Ay de mi. What was I thinking?!

My weekend...let's just say I learned something that I should never do again. So my dear friend Jenny decided that we (Me, Jenny and Cami) needed to go try snowboarding. We signed up for a 3 hour class from Park City Mountain Resort. Locals get a deal where we get a 3 hour class which includes rentals and can bounce back 4 more times all for $25! Such a sweet deal. So we went on Friday. Got there early struggled with the botas for a while, got our boards and went and had lunch.

 Those darn boots. THAT alone was a workout!!

 Then we went to our class. Needless to say my butt hurt. I can't even tell you how many times I biffed it. Not to mention I ride goofy so that seems to make me all turned around and incorrect. I fell backwards soo many times and smacked my head a couple times. Haha!

 It was a good time though! We are planning on heading back to give it a go again. Though I'm concerned because here is what happened my friends. So after snowboarding we got back to the valley and I had to go pick up my race packet and then got a wee nap and then cleaned the temple until 1AM. Got home and then got up at 9:30 and went to the South Jordan Rec Center for my 5k race. Yes you heard right. My 5k. Let me tell you I was hurting on Friday and when I woke up on Saturday it was like I was pinned. It hurt to bad to move. But I did and took two Tylenol. I was expecting to walk my whole 5k...the whole thing. I get to the start and its FREEZING! The wind was blowing...no bueno. I decided that my goal was going to be run 5 minutes and then if I had to walk the rest I did. So race starts and I commit the rookie mistake...granted I'm still a rookie this being only my second race. But I started off too fast to try to get away from the pack when in reality the pack thins out on its own. I was worried that was going to hurt me. But surprise surprise! I actually ran the majority of the way and I cut 2 minutes off my race time. TWO minutes! How awesome is that?! I was so stoked. So I got my race card and water and I felt it. The pain was coming. I quickly waddled to my car and just cried for 5 minutes. Haha! It was terrible. I had never been that sore before. Saturday was HORRIBLE! I hated moving and tried not to a lot of the day. Thankfully it got better and today the only pain I have is in my tailbone. But this is what I said to my friend Carri describing my weekend. (She said I inspired her to be more active and I decided that I needed to be honest with her about it! :D) "I'm not going to lie Carri, going snowboarding then running a 5k was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done."And its true it was but I was also so proud of myself for not giving in and not doing the 5k and not only did I do it I kicked butt! Woot woot! But seriously snowboarding + 5k= will NEVER happen again! *maybe* :)

*Sigh* I can't win

My Cuban client told me yesterday that I should really brush my hair because I looked like a witch. I'm a little offended because I thought my hair looked halfway decent yesterday! But no apparently I looked like this all day...

 My client also told me I shouldn't be offended because "we were like family". Uh no because if you were my family I would have hit you by now. This is the same client that told me I better have kids soon because I'll be infertile by 30.

Quick Story...because I'm a dork

Ok this story involves swimming laps, and me being blind...remember how I had that corneal melt on my eye? Right.
Ok so I was at my gym swimming laps a little bit ago. Now due to my eye, the eye doctor has said no contacts for 6 months. Which blows. But I am virtually blind with out my glasses. Seriously blind, blind. Right so I'm not about to wear my glasses while swimming laps. But I was hesitant due to my previous experience with swimming laps and now glasses. (read previous blog posts) Right. So I was running a little late and I needed to really pay close attention to the clock. But I'm blind remember? So I have had to ask for assistance from other people previously. I get done with this lap and I see this thing that is shaped like a human standing up against the wall. so this is how our dialog went. *ahem* Me: "Excuse me. Can you tell me what time it is?" human shaped form: ..... Me: "Sir? Can you tell me what time it is?" HSF:... Lady in the swimming lane next to me: "Umm...sweety, I can tell you what time it is if you'd like." So this nice lady tells me the time and I just think that that guy was being rude. But then squint and try to get closer and I realized that I had been speaking to the garbage can. Yup the garbage can. And this lady next to me saw the whole thing. It was sure awesome. I laughed about that one for a while. I hope you all enjoyed that as well! :)

New Year!

Wow I am WAY behind but oh well! So I thought I would share with all of you in blog world one of my goals for this year. My friends and I want to run the Florida Keys Ragnar next January, which by the way is this. How cool! And a great challenge! FYI we are still looking for runners so if you are interested in going to Florida in January 2012 (not only Florida but the Keys!) let me know! We seriously need like 6 more runners. Anyway, so I am planning on doing Ragnar but I had/have race anxiety. I made a goal of doing one race a month. But I was scared to death of doing it! There was a New Year's Day 5K and I wanted to do it but I was scared. So my AWESOME mom signed up so I would too. Then my dad did and my brother Dave. It was a lot of fun! I had a better time than I expected and I enjoyed it. I was grateful that everyone did it with me. My mom and dad walked the whole time and they finished. I was so proud of mom for doing it. Want some pictures? Who doesn't?!

 The ladies after the race. Woot!

 The fam

My next race is the Bountiful Sweetheart 5K. February 12th. March is the 26th, another 5K. April is the Thanksgiving Point run through the tulips (on this one I'm debating between the 5k or half marathon). So those are my next couple races. FYI this is what I'm looking at for July. (Looks awesome doesn't it?!) April is iffy on if I do the half or not. I don't know if I am up to that point yet on my training. I'm thinking June...but half marathon's scare me because people who do half marathons tend to be ubber serious about it. That is what scares me but I need to just not care about them. So we'll see. By the way I love to have others to do the race with so sign up with me! But just so you know I am sloooow so I don't expect you to run with me. :)
Alright everyone! I just wanted to share my goal with you because I think it makes me more accountable. So enjoy! Peace out all!

A Quickie but a goodie! (Maybe)

I realized that I had not posted here since September. Sinner! I know. There really isn't too much to report. First off I was sworn in as an attorney two weeks ago, I have a corneal melt on my eyeball, and I am waddling like a duck today because I'm sorry from my 5 mile run on MONDAY! Monday! I mean really...I wasn't THAT sore yesterday but today you decide to be sore. Weird.
Speaking of weird. I had to chat online with the Comcast people today and the person helping me was "Francis". That's kind of a gender neutral name. So I ended our conversation with "Thanks sir!" Then I realized that "Sir" might be "Ma'am". I mean really with Francis you never know! So I quickly tried to correct it with "ma'am?". Francis did not respond for a bit and talked about other things. But right before we ended he/she said "I'm in between sir and ma'am". Uh what? So of course I got all sorts of different ideas as to what THAT could mean. I asked Francis what that meant and they never answered. Rude.
Ok last thing is my "Things That Must Stay" list. So here we go.
#1: The snow. I know loads of you are going to hate me for saying this but I'm stoked for the snow. Jen and I are going to try out snowshoeing. So depending on how that goes I might be on the "boo snow" bandwagon if the snowshoeing doesn't pan out.
#2: Jenny. Really I've loved hanging out with this girl again. She's a good time. Church and activities wouldn't be the same with out her.
#3: Larsipan. My day is not complete without hearing from her at least once during the day.
#4: Apple cider!! Yup even my "gross" (I don't think its gross but some people do) sugar-free cider makes me incredibly happy and warm.
#5: This picture. I love it. He didn't know how to use the camera.

#6: Living in the middle of two condos! I haven't had to turn the heat on once, even today with the snow! My neighbors keep me warm. :)
#7: Going to work at 7:30 this morning. I know that's weird coming from me the late sleeper person but really I'm glad because then I can be done at 1:00 and still get in about 6 hours of work. Woot! (Yes I'm still lame part time).
#8: Eleanor's Bake Shop and Janelle's kids. Eleanor's is my friend's family bakery and they do gluten free things. My not having a gluten problem still loves it. I love when I am weak and buy a cupcake there and Janelle's kids are there as well. I usually end up eating about 1/4 of the cupcake and the rest I give to Oliver. Keeps the calories down. Thanks Oliver! Which by the way I am including the BEST picture of him to go along with this. Really its just awesome. He was not happy on Saturday night.

Ok I think that's it. Peace out everyone!

What Constitutes Someone as a "Runner"?

I was thinking about this question while on my run this afternoon. So what does make someone a runner? Someone who runs 20 miles a week? Someone who runs marathons? Has all the running gadgets? I don't think so. I think a runner is someone who loves the feel of the pavement under their feet. It doesn't matter if you run one minute or one hour. A runner is someone who will get out and hit the road in rain, snow or blistering heat. If you have to walk during your run it doesn't matter you are a runner. So dang it! I'm a runner! I might not look like one but I am. A runner is someone who loves the sport and all they need are some running shoes and open road. I love it! So those of you that think you can't run or you aren't a runner believe me you are and you can do it.

I also wanted to do a confessions of a runner:
#1: I HATE running while I am doing it, yet love it at the end when the endorphins show up.
#2: If I see an attractive guy I will run faster until I pass him.
#3: I don't care how unattractive I look with the belly hanging out and flopping all over at least I'm out there.
#4: I love playing AC/DC and pretending I'm Ironman.
#5: I'm not afraid to use my t-shirt as a tissue during a run.
#6: I only wash my running clothes once a week.
#7: I really want to do this race.

Well all I'm out! Enjoy!

A few thoughts on 9/11...take it as you will

Since this is September 11 I have been thinking about what happened on this day 9 years ago. I am going to divide my musings into two thoughts. The first being my thoughts on that day and where I was and the second on my thoughts today about it.
On September 11, 2001 I was going to school at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. I had graduated from high school earlier in the year and was excited about college. I remember waking that day not really thinking anything but recalling a conversation I had with my friend Carri in her room the night before. We were talking about be prepared for either the end of the world or the end of our life. Were we prepared to meet our maker when that time came? I think all freshman at some point take that spiritual step. Either to keep the teachings we have been taught since we were little or to venture off on our own and explore new avenues. I recall thinking which step I was going to take...and I had decided the night before to stick to what I believed and grew up believing. I walked to my first class of the day psychology. Before class started I heard people say things like "did you hear what happened in New York?" "There was a plane crash." I didn't think much about it. Because at that time in my life New York seemed like such a far away place and a bit of a fantasy. Somewhere I wanted to visit but figured I wouldn't do for a while. (I'm yet to visit NYC to this day). My professor at that time had not heard about the news either so class carried on like normal. Class ended and I quickly went to my next class. I entered my English 2010 class and my professor entered quickly and said "there has been an attack on America. I am canceling class. Please go home and call your loved ones just to tell them you love them." And he left. I walked back to my apartment quickly and my roommates already had the television on. I walked in the door just in time to see the second plane fly into the second building. I don't recall much after that. I remember sitting there with my roommates watching the tv well into the late afternoon. I remember that the normally busy and rowdy college town was unusually quiet. We received a phone call from our bishop telling us that Pres. Hinckely was giving a talk that night and all of my roommates went. Including one who had decided to take their spiritual path away from the LDS church. I don't remember what Pres. Hinckely said but I remember going over that conversation I had had with Carri over and over in my head. I consider two events in my life that really woke me up in regards to my spirituality. The first was when I was a sophomore at Hunter High School. On April 20, 1999 two kids opened fire on their classmates at Columbine High School in Colorado. I remember reading a story about a girl who was killed because one of the shooters asked her to deny God. She would not do it and he shot her. My very first thought that if it was me I would have denied. That was a huge moment for me. Would I really? Could I really deny? Eventually my answer changed I wouldn't deny God. That carried me through until that moment when I sat in the chapel remembering what I had talked to Carri about. How could God allow this? I still don't have an answer to that but I think I understand the principle of agency better. We all make choices and those choices no matter small effect others. The rest of that week, month, year after the attack is a bit of a blur. I moved on I continued with my school and work. But around this time of year every year I look back on to that day. I know that my experience pales in comparison to those in New York who witnessed this horror or lost someone due to a choice of others. For them I pray that one day they will find the answers they are looking for.
The second part I wish to address is what I feel today. I was sitting in the car wash place today waiting for my car when Fox News (I know some of you love Fox News, but I'm not fan so either skip this portion or don't get too offended) had a few people on about September 11. A survivor was one of the guests. At first they started talking about the bravery of the Firefighters and NYPD but then they decided to criticize Pres. Obama's speech he had given earlier in the day. From what I got from his speech was that we do need to be tolerant. Fox News did not agree with this portion of his speech. But here is what I got from his speech. We as Americans need to be the bigger person. Not do things like burn a Koran or hate people because of their religion. That is what the extremists do, not us. We don't need to be like them. We shouldn't be like them. We have a right to do things like that thanks to people who fought and continue to fight for that freedom. Because we have to right to do it doesn't mean we should. We need to be the better person and be more tolerant and loving. I personally do not have a problem with a mosque around ground zero BUT I can understand why others would not like it. I think that their opinions and feelings should be taken into serious consideration. "We will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust," Pres. Obama. People often think that I am anti-American because I do immigration law. That is so far from the truth. I love this country and I know of the freedoms, rights and values that we have and are blessed to have and I want others to have those opportunities as well.
There is evil every where in this world and there is hate everywhere. I don't want to talk about that evil when I talk about September 11 to future generations. That essentially is what those that attacked America want. They want to be known as the ones that hurt Americans. Why give them that pleasure? We shouldn't. I want to tell future generations about the bravery of those first responders and the unity that we as Americans finally found but have since then lost. I want to tell them that there are people fighting to keep us safe from other attacks and while there is evil out there there is also much more good. I want to tell them that while the terrorist hoped to put terror into our hearts we did not let them. We have stood tall and strong and continue to do so. I want to tell future generations that I am proud to be an American. I am thankful for those people that lost their lives to save others and I am grateful for those in Iraq and Afghanistan and other areas in the world that are fighting for me, my family, friends and to make things better for those that so desperately need our help. Thank you and I pray you all will stay safe.

Update: I just had a thought...would I still be this tolerant if I had lost a loved one? I would hope so but I can't say for sure.