Levi's 515 SHORT, How I Love Thee!

You are my favorite jeans I have ever owned. With your dark wash and perfect length, you help me to feel beautiful. You hug in the right places and hang in the right places and show off my improved physical fitness. With you, I am the perfect height. With you, I am just the right size in all the right places. No more soggy pant-legs when it rains outside. No more pulling, adjusting, and wishing I had a belt. My only wish is that I had more pairs of jeans exactly like you so I never have to go a day without my Levi's 515 SHORT.

Sincerely,
Renewed Lover of Jeans

Oregonians and Talk of Snow

Oregonians are really funny about snow. If there is even a hint of a chance of snow, everybody becomes obsessed with the weather. Each person takes every opportunity to tell their family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and strangers in passing about the most recent temperatures and expected snow. This began about a week ago when the weather started dipping into the thirties. People proclaimed that a snow day was on its way. Next thing you know, someone has topped that prediction with one of their own and they claim there will be several days of snow. It is a week later and still there is no snow. Of course, the temperatures are low enough and the clouds have moved in. Yet no precipitation! Yesterday all anybody could talk about was event cancellations, getting traction for their cars, purchasing extra water and groceries in case of power outages, and avoiding the roads during the coming storm.
Well, this storm was supposed to arrive at about midnight last night and leave the roads covered in ice and snow this morning. It's quite a shock; Eric and I arrived at the office this morning, as expected, without sighting a single patch of ice on the roads! No troubles with traction, no snow in sight. Someday all our Oregonian hopes will come true and the forecasters will be right. Oh wait... that was last year.

Improvements

After an excellent training in Utah this past weekend, Eric and I have decided to make some improvements. One was to get rid of our cable and internet at home. There are lots of good reasons for this; such as less expense each month, less distractions when we are at home, encouragement to walk to the library, and more reason to take care of things at the office. So here I sit at the library on a public computer. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to access blogger because the computer said something about cookies being disabled. Fortunately, on my second try it worked! Hooray! Now it's time to walk home. :)

Advice

I would just like to say that when making jelly, it is wise to be VERY careful while transferring the boiling hot liquid into jars. In fact, I highly recommend a food grade funnel. Hopefully it will save all of you from foolish burns like the one on my left hand. It has been a week and a half since the incident and after applying Silvadene cream twice daily, the first layer of charred skin has happily come off. I am well on my way to a full recovery. :)

Leavenworth Marathon 2009

Well... my pictures posted in the opposite order I wanted them. In the future I will take the time to figure out how to get them how I want them, but this post is long overdue. So here it is!
On our way up to Leavenworth we spent the day in Mt. Rainier National Park. There's a picture of me inside a fallen 1000-year old tree. Pretty neat. Then the race day was great in cute little Leavenworth. It was a chilly 32 degrees when we started, but it warmed up to a comfortable 60 degrees. I took 5 hours and 13 minutes to jog 26.2 miles with minimal walking. There is a picture of me and my running partner Juliette after about 17 miles. We each finished 5th in our categories. :) Then you can see my excitement when I am finished with the race--two thumbs up! The day after the race Eric and I hung out in Seattle and took pictures at the Seattle Temple. It was a beautiful day in Seattle. Who knew it was ever sunny in Seattle?! What a great trip! Wish I had time to write more, but I gotta go make dinner!

Happy Tomatoes

Here is a lovely picture of my first "medium-sized" tomato from my plant. It was ripe about two weeks ago and since then I have had a couple more tomatoes this size. I made my first salsa. Yum! It's been fun to try out some container gardening. :)

Announcement

I don't think I have previously announced that I am officially registered for the Leavenworth Oktoberfest Marathon. It's this Saturday!!! I am so ready for it! Washington here we come!

Something of Real Worth

I have to start out by saying that this post was inspired by my friend Katie's writing blog. Anyway, she wrote a poem sort of about nothing and it made me think of the rather meaningless things I blog about. There are lots of blogs out there that are really meaningful and have a lot of purpose. Mine has not been one of those. Now I'm not really sure who all views my blog, but I would hope that whoever views my blog--be it a stranger or a good, long-time friend--would be able to see the type of person I am. So for the record, I'd like to post something of real worth.

I believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. I am a child of God, here on the earth to learn the lessons of mortality and strive to return to live with my Heavenly Father. I can be with my family forever because of the priesthood power that was restored to the earth through Joseph Smith. I believe in the Book of Mormon and the Bible. Jesus Christ came to the earth, lived a sinless life, and atoned for all the sins of mankind. I can repent and be forgiven of my short-comings as I turn to Jesus Christ. As I strive every day to do my best with an honest heart, it is sufficient for His grace. My Heavenly Father promises me guidance and blessings beyond measure as I keep His commandments and seek to do His will. This testimony I treasure in my heart and share with you in the name of Jesus Christ.

I LOVE KOHL'S

So here is my exciting and happy news:
I harvested about 12 cherry tomatoes from my plant. That was a few weeks ago and I'm about to harvest more in the next couple days. There are 3 tomatoes on my other plant that are starting to ripen as well. Their variety is medium-sized, but they look huge! I'm very excited and proud of my plants. Here is a picture of the cherry tomatoes. Sorry it's a little blurry. Now for even MORE happy and exciting news!!!

I am excited to display my super finds from Kohl's and JC Penney. I had basically $110 to spend on new running stuff for my birthday as gifts from parents. Now this is about what it would cost to buy new running shoes from a specialty running store. I saw a pair on clearance for $55, but I wasn't willing to spend that much. So I found some great Asics at JC Penney for only $40 (marked down from $70). Then I took the remainder of the money to Kohl's and shopped the clearance racks. I fell in LOVE with the clothes I found. As you can see in the picture, I got capris, long-shorts, a tank top, a t-shirt, a jacket, and 2 sports bras--all specially for running. AND three of those items were Nike brand! So... here's the real shocker: I spent the $70 I had left, SAVED $180 from the retail prices, and they still gave me a Kohl's cash card for $10! I averaged $10/item on the clothing, so I should be able to get one last item and only spent about 50 cents. An added bonus is that I feel great in my new running clothes and I am running faster! Hooray!

I promise a very happy and exciting post is on its way... I just need the pictures off the camera.

Running and running and running...

It's been way too long since my last post, but I feel like I've been busy. Probably because I sometimes want to sit and do nothing while I rest from a long run. I did 14 miles all by myself on Saturday and it was quite a challenge, but I'm so pleased with myself! :) I'm definitely well on my way to running a marathon. I'm buying new shoes this week!!!

Half Marathon PICS

Starting line in perfectly cool weather. Pictured: me, Toby & Juliette with baby Mary, and Aubrie & Landon.

Crossing the bridge in the fog was really neat. We couldn't see the water below or the end of the bridge.

The Finish Line with my girls! Couldn't have done it without them. Now we are considering a full marathon!

The Half Marathon!

As I posted before, I was undecided about actually running the half marathon with my running partners. They had registered and I didn't want to pay to register. Plus, I thought it was going to be a miserable 90-degree day for the race. On top of all that, they were both planning on taking their kids, so I was going to have to drive to Tacoma on my own.

Well, things changed and I went! I still didn't register, but Aubrie decided to leave her kids in the Portland area with her mother-in-law and had an open seat for me to ride up with them! We left Saturday morning at 3am to get to Tacoma by 6. We parked at the end of the race and rode the shuttle to the start point out on the Olympic Peninsula. We started at 7:30 and it was a comfortable foggy morning, about 60 degrees, until we were about half-way or more through the race. When we crossed the bridge we came out of the fog but it was still cool for a few more miles. Then the remainder of the run was in the sun, but it was only between 75 and 80 degrees out. It was the perfect weather. Our little group stayed together for the most part and we all finished in about 2 hours and 49 minutes. Juliette finished the race ahead of us. She took off on the last 3 miles or so. She finished about 5 minutes ahead of us even while pushing her baby in the jogging stroller! She is amazing! Her husband Toby stayed with me and Aubrie while Aubrie's husband lagged behind more because his knees couldn't take it (that's what happens when you don't train). So Aubrie and Toby and I were within sight of the finish and started running faster. Before I knew it, I was sprinting the fastest I have ever gone! I know it can be dangerous and risking a muscle-pull, but I sprinted without much thought and it felt great. Luckily, it was such a short distance at the end that I didn't have time to pull a muscle or trip on my own feet. It was great! Then we enjoyed some live music, free bananas and granola, and lots of water! It was a beautiful day and I am so glad I went!

When we were at mile 9, Juliette, Aubrie and I couldn't believe how much easier the race had been than we expected. I think it was easier than the 10-mile run we did the week before. It was really exciting and we all got to talking about doing a full marathon.

Well, since I've been home I have gotten a lot of sleep to help my muscles heal. It is the best feeling to know that I accomplished it. And it doesn't hurt to hear people's reactions when they hear I ran a half marathon. ;) This was an awesome experience!!! Pictures are forthcoming.

Saturday July 25th

I ran 10 miles for the first time ever... probably not the last time.

I ate the first ripe cherry tomato from my plant.

I got a bunch of clothes (some with original tags still on them) from a free garage sale.

I had a delicious blizzard from DQ.

I love my life.

I'M A WINNER!

I successfully donated blood today! My hemoglobin number was 15.5 (way better than the 12.5 I needed to be accepted). It was the best! I'm so proud of my accomplishment. :)

Builders Summit

This past weekend was amazing! We were in Los Angeles for a company convention called Builders Summit. We learned a lot and got to play a bunch. The first day we flew in and went almost immediately to the beach. It was beautiful weather! That night Nate and Heather provided an incredible BBQ dinner for the whole group. There were ribs, tri-tip, beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and cornbread muffins with honey butter. YUM! Then that night we had our first meeting with the Utah office and Bob's California office.

The next day we went rock climbing in the morning and had a great time. While providing us with useful tips about rock climbing, our leaders also gave us great advice and recommendations for our business and we appreciated that more than anything. We all worked up a great appetite and solved it with a stop at In-n-Out Burger. YUM! Then in the leadership meeting Eric and I received recognition for growing our business in the past year! We got this sweet plaque to bring home and show our team we are green and growing! WOOHOO!

The third day was full of amazing speakers in the meetings and we were so glad to have Letia and Paul there with us. We have come home strengthened and full of ideas to improve our thinking and our business. It was a GREAT trip!

I have officially lost 10 lbs! Feelin' great!

Tacoma Narrows?

My friend is training for the Tacoma Narrows Half-Marathon that takes place August 1st. I've run with her a few times and while she is out of town for the next two weeks, I'm running with her running partner. It's pretty exciting. We ran about 6 miles on Thursday and then closer to 7 on Saturday. They are trying to convince me to run the half-marathon with them, but I'm struggling with the concept of paying $75 to run 13.1 miles. I may end up running it with them, but not registering for the race and thus not receiving a t-shirt. That's okay with me. The training workouts have been great. Doing 5 miles tomorrow at 6am. I'm starting to prefer distance running... maybe I've lost my mind, but at least I've found a new hobbie!

Bob's Red Mill

Today I went on my first official trip to Bob's Red Mill. I've been surrounded by things from that place my whole life, but today was my inaugural purchase. I found a coupon for BUY 2 ITEMS, GET THE THIRD FREE. I wasn't sure what I would buy, but when I walked in I saw multiple flours, mixes, and goodies I would love to try out. I settled on a bag of aluminum-free baking powder (I realized yesterday that mine had expired), medium-grit cornmeal, and soy protein powder. With the coupon it worked out great... the baking powder was free, even though it wasn't the cheapest item! Plus I've always wanted to make cornbread from scratch. AND I've been wanting to do protein shakes on the mornings when I run distances, but breakfast shake mixes are not very cheap. This protein powder was cheaper than the cheapest option at the regular grocery store and it gives me more options than just mixing it with milk. SCORE! It was a lot of fun to venture over to Milwaukie and check out Bob's Red Mill. It definitely made me feel even more like an Oregonian. What a great place!

Tomato Food

Nobody told me I have to feed my plants. Today after much concern over the yellowing leaves on my plants, I went to Bi-Mart and bought some lovely Tomato Food (and was very tempted to buy more tomato plants at 25 cents a piece). I quickly fed my poor plants and watched as they guzzled their special potion. I felt a little like a scientist mixing the fertilizer with the exact measurements. I checked out 3 books from the library and have been researching container tomato plants. It's fun! I am very excited to see the fruit growing. Can't wait to eat it!

Feeling organized

Eric and I just got started with keeping our schedules on Google Calendar. I'm really happy that we will each have a better idea of what the other is up to. We try to remember what we have going on and tell each other, but usually we forget or get it mixed up. Now we are organized. Yay!

Working the weight off

So I have switched up my exercise routine again. Now on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I run a mile on the track, sprinting the corners. Tuesdays and Thursdays I just jog about 3 miles. I might increase that as I go. I'm trying to find the right balance between not enough and too much. So far the weight loss has been going well; I'm down 9 pounds since I started really working on it. I have a benchmark weight goal to be 141 by our anniversary (next Wednesday). I've got 2 pounds to go. I'm not sure what a healthy rate of weight loss is, but that seems do-able considering the past week I lost 2 pounds.
I feel like I'm well on my way to my goal weight of 135, which is what I weighed in high school. But really my biggest goal is to have a healthy weight and a fitness level I can feel good about. I know I'm in better shape now than I was in high school, so the actual weight is kind of a poor measure to go by. Oh well. I know there are still things to improve in my fitness and I will keep going until I feel like I'm at a point where I just need to maintain it. That's my plan, anyway.

Pacific City

Today Eric and I did a favor for my mom and drove out to Pacific City where she has several listings in a new development. We had 150 brochures, what seemed to be a lot of time, and a ton of fun! At first we were both concerned about putting the brochures on people's cars because we both dislike having things put on our cars, but that is what we were sent to do. (But we were only supposed to put them on the nice cars... no "hippie haulers" or teenage beater cars.) So we canvased the parking lot at Cape Kiwanda at 10am and again at 10:30. We drove around town and passed through the development just to look around. Then we got lunch at the Pelican Pub and Brewery--we split a delicious hawaiian calzone. Then we canvased the lot again and ran out of brochures! We decided to hike the 500 foot dune and at the top we realized there were probably a hundred more cars that we would have put brochures on if we had more. It was a great view from the top! Then we treated ourselves to some amazing Tillamook ice cream and drove home. I went on a short run and now we are getting ready to have a little barbecue here on our spacious deck. Hooray!

OFFICE BBQ

Pictures are soon to come, but today we had our first office barbecue of the sunny season this year! It was a gorgeous day with temperatures a little over 80 degrees and a comfortably cool breeze. We had a great turn-out and look forward to many more parties to come. I think we all got a fair amount of sun... I certainly did! The food was all-American hot dogs and cheeseburgers with sides of chips, fruit, and m&m cookies. Delicious! People brought their families and we were able to meet and get to know them. Eric did all the grilling and I walked the hot food over to the tables we were using. The guys played a lot of basketball and the children played on the play structure. Lots of fun was had by all, and this is just the beginning!

Trying something new

When I was little I remember my family having a garden and I loved eating fresh veggies from it. Letia had a garden of her own for a while, and that was nice too. I've helped with gardens but never had one of my own, so I'm starting small with just two potted tomato plants on my back deck. One is a cherry tomato plant and the other I'm not really sure.... the tag says Fantastic medium early tomato. For those who know more about tomatoes than I do, the tag also calls it a hybrid F1 or something. I tried to look it up online and it appears to be a pretty good one. Anyway, it's fun to try this out. Nothing beats sweet, juicy home-grown tomatoes in the summer!

GOOD NEWS!!!

Good news, everyone! CREED is getting back together and touring this summer! I know you ALL were hoping it would be so!!! Needless to say, Eric is pretty excited and considering how to fit it into his summer plans. When he told me about it, I flashed back to when we first started dating. Those were good times. :D

And sorry if you thought I might have important news. :P

Yumminess

Sometimes I get in these moods where I just crave all kinds of delicious goodies like brownies, cookies, ice cream, fudge, carmel corn, pie, cake, hot chocolate, chocolate fondue,..... things like that. What's really dangerous for me is when I'm in one of these moods and I have a few of those items available to me here at home. Like right now I have brownies, ice cream, AND cookies in the house. Yikes! Help me resist. It kinda helps to tell myself I'll have to run extra to make up for it. Sometimes--most of the time--it's totally worth it though. Weight loss is so complicated.

(And yes, these are a few pictures from my computer of goodies I made in the past... including pumpkin cupcakes, marshmallow ghosts, oreo spiders, and peanut butter eyeballs for Halloween 2 years ago. The birthday cake was for Traci's birthday 3 years ago.)

3 pounds lighter this week! Running 2 miles a day is working!

Stepping it up

So this week I have pushed myself even harder and I have run about 8.5 miles so far. Let me tell ya, I am super tired. I still have to run tomorrow, but I take a break on the weekend. My legs are sore. Every time I look in the mirror I think I see a difference, but it could just be hope and optimism. Either way, I'm happy with it. :)

VOLLEYBALL!

On Monday night my mom and I decided to try out West Linn Adult Co-Ed Volleyball. When we first arrived the guy in charge came up to me and said, "We'll let it slide tonight, but usually we only allow people over 18 to play." HA! So I replied, "Oh, no worries; I'm 22. I graduated from college two years ago." Funny. I guess I looked young to him. :) But then we got into a team of 4 and we won most of the games we played. I was really proud of Mom because she was totally in the game and going for the ball even if it looked hopeless. She was diving all over the place and made a bunch of great saves for our team! It was a fun challenge for me to show the rest of the players that even though I look young, I have a lot in me. I had some awesome serves and hits. Me, a hitter, on a men's height net! It was a great workout and we loved it. And we are both still sore today. A great bonus is that it only costs a dollar a person and it is every Monday night until the end of June. WOOHOO!

Midnight Truffle

I tried it Thursday and it was pretty delicious..... almost as good as the Georgia Mud Fudge blizzard (with Oreos instead of pecans)!

...and I am dying to try the new midnight truffle blizzard at DQ. My weakness.

Working Harder

So today I decided it was time to push myself farther than usual and I ran somewhere between 1.5 and 1.75 miles this morning. I'm hoping this will help me achieve my goal weight faster. And all I can say is I'm glad I've gotten over this wanting children thing for a while; I'm super happy not to be a fatty pregnant lady yet. (No offense to those who are pregnant... you are the most attractive pregnant ladies ever. I just know I would be one of the fat ones.)

On another note, I'd like to announce that our business has been getting better and better since Nate visited a couple weeks ago. Something switched on and we've got some momentum going with great new people in the office and lots of things to be really excited and positive about. I've decided to chock it all up to just plain hard work and believing we can succeed. Eric and I have been reading self-improvement books and dedicating ourselves more to achieving the things we want. Weird how that works.

BIG WINNER!

So at the Red Cross Open House Eric and I had each entered a drawing for 2010 season tickets to the Lumberjax games and Eric won them! I guess we will be learning more about lacrosse!

SUCCESS!

I successfully broke through my plateau of 148 and I am at 147!!! I run a mile every weekday and drink about 74 ounces of water each day. Plus I try to keep a running total of my calories each day so I can have a calorie deficit and lose weight. So this is really exciting for me! I feel really healthy and fit.

On another note, I tried donating blood (AGAIN) yesterday and was not successful with that silly hemoglobin test. So in addition to my multi-vitamin and eating the right foods, I have added pomegranate juice to my diet because my sister-in-law Leslie said that that is what they give patients at the hospital when they need to increase their red blood cell count. I have faith I will pass this goofy test and be able to donate blood again. I'm SO close to my gallon mark!

Also, I received an e-mail from the American Red Cross in Portland and they were having an Open House today. Eric lovingly took me and we enjoyed a free lunch from Burgerville, emergency preparedness trivia, and prizes (like Lumberjax tickets)! It was worth it to go. I LOVE Burgerville! :)

Calorie Roaster!

Eric's parents bought a Wii Fit a few weeks ago and I am in love with it! It is fun, educational, and I'm totally into fitness right now. About 6 weeks ago Eric and I set fitness goals that included some weight loss. The first week I lost 3 pounds! Then the next week only 1 and since then I have not lost any more weight. It has been an interesting struggle because I have never tried to lose weight before. As each week went by that I had no weight loss, I revised my plan to include more exercise, more water, and other ideas for improved metabolism. I have about 7 pounds to go to reach my goal BMI, but 13 to reach my real goal weight. We set our deadline for May 1st. I am going to search online today for info on calorie counting so I can make sure I burn more calories than I take in. I will definitely meet this goal. I can see myself now... I am light and alive at 135!

Give Life

Today I tried to donate blood. They didn't want it because my Iron level wasn't high enough (12.5 is the minimum and I was at 12.4). I was bummed because I tried donating three times in January with the same results. So I have officially decided to start taking a multi-vitamin. Seems simple enough, so why didn't I try it sooner? Oh well. Here's to donating blood in a couple weeks!

Some people are just crazy

Like the angry CPA next door to our office who came over and used a lot of expletives in a loud voice to express his disapproval of the volume of our video.... he only had to ask.

A Hootin' & Hollerin' Good Time

In honor of Valentine's Day and the Sesquecentennial of Oregon's Statehood, our stake had a dinner and dance. Mom and Steve joined us. It was a sort of pioneer theme, so the Pixton family performed some great folk love songs. Then we learned some dances such as the Tango and the Virginia Reel. It was a lot of fun.
And if you can make out the food on our plates, we had pulled pork sandwiches. Eric and I helped pull the pork before the event and thus were priviledged enough to bring home a bag of leftovers... we still have about 3 pounds of BBQ pulled pork in the fridge and I have no idea what to do with it. Any ideas??

Happy Valentine's Day!

I married a wonderful man. He loves me so much. He has a great work ethic, a comfortable disposition, and a charming sense of humor. He accomplishes the things he sets out to do while upholding his principles. He is a man of courage, strength, and sensitivity. I love him more every day.

Eric, you are the best and I love you!

My one person book club

So I've been reading a lot of books since this summer. I'm not sure what reminded me that I love reading. Maybe it was when I heard about a couple of the books some ladies at church were reading for their book club. Maybe it was when I got hooked on the Twilight books. Maybe it was when I realized what a pleasant walk it is down the hill to the library. Whatever it was, I am thankful for it! Reading is a great use of my time and I really enjoy it.
I have recently been into Jane Austen--not really a quick read. I read Persuasion and it took me like 2 weeks (and it looked like the thinnest option of her books on the shelf). I'm reading Emma and the writing is a fun challenge. So while I'm not getting through books as quickly as I usually do, I'm liking the experience. However, I look forward to my quick reads that are piling up as I take my time with this one.

Here are some pictures from our New Years Eve at the beach. Eric was really tired--he had to wake up for our midnight celebration. :)

But first we had dinner with Mom and Steve at the Riverhouse Restaurant in Pacific City.Then we went to the beachhouse and played Apples to Apples for a couple hours.

We put in a movie and Eric fell asleep. We woke him up... can you tell??
Then Mom decided he needed another party hat. He was really excited! :P
And of course it was a purple set of party hats and horns. :) Thanks, Mom!

Hooray for some snow! This was taken near the beginning of the snow storm, so it was still really exciting and fun. You can see my car on the right has barely any snow on it. By the end of the storm, it was no longer a car, but a heap of ice and snow.

Thanksgiving II

So I'm baking a turkey today! I've had it in the freezer for over a year now. Last Friday I had to move it to the fridge to make room in the freezer, so it has officially thawed and my mom said that if it doesn't smell funny when I rinse it off, it should be fine. So it is now in the oven. In a mere 5-6 hours I will be enjoying a delicious dinner and being thankful again for the many blessings in my life.