Burning The Midnight Oil

Phew, I'm tired, no exhausted would better describe it! We just got back from the Sandy City Midnite Moon 5k Run. Good news!!!!! I beat my previous time by almost a minute and came in at 31:57. I took 13Th place in women's age 30-34. Justin took 6Th place in men's 30-34 with a time of 28:44. Our friend Jim ran with us and took 3rd place in men's in his age division. It was super fun but seriously tiring. Honestly, who runs a 5K at midnight? Well, um, me I guess. :) BTW: This picture of me was taken after the race, so it's not the best. I WAS TIRED!

It's Where I Want To Be

Today was one of those "wake up and smell the coffee" days. I'm about to get all emotional so run away while you can! Today I took a good look at my life and asked myself "Where do I want to be?" The true and honest answer to that is "right here, right now and nowhere else", but there were also some little things that needed to be done, for myself, to allow me to feel complete contentment.

#1. I started up Weight Watchers again. Now that the summer barbecues and parties are coming to an end, I need to be back on track. 30 pounds down since March, 15 more to go! I did five miles today and stayed within my WW points - it was a good day.
#2. I cancelled all but basic cable. If there are channels to watch, there is a butt imprint in my couch.
#3. I put together a written plan for my 10K training. If it's in writing, I have to do it right?
#4. I made a goal to go to Cabo one day and look at these boats. - I love this picture.

Ahhhh, it feels good to be happy.

At Last - The Drama Is Over

Okay, I'm a little slower than my fellow Twilight addicts (aka: Kristin, ma, Summer, Holli, Mindy) so it took me a few extra days, but I finished Breaking Dawn today. Well?.....it wasn't my favorite. I think I allowed myself so much hype and anticipation that when certain things didn't go the way I thought they should, I was disappointed. I also tend to over analyze things (geeze Kelly, really?) so I noticed a few discrepancies that probably only someone as anal as I am would notice. Now don't get me wrong, I liked the book a lot and was so glad to see an end, one to my liking mind you, to all our months of waiting. It just wasn't my favorite of the four. I felt everything was a little rushed and I just didn't get enough satisfaction in details. So while there may be a few out there who hate me right now and can't believe I am so misguided, RELAX I liked it, it just wasn't my favorite.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my wonderful mother's birthday. Happy Birthday! It was wonderful to see my family and spend time together celebrating moms birthday. Love you mom!

It's Official - I'm Crazy!

Last night we, along with our good friends Holli and Shon, partied at Barnes and Noble for the long awaited release of Breaking Dawn. We dressed in our formals, went out to dinner before hand and took part in the party festivities. The hype was at full max at 11:59 when the employees began counting down to the release. Then was the fun part...the waiting. I was in group 16 and was able to purchase my books (I bought three) at the wee hour of 1:00 AM. I saved my receipt (to scrapbook of course) and it shows my purchase at 1:09 AM. CRAZY! I also ran into my long lost "sista from another mutha" and longtime GF Kristin, whom I haven't seen in ages! It was so great to see her in her Twilight glory, even though we didn't get to spend much time together.
Overall, I don't know if I will do it again, but it was definitely worth the experience.

Camping in Coalville

We had a great time camping in Coalville. The weather was hot but the river was cool. The fish weren't biting and the mosquitoes left us all a few reminders that they were very hungry. We still had a wonderful time hiking, fishing, eating, roasting s'mores and relaxing with Nana, Bepa, and the clan. On our last day, we drove into Evanston to watch the horse races. Both the kids competed in the "Little Cow Pokes" race and mom and dad placed a few pony bets. It was a great time and lots of fun. The kids loved seeing the horses race and all the loud noises and spectator hype. I haven't been there in years and it was a great reminder of why we need to go more often. We came back to camp and had to watch "horse races" (the kids pretending they were horses) all night. Fun times!

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Race Results!

Today Justin got a package in the mail from the Utah Arts Festival. It's this awesome medal made of sandstone and a certificate for a 1-day lift ticket to Deer Valley Ski Resort with a note saying "Thank you for participating...here is your prize." Well, we are wondering what place he took so we checked it out and....are you ready?....1ST PLACE! He took first place for his division! AWESOME!!! I am so proud of him. So, for the heck of it, we look down the list to the females, just to check if I even placed at all, and......ready?........I placed 2ND in my division! We are one happy family right now, riding a cloud. Okay, I'm done tooting my horn. Time for a celebratory glass of wine. Oh, and if you want to see for yourself, here is the link: http://www.sports-am.com/RaceResults/data/2008%20Art%20Attack%20Results.txt

Update 7/24/08: Today I received a package in the mail too! I got the same medal as Justin but with a red ribbon instead of blue. I also received this incredible scrapbook kit and a disk with 2000 fonts (do they know me or what?). I was so happy. Justin and I just gave each other a high five and proceeded to sign up for another 5K on August 15Th. We will keep you posted with results!

A New Toy! (Thanks Min.)

Last night I went running from my house up to my parents who live next to Brighton High (go Bengals!) and with the hills and all, I SWORE it must have been at least 5 miles. Well, my dad drove me home and we tracked it. THREE lousy miles. I was so sad. Well my bud Mindy told me about the Garmin Forerunner 305, an awesome watch that tracks time, distance, miles, calories, incline, heart rate, it even has real time GPS! I was hooked! I needed to have it. So, last night my darling hubby said "Buy it." and I DID! I am so excited to get it in a couple days and try it out. There are so many things it can do, I can't list them all, but if you wanted to see, go to: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=349# and check it out. Thanks Justin! Thanks Mindy!

Chance Meeting?

Wednesday I took the kids to the pool. We got there early and found one of the very few prized shade areas. A middle-eastern women dressed in a burqa, came in with her children. I knew she would be hot in the 97 degree weather, so the kids and I scooted our chairs as tight as possible and offered to share our shade with them. The woman, Mesa, gladly took us up on the offer. Throughout the three hours we were there, Mesa and I struck up a wonderful conversation. She shared a swim cap that she had purchased in the Middle East a couple months ago, with Sieauna. She asked about the book I was reading and asked me if I had read "A Thousand Splendid Suns". She gave me her just finished copy and I read the first six chapters at the pool, discussing every chapter with her as I read. I got hooked! She said "I just knew you'd like it". She was so friendly, so kind. I came home and put the book on hold at the library. I picked it up yesterday and am almost done reading it. God puts people in your life everyday for reasons we are not sure of, but I am so glad for the chance meeting with Mesa. I hope to run into her again someday.

7/14/2008:

Afterthought: The book was amazing, heart wrenching, touching. I couldn't put it down and finished it in two days. Knowing that Mesa has experienced the aspect of Middle Eastern life, makes her a very strong woman in my eyes. This book, and the Kite Runner, have really opened my eyes to what exactly is going on over there. Also, it makes me realize that sadly we have a long way to go before our armed forces, as well as the people of the Middle East, can make it a country even close to what we have in America. After reading those books, I truly love my country and boy are we spoiled! Wow...all I can say.

Mia & Lilly - Best Friends Forever

I know this is kinda funny, but I just thought this was the cutest picture ever. This, my friends, is why we have fur-children. (Click to enlarge. Mia is sleeping on Lilly's back while Lilly is resting on Mia's arm.) SO CUTE!