Beluga

It is one of my dreams to one day swim with Belugas.....just sayin.

Summertime

Lights Out

Saturday was a fun day. Nothing super exciting happened except that I didn't have to work. I got to the clinic and all of the lights were out. I found this to be rather strange but proceded to enter. I tried flipping on the light and a thrill coursed through me....nothing was happening! Come to find out the entire grid in the area was out and would not be fixed any earlier than 2:00.....we close at 1:00. After making a cute sign to inform angry patients about our 'misfortune' we all skipped out of the building to enjoy a beautiful sunny day. I don't remember the last time I had a Saturday off just for the heck of it and not for an impending event or vacation or in last year's case a month of illness. I always work Saturdays and have done so since I was 14. Some of the events that preoccupied my entire day off included: deep cleaned the house, ran some errands, went to a reception, decorated some summer blocks that I have been meaning to get to forever, lunch and shopping with my sister, spending time with JD. My deep clean probably should have included the lightbulb in the picture, but the dust did give a fun textured effect to the photo don't you think? I have to admit I kind of like having Saturdays off.

O Chem 1 Down....O Chem 2 to Go

JD has been taking Organic Chemistry this summer. It is very much like ripping off a bandaid doing the summer route because 1 year of a miserable class is crammed into 7 horrible weeks, twice. To celebrate the wonderous event of part one being done, we played in Salt Lake. JD took his final Saturday morning and when I got off work we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, followed by Ganesh, and Real Salt Lake vs DC United to finish off the evening. It was so fun and nice to play for a night. At this point there are 6 weeks to go then the real celebration will begin! :)

Happy Dad's Day

This is one of my very favorite photos. It shows my dad and I getting 're'aquainted for the first time. I love my dad so much, he is one of the best people I know. He is so fun to do things with and I love just being around him. He taught me how to fish, and still cleans what I catch. He didn't yell at me when I backed into one of our other cars in our drive way, the first time, or the second time, or even the third time. I love going on walks with him and talking with him. My dad let me be a Webelo for 7 years and do all the stuff boys got to do. He has taken me on some amazing trips: Oregon, California, Florida, fishing locations all over the place, and elsewhere. He would always make us breakfast on Sundays and is the very best dipping egg chef. He is a really hard worker and knows how to do all sorts of things. In general my dad is pretty easy going, calm, and not one to meddle, but once I've asked, whenever I need anything whether it is help with something or advice on anything he will do whatever he can to solve my problems; I've always really appreciated that. He taught me how to dance, starting out on top of his feet and then to more advanced skills. He has shown me the importance of the Gospel and the blessings that come from his choice to have it be a priority in his life can be demonstrated in each one of his children today. I love my dad so much and I am so grateful to be his daughter.

Pharmacy Dayz

So I have worked in a pharmacy setting for 7 years and over the years I have heard just about everything. Today I got a new one to add to the list: cute little old man comes in asking for liquid Benadryl, not an uncommon request at a pharmacy as it is used for allergic reactions or with the allergies going on, it can help with the itchy runny eyes and nose so it is completely understandable to make such a request. The followup, however, is where things got interesting....As I am ringing the patient out I give the counsel that benadryl can make you really sleepy and to be careful when taking it during the day. The patient looks up at me with big eyes and says, "Oh, well that's good because that is why I am buying it, I am going to give a bunch to my cat so I can get her hairballs out.....I am thinking about doing the same thing to my wife to get the knots out of her birds nest as well." This was followed by the same laugh that Geri does after winning his game of chess against himself (Pixar Short).

I think this places up there with the lady who wanted to know if using a pregnancy test would tell her if her goat "went and got herself pregnant again".

Just Keep Swimmin

Emily and I had a fantastic day today. We both got off work at 12 and met at Cafe Rio for some delicious food. Afterwards we went to the Roy Aquatic Center. I have not been swimming FOREVER. Last summer just as I was finishing up my clinicals and getting set to play in the sun, my pulmonary embolism happened and I found myself in a recliner chair in a basement until mid-August, before leaving my doctor forbade any swimming activities. Winter came once more, followed by Sprinter, then Sprummer, now that it is finally summer I have gone about 1 1/2 years without going swimming. This saddens my heart, but all was made well when Emily agreed to go with me. I will admit we felt a little silly swimming with all of the 10 year olds, but it was well worth it. I have created a new stroke: The Dragon. My porcelin skin that has also seen very little sun for 1 1/2 years wasn't even deep fried, I am mildly burnt which is more than I was expecting despite the multiple administrations of sunscreen. To top it all off, we went to Jamba Juice after. My friends, this was a wonderful summer day!

Primary

JD and I have had Primary callings pretty much since we got married. We have taught 10 year olds, 9 year olds, and we are currently teaching the 7 year olds. Primary is definately one of my favorite places to be. This year particularly has been hilarious being with the junior primary classes. A few of the fun things that we have been taught lately or experienced with the kids include:
During an object lesson a presidency member had a candy bar and asked if she could just eat the candy (getting at the point you needed to open the wrapper first), a sunbeam piped up from the front row: Oh no! You have to ask your mom or dad first!
Same day, same sun beam: after singing a song the primary chorister asked if everyone had been singing, his response: I wasn't! I just don't know any of those words!
We asked our primary class what the Holy Ghost was a member of (getting at Godhead) the answer: Mormon Tabernacle Choir
While singing Follow the Prophet kids were called up to do something for kids to follow during the chorus (wave hands, clap, spin around etc). For Jonah one of our class members was called on, once the chorus started he bared his teeth made claw hands and started growling (to be the whale) we had a primary full of monsters throughout the chorus.
When an 8 year old was asked in a sharing time lesson how he felt after he repented: "Heartly.....it's a new emotion"

Sprummer?

Memorial Day Weekend

JD and I escaped last weekend up to Bear Lake when we were done with work on Saturday. Upon arriving, there was no snow and everything was green. Waking up on Saturday morning brought the surprise of about a foot of snow. I will admit that at first I was panicked not really knowing how our little Civic was going to get us home. Weather proved me wrong when the sun came out and the temperature rose resulting in what sounded like rain all day long as the snow drip drip dripped all over the place, off the cabin, off the trees, off the cars, off of everything. By the time we were leaving for church that foot of snow was practically gone. The next day we experienced something similar but only started with 4 inches, it was kind of cool to look down towards the lake and see snow turn to grass turn to blue water.

The weekend was filled with JD studying and sleeping and my opportunity to talk and hang out with my grandparents and the Reese's who I haven't played with for a long time. We are now semi-experts of the card game Rage, Haylie can kick butt at Phase 10. I finished a book and read an entire new one. It is kind of nice being trapped while snow is melting because it forces you to relax and enjoy not having to do anything. It was a much needed break from the 'fun' summer semester JD has been having with Organic Chemistry (part 1 complete in 2 weeks!). On our way home we stopped by to see how the Brigham City Temple was coming along. I was shocked to see just how much progress has been made. I loved being able to see through the temple. It will be fun to contrast with a finished building.

Do you hear the people sing?

I love music. There is just something about it that I have always been drawn to. This week has been full of musical experiences. The U2 360 concert with The Frey was amazing, so much so it is kind of hard to find words to describe it. JD and I had the great opportunity to go to Les Miserables as well; a timeless piece of work that I remember listening to before I was 5. The new Pirates of the Caribbean music was released; I am in love with Hans Zimmer. And then tonight I have been winding in and out of some of my favorite artists: Switchfoot, The Shins, Weepies, This Holiday Life, and so on; I love how a song can automatically bring back a memory or just make you feel good because you are listening to it.

U2 360

Emi, Chris, Erin and I all had a blast at the U2 360 Concert last night. The Fray was a great opener, but nothing compared with what U2 had in store for the 50,o00+ people in attendance. Great music, great band, fun venue, and overall just a good, fun, clean concert (clean in multiple senses of the word). Bono thanked Utah a few times for the patience of waiting for them to come back a year after his broken back surgery which was pretty cool. He also sang a few Bob Dylan songs to honor his 70th birthday. Some of my favs included: Walk On, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, and All I Want is You; really the whole concert was amazing. I have seen U2 perform before, but this tour took the term concert to a whole new level.

Ogden 5K

I had a blast this morning participating in the Ogden 5K with my mom. We enjoyed the river walkway, the trees, the river, getting in front of pig tail girl (a girl who was 'run/walking' that we kept passing by just walking because she would run by us and then start walking slowly right in front of us and it was driving me crazy), and taking pictures all along the way. It was also a good revelation to my mom that I do not have a 'flat' lung anymore. What a great, fun, and beautiful way to start the day!

The Floods

I love going to the parkway in Riverdale to walk the path along the river. This time of year it is green and beautiful. In contrast to past experiences, however, there is also a noticable amount of water in the way of my beloved path. I love the water. It is so fun to watch and listen to (and as posted last week, throw rocks in). The problem with all of this water is that it has a tendancy to go everywhere, even where it isn't supposed to like houses. The black and white photo was taken of the Ogden River outside of the canyon and as you can see this water likes to bring a lot of stuff with it that blocks water and makes it go other places as well. I love the rivers but I hope that they calm down soon.

Grandpa Wayne

My grandpa taking me for a ride when I was 2 1/2 at our cabin in Heber.

It was my Grandpa's birthday yesterday and I wanted to post at least a little something about him. He is one of the most amazing people I know, he is a pseudosurgeon, dog keeper, vending machine repair man, light installer, pilot, electrician, star gazer, hiker, runner, travelor, salesman, fisherman, and the list of skills and talents and interests goes on and on and on. He is one of those people where if you have a problem with anything, you just call and he will be there as soon as possible to help fix it, whether it is an appliance failure, car problems, teaching stars and constellations to scouts or young women, you name it. I lived with my grandparents for a summer during high school as I did a summer class at the U. My grandpa would always tell me to get my homework done and we would go adventuring, hiking in the canyon, swimming at the Cottonwood complex, or some other activity, always stopping for something to eat on the way home. He took Emi and I on a trip to California and walked us through the entire strip buying us the best treats and sticking us on every roller coaster on the way to California followed by Disneyland with my cousins. On top of that he let us listen to our music the ENTIRE time. He bought us those, now annoying noise making sticks, for us when he took us to Yellowstone and didn't mind us playing with them the whole time. (at least not out loud) He shared his love of Lake Powell and it's beauty with us, even stapled my hand shut when I sliced it open in the middle of no where there, who needs stitches when you have surgical staples? I love my grandpa and I am thankful for the example he is to not only me, but to my entire family. He is amazing and that is a word that doesn't even come close to doing him justice. Happy birthday grandpa!

Physical Therapy

Today I was fortunate enough to talk to some smart guys at the rehab center about my shoulder that has been causing me a lot of grief lately. I will be fine one day and the next I can't hold a phone to my ear or I find myself sleeping on the couch half way through the night because of the ache. My new friend, Nephi, was awesome in diagnosing me with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. What started as a 'just curious' question landed me in performing different exercises to help with my TOS which included lying on an exercise ball and letting my arms dangle. You feel kind of ridiculous lying on a fitness orb with a guy staring at me, arms crossed, telling me my technique for dangling my arms was a little bit 'off' and to maybe flex my wrist a bit more and I am thinking, oh I never knew until now how much work my arm dangling technique needs! In all seriousness though, proper fitness orb arm dangling and the other exercises helped a ton and I can already feel a big difference so yay for therapy!

Happy Mum's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I found it only suiting to honor my amazing mom on such a fun holiday. My mom is one of the coolest people I know. I don't know of many mothers who are willing to drive their kids to California for a surfing competition and rock concert on the beach-Switchfoot Bro-Am-, drive her daughters to the Rock Springs Wyoming Fair to see the same band play, and ask for the lead singer to put some sunscreen on her nose (pictured above, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot), go with us to competitions in Alaska, Portland, Florida, sponser Tennessee, and help with the projects that got us there. Take us on such trips as Fish Lake every year, California, Oregon (multiple times), Florida, Lake Powell, Wyoming, and the spontaneous state trips. Let me paint my wall green despite her fear of color on walls. I have learned much from my mom: never be late, always be on time, always take a water bottle with you even if you don't need it, don't be afraid to go somewhere new or try something new, learning is fun and important, go to college, math is hard even for adults, check the weather at least 10 times to be fully prepared (I have dubbed her the "Weathermom"), finish the jobs you agree to do, how to appropriately and satisfactorily clean a bathroom including a scrubbed sink/tub, how to make peach jam, service is important, fulfilling callings at 110%, don't get sick (and if you are try to hide it or she is freaked out), you have to learn to cook even if you hate it, make lists, and this list could go on for awhile. I love my mom so much, she is awesome, and I am super blessed to have her in my life.

I love my sisters

So yesterday was the magical day where Emi, Chris, and I all had the afternoon off. We had many adventures including:

going to Cafe Rio and not killing Christie was a fantastic discovery.....shopping.....Dilly Dally's.....river parkway and throwing rocks.....buying a bike that does not fit in my car at Costco.....I love my sisters.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas was a lot of fun, some of the highlights included the temple, Hoover Dam, the Bellagio (didn't stay there but we did visit a few times to see the garden and water shows), warm weather, and sleeping in. It was fun walking out of church and having the temple right in front of you as well. :)

Graduation

Yay for a happy graduation day! While there is still a long road ahead of us, it was such a fun day to celebrate JD getting his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Chemistry. I know he won't like me saying so, but doesn't he look so cute in his gown with all the trimmings? It was super neat to be there for such a special occasion. It was a great day of pictures, Indian food, and driving 7 hours to Las Vegas for a mini-vacation. If only the celebrations and lack of school could last a little bit longer, sadly class starts up again this Monday. :/

Fun story, I went to the end of commencement where former Govenor Mike Leavitt was speaking, JD's college was right after commencement so as soon as it was over, I ran as quickly as I could through the crowd to stake front row seats for the 7 other family members coming to see JD walk. I had grabbed a spool of string before leaving thinking it may come in handy. As I got to the front row-center, I held the end of the string, counted seats, and threw the spool to the last seat that I needed to save. The bright orange string was a life saver, not more than 10 seconds after my string had been strung there were people trying to get my saved seats. The first spoke for the rest as they eyed the string with great distaste, "I take it the string means these seats are saved?" I replied yes and they hustled to the remaining sections with front rows. Yay for my spool of orange string!

Too Excited

Tomorrow is going to be SO so so exciting (and Friday)! JD will graduate with his degree in Psychology and Chemistry, and after graduation we leave for sunshine and warmth in Las Vegas. I have a list of all the free things avaiable to go to from lion and tiger compounds to aquariums and botanical gardens. We are going to the temple and Hoover Dam/Lake Mead as well. While it is a short trip since JD gets to jump right back into organic chemistry this summer, I AM SO excited to go and to see him graduate and to sing 'sweet' nothings about whatever is on bill boards, speed limits, weather, or ballads on my love for such items as Sour Patch Kids and Jolly Ranchers, on our ride down to sunshine (and I am not even kidding that is my way of passing the time on our road trips, I'm glad JD loves me A LOT). So while not going to Disneyland this time, I will be like the cute kid in the clip this evening as I charge cameras, empty SD cards and my Flip Vid and prepare for a few days of concentrated fun!

If Only......

If only something like this could have happened yesterday. JD and I had the joy of sitting for 9 hours to get all of our pharmacy live continuing education credits taken care of. We had the same speaker for two lectures=4 hours hours of nutty nutrition irrelevant to the topic of PMS and PCOS such as drinking mineral water, what kind of magnesium will assist with all of your ailments, or that 90% of Americans are allergic to gluten (wheat) and don't even know it. Did you also know that keeping a hard boiled egg in your lab coat to snack on is a fantastic idea, minus the yolk of course. Rancid almonds are better for you than any other form of almond, eating a tablespoon of cinnamon a day will assist with insulin maintenance, and so on.....My brain was melting with boredom and cynicism, as well as from the rather high temperature and stuffiness of a low lit room to accommodate the powerpoint presentations. A musical distraction would have made the experience all worth it.

Sparrows in the Dryer

I was on the way to my parent's house to meet up with my mom for lunch. On my way, I get a text from my mom that reads: Help! some critter is in the vent by my dryer! help its big!

I get to the house and my mom is armed with a butterfly net. I asked her what she thought she was going to do with a butterfly net.....apparently that is the best way to catch a bird. I opted for a pillow case. After Bandit escaped the dryer (so named since my mom initially thought there were some really noisy robbers in the house when she got home from her walk) I scooped her up in the pillow case. We took Bandit outside and let her out of the pillow case, she circled the field a few times before calming down. What a funny adventure!

Shout out to Happenings

This is a shout out the the Happenings book, most often referred to as "The Date Book" at the Speth household. We were on the fence about buying one but were persueded by the discounts to some Indian food restaurants that had some pretty good savings. Little did we know this treasure would become our go-to on where to eat, activities to do, and discounts on a variety of services such as free rock chip repair. We love The Date Book and all the fun that comes from it, not to mention when there are just two of you, and dinner is buy one get one free, the savings. Today's adventure with the Date Book was to Jamba Juice, buy 1 smoothie get 1 free. JD was hungry, and Carl's Junior was next door. Flipping through the date book, I found a coupon for a free star burger, no purchase necessary. It is so much fun getting rung out at the register for $0.00. Yay for The Date Book.

And so it ends.....

End of Spring Break......well it was a good week. A lot of working on my part, but we had some fun date nights and got a lot of neglected things taken care of. Some highlights include:

• Ganesh (best Indian food in Utah)



• Ogden Temple



• Real Salt Lake Game



• Glow in the Dark mini-golf



• All of our taxes taken care of



• Grandpa's birthday party



• March Madness



• Reading a book for fun

I HATE Daylight Savings

Here we are, almost a full week into the new daylight savings and guess what? I am still a mess. I loathe daylight savings. I feel like a three year old who has had their entire routine thrown off. Food, sleep, thinking, breathing, everything feels off and I hate it. I told JD that a school in Arizona would be nice for the sake of not having to deal with this cruel, unnecessary practice twice a year. What is really sad is the spring one is easier for me to adjust to compared to the fall; it is usually the opposite for most people.....both are bad in my book. I can only hope that come this time next week I will have finally adjusted, but for now....I am going to bed, on second thought maybe I will eat a snack, then again I am not sure if I am tired or hungry......sad.

Spring has Spung....Kind of

Can I just say how very grateful I am for the wonderful week long holiday known to all college students as Spring Break? While it doesn't pertain to me since my teachers choose not to acknowledge such holidays, JD has a whole week off. To start things off right, we went out to eat, glow in the dark mini golf, icecream at Farr's on 21st, and we were even going to go to a movie until I was too tired (this was major gift card and date book discount night). I love this holiday and celebration that lasts a full week, where stress is less and we have more time to play. Yay for Spring!

The Fox and the Hobbit are back!!!!

My friend Tara and I would make celebratory cakes leading up to the release of the next film of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy when we were in high school (300 day cake, 100 day cake, etc). We would also clip out and copy the FoxTrot cartoons revolving around Lord of the Rings and I am thrilled to say....they are back!!!! To go along with such classics as Lord of the Onion Rings, barefoot movie releases in December, battles between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and 'Rudolph's Lord of the Rings' comes the newest addition to the FoxTrot Lord of the Rings family:If you haven't seen the other ones you must go here: http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/FoxTrot

Learning to Breathe

While this is the title of an excellent Switchfoot song, it has been my theme this week....ok maybe longer than that, but there was a new turn to the Chronicles of the Right Lung recently. I found out I have asthma, more noticable when induced by exercise! Now some have been saying: that stinks, I am so sorry. To me, however, this is fantastic news! It isn't a life threatening state like my PE was, it isn't a chronic pleurisy like my Tietze syndrome in the upper right lung, it isn't the genetic defect that makes my body enjoy making embolisms to send to my lung to cause havoc, it is TREATABLE. Not only that, but the treatment is EASY. I thought I was just out of shape or that my lung was still very unhappy when I was running this week after finally getting permission to exercise again from my doctor. I was wheezing more than normal and coughing more than normal and long story short, I bumped into my doctor with the next day remnant of these symptoms and he rolled his eyes, stated what he said was obvious, and now I have an inhaler. Friends, family, this inhaler has changed my outlook on breathing. I only wish I had known it was ok to breathe while doing things, or I would have been using this wonderful medication back in junior high. 1-2 quick puffs 30 minutes prior to activity and I can breathe while I do stuff! It is SO much fun!

YAY FOR ASTHMA!!!!!

Dreaming of a Midsummer Night

JD and I had yet another fun experience of going to the Utah Symphony Orchestra last night, again for free! I love free dates! This time it was a Classic series which included music from Brahmes and Handel, the main portion of the show, however was excerpts from the opera based on Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. I thought it was well done, the narrators were amazing, not a huge fan of the opera pieces, but I was excited to see Fred Adams (founder of the Shakespearean festival in Cedar City) play the part of Puck. As we headed to the car, I asked JD what he thought of the evening. His response: "I'm pretty sure that I didn't understand

most of what was spoken this evening, but the music was nice." Maybe a trip to Cedar this summer is in order.....then again, maybe not.

Bravo Broadway: Wicked Divas

JD and I went to the Utah Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert on Thursday night and it was AMAZING. They featured several great songs sung by Stephanie J Block and Julia Murney, they were playing Elphaba in Wicked at the same time (trading off between traveling company and Gershwin theater in New York). Both were fantastic singers and performers. They sang a variety of songs, My Heart Will Go On, Ring Them Bells, All that Jazz, Think of Me, among others and ended with Defying Gravity, Popular, and For Good from Wicked. For past youth guild members, I only saw about 5 empty seats in the theater it was packed. I have never seen it that full. It was a fantastic performance. :)

Fried Eggs and Fires

So we have some eggs that will go bad soon. The solution? Cook them. That was a good idea until JD was frying some eggs for sandwiches last night when the 'smoke' triggered our smoke alarm, not once, but twice. It was a good check on the fire alarm system throughout the entire house. JD was opening the door and yelling up the stairs that it is our fault and there wasn't a fire. I am fanning away some of the 'smoke' from the alarm area and holding the pan in the air, egg and all, hoping that the 'smoke' would stop. After getting it to stop, we made the mistake of trying to finish the egg and the whole thing started all over again.....I am glad the Roberts' like us. Today.....hard boiled eggs.

Classic Vick's Nyquil commercial

JD is sick and sounds a lot like this guy. The one after this is worth watching too.

Singing in the Rain

JD must really like me, because I was able to talk him into watching Singing in the Rain. For those who have seen it, I know you are thinking, what is there to talk into? But for those who have not seen the "musical treasure" skeptisism often takes precedence over enjoying this fantastic movie. JD even appreciated the ability of the actors to sing and dance and act. It surprised me how much of the dialogue I have memorized too. It was a really fun night. Interesting facts from the movie:

• The Singing in the Rain scene was filmed while Gene Kelly had a 103 degree fever. The rain water was mixed with milk so it would show up on the film better. This mixture happened to make Gene's suit shrink. They also went through quite a few umbrellas.


• Debbie Reynolds was 19 when filming the film and Gene didn't approve of her dance skills compared with his. One day, Fred Astaire (as in Fred and Ginger) found Debbie crying under a piano after Gene had yelled at her over her dancing and he offered to give her private dance lessons to get her to the level Gene wanted her at.


• Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) actually dubbed over some of Debbie Reynold's songs in the film, with her normal voice of course.

I HATE VALENTINES COMMERCIALS!!!!

This is a vent so if you don't want to read about me whining stop now because I am passionately against stupid Valentine's Day commercials. THEY ARE SO FLIPPING STUPID!!!! JD and I were watching something last night and a commercial pops on about a couple and a stupid teapot and how their marriage almost fell apart because on their first Valentine's Day he gave her a one person teapot. So this Valentine's he gave her a 2 person teapot with a diamond necklace in it....result you are wondering? The dumb girl opens the teapot ready to cry and then the necklace and says... Now this is what says I love you. Really? Seriously? This is dumb.

Another case in point.....the stupid commercials on the charm bracelets, no offence to those who think they are cute but what do they have to do with anything and what man is really capable of putting together an entire meaningful charm bracelet with that many trinkets all for the low low price of $150+?

And finally, the Hallmark speaking book.....I think they are creepy not cute.

I am not saying that I hate the holiday. I think it is nice to have a day in recognition of the people you care about, but the extent to which it is commercialized to dupe the poor men out there just bugs. I am done now....until the next commercial comes on.

Ski Pipe World Cup 2011

The day finally came! JD and I had a blast up at Park City Mountain Resort for the 2011 Ski Pipe World Championships. It was super fun (parking was the first great adventure) and we didn't get too cold, another bonus. The athletes were fun to watch as they came down the pipe we stayed down at the bottom and could see the looks of frustration or excitement depending on how their run went. Overall a fantastic new experience. Hopefully the debate ends well this year with the Ski Pipe event being added to the Olympic games in Sochi 2014. :)

Catharsis of Clearning

There is something that I love about cleaning, not just cleaning though, deep cleaning. I love the citrus scent of lemon as I scour the tup and counters and sinks in my house. I love vaccuming, washing, dusting, wiping, scrubbing, folding, organizing, emptying, sweeping, mopping, fixing, and so on. I like 'clearning' this occurs as I think as I clean. I love being able to 'dejunk' my brain as I dejunk a closet. Oft times as I am figuring out the best way to go about a cleaning project I figure out the solution to the questions/challenges/experiences I have going on. Not to mention how good it feels to have accomplished a project whether it was the loads of laundry, or the jumbled mess of a drawer in the bathroom now organized to perfection; how to balance school and work, or prepare a fun lesson for my primary class. The finished project certainly feels and looks good. I love clearning.

Bouncy Balls

Things have been a bit of an adventure in the Speth home lately. I started having lung problems (pleurisy, crackles when I breathe and popping, pain) again last week and my health has felt like a bouncy ball ever since. One day I would feel great and the next I just hit the pavement kind of hard before bouncing back. Yesterday I got to go to the hospital for a CT and my poor arms are so scarred from weekly INR monitoring for my Coumadin that they needed to use Ultrasound guided imaging just to find a place to insert an IV for contrast, now that is crazy (though kind of cool how my major takes a role, I have had X-ray, CT, and Ultrasound this week). Feeling good today, so hopefully the next impact doesn't come or maybe the bouncing will stop and I can continue to just roll along............

They Can Touch Their Toes, Why Can't I?

JD, Erin, and I went to the U's first gymnastics meet of the year against #1 Ranked UCLA. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!! When I was sick over the summer a lot of gymnastics competitions were happening (as well as replays from the previous year) so while in a recliner, I watched a lot of balancing, flipping, spinning ect. during my recovery. I have always wanted to go to a meet but this past summer cemented in that goal and I have to say it was even more fun than I thought it would be. There were girls who were past Olympians, US National team members and so on. It is crazy to see those athletes up close and doing all of the amazing things they have trained their body for years to be able to do. The crowd at gymnastics events is really fun too. I think everybody is just in awe of what they are watching, it doesn't matter which team member was competing, cheers would errupt for both the U and UCLA after each participant finished their event. It was super fun. Icing on the cake? THE U WON!!!! 195.700-195.300 We will definately make it a point to get back there this season.

Goodbye 2010

I think I will kind of miss 2010, mainly because I like numbers that go by 5's (probably a pharmacy thing, we count medication by 5), they are just very easy to do math in, such as I graduated in 2005, that was 5 years ago. Christie got the wonderful 2010 from high school, but Emily and I are both 2010 graduates from college so it evens out. I like the two round o's that bring balance to the year as well. Can you do that with 2011? No. But no point in prolonging the past instead I will highlight events of 2010, and look forward to new and more exciting adventures in 2011.

• Moved from Ogden to Riverdale, beautiful new apartment with even better neighbors


• Taught primary both in Ogden (10-11) and Riverdale (9-10) next year we will be with the 7-8 year olds


• Nat graduated from Radiation Therapy


• JD and Nat both got new jobs! JD at South Ogden IHC Pharmacy, and Nat at Calton Harrison Orthopedic Clinic


• Lots of trips: Zions National Park (March), Fish Lake (July), Denver Colorado (August), Vernal (October), and California (December); each come with many adventures and pictures


• Attended the 3rd stage of the Archery World Cup


• New refinished piano


• Living Dead Zombie 5K & Santa Run 5K (Nat survived both and even improved her time once her lung healed up a bit more)


• Pulmonary embolism-still experiencing the impact of this one, 'got' to spend a month in a basement, sleeping in a recliner, weekly blood draws, coumadin galore


• JD is a Galactic Hero after outscoring Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters at Disneyland


• A lot of papers exams and homework as JD continues Pharmacy prereqs, and I dig into my Masters program (1/4 of the way done :)


• Fed sting rays


• Ogden Marathon finish line volunteer