The Big Weekend Update

Half-Marathon #3: CHECK!

Let me tell you my friends, this was not my race. I don't know what happened, but I fell apart. But, before I launch into my whiny sob story about it all, let me brag in Brent's behalf, since I don't think he'll do it himself. This totally was Brent's race. It was his first half-marathon, and he rocked it. Even with very little training or running experience, he killed it. It was awesome, and I am so impressed and proud of him!

Okay, now for my experience. Never before have I stopped to walk during a race... this time I did. Never before have I run anywhere close to less than 10 minute miles during a race... this time I did. Brent and I started off running together, and we were keeping pretty dang good time, around an 8:30-8:40 min/miles. We kept that up until maybe mile 3, then slowed a bit as we started to hit some hills and started to feel the heat. Then around mile 5, I just started to feel like crap. I felt completely fatigued, and we weren't even half way through yet! I have about 100 excuses I could throw out, but they're all lame: I never train with hills, and this course had some. The sun was hot. The wind was pushing back against us. I donated plasma the day before. I ate junk food all week long. I took my first ever 5-hour energy right before that might have contributed to how weird I felt. Yadda yadda yadda, the list goes on. Fact of the matter is, it shouldn't have happened. I've been training for this race for months and I really wanted to do well. Brent and I stuck together until mile 7 and I felt like I was going to die, meanwhile I could tell he was starting to hit his stride and feel pretty good, so I made him leave me and do his best. No one deserves to be held back at all on their first race. So off he went, and I don't know how I survived the next 6 miles. It was awful and I just wanted to stop the entire time. There was lots of walking and I drank probably wayyy too much water at each station. But anyway, I eventually finished about 9 minutes behind Brent (He placed 11th in his male age division and I placed 14th in mine). And I had him and awesome friends waiting there at the end and thankfully no one who would negatively judge me on my slow time. I know i'm my harshest critic, its impossible not to be. My last half marathon time was 24 minutes faster than this one, so its hard not to be discouraged and disappointed! But you know what, I did it. AND, i'm going to do it again. Half-marathon #4 is scheduled for June 9th, so i've got my sights set on that now and i'm determined to drown out my disappointment in this race by dominating that one.

While it wasn't my best race, I am still glad I did it. It was a bright, warm, sunny day and we had fun with the overall experience :)

Josh and my visiting teacher Lauren surprised us at the finish line with bright posters and loud cheering :) They are so great. Brent's sister Lisa and her family all came out to surprise him too, but we were stupid enough to forget to get a picture with them. Thanks to all you guys for coming!

I was excited to go home and add a new number and finisher's medal to my motivation wall. Plus, gotta love the poster dad gave me for Christmas with a picture from my first half out on the salt flats. It says: i run, therefore i am. I love it and it is a constant reminder for me of what I am capable of.

The rest of the weekend was fantastic. Ward BBQ, sunshine, General Conference, FaceTime with family, painting my nails all Eastery, good chats with the roommates (then getting awfully tricked by said roommates, dang you April Fool's Day), getting some big school obligations completed, more General Conference, and the regular bi-weekly crazy fun family dinner with delicious food and competitive game playing.

You never know what'll happen when you put us together... (ps, so excited to live with Christie starting in the fall!)

Life gets hard and crazy and busy and confusing and overwhelming at times, but I am so blessed and grateful for the many many sources of happiness that I have surrounding me. I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great kick-off to the new week. Less than 3 weeks until this semester is done, we can make it!

Mamma's Special Day

I can't believe I almost forgot to do the birthday blog. For my own MAMMA. I remembered with 2 hours to spare! But I have a little safety net because she's still in Hawaii where its 4 hours earlier (which I so smartly remembered after 3 rings into a phone call to her at 11 am my time... nice birthday wake up call for her... oops!).

Anyway... its this special lady's birthday!

Isn't she just great? I sure think so. So much of who I am is because of her. I've tried about 5 times now to write a segment explaining my relationship with her, but each time I erase it because it just isn't adequate for explaining how much my mom means to me. There are no words to express her importance in my life. There's no way to tell y'all how grateful I am for her and her example.

I love you my sweet mamma, and I hope you have had the greatest birthday ever!

Not a fan of the video, but I LOVE the song.

My friend CAM

I am going to be a nurse someday. I believe in medicine, science, and practicality. Its just what makes sense to me. Lately i've been learning that not everyone's minds work this way. Imagine that, people are different! Practices and beliefs vary depending on culture, race, individual preference, family background, religion, etc. For my community health nursing class we have had an ongoing assignment to learn about Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or CAM. It has allowed me the opportunity to explore different healing techniques that I never would have explored on my own, and I have developed some budding opinions about what works and what doesn't in CAM, at least for me personally.

Our professor had an awesome day of class set up for us last friday. We came wearing comfy clothes, brought blankets, and got to work with some different instructors to learn about various forms of CAM.

The first portion was all about Chakras. Have you ever heard of Chakras? I sure as heck hadn't, and I most definitely will not claim to be an expert who can explain it myself. So here's a portion of what my good friend wikipedia had to say about it:

The chakras are said to be "force centers" or whorls of energy permeating, from a point on the physical body, the layers of the subtle bodies in an ever-increasing fan-shaped formation. Rotating vortices of subtle matter, they are considered the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies. See more here.

The session was all about channeling our chakras using colors and thoughts and foods and energies and whatnot. And while its something that may work for other people, i'd be lying if I said it was easy to keep a straight face as we sat cross-legged on the floor, chanting and moaning and screaming. Chakras: not my thing.

The next section in class: progressive muscle relaxation, positive affirmations, and guided imagery. This was totally more of my thing. Its more believable and easily applicable for me. As we laid on the ground and closed our eyes, the instructor took us through some exercises that yielded immediate results. I felt my body relax, release stress, and take on an extreme feeling of calm. It was wonderful, and it is something I can apply to my own life anytime, anywhere. Same goes for positive daily affirmations. I have always like them, especially because of this video (watch it now, you won't regret it! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah!):

I am going to start picking one positive affirmation a day. I'll put it on a sticky note, stick it on the bathroom mirror, and repeat it to myself throughout the day for encouragement. Some examples of what this week's affirmations may include:

• I am not going to fail my pathophysiology test.
• I am going to do awesome in my half marathon on saturday.
• I am going to eat so healthy today.
• I am going to smile a LOT today.
• I am going to do nice things for other people today.
• I am going to be happy today.

Think i'm crazy? Well, little Jessica (come on guys, watch the video) doesn't. I dare you to try it yourself and see what happens.

The last portion of class was yoga. I have liked yoga in the past, especially my experience with hot yoga (soooo intense!), but man I am so totally not good at it. It ends up building my stress because I can't get my breathing in the right rhythm and my body doesn't want to do what I tell it to and lets be honest i'm scared some embarrassing noise is going to escape from me as I downward dog, power push-up, and child's pose. But still, I can see how it'd be extremely helpful for some people. Namaste.

Totally cool class period right?! Definitely pretty fun to mix things up for a day. Another portion of the assignment was to explore a form of CAM on our own. We could attend a ZUMBA class, get acupuncture, see a chiropractor, have a guided imagery session, etc. It was this portion of the assignment that introduced me to my new personal favorite kind of CAM: massage. Mmmmm baby, i'm in love. Check this: I got a 60 minute back, arm, and hand massage for $12.50. Shocking, I know. It was the most heavenly and relaxing hour of my life, and I don't think i'm going to be able to resist going back for another one during finals week...

I may be skeptical sometimes, but everyone has their own forms of CAM, whether they realize it or not. Sometimes there are things that medicine just can't fix. People help themselves heal with all sorts of different methods. Some people eat a whole carton of ice cream, some people get lost in cranked up music for a while, some people pray, some people run away for a while, some people write, some people cry, some people drive really fast, some people watch a sappy chick flick, some people clean, some people turn to others for comfort. I've been known at times to do a little of all of the above. Yesterday, my friend CAM was a nice therapeutic hour with Rascal Flatts and my nail polish. It went well :)

Happy monday friends, I hope your day is as good as you try to make it.

Remembering My Blessings

Aloooo(ha just kidding you're staying home)

Remember when I still lived at home and my parents took me with them whenever they went on vacation to wonderful exotic locations? Yeah, those were the good days. Those are gone now. So off the empty nesters jet to Hawaii for a week while I sit in Provo being busy, stressed, cold, and very not tan. Its been 6 years since i've been to the beautiful islands and 3 years since i've laid on a tropical beach. I think i'm just about due for a dreamy getaway vaca. Mmmm, if only, if only.

I happen to have only 2 of the most random pictures ever from our trip to Maui 6 years ago:

(I promise, i'm wearing a bathing suit under that towel)

(now there's one thing I don't miss: my brace face seen below)

So, mom and dad, enjoy your travels. Soak up some extra rays of sunshine, eat some extra shave ice, buy some extra souvenirs (hint hint), take some extra pictures, and love every minute of your trip just a little bit more than you normally would, just for me! I love you (even though you left me here)! Stay safe and have fun!

The Best Medicine

It just works out that those times when you just don't feel like laughing are the times when you really need it most. I have to say, the adopted one gets me every time. Happy monday guys.

Funny how looking at this after i'm all done I can see that all these pictures are either animals or babies... I guess we know what gets me chuckling... Man i'm gonna have fun with my own family someday :)

Lunch

Excuse me for just a moment while I take this opportunity to brag about my delicious lunch. I don't claim to be a good cook. Baking, yeah I can do that just fine. But every once in a blue moon I make a whole, balanced, delicious dinner that was a mamma specialty and a childhood favorite. But lets be honest, usually its something cheap, easy, and/or thrown together. I mean yeah its (most of the time) healthy and involvs fruits and veggies of some sort, but its not usually a very impressive meal. Brent made me a delectable dinner on saturday, and I was pretty embarrassed to admit that he is a much better cook than I am. Granted, he's been living on his own longer than I have... but still. He sure did look cute cookin' up our steak, broccoli, and potatoes though :)

Well today, I am impressed with the lunch I made for myself:

• Spaghetti squash
• Mixed veggies (peppers, cauliflower, lima beans, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, peas)
• Cut up chicken
• Cooked and pureed cauliflower (with added milk and salt) as the sauce
• Cheese sprinkled on top

A successful delicious and healthy lunch! Yay for successful days like today that make me feel a little bit more encouraged and a little bit less terrified by the fact that someday i'll be making meals each day for an entire family... yikes. I think i'll be needing a LOT more practice before I get to that point! Oh well, i'm one step closer to avoiding a dinner that consists of a single spoon and the can of frosting that is in the fridge right now.

Happy monday friends!

Sleepovers and Sunburns

This weekend has been a pretty marvelous one. I've gotten to do lots of different things and be with lots of people that make me happy.

Friday evening Jules was in Provo! I got to see her all of 30 minutes, but still that was better than nothing! She brought her new boy and they met up with Brent and me and we went and got some froyo and just enjoyed seeing each other for a short little while.

Friday night our relief society had a slumber party, woot wooo!!! We headed up to a cabin in Sundance owned by the family of one of the girls. It was big and beautiful. It was my first full on girls' night sleepover in quite a long time. We stayed up late, ate junk food, watched a chick flick, painted our nails, talked about boys, and giggled a lot. It was so much fun :)

New life goal: own a jacuzzi tub this large and comfy and impressive.

There were plenty of large beds to fit the whole group, but this is just a few of us trying out the little kiddy bed.

Saturday morning after getting back to the apartment I headed out for my long run. 12 miles. And ooooh baby it was the definition of gorgeous outside. Pure sunshine, warm with a slight cool breeze. PERFECT running weather. I was a little nervous about covering that kind of distance for the first time in a few months, but the prospects of getting a tan in the 2 hours that it would take encouraged me. So I headed out, ticked off the miles one by one, and had high hopes for some new bronzy little tan lines in a few hours. Well friends, tan lines is exactly what I got... at first. I was very excited and showing them off to my roommates. It looked something like this:

As the night progressed, my tan started lookin' not so bronzy anymore... it transformed into more of a fierce fiery red burn. Ahhh, the joys of my pasty white winter skin seeing the sun for the first time of the year. Well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap some pictures of the impressive burn lines to share with you all (Please excuse the lack of sleeves!):

ouchie

Its supposed to be sunny all week, so if i'm running in the heat of the day again, i'll make sure to slather on the sunblock. I assure you, skin cancer is not my goal in life.

Thankfully, beauty doesn't just come in a package of perfectly bronzed skin, long silky hair, and the most fashionable clothes. Here's a quick message to help you have a happy and beautiful sunday!

Hi, my name is Jannette, and i'm a Chocoholic

There should be some sort of 12 step kind of program for this. Seriously. Last week, I think I pretty much just lived, breathed, and ate chocolate.

Did you ever read this book?:

I haven't read it since I was a kid, but I distinctly remember that there was a little boy who was given a "curse" that made it so everything he ate for a few days took on some form of chocolate. Chicken, cereal, fruit, all were chocolatey goodness. Water flooded down his throat as chocolate milk. Even for me, this would get a little old. For this little fella there was no relief. Well, you know, eventually he kissed his sweet mamma on the cheek and even she turned to solid chocolate (totes normal with this kind of curse, just FYI). Thankfully, my condition never progressed quite that far last week... good thing too or else Brent would have some worrying to do ;-)

So why all the chocolate, you ask? And my answer: why NOT? It started out with chocolate covered strawberries. Lindsey and I used to do it all the time last year and we got hooked. We just did it for the first time since last year, not once, but twice in a matter of 3 days. I am the master chocolate strawberry dipper, and it was a highly enjoyable experience, just like old times.

We had a little leftover chocolate after the strawberries, so we threw some peanuts in there, stirred it up, and made some clusters. I know they don't exactly look heavenly, but they were.

And then it was time for Brent's birthday (but I didn't just say that on the internet because it would get me in big trouble, shhhh). And praise the angels of Pinterest for introducing me to the possibility of making homemade Snickers, which just happens to be the boy's favorite candy. It was an adventure alright, but I made it through with only a small burn from boiling caramel and some seriously good lookin' treats. I was going to decorate it all snazzy-fancy-like, but yeah that just never happened. I am not going to lie, i'm pretty dang proud of myself for this. And it made B-rent and his roommates happy and impressed, so that made it all worth it :) Are you jealous and drooling yet?

Did I mention the chocolate cake I had with Brent's family on saturday? Or the delectable chocolate chip cookies his mom made? Or all the little scoops and bites and licks of chocolate I snuck while I was making all my different chocolately goodness creations? Yikes. Friends, lets just say that if you dropped any pounds last week, I was gracious enough to pick them up for you!

So yes, I was the chocoholic queen for a few days. But I have to say, I need a little break. And I am so grateful that my dinner tonight tastes like real rice, chicken, veggies, toast, and milk, and not chocolate variations of all of the above.

Happy tuesday folks!

And Lindsey, you can now stop harassing me about updating my blog. Please.