Operation Smile 5K

Ok, so ever since I quit soccer my junior year of high school, I set a goal to run a 5k. I never did it because I was always too busy, too tired, too poor, too out of shape, too anything to get me out of doing it. However, the other day I was on facebook and saw a little side ad for the Operation Smile 5K. I've heard about it the last few years and was even going to volunteer at it last year, but I had something come up last minute. So when I saw this on Tuesday night I believe it was, I texted my friend Nate right away. We did a lot of work together in High School with Operation Smile. (If you don't know what Operation Smile is, please check this link.) My family has been very involved with Operation Smile since my sister was born with a cleft lip and a cleft palate 31 years ago. My mom is actually currently in Egypt doing surgery on these sweet little children. Oh the stories I could tell you, maybe one day I'll do a post, all for op smile, I love it. If I ever have lots and lots of money, I will donate it to them.



So Thursday rolled around and Nate decided that he was in for the race. Neither of us had trained and we had less than 48 hours til the race started. But hey, I'm all about being spontaneous when the opportunity presents itself, it keeps life interesting. So this morning we headed to Mount Timpanogas Park and started the race, and guess what?!!! WE DID IT!!!!! We both ran the ENTIRE way. I was slightly shocked. I thought for sure one of us would stop at some point, but we just kept trucking along, no walking, just running, it was awesome!!

I was so proud of both of us. It was so great to be outside on such a beautiful day. Part of the race was on a dirt trail and the other part was on the paved trail in Provo Canyon. It was warm enough that we didn't freeze, cool enough that we didn't really sweat, and we just ran through the mountains. Is there anything better? I submit not. It was so great. I have missed being outside all time. The only time I get out during winter is for snowboarding. I can't wait for summer! Anyways, moral of the story is that today I accomplished a big goal that I will continue to do. Run, and run for a cause. I loved it. The only down sides were that my t-shirt was a medium when I registered for a small, and I have two huge blisters on the inside of either foot. Totally worth it. Go run. It's good for you and makes you feel like you can take on the world. The end.

Me and Nate after the race

Enjoy Life Before Stressing About It

Enjoy life before stressing about it. That is my deep thought for the day and the moral of this story. I made my point for the post, now the rest is trying to put into words all that I have felt today. It has been an amazing day, inspired by a lot of thought, so it will be slightly deep. You have been warned. (I am currently listening to "Blessed" by Martina McBride, please click the song on the side playlist and listen while reading this post so you can kind of grasp what I am about to say.)

For the last few days I've had this big paper to write. As much as I wanted to get it done, it never became a stress to me. Today, in my women's health issues class we discussed mental illness, mostly related to depression and stress. The teacher went around the class of about sixty people and we all had to say something that causes us stress and how we deal with it. I couldn't believe how easily some people get stressed over little things, if I got stressed about the things they do, my life would FALL APART. Thank goodness I am used to chaos in life, I am practically a pro at managing it. For those that new me in high school, you can vouch for me on this. I had been talking with a friend earlier in the day about everything I've got going on and he couldn't understand why I wasn't falling apart. I responded by saying that falling apart when I've got so much going on isn't going to get anything accomplished, I've got to keep moving, it's simple.

So as the mic came to me in class to say what stresses me out, there was only one thing that crossed my mind that could even possibly make me stress. And, unfortunately, it is the one thing that I will not talk about on a public blog. However, I didn't want to share that with the class, because I don't know if I would really classify the situation as a stress. So when I took my turn, this is basically what I said. "I am just like the rest of you, I work, I am a student nearing graduation, I have a calling that I worry about and a lot of people that I care about in my life to try my hardest to make happy. But I don't let these things become a stressor to me. I can feel the point when I am about to break into stress, I am very familiar with it. So I know the signs, and those are the times when step back and tell myself that everything is going to be ok and that I just need to calm down. There is no need to stress, it is all going to be ok. The important things will get done, I just need to do my best, that's all I can do. Then I sit back and make sure that I am enjoying life, because I believe that you should enjoy life before stressing over it." The last part was kind of profound I thought. But it's true, I really don't let things stress me. I work things out when I see an issue, I channel any emotions that could lead to stress mostly to physcial activity, music and prayer. That's all I need to get by. It was so great to reflect and see how far I've come and how much I have grown up over the last couple years with all of this.

I left class early because we had a Relief Society birthday party tonight. It was catered by Costa Vida. It was delicious. It wasn't Cafe Rio, but it was still food that was prepared and delicious that I didn't have to pay for. We just ate and chilled. Here were a few of the words that were said that brought a literal warmth to my heart, for whatever reason.

Sister Connie Stauffer (1st counselor's wife): She spoke about the importance of visiting teaching and how it played a large role in her returning to activity in the church. It was a very touching and was inspiring and made me want to strive to be a better visiting teacher. I have never been good at visiting teaching, but I am trying to be better. She also played an inspiring piece that she wrote with piano and lyrics about prayers being heard and answered, it was so beautiful and fitting to the last few days of my life. Ah! I love the power of prayer, so great.

Trish (bishop's wife): She talked about how there are times when we feel like maybe turning our noses up at other sisters in relief society or how we might not feel like relief society is important, but she testified of how great relief society has been for her, even though most of her time in the church has been spent in primary or young women's. It was so great to hear them testify of relief society, I loved it.

Bishop Barney: Incredible man. I love him, and I hardly know him. He talked for a few minutes on the phrase "after all we can do". The second those words came out of his mouth I just wanted to shout it to the world that the church is true.

This is where the post gets slightly deep and more personal. Feel free to stop reading, or continue, I don't really care, this just has to be put down for the sake of my journal. As some of you may know, the last two months have been a whirlwind of emotions for me. I have held together really well, all things considered. I can honestly say that I have spent literally hours on my knees trying to figure out what is going on in my life. When I drive home at night from work or wherever I may be, I frequently find myself parked at the temple to pray and ponder. I have spent time fasting, I have gone into the temple for baptisms to be in the house of the Lord as I seek guidance and answers. I have felt the Spirit burning within me and I have been able to experience the blessings of the atonement more than ever before. The last few days as I have prayed, I have knelt there just praying for patience and comfort and for my feet to be placed where they need to be, because I honestly feel like I have done everything that I can do at this point. As I laid in bed last night after saying my prayers, I just let the tears run down my face because of the incredible amount of peace I felt. I understand that everything is not better, it will still be hard, but I just found so much comfort in knowing that I have done everything I can and that I will be taken care of. I have absolute trust that things will work out the way they should. I can't say what that way will be, but my faith is strong and growing stronger everyday. It just floored me that the bishop would talk about doing all we can we can, it's like he was telling me the story of my life, it was so great!! It was one of those tender mercies that let me know that I am doing the right things in my life.

Alma 36:3 Whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.

Reading

I have done a lot of reading this semester. It's been nice that it hasn't been text books, mostly just informational novels I guess you would call them. Like "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", which we read in my coaching class, strange. Anyways, it's been nice to read real books.

This afternoon, I went to my home ward because it has been months and months, and then I stuck around for Sunday dinner of course. I walked up the stairs at one point and my cute nephew Davy was just perched there reading a book. It still catches me off guard when I see him and Jami reading real books, I forget that they are that old. It was a good reminder though of how much I love reading. I very rarely read for fun because it makes me feel guilty to read something outside of school or the scriptures, because there is always more reading to do in both of those departments. But I love books. I love getting lost in them. I remember what a treat it was to go to the library as a kid and pick out a bunch of books and read them there in the kids area, or check them out. Most of my memories with reading are associated with one of my best friends, Rebecca Packard. We would spend so much time reading or talking about books.

After looking at Davy and reminiscing on all of this, I walked into the kitchen and found this ancient treasure sitting on the counter.

I was so excited!! This was easily one of my favorite books when I was a kid. This and "Go Dog Go". You can tell that this particular book has been through a lot of kids and has now reached the grandkids, time for a new copy. One thing that I am so excited to do when I am a mom one day, is to read to my kids. I think it would be so great to spend time with them and read to them every day. And when they get older, read books together, or have read-a-thons together.

It will be so nice to be able to read what I want to without feeling guilty one day.

Laughter

This morning was so great. I woke up before the sun (which doesn't happen in my world), but one of my best friends was coming down, so I had to. Shay and I have been best friends since the 7th grade. We've had our ups and downs but we always have the best of times when we are together. Like the time we went to Disneyland together, I should blog about that one day. Anyways, she has been through cosmetology school and is now getting into photography kind of stuff, so I got my hair all straight and then she did my make-up and we rolled out for a great adventure.

We started in Kiwanis Park. I have never had a photo shoot type situation before because I never did my senior pictures and I clearly have never done bridals or mission pictures, so this was a first. I was slightly awkward at the beginning. Surprised? Not one bit. But I got better. We pretty much just laughed hysterically for at least half of the time we were doing pictures. Here's the breakdown, about a quarter of them I look like I'm stoned because I have a tendency to squint and close my eyes when I smile, another quarter I am just making funny faces because I think those make the best Frizz pictures, and the other half are actually pretty decent. Minus the ones where my hair is EVERYWHERE, but what else is new.

After Kiwanis, we went to the Provo City Library. We walked to the front and BAM!! Homeless man's cart, and no homeless man. We were about to walk up some stairs and then I saw him, his little homeless man feet, sticking out from the top of the stairs. Creeeeeepy. So we went to a different spot. We got some pretty hilarious pictures of both the homeless man, and myself. Not together, it sounds rude but after my nasty job at Provo PD, I do everything in my power to not be within 15 feet of homeless people.

Anyways, it was a great time. After a couple hours we came back and flipped through them on my computer and laughed for a good 30 minutes straight. I love that girl so much. We don't see each other very often because we live 40 miles apart and are both suuuuuuper busy people, but when we do see each other we do one thing, and we do it very well. And that one thing my friends, is laugh.

All of our hilarious pictures are on my computer at home,

but this is a good one of us at our senior ball.

P.S. I'll post some of the pics when I get copies from her. And you can see the homeless man. Who by the way, had a cell phone.

Please Don't Feed the Animals

First things first: Happy 100th post.

Ok, so at the zoo and places where there are animals being held captive, they have signs that say "PLEASE DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS". Today at work, I was greeting. (AKA: sitting at the front of the store, it's like a glorified walmart greeter, and it's awful.) While greeting, an old man came and told me a joke that was SUPER lame, as most old men jokes are. He sat there and laughed at himself and then rubbed his hand on my arm as a friendly little "I am so funny" gesture. His hands were so gross. I don't think I've ever felt hands that rough and dry and flat out GROSS!!!!

It was at this point that I decided we need a sign on the greeter desk that says "PLEASE DON'T TOUCH THE GREETER".

I am reaching the point where I absolutely dread greeting not because it is the most boring thing ever, but because I really can't handle the old men any more. They either think they are the funniest thing to ever walk the planet, or they sit there and manage to make the most awkward comments about how beautiful you are, or they make fun of you for having such an easy job. (Because when they were young...AHHHHHHHHH!) I hate it. I mean there are some old men that I love dearly, like my grandfathers, both great men. But my goodness, the sassy old man thing, I can't take it anymore.

What do ya think Smalley?

Wintry Weekend

Ok, last weekend was fabulous and I couldn't have asked for greater circumstances with all the snow that got dropped. (Minus the no cell phone business, but that has all been taken care of now.)

Friday night: I went night boarding at Brighton with my old friend Derrick Pili. I haven't seen him in well over a year, I probably haven't seen him since right after he came home from the mish. It was so fun to see him and just kick it up on the slopes together for a bit. That's the best part about old friends, you can just sit and talk like you just saw each other yesterday. And the two feet of fresh powder that day was quite the added bonus.

Saturday night: My ward rented out the tubing hill at Soldier Hollow. It was most excellent. Ali came with me and we had such a blast. There is a tow rope that takes you AND your tube up the hill. and then you fly down, I felt like superman, it was wonderful. And they pump music up on the hill. Fabulous idea on their part. Enjoy some peeksures.

The start of a ride down

Getting farther....

Getting faster...

And going crazy fast!! So fun!!

Monday: A day 4 years in the making. McKay and I FINALLY got to go snowboarding together. We took off after we got out of class at 10:00 am and headed up to Park City Mountain Resort. Oh how I love that place. The Canyons will always hold a special place in my heart, but I do love Park City quite a bit. We hit the slopes for a few hours and then went to their family's cabin for lunch. (because you can practically board to the front door.) We went back up to the resort for night boarding but alas, my back freaked out hard core so we called it quits an hour and a half earlier than expected. It was alright though, because we were able to hit up Dairy Keen and make it back in time for my FHE which I haven't been to very much this semester because of work. It was great. Boarding was fabulous. It was so sunny and warm and beautiful and McKay and I had a blast just chilling together.

Me coming out of the trees

McKay coming into a powder field

McKay under the roof of my Great-Grandma

Hewitson's shed. Their cabin is right above her

ancient house so we always like to look at it and laugh

at how small of a world it is.

McKay and I, ready to hit the slopes!

Grateful

Tonight, something happened to me. I am not going to give details, I am ok, everything will be fine, but tonight for whatever reason, was really hard. However, I was blessed and I just want to take a moment to state the things that I had in my moment of need and express how grateful I am for them.

• Having a temple close by: It was midnight but for whatever reason, the gates were still open and there were enough lights on that I was able to walk around it for a while and sit on the benches to think things through.
• The stars: Any time I am struggling with something, the best way to pull myself together is to look at the stars. They immediately take me back to camp and put me into a peaceful place.
• Camp songs: They come to mind when I see the stars. The slow camp songs bring so much comfort to me, particularly "Walk Tall". These songs always manage to put my feet on the ground and heading in the right direction.
• Cousins: I have the best cousins in the world. I was able to text my cousin Joey and have him come over at almost one in the morning to give me a blessing.
• Piano: I don't play our piano very often, but tonight, I played for over an hour. I played in the dark with just a lamp on and the volume down so as to not wake the roomies. Most of my best meditating moments in life have been while I was tickling some ivories, and tonight they worked wonders on me.

I am so grateful for all of these things. My life is so wonderful, I'm lucky to have the things that I do!

Sleepy

Quick post.

I am exhausted. It's been a crazy busy week with lots of activities going on and LOTS of stuff for school. I was up til 3:30 am studying last night and was up at 8 for class this morning. Let's hope it pays off. Also, let's hope that I can stay awake to read two books in the next 48 hours. This should be fun. Curse life's distractions that make it so easy to procrastinate.

I want to sleep.

Testimony Day

Since today is the first Sunday of March, it was fast Sunday. Sometimes I think it is so nice to fast. I feel like it not only cleanses the body, but I feel like it really helps me think more clearly and sort things out better than normal. Given the nature of this being a public blog, I'm not going to go into details about what was on my mind all day, but it was so great to be able to think about it all with a clear mind. But I'm getting on a tangent...come on back Frizz.

In sacrament meeting most of the testimonies that people shared were about our Savior, Jesus Christ. I wanted to bear mine but I knew I would cry if I did so I chickened out. But since this is my journal, it is important for me to share here.

I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of my Savior Jesus Christ. He is my greatest strength and I know that through him, I can have an eternal life full of happiness with the ones that I love. I am so thankful for his atoning sacrifice. As hard as repenting can be at times, I know that it can be done through him if we turn to him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. When I was younger I always thought a broken heart meant to be really sad about what you did, but as I grew older, I realized that it is about being broken, like a horse. When a horse is broken, it breaks it's old habits and develops the habits and traits that it's master instills in it. That is how we need to be when we turn to Him with a broken heart, we must submit our will to His. He will then take our sins as His burden and carry them for us so that we can be clean.

My favorite part of the atonement that means more to me than just about anything in life, is the fact that He felt all of our pains. He felt my pains. All of them. When I think about this thought, I literally weep because it is such a comfort. It breaks my heart to know that He had to bleed for me and suffer as much as He did, but I am so grateful that He did. There is not a soul on this earth that has experienced the things and the way that I go through or will go through (not that my life is terribly hard, because it's still great, but there will always be hard things.) My life usual sails along fairly smoothly, but there are times when the waters are rough, and He is there as soon as I ask for Him. There are times when no earthly being can comfort you the way that you need. Those are the times that His love and understanding of this pain are the strongest. It is my greatest blessing to have the knowledge that He has not only felt my pain, but that He will stand by me through it all and love me in any way He can.

I am so thankful to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so that I can have this testimony and this knowledge. This is the true church, and it brings so much happiness, joy and peace into my life.

Since music is how I connect and internalize I want to share some of my favorite songs/lines regarding my Savior.

"While in agony He hung, no murmuring word escaped His tongue." Hymn #191

"He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to calm my troubled heart. He lives all blessings to impart." Hymn #136

(On this one I like to change the we's and us' to me and I)

"Let me not forget, O savior, Thou didst bleed and die for me when thy heart was stilled and broken on the cross at Calvary. Fill my heart with sweet forgiving; teach me tolerance and love. Let my prayers find access to thee in thy holy courts above. Then, when I have proven worthy of they sacrifice divine, Lord let me regain the presence; let thy glory round me shine." Hymn #172

And my final favorite and possibly the quote that I absolutely live by...

"I believe in Christ, so come what may." Hymn #134

Bad Phone Karma

So Wednesday night at work the screen on my phone stopped working. Super lame. Out of commission. T-mobile has another one on the way. Meanwhile, I have been using my dad's phone that he had when we first got them. Yuck, but it is a working phone. Well, then I went boarding up at Brighton tonight with my old friend Derrick. When we got down to the car when we were done, I reached in my pocket to get my phone and my keys. Nothing. I dug deeper in my pocket. Nothing. I checked my other pocket and nothing. Which meant debit card was gone too. I dug deeper and pulled out keys and debit card, that was a plus. But still, no phone. It is gone. Lost in a winter wonderland. My little white and silver phone floating around in all the new silvery-white powder. Awesome.

So, now all I can do is call the resort in the morning and see if it was turned in. If not, then I just have to wait for my new replacement phone for the broken one to get here and then buy a new sim card and get all of my contacts again. So excited. Not.

I've dreaded this moment since the beginning of cell phone-dom.

Alice in Review

Ok Katieface, it's after midnight so I technically didn't get this up when I said I would, I got carried away quilting. But here it is.

My little brother works at Jordan Commons movie theater. For some of the big exciting movies they have a private screening for the employees. This was the case with the new movie Alice in Wonderland which hits theaters today. Since he loves me, he asked if I wanted to go and of I course I accepted. The movie started at 11:30 pm Wednesday night, oye, late after a busy day. I was positive I would probably fall asleep.

However, I was shockingly pleased with the movie and my eyes didn't even begin to get heavy, fabulous!! The previews made the movie look really weird and kind of crazy. I am not sure why they portrayed it that way, because it wasn't like that hardly at all. It's the story of the older Alice revisiting Wonderland and remembering who she is and what she is capable of. I felt there was a lack of Johnny Depp's face, but that is slightly biased because I think he is such a talented actor. I loved the movie though, I would recommend it. It's not one that necessarily needs to be seen in the big theaters unless you are seeing it in 3D. (We didn't get to see it in 3D but I feel like this would be a cool one in 3D, and I don't even like 3D.) Anne Hathaway wasn't terribly impressive in this one. She played her role well, but I didn't like that she twirled with every step. I wasn't incredibly inspired by the movie like "Remember the Titans" or something, but more so than a lot of movies I see in theaters. There is one line though that I have decided is my current theme in life. Alice says this to the dog at one point and it just kind of hit me upside the head, it was great.

"This is my dream. I make the path."

And then she got her muchness back. It was good. Watch it.

***Sidenote: Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum are the spitting image of my nephew Mikey. The red queen even calls them her fat boys. Travis and I laughed every time they waddled onto the screen.***

Buckwheat and I giving the movie two thumbs up.

And yes, this picture was taken at 2:00 in the morning after being

up and at 'em since 8:00 am, thus the tired faces.

"I've Gotta Feelin'!"

This morning was Monday morning after a fairly pleasant weekend. I woke up at 8:00 am...snoozed in 5 minute increments until 8:35, at which point I seriously contemplated if it was worth leaving my bed to be in class by 9:00. Luckily, the sun was shining or I probably would not have done it.

Soooo...I dragged my sorry butt out of bed and went to class. On my way, the song "I've Gotta Feelin" by Black-Eyed Peas came on. Great Monday morning song, excellent actually, I was feeling pretty pumped about the day. After class I rushed home to shower and head to my eight hour shift at work. It went shockingly fast and then I headed out to FHE. We had a special FHE out in Alpine so that we could get to know our new bishopric.

Bishop Barney is so awesome. He was shot in the back in an accident with his friend at age 14 and has been paralyzed from the waist down ever since. He is in a wheelchair and still made all his dreams come true. He was in the 2002 paraolympics and has done all kinds of wheelchair sports. He also cycled across the country from coast to coast on one of the bikes that they pedal with their hands. AWESOME!!! Brother Stauffer is our new 1st counselor and I feel great about him too. I am CONVINCED that he is one of the Bar J Wranglers. CONVINCED. I asked him and he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, but I met them one day at work and I swear on my life it is him. They are so funny. I feel like this will be a great thing for our ward. I am trying to make a special effort to get everyone involved, including myself. I mean I go to church and everything but things like ward prayer, I haven't ever really been in to. But I'm working on it. FHE's will still be rough just because of work, but what do ya do? However, I feel so great about the new bishopric. I can hardly wait to get to know them!!

Then, on the way home, Katherine quietly asks me "Can we stall? Drive slow or something?" We had half an hour and were 5 minutes from home. So we ran to Target and killed some time. Then as we drove home we sang at the top of our lungs and rocked out. And Ali barked at random people walking by. Hilarious. I love those girls. We parked the car at the apartments and the song "I've Gotta Feelin" came on the radio this time so they opted for a brief dance party in the parking lot. We turned the stereo up and danced it out. One of the apartments on the second floor even started flashing their lights for effect, it was pretty funny. Then we went upstairs and took Tegan to one of the apartments and "SURPRISE!!!!" Happy Birthday Tegan! It was a big shock to her, it was fun, props and thanks to those that put it together, I loved it. So, as I sit here tonight, I just can't help but thinking "I've gotta feelin', that tonight's gonna be a good night!" And it was. It was a long day but it was so much fun. And I just thought it was funny that that song started and ended my day. Good times and lots of fun. :D

Heartbreakers, we know.

Katherine, Tegan and Me

Everybody that was there for the surprise.

I was SHOCKED that I got everybody into the picture.