I literally just had the best idea ever.
When you are driving somewhere do you ever take a different route in hopes of avoiding traffic or an accident or construction but then arrive at your destination and wonder if it wouldn't have been faster to just stay on the original route? Since I commute daily and there are frequently traffic jams and I am the kind of person who would prefer to be moving on a slower, light-filled street than not moving at all on the freeway I wonder this often.
This is where my idea comes. You design an app that lets you input two routes and it will tell, based on current traffic conditions, which would be faster.
It would have be a combination of Google Maps, which already use current traffic conditions to predict travel times, along with some voice recognition software because it would be useless if people were trying to input all this information and got into a crash themselves. There would also have to be some way for the app to know how the light systems on streets work because if you hit all green lights on a road it is going to be significantly faster than if you hit all red lights.
In my mind the app would have a favorite routes function so if I am traveling home and there is a crash on I-15 all I have to do is say which would be faster route 1 (I-15) or route 2 (getting off somewhere and taking side streets) and the app would magically come back and say, "Route 1 will take 5 minutes less than Route 2."
Alternately the app would be able to just tell you the fastest route to any given address, so if you are in a unfamiliar place and don't really know the side-street routes the app can tell which way is faster and then guide you in getting there.
I really don't know why no one has thought of this before. Doesn't everyone want to get to where they are going the fastest and most efficient way possible? Doesn't everyone hate sitting in traffic jams?! I obviously don't have the technical knowledge to make this happen but I would definitely buy the app if someone else created it.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Extreme Planning
If there was a TLC show called "Extreme Planning" I would definitely be on it.
I know there are many people who hate planning things (John would be one of them) but I am just the opposite. I LOVE planning things. At this point I have my meal plans for next week already figured out and they have actually been mostly done since Monday. In my defense planning out my meals helps me stay on track throughout the week, helps me avoid having to go to the store multiple times a week by not having all the ingredients I need and helps save money because we don't go out as much because there is no food in the house. I also have workout plans through the end of January in the works and I have most of my vacation scheduled for next year (and that was done weeks ago).
I usually set up my bill pay well before things are actually due and make plans about how much money to save based on how much our bills our each month. I have even been working on budgets for next year based on the insurance changes that will be taking place in January.
I like planning so much that I actually got in trouble last week for filling out my time card in advance. I would go in on Monday or the Friday before and fill out my plan for working that week. When I have to go to court everyday this helps keep me on track and helps me plan when I will have time to work out and what meals to cook on which nights based on what time I might get home but apparently this is a no-no and now I have to fill out my time every day like a normal person and it has been bothering me all week!
I don't know what it is but I like having a plan and knowing what my schedule is on a day-to-day basis, that way when I have down time I know for sure that there is nothing else I should be doing because everything is already done and I can just relax.
Unfortunately, that also means when things pop up and change unexpectedly I can get a little stressed. I would like to pretend that I am flexible when things like this happen but I am pretty sure John would say just the opposite.
But there is an upside to being a crazy-obsessed-planner lady. My mom and John and really anyone else involved in my wedding would tell you that it went pretty smoothly, thanks in part to my obsessive list-making and planning. I always have the ingredients for some sort of meal in my house and I rarely forget about important dates or things that need to get done.
I can't help it, I guess I am just a planner at heart!
I know there are many people who hate planning things (John would be one of them) but I am just the opposite. I LOVE planning things. At this point I have my meal plans for next week already figured out and they have actually been mostly done since Monday. In my defense planning out my meals helps me stay on track throughout the week, helps me avoid having to go to the store multiple times a week by not having all the ingredients I need and helps save money because we don't go out as much because there is no food in the house. I also have workout plans through the end of January in the works and I have most of my vacation scheduled for next year (and that was done weeks ago).
I usually set up my bill pay well before things are actually due and make plans about how much money to save based on how much our bills our each month. I have even been working on budgets for next year based on the insurance changes that will be taking place in January.
I like planning so much that I actually got in trouble last week for filling out my time card in advance. I would go in on Monday or the Friday before and fill out my plan for working that week. When I have to go to court everyday this helps keep me on track and helps me plan when I will have time to work out and what meals to cook on which nights based on what time I might get home but apparently this is a no-no and now I have to fill out my time every day like a normal person and it has been bothering me all week!
I don't know what it is but I like having a plan and knowing what my schedule is on a day-to-day basis, that way when I have down time I know for sure that there is nothing else I should be doing because everything is already done and I can just relax.
Unfortunately, that also means when things pop up and change unexpectedly I can get a little stressed. I would like to pretend that I am flexible when things like this happen but I am pretty sure John would say just the opposite.
But there is an upside to being a crazy-obsessed-planner lady. My mom and John and really anyone else involved in my wedding would tell you that it went pretty smoothly, thanks in part to my obsessive list-making and planning. I always have the ingredients for some sort of meal in my house and I rarely forget about important dates or things that need to get done.
I can't help it, I guess I am just a planner at heart!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Football Can't End in a Tie
I have always discredited soccer as a "real" sport because it was the only game I knew of that could end in a tie (and because I grew up in a house in which soccer was mocked but that is another story for another day).
I have seen baseball games go into more extra innings than regular innings, a college basketball game then went into seven, yes seven, overtimes and the longest college football game ever also went into sever overtimes.
Even in gymnastics, figure skating and other sports in which judges decide the outcome their isn't ties, they have tie breakers to decide what happens when two people get the exact same score, so there is always a winner and always a loser.
Until now, soccer has been the only sport I know of where players, coaches and fans are okay with there not being a winner at the end of the game. But yesterday the football game between the Rams and 49ers ended in a 24-24 tie. I heard this on ESPN while I was cooking dinner but dismissed it as a mistake by announcer but nope that is actually what happened.
Apparently I haven't been paying much attention because this has happened before, most recently in 2008 but that is not the point!
The point is as a fan I expect there to be a clear winner and clear loser and I don't know care how many overtimes it takes to get there.
The NFL recently changed their overtime rules so unless the team who has the ball first scores a touchdown, the other team gets a chance to score, which eliminates the receiving team from simply getting in field goal range to win.
So in the case of the Rams vs. 49ers both teams got a chance to score and neither team did and so the game ends. Why not go into sudden death like teams did with the old overtime rules? Both teams got a chance, so the the next team that scores wins. Obviously the overtime in the NFL isn't perfect but ending in a tie seems like the worst possible solution.
I have seen baseball games go into more extra innings than regular innings, a college basketball game then went into seven, yes seven, overtimes and the longest college football game ever also went into sever overtimes.
Even in gymnastics, figure skating and other sports in which judges decide the outcome their isn't ties, they have tie breakers to decide what happens when two people get the exact same score, so there is always a winner and always a loser.
Until now, soccer has been the only sport I know of where players, coaches and fans are okay with there not being a winner at the end of the game. But yesterday the football game between the Rams and 49ers ended in a 24-24 tie. I heard this on ESPN while I was cooking dinner but dismissed it as a mistake by announcer but nope that is actually what happened.
Apparently I haven't been paying much attention because this has happened before, most recently in 2008 but that is not the point!
The point is as a fan I expect there to be a clear winner and clear loser and I don't know care how many overtimes it takes to get there.
The NFL recently changed their overtime rules so unless the team who has the ball first scores a touchdown, the other team gets a chance to score, which eliminates the receiving team from simply getting in field goal range to win.
So in the case of the Rams vs. 49ers both teams got a chance to score and neither team did and so the game ends. Why not go into sudden death like teams did with the old overtime rules? Both teams got a chance, so the the next team that scores wins. Obviously the overtime in the NFL isn't perfect but ending in a tie seems like the worst possible solution.
I didn't watch the game on Sunday and I obviously wasn't there but ending in a tie just seems like a let down. If I was a player I would be pissed if I spent all that time getting hit over and over again for nothing really.
And then you wonder what kind of implications the tie will have for the playoffs? How does a tie factor into a teams record? It all seems very confusing and unnecessary.
This isn't soccer people, this is football and there needs to be a winner, whether it takes one or seven overtimes to get there.
* I am making an addition to this post after having read another column that said even many of the players playing in the game on Sunday didn't know it could end in a tie. If the players on the field don't know the rules there is definitely a problem. Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Twitter is addicting
I am going to resist the urge to spout off about political things and possibly offend everyone I know and instead am going to write about my new found addiction to Twitter.
I joined the twitter world begrudgingly. I only did it because as a journalist it is pretty much the only way to survive or get jobs, when applying for jobs potential employees ask for your twitter handle. But now that I have figured out how twitter works it is actually pretty fun. You can see random bits of information from anybody you want. You can follow celebrities, athletes, TV shows, news people, cities, just regular joe's, pretty much anything you are interested in you can probably find on twitter.
It turns out Twitter is also a pretty convenient way to get information fast. I, for example, follow all of the different police departments and cities in Utah County so when there is breaking news I know about it pretty quickly. It is also WAY better than facebook for quick information and you don't get the mile long rants from people because you can only tweet 140 characters, two sentences is not enough for ranting and I love it.
Twitter wars are also amazing. When two people go back and forth about nonsense it can be really really funny.
Since I only recently joined twitter I don't have a lot of followers and in an attempt to gain followers I have become what my coworker refers to as a "twitter whore" it sounds way worse than it actually is. It really just means I started following a million (really only 191) people in hopes that they will follow me back and I can one day have hundreds or thousands of followers.
So far I only have 45 followers and I don't tweet a lot of things, mostly because I feel like people don't really care about what I have to say, but I still spend a significant amount of time on twitter seeing what other people have to say.
I joined the twitter world begrudgingly. I only did it because as a journalist it is pretty much the only way to survive or get jobs, when applying for jobs potential employees ask for your twitter handle. But now that I have figured out how twitter works it is actually pretty fun. You can see random bits of information from anybody you want. You can follow celebrities, athletes, TV shows, news people, cities, just regular joe's, pretty much anything you are interested in you can probably find on twitter.
It turns out Twitter is also a pretty convenient way to get information fast. I, for example, follow all of the different police departments and cities in Utah County so when there is breaking news I know about it pretty quickly. It is also WAY better than facebook for quick information and you don't get the mile long rants from people because you can only tweet 140 characters, two sentences is not enough for ranting and I love it.
Twitter wars are also amazing. When two people go back and forth about nonsense it can be really really funny.
Since I only recently joined twitter I don't have a lot of followers and in an attempt to gain followers I have become what my coworker refers to as a "twitter whore" it sounds way worse than it actually is. It really just means I started following a million (really only 191) people in hopes that they will follow me back and I can one day have hundreds or thousands of followers.
So far I only have 45 followers and I don't tweet a lot of things, mostly because I feel like people don't really care about what I have to say, but I still spend a significant amount of time on twitter seeing what other people have to say.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Good Clean Fun
I was recently switched to the crime and court beat at the Daily Herald and every day I watched as people dressed in prison garb with chains around their waist and handcuffs on their hands and feet stand before a judge and get sentenced for various crimes, most of them involving drugs or theft and I wonder where everything went so wrong?
Then I see things on facebook about how people are upset because their were cops patrolling the streets so kids don't smash pumpkins all over and how it is ridiculous to pay cops to ruin kids "good clean fun." I might mention, I do agree that cops should and do have better things to do than keep kids from smashing pumpkins but that is not the point.
While I think smashing pumpkins is silly, as far as I know, it isn't against the law. Although, I could easily see it being classified as vandalism. BUT the kids don't buy the pumpkins themselves, they steal them from other people. I actually wrote this on the facebook status as a comment and someone replied, "well they would just rot on people's porches anyways." That may be true but they are my pumpkins and it is my right to decide if the pumpkins rot on my porch or not and in the case of my mom her pumpkins were stolen several days before Halloween, so she didn't even get to enjoy them for the holiday.
Yes stealing pumpkins is a minor thing and yes they would just rot on my porch but that is not the point! We are raising kids in a society where petty theft is being considered "good clean fun."
I saw a guy get sentenced to more than a year in jail today because he stole a magazine from a convenience store. A magazine!! Granted this was his third theft, which classifies it as a third-degree felony, and I don't know the circumstances of a the other thefts but a magazine costs less than $5 and this kid is now going to spend time in jail because of it. If we are teaching our kids that is it okay to steal pumpkins than the jump to magazines or other seemingly small items can't be that far off.
If I had stolen and smashed pumpkins when I was in high school and my parents found out (which they would because they always do) I would've been grounded forever. I got in trouble when I was a little girl (like 7 or 8) for taking the pennies off my dad's dresser because they weren't mine.
The point is I learned at a very young age if it isn't yours don't take it, it seems like a pretty simple concept but apparently the message isn't getting passed along. If there are parents out there who think it is okay or even encourage their kids to go steal pumpkins on Halloween, then it is no wonder that our jails our full of people with theft charges against them.
Yes, I might be over exaggerating just a little bit because after all we are just talking about pumpkins here, but I don't think under any circumstances should it be considered okay to take other people's stuff no matter how small it might be.
Then I see things on facebook about how people are upset because their were cops patrolling the streets so kids don't smash pumpkins all over and how it is ridiculous to pay cops to ruin kids "good clean fun." I might mention, I do agree that cops should and do have better things to do than keep kids from smashing pumpkins but that is not the point.
While I think smashing pumpkins is silly, as far as I know, it isn't against the law. Although, I could easily see it being classified as vandalism. BUT the kids don't buy the pumpkins themselves, they steal them from other people. I actually wrote this on the facebook status as a comment and someone replied, "well they would just rot on people's porches anyways." That may be true but they are my pumpkins and it is my right to decide if the pumpkins rot on my porch or not and in the case of my mom her pumpkins were stolen several days before Halloween, so she didn't even get to enjoy them for the holiday.
Yes stealing pumpkins is a minor thing and yes they would just rot on my porch but that is not the point! We are raising kids in a society where petty theft is being considered "good clean fun."
I saw a guy get sentenced to more than a year in jail today because he stole a magazine from a convenience store. A magazine!! Granted this was his third theft, which classifies it as a third-degree felony, and I don't know the circumstances of a the other thefts but a magazine costs less than $5 and this kid is now going to spend time in jail because of it. If we are teaching our kids that is it okay to steal pumpkins than the jump to magazines or other seemingly small items can't be that far off.
If I had stolen and smashed pumpkins when I was in high school and my parents found out (which they would because they always do) I would've been grounded forever. I got in trouble when I was a little girl (like 7 or 8) for taking the pennies off my dad's dresser because they weren't mine.
The point is I learned at a very young age if it isn't yours don't take it, it seems like a pretty simple concept but apparently the message isn't getting passed along. If there are parents out there who think it is okay or even encourage their kids to go steal pumpkins on Halloween, then it is no wonder that our jails our full of people with theft charges against them.
Yes, I might be over exaggerating just a little bit because after all we are just talking about pumpkins here, but I don't think under any circumstances should it be considered okay to take other people's stuff no matter how small it might be.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Moving can be confusing
As I am sure most of you know, John and I moved this past weekend to a new apartment is Sandy. The move went well, it took most of the day Friday and Saturday but we are mostly moved in now and adjusting well.
Willy on the other hand seems to be so confused about what is happening. The first two times we went to the new apartment, before most of our stuff was there, he pooped on the floor.
Then all day Saturday as we were moving stuff he followed John up and down the hall back and forth to the moving truck the whole time he just looked like he wasn't sure what was going on.
Now that we are mostly moved in the poor little guy just looks confused. This is what I think he would say if he could talk.
"What are we doing here? This is my couch and all my stuff is here but this doesn't look like my home. Why is my food in this corner? Mom, when are we going home?"
When I got home from work yesterday he wasn't even excited he just looked like, "Oh what are you doing here?" Like he is expecting us to take him back to the old place any second now.
It is kind of sad but kind of funny too. Ever since we got Willy when he was a tiny baby puppy we had lived in the other apartment so it makes sense why he would be confused.
The good news is John "accidentally" left him out of his kennel yesterday when he went to work and he hasn't had any accidents since we moved in so at least he seems to be past the poop in the house stage but hopefully he learns to like his new home soon!
Willy on the other hand seems to be so confused about what is happening. The first two times we went to the new apartment, before most of our stuff was there, he pooped on the floor.
Then all day Saturday as we were moving stuff he followed John up and down the hall back and forth to the moving truck the whole time he just looked like he wasn't sure what was going on.
Now that we are mostly moved in the poor little guy just looks confused. This is what I think he would say if he could talk.
"What are we doing here? This is my couch and all my stuff is here but this doesn't look like my home. Why is my food in this corner? Mom, when are we going home?"
When I got home from work yesterday he wasn't even excited he just looked like, "Oh what are you doing here?" Like he is expecting us to take him back to the old place any second now.
It is kind of sad but kind of funny too. Ever since we got Willy when he was a tiny baby puppy we had lived in the other apartment so it makes sense why he would be confused.
The good news is John "accidentally" left him out of his kennel yesterday when he went to work and he hasn't had any accidents since we moved in so at least he seems to be past the poop in the house stage but hopefully he learns to like his new home soon!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Remembering to be grateful
I have a lot to be grateful for. I have a great husband, an awesome family, a nice place to live, the cutest little dog ever, a car the runs and job to go to everyday. But sometimes when things don't go the way I want them to I struggle to remember all those things.
I recently applied for a sports writing job, a high school sports writing job, something I have experience doing, love doing and thought I would be perfect for (maybe I am a little full of myself). I put together what I thought was an awesome application and thought I would for sure at least get and interview (again maybe I am a little full of myself but I was confident about my ability) but I didn't get an interview. I got the email from the hiring person this morning, it was literally the first thing I saw when I woke up and checked my email on my phone (damn you technology) and I have been bummed since 6:30 this morning.
To add to my melancholy I also recently got my beat switched at the Herald, meaning I am now covering Crime and Courts instead of Health and Higher Education, a move I wasn't thrilled about. I liked what I was writing about and didn't want to switch. I am slowly learning to like the crime and courts beat more and more but its kind of a love/hate relationship right now and its definitely not sports.
In talking with a friend today, she reminded to keep my head up and remember that right now it is good to even have a job.
I have been sulking all day because for the time being I don't get to write about my topic of choice, while there are people out there who have no jobs and no way to feed their families or pay their bills.
Not only do I have a job I, for the most part, have the job I want. I get to write every single day and get paid for it. I get to go out and interview people and let the public know about what is happening and why its important. I just have to keep telling myself "I get to write everyday, I get to write everyday, I get to write everyday", because sometimes it is hard to remember to be grateful for what we have.
I recently applied for a sports writing job, a high school sports writing job, something I have experience doing, love doing and thought I would be perfect for (maybe I am a little full of myself). I put together what I thought was an awesome application and thought I would for sure at least get and interview (again maybe I am a little full of myself but I was confident about my ability) but I didn't get an interview. I got the email from the hiring person this morning, it was literally the first thing I saw when I woke up and checked my email on my phone (damn you technology) and I have been bummed since 6:30 this morning.
To add to my melancholy I also recently got my beat switched at the Herald, meaning I am now covering Crime and Courts instead of Health and Higher Education, a move I wasn't thrilled about. I liked what I was writing about and didn't want to switch. I am slowly learning to like the crime and courts beat more and more but its kind of a love/hate relationship right now and its definitely not sports.
In talking with a friend today, she reminded to keep my head up and remember that right now it is good to even have a job.
I have been sulking all day because for the time being I don't get to write about my topic of choice, while there are people out there who have no jobs and no way to feed their families or pay their bills.
Not only do I have a job I, for the most part, have the job I want. I get to write every single day and get paid for it. I get to go out and interview people and let the public know about what is happening and why its important. I just have to keep telling myself "I get to write everyday, I get to write everyday, I get to write everyday", because sometimes it is hard to remember to be grateful for what we have.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Preoccupied
All I can think about right now is cooking and baking super delicious foods.
I want to throw a brunch party or maybe just a regular party and cook all sorts of awesome things that people will love. I want tons of people to squish into my little apartment and enjoy themselves while they eat the food I made.
I want to make pumpkin spice lattes in the crock pot and pumpkin french toast and tomato basil soup and spinach dip and baked french toast and homemade mac and cheese and cheesecakes and cookies and banana bread and pretty much anything else you can think of!
I even started making a list of the treats I was going to make for Christmas and the friends I was going to give them to. Then I started thinking if people would rather have a plate full of desserts dropped of at their house or a something savory like homemade bread sticks and soup? Then I wrote a message to some of my girlfriends about a brunch party, realized halfway through my apartment is a giant disaster because I am moving in a few weeks and I don't really have the time or space to do such a thing right now and deleted that. Then I thought about calling my mom and asking her if I could be in charge of breakfast the day after Thanksgiving and imagined myself getting up really early in the morning to make a delicious breakfast for my family and I am not a morning person!! Then just now as I was writing this post I thought maybe I should call my mom and volunteer to cook all of Thanksgiving dinner, which I am sure she would take me up on and I am sure I would regret later when my mind is less preoccupied by food.
Its not even that I want to eat all that food, I mean I do and I probably would, but my main motivation is just cooking it all. It is literally all I have thought about for the past 4 hours.
I already decided I am going to make banana bread with some old bananas at my house and give it to my family when I see them at my little sisters volleyball game on Saturday, which will hopefully help cure a little of my cooking craziness but this is just further evidence that I need to open a bakery/cafe. It is a dream I have always had but I have to find a way to make it a reality, even if it takes 10 years.
In the meantime I will day dream about food while I work and cook tasty things when I can and hopefully get hired by someone to cater their party or family get-together (see here if you want more details about that) and continue to work on my skills.
But for now Pinterest and the many recipes I have pinned are calling my name, I have to see what else is out there for me to dream about making.
I want to throw a brunch party or maybe just a regular party and cook all sorts of awesome things that people will love. I want tons of people to squish into my little apartment and enjoy themselves while they eat the food I made.
I want to make pumpkin spice lattes in the crock pot and pumpkin french toast and tomato basil soup and spinach dip and baked french toast and homemade mac and cheese and cheesecakes and cookies and banana bread and pretty much anything else you can think of!
I even started making a list of the treats I was going to make for Christmas and the friends I was going to give them to. Then I started thinking if people would rather have a plate full of desserts dropped of at their house or a something savory like homemade bread sticks and soup? Then I wrote a message to some of my girlfriends about a brunch party, realized halfway through my apartment is a giant disaster because I am moving in a few weeks and I don't really have the time or space to do such a thing right now and deleted that. Then I thought about calling my mom and asking her if I could be in charge of breakfast the day after Thanksgiving and imagined myself getting up really early in the morning to make a delicious breakfast for my family and I am not a morning person!! Then just now as I was writing this post I thought maybe I should call my mom and volunteer to cook all of Thanksgiving dinner, which I am sure she would take me up on and I am sure I would regret later when my mind is less preoccupied by food.
Its not even that I want to eat all that food, I mean I do and I probably would, but my main motivation is just cooking it all. It is literally all I have thought about for the past 4 hours.
I already decided I am going to make banana bread with some old bananas at my house and give it to my family when I see them at my little sisters volleyball game on Saturday, which will hopefully help cure a little of my cooking craziness but this is just further evidence that I need to open a bakery/cafe. It is a dream I have always had but I have to find a way to make it a reality, even if it takes 10 years.
In the meantime I will day dream about food while I work and cook tasty things when I can and hopefully get hired by someone to cater their party or family get-together (see here if you want more details about that) and continue to work on my skills.
But for now Pinterest and the many recipes I have pinned are calling my name, I have to see what else is out there for me to dream about making.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Judgement Day
Sometimes I feel like everyday is judgement day. I am being judged based on what I wear that day, the music I listen to, the things I post on facebook, the way I chose to get married, even the person I chose to marry and a million other seemingly insignificant choices and decisions I make every single day.
Why do we as human beings feel it necessary to judge other people every step of the way?
I read a column posted on a friends facebook page the yesterday about a guy who had chosen to wait until he got married to have sex and how he and his wife had done things the "right" way. He said that because they had waited and had an amazing wedding night that they were right and everyone else who gets married after sleeping with, living with or otherwise being intimate with their future partner was wrong. Yes that is the way he chose to do it based on his beliefs and values but just because my beliefs and values might be different doesn't mean I am wrong; different does not equal wrong.
I don't understand why there always has to be a right and a wrong. Not just in this instance but in everything. Why is it necessary to judge someone because of their lifestyle choices, just because what they chose to do is different from what you chose to do?
I feel like this is a lesson we all learned in elementary school and then forgot and now we need to learn again.
You never know what someone else's circumstances are and why they chose the things they did and if maybe you had been in their shoes you might have made the same choices and then you would be the one getting judged.
This goes hand in hand with the blog I posted last month about gay rights. Just because someone else's lifestyle choices and opinions differ from yours doesn't mean they are doing any harm to you. In some instances that is not the case, obviously when someone chooses to go on a shooting rampage or drive drunk that impacts other people but in most cases nothing about my day to day life has anything to do with another person's day to day life.
I feel like a good percentage of the issues of this campaign season would be non-issues if we stopped judging other people and thinking that because their opinion if different that they are wrong. The issues revolving around birth control, abortion and gay rights would be non-issues.
Let me live my life the way I want, without judgement or discrimination, and I will grant you the same courtesy.
Why do we as human beings feel it necessary to judge other people every step of the way?
I read a column posted on a friends facebook page the yesterday about a guy who had chosen to wait until he got married to have sex and how he and his wife had done things the "right" way. He said that because they had waited and had an amazing wedding night that they were right and everyone else who gets married after sleeping with, living with or otherwise being intimate with their future partner was wrong. Yes that is the way he chose to do it based on his beliefs and values but just because my beliefs and values might be different doesn't mean I am wrong; different does not equal wrong.
I don't understand why there always has to be a right and a wrong. Not just in this instance but in everything. Why is it necessary to judge someone because of their lifestyle choices, just because what they chose to do is different from what you chose to do?
I feel like this is a lesson we all learned in elementary school and then forgot and now we need to learn again.
You never know what someone else's circumstances are and why they chose the things they did and if maybe you had been in their shoes you might have made the same choices and then you would be the one getting judged.
This goes hand in hand with the blog I posted last month about gay rights. Just because someone else's lifestyle choices and opinions differ from yours doesn't mean they are doing any harm to you. In some instances that is not the case, obviously when someone chooses to go on a shooting rampage or drive drunk that impacts other people but in most cases nothing about my day to day life has anything to do with another person's day to day life.
I feel like a good percentage of the issues of this campaign season would be non-issues if we stopped judging other people and thinking that because their opinion if different that they are wrong. The issues revolving around birth control, abortion and gay rights would be non-issues.
Let me live my life the way I want, without judgement or discrimination, and I will grant you the same courtesy.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Reality Check
I like to pretend sometimes that I am healthy. I like think that because I can (or could a few months ago) run 3 miles without walking, complete Ragnar and don't have high blood pressure that my weight is under control. It works most of the time until the real world decides to slap me in the face.
I got a letter in the mail today saying that our insurance is changing and those people who don't smoke and have a BMI of less than 30 will get a big discount on insurance, like a $840 discount. Since I don't smoke I will still get a $420 discount but because of my BMI my insurance will increase $420 a year, on top of the 11% it was already going to go up.
While I don't agree with BMI as the definition of a healthy person, because like I said I have a healthy blood pressure, I don't have high cholesterol and have very few weight related health problems at this point in my life, this is the method my insurance has chosen to employ and therefore according to them I will be classified as obese. Ouch. I have been working with a trainer over the past several months and have lost 20 pounds since the first of year but the reality is I am still more than 50 pounds from being in the BMI range I would need to be for my insurance not to go up. What's worse is they, for some unknown reason, are doing these health checks in October (why not December right before the new year?) meaning I have zero chance of getting anywhere near the healthy range before then.
It is really sobering and disappointing to realize how far out of control I let my weight get and to see now how much it really is going to cost me (not to mention all the extra clothes I've had to buy over the years and paying for a trainers to help me) and to know that it all could've been avoided if I had been a little more diligent in working out and had a little more self control when it comes to food.
Right now, I can honestly say I have never been more motivated to lose weight because it sucks to have to pay extra because of my weight. I hope this is a the push I need to finally really get my weight under control and keep it there because I want to get there but I have been lacking motivation the past couple weeks, or months maybe.
The good news is at some point in the year we will be able to do another health check and if our BMI is within the right range at that time we can get some of that extra money we paid back. I don't know when that is happening but that is my new goal to hit my target weight. I know it will be hard but in the end it will be worth it, not only in terms of money but also in terms of my overall health and well being.
Wish me luck.
I got a letter in the mail today saying that our insurance is changing and those people who don't smoke and have a BMI of less than 30 will get a big discount on insurance, like a $840 discount. Since I don't smoke I will still get a $420 discount but because of my BMI my insurance will increase $420 a year, on top of the 11% it was already going to go up.
While I don't agree with BMI as the definition of a healthy person, because like I said I have a healthy blood pressure, I don't have high cholesterol and have very few weight related health problems at this point in my life, this is the method my insurance has chosen to employ and therefore according to them I will be classified as obese. Ouch. I have been working with a trainer over the past several months and have lost 20 pounds since the first of year but the reality is I am still more than 50 pounds from being in the BMI range I would need to be for my insurance not to go up. What's worse is they, for some unknown reason, are doing these health checks in October (why not December right before the new year?) meaning I have zero chance of getting anywhere near the healthy range before then.
It is really sobering and disappointing to realize how far out of control I let my weight get and to see now how much it really is going to cost me (not to mention all the extra clothes I've had to buy over the years and paying for a trainers to help me) and to know that it all could've been avoided if I had been a little more diligent in working out and had a little more self control when it comes to food.
Right now, I can honestly say I have never been more motivated to lose weight because it sucks to have to pay extra because of my weight. I hope this is a the push I need to finally really get my weight under control and keep it there because I want to get there but I have been lacking motivation the past couple weeks, or months maybe.
The good news is at some point in the year we will be able to do another health check and if our BMI is within the right range at that time we can get some of that extra money we paid back. I don't know when that is happening but that is my new goal to hit my target weight. I know it will be hard but in the end it will be worth it, not only in terms of money but also in terms of my overall health and well being.
Wish me luck.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Mini Scrumptious
As many of you know I have longed dreamed and talked about opening a bakery/cafe but the reality is having the financials to do that is a long ways in the future but I still want to improve my cooking skills and hopefully make people happy with food.
To accomplish that I have devised a plan for a mini-catering/food service business.
The idea is simple, people want to have a home cooked meal for their party, family-get-together, social gathering, birthdays or whatever other occasion but don't want to cook, don't know how or aren't very good cooks themselves. That is where I come in. I can be hired to come in and cook dinner (or lunch or breakfast or the meal of your choosing) for you and friends and family. It could be anything from a simple appetizer spread or dessert bar to something as elaborate as 4-course meal.
The cost will include grocery shopping, the cost of groceries, food preparation and plating and clean-up.
If this sounds like something you are interested in please email me at paige@scrumptiousbakeryandcafe.com with the details, when and where your gathering would be, what kinds of food you would like prepared and how many people will be attending. I will then create a menu or two for you to choose from and email that to you along with a quote for how much it will cost.
If you like the idea spread the word to friends and family. I live in the Salt Lake area but am willing to travel within reason and with appropriate notice. Since I am new to this please give me at least 1 week notice for any events you may want me to cook for.
I look forward to serving you!
As a side note scrumptiousbakeryandcafe.com is not yet up and running, just email services so if you try to go to that website you will get an error, but I hope to have it ready to go soon.
As a side note scrumptiousbakeryandcafe.com is not yet up and running, just email services so if you try to go to that website you will get an error, but I hope to have it ready to go soon.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The things I learn from Google
I have a motto in life, it goes something like this, "If Google doesn't know the answer, no one needs to know the answer."
Basically it is a testament to my love for Google and it knowing the answer to every question I could possibly imagine. But every once in a while I wish Google didn't know quite so much or rather that I didn't know how to use Google.
This happens when I Google things about medical conditions I have and stumble upon stories about how a women in North Carolina or somewhere like that died from a UTI (urinary tract infection) in 5 days from the start of her symptoms. You can put that towards the top of the list of things I would be better off not knowing. Since I get UTIs quite frequently you can imagine why this information was distressing.
Or when I Google what to expect during an upcoming medical procedure and the results are kind of scary.
I think there is a pattern here. Maybe I should just stop Googling anything related to medicine and my health, it might save me quite a bit of anxiety and stress.
Unfortunately, what has been read cannot be unread and is now forever on the list of things that I know and here I am stressing out about my doctors appointment this afternoon. Damn you Google.
Basically it is a testament to my love for Google and it knowing the answer to every question I could possibly imagine. But every once in a while I wish Google didn't know quite so much or rather that I didn't know how to use Google.
This happens when I Google things about medical conditions I have and stumble upon stories about how a women in North Carolina or somewhere like that died from a UTI (urinary tract infection) in 5 days from the start of her symptoms. You can put that towards the top of the list of things I would be better off not knowing. Since I get UTIs quite frequently you can imagine why this information was distressing.
Or when I Google what to expect during an upcoming medical procedure and the results are kind of scary.
I think there is a pattern here. Maybe I should just stop Googling anything related to medicine and my health, it might save me quite a bit of anxiety and stress.
Unfortunately, what has been read cannot be unread and is now forever on the list of things that I know and here I am stressing out about my doctors appointment this afternoon. Damn you Google.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Getting Married is Hard Work
While I was at the DMV today, changing my name on my car title and registration the lady that was helping me said, "Getting married is hard work."
I have to agree.
I thought the hard work was done when the wedding day was over but no no.
First there was the planning the wedding, saving for the wedding, paying for the wedding, sending invites and all the other tasks that go with getting married but now I have to change my last name and send out a million thank you notes (which I am still working on, so don't worry you will get one, it just might take a while. In the meantime, thank you for all the awesome gifts!)
Changing your last time is tedious and annoying, it gets even more annoying when companies like Comcast and T-Mobile want me to bring my marriage certificate into their offices to change my last name. All the guy at the bank needed was my new drivers license, two of my store credit cards didn't need anything I changed my name online and bam two weeks later new cards, Rocky Mountain Power let me change my name over the phone and all I had to do was send one email for all my work insurance, 401k and payroll stuff to get changed.
My list of things to do until the name change process is totally complete has gone from about 20 to 4 or 5 but it is still a big pain, and is still going to require at least one more trip to a government office that is only open from 9 to 5 on weekdays.
I had a friend say once that changing her name was enough to make her never want to get a divorce because she is never changing her name back and now having gone through the process I would agree completely. I mean, I really hope that through the years there will be many other and much much better reasons to not get a divorce but on the really bad days at least it is something.
I got all excited at one point and bought a group-on for this online name changing service thinking that if I gave them all my information they would do all the work for me, wrong. All it did was give me all the forms I needed to fill out, which has been useful, but not nearly as useful as I was hoping for.
It might be a few more weeks before I have completed the whole process but since my social security card and drivers license have been changed I guess I am legally and officially, Paige Marie Hoffman. All those years of perfecting my signature have gone out the window, guess I better start practicing again.
I have to agree.
I thought the hard work was done when the wedding day was over but no no.
First there was the planning the wedding, saving for the wedding, paying for the wedding, sending invites and all the other tasks that go with getting married but now I have to change my last name and send out a million thank you notes (which I am still working on, so don't worry you will get one, it just might take a while. In the meantime, thank you for all the awesome gifts!)
Changing your last time is tedious and annoying, it gets even more annoying when companies like Comcast and T-Mobile want me to bring my marriage certificate into their offices to change my last name. All the guy at the bank needed was my new drivers license, two of my store credit cards didn't need anything I changed my name online and bam two weeks later new cards, Rocky Mountain Power let me change my name over the phone and all I had to do was send one email for all my work insurance, 401k and payroll stuff to get changed.
My list of things to do until the name change process is totally complete has gone from about 20 to 4 or 5 but it is still a big pain, and is still going to require at least one more trip to a government office that is only open from 9 to 5 on weekdays.
I had a friend say once that changing her name was enough to make her never want to get a divorce because she is never changing her name back and now having gone through the process I would agree completely. I mean, I really hope that through the years there will be many other and much much better reasons to not get a divorce but on the really bad days at least it is something.
I got all excited at one point and bought a group-on for this online name changing service thinking that if I gave them all my information they would do all the work for me, wrong. All it did was give me all the forms I needed to fill out, which has been useful, but not nearly as useful as I was hoping for.
It might be a few more weeks before I have completed the whole process but since my social security card and drivers license have been changed I guess I am legally and officially, Paige Marie Hoffman. All those years of perfecting my signature have gone out the window, guess I better start practicing again.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Wait...What?
What ever happened to thinking before speaking? I think it is a good rule in general but for people that in the public eye, hollywood stars, politicians, etc. it should be mandatory.
A house representative from Missouri, Todd Akin, recently said that there is no need for abortion exceptions allowing girls or women who have been raped to get an abortion because women's bodies are able to prevent pregnancies if they are victims of legitimate rape.
My first reaction to hearing this from my editor was, What?
How does this make any sense at all? First of all, what counts a legitimate rape and what is "illegitimate" rape? Second of all, has this guy ever taken a basic biology class? I mean the body is capable of some pretty amazing things but being able to pick and choose which sexual encounters result in pregnancy is not one of them.
Every time male politicians open there mouths about women, women's reproductive issues and systems, it just reconfirms the fact that men have no idea what is going on inside a woman's body.
If these are the leaders and future leaders of our country, I am more than a little concerned, but that is a whole other topic for another time.
Akin is now of course scrambling to take back his comments and keep his political career in tact but it seems like this all could have been prevented with a little research, Google anyone? Or simply taking 10 seconds to think about what you are about to say before opening your mouth.
A house representative from Missouri, Todd Akin, recently said that there is no need for abortion exceptions allowing girls or women who have been raped to get an abortion because women's bodies are able to prevent pregnancies if they are victims of legitimate rape.
My first reaction to hearing this from my editor was, What?
How does this make any sense at all? First of all, what counts a legitimate rape and what is "illegitimate" rape? Second of all, has this guy ever taken a basic biology class? I mean the body is capable of some pretty amazing things but being able to pick and choose which sexual encounters result in pregnancy is not one of them.
Every time male politicians open there mouths about women, women's reproductive issues and systems, it just reconfirms the fact that men have no idea what is going on inside a woman's body.
If these are the leaders and future leaders of our country, I am more than a little concerned, but that is a whole other topic for another time.
Akin is now of course scrambling to take back his comments and keep his political career in tact but it seems like this all could have been prevented with a little research, Google anyone? Or simply taking 10 seconds to think about what you are about to say before opening your mouth.
Friday, August 10, 2012
How far have we really come?
To preface this post, which will bring up some controversial issues, I am going to say everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This is my opinion and while your opinion may differ I still respect your right to have your opinion and hope you will do the same for me. Feel free to comment or have discussion if you feel so inclined but please keep it respectful.
I recently read the book "The Help" and I really liked it but throughout the whole book I was so disturbed by the way the blacks were treated and was appalled at some of the ideas white people had about blacks, like they would get diseases from their black maids if they used the same toilet. At the end of the book I was thinking how this was such a long time ago but really it wasn't, had my mom been born in the South she likely would've been raised by a black maid instead of her mother!
Anyways, the book also made me think about how everyone talks about how far we have come in terms of civil rights for everyone but really how much have we changed?
We haven't changed, we have just changed our target from black people to gay people (and by we I don't mean you and me personally, just the general feel of society).
The prejudice against gays isn't to the level of that against blacks, I mean gay people can eat wherever they want, they can go to school wherever they want and they don't have to use separate bathrooms (although I am sure there are people who would prefer it that way).
But gay people can and are discriminated against in the workplace, when it comes to getting housing and of course when it comes to being able to marry the person that you love.
Many will argue that it is different because being gay is a choice, people chose to be gay. Let me ask this if you were living in the South in the 1960s would you have chosen to be black? No! Just like no one would choose to black in that time, no one is going to choose to complicate their life now by choosing to by gay. I am a firm believer that gay is something people are born with, just like I was born with red hair and green eyes.
I don't understand the hatred and bias against gay people. What does what one person chooses to do behind closed doors have to do with me? How is letting two gay people get married an attack on my marriage and my family? My marriage and the marriage of a gay couple have absolutely nothing to do with each other! Yes, I understand many people disagree with the lifestyle but many people also disagree with drinking and having sex before marriage, yet they aren't trying to limit the freedoms of those people that live those lifestyles (which I might mention is a choice, whereas we have already established I think being gay is not).
The argument for religious institutions is that they are afraid if gay marriage is legalized they will be forced to perform marriages that go against there beliefs but again this makes no sense to me. The LDS church will only marry those that are worthy of their standards in their temples, the Catholic church does pre-marriage interviews and if a couple isn't planning to raise their children in the Catholic church they can forget about having their wedding at a Catholic church by a Catholic priest. Religious institutions already have the right to say no to any couple wanting to marry so why would letting gays get married change this?
I am also for gay adoption. I think in the world we live in where babies are sometimes born to 13 year-old girls or women so addicted to drugs that their babies are born being addicted to drugs too that letting a gay couple adopt one of those babies would only change that child's life for the better. How having two loving parents, regardless of whether they are the same gender or not, cannot possibly be worse than having an abusive, neglectful family.
There is no good reason why gay people shouldn't be afforded all the same rights and freedoms that I get. I got to marry the person I love and now get many benefits from the government and insurance companies for doing so, shouldn't they be allowed to do the same thing? Shouldn't they be able to make sure if something happens to them that their family and loved ones will be taken care of? Shouldn't they be able to get a job based on their qualifications not their sexual preferences?
I could go on an on for days about how ridiculous I think the whole argument for why gay people shouldn't have the same rights as straight people is but I won't. Instead I leave you with this.
In a recent post I saw on facebook a picture of Anne Hathaway with the following was posted as part of a quote from Anne, I could not agree more.
"There are people who've said I am being brave for being openly supportive of gay marriage and gay adoption, with all due respect, I humbly dissent. I am not being brave. I am being a decent human being. Love is a human experience, not a political statement."
I recently read the book "The Help" and I really liked it but throughout the whole book I was so disturbed by the way the blacks were treated and was appalled at some of the ideas white people had about blacks, like they would get diseases from their black maids if they used the same toilet. At the end of the book I was thinking how this was such a long time ago but really it wasn't, had my mom been born in the South she likely would've been raised by a black maid instead of her mother!
Anyways, the book also made me think about how everyone talks about how far we have come in terms of civil rights for everyone but really how much have we changed?
We haven't changed, we have just changed our target from black people to gay people (and by we I don't mean you and me personally, just the general feel of society).
The prejudice against gays isn't to the level of that against blacks, I mean gay people can eat wherever they want, they can go to school wherever they want and they don't have to use separate bathrooms (although I am sure there are people who would prefer it that way).
But gay people can and are discriminated against in the workplace, when it comes to getting housing and of course when it comes to being able to marry the person that you love.
Many will argue that it is different because being gay is a choice, people chose to be gay. Let me ask this if you were living in the South in the 1960s would you have chosen to be black? No! Just like no one would choose to black in that time, no one is going to choose to complicate their life now by choosing to by gay. I am a firm believer that gay is something people are born with, just like I was born with red hair and green eyes.
I don't understand the hatred and bias against gay people. What does what one person chooses to do behind closed doors have to do with me? How is letting two gay people get married an attack on my marriage and my family? My marriage and the marriage of a gay couple have absolutely nothing to do with each other! Yes, I understand many people disagree with the lifestyle but many people also disagree with drinking and having sex before marriage, yet they aren't trying to limit the freedoms of those people that live those lifestyles (which I might mention is a choice, whereas we have already established I think being gay is not).
The argument for religious institutions is that they are afraid if gay marriage is legalized they will be forced to perform marriages that go against there beliefs but again this makes no sense to me. The LDS church will only marry those that are worthy of their standards in their temples, the Catholic church does pre-marriage interviews and if a couple isn't planning to raise their children in the Catholic church they can forget about having their wedding at a Catholic church by a Catholic priest. Religious institutions already have the right to say no to any couple wanting to marry so why would letting gays get married change this?
I am also for gay adoption. I think in the world we live in where babies are sometimes born to 13 year-old girls or women so addicted to drugs that their babies are born being addicted to drugs too that letting a gay couple adopt one of those babies would only change that child's life for the better. How having two loving parents, regardless of whether they are the same gender or not, cannot possibly be worse than having an abusive, neglectful family.
There is no good reason why gay people shouldn't be afforded all the same rights and freedoms that I get. I got to marry the person I love and now get many benefits from the government and insurance companies for doing so, shouldn't they be allowed to do the same thing? Shouldn't they be able to make sure if something happens to them that their family and loved ones will be taken care of? Shouldn't they be able to get a job based on their qualifications not their sexual preferences?
I could go on an on for days about how ridiculous I think the whole argument for why gay people shouldn't have the same rights as straight people is but I won't. Instead I leave you with this.
In a recent post I saw on facebook a picture of Anne Hathaway with the following was posted as part of a quote from Anne, I could not agree more.
"There are people who've said I am being brave for being openly supportive of gay marriage and gay adoption, with all due respect, I humbly dissent. I am not being brave. I am being a decent human being. Love is a human experience, not a political statement."
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Honeymoon!!
John and I got to take an amazing honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico thanks to his Uncle Bill and Aunt Maria. It was awesome, we spent 4 nights, 5 days there and it was so relaxing. We have both been to Cancun before so we didn't feel like we needed to run around and see everything, which was so nice. The first two days we were there it rained a lot but we did get in some beach and pool time! We stayed at an all inclusive resort and I am sure I ate way way too much!
We went snorkling one day and it was awesome!! We had a guide that showed us around some of the reef and we saw a Lion fish, those really cool spiky fish that are red and white. We swam around for like 45 minutes and towards the end I was so tired, swimming is hard work. I got sunburned too, despite putting on sunscreen twice before going out.
We also went to the flee market where we got a hammock, a pancho for Whitney for watching Willy, a shirt for me and two ceramic wall hangings. It is always so fun to negotiate with the guys selling stuff and get great deals!
We also went to Walmart one night, it was kind of funny to see a Walmart in mexico and everything was so cheap!! We got a punch of pastries for $2.00, which in America probably would've easily cost over $10.
I could've have just laid on the beach the whole time, I seriously love the beach.
It was the perfect vacation, not to long but long enough to relax and recharge. We both missed little Willy so so much!! I know he is just a dog but to me he is like my child and I was so happy to get home to see his cute little face.
We went snorkling one day and it was awesome!! We had a guide that showed us around some of the reef and we saw a Lion fish, those really cool spiky fish that are red and white. We swam around for like 45 minutes and towards the end I was so tired, swimming is hard work. I got sunburned too, despite putting on sunscreen twice before going out.
We also went to the flee market where we got a hammock, a pancho for Whitney for watching Willy, a shirt for me and two ceramic wall hangings. It is always so fun to negotiate with the guys selling stuff and get great deals!
We also went to Walmart one night, it was kind of funny to see a Walmart in mexico and everything was so cheap!! We got a punch of pastries for $2.00, which in America probably would've easily cost over $10.
I could've have just laid on the beach the whole time, I seriously love the beach.
It was the perfect vacation, not to long but long enough to relax and recharge. We both missed little Willy so so much!! I know he is just a dog but to me he is like my child and I was so happy to get home to see his cute little face.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The BIG Day
I woke up the morning of the wedding not really feeling any different than any other day, except I was in a hotel room with Emily instead of in my bed with John.
I got up and went down to get some continental breakfast and then read through my vows about 18 million times so just in case I lost the paper they were printed on I would have some idea of what I wanted to say.
Emily and I stayed at the hotel until around 12:30 because we didn't have to be to Millennial Falls until 2:00 and we just wanted to be lazy.
We went and picked up Nicole and headed to Millennial Falls to get ready to go. My friend Stacee had arranged to have her cousin do my hair and make-up, so she curled my hair and did my make-up while everyone else got ready to go.
Then it was time to put on the dress, which surprising took my mom, Morgan and Whitney to get the buttons on the halter part done up. The whole time my dad is saying, "It's after 3, let go take pictures." Because I had told him the plan was to get ready and take pictures at 3 p.m.
When I was finally dressed and ready to go I had everyone else go outside so just John and I could see each other for the first time that day. Of course we both cried a little but the look on John's face when I came down the stairs was so cute!
Then it was picture taking time. It was HOT!! Like 95 degrees, so we were all sweating and trying not to melt while we took pictures. I wanted to get as many pictures taken as possible before the wedding so we would have plenty of time to talk with people after the wedding and not have to worry about taking a million more photos. A few people arrived early so we wrapped up pictures and the girls went back upstairs to cool off and wait until it was time for the ceremony to start.
Now I was starting to get a little nervous but it wasn't until about 5 minutes before the ceremony when my dad came upstairs to see if I was ready that I got really nervous. He was crying and that of course made me cry and I got a huge knot in my stomach, it was finally here!!
My dad went back downstairs and I waited as my bridesmaids made there way down the aisle with the groomsmen.
Then it was McKenna's turn. She was so cute. I couldn't hear what she was saying but I could hear people laughing so I know she was being cute. As I was waiting to come down the aisle I saw her trying to pick the flowers back up because she had ran out.
My dad and I arrived at the front and he handed me off to John and it was ceremony time! Mack did a really nice job with the ceremony, right in the middle of his little speech a duck from the waterfall behind us decided to fly over which was kind of funny.
I read my vows and cried of course and then John read his vows and I was so impressed!! I had been bothering him for weeks about writing them and was worried he wasn't going to do it (because he kept saying he didn't want to) or that they were going to be silly but they were honestly so good and so sweet and I still carry the copy of them around in my purse. I am hoping to frame both of our vows with our Marriage Certificate someday when I get around to it.
We exchanged rings and kissed and that was it! We were married. I forgot to get my bouquet from Emily before I headed back up the aisle, oops and as we were walking back up the aisle McKenna comes running out to John and yells, "That is MY prince," and grabbed onto his leg. So she walked with us back inside. Everyone else followed and their were hugs and congratulations and then dinner.
Dinner was amazing, we had stuffed chicken and roast potatoes and salad and rolls, I wish I had eaten more because it was so good!
Halfway through dinner McKenna comes running up and said something I couldn't quite understand it took me several minutes to figure it out but our reception host had given me the microphone so we could do speeches when we were ready and McKenna wanted to say "Ladies and Gentlemen" in the microphone, where she learned to do that I don't know but when it was time to give speeches I let her say it and it was so cute. Emily and Orisis both gave awesome little toasts and John and I walked around talking to each table.
Then the reception started and we took a few more pictures and some other friends and family came to offer their congratulations. Then we danced!
Again while John and I were dancing McKenna informed me that John was "her prince" and danced with us. Then when it was time for me to dance with my dad McKenna stomped her little foot and pointed at me and said, "Paige, that Nanna's Prince."
I danced to "Thank You For Loving Me," by Bon Jovi with my dad and it was perfect. He cried again, which of course made me cry again (thank goodness for waterproof mascara) but it was so sweet to see him get so emotional.
We cut the cake, no shoving it in the faces though! I didn't want frosting all over so we played nice. And then the real party began, we danced and had a great time. Even my Grandpa John got in on shaking it!
Before I knew it it was time to go home! I changed out of my dress and John and I got in our fancy rental car and were off to the hotel, which when we arrived were surprised with a big suite with a big jet tub! In our car Millennial Falls had left a gift bag with all of our desserts and pieces of wedding cake to snack on, so I had wedding cake for breakfast the next morning.
All in all it was an amazing day! And I am so thankful for all the friends and family that came and supported John and I and made everything so special.
I got up and went down to get some continental breakfast and then read through my vows about 18 million times so just in case I lost the paper they were printed on I would have some idea of what I wanted to say.
Emily and I stayed at the hotel until around 12:30 because we didn't have to be to Millennial Falls until 2:00 and we just wanted to be lazy.
We went and picked up Nicole and headed to Millennial Falls to get ready to go. My friend Stacee had arranged to have her cousin do my hair and make-up, so she curled my hair and did my make-up while everyone else got ready to go.
Then it was time to put on the dress, which surprising took my mom, Morgan and Whitney to get the buttons on the halter part done up. The whole time my dad is saying, "It's after 3, let go take pictures." Because I had told him the plan was to get ready and take pictures at 3 p.m.
When I was finally dressed and ready to go I had everyone else go outside so just John and I could see each other for the first time that day. Of course we both cried a little but the look on John's face when I came down the stairs was so cute!
Then it was picture taking time. It was HOT!! Like 95 degrees, so we were all sweating and trying not to melt while we took pictures. I wanted to get as many pictures taken as possible before the wedding so we would have plenty of time to talk with people after the wedding and not have to worry about taking a million more photos. A few people arrived early so we wrapped up pictures and the girls went back upstairs to cool off and wait until it was time for the ceremony to start.
Now I was starting to get a little nervous but it wasn't until about 5 minutes before the ceremony when my dad came upstairs to see if I was ready that I got really nervous. He was crying and that of course made me cry and I got a huge knot in my stomach, it was finally here!!
My dad went back downstairs and I waited as my bridesmaids made there way down the aisle with the groomsmen.
Then it was McKenna's turn. She was so cute. I couldn't hear what she was saying but I could hear people laughing so I know she was being cute. As I was waiting to come down the aisle I saw her trying to pick the flowers back up because she had ran out.
My dad and I arrived at the front and he handed me off to John and it was ceremony time! Mack did a really nice job with the ceremony, right in the middle of his little speech a duck from the waterfall behind us decided to fly over which was kind of funny.
I read my vows and cried of course and then John read his vows and I was so impressed!! I had been bothering him for weeks about writing them and was worried he wasn't going to do it (because he kept saying he didn't want to) or that they were going to be silly but they were honestly so good and so sweet and I still carry the copy of them around in my purse. I am hoping to frame both of our vows with our Marriage Certificate someday when I get around to it.
We exchanged rings and kissed and that was it! We were married. I forgot to get my bouquet from Emily before I headed back up the aisle, oops and as we were walking back up the aisle McKenna comes running out to John and yells, "That is MY prince," and grabbed onto his leg. So she walked with us back inside. Everyone else followed and their were hugs and congratulations and then dinner.
Dinner was amazing, we had stuffed chicken and roast potatoes and salad and rolls, I wish I had eaten more because it was so good!
Halfway through dinner McKenna comes running up and said something I couldn't quite understand it took me several minutes to figure it out but our reception host had given me the microphone so we could do speeches when we were ready and McKenna wanted to say "Ladies and Gentlemen" in the microphone, where she learned to do that I don't know but when it was time to give speeches I let her say it and it was so cute. Emily and Orisis both gave awesome little toasts and John and I walked around talking to each table.
Then the reception started and we took a few more pictures and some other friends and family came to offer their congratulations. Then we danced!
Again while John and I were dancing McKenna informed me that John was "her prince" and danced with us. Then when it was time for me to dance with my dad McKenna stomped her little foot and pointed at me and said, "Paige, that Nanna's Prince."
I danced to "Thank You For Loving Me," by Bon Jovi with my dad and it was perfect. He cried again, which of course made me cry again (thank goodness for waterproof mascara) but it was so sweet to see him get so emotional.
We cut the cake, no shoving it in the faces though! I didn't want frosting all over so we played nice. And then the real party began, we danced and had a great time. Even my Grandpa John got in on shaking it!
Before I knew it it was time to go home! I changed out of my dress and John and I got in our fancy rental car and were off to the hotel, which when we arrived were surprised with a big suite with a big jet tub! In our car Millennial Falls had left a gift bag with all of our desserts and pieces of wedding cake to snack on, so I had wedding cake for breakfast the next morning.
All in all it was an amazing day! And I am so thankful for all the friends and family that came and supported John and I and made everything so special.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Wedding Preparation
I have been missing in action for a few weeks but seeing as I got married and went on a honeymoon I think I deserved a break! Since writing about the few days before the wedding, the actual wedding and the honeymoon all in one post would take forever to read and write I am going to break it up into 3 separate posts to make it easier for everyone.
I worked Monday and Tuesday the week of the wedding and Tuesday night went out to dinner and had some drinks with the girls, nothing to crazy but it was a good time!
Wednesday was a little crazy. We got up went to breakfast with two of my sisters, my Aunt Becky and cousins and my grandma. We had breakfast at the Park Cafe in Salt Lake and it was so so good! McKenna decided she was going to love my hair during breakfast and was literally cuddling with my ponytail, that little girl is so silly. Then we went and got pedicures which felt so good, my feet needed a good scrub down.
After that Nicole, Emily and I went to my apartment to grab a few things before heading down to the rehearsal.
The Rehearsal went well, except McKenna didn't want to walk down the aisle, she wanted to stay with Aunt "Mergen" but she did it and everything went well and we were all ready to go for the wedding day!
I went home and got to relax for a few hours before heading off to the "rehearsal" dinner and to meet the remainder of John's family who had come in for the wedding.
At dinner Mckenna stuffed a whole chocolate covered marshmallow in her mouth, she had chocolate running all down her face and couldn't talk for a full five minutes, it was incredibly funny.
John stayed and visited with his family for a while and Morgan took me to my hotel room where Emily and I would be staying for the night.
I took the longest shower ever, watched TV and got ready for bed. The whole day everyone kept asking me if I was nervous but so far I hadn't been nervous at all. I slept well and didn't feel too worried about anything, which was good I guess.
Don't worry there will be nervousness in the post about the actual wedding!
I worked Monday and Tuesday the week of the wedding and Tuesday night went out to dinner and had some drinks with the girls, nothing to crazy but it was a good time!
Wednesday was a little crazy. We got up went to breakfast with two of my sisters, my Aunt Becky and cousins and my grandma. We had breakfast at the Park Cafe in Salt Lake and it was so so good! McKenna decided she was going to love my hair during breakfast and was literally cuddling with my ponytail, that little girl is so silly. Then we went and got pedicures which felt so good, my feet needed a good scrub down.
After that Nicole, Emily and I went to my apartment to grab a few things before heading down to the rehearsal.
The Rehearsal went well, except McKenna didn't want to walk down the aisle, she wanted to stay with Aunt "Mergen" but she did it and everything went well and we were all ready to go for the wedding day!
I went home and got to relax for a few hours before heading off to the "rehearsal" dinner and to meet the remainder of John's family who had come in for the wedding.
At dinner Mckenna stuffed a whole chocolate covered marshmallow in her mouth, she had chocolate running all down her face and couldn't talk for a full five minutes, it was incredibly funny.
John stayed and visited with his family for a while and Morgan took me to my hotel room where Emily and I would be staying for the night.
I took the longest shower ever, watched TV and got ready for bed. The whole day everyone kept asking me if I was nervous but so far I hadn't been nervous at all. I slept well and didn't feel too worried about anything, which was good I guess.
Don't worry there will be nervousness in the post about the actual wedding!
Monday, June 18, 2012
The Ragnar Experience
I am happy to say that Ragnar is over and we finished and I survived and I can even walk normal!! The whole thing, training, preparation and the actual race was quite the experience! But I can honestly say it was a good experience.
I was nervous about the whole thing from the very beginning and not just because I was getting married such a short time afterwards but because I always doubt my ability about racing and preparing for races and I was especially nervous about letting me team down!
The whole adventure started Thursday night with dinner at Olive Garden and then shopping for food at Walmart, it is amazing how much food the six of us thought we needed for two days, we actually ate a good percentage of it but we did go a little overboard.
The next morning we got up decorated our van (SUV actually) and headed to our starting place just outside of Ogden, the other van was a little behind because they got a late start so we hung out for an hour or two and then we were off. Sammi Draper started us off and was a serious rock star!! With a hurt ankle she still ran way faster than I ever could! Then I went and ran my 3.5 miles and then Angie ran and then Whitney and the Morgan conquered a big giant 7-mile hill with no van support!! I couldn't have done it, I need people cheering me on. Then my mom ran and we got in the van and were getting ready to head to the next exchange to stretch out on the grass and get some much needed rest before our runs through the middle of the night but unfortunately that didn't happen. As we got to the bottom of the big hill coming out of Snowbasin we found out our Van #1 had lost its brakes completely so Angie, Sammi and I took Lori, Michelle, Jacoy and Jobi in our van to make sure they got to their runs on time and we kept going. By the time a new car arrived and we were back in our original groups and we got to the next big exchange we had a little more than an hour to stretch out and relax. I laid down on the grass to try to sleep but started to get really cold so I went to sleep in the car but it didn't get better! I was shivering, felt like I was going to throw up, had to use the porta-potties several times and I am pretty sure I had a fever. I was supposed to be running 7 miles and I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it! But I got my running clothes on, forced myself to eat a banana and an oatmeal muffin and slept a little on the way to my exchange. The run went really well!! I was 30 seconds ahead of pace and I felt good the whole time. After I handed off to Angie things went from bad to worse, we had to pull over on the side of the road so I could throw-up and I was still shivering. In the next several hours while Angie, Whitney, Morgan and my mom ran I threw up several more times and couldn't stop shaking! Waiting at the exchange for mom to come in I was finally able to sleep for a few minutes but then Sammi, who had been sleeping near the front of our van on the ground opened the car door and yelled that she had just got ran over! I was the only one there and she was crying and shook up of course but that was understandable. Apparently a big 15 passenger van had ran over her hand and arm and didn't even know it and drove off. I couldn't believe it. She had a big bruise down her arm but was otherwise okay!
We finally got to go to a hotel and take a quick shower and sleep for a few hours. I woke up feeling much better and again forced myself to eat something so I would have a little energy to run. It was hot, like 92 degrees when I started and 5.5 miles seemed like forever. I did good for the first mile or two and then I started feeling sick again, around 3 miles I threw up but kept going, a half a mile later I threw up again and my mom saw me and made me get in the van. If you see the pictures on facebook this is when I was crying!! I was so upset that I wouldn't be able to finish and was so mad at myself for making Morgan have to run more, especially since she had already run so much!! Morgan ran for a mile and then I decided I wanted to finish the race so I did the last mile. It felt awesome to be done!
Angie and Whitney were super rock-stars powering up the biggest hill I have ever seen! Four miles straight up would be impossible for me but they killed it! Morgan ran down the huge hill and then exchanged with my mom to finish it out. We rode the shuttle to the finish line at Park City High School and when I got there we saw my dad, John and McKenna. McKenna ran up to me and said, "Paige, Paige did you win the race?" I told her "Yes, we did win the race." Because finishing was our only goal!!
When my mom came around the corner to the finish line I ran out to meet her and almost started crying because it was such a big accomplishment.
We finished in 38 hours and 30 minutes, a little slower than we hoped but we finished nonetheless!
I am so so grateful for being able to do the race with my mom, two sisters and two other awesome girls, I know I couldn't have done it without them!! I need cheerleaders to cheer me on and they total did that! And they rocked their own runs of course. It reminded me of all the reasons why I loved playing team sports. It is so much fun to come together with other people who have the same goal as you and then reach that goal together! And it just made it that much more awesome to do it with my mom and sisters.
I don't know if I will do another Ragnar but I know finishing this one is something I will remember forever!
I was nervous about the whole thing from the very beginning and not just because I was getting married such a short time afterwards but because I always doubt my ability about racing and preparing for races and I was especially nervous about letting me team down!
The whole adventure started Thursday night with dinner at Olive Garden and then shopping for food at Walmart, it is amazing how much food the six of us thought we needed for two days, we actually ate a good percentage of it but we did go a little overboard.
The next morning we got up decorated our van (SUV actually) and headed to our starting place just outside of Ogden, the other van was a little behind because they got a late start so we hung out for an hour or two and then we were off. Sammi Draper started us off and was a serious rock star!! With a hurt ankle she still ran way faster than I ever could! Then I went and ran my 3.5 miles and then Angie ran and then Whitney and the Morgan conquered a big giant 7-mile hill with no van support!! I couldn't have done it, I need people cheering me on. Then my mom ran and we got in the van and were getting ready to head to the next exchange to stretch out on the grass and get some much needed rest before our runs through the middle of the night but unfortunately that didn't happen. As we got to the bottom of the big hill coming out of Snowbasin we found out our Van #1 had lost its brakes completely so Angie, Sammi and I took Lori, Michelle, Jacoy and Jobi in our van to make sure they got to their runs on time and we kept going. By the time a new car arrived and we were back in our original groups and we got to the next big exchange we had a little more than an hour to stretch out and relax. I laid down on the grass to try to sleep but started to get really cold so I went to sleep in the car but it didn't get better! I was shivering, felt like I was going to throw up, had to use the porta-potties several times and I am pretty sure I had a fever. I was supposed to be running 7 miles and I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it! But I got my running clothes on, forced myself to eat a banana and an oatmeal muffin and slept a little on the way to my exchange. The run went really well!! I was 30 seconds ahead of pace and I felt good the whole time. After I handed off to Angie things went from bad to worse, we had to pull over on the side of the road so I could throw-up and I was still shivering. In the next several hours while Angie, Whitney, Morgan and my mom ran I threw up several more times and couldn't stop shaking! Waiting at the exchange for mom to come in I was finally able to sleep for a few minutes but then Sammi, who had been sleeping near the front of our van on the ground opened the car door and yelled that she had just got ran over! I was the only one there and she was crying and shook up of course but that was understandable. Apparently a big 15 passenger van had ran over her hand and arm and didn't even know it and drove off. I couldn't believe it. She had a big bruise down her arm but was otherwise okay!
We finally got to go to a hotel and take a quick shower and sleep for a few hours. I woke up feeling much better and again forced myself to eat something so I would have a little energy to run. It was hot, like 92 degrees when I started and 5.5 miles seemed like forever. I did good for the first mile or two and then I started feeling sick again, around 3 miles I threw up but kept going, a half a mile later I threw up again and my mom saw me and made me get in the van. If you see the pictures on facebook this is when I was crying!! I was so upset that I wouldn't be able to finish and was so mad at myself for making Morgan have to run more, especially since she had already run so much!! Morgan ran for a mile and then I decided I wanted to finish the race so I did the last mile. It felt awesome to be done!
Angie and Whitney were super rock-stars powering up the biggest hill I have ever seen! Four miles straight up would be impossible for me but they killed it! Morgan ran down the huge hill and then exchanged with my mom to finish it out. We rode the shuttle to the finish line at Park City High School and when I got there we saw my dad, John and McKenna. McKenna ran up to me and said, "Paige, Paige did you win the race?" I told her "Yes, we did win the race." Because finishing was our only goal!!
When my mom came around the corner to the finish line I ran out to meet her and almost started crying because it was such a big accomplishment.
We finished in 38 hours and 30 minutes, a little slower than we hoped but we finished nonetheless!
I am so so grateful for being able to do the race with my mom, two sisters and two other awesome girls, I know I couldn't have done it without them!! I need cheerleaders to cheer me on and they total did that! And they rocked their own runs of course. It reminded me of all the reasons why I loved playing team sports. It is so much fun to come together with other people who have the same goal as you and then reach that goal together! And it just made it that much more awesome to do it with my mom and sisters.
I don't know if I will do another Ragnar but I know finishing this one is something I will remember forever!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Sometimes you just need a reminder
I have been so nervous about the Ragnar. I keep worrying about not finishing and letting my team down and to be honest, how much I suck at running. And then something amazing happened.
My little sister, Morgan, posted the most awesome message on my facebook page about how I inspire her because I never give up and always work so hard. It was super sweet and almost made me cry. I almost felt guilty reading it because all I have felt like doing the last few weeks is giving up!!
Sometimes it just takes one little thing to remind you that other people think you are awesome and that they believe in you! And sometimes that is all it takes for you to believe in yourself again!
So in the name of inspiring and being inspired I leave you with these thoughts.
Remember, even when you don't believe in yourself, someone out their believes in you. Remember, that no matter how much you think you such, someone out their thinks you are awesome. And remember that no matter what there is always someone that loves you!
My little sister, Morgan, posted the most awesome message on my facebook page about how I inspire her because I never give up and always work so hard. It was super sweet and almost made me cry. I almost felt guilty reading it because all I have felt like doing the last few weeks is giving up!!
Sometimes it just takes one little thing to remind you that other people think you are awesome and that they believe in you! And sometimes that is all it takes for you to believe in yourself again!
So in the name of inspiring and being inspired I leave you with these thoughts.
Remember, even when you don't believe in yourself, someone out their believes in you. Remember, that no matter how much you think you such, someone out their thinks you are awesome. And remember that no matter what there is always someone that loves you!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
When will we learn?
This morning on my way to work I saw a woman driving down the road putting on her make-up. I'm not taking about applying a little chap-stick at a stop light, she was full-on rubbing on her foundation and driving at the same time. Several weeks ago I saw a lady putting on mascara while she was driving and I can't even begin to name all the people I see texting and driving every single day. To me texting, putting on make-up, drinking or doing any other number of stupid things and driving is like smoking. There is so much data showing how bad it is for you, yet people still do it! Every time John texts while I am in the car with him I tell him texting and driving is worse than driving drunk but he never believes me. He would never drink and then drive and would kill me if I even thought about it but doesn't think twice about sending a few texts. They have done studies!! At the University of Utah they took volunteer students got them drunk and had them drive through a simulated street, then they did the same thing with sober people that were texting. Those texting had more accidents, slower response times and worse driving skills overall.
On facebook this morning I posted about the woman driving and said I hoped she crashed. I didn't have room to say, "I hope she crashed but not into someone else and not bad enough that she was badly injured but just bad enough to learn her lesson." Many of you may think this makes me a horrible person to wish ill on someone else but I have no sympathy for people who knowingly do stupid things.
When are we going to figure out that distracted driving kills people?!!
My little sister, Morgan, was in a car accident last week. She rear-ended a truck, she was fine but her car was not. When we were at my mom's house this past weekend I asked her (out of ear shot of Mom and Dad of course) "Morge, be honest were you texting when you crashed?" This was the conversation that ensued.
"No, I wasn't, I don't text and drive."
"Since when?"
"Since when do you think I text and drive?"
"I have seen you do it when I was in the car with you!!"
"I don't text and drive, not since two 19 year-old boys from Rich got killed texting and driving."
I was quite for a moment and then responded.
"I am sorry it took those boys dying for you to learn your lesson but I am glad you did."
Again that may sound selfish but its true. I truly am sad that someone else's family members died but I am grateful that it wasn't my sister and that she has hopefully learned how dangerous distracted driving really can be.
I will admit I have texted while driving in the past, I would be lying if I said I didn't, but I don't do it anymore. If I am talking on the phone and traffic or weather gets to bad for me to talk and drive I hang up.
The thing that baffles me most about people doing all these things is it is not just you the decision is impacting. More often than not those injured or killed in drunk driving accidents are the ones that weren't drinking, the innocent bystanders. By making the choice to drive distracted you are choosing to not only play Russian roulette with your own life but with the lives of everyone else on the road with you, which to me is just plain unacceptable.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The Body is Amazing
The more I learn about the body and the complicated things it does just while I sit here and type this blog the more it amazes me. I have been working with a personal trainer for the past 3 months, following a pretty specific meal plan (I will not call it a diet) and working out regularly. I have a few more months paid for but I have been concerned about what is going to happen when I no longer have to report what I ate to my trainer every night and have no one but myself to be accountable too. Well today my body took some of that worry away.
We had a pot luck lunch at work today and while there have been days I have eaten "off plan" foods today was the first day in several weeks that I have eaten an entire meal of foods that I haven't eaten in a while, including white rolls, broccoli salad, hamburger dip, tortilla chips, carmel popcorn and some cookies. Less than an hour later my body is not pleased. My stomach hurts and feel all gross. I do not like this feeling, I don't like feeling super full and like I ate a bunch of stuff that is not good for me. I guess this is nature's way of keeping me accountable because I feel like as long as I can avoid this feeling, even after I have no trainer to report too, I can stick to my new healthy lifestyle and keep the weight I have lost off for good!!
It amazes me that in 3 short months the body can adapt to a totally new diet and learn to dislike other certain unhealthy foods. I have also been told that if you give your body the nutrients it needs it will no longer crave things like salty and sweet snacks, I am still waiting for this to happen. Salty snacks are not a problem for me just the sweet ones and I am convinced that no matter what I give my body I will still crave yummy treats. But back to the body being smart. My body has "learned" the right amount of food I should eat, I put learned in quotes because I suppose it has always known how much and what I should be eating I just wasn't listening too it. That means that although I weigh most of my food now I won't have to do this forever, because I have learned what is enough and know exactly how much fuel my body needs to function.
I now have hope that I won't have to follow a "diet" for the rest of my life!! If I continue to learn and listen to the cues my incredibly smart body (this is not being conceited, your body is smart too) is giving me everything else will take care of itself.
We had a pot luck lunch at work today and while there have been days I have eaten "off plan" foods today was the first day in several weeks that I have eaten an entire meal of foods that I haven't eaten in a while, including white rolls, broccoli salad, hamburger dip, tortilla chips, carmel popcorn and some cookies. Less than an hour later my body is not pleased. My stomach hurts and feel all gross. I do not like this feeling, I don't like feeling super full and like I ate a bunch of stuff that is not good for me. I guess this is nature's way of keeping me accountable because I feel like as long as I can avoid this feeling, even after I have no trainer to report too, I can stick to my new healthy lifestyle and keep the weight I have lost off for good!!
It amazes me that in 3 short months the body can adapt to a totally new diet and learn to dislike other certain unhealthy foods. I have also been told that if you give your body the nutrients it needs it will no longer crave things like salty and sweet snacks, I am still waiting for this to happen. Salty snacks are not a problem for me just the sweet ones and I am convinced that no matter what I give my body I will still crave yummy treats. But back to the body being smart. My body has "learned" the right amount of food I should eat, I put learned in quotes because I suppose it has always known how much and what I should be eating I just wasn't listening too it. That means that although I weigh most of my food now I won't have to do this forever, because I have learned what is enough and know exactly how much fuel my body needs to function.
I now have hope that I won't have to follow a "diet" for the rest of my life!! If I continue to learn and listen to the cues my incredibly smart body (this is not being conceited, your body is smart too) is giving me everything else will take care of itself.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
A Lazy Week
You know how people say they are having a lazy day, well I am having a lazy week. Unfortunately that does not mean that I am being lazy it just means I wish I could be lazy. I have no motivation to do anything and I have lots of things to do!! Yesterday I managed to make myself go workout, I don't know if I will be so successful today. Just a few of the things I need to do this week: get supplies for Ragnar, including running clothes, run 4 and 7 miles, go get a marriage license, clean my apartment so John's grandma isn't horrified when she gets here next week, go grocery shopping and finish picking music for the wedding. There are more things but my brain is tired and I can't think of them. By themselves none of those things would be a big deal but when I list them all together I get overwhelmed and just want to take a nap, which would definitely not be a good use of my time. For just this one week I need one extra hour a day, okay maybe the next two weeks then after that I will be fine! I know there are people out there that have way more to do than I do but since I went to Altamont the past two weekends and I get zero accomplished when I go there I feel like I have a lot to do and as you can see I feel like complaining about it. I have now changed my phone screen saver and desktop backgrounds to beach scenes to remind myself that in a few short weeks I can do nothing but lay on the beach for 4 days if I want.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Take a Deep Breath
Over the past several weeks I have found myself stressing about various things in relation to the ragnar and the wedding and most of them are things I can't control, like how fast my teammates are running and how many people are going to come to the wedding. As RSVP's have been coming in it is pretty clear that we are going to have a pretty small wedding, which I should be excited about because that means it is cheaper! But I have also been kind of sad because I was hoping lots of people would want to come and celebrate with us (selfish and silly I know) BUT!! I realized today none of that matters, it doesn't matter if their are 10 people at our wedding or 210 people because those who are there are exactly the people we want to be there and want to share our special day with. Not to mention the wedding ceremony isn't for everyone else, it is simply for John and I and I should be focusing on enjoying that not on how many people will be in the crowd. As the list of things to do before the wedding gets longer and longer, I just have to remember to take a deep breath, breath in and out and know that everything will be okay. Since I am huge control freak this is easier said than done but like John said yesterday about some tiny detail I was stressing about, "It will be fine, everything will work out how it is supposed to." For the next 3 weeks this will be my mantra, "Everything will be okay, just breathe."
Thursday, May 24, 2012
2,000
As of 10:24 a.m. on Thursday May, 24th my blog has exactly 2,000 views!!! This is exciting news people. Well, maybe not exciting to you but exciting to me. It is irrelevant that those views probably came from the same 10 people viewing my blog over and over (and yes I did disable my own pages views so I am not counted)! This just motivates me to blog even more because I know that people are actually reading what I am writing, which is always awesome validation! So, if you are reading this it is possible you are 2,001st visitor of my blog, congratulations!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Whose idea was this?
When I originally agreed to run Ragnar I was well aware that it was less than a week before my wedding but I wasn't really concerned abot it. I thought 4 1/2 days would be plenty of time to recover and be ready for the big but the closer the race and the wedding get the more worried I become. What if I get hurt or sick or have big giant blisters and I can't wear my cute wedding shoes? What if I get a nasty sunburn and have big nasty blisters on my back? What if I am so sore I still can't walk normally down the aisle? These are my thoughts and I am terrified. More likely than not (at least I hope so) I will be a little sore but will be fully recovered for walking, dancing and whatever else I need to be ready for on my wedding day. But there are always those what ifs in the back of my head! More than anything it has become very stressful trying to get ready for 2 events at once! Between training for the race, doing wedding stuff and work I feel like I have no time to myself. The beach in Mexico is looking sooo good right now.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Lesson Learned , Twice
Sometimes you have to do the same stupid thing more than once before you learn your lesson that it is probably not the smartest thing to do. Case in point: I take a multivitamin and fish oil capsules every morning (per my personal trainer), once several weeks ago I took them on an empty stomach because I was in a hurry to leave for work and hadn't eat my breakfast yet, less than five minutes later before I could get out the door and to my car I threw up. I decided then that taking pills, any pills, but these ones in particular on an empty stomach was not a good idea. Yet this morning I did the same thing. I was in a hurry, I woke up late and didn't want to bother putting the pills in a plastic bag to take with me to take later so I just took them. Again, almost instantly I was throwing up. But this time something even worse happened. So I threw up, rinsed my mouth with mouth wash and was out the door again but as I got to the car I noticed a gross taste in my mouth and smell in my nose (sometimes I throw up out my nose, gross I know but true) it took me a few minutes to realize it was the fish oil!! It was seriously the grossest thing ever! I almost threw up again just because of the gross fishy taste that was in my mouth. It is still lingering more than an hour later. The moral of the story is NEVER take fish oil on an empty stomach and definitely don't do it twice.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Maybe I am a morning person
I have always thought that because I don't like getting up early I am not a morning person but sometimes I wonder if this is really true. Today for example I got up at 6:00 a.m. because I had to be at work early but I am in a better mood this morning than I am most mornings when I sleep an hour or two longer than I did today. This has happened before but I always just considered it a fluke. It is a curious thing really because I am the girl that sets my alarm for the latest possible time even if it means I have to rush to get ready or put my hair in a bun, again. But today I got up had plenty of time to get ready before I needed to leave at 7, listened to some music on my way to work and here I am in an excellent mood and I a feel less tired than usual (but that may have something to do with the rather large coffee I just drank). Maybe this is a new era in the world of Paige, an era in which it is possible to set my alarm early enough to workout before work and actually getting up and doing it rather than turning off my alarm and setting it for an hour and a half later. Well, maybe that is wishful thinking but at least for now I can "Good Morning" and actually mean it. It is a GOOD morning.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Ragnar Roller-coaster
I feel like training for and emotionally preparing for the Ragnar has been such a roller-coaster. I did so so well training for the first few months, I was motivated, I was ready to go and then I the wall. I didn't want to run and then I hurt my knee and couldn't run and now I am back to not wanting to run. I think emotionally it has been even worse. One minute I am excited and then the next minute I am dreading it. I get mentally prepared for how hard it is going to be and tell myself I can do it and then I go on a run and think, "Who are you kidding?" There is still 4 1/2 weeks until this thing!! I am going to be mentally exhausted by the time it gets here! It doesn't help that I am also in the final planning stages of the wedding and trying really hard to stay on my diet and exercise plan when all I really want to do is eat a pint of ice cream every single day.
I ran outside for the first in a long time on Saturday and it sucked and I sucked but it really made me wonder if my stupid knee can even hold up to running 3 runs in 36 hours, one of them being 7 miles all downhill. So then I get all worried about things like I do and wonder if I can make it and who will take my spot if I can't. But then I think about not running and how disappointed my mom and sisters will be and how bad it would suck to just drive the van while they all run!!
See roller-coaster, I drive myself crazy sometimes.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
I am not normal
I am not normal, there I said it. I like organizing things, calculating things and figuring out problems. I spent a good part of my day reorganizing my pintrest recipe board into categories just because I felt like it. I took my big giant recipe board and organized it down into 4 smaller more manageable boards.
I also spent a good chuck of the day doing math to figure out how fast our Ragnar team is going to finish the race in and how long it will take each runner to run all of their legs. That is 36 legs and times I figured out, plus starting times for each of those legs.
I don't just have one or two folders for documents on my computer or in my email I have several. At work for example, I have Health Stories, BYU Stories, UVU Stories, General Assignment Stories and Campus Notes and then a finished stories folder under all of those Headings.
I get stressed when I open my inbox and there are 20 things just sitting there! I like things to be organized and in there place. I am for sure one of those people for who the saying, "Everything has a place," is true. I wouldn't let John help me put the groceries away yesterday because he might put things in the wrong place! It sounds silly but this is how I do things. So now you know, I am just not normal.
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Adventures of Willy
My adorable Pug dog Willy is one of the best things in my life. I love how excited he gets when I come home from work and how he likes to snuggle on the couch! He does some crazy things though.
A week or so a go I was walking him and we encountered two other pugs, I was hoping he would be excited and want to play with them but really he was such a little scaredy cat! He kept hiding behind my legs and scratching at my legs just begging for me to pick him up. He has also recently decided its a fun idea to pee on the steps of our apartment building rather than on the grass.
The funniest thing I have ever seen him do happened last night. I was sleeping but kept feeling this shaking on the bed, I thought maybe it was John just thrashing about and was about to yell at him, when I realized the pillow next to me was moving. Willy had someone managed to crawl inside the pillow case and couldn't get back out. I have no idea how he managed to get in there. He can't even get under the covers by himself because he has no nose and can't lift up the blanket but somehow he squeezed all 25 pounds of himself into the pillow and then was stuck because he couldn't turn around and wasn't smart enough to back out. I picked up the pillow to dump him out but that just scared him, it was so funny to feel him wriggling inside the pillow case. When I got him out he snuggled up to me, "Like thanks mom I was totally stuck in there."
Such a silly little dog.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wedding Dress Love
I went in for my final wedding dress fitting yesterday and much to my relief it fit well and looked great! I was so happy with it, I didn't want to take it off. It fits great and makes me look relatively skinny and its not uncomfortable, which is a good thing considering I am going to be wearing it for 8+ hours. I was talking to a friend though about it and she had such a fun idea, bake cookies in it. Not before the wedding of course but after the wedding when you have this big white dress that no one wants to buy and you will never wear again. Why not? It could even be a pretty fun little photo shoot, nothing formal of course but get a friend to take some pics of you baking in your wedding dress. I mean really what else are you going to do with it?
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Really People?
I am sometimes baffled by the things that people freak out about. Today the "big" news in Provo is a girl being asked to leave Prom over the weekend because her dress was too revealing. She was wear a one-shoulder, knee length dress but because her shoulders weren't covered the chaperones said she had to cover up or leave because she was not dressed modestly. Really Provo? This is just one of the many ridiculous things I have heard like this since working in Utah County. Just because a girl isn't completely covered from head to toe doesn't mean she isn't being modest! So her should was uncovered, who cares? Some of the uber-tight pants and tops girls wear these days are way more immodest than a dress with only one shoulder but because they are completely covered its fine. I just don't get it. Is it really that big of deal if a girl wears a one-shoulder dress? Is it really worth causing a big stir and ruining a girl and her dates night over it? I just think it is so silly.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Are we there yet?
I have been engaged for 406 days and still have 58 left until I will finally be married. I have always been a fan of the idea of long engagements. It gives you plenty of time to plan the wedding, get to know your fiance more (if you don't already) and have relatively little stress when it comes to the actual planning part but it also means a lot of waiting.
I have an app on my phone that tells me how many days there are until the wedding and have been checking it roughly every day since last July, so needless to say it has been a long countdown. With a little less than 2 months until the wedding I am starting to get the feeling every little kid does when they have been in the car too long, anxious, restless and ready to get to the final destination.
We have planned out the colors, the reception and ceremony place, the food, the decorations, the bridal party and their outfits, picked out invitations, even sent out some invitations, picked out and received wedding bands, decided on an officiant, made a wedding website, helped out of town guests with accommodations, decided first dance songs, picked cake flavors and style and gathered a million addresses! I am sure there are more things but that seemed like enough after all of that I am just ready for the actual day to be here! To see all the hard work pay off into a sweet celebration with our friends and family and then head off on a tropical vacation!
There are still a few things left to do and the days are flying by so I am sure in another week or two I will be wishing I had more time but for now I just want to be there!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Did I miss something?
I apparently missed the day of kindergarten when you learn what different colors are called. The whole time I have been planning the wedding I have been telling people my colors are turquoise, silver and black but apparently what I think is turquoise is not what the rest of the world thinks is turquoise. I always thought turquoise was a combination of green and blue, but in reality most people think turquoise is a little mermaid blue color. Needless to say this has caused some confusion! The color I really wanted for my wedding is what most people refer to as Jade or teal!
I still wonder how I came to the conclusion that this color I love so much is called turquoise because according to most of the world it is not!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
So my vote doesn't really count?
Growing up I always heard my parents and grandparents say things like, "If you didn't vote, then you can't complain." And I admit I have never been much into politics and never really understood the whole process but now working at the Daily Herald and talking with the political reporter I am learning that the system isn't as straight forward as it could be. There are caucuses and delegates and electoral colleges and conventions and all sort of other things that take away how much my actual vote counts.
I don't understand the specfics of the way voting and delegates and all that works on the local level but I am getting a clearer picture of how things work when it comes to the presidential election.
If you live in a state, like Utah, where one party is the clear majority, yet you vote for the presidential candidate from the other party your vote DOESN'T count!!
For example Utah is a republican state, the majority of voters will go to the polls in November and vote for whoever the republican presidential candidate is and there fore all of Utah's electoral college votes will go to that candidate BUT if I went and voted for President Obama my vote essentially means nothing. This is the same in most of the states if you are in the minority in your state the less likely it is your vote will mean anything. If you happen to live in a state where the parties are equally divided, then lucky you that means your single vote could sway the electoral colleges the other way.
What I don't understand is why bother with all of the nonsense? Why don't we do away with conventions, caucuses, delegates and the electoral college and just count the votes?! That way every single vote counts, even the few democrats living in Utah would have a voice! Not to mention it would be far less complicated, time consuming and expensive. In Utah tax dollars pay for the Republican convention. Tax dollars of people who are not Republican are paying for Republicans to sit around and decide who's votes will count when it comes election time (again I don't really understand the whole thing but this is what I think) and that just doesn't seem right to me. On every level of government it makes more sense to just count the people's votes, let the people's voices be heard, maybe then their wouldn't be such a disagreeance between what congress and the President are doing and what the people really want. Until this happens (which may be never) next time someone says if you didn't vote you can't complain I am going to argue otherwise because it simply isn't always the case.
I don't understand the specfics of the way voting and delegates and all that works on the local level but I am getting a clearer picture of how things work when it comes to the presidential election.
If you live in a state, like Utah, where one party is the clear majority, yet you vote for the presidential candidate from the other party your vote DOESN'T count!!
For example Utah is a republican state, the majority of voters will go to the polls in November and vote for whoever the republican presidential candidate is and there fore all of Utah's electoral college votes will go to that candidate BUT if I went and voted for President Obama my vote essentially means nothing. This is the same in most of the states if you are in the minority in your state the less likely it is your vote will mean anything. If you happen to live in a state where the parties are equally divided, then lucky you that means your single vote could sway the electoral colleges the other way.
What I don't understand is why bother with all of the nonsense? Why don't we do away with conventions, caucuses, delegates and the electoral college and just count the votes?! That way every single vote counts, even the few democrats living in Utah would have a voice! Not to mention it would be far less complicated, time consuming and expensive. In Utah tax dollars pay for the Republican convention. Tax dollars of people who are not Republican are paying for Republicans to sit around and decide who's votes will count when it comes election time (again I don't really understand the whole thing but this is what I think) and that just doesn't seem right to me. On every level of government it makes more sense to just count the people's votes, let the people's voices be heard, maybe then their wouldn't be such a disagreeance between what congress and the President are doing and what the people really want. Until this happens (which may be never) next time someone says if you didn't vote you can't complain I am going to argue otherwise because it simply isn't always the case.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
I Hate Construction
I don't think anyone really likes construction, it causes traffic jams and delays and confusing lane shifts that almost cause accidents but lately I hate construction even more than usual. That is because the idiots running the I-15 Core project have decided it is a good idea to shut down one of the four lanes between American Fork and Pleasant Grove in both directions, essentially meaning no matter what time of day you travel there will be some kind of traffic jam. This also means it takes me an extra 15 minutes to get to and from work, an extra 15 minutes on top of my already hour-long commute and the 9 hour days I am currently working because of my schedule this month. That means from the time I leave my house in the morning to the time I get home at night I have been gone for 11 and half hours. This leaves very little time for other important things like working out (I was at the gym until 9:30 last night), cooking yummy dinners and probably most important just chilling and watching T.V with John. And the construction puts me in a bad mood which means by the time I actually get home I am grumpy and sometimes take it out on John, not very nice but true.
Let's just hope this lane closure doesn't last very long.
Let's just hope this lane closure doesn't last very long.
Monday, March 19, 2012
The Important Things
Sometimes all it takes is one big shocking thing to happen to make you remember what the important things in life are. A good friend of my grandma's just passed away, he wasn't old maybe early 50s, as old as my dad. He was training to run ragnar and had a massive heart attack and died. While I didn't know him particularly well it makes me think about my own life and what is really important. Here I am running around trying to find turquoise cupcake liners and wondering if anybody is going to be able to go to my wedding dress fitting with me, while girls my age are mourning the loss of their dad. It makes me think about all the times I have called to talk to my mom but my dad answers and instead of taking 5 minutes to ask him how he is I just rush on with my life. It is just a reminder that important things aren't money and possessions and wedding plans but the awesome people we get to call family and share this life with, because in the end that is all that really matters.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
1 Year
One year ago today John proposed to me and tomorrow it will be 3 years since we started dating. It is crazy how fast time flies! I can't even believe we have been engaged for a whole year! So I am going to dedicating this post to John and the things I love about him.
I love how he can make me laugh in almost any situation. I love that he will do pretty much anything for me, including going to the store at 10:30 p.m. to get me cough syrup and tissues and sitting with me at the pharmacy for 2 hours at 11 p.m. when he had to work at 6 the next morning. He love me even when I am fat!! He says I am not fat but that isn't the point. My family loves him and he is so cute with McKenna!
In exactly 3 months and 1 week from right now I will be getting ready to get married! I am super excited and can't wait!
I love how he can make me laugh in almost any situation. I love that he will do pretty much anything for me, including going to the store at 10:30 p.m. to get me cough syrup and tissues and sitting with me at the pharmacy for 2 hours at 11 p.m. when he had to work at 6 the next morning. He love me even when I am fat!! He says I am not fat but that isn't the point. My family loves him and he is so cute with McKenna!
In exactly 3 months and 1 week from right now I will be getting ready to get married! I am super excited and can't wait!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Not in a Blogging Mood
I apologize for being so tardy with my blogging but I just haven't been in the mood lately. Not that I am having a bad week or anything, on the contrary life is going great right now but I just haven't felt like I had anything super important I needed to share with the blogging world. So here are a few updates.
We are now 99 days away from the wedding!! It is so crazy that it is coming so fast but I am getting really excited.
Spring is also coming which makes me almost as excited as the wedding. The sun is shining and it is warm enough to leave the house without a coat or big sweater. Since I live in Utah I know this won't last forever but I am enjoying and look forward to the day when spring is here to stay.
I have lost 10 pounds. Yup that is right, 10 pounds. I owe it all to my personal trainer and her genius but it is so exciting to finally lose weight after trying and failing for such a long time!
Well that is really all that seems to be happening in the life of Paige right now. I will try to be a better blogger.
We are now 99 days away from the wedding!! It is so crazy that it is coming so fast but I am getting really excited.
Spring is also coming which makes me almost as excited as the wedding. The sun is shining and it is warm enough to leave the house without a coat or big sweater. Since I live in Utah I know this won't last forever but I am enjoying and look forward to the day when spring is here to stay.
I have lost 10 pounds. Yup that is right, 10 pounds. I owe it all to my personal trainer and her genius but it is so exciting to finally lose weight after trying and failing for such a long time!
Well that is really all that seems to be happening in the life of Paige right now. I will try to be a better blogger.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Getting Closer
After being engaged for nearly a year it is finally starting to feel like this wedding is actually going to happen. John, myself and my mom and dad went to Millennial Falls today to pick out almost all of our wedding stuff. We chose invitation designs, table linen colors, food, cake, drink options and laid out basically how the wedding is going to go. The only thing we really have left to do is meet with the florist in a month or so and get that all planned out. It is so exciting! I danced around squealing for a good part of the day because it is so nice to finally be doing something! If you can't tell I am very excited!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
I. Want. Cupcakes
Well not really multiple cupcakes but just one cupcake. There are several very delicious looking cupcakes sitting a mere 10 feet from my desk right now. The kinds you see in windows of bakeries and on cupcake wars. I want to eat one so so bad. I have been doing so well with my diet plan and I don't want to ruin all that for just one cupcake! But they look sooo good!!
To deter myself I thought about how many calories must be in one of those cupcakes, I would say 500 is a conservative guess but we will go with that. In order for me to burn off 500 calories I would have to go running for 30 minutes. 30 minutes sweating it out on the treadmill for ONE cupcake. I am trying to stay strong but will three hours of work left it could be a hard battle.
To deter myself I thought about how many calories must be in one of those cupcakes, I would say 500 is a conservative guess but we will go with that. In order for me to burn off 500 calories I would have to go running for 30 minutes. 30 minutes sweating it out on the treadmill for ONE cupcake. I am trying to stay strong but will three hours of work left it could be a hard battle.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Its not the 1950s anymore
The sex education debate currently happening in Utah is getting out of control. Representative Bill Wright, who is sponsoring a bill to make sex education almost nonexistent is Utah has been quoted as saying, "Why don’t we just be honest with them up front that sex outside marriage is devastating?” I have also read this comment in several other places that sex outside of marriage is destructive and life-ruining. The best response I have heard yet was published as a letter to editor in the Salt Lake Tribune the other day. You can read it for yourself but basically it said that in this person's experience sex outside of marriage hasn't been devastating but in fact fulfilling, satisfying and completely disease and child free.
Yes I can agree that abstinence is the only SURE way to prevent children born out of wedlock and the only sure way to prevent disease but as the writer of the letter to the editor so kindly pointed out sex INSIDE marriage can also be devastating. Unwanted children can also be born to married couples!
Let's be honest this isn't the 1950s anymore, people have sex before they get married often times with many people and still go on to live perfectly happy lives. Children and teens are be bombarded with sexual images and information that may or may not be correct. Some teens, not all but some, are going to have sex regardless of what anyone says about waiting until marriage. News flash, not everyone in Utah is Mormon!! Not every child in school, in fact I would say the majority are not being taught about sex and contraceptives at home. By creating an education system in which talking about contraceptives would be against the law legislators are only creating a bigger problem. It is a disservice to teens and not just the "promiscuous" ones to not teach them about all aspects of sex education. There are plenty of married couples that could benefit from knowing how a condom or birth control works.
I just don't understand how these legislators can think that this is really the best option. Just because contraceptives and sex before marriage don't coincide with your beliefs doesn't mean everyone feels the same way. Fine teach kids that waiting until marriage is the best option but also give the facts and tools to protect themselves in case they chose not to wait. Because not arming them with information is really creating a situation in which sex can be devastating.
Yes I can agree that abstinence is the only SURE way to prevent children born out of wedlock and the only sure way to prevent disease but as the writer of the letter to the editor so kindly pointed out sex INSIDE marriage can also be devastating. Unwanted children can also be born to married couples!
Let's be honest this isn't the 1950s anymore, people have sex before they get married often times with many people and still go on to live perfectly happy lives. Children and teens are be bombarded with sexual images and information that may or may not be correct. Some teens, not all but some, are going to have sex regardless of what anyone says about waiting until marriage. News flash, not everyone in Utah is Mormon!! Not every child in school, in fact I would say the majority are not being taught about sex and contraceptives at home. By creating an education system in which talking about contraceptives would be against the law legislators are only creating a bigger problem. It is a disservice to teens and not just the "promiscuous" ones to not teach them about all aspects of sex education. There are plenty of married couples that could benefit from knowing how a condom or birth control works.
I just don't understand how these legislators can think that this is really the best option. Just because contraceptives and sex before marriage don't coincide with your beliefs doesn't mean everyone feels the same way. Fine teach kids that waiting until marriage is the best option but also give the facts and tools to protect themselves in case they chose not to wait. Because not arming them with information is really creating a situation in which sex can be devastating.
Friday, March 2, 2012
The Things People Say
As a journalist it is standard practice not to comment on stories you have written, especially in response to others. Some days I really just want to break that rule. Here is an example. I wrote a story the other day about a family who has 3 babies all born on consecutive leap years the lead said, "The odds of having a baby born on Leap Day is one in 1,461, but the odds of having three babies born on consecutive Leap Days are less than 1 in a billion. David and Louise Estes of Payson beat those odds and became only the second family on record to have three babies born on Leap Day when Jade was welcomed into the world Wednesday morning at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center."
This is the comment I got in return:
Dear Paige Fieldsted:
I’m guessing you may be a Utah native and have thus been shielded from participation in sex education courses. For your future reference, you should know that pregnancies are not completely random events. Parents can decide when (within about a week or two) during any given year they want their baby to be born. Thus, if the parents have that goal, the odds of having a baby on Leap Day are not one in 1461 (three years of 365 days, and one year of 366 days = 1461 days) as you report, but are closer to one in about 7 to 14. Given this one-to-two-week uncertainty, the odds of having three consecutive Leap Day babies are not less than one in a billion, but more on the order of one in 7x7x7 = 343 to one in 14x14x14 = 2744; not great odds, but then not the miracle you imply, either.
However, if the births are all induced as they were in this case, the parents can choose (with favorable fertility and well-timed impregnation) to have the babies be born precisely when planned, making the odds of having three consecutive Leap Day babies approach 100%. David and Louise obviously understand this, and have planned their family accordingly. I suggest you sign up for either a sex education class or an elementary statistics class before you again attempt to mislead us all into thinking something inconceivable (pun intended) has happened.
Since I can't respond on our website I will respond here.
Dear Mr. Dumbass,
I assume you have never had any children and that you must be a man because you apparently don't know that nothing in pregnancy and childbirth is a sure thing. First of all the first baby born on leap year was an accident meaning the odds really were 1 in 1461. The second leap day baby born was also so an accident. Louise herself said it was a joke when she suggested it but it happened to work out. Only the third baby was planned to be born on leap day.
Second of all, even if you want to have a baby at a certain time it might not work out. It can sometimes take weeks or even months to get pregnant once you decide to try. And even then babies are anything but predictable. Case in point, another woman also featured in our paper was trying to have her baby on leap day but he just wouldn't wait and was born two hours too soon.
Also, the third Leap Day baby was 5 days past her due date, the mom herself said she wasn't sure if she would make it.
So the point is even if you are trying to have a baby on a certain date and are induced the chances of having 3 babies born all on the same day, a day that happens to only come once every 4 years, are slim. Maybe not 1 in a billion but much higher than you indicate and definitely no where near 100%. Babies and pregnancies are unpredictable.
Also please don't assume that just because I live in Utah and write for a Utah County paper that I have never had proper sex education. I understand that couples could conceivably plan down to the minute when they want their babies to be born, but unlike you, I also understand that pregnancies don't always happen they way they are planned. Otherwise there would be no need for NICU's or induced labors.
So I suggest you think about your comments before you put them out there for the whole world to see.
This is the comment I got in return:
Dear Paige Fieldsted:
I’m guessing you may be a Utah native and have thus been shielded from participation in sex education courses. For your future reference, you should know that pregnancies are not completely random events. Parents can decide when (within about a week or two) during any given year they want their baby to be born. Thus, if the parents have that goal, the odds of having a baby on Leap Day are not one in 1461 (three years of 365 days, and one year of 366 days = 1461 days) as you report, but are closer to one in about 7 to 14. Given this one-to-two-week uncertainty, the odds of having three consecutive Leap Day babies are not less than one in a billion, but more on the order of one in 7x7x7 = 343 to one in 14x14x14 = 2744; not great odds, but then not the miracle you imply, either.
However, if the births are all induced as they were in this case, the parents can choose (with favorable fertility and well-timed impregnation) to have the babies be born precisely when planned, making the odds of having three consecutive Leap Day babies approach 100%. David and Louise obviously understand this, and have planned their family accordingly. I suggest you sign up for either a sex education class or an elementary statistics class before you again attempt to mislead us all into thinking something inconceivable (pun intended) has happened.
Since I can't respond on our website I will respond here.
Dear Mr. Dumbass,
I assume you have never had any children and that you must be a man because you apparently don't know that nothing in pregnancy and childbirth is a sure thing. First of all the first baby born on leap year was an accident meaning the odds really were 1 in 1461. The second leap day baby born was also so an accident. Louise herself said it was a joke when she suggested it but it happened to work out. Only the third baby was planned to be born on leap day.
Second of all, even if you want to have a baby at a certain time it might not work out. It can sometimes take weeks or even months to get pregnant once you decide to try. And even then babies are anything but predictable. Case in point, another woman also featured in our paper was trying to have her baby on leap day but he just wouldn't wait and was born two hours too soon.
Also, the third Leap Day baby was 5 days past her due date, the mom herself said she wasn't sure if she would make it.
So the point is even if you are trying to have a baby on a certain date and are induced the chances of having 3 babies born all on the same day, a day that happens to only come once every 4 years, are slim. Maybe not 1 in a billion but much higher than you indicate and definitely no where near 100%. Babies and pregnancies are unpredictable.
Also please don't assume that just because I live in Utah and write for a Utah County paper that I have never had proper sex education. I understand that couples could conceivably plan down to the minute when they want their babies to be born, but unlike you, I also understand that pregnancies don't always happen they way they are planned. Otherwise there would be no need for NICU's or induced labors.
So I suggest you think about your comments before you put them out there for the whole world to see.
Well Hello Winter
After months of kind of pretending to be winter, mother nature has finally sent actual winter. The only problem is I am now ready for it to be spring. March 1st is the not the time for the biggest snow storm we've seen this winter. March 1st is the time I start thinking about how soon I will be able to wear sandals again.
Not to mention winter and my commute are not friends. On Wednesday it took me an hour and half to get home because it was snowing and the wind was blowing and the roads were a mess. I, however would honestly take that over driving to work this morning. The roads were wet from the melting snow but not wet enough to make windshield wipers effective, just wet enough that you have to clean your window every 5 seconds or you won't be able to see. Which brings me to the other problem, it is very sunny today and the wet roads combined with the glare of the sun make it almost impossible to tell if you are driving in one lane or two. Add the construction nonsense on top that and it is a miracle there weren't a million accidents.
I can only hope winter's late arrival will also mean a short stay and pretty soon I can blog about how I love spring time!
Not to mention winter and my commute are not friends. On Wednesday it took me an hour and half to get home because it was snowing and the wind was blowing and the roads were a mess. I, however would honestly take that over driving to work this morning. The roads were wet from the melting snow but not wet enough to make windshield wipers effective, just wet enough that you have to clean your window every 5 seconds or you won't be able to see. Which brings me to the other problem, it is very sunny today and the wet roads combined with the glare of the sun make it almost impossible to tell if you are driving in one lane or two. Add the construction nonsense on top that and it is a miracle there weren't a million accidents.
I can only hope winter's late arrival will also mean a short stay and pretty soon I can blog about how I love spring time!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Just Go Away
Today is the third day in a row I have had a headache. Monday I didn't get said headache until about 5:30 p.m. so I took some Advil and finished my shift at work no problem. Tuesday the headache started around 1 p.m. not wanting to be a drug addict I didn't take any medicine until just before I left work an hour early because my head hurt so bad. Today the headache started on my drive to work about 9:00 a.m. after I had already taken two tylenol as a preventative method. I very seriously considered turning around and calling in sick but the two interviews I had scheduled and two stories I had to write deterred me. Now sitting at work staring at the blinding light of my computer screen I really wish I had just gone home.
I don't know why I am getting these headaches. I am fully hydrated, I am eating healthier than I have in months and I am working out. I go to bed tired each night and feel like I am sleeping well. I had my eyes checked recently so I know my glasses are out of date. I am not experiencing any significant stress that I can think of but still my head is hurting.
I don't know what the problem is or how to fix it I just want the headaches to just go away.
I don't know why I am getting these headaches. I am fully hydrated, I am eating healthier than I have in months and I am working out. I go to bed tired each night and feel like I am sleeping well. I had my eyes checked recently so I know my glasses are out of date. I am not experiencing any significant stress that I can think of but still my head is hurting.
I don't know what the problem is or how to fix it I just want the headaches to just go away.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
So True
I read this on a friends facebook page today and I had to share, it is so true.
"Life is too short. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. So laugh when you can, apologize when you should and let go of what you can't change. Love deeply and forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life is too short to be unhappy. You have to take the good with the bad, smile when you're sad, love what you got and always remember what you had. Always forgive but never forget, learn from your mistakes but never regret. People change and things go wrong but always remember life goes on."
"Life is too short. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. So laugh when you can, apologize when you should and let go of what you can't change. Love deeply and forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life is too short to be unhappy. You have to take the good with the bad, smile when you're sad, love what you got and always remember what you had. Always forgive but never forget, learn from your mistakes but never regret. People change and things go wrong but always remember life goes on."
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wahoo!
I have been doing my workout and diet plan for a whole week now and as of this morning I have lost 3 pounds! I am so excited. It is great to have worked hard and to see that hard work paying off. Today I made all my snacks and lunches for next week so the diet will be easy. All I have to do in the morning is grab my containers and head out the door! No need to measure anything or decide what I am going to eat because it is all ready to go!
In other news my beat at the Daily Herald is expanding! I will now be covering UVU in addition to Health and BYU issues. I am actually excited because there are many days that I feel like I should be doing more work and I struggle to find stories so I am looking forward to having more to write about!
In other news my beat at the Daily Herald is expanding! I will now be covering UVU in addition to Health and BYU issues. I am actually excited because there are many days that I feel like I should be doing more work and I struggle to find stories so I am looking forward to having more to write about!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Sometimes You Just Have To Be Mean
In life and definitely in Journalism there are sometimes that it is necessary to be a little mean, sometimes you have to be downright bitchy to get your point across. This happened to me today. Probably a week and half ago a man called me telling me his son, who is in the custody of DCFS, has severe asthma and that anytime he is around any kind of pet dander, smoke or other irritants he has a severe attack. He proceeded to tell me he got rids of his dogs, changed the carpet in his house, repainted, stopped smoking and a number of other things to keep his child from having an asthma attack during visits but the attacks kept happening. Come to find out the child's case worker has a dog and she is the one causing the attacks. So he wanted me to write a story about how DCFS was doing nothing about it and he son was getting sick because of it. I wanted to do a story but then his doctor wouldn't speak and then his lawyer wouldn't talk and then when his lawyer did talk gave up very little information. Finally I spoke with a man from DCFS he said that if this man was to bring a doctors note saying his son's health was in danger they would switch the case worker but the man hadn't done that yet. So there is really nothing to write about here. Still the man has called me three times today. He asked "How hard is it to get a story in the paper?" I responded, "There is nothing for me to write about, you haven't done what they asked so therefore this is your problem and there is nothing I can do about it." He still called and left me another message with a number to call his doctor. I called him back and said, "Listen, DCFS has said they will change your case worker if you provide a doctor's note. Until you do that and DCFS still refuses I cannot help you." I thought he got the message. I wasn't speaking in a friendly tone and this was the third time I had said the same thing, but no. He called AGAIN!! I had gone the bathroom and missed it (dang I know) so I called him back and it went straight to voicemail this is what I said, "I advise you call DCFS and find out what they need you to do. If and when you have done those things and they still refuse to switch your case worker contact me again and I can get something in the paper. In the meantime I have other stories to write and other people to help, so unless there is a new development please don't call me again."
A little bitchy? Yes. Absolutely necessary? Yes. It isn't my fault he didn't get the point the first 3 times he called today.
A little bitchy? Yes. Absolutely necessary? Yes. It isn't my fault he didn't get the point the first 3 times he called today.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
4 months
It is crazy how fast time flies! Today is exactly 4 months until the wedding. I can't believe it, it honestly seems like just yesterday that it was still more than a year away. I am getting excited. I think I found some shoes to wear and in two weeks John and I get to go to Millennial Falls to pick all of our flowers, food, centerpieces and decorations. All of my bridesmaids have picked their dresses, my sisters all have something to wear, McKenna has a flower girl dress and my mom has a dress to wear, so needless to say things are moving along nicely. Before you know it I will be back on here posting about how it is only a week away!!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
A Long Ways to Go
I thought was doing really well with training for the Ragnar but running a 10k yesterday made me realize I am not nearly as far along as I thought I was. The 10k was HARD!! I didn't expect it to be easy but it was much harder than I thought too. I know part of the problem is I never run outside for training and running outside versus running on the treadmill is so much different. Yesterday during the run I kept getting calf cramps and I had to walk a lot!! My pace was about 30 seconds slower than I thought it would. So needless to say I have a lot of work to do. But I remembered why I like running races, it is really fun to cross that finish line with everyone cheering. It is such an adrenaline rush.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Sometimes I Lie
Remember how I said I was going to try and post less about losing weight? Well sometimes I am a liar. I just got my workout and diet plan from my personal trainer and I am so so so so excited!! I honestly feel like a kid on Christmas morning. You know when you get so excited you squeal and kick your legs? Yeah I just did that at my desk. The awesome thing about the plan is it is pretty flexible with lots of options for food and it looks I get to eat a lot (or it looks like it anyways). I am excited to make my grocery list and get started on Sunday.
I love love love that it is all laid out for me. I don't have to guess about anything, not how much of each food I should, not how long I should work out, it is all ready for me all I have to do is do it!
I am doing a happy dance inside right now :)
I love love love that it is all laid out for me. I don't have to guess about anything, not how much of each food I should, not how long I should work out, it is all ready for me all I have to do is do it!
I am doing a happy dance inside right now :)
Thursday, February 16, 2012
So Excited
I have been considering hiring a personal trainer/nutritionist but just haven't been able to bring myself to pay the kind of money it costs. Yesterday I discovered the coolest thing, a local business that does online personal training. So I bit the bullet and signed up because as you know I have been so discouraged lately and I just need someone's help! If you are like John you are probably thinking how does an online personal trainer work? So it started with a personal assessment, asking me about my weight, height, body fat my current exercises and eating habits, healthy foods I like to eat and foods I would like to be included in my regular diet. I went into super detail explaining how far I can run without walking, lifting weights and being sore every single time, how I am obsesses with desserts and that I cook dinner for more than just me. Now Lindsey (that is the personal trainer's name) will take a few days and create me a custom workout and diet plan! I think it is awesome! I paid for 3 months because it was cheaper that way and the more help I can get the better! And I am excited because Lindsey said she ran the Las Vegas Ragnar so she can help me get ready for the Utah one. I just wish it wasn't going to take 3 days to get my program. I had a personal trainer before and it was so so helpful, just knowing that someone was going to hold me accountable and that I don't want to cheat or waste because I am paying for it! From what I understand I will have to email Lindsey how I did with my diet every night and how I did with the workout plan once a week, which is awesome. So as you can tell I am super excited!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
What are people thinking?
Working in the news business I am exposed to some of the ridiculous ideas people have to bills that should be passed. I have found that in Utah the number of ridiculous bills outweigh the number of bills that will solve a legitimate problem.
For example, I am working on a story about a new sex education bill that would make the core curriculum for sex education in Utah abstinence based (which is nothing new) with an emphasis on the idea that not having sex until marriage and staying faithful after marriage is the ONLY way to prevent STDs.
I get that only have sex with one person and knowing that person doesn't have an STD will keep you from getting one but what does marriage have to do with it? If I only have sex with one person for my whole life but never get married I am still not going to get an STD. Marriage is not a risk factor here!
Utah is insistent on teaching abstinence only sex ed, which to me is crazy! Fine teach that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STDS because let's be real it is but teenagers are going to have sex regardless of what teachers say so why not arm them with the knowledge to protect themselves, rather than having teen moms running around with 4 kids.
The legislature is full of old, white LDS men that don't realize times have changed since they grew up. Things are different and the laws that govern this state shouldn't be based solely on the values of one religion regardless of whether it is the dominant religion or not. I could go on all day about this but I won't. It just seems so silly to me.
For example, I am working on a story about a new sex education bill that would make the core curriculum for sex education in Utah abstinence based (which is nothing new) with an emphasis on the idea that not having sex until marriage and staying faithful after marriage is the ONLY way to prevent STDs.
I get that only have sex with one person and knowing that person doesn't have an STD will keep you from getting one but what does marriage have to do with it? If I only have sex with one person for my whole life but never get married I am still not going to get an STD. Marriage is not a risk factor here!
Utah is insistent on teaching abstinence only sex ed, which to me is crazy! Fine teach that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STDS because let's be real it is but teenagers are going to have sex regardless of what teachers say so why not arm them with the knowledge to protect themselves, rather than having teen moms running around with 4 kids.
The legislature is full of old, white LDS men that don't realize times have changed since they grew up. Things are different and the laws that govern this state shouldn't be based solely on the values of one religion regardless of whether it is the dominant religion or not. I could go on all day about this but I won't. It just seems so silly to me.
Siesta Time
I think the Spanish have the right idea when it comes to afternoon Siestas. I mean who doesn't want a nap in the afternoon? I would go for a 30 to 45 minute nap almost every single day, sometimes longer if the time was available.
I feel like I would be motivated to come to work earlier knowing I would be rewarded with a nap later in the day. I also feel like I would get more done in the afternoon because I would be refreshed and ready to go, instead of dragging during the afternoon slump. And siesta time would really benefit everyone because if stores and business were to close for an hour or two lets say from 1 to 3 p.m. then they could need to stay open later to accommodate the public and more people would have the time and energy to go shopping after work!! Okay maybe not but still I think it is such a good idea.
All in favor of Siesta time raise your hand!!
I feel like I would be motivated to come to work earlier knowing I would be rewarded with a nap later in the day. I also feel like I would get more done in the afternoon because I would be refreshed and ready to go, instead of dragging during the afternoon slump. And siesta time would really benefit everyone because if stores and business were to close for an hour or two lets say from 1 to 3 p.m. then they could need to stay open later to accommodate the public and more people would have the time and energy to go shopping after work!! Okay maybe not but still I think it is such a good idea.
All in favor of Siesta time raise your hand!!
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