Arise and Shine Forth...

I love being in YW. It's kind of like I have 12 little minions that I can turn into "MiniMe"s. Just kidding... but I do love it. I feel like I've finally found my calling! It could be that I am a little 13-year old girl inside...and I like doing crafty stuff.

Anyway, the Mutual theme for 2012 is "Arise and Shine that Thy Light May Be a Standard unto the Nations." I volunteered to make the the handout introducing the theme. And that is when I found these adorable light bulb charms here...

And decided to string them onto cheerful yellow ribbon and attach a cute tag with the theme on it. I then gave one to each girl and told her to hang it somewhere where it would remind her to "shine forth". The girls loved the little charms and many of them wore them to school and had experiences sharing the scripture with their friends.

Cute...yes? If you'd like to have these tags... here is the printable. I folded it in half and then stapled it to the little plastic bag--way easier than tying a bow :) I think this would be a great birthday/Christmas gift or New Beginnings handout.

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.