Christmas

Most of y'all already know I am an absolute Christmas junkie: I have been listening to Christmas music since just after Halloween and have been known to listen to it in July or so if I'm having a bad day.

My love for this season is added to by Crystal and I celebrating our anniversary the 23rd. When I hear the music not only do I remember Christmases past, but also when we first got married. We have now been married for 3 years, and every year is better than the next. I love you, Crystal.


Earlier this month I swapped some favorite Christmas memory stories/traditions with some friends. We laughed with each other and noticed that we all had similar themes. All of our stories and memories were about good times with our families. Years after the fact we do not remember the gifts we received or even the gifts we gave, but rather the love and happiness that can exist in a home as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ together.

We get the special feelings this time of year as more people open their hearts to Christ's healing power. Christ always reaches out to us as he asks us to "be converted, that I may heal you...if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you and whosever will come, him will I receive" (3 Nephi 9:13-14). During this season more people allow Christ's love to influence them.

Without Jesus Christ, each of us is lost in this life "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Only through the selfless sacrifice of Jesus Christ, called the atonement, can we be forgiven of our sins and look forward with hope to eternal life with God and our families. It is because Jesus Christ came to the world and loved each of us enough to die for us that we sing 'Joy to the World', the angels proclaim 'Glory to the Newborn King', and the wise-men watched the new star appear 'With Wondering Awe'.

Paul described his new life in Christ thus:
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

I hope each of you are able to take a moment to pause from the commercial side this season and reflect on the life of Jesus Christ and how it blesses all of us. We love you all. Merry Christmas!

I'm married to a gourmet chef

For our ward Christmas activity, we held a service auction. Members could (if they wanted) offer service to other ward members. At the activity itself there were several carnival games where we could compete to gain monopoly money (I competed in an eggnog chugging contest - it was awesome!). After gaining money, there was a silent auction on most of the services followed by a verbal auction on 6 or so of the most desired services.

Crystal's offered service was a romantic dinner for two, or a dinner for a busy family. Because of her renown cooking skills, this was one of the verbal auctions. The games came and went and it was time to auction Crystal's services. What ensued was a brutal bidding war for Crystal's delicious dinner. When the dust settled and the fast talker yelled "SOLD!" this dinner became worth $450! It was monopoly money, yes, but when was the last time dinner for two cost you $450? It must be because I am simply married to an amazing chef. This Friday we're going to make good on that service with dinner for a couple in the ward. Hope it's worth the money!

Oh yeah, want to know what my offered service went for?

10 bucks

It's pretty obvious who the talented one in the family is :)

More than just a resolution

As 2009 comes to a close I have been reflecting on this past year and thinking of the new resolutions that I want to set for 2010. Can you believe it's already 2010???

For me 2009 has been about getting healthy again. I was really inspired by my sister, Shannon and my in-laws, Anne & Clyde. I was just amazed at their dedication to get healthy and it really helped me to get back at it. It hasn't been easy, but it has been so worth it. From my highest recorded weight in 2009 I have now lost a total of 28lbs. I've done it all on my own. I've just changed my diet and I exercise every day (minus most Fridays and all Sundays). I've really had to work on portion control, being consistent and figuring out what to do if things don't go according to plan. It has been so rewarding.

A lot of you have asked, "what's next?" and I know I've told a few of you, but I really wanted to write it up on the blog. For 2010, my health goals are to stay healthy, lose these last few lbs and keep them off.

The big kahuna is:

Salt Lake City Marathon on April 17th, 2010.

I signed up a month or two ago for it and I am so excited!!

Most importantly, I am running this for my parents. It was really my dad who got me interested in running. He didn't run races or anything like that, but he would always run "around the block" and I would go with him a lot when I was junior high and throughout high school. These were times that I really enjoyed- even if we just walked it. Heh, when I was in high school I had to beg him to do track and cross country. Eventually, he gave the O.K. and I can never thank him enough for letting me have the opportunity be apart of those teams. I honestly don't know if I'd be running like this if I hadn't participated in cross country or track.

My mom will always be my hero. In high school I was always wishing that she could be at the finish lines cheering me on. Although, she really did push me in all my races. Whenever a hill seemed too steep or I felt like I had hit my max I would think of her and just press on. I am running this marathon in memory of her. The marathon supports the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and part of my registration fee will be donated to that. Her memory is what pushes me every step of the way and through all those really long runs. :-)

My mom always told us, "Always have a dream!" and this is one of mine (as crazy as that sounds).

Some day, I hope to run a marathon that benefits cancer with any of my siblings (hopefully all!)- now that would be amazing. Are any of you up for it? I was thinking the 2011 National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer in Florida. I can always dream, right? hehe.

Now to work on all my other resolutions....

A really fun freebie

Today only you can download the entire soundtrack for Disney's movie, UP for free. Just go to this link- freebies4mom and then the code is: latimesdisney. I really LOVED this movie. I think it's one of Pixar's best. Enjoy!

Thanks to cnet for the picture :-)

I was awful at blogging this month...

Just wanted all of our "fans" out there to know that we are alive and well.... just really busy and there really isn't an end in sight at the moment. Life happens, right?

A few highlights of November:

-I survived the Snow Canyon Half Marathon on November 7th down in St. George! It was the hardest course I have ever run, but I did really well and I was so glad that I wasn't wearing earmuffs for this race like the one on Halloween!! Jon and I had a really great time in St. George. It was a nice little weekend getaway.

- BYU basketball has kicked off and we've been to quite a few games so far. I am so glad we were able to take advantage of season tickets!! Go Cougars!!

- I had a 4mile race on Thanksgiving morning. The race was called "Earn Your Turkey Run". It was so cold at the start! I passed a sign that had the temperature listed and it said 24 degrees! Burr! I really enjoyed the run and was happy I did it- hehe... I had a little less guilt when we had our thanksgiving meal later on.

- On Thanksgiving we were able to spend it with Jon's sister's in-laws. It was a lot of fun and the food was fantastic! We contributed 2 pies: Apple cranberry and pumpkin banana. Then "Black Friday" we went shopping and we pretty much got all of our Christmas shopping done (not that we have a ton to do.. haha)

- The rest of the weekend was relaxed and we had a basketball game. BYU vs. Weber- it was an awesome game and BYU won! Then on Saturday BYU football: BYU vs. Utah. Another amazing game! BYU won in overtime.

Other than that... Jon is really busy with school and is just counting down the days until finals. Once finals come- that means he is done with all his crazy projects. This has been his most stressful semester- so much for "senior-itis" hehe.

I have just been busy with work and doing my running thing still. So far I have lost about 25lbs. Crazy! Let's just say... I am need of some new clothes. I'm really in need of pants. It's bad. Which brings me to a very small rant... I am a petite. Why can't stores make better petite clothes??? People tell me- just go get regular size pants and bring it to a tailor.... that's a nice idea.. but I'd rather be able to buy my pants and have them be the right size the first time and not have pay extra. Did you know that the alterations for my wedding dress equaled the amount of my entire dress?? It's ridiculous. I know... a wedding dress doesn't fall under the same category as jeans... but still! Then you have the petite sections in places like Kohls and it looks like an old lady's wardrobe exploded.... elastic waists and all. Okay.. rant done. :-)

Again, sorry we didn't post much in November. We'll do better this month.

Provo Halloween Half Marathon

I'm not sorry that I'm late at putting these pictures up- hehe. I ran 13.1 miles yesterday and my quads are constantly burning and Jon has to help me up and down the stairs- so I have reasons for being late on this one. I am sorry that the post is a little lengthy.. but there are lots of pictures!! Enjoy!

This is us at our ward halloween party the night before.
Jon was Garth from 'Wayne's World'. "Party on, Wayne!" haha!
Happy Halloween!!!!

This race was one of the best races I have ever run. I woke up at like 5:30am and got ready and put all my gear on. Jon and I headed to the Riverwoods where the buses were picking up all the runners. They said the last bus was leaving at 6:45am. We got there a little after 6am and I waited for about 25 minutes until a bus finally showed up. This is probably the only thing I would've changed about the race. Tons of runners were in a line waiting and then when the bus came it passed us and ended up going to a different part of the parking lot. All the previous buses were stopping where we were all lined up so we were all confused and this just added to the mayhem. People were cutting people to get on the buses and I got elbowed by some chick (on purpose) but whatever, i'm over it.

Me before leaving the house and before the earmuffs went on!

Anyways, before I got on the bus I was in line and I was standing by an older woman (at least she looked older) and the whole scene reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite! She was like "can I touch your tutu?" It was a bit awkward. I was waiting for her to say "I like your tutu, it's real big and puffy". Then the lady I sat on the bus with was another awkward character. She kept staring at my tutu and then she started jabbering about the race start time. Heh, then there were some old guys in front of us singing "the wheels on the bus". It's amazing what kind of people you run into at 6am, most dressed in costumes and prepared to run in 30 degree weather in a canyon- hehe.

After the scary bus ride (imagine doing switch backs on a bus!) we got to Aspen Grove (above Sundance). They had one of the buildings reserved for us which was really nice. I went in and picked up my timing chip and got situated. There were even a few people who asked if they could have their picture with me- I looked that good! I ran into some people I knew and hung with them until the start.

Please don't judge me... I was making a "woo!" sound/face and um.. the picture
doesn't do it justice. Haha! I should've just gone with
the "thumbs up" ;-)

The costumes were AMAZING! Although, I have to admit- there were a ton of tutu's.. but mine was by far the best! The guy who won the costume contest was dressed as Wonder Woman! It was pretty great. There were a few "runaway brides" who wore wedding dresses with long trains (honestly.. how??) and one of my favs that didnt' win a prize was a guy who was dressed in a blue dress shirt, pocket protector, name tag that said: Bill and! he had a briefcase w/ a Microsoft sticker. Hehe.. he was Bill Gates and he ran the whole thing w/ the briefcase! Crazy!

The race ended up starting about an hour late (9am). It was due to the buses. The bus company were prepared for about 300 people and there were actually 800 people who ran this thing. So, we had to wait until all the buses got there. I was grateful though! A later time = a little warmer weather. Well, as warm as you can get at 7,000ft!

Wahoo!! I'm done!!

The first 5 miles were all down hill. It was intense! My quads are in agreement on that one ;-) I loved every minute of it though. The view of the mountains was unreal! It was so beautiful and breathtaking. Corny sounding, I know. I really mean it though. It is always so wonderful to see all of God's creations and being able to soak it all in. Anyways, after the first five miles, we ran on the side of Provo Canyon Rd. until Vivian Park and then we entered the canyon running/bike path and that took us back to where we got on the buses. They didn't have any mile markers on this course and I'm kind've glad. I just felt like I was just running and not in a race. I wasn't getting all caught up in "how many miles do I have left?" and I was just running and enjoying the scenery, other costumes (haha), my thoughts and music. At one of the last aid stations they yelled out that we were at 10.5 miles and I was like "woah! I only had a little less than 3 miles to go!" I kicked it into gear and finishing this time vs. my first half marathon was really awesome. My finish time was 2:02:04! Granted, we had the big down hill, but I ran the 2nd half of the race faster than the first half- go figure ;). I am so excited about this race. Even though my whole body is in a good amount of pain, I am really proud of myself.

After the race with my finisher's medal!

I also have to give another shout-out to Jon. He is my cheerleader and my most favorite person in the whole world :-) I told him he didn't have to come until the finish, but he insisted that he wanted to be there for the whole thing. I am so grateful for all his support. There are probably a million things he would rather be doing than go to a race- but he goes happily and cheers me on. I am so lucky to have Jon as my husband. I know of other husbands who were not so happy to be standing at the finish line yesterday and it made me sad when I saw how un-supportive they were. There were no "congrats" or even high-fives. I mean really! Your spouse just worked their butt off (literally) to run 13.1 miles and trained really hard for it and they're met with a grumpy husband way after the fact of finishing. Not cool.

I am hands down the luckiest woman in the world. I wish Jon could run with me, but due to knee problems, it just isn't an option. As much as I would love for that to happen, having him there supporting me is just as great. I love Jon and he needs as much recognition as I get- he's a real trooper putting up with my training, races and weird eating habits while I'm training. After the race yesterday we went up to Corn Belly's (a corn maze) and these next few pictures are from that :-) I love Jon- you are awesome and I know I thanked you like a billion times yesterday- but really, thank you for being there for me and helping me up and down the stairs, cheering me on and loving me no matter how I do. I appreciate all you do.

Jon before we started the maze

After a 3d fun house hehe- awesome glasses!

Here is a sign at the start of the maze... I don't think I could've run that fast
at that point anyways.. haha! I was very slow going (still am)
when we took this picture!

Sorry, we dropped the ball

So, here we are over a week after our "surprise Monday guest". Sorry to keep yal waiting so long. Here's the story:

I got a call on Monday (the 19th) at work from BYU confirming that I would be home around 7pm. They told me that they might be a little late, but they would be there. I got home from work at 6pm and Jon and I were really excited and nervous. Jon was watching Monday night football and he describes me as nervously awaiting a date- haha. We waited... and waited... and finally... around 8pm our doorbell rings! Jon opens the door and there stands Lamont Morgan Jr. He is one of the BYU basketball player. He's actually a really good player on the team and he's quite short. Taller than me- but not by much!! There he was with the guy next to him w/ a camera and we shake his hand and says something like "I hope we do you proud this season". He handed me the tickets and we said goodbye. 5 minutes after he leaves I look at Jon and say "I should've asked for a picture!!" I had totally forgot! I even charged my camera battery that day so I could. Oh well. Maybe some other day :-)

So, sadly, no big win of anything and I don't think you'll see us on tv any time soon... we weren't the most enthusiastic people haha... I wasn't screaming or jumping up and down. I just kept saying "thank you". Jo Sue, you're right- we used up all our luck ;-)

All in all, it was a good experience and even though we didn't win anything- it was really cool to meet a player! Wahoo!! Go BYU!!!!

2 cent check, free Zune HD and um.. a special guest??

This last week has been FULL of surprises. No, really. There are three events we'd like to share. The first is probably more comical than them all.

So, remember Comcast? I'm sure you don't... who'd want to remember that whole experience, right? Heh, well, apparently they took a little too much money from me. That's right. TOO MUCH! I got an e-mail about it saying that I'd be receiving a check in the mail to make up the difference. I was a little confused and I had totally forgot about it until it came. Want to know how much is "too much"? 2 cents. That's right. Two WHOLE pennies. They sent it in a check. The postage cost more than that! Do I even bother cashing it when they could've shoved two pennies in the envelope that they found on their lunch room floor? hehe... so.awesome. It really makes me feel remembered haha.

2nd. I am a contest freak. I enter any and all hoping to win something... hopefully more than 2 pennies ;-). I've won a few things here and there, but this time I won the "Big Kahuna" of prizes (at least in my eyes). Last week I had entered in a Buy.com contest on Twitter. They were having a 5 week "tweetnseek" contest and there was a winner each week all winning the same prizes. What's the prize you ask? A Microsoft gift pack that included: wireless keyboard w/ mouse, another wireless mouse, laptop cooling base, HD webcam, aaaaaaaannnnnnd....a 32GB ZUNE HD!!!!! They would have you answer a question and then they would select randomly from all those who participated. I entered every week with little hope- but I figured, "eh? why not?"

It was week 4 of the contest and the question was "What band/artist will you listen to first on your Zune HD if you win?" I think I answered Yellowcard and Relient K. Anyways, on Friday I got an e-mail from Buy.com saying I won. I read it a few times in disbelief. I quickly called Jon and he was ecstatic! He kept asking "you won??" Awesome. It arrived this week on Wednesday. I was so excited! The only thing is- I wish Jon could have a Zune HD too. I even offered it to him because he has been talking about wanting a Zune HD for so long now. Humph- but alas, he won't take it. I'm not complaining by any means- I just wish he could have one too. Don't you worry though- as I write this he has hooked the laptop cooler and the wireless keyboard and mouse to his laptop :-) I'm glad he's helping me use all the winnings.


3rd thing. This week I got a phone call from a 422 number.. aka: a BYU #. I missed their first call time and they didn't leave a message. It was a little odd. Later in the day they called again and I was able to get the call. It was the BYU athletic department. Why were they calling? Well, this year we have bought BYU basketball season tickets. It's our last year here and we really both enjoy watching them play.

Anyways, back to the call. They confirmed that I was a season ticket holder and then the next thing they said caught me off guard. They asked if they could send a "special guest" to my home to hand deliver my tickets instead of mailing them. I was just kind've shocked so I said, "Okay". Then... they asked "We will have a video camera, is that okay?" Again, what? Totally not understanding all of this so I said "okay" again. They said "Okay, how about Monday at 7?"
So, this Monday someone like Cosmo or who knows is coming to deliver my crappy upper bench tickets- hehe. Our seats are the cheapest. So, it makes me wonder- why send someone special to ticket holders who didn't shell out the big bucks? We'll keep you informed... I know you're all at the edge of your seats! Heh, maybe they'll say we won better tickets or something. Why else bring by a video camera? No one cares to see a special guest giving someone something they are already expecting in the mail, right? Fingers crossed!

Trip to Conference

As mentioned in our last post, we had the opportunity to go to General Conference last weekend. We really enjoyed ourselves. We attended the Saturday morning session. We got there, found our parking lot, walked a few blocks, got into the Conference Center and were in our seats 45mins before they started letting people on standby in.


We were able to listen to the Tabernacle Choir practice a little bit. You always know how awesome they are, but there are some times where they just go above and beyond and they are just incredible! Then the General Authorities started to slowly walk in and we were able to point them out. It was an interesting opportunity to see them in person. President Monson waved to the crowd along with his wife. They're so cute together :-).


We had the opportunity to hear some amazing talks. I really loved the talks by: Russell T. Osguthorpe and Elder David A. Bednar. They were so heartfelt and and powerful. I loved how Russell Osguthorpe pointed out people in his life who took the time to teach him the way he needed and who helped him to learn and grow. I have so many people in my life who really helped me get to where I am today. Besides my loving family, there were those who took me under their wings and led me in the right direction and I will be forever thankful for their service and love. I often ask myself if I would've made it to BYU without their love and support and I can honestly answer that I wouldn't have made it here without them.


Elder Bednar's talk touched me so much. It talked about being more diligent at home with love, sharing your testimony with those you love and being consistent in the things you do. I know these suggestions are self explanatory and I really won't get into them- but I loved how he talked about being consistent. When we have children I really hope that they will grasp this and will remember this. It's so important to develop good habits and to be consistent with them- even if you feel like you're failing at it. The home is our safe haven and it should be a place of peace, love and even order. I really hope I can continue to progress at this so that when we have children, we won't have to completely start from scratch.


There were other talks that really touched me, but I don't want to write a complete novel :-) Jon and I really had an enjoyable time and it was a great experience. We were able to walk around Temple Square a little and were able to go on a lunch date.

I'm so grateful that were able to have this opportunity as a couple- esp. before we move. All in all, a very good, spiritual strengthening experience.

A nice surprise

Yesterday, Jon came home from church after finishing all of his calling responsibilities and handed me this!
I cannot tell you how excited I am to go to a session of General Conference! The last time I had the opportunity to go was the April 2004 Saturday morning session. Every time I've asked for tickets since I've always gotten the "We ran out last month" response. I've just never had any luck! That goes for both Utah wards and my Stake back home.

Jon is the financial clerk for our ward and when a Bishopric member was handing him tithing slips the tickets were accidentally in the stack. Jon thought it was a little odd and handed it back to him. The Bishopric member then looked at Jon and said, "Would you like them?". Honestly, who would turn that opportunity down!! It was a very nice surprise :-)

That's one thing on our list of "things to do before we leave Utah" down! So, try and spot us on Saturday morning. Or... better yet... just pretend you saw us :-)

One Night in India

Crystal and I want to make sure to take full advantage of our last year here in Provo. We want to attend and see as many unique activities and places here in Provo as we can before we head to Texas.

Sometimes this isn't always so fun, like at the Latin-American festival in downtown Provo a month or so ago. I'm not a fan of mayonnaise corn on the cob or lucha libre so there wasn't too much else to catch my attention and we soon went home.

A couple weeks ago, however, was the India Fest in Spanish Fork. Loving Indian food and knowing there's a temple there we can tour during the festivities, we happily went.

Crystal looking over Spanish Fork....
"Edge of Town!"

Lots of people apparently had the same idea we had

The temple from a rather less-crowded angle


I just thought this was a cool picture. I'm on the 2nd floor of the temple


The temple grounds had a llama farm!
I'm really not sure the connection in the religion to llamas though...


A little too close for comfort....

Tiiiny little cows
"Zebuuuuuuuuuu...." I mean "Cebuuuuuuuu"

Using Crystal's height as a reference point:
She's 4'11" and the Zebu only came up to about her hip when fully grown


Anyone who knows us knows we won't let an Indian experience go by without trying some of the food! You didn't get to pick what you got, they just gave you some food to try and hoped for the best I guess.

Look's good, eh?!? Okay not so much. BUT! The red stuff was good, like a veggie tomato sauce. The green stuff....not so much. It was full of tofu and I'm definitely not a tofu man (true Texans eat beef). The purple thing was amazing - it tasted like a blueberry muffin. And the bread you see in the picture - it's not like normal naan or roti bread. It was hard/stiff like a cracker and tasted just like the old Bugles crackers (remember those?)

By going to Spanish Fork we were able to experience part of India for a night. We had a great time and look forward to trying to go to the festival of colors there later this school year.

Real quick

So, I heard about a half marathon that is going to be on Halloween in Provo! They encourage you to wear a costume (that you can run in of course). Okay, so I realize that this shouldn't be my motivation to do it... but I can't lie... wearing one of Beth's tutus during the race would be pretty fun :-) Anyways... So here is my dilemma.

On Saturday, November 7th I have already signed up to run the Snow Canyon Half in St. George. This Halloween Half marathon is the Saturday before that. Only a week in between both of them.

Do you think I should do it? Vote in the poll to the right. Let's see if peer pressure will sway my decision :-)

I promise I will try to keep all my running craziness to my other blog.

Oh and PS: Click Halloween Half if you want to do the race

13.1 miles down!

I did it! It definitely wasn't easy, but very rewarding as I crossed the balloon covered finish line :-)

blury finish shot

I ran the Spanish Fork, UT half marathon. The weather wasn't the best. When we got to the race site, it was raining pretty good and it was super cold! I had to change what shirt I was wearing and I'm glad that I did! I had goosebumps for the whole race. It warmed up, but I was still freezing and then the intermittent rain didn't help.

The first half of the course had more hills than I expected. I knew there was at least one hill, but there were about 5. They weren't horrible and hills are expected, but it wasn't fun for 7 miles! Anyways, the course was very pretty. There were mountains to one side and then we were running through a lot of farm land. It was beautiful.

back shot... Hey, I wasn't taking the pictures...

Jon was there cheering me on :-) I heart when he's there. It makes the last 1-2 miles of a race better. He met me at the finish and we quickly ran over to get some watermelon and water.

Afterwards, there was a raffle..and... I won something!! Hehe...


I would really like to do another half. I think I might do one in November in St. George, UT (Snow Canyon Half). As for a marathon... it's definitely in my future, but I'm not ready for it at the moment and I'm not afraid to admit it. It'll take a lot more training. If I stay on top of things, I will probably do the Salt Lake City marathon in April 2010 and if that goes okay/doesn't happen I am looking at a marathon in Houston in January 2011. Bring it on :-)

The week of firsts

1. Jon started school on Monday, August 31st. It was his last first day of school. He even get's to park in graduate parking now! I'd have a picture of the parking pass (that was my original plan for this post) however, BYU isn't giving out stickers anymore. It's all done by license plates now.


2. I'm running my first half marathon on Saturday, September 5th... TOMORROW!! How scared am I? You have no idea! It'll be okay though. I know that I'm ready, I just hate the anticipation of it before it starts. Bring it on!

3. We accepted our first real job :-) So, it is for sure- we are moving to Houston in the next year. We are so grateful and blessed to have this opportunity. After praying about it and after attending the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication, we know this is what we need to be doing and Houston is where we need to be. Jon and I have been attending Deloitte functions on campus this week and Jon has been having a great time selling what he does and trying to recruit other MISM/ISYS majors from BYU to apply to Deloitte. The best part is getting free stuff whenever we go to these things. What can I say? We've been branded :-)

PS: We're famous :-)

Check out these cute photo's that we got taken by a photographer: Captivated Candids

Runners, I'm almost back in the game!!

Today I ran the Race4Recovery 10k. It was a race that raises awareness for mental illness. I did their 5k last year and had a lot of fun. The last two weeks I have had a pretty awesome sinus infection and was afraid it was going to really slow me down in the race.


The race started at Timpanogos Park in Provo Canyon at around 9am. The first 3.1 miles of the race my sinus problems really did a number on me and I was afraid that I was going really slow. Once I turned around I got my 2nd wind and I started to feel really good. I passed up a few people and ran the entire 2nd half fast. As soon as I turned back into Timpanogos Park, I could see the finish. Once I got a little further up I saw the clock and I was very excited.

I finished strong and my final time was 59:11. Not too shabby! Since my first 10k on July 4th I have shaved almost 6 minutes off my time.

After the race, there were massage therapists on site giving free massages to the runners. I've never had a professional massage before... even though they're always at the races... but my right hip and hamstring needed a little help. The lady did an amazing job! I enjoyed it a lot!


The best part of the race was having Jon at the end. He was waving at me when I was coming up to the finish. :-) It really made my heart happy. Thanks, Jon for being there, it meant a lot! He says he enjoyed cheering me on and the time he was able to spend outside reading while waiting for me to finish. Sorry... we didn't get any pictures together at the race :-(

Jon's Summer 2009

I am finally back in Utah with Crystal again and let me just say it's wonderful. Before I left for 10 weeks without Crystal, the longest we had been away from each other since we got married was one night while I was on a few office visits. So these 10 weeks were very different from the last 2 and a half years for us.

That said this summer was great! I was working in Houston for Deloitte (one of the big 4 accounting firms). I worked specifically in Tax Management Advisory Services as a consultant on enterprise implementations - technology, right up my alley!

To save us from having 2 rents while I was gone I was able to live at home with my family (Thank you, family!). Not being able to visit very frequently it was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with them again. It was even better the 2 times Crystal was able to visit.

It was all worth it as this morning I received the paper copy of my offer to start working there in Houston full-time next year. We have until September 1st to respond. We still need to discuss, pray, go to the temple, etc before any final career decisions are made but it seems like we will be in Houston starting next year.

Boy is it great to be home!



Crystal Edit: Sneak peek of our pictures that we got done last week. The photographer sent me a few today by e-mail and I thought I would include one w/ this post :-)

More numbers...

- # of miles I ran today: 10.09




- Time it took me: 1 hour and 50 mins

- # of new blisters: 5 ... they're nasty and they hurt! I'm sure you wanted to know that...

- Weight this morning: a lady never tells... but for #s sake: I can say that I'm in the 120's!! Hallelujah!

-# of bowls I just washed: unknown :-) Jon will understand this.. sorry... it's an inside joke

- # of hours until Jon gets home.... 10!!!!!!!

How excited am I?? SORDIK EXCITED!! Thanks to BYU carpet crew for teaching me how to express my self haha...

In loving memory of Carolyn Howe Sansoucie

August is usually the month where my family celebrates the life of my mom. We've done a lot of things in remembrance of her. We have done the "Relay For Life" under the name of: "Carolyn's Kids", we've had family reunions in her memory, I have run numerous races in support of Fighting Breast Cancer with her name pinned to my back. My mother was an incredible woman. Her testimony of the gospel was unshakable. No matter what life threw at her, she would still find hope and healing through our Heavenly Father and through the atonement.

My mom has had a significant impact on my life. She was selfless and very talented. She could sew almost anything and made baby quilts for those in need. She loved music and loved to play the piano and organ and was just beginning to learn the violin before she passed away. If I could aspire to be even a fraction of the woman she was- I would be very grateful.

Her motto was "Always have a dream!" and it is hanging up in our house. Because of her, I have never once thought that I couldn't do something or dream something big! She will forever by my hero.

Her favorite holiday was Christmas and 13 years ago today we celebrated our last Christmas together (yes, it was in August). My parents knew that December was too far away to celebrate together. I will always treasure that night- we laughed, we cried and we were together as a family for the last few hours of this amazing woman's life.

The way to a man's heart

So can I just say my wife rocks?

Well it's my blog so I can say whatever I want!

Anyways, Crystal definitely knows the way to a man's heart. See exhibit A below:

Yes that's a trash can with a bow on it. The important part is what's IN the trash can...(and no it's not trash!)

Behold the goodness below:


As congrats for the summer Crystal sent me sweet goodness...in a trash can.

I was thinking, since I left home mom and dad have really gotten into eating healthy and working out a ton (and they look great by the way), but it means there's no quick and easy (read: unhealthy) food in the house. So Crystal had to send me some from the outside (she warned me before it came that momma wouldn't like it).

Anyways, where I'm getting at is I now know what it's like to be a kid at fat camp who still wants his sweets and has to get them smuggled in from outside :)

Thank you, Crystal, I love you

Numbers...

I'm not a real numbers person, but recently, my life has been revolving around countdowns, hours, weight loss, etc... so, I decided I would share with everyone. To make it a little more exciting, I am including some pictures from my last visit to Houston... and one I got from my last 10k race (hehe...)

• # of days Jon has been gone: 66

Us at the outdoor theater (miller park?) It was awesome!!

• # of days until he gets home: 7

• # of lbs I have lost from March to date: 15

Jon outside his building- isn't he handsome???

• # of lbs I have to go: 10ish

In a tunnel- I could even reach the ceiling!

• # of tenants I have moving out this month: 30

In an elevator in the Deloitte building- it makes your ears pop!

• # of miles I ran today: 8.63

Heh, c'mon- isn't this the best picture ever???

• # of days before I run the Spanish Fork 1/2 marathon: 36

Jon at his desk- George said it reminded him of a Dilbert comic :-)


Jon's building- it's huge!!

Jon in the tunnel

Soaking wet... we both got caught in a downpour before we went to
a play in Houston. We even tried to wait it out....
As you can see below, I wasn't lucky either :-)

• Scale from 1-10 of how excited I am to have Jon back home: eleventeen :-)