Random Thoughts...

Yes, these are extremely random and don't deserve their own post, but they are definitely noteworthy...in my opinion. ;) Time for brain clean out...

*Why is it that working out just causes me to eat more? Not fair.

*The best attention at the gym is NO attention. Trust me, Dear-Girl-Who-Paid-A-Lot-For-Those-But-We-Don't-Need-To-See-Them...expecially while you're using the lying down ab crunch machine thingy where your head and your "girls" are facing the entire cardio floor. I'm proud enough of my body TO cover it up.

*Follow-up to the prior thought: I never thought that body tape might be a necessity at the gym.

*An ipod is the best accessory to bring to the gym. It tells the creepos "I'm busy."
*No matter what, a Skullet always brings a smile to my face.

*I complained about the cold summer weather and cabin fever, but now its warm and all I have to do is work inside. :-/

*Am I getting old, or is Bon Jovi retaining his hotness? If so, why can't Val Kilmer retain the same hotness? I want Top Gun back...

*I am NOT getting old, I need to do something daring just to prove I am still young enough to be stupid.

*Silence is Golden...especially in certain situations.

*Sunroofs are excellent.

*I think I'm getting meaner...I'm pointing out stupidity more frequently and I know its gonna come back to bite me.

*As long as I live, farts will always be funny (not necessary my own because girls don't fart).

*Life is good. :)

*I still hate bananas...even banana flavored Runts.

Photo Contest

The IT department at work is having a photo contest for backgrounds to add with their Windows 7 update. Last year I sent in some pics that weren't quite what they were looking for, but this year I tried to step it up a bit and try to conform. The entry time has expired, so I'm not shooting myself in the foot...

This one is a Window Arch in Arches National Park. I went there last year. It was so fun. I love red rock!



This was also taken last year at Jenny Lake in the Grand Tetons. Loved it.

I took this one earlier this year at the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I love finding the little things to capture!

This is one of my favorites. They have these amazing flowers on Temple Square and there was a rainstorm just a little bit before I took this picture. The rain makes it look so lush!

I so want to be there here right now. This is a pic of Big Cottonwood. It's along the Lake Blanche trail. It was during the fall when the colors are changing. We drove up the canyon a bit more to watch the snow falling. It was so sureal jumping into a different climate!

Maybe I should take more pictures of people...I love landscapes though because they always stay still and don't blink and don't whine if you sit there with your camera for a while. And its so beautiful, of course!

My New Addiction

So...remember the beginning of the year when we all made goals to lose weight and they basically crashed and burned after about a month (literally)? I say "literally" because I really did crash and burn...I sprained my ankle right before my cousin's wedding on Jan 16th and it took my quite the little while (crutches, a leg boot and lots of pain) to recover. My goal of losing weight was not looking so hot.

Well...it's been a goal of mine at some point to join a gym and get into the best shape of my life. It's just been so expensive and seemingly time consuming that I kept putting it off.

I've noticed I'm getting old...I get more and more tired and I decided it was time to stop! No more trying to stay awake at work. No more following behind the Pack when hiking because I can't keep up. No more getting stressed out over that piece of cheesecake I ate and being self-conscious.

Done.

I found a fabulous deal at Costco for a membership at 24 Hour Fitness. I get 2 years for $300. That's only $12.50 a month. That's AMAZING!!

I finally joined. I thought I would get burned out...I know, it's only been a week, but I L-O-V-E LOVE it. I have a goal I reached even just today. I got to the top of the big staircase at the Institute and wasn't winded. Goal one accomplished. So here are the rest, and in order of importance...why I'm sharing this, I really don't know:

1-Get into better cardiovascular health
2-Have more energy
3-Build lean muscle, especially around my gimpy knees so they will have the pressure taken off'
4-Lose weight

Notice how losing weight is at the bottom of the list...well, the way I see it is that if I am behaving myself and giving the boot to a few cravings...much like the furry, orange, Muppet-like thing on the Weight Watchers commercial, then I'm doing all I can and muscle weighs more than fat anyway. As long as I look good, then I'll consider goal #4 as mission accomplished.

I know I keep going on about this, but seriously...I am so excited about this! Oh...and I'm excited about my new, hot pink ipod Shuffle, which tells all the creepy looking people there that I'm busy. :)

Hopefully I'll have more seemingly-lame-but-important-to-me milestones to report soon. :)

The Perfect Storm

I know, I know. The title is somewhat deceiving. This started out as the perfect, sunny day in the backyard. My little project during the past couple weeks was to put down a small pad of pavers in the backyard and put together a firebowl so we can roast hotdogs, marshmallows, maybe a couple of Starbursts. Yummy! We got things out and finally got a fire started and the hot dogs roasting (see all the manly men around the fire, roasting their latest kill)...


Then it started to rain. See the lonely fire, all by itself. All the chairs and table were taken away and now our somewhat decent fire is getting dowsed.



And here's the silver lining. The storm rolled in fast and displayed some of the most dramatic clouds I have ever seen. I'm just glad I had my camera. We gathered under a tree in our front yard (it's not very tall...I promise we're smarter than to stand under a tall tree) and watched the spectacular storm. Lightning, thunder and all sorts of craziness.

Yes, that is a cloud. Isn't it amazing?

Here's the icing on the cake. We saw a rainbow in these crazy, dark clouds. At first it was one, and then it blossomed into two. It was all-out trippy to see it turn into a triple rainbow. I couldn't believe how amazing it was!

Even though our party got rained out, We were dazzled by Mother Nature's creation. It was pretty exciting. I think it's just a little reminder from up above that Heavenly Father can turn seemingly crummy circumstances into something so delightful! We just need the right attitude. :)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Heidi and Kristen had the fabulous idea of going to the Bees game. Ah Baseball. How I loathe watching it because it runs as slow as molasses (that's my grandma talking) but how I love sitting on the grass and watching the game and enjoying the fun atmosphere! Playing Softball was my very favorite sport back in the day, but for some reason, watching it is a whole different story...unless I am there. The grass between my toes...the amazing sunsets...occasional home run (unfortunately, it's usually by the OTHER team...oh well) friends/family to just chill with...perfect!

Apparently, Chick-fil-a was the sponsor of the night and they had these giant cows there...not sure what the whole fireman attire is about, but it was interesting, and I just had to get a pic. I'm kinda jealous of how warm the costume must be. It was COLD!


The whole clan there to watch the game. Oh yeah, and the food is great too. Hot dogs usually make me cringe, but I can't pass up a hot dog at a baseball game...fortunately the hot dog went through a major upgrade. :)

And here's the beautiful sunset I was talking about. How picturesque is this? Pretty amazing.

Nothing like a radioactive lollypop to finish off the night...

That's not your ordinary ice cream...

Such a great night! We're going again this Thursday and this time I'm bringing the parents. They need to catch a game. Good times. :)