*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

            

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

dear inspiration, all I can say about this photo is WOW!  It does something to my soul.  I think it's the clarity of the photo and the dark sky.  There is something about an approaching rainstorm that awakens my inner child.  It cranks up my happy meter.  I love rain.  I love dark skies.  I love the sound of thunder and lightning.  I always have.  It also does something to my soul.  Most people look at me like I've been struck by that lightning directly in the head, but those that share in my love of storms, get it.  This picture just gives me goosebumps and makes me feel like I'm in the midst of that approaching storm.

I wish I knew who to give credit to.  I found it while scrolling through Facebook and there was no artist's name anywhere.  If anyone knows, please let me know because I would love to get a large print of it. 

I have often wondered why an approaching storm with blackened skies followed by a downpour makes me feel all excited and happy.  Most people get their happy on when the sun shines and the sky is blue and clear.  I can honestly say I feel happier when it rains than when the sun shines.  Don't misunderstand ~ ~ ~ I LOVE sunny days and the beautiful warm sunshine beating down on me, but if I had to pick which does the most for my soul, it would be the rain every time.

Does this mean I enjoy the figurative storms of life when I have to take cover and rush for protection more than when life is bright and things are calm and peaceful?  I don't think I enjoy the trials of life anymore than anyone else, but maybe there is something embedded deep inside me that awakens the knowledge hidden in there somewhere that reaffirms that storms are what bring growth.  And even though they are not always fun to get caught in, they serve a purpose and without them we would not be able to grow and increase our strength.  Just like a plant needs the rain in order to flourish, so do we.  Even though plants need sunshine to thrive, if they only received sunshine and no rain, they would wither and die.  As would we.

The storms in our life are the times when we improve and grow and become who we are ultimately destined to be.  I think my soul has always known that and that's why it gets excited when the literal storms in life approach because they parallel so closely with the growth that comes from the figurative storms of life.

Deep thoughts...  LOL

dear hunkiness, this handsome stud is my baby.  We needed to get a photo to send with his mission papers and so I made him do a little photo shoot.  YES, I said mission papers!  I can hardly bear the thought that the time has arrived!  We could know where he will be going in as short as three weeks.  That is IF I do my part and do what I need to do to help him complete those papers. I have been kind of stalling because it's killing me that the time is HERE!  How did this happen so fast?  Wasn't it just last week he was sitting on my lap when he was 12 and getting razzed by his older bros because they said he was too old to be doing that?  This kid is one amazing soul.  He was born with lots of confidence and has the cutest and funniest personality - not to mention a VERY tender heart.  He has so many outstanding qualities, the least being that of extreme gratitude.  He says thank you more than anyone I have ever met and he means it.  He is sincerely thankful for even the smallest of things.  He thanks me for EVERYTHING.  I know that is a rare character trait, but he has it in spades...among many others.  He is ALWAYS cheerful and happy too.  I am not sure I have ever seen him in a bad mood.  He has so many friends (both genders - I'm frequently told that all the girls think he's hot - so weird accepting that girls think my baby boy is hot!) and he is well liked and respected.  EVERYONE loves this kid!  Adults, his peers, animals, and little kids.  Whenever I am with him in public, his friends just flock to him and look at him like he is some kind of VIP or something.  I told him that after it happened just last week, but he thought I was really weird.  But it's true.  If you ask any of his friends to describe McKay the first thing they will say is that he is funny.  He is a total character and so hilarious.  He will be an amazing missionary, but holy heck it's hard to let this come to fruition in my heart. 

dear photos....  I was once told that even if you hate a photo of yourself because you think you look old or ugly, you should keep it because in 10 years or longer when you are that much older (and uglier!),  you will wish you still looked that "old".  When I go back and look at photos of myself 10 years ago that I hated and thought were so hideous of myself, I now think, "Dang! I wish I still looked that young!".  The sad thing is, I think that with photos that were taken only FOUR years ago now!  Dave took these of me as I was waiting to head out to a meeting.  He said I was having a good hair day and it needed to be documented.  Gee thanks!  Hmmm.....  Not quite sure how to take that. haha  The funny thing is I thought I was having a serious bad hair day!  Oh well, in 10 years (hopefully not in just four!) I will be glad I saved them, even if I think I look old in them now! 

dear monday run, today I headed out west of the Bird Refuge for my run.  Sometimes I get sick of the same old route and I need something to mix it up. 

~ ~ ~  

The scenery out there is always worthy of a second glance, even if I have to drive out there to take it in.

I did a seven mile attempted pace run, but it ended up just being a seven mile tempo run instead.  I was still sore from my long run and having a hard time keeping the pace the entire time.  But I feel like I am able to run faster for a longer period of time.  So my speed-work is doing some good!

dear fhe, tonight we just had McKay home because Taylor left for California this morning for spring break and Bryce had gone to Spanish Fork camping.  So, we asked McKay where he wanted to go out for dinner.  He chose Panda Express.  That will teach those other two to leave! ☺

McKay and his bros LOVE Panda!  

dear tuesday run, I got out just after the sun came up today and it was really feeling like spring!  I think I can safely say that I survived another winter.  That's not saying much this year, since we really didn't have a winter.  But either way, spring is here!

dear quick trip to ogden, Jen text me to see if by chance I could run to Ogden with her to check out running shoes.  We had been talking about going last week but could never find a day and so it was great that we actually found a time that worked for both of us. I'm so much better at doing things spontaneously anyway.  We first stopped at Kneaders for lunch and then headed next door to Striders to do some shoe shopping.  I had every intention of getting me a new pair of Kinvara's but walked out with some Hoka Ones.  I liked the Kinvara 5's and I was ready to buy them when the salesman asked me if I wanted to try out the new Hoka's and I said, "Sure why not?"  I knew I wouldn't like them because I tried Hoka's on a couple of years ago and wasn't impressed.  But this time, I LOVED them!  They are so light and feel so good on. I can always tell instantly if I am going to like a running shoe by how it feels as soon as I put it on.  Even though the Kinvara's were cheaper, I decided to go with the Hokas. I didn't like the color of the Kinvara's they had in stock either and I thought I could order them online if I decided I wanted a pair of those too in a good color.  I try and rotate between three pair of running shoes.  My Altra's are completely broken down (at least for long runs) and so I was in need of some new ones.  The salesman said 75% of his customers buy Hoka's.  I figured that many people can't be wrong.  So I'm giving them a try.

We then headed to the DI because Jen was looking for some maps for some table directions for YW.  Instead of maps she found some braille church books.  The Book of Mormon and the Bible to be specific.  She really wanted them even though she had no idea what she was going to do with them.  We had a good laugh over it.  She bought three of them for $3.50 each and I can't wait to hear what Janzen said or what she ends up doing with them.  hah  They were really cool!

dear yassos, the time had come again for our interval speed work at the track.  Today we had to do 6x800's Yasso style.  None of us were looking forward to it, but we decided to have a good attitude and concentrate on getting it done.  It was ATK's rocket booster test this morning and I really would have rather been there watching it, but we were able to see the smoke from the track. 

When we arrived, the track was covered with hurdles!  I took one look them and thought, "Oh no!  Don't do it!  Just DO NOT do it!"  Robin and Jen could see the look in my eye and told me to not get any ideas.  I told them, "You know I am going to have to do it."  And I did.  But, I resisted until we only had one interval left to run.  Sarah was there walking and she told me that if I was going to do it then to hurry because she had to go and she wanted to take pictures.  Well, that was pretty much an invitation and so I DID! 

BUT, I did learn something from my last attempt a couple of years ago when I also just "had to do it". That time I ended up hurdling with the hurdle turned backwards and so it had no give which meant neither did my body and I landed smack flat down on the asphalt breaking my tail bone.  I still have vivid memories of that fateful day that took me out of training for six weeks!  So this time, I was smart and put the hurdles on the grass and made sure they were facing the right way.  That way if I didn't clear it, at least I would land on soft grass.  Or so I thought.  My first attempt wasn't exactly the epitome of how to hurdle correctly.  I did a couple test runs in the air to see if I was going to clear it.  Jen and Robin said I did and so I was ready to fly.  But instead of just going for it, I hesitated right at the critical moment and hooked the hurdle with my foot and as it caught, down I went...

OUCH!  
But...I am not one to give up easily and I had to prove to myself I could do it and so I attempted again.  I was in serious pain (tail bone again!) but somehow I managed to clear that thing (a couple of times!).  Jen was taking photos for future posterity.  LOL  More accurately for current posterity in order to prove the bravery and courage of their mother.  Also known as stupidity. 

But I did it!  I am hoping I got that out of my system, but I'm not guaranteeing it.☺

How NOT to hurdle:

How TO hurdle:

A little better form:

The good news is our very last 800, was a new record!  Even with a painful tail bone and being tired!  We were shooting for 4:00 and we never went over 3:55 all day!  It was very encouraging! 

dear new shoe test run, I tried out my new Hoka's on Thursday morning and I happily loved them!  I found this sidewalk chalk art that matched them and my mood perfectly!

dear birthday lunch with karen, I took Karen out to lunch to the Union Grill to celebrate her birthday.  I was hoping she had time to go shopping after, but she had to get back home to Weston. He just returned from his mission just a week ago.  We shared a caramel bread pudding.  Oh man...it's just so heavenly!

I got in some shopping on my own.  It was nice to shop without feeling rushed to hurry.  On my way home, I picked up this beautiful tree ↓ that several of us went in on for Mona because her mother in law passed away.  It was gorgeous!

Speaking of death, Skyler's friend Jesse passed away on Sunday.  

Dave and I attended his viewing on Thursday.  It was just so sad.  Especially when going through the line and talking to his parents.  I had many people tell me how much Dave helped this boy's parents when he went over to talk to them the night they found out.  They also told him thanks for all he said, as did their other children.  The Relief Society president told us that what he said was exactly what they needed to hear at that time.  After hearing several people tell me how amazing his words were, I asked him what he said.  He wasn't really sure, and so I guess I will never know.  It's still kind of weird going to places like this with him because people treat us like we are VIPS now.  I'm not comfortable with that at all.  It's just a little crazy to walk in a viewing or reception and have tons of people come up and talk to you that you have no idea who they are.  Luckily Dave knows who most of them are.  We attended a reception this week too, and it was the same way.  I actually prefer that no one knows who I am.  It's just bizarre to have people know who I am when I have absolutely no clue who they are.  

dear bryce's camping trip. He went to Spanish Fork canyon this week with some friends and had a great time.  He got a lot of camping gear for Christmas and he has been really testing it out since it started to warm up a bit. Here are a few pictures he posted online.  Thank heavens for social media so I get to see his photos.  

 I found these pix on his facebook that I thought I would post even though they were taken a while ago. 

dear mr. cat, how cute is that?  Seriously who couldn't love that face!  He actually wanted to be near me and came and just plopped down and fell asleep by my computer when I was working on my Sunday School lesson.

He was so content which is really surprising because he hasn't been that way at all lately.  At least with me.  More so with Dave.

dear long run at the crack of dawn, actually way before the crack of dawn!  Dave drove Robin, Grant and I up to the sheds so we could run down Sardine canyon early on Saturday morning.  Robin and Grant had to go to a funeral and so we had to get an early start.  We thought it would be light by 6:45 a.m., but nope.  Once we got running down, it quickly got lighter and so we weren't running down in the dark. 

Wow, we were so fast the camera couldn't even catch us!☺

I had to get in 13 miles today, and so we ran down Sardine and into Mantua and then down again to 6th East.  I said goodbye to Robin and Grant on 6th East and they ran home and ran west. I still had to get in four more miles.  I ran down to the high school (where I found all the coins- in the parking lot) and then to the pickleball courts where Dave was playing so I could get a ride home with him. 

When I got to the courts he was still playing and I was only at mile 11 and so I took off to get in two more miles while he finished up.  I forgot to turn my running app back on and so it didn't record how far I went and so to make sure I got in 13 miles, I ran some more.  When I got home and Google Earthed it, I had run 14.  Oh well.  I went back to the courts to get a ride, but Dave was engaged in a heated game with the really good players and I didn't want to bother him and make him feel like he needed to stop so he could take me home, so I called McKay to come and get me.

Good thing too, because Dave didn't get home for at least another hour or so.  His knee was super swollen because he had played for so many hours when he isn't used to it.  He's been going to the church every Friday to play with some others, but he hasn't been on the real courts or played with anyone ranked as a 5 until today. He is a really good player so I hope his knee won't keep him off the courts like his shoulder did last year.

dear taylor's spring break, once in awhile if I remembered to check my Snapchat, I got to see some photos of Taylor's pictures he took while on spring break in California.  These aren't the best, but at least I got something!  He had a great time!  He got home on Saturday morning after driving nearly all night long. 

dear busy saturday, Weston brought Taylor home because he stopped in SLC to sleep for a couple hours about 5:00 in the morning.  He brought me home this cool lighthouse picture that lights up!  It's pretty cool.

Weston hung out the whole day with us and it felt like old times when all the boys hung out together all the time before they all went their separate ways. It was nice having them all together again.  

I had to take this picture because they both had on jerseys from foreign countries.

Then I was informed that Weston's wasn't from a foreign country.  Oh well.... cute picture anyway!
I did a lot of cooking and baking all day! I made chicken bundles because I had chicken and I knew they all liked them.  It was fun.  We had a lot of laughs.

My boys are always really good to clean up after dinner and do the dishes, but this time McKay knocked an entire bowl of salsa out of the fridge and it went EVERYWHERE!  What a mess!  Taylor took a video of the aftermath and put it on Snapchat and so I had to try and take still shots from that and this is the best I got. ↓

Oh my gosh, it was the biggest mess to clean up!  It was on the walls, the ceiling, inside the fridge, outside the fridge, on the cabinets...you name it, it was there!

dear pi day, Saturday was Pi day and so to celebrate I made some real pie.  Chocolate Ecstasy to be exact.  It is good stuff!  I made two of them and then I also made a key lime yogurt pie too.  The boys actually inhaled that faster than the other. 

dear organizing, Dave asked me to help him get his files organized for his new calling and so I spent Saturday afternoon and into the night doing that.  I love to organize and so it was fun for me.  I made labels for the files he needed and got folders separated and categorized.

Then we headed over to his office to drop them off.  We planned on staying for about 20 minutes tops, but we ended up being over there for a good two and half hours.  He went through a lot of stuff and I helped him sort through things and get all the files ready to go.  It was fun. 

While we were there, Taylor was in the gym practicing with his old high school team.  They have an alumni tournament next weekend.  They have all been on missions and so this will be the first one they have been able to play in. I'm excited to go watch them.

dear sunday, CJ stopped by after him and Taylor went to another homecoming.  They go to a lot of those things!  He hung out all day with us. He stayed for dinner.  I made yummy pork chops and veggies and then him and Taylor did homework and played video games with Bryce and McKay.  I love CJ.  He is a great kid.  We counseled Taylor on his love life together because we both feel the same about it...haha...now if he will only actually listen.☺It was fun having him over all day and Weston here all day Saturday. 

A very common sight at my house...↓

dear quizzes, once again I couldn't resist the silly Facebook quizzes.  Will someone tell me why I keep doing these ridiculous things?  They are either perfectly accurate because the answer would fit just about anyone, or they are totally off.  But I continue to get a kick out of them. 

 dear quotes, there were some good ones this week.

 

I found this really great marathon article HERE, and then I found this perfect cartoon strip to go with it. 

 Just in time...  Or not!