2012 St George Half Marathon

9 Months ago I just wanted to run a 5K, that's all....no biggie. If you would have told me I would run 13.1 miles I would have thought you were crazy.  Friday we drove down with my friend Connie and her husband, we went to Olive Garden for dinner and carb'd it up (ok, I'll be honest I was carb loading the entire week). The hotel we stayed at was literally right next to the Dixie Center (which was where the race started and finished) SO NICE! Saturday morning we woke up to rain- serious?! this has been the driest winter Utah has seen and on race day it's raining?! Fortunately the temp was in the upper 40's so it wasn't too cold.

Look at that smile, obviously I have no idea what I'm about to do

Tina (another friend from work) also came down for the race

 Tina, Connie, Me and Jenny trying to stay warm in the rain 

waiting for the half to start

 So to the best of my knowledge running a half marathon is kinda what I imagine labor would be like (disclaimer: having not given birth to a child I don't claim to actually KNOW and I think childbirth has got to be way harder than running). You've been waiting/training for months getting ready for the big day. Your emotions range from excitement/fear/nervous/anxiety, you've mentally pumped yourself up. The race starts and you're feeling good--"I can totally do this" about half way point you're thinking "What in the H was I thinking?!" It hurts, you want to quit but you just can't, somewhere deep down you have to dig and find that last ounce of strength to keep pushing. Finally you reach 10 and you're so close, just a little bit further. You finally cross that finish line and you are overwhelmed with emotions you want to cry/laugh/die... You think to yourself, I am NEVER doing this again (of coarse we all know that after the pain subsides you're no longer sore and you've forgotten about that pain you're totally going to do this again) and yes, I'm already thinking about running the Salt Lake half in April :)

0.1 to go! (we're behind the blue lady)

There is no way I could have done this without Connie, she was the BEST! She stayed with me the entire way, endured listening to me whine and cry (miles 8-10) and kept me going.

 FINISHED my FIRST HALF MARATHON!! 

TIME 2:12:56

best orange slices and chocolate milk of my life! 

 We are SOAKING WET! Proof that running does make you crazy/goofy :)

 My awesome hansom cheerleader 

He didn't run this one with me BUT he's promised he will run a half with me this summer :)

 I survived but my toe didn't- sad

The rain we ran in turned into snow on the drive home YIKES! We made it home safe but the weather added another hour to our drive.

Domestic-ness

For Christmas this year I got this beauty:

I've been wanting one for years. Nick went in with my Mom and got it for me and I'm in L.O.V.E I have been in the kitchen non-stop (too bad I'm not barefoot and pregnant). 

My first attempt (EVER) at baking bread, my Mom's been baking bread for years but I was never interested in learning how (just eating it-d'oh!) After a few phone calls to my Mom during the process, I was happy (and so was Nick) with the end result, nothing like fresh warm bread with butter/honey or homemade jam- YUMMY!  (Wheat Bread Recipe)

Yesterday was my sister's birthday and I made her RED VELVET CUPCAKES with cream cheese frosting

I've tried homemade cupcakes before but they've never turned out quite right, I don't know if I've been over mixing (using a hand mixer-bah!) or if it's because we live at a high altitude. Either way these cupcakes turned out so moist and delicious (Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe)  I melted some red chocolate in a piping bag and made little hearts (because I heart her!) 

Happy Birthday Chrissy!

One last thing:

ONLY 3 WEEKS til my HALF MARATHON!!

Good thing I have something to train for right now with all this baking going on.  Ran 9 miles yesterday and the temp was in the 40s....in December....and I loved every minute of it :)

Oh So Sweet

I remember growing up and walking in from the cold to a warm kitchen full of delicious treats and baked goods. It's no secret my family loves to cook/bake; my grandma did it, my mom does it, I even have a sister in culinary school.  On Christmas Eve/Eve/Eve I spent the day at my Mom's house baking Christmas goodies. Spending the day with my Mom and sisters in the kitchen, dancing to Christmas music and laughing- now it feels like Christmas.

We made gingerbread cookies (they're soft and chewy not hard/crunchy like traditional cookies), we made chocolate dipped pretzels, white chocolate popcorn, candied nuts, homemade caramel and fudge. We made Oreo balls (mint and regular) in white chocolate, we took peanut butter cookies and made balls dipped in milk chocolate- YUMMY! I should have taken a picture of the kitchen table covered in sweets.
Nick came over after work and decorated a few cookies:

Yes, that is a basket-bell, a football, the star from Mario, a devil and a jack-o-lantern tree and a gingerbread man wearing......not much- HAHA!
OH! and I just recently discovered PINTEREST -HOLLA!  Now I know what everyone is talking about. I spent an entire morning looking at DIY crafts, recipes, home decor......  I'm even playing with the idea of starting a cooking/baking blog and I've been totally inspired to get my craft on :) 

Endure to the End

That phrase can mean a lot of different things to different people. It might mean endure to the end of the semester, my long run, my trials...... In 2 Nephi 31:20 we're told "...Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."
I had the opportunity to visit teach an amazing woman; Sister Edna {L} lived in our ward and was 93 years young!  She was full of life and love and I was so blessed to be her visiting teacher.  In Sept Edna had heart attack and requested that no intervention be done and she was made DNR.  She was not scared of death and joyfully looked forward to being reunited with her husband. She peacefully passed away surrounded by her family.  
Flash forward to this past Sunday when we had tithing settlement.  Our Bishop shared with us that 2 weeks after Sister {L}'s death he received this in the mail:

 Even when though she was in the hospital dying, she still had her daughter mail her tithing. A true example of an individual Enduring to the End 

So Much to be Thankful for...

I didn't have to work this Thanksgiving and it was so nice to have a 4 day weekend to spend with family.  Even though this has been a hard year, it has also been filled with many blessings.  I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ, His atonement and the restored Gospel, it has brought peace and comfort and been the light during my dark times. Very close second is my best friend, my eternal companion and my #1 support, my WONDERFUL AMAZING husband. I am so grateful for family and good friends. I have had a few friends come into my life this year that have been heaven sent (you know who you are). We have been blessed to have good health, this year the Dr told Nick he was officially cancer free and considered cured-this is a HUGE milestone. The list goes on and on, I feel very humble and grateful.

 We ran a 4 mile turkey trot Thursday morning (thankful for the nice weather). I was able to keep a good pace (9:30 mile) and ran it in 38:08. Nick finished in 36:14 and his sister Lisa ran it in 27:12 !!  It was my family's turn for Thanksgiving dinner this year, we had my cousins Austin and Ethan (at BYU-I) and Chelsey and Kylie (at BYU) all siblings from Chicago join us. There was plenty of yummy food

Friday Nick and I put up our Christmas tree and decorations (YAY!!) Saturday the Whiting family went out to dinner at the Lion House and then looked at the lights on Temple Square (again thankful for the nice weather)

Let the Holidays BEGIN!

Last night we kicked off the holiday season at the Shops at the Riverwoods. They turned on their Christmas lights (which are quite impressive), Santa was there, as well as free cookies and carriage rides. Jon Schmidt performed a mini concert (he is amazing!) just as he was finishing his last song it began to snow, the first snow of the season! They couldn't have timed that any better you really felt the magic of Christmas :)

Afterwards we drove to the Thanksgiving Point theater to see...

My sisters and Nick's youngest sister came, along with my BFF Julie. Nick was one of only 4 guys in the entire theater (he's been watching football all day today to make up for loosing his "man card") If you're a twilight fan, you'll love the movie. This book was my least favorite of the series but they did a pretty good job translating it onto the big screen. It is a little steamy and kinda werid (demon vampire baby) but then again so was the book. I will admit I am a bit of a nerd (ok a HUGE nerd but a closet nerd) I love Harry Potter too (saw that on opening day) still think HP 7.2 was better that BD p1........don't judge me :)

Pumpkin Carving

I know Halloween is over but I have one last post before we move onto the next holiday (CHRISTMAS!!) ok ok Thanksgiving first. Nick won't let me put up any Christmas decorations until Nov 25th. Sunday night we went to my parents house and carved pumpkins. It's been a couple years since Nick and I carved pumpkins, I think the last time we were dating.

 We decided to go old school and carve traditional 

Jack-o-Lantern faces