Witches, Running, Babies, Indian Food, and Quitting

WITCHES' NIGHT OUT AT GARDNER VILLAGE
Danielle, Haylee and I decided to venture out to the WNO - which none of us really knew anything about. We started out at Chipotle, a first time experience for us all. Good. But not Cafe Rio good. But then, what is? I was hesitant to even throw on a witches hat, I didn't want to show up to this thing like an overdressed fool. Well, if anything we were severely UNDERdressed (except for maybe Danielle, she took it seriously). People had face paint, costumes, accessories GALORE. The highlight of the whole thing was just people or I guess "witch watching". It was way too crowded and overstimulating with the EFY-esque music to do any shopping. But we had fun and got some good christmas craft ideas.

MOM AND ANNA VISIT
My Mom and Anna came up to SLC for the Cross Country State Finals. Anna ran like a champ, as always. They also looked at colleges, and most importantly, played with me. We ate delicious Pie Pizzeria, walked to 7-11 so I could get my favorite drink (super big gulp, 90% diet coke and 10% sugar free limeade, don't hate) and cuddled. It was a fun trip. I want them to move in with us, it would be a never ending party. Dan, thats cool with you, right?

RETURN OF THE BABIES!
We have missed our niece and nephew so much! Its crazy how much they grow up in just a few months. We were so glad Tori and her little munchkins could  leave warm San Diego behind and come and visit. Grandma hooked Molly up with that Snow White Dress and she loved it. This reaffirmed my desire to have a little girl and dress her as a princess. Every day. Dan is fully onboard.

I ATE INDIAN FOOD!
I've eaten a fair amount of crazy food in my life. But never Indian Food. There's this place called the Bombay House that I've been wanting to go to since I first moved up north. Six years ago. Dan finally made my dreams come true. And for once, my dreams were all I dreamt they would be. It was sooo good. All the waiters wearing turbans inspired Dan and I to go home and research Sikhism, being that neither of us had any idea what Sikhism actually is. Delicious AND educational!

DAN QUIT HIS JOB
This job has just not been working out. First they had him working every single sunday, ten hours. When he told them he needed some Sundays off to go to church, they put him on eight hour shifts during the school week. Which then interfered with his schooling - which is finally our #1 priority (no more army till school is done!!!) So, basically, this job had to go. And its gone. Huzzah!
(except for the whole neither of us making money thing, not huzzah to that.)

Revival of the Happy List

Its been a long time since I made a happy list. And I need one after the unhappy events of last week:

{MIDTERMS}

 With two crazy exams and two massive papers, I could be found in a dark corner of the Wilk, grinding up Excedrin to stir into my BYU Vending Caffiene Free Diet Coke. Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

(why BYU? WHY?!?!?)

 {Preview of Winter}

It went from being 80 degrees to being 40 degrees in one day. I am so cold. And the sky is grey. And it makes me want to pull the covers over my head and never emerge.

(saw these babies at the SLC running company. i know if i had them, i'd be motivated to run again.)

{Post Marathon Blues}

Looking forward to the marathon (mostly just to a reason to go home to STG) gave me encouragment to make it through the first month of school. Now its over, I have nothing to look forward to. Though I neglected my long runs and didn’t follow a training plan, having the marathon looming in the future gave me motivation to workout. I now have no motivation. I also feel sad that my first marathon is over, I’ll never have another first. Ridiculous? Perhaps. But I’m still down over it.

And now, to remedy above sadness, HAPPY THINGS!

 Dan and I have become obsessed with watching Mad Men. In order to continue to live productive lives, we limit ourselves to one episode per day. I look forward to my “stories” as Dan calls them (reference to African American women’s obsession with soap operas, he heard it all the time on his mission, “I care about Jesus, but I gotta go watch my stories!”) I attribute my rash decision to have my hair colored red to this obsession.

 Though its hard to tell from this super high quality photobooth picture taken in my home away from home, the basement of the JFSB, my hair is in fact RED. It brings me happiness to mix things up. Its been over two years since I’ve had my hair colored, and red is the last hue I hadn’t tried, so I went for it.

 In an attempt to get in the Halloween Spirit, I decided to try and start up the old tradition of “Boo-ing.” I made some pumpkin snickerdoodles and my favorite frosted brownies, and printed off some cutesy signs. I recruited Dan to get his speed work in for the day by dashing to peoples porches, dropping the goods, and jumping into a moving getaway car. We boo-ed a few people from the ward, though I’m sure they won’t suspect the inactive couple that even the Bishop ignores…. (Rant for another time.)

 Last, but not least, Dan’s parents came down to SLC and took us out to dinner.  Not just any dinner, my favorite, MEXICAN FOOD. Carb +cheese = delicious. Dan ordered the macho burrito. If you eat the whole thing you get a free dessert. I really wanted dessert. Since this is a happy post, I won’t dwell on the outcome. (Lets just say I didn’t end up with any tres leches….)

Dessert or no dessert, I still have lots of things to be happy about. 

(which is not to say that I still don't want to score a free dessert. next time, macho burrito. next time. )

Toenails in Exchange for a Medal

For reason still unclear in my mind, several months ago I registered with Anna for the STG marathon. I started following a training program, ran a 1/2 marathon, and then I just kinda stopped... I got busy with school, and running 18 miles on a saturday just really didn't sound appealing. So I didn't do it.

 Not really the best idea if you're going to run 26.2. 

I decided to compensate for my lack of training by utilizing the "shorter the shorts, the faster you run" theory. My shorts were very short. But the girls at lululemon assured me they looked great. And if the girls at lululemon started a cult, I would join. No questions asked.

The marathon itself was quite the experience, it definitely exposed the depravity of man. At the start line, anna and I went to go get a cup of water at an aid table. I noticed jars of vaseline on the table when a man came up, got some and proceeded to go to town lubricating his "swimsuit area." I mean really, you can't walk a few feet away, turn your back to people, show some semblance of modesty? Not to mention the innumerable men using the side of the road as a bathroom.... Boys are gross.

{glitter headbands give you magical powers}
I'm not gonna lie, several miles were pretty much the worst experience of my life. Mile 16 for some reason had me questioning whether life was even worth living. Rather than getting in a rescue van, I thought about throwing myself in front of it. But I didn't. I ate another delicious GU and carried on.

The last 10k I kinda fell apart. The 4 hour pacer passed me, and I was not happy. I tried to catch back up, I really wanted a sub 4, but eventually decided to forget that and just focus on not dying. A worthy cause. 

Overall, I'm glad I did it. Anna  ran in 3:47, more than an hour faster than last year, and got 3rd in her division. I want to be her. 

Our family is awesome. They made jazzy posters, got us balloons, and cheered us on! 

Brandalee brought over a giant bag of peanut butter m&ms and a cafe rio gift card the night before. My fastest miles I can attribute to the motivation of being one step closer to a pork tostada and my mom's forehead kisses...

{proper recovery = (2) big gulps of diet coke + a really painful icebath}

I generally try to avoid shameless bragging, but I am proud of myself. My 4:08 time isn't quite what I had hoped for, but I pushed hard and didn't give up.
 Plus, there is always next year. Maybe.....

The Awkward and Awesome of the Last Three Weeks

{AWKWARD}
I had lunch with Kara and Danielle on the 1st day of school, which was awesome. What was not so awesome is that I drank four full glasses of diet coke (I think I was dehydrated from a long run?). Whatever the cause, I drank way too much. And then realized I needed to run to catch my bus. Not just any bus, but a trax connector bus. Up to this point I had only taken express busses, which take approx. 50 minutes to get from BYU to Sandy. Well the Trax Connector bus takes a little longer.... like TWO HOURS. It stops everywhere. I'm pretty sure we were in Denver at one point. I had to pee so bad. So, so bad. Finally we make it to the Trax station, I look around furiously for a bathroom. There wasn't even an adequately large bush to squat behind. I decided to board a train. I felt beads of sweat rolling down my face. Tears started streaming down my cheeks. The train got especially bumpy, and after three hours, I could take it no more. I peed my pants. Yes, I am 23 years old. And yes, I just shared that with the world.

I have had a preferred study carrol on the second floor of the library since freshman year. I like to go and hide there for hours at a time. The only problem is that I get hungry. So, while trying to write a stupid humanities paper, I pulled a banana out of my backpack and began to quietly eat it. All of the sudden I'm interrupted by a library security officer, "Excuse me Ma'm, but you cannot eat in the library." Is he serious? Its not like I'm eating chocolate cake and rubbing it all over a special collections books. I'm silently eating a freaking banana. "I'm going to need you to put your food away." Umm... It's a half eaten banana, I'm not going to put it back in backpack to get all over my books. Awkward minute passes. I finally concede and place the offending banana in my bag. "Thank You." He walks away. I immediately take banana out, finish eating it, and then wipe my fingers on the library wall. Take that evil library security/Getstapo!

Both awkward and awesome: So I'm taking my last (illhamdu lillah! praise be to God) religion class up at the Salt Lake Center. We go around doing the classic introduce yourself routine. I share that my name is Lauren, I like baking and coveting dogs, and I'm majoring in the most useless major that you can major in. Then the guy next me stands up. "My name is Brian, I've be married for 8 years and one year ago my wife and I were blessed to be able to adopt a family of eight children. We now have 7 boys and one girl, ages 3-17, and we couldn't be happier. Six months ago we were able to sealed together for time and all eternity. We were living in a two bedroom apartment when this miracle occurred, and I can truly say that when the Lord says he will provide he does." He then holds up his laptop to show his screensaver, which is a picture of his family, all dressed in red shirts and denim pants. Yeah, half the class is tearing up. Awesome = he adopted 8 kids who I'm sure otherwise would have been split up and sent to crappy foster homes. Awkward = Hello, I like baking and dogs? And then the guy next to me shares that? How shallow and ridiculous do I look? And adopting 8 kids, while a noble gesture, is just a wee bit totally nutzo in my book.


{AWESOME}

In an attempt fulfill at least one more of my summer goals, I forced Dan to have a bbq with me. With our deck lights strung up. And glass bottled coke. Always glass bottled coke.

Dan is taking a digital photography class (its a GE, the U of U is cool like that). The streeters came down to help out and we had an entertaining night of running around with glow sticks, creating long exposures. Dan is one black turtle neck away from being a full fledged artist.

{the only picture I took at the ball, the lovely streeters}
Friday night we went to the Army Ball. It was fun getting dressed up and seeing so many friends from Monterey. It almost felt like were back in our happy place: The friendly Monterey 2nd Ward.
But Army functions always drag on forever. And have bad food. Always.

{lots of random musicians at the market. and hipsters. lots and lots of hipsters.}
Kat and her gentlemen friend Eli came for a visit! It was so fun playing with them. We went to the SLC Farmer's Market on Saturday, something I've always wanted to do and never have. They are a cute couple and I hope they come again. Soon.

Why is it that my awkward things are roughly 10x longer than my awesome things?
Probably because I'm 10x more awkward than awesome.
oh well. 

#2 + Girls are Friends

#2 Make Deluxe S'mores

Well, they weren't exactly fire roasted s'mores... But I think this is as close as I'm gonna get. I made these S'more Cookie Bars for a little girl's get together, a last hurrah before the return to school. On the epic (thanks UDOT!) drive descending into the strange land known as Utah Valley, I had some time for reflection..

I've often heard girls say things along the lines of "I don't like having girls as friends! Too much drama!"

I hate to hear my gender grouped together and type casted like that, but there is basis for the stereotype. When girls gather there is a propensity for gossip and comparison. I'm no exclusion.

 Many times after seeing friends I go home feeling discouraged. I've gotten caught up in feelings of inadequacy that come as result of comparison ("She's skinnier, prettier, has cuter clothes, has more money, more education....").  Silly, but true.

I have come to realize that I should never let me own insecurities rob me of the experience of having girl friends. They can offer support and camaraderie in a way nothing else can. Being in the same stage of life, girlfriends are an invaluable. They have unique insight and a listening ear. And they are just plain fun. As much as I love spending time with Dan, I think he'd rather shoot himself in the face than spend two hours dumping glitter on my toenails and discussing recipe planning.  I love having friends that are GIRLS. Girls make the best friends.  End Rant.

Anyway... Danielle organized a little lunch at Zupas and then some chit chat/craft time at her apartment. It was lovely. Haylee scrapbooked, Danielle sewed, Alise (with her darling baby assistant) did glitter toenails, and I.... Well I was there! Hopefully we can get together more often now that I will be down in Provo, everyday, for the next four months to attend 18 credits at BYU. Did I add that I will be commuting via UTA bus and TRAX train? Not to mention its' the blue line of TRAX which includes the majority of SLC's urban outdoorsmen (read: homeless people).

 I have a feeling I will be making a lot of new friends.... And not the fun girlfriend kind.

3

3 Years Ago on August 22nd:

"Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered. I think one of the reasons that we are counseled to get married early in life is to avoid developing inappropriate character traits that are hard to change." Elder Richard G Scott

Truer words have never been spoken. Reflecting on our 3^rd year of marriage, this stood out as a theme. In year 3 I think I made great strides in the selfishness department. At long last, my mentality began to shift from “ME” to “WE”. I still catch myself getting caught up in what I want, especially when it comes to education/career goals, wanting to just do whatever my heart desires without consideration of my future family… But in general, I believe marriage has been the ideal setting for me to overcome this natural tendency. When I had that brief awful job at certain unmentionable chain restaurant , I really got caught up in selfishness. All I could think of was how bad MY life was. How much I hated MY job. How unfair life was to ME. I though only of myself and resented Dan because I felt his situation was sooo much better than MINE. Sure enough, this patch was one of the hardest on our relationship. (When it came down to it, that’s the main reason I quit.) There is no room for selfishness in a loving marriage. There’s something amazing about knowing that you have a partner who thinks of and considers your needs and desires above their own and that you do the same for them. I’m glad Dan and I share that.

 Three Things We Did Today to Celebrate Year 3:

1)     Sushi: Kind of. Dan’s been dreaming of a Las Vegas Roll (fried) since my Dad introduced him to them at Benja’s. I got fully cooked chicken, for the record.

2)     Movie: We were going to see Sarah’s Key, but decided something lighter than the Holocaust would be more fitting for a happy occasion. We probably should’ve just stuck with the depressing plan…. Crazy, stupid, love – the title says it all.

3)     Coldstone: An anniversary tradition!

(Since were full time students again (read: poor), we decided to forgo gifts. Our gifts to each other were the crazy expensive textbooks we just bought! (Sure hope you love that $150 math book Dan).)

 THREE FAVORITE MEMORIES OF OUR 3^RD YEAR:

1)     Training for the ½ Marathon together for 4 months: running on asilomar on Saturday mornings,  then getting reds donuts or pastries from pavels.

2)     Enjoying going to a married ward together for the first time: The “Friendly Monterey 2^nd ward.” It was great. We loved our callings, our friends, and just the ward in general! Miss it.

3)     Becoming somewhat “outdoorsy”: In Monterey we became REI groupies and learned to actually enjoy being outside. I don’t think we ever hiked our backpacked together before then.

 3 Hardest Things from our 3^rd Year:

1)     Stress of DLI/ French DLPT

2)     Both having our least favorite jobs ever (waitressing, security)

3)     Trying to get everything worked out in SLC (tuition assistance, GI bill, car gets hit by bus, etc, etc)

 3 Things that I hope have happened by our 4^th

1)     We’re both done with school! (at least our bachelors degrees)

2)     We have a third member of our family (a dog!)

3)     We both have jobs we enjoy

I thought year 2 was way better than year 1.

 Now I can say year 3 was better than year 2. 

Hopefully this trend continues….

I have a feeling it will.

#4 + Bonus Unexpected Life Goal Completion

#4) Go on an STG Getaway

{ pic of b's little man, stolen from her blog}
One of the things I like about being back in Utah is getting to be there for special family events. Brandalee is family to me so I was thrilled to be able to go down to STG for a quick visit to attend the blessing of her little babe. I rode the shuttle up and down for the long weekend, feverishly studying my notes. I came back up to SLC, took my finals, and then SURPRISE! Dan magically got a week off work, so we headed back down south the same day. I cried tears of joy.

On the second day of our trip, Dan's buddy Eric who just got home from Afghanistan came for a visit. He was out in Vegas for a family reunion and drove up to STG just for "MAN DAY". "MAN DAY" consisted of shooting guns, rappelling, and just being a Bad-A.

I got to watch Katheryn play her first game as a legit Snow Canyon High Soccer Team member. I seriously don't know how we're related. She's actually coordinated, not afraid of balls, and really good at sports. I was adopted.

 Anna in action as the world's best team manager.

I also got to visit my G'ma who had a very risky major surgery. I'm so glad she's doing well. Dan enjoyed riding her wheel chair around the rehab center and drinking her crystal lite. At least he was entertained.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures this trip, mostly I just soaked in my happy place. Went for runs with my Dad and Copper, went to Sexy Steve's Spin class with Anna, chatted w/ my Mom, went on a hike w/ Kat and her BF in cedar breaks, and enjoyed the amenities of living in a house with "nice things."

Also notable is that I accomplished a life goal. A life goal that I had given up hope on, at that. I got an A in a BYU Religion Class!!! Thank you summer semester pearl of great price.

Truly, miracles happen.