Thankful for...

...My Elders...

Last week it was my grandpa's birthday, so I gave him a call to see how he was doing and he was surprised to get my call {which would explain why he screened my call} and happy to talk to me. Near the end of our conversation he said "I'm thrilled that you called because the younger generation doesn't have time for us old folks". That made me really sad! He has taught me so much and now he lives on his own and I don't call him as much as I should, so I am going to make a point to call him at least once a month from now on, because I know I care about him but I don't think I tell him that enough!

I also talked to the nicest man at the Memphis airport yesterday. He was also flying to Panama City and has lived there for 20 years... He lost his wife 8 years ago and I could tell by the way he talked about her I could tell that he loved her very much, and told me that if I ever found a man as good as his wife that I should hang onto him! He also told me how blessed he was to have such a great family. If I have half the love in my life that this man has had I will be one lucky girl!

...My Family...
I don't think I could love them more! I hung out and watched movies all day with my brother, took the dogs for a run, cooked with my mom, and joked around with my dad. They are pretty great and my life would suck without them!

...My Future...
I got an email while traveling yesterday that told me I was offered a second interview with LOCOG. If I got this job I would live in London for 18 months and have quite possibly the best experience of my life :) I'm beyond excited for what this could mean for my future, all I can do now is dazzle and wait :)

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

-- Written with love on my iPad using BlogPress --

I've Been sorted...

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

How ONE Day Changes the WHOLE week!

So if you talked to me on Monday you know that I was in the midst of one of the worst days on record.  Frustrated with nearly everything that was happening in my life, it was one of those days that every single word that came out of my mouth was negative.  Probably because most of the things I had planned for the day had to be changed.  I wasn't supposed to run, instead I was going to go to yoga because I have been feeling a little like a rubber band that has been wound TOO tight {probably from running more in the last month and a half than I have in my 25 years of life}.  I can feel my muscles and tendons stretch with every step I take, so I thought some yoga would be good for me!  Plus yoga has a great way of calming everything down in just an hour.

That was until I got a phone call/email from Tamara {she's in charge of Marketing for US Speedskating where I am doing an internship} asking me to be on a Conference Call/Board Meeting to discuss the athlete agreement that I have been working on.  Now, if it were any other day then the day that I was having on Monday I would have been thrilled and in hindsight I have very good feelings about being allowed to be on that call as an unpaid, untested, intern.  But all I could think about on Monday was how my life was RUINED because I wasn't going to get to work out at all {also that clearly shows a change in my life because when have I been pissed to NOT workout?}.  The conference call went well, it was a bit long, but there were a lot of good ideas put forward and we're working on those changes.  Monday was put to bed still not felling awesome about how the day went and hoping that Tuesday would not be the same!

{**There were SEVERAL other things that went wrong on Monday, too many to list here...}

Tuesday was not the same!  I got so much done in the morning before class I was hopeful about the day. Work and class went off without any problems, but as I was driving to the rink I completely spaced where I was going and ended up missing the exit for the fast way.  Traffic on the freeway I was on {I-15} was backed up badly from an accident so I was starting to feel the bad day coming on again!  I get off at the first exit and somehow navigate my way through West Valley to Kearns, find a polling place, drop of my ballot {yay for voting} and made it to the rink.

While I am getting ready to teach I am texting Kelly because I have been a bad friend and we haven't seen each other since I left CO in August, and we literally live 10 minutes from each other!  So right before I have to go teach my 30 minute class, Kelly says she's coming to the rink...  I was so excited!  She came to the rink, just to see me!  Totally made my night to see her spying on me while I was teaching.  We chatted for a while after and I haven't laughed/smiled so much since this summer and it made me realize why I had such an amazing summer, THE PEOPLE.  I miss these girls:

Classic WP {Camping 4th of July}

so much and I didn't really realize how much of my life is missing without them until I saw Kel last night and my day instantly got better.  I won't gush about these ladies any more because I've done that here, here and here, let's just say I know that I will be friends with these crazy people for the rest of my life because my life is better with them {and to quote Ms. Kelly Clarkston "my life would(does) suck without you"}!

Other great things that happened yesterday

• My student FINALLY understands the concept of a mohawk {it's really hard to understand if you don't skate but mohawks are a very conceptual thing}
• I've hit the CENTURY mark for miles run since I started {102 to be specific, since starting Sept. 24}.  Also I finally know what a runner's high is!  I realized about halfway through my run last night I was smiling, so big I was on the verge of laughing!  That's when I started wondering how long that had been the look on my face...  That probably also contributed to Monday's crankiness to quote the great Elle Woods "exercise makes endorphins, endorphins make you happy..."
• I VOTED!

SO glad the week turned around, Happy Wednesday!

Dear Me...

I am super emotional today, but I've cried 3 times reading this: http://dearbabyme.blogspot.com/

Great blog

Not just for bebes

Hear me out....

I know it says baby lotion right on the front, but who's skin is said to be the softest?  Baby's bottoms!  So why not use the lotion that is made for those bottoms to improve your skin?

I was turned onto this fantastic idea by my amazing friend Katie.  She had in Colorado Springs this summer and at first I was skeptical but after a few days of trying it out I was SOLD.  BEST. IDEA. EVER.

If you don't want to smell like a snuggly soft baby get the lotion in the yellow bottle, its unscented.  Today I couldn't fined the yellow bottle so I got the pink one.  The fragrance isn't that strong and if anything it smells fresh.  Also I typically use this right out of the shower or if I am going to wear a skirt with bear legs.  Splash on some perfume if you are heading out the door and you won't even notice the scent!

ENJOY this tip from myself and Kates!

Happy Birthday Micah-man!

One of my favorite kids turns 3 today!  I can't believe he is so old, I remember going to his first birthday party, I had just started law school, was feeling slightly overwhelmed and had no idea what I was going to do when it was over.  Now I am a third-year and Micah's dad, Adam is a first year {haha} he seems to be doing really well half way through his first semester and I'm really excited for him!

He is so smart!  He's been able to spell for a LONG time, and I am sure that he is about to start reading chapter books!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICAH MAN!  

My Great Grandma's 90th Birthday!

My Granny Southern {great grandma}'s birthday is one day before my youngest brother's birthday, exactly 70 years apart :)  So they had a BIG party for her at her house in West Point, MS.  Unfortunately since I live in Utah and am so busy I barely sleep I couldn't go but here are some of the great pictures from her party!

Granny Southern and Gran Gran

Granny Southern and my great-aunts Peggy and Marty

I am sure she is telling some sort of story here :)

Grandaddy and Granny Southern

LOVE HER

I am so proud that I am this woman's great granddaughter, she is such an amazing person!

I want to...

... be a runner!

So this summer, I "ran" 10 5Ks.  That running mostly consisted of running a little bit and walking most of the way.  So for some reason about a month ago I decided that I wanted to be a runner, for no particular reason.  So I downloaded an app for my phone, Nike+.  It has a great online component where it allows you to track your runs and do a "coach" program that helps you train for a variety of distances.  My goal was to be able to run the entire 5K no walking, no stopping, just running.

I started out pretty well, following the program and keeping up to speed with the runs.  Then I got some terrible shin splints about 2 weeks in.  In the past when something would go wrong, like terribly painful shin splints, I would quit.  This time I was determined to keep going, so I went to SL Running Company and got some inserts for my shoes.  I think they are helping, but I am stubbornly refusing to take a WEEK of to let my shins heal.

So far I've run 58 miles and I've got 40 more miles to go for this month, so by October 31 I will be at 98 miles.  That's the most I have ever run in my 25 years of life, but I am so excited about it!  I never used to get that"runners high" after I was done running and never could find a rhythm where I felt I could run forever, but I have found both of those in the last month!

It may sound silly but I love the reinforcement that my app gives me!  I like that when I finish running it tells me that I did a good job, or when I reach a new mile-stone I get a new color.  It keeps track of how fast I've run various distances, and that is so motivating!  Of course the numbers going down on the scale is also a good motivator, but for me this issn't about losing weight, its about being a new person!  It's about being a runner!

Fall Break To-Do List Update

Fall Break is now over :( but here is an update on what I got done this week

Things finished:
-Clean apartment
-Reading for the week after break
-Start seminar paper
-Teach skating
-Finish Athlete Agreement for US Speedskating
-Have Bollywood number ready for Synchro practice on Sunday
-Run 16 miles (I actually ran 20 miles this week :))
-Catch up on sleep


Things I plan on doing today:-Make a check list of things that need to get done for my Bar application and a timeline (yes, I am a dork and make lists with timelines)
-Get some of the things on the checklist/timeline done


Things that get pushed back:
-Use the mani/pedi Groupon that I bought 2 months ago
-Ed Session for Tech Support


I think that was a fairly productive break :)

Fall Break 2010

Last year for fall break I went here to visit my parents.  This year Fall Break came so fast I didn't even have time to decide if I wanted to go anywhere.  I swear each year of my life just goes 10 times faster than the previous one.

This year for Fall Break I chose to stay home and "get my act together" a phrase I commonly use nearly everyday.  When you're doing as much as I am right now a week without just one of those things is extremely helpful for one's sanity!  Don't get me wrong there are plenty of things that need to get done this week actually like three weeks worth of things to get done in 1 week, but there's just something about not having to be a specific place at a specific time that makes you feel so free!

Some of the things I hope to get accomplished this week:
-Clean apartment: CHECK
-Reading for the week after break
-Start seminar paper
-Make a check list of things that need to get done for my Bar application and a timeline (yes, I am a dork and make lists with timelines)
-Get some of the things on the checklist/timeline done
-Use the mani/pedi Groupon that I bought 2 months ago
-Teach skating
-Finish Athlete Agreement for US Speedskating
-Ed Session for Tech Support
-Have Bollywood number ready for Synchro practice on Sunday
-Run 16 miles
-Catch up on sleep

Here's hoping that at least some of this gets done!

Happy Birthday Little Brother

This kid

turns 20 today!!  

Happy Birthday Rob!!

Puppies!

No I did not get a dog.  I want a dog really badly, because they are so loving and always excited to see you, and mostly they are fun!  But being a 3rd year law student with not enough time to take care of myself, puppies are out of the picture for me right now.  Luckily my parents have the cutest dogs ever.  Here Ruby and Sam are as puppies a little over a year ago:

 

And here they are now:

Not the smartest of dogs, but they are very cute and incredibly fun :)  Ruby is obsessed with cats [she literally stalks them] and Sam is very timid and quite the snuggler.  The picture above they were sleeping in the same kennel, they still do that now, even though they barely fit!  It's adorable 

I read today on Everyday Inspirations that Pedigree is donating dog food to shelters for every person that mentions their adoption drive on their blog!  SO check out the ADOPTION DRIVE!

Sad Times...

I am just going to throw this out there...  Cancer SUCKS

The last few months have been extremely sad for the Utah Olympic Park (UOP).  First if you are new to this blog the UOP is my family.  I have worked there since the summer after my freshman year of college.  It has been the best place to grow up and find out who I am and who I want to be in the future.  I couldn't have asked for better people to help me along the journey to figure all of that out.  Given that we are a family at the UOP that explains why this has been a really hard few months.

Earlier this summer we lost Warren Allen.  Warren was the best park host that the UOP ever had or ever will have.  He knew everything about everything and was so motivated by the Olympic Movement that it was contagious.  Warren was also amazing at everything he did, from being a pioneer in the sport of aerial skiing (ballet skiing) to bowling back to back perfect games, one with his left hand and one with the right hand!  Warren was an amazing man and I don't know what the UOP will be like without him.

This week I got the news that track manager David Dinger, who also was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago, is in the last stages of his life.  When I think about Dave and him not being around it instantly brings tears to my eyes, not only because he has been a huge supporter of mine but because he has to amazing little boys that are losing a great dad.  Dave has helped me in any way that I have needed whenever I needed it.   He was instrumental in helping me to be the jury assistant for the 2009 FIBT World Cup in Park City, which lead to my internship at the USOC, where I discovered for sure that Olympic sport is where my passion and future lies.

Dave was also instrumental in my brother's recovery from drug addiction.  Josh applied for a track crew job after de decided he was ready to get his life back together.  Dave hired him and even though Josh had a few times where he had to miss a significant amount of work at a really inopportune time, Dave had faith in Josh.  I truly believe that because of that faith and the chance(s) that Dave extended to Josh, he is now on the right path (of course Josh's will to get better had a lot to do with that as well).  It's hard to express in words, but the faith that Dave had in Josh wasn't something that he was getting outside of our family.  Josh's whole world had basically told him that anything he did was wrong and that he would not be able to do anything with his life because of his past mistakes.  Through his actions Dave told Josh that he could be a leader and could get his life back on track.  I will be forever grateful to Dinger for that!

Not only did he change my life, but he helped my brother out of a very difficult time!

Check out this awesome VIDEO that some of the bobsled/skeleton athletes from around the country made thanking Dave for changing their lives as well...

So if you see me and I look like I am about to burst into tears, I probably am...  It's a sad time

Summer Blog

I am going to blog about my experiences at the USOC on this blog:

My Life as a USOC Intern

If you're interested follow me there!

Anxiety and Anticipation

Less than two weeks from today, my mom and I will be driving from Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs so that I can begin my adventure as an Intern for the USOC.  While I am really excited about it and really excited to get there and get working, I have this weird anxiety about it.

I've never really just picked up and moved for three months leaving the majority of my life somewhere else.  Yes, I went to college away from home but every summer I can home and worked at the Utah Olympic Park (UOP) and I have worked at the Park for part or all of every summer since that first year (2004).  I don't know what it is going to be like to not go back there and work for at least part of the summer.  It was my safety net, where I learned more about myself and met some of the most amazing people I know, and it has always felt like home to me.  No matter where I went, I knew that my UOP family was always there in the end.

Likewise I've always had two separate lives wherever I came and went.  I had a life at Michigan when I left for the summer, and it was still there (and more exciting) when I came back.  I also had a life at home with my UOP family and my skating friends.  My skating friends have now become my family out here and they are always there for me and I love them for that more than they probably know.  I don't have a life in Colorado Springs, and I am starting to realize that this is going to be like when I first went away to college and had to make all new friends.  I haven't had to do that in 7 years and that is what is making me anxious...  I really am ready to take this step but its the butterflies in my tummy that make me a little uneasy.

Just wanted to get that out in writing...  On the lighter side, my sunburn is turning to tan and I had the best week in Florida with my family!

What I have been doing with on my vacation...

Reading, tanning, and having pool time!

Mother's Day in Seaside, FL

We went to ArtsQuest in Seaside for Mother's Day.  This was the cutest town I have ever experienced and everything is steps from the Gulf!  I could live there forever :)

Gulf of Mexico

Some of the buildings in which I would like to live :)

Cute arch

This pot at the antique store was so old it had spider webs

The resteraunt where we ate lunch.  I had yummy balsamic salmon salad, but I also tasted my brother's cheese grits and wanted some to take home!

Everyone that knows me, knows that I LOVE Vera Bradley!  They have an Inn in Seaside...  So cute, we didn't go in because the make members of my family were not interested, but I was salivating!  I love Vera, which makes me want to live there too!

Study Break

Yesterday was the first Monday in May, which means FREE REDBOX day!  Since I just finished an exam and was needing a little mental break, I went to redbox and rented this gem.  It was such a fantastic movie!  I didn't want it to end...  Movies about real people, and the things that happened in their life so long ago, are just so fascinating to me.  It was such a beautiful love story and it also made me think about letter writing because Victoria and Albert wrote so many letters to one another.  I think letter writing is one of the most romantic thing that has fallen by the wayside in our technological world.  Getting a letter is so much better than a text or an email, there is just something so personal about letters!  I will now try to write more letters to the people in my life (plus getting mail is so fun!) :)

My First Team

I coach skating at the Utah Olympic Oval.  I choreographed and coached this program to Circle of Life from the Lion King.  We only had 3 weeks, 6 sessions together, 30 minutes each.  The first time we didn't even have any music!  So basically these girls learned this minute and a half program in 2 and a half hours...  This weekend we had the ice show and they did so well!  The amazing thing is that we had girls from Basic 1 through Freeskate 1, but they all worked together so well, I couldn't have been more proud of them!

Summer Plans (finally)

I applied for several internships at the USOC for the summer and today I got word that out of 75 applicants, this girl (!) was chosen to be the intern to the International Games department!  I am so excited, this is exactly the step I need at this point!

Watch out Colorado Springs!

My Talented Brother

My brother is extremely talented...  He has found a passion for photography and mostly all types of art.  Here's just a sample of what he's been doing lately:

Synchronized Skating World Championships (picture overload)

I went to Synchronized Skating World Championships, April 8-11, 2010, with 7 girls that I skated with in high school and it was an awesome time!  It was great to see where synchro has come since I left the sport in 2007 and its fun to try to predict the trends for the next few years.  We'd been talking about starting an adult team here in Utah before we went to Worlds, but after it was almost a certainty!  We started planning music and getting choreography together, it's going to be an awesome team...  Here are some highlights of the weekend:

Haydenettes Short Program

Crystallettes Short Program

We LOVED Japan's dresses

This team skated to music from the Disney movie Jungle Book it was so cute!

Of course there was a MJ short program :)

We made USA Shirts for the second day of the competition...  They had rhinestones OBVIOUSLY!

Crystallettes Long Program

Half the team was cops and the other half were robbers, it was amazingly choreographed...

Haydenettes Long 

Final podium: Finland 1, Finland 2, USA 1

The last day in Colorado Springs we went to Garden of the Gods here are some of the pictures from that trip

Three Graces

Then we decided to take yoga pose pictures, here are a few of those:

 

Then we made the mom's take a picture:

We climbed in the rocks for a cute shot

Our Engagement Shot

Awesome frame of balanced rock with our fingers as a star...