No Soliciting

Judging from the amount of door-to-door salesmen I have grudgingly greeted recently, it appears it is time to hang a little sign in my front window.  Today it was a gal from a pest control company.  Despite telling her that my house had already been sprayed, despite assuring her that we were NOT having problems with bugs in our home, she persisted.  And then asked if I could please tell her why when I said I wasn't interested and tried to politely shut the door.  Umm....were you not listening?

I related the story to Bryan and the kids at dinner.  "Well Mom," said Rebekah.  "Of course they come to our house...we're practically the only ones without a 'no soliciting' sign in our window."

"Wait...what did you say?" asked Brandon.  "I thought all those signs said 'no socializing'!"
This gave me a bit of a giggle.  Seeing as our neighborhood is chock full of the most social people you'll ever meet.

A more thorough definition of the word soliciting was next on the dinner conversation agenda.  Along with how much I dislike door-to-door salesmen...conflicting with my thoughts on sending our LDS missionaries out to knock doors and how I hope they are received kindly even if they are being turned away.  That it is a good reminder for me, when faced with a door-to-door salesman, to add some kindness to my dismissal.

"So, are you going to make a 'no solidifying' sign for our door now, Mom?" asked Brandon when I was done.
Solidifying?
Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do!  "No solidifying" at my door.  No siree bob.  If you knock on my door you better be prepared to stay at least 60% liquid!

Nineteen

It's our 19th wedding anniversary today.
To celebrate we had dinner last night at The Roof restaurant in Salt Lake City.  It's on the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and has floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows that overlook the Salt Lake Temple.  The view is phenomenal.  We were witness to two separate marriage proposals while we were there.  Is it strange if I admit that I got a little teary?  The sweetness of it all, yes.  But watching it all while we were there to celebrate our own marriage of course brought back a flood of memories for me.  Of our own proposal and then the wedding a few months later.  But mostly just the overwhelming feeling of goodness and happiness of the 19 years that followed.  

Singing at Cherry Hill

My singing group, Witness, sang a concert at Cherry Hill a couple of weeks ago as part of their summer weekend concert series.  Not only did the hour long show go off without a hitch, but glory be...it was fun!!!  Thankfully, because it made all that hard work worth it....oh my, did we spent A LOT of time getting ready for this!  We debated long and hard about our song list...and then started searching for accompaniment tracks.  The concert being outside meant there was no possibility of any live piano accompaniment.  Then, as is our tradition, we got to work on writing harmonies, descants and special arrangements of all of our music.  Putting together a theme for the program, writing little segue's in between each number, staging, choreography....we even had specific assignments for who brought which stools, benches and microphones on and offstage for each number.  And we practiced...boy did we practice!  Even when Catrina went to McCall, Idaho with her family for the summer (she made the long 7 hour drive back specifically for the concert) we rehearsed with her via Skype.  All of us singing and dancing on both sides of the computer monitor.      

 Want to know one of the highlights of the evening?  Funny enough, it actually had nothing to do with singing.  We had just finished the concert, the audience was milling about, we were greeting family members and friends when a woman approached me and asked, "You're Sarah, right?"  I knew immediately who she was even though we had never met before.  It was Jewels...my blogging buddy! (See here)  I was absolutely delighted to finally meet her in person...which is funny because since I've been reading her blog for so long, I feel like I already know her!  She had read on my blog a few weeks earlier that I would be singing at Cherry Hill, checked Cherry Hill's website for the exact date...and then brought her husband for date night.  :)  It actually meant a great deal to me that she would make the effort to come hear me sing.  And hey, Jewels...(cause I know you are reading this) I wasn't kidding when I suggested lunch!  Let's plan it!






OUTTAKES

Bryan captured quite a few silly faces during my solo....
I was singing Practically Perfect from "Mary Poppins."  Which is funny seeing as these expressions on my face are far from the prim and proper faces I would expect Mary Poppins to make....

It's too darn hot

This right here...this is why summer is my least favorite of all 4 seasons.  102 is absolutely, without a doubt, too unbearably hot.  In my opinion the hottest summer should ever get is 85 degrees.  Plenty hot enough to swim, but not so much that you bake.  My flower beds are filled with weeds and my lawn is going unmowed because I can't stand the thought of doing yard work in these temps.  I just don't handle heat well.  My face turns bright cherry red, I get unpardonably irritable, and then I start feeling lightheaded.  Next thing I know I'm on the ground with my head between my knees.  Trust me, it's not a pretty picture.

So today we went to Cherry Hill to combat the heat.  I carefully picked a spot that would have full shade the entire time we were planning to stay.  And then spent my time either floating around in the water or sitting on my lounge chair in the shade.  I have to admit, it was rather funny watching people do the "holy-wow-my-feet-are-burning-(!!!)-on-the-concrete" dance as they made their way between pools and waters slides barefoot.  You know the dance I'm talking about....the one characterized by a lot of hopping, skipping and running, accompanied by outbursts such as "oooh, ooh, ooh!!" or "hot, hot, hot!!!" or "ouch, ouch ouch!!!"  And yes, the outbursts are almost always bunched in threes with many exclamation points.  I got pretty good at the dance myself today.

I'm looking forward to the weekend and the forecasted thunder storms with their slightly lower temperatures.  Regardless of the fact that meteorology is not an exact science and I have been let down time and time again with promises of rain or snow or pleasant temperatures or what have you, that didn't materialize....I am once again holding out hope.  Because at this point, what else can I do?  You know...other than sequester myself inside hermit-style for the foreseeable future...

Independence Day

You want to know the best part of today?  It wasn't necessarily the 5k or the parade or even the fireworks...although they did play a part.  No...it was breakfast.  And not that the big town breakfast was more impressive than usual, really.  The pancakes, eggs and ham were good, of course.  But as I sat there downing my food, I looked around and was struck by all the people around me.  Business was booming and there were hordes of people milling around and sitting at tables.  Some wearing running attire having just come from the 5k like me, others decked out in their red, white and blue Independence Day finery.  But all of them part of our community.  And I realized that this holiday, more than any other is about just that.  Friends, neighbors, townsfolk, community, Americans....all coming together to celebrate our history and our culture.  Which is why, I realized, that I try so hard to really support and participate in our community Independence Day celebrations.  Why I don't treat it as just a nice day off to lounge around the house.  I want to feel that community, American spirit.  And as I looked around at all my local townsfolk and thought about all of this, I admit I got a little emotional. 

 Despite the fact that Julianne did NOT love running the 5k last year, she accepted the invitation again.  Why?  Because she had "run a 5k" on her summer bucket list.  Go figure.  The muttered comments ie: "stupid running," and "I hate this" etc. were not quite as bad as last year.  But all the same, this 5k for her was something to be tolerated or endured rather than enjoyed.  Brandon surprised me by agreeing to run.  I think it's because I kept telling him that despite the fact that he could run faster than me, I was doubtful that he could keep it up for a longer distance than just a mile.  About a minute into the race, he turned to me and said, "See you at the finish, then?" and took off in his little Vibram five-finger shoes.  And yes, he finished his 5k in 29:58....a good 6 minutes before me.  But in my defense, maybe I could've kept up with him had I not been trying to encourage Julianne who had an awful side ache (along with her lovely attitude.)  She fully claims that had I ditched her she would've been cursing me in her head.  :)

(We tried to keep cool with a bunch of little hand-held, battery operated fans and lots of drinking water. )

Extreme heat and I don't get a long.  Which is why, though I love living in a place that has four distinct seasons, summer is my least favorite.  But the 4th of July is a day where I will happily and willingly tolerate the heat and the sweat rolling down my back to enjoy the festivities.  I love me a good Independence Day parade.  I was a little disgruntled this year, though.  With sirens blaring, the fire department rolled truck after truck down the parade route.  Then the police motorcycles.  The city council drove by in various convertible cars.  The cheerleaders and the (huge) high school marching band came next.  All good stuff, but I'm thinking "Where is the flag????"  My favorite part of the whole parade...standing up with all my neighbors and townsfolk up and down the route, all of us with hand over heart as the flag goes by at the very beginning of the parade, and then the reverence and deference for our country's flag dissolving into grateful applause and cheers for the veterans that come next.  This is not only the best part of the parade, but the most important, in my opinion.  Where was it???  After the marching band, finally they came.  And the flag didn't come by on it's own accompanied by a color guard...no, it was just on the back of one of the veterans trucks.  I have to admit, I was deeply disappointed.  Seemed to me that the parade organizers got it terribly wrong this year.

This year I got talked into letting Lilian join the mini cheer camp run by the local high school cheerleaders...a few of which live in our neighborhood.  Cheer leading is really not my thing....at least not for my 5-year old.  I'm not really a fan of young kids shaking their booty and doing moves that make them look like they are 5 going on 16....that's just my opinion.  But I liked helping my neighbors with their fundraiser and Lilian enjoyed going to the cheer camp with her friends.  They performed at the big carnival right after the parade and I have to admit, Lilian did look pretty cute.  Plus, she adores her new t-shirt....

 We were hugely thankful for the invite from a friend to swim in her backyard pool.  I was feeling much like a baked potato and spent absolutely no time on social niceties beyond saying hello before jumping in the pool.  Ahhh...  A few hours of swimming and relaxing under a shade umbrella was just the thing I needed to recover from the heat of the parade and steel myself for the upcoming warmth of the outdoor BBQ and fireworks to come.

Luckily the evening wasn't as broiling and while the kids ran happily amok, we enjoyed good food and the company of great neighbors.  The stereo providing the soundtrack to our evening turned into a karaoke and dancing contest this year once again.  Apparently this is becoming a neighborhood tradition.  And then the music died down in favor of the booms and whistles of fireworks when it got dark enough.  And wow, what a show!  Enough oohs and ahhs to make you feel like you were at a professional show.  What can I say, our neighborhood takes their fireworks seriously.  :)  It was a tiring but happy day.  I love the 4th of July!  

 
      

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One step closer to completion...

Man cave updates have been few and far between lately.  Maybe that has something to do with the fact that the building is more or less complete and functional.  But we did get some railing today to go around that porch hanging off the west side of the structure.  And because I was pining for a brownish wrought iron type of railing, Bryan sprung for double the amount so we could re-do our existing back deck railing at the same time.  Aww, he loves me.  (More than likely, he's trying to keep me from complaining too terribly about the amount of time, effort and money that has gone into building a structure that will be primarily his.  But yes, I'm sure making his wife happy plays a part in there somewhere....)
Ready for some pics?

Camp...engineering style

Brandon spent this past week at a GREAT camp up at the University of Utah.  This year we signed him up for a FLL (First Lego League) class where he learned how to build and program little electronic robots out of legos...and then compete in challenges against the other kids in the class as they sent off their robots to complete specific tasks.  He had a good time despite the fact that it made for some really long days...the camp from 9:00-3:00 and then straight to gymnastics from 4:15-8:15.  However, not only was he happily and scientifically (or engineerily...haha) challenged but apparently they fed him some seriously stellar lunches.  Brandon raved, in detail,  about what he ate every afternoon when I picked him up.  So...obviously the way to this kid's heart is through his stomach.  Give him a good lunch, some science and some gymnastics and he's got a pretty perfect day.     

Show Layton Your Talent: Broadway Edition

It was a spur of the moment thing, the decision to audition for the Layton city talent show.  We had to make the decision AND have a song chosen all within a day and a half.  A Broadway themed show meant that we had plenty of music to choose from...but somehow the three of us were drawn to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from Wizard of Oz.    Had the show ever even been on Broadway?  We found out later that it had not, somehow...regardless that it is one of the most performed stage shows ever.  Interestingly enough, at this very moment this particular song is actually being used in a Broadway show about the life of Judy Garland.  Lucky us.  So despite the fact that it would only be Julie, Kami and I (Stephanie and Catrina both scheduled to be out of town) we found ourselves a copy of the sheet music and went to work arranging a solo into a trio.  And boy howdy, did we do a good job!  I'm rather impressed with the arrangement we wrote!  The judges must have been impressed too.  Because of 60 auditionees, we were one of 15 chosen to go on to the actual Talent Show performance.  

The three of us were blown away from the get-go with our "competition."  Through the mandatory meeting and then later, the dress rehearsal we started to get to know the other singers.  And wow!  Genuinely talented and genuinely nice.  And you know what?  Not a single one had chosen to sing anything from "Wicked" or "Phantom of the Opera!"  I was so proud of us!  Not that I don't enjoy those shows.  I've seen them both and own each soundtrack.  But they are SO popular that they've become kind of...music for the masses, I guess.  And maybe that sounds really snobbish of me...but I was really excited that this talent show consisted of 15 Broadway songs that had some real variety.  And variety was probably a really good way to describe all the performers themselves.  As much fun as it was to perform on stage...I think I enjoyed just as much, if not more so, hanging out in the green room behind the amphitheater with them all throughout the evening.  Because though we were all so different, we had one major thing in common.  We were all theatre geek performers....which equaled out to a room full of personalities that are big and open, social and not at all shy.  It didn't take long for all of us to be swapping stories, sharing performing experiences, rooting for each other, giving hugs and advice....like we had all known each other for years.

We didn't win.  But I didn't expect to.  The judges from the auditions were being swapped out for audience participation in the winner selection process.  Which more or less meant that the evening was a popularity contest.  Or whoever gets the most friends and family to come and vote for them, wins.  And I was okay with that.  Yes, I know this sounds like I'm trying to put a graceful loser spin on the story.  But honestly and sincerely, just the fact that we had been chosen to perform at all was enough for me.  It was a truly memorable evening.      

I Paid For This Experience?!?

It's amazing to me, that no matter how many times I do this race and no matter how much I feel like I know what I'm doing....every year is different and unique.  And yes, this time I was in van 1, rather than van 2 which meant a whole new (and HARDER) bunch of routes....but still!

The core of our team was made up of Snow College alumni.  Katie (my sister), Byron, Greg and I all ran together last year as part of the "Stone Creek Stoners" team.  This year we became "I Paid For This Experience?!?" and added Kim, Sheila and Bart, also friends from Snow.  And then filled in the gaps with other friends and family....Sam, Chance, Erich, Ben and Nancy.

Being van 1 meant an early morning.  And by early I mean that I set my alarm clock for 2:30 AM so that Katie (who slept at my house) and I could leave by 3:00.  We picked up Kim, Sam, Greg and Chance on our way and made it to Logan by 4:45 so we had time to check in, attend our safety meeting and be at the starting line for our official 5:45 AM start time.  Between the packing and the carb loading and the fact that my body did not want to go to sleep any more early than normal...in addition to a healthy dose of alarm anxiety which led to insomnia...I only got 3 hours of sleep.  Great.  Just great!

I was runner 6 which is the last from our van before passing the baton (or orange slap bracelet as the case may be) to van 2.  My first run was a 6.5 mile route cresting Avon Pass and heading downhill into Liberty.

 It was glorious...at first.  I was speeding down that hill and feeling rather exhilarated.  The temps were cool, the scenery was beautiful.  But the road was packed dirt...with gravel and half buried rocks poking out and lots of ruts.  It took a lot of focus to place each step just right so I wouldn't slip, trip, or roll an ankle....all while running at a fairly quick pace being that it was a steep downhill.  I was handling it all pretty well and feeling really happy with my run when I looked up and saw a tight switchback ahead.  It was while I was trying to figure out the best way to tackle it that I tripped and went down hard.  I layed there on the ground, stunned....but only for a few seconds.  I was more worried about my pride than anything else.  And though my knee was bleeding, my shoulder was raw and both hands were stinging, I brushed myself off and started slowly walking...and then after a minute or two of ascertaining if there were any other injuries to ankles, wrists, etc...running.  I have to admit, it took a little bit of wind out of my sails.  Oh, I was happy to have some war stories to share with bruised and bloody evidence...but I knew I had been lucky.  That fall could've been a lot worse.  So I was all the more focused than I had even been before.  At about 4 miles I was rather relieved to have the road turn to pavement.  However the pavement indicated that I was out of the mountains and down into the valley which brought on the HEAT.  I am not a fan of running in heat.  I was more than happy to pass off the orange bracelet to van 2.  

We jumped ahead to the next major exchange, Snowbasin Ski Resort, where we set up camp on a couple of blankets and prepared to settle in for the 3 R's....rest, relaxation and refueling.  Funny side note...when I was heading through the check out line at the grocery store with all my race food, the checker took one look at all my items and said, "Ragnar?"  And then proceeded to ask me all sorts of questions about why all the Ragnarians coming through her check out line that day were buying loads of garbage.  "I thought runners ate healthy?"  I could understand her confusion seeing as while we were talking she was scanning my oreos, chocolate milk, swedish fish, trail mix, granola bars, string cheese, beef jerky and apples.  Seemingly a weird concoction of snack foods.  It's hard to explain to a non-runner the method behind fueling for a 2-day endurance race rather than just a random morning run.  The balance between carbs, proteins, sugars and salt.  How once you get into a race like this, your body can't really handle a big meal...but how you have to refuel to be able to keep going.  What is going to give you that boost of quick energy you need?  (Along with the snacks I bought at the store I also brought both tuna and peanut butter sandwiches and also hard boiled eggs.)     

(I absolutely LOVE that I get to do this race with my sister Katie!  Talk about your ultimate sisterly bonding adventure!  Plus, holy wow is she a rock star runner!!!)

It was HOT this weekend.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate became the word of the day.  Which meant that visits to the Honey Buckets were numerous.  And though Ragnar had arranged for 650 Honey Buckets to be placed along the route at every single exchange....lines were long.  Truth be told, at one point along the course while supporting our runner and leap frogging every mile or so, I realized that it was going to be tough for me to make it even to the next Honey Bucket!  Though it was not an uncommon sight, I'm sure that more than just my van mates were laughing as I took a roll of TP and hiked up the mountain side to find a tree....

I was nervous...like, really nervous, for my 2nd run.  8.2 miles of an uphill climb into East Canyon.  Greg said he'd help me...that he'd take a few miles for me if I needed him to.  I thanked him but told him, scared or not, I was determined to see this route through.  But I warned everyone that it would take me awhile because I had already decided that I would be doing a lot of walking.  I met Kim at the exchange and ran off to lots of supportive cheering.

 I think I prayed for the whole first mile.  The temps were cooler as the sun was going down and that felt really good.  My teammates stopped every mile to give me water and encouragement.  Running past houses, there were kids out with their parents with their hands outstretched for high fives as the runners went by.  Other runners passing by me frequently gave me thumbs up or made comments like "Way to go," "Good job," "You can do it!"  Every single time it happened, it made me smile.  But also made me wonder.  At no other time had I had this happen before.  Oh, runners are always supportive of each other....but this was different.  Was it because we were, all of us, on one of the longest routes in all of the Wasatch Back and bonding in a different sort of way because of it?  Like we were all in some sort of Leg 18 club together?  And then I noticed something else.  My lungs weren't burning.  I felt pretty good, actually.  It didn't even feel like I was climbing a hill.  Oh, my legs were getting tired and my hip was hurting and I could feel blisters forming....but I was smiling and enjoying my run!  And that's when I realized that I was receiving some extra help.  There was no doubt in my mind that my prayers had been answered.  And though I also knew that I would very likely have a hard time walking the next morning...my scary 8.2 mile uphill route through East Canyon ended up being my very best run.

I finished my run at 10:50 and handed off the bracelet to van 2.  And while they chipped away at the miles all throughout the night, we in van 1 headed to a couple of prearranged hotel rooms in Coalville.  Hot showers and 3 hours of sleep in a bed felt awfully nice in comparison to last year where after running through the night we paid $2 to sleep in our sleeping bags on the floor of a local middle school.




























Rejuvenated but limping (me) we were back on the course by 5:00 AM.  My third and last run came around 9:40 and was only 2.5 miles.  This route was the reason I had chosen to be runner 6.  I loved the idea of having an easy last run when I would be tired.  Problem was, I was SO wasted from my earlier routes that my easy run ended up being my hardest!  

I was hugely relieved to be done, and excited to head off to Park City High.  Another perk to being van 1...having time to truly explore and enjoy the finish line party while waiting for van 2 to finish their last routes and join us for the big team run under the famous Ragnar arch.  So we shopped the Ragnar merchandise.  I bought myself a huge cheeseburger and fries from one of the vendors for lunch.  We enjoyed all the free Fat Boys and smoothies we could eat while we listened to the awesome band.  I considered getting a free massage...but the line was big and long.  And though we had the time to wait in that big, long line...realistically I was SO sore that I was worried a massage would hurt!   So we sat at a table all together in the shade.  And we got more and more tired...and more and more sore as we waited for van 2 to make their way up Ragnar Hill (aka Guardsman Pass).  

We were finally joined by the rest of our teammates to make that epic run across the finish line at 4:45 PM.  And by run, I actually mean hobble.  Because pretty much all of us were in some various stage of pain with many of us (me, again) being in a whole new world of HURT!  Still, it was exhilarating as always to run over the finish line together, all 12 of us.

Now as the pain fades the question becomes....do I do it again next year??

2011 Wasatch Back
2010 Wasatch Back