*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 harp lesson, today I learned about the Circle of Fifths.  Even though I took piano lessons for 10 years, I never learned much theory.  I am really anxious to learn all that I didn't in those years that I probably should have.  My teacher - Mrs. (Irene) McGregor - whom I adored - wasn't big into theory at all, just skill.  It is brain stuff that's for sure, but it's so cool because music is basically math.  I am in awe of who figured all this out, even though I know it was direct revelation from God.  It really is mind boggling!

My harp teacher told me my form and technique is getting better every single week and she was so excited today!  Yay!  I really want to get this technique stuff down so I can just concentrate on the notes. 

Mr.Cat came in while I was practicing one day this week and just chilled on the piano bench listening to me play.  It was so cute.  He really enjoys the music.  lol

dear byu education week, I absolutely LOVE BYU Ed Week!  I try very hard to attend even if just for one day so I can fill my bucket and soak it all in!  I need it!  It is such a boost for me in all areas of my life.  I learn so much and I love learning!  Of course, the mint brownies are a draw as well.  Mmmmm......... 

Tuesday this week was open for me and so at the last minute I decided to go!  I didn't receive a class schedule in the mail this year and so I had no idea what classes I was going to attend. But I have learned that I just circle the ones that sound interesting to me (usually about 10 every hour!) and I always know when the time arrives which one I am supposed to go to.  With 30 or more classes offered each hour it can be daunting.  I have learned to rely on the spirit and to not doubt or question what I feel inspired to attend.  There have been times that I was ready to leave a class but stuck it out for a few more minutes and then realized why I was directed to go to that particular class.  There have been times when I have felt torn between two or three and end up leaving one because I feel like I needed the other more, but I believe in that case either would be good.  No matter what, I love going!  This is the list of the classes I attended this year.  

I learned SO much!  I take notes of course, but now I also take pictures of the quotes they display because it is so much faster than writing it all down. Sometimes I feel like it is information overload, but in a good way! I love shopping in the bookstore and the annex.  It was also the devotional today by Elder Holland.  What a great talk!  I was in the bookstore while he was speaking but I heard most of it. 

A few key points that I learned (from the photos I took of the quotes): 

This year,  I didn't see one person I knew!  That is not normal!  I always run into some one that I know.  I LOVE Ed Week!  I LOVE learning!  I hope I can go every day next year!  Or at least a few days!

A great quote from Elder Bednar:

"You and I are here upon the earth to prepare for eternity, to learn how to learn, to learn things that are temporally important and eternally essential, and to assist others in learning wisdom and truth (see D&C 97:1).

Understanding who we are, where we came from, and why we are upon the earth places upon each of us a great responsibility both to learn how to learn and to learn to love learning.

Learning to love learning equips us for an ever-changing and unpredictable future. Knowing how to learn prepares us to discern and act upon opportunities that others may not readily recognize. I am confident you will pass the test of learning what to do when you do not know what to do or how to proceed. I pray your love of learning will grow ever deeper, ever richer, and ever more complete."

I found the planner I have been wanting for a while now in the bookstore.  That store is amazing!  It has everything!  I am REALLY picky about my planners but after looking this one over, I decided maybe it's time for a change.  I have used the Day Timers planner for years and years and then I made my own that I have been using for several years because I wanted one that had everything I wanted on it. I am the hard copy kind of girl instead of just digital.  I really love the custom one I made, but I think this will be more convenient in many ways.  I just print pages out for mine right now and so I am excited to try this one. I decided to get the one starting in January of 2017 though, so I have a bit of time before I will know if I love it or not.

It has so many great pages.  They left no stone unturned.  Well, maybe one or two, but overall it's really a thorough planner.  I love the quotes and the design the most. I'm excited to get using it!

 I stopped at Carrabba's on my way home and got me a piece of their Sogno Dream cake!  How could I not?!  I wasn't one bit hungry for it, but I sampled it and hit the road for home.  I was so tired but I managed to arrive home alive!

dear hill repeats, I got in 15.  Not fun.  Glad that's done.  Brutal.

Hill kills done for the week!  Whew!

dear dinner to neighbors, I told my very sweet neighbor friend I would bring dinner in because she had some surgery and I was feeling really bad for her.  Since I had most of the afternoon free, I made a lot of food. I didn't plan on spending my entire afternoon in the kitchen but that is what happened.  I made BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, a pasta salad, fresh green beans from the garden, cheesy biscuits (Red Lobster kind), and an oatmeal cake.  I hope they liked it.  My fam did. :)  I can't believe I didn't take a photo. Especially of the green beans from the garden.  I am so excited the harvest is on!

dear run out west, it was overcast and stormy on Thursday morning and I decided to head out west because I needed a change of route!  It wasn't my funnest run ever, but it was pretty.  

dear sky home! Since Sky was coming home on Thursday evening, I went to the store (aka killed the fatted calf - or fatted pig in this case) and made a yummy pork chop meal.  I put browned pork chops on top of a mixture of sliced potatoes, carrots, and onions covered with cream of chicken soup.  It is really an easy but delicious meal.  Dave forgot to remind me we had been invited to the 17th ward dinner at the Mackay's house.  After I got our dinner in the oven we headed over there.  I am sad the Mackay's are moving.  The new owners of their house attended the party so we met them.  The dinner was a delicious dutch oven dinner!  Mmm....the beans were to die for.   We talked to a lot of peeps including the missionaries and the Singleton's and ran home to get our family dinner ready. 

Horrible photo of me but I love it anyway because the missionary on the left photo bombed our selfie and the other missionary photo bombed without trying.  He is in the background reading his iPad.  They were quite the characters.

I was so happy I got the recipe for the heavenly dutch oven baked beans.  They were the best I've ever had.

Sky arrived and it was so good to see him!  He looks really good!  I have missed that boy!  

We ate (well the boys did!) and caught up a bit and then discussed when we could all go to Bear Lake to see the cabin.  The best time is on Saturday morning.  I had scheduled my 20 miler for that morning and so I hurried and text Robin to see if she could do it on Friday instead and she said she could! I usually need to gear up for my 20 milers mentally, but there will be no time to do that now.  It will be nice to get it over with though.  

dear 20 miler, I got up at the crack of insanity (I seem to be saying that a lot lately!) and met Robin at the dam bathrooms.  No really, the dam bathrooms. She left her car there so we can stash it with our ice water and some food so we don't have to carry everything.  From there Dave drove us to the golf course at Sherwood Hills and after we used the bathroom for about 20 minutes (or more) both trying to be sure we were ready to go....we headed out!

We were up way before the sunrise, but when the sun rose, it was spectacular!  I love seeing the sun rise.  So gorgeous!  Just stunning really. We also saw two moose on the drive up to Sherwood.  That sunrise made getting up that early worth it!

The sunrise behind us while we were still in Sherwood Hills.

I lost count but I believe Robin had to go wee wee at least 10 times today.  Possibly more!  A new record for her I think.  But in her defense she had no idea she was going to be running 20 miles until late last night and so she consumed a lot of Dr. Pepper the day before.  It gave us something to laugh about though.  I was more worried about the beans from the dutch oven dinner than anything! haha  Oh, the things we runners have to worry about on a long run!  LOL

Proof you get a little crazy on 20 mile long runs!  I did find these coins though in the canyon of all places!  Pretty cool!

I divided the run into three parts so it didn't seem so long mentally.  I said we were just running 8 miles (from Sherwood Hills to the dam bathrooms).  Then we did just a short 4 mile run around the dam. Then another 8 from the dam to home. That REALLY helps me mentally so I am not focused on 20 long miles! It wasn't bad at all.  I didn't hit the wall at mile 16 like I did last week, and I believe that is because last week I had run 10 miles the day before which I think helps simulate the feel of the marathon because your legs are so tired.  Today I had energy because I only ran about 4 the day before.  Robin ran 8 and so she struggled a bit more.  That just means I get to do my 8 or 9 the day AFTER my long run!  Not looking forward to that!  The only complaint I had today was my feet were killing me!  Worse than ever.  Starting at mile 8 they felt like they were on fire...clear to my toes.  They were also aching and just not feeling good.  Not sure why either.  The joys of long runs! 

This was hanging in the bathroom at the golf course.  I liked the thoughts because some applied to our long run today.

When we got to 600 East, we headed west because it is a slight downhill and Grant was home and said he would pick us up.  Those last three were hard.  They always are, but Robin was really tired and I just wanted to run fast to get it over with.  I still had some left in my tank because I hadn't run so far the day before. Grant got there a little early and so he parked a mile away to where we had to get to.  It was like looking at the finish line.  I just wanted to sprint.  And I felt good enough to do it but I didn't want to leave Robin.  It felt so good to be done!  Grant always brings us ice water and that was so good too!  First 20 miler of this training DONE!

dear friday, after my long run I had to get a cake made for Dave's Dad's birthday party the next day.  I ran to the store and got the stuff and came home and made it. I am making a Hawaiian Wedding cake because he loves it. I decorated it in a rustic style.  Very simple, but still somewhat elegant I think.

 I also practiced the harp and piano for almost two hours.  I have to play on Sunday and of course I got one of the hardest songs in the hymnbook and so I needed to really practice.  Hope I do okay.  Weston showed up as well.  It was good to see him.  Then Sky brought Jeremy over with his cute baby Navy.  It was so fun to play with her for a bit. She just turned one and I haven't seen her since Hawaii.  We grilled burgers (so good!) and Weston stayed for dinner. I had to get to bed fairly early (10:30 pm) because I have to get up at 5:00 a.m to get in my 9 mile run before we head to Bear Lake.

dear early run in the dark, I had to get out early so I could be home by 7:15 because we were leaving for Bear Lake at 8 a.m.  My alarm went off at 5 and I did not want to get up.  I didn't sleep well for the second night in a row.  But, I got up and headed out IN THE DARK!  I was a little nervous and after I left I thought I should have brought my pepper spray. I rarely run in the dark alone.  After about 3 or 4 miles, it was light and no biggy.  My legs were feeling the effects from yesterday's 20 miler and I wasn't running very fast.  But that's okay.  I was so thrilled to be done! Found two pennies in the most oddest of spots.  That made me happy!

dear bear lake, we headed up to Bear Lake to show the cabin to the boys and my parents.  My parents rode with us and that was fun.  Of course, most of the talking was done by me and my mom because guys don't have as much to say as women do.  My mom is a crack up. I am so glad I still have her here!  Dave missed the road and so we were a little late getting there.  The owner and his family were actually there this time.  We met him and he was nice. The boys and my parents looked around and really liked it.  Taylor loved the Jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom the most.  Hah  He said he can't wait to use that after a long day of snowboarding.  Bryce's good friend has a cabin within a half mile that he has been going to every summer for years!  So he knows the area well. What are the odds? 

The view is just spectacular!

We then headed to the Chevron to get raspberry shakes!  They have the best in town!   I got a side of hot fudge to go with mine!  Mmmm........

It was a quick trip up and back!  But fun!  The newspaper I am holding is called the Bear Laker.  I am a Laker (high school) and now it looks like I am about to be a Bear Laker. Can't wait!

dear dave's dad 80th party, when we got home from Bear Lake, I finished up Dave's Dad's cake for his party tonight. Then I changed and we headed to Walmart to get some flowers for the cake and a card.  The party was The Lodge. I hurried and got the cake set up.  Everyone arrived and we had a very large group even with several missing.

The food was good as always.  One of our bus boys was Tate from our stake who reminds me of Tyson!  It was good to see him and I think it was a little reminder to help me feel like Tyson was there also.  Sadly, Taylor was not.  He had gone with Aubrey on a date (she set it up) with Hadley to the Lantern Festival.  But Sky and Bryce were there.  We ate, sang Happy Birthday and then basically that was that. 

 Even though he is turning 80, he is still working and has no plans for retiring!  80 is the new 60 for him!

A few candid shots

With my adorable niece Kylah. I love her to pieces!  As soon as she got there, she ran over to me and sat on my lap!  Made my day!  Mickey did the dog faces on me and Isaac with Snapchat.  As well as Kevin's Grinch face and Mom's flower headband.  We were laughing SO hard at some of the effects with Snapchat!

dear new calling, Weston and Taylor both came to our ward today because Weston didn't really want to go to the single's ward.  Haha  I didn't have to teach today and so I ran home during SS to grab my piano books and to run through my songs again.  As soon as I got back I started on the prelude.  I think it went well, but it could have been horrible because I couldn't hear a thing.  The sisters are very noisy, but that piano makes it hard to hear what you are playing.  That could be a concern!  The opening song was the one I was the most nervous about (Home Can Be A Heaven on Earth) but it went okay with the exception I couldn't see the chorister...AT. ALL.  I know I was off but I am not sure how bad it was because I couldn't see her!  Yikes!  The closing song was pretty easy and so I could keep turning my head her direction to stay on beat and that helped, whereas the first one I wasn't confident enough in my ability to even look away from the notes.  One sister came up to me and told me I had a very beautiful style of playing.  Maybe she's hard of hearing!  ;) But I still have no idea how it sounded because I couldn't tell myself. 

I made the boys crepes for lunch since we were having a big BBQ that night.

FRESH PEACHES and BLACKBERRIES (really purpleberries!!)

dear 80th birthday party (x 2!), we went over to Dave's parent's house for a BBQ to celebrate his dad's birthday again.  Sunday was his real birthday.  We all took our own meat and grilled it and everyone took salads to share.  It was yummy!  The kids always have a great time together.  It was fun.  We gave him "time with us".  We are taking them to the Rodeo this coming week and then the boys and Dave will take him golfing and I am going to make him a treat of his choice every Sunday for a month.  He didn't want more things, just time with his family.  I think I will start asking for that for my birthday as well.

dear mr. cat, you're "feline" very studious lately.

 dear random, some Snapchats from my boys.

 Bryce's catch of the day.... either fish, tomatoes, or wild berries

Taylor got to go to the Lantern Festival!  Sounded so cool.  He took Hadley.

 He also four wheeled to Willard Peak and hiked to Mt. Ben Lomond with Kendra and CJ

 The turks love hanging out at our place.  But I approve because they eat all the Box Elder bugs and our spider population has decreased significantly as well.

This is an inside joke about some of the cabin decor.

 I LOVE THIS! ↓ It's inspiring me to get my water colors back out!

More stupid quizzes.  The one said my color was indigo which is close to purple.

dear rio olympics 2016, I LOVE the Olympics!  There were a lot of amazing moments this year.  I wish I would have had more time to watch, but I did catch a few of the events online or on Prime Time TV, but I still missed so much.  My faves this round were Michael Phleps record number of GOLD medals.  23 to date!  WOW!  I loved the USA women's gymnasts!  WOW!  Simone Biles wasn't even human!  She can tumble!  I loved the sand volleyball and the men's marathon as well.  I got to watch that before church and I was rooting for Jared Ward because my classmate Olympian Ed Eyestone coached him.  He came in 6th!  That is incredible!  USA's Rupp took the Bronze medal!  Impressive because this was only his second marathon ever!  WHAT?  How is that even possible I have no idea!  Usain BOLT was also not human!  He is so fast!  He is fun to watch!  I wanted to see the rhythmic gymnastics and the synchronized swimming but somehow I missed both.  I also missed the opening and closing ceremonies with the exception of a few minutes. But I am still in awe of the talent and abilities of so many incredible athletes!

 

dear quotes,