Another Adventure in Dating

**UPDATE...
I was OUSTED! I think only because I refused to vote for myself a million times like the other girls...obviously I was the best pick of the bunch! :) Thanks so much for going to the site and voting. I did receive an email from Nate thanking me for applying and telling me that his sister is my super-fan! Plus, I have friends that know Nate personally, so we'll let him get this crazy dating out of his system and then we'll see what happens. Thanks again for voting everyone!

Friends...I know you want me to date all the weird guys you dredge up, just for entertainment purposes...

Well, now I've gone and done something that should provide you with more dating entertainment that you've ever dreamed of!

Check out datenate.com and vote for me if you would like me to go on a date that all the world can see, with this guy...
My sister's friends in Chicago know this guy in real life and sent the link on to my sister to see just how adventurous I was. Well, I guess we know now since I actually applied. I am now having serious misgivings about the whole thing...but, hey...it could be fun, right?

Here you go, Brooke & Caitlin...and anyone else who missed me while I took a little blog break...

I can't believe I got called out for not updating my blog. I kind of thought that was what facebook was for, no? If you are my fb friend, you may have seen that I have spent my summer baking cupcakes and running races. See my fb profile for race and cupcake photos that I'm too lazy to upload to blogger.


Since I have way more fb friends than blog readers, I'm guessing those who go to the effort to read this are probably just waiting for the dating stories that I can't post on fb because that is how I get to stalk, I mean, know someone before going out on a date in real life. So, here are some dating suggestions based on my recent experiences that I think you should pass along to the single guys out there...

1. Determine how spiritual she is by texting the links to a couple of talks she should read and then quiz her about them at dinner. Make sure she has a current temple recommend, too.

2. Pamper your date by feeding her bits of your dinner from your fork (super romantic!) even though she has somehow managed to feed herself a whole plate of spaghetti without your help

3. Go for a romantic stroll after dinner and show off your charitable side by offering to buy a homeless alcoholic guy dinner at 11:30 at night when you have to walk about a million blocks to find an open food establishment in between the bars and nightclubs with the festively-dressed patrons loitering outside. Comment on the super skimpy outfits the women are wearing and how they are not following "For the Strength of Youth" guidelines for modesty.

4. Don't compliment her perfume. Instead, bring her a bottle of the lotion that you enjoyed smelling on another woman at the gym you frequent and tell your date the "funny story" about how you picked the fragrance.

5. Demonstrate your husband/father potential and tell her about the large house you bought because you usually date women with children and expect to marry a woman with children, even though your current date has never been married and has no children herself.

6. Give the same awkward chastity lesson (involving a Levitra pen prop) to your date that you did to your teenage daughters. Also, explain your thirteen rules of dating, just in case the previous discussion wasn't awkward enough.



P.S. Someone...please make it end. I don't think I can date anymore.

Tour de Donut

I was hoping for the gold...alas...eating 12 donuts takes longer than I thought, but I managed to stay on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Chad was awesome...He rode and I drafted behind him for nearly the entire 21 miles of the course. He also encouraged me to eat more donuts than I really wanted to...thanks Chaddie...

Since I did not win 1st place, I decided to get myself a medal...I think it will look pretty cute with my jersey!

Introducing... Lucas William

Chad and Jordie had their little boy on Friday. I was blessed and honored to be included in the big event and was present at the delivery...what an amazing experience! I have seen the birth video in health, and frankly, felt sick and had to lay my head down on the desk. In college, one of my animal science labs involved watching a cat spaying...again, I felt sick and had to sit outside the room with my professor patting my cheek and calling me "little gal". So, I was a little nervous about my ability to get through it without passing out. Luckily, it was nothing like the health video or a cat being spayed...as I'm sure you moms out there already know, but it was a new experience for me, OK?

My eyeballs got a little misty as I witnessed this little miracle. I'm so grateful that Chad and Jordan let me be a part of it and see my little nephew take his first breaths. It was such a beautiful moment...and a beautiful little baby to cherish!

Happy Father's Day!

Hope you had a great day, Dad! We love you!

Ironman Boise 70.3 Report

After my marathon, I kind of lost training focus. Then, the Boise 70.3 snuck up on me and I realized that I might not be as prepared as I would like to be. Luckily, I'm pretty OK with revising my race expectations and I figured I would just do this race for fun without any expectations for a finishing time. I had talked Chad into doing it (sorry Chaddie...) and I had a lot of tri friends going up to do the race, so I knew that I would see a lot of friends on course which would make it fun even if I wasn't having my best race.

Boise is unique with a 12:00 noon start time. I have to say that I am not excited about the later start. It's just too much time to sit around worrying about things that are no longer under my control. For one, the water at Lucky Peak Reservoir was a chilly 53 degrees. If you have never swam in water that cold, I don't recommend it. As we were floating there waiting for the cannon to go off, my face and feet were painfully cold. Luckily, a few minutes into the swim, they went numb entirely!

Chad's wave had gone off just before mine, and he was nervous about the swim. So, I checked every guy with a red swim cap to make sure it wasn't Chad. No need for me to worry, Chad had a great swim! Mine was decent for my lack of training, and I felt good coming out of the water.

I always stress about the bike since it's not my favorite, and if I get a flat or have mechanical difficulties, it's going to be a very long day. The ride was actually very nice...the sky was overcast and the course had some rolling hills, but nothing too strenuous. I actually passed guys on the course, which always surprises me.

I almost tipped over as I came to the dismount line. Luckily, a race volunteer must have seen the panic on my face and ran over to steady my bike as I got my other foot unclipped.

I had a quick transition and headed out to the run course. I was happy to be off the bike and was just starting to get my legs moving when I saw Chad at the 1-mile marker on the run course. I was a little surprised to see him and that he was on his first loop. He'd had some trouble on the bike... a flat and a crash and was now struggling with some cramping. So, we decided that we would finish the race together.

We ran to the aid stations and then walked through them, making sure to get enough fluids. I saw all my friends on the course and we made some new ones. I love triathletes! For the most part, they are supportive and encouraging of other athletes. It was a fun run course that wound around the river on a park trail, and with aid stations at every mile, the run went by very quickly.

The volunteers were awesome. They were a lot of fun and there were lots of cheering fans on the course that helped make a long day go by quickly. I cannot say enough how much I appreciate a smiling cheerful volunteer.

All-in-all, a good race day. Not my fastest time... I finished in 6:33, but it was a fun day and I was grateful to feel good all day and get to finish the race with Chad.

Marathon Report

I think the Ogden Marathon is jinxed for me and Dixie...but we still love it! The day was beautiful, and I do love the course...it just doesn't love us.

We had everything planned out...we started running with the Clif Team pacer Bill...and I thought for sure this was going to be my PR day. We were running a little faster than I thought we would, but I was feeling pretty good...until about mile 12... and I could feel all the liquid sloshing inside me. Not a good sign. From mile 14-26, I lost everything I had ingested, one way or another, and my energy levels were pretty low. I still finished, and we looked pretty awesome in our skirts :) Dixie did great and ran with a painful hamstring.

All in all, I still love that race, but it was not my best day, darn it. Luckily, another race is just around the corner :)

Goldilocks!

Jodi and me...

Dixie and me...

I seriously love this ride! You can do whatever distance works for you, it's all women, it's lots of fun, the shirts are cute, the water bottles are cute, and the food is yummy. And I get to ride with my wonderful friends. What's not to like?

It's Our Birthday!

I love digging out old photos of us celebrating our birthday together! I must say, we were adorable even though we did have unfortunate haircuts.

I got my pedicure (phew) and I ran 12 miles today, so I can eat all the birthday cupcakes I want! Luckily, I made a couple of dozen cupcakes for myself in the cute apron Missy sent me...


I had some help from my assistant...


Hope you have a great birthday Missy!

Running...not for the squeamish...

I have been told, more than once, that I have cute toes. Obviously, those people have not seen my toes during marathon training. I am in no way ready for sandal season...and I don't think it's going to get much better until after the race. Side note...if anyone is looking for birthday ideas for me, a pedicure is obviously much needed...see picture for proof. Seriously...those two toenails are not going to make it. That bluish tint...not left over nail polish, but actual skin coloring.

Gross...

On a much prettier note...Dixie and I have narrowed down our running skirt options to find a super cute one that will hopefully stand out visually so that her husband can spot us and take some action shots as we head toward the finish line...Very cute, yes? Dixie is planning on wearing a pink top with hers, and I'll wear an orange one...I think we'll be identifiable...

More Adventures on the Internet...

So, Missy sent me a website about a girl who just loves to set people up and calls herself the Mormon Matchmaker... like I'm not going to give that a try...I've always wanted a matchmaker and although all my friends are more than willing, it seems that they only know married guys. So, maybe this girl has more connections, somehow. The only problem was that you needed to submit photos and my only photos consisted of me holding other people's children or me in spandex...neither one was really acceptable.

As I was lamenting the fact that I have no normal picture of me during our 20-mile run, Dixie turned to me and said, "I have a nice camera...I can take some pictures of you!" Well, we happened to be running around the lake at Daybreak at that time and she looks around and says, "The light is perfect here! Great bridges...and yellow daffodils! We should do pictures here!" And so she very kindly met up with me before church on Sunday morning and took some pictures of me. Now, I usually feel like an idiot getting my picture taken, but Dixie is amazing! She told me exactly what to do with my arms and head and legs and took some pictures that I am actually excited about submitting! Dixie...you are amazingly talented and a wonderful friend! And we had so much fun! I heart Dixie...she has earned her place at the head table at my wedding :)

I Am Epic Win

I want a mini giraffe that runs on a treadmill...where do I get one of those?

Disneyworld & Princess Half Marathon

Again...if you only want to do one half marathon in your life, pick a Disney race. They are supportive, fun, and you get great medals. Plus, speed is not an essential component of a great race here. They totally want everyone to have a good time, and they will pay their employees to cheer you on!

Missy had the brilliant idea to sign up for this race and bring the fam for a fun-filled Florida vacation. Who can say no to Florida in February? So we all spent a lovely week at the happiest place on earth!

The day before the half, they have the kids' races. All the nieces and nephews were signed up. I was Halle's coach for the 200 meter dash. This is her game face. She looks unhappy here, but she was dynamite around the track once the race started!

Missy and I were a little more excited to be at the start line of our race...


...especially once we saw all the princes ready for photos while "It's Raining Men" blared from the speakers. Sadly, all the princes were wearing a lot more makeup than I was.


Jesse and Bullseye were a nice surprise as we cruised around Adventureland.


Jack Sparrow and his band of pirates had shipwrecked in the median. I said, "I can't believe pirates get up this early!" (The race started at 5:45) Missy said, "They just stayed up!"


I don't know Phineas and Ferb...but the kids do, so this one was for them...they were actually pretty funny. "What are we going to do today?" "RUN!"


At the finish line, we were greeted by Rapunzel, Snow White, Jasmine, and Ariel. I hope I didn't sweat too much on their lovely gowns.


After the race, we headed over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was incredible! And, butterbeer is so tasty! We had fun riding the rides, picking out our wands, and getting postcards stamped at the owlery.

Disney's Hollywood Studios was a hit with the kids. We all had fun watching the shows, and checking out the cars!

Nora loved her corn dog...
So did I...
A great end to a great vacation.... one last trip to the Magic Kingdom...

Missy and I are now registered for the Disneyland Half in September so we can pick up our Coast-to-Coast medals. Come run with us!!!

Ahoy Mom...Happy Birthday!

I'm not sure why I have this photo...but it's a goodie...and it shows Mom's adventurous travel-loving side. So, we're all off to Disneyworld to celebrate! And Mom will be her supportive self as Missy and I run for these...


at the Disneyworld Princess Half Marathon!

Friday!

Camouflage!

Great...now I've just gotten the Beastie Boys stuck in my head but instead of singing "Sabotage" I'm doing "Camouflage"... and this post was going so well. Anyhoo...for New Beginnings this year, the Laurels decided to do "BOOT CAMP". I volunteered to make 80 camouflage cupcakes (hey...it was that, or wash 40 potatoes, wrap them in tin foil, and bake them) Behold...my cupcake army!

We also dressed up in fashionable "army" wear. These are my amazing advisers, Sue and Tess. We have so much fun in Beehives!

Goodbye 2010!

It's that time of year when I reflect back on the past 12 months, wishing I were back on the beach, and wondering why it is I always think I have nothing to do, because when I look back, I realize that I was one busy girl this past year.

I competed in over 15 races...and took home some awesome hardware for my collection.

• Ironman California 70.3
• Salt Lake City Half Marathon
• Ironman St. George
• Goldilocks Ride
• Ogden Marathon
• Women of Steel Triathlon
• Salem Spring Triathlon
• Utah Valley Marathon
• Ragnar Relay
• Tour de Donut
  
• Herriman Triathlon
• Mapleton Moonlight Half Marathon
  
• Disneyland Half Marathon
• Dirty Dash
• St. George Marathon
• Pink Half Marathon
• Halloween Half Marathon

I went on some fun trips including a couple of trips to California to race and hang out with friends, and a great trip to Ireland.I started a new calling working with the Young Women in the ward, which I love, but keeps me plenty busy. Sadly, I did not find the love of my life in 2010, but it wasn't for lack of trying. I had quite the ride with internet dating, thanks to Stacy. I think it's telling that I get a lot of comments like, "You should do the internet dating thing again...your stories were so funny" and not "I wish you'd do the internet dating thing so you can find someone awesome."

All-in-all, I am so lucky to have the opportunity to experience so many wonderful things...but I'm most grateful for loving and supportive friends and family! Here's hoping that 2011 is just as awesome as 2010!