A Utah man sir, will be till I die!

The Utah football team came to visit me last weekend! Too bad they just showed up to visit and not to play football...
Utah Utes vs. Oregon Ducks. I very much love college football and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to watch my Alma mater play in the very state where I live. Shannon and I went to the game, and had a ton of fun! Even if Shannon did accidentally wear the colors of the opposing team. (She is new to college football). HA, at least she looked cute! Now it has been beautiful in Oregon for the last 3 weeks. But the 4 hours that we decided to sit at a football game were the same 4 hours the Oregon skies decided to mist. So our once styled and straight hair was better suited under red Utah hats so it could frizz out all it wanted and we could enjoy the game! The Utes didn't bring home a 'W', in fact they lost 28-24. Even still, the game was great, aside from what felt like a million preventable Oregon interceptions. The Duck fans were very nice given we were the only 2 Utah fans on our side in a sea of yellow (plus they were ahead for most of the game). Shannon now knows the Utah fight song, that skill could come in handy - you never know when you'll need to bust out in perfect tune in a college fight song. And next time, Ducks - you better watch your backs! Go Utes!
I would also like to add that if I choose an Oregon team to cheer for, or even a PAC-10 team for that matter, I think I will choose U of O. This team is sponsored by Nike and oh my gosh I have never seen so much CUTE college paraphernalia. Let's be honest - I may already have a jacket! I'm still a Ute though! ;-)

Oh, for the love of shoes

I love shoes. I really love shoes. I especially love heels. I seriously can't get enough. I have really little feet. I have spent my whole life wishing my little itty bitty feet were just a bit bigger. In my younger years I used to by boots just a little too big so I would feel more proportional. (I am over that now). I am very picky about my shoes - the heel, the toe, the fabric and yes, even the comfort are all taken into account when purchasing a new pair. I have acquired many wonderful shoe companions over the years. Knowing all this, you can imagine my excitement when my friend Tara told me about a local store in town that sells designer shoes (sizes 5 1/2 - 6 1/2) for almost 75% off! WHAT?!

The next morning I woke up and went straight to this little gold mine of a store. It was nothing short of a Christmas Miracle! Designer sample shoes, 75% off. There were so many fabulous pairs that fit my little feet perfectly. I spent almost 3 hours in the store. The shop workers thought I was moving in, I would have. I wanted 5 pairs, but I left with one. I have to pace myself, heaven knows I will be back - hooray for these little feet!

It's time to get serious

Alright, this is happening. I am getting serious.... I refuse to go into the holiday season with the extra pounds that I have somehow gained in the last few months. (What am I saying somehow... I know exactly how - 2 words - sugar addict). I So here I am posting it on my blog, so I will be accountable, that I vow to lose the poundage before Halloween. Don't expect weekly updates, this isn't that kind of blog, but maybe before Halloween I will give an update on how the clothes, that are a little too tight right now, are fitting.

Here it goes, I said it.... now I am walking to the kitchen to throw out the candy! :-)

Jumping Into A New Age... Literally.

This year, given my feelings as previously posted about getting older, I wanted to do something completely insane for my birthday. My first initial thought was skydiving, then as Deneal and I were talking (she has a birthday 10 days after mine) we decided that maybe the proper way to celebrate our special days would be to jump off a bridge! (To show our true feeling about getting older while attached to a bungee of course). I told Dan and Shannon our plan and they were more than enthusiastic to join. And so it was, we made plans on Labor Day to each jump off a 480 foot bridge, TWICE, in Amboy, WA. This is not something I would normally do, so to save myself from losing my mind I actually just didn't think about it to the days leading up to it. I honestly had no anxiety until I stood on the bridge filling out liability paperwork and had to check yes or no to questions that read "Would you like an open casket?" or "Would you like to be cremated?". Yeah - not funny. But I was already there, I committed and come what may I was doing it.

Because of my shortness I had to use a different bungee than the rest of the group and therefore, had to go last. I wasn't sure if watching everyone first would be a good or bad thing but there wasn't much of a choice. The process goes like this, you climb over a small fence to the platform, you turn around they count down 3...2...1.. and you jump - superman style. They are very particular about this with good reason. They say if you give yourself enough time up there to reason you will have a really hard time jumping. Instead, you just jump as to not let sanity get the best of you! :) The superman style is to make sure that your head is fat enough away from the bungee so you don't get hit in the face. Once you do your first jump they pull you back up and it's time for the second jump... backwards. Let's be honest these are probably the most nervous smiles you have ever seen.

Dan went first, He did awesome and because he had done this once before he got to try a "special" jump where you run and jump off the opposite side and do sort of a sling shot move. Yeah, now that's insane! Next was Shannon. Shannon was nervous and if you know Shannon you know that although she is adventurous and always up something new, bungee jumping was probably not her first choice. But, this was an exciting adventure and something to check off her bucket list. She did get a little bit of a fat lip from her first jump and although she was worried about her teeth she went for jump number 2. Look at her down there, THAT is how far you fall. Whoa...Next up, Deneal. She had to clear her head a little and did not want to hear a word Shannon said as she was coming up. After the bungee was attached, she went for it. She yelled, "I love this" on jump number 1, backwards jump number 2, however, she was not a fan of.Then it was me. I had to take a moment to find my inner strength, peace, insane woman, I don't know what I was trying to find, I think I was just praying my heart out that I would survive. Then after I explained the "rules of jumping" back to the jump instructors and making them promise me again and again that they had double and triple checked my bungee I started the climb over the fence. I have to be honest... climbing this little fence off the side of a bridge in the rain and stepping onto a tiny platform 480 feet above a slow moving creek is TERRIFYING! I went as slow as I could and felt it necessary to tell the instructor that "I am not a strong fence climber". Which is true! Alas I made it to the platform. Looked the guy in the eyes ONE more time and asked if I would be ok. He nodded his head. My legs were visibly shaking and I thought to myself as I turned around, "I better jump when they say 1 or there is NO way I am jumping off this bridge." At that point my body and my brain were saying, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Well, this is what happened...

Here are some pictures in case you have no interest in watching video of a person flinging themselves off the side of a bridge...

After they hoisted me up, it was time for round 2. BACKWARDS! Oh man, I really had to find some inner strength for this one. No one in their right mind jumps off a bridge forward, LET ALONE backward!

But, with the same technique, I made them promise I would be ok, they counted and I knew jump now, or never.

SUPER happy I survived!

And VERY relieved to be on the other side, not positive that the last 15 minutes really just happened.

Well, that's it - I jumped off a bridge to celebrate my new age and I lived! I think it's going to be an awesome year! Would I do it again? Absolutely, now I get a discount. Was it the scariest thing I have ever done? Yes, without question the scariest thing, but I must also mention that flying through the air at 68mph is an INCREDIBLE feeling. I can honestly say I have never felt anything like it. High fives all around, good job guys!

Welcome to my life of 26

Birthday's are a big deal to me. My birthday, your birthday, the guy down the streets birthday - I love them all! The holiday of birth comes second on my list of favorite holiday's as it has recently been replaced by Easter. I think everyone deserves a day to celebrate, relax, do what you will and take your time... you have earned it. As the summer festivities wrap up and we begin to roll into fall I can always tell my birthday is just around the corner! My Dad used to make fun, what am I saying? STILL makes fun of me because I prefer to have a birthday month rather than just one day. What can I say? That's how I was born.

So you can imagine my surprise as September crept up and I had mixed feelings about the upcoming birthday. As much as I love the celebration, it's been hard to wrap my head around ANOTHER year, another wrinkle, a new age, more responsibility. What happened to the last age? Twenty-five was PERFECT, it seemed like just starting to feel comfortable with that one and now I have to add a +1?! Oy vey. Needless to say that for the days leading up to my birthday I was less than thrilled to welcome the +1 into my life.

And today the birthday happened and it has been as delightful as every 25 birthdays before it. There is something nostalgic about a birthday for me. I get so excited all year and when it finally comes I am never let down. No matter the celebration, the birthday love has always been there. And even though I have to add the +1, I don't feel older, I never do in fact. It feels like today is a more exciting yesterday and an even better year to come.

Kristin said something great about birthdays on her blog months ago, I had to save it for this day because it sums up the feeling of age perfectly...

"What they don't understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your twenty-sixth birthday you expect to feel twenty-six but you don't. You open your eyes and everything is just like yesterday, only it's today. And you don't feel twenty-six at all. You feel like you're still twenty-five and twenty-four, and twenty-three, and twenty-two and so on and so on. And you are - underneath the year that makes you twenty-six anyway.

Some days for instance, you might say something bratty and that's the part of you that's still thirteen. Or maybe some days you might just ride your bike all day in the mud and get nothing done and that's the part of you that's six. Sometimes you need to call your mom and dad because you're scared and don't know what to do and that's the part of you that's eight. Other days you will wake up next to your spouse and hear your baby playing in the crib and you feel like you're thirty. But there are always those days when even after you are all grown up and really are thirty, you will still need to cry and you feel like you're three. That's what I tell people when they're sad and need to cry... maybe you're feeling three."

So there is is, +1 and all, the birthday is happening. Welcome to my life of 26.

197 Miles of Pure Running Joy

Hood to Coast. Mount Hood to Seaside, OR equals 12 people sharing 197 miles for 24 hours. Each person runs 3 legs of the race, rain, shine and pitch black. You've read my relay posts before, you know the drill. Team name of choice: Road-Ents of Unusual Size. Classic.This race however, will be one to remember... Shannon decided on a pedicure the week before the race. This meant no more callouses on her feet and A LOT of blisters after running. She wins team rockstar for running with these things. I can't even imagine that kind of pain. Dan decided to dress up for the occasion, mullet, sweat band, belly shirt and all. Notice the road-ent hand drawn on his cut off wife beater. Dan wins best costume, for sure! Please note the mullet hair blowing in the wind.I was super stoked about my first leg. I typically don't talk about my race times, honestly it doesn't usually matter to me. But this first leg I averaged a 7.4 minute mile for the 6 miles I ran. That definitely has never happened before, something was just right that day! This is my tired celebration face.Jon is warming up for his first leg. I can't decide if this is a sumo stance or a monkey, but he wins best way to warm up for an 8 mile run.Mike was joking about giving him Pringles instead of water during his 2nd run. Dan followed through with the request. Mike takes home the prize for eating the most disgusting thing while running.I've learned from Chris Provost (via Wasatch Back Relay) that crazy dance moves are the best way to cheer on your fellow runner. I believe this is the running man in action, I can never be sure what moves I will bust out though. Shannon brought her didgeridoo all the way from Australia to cheer on the runners! She really is getting good at playing it too. I think it was just what we needed for that extra motivation. I really am serious when I say run through the night... this is Angela, Emily and I at about 10pm. Our van was finishing up our legs to pass the slap bracelet on to their van for a few hours. This would be about 3am. I always wanted a picture of me running at night and my wish was granted. I rolled my ankle on this run - ha maybe running at 3am on a forest road with potholes isn't the smartest idea?!After the 3am run, when I thought the running party was over and my legs were completed I did what any normal person would do. I began gorging myself with beef jerky and pretzles. The problem with this was as we went down to meet Dan (the last runner in our van) at the exchange point the next van of teammates were no where to be found. "Oh crap" we all thought standing on the side of the road, as visions of disqualification danced through our heads, we knew Dan would be there to meet the next runner any second. I looked around at all of our feet and realized I was the only idiot (for lack of a better word) with running shoes still on. I looked at Shannon as I started taking off my outer layer of sweats and said, "Well I guess I'm running again." When Dan got to the exchange which wasn't but 30 seconds later he looked at me very confused, but passed the prized slap bracelet onto me and off I went. I only had to run 3 of the 5 miles of the leg as my van hurried to find our team and the next runner. Turns out it was just a little timing miscommunication and I like to believe the 3 extra miles burned up all those calories I ate when I originally thought I was done. Here I am after the 4th leg. Just for clarification, I am flexing NOT attempting to punch my fist through the window. :) After we were really done with our legs we headed to Seaside for the FINISH! Here is our van of runners. And our whole team together. Until next time peeps!