my celebrity lunch and beyond

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!

It's not a real thing, it's our thing!

If you know me, you have heard me talk about my friend Rhielle. She is my running buddy! And the best tent mate for Cross Country Camp a girl could ask for! Cross Country Camp is our own little creation. After really starting to hang out with Rhielle after the Moab Half marathon 2006, she asked if I wanted to do a vacation......nothing but camping and running trails every day! Last year we went to Durango and Telluride. Upon arriving in Durango, we learned about the Kennebeck Mountain Challenge. A 13 to 16 mile (nobody know the exact distance) mountain run. See how happy and cute we are before the race! The scenery was amazing and there were great trails to be run everywhere we went. That's why we are making it an annual thing. Everything I know about trail running I have learned from her. Because of her, I am no able to run and enjoy trails {even if I do fall and do some serious damage to myself.....Jupiter Peak Steeple Chase :)} Again this year we did the Moab half marathon. Rhielle is such a great friend she stayed with me all but the last 5K. The guys she works with even gave us the "Mono Pace Band" as I was recovering from mono at the time and had to maintain a much slower pace than I am used to. On Sunday morning, we hiked up to Delicate Arch to watch the sunset.....what a beautiful place to be! Rhielle has now started doing triathlons.....quite a feat when you consider she had never swam until January (seriously, not even swim lessons as a small child!) Not only has she done triathlons, but she took second place in her age division at the Woman of Steele triathlon in Bountiful over the weekend. Rhielle is a strong, amazing woman! I am proud to call her my friend......and I am a better person for knowing her.