Impossible is Nothing

I watched the first part of Man on Wire last night. Now I want to go do something amazing. Any suggestions?

Rain

When it's pouring rain and you're bowling along through the wet, there's satisfaction in knowing you're out there and the others aren't.

     -Peter Snell, former New Zealand athlete and three-time Olympic gold medalist

I went for a run in the rain yesterday. It was fabulous. I honestly wish it had rained a little bit more, oh well.  When I got home last night, this quote came through in my email. I thought it was very nice of runnersworld to send me a quote that was tailored to my day. 


The more I think about it, I am pretty sure that this quote applies to the rest of life as well. Sometimes, when life gets crazy and you keep bowling along through the wet, there is an incredible sense of satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are moving forward, that you are doing something incredible, that you are pushing farther than you ever have before. 


Running in the rain is cool. 

Potter Mania

Last night I got off of work PROMPTLY at 5:00pm so I could speed crawl though the rush hour traffic to get to the theater in time for an early showing of Harry Potter! Kate's sister Erin hooked us up with the tickets and I am forever grateful that I didn't have to stay up for a midnight showing. I am an old lady now, and I am happiest when I don't have to go to work on 4 hours of sleep.  Anyway, on my way into the theater I caught glimpses of  kids running through the parking lot in graduation robes and bulky black glasses. Then I walked past this car that was all but plastered with Harry Potter bumper stickers:

 I knew this night was going to be good. 

I was right. We walked into the theater and the first thing we saw was Dumbledore putting the sorting hat on Erin's head and telling her that she was a Hufflepuff. I didn't get my phone out fast enough to capture the moment, but I did get this sneaky shot of Dumbledore and Hagrid. 

Inside the theater the magic continued. The girl next to me was pregnant and had a sign taped to her belly that said, "Dark Lord On Board." Hagrid, Dumbledore, Luna, and some other friends of Hogwarts hosted a little trivia game before the movie. I didn't know any of the answers. It was a serious Harry Potter Fan Fail on my part. I did have a wand though, Erin made us some chocolate covered pretzel sticks and we did our best to cast spells with them.  Camilla's favorite spell is the "accio" one, so we tried to accio peoples popcorn and sodas. It didn't work.  Wizarding fail. The movie, however, was not a fail. We had a marvelous time. I won't say anything else, because I know that a lot of you haven't seen the movie yet, but I will leave you with a picture of Dobby.  He had a sock pinned to his potato sack. That is true dedication.

Happy Potter Day!

Sub 9, Sub 30, Sub 40

Guess what is on its way to my house?! After a brief stop in the Bay Area, these little beauties are on their way to me! I got a sweet deal on them and I am counting down the seconds until they arrive.

Timing couldn't be more perfect because there is just one month to go until the Spokane to Sandpoint Relay! I am getting more than a little bit excited.  And the best part is that I am finally making a marked improvement in my running!

Last night I ran a mile under 9 minutes! (If you would like to take a moment and do a happy dance in honor of me, I will let you.)  Now, I know that for all you seasoned runners out there, this isn't a big deal, but if you can think back to how excited you were when you knew that not only did you love running, but it might be possible that you didn't totally suck at it, then you will be able to begin to feel my elation at my accomplishments. AND it gets better... that speedy one mile turned into my first sub-30 5k and my first sub-40 4 miler. There is something incredibly magical about accomplishing something that you have never done before. I came home feeling like a rock star.

Just when you thought things couldn't get any better, I am going to celebrate all of this by going to see the last Harry Potter movie tonight at 7:00pm. That is right! We got tickets to an early showing! No midnight movies for us! Wahoo!

Coke and Cookies

So, if you haven't heard yet, I had a bit of an adventure on Friday. I was chatting with our admin at work at about 11:00am and all of the sudden I started to feel a little woozy. I told her that I was going to go sit down and slowly headed back to my office. Before I made it there I apparently turned around and I looked at her and said, "I think I am going to pass out." Then I went white and hit the floor.

I woke up thinking, "Wow, I am so comfortable. Aren't I supposed to be at work? Um, I think I am at work. Oh, no. That did NOT just happen." Then I heard someone saying, "You need to call 911." At that point all I can think is, "NO! I am on student insurance. I am not working all summer long to pay for one freak of nature fainting spell!" I roused myself as quickly as I could and convinced my co-workers that I was alright. I got up, sat on a chair, rethought that action and sat on the floor and was soon surrounded by anxious co-workers. They were talking about what I needed and sugar was the first thing on everyone's minds. They all went their separate ways and then rushed back in with a coke, 3 chips ahoy cookies, a fruit cup.

I was ordered to eat all of it (which I did) and then they went to get the building doctor. He came in, asked me a couple of questions and told me to rest, get some fluids (not Coke), and left me with a mostly clean bill of health. My sister came to get me and I left my poor little car in the parking garage, as I had been prohibited from operating a vehicle. I ended up at the Student Health Center at BYU and it was there that I was informed that my blood pressure was frighteningly low and my electrolytes were seriously out of whack. Oops. This doctor also recommended rest, and fluids, but maybe not quite so much water...

I may have gone up to Park City that night, down to Manti the next morning and then crashed at 5:00pm.  I did not officially wake up again until 7:00am. Consider me fully rebooted. Yikes.

I am still a little freaked out that I might randomly loose consciousness, and everyone in the office seems a little leery of me, but I am fairly sure that as is well. Even though I do plan on drinking a lot of Gatorade and walking a little more carefully around the office for the next couple of days.

Not quite the way I had planned on having my Friday go...

Happy Fourth of July!

Sunday evening my family had a BBQ for my brother-in-law who was deployed yesterday for a year of service in Afghanistan. His whole family came as well and we spent the entire evening in my Mom's backyard enjoying the weather and one another's company. We had delicious food, played games, and set off some fireworks. It was absolutely perfect. Having Gunnar leave on the fourth of July certainly changed the holiday for me, and for the rest of the family. We are grateful for him, and for the service he will be giving in Afghanistan for the next year. Best of luck Gunnar! Our prayers are with you!

MOAB!

There is just nothing like a couple of days hiking in scorching heat, relaxing in swimming holes, eating camp food, sleeping under the stars, and bonding with your besties!