Lucky Me!

Sean and his family gave me this really great Lucky brand jewelry. I am wearing it today and it makes me happy. Thanks guys.

Moab Half Marathon

Do not let the smiling faces in these photos fool you, it was quite awhile after the finish and we all had time to have recovered. The first time I ran this race was probably 8-10 years ago. At that time we just mailed in our registrations and ran. The race has become extremely popular and several years ago they went to a lottery system. Since then we have struggled to get in. This year no one was sure how badly they wanted to run so, of course, we got in. The weather has not been particularly conducive to training this winter and I wimped out and did a lot of my training on a treadmill. Midway through the race I was regretting that, it is not quite as effective. Overall I probably wasn't as prepared, physically or mentally, as I should have been. On the way to the start Tim and I discussed our racing strategies. I told him that I was going to just try to run tough and give up all of the excuses. When Jesse was running cross country, I kept telling her to expect the pain and just run through it. With that as a goal, I started off a little too fast and hard. When I started seeing stars and feeling black, I decided that it was probably time to back off. From that point on, it was a struggle just to get through the race. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time that I had such a bad race. It made it obvious how much work I have ot do before the Ogden Marathon in May! However, all of my people will be there so it will for sure be a great time.

The Crew

Susan, Aislinn, Kristina (Miss T), Tim, Me, and Dad/David

Stiff - The Curious Life of a Cadaver

Monday was book club - I know, already, it seems like I just went to the last meeting. One of the fun things with this group is that in addition to discussing books, the meetings have turned into a chance to try out various restaurants. Monday we met/ate at Salt Lake Pizza and Pasta Company. As far as the food review, Tim and I shared a pizza and a burger (he came along as my chauffeur). The burger was good, fries were great. The pizza had a really good flavor and crust but an obscene amount of cheese. Mostly I picked off most of my cheese and Tim used it to supplement his slices. If you are considering trying the restaurant, be warned that they only have Pepsi products, no Diet Coke.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a book review, right. I have picked this book up several times in the bookstore, but never ended up buying it so I was excited when it was selected for book group. I am a big fan of non fiction and for me, this book did not disappoint. It was super interesting, well researched, gave me a lot to think about, and, had a bit of humor thrown in to keep the mood from getting heavy.
In a nutshell, the book is about cadavers: "For 2,000 years, cadavers -- some willingly, some unwittingly -- have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem."

I have to tell you up front, if you are squeamish, this might not be the book for you. No photos but the descriptions are quite detailed. I guess I always assumed that if a person donated their body to science, they ended up in a smelly anatomy lab, used exclusively for higher education. Not so my friends. True, all of the cadaver research has a purpose, and often a really noble purpose, but sometimes it is surprising what they go through. For instance, were you aware that they use cadavers in simulated car crashes prior to the crash test dummies. They need to decide what a human body can withstand before they do the testing on impact. Did you know that the medical examiners can often determine the cause of a plane crash before the FAA based on the remains that are recovered. Did you know that when you are embalmed, it only preserves your body for a short time and once you are in the ground, you quickly begin to decompose. And it goes on and on.
Reading the book definitely makes you think about death, specifically what happens to your body after death. One of the women in my book group had previously planned to donate her body to science. After ready the book, she has not changed her plans. She's not even picky about how her parts are used, although if given a choice, she would like to bask in the sun at the "body farm". Another woman determined a great alternative to traditional burial or cremation. A process is in the works where you would be freeze dried then your body broken down and the remains used to cultivate a tree. She hopes that will be a viable option before she dies. Me, I'm sticking with the traditional "seal me up and put me in the ground", but there is a small part of me that would love to be "parted out" and have some additional adventures after death.
Apparently the book gets a little slow at the end but I haven't quite had time to finish it, so for the first 2/3, I would give it an A-.

American Idol

Last night Tim and I watched American Idol live (no DVR and the VCR doesn't let you watch until the recording is complete). It's a long show when you can't fast forward through all of the lame interviews and judge comments, and have to watch the never ending Ford commercials. I hoped that with all of the whining from US automakers, Ford would not have so much money to spend on the cast "videos". It's tragic what some people are willing to do for fame. I think I would be less embarrassed to pose for scantily clad photos (sorry mom). We couldn't even channel surf during the commercials because the batteries are dead in the remote. It was practically like living before electricity. So far I don't have a favorite, and am waiting to get super excited about the season. In the meantime, here are my random thoughts from last night.

A few nights ago I dreamed about Anoop. It was extremely random - especially because I didn't even think he was good. In my dream I had won a contest to have a private concert which I decided to do at my parents because their house is bigger. When Anoop got there all of my family started speaking to him in really loud voices and with Indian accents because they thought that he couldn't speak English. It was super awkward. He didn't mind though and kept asking about the concert and offering to sing. I was trying to keep him busy because I really didn't want him to sing. I was afraid everyone would start laughing because he was so bad. When the dream ended, I was still parading him around the house, showing him the yard, etc., and ignoring his questions about the concert.

Surprisingly, I loved his performance last night. Tim wondered if it would spark a good dream about Anoop, but so far, nothing. I'm glad he did better. I don't think he will last long in the competition, but I really like his parents and I love that he is smart.

Adam Lambert - Wow, I can't quite decide if I love him or hate him. I'm pretty sure that I would never pay money to own his music or see him in concert. However, if someone offered either for free, I would so be there - serious entertainment value. His performance last night of "Ring of Fire" was WILD, but I loved how unique it was and have a sneaking suspicion that all of the "cool kids" think he is great. We know what Randy Travis thought, but the real question is, what did Johnny think?

Wolf Creek

Saturday I met Tim and his kids to ski at Wolf Creek. It is a small resort in the Ogden Valley. The drive there and the views once I arrived were beautiful. The weather was amazing - blue skies and at times it was too warm. T has been skiing a few times before and did great. He and I took some harder runs and he beat me down the mountain almost every time. E and B had never skiied before. I could not believe how well they did. I accidentally took E down a hard run. She was a trooper and skied most of the way before deciding that it might be easier to slide the rest of the way. B and I spent a lot of time riding the "magic carpet", much better idea than a tow rope. I even did several runs skiing backwards, bent over, holding his skis together. By the end of the day all of the kids had made amazing progress and I think had a lot of fun.

It was by far the best workout Tim and I had all week.

Dixie Rock

A week and a half ago we went to St. George to play, take engagement pictures and bike. More on all of that later.
Before we headed home, we had to take a trip out to Dixie Rock. Jarin and Jami and the kids love it there, Tim and I quickly discovered why. It's a great place to explore, climb, and check out the views. Here's a few pics.

More casual than the official engagement pics, but just a cute.

Aren't they a cute family. Can't wait for the new little one to get here.

Ada posing, Miles just loving life.

Life is rough when your dad won't let you keep climbing.
Love the irony! Notice her shirt says "Be Happy"