Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parents' 35th wedding anniversary...congratulations, Mom and Dad--I love you!

Thank goodness it's Friday!

rainbow bookshelf image via www.freshome.com

I know I've been out of touch for the last week.  Work didn't leave me much free time this week...and, unfortunately, I've got to be at Camp Williams from 6 to noon tomorrow, as well.  Sigh...

Still, I'm looking forward to slowing things down a bit this weekend...and I LOVE Fridays.  I typically work a four tens schedule and get every Friday off (if you don't count the fact that I bring my work computer home with me most weekends!) 

Some potential weekend plans:

Nervous about (but looking forward to) today's WOD at CrossFit UV

Dinner with Katie tonight

Big gymnastics meet at the U tonight

Take in a movie with the handsome hubby...and maybe catch a star sighting!

January is National "Learn a Snow Sport Month"...you can learn to ski for less on the greatest snow on earth!

Catch this weekend's episode of  one of my favorite NPR shows, "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!" (Saturday at 11 AM on KUER...and of course, if you miss the broadcast, you can download the podcast.)  One of my college roommates, Jen Miller, will be a contestant this week!

I've got a project for my dressing room I'd like to get started on

Long run this Sunday (gotta get ready for the big event!)

Would really like to finish up my current bedside reading, since I've got my eye on a few new books...

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Talk about a major project!

All I can say is....wow.  Matt Kish decided that he would illustrate EVERY PAGE of "Moby Dick."  He started back in August and is on page 129.  Only 423 more to go.  Amazing.  Check it out.

Art credit/Matt Kish

Happy Friday!!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  I'm stoked because I have the next five days off before having to head back into work on Wednesday.  No real plans for the long weekend...getting a few errands done...hanging out with some friends and a good bottle of wine...catching a few movies...reading...getting some training runs in...playing with the cat...trying out some new recipes...snuggling with the handsome hubby...can't wait!  As crazy as everything has been around here lately, it's so nice to not have any real obligations or commitments for a few days...

How about you?  Any cool plans?

image by designcrush via Lovely Little Things

Now THIS is dedication....or obsession...

I was checking out the CrossFit UV page this morning to see what today's WOD (workout of the day) would be, and this is their daily photo for Friday: 

I guess my excuse that work is "busy" pales when my husband can make the effort to get a good workout in (to include handstand pushups) when he's just had major ankle reconstruction and is non-weight-bearing for 8 weeks...

Cue the waterworks...

I saw this story online today and had to share...I know I'm a crier anyway, but this definitely had me tearing up...

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Anyone up for a run??

I've been feeling a bit in a funk lately...work feels like it has been non-stop between my full time job in recruiting and getting ready to mobilize with my deploying unit...since Bruce has had the surgery and is laid up for awhile, there's a lot of slack that I have to pick up at home (it's so easy to take for granted how much Bru does around here--but I SO appreciate him!)...I've been so busy working (at work and at home) that I haven't really made an effort to get to the gym consistently (which always makes me grouchy!)...and I guess I just have the all-around-in-general-winter-blahs. 

I decided that I needed to do SOMETHING to pick me up...soooo....I'm starting to train for the Salt Lake City Marathon on 17 April.  I've been bummed out that I'll miss the St George Marathon this year since I'll be deployed (I've entered the lottery two years in a row and didn't get selected, so this year was my automatic entry), and I need a goal...something to look forward to.  Thus...the SLC Marathon. 

I'm excited--I've run tons of half marathons, but only one full marathon (and that one was with no training whatsoever...I SO don't recommend that!)  I love having something to look forward to and motivate me to make some time for myself. 

If anyone's up for it, I'd love to have a training partner and someone to share the experience with on April 17th!!

(photo credit)

Bittersweet

"Bittersweet" by Brian Andreas

I know I've said it before, but I adore Brian Andreas' poetry.  This is my favorite of his stories...it's lovely.

...but it's a GOOD hurt!

So anyone that knows Bruce well knows that he is a HUGE advocate of CrossFit.  I've always been pretty fit, and with a background in traditional fitness education, I tend to be more of a traditional workout kind of girl.  When we moved down here to Orem we found CrossFit UV, a local CrossFit gym, and we LOVE it!  I still do some of the traditional stuff--running, yoga, etc--but I'm sold on CrossFit now, too.  It is undoubtedly a fantastic workout and the members of CrossFit UV are fabulous--friendly, encouraging, fun--they're like family (which motivates me to push myself harder and to do better each time.)  Where else can you get a workout done in 10 minutes and feel like throwing up afterwards??

If you're looking for a great workout and awesome folks, you MUST check out the best gym in Utah Valley!

(photos courtesy of http://www.crossfituv.com/)

Happy Monday!

(photo by Abby Welker)

Some sun, sand, and a fruity drink, please...

After all of this snow and cold weather, I'm so ready to lay claim to one of these chairs right about now...

(photo via http://www.advillas.com/)

I've decided that this is where I want to go on my next vacation.  How fantastic does a dive trip to a private island sound? 
 

Sigh...

(photos courtesy of Cayo Espanto)

Back to the real world...

I'm finally back to work tomorrow after two weeks away from the office...

(photo via Bruce's cousins, Jess & Dwayne McCarroll, of one of their gorgeous sons, Colin)

This photo describes perfectly how I feel about that.  The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words is so, so true!

Bruce and I headed to Nashville to celebrate my brother, Mark's, graduation from Belmont University with his BSN in nursing (one step closer to his goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist!)

We flew out on the night of Wednesday, December 16th in order to make it to the pinning ceremony scheduled for Thursday night, but we had some horrible luck with our flight and ended up stranded in Denver for the night.  There was only one seat available on the flight on Thursday that would get us to Nashville on time, so I was able to fly on it stand-by and make it to the pinning ceremony, but Bruce had to catch the later flight and ended up hanging out at the airport bar until we could pick him up after the ceremony.
 Aunt Kathy and Uncle Roger were able to make it, and Griffin had a ball hanging out with Kathy...

and with Mommy...

and being entertained by Roger during the ceremony.

We were so proud when Mark received the Florence Nightingale Award (awarded to one graduating senior and chosen by the Nursing School faculty in conjunction with the Baptist Hospital Ladies Auxillary.)

Kathy is an RN (and Mark's godmother!) and she did the honors of pinning Mark.

Afterward, Griffin wanted to announce to everyone how proud he was of his Daddy.

All in all, a great night!

The next day, December 18th, was Mark's actual graduation from Belmont and Dad, Mom, Billy, and Amber, and Jackie's mother and grandmother all made the trip up from Huntsville to be there.  One of Mark's good friends and roommates from his FSU days, Josh, made the trip down from Michigan, as well.

We're so very proud of Mark for all of his hard work and his fantastic accomplishment!

Bruce and I spent the rest of the weekend with Mark, Jackie, and Griffin, then headed down to Huntsville to hang out with Dad, Mom, Billy, Amber, and Ethan.  It was the first time Bruce and I had a chance to meet Ethan, and I can't believe how much he's grown in just five months!  We'd been living vicariously through the pictures Billy and Amber would send us, but I'll tell you:  nothing compares to the real thing! :-)

Mark, Jackie, and Griffin came down from Nashville on Christmas Eve to do the Kelley family Christmas since Bru and I had to fly home on Christmas day (at 5:45 in the morning!  Yeesh...)  It was wonderful to have the whole family together.  Mom made a fantastic dinner and it was so much fun to watch Griffin open his gifts and "help" everyone else open theirs (he's quite talented at the whole gift-wrap-tearing thing!)

Bruce and I finally got home to Salt Lake City on Christmas Day afternoon after another disastrous airport experience (I'll spare you the details, but the bottom line is that we ended up calling Bru's cousin, Dave, and had him buy us one-way tickets home on the computer on Southwest because Frontier was going to strand us in Denver AGAIN.  At this point we'd been awake for more than 24 hours and were NOT in a very patient mood...)


We had a relaxing weekend just hanging out before having to head in to the hospital for Bruce's ankle surgery on Tuesday (the 28th.)

The surgery itself went just fine (when the doc came out of the OR to give me the status report, he said that he had never seen such extensive damage in an ankle before!), but Bruce had a few issues with pain management in the first 36 hours and he ended up having to be admitted overnight.  Once he did finally get home and got on a pain medication schedule, he's been doing really well.  He's staked out his spot on the couch and is keeping his day busy with naps, football, movies, video games, and more football.  Now it's just a waiting game to see if the surgery was as successful as we hope it to be.  His surgeon is fantastic and we've been really impressed with him, his professionalism, and his competence (if you're ever in need of major ankle surgery, Dr. Nikisch at University of Utah Hospital is your man!)  Bruce will be non-weight bearing on that foot for at least the next six weeks (torture for him!) and will have about six months of recovery ahead of him. 

I've been keeping busy with nurse-maid duties, cooking and baking, taking down the Christmas decorations (much to Lucy's chagrin!) and all of the chores that needed to get caught up on around the house.

Whew!  I'm so ready for life to start slowing down around here...at least for a little while, anyway! :-)