Girl's Trip!

Time to share with y'all my many wonderful adventures in Californ-aye-eh. Picture bombardment ahead - you've been forewarned.

We took an eeearrrly flight out of SLC on Thursday morning and just about missed it. They seriously were about to give our seats away just as we showed up to the gate. I was sweating bullets through the whole security line, ready to run as fast as I possibly could as soon as I got through the metal detector, but luckily fate was on our side. We arrived in Long Beach pretty tired from waking up at the butt crack of dawn, however our excitement to go to the happiest place on earth cancelled out any negative feelings we might have been harboring from fatigue and the fiasco at the airport.

What's a day at the D-land without Mickey Mouse? Love that guy.

Magster and I about to get on Small World. My grandmother's personal favorite (we have to ride it at least once a trip just for her). Plus nothing sounds more appealing than a fifteen minute, air conditioned boat ride when it's 90 degrees outside. Pirates of the Caribbean is also another great sanctuary from the heat. We ride those both in excess during our summer trips. It's fine.

I don't know how any Disneyland Fanatics I have out there amongst my (maybe four) readers, but is the new Cars Land not the awesomest? It is seriously my new favorite place. They have the Cozy Cone Motel and everything. You feel like you stepped right into the movie. Also the Radiator Springs Racers are so much fun, definitely a fav. Definitely. Too bad the line is astronomically large because it is still so new. Thank goodness for fast passes is all I'm sayin'. They are life savers.

After two magical filled days at the park we headed out to the Santa Monica Pier for some beachin' time. I had never been here before because my family is obsessed with Laguna and that's the only place we ever go, so it was kind of fun to try something new out. We ate at this pretty good Mexican restaurant at the end of the Pier, the name escapes me... but you got to eat with the world's best ocean view, so no complaints there.

The next morning was our race! I had to share this picture because I had to impress in your minds how many people show up for this thing! 30,000!!! Can you believe that? And honestly this photo does not even show half of the racers. They load you all up into separate corrals (and corral is such an appropriate name because you literally feel like a cow being herded or something). They release each corral one at a time. We were in 'I', so even though the race technically started at 5:30 in the AM, we were not released until 6:30 AM. So like pretty much some of the faster peeps were almost done with their race just as we were starting. The first 3 miles or so you don't really have an opportunity to get very far ahead because you're so squished, but after that it evens out and you're fine. 

I absolutely loved the Disneyland Half Marathon, because the first half of the race you are running through the parks, they have characters and workers and bands all lined up cheering you on. After you exit the park they have more dancers and cheerleaders lining the streets, then after that you run through 3 miles of classic cars parked with more people cheering you on. Then you go through Angel's Stadium and the seats are just packed with people (again cheering you on) and then you end back in Downtown Disney! There is entertainment every mile, and people all the way just clapping and holding signs. It gave me such a rush of energy to see all the people out there supporting the runners! It was so awesome.

Yay we finished!

And because a trip to California is never complete without visiting Laguna, we spent the time after our race there relaxing and enjoying the sun. Also I got to wear my new swimsuit, which I was super pumped about. Woo!

Our last day at Disneyland, Maggie (my sister) and I woke up extra early and went and ate Mickey Mouse pancakes. They somehow taste better when they are shaped like that. For reals.

I was so so sad that I had to come home and come back to reality! Seriously the last few days at work have been rough... vacation hangover I guess? Knowing my family though I am sure we'll be back before too long. It was so nice to just get away with the girls for a little R&R, but I did miss my hubby so coming back and kissing his cheeks is one positive thing about being home, I suppose.

Gonna Get There Someday

I have felt such a struggle in my heart lately about what I should do about my life's dreams and ambitions. I am constantly being tugged in all sorts of directions. Trying to balance all aspects of life like spinning plates on sticks above my head, and at the same time attempting to make every dream I have come true. It's quite an impossible situation - trying to do everything at once, but I feel this immense pressure to do so. What's a girl to do?

I read this quote today...

"You don't have to have it all figured out to move forward."

And then I thought about it for a while, and it dawned on me that hey, maybe I don't have to accomplish everything at the same time to be considered successful in life; because trying to figure out school and starting a family and working full time and pursuing my other hobbies and goals doesn't all have to happen at once. In fact it shouldn't, because you only have so many waking hours in a day.

So now I am taking a deep breath and am allowing myself to work on one goal at a time, not running faster than I have strength for, and remembering to rely on my Heavenly Father to direct my paths to what is most important right now. The rest will come later.

I haven't figured that all out yet, but with a little faith and hard work, I'm gonna get there someday.

Homecoming

She's home! My best friend since the age of nine - Shelby, the girl who suffered through those awkward pubescent years with me, acne, boys and all. Was my sidekick through high school, and my roommate in college, has returned home from her mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (learn more here -->  mormon.org) and I could not be happier to see her again. I felt rather lucky to be able to go to the airport to greet her last Friday, and have got to hang out with her a bunch since for some much needed girl time. 

My friend Marisa also recently returned from her mission, and so the group of friends that we all hung out with through junior high and high school got together for dinner at the Cafe Rio yesterday. SO nice to catch up with these old friends. It is always funny to see how people change and yet still stay the same, ya know? I was so lucky to have grown up with such great people that supported me through those sometimes rough but always interesting teenage years. We are all adults now with real responsibilities and it's crazy. I feel like I say this a lot but where does the time go? Like honestly, am I the only one who feels like the older I get the quicker the days go by? Or is that like a real thing?

Good Vibes Only

+ I don't know what it is but every time I put my feet in a pair of stirrups I feel pleasantly at peace with life. It's like as soon as you get up in the saddle the horse beneath you becomes an extension of yourself. The way you move, it will move. The way you feel - be it happy, confident, scared, it will reflect those emotions in its own behavior. They act as mirrors, showing us our rawest selves. It's pretty cool. Go ride a horse if you haven't, please.

+ One man's trash is another man's treasure. A few ladies at work and myself picked out some clothes out of our closets that were still cute, but we were just tired of wearing them, and swapped them with each other! It was so great to get rid of some old clothes and get some 'new' ones. I think we are going to make it a tradition and do it once each season. I shall never deny an opportunity to get free clothes.

+ I got to pick up my best friend from the airport today after a year and a half of absence and it was so wonderful! More to come in a later post. She is alive and well, and it's great to have her back.

+ I completed my last long run (11 miles, ah.) before my half marathon next week! It feels so nice to have finally finished my training plan. Although admittedly I was not religious at sticking to all of the cross training fluff I had included on it, I did get the running done, so I suppose that's alright.

+ Disneyland, Disneyland, Disneyland! 5 more days, people! I am becoming a crazy woman pinning 828458 things on Pinterest pertaining to anything Disney, and also listening to the Disney station on Pandora all day, every day. It's healthy right? Pretty much I am just excited to go relax and not stress about work and life for a bit, and I'm not only excited for Disneyland believe it or not. I am also looking forward to going down the beach as well. Maybe drinking one of those umbrella drinks and taking my sandals off for a walk in the sand. Yeeeeeay!

Weekend Shtuff

My darling husband Nathan is from a very small town in Idaho. Like, there is one stoplight, that's it. It is teeny. I however, come from Utah County which has become an absolute booming metropolis over the past twenty years and so I can hardly call myself country. Although I must say I do try my darndest.

Nathan's best friend Dalan grew up on an absolutely gorgeous farm and to be completely honest this picture doesn't do it justice. At all. Luckily while we still lived up in Idaho we were able to come to this place quite often to hang out and boy did I sure feel lucky whenever we did. This weekend we got the opportunity to go up there again for Dalan and his wife's baby shower! It was so nice to be able to sit around the campfire and catch up with some old friends, breathing in the fresh air and gawking at the exceptional view. We are so excited for them and their soon to be little baby boy!

It is crazy to think we are old enough to have friends with children. I swear I just turned ten. That seriously was not that long ago. HA. Where has the time gone.

In other news these two beautiful ladies come home from their missions this week and I simply cannot contain my happiness. I have missed them dearly. I even get to take off work on Friday to go pick up Shelby from the airport! Which I am ecstatic about, naturally. It will be so nice to have these two around again. I am so proud of them for completing their missions, they are amazing examples to me, plus they just succeed at life in general, so there.

Whelp, over and out peeps. Hope your day was lovely.

Let's Get Real

            

I love blogging and social media and stuff but honestly sometimes I'll get looking at all these uber cute blogs of these women with perfectly cute apartments and cute babies and cute clothes and I start feeling a little err... behind I guess. Like how can I possibly keep up with the Jones' ya know. 

Truth be told I have an outdated, kind of ugly, plaid couch. My walls are not covered in expensive décor, and basically I have the same selection in my closet I had when I was in high school. We don't have any babies, or really have even thought seriously about having one any time soon. We work all day long and spend the little we do make trying to get through school.  I sometimes wonder how I can even possibly compete? 

This isn't meant to be a 'woe is me' post however, so bear with me. 

I was feeling particularly inadequate earlier today and while I was riding my self pity train I happened to remember some inspirational words I had pinned the other day. 

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

Cool huh? I mean how true is that really?! I feel like the freakin' mouse that was given a cookie and now wants milk. 

I feel that particularly in this day and age we are surrounded by so many opportunities to compare ourselves to others. Why are we doing this peeps?? Can we not be satisfied enough with how we are doing in our current stage in life? Because after all, we once only wished for the things that we currently have. 

So I may have a pretty ugly-az couch, and maybe I'm still wearing the Old Navy 2010 collection, but at least I've got a decent job with benefits and an A+++ husband who works really hard and wonderfully supportive family and friends. 

Life isn't picture perfect my friends, but that doesn't mean it isn't good.  

Regarding Periods

I don't know if it's just me but around that special time of the month my whole face likes to breakout like I'm in seventh grade and I've just hit puberty all over again. Yuck. So that's when I know it's time to whip out these bad boys - Biore Strips, baby. Because something is oddly satisfying about ripping blackheads out of your face and staring at all that disgustingness on a little white strip.

Speaking of periods and the seventh grade let's talk about my most embarrassing moment, that, until recently I have been too embarrassed to share. I figure it's been almost ten years since this occurred so I'm probably safe. 

Anyway. 

I was twelve...ish and I woke up to realize that my female body parts were ripping themselves apart, just like the nurse at my fifth grade maturation program had warned me they would. How lovely, I thought. So I obtained a maxi pad and went about my business. Me, being naive and inexperienced felt like one day was probably long enough for my body to purge itself of its bloody masses and got ready for church the next day and assumed that I didn't need to use another pad. How mistaken I was. My mom was in young women's with me at the time and we had to stand up to practice a song we were singing for some youth program. After the song was over my mom suddenly had this really urgent need to leave church. Confused, I went with her. She got me outside and told me I had started my period.

Uhh, I know mom. I like, already had it for one whole day so it's over now, obviously. 

Then I looked down. Yikes. The whole backside of my white skirt was drenched in red. I was absolutely mortified. And I cried and cried, and didn't talk about the experience again for many years. Because not much is worse then having your entire ward witness your first period. 

Although that time I shot a snot rocket on that boy's sleeve in junior high was pretty awful. That's a story for another day though. 

So there ya have it folks, one of the most humiliating moments of my life. Now forever in print on this blog for your viewing pleasure. Please tell me I'm not the only one with a horrifying period experience such as this.