It's That Time Again...

Ahhh...the magic of 4 AM..trying to stay awake! I've been wanting to post on the last weekend since we got back from our little road trip...so now's as good a time as any...

For starters..I forgot to pack the battery for our camera..so no actual pics :( Which stinks, cause there were some awesome photo ops! Let me 'esplain: Jeff and I loaded up the car Friday afternoon and hauled our butts down to Circleville (nice little town outside of Bryce Canyon). There is nothing there, except the ranch we stayed at, and a cafe that seemed to fry EVERYTHING it served..lol. Now, why would we do this? BRYCE CANYON HALF MARATHON, BABY!!! My spunky and schexy friend, Jill, recruited me to run, along with her, her hubby (Yay, LJ), her sis, Denise, and Denise's buddy, Darrell. And it was GREAT, folks! SOOOO gorgeous! Picture this: running through one of the most beautiful national parks in THE WORLD at 6:00 a.m. (YES, 6:00 a.m..we got up at 4 to get there..haha) with the sun coming up on the amazing red rock...it truly DID look like this!!!:

I was in heaven! I honestly feel so alive when I'm running! Add to that fresh air, great scenery and some tunes..for those of you who are runners..you know what I'm talking about. It is, quite frankly, the best rhythm to get in :) Problems melt away in sheer running bliss!

I wax poetic...but it WAS a great run! I was SO happy to have Jeff there to support me :) Such a trooper! Worked hard all week, then drove down with me, woke up early to take us to the start, and was there to blow me a kiss at the finish line :) I'm so in love with my hubby! And it was great to be there with friends, too. Jill is just my all-around-girly! I love ya, Darlin' :) And many thanks to Cole's parents for letting us stay in their beautiful ranch..very generous people!

SO, How were your weekends? :)

A Birthday & A Victory!

Happy Birthday to my mamacita!  She is an amazing lady who has been through a lot.  I can honestly say that she's taught me so much about grace under pressure and putting the people you care about first.  She is absolutely not a pushover, but she will never set out to cause someone else harm or distress.  She is always, and always has been, there when I need her..whether it's because I needed someone to cry to, or just to talk to..she is an excellent listener, which is a rarity in many people.  And to boot, she is just gorgeous!  Definitely a very Classy Lady in every way!!  I love you, mom!

This picture was taken last week on the 4th of July..and I just had to put it in here because I think she looks beautiful :)

So, I also have to add as a side note: Jeff conquered the giant weeds in our side garden that so terrify me!  He's my hero :)  And then he made me hold one to help 'overcome my fear'  haha :)

                                                                       Such a stud!

                                                                   And such a wuss!

Just another day...

So, to start off with: Our house in Lehi/Eagle Mountain is almost done!  It looks like we should be living in it already from the outside!  I love it!  So hopefully we will get to move in!  Take a look:

Next on the agenda: Irrational fears! Everyone's got'em: midgets (yes, you, Heather :), spiders (totally understand that one), heights, small spaces, needles..the list goes on and on.  Some make sense and some don't.  I googled phobias and found some really weird ones: Pentheraphobia (fear of mother-in-laws!!  And just to be clear, I am NOT afraid of my mother-in-law..I like her very much.  And seeing as it's her birthday today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOANNE!), Spectrophobia, which is fear of looking in mirrors..which I can actually understand, too, especially in the dark.  ANYWHO, the thing that started this all: I have an irrational fear of LARGE WEEDS!  I don't know why, but they freak me out in a very real way!  So, this morning, I was weeding our front little garden and decided to 'conquer' this fear by trying to pull the GINORMOUS weeds growing behind our AC unit.  I got all psyched up to grab this thick, spiny, leafy, grotesque parasite....and all I succeeded in doing is scaring our dog and a neighbor kid biking by, by yelping loudly and jumping a couple feet up and away from the weed the second I got my fingers around it!  Yup, that's me: a big wuss!  So I pulled all the small weeds in our back and side gardens and Jeff is going to have to be the man of our marriage and save me from the big weeds!  Pathetic :)  Oh, and in case you're wondering..I looked for 'fear of weeds'.  The closest I found was Anthrophobia: Fear of flowers.  But I like flowers.  So, here's to fear of large weeds!  And to wishing, praying, and hoping that Jeff and I will get to move into our house..where I will have lots and lots of large weeds to look forward to pulling!

One more thing...

So, this post is to commit myself to QUIT BEING ADDICTED TO PERFECTION!!!  I have been this way for really as long as I can remember (I recall combing my carpet at one point as a child so it would all GO IN THE SAME DIRECTION!) And it's killin' me, Smalls! (Semi-Sandlot movie quote, for those of you who don't know..yeesh!)  The past couple weeks I have really been TRYING to focus on letting go of the small things.  I have a very hard time with that.  Dishes in the sink?  Gotta get'em done!  Floor needs vacuumed..step right to it! Then, 11:30 last night, as I'm lying in bed, exhausted from 3 hellacious shifts at work..shoulda' been sleeping..but NO!  Full on anxiety hits!  Oh my gosh!  I have 3 baskets of laundry, the dog has spread her fur all over our house, the sink is full, I need to sweep, I haven't made anything more nutritious than Mac n' Cheese...AUGHHH!!!  I think I actually slapped my face and said 'snap out of it!'  And I totally mean to do just that!!  This is something that has the potential to make me miserable if I don't just STOP IT!  I have SO much to be thankful for in my life and I'd better just enjoy it and quit freaking out about everything that just doesn't matter :)  So, if any of you catch me combing carpet, would you please smack me in the back of the head? Thanks :)

Belated Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Jeff!  Happy Birthday to Jeff!  Happy Birthdaaaaay dear, Jeffrey Scott Newman! Happy Birthday to Jeff!!  So, if ya can't tell..Jeff had a birthday!  He turned 32 last Friday, June 27th.  And hardworking guy that he is he still worked half a day!  Geez!  We left for Brigham City that afternoon though, to 'glamour camp' (that's what I call it, since we have a toy hauler to sleep in and it doesn't really qualify as camping!) before our MS bike ride the next day.   He is such an outdoors kind of guy and that is exactly how he likes to relax and celebrate..so it was perfect!  We had a yummy steak dinner that night at Maddox and then were up & at'em early the next morning to hit the streets, baby! ANYWHO, I just want to tell him I love him so much!  I really enjoyed the bike ride and just relaxin' with you babe :)  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! 

Weekend Continued....

As the previous post tells, Jeff and I were out late Friday night. We continued the weekend revelry early Saturday morning: Up at 6 AM for a training ride in Kamas with the Zions Bike Team: The Z Team!! WooHoo! (I really do mean the 'WooHoo', btw..I love being outdoors and biking.) Out in our sassy orange and black lycra! Let me tell ya, it was beautiful up there! Busy, too...there were a couple other events going on in the area and the roads were filled with other bikers and runners. ANYWHO, the whole point of this post is to let Jeff know how much I enjoy spending time with him. I tell him this frequently, probably to the point of annoyance, but it's true! I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend! We can do anything together: garden, cook (Jeff mostly does the cooking..I taste test..lol), bike/work out, housework...obviously ANYTHING..and it's fun! This was so apparent to me as we whizzed around (he goes much faster than I do) looking at houses and mooing at cows (that was Jeff..he loves to communicate with the animals of the world..ya shoulda heard him barking to the seals in Cali!). There is no one else I would rather be with. It was also really fun to have Jeff's parents up there..Joanne, J's mom, is a member of the Z-Team too, and a wicked biking chick! After the ride the team got together for a BBQ at one of the members parents' home..yummy burgers (courtesy of, who else, Jeff.) I must say, that was a great weekend!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

This is long overdue, but it's 2 AM and I'm not feeling so productive! So it's blogging time!!

This last weekend Jeff and I went out with Jen, Cheryl and their hubbies! It was so fun! (At least it was for us girls..I hope it was time well spent for our male halves!) We went to Rachael, our wonderful coworker's, wedding..it was good to see her so happy :) And then to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner..where we basically spent the rest of the night! I'm sure our server was annoyed beyond belief by how long we stayed there...and by how unbelievably loud we were! (I had no idea how rowdy we could be!) I'm also fairly certain the waitress I just about knocked over while trying to 'join' the line dance was mildly peeved..but we were paying customers, and I know I left a good tip..so what the hay! No one got injured! I must say I was greatly impressed with the guys' movie quoting abilities (and their talent for telling embarassing stories about us girls!) And Cheryl and Jen: I just love getting together with you guys! I learn something new every time and I know that it'll never be boring! I just love you gals :) Thanks for an entertaining night! And thanks to our husbands for being so tolerant! I know Jeff wasn't feeling so hot, but sweet guy that he is, he still came out and played! I love you, Sweetie-o!