*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

            

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge - if print is too small, you need glasses! ☺)

dear rainy run in january!  Yes RAIN!  In January!  Not snow!  Pretty sure I've never ran in rain in January before.  Rain makes me happy!

Pretty sure I've never seen a Christmas card in the gutter drenched in rain either!  That would normally be covered in snow and ice!  I was also drenched when I got home!  Even wetter than that poor horse and he was dripping wet!

 My camera lens was a bit wet and I thought it would be fun to try and get some unique running shots.  My friend Jen is always gets amazing running shots with her phone camera timer.  I thought today with the lens a bit wet and the rain, that it was the perfect match to attempt my own.  I was really surprised what I saw when I got home and downloaded them.  

These are my favorite.  It looks like I have someone running with me.  I've always hoped that I had help from some unseen force. hah

dear taylor coming home!  I was so happy to see him when he snuck in the house! I wasn't expecting him to come home until that night for his city basketball game, but he showed up early!  His buddy Josh just happened to stop by to return something and I told him Taylor was home.  Taylor was on the couch trying to catch a catnap and was sound asleep.  I let Josh in to surprise wake him.  Taylor was definitely surprised!

I ran to the store (in a snowstorm - the rain finally DID turn to snow by afternoon) to get stuff to make him meatloaf because when I asked him what he really wanted for dinner that is what he requested.  Some day I know that I won't have any of these boys around to cook for and so I am trying to enjoy the fact that I still have them now, and yes I cater to them.  

The snow really started to come down. Dave and I headed over to watch his game.

They were playing a huge team that were really tough.  The biggest guy played college ball at WSU last year.  He was really good, but Taylor held his own against him. 

 White men can jump...

They can also fall down...

It was a fun game to watch because both teams were playing really hard.  Sadly, we lost, but it was a hard fought game.

After the game we had everyone home for dinner. 

And for breakfast the next day...

dear snow... you really are truly beautiful and I have actually been excited to see you this year because you have visited so infrequently this winter.

Taylor heading back to college.

I see this seen many times a day.  He likes to go out, but only briefly unless it's 40° or above. Smart animal!
  

dear fun bunch, we had lunch this month at Brixton's Baked Potatoes.  I had never been there and I loved it!  The menu was amazing and so was the food.  The company is always superb!

 I got a combo of the Hawaiian and the Enchilada potato.

I love this photo at the bottom of Carla (in the pink)!  You can tell how much fun we have.

I find it so interesting how this group has transformed over the past few years.  At first it was just about six of us that were good buds in high school, and because of the Facebook following our graduating class has, this group has emerged into a group of women that consists of several that were not even friends in high school at all.  I barely even knew some of them, but now at this age it really doesn't matter. One day I will add the story of how and why Davaleen came to join our group.  It's really touching and would not have happened if all the old high school cliques still existed as it did in high school. And our high school wasn't nearly as bad as most.  She claims this group literally saved her life.  She had another friend (classmate) tell her we would not welcome her into our group because she was not in our "group" in high school, but when we did she was so overcome that she says it saved her.  She has written about it and I should post it on here someday because it really teaches a lesson about diversity and acceptance and love.

We invite pretty much everyone in our class that wants to come.  Sometimes it's surprising to see who will show up.  We have such a wide range of the old "cliques" that have all meshed as one from Homecoming Queens and cheerleaders to wall flowers and brain-iacs.  It has really been a cool thing to see.

I came home and got the next couple of months planned and the invites made.  I'm looking forward to both of these:

dear mom's birthday, I arranged to have us all meet at the new Blue Lemon to celebrate my Mom's birthday!  I was excited to try that place out.  It did not disappoint.  It was really yummy!

Silly Mother, cake is to eat!

Cheesing it at the Blue Lemon...

It was so nice to see Trevor (top left) there even though he couldn't eat because he had to go get a CAT-scan.  He was just diagnosed with colon cancer the week before.  He's too young for that!  But they hope they caught it soon enough and we're praying he will be okay.

I love these sweet peeps!  

dear speaking of sweet... holy heck look what I found in the store already!

Cadbury mini eggs in January!  Whaaaattt?  Totally NOT complaining, but really?  
YES it's true, these have already hit the shelves even before Valentine's Day this year. Now the only time lapse will be between Easter and next Christmas. Maybe they should start making some Independence Day and Halloween ones to fill in the gap.

dear early morning haircut, why is it when I have the time to cut their hair they don't want it, but when I don't it's an emergency?  Thus, a haircut before dawn for this one.  He really did need it, so I consented.

dear hill repeats, I have not slacked off in the hill torture department, not yet anyway.  Marathon training started this week and so let's see how long I can keep holding on.  My cute little puppy friend that I befriended (the one that used to yap at me and chase me like an evil beast!) is still being sweet and calm when I run by her house on my repeats.  I stopped and petted her several times and she's just so sweet now.  That face makes me happy and keeps me going.

dear ward temple day, since I wasn't able to go at the scheduled time, I headed over for the 2:15 session.  As I got out of my car, I saw a bride and groom posing for pictures.  Not sure why that always gets me excited, but it does.

It was actually nice to go alone so I could spend a bit more time in the Celestial room.  I just needed that time this week and I had a hard time pulling myself away.  McKay and his friend were there doing baptisms for the dead and so I went down to the baptistry to see if I could watch them, but I guess I just missed them.   I am so proud of that boy for doing that.

I needed this reminder today...

When life throws you a curve, you have to press on and keep the faith.

Or this works too... ☺

dear waiting for the Stake President, Dave asked me to come over and join the end of one of his training meetings.  Since I got there a little early, I sat on the couch outside his office and I couldn't help but think that the last time I sat on that couch (about five weeks ago), I was feeling much different.  This time I was actually breathing and my heart was beating at a normal rate.  I liked this time much better. ☺

dear mckay church basketball game, after leaving Dave's office, I ran into the gym just in time to catch the last half of McKay's game.  I love watching these boys (most of them either are or have been in my Sunday School class).  I chatted with my friend Heidi about her son Dallin who is in my class as well.  She had no idea at that time what she would be dealing with in just two short days.  That story is at the bottom of this post.

dear beginning of marathon training...again.  Wow, that break was short lived!  Not sure how it comes so fast, but here we go again!  Hope I can train hard and do what I need to do in order to BQ at Ogden.  I would rather BQ there and not have the pressure on me the entire summer waiting for another chance at St. George (assuming I get in the St. G marathon).  I saw my two cute puppy pals on my run.  They sure do brighten my day.  Kaydance is even getting friendlier with me.  Izzy always is, but Kaydance holds back, but today she came up and let me pet her.  I NEED A DOG!

I found this penny on a street I almost didn't go down, but felt almost pushed to. It was hard to see, but there it was.  Thanks Tys!

dear visit to logan, I ran up to Logan to take Taylor to lunch and to get him some things he needed and to check out his new apartment. 

After shopping for some things, I took him to The Crepery!  It's so yummy!  He has always LOVED crepes and so I told him when he was on his mission this was one of the first places I was taking him. 

We each got a savory one and then a dessert one to share.  I had the turkey pesto with artichoke hearts and Taylor had a chicken bacon avocado one. The dessert one had to be the best I've tried there. It was cheesecake filling with nuts, caramel and nutella.  Oh my!  The crepes are like the ones I tried on the street in Paris, only not quite as big, but compared to the ones I make they are probably four times the size.  I think I like my size the best.  Next time I am taking him to the Juniper Inn.  It is one of my faves too!   

I then took him to his apartment and checked it out.  It was VERY tiny. I should have taken some photos! Dang!  But it wasn't a dive like the one Bryce lived in over there.  They do have some problems that aren't getting fixed very fast, like the oven is broken (not just broken but the insulation on the door has been pulled off and the heat element has been pulled out!), and a lot of other problems.  I met his roommate Max (nice kid) and he said that the people who lived there in the summer must have done the damages to the oven.  The shower has issues as does the toilet and the TV doesn't even work.  His roommate went and reported it that day even though they have lived with these issues for a few weeks or more.  The management had just hired a maintenance guy that very day as well and he actually did stop by and fix the shower.  I still went and talked to the management and told them that it was a breach of contract if they don't get those things fixed and they would have to reimburse them on part of their rent if they don't get them done.  They were nice, and so we will see if anything gets fixed or not.  I felt bad for the poor guys!  They can't cook, or watch TV or even have a decent toilet!  Considering what they charge for rent, that is inexcusable.  It was really fun to see where he lives though, even though it's a cracker box.  CJ was at work and so I felt bad I didn't get to see him.  Taylor is loving the college life though, that is for sure.  He must have told me that five times.  I'm glad he is loving it.  He said in college if you don't have plans for the night, there always ends up being plans....there's something to do EVERY night.  I love that kid.  I am glad he is getting the full experience of the college life.

dear sky, Britt sent me this awesome photo of you and Mya from your visit to her house during Christmas.  Mya has missed you living with them so much, but apparently Britt's hub Mike has missed you even more.

Cute picture!  Such gorgeous peeps!

dear facebook, I am so glad you exist so I can keep finding gems like these! ↓

I think that one of Taylor winking is one of my all time faves!

This one is a close second!  He said one of his companions did this with some program on his camera.  I LOVE IT!  He is a handsome little devil if I do say so myself!

dear mr. cat, this little spot has become your favorite part of the house this winter.  You love to look out the window, though at what, I have no idea!

dear worst long run in the history of long runs...yep, that about wraps it up.  I have no idea why today's run was so bad, but it was.  I almost called Dave several times to just come and get me because I felt like I wasn't even doing any good being out there.  I had zero energy. I wasn't feeling too hot anyway and I was feeling emotionally drained.  My shuffle was broke and so I had no music.  I knew I hadn't fueled well either that morning or the day before and so I am guessing all of the above came together for the perfect storm and made it one miserable run.  I walked at least two of the ten miles and the rest I ran at a very slow pace.  It wasn't even that cold and I had hand warmers and the sun was out.  It should have been great, but it was anything but.  I kept going knowing that frequently if the first few miles are bad, then it will eventually get better, but it never happened.  I did my mind game of getting out half way so I have no choice but to go the full distance, which I did, but I still never felt like it ever came together.  You know when you walk the last mile that it wasn't a successful run. 

 I did get some cool shots though.  I'm liking how my phone is doing these cool images without me trying.  This time it's due to moisture from dropping my phone in the snow.  Did I mention it was a bad run?

This was about my half way point. Usually I feel excited I made it half way but this time, all I could think of  was being done.

 My llama pal.  Is your mama a llama?  (One of my boy's favorite books when they were little.)  See how gorgeous the day was?  The bottom right photo I had to take because those trees in the middle were of significance this run.  Some day I may tell the story, but let's just say for now you aren't always hidden when you think you are if another runner is coming... and file it under #runnerproblems.  
Man was I glad to see my front door when I got up that last hill!  I was not feeling too great the rest of the day but thankfully it was short lived!

dear baking, this one could be filed under #bakingproblems.  I attempted to make my Chocolate Haupia pie for my Mom's birthday party the next day.  All went well until I decided to double the recipe.  Doubling it was no problem if you double ALL the ingredients.  I forgot to double the cornstarch and considering the filling is mostly pudding, that little error was pretty significant. I tried to fix the problem but ended up over fixing it and the haupia part was too firm.  The one I didn't fix was actually better tasting with better texture.  Why is it when I try and bake something to take somewhere I always seem to end up with some issue?  But when I bake for just my family, things always turn out perfectly?  I didn't take a photo of the finished pies, but they took a lot of time to do and I was sad they weren't better.  Oh well...  my orange rolls and cookies were at least good, which is surprising because I made the cookies for my SS class.

dear taylor sacrament talk, this was his fourth time speaking since his missionary report.  He is supposed to talk in all nine wards in our stake eventually.  Today I was able to hear him speak at one of the wards. He spoke in two today. He always does such a great job.  It's so funny because he STILL has that accent, more so when he's speaking to an audience.  His talks are always different each time and that has to be tough to do, but he always does.  Between Dave and I we had several people tell us what a great job he did and how handsome and cute he is.  In fact, Dave had someone tell him at work the next day that Taylor's talk changed her life.  She said how he said exactly what she needed to hear and it motivated her to change things in her life that she just couldn't do before.  I had another lady tell me that at the fireside he spoke at a month or so ago.  You just never know when what you say will have an impact on someone.  He really is a good speaker.  He is funny too, which makes him fun to listen to.  One of the things he does say each time that I love is a quote from his high school basketball coach, which is: 

The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing.

dear sunday school class, today was our ward conference and I was teaching.  Ward conference means I get a stake visitor to attend my class.  Oh fun!  NOT.  To add to the mix I had my old class joining us because their teacher was gone.  To add even more to the mix, the full time missionaries came to my class too.  I love those guys.  They stop by our house all the time to chat with Dave, but I try and give them a treat and he always gives them a ride home.  To add even more to the mix, one of my boys in the class was in a snowboarding accident the day before and broke his neck.  Luckily, he wasn't paralyzed, but according to the doctors he should have been and it was nothing short of a miracle he wasn't.  He was having major surgery to repair his broken bones on Sunday and so I took stuff to make him a get well card.  That also added to the mix.  The mix ended up being kind of chaotic to say the least.  But, it was fun.  I love these kids and I have fun with them.  Not sure what the stake visitor thought, but oh well.  I took this photo so we could send it to Dallin (the boy who broke his neck).  Love these peeps!

How could you not love these crazy kids?

dear amazing sunset, we saw this on the way to my Mom's house.  Just. So. Gorgeous.  The photo doesn't even do it justice!

dear mom's birthday party, we had a crazy day and so we were some of the last to arrive at the party.  Her cake was super cute.  She is a purple lover too!  Not to mention a groovin' tap dancer!  I used to teach her clogging waaaaaaaay back when, and she still has it!  lol  

A few of the scenes of the chaos.  Fun chaos, but chaos!

 I love being with these peeps.  Sadly my bro and his fam had already come and gone before we got there.  I missed seeing them.  The fun level would have been up several notches if they were still there.  But it was up pretty high even without them.

 I was trying to get a photo of my Mom telling Trevor whatever it was she was telling him and it turned into more chaos!  hah  We opened her fridge and found a newspaper in it.  Yeah, that brought out the laughs.  Only my Mom.  She claims she put it in there so a bowl of something wouldn't leak on the shelf.  Yeah, sounds like a likely story.  We can only hope that's true.... hehe

I love the photo of Bryce and Winston (bottom left).  Two of the cutest boys alive.

dear social books, YAY!  I got the ones I finished right after Christmas in the mail.  It is so cool to have my photos all in a book without having to spend hours doing it.  No, the quality isn't as good as a real photo, but who cares as long as I have them!  How I wish there was such a thing when my boys were little!  Then I wouldn't feel SO guilty about not scrapbooking all the photos I took of them!  Sigh... That will always be one thing that I will regret about my life.

dear social media, sometimes you have these silly and ridiculous little quizzes for peeps to take to see what color their soul is or what color their personality is or what color their aura is.  I sometimes take the color ones because I want one of them to say mine's PURPLE!  Not once has that happened.  I think it's because purple isn't even one of the options on the quiz.  How silly of me, I know!  The best one yet was the grammar one. I scored 15 out of 15 and the questions were dang hard. I thought I would for sure fail while answering the questions.  Well, after posting my results, I made Dave and the boys take it.  Dave got 14 which was odd because he is much better at grammar than I am.  Taylor got 14 as well.  So we compared answers and half of our answers were different!  Sky told us that they score everyone high so they will post their results and that will give them more exposure.  Makes sense!  Too bad I was too dumb to figure that out myself!  They need a quiz about social media traps and how to avoid them!  I would probably fail that one too!  I did like the results of this one though...↓

Now if only it were true.  I would actually prefer if I could sing like her!  

And this one cracked me up!

 Yep, that's me!  A holiday wherever I go!  Oh well, they are always good for a laugh!
This ↓ one also gave everyone the same answer.  Pretty much everyone got Overcomer.  I have decided I would like to make these tests up.  Now, THAT would be fun!

But at least I got one good thing...here is one of my God Has A Message For You, that I REALLY liked:

Today, Jodi, we believe God wants you to know that ...

if you feel too busy, you are. 

Give yourself permission to be un-busy. Give yourself an hour or a day to simply be. Allow yourself the luxury of a small retreat. Allow your spirit time to be restored. Even God took a day of rest.

 

I seriously am going to do this!  I just need to figure out when!  I think being busy is sometimes associated with being a badge of honor or something that we think we should strive for.  And I can only think of a handful of people that I know (that has good health) that isn't crazy busy.  I think Satan uses it as one of his tools to make us feel like we don't have enough time for the important things in life.  Being busy can be a curse.  I just need a few more hours each day and then I could get done what needs doing.  I know exactly where that thought came from as well.  I don't need more time, I just need to pray for help to manage my time so the important things do get done and aren't lost in the midst of all the other stuff!  Today I am going to take that hour to be un-busy and have a little retreat!  Just as soon as I finish this blog post, and make dinner, and clean my bathroom, and organize my desk, and do a write up for a class I have to teach, and respond to all my emails, and do the laundry, and make a get well gift, and wrap a birthday present, and.... and... and...

 

There you have it.  There is ALWAYS something to do. ALWAYS!  The only way we can retreat is to just RETREAT and let the pressure of the To Do List GO! 

 

♪♫ Let it go....Let it go....  The stress never bothered me anyway! ♫♪

 

Hmm...

What I would like to do is stop blogging and just go to my room and watch a rerun of The Brady Bunch or Gilligan's Island or some old show I used to watch growing up.  That sounds like a retreat to me!

They all sound a lot like the quote Taylor shares from Coach Hollingsworth.  The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing.