*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear monday, got up at 6:30 and headed out for six miles.  I am loving the early morning hours.  I wasn't fast though. 

This happened as I was running nearby. I saw all the smoke but thought it was on the mountain.  I had no idea it was a car!  Gratefully, they all survived!

Why does this make me so excited?

Came home and hurried and got ready before Carson woke up.  He helped me fill the macarons and box them.  

 He amazed me how well he filled the boxes with the shred.  He put the exact amount in each one.  And I mean exact. This little four year old is always amazing me!  My 20 year old wouldn't have done it that accurate!

Carson and Bryce played for a long time.  Sky and crew headed home and I left right after to my Sista VDay lunch.  

Sadly, Rovali's was closed, so we went to Roosters.  Mrs. Dudman (our junior high gym teacher showed up!) How cool is that!  It was fun. We all exchanged Valentines.  Kimberly Spicker came too.  We got some pix and then everyone had to run. 

 With our Junior High gym teacher.  Can you guess which one she is????

She is the second one on the left.  Mrs. Dudman.  Robin said, "Can we call her Carol now?"  Hehe

I had a turkey enchilada MOLE!  Mmm....

I sure do love these women.  They bring a lot of joy to my life and I am so grateful for them all.  I hit a couple stores to finish getting some things for Carson for Valentine's Day.  

I saw this in Deseret Book and loved it!

On the way home, Karen was texting me and I stupidly answered!  With a voice text.  Bad idea.  I got pulled over right after I pulled off the interstate.  Some guy reported me. Found out later it was the guy who was tailgating me so I had to keep changing lanes.  The cop said he said I was swerving.  Not true. I was changing lanes a million times to keep him off my tail!  Grrr........ You don't argue with cops though.  But I was mad!  He gave me a ticket!  Aaaaaaa!  I am going to fight it though because of how the guy that reported me was acting.  He was on my tail even when I changed lanes to get him off my tail a million times.  Thus, he says I was swerving.  So, wrong. Either way, I was guilty and I should not have been texting.  Even as a voice text. WHAT WAS I THINKING?  STUPID!  STUPID!  STUPID!  I am going to throw my phone in the backseat from now on.  And....I can NOT find my driver's license!  I have NO idea how it got out of my wallet!  Dang!  I came home and talked to Bryce about it.  I really should have worked on Boston but now I am not sure if my parents are going or not and so I don't know how big of a place to get.  Sky thinks it would not be a good idea due to all the walking. It would be too hard on Grammy.  He's prob right but I want them to go so much.  Sigh.....  Brenda brought her cookies by. They are so good.  

I tried to catch up this blasted blog!  I haven't practiced harp for a few days!  Lesson tomorrow!  Yikes!

dear tuesday, I got up and practiced my harp since I had a group lesson this morning.  The lesson was at 9:30 and by the time we got all the harps set up and everyone settled it was 9:45.  Then Nanette informed the others she was expecting twins.  So we talked.  Way too long.  I don't think we started playing until after 10. One of the students kept talking between songs as well.  But what do you do?  We ended up being there for two hours!  Good thing I didn't have to be anywhere!  

I headed to Sky's after to deliver some Valentine's.   No one answered and so I text them and called but nothing until I had already left.  He said they were home but didn't hear me knock.  So I went back.  I scared Carson! He was so excited when he saw me.  It was the cutest thing ever. He was just grinning from ear to ear without saying a word.  He loved his Valentine's. 

I gave Sky and Sarah some little things (socks and sparkling cider).  I told Sky about my ticket. He said I need to fight it because I was voice texting and still could see the road.  He said I will win. I am not sure.  I played with Carson in his room and then we went to check on Star the horse we almost chocked to death last time I was there. Haha  She was still alive. I then left to get some things for the macarons and hit several craft stores then came home and just wanted to do nothing but I had so much to do.  Dave had meetings and so I caught up on a few things and then watched some of the Olympics.

Boston is 62 days from today!  I loved this meme:

♥dear valentine's day!♥ I got up early and started to work on the Boston trip.  Holy cow, the time flew and I didn't really accomplish much. I kept waiting for the travel agent lady to text me back but she was so slow, so I finally headed out on my run.  Yeah, I was kind of avoiding it today because it was speedwork at the track day.  Definitely NOT my favorite!  But necessary!  My goal was to do 4 x 800 (Yasso 800's).  I got in the first one and was much slower than I hoped (3:51) but my second one was even slower around a 4:00.  On my third my phone died and I was using the stopwatch to time me. I switched over to my Garmin to time me but then it died.  Hmm...  So, I just went with it and kept running anyway.  After I did the 4th one knowing I reached my goal, I forced myself to do one more even though I was SO done.  I know when I push myself harder than I want to, I see results.  So I got in five total.  I have no idea what my time was on the last two, but maybe that's a good thing!  

I'm really hoping the others were faster.

I came home and started on the Boston hoo-hah again.  I took a break and showered.  I am not sure why I got this travel agent involved because I was finding better deals than she was on everything.  Maybe it's good because it forced me to get it done.  But I am still not done. I have everything done (hotel, rental car, Red Sox tickets) but the flights. I am going to wait until tomorrow to do those because they are supposed to be cheaper on Thursday. Probably not true, but it's worth a try.  This trip is costing so much $$$!  

Dave and I decided to go to dinner early again this year to beat the crowds.  It's nice when he is off on VDay.  We tried to get reservations at Windy's Sukiyaki but they were full.  I tried La Nonne but they were full as well.  We ended up at Long Horn.  We still had a 35 minute wait even though we were there at 4:30!  Everyone else tried to beat the crowds as well.  So to kill time we went to Costco.  We grabbed a few things and the thing beeped so we ran back.  We still had to wait 10 minutes.  The food was so good. We were both starving because we didn't eat lunch. 

They even gave us chocolate!

I made out pretty well...

We thought about going to a movie but there weren't any we really wanted to see so we decided to go home and watch the Olympics. How romantic!  Then Dave thought we could make it to the sealing of a couple in our ward who was getting sealed and then having their children sealed to them.  We decided to run home and change and do that.  We even got there on time.  It was a great experience to be in the temple for a sealing on Valentine's Day.  The little baby girl cried and cried and cried the whole time they were sealing. She did stop for a moment right when the sealer (sweet Patriarch Allred) was saying their names.  It was pretty cool.  We decided to go get a hot fudge sundae at Mickey D's but their ice cream machine was broke so we hit Burger King but they didn't have hot fudge so we tried Yogurt Factory but no one would take our order at the drive through so we came home and made our own banana splits.  They were much better anyway. Taylor showed up for a bit (basically to eat). He had a lab in town.  I watched the Olympics.  It was the pairs figure skating which is my favorite.  A pretty uneventful Valentine's Day. 

These were left on our porch.

This popped up on my Facebook memories.  I entered it in a contest a few years ago and the lady who was doing the contest posted it first on her blog.  We never won, but it's still a fun memory.  

My handsome Valentine.  I think I will tell him how handsome he looks next to the ocean so he will take me there soon!

dear thursday, today was a good day!  However, it did not start off that way.  I didn't sleep well.  I got up early to go run but remembered I had to make the casserole for Dave's parents dinner because I would be gone all day.  I put it together but while doing it, I dropped some leftovers out of the fridge and after cleaning that up, I dropped a whole pan of Tator Tot casserole.  I cleaned that up and then Dave asked me what the hamburger in the microwave was for.  Ooop!  I realized I left out the hamburger out in one of them.  Sheesh!  I was trying to hurry too fast and that's what happens.  Haste makes waste.  True.   I need to post this recipe because it's fast, easy and yummy.  I have yet to meet anyone that doesn't like it.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

1 large bag frozenTater Tots

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can evaporated milk

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with onion.  Mix with soup, milk and 1 cup cheese.  Layer tater tots in 9x13 pan.  Pour meat mixture on top and bake for 45 minutes covered. Then uncover and add 1 cup of cheese on top and bake uncovered for 15 more minutes. 

I got in four and half miles.  It was chilly.  

I was excited today to go to a Harp Master Class with the world famous Russian harpist Sasha Boldechev.  I ran a couple errands on my way.  The day was getting better.  Didn't even get pulled over.  Haha  I picked up April in Kaysville and then we headed to Lyon and Healy in SLC for the Master Class.  I love April.  She is so sweet and cute.  She has been playing the harp for about four years.  I just celebrated my second year of taking lessons this month!  I did take off two months in the summer, so not quite two years.  I am loving it.  The master class was amazing.  Sasha was playing all the harps when we arrived and tuning them.  He is so unbelievably skilled.  I was amazed.  

Five students performed numbers and he took 20 minutes each to teach them what they were doing wrong.  Or right for that matter.  It was interesting. I learned a lot.  Especially about posture.  He said do not drop the shoulder because it looks bad and it's not strong enough to support you. He taught us many other things as well.  

He played for us at the end and that was exciting. 

We had a question and answer period and found out that he began taking lessons when he was five!  Yes, five!  We asked how long he practices and he said when he was five he practiced for two and half hours a day!  What?  That seems unheard of. I can't think of a five year old that could or would do that.  He said by the time he was eight he practiced six hours a day.  At age 14 he was up to eight hours a day. He said when studying with a certain teacher he practiced 12 hours a day!  CRAZY!  I have no idea how anyone could do that.  That explains why he is so incredible.  It's not just talent, it's dedication.  He was impressive! So were some of the girls that performed.  Being just a beginner it was exciting to see how good you can become if you practice hard.  I have no desire to ever be at his level, but it was inspiring nonetheless.  I am glad April came. It was fun to get to know her better.  We had refreshments and then hit rush hour traffic on the way home.  

With Sasha Boldechev

Me, Sasha, and April

I had to go straight to our Stake YW halftime show performance practice.  It was fun, but we were there for THREE hours!  Sheesh!  Imagine four women trying to choreograph a dance with all their ideas and opinions.  I was beat.  I didn't get breakfast, lunch (just refreshments at the harp class) and no dinner.  Dave forgot to put our casserole in the oven when he did his parents.  Thankfully, there's always cereal!  Hah

dear friday, I got up and worked on the flights for a while. I was trying to avoid going out today because it was much colder than it has been and I'm no longer used to it.  The bad thing is next week is going to be even colder!  It was 23 when I went out.  I didn't get in much of a good run. I was supposed to go nine miles today.  Didn't happen. Oh well.  

I keep finding spiders and bugs hidden ALL over my house.  In the drawers, cupboards, corners, you name it...they're everywhere.  Hah!  Carson knows how much I hate them and gets the biggest kick out of it when I scream.  They are usually legit screams too.  I sent him a picture of me finding one and Sky sent back a picture of him grinning from ear to ear.  He's so dang cute!  

My goal today was to get the Teddy Bear macs done for Dani's shower tomorrow.  I am ready to throw in the towel.  Actually, I am ready to throw the macs out the window!  They did not turn out AT. ALL.  This time they browned too much and it changed the color!  Then second pan was under cooked because I was so afraid of browning them that I turned down the oven and they had a hard time cooking but then they started to brown! I GIVE UP!  And they were hollow!  Ugh!  No!  I WILL NOT GIVE UP!  But I feel like it!  Grrr.....  They gave me a killer headache.  

It was a great day besides that!  At least I got to watch some of the figure skating while I made them.  These things take much too long to make to not turn out perfectly EVERY time!  I am dreading my 19 miler tomorrow. I need to change my attitude.  It. Will. Be. Fun.  At least there are several peeps going.  That always makes the time go faster.  Sherri, Robin, Sherry Sandlian, and Marci are all coming.  So we will have five of us.  Robin and Sherry are only going 7-10, so I hope I can keep up with Sherri and Marci.

dear saturday, I met Sherrie at 6:30 a.m. and we got in five miles before meeting Robin and Sherry.  It was a pretty chilly this morning.  

We headed south and then north down Main.  Sherry S. took off for home after about four miles.  So it was just the three of us.  I really liked breaking it up like that.  It makes it seem much shorter for me.  We went to Love's Truck Stop for water and potty break.  We ended up just shy a mile or so and so we ran around the park and back up to 600 East.  It was a pretty good long run.  I wasn't in a lot of pain other than my hips and my knees were aching, but other than that, I felt good.  I felt better with this 19 than I did with the 14 or 17. Not sure why, but it was a nice switch.  And such a relief to have it done. I am not sure why the knees have started to ache during and after.  I've never had issues with them before.  I think when I start getting into the long miles, lots of things start to pop up that I don't usually see.  I do keep thinking though that my marathon days are numbered.  Training for a full really takes it out of you, but I am feeling it more the past year.  I always wanted to the that 80 year lady still running marathons, but the way the bod is feeling, I am re-thinking that! hah  

Sky called and asked if Carson could come over and spend the night.  Taylor and Bryce were working for Barry with Sky and so Taylor just brought Carson back.  I was in Corinne at Dani's shower, but I did pass them on my way.  The shower was fun. I got a chance to talk to Dani.  We had a great talk.  It was a good thing.  The food was amazing.  

We had a four year old take our group photo...haha.  Then Dave's Dad came and he took one for us but I think the four year's was better.  LOL.  

 Dave's Dad's attempt ↓ his thumb was in all of them. haha

 We finally got one that was mostly good....  LOL

When I got home Carson was playing with Bryce.  Bryce is so good to spend so much time with him.  

Taylor was here too but he was studying his brains out like usual.  He studies so hard and is so dedicated.  Sky is that way as well.  I was grateful to Bryce because I had to get my lesson ready.  Carson was excited to be here and to have a sleep over.  He even liked my Tator Tot casserole.  We watched a bit of a movie and then went to bed.  That long run wore me out!  Or was it a four year old?  hehe

dear sunday, Carson woke up at 7 a.m. I had been awake since Dave left at 6 a.m.  We snuggled for a while and then he wanted to eat.  I worked on my lesson and practiced the piano.  Taylor headed back to Logan just in time before the snow got bad. Sky and Sarah showed up and it started to really snow.  We all headed to church and it was really snowing by then.  

Dave's parents and Kev and Tori also came to our ward because Isaac is getting baptized tonight.  Zan stayed with us to go to Primary.  Her and Carson held hands and were so cute!  

I talked to Johnny in the hall for a bit about Sky.  He told me how much he loves that kid.  I appreciated his words.  I taught my class. I sure do love them.  They are a lot of fun and make lots of comments.  Plus they are so hilarious.  All of them are really good kids.  I enjoyed our RS lesson by Lindsey.  She is the cutest girl.  Piano went okay.  I went and picked up Carson and Zan and Heidi told me that Carson was so cute.  She said they were talking about love and he blurted out very loud, "I love Jodi!".  She said it was the cutest thing ever.  I guess everyone got a kick out it because I had four other people tell me the same story.  He is a cutey.  He really has my heart. I am glad he loves me so much!  :)  The feeling is mutual.  It snowed a lot while we were in church.  I think we had at least 6 inches and it was still coming down.  We ate ribs (as a snack according to Dave) and then went to Isaac's baptism at our church.  I love that kid.  I can NOT believe he is eight!  In my mind he is still four!  It was a cute baptism.  Zan sang I Am a Child of God all by herself.  It was adorable!  She is absolutely the cutest little thing.  Kev then baptized and confirmed Isaac and then we had the dinner.  It was really good. Kev loves to cook and he made homemade potatoes and gravy and pot roast.  It was pretty tasty.  It was actually Isaac's birthday and so we sang to him and had cake and ice cream as well.  Carson and Zan were having so much fun playing.  Isaac opened his presents and we cleaned up.

 We came home to more snow.  I think it's our first major winter storm this season.  Sadly, it's going to get really cold now.  Carson was sad to go home but so sweet.  He is constantly kissing me and telling me he loves me.  I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy in my life.  He brings me so much joy and is a bright light in our lives.

Exactly how I feel...

This is one charming kid!  Watch out girls!

He is ALWAYS making me cards, pictures, "presents".  He hasn't come to visit yet without bringing me one.  This one is purple cats.  Sweet!

Speaking of cats...
dear mr. cat, he for one isn't bothered by the cold.

dear boston, I can't believe how fast it's approaching!  I follow the FB page on Boston training and sometimes it gets me really motivated and other times it makes me feel like a total slacker. Some of those peeps on there are SO fast!  Even their 20 milers are ran at a 6 minute pace!  I really need to get doing some tempo runs besides my Yasso's so I can be ready!

Exercise science has taught us that lactate threshold pace is a fantastic indicator of running performance. The faster you can run while still clearing lactate, the faster you’ll be able to race.  But there’s also a significant mental aspect as well: they’re hard, stressful, and mentally fatiguing. Tempo workouts teach you to manage your emotions when running becomes difficult.  As University of Colorado at Boulder head cross country coach Mark Wetmore has said:Distance runners are experts at pain, discomfort, and fear.  You’re not coming away feeling good.  It’s a matter of how much pain you can deal with on those days.  It’s not a strategy.  It’s just a callusing of the mind and body to deal with discomfort.Tempo workouts callous the mind for racing. They teach you to tolerate more discomfort and develop mental toughness.  For runners, there’s no more valuable skill.

dear random, 

The turks are back!

McKay's roommate.  They all spent the weekend in Bear Lake and they got a lot more snow than we did.  Crazy kids!

No idea where he is......

A huge buck in our backyard....

And a mama

Taylor's posts....  the one on the left is a person (Taylor) jumping off a pine tree but all you can see is the "swoosh"....  

Cute Carson holding his mama's hand while she had the infection on her head fixed. 

Carson now being the doc....to Taylor.  He lived.

 dear quotes,

Richard Eyre posted this.  I only got part of it, but it's the part that really made me think.  I love how he says, "Christ was not perfect in the sense he never committed a wrong, but in the almost mind-boggling sense that he never omitted a right."  NEVER.  So awe inspiring to me.