One Ring to Rule Them All.

Disclaimer: If you are the type to gag at true love stories, walk away now. You've been warned.

So, you remember that one guy from my post about trek? You know, the one who crammed his long legs into the back seat of the car for part of the trip, so that I didn't have to?

Well, it turns out that I love him. He's going to marry me.

What? You want to know how we got here? Well, dear reader, I will be delighted to expound.

Since you all know me already, I will start by letting Benjamin introduce himself. You'll know it's him because it will be in a different font. Also, it will not sound like me.

My name is Ben. I got engaged to Stephanie on Friday. I like marshmallow mateys. I like to hang out with Stephanie. I like to run, but not from Stephanie. Actually, I don't hang out with Stephanie, we go on dates. It's hard to think of clever things to say when you're soooo.....sleeeepy..... But that's not a problem for me because I never get tired! I like to consider myself a connoisseur of beauty, which is why I keep Stephanie around. She makes me say cheesy things and brings out the bad grammar in I.

Thank you, my dearest Benjamin. We'll be hearing more from him as the post goes on. He'll be inserting commentary to my side of our story. 

Many of you noticed that I fell off the face of the earth back in late June. Part of this is because my blog is primarily a weight loss blog, and with my knees deciding to fail me, I had lost a lot of my zest. I had also rediscovered how great food tastes, and was having a hard time talking myself back into dieting.

Then came Ben.

Even after a long day when I look like that, he still looks at
me like this. Fo' reals, people.

With him, my resolve to blog was completely shot. Gradually, he became a huge part of my life. I began to have an increasingly difficult time thinking of anything worthwhile to talk about that didn't tie back to him in some way or another. I also did not want to blog about my dating life. This meant that my blog just kind of... faded away.

Over the past few months I have received increasingly hostile demands for details about my life from former fans of this blog. So, now that things are rock solid with this fella, I figured that I would let you all in on the happiest part of my life, thus far.

I first met Ben in a teacher development class at church. I knew him as the incredibly handsome and intelligent one who was obviously way out of my league. Then we were divided into families for trek. I tried not to seem overly enthused at the discovery that we were in the same group.

But first, let me insert a comment about that class! There was this girl in that class that I was interested in dating, but even though she was nice, she would never sit by me. So I was pleased to discover she would be trapped in a motor vehicle with me for 12 hours.

I've never been more happy to be "trapped" in my life. On trek, we got to know each other better, even through the mysterious sound divide of the two rows of seats. (See the helicopter story.)

All during the drive, I found out that Stephanie was a fascinating person and I had all sorts of questions to ask her. I was disappointed that she still wouldn't sit by me; she kept sitting on a different row.

Upon returning to normal society, I made certain to end up next to him at every possible ward event for the next week. He caught the hint, apparently, and asked me out on a date. Then we went on another date. And another. Soon we were seeing each other a few times a week and I was unknowingly using up every last minute on his cell phone plan.

I discovered that he was not only intelligent and handsome, but he also had the same sense of humor as me. Most importantly, he has the kindest, most genuine personality of any person I have ever encountered.

With all of these amazing qualities, naturally, I was just waiting for him to figure out who he was dating and run in the opposite direction as quickly as his cross-country runner legs would carry him. I was thrilled and amazed when he not only chose to stick around, but really seemed to be genuinely falling in love with me in return. Warts and all.

All of my time was spent going on bike rides, hiking, and dancing in the star-light. I found that he was my best friend. I never feel self-conscious around him. The best way I've found to describe his effect on me is that he brings out the very best of me, makes me want to be so much better than I am, while somehow making me feel like I am perfect the way that I am. I have never felt more beautiful.

What is so awesome is that our feelings were completely congruent. I felt everything she felt, only I felt the same way about her that she felt about me, not about me the way she felt about me. And I don't feel beautiful, but that's okay because I'm a boy and I don't care.

This all sounds like the perfect story to add up to me regaining all of the weight that I lost. However, that is not at all what has happened. I have stayed within 5 pounds of my total 50 pounds lost the entire summer. Considering that I've been trying (and failing) to fatten Ben up, this is even more impressive.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, after much hinting, we came to the solid conclusion that there would never be anything that would make either of us happier than being married to each other forever. So, we began to make plans and went ring shopping. He then informed me that, sadly, my ring would take a few weeks to come in. Then, this past Friday, he planned a very special date. We went on a romantic candle-lit picnic up the canyon, at a place where we had one of our most memorable dates early on in our relationship. He brought a fresh bouquet of flowers from his parents' garden and some of my favorite foods.  Then he asked me to go on a short walk, and then proceeded to lead me up the steepest part of the Crimson Trail. At this point I inquired as to just how "short" of a walk we were going on. He promised me that it wouldn't be too far, and true to his word, we soon reached the spot. It was a place where the trail split and we could see all the way down Logan Canyon. There was also a rock that was the perfect spot to sit. We talked for a few minutes and then sat quietly before he jumped down from the rock and got down on one knee. The next thing I knew, he was opening a ring box he had made out of some shiny origami paper from one of our dates and saying, "Stephanie, will you marry me?"

In my mind, I thought that I was saying a clear, "Yes" and then calmly picking up the ring. Apparently, I actually did some unintelligible squealing, grabbed the ring with lightning fast reflexes and put it on my own finger. In hindsight, perhaps I should have let him do that. I was just  soooooo excited! I mean, seriously. I get to keep my best friend with me for the rest of eternity. And he's the one asking me to do so! That is the coolest feeling ever!

I'm pretty sure I heard a clear, happy, yes, like the chime of a bell. I thought the whole candelit dinner with all the artifacts from our previous date at Guenevah campground would give my plan away, but fortunately, it did not. It was raining everywhere but where we were. Literally.


Now, I'm sitting here with him. Finally typing up our story. The dress is bought. The appointment is set at the temple. The ring is on my finger. His secret plans for where we're going on our honeymoon are underway. There is still a great deal to do to plan for the reception and such, but things are rolling along quite nicely,

I can say with complete honesty that I have never been as happy as I am right at this moment. Every day is better than the one before. I'm always discovering new reasons that I could never imagine a better person to be stuck with.

Now there's only one problem.

Eternity is not nearly long enough.

Day 159

Busy week! I just got home from my first full rodeo. Lauren and I went together and had a marvelous time.

The announcer and rodeo clown could use some help, though. The clown kept on yelling jokes up to the announcer in the booth who would kind of pass them on to us through the mic. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to realize that this had the effect of listening to one half of a phone conversation for three hours. Fortunately, the parts that I did get sounded like they were all racist or misogynistic jokes, so I don't feel like I missed out on much.

"Uh-huh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oh, yeah . . . . . . . . . . . . . So, how can you tell it's married?. . . . . . . . . Oh! laughter I don't think I can repeat that to them." 

For three hours.

That being said, the rodeo itself was a whole lot of fun to watch. There are some unbelievably tough men in the rodeo business. My favorite part by far was the mini-bull riding. It's just like the big bull riding, only with little kids and little bulls. 

I was very impressed.

In news that is relevant to my goal, my knees aren't hurting, and the swelling in my foot seems to be going down, so I'm planning on running again this week. I've had it recommended to me, from a fellow runner with knee issues, that I run barefoot on the grass as part of my training. Apparently, that helps your body to just naturally fall on the balls of your feet, rather than the heels, which eliminates a lot of the stress on your knees. 

Come Monday you can fully expect to see me frolicking barefoot through my backyard for around a half hour. I also have a hunch that I will be singing a certain song.

Oh yes, I am looking forward to it.

Day 158

My right foot is pretty swollen. No idea why, but it has been for a few days now. It is also kind of sore.

It doesn't really hurt when I poke it, so I'm hesitant to get it checked out. Because, you know, everything that needs to be inspected by a physician hurts when you poke at it. So, while it still passes the poke test, I'm just going to proceed to ice and elevate it.

Today rocked. Kelsey and Natalie came over and watched a movie this morning. We watched a movie called Fireproof.




It is super corny and predictable, but I love the message that it has.

Then I had a date with Tressa tonight. We wandered around the Summerfest festival downtown, where I ran into my friend Tina, as well as my and Tres' old friend Scott and his beautiful wife, Leslie, who is expecting their first child.Then we went to Tesha's graduation from Dental Hygienist training.

We're pretty darn proud of that girl.

Then Tressa and I continued our date by going to get an ice cream cone at Charlie's Ice Cream, where my other friend, Lindsay, was working. Then our other old friend, Derek, walked in.

I can't tell you how much I love unexpectedly running into friends. My life is stellar.

The song that I am in love with at the moment is Little Romance by Ingrid Michaelson. I can't seem to stop humming it and smiling.

Day 157

I ran 3.5 miles today. This was the first time in a couple of weeks, since my knees have been giving me problems.

My right knee didn't hurt at all during or after the run, but my left was just a bit achy during the run. I didn't time myself, but I figure that I just kept an easy pace, probably around 12 min/ mile.

Knee wise, I consider today to be a success. However, I have had an awful time after my run today, and I think that it is due to a few mistakes that I made.

1. I started my run a bit after noon, when it was bordering hot outside. 
2. I haven't been drinking enough water lately, and today was no exception.
3. I slept in and just had a granola bar for breakfast, with nothing else before my run. This was after I accidentally skipped dinner last night. I also have not been eating very healthy foods for a few weeks now.

All of this added up to a migraine off and on through-out the afternoon, and I haven't been able to keep any food down all day, either. Also, I am very tired, even after sleeping half of the afternoon.

The great news with all of this, is that those 3 things are all choices that I can change for future runs. If my knees are back in the game, then so am I.

Boo-ya, baby.

Day 156

Trek was awesome.

It was also quite eventful. I am still discovering scrapes, bumps, bruises and the odd sore muscle. I'm also still recovering in the sleep department, so this is likely to be a highly revised post as I come back and re-read it.

We kicked things off with a 7 hour or so car ride through Wyoming's vast array of sagebrush and nothingness. Fortunately, I was in a vehicle with 6 people that I now know are rockstars. There were Nate and Kristen and their 8 3/4 year old son, Hyrum. My fellow young single adults were Ben, Katie, and Julie. Since I have the leg length of your average Dachshund, I volunteered to sit in the very back with Hyrum. This was also a great arrangement because I've missed in depth discussions about Legos, Skippy Jon Jones, and various ways to play dodge ball. However, my the seating arrangement made things interesting due to the fact that I still very much wanted to get to know everyone else in the car, and apparently I am an elderly woman who is experiencing hearing loss. Somebody would say something up front, and I would hear something completely different in the back, if I heard anything at all. This would lead to conversations that went something like this 

(Actual excerpt):

I heard something about a helicopter

Me: Well, it would sure have its pick of where to land out here. It's wide open. (Chuckle)

Rest of car: Silence

Ben: What's landing, Stephanie?

Me: The helicopter. (Awkward chuckling as I wait for everyone to catch on)

Katie: None of us said anything about a helicopter . . . 

Me: Oh . . .

Eventually, we made it to Martin's Cove.  We only had a short 2 mile hike into the cove. 

It was relatively flat and a well paved trail. Everything went according to plan, except for the weather. The wind was strong enough that I could spread my arms and lean most of my weight into the wind and it would support me. I took a video that doesn't completely do it justice. Fair warning: Turn down your volume before watching.

After a very thought provoking trip through Martin's Cove, we hopped back into the cars for the hour trip to where we would set up camp. Ben was kind enough to cram himself into the back seat for this leg of the journey. I stretched out my legs in the next seat up, enjoyed the scenery out of the window, and felt slightly vindicated as this conversation took place:

Me: That is one of the most beautiful horizons I've ever seen in my life.

Ben: What dress?

Me: Huh?

Ben: The pretty dress you just talked about . . .

Me: HA! It's not my ears! It's the back seat! The words change between here and there! HA!

After nearly flying away while setting up the tent in the ridiculous wind, the weather began to calm a bit as we ate dinner and then were taught some square dances by the resident senior missionaries.

Then we unwound even more by playing jump rope with an enormous rope. We then played tug-of-war, stick-pull, and leg-wrestling. After spending a bit of time around the campfire, I hopped in my bed a bit early, with the hopes of being well rested for the next day's 10-mile hike.

Around 11:30 camp quieted down enough for me to drift off.

Around 12:15 I was awoken by a couple of the guys talking. I was beginning to be slightly annoyed, when my mind registered that they were talking about their tent being flooded with at least 4 inches of water.

My semi-coherent mind threw out the thought, "At least I'm sleeping on an inflatable pool float. I'll be fine."

Then the thought of a flooded tent fully sunk in and my eyes flew open in unison with my hand struggling its way out of my mummy bag to feel the ground around me.

Dry.

The floor was dry.

I started to breathe again. My tent with 5 girls had lucked out. Several other tents weren't so fortunate and had to wade with their stuff over to the trailer we used to haul stuff around in, which became a make-shift shelter. It was decided that we should move our tent a bit further away from our new shoreline property, just to be on the safe side. So, we all stumbled around in the dark to unstake our tent and maneuver it to a place that we deemed safer. 

I loved all the people who were on Trek. Seriously, these people are amazing. Even after all of this, I heard very little complaining. I fell back asleep to the sounds of the flood victims all laughing and joking from the trailer.

We woke up early to a gorgeous day and hit the trail.

 I found out later that there were conflicting reports floating around about the trail condition, but all that I heard was that we would encounter some water in our first 1/2 mile, and then we would be okay until the official river crossing, much later. In actuality, the trail-head was underwater. We were in and out of thigh-deep water for our first 3 1/2 miles. Nobody knew when the next flooded part was, so we spent a great deal of time drying our feet and changing in and out of our hiking shoes.

It was a really cool experience. Everyone was so quick to help each other in whichever way they could. It seemed like every time that I started into the water, someone was offering me a hand, or shouting out from ahead to tell me when I was approaching a hole under the murky water. Some of the smaller girls, and those with injuries, were carried across. 

I watched as men waded back and forth, sometimes in water up to their hips, to make sure that every girl made it across safely. These are some incredible people.

Would we laugh when somebody face planted and came up covered in mud? Oh, yeah. But, it would always be as several people were running forward with their hands outstretched to help them back up.

After lunch it was decided that we would take the fork ahead for the 6-mile loop, rather than our original 10-mile. The original purpose of going the whole 10 miles was to experience a river crossing, but, well, we were as water-logged as we cared to get from the unexpectedly flooded trail. I must confess that I was pretty bummed about not doing the entire 10 miles. I knew that I was becoming completely exhausted, but I was enjoying myself immensely. There were so many experiences on that trail that strengthened my faith and brought me closer to all of those around me. 

A little over half-way, I noticed that the most significant thing that was occurring, was something that was not hurting. I had been very nervous about my knees. Even with Aleve and my braces, they were feeling achy the previous day. I can only think that it must be a tender mercy that I did not feel one bit of pain in my knees during the 6-mile trek, up and down some steep hills and rough terrain. Near the end, I managed to trip and fall on my way out of a water-crossing. I went down hard, landing right with my knees on some rocks. This was when the tubing in my braces saved me from anything worse than some slight bruising and a few scrapes.

I am a very blessed girl.

After we made it back to camp I sat down, and never wanted to get back up. At that moment, I thought the patch of shaded grass where I had planted myself with my feet in the sun was the absolute best place in the entire world. Pulling a handcart requires muscles that I just don't use in everyday life. Every move that I made awoke soreness in parts of my body that I'm not certain have ever been sore before. 

So, of course, we did more square dancing. We all stumbled and staggered our way, laughing through the whole thing. Then one of the girls from the ward lead us all in yoga. I didn't get pictures of it, however I know that somebody else did. If I ever get my hands on them I will post them on here. There's just something about watching a bunch of pioneers doing Downward Dog that I find hilarious.

After a powerful fireside devotional, we spent a couple of hours cooking s'mores and talking around the fire.

Didn't turn out how I was imagining.
If you look closely you can see some pioneer silhouettes, though.

At some point I went to bed.

Saturday morning we woke up, cleaned up the camp grounds and broke camp. On our way home we stopped at a site called Rock Creek Hollow, where 13 members of a handcart company died in one night and were buried. There was still an impressive amount of snow there.

The panorama feature on my camera decided the scene needed some pink.
Thanks, camera.

 After that, our long journey home was only broken by a stop to split a few big pizzas at Bear Lake.

While I was super excited to take a long, long hot shower and sleep on a bed, I was really sorry to see Trek end. It was an amazing adventure with some of the most magnificently stupendous people I have ever gotten to know in my life. I'd go just about anywhere with this group.

Day 155

I leave for Trek at 6:30 in the morning, which is just less than 8 hours from right now.

Don't think I've quit or died or anything, but I'll be gone for 3 days.

The last time I went on Trek, there was a strict weight limit for what I could bring with me. That was not the case this time. So, what do I bring to get my pioneer on and hike across the barren Wyoming nothingness?

This is what:

The sweats are for sleeping in. The Chacos are for the river crossing. The rest of the time I will be in my pioneer garb.
Those baby wipes are my bath for the next 3 days, so things are about to get pretty ripe up in here.

And then I crammed it all into a large backpack and a smaller backpack, while the bedding went into a trash bag.

And now I bid thee all a fond farewell, until we meet again.

Day 154

In preparation for an 80's themed party tonight, I was digging through the darkest corners of my parents' basement, when I came across a hidden treasure.

I had the glorious artifact in my hand and was half-way up the stairs to laugh directly to my mom's face, when I remembered the man in my own closet.

Tags: Josh Groban, Music, More Music Videos

Josh Groban is my Lionel Richie.

What can I say? I am my mother's daughter.

Speaking of daughters, here's to hoping that Josh Groban doesn't end up with one like Lionel Richie's.

Day 153

I am going to be spending this Thursday through Saturday hiking through the absolute middle of nowhere, while wearing a skirt, bloomers, and a bonnet.

That's correct, my friends, I am going on Trek.

Back in the 1800's, Mormon pioneers made their way across America on foot to settle in the Salt Lake valley. If you are unfamiliar with the basics of this story, go here to learn more details about the general story of the Mormon pioneers. Among the pioneers that made the journey West, were the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies. The full tragic story of their trek can be found here.

Members of the Latter-Day Saint community honor all of the pioneers, but specifically those who sacrificed so much in the barren part of Wyoming now known as Martin's Cove. Many members of our faith get groups together to literally follow in their footsteps. We dress the part of pioneers and pull handcarts along a portion of exact trail they traveled over 150 years ago.

Some may say that this sounds like an absolutely miserable idea. I can tell you that, first off, seeing as we d this in the summer, no one is risking death or serious injury. Secondly, my previous experience with Trek was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life.

Sadly, I was unable to dig up any pictures from the Trek I took 7 years ago, however I did stumble upon some other memorabilia.

As I held these items again, I was flooded with some amazing memories. 

Truly, Martin's Cove is hallowed ground. I cannot wait to return to it and pay respect to all of those people who gave their lives in search of a safe place to worship God as they believed.

"Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes! But I was in that company and my wife was in it, and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited here was there, too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities!
I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels of God were there. Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.” 

Francis Webster - Survivor from the Martin Handcart Company

                                                                   

Day 152

Today I got in on some ultimate frisbee. I'm not completely awful, when I'm actually paying attention to the game.

Then Garrett had some boxing gloves just laying around the round house, so Scott told me to start punching him. Elise gave me some pro tips, and pretty soon I was really enjoying myself. Poor Scott had no way of knowing he was asking the girl with repressed knee anger issues to take a swing at him.

While at the Round House, I visited the recovering Jacie. Heart surgery ain't no picnic.

After that we went star gazing in Paradise.

Scott, Lis, and Amber

Garrett

Nate and Melissa

Me, Cassie, and Elise.
This was try about 1,254 out of 5,649.
The flash was messing with our eyes in a big way.

Of course, star gazing quickly turned into just hanging out and talking in a park in the dark.

Not a shabby way at all to spend a summer Saturday.

Definitely better than how Ben, over at Ben Does Life, spent his day.

Day 151

Well, it's official.

I am taking an indefinite break from running.

I made the decision after I was walking around like an 80 year old with arthritic knees all day today. Now that the day is drawing to a close, I went to change out of my pants and noticed bruising around both of my kneecaps, and I haven't banged them against anything today or yesterday. Unfortunately, that means that I likely have done some kind of internal damage to my knees. That's not something I want to screw around with. So, starting tomorrow I'm back to putting a heavy emphasis on a healthy diet, and low impact exercises, with the goal of rehabilitating my knees and running again in the future.

This is not an easy decision for me to make. It's extremely difficult to actually type this, because this means that it's real, and I have worked hard to get where I am now. I've put all that I've got into it, and all the while I was dreaming of a bright, shining future, where I was the healthy runner of many marathons. I want it, and I want it bad. But, this body is mine for life. It's not worth getting skinny if it cripples me. The point of all of this was to increase the quality of my life.

I'd make one hot invalid, though. I'm just gonna throw that out there.

 However, I'd rather not go there.

So, I still have that dream of running a marathon. But, for right now it is on the back burner.

That being said, my dream of losing a hundred pounds, becoming healthier, and living a fantastic life, is still very much alive and completely attainable. In fact, it is already about halfway attained.

No more tears here. No more woe is me.

My life is still better than it was on January 3rd. That means I'm winning. Not Charlie Sheen "winning", I'm talking legit winning.

This is just an opportunity to find a different physical activity to excel at.

In other news, I helped Vikki and Kelley move into their beautiful new home today!

The view from their yard

Just in time, too! Baby Elena is ready to make her way into the world any day now. I, for one, am very excited to meet her.

Day 150

So, I ran 7 miles today.

Well, actually I guess that I ran about 6 miles of it, and walked about a mile.

It was a very, very rough run. At almost half way, my knees started hurting. I would walk until my knees felt alright again, and then run until they hurt. My walking times became gradually longer and my running times began to decrease. Then, with about 2 miles to go, my feet skipped right past aching and were causing me a great deal of pain.

With about a mile left I seriously considered calling my mom to come pick me up. But, I couldn't quit. I knew that even if I had to walk home, I could live with myself better than if I just stopped. With just a few blocks left, my playlist on my iPod ran out and in the sudden silence I heard sobbing. I reached up to my face and realized that I was crying. That easily ranks as one of the most miserable moments of my life.

I think that it was more out of frustration than pain. A week ago today I had the best run of my life. Both of my knees were fine. Now, I'm not completely sure what to do. I'm taking some joint supplement pills. I also took some Aleve before my run. I'm going to get some water shoes and try running in the pool for physical therapy. Of course, I've got my two new black running buddies to assist me, as well.

That's all that I can think to do. That and pray.

Speaking of prayers, my friend, Jacie, went in for heart surgery today. I'm dedicating this video to her. I hope to see you laughing again in person very soon. Like, preferably tomorrow. Until then, I know this video made me laugh hard while I was completely sober. I can only imagine the wonders it will do with your loopy lortab mind.



Get well soon, love.

Day 149

I picked up a little band thing to put under my knee while I run. It specifically says that it is for running and jumping, so there ya go. I wore it on my knee during my run. While that knee did get a little sore, there was no actual pain. After I was done running, that knee didn't hurt at all. Sadly, I'll have to get another one for my other knee. It was really bothering me towards the end of my run. The good news is that I didn't have to push myself too hard to finish the whole 4.5 miles within a minute total time of last Thursday. I'm still around a 10:50 min/ mile pace. I've also been noticing that after I run 4 miles or above, a few hours later I will get sick to my stomach for a bit. Although, some of that may be due to the fact that I have blown my diet completely lately. I should probably focus more on what I'm eating again.

I also went to Honk's dollar store with some friends, and we picked up some sweet tramp stamps. We decided not to trampify ourselves, and opted for other body parts.

Group shot. Tesha's foot turtle is my favorite

Close up of my hardcore roses

On the way back to my car, I heard, "Miss Stephanie!" and turned around to find one of the After School Club first graders running up to hug me. I really miss those kids. A lot. A whole stinkin' lot.

Back at the Round House, we played Apples to Apples. I ended up with the Viagra card in my hand, and no idea how to play it. When someone says something that is funny or can easily be taken out of context at the Round House, it is written on an index card, and stuck on the Quote Wall. At the end of Apples to Apples I blurted out my first Quote Wall comment. "I have Viagra, and I don't have a clue what to do with it." 

Oy vey.

I am going to have a busy summer extricating my foot from my mouth.

Day 148

Once upon a time, there was a man named Lloyd.

Lloyd grew up working very hard to help support his family.

When he was in his twenties, Lloyd moved to a small town called Williamsburg, Idaho, where he worked on a dairy. It was there that he met a beautiful young woman named Lucy. They had a wonderful courtship, and spent their free time going fishing, dancing and to ball games. Then news came that his mother had fallen ill with the stress of his brother being gone serving overseas in WWI. Lloyd rushed back to Utah to be with his mother, and was heartbroken as she passed away so unexpectedly. While still recovering from the shock of losing his mother, he received his own orders from Uncle Sam. Before showing up for duty, he made one last trip to Williamsburg, to bid his sweetheart farewell. While he was there visiting, he fell gravely ill. He did not recover enough to report for service until the war was over. 

So it was that Lloyd Herbert Hansen asked Lucy May Kunz to be his bride. And on May 23, 1919, that dream became a reality.

Lloyd and Lucy Hansen
One fine looking couple

Together, Lloyd and Lucy raised 9 children to adulthood.

At the age of 58, Lucy became mortally ill. From her death bed she composed a letter to her children that read in part:

"Please get together at least once a year, if you can, and hold those family ties that will bind you through all eternity."

 Their children were touched by their mother's plea, and firmly decided to obey her wishes, even as they became older . . .

Eight of Lloyd and Lucy's children in about 2000, and the ninth photo-shopped in 

and had their own children, who in turn had their own children, who then had even more children.

Less than half of Lloyd and Lucy's posterity, as of 2002

The youngest of the nine children was named Gordon. He had a son named Steve, who then had a gorgeous daughter named Stephanie. That's me, of course. 

Every Memorial Day, for as long as I can remember, we have met in Lewiston, Utah, which is where Lloyd and Lucy (My great grand-parents, in case you've lost track) raised their family. I took this for granted for a very long time. It has only been recently that I have come to appreciate the fact that I know each of my great aunts and uncles by name, and, even more amazingly, they know me by name as well. 

During this annual event, I am also guaranteed to see my cousins. I've always been pretty close to my cousins on that side of my family. As the oldest, I've also felt a great deal of pressure to set an example for the rest of the crew. There is no time that this is more apparent than when a picture is being taken of us. I have consistently striven to have perfect photo etiquette, no matter what chaos ensues around me. As the years have passed, most of them seem to have caught on.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C - Today
(We're short a few cousins, and have some additional significant others)

I love my cousins. They really are some of my favorite people. I'm so glad that they are stuck with me through virtue of blood.

This year I had a shocking realization of my own age. Do you see that girl in the Hello Kitty sweater next to me? Her name is Brooke. I frequently baby-sat her and her two brothers (Ian in the white shirt, and Eric in the black and white pants) when they were very, very small children.

She used to be my mini-me.

Also, in a shoes-off comparison, I am officially the shortest of my blood-related cousins, even though I am the oldest. What up with that?

 I truly do love every member of my family. Each person is strikingly unique. Just about the only thing we share in common are our noses and fantastic sense of humor. These are the people that I want to spend all of eternity with.

After all, they're the only ones in all of creation in whose presence I feel normal.

Day 147

I just watched The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the first time. I really liked it. Not to get all cliche on you, though, but there is nothing that can do justice to the books. I knew that, and that is why I haven't seen the movie for this long.

 I resisted reading the Chronicles of Narnia for years. I thought that they were children's books, so I was not interested. Out of pure boredom last summer, I finally caved and listened to the audio version.

I have never been more surprised by a series of books in my entire life. As a Christian, there is so much in those books that speaks to me on a much deeper level. I have to admit that I found myself crying on more than one occasion while listening to them. They are a simpler model of beautiful truths that I love to be reminded of.

I really do like the movies, they just have impossible shoes to fill. One thing that I love about the movies is that they always have songs on their soundtracks that make for stellar Sunday listening material.

Side-note: I totally saw Switchfoot in concert, once upon a time. They were fantastic.




Carrie Underwood co-wrote a song for the latest movie. It's one of my new favorites. You can find the song here, but I really wanted to post the lyrics. Why? Because this is my blog, and I love the words to this song. Also because she's got some fierce copyright holds on this song that prevent me from posting on my site.

There's A Place For Us lyrics

There’s a place out there for us,

More than just a prayer or anything you've ever dreamed of.

So if you feel like giving up cause you don’t fit in 

down here,

Fear is crashing in, close your eyes and take my hand.

We can be the kings and queens of anything if we 

believe.

It’s written in the stars that shine above,

A world where you and I belong, where faith and love 

will keep us strong,

Exactly who we are is just enough, there’s a place for us, there’s a 

place for us.

When the water meets the sky,

Where your heart is free and hope comes back to life,

When these broken hands are whole again,

We will find what we’ve been waiting for,

We were made for so much more

“Please, Aslan,” said Lucy. “Before we go, will you tell us when we can come back to Narnia again? Please. And oh, do, do, do make it soon.”

“Dearest,” said Aslan very gently, “you and your brother will never come back to Narnia.”

“Oh, Aslan!!” said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.

“You are too old, children,” said Aslan, “and you must begin to come close to your own world now.”

“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”

“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.

“Are are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.

“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”

C.S. Lewis - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Day 146

Sometimes I'm a fool.

Sometimes I'm a fool with a new camera.

Sometimes I hand my camera off to a friend's mom to take a picture of our group when it is still set on "video" mode.

So, now you know how much I perk up when I'm told that another picture is about to be taken of me. 

Today was the day that Lauren gave her talk to report home from her mission to Arkansas. Her talk was wonderful and she is a positively beautiful person. She is also single. Any of you single men who would like to get to know her better, just let me know.

Also, Vikki and Kelley are on the left of that "picture". Their genetically blessed girl, Elena, will be entering the world within the next couple of weeks, and they are moving into a new house at the end of this week. I love that crazy couple. I still owe them brownies for the duct tape suggestion that Kelley contributed.

Day 145

Not much to say.

I spent most of today icing and heating my knee. I would rather be running.

I also got in some hoops with my dad and brother, though. So, that was cool.

Day 144

Today did not start off too well.

Kelsey and Natalie came over and we went out on our two miler. Awhile into the run, I noticed a sensation that can only be described as feeling a cold chill, but only inside of my right knee. Then my knee started to ache. Right over halfway, my knee felt as though it were tightening up and it became quite painful. I decided to do something that I have not allowed myself to do since I started my training. I stopped running and I walked for most of the remaining distance. It felt fine when I walked, but as soon as I would attempt to jog, it would begin to hurt again. My first reaction was to stress out about it. The past few months of my life flashed before my eyes. I panicked. As I was walking back home, watching the figures of my friends fading into the distance, I called my mom and tried to fight back tears of frustration as I explained what had happened. As I talked it out with her, I decided that the best decision would be to alternate between ice and a heating pad this weekend, and rest it. This also means that I will be skipping my 4.5 mile training run tomorrow. I can't type that without wincing. That being said, I have determined not to stress out about this or treat it like a big deal. I'm just going to rest for a couple of days, get a knee brace, and be back in the game next week. No big. I have come way too far to call it quits now, so don't you worry. I have no plan of backing down. All the same, I can't push myself to injury, so I'll just play this by ear. I've still got to give my body credit. Endurance training, particularly when you are overweight, is very rough on your body. This is the first serious sign of wear and tear that mine has shown. I still feel confident in my over-all health.

In the near future I will be completing a half-marathon and I will be running the whole way. Ya'll can hold me to it.

In other news, I went blacklight bowling tonight with my old friends, Vikki, Muriel, Mariska, and Sabrina.

Vikki did not bowl because she is currently carrying a serious bowling ball on the front of her, in the form of a baby that is due within the month. Muriel is getting married within the month, and was busy doing some prep for that, so she showed up late. When she did show up, she was some pretty fierce competition. Mariska had never gone bowling before and had no idea how to even hold the ball. I walked her through some bare basics, then stepped back and prepared myself to encourage her relentlessly through a night filled with gutter balls. Instead I watched in amazement as she earned several spares and the only strike of the night. I managed to pick up a few spares, but my over-all game was far from anything to write home about. Then there was Sabrina. She turned my residual bad mojo from the knee incident right around into joy. I have never in my life witnessed someone with a remotely similar bowling technique to Sabrina's. Hers usually included a little hop somewhere, and then a backhanded roll, but it was never exactly the same. I asked her permission to share her technique with the world via my blog, and she graciously agreed.

Take notes, internet, because this method actually served her pretty well in tonight's game.

Day 143

First off, I had a bunch of friends move into a house that is round for the summer. It is called . . . (wait for it) the Round House. Expect it to come up in posts throughout the summer, because it is going to be one happening place. On Tuesday, I ended my birthday by going over there for a toga party.

Unlike most kids our age who have toga parties (Toga! Toga! Toga!) we are members of the LDS faith, so the strongest drink we had was milk. We just hung out and watched Hercules. I also discovered that my camera has a smile detector. Seriously, I can set it so that my camera will automatically take a picture once it senses that someone is smiling. I tested it out with my buddy, Nate. We frowned, and then as soon as we smiled it took the picture.

Not the most flattering picture, but it knew the second I was smiling.
My camera has the capabilities to take over the friggin' world.

I have never been more impressed with a camera before. My camera is a genius. Imagine the possibilities this presents for photographing small children, who are notorious for frowning in pictures.

The biggest news, however, has to do with my new shoes and socks. I decided to be brave today and break in my new shoes on a 4.5 mile run with no tape. It payed off in a big way. My feet weren't nearly as sore as they have been after previous runs, and I had no blisters.

Then I sat down to calculate my time.

Then I checked my answer several times.

Then I texted Kelsey (Who was recovering from a couple previous runs this week), in shock.

Some of you may recall that I was pleased as punch just last week when I finally broke the 12 min/ mile average. I've worked long and hard to get that far, and I fully expected to work another month or so before I made any notable improvement on my speed.

Well, with the help of my new shoes and socks, I broke the 11 min/ mile mark today. I averaged about 10:50/ mile or 5.5 mph for 4.5 miles. I'm fairly certain that I have been given Hermes' shoes.

Dude could fly

To top it off, my iPod serenaded me with the perfect song in the home-stretch.

Day 142

I am now 23 years old.

In single Utah girl years, that's like 38.

Today has been a fantastic day. I started it out by eating some of my cheesecake for breakfast. I then did my 6 mile run solo, since Kelsey is out of town today. It was super humid, but the rain was nice enough to let up for awhile.

Then came the presents.

Folks, I try not to be materialistic, but I was pretty darn stoked. My family gave me some new clothes, a new digital camera, new Nikes, and running socks! Here I am, in a picture taken on my new camera, modeling some of my haul.

All of these gifts are exciting to me, but the shoes and socks are of particular importance. When I run, my toes tend to point out a bit. My faithful Asics were designed for someone with the opposite problem. Thus, they could lead to an injury for me and they could very well be contributing to my feet giving out before the rest of me. My new Nikes have more support on the outer part of the foot. From jogging around the house in them a bit, I can already tell a difference in the way that my feet land. As I've already mentioned, the socks should help to get rid of my blisters. So, hopefully now there will be no stopping me. It may seem odd, but I'm going to miss my Asics. They've gotten me to where I am now, which is a far cry from January. They've been there with me through some of the most challenging mental and physical walls I've ever faced. I've done my best to take care of them. I've tried to keep them clean. I've only used them for running.  

But, my oh my, if these new Nikes aren't just sexy beasts.

I'm putting enough miles on my shoes now that their structure is really important. My Asics accompanied me on my run today, and afterwards, I was left with an aching in my knees. I have the sneaking suspicion that my shoes could be the culprit. So, I now retire my Asics. Like many members of the retirement community, they will likely be spending a lot of time in the garden from now on.

Today is also a day of reflection. I am now leaving behind my 22nd year. It was a year of unspeakable lows, and highs that were once unimaginable. 

When I die, I want to be able to say that my 22nd year was the year that I reached my heaviest and most unhealthy point. 

And when I realized how miserable I was, I changed. 

Go ahead and put that on my tombstone.

22

23 (Well, 2 days shy of it)

Those are the same size shirts, they're just covering a different sized girl. 22's shorts don't fit 23 at all. 22 never stood a chance of zipping up the snazzy black ones that 23 is wearing. The second hike was also more strenuous and yet more easily conquered. The first girl was an emotional wreck. 22 had just gotten out of a relationship that she never should have been in. She thought very little of herself. 23 is much, much happier.

So, here's to 23.

I get the feeling it is going to rock pretty hardcore.