*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 early and practiced the harp for a couple of hours.  It went pretty fast because I have some hard pieces right now.  I felt bad because I am sure I woke Bryce up.  It was President's Day and so there was no school. I headed to the track to get in some miles because the roads were a bit snowy and icy.  But, the track was covered in snow!  Great. I ran around the high school instead. I did find some coins (of course).  I even found a half penny!  

If you haven't got a penny, then a half penny will do.  If you haven't got a half penny, then God bless you!

I tried to catch this blog up but it just isn't happening. If I could sit down for about four hours, then maybe.  But life gets in the way.  Better to live it than to blog about it!  It has been nice to have Bryce home.  I made turkey steaks for dinner and then Dave and I watched the ice dancing on the Olympics.  I can't get enough of the figure skating! 

dear tuesday, I got up early again and got in another almost two and a half hours of harp practice.  I have reached a point where it takes that long to get through all my pieces.  In the past I could do that in 40 minutes a day.  If I break up the pieces and do half each time I practice, that is doable, but I don't improve as fast.  Canon in D is four pages long and I have the first page down well, but I have put my hands together on page two and it's tripping me up because it's the fast part.  I hate to quit practicing until I at least see some improvement and on that piece it's slow.  I am also in the last few songs in Book One and they take time to master as well.  Nanette told me this the time most people end up quitting because you kind of hit the wall and it feels like you aren't really improving and everything is so hard and takes so much time.  But she told me to just push through it and don't give up and I will get over the hump. Running has helped me do that.  Running has taught me to not give up and to push through especially when it's tough. Either way, I still love it. I just wish I could get Canon in D down so it sounds like it's supposed to.  Gonna take a long time to get there I'm sure.  

She's back!

It was SO blasted cold today! I honestly thought it was going to be a dreadmill day because I was not looking forward to running in those temps.

I waited until it warmed up to about 20 degrees and then I headed out.  It was still freezing!  I wish I had wore a face mask. Brrrr....  I went to Kotter Canyon and did hill repeats. It wasn't nearly as cold on my hill spot.  I got in 15 repeats!  Not sure how because my quads were pretty sore from my 19 miler but I kept pushing through.  I kept thinking if I could just do 12, it would be good, but I know Boston is coming fast and I have to start really pushing myself.  

Have you ever heard the expression, "Inspire YOURSELF!"?  I thought about that today as I was doing those difficult hill repeats.  And in a non-prideful way, I decided that I WAS inspiring myself at that moment.  haha I did not want to be running those.  I had a lot of excuses....it was too cold today, my legs were sore and tired from my long run, I wasn't feeling in my groove, they were hard, I forgot my water, I had so much I needed to do today....the list goes on and on.  BUT...I did it anyway.  So, I DID inspire myself.  I thought of what I looked like going up and down those hills so many times and that if I had been observing me, I would have been inspired.  It's okay to inspire yourself.  It's not prideful.  It doesn't mean you think you're all that.  It means that it's okay to pat yourself on the back once in awhile for the good you do instead of always tearing yourself down.  Try it today!  Inspire YOURSELF!  Because I am 100% certain that you are inspiring others!  So why not YOU?!

When I got home I actually remembered to do planks!  This is only the second time in my training (pathetic I know!), but at least I remembered!  I am only at two minutes (that did not inspire myself haha) and my goal is to be at 4.5 minutes before Boston.  I will keep you posted.  I reached that last year.

Today is my friend Audrey's son BJ's Angelversary and so I made chocolate ecstasy.  I have said it many times, but I love this tradition we somehow started years ago.  

I went to RS and Audrey taught about family history.  She once again got me motivated. Let's hope it lasts longer this time!  We also had some older sisters share how they met their husbands.  That was a lot of fun. I could listen to stories like that all night. 

Sister Mason and Sister Hammon's wedding pix

dear wednesday it was bitter cold this morning.  7 degrees!  Brrr.....  Winter has finally arrived.  I was secretly glad I didn't have to run this morning because I had my harp lesson and I had to practice before.  I also met Sky in Kaysville to give him some medical records.  Carson was with him and gave me "present" (a picture he drew). He is so thoughtful!  Love that boy! I had run in Maverick to get him some little treats too.  My lesson went really well.  There is always so many things I need to work on.  Mainly in my technique.  It's taking so long to get those down.  Maybe it's a lifetime pursuit.
After my lesson I headed to Station Park to meet the City Creek Crew.  We couldn't do City Creek this time because one of them had to take her mom to Farmington so we just met there.  It was fun.  There were seven of us including Jacki. It was so nice to see her.  We had fun catching up.  She had the scoop on many things I hadn't heard yet about a few classmates. We all laughed and had a good time.  We were there for over three hours.  

Then I hit Home Goods and ran into three of them there.  Pam is so hilarious.  I also ran in to Lesa Stevenson!  I think the last time I talked to her was in Home Goods!  Haha  She is Elder Stevenson's wife. We've been friends for years via American Mothers. I think the calling is finally settling in for her because she seemed more calm about it.  They are heading to Asia again soon and will be there for two weeks.  She said they get energy when needed so it's not as exhausting as it sounds.  He is over the Asia area.  She asked about all my boys and I told her the scoop.  She gave me some great advice. I told her Elder Bednar was just here and how that was.  I have always loved her and it's no surprise they are were they are.  I then had to run all over to find striped socks for our half time show tomorrow. Finally did.  I also ran to a couple furniture stores looking for something to get the basement looking better.

When I got home McKay was here but about ready to leave.  I had no idea he was coming home or I would have rushed home sooner.  Dang! 

dear thursday,  I got in five miles this morning and it was COLD!  We have been so spoiled this winter without winter. 

I ran past this and I had to smile.  Taylor was #42 and a Bee.  Brought back some fond memories.

I ran to the church for our bobble-head practice.  It went well.  I then ran to the store and when I got home Sky and Carson were here.  They hung around most of the day.  Then Sky headed and Carson stayed.  We get to tend him for a few days.  As always he brought me a "present" he handmade (card).

I made dinner for Dave's parents as well as chocolate ecstasy.  

Carson went with me to deliver it and then we went to the last YW basketball game of the season.  We met early so we could set up and practice our dance a few times.  The games went well and our first halftime performance wasn't too shabby even though Ann wasn't there but she made it for the second one. The audience seemed to like our craziness.  It was fun. I think last year was better and definitely funnier because it was new, but tonight's was fun too.  Carson made friends with a lot of people.  He is so friendly and everyone immediately loves that kid.  He's so cute. Ayako and her daughter and husband were making him origami and playing with him.  Ayako let him announce when the time was almost up with the microphone.  

He loved that.  He ran across in the middle of one of our dances and I had no idea until I saw the video.  Too funny.  It was a lot of fun.  It had snowed while we were there.  

He liked wearing my bobblehead.

We had SO much FUN!  I love this calling.  We did miss having Val a part of it this year though.

 The disco ball made it so much fun!  We started with the lights off and turned on flashlights one at a time shining on our faces and then started the dance. We also ended it that way.  We danced to "I Want to Move it Move it".

dear friday, today did not go as planned.  I got up at 5:30 a.m. so I could get my macaron order done. There just has not been any time to do them before today!  I didn't get in a run.  I was supposed to go 10 miles.  I got busy making them hoping I could get out later.  I prefer to make the cookie part the day before and then fill and decorate the next day, but I had no time until today.  Unfortunately, I spent all morning and part of the afternoon making them.  I struggled with the feet spreading this time.  I turned the oven down to 280° which I think is the sweet spot for my oven to avoid browning but I think the lower temp is why the feet spread.  Aaaaaaagh!!!!  I watched a video today of a macaron maker pounding her macs with a hammer because of her frustration with them.  The comments made me feel better because most of them said that they felt that way at times as well.  Even the pros still have times when they turn out perfect for a while and then have failure.  They are the cookie that keeps you humble.  I managed to get the three dozen but it took me three batches. 

I felt so bad because Carson was so patient all day while I worked on them.  Bryce was so good to play with him.  I kept saying things like, "Carson, don't ever let me do this again!"  Or, "I am never doing this again!"  Meaning taking orders for them.  When my friend came to pick them up, he said, "Jodi tell her what you said."  I just kept talking to her because I wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he didn't drop it and said, "Jodi tell her you are never going to do this again!"  I laughed and she laughed and said to not worry she would not ask me to. I told her that they are very time consuming and I say that every time I make them.  True statement.  I guess I keep trying because I am a very determined person and I am not one to give up.  Even on silly cookies that are making me a bit insane!

I was happy with how they turned out.  At least I got paid (though not near enough!). 
I was happy they were done.  

Carson and I painted rocks and did some other fun stuff.  He is such a joy to have around.

dear saturday, I can't even tell you how much I was dreading my long run today.  I tried to figure out a way to put it off or get out of it altogether.  But then Sherrie text me and Robin last night asking if we were planning on a long run in the morning.  It's a good thing or I probably would have postponed it until Monday when it was supposed to be warmer with less wind.  I was dreading not only the LONG miles, but the COLD WIND.  I will run in about anything, but if I'm going to draw the line, it's the cold wind.  I am not sure I have ever dreaded a long run as much as this one.  I kept telling myself that I didn't need to really do three 20 milers when I also did a 19 miler and that might be over training and so I was trying to convince myself it was okay to bag it.  So, I am grateful for friends that push me to get out.  I'm usually the one pushing, but not this time.  I got up at 6:30 and met Sherrie an hour later.  

We got in almost five miles and I was pleasantly surprised the wind was not bad.  I was even too hot with the jacket I wore.  When we came back to get Robin, I ran and changed jackets and gloves.  Robin wasn't ready and so we got in another three miles or so.  The wind picked up and I was freezing. My fingers felt like they had frostbite so I went back home before we got Robin and changed my gloves back as well as changed to a warmer jacket.  Yep, I changed my jacket three times!  I didn't get it right even that time. I should have put my original one back on because it got much colder.  Sherrie ran up to mile 12 with me but then had to get home for something.  Robin stayed with me until I got in my 20.  We weren't even sure where we were going and about mile 14, we thought it would be a good idea to call and see if Dave would pick us up and then we wouldn't have to fight the uphill with a head wind.  Holy cow, it got so bitter cold.  The wind cut straight to the bones.  We stopped at Love's and got water around mile 16.  Then we headed north so we had a tail wind.  We were on 900 North heading east (and frozen!) when we saw Dave sitting in the car just waiting.  I have no idea how he knew we would come that way.  He said I told him we were heading west but I still can't believe he was in the right spot.  Well, almost. I still had .75 miles to go.  Robin was done and so she got in the car while I finished up.  I wasn't stopping after all that until I got in my full 20!  Oh, brrr.....  I could not get warm all day after that!  What a relief to have that in the books!  My first 20 for Boston.  

Woo-hoo!  I was so happy I did it!  It was one of the coldest runs in the history of cold runs for me.  I can handle the cold unless the wind is raging.  So, I was pretty proud of myself for getting through it and sticking it out.  

I fried an egg and made some toast. I was starving.  It was so good.  Then I got in the shower and didn't want to ever get out!  But, Carson had been patiently waiting for me and so I hurried and and got ready and then played with him.  Bryce was so cute to play with him while I was gone.  He loves Bryce. He loves all the boys.

After I got him down for a nap, I ran some errands.  He dreaded taking that nap as much as I was dreading that long run. Haha He didn't get out of it either and was better off for it, as was I.  Taylor got back from snowboarding and said he also froze.  Winter has finally arrived.  The boys and Dave all played with Carson and then we made some Crack and Carson made a cute card for Sky.  He always misses him when he is gone.  He LOVES to make cards.  

I get a card (present) EVERY SINGLE TIME he shows up here and he makes sure mine are always purple.  He's a very tender hearted little guy.  We headed up and snuggled in my room before hitting the sack.  I was beat.  The cold takes it out of ya!

dear sunday, it snowed last night.  And looked so pretty.  This little guy looks pretty good too!  :)

We had to make a trip to SLC but the roads were fine.  Carson came to church with me and when we arrived Dave's parents were there.  They like our church time better.  LOL  Carson fell asleep in sacrament, the poor little guy.  He went to Primary like a trooper and is always so happy to see Julie and Tammy.  When I picked him up he was all smiles.  Dave had a late ward conference and so I got some things done while we waited dinner for him.  Taylor headed home this morning and we never saw McKay this weekend.  After dinner our home teachers came. They gave a good message and Carson was impressed with Bro. Packer's magic tricks.  It was the closing ceremonies for the Olympics but we missed most of it.  But what I saw was absolutely amazing.  South Korea is definitely the leader in technology.  Blew me away.

Mr. Cat loves to put his paws under the bathroom door when I am in there in the mornings.  Makes me laugh.

dear quotes, 

*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, got up at 6:30 and headed out for six miles.  I am loving the early morning hours.  I wasn't fast though. 

This happened as I was running nearby. I saw all the smoke but thought it was on the mountain.  I had no idea it was a car!  Gratefully, they all survived!

Why does this make me so excited?

Came home and hurried and got ready before Carson woke up.  He helped me fill the macarons and box them.  

 He amazed me how well he filled the boxes with the shred.  He put the exact amount in each one.  And I mean exact. This little four year old is always amazing me!  My 20 year old wouldn't have done it that accurate!

Carson and Bryce played for a long time.  Sky and crew headed home and I left right after to my Sista VDay lunch.  

Sadly, Rovali's was closed, so we went to Roosters.  Mrs. Dudman (our junior high gym teacher showed up!) How cool is that!  It was fun. We all exchanged Valentines.  Kimberly Spicker came too.  We got some pix and then everyone had to run. 

 With our Junior High gym teacher.  Can you guess which one she is????

She is the second one on the left.  Mrs. Dudman.  Robin said, "Can we call her Carol now?"  Hehe

I had a turkey enchilada MOLE!  Mmm....

I sure do love these women.  They bring a lot of joy to my life and I am so grateful for them all.  I hit a couple stores to finish getting some things for Carson for Valentine's Day.  

I saw this in Deseret Book and loved it!

On the way home, Karen was texting me and I stupidly answered!  With a voice text.  Bad idea.  I got pulled over right after I pulled off the interstate.  Some guy reported me. Found out later it was the guy who was tailgating me so I had to keep changing lanes.  The cop said he said I was swerving.  Not true. I was changing lanes a million times to keep him off my tail!  Grrr........ You don't argue with cops though.  But I was mad!  He gave me a ticket!  Aaaaaaa!  I am going to fight it though because of how the guy that reported me was acting.  He was on my tail even when I changed lanes to get him off my tail a million times.  Thus, he says I was swerving.  So, wrong. Either way, I was guilty and I should not have been texting.  Even as a voice text. WHAT WAS I THINKING?  STUPID!  STUPID!  STUPID!  I am going to throw my phone in the backseat from now on.  And....I can NOT find my driver's license!  I have NO idea how it got out of my wallet!  Dang!  I came home and talked to Bryce about it.  I really should have worked on Boston but now I am not sure if my parents are going or not and so I don't know how big of a place to get.  Sky thinks it would not be a good idea due to all the walking. It would be too hard on Grammy.  He's prob right but I want them to go so much.  Sigh.....  Brenda brought her cookies by. They are so good.  

I tried to catch up this blasted blog!  I haven't practiced harp for a few days!  Lesson tomorrow!  Yikes!

dear tuesday, I got up and practiced my harp since I had a group lesson this morning.  The lesson was at 9:30 and by the time we got all the harps set up and everyone settled it was 9:45.  Then Nanette informed the others she was expecting twins.  So we talked.  Way too long.  I don't think we started playing until after 10. One of the students kept talking between songs as well.  But what do you do?  We ended up being there for two hours!  Good thing I didn't have to be anywhere!  

I headed to Sky's after to deliver some Valentine's.   No one answered and so I text them and called but nothing until I had already left.  He said they were home but didn't hear me knock.  So I went back.  I scared Carson! He was so excited when he saw me.  It was the cutest thing ever. He was just grinning from ear to ear without saying a word.  He loved his Valentine's. 

I gave Sky and Sarah some little things (socks and sparkling cider).  I told Sky about my ticket. He said I need to fight it because I was voice texting and still could see the road.  He said I will win. I am not sure.  I played with Carson in his room and then we went to check on Star the horse we almost chocked to death last time I was there. Haha  She was still alive. I then left to get some things for the macarons and hit several craft stores then came home and just wanted to do nothing but I had so much to do.  Dave had meetings and so I caught up on a few things and then watched some of the Olympics.

Boston is 62 days from today!  I loved this meme:

♥dear valentine's day!♥ I got up early and started to work on the Boston trip.  Holy cow, the time flew and I didn't really accomplish much. I kept waiting for the travel agent lady to text me back but she was so slow, so I finally headed out on my run.  Yeah, I was kind of avoiding it today because it was speedwork at the track day.  Definitely NOT my favorite!  But necessary!  My goal was to do 4 x 800 (Yasso 800's).  I got in the first one and was much slower than I hoped (3:51) but my second one was even slower around a 4:00.  On my third my phone died and I was using the stopwatch to time me. I switched over to my Garmin to time me but then it died.  Hmm...  So, I just went with it and kept running anyway.  After I did the 4th one knowing I reached my goal, I forced myself to do one more even though I was SO done.  I know when I push myself harder than I want to, I see results.  So I got in five total.  I have no idea what my time was on the last two, but maybe that's a good thing!  

I'm really hoping the others were faster.

I came home and started on the Boston hoo-hah again.  I took a break and showered.  I am not sure why I got this travel agent involved because I was finding better deals than she was on everything.  Maybe it's good because it forced me to get it done.  But I am still not done. I have everything done (hotel, rental car, Red Sox tickets) but the flights. I am going to wait until tomorrow to do those because they are supposed to be cheaper on Thursday. Probably not true, but it's worth a try.  This trip is costing so much $$$!  

Dave and I decided to go to dinner early again this year to beat the crowds.  It's nice when he is off on VDay.  We tried to get reservations at Windy's Sukiyaki but they were full.  I tried La Nonne but they were full as well.  We ended up at Long Horn.  We still had a 35 minute wait even though we were there at 4:30!  Everyone else tried to beat the crowds as well.  So to kill time we went to Costco.  We grabbed a few things and the thing beeped so we ran back.  We still had to wait 10 minutes.  The food was so good. We were both starving because we didn't eat lunch. 

They even gave us chocolate!

I made out pretty well...

We thought about going to a movie but there weren't any we really wanted to see so we decided to go home and watch the Olympics. How romantic!  Then Dave thought we could make it to the sealing of a couple in our ward who was getting sealed and then having their children sealed to them.  We decided to run home and change and do that.  We even got there on time.  It was a great experience to be in the temple for a sealing on Valentine's Day.  The little baby girl cried and cried and cried the whole time they were sealing. She did stop for a moment right when the sealer (sweet Patriarch Allred) was saying their names.  It was pretty cool.  We decided to go get a hot fudge sundae at Mickey D's but their ice cream machine was broke so we hit Burger King but they didn't have hot fudge so we tried Yogurt Factory but no one would take our order at the drive through so we came home and made our own banana splits.  They were much better anyway. Taylor showed up for a bit (basically to eat). He had a lab in town.  I watched the Olympics.  It was the pairs figure skating which is my favorite.  A pretty uneventful Valentine's Day. 

These were left on our porch.

This popped up on my Facebook memories.  I entered it in a contest a few years ago and the lady who was doing the contest posted it first on her blog.  We never won, but it's still a fun memory.  

My handsome Valentine.  I think I will tell him how handsome he looks next to the ocean so he will take me there soon!

dear thursday, today was a good day!  However, it did not start off that way.  I didn't sleep well.  I got up early to go run but remembered I had to make the casserole for Dave's parents dinner because I would be gone all day.  I put it together but while doing it, I dropped some leftovers out of the fridge and after cleaning that up, I dropped a whole pan of Tator Tot casserole.  I cleaned that up and then Dave asked me what the hamburger in the microwave was for.  Ooop!  I realized I left out the hamburger out in one of them.  Sheesh!  I was trying to hurry too fast and that's what happens.  Haste makes waste.  True.   I need to post this recipe because it's fast, easy and yummy.  I have yet to meet anyone that doesn't like it.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

1 large bag frozenTater Tots

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can evaporated milk

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with onion.  Mix with soup, milk and 1 cup cheese.  Layer tater tots in 9x13 pan.  Pour meat mixture on top and bake for 45 minutes covered. Then uncover and add 1 cup of cheese on top and bake uncovered for 15 more minutes. 

I got in four and half miles.  It was chilly.  

I was excited today to go to a Harp Master Class with the world famous Russian harpist Sasha Boldechev.  I ran a couple errands on my way.  The day was getting better.  Didn't even get pulled over.  Haha  I picked up April in Kaysville and then we headed to Lyon and Healy in SLC for the Master Class.  I love April.  She is so sweet and cute.  She has been playing the harp for about four years.  I just celebrated my second year of taking lessons this month!  I did take off two months in the summer, so not quite two years.  I am loving it.  The master class was amazing.  Sasha was playing all the harps when we arrived and tuning them.  He is so unbelievably skilled.  I was amazed.  

Five students performed numbers and he took 20 minutes each to teach them what they were doing wrong.  Or right for that matter.  It was interesting. I learned a lot.  Especially about posture.  He said do not drop the shoulder because it looks bad and it's not strong enough to support you. He taught us many other things as well.  

He played for us at the end and that was exciting. 

We had a question and answer period and found out that he began taking lessons when he was five!  Yes, five!  We asked how long he practices and he said when he was five he practiced for two and half hours a day!  What?  That seems unheard of. I can't think of a five year old that could or would do that.  He said by the time he was eight he practiced six hours a day.  At age 14 he was up to eight hours a day. He said when studying with a certain teacher he practiced 12 hours a day!  CRAZY!  I have no idea how anyone could do that.  That explains why he is so incredible.  It's not just talent, it's dedication.  He was impressive! So were some of the girls that performed.  Being just a beginner it was exciting to see how good you can become if you practice hard.  I have no desire to ever be at his level, but it was inspiring nonetheless.  I am glad April came. It was fun to get to know her better.  We had refreshments and then hit rush hour traffic on the way home.  

With Sasha Boldechev

Me, Sasha, and April

I had to go straight to our Stake YW halftime show performance practice.  It was fun, but we were there for THREE hours!  Sheesh!  Imagine four women trying to choreograph a dance with all their ideas and opinions.  I was beat.  I didn't get breakfast, lunch (just refreshments at the harp class) and no dinner.  Dave forgot to put our casserole in the oven when he did his parents.  Thankfully, there's always cereal!  Hah

dear friday, I got up and worked on the flights for a while. I was trying to avoid going out today because it was much colder than it has been and I'm no longer used to it.  The bad thing is next week is going to be even colder!  It was 23 when I went out.  I didn't get in much of a good run. I was supposed to go nine miles today.  Didn't happen. Oh well.  

I keep finding spiders and bugs hidden ALL over my house.  In the drawers, cupboards, corners, you name it...they're everywhere.  Hah!  Carson knows how much I hate them and gets the biggest kick out of it when I scream.  They are usually legit screams too.  I sent him a picture of me finding one and Sky sent back a picture of him grinning from ear to ear.  He's so dang cute!  

My goal today was to get the Teddy Bear macs done for Dani's shower tomorrow.  I am ready to throw in the towel.  Actually, I am ready to throw the macs out the window!  They did not turn out AT. ALL.  This time they browned too much and it changed the color!  Then second pan was under cooked because I was so afraid of browning them that I turned down the oven and they had a hard time cooking but then they started to brown! I GIVE UP!  And they were hollow!  Ugh!  No!  I WILL NOT GIVE UP!  But I feel like it!  Grrr.....  They gave me a killer headache.  

It was a great day besides that!  At least I got to watch some of the figure skating while I made them.  These things take much too long to make to not turn out perfectly EVERY time!  I am dreading my 19 miler tomorrow. I need to change my attitude.  It. Will. Be. Fun.  At least there are several peeps going.  That always makes the time go faster.  Sherri, Robin, Sherry Sandlian, and Marci are all coming.  So we will have five of us.  Robin and Sherry are only going 7-10, so I hope I can keep up with Sherri and Marci.

dear saturday, I met Sherrie at 6:30 a.m. and we got in five miles before meeting Robin and Sherry.  It was a pretty chilly this morning.  

We headed south and then north down Main.  Sherry S. took off for home after about four miles.  So it was just the three of us.  I really liked breaking it up like that.  It makes it seem much shorter for me.  We went to Love's Truck Stop for water and potty break.  We ended up just shy a mile or so and so we ran around the park and back up to 600 East.  It was a pretty good long run.  I wasn't in a lot of pain other than my hips and my knees were aching, but other than that, I felt good.  I felt better with this 19 than I did with the 14 or 17. Not sure why, but it was a nice switch.  And such a relief to have it done. I am not sure why the knees have started to ache during and after.  I've never had issues with them before.  I think when I start getting into the long miles, lots of things start to pop up that I don't usually see.  I do keep thinking though that my marathon days are numbered.  Training for a full really takes it out of you, but I am feeling it more the past year.  I always wanted to the that 80 year lady still running marathons, but the way the bod is feeling, I am re-thinking that! hah  

Sky called and asked if Carson could come over and spend the night.  Taylor and Bryce were working for Barry with Sky and so Taylor just brought Carson back.  I was in Corinne at Dani's shower, but I did pass them on my way.  The shower was fun. I got a chance to talk to Dani.  We had a great talk.  It was a good thing.  The food was amazing.  

We had a four year old take our group photo...haha.  Then Dave's Dad came and he took one for us but I think the four year's was better.  LOL.  

 Dave's Dad's attempt ↓ his thumb was in all of them. haha

 We finally got one that was mostly good....  LOL

When I got home Carson was playing with Bryce.  Bryce is so good to spend so much time with him.  

Taylor was here too but he was studying his brains out like usual.  He studies so hard and is so dedicated.  Sky is that way as well.  I was grateful to Bryce because I had to get my lesson ready.  Carson was excited to be here and to have a sleep over.  He even liked my Tator Tot casserole.  We watched a bit of a movie and then went to bed.  That long run wore me out!  Or was it a four year old?  hehe

dear sunday, Carson woke up at 7 a.m. I had been awake since Dave left at 6 a.m.  We snuggled for a while and then he wanted to eat.  I worked on my lesson and practiced the piano.  Taylor headed back to Logan just in time before the snow got bad. Sky and Sarah showed up and it started to really snow.  We all headed to church and it was really snowing by then.  

Dave's parents and Kev and Tori also came to our ward because Isaac is getting baptized tonight.  Zan stayed with us to go to Primary.  Her and Carson held hands and were so cute!  

I talked to Johnny in the hall for a bit about Sky.  He told me how much he loves that kid.  I appreciated his words.  I taught my class. I sure do love them.  They are a lot of fun and make lots of comments.  Plus they are so hilarious.  All of them are really good kids.  I enjoyed our RS lesson by Lindsey.  She is the cutest girl.  Piano went okay.  I went and picked up Carson and Zan and Heidi told me that Carson was so cute.  She said they were talking about love and he blurted out very loud, "I love Jodi!".  She said it was the cutest thing ever.  I guess everyone got a kick out it because I had four other people tell me the same story.  He is a cutey.  He really has my heart. I am glad he loves me so much!  :)  The feeling is mutual.  It snowed a lot while we were in church.  I think we had at least 6 inches and it was still coming down.  We ate ribs (as a snack according to Dave) and then went to Isaac's baptism at our church.  I love that kid.  I can NOT believe he is eight!  In my mind he is still four!  It was a cute baptism.  Zan sang I Am a Child of God all by herself.  It was adorable!  She is absolutely the cutest little thing.  Kev then baptized and confirmed Isaac and then we had the dinner.  It was really good. Kev loves to cook and he made homemade potatoes and gravy and pot roast.  It was pretty tasty.  It was actually Isaac's birthday and so we sang to him and had cake and ice cream as well.  Carson and Zan were having so much fun playing.  Isaac opened his presents and we cleaned up.

 We came home to more snow.  I think it's our first major winter storm this season.  Sadly, it's going to get really cold now.  Carson was sad to go home but so sweet.  He is constantly kissing me and telling me he loves me.  I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy in my life.  He brings me so much joy and is a bright light in our lives.

Exactly how I feel...

This is one charming kid!  Watch out girls!

He is ALWAYS making me cards, pictures, "presents".  He hasn't come to visit yet without bringing me one.  This one is purple cats.  Sweet!

Speaking of cats...
dear mr. cat, he for one isn't bothered by the cold.

dear boston, I can't believe how fast it's approaching!  I follow the FB page on Boston training and sometimes it gets me really motivated and other times it makes me feel like a total slacker. Some of those peeps on there are SO fast!  Even their 20 milers are ran at a 6 minute pace!  I really need to get doing some tempo runs besides my Yasso's so I can be ready!

Exercise science has taught us that lactate threshold pace is a fantastic indicator of running performance. The faster you can run while still clearing lactate, the faster you’ll be able to race.  But there’s also a significant mental aspect as well: they’re hard, stressful, and mentally fatiguing. Tempo workouts teach you to manage your emotions when running becomes difficult.  As University of Colorado at Boulder head cross country coach Mark Wetmore has said:Distance runners are experts at pain, discomfort, and fear.  You’re not coming away feeling good.  It’s a matter of how much pain you can deal with on those days.  It’s not a strategy.  It’s just a callusing of the mind and body to deal with discomfort.Tempo workouts callous the mind for racing. They teach you to tolerate more discomfort and develop mental toughness.  For runners, there’s no more valuable skill.

dear random, 

The turks are back!

McKay's roommate.  They all spent the weekend in Bear Lake and they got a lot more snow than we did.  Crazy kids!

No idea where he is......

A huge buck in our backyard....

And a mama

Taylor's posts....  the one on the left is a person (Taylor) jumping off a pine tree but all you can see is the "swoosh"....  

Cute Carson holding his mama's hand while she had the infection on her head fixed. 

Carson now being the doc....to Taylor.  He lived.

 dear quotes,

Richard Eyre posted this.  I only got part of it, but it's the part that really made me think.  I love how he says, "Christ was not perfect in the sense he never committed a wrong, but in the almost mind-boggling sense that he never omitted a right."  NEVER.  So awe inspiring to me.