*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, wow talk about SPRING in January!  It was the most gorgeous day!  

I attempted to run today but once I tried I knew it was too soon, so I just took it easy and walked.  I can't run tomorrow cause of harp and so I figure by Wednesday I will try it and I am praying I will be good to go!  I'm getting way too far behind!  Gah!  I also want to take advantage of this amazing weather!  It might not last!  Wouldn't it be ironic if Boston is freezing cold this year because I have trained in mild temps when last year it was a heat wave after I trained in freezing temps all winter?   I had a hair appt today.  I was there for 2.5 hours!  If you count my commute time it was almost three hours.  She is usually faster. 

I was happy with the color.

I wanted to take a nap so desperatley today, but it didn't happen. I was dragging all day!  Dave is on call all week and he didn't get home until 8:30!  Sheesh.  I was beat and went to bed around 9:30.  Felt so good!  I love doing that in the winter when it's cold and dark.  I have been needing my heating pad on my hip at night.  Not sure what is going on but it still aches like crazy.  Maybe from a lack of running!  Hah   Bryce went back to Idaho this a.m.  He says it's been pretty mild up there as well.  We have had one nice winter!  Love it!

Bryce took this on Sunday but just sent it to me.  We are looking at the calendar I made for my mom.

dear tuesday, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and practiced the harp.  Sadly, it was the first time all week I have practiced!  Last week was a busy week!  Since today was a group lesson, I wasn't too concerned. 

Yesterday I posted pix of my teddy bear and heart shaped macarons and this morning a friend of mine (Tammy) asked if I sell them because she wanted some teddy bears for a baby shower on Saturday.  Hmm...  Sell them?  Yikes!  I mean if it was chocolate chip cookies that turn out perfectly every time, then yeah, but macarons?  They never turn out perfectly!  I decided to text my friend Lisa who also makes them and see what she thought a reasonable price would be.  We both agreed due to their finicky nature and how labor intensive they are to make, that $1.50 for a round or $2.00 for a specialty (bear, heart, etc.) sounded reasonable.  Most places charge $3- 4 a cookie.  Fiiz sells them for $1.50 and they are tiny.  Sarah said the Grand American sells them for $8 each.  But since she is my friend, I decided to tell her I would only charge her $12 a dozen.  She was excited and ordered three dozen!  I truly hope I won't be cursing the day I am born for agreeing to do this!  I will probably have to make eight batches to get three dozen!  I hope not!  Now to figure out WHEN I am going to have time to pull this off!  I am kind of excited though.  At least I will be getting paid.

I headed out but forgot my phone charged and two minutes after I left my phone had already died.  It needs a new battery. It's been a royal pain.  So I went back home because I knew being gone most of the day would require my phone.  I was only a few minutes late and so that was good.  The lesson went well.  I was able to keep up probably better than ever with the others and that even included sight reading a couple songs.  I felt good.  We got an hour and an half group lesson.  I ran to Farmington to Home Goods to pick up the console for the basement.  I found some darling macaron dish towels as well at Home Goods.  Have I mentioned it's my favorite store on the planet?  Love it.  I also ran to my favorite donut shop MadBrooks and grabbed Dave some of his fave lemon filled donut holes.  I also got my fave blueberry ones.  There is a new cookie store right next to it and so I sampled their almond sugar cookie and HAD to buy one after that. It was so good.  Talk about a sugar high!  Sheesh!  I hit Marshalls and Costco as well.  In Costco I ran into my bil Scott and he got talking and about 40 minutes later as I was checking out, my credit card was no where to be found.  Yep.  I lost it. Most likely when I was talking to him because I was distracted.  See why I choose FOCUS for my word of the year?  I was even wearing my FOCUS necklace today.  Didn't help much because I have no idea where that card is.  I told the store peeps  to call me if it was turned in, but nothing.  Gone, just gone.  I made dinner when I got home but Dave didn't get home until around 7:30.  He's on call.  After we ate, he had meetings.  I studied up on troubleshooting guides for macarons.  

When I got home I found this.......   :(

dear wednesday, I got in my FIRST RUN in almost TWO WEEKS!  It was okay.  Nothing to write home about but I didn't die.  I felt winded but not sure if that's from being sick or from not running for two weeks!  Either way...I'M BACK!  Felt good!  But not as good as I was hoping.  I can tell I'm not 100% yet, but it will come.  

Thumbs up cause I'm back!

STILL no snow!

I spent most of the afternoon making my Teddy Bear mac order for Tammy.  I want them to turn out perfect!  But, they ARE macarons, so that's a tall order.  I am happy to report they actually turned out quite nice.  I had to tweak a few things as far as the oven goes (I added a pan on the top rack to help prevent browning on the top and I doubled the cookie sheets to prevent browning on the top.  Nothing is worse than having a pastel pink bear go a shade of brown.  These are not brown bears after all!  The only thing that made me frustrated (well, okay not the ONLY thing) was they were still hollow.  Aaargh!  I WILL MASTER THESE THINGS IF IT KILLS ME!  Also, the first pan was lopsided.  For some reason the feet were taller in the back than the front of each bear.  That would not be such  a problem if they were just rounds and I could just switch the two sides.  But with bears the ears have to go with the ears.  I might be able to tweak when I fill them.  Even with the help to prevent browning two batches browned more than I wanted.  It's such a fine line of making sure they are cooked all the way and not letting them brown.  These puppies bears are seriously a tester of patience.  BUT, I WILL CONQUER them someday!  I think I might try the Italian method next time and see which I like best. I have heard it is more fool-proof.  Even though mine is supposed to be as well.  If I can just figure out what I'm doing wrong on the hollow shells, I will feel accomplished!  The last batch I made for last week's shower, were not hollow.  What did I do different?  No idea. Other than I think it's possible I didn't beat the meringue quite as long.

It takes a while to just get prepped before starting the process.  You have to have EVERYTHING ready to go.  It has to be a continual process once you have begun making them and you can't stop to get everything ready. 

Cute lil' bears!

No pregnant naked ladies this time!  hehe

Today is my Pa's 82nd BIRTHDAY!  

He was actually able to golf today!  McKay came home because he doesn't have class until tomorrow night.  We all met at Maddox for my dad's birthday hoping Taylor would make it after his lab.  Sky, Sarah, Carson, my parents, McKay, Dave and I all made it but Taylor never did.  We did order for him though.  We took it home in a box.  Oh well.  

Everyone came over and I felt so bad I didn't have a cake for him.  My mom was supposed to bring one but she forgot.  She worries me.  She is doing that a lot lately.  Carson was so cute.  He is always the bright light.  Dave had to give Sky a shot because he's been sick and Carson loves to watch.  He wants to be doctor when he grows up so he says.  He's a smarty so I'm sure he will.  He had us all write our names and he was studying them.  It was nice to have everyone here for a bit.  McKay spent the night but Taylor had to get back.  Carson was bright eyed and bushy tailed until they left after 10.  

dear thursday, I hit the high school track today to "try" and do some speedwork.  I only got in two Yasso's 800's.  I didn't even time myself because I didn't want to be depressed but I know it was over 4 minutes.  That's okay.  It will come.  I did find a ton of coins in one parking stall.  I found 25 pennies and a dime in one stall!  I also got the penny I have seen for months behind a fence by the car mechanic area because a kid was inside there and I asked him to hand it to me. He probably thought I was nuts (well, I probably am) but he gave it to me.  Total tally today was 43 cents I think.  

Does anyone know what this means?  Shoes thrown on the power lines?  These were near the hs soccer field. I'm sure there's a meaning but I don't know what it is...

I had Utah Homemakers today.  We had a bracelet contest and I thought I might win but Lynda W had 33!  I only had 21. I should have taken a picture! Dang!  The speakers were good.  I took lots of notes on Verne Larsen's.  It was the movie theme so Beth had four movies and we were supposed to guess what the classes would be on her FB post. I actually got them all except for Frozen. The others were Fun with Dick and Jane (finances), Lord of the Rings (cleaning ring around the collar, tub, sink, etc), A Beautiful Mind (Positive Thinking), and Frozen was the refreshments (ice cream). It was fun.  

I made the medals for YW basketball and made dessert for Dave's parent's dinner.  I had McKay drop off their dinner (hamburger soup, rolls, shrimp salad, and oatmeal bars) on his way back to Logan.  I then headed to YW Bball.  It was freezing tonight in the church!  Valerie came to watch her daughter and it was so good to see her. I told her it just isn't the same without her.  It really isn't. The three hours used to fly by, but not anymore without her.  Sherri was there and we talked a lot about our long run route for Saturday.   

Val is in the background in the seats.

Dave was in Tremonton at a Coordinating Council meeting and so I got in bed at 9:30 mainly because I was freezing and I had on my heated mattress pad.  Felt so good! 

dear friday, HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY!!
I got up and practiced the harp and then headed out west to get my run.  It was so-so. Not that great.  BUT, it is so nice and dry and feels like early spring!  

It's GROUNDHOG DAY today and Phil did see his shadow so six more weeks of winter.  

What?  Winter?  We have been having winter?  

Sure doesn't seem like it!  It's been so mild!  I'm not complaining!  I'm SO grateful! I pray that means Boston will be mild as well!  It's only 74 days away!  YIKES!  I still haven't got our lodging! Stressing me out!  I just haven't found a two- TEN hour time slot to do it in!  It is not an easy thing to do and I am putting it off!  I AM NOT A TRAVEL AGENT!  I do not enjoy it and it stresses me out and I usually mess it up!

(On FB) Spike the Unicorn, marathoner of marathoners and champion of champions, awoke from his winter slumber this morning. He peered out over the start line in Hopkinton, and declared in Unicorn speak, “There will be 74 more days until the 2018 Boston Marathon!”

When I got home I worked on the Teddy Bears. I got them all faced up and done and they turned out so dang cute if I do say so myself!  

She posted this at the shower ↑

I headed to Maddox for our Lady Laker lunch. Sadly, only four of us showed up!  Last time we had 15!  I think it has to do with being in Brigham since most live much further south and it is just too far. But we had fun!  I love Diane and Denise to pieces.  They are so much fun to be around.  Lori was fun too.  We got some pictures.

 You will notice that we change places in all of these photos.  Every time we took one, someone would say, "I don't want to be on the end!"  So we would move and re-pose.  Then another person would say it.  Too funny. 

I ran some errands after and then delivered the macarons to Tammy.  She loved them.  And it was nice to get paid for them!  I really should charge more though.  A friend of mine is selling sugar cookies and she is charging $29 a dozen!  What?!  Yeah, I would go into business if I could get that much for sugar cookies that take a fraction of the time to make as these crazy teeny tiny macs!  It amazes me what people will pay for stuff like that.  If you're curious as to why, check out this article here.  I read the most expensive ever was so sold for $9703. Hmm....  Proof insanity exists in this world.
I tried to carb load some. I am not looking forward to those 16 miles in the morning.  I need an attitude adjustment. I am glad Robin is going to go 10 with us.  It's always more fun with three or more than just two.  I watched part of Groundhog Day before I hit the hay.  

dear saturday, today was the day for my long run.  Happily, I wasn't dreading it as much as I did my last one (14 miler).  I was supposed to go 16 last week but had to miss it because I was sick and so today I was doing the 16.  I met Robin and Sherri at 8 a.m. and the plan was to do 10 miles with Robin and then loop back here to her house and go another six with Sherri.  We ended up with 11 once we got back to Robin's and so Sherri and I went to Pioneer Park and back and I was at 16.5 after I dropped her off and I decided since I was actually supposed to be going 17 today (I got behind due to illness) that I would just buck up and do it.  And even though I really didn't feel like it mainly because my feet were killing me which is unusual unless I run a marathon, I did it. That last half a mile was torture but I am so happy I did it.  I needed that confidence boost.  I have no idea why my feet were so painful.  My knees were also hurting which is also unusual.  Probably because the furthest I have run this training session is 14 miles and technically you shouldn't add more than a 10% increase in mileage (to prevent injury - which I doubled), so it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, but it felt so good to not be behind! I did pay dearly for it though.

When I got home I checked the mail and then had to lay down on the rock by the mailbox for a minute.  I was hurting.  Mainly the knees and feet.  I came in and took some Advil which I rarely do, but I was so grateful for that drug today!  I showered and the hot water felt so good. I could have stayed in there all day.  I was craving protein and so I ate my leftover turkey steak and my sirloin steak (both from Maddox this week) and they were so delicious!  I then had to take a nap.  I was so glad I had the time today to do that because I was feeling like I just ran a full marathon. I actually slept for about an hour and then my body felt so much better so I was able to get a lot done. While I was working on my SS lesson, I heard a soft knock on the door.  It was Carson! I was not expecting to see them until tomorrow, but it was a nice surprise!  He is always SO full of energy and it rubs off on you.  He wanted to play and so we built the new Legos I got him.  Sky gets a little annoyed at me for buying him stuff, but oh well!  Hah  I also sewed some curtains for his bed (it has an open space underneath with windows).  Sarah found some Panda fabric and they turned out cute.  I practiced the piano a bit and we all hung out.  McKay then showed up!  Yay!  And then Bryce!  We had a house full. We were only missing Taylor.  Sky and Sarah played some games and I made Twix bars for the Super Bowl tomorrow and fixed some other food.  Fun night.

dear sunday, I got up early to try and get my lesson finished before Carson woke up because he would want to play.  Didn't quite happen. He was up by 7:45 a.m.  He sat on my lap at the computer for a while and was so good while I worked on it. Then McKay and Bryce got up and he was playing with them.  They entertained him for a while and then Dave got home and built some Legos with him.  Church at 1:00 pm is good in some ways and not so good in some.  Not a fan of Fast Sunday on the late shift!  Hah  I guess it doesn't matter either way because you fast the same amount of time but it seems longer.  lol  

 LOVE this lil' guy!  He kinda likes me too!  ☺

Sky, Sarah, Carson and I all went to our ward.  The boys went to their own.  Carson looked adorable in his red and black tie.  I tried to get a cute photo of him.  This is what I got...  hehe.  He has the funniest personality!

He was so cute with Miriam who was sitting behind us.  He was talking to her about her animals on the wall.  She kept saying how cute he was and what a cute personality he has.  That is for sure!  He kept hugging me around the neck and it was so adorable.  He really is the cutest thing.  On the way to church I told him to get his seatbelt on and he reached up and touched my ear and said, "You need to get yours on too you cute sweet girl!"  He is hilarious.  He is so loving and so sweet. He always has me laughing!  Julie was released as his teacher and put in the Primary Presidency.  At least she will be in there for sharing time. And Abby leaves this week for her mission and so he will have complete new teachers. I'm a little nervous about that.  I taught my class and I sure do love those kids.  They are an amazing group.  The topic was on how learning is important.  As part of my lesson I decided to talk about our new prophet President Russell M. Nelson because he is the most UNBELIEVABLE man!  He is so educated and he has spent his life learning and I can think of no better example of it than him and so I had four pages of notes on him and quizzed the kids about him. 

Just a few points of interest on him:

• He is the father of nine girls and one son.
• He graduated from high school at age 16 and finished medical school at age 22 graduating at the top of his med school class.  
• He has perfect pitch and plays the piano and organ.
• He was on the team that invented the heart-lung machine. 
• He performed the first ever open heart surgery on a human being.
• He performed the first one in Utah.
• He still skis at age 93.
• He takes the stairs (two at a time) instead of the elevator.
• He wrote many medical papers (over 70 published).
• He loves to deep sea halibut fish.
• He has made over 27 trips to 31 countries in Europe.
• He has traveled to 133 countries.
• He speaks five languages.

That is just a drop in the bucket.  He is truly amazing! 

 He is 93!  And still swinging! ☺

Part of my lesson (how we learn line upon line)...have you ever heard of a nonagon?  Me either...

I didn't slaughter the piano songs too bad in RS today. Yay!  We got a little early but no one complained since the Super Bowl started at 4:30.  I grabbed Carson and everyone was already at our house.  I hurried and finished making the food.  Dave and Sky helped as well.  We had quite the spread as usual.  We always have way too much food.  

Taylor and Carson playing Doctor on each other.

The game was between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.  I decided to cheer for New England since they were from Boston, but then I couldn't help but cheer for the Eagles because they were the underdogs and I always cheer for the underdog.  They ended up winning!  The commercials left a lot to be desired this year.  Carson was so good to let us stay in the room and watch while he played Legos with me.  They headed home right after.  He was very sad.  Taylor hung around a bit longer to finish his laundry.  I watched This Is Us.  It was intense.  I do enjoy that show though.  First TV series I've watched since Downton Abbey.

dear throwback, my niece posted this ↓ on Snapchat.  Ohhhhhhhhh........  My little Tyson.  He LOVED LOVED LOVED babies and little children.  And they loved him too.   

 Another niece posted this one. ↓  It's Taylor, Aubrey, Weston, and Bryce.  Oh man, how I miss those days!  Who would have ever guessed how fast those years would fly?

And another......

This was a float trip down the Snake.  Tyson is in this one too as well as the rest of my boys.  PRICELESS!

dear random,

 McKay posted this↑

Bryce posted this ↓

☺

This ↓ was on Facebook and I really liked it. We all know this, but we need to be reminded once in a while.

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough, and we'll be more content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our partner gets his or her act together when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice holiday, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

A quote comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said,

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time...and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until winter, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink.... there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And dance like no one's watching.