Halloween Half Marathon

WOOOHOOO!!  I not only survived my first half marathon (and probably the last) but I also did well.  I not only finished but I put up a decent time of 2 hours and 8 minutes.  It was tough but fun and I am glad to say I did it.

Here are a few of the highlights:

- We had a group of ward members that also ran the race.  We traveled together and pumped each other up.  We could also commiserate after the race about how much we were in pain.

-We bussed up to Aspen Grove and our bus driver went rogue.  Instead of taking the quick 30 minute direct route, he took the scenic drive over the Alpine Loop.  It was a harrowing 1 1/2 hour drive over the mountain and navigating sharp switchbacks.  In spite of the craziness, it allowed us to sit in a warm location instead of standing for 2 hours in the cold.  It turned out alright.

-  Since it was a Halloween race, we dressed up in costumes.  Roger created, designed and executed our matching set.  We were King Arthur and his faithful servant Patsy from the infamous movie "The Holy Grail".  We were widely popular throughout the race and we ended up taking first place in the costume contest for duos.  We brought home a huge glass vase as our trophy.

-Roger clomped his coconuts together for the entire 13.1 miles which provided a rhythm and entertainment for all around us.

-I love the first 6 miles (all down hill) and the scenic fall views throughout the whole race.

-By mile 8 my left knee started to hurt but I kept going.  By mile 11 both my knees were in severe pain but I pushed through.  Other than that,  I felt great.

-There was a great cheering squad on mile 12 (our kids, my parents, Missy and her kids and some ward members).  It was great encouragement right at the end.

-I finished the race beating my average 10 minute per mile race time.  If only my knees hadn't slowed me down . . .

-Roger stayed by my side the entire time and encouraged me the whole way.  He carried my things, talked to me and cheered me on.  I couldn't have done it without him.

-I got a real cool medal and Halloween t-shirt.

-I also been blessed with great pain for days afterward to remind me that I did run 13 miles and how lucky I am to have a body that will allow me to do that.

One Week to Go . . .

Only one short week until the Halloween Half Marathon.  I do not know if I am excited or relieved.

So in preparation for that I ran 10 miles today.  My longest run to date.  Most of it was in the dark and thankfully my hubby was at my side.  I felt pretty good for the most part.  My knee started hurting at about 9 1/2 miles.  I am hoping it will last for the whole race.

Either way about it, 10 miles wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be :)

8 Miles

Yep, 8 miles!!!

Today I ran 8 miles by myself.  A great accomplishment because I consider myself a social runner.

I ran from my house all the way to Roger's office.  Still can't believe it.

Not only that, I did it in 1 hr. 21 min., a 10 minute mile.

Roger and I are signed up the the Halloween Half Marathon.  I think I might actually be able to do it.

Great way to start my day!

Look How Far We've Come

Here is a picture of one of our very first meals together as a newly married couple.  We had just got back from our honeymoon and reality hit.  What would we make for dinner?  (Little did I know that this was just the beginning of that question that would plague me for the rest of my life). We both had lived on our own for a long time and even served missions so we knew how to cook for ourselves.  We just didn't have much experience cooking for our own little family on a meager student budget.  I am not even sure what we threw together in the end (I can see some sort of muffin from a mix).  We didn't even have a table yet to eat upon, so we sat on the floor and put our humble meal on a lap tray.  The best part of the meals in those days were the minimal dishes and clean up, not the food itself.

Well I am here to say that those days are behind us.  Not only do we have a kitchen table now :), but we have 3 additional mouths to feed.  We have come a long way, and I think we have become quite the gourmet chefs (relatively speaking).  Being Food Network junkies has also helped the cause.  So here is a rundown of our latest Sunday dinner.

-Seasoned Rib Eye Steaks grilled to perfection and accompanied by a Mushroom and Marsala Cream Sauce
-Fresh Silver Queen Corn from our own garden.
-Baked potatoes with sour cream and chives (also from our garden)
-Homemade rolls with homemade a Raspberry/Honey Spread.
-Home grown green beans cooked with bacon and brown sugar

And for Dessert:
-Homemade Vanilla Ice cream topped with a rich homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.  Yum!

This is just a sampling of our many culinary feats.  Great job honey on our growth in the Kitchen.  Here is to many more years of fine dining and lots of miles running to burn off all those extra calories.

San Francisco, Day 1

Well after much fanangling of schedules, church committments and child care issues, Roger and I were finally able to get away together for a few days.  Officially it was to celebrate our 15 year anniversay which was last August.  But life sort of happened and this was the soonest we could get out.  So we decided to head to the Bay Area.

This area means so much to us on many levels.  Not only because we served our missions there but it was also where we met.  We became such good friends at that time during an intense time of our lives.  We share many memories of investigators, wards, areas, spanish, food, members, missionaries and the Oakland Temple.  And although what we experienced couldn't be considered a courtship in the traditional sense, I don't know a better way to truly get to know another person.  I saw Roger for the good person that he was and recognized the great potential in him.  So, no we did not date or even talk of dating but we both agree that we found our hearts in San Francisco.

We haven't flown together for awhile (at least not alone) and it was enjoyable to just be together.  We enjoyed our traditional Cinnabon at the airport to kick off the adventure.

We flew into Oakland so our first stop was Taqueria San Jose.  We used to go there as missionaries if we ever wanted to pretend we were really in Mexico.  It is in the heart of Latin Land and has the best Super Burrito de Carne Asada that you can find anywhere and at a reasonable price.

Of course, since we were in Oakland, we had to go up to the Visitor Center and Temple.  We had a nice visit with several sister missionaries and shared war stories.  We met the spanish sisters and talked of the different members and converts.  Sometimes it is still hard to believe that I spent so much time there.  And of course Roger holds the title of the first Elder to give a VC tour, which is a story for another time.  As fun as it was to visit, I was grateful to be able to walk out the door with my husband knowing that we could leave and totally enjoy ourselves and be thankful that that part of our lives is over.

We then headed over to the San Francisco side of the bay in a rainstorm.  What was nice about this trip is that we officially only had one thing planned for the entire time.  That was to go to the Broadway Musical Wicked.  Other than that we were free to fly wherever the wind would take us.  Our first night we stayed in a nice hotel right in the center of downtown.  I love visiting big cities.  It is such a feast for the eyes, ears and nose.  I love the transportation as well.  We were able to take the underground subway, the Muni, to get to the theatre.

The show was fantastic.  I enjoyed it the second time around even more than the first. I followed the story better and was able to appreciate the beautiful singing.  Roger also had a good time.  I felt so lucky to be in such a wonderful city and enjoying all of the culture it had to offer.  It was an amazing day.

I love this picture of us in the subway.  Can you see us in the glass?  It is like we are in the movie Ghost.

80's Flashback

The Bishop and I were invited to a 80's Karaoke Night that was sponsored by the Elder's Quorom. Dressing up was highly recommended. Usually, Roger and I don't put ourselves out there quite that much. We tend to hang in the back and appreciate everyone else that sticks their neck out. Since we actually experienced the 80's and remember them all too well, it wasn't too much of a stretch to dress up and relive the times.

We cropped our jeans and put on the bright colors. Roger rocked the pop collar look with 3 different polo shirts. I tried my best to make my hair go really big. It was a challenge, I don't know how we used to do it back then. A lot of Aqua Net Hairspray I guess. I donned the absurd and not to subtle makeup and off we went.


We had a wonderful time. The food was good and the company was great. We loved seeing all of the different interpretations of the 80's styles. The karaoke kept us entertained and laughing until our sides hurt. There sure are some outgoing people in our ward. We did draw the line at dressing up. We were appreciators of the singers, not the performers.

What a crazy time the 80's were. It was fun to remember but I am thankful that those times are over. I am much happier now.

My New Toy

For Christmas I got a new toy. It is rare as an adult to actually get something "just for fun" but I did thanks to my wonderful husband. He got me a fancy camera with all the bells and whistles. I even got a couple of different lenses including a high powered zoom lens. It is sweet!!


I have always been interested in photography for as long as I can remember. In 8th grade I was in the yearbook class. We were handed out cameras and instructed to take candid shots of Jr. High life. It was so fun to me and I was always trying to get that "perfect" shot that caught the essence of my subject. Not only did we get to take the photos but we also got to process them in a lab all on our own. It was so exciting every time I did the photo wash to see an image appear as if by magic. I was thrilled each time a photo came to be.

Once I had children, my interest in photography grew once again. Mainly because we were poor college students and couldn't afford to go and have fancy pictures taken at a studio. I didn't want to miss out on my kids milestones and I also wanted to capture their childhood in a more professional way. My mother-in-law gave me my first SLR camera. The kind that you have to set the aperture, film speed and
shutter speed. And of course at that time it also required film. I soon devoured all kinds of photography books and even took a community class to learn more. It was definitely a trial and error hobby and more often than not my pictures turned out terrible. But every now and them I would get a gem that would be worth it all.


Time passed and soon my film SLR was replaced with a point and shoot digital camera. Wow did it amaze me that you could instantly view your work and even delete the ones that you weren't pleased with at that moment. But in a way it was sad to me. I missed the ability to manipulate my photos by adjusting the lighting and focal lengths. I got okay pictures but rarely did I have the one that made me go WOW.



Well, that is over now because my new camera makes that all available to my fingertips once again. I still have the convenience of digital film and even auto features when it is just one of those days. But, I can also allow my creativity to come through once again. I found I am a little rusty. I still get many poor photos. But when I can take 3,000 on one card it doesn't bother me so much. I plan to practice a lot and maybe someday I can call myself a photographer.

Here are a few of my favorite shots that I took while playing around with my new toy.

My Birthday

Another birthday has come and gone, another year older, another year wiser(?). I have to admit there are many things I don't enjoy about becoming older. My body aches more often and I am a much slower runner than I used to be. I have the occasional mental blocks where I can't remember the name of common household items or even my children's names. I sometimes enter a room and for the life of me can't remember why. But I am still doing my best to fight the battle. I still run and deal with the aches. I make up my own names for things and call my kids whatever I want. And when I enter a room and can't remember why, I use it as an opportunity to sit down and relax until it comes to me. I just hope I can keep up with myself.

But I do want to say that this birthday this year just reminded me of how blessed I am and how many wonderful experiences and people I have met in my lifetime. My day started out with homemade cards from my children. Then Brianna brought me breakfast in bed. She made me a peanut butter sandwich and she was very generous with the peanut butter (she informed me that we were all out of ham). She then sat with me in bed to ensure that I enjoyed eating the whole thing. It was sweet.

Roger took the day off to help me catch up around the house. We went to a nice lunch at Pei Wei. When the kids got home Roger had them help clean the whole house as a birthday present to me.

Throughout the day I got various phone calls, visits, gifts, and cards from so many people. I truly felt loved and special as you should on your birthday. We ended the day with a nice dinner, prepared by my hubby of course, and chocolate molten lava cakes.

I am thankful to everyone and I am honest in saying that I am loving this time of my life. I am happy and blessed and loved by truly amazing people. What more could I want?

"Wicked"

I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Broadway play "Wicked" this weekend. About a year ago, I heard that it was coming to Salt Lake and thought it would be nice to go. Then in June, Missy asked if I would like to go together along with Mom and Amberly. So I said sure and let her handle getting the tickets. I didn't realize that they would be so difficult to obtain. Fortunately for us, Missy's good friend Brandy, helped us get tickets through her mother who is a season pass holder to the theatre. She was able to get us some of the best seats in the house. I learned later that very few people outside of season ticket holders were able to get them. So I was lucky.

Everyone that has ever been to Wicked rants and raves about it. I was excited to see it but wondered if it would live up to all the hype. It did. The costumes were gorgeous and the set and special effects were dazzling. The singing was beautiful. The acting was well done and I was truly carried away into the land of Oz. I loved the story. It made me laugh and cry and the ending was just perfect. I only wish I could have shared it with the rest of my family.


It was great to be able to go and I especially enjoyed being there with my mom and sisters. I would definitely see it again in a heartbeat if ever given another opportunity. Maybe I just need to talk Roger into taking me to New York so he can see it with me :).

Oaktown

I thought I better finish writing about my visit to Oakland last week. Here I am in front of the mission home. It was gorgeous with all the flowers blooming and green grass. My stomach got butterflies as I recalled standing in this very spot on my first day in the mission field. I am glad that I served a mission but I am especially glad that this time around I was only there for a visit.

Here is Smith walking to our old apartments. Notice the sign that says Luxury Apartments. I guess if you consider ant invasions, cockroaches, old carpet and furniture, drug dealings under you windows and muggings in the parking lot, luxury, then I don't want to know the flip side.





Here we are eating our Super Burritos at Taqueria San Jose. It was a favorite place to go as missionaries because it was like going to another country. Not only that, for five dollars you can't beat the price for the amount of yummy food you get.

While we were there, two Hispanic men came up and sang to us while playing their guitars. We were quite flattered until they asked for money (I guess we are getting old).

After lunch we visited a Latin tienda to buy fun candy and treats to take back to our kids. Roger wasn't a big fan of the stuff, but my kids thought they were pretty neat.

Here is the wonderful Padilla family at the reception. There is Mariana and Luis, Angeles and David, Smith, and Ariela and Mario. We sure love those guys and feel thankful they have kept us involved in their lives.

Here is the stake center all gussied up for the reception. They were expecting over 500 people and sure enough that many came and stayed. They sure now how to have a party. I enjoyed helping decorate with the Padillas and David's family.

Here is Pepe Cid, a guy that I taught and was baptized with his family. He came to the reception and it was great to see him. He graduate from BYU Hawaii (he remembered me talking about it and decided to go there himself). He also served a mission to New York and is now an accountant. I am so proud of him.

This is beautiful Flor and her family. Flor was just 14 when we taught her and she was baptized. Later she taught her future husband and he ended up baptizing his whole family. She has 2 beautiful girls and is expecting another baby. I haven't seen her in 15 years and it made my heart swell to know that she is still so strong and faithful in the gospel. In fact she was a YW president at 22 and is now the Primary president. I am sure I could learn a lot from her.

Yolanda and Evelio. Yolanda is Flor's Aunt and they are from Honduras. We taught them together. She also was baptized. Later, the rest of her family, Evelio her husband and her four kids were also baptized. They have a beautiful home now in San Leandro and are doing well. In fact they insisted we come by for breakfast the morning after the reception.

So here I am the next morning at Yolanda's house. I had forgotten what it meant to be invited to eat with my dear Hispanic friends. She made us steak, eggs, frijoles, pan (bread), taquitos, plantain fritadas (fried bananas), queso, juice, and hot chocolate. Wow. Everything was so good and I was bien llena (very full) after that.

It was great fun to be in her home and catch up after all these years. We were also reminded of the many cultural things we learned during the mission and my Spanish got a good work out.

Smith and I searched out an investigator family that we taught.

They never got baptized but we also never forgot them. They were so neat and the circumstances just weren't right. Brenda, was a 14 year old girl that was extra special. Well, we found them and they were shocked. Here is Graciela, Brenda and her cute 6 month old daughter Maria Estrella. They have never forgotten us or the church so we will see if our new found contact will lead anywhere.

Here is part of the dear Soberanis Family. They were an important part of my mission and many miracles surrounded them and their conversion story. I loved them so much. Unfortunately, they eventually left the church and I don't know why. We lost contact and this trip a good member helped us find them. They were quite surprised to see us and kept saying it was a miracle. I still don't know what happened but I hope to get to the bottom of it now that I have their contact information.

This is Lorena Soberanis all grown up. She came to my wedding and was one of my bridesmaids. She was so special to me. She is now married and has 3 children of her own. I hope and pray that she will return to the church and receive all the blessings that are just waiting for her. I will do my best to do my part.

Isn't her little boy cute? He has such a head of hair on him. It was unbelievable.