Seriously?

So I've been running 5 to 6 days a week for the last 3 weeks straight-- sometimes running morning and night. Over this time we've also gone on hikes, lifted weights, played tennis and rode our bikes in the effort to increase our activity level. To help on the nutritional end... I've cut processed foods almost entirely and primarily eaten whole foods. I'll admit I haven't been perfect because we've eaten out a few times. However, on the whole, I've made huge changes to our eating lifestyle. SO guess how much weight I've lost?? Go ahead, guess! Oh... 3 lbs. Three. Tres.

Seriously? I have been killing myself for three measly pounds? When I was working I worked out maybe twice a month and we ate out probably 4 times a week! Now we're eating out maybe 4 times a month and I'm running 4-7 miles a day. But how much less do I weigh? 3 pounds. 3 pounds??

How discouraging. With all the changes I've made, whether it be right or wrong, I had higher expectations. No, I didn't expect to lost 5 pounds a week or anything. I know it comes off slow-- but really? THAT slow? Perhaps my reality is jaded by my husband Michael, who can eat 5 Guys Burger & Fries for lunch and still drop weight the next morning. Oh, the injustice.

So anyway, needless to say it was hard for me to jump back on the pony this morning. I was so frustrated I just wanted to sit on my sofa and watch the Olympics all day. However, digging deep (very deep) I did go and do 4 miles this morning. Now I'm sweaty and tired and just thought I'd communicate my feelings to all you wonderful people. Does anyone else feel like shooting the scale themselves?? :)

This one below also made me smile.

2,052 Miles

At the end of June/beginning of July, Mike and I were very blessed to be able to take a much-needed vacation. Mike was just wrapping up "busy season" hours and it was June! He worked so hard, I knew he was burned out. Even though we couldn't afford to fly anywhere we were determined to get a vacation this summer. We both thought that the "Ultimate Road Trip" we took in 2009 to the east coast was one of our most fun vacations with LOTS of memories. So we decided to do Ultimate Road Trip #2! Due to a business trip we had to shorten our vacation a little and cut out Oregon. Even without Oregon's coast... we were jam-packed on activities. We left at the end of June and spent about 10 days driving from SLC-->Boise, ID-->Yakima, WA-->Vancouver, BC--> Seattle, WA--> Mt. Rainier Ntl Park--> Boise, ID--> and home again to SLC, UT. The trip was roughly 2,052 miles (according to the wonderful Mapquest!) and it was 10 awesome days of relaxation, only one real mini-crisis, driving through some of the greenest beauty I've ever seen, negotiating the best hotel deals possible, listening to awesome books on MP3, laughter and lots of flying by the seat of our pants! And yes, I am capable of doing that, in case any of you doubted. :) The trip was too long to give a day by day account-- and truthfully none of you would read it (we all know we sometimes just skip to the pictures). So I just thought I'd give a few of our 565 photos we took (you're welcome for not attempting to put them all up... could you imagine how long that would take with Blogger?!) and give you some short descriptions. Hope you enjoy!

This is Mike's sexy "I packed the car and I'm ready to roadtrip!" pose.

Thats a "2" for Ultimate Road Trip 2--not a peace sign. I am definitely not cool enough to pull off the peace sign... yet.

Our first stop was the big ID.

Where we got to visit with some great friends from my Au.D. program. We spent that night in Boise with Mike and Ashley who were so generous to put us up.

In our long drive from Boise to Vancouver we stopped for lunch in La Grande, OR.

And ate at Mt. Emily's Ale house. Mike is enjoying his beer battered fish and chips.

Part of road-tripping is the experience of eating on the road. So we packed a cooler and had some thrifty lunches. PB&J, anyone?
You would think 8 hr driving days would kill you but with a view like this out the window, an awesome book playing and your love beside you... it's not a bad life. ;)

After Boise, we stopped in Yakima, WA for the night. It was a mid-way point between Boise and Vancouver. We decided to break out our bikes and rode around the little town.

The next day we made it to Canada! If only we could get in...

See we always pack our gun on long trips. Unfortunately, we didn't think that one through in crossing the border. When they asked us if we had a gun we realized, "yes, we did!" They made us pull to the inspection port and police officers approached our car like we'd just committed a bank robbery. They kept asking us, "Why do you have a gun??" We kept telling them, "We are driving across the country thousands of miles, camping in the forest, we always bring it on long road trips..." They were NOT nice. They made us empty our pockets, lift up our clothes and show them our waists, leave our cell phones and put us in a building while they searched every inch and bag in our car. This took about 30 minutes. Then they sent us back in line to the U.S. to get rid of the gun before we came back. We had to go to the U.S. side and wait in a loooong line to get the gun back. And now we were really presented with a problem. It was a Saturday at almost 5 p.m.-- what do you do with a gun?! Not that we would but they said if we tried to cross and sneak the gun over that we were facing jail time. Ya, never felt like so much of a criminal in my life. So there we were in a little town on the border trying to figure out how to get rid of a gun approximately 15 min. before businesses closed for the weekend. Despite what the Canadians said, you can't just mail a gun. Which we figured out by calling several shippers who again acted like we were terrorists before telling it wasn't legal to ship a gun unless you hired a carrier to ship to another carrier. We also were having a hard time finding a place to store it. Mike said we should just go back to Seattle and forget Vancouver. No way! I had booked reservations and el cheapo that I am, I wasn't walking away from my $200. At 4:55 p.m. we raced to a storage facility which we paid to rent for the whole month (because they didn't do weekly rentals), omitting the information that we just needed to store a gun for the weekend, paid the man $55, unloaded the gun and some of our camping stuff (because at that point we might as well).... and 3 hrs later we crossed the border successfully into Canada. Hallelujah!

In the mornings in Vancouver we rode our bikes about 5 blocks to two little french bakeries and enjoyed a breakfast of ham and cheese croissant, danish and juice. Yum! Interesting fact about Vancouver, the city is built to be seen by bike so they have designated bike lanes that are separated by cement medians on the roads. It was pretty cool and definitely convenient for us.

Our favorite thing about Vancouver was riding our bikes all over. We rode along the water into Stanley Park. Miles of green forest with trails right on the edge of the city. It was incredible!

Above Mike is riding through the trails at Stanley Park. It also happened to be Canada Day while we were there which was really fun because everyone was decked out in Canada gear with painted faces. Kind of fun to celebrate Canada Day in Canada and then be back in the U.S. for the 4th of July.

We rode our bikes to Prospect Point at the edge of Vancouver. Here we looked out across the mysterious looking water to the ferries going back and forth-- so mystical and so cool. I could watch the ferries for hours, I am so fascinated by them.

Inside Stanley Park we ate packed lunches in the park and then hit Vancouver aquarium. Mike is a good sport to go with me. I love aquariums and we went to one on our last road trip in Chicago-- so we had to go to this one. It was fantastic. Beluga whales, dolphins, jellyfish, otters, octopus, butterfly garden... I loved it.

We rode along the ocean on bike paths almost the whole way back to our hotel.

After 2 nights in Vancouver we drove to Seattle and spent the night just outside the city. When we went up to our room at the hotel it hadn't been cleaned or made up. So when we went back down to the front desk they upgraded us to a suite. Sweet!

The next morning we woke up and hit Pike's Place Market. We had read that Lowell's had the best breakfast in the market and we weren't disappointed. It was delicious!! Mike got the corned beef and hash (one of his favorites). He orders it most places we go for breakfast and is on the search for the best in the U.S. I had a breakfast sandwich that rocked my world. Buttered texas toast hugging scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, cheese and spinach... yeah, it was GOOD.

Lowell's

Pike's
I absolutely love Pike's Market. I could walk around it all day. All the fresh produce, flowers, smell of fish, great energy... it's infectious and I would love to own a bakery there.

This is the famous gold pig that sits right next to where they throw the fish. We actually got to see them throw 2 fish. I don't know why that is so fascinating but it is really good entertainment!

Outside Pike's Place Market

We spent 1 night in Seattle and then drove to Mt. Rainier Ntl Park for 4 days. These were some of our favorite nights! Here we were able to just relax, not worry about hotels or restaurants, see some gorgeous nature and play some intense card games! And learn that Mike is desperately bad at games that have absolutely nothing to do with skill and just luck. ;)

You have to roast hot dogs while camping! I am not a hot dog lover but for some reason eating them after being roasted on a fire make them delicious to me? In the background you can see our amazing campsite. It was so green and lush. It didn't rain on us once while we were there but the temperature was always really comfortable in the day-- high 60's. I think because it was so moist as well, I didn't have any allergies while we camped. Which is pretty much a modern day miracle.

Is this scene not amazing?!

Keeping with the thrifty theme... we had chili and corn over fritos chips one night. It's amazing how delicious things taste when you're camping. I was also proud on how cheap we could eat. Dont judge-- It's my jewish blood.

We hiked to Silver Falls. It was huge!

It wouldn't be a vacation without a kissing picture.

This is on our hike up to Silver Falls. I mostly included it because I just find him so darn attractive. ;)

One day we went up to Paradise-- the base of Mt. Rainier where there is a visitor center.

We also went to the famous Grove of Patriarchs where trees are over 1,000 years old!

We took some goofy pictures...

and some forced ones (where I made Mike do this)...

We ate some delicious food...

And saw some take-your-breath-away scenery! All in all, it was an awesome trip and we were so grateful to be able to take one this year. We hope to carry on the road trip tradition and one day be taking our kids on Ultimate Roadtrip #15!

A Dabble in DIY

For years, I've seen tons of DIY projects that I've wanted to attempt. Now that I finally have some time... I'm too afraid to start any of them! Crazy, I know. I didn't see that one coming. I mean, hey, my mom is one domestic, costume-making, re-upholstering diva. And we share blood after all! I may also have had a small history of sewing quilts, baking cakes, painting, etc. that I was hoping to rely on. However, I'd like to make an important note and recommendation here... the skills you want to actually keep: don't ignore them for 15 years. Ground-breaking, I know. But really, you think you can fall back on those "Pssht, I used to do that!" until you sit confused looking at the bobbin and sewing machine wondering how these two parts once magically entwined to make a stitch. SO after a few failed trips to Hobby Lobby & the Fabric Store where I left empty-handed and kicking projects to "the future when that domestic bone kicks in" again... I decided to pick something uber simple to start.

So here it is! It's basic ladies. BASIC. Don't judge. This isn't Pinterest & I am not the Pioneer Woman (wait... she cooks). Well, whoever her crafting equivalent would be.

Back when I was selling my home, I invested in a few pieces to stage it to get top $. (PS. Not to be random here-- but did I even blog that we sold our home in February of this year?! Hmmm... maybe should do that.) Anyway, one of the pieces I bought was a Target breakfast tray. It was brown and worked well with some books & candles on my old coffee table-- but now we have a new sofa and all the brown was just BLAH. When we moved I also introduced a new color scheme. Mike and I actually use the tray quite a bit and I was tired of storing it after every use. So I decided to make the piece fun with some color so it could be part of design as well as dinner.

To begin, I made a very manageable trip to Hobby Lobby and for around $10 bought my supplies.

Then I laid out my tray in my garage where I could get crack-a-lackin at it! See the tray: functional but not fun.

Let me just pause here and say, "How cool is spray paint??" Really, this stuff turns painting into the easiest job on the planet and for the impatient of us... it dries in less than 10 minutes. Sweet! So after a few coats of the modern day miracle called spray paint... I now had the same tray in white. An improvement but not necessarily fun yet. So I took some scrap paper of my choosing (golden yellow damask) and mod podge-d it to the inside of the tray. Yeah, mod podge is pretty cool too. Glue + Sealant = Happy Girl

And in a very simple jiffy... I now have a new tray that instead of blending into the brown of my ottoman-- pulls in my little pops of yellow in the room. Ta-da!

Meg can craft (if only simplistically)! It may seem simple and lame to all of you blog-following, pinterest-loving maniacs out there (I'm included in that group actually) but it was one small step towards doing all those big things that made me want to panic in the Michael's aisle. A little spark to warm up the fire, we'll say. Hope you enjoyed my dabble in DIY!

If you haven't heard...

My husband rocks!!

One day Mike came home from work and announced he was going to run a marathon. Say what? He loves sports but I don't think he had "ran" for the sake of running a day in his life. He and his coworker had signed up for one and committed to run it together. He downloaded "The Non-runners guide to marathon running" and went for it. I was so impressed how dedicated he was. After working 12+ hr days during busy season he would come home and run at 11 p.m. at night. That's impressive. He ran a half marathon a few months ago on a whim (one of his coworkers strained a muscle and couldn't run it himself) and then he ran another one two weekends ago. Mike's mom came out to support him and it was so fun watching him finish with 20 seconds less than his target time (yay!). Two weekends later (just last Friday) he ran the Ragnar relay with some of his company. Not only did he run it-- but he took some of the hardest legs in the group. I am seriously so impressed and so proud of him. One day I hope I can rock a race with him like this... Good job babe!

His 1st-- Salt Lake Half

His 2nd Half-- Utah Valley (his AWESOME support group!)

Michael and his coworker Bill who committed to run together

The bottom of the barrel

A few months ago, I was kneeling next to my bed at 10 p.m. feeling like I didn't have the strength to stand and lift myself into bed. I laid my head on the side of the bed and felt so emotionally, physically and spiritually depleted. This wasn't the first time I'd felt this way in the last several months and yet here I was again. All I could feel was stress and exhaustion. How those two emotions can so intensely coexist simultaneously... I dont know. Let's just call me psychotically talented. I was undoubtedly and unsurprisingly unhappy. What was worse though was I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. In the midst of happily trekking along a giant tornado of anxiety, stress and chaos sucked me up and haphazardly dropped me in foreign territory. Where was I and how on earth did I get there? I wish I could have cried. That would have been a great release. But I couldn't. I was so far past empty I couldn't even cry (which if you know me, is not hard to do). I just lay there wondering how I got to where I felt so completely unfulfilled.

I had sudden impression to take a step back and look at my life on paper. So I got a sheet of blank paper and wrote down the "major areas" I thought my life did or should be comprised of. These were my areas: my career, sleeping, eating, cleaning, spiritual growth, getting ready, watching TV/unwinding, service for others and physical exercise. I drew a circle and cut it up into 24 pie pieces-- my 24 hrs a day. Then I started coloring in a pie piece for every hr I spent doing that thing. It was so interesting to visually see my day (essentially my life) colored in front of me. And at the same time- it was depressing. I had this giant green area gaping at me: my career. This wasn't a huge surprise since I spend every day there. However, as I looked at what was most important in my life-- spiritual growth, physical exercise, service for others... they were these tiny slivers of color on my paper. Barely recognizable. When I calculated it out-- collectively, they made up less than 2% of my day. Two percent. I don't know how long I stared at that paper.

That was it. We had to make a change. A big one.

There is more to my life. More to me. More to my existence. More than God intended for me to do in this life then spend my days, nights, weekends and even my nightly dreams as an audiologist. My problem was I wasn't disconnecting from work-- ever. The stress was affecting every part of my life. I had lost myself in the pursuit of success. I didn't want to look back on my life in 10 years and still feel this way. Realizing I had spent 12 years helping people in the hearing world and at the same time completely losing myself, my soul and true happiness in the process. Mike deserved more in a wife than that and honestly, I had to believe that I deserved more than that too.

So I made probably the most difficult decision I've ever had to make in my young life. I quit my job. It's ludicrous really-- completing 8 yrs of college to get your doctorate and then leaving the field. And at the same time, I have never felt such a release in my life. I know I won't be gone from my field forever. I loved audiology. But there is a balance in all things and I lost mine along the way. So in short (too late, I know), I'm taking a hiatus. A break to hopefully allow myself to refocus on what's most important in life: God, family and growth.

Leaving my job was incredibly hard for me. It was almost excruciating to leave my patients, the people I worked with and really-- my identity. Audiology was my life for the last seven years. That was it. That was me.

On the bright side, I learned something really important to me in this process. One: I can do hard things. I can take control, even when I think I've lost it. I can free myself even when I feel trapped by myself. It's very empowering. Lesson learned #2: money, success & promotions... they aren't enough for me. I always thought I'd be motivated by a lot of money. It wasn't until I felt like I was offered a lot to realize that that was not going to make me happy. For the last 2 years we had the big house, the new cars, exciting career possibilities and I still wasn't fulfilled. I've learned there's so much more to life than money and the world's view of success. I really didn't think I'd ever say that honestly. But I've gained a desire for a deeper fulfillment in my life. The fulfillment that comes with a family and relationships.

So since you all are starting to get glassy eyed now (or 20 min ago)... I've decided to post the new changes this big decision had made in our lives later. Here's the good news I want to end with though: when you're devastated that you've reached the bottom of the barrel-- pull your head up and look around. Life has millions of barrels... pick another one and start digging.

World Market -- Heck yes!

Ummm... do all y'all know about World Market?? Yea, so while perusing blogs for the one millionth time to find light grey chairs for my dining table... I stumbled onto a blog showing me these chairs sold at World Market:

I quickly googled World Market and found one in Cottonwood Heights. Can I tell you how exciting it was to drive to a new home decor store that I've never been to before?! Wow, I couldn't wait... and I wasn't disappointed. World Market had tons of furniture, home decor, cooking supplies and food from around the world! I can't believe how long I have NOT known about this store. So I just thought I'd share with you all the wonderfulness of this store.

I bought two of these chairs and they're even better in real life. The grey is more of a taupe and it matches perfectly with my countertops. I love them!! Can't wait to post pictures of our new place once I get it all done! :)

Life in Seconds and Inches

On April 5th, Mike had had a rough day at work. A lot has been going on in our lives and we were trying to make big decisions My parents had given us a gift card for the upcoming Easter so we decided to unwind and have a relaxing conversation over Olive Garden. We went to Olive Garden at the district and had an amazingly delicious and fun dinner discussing our future. We left around 7:00 p.m. hand in hand, laughing and feeling better about our day. We took a right out of the Olive Garden and approached the light at Bangeter at 11400 S. We were first in line, stopped at a red light, facing west but preparing to turn north. I had made a joke about something and we were laughing when I heard Mike say, "What the..." I turned to the left just in time to see a Dodge Durango heading north going about 60 mph cross three lanes of traffic and head right towards us. It truly was the most frightening moment of my life. We couldn't move. We just had to watch the Durango aim right for us and plow us. All I could think was, "Why are they doing that? Why are they aiming for us?" I know they weren't aiming for us intentionally but it felt almost like a hate crime because they were in the farthest lane from us and missed all four stopped lanes next to us and hit us. The Durango ended up hitting us on an angle right in front of the driver's tire but not head on. It plowed us off the road, turning us 90 degrees, up onto Olive Garden's lawn. It happened so fast I didn't have time to yell. I hit the center console and Mike hit the driver's door and window. All I said after we stopped was, "Ouch". Mike was half-way out the car cause at that exact moment... the Durango spun out in the rocks on the side of the road, gained traction and then SPED OFF. They left. I couldn't believe it. I didn't see them at all because my eyes were closed but Mike turned back and asked if I was ok. I said I was fine and he said, "They left!" I couldn't believe it. Who leaves?!? Mike said later that then he really thought it was a hate crime. Within seconds it felt like, people were everywhere... asking us if we were okay. The Durango had hit another car at the light further south and had continued driving then. Some man (bless his heart) had seen it all and was following the car while on the phone with 911. So immediately people were saying, "Don't worry, we got a license plate number." I was in so much shock, I couldn't believe what happened. One minute we were laughing and the other my car (new car!) was plowed off the road. I was shaking and when I got out of the car I realized my left ankle hurt for some reason. A couple of men told me I needed to sit back in the car. This accident really restored my faith in people again I must say. People were everywhere, asking if I was okay, telling me to sit down, finding me a jacket/blanket. Mike called 911 right away and as soon as he said he was calling I said, "Okay, you're calling 911? Good." And I immediately called my parents. Im sure I gave my dad a start because when he answered my voice was shaking and I was crying. I told him we were hit by a car but apparently my phone cut out and all he hear was "hit". He said, "Who was hit by a car?!" My parents came right away and I was so grateful they were close. As soon as I saw my mom, I lost it. Mike was a life-saver and in survival mode... taking pictures of the car, filling out a police report, etc. I was just sitting there in shock mode. My mom was with me and the paramedics came to check me out. I checked out just fine. All the hit was blunt force so the next day we were just sore and bruised, but thankfully, no bleeding or anything broken. I must admit that one of my initial thoughts was, "My car!" I've only had my car for about 6 months and I couldn't believe it was already smashed. When my mom got there I said, "Why did we have to be driving my car?" She stopped short and looked at me and said, "You be grateful you were in your car. If you'd been in Mike's car, Mike might have been killed." It was such a slap in the face-- I hadn't even realized that. Mike drives a small compact and if we'd been in his car, she would have hit right where Mike was sitting. Essentially T-boning us at 60 mph. Then I really lost it. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. That when I'd thought leaving the house earlier, "Maybe we should take Mike's car cause it gets better gas mileage...", I'd been prompted to keep my mouth shut and Mike had grabbed my keys instead. I was grateful that Mike and I hadn't left 10 seconds earlier. Grateful we hadn't been pulled forward 12 more inches. All of a sudden life seemed really fragile, sacred and volatile... and I was saying prayers of gratitude to my Father in heaven for watching over us.

The driver ended up being a woman. She had driven down and pulled into a carwash at the next light down. An officer had gotten the call about a hit and run as he was heading west on 10400 S. He saw a Durango come out of the carwash but didn't think that could be the right car. The car pulled out and stopped at the light. The light turned green but the car didn't go so the officer got out of the car and went up to the window. He told the woman to pull forward through the light and stop. On his way back to the car, she took off. Unified police authority came ripping past him chasing her. They wouldn't tell us how they got her to stop (the office said it was a little scary) and arrested her. We found out later she was drunk and had been smoking marijuana. When Mike and I googled her we also found out she was wanted as a suspect in a shooting of a young woman in the stomach with a shotgun a couple years ago in Oregon as well. We are just grateful no one was killed and that neither us or the other car had children inside.

Needless to say, the night was traumatizing for both Mike and I. My parents took us home because our car was obviously towed. We didn't go to the hospital and at around 9:30 we knelt down with my parents and said a prayer of gratitude to be at home. To be standing-- and to even be alive. Specifically Mike. I was feeling a desperate need to hold him and not let go. It may sound dramatic to you but the night really shook me to the core. You don't think about what you have to lose till it's challenged.

The next day we drove to Vernal for Easter and the entire time I felt like people were aiming at us. I kept grabbing Mike's arm to the point I think he thought he'd have to sedate me. When I finally calmed down we drove a lot of the way in silence. Mike turned to me at one point and said, "What are you thinking about?" All I could think of was that visual of seeing the car coming at us over and over again. Mike was replaying it over and over in his head as well. I've only seen Mike cry maybe twice in our entire marriage. As we started discussing what had happened, he started to cry and I did as well. I think we both were just overcome with fear, relief and gratitude. It was quite the therapeutic drive. Thankfully, we made it safely there and back.

Despite all of the driver's history, she did have car insurance (again a tender, tender mercy). So after an initial battle with the insurance to get a rental car for us... we are just waiting for our car to be repaired. My parents thought it would be totaled. But since it was brand new, there was a high ticket for repairs vs. replacing the car. The insurance adjuster said they wouldn't replace it and instead they're paying $10,000 to repair it over a a 5 week period. Hopefully, our car will be working as well as it was before when we get it back. It was a little bit of a bummer that they wouldn't replace it because we fear it may not ever be the same. However, looking on the bright side, when I looked around to find the same model of my car with all the extras and special features we'd purchased... they didn't have one in the entire western region. So I'm not sure I could have even gotten the same car back... and I am pretty attached to my two-tone seats as silly as that may sound. :)

This post is a novel. But in summary, we are once again seeing the incredible hand of the Lord in our lives. We feel grateful also to our wonderful family and friends who reached out to express their concern and love. You will never know how much it meant to us to know so many people cared. Really, bless you all! And on a final note... slow down and buckle up all! :)

Photos of the accident: