A Happy Birthday

Sadly, I am now at the age when I have to do the math to remember how old I am. Fortunately, I was born on a decade year, so this isn't too difficult.

My 42nd birthday was a good one. Rob took the day off and took me to breakfast and lunch at Hagermann's, with a trip to Ikea in between. Huge sacrifice for him, I wish I'd taken a photo of his virgin trip there. We picked up a cute sewing table/desk and chair for Ellie, and Rob finished painting her room so we could get her moved in before she came home from school. I love finishing a project. Also, I got a Kindle, and I'm loving it! I thought I'd hold out for an iPad, but I think this is actually a better sized tablet for me, since it fits in my purse.

I am also now old enough to be amazed by the progression in technology during my lifetime. Wonder what they'll invent in the next 42 years? I hope to find out. :)

Today

• I'm hoping my sensitive tooth is not a cavity.
• I made it out of Costco without buying anything that wasn't on my list.
• I'm listening to a podcast on meditation.
• I had a sandwich for breakfast and oatmeal for lunch.
• I need to figure out how to sync my calendar to my new iPhone.
• I wish it was warm and sunny.
• I'm craving a really great novel.
• I might be willing to settle for a really great movie.
• I feel grateful.

Happy Birthday to me

I've been procrastinating this post, mostly because as much I like to take photos, I hate seeing photos of myself. But here I am, 41 pretty darn good years behind me. I opened presents after church, and this picture by Ellie made me laugh.

Here's the close up:

Ainsley drew one too, and I got a certificate for another photography class on the back.

I also got some filters for my camera.

And, I didn't have to make dinner! We had our last Sunday dinner at Ralph and Judy's. Next week they're moving into their new high-rise condo downtown. We'll miss their house—the swimming pool, the many memories, the free parking...but we're sure to visit them at least annually, when we go to see the lights at Temple Square. :)

If I had to pick a photo-of-the-day, this would be it:


With this as a close runner-up. I thought a vertical shot would be nice, to get the house, but someone reminded me that it wouldn't fit well in the slideshow.

Overall, a good birthday. Getting older is definitely better than the alternative.

Birthday Date

With my birthday on Sunday this year, Rob took me out tonight. We saw True Grit. I'm not a huge fan of westerns, and it was a little too graphically violent for me, but the characters and cinematography were great, and we both liked it.

Wish we could say the same for the restaurant we tried. Someone recommended a small, family-run Italian place in our neighborhood called Visconti's House. We had high hopes because it smelled great when we walked in. Maybe we ordered the wrong things. We got a margherita pizza and the tortellini giardino to split. We also shared a salad and focaccia bread. The salad, bread and pizza were okay. When the tortellini, which is described as "fresh vegetables, herbs and tortellini tossed in a basil cream sauce," came out, I wish I'd had the guts to send it back. I also wish I'd taken a photo. The vegetables were Bird's Eye frozen mixed vegetables—diced carrots, corn, peas, green beans and lima beans. Really. The service was super slow, and not very personable. As we were walking out, a couple in a car said they were thinking about eating there and asked us what we thought. We told them. They probably had a yummy dinner at Cafe Normandie. Oh well, I guess you never know until you try.

It was fun (as always) to spend time alone with Rob.

To Resolve or Not?

I know that most New Year's resolutions are little more than wishes, forgotten by the end of January, but I'm actually in the yes camp.

I had three resolutions last year. Here's my accounting.

1) Read the Old Testament: I only made it through Leviticus, so 15%. Pretty much a fail there.

2) Run the St. George Marathon: did it, although not very fast. :)

3) Daily photo: I took around 7,152 photos and videos on 271 different days. I blogged 237 days, and hope to get something up for the missing 34 days soon. When I do, I'll be at 74% success for that goal. Not bad.

I've been giving a lot of thought to my resolutions this year. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk, Of Things That Matter Most last general conference.

"As we turn to our Heavenly Father and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most, we learn over and over again the importance of four key relationships: with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves. As we evaluate our own lives with a willing mind, we will see where we have drifted from the more excellent way. The eyes of our understanding will be opened, and we will recognize what needs to be done to purify our heart and refocus our life."

I'm not sure my eyes have been opened, but this is what is coming to mind.

1) Relationship with God: My goal is to go to the temple at least once a month. Pretty weak, I know, considering how close we live to so many temples, but I'm just being realistic.

2) Relationship with my family: More family outdoor adventures. I know that's not very specific, I'm not sure what sort of number to put on this. The snowshoes should help us get out more in the winter, and I'm looking forward to more hiking this summer. If we hang out with the Stringhams our numbers should skyrocket. :)

3) Relationship with my fellowmen: Invite friends or neighbors over for dinner at least once a month. When we lived in the Stratford Ward we did this—we'd invite one couple we already knew, and one or two couples we didn't know well. It was great, even though Rob and I are both introverts we loved it.

4) Relationship with myself: So many possibilities here—positive self talk, less sugar, fixing my back, becoming a better photographer, journaling... But I've decided to go with the most cliché resolution, and lose weight. Body fat, specifically. I'd like to get to 20% body fat. I do remember the days I was at 15% with fondness, but again, trying to keep it realistic. I just scheduled family photos in March, that ought to help with motivation, and I'm working on appointments for my back and shoulder, so I can exercise again. This goal is mostly about good health, but to be truthful, there is some vanity involved too. Hopefully the other goals will compensate for my shallowness.

Anyone else resolving this year?

St. George Marathon

The marathon was actually the easy part. Getting there was the challenge this year. My back went out four times in the six weeks prior to October 2nd. So I missed my longest training runs. And I was bummed when my friend Julie called me the Monday before the race to say she probably wouldn't be able to run because of her knee injuries.

When she called back on Wednesday to tell me she was in, my back had just gone out again. As soon as it did, I took four ibuprofen and drove myself to the chiropractor. I went back on Thursday and Friday for several hours of electrical, ultrasound, heat and massage therapy. My goal was just to make it to the starting line at that point.

And I did make it. Here I am with Julie, running her first marathon, and her sister Jenna, also running her fifth. The starting line was the only time all day that we were cold. It got very warm, and since Julie and I were going slow, by the time we finished, the heat was brutal.

But we had a great time and Julie's knee injury was a blessing to me, because it kept her running at my much slower pace right to the finish line. Rob, Ellie and Ainsley were there to cheer us on and document what is probably my last marathon. Because we ran so slowly, I actually recovered really quickly, and went for a run just a few days after. Then my back went out again, and I was back to square one.

I had an MRI, which showed multiple herniated discs, as suspected. I mustered up my courage and went to the masters swimming at Olympus, only to injure my shoulder, because I hadn't been swimming. Yeah, I'm pretty much falling apart.

On the bright side, I did not throw up, or need an IV at the end of my race. Shawn still wins the willpower award.

From the archives

Today was a nice lazy day, and I couldn't be bothered to take a photo of the day. So here's one more photo taken in Zion National Park...fifteen years ago. Rob and I met on August 6, 1995, and less than a month later joined our two groups of friends for this hiking trip. Char, Nikki, Anna, Jen and I stayed at a hotel in Mesquite while Rob, Troy and Chris stayed at Jim's house in Hurricane. We hiked the Orderville Narrows on Saturday, September 2nd and the Subway on Monday. Tuesday when we got back we had our first official date. After that we saw each other everyday. Good times. And doesn't Rob look hot? Would he be kicked out of the bishopric if he grew a goatee now?

Out of my comfort zone

I'm three days into an adult swimming class. This is pretty huge for me—not only do I hate to wear a swimsuit and get my face wet, but I've never swum laps in my life. Thanks to some pressure encouragement I finally tried it on Friday. I've already noticed some progress, and I definitely have the most potential for improvement in the group! It cracks me up when Ellie and Ainsley tell me what a great job I'm doing. :)

A Happy Mother's Day

Rob and the kids do an exceptional job of making me feel appreciated most of the time, but even more so on Mother's Day. Fortunately all of Rob's Sunday morning meetings were cancelled, so just having him around to help get all the kids ready for church was a treat. On top of that, I got to sleep in, and woke up to the smells of a delicious hot breakfast. Rob tells me there was a lot of talk about what to get me—Ainsley suggested a loaf of store-bought bread. She's the only one who doesn't love my new habit of making homemade bread. When that idea was shot down, she decided a new swimming suit would be just the thing, since swimming season starts tomorrow. Maybe if I gave up the homemade bread I could get excited about putting on a swimsuit. :) Instead, I was happy to receive gifts the kids made at school, some new slippers, a shirt and a new iPod.
But it really is not about the gifts they give me, it is the gift that they are to me. I love these kids. I've used Mother's Day (and Father's Day) as an excuse to get shots with them individually for a few years now, and they're learning to just smile and humor me so they'll be done more quickly.
We got to spend time with both sets of grandparents after church, and I realized that although I've taken photos of them with each grandchild as a baby, we didn't have many recent photos. So they posed for me too.
I'm so grateful for my mom and Rob's mom. For my grandmas and all of the moms who inspire me.
Happy Mother's Day!

Another day on the slopes

We took advantage of the awesome Park City Start Now program again, this time snowboarding. In the past, I've tried to talk Rob into learning to snowboard, so we could go as a family, but once again I was glad that he's not interested, because I got to take the boys up and enjoy a great day of sunshine and fresh snow while Rob stayed home with the girls.

I was in a lesson myself, but managed to get a few photos of the boys since they were nearby. Here they are getting the hang of toe and heel drag:I was just in front of them in the lift line:Robbie, ready to head down the hill:
And Joey, on his way down. Last week his skiing instructor told me he was a "wild man," which I took to mean he's a natural, and not afraid. His snowboarding instructor said the same thing, so I though I'd better clarify, just to make sure he wasn't out of control. The teacher assured me that it was a compliment, and said both of the boys were the stars of the class.I'm happy to report that after my first lesson I got bumped up to level three, and the college aged kids in my class stayed in level one. Score one for middle-aged moms. I even out-paced the boys, who will be in level two next time. Sorry, I don't often have something to brag about. On the other hand, I am SORE today. It's a full-body workout for sure.We came home to a clean house again. Rob is definitely off the hook for a while.

Wanna iguana?

I still haven't managed to post about Cabo, which was by far our favorite port. I took so many photos there I don't think I'll be able to work it all into one collage. So here is the shot that the kids liked best.

Seriously?!

If I didn't have to do anything but sit around and read all day, I might be cool with this.