start training for a marathon. Yet another thing to keep me from missing my perfect husband during the day.
The first run of my traing went well I ran for about 20 minutes. Being only a casual runner up until this point, I thought that was pretty good. Then I started getting to part in the book where it talks about Dean's experince, including numerous Ultra Marathons.
Ultra Marathon: Any running event lasting longer the then a marathon which is 26.2 miles. The most typical distances being 50 miles and 100 miles.
Oh but Dean didn't stop there. He also competed in many multi-day events, some lasting two or three days. (In other words he would run non-stop for 72 hours). Suddenly my 20 minutes didn't seem like something to feel "pretty good" about. So I tried to go longer. I made it to about 35 minutes and started feeling the burn. I continued to push myself for the next couple weeks. I was running for 45 minutes pretty easlily, but was scared to get close to an hour. I mean an hour of running!!! who does that?? Before you know it I had finished the book, started to forget about it and our lives moved on...to New Jersey. And I missed Long Island!Mainly because we had this nice little trail that looped around our apartment complex that was about three quarters of a mile. This made running easy. In New Jersey, we had nothing of the sort. So I moved my runnng inside to a treadmill. (I would like to see you try to run on the streets of Hackensack...YIKES!) This ultimately got too boring and somehow made me forget about my goal of running a marathon. life continued for the next two years. So that is my story of how I almost started training for a Marathon.
Until May 2008. I entered a commitment with my good friend Susie to run a marathon in Logan. We signed up, started training and in 22 hours I will be running my first marathon. I rememeber thinking that my first six mile run at the beginning of the summer was soooo long! but I kept picking away at the milage and following the training program that I had chosen. I adjusted my diet and other small things that allowed me to run better and longer, and before I knew it I had finished my last long training run of the summer which was 19 miles. I can't believe how far I have come! I am a little nervouse because during the last 5 minutes of that long run I had shooting pain in my foot. For the last three weeks I have been contemplating running the marathon. My foot is uncomfortable to walk on and very painful to run on. The more agitated it gets the more it hurts! Is this really happening to me??? I get so close and this is what I get?? What amI going to do??? So I leave it up to the docotor.
jessica:"so doc, if I run this marathon will it cause long term damage to my foot??"
doc: "it shouldn't cause long term damage as long is you let it fully recover after your marathon, but I will tell you this. It will hurt like hell." ( ok I don't want to sully the name of the good BYU doctors so he didn't really say H-E-double hockey sticks, I added that for dramatic effect)
As soon as I heard no long term damge I was good to go. But negative thoughts kept nagging at me. "Will I really have the mental strength to run through the pain??" This is where my good friend Dean comes back into my life. Yesterday I decided to give him another chance. I caught up with him on his blog, discovering his endevor of running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days. (which was completed at the end of '06) Reading about him and his new accpomlishments has renewed my inspiration. Even though this new foot problem has switched my focus of the race tomorrow from running it under 4.5 hours to just finishing, I am still excited. If Dean can run 50 marathons in 50 days then I can run one marathon with a little foot pain. I will finish the race tomorrow, even if I have to hobble accross.
Thanks Dean!
For more information about Dean's Endurance 50 gohere:http://enduranceis.typepad.com/
For every reace he blogs about his experience. His Idaho post is really awsome! It is near the bottom of the page.
Here is Deans site if you just want to know a little more: http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/
Wish me luck!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Rodebush Boys' Fishing Trip
Anthony's brother Greg came in from New Jersey a couple of weeks ago. The boys took this chance to spend some quality time together on a fishing trip in Colorado. 
The morning they left they lined up for their mug shots.
Once they hiked down the 2000 ft vertical Black Canyon, everyone set up their tents....except Anthony. This wasn't because he was unprepared. Those of you who know him well won't be surprised to hear that Anthony built his own shelter. As you can see, his shelter is made from a supple bed of reeds, a wind thwarting wall of rocks and an intricate covering of woven foliage. Other tent dwellers must have been jealous.
The hike down to the Gunnison River was entirely underestimated. This picture was taken at the trail head after a six hour hike virtually strait up! (Can you believe that they are all still so good looking after all that hiking?!)They were so tired and sore! Even though they had a blast, they were so happy and relieved that it was over. They immediately headed to the local steakhouse to pig-out. Look at Anthony's shoulders, can you tell that he was wearing a 50 lb. pack?
It was great to have Greg in town. We don't get to see him enough. Next time we look forward to seeing both Greg and his beautiful wife Kristen!
The morning they left they lined up for their mug shots.
Once they hiked down the 2000 ft vertical Black Canyon, everyone set up their tents....except Anthony. This wasn't because he was unprepared. Those of you who know him well won't be surprised to hear that Anthony built his own shelter. As you can see, his shelter is made from a supple bed of reeds, a wind thwarting wall of rocks and an intricate covering of woven foliage. Other tent dwellers must have been jealous.
The hike down to the Gunnison River was entirely underestimated. This picture was taken at the trail head after a six hour hike virtually strait up! (Can you believe that they are all still so good looking after all that hiking?!)They were so tired and sore! Even though they had a blast, they were so happy and relieved that it was over. They immediately headed to the local steakhouse to pig-out. Look at Anthony's shoulders, can you tell that he was wearing a 50 lb. pack?
It was great to have Greg in town. We don't get to see him enough. Next time we look forward to seeing both Greg and his beautiful wife Kristen!Tuesday, August 19, 2008
California!
Last week Anthony and I went on vacation to California. Anthony and I were in desperate need of relaxation and SUN after a long summer of work and school. We went with Anthony's family and had a blast. Of course we are now greatly considering the beaches of California for Anthony's Fellowship once he graduates. How can one resist that as an option??
These pictures are some of our favorite moments.
This was just outside Vegas on the road trip down.
This is our brother-in-law Paul with his son Owen!!
Owen learned quickly that the sand didn't taste good.
Big G workin' it out on the beach. What a bombshell!
Anthony is catching a wave. It was so hard for both of us NOT to be in the water because it was so perfect. And we definitely preferred body surfing over boogie boarding.
I know the power of the cobra may overtake you. Don't look directly in to it's ruby eyes.
One night we were able to ride bikes along the boardwalk.
All of the girls at USC in front of the Trojan statue.
On our way to the USC football practice, Owen shows his support with his SC hat.
I decided to hit the weight room with the players, we were comparing biceps. I fell into the above average range.
Uncle Pete after practice.
The whole family hanging out before Pete has to go back and to his coach stuff.
The last night of our vacation. Please take a moment to go back to the top of this post and compare the darkness of our skin from the beginning of the trip.
These pictures are some of our favorite moments.
This was just outside Vegas on the road trip down.
This is our brother-in-law Paul with his son Owen!!
Owen learned quickly that the sand didn't taste good.
Big G workin' it out on the beach. What a bombshell!
Anthony is catching a wave. It was so hard for both of us NOT to be in the water because it was so perfect. And we definitely preferred body surfing over boogie boarding.
I know the power of the cobra may overtake you. Don't look directly in to it's ruby eyes.
One night we were able to ride bikes along the boardwalk.
All of the girls at USC in front of the Trojan statue.
On our way to the USC football practice, Owen shows his support with his SC hat.
I decided to hit the weight room with the players, we were comparing biceps. I fell into the above average range.
Uncle Pete after practice.
The whole family hanging out before Pete has to go back and to his coach stuff.
The last night of our vacation. Please take a moment to go back to the top of this post and compare the darkness of our skin from the beginning of the trip.
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