*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, I got up at 4 a.m. to tell Taylor goodbye.  He was heading to work in Bluffdale and then after going to shower in Kaysville at my sister in laws and she was going to take him and Travis to the airport.  I went back to bed after, but really didn't sleep!  Ugh!  I was not feeling like running this morning and so I decided maybe I better take the day off.  I know when I feel that way, it usually means my body is asking for a break. I only took Sunday off last week and so I was good with that.  I headed to the clinic for some blood work, but they were really busy and even though you would think they would squeeze me right in, I was still waiting 40 minutes later, so I had to leave so I wouldn't be late for my harp lesson.

Dave took this of me while I was waiting in his office because I stole some M&M's from his drawer right before I was to have a blood test.  Good thing they were so slow and I didn't get in!  I only ate two anyway....

 
My lesson went okay, until I had to play Cricket Song. I have practiced that song over and over and over again and I have it down...but she had me play it AFTER I played Lightly Row where the left hand does Alberti Bass and so it threw me off.  I really struggled getting my left hand to cooperate. I finally got it, but sheesh!

I ran a couple errands and then went to Criddles to get a giant cinnamon roll to take to my moms and also to Panda Express. I got enough food for my parents, Dixie and Bill, and my Aunt Cathy.  When I got to my moms we all feasted away on Panda and the cinnamon roll.  I took a selfie of us to send to McKay because Panda is his most FAVORITE place to eat on the planet.  

We had a good time visiting.  Cathy had some good stories as did Dixie. I learned a lot about ancestors that I didn't know....including things about my grandparents.  When I think of what I don't know...it makes me almost cringe.  Even just two generations ago, there is so much I am unaware of.  Even one generation! I am always learning new things about my parents!   As Cathy was getting ready to leave, I told my mom I had better leave as well, but my mom said, "No!  Please don't go!"  and she ran and locked her front door and stood in front of it as I was heading to it.  It was hilarious!  She was half kidding, but also half serious because she didn't want to entertain them alone.  I laughed.  And I ended up staying an extra hour and half.  My Dad got out a book that he had on Silver City- where he lived as a boy and burnt down half the town.  We talked about that story and I got new details that I wasn't aware of.  I am going to write it on here so it stays preserved for posterity. (I wonder if my posterity will ever read this anyway?  I need to get my blog printed into books! I just can't ever seem to find the time!).  Here's the condensed version:

When my Dad was about 4 years old, his Uncle Bert came to visit them in Silver City Idaho.  He was riding his bike in the house and his mom (my Grandma Helen) told him to stop riding his bike in the house.  He continued to ride it and so she sent him to his room for a time-out where his Uncle Bert had been staying.  Since Uncle Bert smoked, he had several packs of matches sitting on the dresser and so my Dad being only four and curious, started to play with the matches.  Not a good idea!  He ended up catching the curtains on fire, and then everything went up in flames.  They didn't have a fire department in their little city and so their house burnt down as well as several more houses, a warehouse, a store, and other things.  Practically the whole city!  (Slight exaggeration, but it makes the story better!  Ha). Years later when I was a child, we went to see Silver City and I remember it was a cool old town - almost a ghost town.  We went to the lot where their house once stood and started to dig through the dirt.  We found a ton of colored glass that had been melted.  My Grandma had a glass jar of coins and we were digging for that, but never found it.

dear s'more cookout, we had the Hollingsworth's over for a bonfire and s'mores.  Dave has been promising their boys we would do it and they text and wondered if tonight would work.  I didn't get home until about 20 minutes before they were coming and since Dave was on call, they almost beat him here.  But it was fun.  Pretty dang hot for a bonfire though, but it was a lot of fun. I really love our backyard and once the sun went down, it felt great!

Little Mont really has a thing for Dave.

A great night!

Dr. Blanchard (orthodontist) also stopped by with his whole family to bring us a plate of cookies.  We tried to talk them into staying and doing s'mores but they wouldn't.  They are a great family as well.  We are surrounded by amazing families in our stake.

dear tuesday, I got in six miles on my run today and I felt pretty good.  

I took some time to figure out my camera and I got some gorgeous shots of some flowers (aka weeds). 

My camera is AMAZING!  I just need to take the time to get it in focus.  Once I do, it does incredibly detailed shots!  Most of those flowers above are really tiny!  SO COOL!

As I was running, I startled a huge flock of geese!  They then startled me!  There were hundreds and hundreds of them!  I tried to get a good photo, but you  have to look really hard to see how many there were.

I ran down one of our roads that has been under construction FOREVER!  But it was finally nice and new and fresh and wonderful!  I love running on new asphalt!  It will still be awhile before it's all done, but this section was heaven to run on.

I had an ortho appointment to get my new aligners! Yay!  Bad news is I have to wear them for at least four more months!  Ugh!  Oh well, I want my teeth to look good after going through all this, so I guess I can buck it up.  Clark had to drill a space between two of my teeth, but the drill and razor slipped and cut my gums pretty nicely. Ouch.  He had to keep pressure on it for a while to stop the bleeding.  He felt bad.  Right after that, I headed over to the clinic to donate more blood, as if I hadn't lost enough at the ortho!  haha  Actually, I was just getting my blood drawn for some testing, but they took a lot.  On the second vial, I started to get really dizzy and light headed just as Dave walked in and he said I looked like I was about to hit the floor.  But I was okay the rest of the day. 

I headed over to Smiths to stock up on Greek yogurt because they were having a great sale and I am really trying to eat more healthy and I know I need to eat more protein.  It's surprisingly yummy too!  It feels more like a treat to me.  The Dannon Strawberry Cheesecake one is to die for, but their lemon meringue is out of this world!  SO SO SO GOOD!  But I am happy with just the blueberry one with some Special K added for a little crunch. Since I have really cut back on sweets the past few weeks, these seem like total indulgence!  They are so heavenly!  The Triple Zero is good too.

My new visiting teachers came this afternoon and we had a fun visit. I love getting to know the other sisters in the ward better and VT is a great way to do that.
 

Dixie and Bill left today to go back to California.  I tried to catch up on my blog and Bryce had gone to a REAL game and Dave worked late and had meetings until 10 pm, so I didn't have to make dinner!  Yay!  I made myself a salad and some broccoli.  Dave had tons of leftovers to choose from.  I also remembered it was Shark Week and so I watched about 30 minutes of that.  I love Shark Week!  I missed it last year because 
 didn't know when it was! 

IN honor of Shark Week!

dear hill kills - I got in 15 hill repeats today for a total of five miles.  It wasn't too bad.  I had more energy than I have recently, but I still was beat.  Glad I am able to do them!

dear sista lunch at waffle love, I almost forgot about our Sista lunch today.  I was the one that planned it and I forgot to put it in my calendar!  But somehow I remembered late last night.  Whew.  While I was getting ready, I remembered that Shauna is here visiting from Maine and so I hurried and sent her a text to invite her.  She said she would be there.  Wow!  SO glad I thought to do that!  I got there a little early and so to kill time, I went in Deseret Book.  There was a time I couldn't get out of a book store without at least one book (usually several), but today I didn't even buy one thing.  I don't read as much as I used to.  I get a lot of my info online now and frankly I can't find the time to just sit down and read.  I feel like I should be doing something more productive (even though reading IS productive!), unless I am in the car traveling or on vacation.  But that is just how my brain thinks now.  I need to start reading again because I love it so much.

Feeling the SISTA LOVE at WAFFLE LOVE

We had a good turn out at lunch and I honestly thought only two or three would show up.  I love it when people are dependable and when they say they are going to be there, they are. (Thanks Dawn - that would be you!)  We have a few that you just never know if they will show or not. I was happy with the turnout.  Jody and Carla weren't going to come but when I told them Shauna was coming all the way from Maine, they said I made them feel guilty.  Hah  I'm glad!  lol  It was a lot of fun and the waffles were SO DELISH!   Oh my!  SO SO SO good!  Shauna and I each got a different one and split them so we got to try two.  We got the lemon curd one and the Red Berry Biscoff.  Mmmm........    Most of the peeps had to rush off, and so it was just me, Bonzo and Shauna left and I even had to leave at 1:30 because I had totally spaced that Dave was off until 5:30 pm today.  But it was still a lot of fun even though we needed more time to catch up.  But I've got a couple more things for us planned in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully then we will have more time!

I ran a couple errands and headed home and practiced the harp for about 90 minutes. I have a new song (London Bridge) that is SO hard.  It took me awhile but I finally got it.  Bryce left for a concert and Dave worked late and went straight to meetings and so I was home alone.  I LOVE being home alone!  I really love it.  I made myself a salad because I didn't have to make dinner because the fridge is still so full of leftovers.  It was so peaceful. 

 

dear bike ride, I decided to do some cross training and since my tire is now fixed on my bike, I headed out for a ride.  It was gorgeous!  Overcast and so cool.  I went 12 miles but it felt easy and much better than running!  Ha!  I hope I am not getting burned out already with running since I just started my marathon training!  :)  When I got home I just sat out on the porch and read the paper because it was starting to sprinkle and I just loved being outside in it.  

As you can see I was MOO-ving right along! 

I tried to get a picture with the temple AND the B in the background.  If you look hard you can see both.  I kind of helped you.

I didn't have to go anywhere today!  What a relief!  I used the time to clean and to catch up on my blog.

dear manic manikin, I think she has a bunny rabbit in her shirt.  But I'm not sure.  I would like to sit down and interview these people.  LOL

dear long run, today Robin and I had to do 14 miles.  Dave took us up to the sheds at 6:15 a.m.   We tempted fate again by running down the canyon.  The semi's are the scary ones.  They fly through that canyon, but usually they at least pay attention... I can't say the same for others. 

Unbeknownst to me, Robin took this of me as she was returning from the bushes.  I was on lookout duty and waiting patiently checking my running app.  She said that I look like I should be the one in the bushes!  LOL

Can you tell how excited we are!???

Close up of very tiny bud I took with my phone. 

One lonely poppy.  A late bloomer.  I took this picture because I want to do a post about it.  There are so many great lessons in this one photo.  Hopefully, I will find time to do that.  If not, look at it yourself and think about what this photo has to teach you.  Then share in the comments.

We saw Grant by the dam and stopped and talked to him for a bit.  Robin and I both had several ailments today.  We ended up laughing so hard because by the end of our run we realized we both had quite the list.  Every mile or two one of us would have another.  It got to be very comical. We did that one other time on a long run too.  Here's today's list (what I can remember):
Robin:

• IT band
• Ankles
• Feet
• Back
• Chafing

Me:

• Glutes
• Feet - first my heels ,then my entire foot
• Chafing
• Hams

It was quite humorous listening to us.  That's what long runs do to you.  You pretty much talk about whatever pops into your head and once you pass about mile 12, anything goes.  hahah  We talk about things we would never normally talk about!  Runners are famous for being very open about their bodily functions as well... especially while running. Today was no exception!  LOL

The struggle is real...

When I train for a marathon, I really try to eat more healthy, especially at breakfast. I am not a huge breakfast eater, but I know that my body needs protein soon after a long run to repair the damage and so I have been trying to do better at that.  I also love to eat steel cut oats with some added flax, hemp, and chia seeds.  Those little seeds are packed full of nutrition!  And what's best is that after I eat it, I am full most of the day.  Serious.  It's amazing.  I made up some bags with what I need already prepared so when I get home all I have to do is boil the water.

dear mom and dad anniversary, my mom invited us to go to Maddox to celebrate their 58th anniversary.  I stopped at Idle Isle and got them some candy.  My dad loves their almond cremes and their almond clusters and my mom loves the orange cremes with dark chocolate.  It worked out well because Dave was on call and so we met them at 3:00.  He had to leave before we did, but it was still a lot of fun.  

Haha, I love this picture!  My Mom greeting us as we arrived.

You just can't go wrong with Maddox.  It really is one of the best restaurants in all of Utah.

I have been MORE than blessed with the sweetest, cutest, and most amazing parents.  Everyone loves them.  I can't think of one soul that knows them that doesn't just love them.  They are seriously the best!  I love them so much!  Happy Anniversary Ma and Pa!

I went to Walmart on my way home and tried to find some tiny purple flowers for my back yard pots.  They used to have tons of them before I decided I wanted to plant some.  I waited too long because everything is so picked over.  I came home and Bryce was taking off to go camping and I had to go to a reception by myself because Dave was on call and was swamped. He didn't get home until almost 9:00 pm.  Busy day at work.   

dear saturday morning run, we had to go 7 miles today.  You would have thought we had to do 20. We were turtles.  We should have left earlier than 7:30 a.m. because it was HOT!  The heat really makes it tough.  Not to mention the fact that we ran 14 miles yesterday. I was sore.  And chaffed.  

Robin brought me a little treat to make me laugh because of our conversation on our long run yesterday.  It's a milk dud.  Oh that girl makes me laugh! 

Nancy, this picture is for YOU!  We ran right past it and took a photo for you!  haha

dear yard work, I spent literally ALL DAY long on Saturday trimming hedges, trees, wild berry bushes, etc, etc.  It was so hot, I had sweat running in my eyes and stinging them.  I worked hard.  I actually enjoy doing that kind of yard work, but it was much better when I started right after my run at 9:00 a.m. than it was at 5:00 p.m.  Much too hot then! 

The process...

I had an audience of one....

I cut the extension cord!  oops!!!!  haha

When Dave got home from work I asked him how much he liked his orange extension cord.  He replied, "I guess that means I need to buy a new one."

And I got a nice blister (plus two more on the other hand) for my payment.

I also ran over and helped Dave at the garden lift plants up while he rotor-tilled.  Still not sure why....but I did it.

dear sunday, I was asked to speak in Young Women today in their combined lesson about reaching milestones in my running to show where I am at in my goals and relate it to how each ordinance of the gospel is a milestone.  I talked about my first marathon and how difficult it was and that you can't just wake up one morning and decide to run a marathon.  I talked about qualifying for Boston and the steps I had to take to reach that goal.  I hope I did what was wanted. I used a few quotes from Elder Gary Stevenson's talk "Your Four Minutes" HERE .

dear mckay, your mission president's wife sent us these pictures of your Zone Conference.  I wrote back and thanked her and she told me that you are a really fine missionary and becoming a really fine man! And that I  can be so proud of you.  I am! 

dear mr. cat, not sure what's up with you always sitting on our tables lately, but whatever thrills your bones.

dear boys adventures, my boys are always doing something adventurous.  Some snapchat posts from Bryce and Taylor.

Taylor is in Florida for 10 days.

dear throwback, these popped up on Facebook this week. 
This is of Taylor when on his mission in Brazil.  He is in the middle more on the left.  Crazy how that just seems like yesterday, but now McKay has been out a year already!

This beauty is of my Mom on the far right, then my cousin Shelley next to her and then my Grandma Mae when they were visiting my Aunt Dixie in California.  The lady on the far left is my Aunt Dixie's mil. 

Check out these A M A Z I N G flowers!  I LOVE them!

dear quotes,

Same quote, but easier to read:

I believe this is TRUTH!

A little PURPLE fun!

And the next day, and the next day, and the next.....