*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

            

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

 dear SPRING!  Could there really be a prettier time of year?  I say, "NAY!" 

 I saw these cheerful blossoms on my morning run.  If that doesn't make you happy, then I don't know what does...

 It was raining before I left, but I made it through all but the last half mile of dry skies. 

I did a little pit stop at the swings even though the seats were wet.  It was worth it!
Once I got home, it started to hail like crazy!   

I timed that right! There was also thunder and lightning!  I wanted to just curl up in a warm blanket and drink hot cocoa as I watched the storm.  Last week I wrote how much I love stormy days and today I got to experience one of the best ones all year!

My son Bryce took off for a camping trip to Zions because this spring is so nice and warm and beautiful.  I haven't seen any pictures yet, so nothing to post.  

My friend Mona had her other hip operated on today as well.  My friend Julie and I went and visited her and took her some roses.  She was happy to see us and the flowers. 

 For FHE since it was just us and McKay we decided to go out to eat.   We let McKay choose where to go. Bryce is going to quit going camping because it seems we take him out whenever it's just him!  He choose Golden Spike Burgers.  It's probably his favorite place next to Panda Express.  He loves their burgers. 

 They now have a room named after Sheriff Yeates.  Pretty awesome.

 McKay got asked to Morp as well.  Those girls don't waste time. Prom was just on Saturday and he's already been asked.

dear things you see on a run, sometimes the things I see are cool and awesome and other times...

Bleh...
At first I thought it was a rat because of it's long and wiry tail, but now not so sure because it was more furry.

dear mr. cat, this guy... melts my heart.

dear speed work at the track, once again the time had come to hit the track and do our Yasso 800's.  I never look forward to this day because it is just. so. hard!  Robin wasn't feeling well and so it was just Jen and me today.  We did really well.  This week we set a new PR! 

We really aren't trying to set a new PR...we are actually TRYING to come in each time at 4:00 straight up.  It's harder to pace than you would think.  When you think you are slowing down, you are speeding up...hah!  But after talking to Sarah for 20-30 minutes our legs got stiff and we were only halfway done and then had to do three more.  That was tough.  We were hurting.  That lactic acid set in and made it much harder.  But, we did it!  Yea for us!  Jen was struggling a bit and had to take a break because she was dry heaving while we were running and got sick after we stopped.  I had to take this photo because I want to keep it real!  Those things are tough!  I hope she won't kill me for posting this.

dear mr. box elder, the student government asked McKay to be in the Mr. Box Elder contest at school, but he turned them down.  I was REALLY disappointed he didn't do it. He would have had a great chance and he is just so funny, it would have been so fun to watch.  But many of his good buds were in it.  They wanted 14 and ended up with 13 because he said no.  But at least he was helping Cooper out with his talent and so at least I got to see him perform. 

Cooper sang Hooked On a Feeling for his talent.  Most of the talents are based on a real talent turned comedy.  This was one of those.  

Cooper has a great voice but he added these back up dancers to entertain. And entertain they did!  I thought I was going to pee my pants watching them.  McKay is on the far right.

They even did hip thrusts!  The house came down when they did that!

McKay is second from the right in the plaid shorts and Hawaiian shirt. 

The audience was screaming and cheering almost the entire song.  They were definitely the favorite of the night. 

McKay is on the far right in the top two photos.

I could have watched them all night.  They were hilarious!

The "competitors"

They had to do a sportswear thing, answer questions, and talent.  The sportswear was hilarious!  One kid (Casey S.) was dressed like a Chippendale dancer and came out to a tire post and started to do a pole dance.  Then someone handed him a tether ball to hook on it.  He said his talent was the tether ball.  It was funny.  There were several "ice curlers" - one with a curling iron and a block of ice (Cooper) and there were several "swimmers" dressed with floaties and fins on their feet and snorkels.  It was all just a lot of fun. Ming (a student from China) won it, which was good. They have four teachers who judge and they usually give it to someone that isn't necessarily the most talented, but one who everyone would be happy if they won. It was just so much fun!  I want to go watch it every year.  One of the most entertaining nights I've ever had.  It helps if you know the boys.  

dear study group, once a month those of us in my ward that are reading Jesus the Christ meet and discuss the assigned chapters.  I have really enjoyed this study group and I am absolutely loving the book.  As I have said before, it is not light reading and I read it with a notebook and pen in hand so I can take notes as I go.  I look up a lot of things while reading as well.  But, I am so happy I am finally reading it.

dear spur of the moment lunch date, I got this text from Taylor on Thursday morning...

How can a mother resist that?

She can't.  So after my study group I headed to Logan.  I had some time before I needed to pick Taylor up and so I ran some errands and made some returns I had been needing to do.  

I ran into Deseret Book and I was SO happy to see they still stock their shelves with Glenn Latham's book The Power of Positive Parenting.  My endorsement is still on the back cover.  Whenever I am in a bookstore I always check to see if they stock it and most of the time I leave disappointed that they don't.  I am sure since he lived in Logan, his wife makes sure they sell it there.  But, it truly should be sold everywhere because it is the best parenting book ever written as far as I'm concerned.  If Dr. Latham had not died, I am sure that book would be read worldwide.

I picked up Taylor at his apartment and took him to the Italian Place because I have been telling him how great their sandwiches are.  While he was eating he said, "This isn't going to fill me up!"  I already knew that, even with giving him half of mine I knew he would still be hungry.  He IS a growing boy!  A starving college student!  hah  I told him I would take him somewhere for dessert...like the Crepery, but he choose a McFlurry at Mickey D's.   

I then took him grocery shopping because I haven't done that in almost a month and I am pretty sure he hasn't gone on his own.  He lives on milk and cereal and his gift cards he got for Christmas to fast food places.  He does not like to spend money.  He is a saver.  I am happy to buy him food though. I did that with Sky and Bryce as well.  It was a fun day!  Glad I had a clear schedule so I could head up there.

dear packet pick up, I decided to run the Strider's Winter Series Half Marathon on Saturday.  That day is supposed to be my first 20 miler, but I figured racing a half marathon and then maybe getting in three or four more, should count as a 20.  The course is the first half of the Ogden full marathon and so I have been excited to see if any of this speed work has paid off.  It's always good to run the course you are trying to PR on beforehand anyway. I have ran it twice already, but I figure it can't hurt to do it again.  Besides, Robin and Grant are doing it as well.  It's always more fun to do a race when someone you know is also doing it.  I had to pick up my packet and bib at Strider's in Ogden.  I got a t-shirt and they give medals even though I didn't sign up for the whole series. The problem is...I woke up today (Friday) with a cold!  Actually I went to bed with one and my nose would NOT stop running and finally at 3 a.m. I took a Zyrtec.  It helped me sleep a bit, but my nose must have thought it was in training for a long run!  And ran it did!  Fast too!  All day Friday I was not sure if I could race feeling like that.  Racing is hard when you are feeling your best, but when you feel like crap, that is not good.  I felt horrible when I woke up.  Tired, achy, drained, headache, etc.  When I got to Strider's I asked them if they gave refunds and they said they did not.  They told me I could start and if I felt too sick to finish they would have assistant trucks along the course to pick me up. Hmm....nice.  If I could have got a refund, I would have.  I guess I will just see what tomorrow brings! At least my nose will be running fast!  It may be the only part of me that is!

dear mona, I stopped in and visited Mona at her rehab in Ogden as well.  She didn't look as good as she did right after the surgery.  But she said she is starting to feel a bit better.  She will be in rehab for three weeks again.  We had a good long visit. 

dear weekend alone, Dave and the boys headed up to the cabin after Dave got off work.  They were only staying one night and they left after McKay got out of school on Friday.  The plan was to fish a bit Friday night and all day Saturday and drive home Saturday night.  Unfortunately that plan didn't work out as well as they hoped.  More on that later...  I LOVE to have the house to myself!  It used to happen quite often, but ever since Dave was put in the Bishopric almost 12 years ago, it is a very rare thing.  I guess knowing that this is his life now and his boys are growing up, he has decided he needs to make the time to just do it.  They wanted me to go with them (probably to make food for them!) but I had my race and so couldn't go.  I look forward to having the house alone so I can just chill and do what I want.  I usually rent a Redbox and try and catch up on a couple movies.  This time though I was invited by Kathryn to go see Bye Bye Birdie Friday night at the junior high because her daughter is in it and I told them I was in it in high school.  I was excited to see it! 

dear bye bye birdie, I was really excited to go see this!  It has always been one of my favorite plays ever since I was in it in high school!  It did not disappoint.  Even though these kids are only in junior high, they did an amazing job!  I'm convinced kids are just more talented at younger ages!

 The cast was amazing and it was fun to see so many people I knew in it.  Kathryn's daughter Allie, was one of the best!  She is the cutest girl but I don't have a photo of her.  I stole the ones below from Facebook.

These photos below ↓ are from when I was in it!  I am only in two of the photos, but I had to add the others because they bring back such great memories.  It was in 1979 and I was a senior in high school. 

I had never been in a school play before, but I really wanted to be in this one. I had ulterior motives other than just being in the play...there were a couple cute boys I was hoping to get to know better...hah...and I even had to sing a solo to try out.  I can NOT believe that didn't keep me from trying out, but it didn't.  I really wanted to be a dancer in it and that's what part I got because I cannot sing worth beans!  I was one of the "sad girls" and the lead character Albert (I had a crush on him) sang to the three of us, "Put On a Happy Face" one of the best songs from the play.  Such good memories. I'm so glad I was brave enough to do that solo and try out! 

dear first official race of the season, this was my first race since last fall.  It was my 16th half marathon.  I woke up at 4:15 a.m. and wasn't feeling as bad as I had the morning before.  That made me very happy. I was afraid I was going to feel worse!  So I got ready and waited for Grant and Robin to pick me up at 5:25.  It is always so hard to know how to dress because it's always so much colder at the start, but you don't want to freeze while waiting either.  It was actually nice in our town and so I googled the temp at the race start and it said it was in the 40's.  I shouldn't have believed it because when we got there, Grant's car said it was only 29°!  Brrr.....  I hadn't dressed warm enough!  We loaded the bus and once there I wanted to just stay on the bus and be warm.  Luckily, Robin had taken an extra jacket and let me borrow it while we waited.  We didn't have long to wait...one trip to the Porta Potties and it was time to line up! 

Before...

Everyone was pretty chilly while waiting!  They must have trusted the same weather app as me!  There were so many people in tank tops and shorts.  I get that in the summer, but in temps in the 30's?  Crazies!

I was really pretty nervous!  I wasn't sure how I would do with this dang cold of mine and was hoping I wouldn't feel like crap once I got going.  I am happy to say, I started strong and finished strong!  I finished in 1:53:19. 

My splits were pretty consistent throughout the entire race.  I stayed in the 8:00's the entire 13 miles.  Not sure I have ever done that! Mile 1 got cut off on here - it was 8:25.  I was REALLY happy with how I did. I was hoping to finish in under two and my ultimate goal would have been 1:51 to get a new PR, (secretly I wanted to finish in 1:50) but when I got home I realized that 1:53 IS a new PR!  I had thought my PR was 1:52 and maybe it is, but according to the internet, it was 1:55.  So I am going with that and counting the 1:53 as a new PR!  I was very happy!  And even though it was a tough course, I didn't feel like it was as hard as some other half's I have done.  I felt good and I felt like it was challenging but not horrible.  Robin said she thought it was one of the toughest half's she has run.  I didn't feel that way.  Maybe all my speed work and hard training IS paying off after all!  Yay!

I sprinted at the finish!

 After I finished, I saw Grant and he was running back to find Robin and run her in.  I told him I was going to run another three (to count as my 20) after I got some water and a short break.  I took about a 5-10 minute break and headed back out for another mile and half and turned around to make it an even three.  I past Robin and Grant but kept going.  Robin finished in 2:14.  Grant got a new PR today too and I think his time was 1:44 or something.  Even those extra three miles weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be.  I ran them slower, but they weren't awful as I expected and nothing like after the Top of Utah half where I ran an extra seven!  I really do believe I am getting stronger.

With Robin and Grant and our medals.

They had computers set up so you could immediately see your results.  It's hard to read these but I finished:

4th out of 45 women in my age division!  
(top three got awards - of course!  Gah!)
I was 62nd overall women out of 485.
I was 219th out of 867 overall both genders.
My average pace was 8:35.

I can't complain about that!

dear general women's meeting,

I wasn't feeling up to getting dressed up and going to the church for the meeting and so I watched it live on the computer.  It was really good!

dear rescue mission, Dave called me about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday night telling me that they had been working on the Suburban the entire day and hadn't even gone fishing that day.  

Luckily they were able to go for a bit on Friday night.  He said they might need me to come and get them.  That was another reason that I watched the General Women's meeting online instead of going.  I hadn't heard from him and so after the meeting I went and got a Redbox movie.  I started to watch it (Best of Me) and it was so good!  But then, Dave called and told me they were stranded in Soda Springs and asked me if I would go get them.  This was at 9:00 p.m. and it was at least a two hour drive.  But off I went.  

I found them just outside of Soda.  Dave hooked up the Burb to tow it into town and it was a little nerve racking when the chain came unhooked and off the boys went without real good brakes.  They made it to the Ranger Station and we parked it there for the night.  The plan was to go pick it up the next day.  We got home about 1:30 a.m.  I wasn't feeling too great, but I was extremely thankful for my bed!  I feel really bad they didn't get to fish!  Dave was so excited to just get away and have some fishing time with his boys but instead they got car repair time.  I hope he will take them again soon.

GORGEOUS!

 At least they were able to get in a little fun!

 Snowblowing in shorts!  You don't see that everyday!

dear sunday, I was not feeling well again when I woke up, but as the day progressed I started to feel a bit better.  I decided to go to sacrament and see how I felt.  Not a good idea.  My eyes were throbbing and my nose would not stop running.  My body was so sore from the race too.  And now I have started with a deep cough.  I could barely sit through that meeting.  I headed home after and tried to sleep.  It was driving me crazy that I couldn't sleep!  Oh well, Dave and Taylor took off to go get the Burb and they called me about 15 minutes after they left because they forgot the key!  They turned back and drove this direction and I had to drive it out to Honeyville so they wouldn't have to come all the way back home.  By the time I got home, I decided to finish watching my movie I had rented.  It was the BEST movie!  But holy heck, what a tear jerker!  I was bawling and trying to stop but couldn't!  That was not a smart thing to do when you are already stuffed up! 

It was a Nicholas Sparks movie and so I should have known it was going to be at least a one Kleenex box movie.  That man really knows how to write a heart wrenching love story!  Wow!  And of course it had a twist at the end that left me a bit stunned.  A lot of his movies never end how you want them to! 

I have seen every one of these  ↓ Nicholas Sparks films and I loved every one of them!

I am a sucker for a good romance!  If you are too, then rent The Best of Me.
Dave and Taylor got home before dark and he was nice enough to fix dinner.  I was just not up to it.  He made a great turkey dinner and then Taylor headed back to Logan.  Mr. Cat spent most of the day with me resting in my room.  It was so sweet.

dear numerology, okay I do not believe in astrology, and I'm not one of those that believe in other crazy things like that, but after I ran my first marathon and finished with a 4:44 and later learned that the number 444 means angels are near, I felt like it was one of those ways that Tyson lets me know he is near.  That story is HERE.  (It's a marathon post -literally- so scroll down to the Point 2 of it to read about 444.)  For some reason I always seem to check my phone when it has the numbers 1:11 or 11:11 or 2:22 or 3:33, but when it is 4:44, I know it is his way of saying, "Hi Mom!"  I just know.   This week I checked it once and there was the 4:44 but my battery power was at 44% and so I had to take a screen shot of it.  Yeah... maybe I'm weird and you can believe what you want, but I know that was his way of telling me he loves me and is with me. Thanks Tys.  I needed that today!

dear brass plates, I found this photo and I wanted to preserve this so I am posting it there.  At Aaronic Priesthood camp a few years ago they had everyone write their testimonies on these brass plates and buried them.  A friend was there when they unburied them and sent me this picture.  It is Dave's testimony.  I thought it was pretty cool!

dear facebook message, 

Today, Jodi, we believe God wants you to know that ...strength is available. When you are at your weakest, God is strong. When you are down, God can lift you up. When all seems lost, God will help you win. Strength is available when you need it. Believe it, embrace it and rely on it.  Works for me! ☺

dear daffodil mountain, years ago after Dave heard a story I used to give in a lot of talks called The Daffodil Principle, he (and the boys) planted hundreds of cheery daffodils on our mountain in our backyard.  They are always such a great sight to see and we always have a lot of people stop by to see them.  They really are a stunning sight.

 Best part is the deer don't like to eat them!

This is the story that was the inspiration for the whole thing...

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday, "I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled, "We drive in this all the time, Mom."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears and then I'm heading straight for home!" I said, rather emphatically.

"Gee, Mom, I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car," Carolyn said with a forlorn look in her eyes.

"How far will we have to drive?"


Smiling she answered, "Just a few blocks, I'll drive ... I'm used to this."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils." 

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." 

"It's all right, Mom, I promise, you will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church I saw a hand-lettered sign ...

We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. As we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.

Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.

Five acres of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen!
"Who planted all these?" I asked Carolyn.

"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory.

We walked up to the house we saw a sign... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There it was ... "The Daffodil Principle"
For me that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun - one bulb at a time - to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.

Still, this unknown, old woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of magnificent beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration: Learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time, learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her direct way, "Start tomorrow, Mom," she said, "It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of our yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask... 

"How can I put this to use today?"

Written by Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards

 It truly is amazing that when we do little things over time consistently, they can become big things that seemed too overwhelming to accomplish.  
Just ONE bulb thing at a time!

It's such a powerful and profound lesson!  And I am reminded of it each and every spring when I look out into my backyard.

There is even a book now out...

What metaphorical bulbs are you going to start planting today?