run with mel

separate, but.....separate?!?

2011-09-27T08:30:00.000-06:00

Don't get me wrong; I'm all for equality. Yes, women should be paid the same as men for the same job. Women should have the same rights as men to vote, own property and complete higher education. But what's happening right now with the IAAF is just ridiculous!

Here's the full article on what constitutes a woman's world record in a marathon. Basically, the current world record of 2 hours 15 minutes and change held by Paula Radcliffe no longer counts as she earned that record at the London marathon---a mixed sex race. She had an unfair advantage because she was racing with men and they pushed her to run faster and harder. They are now claiming that only records set at women only races should count for women.

In my opinion, I see several problems with this new "rule." All the major marathons are co-ed endeavors. Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York all have a mixed field. These are the marathons that people know about, have heard of and are possibly hoping to qualify for or be chosen in the lottery to run these races. Now, the most important races in the sport can't have a world record set at them? Where does that leave the elite women runners? Competing for cash but not time? (Trust me these majors pay out significantly more than the smaller races)

This is a major step back in the history of women's running. The first woman to enter and try to run the Boston Marathon was Katherine Switzer in 1967. Race officials tried to pull her from the course for the mere fact that she was a woman. It wasn't until 1984 that the Olympics allowed the women's marathon to be an official event. ( I still remember watching that race and being so proud that the American Joan Benoit Samuelson won on home turf!) Before that it was believed that "women just couldn't run that far." (even though they'd been doing it for several years at other marathons).

The major complaint for women setting record in co-ed events is the fact that the men push the women to be faster. Who's to say the women don't push the men? Let's be honest, I don't know any man that likes to get beat by a woman. Yes, it happens to many of them in co-ed races but I guarantee the sight of a woman coming up on a man only encourages him to run a little faster so he doesn't get beat by a chick!

My final issue with this potential rule change is the atmosphere of all women races. I'm not opposed to all women's events; I'm running the pink half marathon next month is Park City. You can even read my friend Rhielle's thoughts on all women's races. In my experience, all women's races are more about the swag bag, making friends and wearing pink not about the competition. Most all women's races are designed to help women feel comfortable and confident racing. They provide a safe haven for women who don't want to compete with men.

I think if we're really going for a separate but equal playing field when it comes to road racing, we need to let women set women's records at co-ed or same sex events. There will always be separate records for both men and women; I just hope we don't see an asterisk denoting a record set at a co-ed event.

the kindness of co-workers

2011-09-25T09:20:00.001-06:00

I work in outside sales. I love that I don't go into an office everyday. On occasion, I miss the Monday morning catch-up or the water-cooler conversation. For the most part I don't miss that day-to-day interaction with co-workers. It's just never been that important to me. I much prefer the randomness of my days and getting to converse with a variety of people. The downside to all of this is you never quite develop great relationships with your co-workers. Sure I see them on occasion; we work together on a semi-regular basis. But, it's rare that I have the feeling that a co-worker's "got my back." Recently this all changed.

Earlier this year I was working with a potential client. Things were going along as expected--there were a few bumps and set-backs but everything was progressing smoothly. Then, without notice, they seemed to fall of the face of the earth. I couldn't get a response via phone or email, my co-worker experienced the exact same thing. I just chalked it up to a lost client. Not something I like, but something that happens in sales.

Then just as suddenly this client was back calling and emailing. However, this time they were irate. Why wasn't anybody calling them back? Where was their contract? What had happened? I started the process again and thought things were moving along. Until the day I received that awful email! I have never been spoken to via email or in person the way this client spoke to me. There was nasty language (stuff that would make a sailor blush!), inaccurate accusations and phrases that weren't meant to be nothing more than hurtful and rude. I was shocked and decided then I was through with this customer. Fortunately, my co-worker felt the same way and so we were through.

Boy was I wrong! Here we are 3 months later. That client has now signed a contract (for which I will get all the benefit) and has started using my product. The thing is, I haven't spoken to this customer since June when that nasty email was sent. As it turns out, this client contacted my co-worker a few weeks ago. This kind gentleman took over the contract negotiations and closing of the deal (knowing he wouldn't make a penny off of it) so I wouldn't have to work with this client again. His actions almost brought me to tears when I heard. Not only did he negotiate the contract. I also learned that upon visiting this client again he informed them their actions and word were inappropriate, they had no right to speak to me that way and if they ever felt the need to use that kind of language they could speak to him directly. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty tough girl who can take care of herself. But to have someone defend me that way was unexpected and truly appreciated.

I don't think I've ever had a co-worker (even ones that I've had a great relationship with and saw everyday) treat me so well. This guy is a gem! If he treats me this way, I can only imagine how he treats his wife. How do you express gratitude for such kind actions? I did send him & his wife a gift certificate to one of my favorite restaurants with a kind note. But, it just doesn't seem like enough. To be honest, I'm not sure I could ever repay this small act of kindness. I only hope that some day I'm able to pass along this same type of kindness to someone else.

my near death experience at the hands of UDOT

2011-08-29T08:53:00.000-06:00

As you may or may not know, I'm training for an Ironman 70.3 (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). As part of my training, I have to get in a longer bike ride each week. Lucky for me, I have a great friend, Rhielle, who is willing to do all these rides with me. Last week we decided to do our loop through Francis and the part of the Jordanelle bike course to add the extra miles. We also had our friend Sonia join us, so it was destined to be a great time!

As is typical of Utah in the summer months, there is construction everywhere. We knew that part of our route was under construction, but it was less construction than on any other route we might ride. We headed out fully prepared for a few bumps in the road. When we hit Oakley, there was one 3 mile section that was a single lane of traffic. Being the law abiding citizens that we are, we stopped to wait for our turn to navigate through the traffic. Rhielle went up to talk to the flag person to inform them how we would proceed through this section to ensure our safety. It was agreed that we would follow behind all the cars since we would obviously be slower than them. As we would be the only people on the road, we would ride down the middle so we were more visible. The man at our end would radio ahead to let the next person know there were 3 cyclists riding through so no cars would be sent before we reached the stop point for cars.

Everything seemed to be going as planned. We waited until all the cars had passed, got in line behind them and took off on this 3 mile section. The road was winding and slightly downhill. This was great as a cyclist; I had the whole road to myself and could maneuver through the turns without fear of any cars. Or at least that's what I thought. Just as I started coming around a curve there was a car directly in my line of travel. And, right behind it was another car, actually a big diesel a truck and a full line of cars heading out on the one lane road. I'll admit, I panicked a bit. Obviously our plan for safety hadn't worked. I was able to move out of the path of the first car. And fortunately, the big truck slowed down enough that I could move over to the non-working lane and travel the last quarter of a mile in safety.

Needless to say, we were all pretty upset with the flag person who had sent cars before we had made it to safety. After some heated words spurned on by all the adrenaline, we learned that she had not been notified that there would be 3 cyclists coming through at the end of the line of cars. She apologized and we completed our ride without further incident.

I tweeted about my experience and even mentioned the offending UDOT region, UDOT Region Two twitter account. I guess they don't really monitor their account because I never got a response. I even called the UDOT office, logged my complaint and asked for a call back. That was a week ago and I still haven't heard anything from them. The best part of the call--I was told that all the work is contracted out, so it really wasn't UDOT's fault that I was nearly killed in a construction zone. I'm sorry! Those contractors are representatives of your organization and as far as I'm concerned they are UDOT. I've since sent an email through the UDOT site requesting that they call me back. I'm not holding my breath.

china: american care package edition

2011-04-20T18:07:00.000-06:00

*not pictured a small bag of Cheetos and a Hostess fruit pie for jg

One of the best parts of prepping for my trip to China was getting together a little care package of American goodies for meggie. During all the email exchanges during trip prep I continually asked if I could bring her anything from the US. I always received the same response---nothing! Okay, she did ask for a couple of necessary items that she had shipped to me from drugstore.com. And eventually, she did joking ask if I could bring her a diet Mountain Dew.

Well, that request got me thinking......and happened appears above. I just wanted to do my best to take all of meggie's favorites from America. It was so much fun figuring what to take, how to pack it and what meggie would be most excited to get. I was almost as excited to give meggie all her treats as I was to get to China!

When I saw meggie and jg at the airport, jg immediately grabbed my bag. I was so worried he would comment about how heavy it was and question what I had packed. Luckily, I didn't ask any questions so i didn't have to worry about ruining my surprise for meggie.

After we arrived in Yangshou, I could hardly wait to give meggie all her treats. We headed to their apartment to drop off all my stuff before heading to dinner. I started to unpack and give meggie the items she had requested. I then tossed her what appeared to be a hand towel stuffed into multiple ziploc bags and told her she should open it. When she opened it, she discovered the diet Mountain Dew.

I then proceeded to give her the other items pictured above---lots of meggie favorites! One of the best items I was able to take her was some dill pickles. Thanks to Wendy I learned that you can get dill pickles in little individual wrapped snack sizes. It was so awesome to had those to meggie. She is a lover of dill pickles and it is something she can't find in China.

I love that I was able to take a surprise and a little piece of America to my sister living in China. And, my bag weighed about 15 pounds less after emptying all of meggie's treats.

oh the jet-lag!

2011-04-19T20:48:00.000-06:00

As soon as my sister (meggie) and brother-in-law told me they were moving to China, I knew I had to go visit them. I'd never been to China and figured this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Back in January, they moved to the south of China; to a small town called Yangshuo. Sadly, I would be nowhere near the Great Wall, the Forbidden City or the Terracotta Soldiers, but I was going to visit a beautiful area of China.

After what seemed like a week, (but was really only 2 days) I arrived in Shanghai. I had about 17 hours in Shanghai before catching another flight to Guilin. I arrived late at night and headed to my hotel. Rather than change my clock, I figured I could just calculate when to set my alarm. Well, if you know me and math, it will come as no shock that I set my alarm to get up at around 7am (not 9am as I had anticipated). Oh well, I felt great so decided to get up and head out to do some sight seeing.

I wandered down toward the People's Square. It was so interesting to see several groups of people doing various forms of Tai Chi. There were people with fans, swords, scarves and just themselves. It was fascinating to see all the people up and about at that time of day. I wandered over to The Bund. If I was going to be in Shanghai, I had to see this area. It was so beautiful!

After walking through the city for about 2 and a half hours I was getting a bit tired and definitely hungry. I decided I'd better head back toward my hotel. Just around the corner from my hotel was a great area of all sorts of street vendors. I wandered looking for something tasty to eat (I knew my mom would not approve of me eating from a street vendor!) I found this yummy looking sesame filled pancake looking thing (yes, that's its official name). I bought a couple of pieces of fruit from another vendor. Then went to a little store and bought some water and juice to round out my meal. It was definitely delicious!

After packing up my stuff, it was off to the airport for another flight. By now I thought I'd be through with flying, but I guess the thought of seeing my little sister soon was enough to get me back on the plane. I must say, I like flying in China--they don't make you take your shoes or jacket off when you go through security. Quite a change from travel in the US! I couldn't wait to get to Guilin.

After getting my luggage, I walked to the lobby area and witnessed the most beautiful sight! There jumping to look for me was my sister! I was so excited to see her and jg. I was also lucky that one of their co-workers had some business in Guilin and was willing to give us a ride back to Yangshuo. It was only a 1 hour 45 minute drive and I would be to my destination. (for those of you keeping score, I traveled for close to 24 hours to arrive in Yangshuo) As soon as we got in the van, I could wait no longer---I had to give my sister one of the many American treats I brought her--Cheetos!

We headed to meggie's favorite mei fun place for some delicious dinner. Mei fun is a delicious noodle dish, served in broth with pickled radishes and spiced green beans. It was after dinner that things began to get fuzzy--I was exhausted!

Here's an example of just how "fuzzy" I was: On my last night in Yangshuo as we were headed back home, I said I wanted to stop and get a beverage. meggie and jg said we'd just stop at the same place we went the first night I arrived. I thought, great. When we arrived at this mysterious store I had no recollection of ever having been there before. I swore up and down that I had not been to this store, but a different one. meggie and jg assured me that we had been there. We all agreed that my memory was not to be trusted as I could hardly walk straight I was so exhausted.

I had no idea that around the world travel could take it out of you. My brother-in-law was determined to keep me up until 9:30pm (and he barely succeeded!) I didn't want to spend my vacation sleeping. So I decided that it was just mind over matter to get over my jet-lag quickly. Ha! I had no idea.

**stay tuned for the American gift basket, me v. a piece of limestone and many other adventures. sorry if these posts seem a bit tedious, but i'm using them as a journal of my adventure.

**sorry for the lack of pictures. i'm on the road ,but wanted to start posting before i forgot everything. as soon as i return i'll post all my pictures to an album for your viewing pleasure.

room with a view

2011-04-03T22:35:00.001-06:00

After several hours on an airplane, I finally arrived in China. Now, this is the view from my window every morning I wake up. Gorgeous, no?

I got to spend a bit of time exploring Shanghai on my own before heading out to Yangshou (where Meggie and jg live) I was so excited to see the two of them waiting for me at the airport in Guilin. Unfortunately, the weather has been nothing but cold and rainy since I arrived. Hopefully it will soon clear and we will do some climbing and exploring. In the meantime, I'm eating every delicious food I can get my hands on, and there's a lot of it here! We've done some shopping and some indoor bouldering. There will definitely be more to share. But for now, just be jealous of my amazing view!

sisters, sisters......

2010-12-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Every year around Christmas time, my sisters and I watch "White Christmas." It's one of my favorite holiday movies. The performance of "Sisters, Sisters...." is one of our favorite. We're often heard singing it to each other throughout the year. I really love my sisters and feel very blessed to have them as sisters.

The other day when I attended the Jingle Jam with Wendy, I became a bit envious. All of Wendy's kids and her sisters kids attend the same elementary school. And, they all live within about a half mile of each other. As if that weren't enough, they all meet at Wendy's house each morning with their kids to finish getting ready and take the kids to school. There was definitely a pang of jealousy in me when I learned that.

I adore my sisters and wish that I got to see them everyday. My closest sister lives about 250 miles away in Hurricane, UT. I see CJ a handful of times throughout the year. I stay with her twice a year when I do the St. George tri and the Kokopelli tri. If I ever decide to do the St. George marathon again, she'll provide me with lodging for that as well. She also comes to Provo a few times a year--usually involving the Hurricane State Football championship game or some other sports related event. Sadly, when I see CJ it is only briefly and it is rare that her kids (and sometimes even her husband) are around. I wish they were closer so I knew those nieces and nephews better. I will take what little time I get with CJ as she is a busy mom of 4 teenagers.

My next closest sister lives about 280 miles away, at least for 10 more days. When Meggie got married, Jonathan took her away! Yes, he still had school to finish and his school was BYU-Idaho. But, still, we once lived within 5 miles of each other and spent a good deal of time together. I did go visit them in Rexburg over the summer (and ran a half marathon while I was there). Jonathan has been great and brought Meggie down to visit several times. Each of their visits are so fantastic and I've grown to love Jonathan more and more with each visit. Now, not only has Meggie left Utah, she will soon be leaving the country. She and her cute husband and heading to China for several months. It's an exciting adventure for them, but Meggie will be dearly missed. The best part, I have an excuse to visit China now! I can't wait for that.

And then, there's Mandy. Mandy lives 1200 miles away in Texas. I go visit her every year and she is good about coming to Utah. But, gone are the days of diet coke and a crossword puzzle in the history department. And, now that Mandy has 2 adorable kids, it will be even harder for her to make the trek to Utah for some sister time. I went to visit Mandy for Thanksgiving this year and boy was that trip not what we had planned. We were both looking forward to some good sister time; Mandy's last hurrah before baby number 2 came along in January. Well, Lucky's brother had other ideas and he just didn't want to wait until January. That cutie-pie decided November was a better time to arrive. I had a fantastic time with Lucky, but Mandy and I missed out on some good sister time. We did the best to cram a week's worth of playing into 24 hours, but it just wasn't enough.

As Wendy told me about the fun with her sisters, it really did make me a bit jealous. I thought how fun it would be to live within a mile of all my sisters, to see each other everyday, to have our kids (well, not that all of us have kids or any school aged kids for that matter) attend the same school, to enjoy play dates at the park. I miss having my sister's around to watch a good (bad?) made for TV movie with me. I'd love to see CJ and more of her kids' sporting events. I wish I was around to help Mandy right now and spend time with Maddy watching Monsters, Inc and playing outside. I wish Meggie was around to help me feel hip and cool and do fun crafting projects. Hopefully one day we will all live closer to each other. Until then, I will just have to enjoy what little time I do get with them. And, at least we can talk all we want thanks to mobile-to-mobile minutes.

jingle jam

2010-12-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

The original plan for today called for me to meet Wendy at Pizzeria 712 in Orem. When we talked last night she told me, "I know there's something going on but I can't for the life of me remember what it is. It must not be that important otherwise I'd totally remember it." She completely forgot it was the Jingle Jam at her kid's elementary school. Oops! Just blame it on chemo brain.

So, instead of an uneventful lunch at Pizzeria 712. We grabbed lunch from Flour Girls & Dough Boys and headed over to her kid's elementary school. We met up with her sisters, who also have kids attending the same elementary school and prepared ourselves for some mind blowing entertainment.

Here are the highlights (er, low lights) of the event:

I was accosted! OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. However, the woman sitting behind me had about 15 different cameras and recording devices. Once her child had completed their performance, she decided it was time for her to leave. She loaded up her camera bag that weighed about 37 pounds, turned to leave and bonked me in the head with it. Who knew a kids concert would be such a dangerous place.
It was interesting to note the different ways parents recorded the performance. One parent on the video camera, one on their phone, snapping still shots with a phone, DSLR, point & shoot or anything else they could get their hands on. There were even people with tripods set up. I had no idea that a kids concert elicited such professional documentation.
I was sitting with the cool kids. Seriously, Wendy & her gang are pretty rad! We laughed, we joked, we had a great time. We were completely entertained by their kids and the antics of all the other kids in the school.
I ran into a former neighbor who I hadn't seen in about 6 or 7 years. It was so nice to chat and catch-up. And to learn that her oldest son has turned in his mission papers. I'm always amazed at how these youngsters grow up---especially since I don't seem to age a day.

I forgot how much fun a kids Christmas program could be. I'm so glad that our lunch turned into "lunch and a show." I always have a great time with Wendy, but this event definitely took the cake! Even if (very briefly) I did feel like I was being held hostage.

i choose to believe

2010-12-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

I have a 9 year old niece who still believes in the wonder of Santa Claus. Not having children, I don't know at what age they quit believing and start to question. However, I think there is something special about this child. She is the most logical and rational kid you'll ever meet. Seriously! She once convinced her mom to let her have cookies for breakfast (true story!) She was 6 at the time and she wanted cookies for breakfast. Her mom informed her that cookies were not a breakfast food, but rather a dessert. She immediately shot back that they have donuts for breakfast sometimes and they also have donuts for dessert sometimes. How were cookies any different than donuts? She got cookies for breakfast that day. So, it is shocking that this brilliant, rational child still believes that a fat man in a red suit travels the world on Christmas Eve and delivers presents to all the children of the world. On some level, I think she knows it isn't possible. But ultimately, I think she wants to believe; because there is something magical about believing.

Believing isn't always easy. There is lots in this world that makes me not want to believe. There is so much hurt, pain, heartache and sadness in this world. I've definitely seen my share. It sometimes seems that there are only those awful events and experiences to be had in life. Life can be hard! Some days it just seems easier to give up, to quit believing and just accept a miserable rotten life. I've definitely felt this way in my life and certainly over the past few weeks. But even amongst all the sadness and heartache I still believe!

I realize as a grown woman it my be corny to still believe, but trust me I do. I believe in the goodness of people. I believe that I can make the US Olympic team (even though I'm not an expert at any sport). I believe that someday I will grow 2 more inches (because I've always dreamed of being 5'10"). I believe that someday I will make perfect cupcakes (because I already make perfect cookies!) I believe that someday I will find my soul-mate, my perfect match, my dream guy and I'll marry him. I believe (even as a woman of my age) that I will be blessed with a child of my own. I believe in magic and fairy tales and pixie dust and unicorns and the happy ending.

While the notion defies all logic and rationale, much like my niece, I believe in Santa Claus. Maybe not the literal being, but all that he represents. You see, I'd rather believe in happiness, hope, kindness, love and even a little magic. And so, everyday I choose to believe!

my first published work

2010-08-27T10:38:00.000-06:00

I know, I've been terrible about posting to this blog, but I have a good reason; I swear! About a month ago I was approached by a friend who is working with an online triathlete resource. They post articles, product reviews, race reviews--everything a triathlete needs to race better & faster in one location. They asked if I'd be willing to write an article about my experience with trail running.

Well, that article got published! I know that technically, I am already "published" every time I post to this here blog. However, to have someone else ask me to write and then to actually use what I wrote is the best. I'm so thrilled and hope to do more writing for them in the future (do you hear that @triathletesedge?)

Here you go: read all about how I take it to the trails!

my 3 days as a chip checker

2010-08-13T12:02:00.000-06:00

Trust me, the job wasn't as glamorous as you're thinking. I know--chip checker, you're thinking I got to taste test chips and see if they were edible for human consupmtion and determine their quality. This job was so far removed from that. I did however, get all the free Frito Lays products I could consume in my 10 minute break.
This story is going to take a while to develop, but stick with me, I promise it will be worth it. The whole reason I even thought of my days as a chip checker are actually related to my current job. As part of my training, I have to spend an evening sorting mail at the facility--not really what I was expecting. Because, in reality, it's not "part of my training." This is their way of making all employees feel like equals. I'm not exactly sure how my spending 3 hours in the warehouse makes me "part of the team." You see, tomorrow morning, I'll put my college education to good use, get dressed in cute clothes and continue to call on customers. I have no problem doing manual labor. I have no problem spending some time in the operations side of things. I just don't like the reasons why I've been told by management. I don't like that I have to do it so that those working in the warehouse think I "feel their pain" and "understand their job" and other such nonsense. Because, let's be honest, it's not like I'm going to spend a day with the executives of the company learning their jobs! So, because of my attitude toward spening 3 hours sorting mail, I was called "entitled." I actually think "elitest" would be a better term, but I'm not here to make qualifications on my entitled elitism.
Well, I was actually quite bothered about being called entitled; and not because I disagree, I can totally admit to feeling entitled. I have a college education and because of that education doors have been opened to me in the realm of employment. So, yes, I do feel entitled to the jobs I apply for, the jobs I am offered, the jobs I work. I paid my dues in the form of 4 years at a university. And, even with all that, if I needed to work to support my family and the only job available was in a warehouse, I guarantee I'd work every day (without complaint) to care for my family. That's just who I am. What I realized is this: many people don't know my background, the jobs I've had in the past and the things I've done (no, nothing illegal, or unethical or immoral) to pay the bills.

This all brings up back to the summer between my sophomore and junior year of college. I was back in Texas (oh, how I love Texas!) I'd applied for several jobs, talk to temp agencies about summer work and even applied for a paid internship at GTE (General Telephone Exchange---which I'm pretty sure no longer exists!) Well, I hadn't heard back from GTE (my first choice of a summer job) or from any of the other places I'd applied. So, there I was with Jessica (my dear and funny friend) and Justin (my brother) sitting in the office of an employment agency after being home for almost 2 weeks. The woman across from us had a job to offer. It was only temporary and certainly wasn't a job we were looking for (we did want to build our resumes and skills for post-college employment) but it was a paying job. So, all three of us agreed that together it wouldn't be so bad and we'd take the work!

Thus began my 3 days as a chip checker for Frito Lay. (I don't know that "chip checker" was our official title, but its the title we gave ourselves.) The next morning we awoke at the unearthly hour of 3am (ok, it was probably closer to 5am, but I was a college student it felt like 3am). My brother and I left our house to pick up Jessica and then headed on out to the Frito Lay plant in Plano, Texas. We arrived at 7am with our brown sack lunches and bleary eyed from the early hour. (In fact, I'm pretty sure that Jessica and I made my brother drive and slept in the back seat) It was then that we met Carlos (I remember because he had a gold chain necklace with his name in beautiful gold cursive that he wore each day) and "supervisor guy" (I really wish I could remember his name, but I can't) It was also here that we learned exactly what our duties would be as "chip checkers." You see, they'd shipped a batch of original Lay's potato chips over the rockies and back. Apparently, this is not how transports are to take place. Because when bags of chips go over and back the air pressure does something to the bags (some get over full of air, some bags explode, some have no air left in them and others are still intact and acceptable to be displayed on the grocery store shelves). So, the 4 of us were tasked with checking the air volume of each bag of chips and sorting them--garbage or back into a box for shipment to a retailer.

As you can imagine, after about 20 minutes, this job became quite tedious. The clock moved very slowly until it was time for our break. At the deisgnated time, a whistle would blow (ok it was really more of a signal sounding) indicating that everyone on the warehouse flor could take a break. Everyone's work day started at the same time, breaks were at the same time, lunch was at the same time and we all ended our day together. So, when the whistle blew, we took our break. The best part of the break---because we were in a Frito Lay plant, there were all sorts of Frito Lay treats free for the taking. Suddenly this job was looking up!

And so it continued for 3 days. Wakig up early, heading to the plant, taking our breaks and lunches at the designated hour. "Supervisor guy" was very funny and entertaining. He gave us all nicknames--I was "senator" because I was majoring in Political Science. He drove his fork lift over to check on us; brought us new palets of chips to sort though and in general looked out for us crazy college students doing this job.

Needless to say, with all the boredome, we had to come up with some way to entertain ourselves! So, by 10am on day 2 found the solution. When a bag of chips is so full of air it's about to explode, it's very easy to pop the bag and spary chips all over the person at who it's aimed. Well, that's excatly what began. And by the end of the day the three of us were covered in chip crumbs and the stentch of deep fried potatoes. We made a complete mess of the corner of the warehouse where they had stashed us, but had so much fun working those 3 days.

So, I worked my 3 hours at the facility the other day. I learned mail is dirty! I learned the process of how things arrive, are checked in, scanned and sent on their way. I even spent 3 hours scanning, sorting and tagging a bin of mail. I learned the process that they wanted me to learn to help me with my job. However, this second go round of working in a warehouse I learned so much more. Back in college, I was far to young, naive and entitled to learn the lessons that I learned this past week.

First, I was put to shame by the women I was working with. They were far faster and more efficient than I was at the task at hand.

Second, these women are hard workers! There was no chit-chat, no goofing off, nothing but hard work. They got to work immediately and didn't quit unti lthe job was done.

Third, and most important in my opinion, I learned why many of these women were there working from 5pm to midnight. Yes, this is not an educated group of people, but this is a good job that pays well. But, the real reason they work this shift--it allows them to be home with their kids. These women are dedicated to creating a better life for their families and are willing to do what they must to make that happen.

I'm sure back in college when I worked in a plant/factory/warehouse many of the people working at Frito Lay were in the same situation. But, at the time I was too entitled to realize that. But now, I'm not the same person. I recongize and appreciate the work others do; work that I am grateful I don't have to do. I am grateful for the doors that are opened to me because I had the opportunity to continue my education post high school. But, more than anything I'm grateful that I was given a second opportunity to learn the lessons that I should have learned back when I was a chip checker.

it's been a while my friend.....

2010-08-10T17:18:00.000-06:00

I swear I'm back. Back from my vacation; back from my illness; back from the blahs of not wanting to post. I promise you at least one real post this week (maybe even 2 if I'm feeling crazy!) In fact I'm working on a good one right now---all about my funniest summer job (and yes, it was a real, live, paying job!) I only hope its worth the wait.....

and........i'm off

2010-07-09T08:42:00.000-06:00

Not that I've been a very good blogger lately, but at least this next week I'll have an excuse. I'm off for a week in Grenada. I'll be completely unplugged--no phone, no computer, no email (unless I can convince my gf to let me borrow hers), no twitter, nothing! (And, I'm so looking forward to it!) I promise to come back with stories and maybe even some pictures (if I can remember to get my camera out!)

Miss me!

park city mini-trail series, 5k edition (& a giveaway)

2010-06-28T14:51:00.000-06:00

Saturday was the first in a 3 race series for the Park City Mini-Trail Race. The entire series is dedicated to getting people off the roads and onto the trails. If you've never tried trail running, it's definitely something you should. Utah has some of the best trails and the views are ridiculous!

Saturday was the 5K. This was a great event! Most of the trail races I've done in the past have been over 10 miles and on crazy courses! The Park City Mini-Trail Series is a completely different event. The course was fantastic--nothing too difficult to climb, but still challenging enough to make you feel like a "tough chick" when you cross the finish line. And, you couldn't have asked for my perfect weather for a trail run.

The best part about this race: the race director is herself a trail runner. I've learned in all my years of racing that the best races are put on by athletes--they just know what people are looking for in a good race. The course was clearly marked. There were plenty of volunteers on the course to direct you if there were any questions. The pre-race emails were informative and helpful. And, there was no race shirt--ok, I know what some of you are thinking, No shirt?!? Well, as someone who has done a number of races over the years, I need another cheap, ill-fitting race shirt like I need a whole in my head. Instead of a shirt we got a very cool draw sting bag that's perfect for the gym! And, I happen to know that the items at future races are just as great.

I've been very lucky to personally know the race director for the Park City Mini-Trial Series. In fact, Rhielle is the person who got me into trail running. It's her passion for trail running that led her to organize this trial series. She was even on Good Things Utah to discuss trail running and it's benefits (and, you'll find out just how easy and fun trail running can be!)

In an effort to continue spreading the passion for trail running, I'm giving away one entry into the Park City Mini-Trail Series 10K on July 10th. Even if you've never done a trail run and have merely thought it might be fun, this is the perfect race to get started!

To enter, leave a comment telling my what motivates you to get out and run, walk, hike, bike, hit the gym, swim, do yoga or whatever it is you're passionate about.

**Entries will be accepted until Friday, July 2nd at 8pm Mountain Time. The winner will be randomly selected and emailed with instructions on how to register for the race. Please be sure to include your email so I can contact you.

***This is not a sponsored giveaway. Yes, the Park City Mini-Trail Series race director is a friend of mine, but she is not sponsoring this giveaway.

i'm just disappointed

2010-06-27T11:12:00.000-06:00

Recently I started a new job. This is a job that I absolutely love--I work with great people, for a great company and I'm finally back doing outside sales (something I truly love and am very good at) With this new job comes some travel. Because of the company that I work for, I am required to fly Southwest (not because of cost but because of a partnership they have) For years I've heard how amazing Southwest Airlines is--great customer service, always on-time, such a fun airline, and on and on. Well, my experience has been none of those things. In fact, its been the polar opposite.

Last week, I flew to Southern California. Because of reasons I don't understand, I can't get a direct flight from SLC to California. Not really a big deal. However, on this initial leg of my trip, both flights were delayed. Now, remember what everyone has been telling me? Well, that didn't hold true. Not really a huge deal, but a little frustrating and I got to spend a good chunk of time in the Phoenix airport. With an over 2 hour layover, you'd think they would manage to get my baggage onto my next flight. Well, some how my "bags fly free" piece of checked luggage didn't make it to the Orange County airport on my flight. And, I wasn't the only person with this problem.

After deplaning, I headed to baggage claim to get my luggage. After about 15 minutes, you begin to realize that its all the same luggage you see ridding around the baggage carousel and as much as you keep believing your luggage will magically appear, it just doesn't! So, me and about a dozen of my fellow passengers head over to the Southwest baggage office. You'd think that with that number of people involved in a "lost luggage" situation, they could at least offer an apology. Not even close! All I was told was that my luggage was still in Phoenix and they hoped it would show up on the next flight and I could come pick it up then. Well, on this particular trip, I wasn't getting a rental car so no, I couldn't come pick up my luggage in a few hours. The lady agreed to have it delivered to my hotel. She also promised a phone call when the next flight arrived, around 8:20, to let me know if my luggage had indeed made the trip and would soon be delivered to my hotel. Well, finally around 10pm when I hadn't heard from Southwest, I called the baggage office. I was informed that yes, my luggage had arrived and would "be on the 10pm delivery." When I inquired what that meant, the woman rudely informed me it meant my luggage would be delivered to me. Obviously, I knew it would be delivered but I didn't understand the "10pm delivery." As far I was concerned, that meant at 10pm my luggage would be arriving at the hotel. Again, not even close! The woman on the phone treated me as if I were an idiot and rudely explained to me what the "10pm delivery" actually meant. Apparently, Southwest luggage delivery is akin to the cable company--my luggage would arrive at my hotel sometime between 10pm and 2am.

Now, I will take some responsibility for my errors when packing. However, I've never had my luggage lost before (and I've traveled a fair amount). I made the mistake of packing my medications in my checked bag and now, at 10pm I was experiencing great anxiety. It was imperative that I have my luggage in the morning so I could take my medication. I realized at about 11pm there was nothing I could do but go to sleep and hope my luggage was at the hotel in the morning. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep very well (remember that anxiety) and at 3am woke up, called the front desk and headed down to retrieve my luggage.

The next couple of days spent in California were great. I enjoyed working with some of my co-workers, dinner on the beach and a general a nice, uneventful business trip. I figured my return trip would not be anything like my journey to California and certainly, I would experience some of this greatness that is flying Southwest Airlines. The reality of my trip could not have been further from this thought.

My return trip was out of the Ontario airport. And again, my flight was delayed. I'm beginning to believe that an on time Southwest flights is like a unicorn--I've heard rumors of their existence, but it's just a bunch of lies. Well, we did finally leave the Ontario airport headed to Las Vegas and this is where the trip becomes increasingly interesting; and by interesting I mean the most frustrating flying experience I've ever had!

Upon arriving in Las Vegas, I notice that my flight is delayed by 30 minutes. Not a big deal at this point, it's just par for the course. However, at about 30 minute intervals, the flight is continually delayed by 30 minutes. So, my fight that was scheduled for a 6:55pm departure keeps getting later and later. And, come to find out, it's not just my flight--EVERY Southwest flight departing out of Las Vegas is delayed (no other airline is experiencing this problem). Around 8pm, our gate agent gets on the intercom and informs us that our flight is still delayed and it has something to do with Air Traffic Control and the number of flights and some nonsense. Well, I'm not a genius, but I'm pretty sure that ATC deals with the issues of getting flights into and out of airports everyday. And, I'm also pretty certain that the number of flights on any given day is pretty consistent. So, this whole story is not making any sense. And, why is Southwest the only airline that is dealing with ATC issues?

Needless to say, the passengers waiting around the terminal are getting more and more frustrated with the passing time. We're getting no answers and only a delayed flight time. We finally learn that our plane is coming from San Francisco and it hasn't left the airport yet. Once it leaves, it will arrive in Las Vegas in about an hour at which point in time we can board and head to Salt Lake. In the meantime, there is an 8:40 flight to Salt Lake (which of course is also delayed). Well, not only does that flight leave before ours, it actually lands in Salt Lake City before our plane even takes-off. Yes, there were some very upset passengers in the terminal waiting for my flight.

When we finally did board our plane at around 10:45pm (almost 4 hours late), the entire crew on that plane was just unpleasant. I get that they were tired; however, so were all the passengers boarding that flight. And, we weren't paid to be there. We were inconvenienced by the inability of Southwest Airlines to manage their flight schedule. We did finally arrive in Salt Lake at close to 1am. And, the silver lining, at least when I arrived at baggage claim, my luggage was there and not stranded in Las Vegas or some other random part of the country.

As I said, I'm mostly disappointed in Southwest Airlines (it does me no good to be mad at them). Here's why I'm disappointed and what I think they could have done to better meet the needs of their clients:

All of my experiences speaking with employees of Southwest Airlines were awful. I was treated like an idiot because I didn't understand the Southwest lingo or way of doing things. First and foremost, I'm your client! Apologize for my inconvenience and then explain to me what you're going to do--and explain it as if I'm unfamiliar with your procedures (because I am)
Southwest is on Twitter. If you're going to have a Twitter account as a business, you should actually use it. During the entire ordeal, I was tweeting about how awful things were, my disappointment with Southwest and the need for an explanation (and I wasn't the only one). I did not once receive a response from Southwest via Twitter. I pulled their account, they do reply to some people on there, but it seems they only reply to the people who are happy with their service. Well, note to the powers that be--you should really be replying to the people who are frustrated with your service. People will tell 15 people about a bad experience and only 1 person about a good experience.
When a flight is delayed for 4 hours, do something for the passengers that are stranded! A sincere apology always goes a long way. But even a small gesture would have been nice--several passengers just wanted something from Southwest. Offer a free drink coupon for this or a future flight, meet us at the gate in Salt Lake with a tram so all the weary travelers don't have to walk a mile to baggage claim, have your flight crew at least acknowledge us as we exit the plane (yes, they were standing at the exit, but even when addressed they didn't respond to a single passenger that I saw!)

I really hope that this experience was completely removed from the normal situation at Southwest Airlines. Because, unfortunately, I will be flying Southwest in the future. And, if all my experiences are like this I just might lose it!

charity cake monday

2010-06-18T12:25:00.000-06:00

Apparently, Monday is charity cake day. I learned this from the incomparable Jay! On Monday, I left one job to start a new one the next day. Of course, Jay and I had to spend my last day of freedom enjoying lunch on the Trio patio and delivering cakes for Charity Cake Monday!

Who's Jay? you may be asking yourself. Well, I could go on for hours about the fun thing I attend with Jay--Oscar parties, HRC Galas, Utah Arts Council events and more. But, all you really need to know is this: American Express, eBay, Jay Shaffer!

Yes, he comes in third to these other large organizations and he's okay with that!

But, back to Charity Cake Monday. You see, Jay loves Betty Crocker (yes, the maker of the all the mixes and tubs of frosting) and he loves a coupon. As such, he has hundreds of boxed cake mixes and tubs of frosting just waiting to be used. It wasn't unusual to have a couple of cakes or a few dozen cupcakes sitting int he break room on Monday morning (this was back when I worked with Jay and got to see him everyday!) Now that Jay has been in Salt Lake for 18 months, he has his own consulting firm and is heavily involved in several charities (he's a giver!) The cakes are no longer for the staff but are now designated for all his various charities (or the occasional to the doggie day care where LJ--the cutest three-legged chihuahua you've ever seen--spends his time). Hence, he's adopted Charity Cake Monday as one of his new "causes"! And of course, Charity Cake day falls on Monday; Sunday is the perfect day to bake.

So, this past Monday, my last day of freedom before starting this new job (more to come about this later, I promise), I had the privilege of being a participant in Charity Cake Monday. After tying up a few loose ends, I met Jay for lunch (one of our favorite dining experiences--a gorgeous Monday on the Cafe Trio patio; we're "ladies who lunch"!) Upon meeting him, I learned we had a few cakes to deliver before and after lunch. So, before heading into Trio we stopped at Planned Parenthood. For anyone who has never had the opportunity, witnessing Jay in action is a treat! We run into the building; a cake is dropped on to a desk; Jay says "tell them Jay Shaffer stopped by" and we're out! No fan-fare; because of course everyone knows Jay Shaffer!

The next cake is delivered after lunch to the Utah Museum of Natural History. Again, we run in with a cake with the intention of running out quickly. I guess Jay is far more popular at the museum as we were there for a total of 3 minutes (as opposed to the 30 seconds at Planned Parenthood). The few people we saw at the museum were so thrilled and grateful to have received a cake! The funniest thing Jay said upon leaving the museum, "Why give $10 to the homeless shelter when for a $1.75 you can win the love of an entire museum!" (and, for those who don't know Jay--he is the most kind, generous and giving person I know! so, if you're offended by this statement, you obviously don't know Jay!)

I can't wait until I get to participate in Charity Cake Monday again. And, maybe someday I'll start my own version of Charity Cake Monday (which will most definitely include cupcakes! and probably cookies) Now, I just need to find some charities that are deserving of my amazing baking. Any suggestions?

just a small town race

2010-06-16T09:23:00.000-06:00

*me nearing the finish line in my "cute shoes"

I recently completed the Teton Dam Half Marathon; an event that takes place in Rexburg, Idaho--the epitome of a small town. You may be asking yourself--why would I run a race in Rexburg? Simply put, Meggie & her new husband live there and invited me to stay with them and run the race.

This was my first visit to the little town of Rexburg, Idaho and I guess my sister wanted to show me a good time! Upon arriving, we decided to head tot he local farmer's market. I'm not joking when I say there were about a dozen vendors. We were able to get a scone (the size of Texas! with raspberry butter & honey butter, delish!!) and some corn on the cob (also pretty amazing) to enjoy while we perused the offerings (about 12 times before we finished eating our treats) We decided to get some rhubarb and a watermelon. The rhubarb was no big deal to get home. However, we should have done a bit more planning if we were going to get a watermelon. Did I mention we rode bikes to the farmer's market? And, did I mention we had no means by which to carry a watermelon home? (The wise thing would have been to bring a backpack, but we definitely weren't wise that afternoon) Let's just say, Rexburg was very entertained watching us get that watermelon home (and I have the bruised arm to prove it!)

Later that evening, we headed to packet pick-up and the pre-race potato dinner (hello, this is Idaho! of course it was potatoes!) Packet pick-up was relatively fast and easy. They didn't even check photo ID--I'm guessing they knew 90% of the registrants. Then on to our potato dinner. The dinner was a bit disappointing---so few toppings for my potato! At least there was lots of cheese, but no bacon! No chives! Luckily, there were some delicious brownies (the prefect pre-race carbohydrate!) There was also a "pre-race briefing" of which I couldn't hear a word! Who uses a megaphone in a school cafeteria?!? My expectations for the next days race were dramatically lowered.

Race morning! The race started at 7:30am. Silly me thought I should be there around 7am. And so, my brother-in-law dutifully dropped me off at Smith Park at 7am; I was about 25 minutes too early! Being used to much larger races and races where I needed to catch a bus or train to the start, I significantly over-estimated my arrival time. And, I apparently didn't pay attention to the fact that only 400 people were allowed to run the half marathon. Before starting, the race director did a great job of laying out the course, markings, signs, mile markers, volunteers, etc. to help us all get through the race. And then we were off!

Here are the race highlights:

wind
wind
TONS of volunteers (I heard there was 1 volunteer to every 4 racers--an unheard of number; must be the "Dam Volunteer" shirt they all receive)
wind
being caught by the kid (later learned he was 22) I was using to draft and block the wind
said kid thinking I thought he smelled good being the reason I was sticking so close to him
more wind
hills from mile 4 to mile 9+
learning that all Rexburg has is the university (BYU-Idaho) and WalMart
the fact that having a WalMart is something to brag about
did I mention the wind? because it was relentless
hearing 2 girls discuss my "cute shoes" after running through an aid station
having a girl tell me, "I love your shoes, they're so cute!" at the next aid station
seeing my sister & brother-in-law at the finish line
beating that 22 year old kid after telling him at mile 6 "it's going to be embarrassing for you when you get beat by an almost 40 year old woman!"

All in all the Teton Dam Half Marathon was a great race. After my lowered expectation from the previous night, I was blown away at how well this race was organized! I absolutely loved the race in spite of the wind and all the hills. And, it was a great weekend with family.

**And, if you're looking for a fun race, don't forget there is an awesome 5k trail run in Park City on June 26th. Use the promo code: blog5k and you'll get 50% off your race entry!

the joy of trail running

2010-06-15T15:37:00.003-06:00

You've heard me talk about trail running before. Remember my experience at Kenebec? You can read about it here: part 1 and part 2. Well, that same company that I wrote those blog posts for is making an offer to all readers of my blog. Register for the Park City Mini-Trail series 5K and use the promo code blog5k and you'll get 50% off registration. That makes the price for this great race only $17! You'll get to experience how great trail running is (it's a perfect beginner friendly trail) and get a cool shirt and a great swag bag!

Please come join me for a great race. And, help support my amazing friend, Rhielle (read this post if you want to know why I love Rhielle so much!)

showing a little love

2010-06-07T10:03:00.002-06:00

Remember the cute picture from Meggie's wedding? The one where we decided to pick her up? Yeah, its one of my favorites too!

This seems to be a theme in the Stratton family. For some reason, we like to pick people up in pictures. I mentioned in Meggie's wedding post that there was a great picture of all the sisters holding up my Pops. I even put out a request of the photo and someone heard my wishes. Ironically, it was my mom (the woman who can't upload, email or send a photo--yet she figured out how to do it--way to go mom!) who sent me the photo. So, since she went to so much trouble to get it to me, I thought I'd share:

I absolutely LOVE this photo!! I think we all look so great. Plus, how fun is it that we're all in dresses and heels (ok, the bride was actually in tennis shoes---sorry to spill that secret Mandy) and we're holding up my Pops. It's a great picture that always makes me smile!

And, here's a bonus photo:

It seems we always like to pick up the bride on her special day as well!

it's a serious competition

2010-06-04T10:38:00.001-06:00

*Even Yo-Gabba-Gabba wanted to get in on the action. Fortunately, we never had to implement

an interference policy. He just wanted to have some fun!

One of the best parts of a holiday weekend, at least around my family, is the obstacle course. Everyone participates. Everyone has fun. And there are always prizes.

This event is typically organized by my Pops and my mom always comes up with some great prizes (think toys from the dollar store and Peruvian candies) These are complicated events. Each participant must possess skill, dexterity, speed, agility and the ability to not be embarrassed by looking like a fool. The obstacle course is truly a highlight of any holiday weekend. Once the course has been run by each participant, my Pops takes great care and effort to utilize spread sheets to calculate the winners. All scores are tallied, averaged, numbers are extracted and serious calculation takes place. Upon completion of the task, winners are declared and prizes are awarded in an awards ceremony that is only topped by the Oscars.

Sadly, with my parents off on an exotic vacation (serving an LDS mission in Peru) the organization of the events were left to Meggie and me. Meggie designed a simple, yet fun course. Kick a small volleyball (I guess she couldn't find a soccer ball?!?) to the line. From there run to the "cul-d-sac" of the backyard, spin three times and toss a frisbee into a buck. Proceed to ladder golf and toss 3 pieces (and hope to earn a few bonus seconds). From there run to the three balls---one basketball & 2 rubber 4-square balls. Toss all three into the bin (and try not to hit the kid holding the bin sturdy in the face). Sprint up the hill and tag the timer to stop the clock. It's a very high tech timing system we employ for the event. With the kids left to run the show, there were no spread sheets involved this year. We reverted back to the stone age and used paper, pen and a stop watch (at least the stop watch was on an iPhone, so we're not that lo-tech!) With simple math we calculate the winners--total time minus any bonus seconds earned on the course.

*me getting ready to start the course. yes, it is that serious (& that fun)!

Luckily, I keep a stash of candy in my house. We were able to provide some delicious treats to the winners. Grey was very disappointed to not have the overall winning time--Jonathan beat his time .1 seconds (but only after bonus points were deducted). And, if you were wondering, I did have the fastest overall female time--yes, I beat 3 girls under the age of 10, a mother of 6 and my younger sister (and I still feel good about myself!)

Once all prizes are awarded the fun truly begins. You see, everyone wants to beat their previous time, get the fastest overall time or some other equally as worthy goal. The course is run a million more times! The best part--a few of my 25 year old brother's friends were over for a BBQ. We made a couple of them run the course. And then got to tease them for having slower times than a 9 year old girl! Hey, if you take the harassment that is part of the game, then just don't show up at our house on a holiday!

For even more fun pictures, compliments of the AMAZING Meggie, visit our family blog.

how do you define success?

2010-06-01T10:41:00.001-06:00

Over the weekend, I attempted to do my first Olympic distance triathlon. I say attempted, because for the first time in my life I got a DNF. This is difficult to say even as I type this 3 days later. Saturday was a very difficult day for me. I was embarrassed and upset. I was, in my mind at least, a quitter and felt like a complete & utter failure. Quitting is not something I do. Quitting is not something we encourage or teach in our society (or at least in my family) When you start something you finish it! So, how do I come to terms with getting a "did not finish" as my race result?

So, what happened on Saturday that led to a DNF? Truth be told, I felt prepared for the race. I had done an open water swim on Wednesday and had one of the best swims of my life. I'd got in a few good runs and bike rides throughout the week. The night before the race I'd gone through my visualization exercises (yes, I'm a dork!) and felt ready and prepared for anything that might be thrown at me the next day. I packed up my gear and thought I had everything under control and prepared for race day.

On Saturday, I woke up early and went through my "race morning" rituals. I ate my typical breakfast, a piece of toast with peanut butter (if you were wondering). I left with plenty of time to arrive at the race venue, get body marked and get my transition set-up. I was body marked by Shannon and her high energy and excitement made me feel great. As it got closer to the start time, I did final preparations and headed down to the lake. I got in the water for my wave start and began the swim. Half way through the swim, I made the decision that the smartest thing for me was to pull out of the race. And I've been dealing with that choice and how its affected me ever since.

I had several friends racing and my brother and 2 of his kids had come to watch, so I decided to stick around and watch them finish. While hanging near transition, I ran into a couple of people I've met through Rhielle. They were teasing me about not racing (having no idea that I had recently pulled myself out of the race). I explained to them what had happened and their nine your old daughter said to me, "That's NOT acceptable." I completely agreed with her, quitting is NOT acceptable. (As a side note, her father spent the better part of the next 2 hours trying to find me again to apologize. I explained that I completely understood his daughter's reaction--we teach our children that quitting is not acceptable. There are no hard feelings and I still consider them to be dear friends!)

The aftermath of that race made for a miserable Saturday for me. I couldn't get over the feelings of hatred I had for myself. I realize that I am far harder on myself (aren't we all our own worst critic?) than I am on others. Had anybody else told me that they had pulled themselves out of a race I would show nothing but love, care and concern. So, why could I not show myself that same mercy? Why did I have such loathing for actions that I would find acceptable in another? I even began to question everything I knew about myself. I've never quit before, so was I now a quitter? Did I just open up a door to allow myself to quit everything I started? Maybe everything I knew and believed about myself was never true and I didn't know who I was.

After many hours of self-loathing and more tears than I care to admit to, I realized that I could not allow this one incident to define me. How many mishaps (a word I prefer to "failures" when it comes to cooking) have I had in the kitchen over the years? I've had hundreds of mishaps, but have always gone back for more--it's the reason why I now make perfect cookies, amazing pies and continue to show-off my baking skills whenever the opportunity arises. So, why was a "mishap" as an athlete suddenly considered a failure? It took a lot of soul-searching for me to reach this decision: the difference between "success" and "failure" is the choice I make after I fall down. And, the choice I make is to learn from my experience, to pick myself up and try again.

I have to live with the choice on made on Saturday. And every time I am asked about my race, I will have to admit to what happened. And what happened is I didn't cross the finish line of this race on this day. However, I have decided to not allow this one incident to define me. This one choice does not make me a failure. I made a choice, a smart choice, to pull myself out of a race. But, I learned a lot about myself from that race and my decision. I cannot look at myself as a quitter or a failure because I truly haven't quit. (Besides, that word isn't in my vocabulary!) I am not, nor will I ever allow myself to be a failure. I have already picked my next Olympic distance triathlon. And this time I have every intention of crossing the finish line!

better late than never: all about moms!

2010-05-27T11:11:00.001-06:00

thanks Amy for the fabulous pics!

So this post is VERY late in coming. A few weeks back everyone posted all about Mother's Day. Well, I'm finally getting around to my post about Mother's Day. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to write about it. Maybe it's because of all the drama with the Deseret News. Maybe it's because I'm not a mom and so I don't think about it as much. Maybe it's because I was busy writing a guest post about my experience as a trail runner. Or maybe, it's just that sometimes I get busy with life and don't have the time to post to this blog. Regardless of the reason, I'm here now and ready to talk about Mother's.

Since I'm not a mom and since my mom is currently residing out of the country (I'm sure I've mentioned my parent's trek to Peru) I wasn't too concerned about celebrating. Mother's Day. As I got thinking, I realized that I have a lot of friends who are moms, future moms and adopted moms. I decided I wanted to do something nice for some of the people in my life. And what better way to express love than baked goods. I proceeded to make 2 different kids of cupcakes---vanilla bean with butter cream frosting and chocolate sour cream with cream cheese frosting--and took them to some of those special people in my life. Sorry to those of you who live out of state, out of the area or out of country, you missed out on some AMAZING treats (if I do say so myself!) I have been truly blessed in my life to have been raised by a wonderful mother, watch my amazing friends raise their children and be cared for by what I like to call "adoptive moms". Thank you to all of you for your wonderful influence in my life!

Since my mom is out of the country, she asked each of her children to share some of their favorite memories of childhood and life with her. I'm pretty sure I'm the bad daughter who didn't send her anything, but here it is for the world to see, a few of my favorite memories of my mom:

She always made birthday's a very special day. We were exempt from all chores, got to pick our favorite meal to have for dinner and she always decorated the birthday girl's (or boy's) chair in streamers and balloons. And, I would always get half the avocado that was intended for the salad sliced up and sitting on my plate (avocados are one of my all time favorite foods! and boy did I feel special getting that much avocado without having to fight 8 other people for it!)
I think I'm one of very few children in the world who got a cooked breakfast (eggs, pancakes, french toast, waffles, breakfast burritos, oatmeal) almost every morning growing up. I laugh now that I was so excited when she let us have cold cereal for breakfast---it was such a treat. Now, I'm lucky if I even have time for cold cereal in the morning.
As long as we maintained good grades, my mom never had a problem with us skipping school. And yet, I still found it necessary to truly ditch school with the other kids--all I had to do was tell my mom I wasn't going to class, wanted to leave campus for lunch (we technically weren't allowed to leave) or say I wanted to go to Six Flags for the day and she'd make it happen. But, there's something more exciting about ditching school with all your friends whose parents weren't as cool.
There's a particular incident involving 9 gallons of milk, a banana, a small rickety cart from the BYU Creamery on 9th and a random person honking. Just the mention of this story makes me, my mom and my sisters start laughing (almost uncontrollably)

I could go on and on about homemade bread, trips to the sand dunes (your favorite thing, right mom!?!) and crazy (but always funny) things my mom has said over the years. However, I'll leave it at this for now. There are many memories from childhood that my siblings and I often laugh about. It's a wonder my mother survived all of us! And, I can't believe we didn't get in more trouble for the antics we pulled. So yes, it may be late, but I am truly blessed by all the mother's that have influenced my life. Thanks mom for always being there and making life fun!

me as a trail runner, part 2

2010-05-25T10:30:00.001-06:00

Read part 1 if you missed it.

Remember how I became a trail runner one week and then decided to do a 16 (or 13 or 14 mile) treacherous trail race the following week? Remember how I didn't tell you how it all ended? Well, you obviously know I didn't die because I'm still here blogging away! However, I bet you're wondering what happened at the end of that race. Well, part 2 is now available, go check it out!

celebrity autographs

2010-05-19T10:26:00.001-06:00

With all the drama surrounding my attendance at the HRC gala, I almost forgot to talk about the most exciting part of the evening for me. If you know me, you know I'm a pretty big sports fan! I even discussed my dating life in relation to basketball. So, I was thrilled to learn the the Lakers were staying at the Grand America Hotel the same night as the HRC gala. That meant there might be a possibility of running into some of the players or coaches.

After the HRC event was over, I helped Jay carry all the items he'd won at the silent auction to his car. On returning to the party, walking down the hall was Phil Jackson! As we passed I congratulated him on a great win and Jay and I were on our way. Jay immediately asked why I didn't get his autograph. Well, I'm not that kind of girl. Yes, I'm a huge sports fan and I love the Lakers; however, getting autographs is not really my thing.

Throughout the course of the evening I spent some time with one of the assistance coaches (who was also a former player for the Lakers). I also got to meet a few of the other players, but unfortunately, no Kobe. I called my brother the next day to brag (he's an even bigger Lakers fan than I am!) He agreed with me about the whole autograph thing, it's just not really our thing. But then, he made this great suggestion to me. He shared with me the theory of a sports reporter. (I can't remember which one so I won't even try to speculate here) When you meet someone famous don't ask them for an autograph, ask the to record the message on your voice mail. What a great idea! Now, when everyone calls you, they know that you've met some famous person and convinced them to record your voice mail message.

This is probably one of the coolest ideas! It got me thinking--who would I want to record my voice mail message? I wasn't too disappointed that I hadn't thought of this on my own over the weekend. As much as I like the Lakers, with the possible exception of Kobe Bryant, there's really not one player on that team I'd like to record my voice mail. I'm an even bigger Dallas Cowboys fan! So, if I ever meet Troy Aikman or Emmit Smith I'll definitely be asking for them to record my voice mail.

What famous person would you want to record your voice mail and why?

luckily, there were no bags on heads

2010-05-18T17:41:00.000-06:00

Remember the wedding? The one where I made a gobzillion pies? Okay, maybe not a gobzillion, but a lot, you're right, it was only 22. It seems that Meggie finally got at least some of the photos from the wedding. And, I thought I'd post one of my favorites (of course I'm in it!)

Yeah, for some reason, we like to pick people up, especially at weddings. If I could find the picture from Mandy's wedding I'd post that--all the sisters actually picked up my pops (hey, Mandy if you have that picture, send it over!) I just love how happy we all look and its actually a great photo of all of us. And, even more importantly, I didn't have to wear a bag on my head. Meggie told me I might have to wear a bag on my head if I looked prettier than her---and I DEFINITELY didn't look prettier than her (at least not that day!)

just because it's in print UPDATE

2010-05-13T08:51:00.000-06:00

Just thought I would provide a quick update regarding the lies published by the Deseret News. I was FINALLY able to talk to someone at the Deseret News. It only took about 10 emails, 5 phone calls and 4 voice mails before I actually got a live person. No, they didn't return any of my emails or phone calls. Regardless, I did finally talk to one of the editors responsible for publishing the lies about me.

The most interesting part, had someone actually checked their email remotely, the entire issues could have been avoided. (I guess EVERYONE was out of town and NOT ONE person has the ability to check their email remotely--seriously?!? This is 2010 I thought everyone checked their email remotely.) The article went online late Saturday night, but the actual article didn't appear in print until yesterday, May 12, 2010. Had even one person, the girl who wrote the article, any of the editors I contacted, the publisher, ANYONE, checked their email on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday they would have seen that there was an error, the correction could have been made and my name never would have been published in the newspaper next to lies about me. So instead of fixing the problem before the article went to print, they are now having to print a correction. I've seen the correction and it should appear in today's print version of the Deseret News. And, at about 1pm yesterday, the changed the information in the online article.

I am no longer being credited with the life of Jessica Blair. She is now receiving the credit for her life and her work with the Human Rights Campaign. I'm just glad that this has finally been made right. We'll see if the Desert News comes through with an apology letter to me, as I've requested. Do you think its asking too much to receive a written apology from the managing editor, editor and publisher of the paper for their egregious error?

me as a trail runner

2010-05-11T22:13:00.000-06:00

My dear friend Rhielle is starting a race directing company. Her first race series will be a Park City trail series. I was thrilled when she asked me to be a guest blogger for her! Here is the first part of the series discussing how I became a trail runner. I'm not sure when part 2 will be published, but I'll definitely let you know.

just because it's in print, doesn't make it true!

2010-05-10T10:57:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend I had the privilege of volunteering and attending the annual gala for the HRC organization in Utah. I arrived early in the afternoon on Saturday to help with the silent auction. I had no idea how much work went into one of these. I spent my time, writing up bid sheets, selecting starting bids and bid increments. I also helped to organize organize items on tables and make sure everything was ready to go for the VIP reception.

And then, I actually got to see the fruit of my labors, so to speak. Because I was also Jay Shaffer's guest and not just a volunteer, I got to attend the VIP reception and dinner. What a fabulous event! There were so many diverse and interesting people to watch, including a couple of drag queens! And, since I am not on the steering committee for the HRC, I was asked to talk to the Deseret News regarding my thoughts on the HRC and the evening. Little did I know what would eventually come of that brief conversation with Gina Barker.

The rest of the evening was a wonderful event. I got to sit at a table full of great people, some I'd met before some are new friends. There was great conversation and discussion at the table. Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon received an award for his enactment of legislation regarding non-discrimination in the workplace. All told, it was a great event that I was honored to be a part of, thanks of course to Jay!

Sunday evening, I received a phone call from Jay who was laughing uncontrollably. I would soon find out why. You see, the article in the Deseret News by INTERN, Gina Barker had been printed (yes, I'm emphasizing the fact that she is merely an intern) and Jay had just finished reading it. And, this is why he was laughing so hard as explained on his Facebook wall:

Jay Shaffer Surprise surprise - guess who just came out in the Deseret News last night? At the Hrc Utah Gala last night my friend, event volunteer and my dinner guest for the evening Melissa Stratton was approach by and spoke to the Deseret News briefly last night and somehow when writing the article covering the event they confu...sed Melissa with our very own Jessica Blair of HRC UT fame...and so with a slight pardon to and much, much respect for Jessica, I giggle and quote "Stratton, an Intersex lesbian..." I knew that if Mel hung around me enough and kept coming as my date to these things it was just a matter of time....ha ha

Wow!! Thanks Deseret News for the outing in the local paper. Oh wait, I'm not an intersex lesbian. In fact, when I spoke with Gina Barker and I also told her that I was a community supporter. And she then stated that she needed my sexual orientation, if I was alright sharing. I very distinctly said that I was straight. And, I'm pretty sure that "straight" and "intersex lesbian" aren't even close to the same thing.

Yes, the Deseret News did some seriously inaccurate reporting! So, I'd like to clear up a few point from the article about the HRC Gala.

I am not on the steering committed for the HRC
I will not be in Washington, D.C. this week to lobby for the repeal of the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy
I am not an intersect lesbian
I was not raised as a male
I did not serve an LDS mission in the early '90s
My life partner is not JA Steel (in fact, as you know from reading this blog, I'm very, very single)

Fortunately for me, I have a good sense of humor and was able to get a laugh out of all of this. I still hope the Deseret News will correct their error. But, just in case they don't, I've taken the liberty of doing so myself. I also hope they give Jessica the credit she deserves for all her hard work. I am a supporter of the LGBT community, thanks is large part to my friendship with the amazing Jay Shaffer. I am also a very single and very straight woman! (just wanted to clarify in case there was any confusion).

**Post edit: Let me be clear, yes, I do find humor in this situation. Not because I truly think it is funny, because it's not! The article has been written and printed and there is nothing I can do to change that. I laugh and find the humorous side to this so I don't become completely enraged. I am unbelievable upset, hurt and even angered by this article. This article will live on forever and will always have my name associated with it. At some point, this article may prove to be damaging to me and my reputation. So while I may find some humor, it is laughter to prevent an utter breakdown and countless tears. What has been done by the Deseret News can never be undone; they should print a correction but how many people will see the correction? In print, I will forever be written as an intersex lesbian and those who don't know me personally will have no reason to not believe this statement. This is a grave error by the Deseret News and I only hope they do something to make it right.

these are the numbers of my life

2010-05-06T14:03:00.000-06:00

Ironically, I am not a numbers person. I hate math and can't do even simple calculations (unless there is a $ involved). I went into sales because there is little need for math, unless calculating a commission, bonus or the like (see previous statement). However, the other day I realized that my life is inexplicably immersed in numbers on a daily basis--I blame this on my incessant need to train for and compete in triathlons and road races.

Here are just a few of the numbers that I am continually obsessed with.

64 resting heart rate
182 max heart rate
154 average heart rate
171 max heart rate
618 calories burned
68 minutes workout and cool-down
3 minutes left of recovery before the next interval begins
90 seconds; that's all the further I am into this 10 minute interval?
21 strokes; gotta get this down to 17 (wow my swimming sucks today!)
5 more laps (or 25% left or 75% completed) until I get to rest again
6 cookies eaten (how many calories is that? how many miles do I have to run to burn these off? note to self: no more cookies!)
90 finally, only 90 seconds left in this 10 minute interval
17 steps from my car to the house

Honestly, I could go on and on! I am amazed at the number of things I count on a daily basis--laps, miles, intervals, heart rate, ounces, calories, steps. Maybe my brother has been right all these years, maybe I really do have OCD.

pies as far as the eye can see

2010-04-30T08:55:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, my beautiful sister amazomeg got married. And, here's the proof:

Isn't she gorgeous? I've never seen her look more beautiful or happier for that matter. And, that dress, WOW!! Vera really does know how to design a gown.

When she got engaged back in December, she immediately began planning the wedding. Apparently, her cute husband loves pie. LOVES it! As in, hey its my birthday and it may be December, but I'd really like a strawberry/rhubarb pie and not cake kind of love. (According to Jonathan's mom, rhubarb is all but impossible to find in December and yet every year, she managed to find said rhubarb and make him the pie of his dreams!) So, they decided they wanted to serve pie at the wedding---and, that pie should be made by me.

You see, I fancy myself a pretty good baker. I've been known to say the only talent I have is the ability to cook and more specifically bake. I do make PERFECT cookies, just ask me, I'll tell you! (and, I think a couple other people will vouch for my successful cookie baking) With such extraordinary skill, its not uncommon for my siblings to ask me to do the food for their weddings. Amazomeg, being the amazing woman that she is, only wanted my services for pies. 22 pies to be exact. So, being the crazy/insane woman that I am (oh yeah, and there is that little thing about me loving and adoring my sister and being willing to do just about anything in the world for her--including baking 22 pies) I agreed to be the baker of pies.

Now, up to this point in my life, I've made about 20 pies. I only make pie at Thanksgiving. And, I claim that I've been making pies (specifically apple pie) since I was 12 (my mother will disagree with this and claim she didn't force child labor in the house--total lie, but I'm holding fast to this statement and I started making pies at the age of 12!) I was a bit daunted by the task of making an equal number of pies to the grand total I'd made in my entire existence. Fortunately, I had plenty of notice so I could continue to procrastinate the making of pies until almost the last minute. For those who are curious, here is what I learned about making pies:

It's always wise to have a sous chef around to do all the dirty work for you--peeling the pears, ladling the sticky sauce, retrieving ingredients because your hands are too gooey (thanks manderate)
If at all possible, keep a "dish washer" handy--unfortunately, my dish washer (aka, my pops) decided to leave the country with my mom to serve in the LDS Lima, Peru temple as a missionaries (all is forgiven as he did many a dish after the reception at the house)
It's wise to have something to entertain you while you will be in the kitchen for HOURS--Lucky is always good for a laugh (and complete destruction of the insides of low cabinets--she is only 18 months old!)
I also got to watch this thanks to manderate owning it on DVD
Continually remind yourself that you agreed to this project and are doing out of LOVE
Trust that the cornstarch and gelatin will do their job properly (there were a few close calls, but all turned out in the end)
Admire the beauty of 22 pies lined up on the counter looking like a Martha Stweart ad (and remember to get your camera and take a picture--obviously something I forgot to do; hey, I was exhausted and just didn't care at that moment)
Graciously accept all the praise at the reception--they were seriously the most delicious pies I'd ever eaten!
Add to resume under skills--works well under pressure & can take the heat! And, makes perfect pies (not just cookies anymore)
Relish in the fact that you did indeed make beautiful pies for a wonderfully amazing sister (and her new husband) who is totally deserving of her perfect day!

So, if you're looking for someone to bake you perfect cookies or perfect pies for your special day, feel free to contact me. Just be aware that you probably can't afford my services, unless you're family or dear friends--I always cut them a deal!

customer service, revisited

2010-04-29T09:25:00.000-06:00

A while back I posted about my experience with Comcast and their customer service, Within moments of that post going live they had responded to my commentary on their organization. I was shocked (hello, I only have 5 readers!) and surprised and impressed that they would take the time to comment on a blog post regarding their organization. But, more importantly, they proved to me that even if I have had many frustrations with Comcast (honestly, that last post only skimmed the surface of my frustration with them) they are at least paying attention to what is being said about them. I'm amazed at the number of businesses that aren't aware of what is being said about them.

Until yesterday, I had never been to Spark--a Provo establishment that has been getting quite a bit of buzz. I've read reviews, heard good things, but just had never given it a try. Well, the other day I finally took the opportunity to try Spark. Let's just say I was underwhelmed. From the moment I arrived, I felt as if I was more of a nuisance than a guest they were glad to have. (You'd think that with fewer than 10 people dining there in the close to 2 hours I was at lunch, they'd be thrilled to have some patrons--apparently, the rest of Provo knew something I didn't). I arrived a couple of minutes after my dining partner and we were the only two people in the restaurant. Yet, it still took the only worker (part hostess, part server) 5 minutes to come over and acknowledge us and finally offer us a table. When she did offer a table she mumbled and gestured toward an area of the restaurant as she walked past us to grab some menus. When she came back by, I told her I had no idea what she was saying or where she was gesturing for us to sit. I finally figured out that she was trying to tell us that we could pick a seat near the pillar, but that was certainly not clear to me from the beginning. While I appreciate being able to select a table when the restaurant is empty, it is still nice to feel like you are at the very least welcome in the restaurant (I didn't then or ever during that meal feel welcome at Spark) Needless to say, this lunch was off to a rocky start!

We were seated, poured water and given a few minutes to review the menu. Because I will typically do a quick internet search of a new restaurant before visiting, I knew Spark offers a daily 3 course lunch special. Our server didn't mention to us 1) that there was a lunch special or 2) what that day's special was--apparently, it was on a board in the front of the restaurant (and upon entering the restaurant, I walked right past and didn't even notice). My dining partner, on the other hand (who had dined there before and was obviously more aware of the strange protocol) told me what the day's special was (my dining partner, NOT our server; a task I would expect of any good server) and we both decided to go with the lunch special. The first course arrived--what we were told was apple soup. When we both inquired if there was butternut squash in the soup, she informed us that she honestly didn't know what was in it and said, more than once, "oh, its apple soup!" (As a foodie, trust me there was some sort of squash in that soup!) The remainder of the meal proceeded without incidence. Our server was polite when we moved tables because of the horrible glare from the large windows overlooking University Avenue (however, since we were the only people in the restaurant when we were seated, it would have been nice if she would have seated us away from the glare! But, I forget, she didn't actually seat us nor recommend an ideal place to sit) Overall, it wasn't a terrible experience (the company was at least fantastic!), but it certainly wasn't a great experience either. Immediately after finishing my lunch, I posted to my Twitter account questioning if I should or shouldn't try Spark again.

had lunch @sparkprovo today. first time there & not very impressed. poor service & the food was only ok. is it worth another try? 2:44 PM Apr 27th via web

Now, I don't have a huge Twitter following, so its not like my opinion is truly going to make or break their business. However, I did get one reply from a friend stating that now she didn't see the need to ever try Spark. And, there's no telling how many people who didn't reply to my Tweet will never try Spark based on my 140 character review; or the number of people they will tell of my Spark experience.

The funniest part, I actually tweeted my experience at Spark as a bit of a test. I wanted to see what kind of response I got from my Twitter followers--had someone else tried Spark and loved it and I just went on a bad day? Was my experience "the norm" and I definitely shouldn't give them another try? And, I intentionally found Spark's Twitter handle and mentioned them via Twitter protocol to see if they would even notice and respond to my "unimpressed" discussion of their restaurant. Well, as I expected, I received no response from Spark. I shouldn't be shocked, because as I (and many of my friends) have noticed, customer service seems to be dead! While it would have been nice for them to take notice of my mediocre review I truly wasn't expecting. However, it does make me wonder are other people posting bad (or even good) reviews of this place and they aren't taking notice? After all, if you're going to have a business Twitter account shouldn't you be monitoring it and using it for the betterment of your organization?

There is a chance I'll give Spark another try, but I'll likely have to be talked into it by someone who's had a much better experience there than I have!

a flat tire that got me thinking about my views on feminism

2010-04-22T15:35:00.000-06:00

Today I woke up to this:

And this:

Yes, that first picture is of snow. On April 22nd. As in a couple of inches of snow on the patio furniture. If you look closely (yes, the pictures aren't the greatest, I took them with my phone) you can see the valley in the background where there is no snow. Ah, the joys of living on the Provo bench. At least by now the snow has melted away and the sun in shining.

That second photo is a picture of a very flat tire. I knew this was coming. Yesterday upon pulling into the garage and exiting my vehicle, I swore I could hear air leaking out of my tire. I listened; I walked away, I came back and listened again; again I walked away. I was certain that I must be crazy because you can't actually hear the air leaking out of a tire. Well, guess what! You can actually hear the air leaking out of a tire and that photo is proof.

No worries, the tire is back in working order thanks to the help of AAA, AM/PM towing and Les Schwab tires. This whole situation (and a comment I made to the guy who came to change my tire) got me thinking. Upon arriving and observing the tire, I told the guy that I could certainly change the tire myself (and, if forced to, I could) but why should I when I have a AAA card and can get someone else to do it for me. Such a non-feminist statement!

You see, back in college, I considered myself to be the ultimate feminist (not a difficult task when you attend BYU and every other girl you know is concerned with getting married and popping out babies) I took the feminist literature classes, supported all causes female related and swore I wouldn't get married until I was at least 25 (totally having to eat those words as I am far beyond those 25 years and still unmarried) I mocked the girls that were at BYU to only get their "MRS" degree and couldn't believe that someone would drop out of school for marriage and babies. And, had I ever heard of someone doing what I did this morning (calling someone else to change a tire) I would have thought she was a complete embarrassment to the feminine cause!

Fast forward to now; my new state of feminism. I'm perfectly capable of changing a tire, carrying a heavy box, lifting a mini-fridge off the shelf at Costco and loading it into my car; I just choose to not do these things. You see I've adopted a new attitude; why should I lift, haul, carry or change when I can get someone else to do it for me? I pay an annual membership fee to AAA so I don't have to change a tire, jump start a car or trek to get gas (as a side note, I've only run out of gas once in my life, when I was 16 and it will NEVER happen again. My father has taught all of us that you fill up with gas when your tank is 1/4 full--which really means, as soon as you're below the 1/2 mark, stop and get gas!) I've learned to accept help from stronger (and probably more able bodied) men in carrying items that weigh 50lbs or more or that are awkward. Like I said, its not that I can't do these things, I'm making a choice to not do them. I smile and say "thanks!" and (I like to believe) they were happy to offer me the help.

Its interesting how time, life and experiences change our perspectives. I still think of myself as a feminist, not the "bra burning" type of feminist so popular in the '60s and '70s, but a supporter of and believer in the ability of women. My new brand of "feminism" includes more of a feminine approach. I'm a girl who likes her high-heeled shoes, lots of lip gloss and being pretty. I also like being one of the guys and consider myself to be a pretty tough chick (I have been called "muscles" by my sisters!) I've even been known to let a guy order for me on a date (without biting his head off--which would have happened back in college!) But now, sometimes its nice to be able to sit back and let a man change the tire, carry the heavy box or even treat you like a lady and get a door for you or order your meal. I just hope they don't revoke my "feminist" card, because I still believe women have so much more than the amazing abilities of child bearing and homemaking to offer this world!

so, i decided to google myself

2010-04-20T13:42:00.001-06:00

And, do you know what I learned?

I'm on the first page of google, for real! (or F'Real) and with no effort. I must be an SEO genius! But in all seriousness, I am on the first page of google. And, its my twitter account (@runwithmel). I hope this leads to more and more people following me (because I am a Twitter whore!)

race day rituals

2010-04-19T12:46:00.000-06:00

I have a love/hate relationship with race day. Obviously, I must love doing races because I pay good money to go and run or swim/bike/run crazy distances (well, crazy to some, sane to others) I started running marathons back in 1996 and since then have done 13 marathons, even more half marathons and countless 10Ks. Then, a couple of years ago I decided I should add triathlons into the mix. I've done far fewer of those, but one thing remains the same--how I feel about race day.

I've learned it doesn't matter if I've trained long and hard or not at all, I have this strange love/hate obsession with race morning. And, if I'm being honest, this anxiety and stress begins the night before race morning. I've got my pre-race rituals and my race day rituals. Any one who has witnessed this can attest to the insanity that ensues! Worst it ever was: Boston Marathon 2006. I seriously took an entire duffel bag full of running clothes and shoes (remember the days when you didn't have to pay for your checked baggage!) I wasn't sure what I would want to wear on race day and needed (wanted?) to be prepared. The night before the race I spent a good 30 minutes running up and down the hallway in our hotel trying to decide which shoes I wanted to wear. I then spent another 30 minutes laying out my clothes, organizing my nutrition, pinning my race number on my jersey and stressing out over whether or not I'd selected the right attire. At the very least I provided some great entertainment for my sisters.

Over my years of racing experience, I've learned I have to be a bit flexible about my pre-race rituals. And, along the way I've learned to have a bit of fun. Yes, I still get stressed and nervous before every race (who know what that's all about!?! It's not like there's cash or fame on the line; I'm certainly not a professional racer) However, I've learned that sometimes racing can just be fun.

I ran the Salt Lake half marathon over the weekend. (a race I always swear I'm never going to run again, but that's a different story for a different time) I headed up to Salt Lake on Friday night to hang with my dear friend @runnerrhielle (she's also starting a trail run series in Park City that you should totally check out). I must say, my entire pre-race and morning of race rituals were thrown off and it made for a great event!

Friday night, Rhielle, Ashley (her husband) and I all headed to dinner - and ended up eating Indian food. Delicious stuff, but definitely not what I would normally eat the night before a race. She graciously offered to let me stay at her house so I wouldn't have to make the trek to SLC from Utah County early Saturday morning. We stayed up much later than I anticipated watching shows I don't even care about (sorry all you Survivor fans!)

Saturday morning we had to get up bright and early. Now, for those that know me, you're aware that I am known to wake up as early as 4:30 to get in a morning workout. For some reason, 5am on race day seems far earlier than a 4:30am training wake-up call. And, because Rhielle is a pre-race/pre-workout eater, I decided I should eat a little something before heading to the race (half a banana and toast w/ honey--if you were wondering) And then, it was time to hit the road and this is when things became far more fun than any other race morning. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I had food in my tummy, the early hour or that I was with a good friend, but I just couldn't help myself.

As you know, I've recently become a twitter junkie. Maybe it was the nerves, maybe it was my continual plotting of an exit strategy from the race, maybe it was the fact that I had my phone along for no logical reason (unless I was considering actually live tweeting the entire race) or maybe it's just because everything about race morning is conveniently 140 characters long. Regardless of the reason, I just couldn't stop myself. Everything I declared, I would then loudly proclaim "TWEET!" (you know, as if I were actually sending out all these expressions via Twitter)

"I don't see any 26.2 stickers. What's up with my peeps" TWEET
"Seriously, you're going to make me walk how far to catch Trax to the start?" TWEET
"I just spotted my favorite thing - people wearing the race shirt to the race!" TWEET
"You know how I feel about LOLing" TWEET
"I honestly hate this race. Why do I continue to run it every year?!?" TWEET

"You'd think they could figure out the whole 'bag drop' thing. I know I could do a better job" TWEET

OK, looking over it things definitely aren't as funny in the light of day as they were in the early hours of Saturday morning. However, I have great memories of those predawn, pre-race hours with Rhielle. Our antics only continued for the first half of the race; she went on to run her faster pace and left me to continue to TWEET on my own (OK, it was only in my head, but it did help me make it to the finish line.) And being the dear friend that she is, she was waiting for me right as I crossed the finish line. It was great seeing her soon after finishing (I needed someone to celebrate my small victory with!) I definitely think we need to make this race (the dinner before, the sleep over and the pre-race rituals) an annual tradition. Just next year, I think we can skip the Kneader's breakfast so soon after the race!

let them eat cake

2010-04-06T10:22:00.000-06:00

Recently, the Cookie celebrated her 9th birthday. I can't believe the girl is getting so old! It wasn't that long ago (ok, its been 5 years but it seems like just yesterday!) that she and I would watch the Food Network together, decide if the meal looked "good enough to eat" and then do the shopping and the cooking. We had a great time! (Probably one of the highlights of living with my brother, his wife and their then only 3 kids) Since her mom was very pregnant with #6, I offered to make the Cookie's birthday cake.

She wanted a chocolate, chocolate chip cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate chip garnishes. Yes, this was the request of a 9 year old girl. Initially I tried to convince her that it was way too much chocolate and perhaps we should have just plain buttercream frosting (because that wouldn't be as rich!) Being the wonderfully sweet and kind girl that she is she agreed that this compromise would be acceptable. And then I realized something, why should she not have exactly what she wanted on her birthday! Who cares if there would be people at the party who aren't lovers of chocolate and wouldn't eat the cake? Should it really matter that what she wanted was so rich and decadent that most people would eat a very small amount or none at all? Within moments of convincing her to change her order, I went back to the original plan and agreed to a chocolate, chocolate chip cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate chips as garnish.

Later that day, after I'd headed home and began thinking of which recipes in my arsenal I would use, I realized something. You see, I'm a people pleaser. A people pleaser to a fault! I will forgo my favorite meal in order to meet the needs and likes of other people (even on my birthday). I will compromise on the dessert I want because someone in attendance doesn't like a certain ingredient. I will give up items that I like or want because I perceive that someone else wants them more than me. I am a total people pleaser and at times, I hate this quality! I'm not condoning selfish behavior nor am I condoning always giving into the wants of others. Yes, life is about compromise but sometimes, ESPECIALLY on your birthday, you're allowed to be selfish and put your needs first. It is something I struggle with and something I am working on in my life.

I learned something very valuable from the Cookie. You see, she didn't act selfishly or even complain when I asked her to make a compromise. She was so willing to give up her wishes, even on her special day. But I realized, why should my people pleasing ways infringe on her desires. She knew what she wanted and because it was her special day, she didn't care what others would think. So, I made her a triple layer chocolate, chocolate chip cake with cream cheese chocolate frosting and a chocolate chip garnish. I arrived at the house the day of her birthday (with at cake that weighed in at close to 10 lbs - no joke!) The look of sheer joy on her face when she saw the cake made all my hard work worth it. It was EXACTLY what she wanted! The cake was unbelievably rich; most people couldn't even finish their tiny pieces. And, even those who claimed to HATE chocolate proceeded to eat an entire piece.

If you were wondering, she's already requested the exact same cake for her birthday next year! And, I'm working on being a people pleaser only 90% of the time (instead of my usual 99.5% of the time)!

its true, i'm a geek

2010-04-02T10:55:00.000-06:00

I used to think I was a closet geek. You know, even though I like geeky things, I was good at keeping it hidden. People didn't just look at me and think GEEK! Don't get me wrong, I love geeks and even like being a geek myself; I just preferred to keep that a little secret about myself. Well, the other day I was informed that I'm not a closet geek and my geek was out there for the world to see.

In an effort to embrace my inner geek, here are all the reason's why I'm a geek:

I'm a closet fan of sci-fi. No, I'm not a Trekie. In fact, I've never even seen an episode of Star Trek. (I did see the most recent movie and rather enjoyed it) I do however, love the original Star Wars movies. I enjoyed every second of Firefly and Serenity (and wish the series had lasted longer than 1 season). And, I was recently talked into watching Battlestar Gallactica by Jet Set (now if only someone would loan me the DVDs so I could really get my geek on!)
I love gadgets and electronics gizmos. I don't know if I would survive without my iPhone. Seriously, I think I check my email about 200 times a day. Every time my phone beeps I have to see who it is (when I force myself to leave it alone, its as painful as if a limb is being removed) I have been known to hang at parties (and even on dates with other geeks) comparing apps, looking at which twitter tool others use (and which I need to add to my phone) and actually carrying on twitter conversations while sitting next to someone!
I'm a crossword puzzler. Yes, I love words and language and wish I knew so many more words than are currently in my vocabulary. I figure if I keep doing crossword puzzles I'll learn even more words and be able to use obscure words in everyday language and sound really smart when conversing with friends and family (unfortunately, most in this category are smarter than me.)
I'm addicted to twitter and have single-handedly (at least that's how I see it) encouraged people to get a twitter account or start using their current on and start tweeting! The irony? I've had a twitter account for about 2 years but only recently started using it. I don't tweet incessantly, but do tweet more than I ever thought I would. I also find it fascinating to read every tweet that comes into my feed and see what others are up to. And, I LOVE getting a mention via twitter. It makes me feel like one of the "cool kids" (sad, but true). So, please follow me and tweet about me @runwithmel
I own about 20 different domain names that I'm not even using. Why am I so obsessed with buying domain names that I may or may not ever use? I'll tell you why - they only cost $10 and I might want to start a company where I will need that domain name. Yes, I do realize that I'm currently spending about $200 annually on domain names that are parked. But, someday I just may want to start that business that will require the use of imtoosexyforallyouothermommybloggersintheworld.com and I'll be so grateful that I already own the domain. I used to think something was wrong with me; was it normal to buy so many different domain names. Then, I started hanging with other geeks and learned, that yes, something is wrong with me. I don't own nearly as many domain names as the rest of the geek world!

In all fairness, there are parts of my life that are totally ungeeky. I'm not a gamer (although I do own a Wii). I love shoes. I bathe on a regular basis and have good hygiene habits. I actually care what I look like in public. I do triathlons. So, I think @candybottomgirl was right there is another term for my geek, HotGeek, GeekChic.... I'm open to suggestions.

my dating life in a sports analogy

2010-03-31T10:51:00.000-06:00

As a girl who loves her sports, I find that sports analogies are a great way for me to better understand life sometimes. In basketball, a rebound is a good thing. You're taught to always go for the ball, blocking out during free throws is a must and the more rebounds you get in a game the better chance your team has of winning. But these same rules definitely don't apply to dating. In fact, in the world of dating, there's nothing (or at least not much) worse than getting the rebound.

Unfortunately, when it comes to dating, I seem to get more than my fair share of rebounds. One could even say I'm the rebound girl. I wish it wasn't true, but sadly it is. It's gotten so bad I'm beginning to wonder if its tattooed on my head. Seriously!

Let's just discuss a few instances of this in the last few months. Back in August, when I was trying the whole online dating thing, I "met" a guy who seemed pretty cool. We seemed to have quite a bit in common and decided that we should meet in real life. Our assumptions were correct--we did have a lot in common and got along quite well. After a couple of dates he informed me that he had just gotten out of a long-term (18 months to be exact) serious relationship and wasn't ready for anything serious. Rebound girl!
(Soon after, he started a new relationship with a girl who wasn't me!)

Around Christmas, I "met" another guy (yes, still doing the online thing). We exchanged emails, talked on the phone and again seemed to hit it off. Come to find out he had just (JUST, like less than 1 month prior) ended a 14 year marriage. So obviously not looking for anything serious. Rebound girl!
(Oh, don't worry, soon after me he too started a relationship with a new girl, who wasn't me!)

In late February, a guy I've dated in the past contacted me through Facebook. Long story short: we went out; we made plans to go out again. Before that next date he informs me he just got out of a serious relationship and wasn't really ready to move on. Rebound girl!
(He may be the exception, but for all I know, he too has started a new relationship with a girl, who isn't me!)

Recently,. I met a man and we went out a couple of times. Great dinners, amazing conversations (I bet you can tell where this is going). Just had an all around fantastic time with this man. Well, don't be shocked, but he too had just ended a long term relationship. Oh yeah, and they've been talking again and are now trying to work things out. Rebound girl!
(In fairness to this last man, as I know he reads my blog, I respect that he had the decency to tell me in person what was happening.)

So, if you or someone you know has just ended a relationship, send them my way. No seriously! Because if recent history is any indication, I love the rebound. And, I possess some unfathomable quality that drives men beyond the rebound and into a relationship. If only this rebound stat was as meaningful in dating as it is in basketball!

my celebrity lunch and beyond

2010-03-29T11:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I had lunch with Jet Set. THE Jet Set! So, maybe she's no Justin Bieber, but a celebrity in my mind, nonetheless. Upon seeing my tweet about dining with Jet Set and CandyA** my friend Amy (of The Family Trifecta) asked how I had managed to swing a "celebrity" lunch. The short answer, I asked.

But, let's back up a bit. You see, I actually have met Jet Set before. She worked in the history department with my sister Mandy. She was also my favorite shop girl at Banana Republic back before she was The Jet Set and was a wee student at BYU. Wendy and I had also met Carina a week earlier when she was dining at Pizzeria 712 with the fabulous Noelle. Upon reading Carina's news on her blog, we decided we must dine with her. So, yes, Wendy and I asked Carina to join us for lunch and she said yes!

Upon arriving at lunch I relayed the story of my friend's excitement (maybe even a bit of jealousy) and she graciously blew it off. I then mentioned that I too felt a bit like I was having a celebrity lunch getting to dine with the beautiful, talented and all-around amazing Carina. Her response? "Whatever, I used to sell you cowl neck sweaters at Banana!" And that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon!

Well, that lunch was fantastic - not just the fabulous food at Pizzeria 712 (it's always fantastic there) but more importantly the conversation. I love finding smart, funny, sassy, gifted and successful women to spend my time with. And these women have those qualities (and more) in spades! The conversation was non-stop. We jumped from topic to topic and back again. I was completely reinvigorated for my afternoon meetings. The only regret - the lunch just wasn't long enough.

And if meeting the amazing, beautiful and talented Jet Set wasn't enough for my week, I also had the privilege of meeting (OK, I only spoke to her on the phone) another "celebrity" blogger. Because Carina is a writer, I mentioned during our lunch that I was looking for a technical writer and wondered if that fit her skill set. Unfortunately, it didn't. But, of course, Carina knew just the gal for me. A couple of emails later, and I'm on the phone with suelikestoblog of Navel Gazing. I'm sure she couldn't believe how much a girl could gush over only a phone call, but I am truly impressed by this woman. Her blog is poignant and funny and her resume of technical writing skill is impressive.

How lucky I am to get to associated with so many wonderful women in my life. And, even more impressive to me, all the women I talked about in this post are also mothers. Great mothers, to be exact! I definitely need and want more amazing women in my life!

best date ever

2010-03-27T11:39:00.000-06:00

So, you're probably expecting all the details about a date with Bart Savagewood, King of ALL of Persia and the amazing conversation and great food from some exotic restaurant. Sorry to disappoint, but this post is not about that kind of date. This is about a truly amazing date......with my 10 year old nephew.

My need to remain the favorite aunt is uncanny. I'll do just about anything to win over the affection of a munchkin. With my nieces, this is been fairly easy. I know how to win the love of a young girl. We have sleep overs, we paint toe nails, we bake cookies and decorate cupcakes. All things that girls just love. But, with a 10 year old boy, its not so easy. Well, recently it became much easier to win over this kids affection.

One night while babysitting, the kids had all gone to bed and let's be honest, I was bored. I noticed an interesting looking book sitting by the couch. I picked up and began reading "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." This book was great! Unfortunately, I couldn't take the book home with me because Grey was reading it. So, I encouraged him to read it more quickly so I could borrow and read this book. I also learned that they were making the book into a movie. This presented the perfect opportunity to spend some time with my nephew.

And, so our tradition began. We decided that of course we should eat lunch before the movie. And of course that lunch should be at In-N-Out. He's a 10 year old boy, of course he wants a hamburger (with nothing but sauce) and a strawberry milkshake. Then off to the movie! While watching the trailers, we picked a few other shows we wanted to see.

This is the ideal situation for many reasons. One, he's a 10 year old boy, he doesn't really talk much - so we get to have a little time over lunch to discuss what's happening at school, soccer, how he should be nicer to his sisters, you know, normal aunt topics. Two, once we get to the movie, there's no talking allowed (which is perfect, see 1 above). Three, it allows me to do something that my nephew likes and continue to build my relationship with him. And, afterward we got to discuss how far off from the book the movie was and how we liked the book so much better (so glad he's learning that books are better than movies).

Its definitely a great way to bond with my nephew! I can't wait for our next date. I also figure I'm going to use this opportunity to teach the kid to be a gentleman - you know, make him open doors for me, say please and thank you (which he has already perfected) and carry on polite conversation. But, let's be honest, he's already a perfect gentleman and a fine date! I love that I've found a way to spend some quality time with my nephew.

grateful

2010-03-20T09:47:00.000-06:00

Last night we celebrated Brookie's 9th birthday (can't believe that beautiful munchkin is getting so old!) Brookie is my brother Justin's oldest daughter (and I promise there will be more about the birthday at a later date). I've always been close with Justin. Maybe its the fact that he's only a couple of years younger than me. Maybe its the fact that he dropped out of high school (true story) to attend BYU a year early. Maybe its the fact that I lived with him and his wife back when they had only 3 kids and number 4 was on the way. Maybe its the fact that I'm their built in babysitter (seriously, you have no idea how much I LOVE those munchkins!!) Maybe its the fact that I see him almost everyday since I use space in the real estate office to run my own business. Regardless of why, I've always shared a special bond with my brother!

Last night after Brookie has finished opening all of her gifts from family, my brother mentions that they have one more belated gift. At which point, he hands me an envelope obviously containing a card. He apologizes for the lateness of this (my birthday was back in January), but better late than never. Inside was an unbelievably sweet note wishing me belated birthday wishes and thanking me for all I do for them:

Better late than never!

We hope you know how much we appreciate your willingness

to always watch our kids and to be a super aunt.

Our kids love you so much.

We are lucky to have you in our lives!

Included with this card was a gift card (of FAR more value than I deserve from them) to one of my favorite stores - Banana Republic. I am truly overwhelmed by their generosity. I don't think they realize how lucky I am to have them in my life. And, how lucky I am to have such wonderful nieces and nephews who are willing to hang out with me and show me such unconditional love!

I was almost brought to tears last night and am brought to tears as I write this today. (I really am girlie and not just a guy). The sweet, kind note was more than enough from this wonderful family (but I am looking forward to spending that gift card!) These little acts of kindness remind me of how truly blessed I am in my life. My life would be very sad without these sweet munchkins and their wonderful parents (and I mean ALL of them, not just my brother Justin and family!)

just one of the guys

2010-03-19T11:41:00.000-06:00

I have often be referred to as "one of the guys." I know that this a huge compliment and I definitely take it as such. I am often one of the guys. I love sports, know more about them than most guys and in most settings would rather hang with the guys than the girls.

Throughout my adult life, I've been the "chick" all the guys wanted to hang with. I was always the girl who would cook up a big batch of chili (or some other equally delicious "man food") and have the guys over to watch football on Sundays. My roommates mostly loved me for this. They did get all the "cute" guys hanging out at the house. Unfortunately, girls are a nasty bunch and there was always the roommate who inevitably hated me because the guy she was after was more interested in me. (No, I was not doing all this cooking and football watching to impress the guys - its just who I am)

My brother loves my ability to put any guy (ok, almost any guy) in his place when it comes to sports knowledge. All the guys quickly learned not to just throw out some random statement in an effort to "look smart" about sports - you'd better be able to defend those statements because I certainly could. Its not a show, I genuinely love watching the game and feeding all the people who wanted to watch with me.

As great as it is being "one of the guys" I've learned that, at I times, I hate being "one of the guys." Yes, I'm the cool girl who knows about sports and will watch with you (I even know you don't talk during the game, but only during the commercials - unless you're yelling at the ref over a bad call) I definitely don't need you explaining the west coast offense or a nickle defense. But, on occasion, it would be nice if I wasn't "one of the guys." For some reason, most guys seem to forget that I may know sports and all sorts of other "guy" topics, but I'm still a girl. As much as I hate to admit it sometimes, I'm a girl with all the feelings and emotions that go along with being a girl. So, yes, I can keep up with you when it comes to sports knowledge and even when playing most sports. But, don't be shocked if I cry while watching "Rudy" (or even a cheesy commercial). I'll even forgo watching a sporting event to have some "girl time" with my nieces. I like to cook, enjoy a good pedicure and can't live without my high heels! While you may think of me as "one of the guys" I think I'm so much more than that. Yes, I'll spend an entire weekend watching college basketball (after all, it is March Madness), but I'll also take time for a pedicure and my sister's bridal shower (will someone please text me updates on scores!) So, yes, I may be "one of the guys" but I'm still a girl and proud of it!

looking forward to the release of.....

2010-03-16T15:30:00.002-06:00

Thanks NPR for allowing me to listen. And to amazo for sharing. Seriously, you should listen, its fantastic! I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping it on repeat until its release March 23rd.

Now, who wants to buy me a little present?

i'm no longer the "cool" aunt

2010-03-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of time, (ok, not the ACTUAL beginning of time, but the beginning of my time as an aunt) I've prided myself on being the "cool" aunt. You know, the one who buys the fun toys that make lots of noise; the aunt who feeds you cupcakes for breakfast; the aunt who lets you stay up past your bedtime watching movies and eating candy. I've done a pretty good job of maintaining my status as the "cool" aunt the "favorite" aunt. That was until recently. I knew this day would come and I've been dreading it. I knew one day, I would have to forgo my title of "cool" aunt and be that horrible, awful, mean UNCOOL aunt. I'd hoped it would never happen, but it did.

I've mentioned before that I have adorable nieces and nephews! Well, I also have teenage nieces and nephews. Maybe not adorable, but still awesome. It is very interesting to notice how different their growing up years are compared to when I was a teenager. There were far fewer distractions - no cell phones, no internet and a paltry 9 channels to watch on TV. There was one phone in the house that was shared to call friends to play, all my friendships were "real life" and not cyber-related and I played outside almost everyday (OK, I did grow up in Southern California so that was pretty easy to do) These days there are a million different means of communication and you can have a friendship without ever meeting face-to-face. As great as all these modern conveniences are, they definitely come with some drawbacks.

Unfortunately, there are no classes taught and no manuals provided for the usage of all these new forms of communication and social media tools. I was recently reminded just how dangerous (maybe hurtful is a better term) these devices can be. Recently, there was an "incident" involving Facebook, my teenage niece and me (and this is where I became, the UNCOOL aunt) I won't share the details because that would entirely defeat the purpose of why I am now the UNCOOL aunt. Let's just leave it at this - an inappropriate statement was posted to Facebook and I happened to be the one to see it. In that moment, I had to make a decision; and initially, I didn't make the decision that would lead to me being the UNCOOL aunt. I saw the comment, and posted a comment of my own saying how much I disliked what was being said. And then it hit me, the moment has arrived! I must now cross that barrier and become the UNCOOL aunt. Oh, the dreaded day had arrived. I made the hard choice, the wise choice, the DREADED choice and determined that this was the day for me to be the UNCOOL aunt. I called my niece and ask that she remove the offending comment. I know she was frustrated, annoyed and probably even a bit angry with me, but she obliged my request and immediately removed the comment along with my tag of "cool" aunt.

I share this not to embarrass my niece and not even to point out to the world that I am now the UNCOOL aunt, but to determine how do kids learn what is and isn't appropriate to post in a public forum. Because let's face it, Facebook, myspace, Twitter; they are all public forums even if you can block people from seeing you and select who your friends are. I didn't even have to worry about this when I was growing up! If I got frustrated at something that a family member did, it wasn't even an option to broadcast it to the world. At most I could call a friend, but remember how there was only one phone in the house! Yep, everyone could hear that conversation so there was no way I was making offensive comments because the entire family would hear. Life is certainly different now than when I was a teenager. In fact, I think its much more difficult. I may now be the UNCOOL aunt, but I still want to be there for all my nieces and nephews. They may not realize it, but I am that safe haven they can call and ask anything (and 99.9% of the time I won't share our conversation with their parents). I think I'm a much better sounding board than the world wide web, but what do I know, I am tne UNCOOL aunt!

I hope to one day shun the UNCOOL aunt title and regain my "cool" aunt title. Maybe then my nieces (and nephews) will realize they can call me and talk to me about their frustrations instead of broadcasting them for the world to see. Until then, I'll enjoy my UNCOOL title. I know I earned it. And truth be told, I'd again make that DREADED choice that lead to me being the UNCOOL aunt!

can you keep a secret?

2010-03-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Psst....Psst....come closer. No, a little closer. Want to know a secret? Can you keep a secret? Are you a good secret keeper? Oh Internet, you're not a good secret keeper. Well, thanks for your honesty; I appreciate that. I guess I'll go else where to share my secret.

I've recently learned that finding a good confidant is not an easy task. I'm not the most trusting person and am very cautious with who I share things with. Unfortunately, I've made an error recently and shared the wrong information with the wrong person. Information that I thought was shared in confidence has been leaked; feelings have been hurt and bridges have been burned. None of this was intentional, but it still happened and hopefully those feelings will heal and bridges will be mended, but it will take time.

I hope that I have learned my lesson. I now know to be very careful what I share with others. There are highly sensitive pieces of information I know should only be shared with my therapist (after all, he's taken an oath and I do pay him well to keep my secrets) However, I don't only need him on a Wednesday afternoon and for a full hour. What about those times when I need a confidant on a Thursday morning for 5 minutes? Who do I turn to? How do you determine who is the best confidant and who you can trust with your deepest fears and secrets? We all need a sounding board; someone to talk things out with. I had no malicious intent with the things I've discussed; I was merely looking for feedback, understanding and some advice. I always thought I was good at sharing the right information withe the right people, but recent events have proved me wrong.

I will be more cautious in the future. Maybe I need to adopt the approach I do with Posh (you know, my adorable 3 year old niece). She and I play a little game. I'll pick her up and ask her, "do you want to know a secret?" She always responds, "yes!" I then whisper in her ear, "I love you!" To which she responds, "Want to know a secret? I love you!" I then whisper in her ear, "No, I love you" and she does the exact same thing. This goes on for a couple of minutes with both of us trying to share this secret with the other as often as we can. Obviously, I don't care if this secret gets out and when I share a "secret" with Posh or her sister Lula (she's 6 and much more mature!) I know it will likely get out. Perhaps I need to realize that even adults, with no intention of breaking a confidence, will often let that secret slip. Without malicious intent, it will get out and feelings may be hurt in the process. Now feelings must be mended, bridges must be rebuilt and wounds must be healed. Wish me luck in this process!

Side note: No, this post is not about you. In fact, I doubt the person in question even reads this blog (hello, I only have 3 readers). Please don't have your feelings hurt or get upset with me. I don't know that my emotions can handle that right now.

did i miss something funny?

2010-03-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have no problem admitting to my age. I'm fully aware that I grew up without the internet, DVRs, cell phones and texting. Along with all of this comes an entire new way of communicating; specifically, the shortening of words and creating new anagrams (because we are all now limited to 140 characters to communicate all our thoughts). I've honestly had a difficult time adjusting to this new lingo everyone uses when texting, tweeting and now when speaking. In particular, there is the usage of one term I just don't get, LOL.

First off, LOL has multiple meanings - laugh out loud, lots of luck and lots of love. How am I supposed to know which phrase you are referring to? Fortunately, I suppose, LOL usually means laugh out loud. Unfortunately, this acronym is used far too often in communication--via text, IM, facebook, twitter and even face-to-face conversations.

I've adopted these new forms of communication in my life. I text; I instant message (IM); I Facebook; I even twitter. I've even managed to learn (and occasionally use) some of these acronyms that are so prevalent in this world of shortened, fast-paced communication. However, I do not get the use of LOL. Take a look at your last few conversations via any of the above mentioned "communication" tools. I bet you'll find "LOL" used no less than 20 times (or maybe its just my friends). OK, so I'm funny, but I'm not that funny. What's with all the LOLing? Seriously, did I miss the joke? Am I the only one that isn't "LOLing" all day every day? Please, help me understand what is so funny that everyone is continually laughing out loud or more accurately, LOLing!

(dating) communication in the 21st century

2010-03-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

I've been single for a really long time; longer than I care to admit. I'm old (by Utah standards) and an old maid (by Utah County standards). I have a lot of experience dating and understand the difference between good communication and poor communication when in a "relationship." I thought I'd give a brief lesson on what constitutes good communication and what constitutes poor communication.

I was going to go into a discussion of the hierarchy of communication, but I'll save that for another post. Let's just jump right into a couple of examples. Both of these encounters involve me, are factual and last couple of weeks. In an effort to protect the innocent, all names have been omitted.

Let's start with good communication first. Guy A who I have "dated" (gone out with? shared a meal with? sat at the same table while consuming a meal?) sporadically, at best, invited me to lunch one day. During lunch he shared with me some details of his life (which I will not repeat here out of respect). He explained that it was because of these circumstances that he had not pursued an actual relationship with me. He felt that I deserved better than he could offer me in a relationship and felt that I deserved an explanation. He was completely open and honest with me about everything going on in his life, allowed me to ask questions and provided me with all the information I needed. We left that meal and agreed that we had the makings of a great friendship with no hidden agenda. And, to his word, we are building that friendship. His honesty was refreshing.

Now, let's move onto the more fun scenario; the poor communicator. Guy B, while not in a serious relationship, we had been seeing each other for a few weeks. In fact, he had talked to me everyday while on his vacation the week prior and brought me back a little gift. He informed me, via text message, "I went on a date last week with a girl I'm beginning to like. I want to explore it and don't want to hurt you, so we need to slow things down a bit." I replied, "That's great! I hope we can continue to be friends." (I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. I truly meant this as I honestly valued his friendship) To which he replied, "Of course I think you're awesome!" OK, let's break this down. First and foremost, text messaging is one of the worst forms of communication for anything other than the statement of facts. It is so easy to misunderstand what the other person is saying and the conveyance of emotion is completely gone. Although he was fairly honest and admitted to wanting to pursue another girl, as far as I'm concerned what he really meant was, "You may be awesome, but I found someone even awesomer, so Sayonara!" A phone call that allowed for actual conversation and discussion would have been much appreciated. Text messaging leaves so much room for interpretation and confusion. (The real problem here is a problem I refer to as "serial dating." I promise a post on this soon. Trust me, I'm an expert because I'm just as guilty as the this guy.)

So remember, whether dating or another situation, open dialogue (and not via text) is always the way to go. And, yes, these are both real conversations and both occurred within the past couple of weeks. Honestly, I can't make this stuff up. Trust me, my real life is far more interesting than anything I could ever dream up!

a little posh will make you smile

2010-03-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

As far as I'm concerned, the sole purpose of children is to provide entertainment. You parents probably don't agree with me. Mostly because all those things your children do that you find horrifying and embarrassing, I find them to be hilarious! I'm certain that I could write volumes (and have shared some) about the munchkins and the funny things they do and say that leave their parents horrified. Instead I decided to share a funny story that is also very touching and sweet.

I love my niece Posh. Seriously, can't get enough of the kid. I can only understand about 60% of what she says, she insists on being carried everywhere (lucky for her she only weighs 27 lbs) and she loves everyone. And, she's the best fake sleeper around. OK, maybe not the best at it, but once she commits she is dedicated to the cause; nothing will get her to open her eyes!

A while back I was having a terrible, rotten, no good day! It was just a bunch of little things adding up to make for a bad day. And, I was feeling very much like nobody cared about me or my needs. (Yes, I was feeling sorry for myself and I recognize how silly that is) It was a Sunday so we were all hanging out at my brothers place. While eating dinner, I'd jokingly told Posh I was going to take a nap in her bed. Her response, "Adults can only sleep in my bed if they say please." So, I asked her please could I take a nap in her bed. I wasn't serious, but just wanted to see how she reacted.

After dinner was over, dishes were done and things cleaned up, I went over to the couch to read my book. About 5 minutes later, Posh walks over and tells me its time to take a nap. There's no telling a 3 year old "no" so I followed her up to her room. She told me to lay on her bed while she went to find her pillow. (Apparently, she had lost her pillow privileges the night before due to an incident with her 6 year old sister - my guess is a pillow fight) She returned and proceeded to cover me up with her blanket (trust me, this is a big deal as nobody uses her blanket) Upon leaving the room she shut the door, most of they way and headed downstairs. I then hear her telling everybody, "Be quiet! Mel is trying to sleep!"

Only about 3 minutes pass before she is back in the room to check on me. As she is coming in the room, her brother turns on the TV in the play room to watch some Olympic hockey. Posh tells him he needs to turn the TV off because "Mel is trying to sleep." She comes in and asks if I can sleep with the TV on. Since I'm not really sleeping, I tell her its fine, the boys can watch TV. She then leaves again and says she'll be back in 5 minutes to get me.

Well, since I was never really planning on taking a nap, I grab my book from the floor to finish reading the chapter I was on. Once finished, I hop off the bed and head downstairs to hang with all the munchkins. My niece informs me that it hasn't been 5 minutes and she was going to get me when time had lapsed. I asked if it was okay for me to stay up. She decided that since I was already up, there was no reason for me to head back upstairs and wait for her to get me.

She is honestly the funniest and cutest kid around (and I'm totally biased since she is related to me)! It was very funny and entertaining to me the things she has picked up regarding nap time. My favorite thing however was the fact that she was so concerned about me. I love that she was telling everyone to be quiet so I could sleep (even though I had no intention of taking a nap). It was very sweet to have someone looking out for me and making sure I was taken care of. It was just what I needed! And, every time I think about this incident, it just makes me smile.

the importance of customer service

2010-02-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, we decided to install Comcast internet in the house. We've always had connection issues and the wireless was spotty at best. Comcast boasts the best the fastest connection speeds and few outages. Unfortunately, because of how the house was initially wired we would also have to get Comcast cable. (At least that's what the Comcast install technician told me.)

Starting with the install and going through this week, Comcast has literally been a nightmare. I will spare you the details of my horrifying install experience. (I've started that post about 100 times, but never finished it) My install experience was so awful I received multiple calls from supervisors within the Comcast organization. Once the install was complete, the problems began. They didn't even activate the HD channels, the internet didn't function properly and on and on. I honestly called Comcast about 10 times within the first week of service.

Over the past couple of months the number of calls has decreased, but there have still been problems. In fact, about a month ago I had an appointment with a technician that got cancelled by Comcast because they had "resolved the issue." Well, that wasn't the case. Earlier this week I called again to discuss the problems we were having. Our HD channels have never seemed to work properly - the picture quality is poor, the sound cuts out, just some strange stuff. They decided the best thing to do was to have a technician come to the house to look into the problem.

Yesterday morning as I'm waiting for the technician to arrive, my internet suddenly goes dead and the cable is completely out. Nothing is working. I immediately call Comcast to see what is happening. As usual, they tell me everything is great on their end so it must a problem in the house. Fortunately, I have a technician schedule to come to the house within the next couple of hours. Until that time, there's nothing that can be done.

Enter Comcast Technician Shane. He is honestly my favorite Comcast employee even though our encounter was brief. Comcast Technician Shane showed up on time and ready to help. While walking to the house he noticed a cable draped into the street. You see, when Comcast does an install in the winter, they can't bury the cable - makes perfect sense. Well, the original installer had left about 1000 feet of cable to be used when it got buried in the spring. Apparently my cable and a snowplow had a showdown in the street earlier in the morning. You can guess who won. Comcast Technician Shane's first order of business was to install new cable; and an appropriate amount of cable. Hopefully the new cable's fate will allow it to survive until spring.

Comcast Technician Shane then came inside to check on things, but not before putting on some handy shoe covers. (I love that he had these since it was snowy and wet outside) First, he wanted to ensure the internet was up and running properly and receiving the necessary power and signal - check. Next, he ventured into the theater room to determine what was happening with the cable. He looked at a few things and then proceeded to the room with all the wiring. He quickly and easily determined that the signal strength needed a boost as the cable was being split to a second TV in the house. He ran to his truck, grab a cable power booster thingy (I do believe that is the technical name) and within 5 minutes it was installed and the cable was working perfectly.

I'm not so crazy as to believe everything with Comcast will run perfectly from this point forward. However, the importance of customer service cannot be overlooked. Every other encounter I've had with Comcast has been negative--its always a problem on my end, Comcast is never to blame and when the HD went out during the BCS national championship they offered my pay-per-view coupons as compensation. I get that this is how they are trained in the call center and feel that pay-per-view coupons are great compensation; these things just weren't the right course for me. Comcast Technician Shane arrived at my house with the attitude of service; he was there to fix my problems and get things working for me. He didn't tell me that Comcast wasn't at fault or that everything on Comcast's side was working great. He showed up, had already recognized a problem (remember that cable that met its fate with a snowplow) and was looking for solutions that met my needs. We need more people in the service industry like Comcast Technician Shane! They truly make all the difference.

And, yes, immediately after Comcast Technician Shane left, I called to leave a glowing report for his supervisor. I believe that good service deserves just as much recognition (and probably more) as poor service.

its a training expense

2010-02-25T11:00:00.002-07:00

As a self-proclaimed athlete, I'm able to justify many expenses in my life. That cute yoga jacket - I need something to wear pre- and post race! New running skirt - I have to look cute when out on my run. A $6,000 bike - I'm certain it will make me faster (OK, I haven't been able to justify this one--yet) A massage - absolutely! I can't think of a better way to relax my muscles and get them ready for the next tough workout.

Even with the justification of a massage, I just couldn't see the need/reason for an in home massage, until last night. Seriously, I had no idea that a massage could be so much better when brought to your home!

Last night I had the most amazing massage from jillmassage. It was 90 minutes of pure bliss! And, once it was over all I had to do was crawl into my bed. You should check out her services and rates - great prices and even better results! Can't wait for my next session--and its completely justifiable!

Now, if only I had my own massage table, I wouldn't have to move until morning.

sugar lent

2010-02-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Not being Catholic, I've never participated in Lent. However, I have a roommate, who is also not Catholic, but who participates in Lent every year. This year we've established our own holiday "Sugar Lent." The premise behind this made-up holiday is the forgoing of all sugar, except on Sundays. Its all in a effort to be healthier and to aid us in our training for upcoming races.

I'd like to lay out the "rules" of this holiday. Monday to Saturday, we can't eat any sugar--cookies, candy, cake, donuts, ice cream--you know, the good stuff. However on Sunday, we can eat any form of sugar we want. Of course there are always exceptions to the above "rules."

Items that you might think are taboo during sugar lent, but are in actuality legal:

gummy vitamins: hello! they're vitamins and you need to eat about 37 at breakfast, lunch & dinner
sugar coated cereal: I believe its fortified and has plenty of vitamins
chocolate covered almonds: protein - check, dairy - check, antioxidants - check
pretty much any fruit or nut that's chocolate covered: see above

I know I'm missing items on this list. Please let me know what other items might initially appear to be taboo, but actually have health benefits and are therefore legal during sugar lent.

dating in the UC

2010-02-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to lunch with my sister Mandy and Lucky (her adorable 18 month old daughter). As Mandy is visiting from Texas, we headed to one of my favorite Provo eateries: Nicolitalia. As we walked into the restaurant, there were a lot of people milling about the parking lot. We thought, "we got here at the right time" as about 20 people entered the restaurant behind us. We ordered our food and found a table in the back.

As we were enjoying our salads, this man who looked exactly like a British literature professor approached our table. Seriously, he had on a sweater vest, tweed jacket with elbow patches and a full beard; the only thing missing was the pipe. He stopped by to tell me that he really liked my boots. However, he and his friends were wondering if I was going to be out in the field plowing later that day. I was wearing my wellies as I'm known to do on rainy days. I told him "thanks, but no I wouldn't be out plowing in the fields or working the irrigation line" or any other such non-sense. He walked away very satisfied with his witty remark about my attire.

A full 10 minutes later, he again approaches our table to ask me if I'm here for the "singles lunch group." Before I can reply, he immediately turns to my sister and says, "I know you're not single, (he apparently noticed the giant rock adorning her left ring finger) but are you single?" I mumbled a "yea" not really wanting to admit to my singleness to this stranger. And then proceeded to ask again, "Are you here for the singles lunch?" I wish I could say that I simply told him no, but I didn't. Instead I uttered, quite audibly, "Do I look desperate and pathetic." The thought of how offensive my remark was didn't even occur to me, before I said it, as I was saying it or even immediately following my saying it. Fortunately, he didn't pick up on it either as he proceeded to talk to me.

There are only a few random details that I remember following my quite rude outburst. 1) I had to ask him to repeat his name twice 2) His creepy friend came bounding over to the table and my sister flashed her ring with even more gusto and 3) This line, to the great amusement of my sister, was used not once, but twice: "She's single, but not old enough to date" (while gesturing toward my 18 month old niece)

After these 2 single 30 somethings that, through sheer coincidence, were at the same restaurant as me returned to their table, I almost apologized to the couple sitting behind us. What a horribly awkward encounter to be forced to witness.

It's always flattering to be singled out (pun intended). And, if nothing else, I'm always good for a funny "single" story and have no problem with others laughing at my expense.

happy valentine's day!

2010-02-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

I may not have a traditional Valentine, but I have an awesome brother. Look at what I woke up to

- a delicious chocolate bowl filled with fresh fruit. Delish!!

love is in the air...

2010-01-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm so thrilled that Meggie is getting married. The best part for me.......new shoes (my love!)

Aren't they gorgeous?

loving....

2009-12-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of in love with this calendar. Found here.

why today is awesome

2009-10-22T09:38:00.000-06:00

When I arrived at the gym today, there was only one other person there and the TVs had yet to be turned on. This allowed to turn on all the televisions, and turn them to this. It only lasted for about 15 minutes before people showed up and changed a few of the TVs, but those 15 minutes were a great way to start my day.
I am wearing a skirt that I haven't been able to fit in for almost 3 years. (It's amazing what going to the gym regularly and eating Oreos as 3 to 5 cookies being a serving {instead of 1 to 2 rows being a serving} can do for increasing your wardrobe.
I'm wearing these cute boots.
And, I'm one day closer to this.

Let's just hope the rest of the day follows this trend.

count down to.....

2009-10-21T15:12:00.007-06:00

This cutie pie!

And, these cuties as well.

I just booked my flight to Texas. Unfortunately, I have to wait 25 days and a wake-up. Hopefully it will go fast. I also can't wait for this, a little shopping here, LOTS of this, and who could forget this.

road tripping

2009-09-29T08:37:00.003-06:00

This past weekend I took a quick trip down to St. George (ok, actually Hurricane) My friend Natalie and I decided to do the Kokopelli triathlon at Sand Hollow Reservoir (more to come on that later). My older sister lives down in Hurricane and it was a great opportunity to see her and her new house (ok, they've lived there for 2 years). I decided it might be fun to take 2 of the munchkins along so they could see their cousins. Here are a few things I learned about traveling with kids (age 10 and 8):

When there is silence coming from the back seat, you should be concerned. My niece wanted to play with my iPhone (what did we do before such devices?!) Well, I should have realized that there was no longer sound coming from the phone alerting me to whatever game she was playing. Apparently, she had figured out how to move the icons around and proceeded to move every single one of them. At least she was entertained and I got to spend an hour getting things back how I like them.
A 10 year old boy will completely forget that you told him multiple times "we will be there for less than 24 hours." Once he sees his BFF cousin. It was actually quite humorous that both of them asked multiple times if we could stay longer. I'm certain in their minds it was a completely logical request and there was no way they could be denied. I think they forgot for a brief moment that the adults were in charge.
How can an 8 year old eat her weight in Cheetos and candy and still be able to eat dinner? Seriously, I cannot believe how much that girl can consume (and yes, I'm a little jealous because how great would it be to eat like that and not gain an ounce)
Even though I traveled with little more than a coloring book and mad libs and survived long family car trips there is no reason to make these kids endure such hardship. I was advised to take both the portable DVD player and a computer so there could be no fighting over movies. Although both devices were not constantly in use, it was nice that one could watch a movie while the other played pinball or something else on the computer.
Fast food, root beer and lots of candy makes for very hyper (and very entertaining) kids. It was actually quite fun to hear the laughter coming from the back seat over some silly comment. They did have fun launching a grape out the window and a gummy bear against the window with the catapult built in Hurricane. I, however, drew the line when they wanted to use said catapult to launch gummy bears into each others mouths.

This was also the first road trip I've taken with Natalie and we had a great time talking and laughing at all the craziness in the back seat. It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun. And, not once did I utter, "Don't make me pull this car over" and in my book that makes it a success!

a little boat time

2009-09-21T07:57:00.003-06:00

A couple weekends ago, Amy and Scott invited me out on their new cool boat. So, early one Saturday morning Josh and I headed out to Utah Lake for a morning of wake boarding, surfing and tubing. Unfortunately, the weather was awful - cold, windy, choppy water. The company was great and that always equals a great time. I do love those cute girls. Thanks for inviting us for a fun morning on the lake. *photo from here

reading time

2009-09-16T08:08:00.002-06:00

I finally got around to reading "Three Cups of Tea" after it was recommended to me almost a year ago. I can't believe I've waited this long to read this book. What an amazing story about how one man truly can change the world. Greg Mortenson is making a difference through the education of women in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His initial struggle to raise funds to build one school has turned into a foundation that has built over 100 schools to date and supports many others. I was thrilled to learn that Greg Mortenson will be speaking at the BYU forum on Tuesday, October 27th. I can't wait to go hear his story in person and learn what has happened since the book was published in 2007. If you're looking for a truly inspiring story, I highly recommend reading "Three Cups of Tea." And, you can learn more about the Central Asia Institute here.

I did a triathlon......

2009-09-14T13:18:00.001-06:00

Here's the only proof. Its blurry - not because the photographer didn't see me coming, but because I'm so fast (no really, I'm so fast I was just a blur)

when you move to provo..........

2009-09-14T13:12:00.002-06:00

you deserve an "I can't believe I live in Utah County" gift.

Equality Utah

2009-08-20T13:38:00.007-06:00

Last night I had the privilege of being one of Jay's guests at the Allies Dinner as part of the Utah Equality group. What a great time! Jay purchased a table and invited a great group of people. I got to catch up with some old friends and make some new friends. What an inspirational event. There is something to be said for accepting people for who they are. I often hope people forgive my shortcomings, see past our differences and find the things that make me great.

Thank you Jay for thinking of me and inviting to be part of such a cool event.

faux camping

2009-05-17T19:21:00.003-06:00

On Saturday, I went "faux camping" Basically, we headed up the canyon, went hiking, ate yummy food and cooked s'mores. We decided that we should bring "gourmet s'mores" to share with the group. This consisted of organic graham crackers, high quality chocolate and homemade marshmallows. They were quite the hit! Contrary to popular belief, marshmallows do not come from outer space. And, they are quite easy to make. You should try it sometime with the recipe found here.

a great quote

2009-05-17T12:52:00.003-06:00

I saw this on a blog I follow:

I couldn't agree more! As much as I appreciate email, text, IM, twitter, facebook and the like, I often miss good human interaction and contact. Maybe I'm showing my age, but there's nothing better than actually face-to-face interaction with another human being.

look what was waiting for me

2009-04-10T07:25:00.003-06:00

when I got to work today....

Thanks Anne P! You always make holidays so much more fun around the office. And yes, I do love Peeps!

grilled cheese tour of slc, part 1

2009-04-10T07:16:00.003-06:00

For those of you who don't know, April is national grilled cheese month. And, Meggie and I love us some grilled cheese. We've decided that the best way to celebrate national grilled cheese month, is to find the best grilled cheese in SLC. First up, Carlucci's Bakery. Monday's special is grilled cheese and tomato soup. The best part of the grilled cheese here, is their tomato soup, yum!! Don't get me wrong, the grilled cheese is quite tasty--thick homemade wheat bread and 2 kinds of cheese. But, the tomato soup is what makes it so fantastic. There's almost nothing better than tomato soup and grilled cheese. We'll definitely be going back for this one.

amazingness

2009-04-01T08:36:00.005-06:00

I may or may not have given the following to the VP of Sales:

Why Melissa is AMAZING!!!

If you ask me to prove my amazingness in a pie chart, I will. And, I'll print it out and post it in your office.

my own piece of art

2009-03-28T11:05:00.003-06:00

Last night I went to an open house at this art studio. It was lots of fun and there was some very cool art. Although not the most amazing piece I saw, this is probably my favorite!

I'm so glad that someone found it necessary to make some art out of my name!

love is in the air

2009-02-04T08:57:00.004-07:00

I'm not a lover of Valentine's Day by any means. However, I think this is just the sweetest necklace. See it here. Will you be my Valentine (and please buy me this)? I think I may just have to buy it for myself.

safety first

2009-01-06T09:09:00.002-07:00

I'm so excited about my new tires! Check out that tread--I'll definitely have no problem getting through the snow. I just wish they weren't so expensive. At least I got some Christmas money to help pay for them.

lucky's coming to town!

2008-12-10T08:14:00.006-07:00

I'm so excited to see this cute thing! (Only five days and a wake-up.) She's so much bigger than the last time I saw her--why can't she just stay a baby?

Oh yeah, her mom's coming too! (I'm equally excited to see her.)

**This is one of my favorite pictures--Mandy with Grandad at NFR.

my new toy

2008-12-10T08:08:00.001-07:00

It's sad when you're as excited as I am about a blender. But, trust me, it makes the best smoothies around (hey, they use them at Jamba).

huh?

2008-10-28T13:34:00.001-06:00

I talked to a guy today who sells handbags online. These handbags are "vegan leather." Isn't leather by nature non-vegan? Did I miss something here?

babies

2008-10-22T15:34:00.002-06:00

I sure miss this kid! I wish they lived in Utah (or at least closer) so I could visit more often. She is just growing way too fast. She looks so different than when I saw her (2 weeks before this picture was taken). Lucky, you need to tell your mom to bring you out to visit me soon! *Notice the adorable "party hat" to celebrate her 2 month birthday! My sister made it, isn't she amazing?

so cute

2008-10-06T15:36:00.002-06:00

How can you resist that face? It's only been a week and I miss her a ton. Lucky, why must you live in Texas?

dallas cowboys

2008-10-02T12:04:00.002-06:00

I spent the weekend in Texas visiting family and meeting my newest niece. Is it bad that I was equally as excited to go see this? Seriously, pictures don't do this place justice. It is gianormous! You can read all about it here.

dishes

2008-09-25T09:09:00.002-06:00

For some reason, I have a love of dishes. I really want these 12 Days of Christmas plates. Anyone want to buy them for me? You can purchase them here.

{seen on yourheartout.com}

domestication

2008-09-22T07:04:00.003-06:00

This weekend I made whole wheat bread, "molaskas" and crocheted an afghan for my niece, Lucky (more on this to come). That's a lot of homemaking for one weekend! I don't know which is worse that I spent my entire weekend being domestic, or that I enjoyed it so much.

love at first sight

2008-09-03T07:58:00.002-06:00

Isn't she pretty?

It's the end of the world

2008-08-25T15:22:00.004-06:00

So, my buddy at work is always talking about EOTW (End of the World). It's almost an obsession for him. He has food, blankets, lighters and all sorts of accessories stored and available when EOTW hits. Today, he gave me the coolest thing. Check this out. Now, I too, will be able to signal plans during EOTW. If anybody is looking for me, I'm on the roof practicing my plane signaling skills.

here's the proof

2008-08-21T16:31:00.001-06:00

2008-08-14T15:21:00.002-06:00

Ever heard of wakesurfing? I love when I get "paid" to do stuff like this! This morning for our team building activity, we spent a few hours on the lake. I got some good runs in on the wakeboard, and then got to try wakesurfing. I can't wait to get out again!

perfect cookies

2008-08-11T14:28:00.002-06:00

As you may recall, one of my life long goals was to make perfect cookies. Well, as was previously stated, I have. Today this was reaffirmed. Today at work there was a chocolate chip cookie bake-off. This was not open to the general public, but rather to a select few employees with a reputation for making delicious cookies. Of course, I was invited to participate. And, I was the winner! I can now state that I make "award winning" cookies (and did so as I offered them to my co-workers). I was even accused of using a Mrs. Fields cookie recipe. This is not the case. The recipe is my own (slightly modified from other recipes). The real question is, should I post the recipe? Let me know what you think and why.

"a marathon is like life"

2008-08-10T15:38:00.003-06:00

While attending the outdoor retailer show, I got to meet Bart Yasso. It is because of "Yasso 800s" that I ran my fastest marathon. I even got an autographed copy of his book. Here's what he wrote me:

A marathon is like life-- It's not how long it is But how good it is, is what matters.

aunt update

2008-08-07T11:28:00.002-06:00

Here she is. Sadly, I won't get to see her until the end of September.

theme song

2008-08-07T08:46:00.003-06:00

A friend at work sent me the following song: I have determined it could easily be my theme song as he refers to me as a "puma" (although technically I think I'd be a "cougar" because of my age.

baby boom

2008-08-04T08:27:00.001-06:00

I'm an aunt, again. My sister Mandy had her baby yesterday......more to come.

the Smith in me

2008-07-29T19:39:00.003-06:00

Recently, I had a wonderful treat--goat cheese with fig jam. It was so fantastic I had to share. So, I took some to my mother's house. While she liked it, she wasn't in love with the flavors they way I was. She then proceeded to tell me that I must get my affinity for fig jam from her father. He loved fig jam. In fact, he would make it and not even share because he enjoyed it so much. Well, figs are in season, and I decided to try my hand at some fig jam making. I'm sure that wherever he is, my Grandfather is smiling at my enjoyment this "lugubrious" delicacy! If you're interested, you can find the recipe here.

fear (and loathing)

2008-07-28T16:11:00.002-06:00

If you're looking for a good time waster (and it is educational). Visit here. Anything you every wanted to know about phobias, but were afraid to ask (pun intended.)

pioneer day

2008-07-23T08:55:00.003-06:00

In honor of the pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley, there a a slew of events remembering "The Days of '47." Things such as a marathon, a 10K, a parade and other events. I'm not sure how such festivities relate to the pioneer. It seems that this year, the Osmonds are putting on a concert. Nothing says pioneer day like Donny and Marie Osmond singing "I'm a Little Bit Country/I'm a Little Bit Rock-n-Roll" or "Soldier of Love."

bling bling

2008-07-21T11:08:00.002-06:00

Saturday, my brother called me as they were headed to Provo and told me to ask Posh what she wanted to do. When the arrived, I asked Posh and she replied, "get my bears bierced" (get my ears pierced). She has been asking to do this for about a month now, so her parents decided it was time. Since I've been a part of the other two girls, they invited me to go along!

She has no idea what she's getting into!

I think the ear marking might have been the worst part.

The second one wasn't so bad.

Look at that face!

Luckily, Daddy was there to hold her the entire time!

She did cry after being poked, but only for about 15 seconds. Once the girl offered her a lollipop, all tears ceased. All afternoon and evening she ran around showing everybody her ears. If you asked her what was in her ears, she'd reply "bling, bling." Probably because she got 4mm pink "diamonds." 4mm isn't very big, unless you're a tiny, little 2 year old! Apparently, she continues to show them off to anybody who will look! Glad she isn't too traumatized!

the punisher

2008-07-18T09:38:00.003-06:00

There is a pigeon that sits on the ledge of the building next to my office. From our view out the 3rd floor window, you can see "the Punisher." The CE boys say he is a menacing bird and they are all afraid of him. Rumor says he has swooped toward the window and if you cross him, he'll attack you when you leave the building. I think the CE boys are a bunch of scardy-cats! It's just a little pigeon. How much damage can he do?

Feist

2008-07-18T08:11:00.002-06:00

Last night we headed up to Deer Valley for the Feist concert. This is probably one of my favorite venues for a concert. And, I love Feist. Enjoy this little number for those of you that couldn't be there.

happy trails

2008-07-18T08:05:00.003-06:00

One of my joys in life is trail running. I got into this a few years back and even created my own cross country camp with my girlfriend, belle. As Meggies is training for her first half marathon, we will occasionally run together. Since we typically run after work, and it is scorching hot, I suggested a trail run. We headed up to Millcreek and ran the upper portion of the Pipeline trail. It is a nice flat, easy trail. I'm so happy that she had fun and enjoyed her first trail running experience. We've decided to make this a weekly ritual. I can't wait for more fun trails with her!

how helpful is google?

2008-07-08T09:47:00.004-06:00

Recently, I've set my home page at work to iGoogle. Everyday, they have a couple of "how to" items that you can link to. Today's item is "How to Date." Check it out here. I obviously need the help. Thanks Google!

Fresh fruits and vegetables

2008-07-08T09:21:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited! I joined a CSA yesterday. Starting July 21st, every week I'll get a big box of organic fruits and vegetables from a local farmer. I can't wait to try new produce that I might never have experienced. I'll keep you posted about all the healthy stuff I'll soon be eating.

fresh herbs

2008-06-22T07:59:00.002-06:00

Check out the yummy fresh basil and rosemary I got at the Farmer's Market. I'm so excited to cook all summer long with fresh herb.

munchkin time

2008-06-22T07:46:00.002-06:00

I've been terrible about updating my blog lately. I figure better late, than never. So, here are a few pictures of some of the munchkins.

I love how much Lula (aka: Lyssa Lou) likes having her picture taken.

I think Gavin is the fattest baby. I love it! And, I love those chubby cheeks.

Brookie, Gavin and Lula. They sure do love their baby brother.

Brookie and Gavin.

Of course, Meggie had to get in on the action. OK, I think Lula insisted that she get a picture with Meggie!

apron

2008-06-22T07:34:00.002-06:00

I have been looking for an apron for quite some time. Who knew I should have been looking at the Farmer's Market. Check out the cutie by Victoria White & Co. I purchased.

I love the "old fashion" look to the fabric.

I think the pockets are my fav. I love the pom-pom and the red polka dot fabric.

I really like attention to detail. I also love that she says her designs are for you to use now and to pass down to the next generation. When I'm in the market for another apron, or want a gift, I'll definitely check out her designs. If you don't live in the SLC area, check out her Etsy shop here.

looking forward to...

2008-06-20T07:35:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited for the farmer's market in Salt Lake. I love fresh, locally grown produce. I'll definitely be checking it out throughout the summer.