The One With the In-Laws

I really felt like I needed a post about the awesomeness of my in-laws.
Sorry. This is not a post to make monster-in-law jokes.
Because, let's face it, people, I was blessed with the most incredible in-laws in the world.

I. Love. Them.
They are so so wonderful.

I knew I was getting a good deal when I married Ben, but I had no idea what a blessing his family would be to me too.

So...I've had several friends who date boys, and, for whatever reason, the guy's parents hate the girl (somehow it never seems to be the other way around...). But these girls always justify the relationship by saying, "Well, it's okay. I'm going to be marrying him. Not his family."

Ah!!! Lie! Lie! Lie!

Especially if you are a member of the church, how do you expect that you'll be with YOUR family for time and all eternity, but not his?

And even if religion isn't your flavor, where do you think that boy learned his table manners? Or his spending habits? Or even how often he does his laundry?

And where do you think you will be spending half of your Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthdays or otherwise?

Anyhow, the point I'm trying to make is that, whether you like it or not, in-laws will be a part of your life. In whatever way.

Lucky for me, I like it.

Ben's mom is the sweetest person ever. You can always find her serving someone. One time I read a quote that said something like, "Make sure you read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." Ben's mom (and not for wanting to look good) always has an uplifting book in hand. She's so caring and I look up to her in so many ways.

And she's beautiful too! Doesn't Ben look so much like her?

Ben has 4 sisters (no brothers), all older. Before I met them, people would say, "Ooh, only sisters? Good luck with that!" I was so scared to meet them! Girls can be so catty and judgy. But Ben's sisters took me in and they make me feel like I've been a part of their special friendship from the beginning of time. They are hilarious and crazy, but it's my kind of crazy, so I'll take it. Not to mention, their spouses are all pretty awesome as well.

The nieces and nephews are absolutely crazy (what kids aren't??). But they are also very cute and sweet if you catch them in the right moment.

See what I mean about crazy??

And see what I mean about cute?
(sorry, I don't have many pics of them, unfortunately).

 Awesome cousins? Ben's got 'em.
Awesome aunts and uncles? Check.
Grandparents? Also awesome.


Again, don't have many pictures. I guess we've got the important cousins;)

Last but not least, Ben had the most incredible dad that anyone could ask for. I don't know how Papa Brown did it, but he perfected unconditional love. He was hilarious. His advice was:

• "Rock on with your bad self."
• "Fear ain't a part of my life."
• "Let's get after it like we're killing snakes." (Anyone who knows me, knows how much I like that idea!)

It's been hard having him gone. But, even through the difficulty of losing him, I know:

• He's in a better place. He doesn't hurt anymore. He can see.
• He's happy and he's serving us from the other side.
• He taught my husband everything he needs to know about being an amazing father.

 I only knew Papa Brown for a little over a year. But in that year I learned so much from him. I am so glad that I know that families are forever. And I'm so glad that when I married Ben, I didn't marry just him. I married his whole family too.

:)

Festivity

One of my goals this year was to make more festive and seasonal decorations for the house. One of Ben's sisters is a pro at this. Every month inspires a reworking of her decor. It's not just a wreath on the door. It's a theme throughout the entire house. She's pulls it off cohesively and tactfully. But you know it's taken a few years of careful buying and crafting.

So I wanted to get start on my own festive decorations.

Well, ladies and gentleman, we are 1 season and 4 major holidays down this year and I have no evidence of celebration except for some dollar store plastic Easter eggs and a half made Valentine garland (I started on it the day before. I didn't finish).

Even without my wanted holiday decor, I was determined to make something of Easter this year.

Something I've discovered this year is that the Browns are not a very tradition-y bunch. I can ask Ben all I want about his favorite childhood traditions and his answer is always the same: "I don't know. We didn't have many."

Sad! Right?

More and more I'm realizing I have to be the one who plans the tradition AND the one who gets excited about it. Otherwise, it's not going to happen.

And I think Ben really does like it. He just doesn't think to make it happen.

So for Easter, in a determined frenzy, I made sure that we had some fun Easter-y activities planned.

We colored Easter eggs!

Ben drew my face on one. Doesn't it look exactly like me?

We started dyeing at 10:50pm (yeah...whoops...). Ben finished
at 10:55. Me? 11:22. I did 2 eggs. Ben did 4.  You do the math.

See the rainbow egg on the left? That's mine. I rock.
32 minutes well spent? I think so!

 So my family's tradition is that my dad (the Easter bunny), hides our candy-which is usually just a candy bar. When we wake up, we set out to find our treat. Sometimes it's hidden easily-like in the piano bench. But more often than not, he'll hide it in some impossibly elaborate place. One time, he cut out pages in the middle of a phone book and slipped the candy in the little square that was created. Another time, he put the candy down a vent with fishing line. Yeah. Sometimes our searching trickles into Monday.

Last year, Ben and I were engaged and living in Cedar for Easter. I hid his candy in the freezer, which I thought would be a dead give away. To put it simply and without making my husband sound like a whiner, Ben didn't like it very much (maybe that's where his lack of enthusiasm for traditions comes from. Hmmm...).

This year, I still hid his candy. He still put up a bit of a stink.


Luckily, he found his candy in a matter of minutes.
Otherwise, there's no telling what he would've done;)

Our yummy Easter dinner.

Ben made fun of me for taking a picture of our dinner, but this was a big deal for me! It was my first time ever making a roast AND making a dinner with so many components. Turns out roast is easy. It's the gravy that takes some getting used to. Anyhow, it was delicious and I was really proud of myself. So make fun all you want.

Anyhow, I hope everyone else had a Happy Easter! Tell me about your Easter traditions! One of my friends has an Easter Spider. Weird, but totally awesome.

Getting Ready for Ragnar!

Unfortunately, I told my family I would create a training program for the Wasatch Back Relay this June. Having done this race like 5 times I figured it would be no big deal. Turns out, it was a big deal. Trying to make a concise running schedule for 12 very different routes and 24 different people is quite a challenge. So prepare yourselves, people. While this post is informative, awesome and mind-blowing, it's actually pretty lenghty (how else was I supposed to get in all the awesomeness?). I hope you're in for the long haul.

Side note: I'm fully aware that I'm NOT the only Lifferth out there who's done this race before. Those of you who have done it, be sure to comment with your own tips, ideas, and know-how. Also, consider this my training post. Once we get a little closer to game day, I'll write a post on how to survive the race. Cause that's really where the help is needed.

First thing's first.

 

Your Ragnar Training Schedule

I went to Ragnar's website and found that they already have a training program posted. Click here to see the beginner training program. On the same page you can click "Intermediate" and see the more advanced training.

Honestly, it's a pretty solid schedule...but I still had some beef with it. My biggest problems were:
1. They give a billion rest days.
2. They make you do 3-a-days. Yikes!
3. And, if you are "intermediate," they expect you to get your mileage up to a long 18 miles. I'm sorry people, but that is called marathon training. And this isn't a marathon. Even those running the longer legs (18-21 miles) should NOT have to put in this many miles in one get go.

So, definitely check it out. But don't trust it entirely.

I tried to come up with a day to day schedule, but I felt like I was doing a disservice. This race is so individual. Everyone runs a different distance. Not only that, but every leg is different. You really can't summarize what everyone should be doing in ONE training program.

And so, I present to you my version of the training schedule. A much less clear, but much more helpful training schedule:

	This Week Be	Your Shortest Run	Your Longest Run	Your Total Mileage
	Sure to Include:	Should Be:	Should Be:	Should Be:
Apr 1-6	Easy Day	2 (Beginner)-3 miles	3-6 miles	12-24 mi.
Apr 7-13	Hills*/Easy Day	2-4 miles	3-6 miles	14-24 mi.
Apr 14-20	Hills/Speed*	3-4 miles	4-7 miles	18-26 mi.
Apr 21-27	Hills	3-4 miles	5-7 miles	20-28 mi.
Apr 28-May 4	Hills/Speed	3-4 miles	5-8 miles	22-28 mi.
May 5-11	Hills	3-4 miles	6-8 miles	22-30 mi.
May 12-18	Hills/MNM Run*	3-4 miles	7-10 miles	24-32 mi.
May 19-25	Hills/Speed	3-4 miles	7-12 miles	26-34 mi.
May 26-Ju 1	Hills/MNM Run	4 miles	8-14 miles	26-36 mi.
June 2-8	Hills/Peak*	4 miles	80% of total*	28-40 mi.
June 9-15	Hills/Taper*	3-4 miles	6-8 miles	20-26 mi.
June 16-22	Strides*/Easy/RACE!!!!	2 miles	4-5 miles	12-16 mi.

As you can see, I'm being lazy and just giving rough suggestions. But trust me! Everyone really needs to adapt their training to their specific legs. Here's the break down:

Rest Days

Okay...here's where you get to hear my opinion on rest days. I fully recognize that I'm a bit OCD about my running habits. I run every day (minus Sunday) whether is gorgeous outside or blizzarding. This is not necessary (the first step is admitting it, right?). Having said that, I will admit that in Running World it is acceptable to have 3 rest days a week (sometimes even 4) whilst training. I'm only saying this because I don't want you guys to get discouraged if you can only fit 3 or 4 days of running in. That's okay. Life happens.

But I would like to remind all of you, that I'm completely confident that each of you can run a mile in at least 15 minutes or less. And who can really say that they can't squeeze a quick 1 mile run into their schedule? It's only 1 mile...but then again it's ONE WHOLE MILE. Trust me, it makes a difference. So I'm making all you guys mentally agree to only have 1 or 2 rest days a week. If it happens to be more, we'll forgive. But really try for just 1 or 2 and then give yourself some easy days (just because I didn't specify to include easy days, doesn't mean you can't include them. Do!)

Hills

Everyone needs to do hill workouts. I'm sorry, but that is going to be the one thing that will help you not die come race day. Some of you guys have some crazy hard uphills. If you don't train for it, you'll be walking/huffing/and puffing your way to the exchange. It won't be a pretty picture.

If you have one of the harder/steeper legs, you might even want to drive to a canyon or something. Just make sure you are getting some good uphill running in. Those of you doing Avon Pass, Pre-Ragnar, and Ragnar (and ones like it) will especially need to find a route that give you an incline for the majority of the trail.

Those of you who have been blessed to not do any of the previously mentioned legs (or ones like it) still need to include hills. It's cool if you just want to throw 2 or 3 hills in one of your regular loops.

Hill Repeats: these are pretty self explanatory. Do a bit of a warm up (1-2 miles) to a hill. When you run up the hill, you should be sprinting. When you first start doing these, start out with 2 or 3. Towards the end of training you should be doing 4-6 repeats. It totally counts if you walk down the hill in between. Make sure you cool down too.

Downhill: Honestly, not being prepared for downhill can hurt just as much as uphill. You just won't feel it until later. If you have a leg that goes on a steep decline, train for it! Go down the canyon instead of up! Nothing will make you more sore than flying down a hill (without having gotten your muscles used to it) and then sitting in a car for 3 hours.

Speed

You'll see that I didn't include speed as much in my training plan. Maybe you'll be able to make the connection between my speed workout habits and my training plan making habits.

I have a hard time with speed because I'm lazy. And honestly, I don't know what type of competitors you all are. If you are looking to get a ton of kills (for you first timers, that's what they call it when you pass someone. And yes, we do count) you'll want to do speed every week. My brother Kyle is a good example of this (he's hardcore). But that's not for everyone. Unfortunately, I'm more competitive than I like to admit. So here are some speed workouts for all competition types:

This was for the Red Rock Relay...but it's the same idea.
You count your kills. It's for bragging rights, I guess...

Intervals: Go to a track and time intervals. The first time you go, start out with something easier, like one set of 800m-400m-400m. Next time you go, do two sets, and then three. Try to keep all of your times consistent. If you get 90 seconds for your first 400m (once around the track) shoot for it on your second one. Only allow yourself a 30-60 second break in between each interval. But in between sets you can give yourself a 3-5 minute break. Interval work is so hard. But it's also the most rewarding workout. Feel free to come up with your own sets. Longer will get you ready to do your legs in high gear, shorter will give you a good kick for passing.

Tempo: The problem I have with intervals is the fact that I'm not nearly as fast as I was in high school. So I usually opt for tempo runs. First do a good warm up (10-15 minutes). Then kick it into high gear for 5 minutes (make sure you've got a watch for this). Really push yourself. After the 5 minutes is up, switch back to your normal pace for 4 minutes. Then go 4 minutes hard. Work your way down to 1 minute. The point is that you are get faster for each minute you drop. Follow up with a cool down.

Fartleks: The good thing about this workout, is that you don't have to have a watch. As always, do a warm up. I like doing this workout on country roads because you sprint at every other telephone pole. And in the country, it's just more recognizable. So sprint the first length, jog or walk the next and so forth. Do 2-3 miles of it. Cool down.

 

MNM Run

This stands for Morning-Night-Morning Run. It is imperative that you do this while training for Ragnar. Nothing else will get you used to the schedule of Ragnar better. Of course, you could follow Ragnar's own schedule and do a 3-a-day. But really, that's not necessary. The first day run 3 or 4 miles in the morning, and then 4-5 miles in the evening. The next morning run 3-5 miles. Feel free to adjust the mileage. I would suggest doing a MNM run 2 or 3 times before the race. It really helps your body to get in the swing of things.

 

Peak/80% of Total

Okay. This might be confusing. Two weeks before the race, you should peak. Your longest run during each week should be getting steadily longer. And 2 weeks before the race, you should hit your peak, which in this case, is going to be 75-80% of your total mileage. I took the liberty of computing everyone's so you don't have to.

	Total Miles	75-80% of Total
Runner 1	21.1	16 miles
Runner 2	13.7	10 miles
Runner 3	19.4	15 miles
Runner 4	14.6	11 miles
Runner 5	14.8	11 miles
Runner 6	17.2	13 miles
Runner 7	11.7	9 miles
Runner 8	15.9	12 miles
Runner 9	17.6	13 miles
Runner 10	15.3	12 miles
Runner 11	19.8	15 miles
Runner 12	15.9	12 miles

So Runner 5 totals 14.8 miles in the race. But for training, his longest run should be 11 miles. And honestly, feel free to give this some leeway. Cut it down by a couple miles if you don't feel ready for it two weeks before the race.

Taper

After that long run, you should start to taper. Cut back on all of your runs and don't go as far as you have been. Especially the week of the race, take advantage of the fact that you ought to be laying off the running. I still run every day, but I never go more than 5 miles the week of a race.

The Day Before the Race: Lots of runnesr choose not to run the day before a race, which is totally acceptable. I like to run the day before. I'm sure mostly it's psychological, but I like to keep my muscles loose. If you do run, include strides. Go to a football field, a track, or a road with telephone poles. Run about 100 meters, focusing on stretching your legs and going fast. It's not quite a sprint. Doing strides is honestly like bounding. You feel a bit dumb, but the point is to loosen your muscles and get them ready for going fast/going uphill/going downhill etc.

A Word About Heat

Sorry I just keep talking! I'm only giving you information I think is important. The unfortunate thing about Ragnar is that you will likely have at least one leg that's in the heat of the day. If you don't get ready for it, it's gonna getcha. One year that I did Ragnar, I was working 8am-5pm all summer in an air conditioned building. I went on my runs at 6 am. I never got outside when it was hottest. When I got to the race day I had one leg that hit right around 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon. It was burning hot and I wasn't used to it at all. It was only a 4 mile leg, but I had to walk like 5 times because the heat was killing me.

In the weeks leading up to the race, try to get some time outside when it's H.O.T. If you can, plan a couple of runs during the afternoon. Choose easier and shorter runs, and take water if you think it's necessary. When I worked as an assistant cross country coach, I ran with the kids every afternoon and my body totally got used to the heat. Even if you can't plan a run in the heat, try to go outside. Your body will get used to the heat and you'll be glad when, come race day, you have to run 6 miles uphill in 90 degree weather. Drink lots of water when you do these runs!

Finally, Shoes

I know most of you are seasoned runners who know how important shoes are. But for you newbies, please, please, please BUY GOOD SHOES. My favorite place is Runner's Corner in Orem. I'm a freak (I already told you...) and when I go to Runner's Corner, I'm there for 1 or 2 hours picking out my shoes. They have a track there in the store where you actually get to try out the shoes and compare them (so wear workout clothes when you go). It's awesome. Really try to get a shoe that's right for you. I could write a whole post on running shoes, pronation and supronation...but I won't. Just buy good shoes. Please.

You're going to be wearing these nearly every day for the next 3-4 months (at least), so you'll get your money's worth. And the way I see it, it's better to spend a hundred dollars on good shoes now, than to pay thousands of dollars down the road when you need knee surgery because of your crappy running shoes. Got it? Good.

Whew. We made it! Hopefully your training won't seem as long as this post! Feel free to add your own thoughts and let me know if you have any questions!

Go Teams Wandering Wanda and Oh-Henry's!

The Story of How We Decided to Go to China

Like, for real.

Once upon a time, Ben and I were killing time on campus. I grabbed a newspaper and started browsing. (On a completely unrelated side note-Rexburg has got to be one of the most boring cities as far as news goes. I read a 3 page article about college age men creating a club to watch My Little Ponies together. Not kidding. Another favorite was the woman who called the cops because her 3 year old was missing. Cops arrived and found the kid fast asleep underneath some pillows. Sheesh.)

Anyhow...

The newspaper had an insert advertising a FREE five dollar bill AND dinner. The catch? You had to come listen to a 15 minute spiel on the International Language Program.

Who doesn't want free money? We were in.

So we went and listened. Basically, the International Language Program (or ILP) sends its volunteers to several different countries (although, they only send married couples to China). The volunteers work at schools and teach English for a couple hours every day. When they're not teaching, they can travel and experience the culture. Cool, right? Honestly, it's pretty affordable, as far as a study abroad type program goes.

And as we left ($10 richer between the two of us, mind you) we felt like crazies because we were like, "What if...?"

And let's be real. It was a huge "What if...?" I mean, both of us are currently unemployed and have been for 3 months. Unfortunately, that doesn't usually equate to gobs of money to spend on flippant travel.

But the more we thought about it, the more we realized that not only could we make this a reality, it would actually be beneficial too. We realized it would help Ben's schooling in so many ways.

Problem: Ben has always wanted to become multilingual. However, he's always told me that he wouldn't be able to call himself fluent in another language unless he lived in the country where they spoke that language.
Solution: The cost of ILP includes language and cultural classes. Ben would be able to learn Chinese and then go right out and practice it. (I'm not as ambitious, so I'll probably just stick to learning tai chi and call it good).

Problem: Ben has been looking at a master's program (called Master of Second Language Teaching--how appropriate is that??) that he's really interested in. However, the program requires all applicants to have taught in a classroom setting for 6 months.
Solution: Teaching in China will totally count for that! He'll get 3 months from student teaching (someday) and 3 months from ILP.

Problem: Before I went to college, I always wanted to do some sort of study abroad. But I didn't because I'm too darn focused. I graduated and got married...so....
Solution: ILP actually gives a discount to married couples. Cha-ching!

So we have been going forward with this, and with all crazy set aside, we have really felt like this is the right thing to do. It seems like the Lord has got our back on this one-what with how everything has worked out (we've even found a way to pay for it!).

China has always been the last place on my To Travel list. Mostly because the culture is so incredibly foreign to me. But I have been getting so excited for this little adventure that we're going to go on.

Especially because I heard the shopping in China is super cheap.

Our Story

I don't know what other people do in the same situation...but when people post on facebook with a link to their blog, I always click on the link and read the post. And likely, keep on reading until I get tired the person's life or writing skills, or until the posts run out. Whichever comes first. I know it's a bit freakish, but I just think people's lives are so interesting.

Anyhow, in the past couple of weeks, maybe in connection with Valentine's day, I've read a lot of blogs about love and relationships. And it got me thinking a lot.

It made me think about my own blog and what I've shared about the love in my life. I looked back over my posts and I realized that I hardly ever mentioned Ben while we were dating. It was just all of a sudden that BAM!! we were engaged!

I think that a lot of the exclusion of our dating was on purpose. Right before I started dating Ben, I went through a really difficult time in my life. I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but one of the hard things was that a lot of people were judging me for the choices I made and the opinions I formed. I was the ward's gossip topic and it got old pretty fast. Turns out trials are a lot more difficult when they're made public.

Anyhow, I think it goes without saying that Ben was the best blessing I could have asked for at that time in my life. He was the reassuring rock that I needed in my time of turmoil and anger. But I think it can easily be understood why I didn't care about sharing details of my life. I didn't want anyone telling me what to do or what not to do. I was sick of people secretly disagreeing with my choices. And so I kept Ben off the charts, as far as the web goes, and shared that part of my life with the people who I knew would support me.

So that's why the whole engagement might've come as a shock.

Anyhow, what with my blog stalking tendencies and reading others' stories, I figured I would share mine. Not because I owe it to anyone. Because, frankly, I don't. But because of the fact that as I've read other stories, I've come to love my story even more. Not just because it's awesome, but because every story is completely different and completely perfect for the person writing it. If you don't have your story yet, I want you to know that when you do, you don't have to worry about it matching any other stories. You just have to trust that your story is perfectly right for you.

Ben and I met officially in October of 2011. We hardly ever talked even though we were in the same FHE group. So when he asked me out after the Thanksgiving break, I figured it was a pity date.

Honestly, the date was fun.
Honestly, he was easy to talk to and kinda funny.
But honestly, I wasn't interested.

However, our stake president had made a kind of "rule" about dating. He encouraged us to give a person 3 dates without assuming anything. No thoughts about what this would turn into or how serious we should make it. He just wanted us to go out and have fun--no pressure. And I really was committed to it.

So we went on date #2. Again, it was fun, but still, not super interested.

The next day was Sunday and Ben made sure to sit by me whenever he got the chance. Here's the semi embarrassing part: he slipped me a note. It looked like this:

So 2nd grade, right? I seriously would have been disgusted...buuuut my sister Heather had been the giver of a similar note the week previous. And I had thought it was really funny then, so how could I judge Ben for doing the same?
side note: And since we've been married, I've learned that Ben's dad did the same thing with my mother-in-law when they started dating. Cute, right? Awww!

I made my own box that said "All of the above" and checked that one.

That night, Ben and I broke the stake president's rules. We had a fairly serious "What the heck is going on" chat. I told him very clearly that I did NOT want anything serious.

He pretended to agree with me.

Okay, if you thought the note was cheesy, get ready for this.

Every week, Ben and his roommate would go to an old folks home in town and sing songs and play guitar for a few hours. So we did some organizing and on Monday, our FHE group headed to the old folks home, ready with songs to play.

Story aside, it was the best activity ever. People played guitar or piano or violin. And the elderly people loved it. They would rock in their chairs or sing along. It was so great. But all the while, I had my eye on Ben. He was so sweet. He helped all of the residents into the room and would find them a good spot to sit. He would put his arm around the old ladies and chat with them like they were his own grandma.

Anyhow, needless to say, he was racking up the points. And to top it off, he sang Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." And that's really when everything changed.

That night as I went to bed, I knew that Ben was the one.

It sounds crazy and weird and a little bit freakish. But it's true. I mean, I wasn't ready to admit it to anyone, especially not him. But I just knew that if Ben and I dated, we'd get married.

Over the next couple of months, that little thought was confirmed so many times. Heavenly Father wasn't subtley letting me know that Ben was a good choice. No, He was practically shaking my shoulders and telling me that He whole-heartedly approved. I won't give you specifics, because they're special and I don't care to share them with the universe, but trust me when I say that the Lord was extra convincing.

Honestly, Ben was never a part of my plan. I had a pretty straight forward timeline of my life, and nowhere in it did it include Ben or Idaho or anything like that. But when it happened, I knew that it was right.

So we dated. And became best friends. And really, it was just wondeful. He's not perfect. But he's absolutely perfect for me.

In March we got engaged. After I graduated, he moved to Idaho and I moved home to Springville. The month we were apart was really difficult. Satan really plagued me and tried to get me to doubt our relationship. But Heavenly Father had already given me my answer.

So on June 8th I married my best friend.

And since we've been married (over 8 months now, people!), I've come to love Ben more than I ever thought possible. There are so many things that I didn't know about this guy. Some of them aren't quite as admirable (like his fingernail biting habits). But mostly I am so impressed with the things I learn (like his cooking skills and his scripture knowledge).

With everything that Ben and I have gone through in our short time together, good and bad, I have been so impressed with the knowledge that my Heavenly Father knows and loves me completely. How else would I have been blessed with such a wonderful companion? And to top it off-I get this guy for eternity. Gosh, what a bargain!

So that's the story of me and Ben. I hope it wasn't too sappy for you. But now you all know that I really didn't just get engaged out of the blue. And I really love my husband. Also, being married is the bomb. You should try it ;)

Love, Kim

Randomness

In true Sarah fasion, I need a good old fashion thought spewing post. See below:

When I grow up, I want a super huge kitchen that has lots and lots of storage space.

Turns out signing up for the one month of free Netflix isn't the best idea. Who wants to donate their email for next month?

Having no job/nothing to do is the worst thing ever. I mean, how the heck am I supposed to fill all my time?

Contrary to previous notions, my husband does have money saving tendencies when it's needed. Learning something new about that guy everyday.

Skiing is quite possibly the most terrifying thing in the whole world. But now this Utah Native can claim she's been down a mountain. The mountain was just in Wyoming. It still counts, right?

Is it worth it to drive 40 minutes for a part time job? A well paying job, but nonetheless, part time.

Who the heck knew that selling Mary Kay could be so lucrative. Maybe that's the path I should take. Facials, anybody?

Having no job/nothing to do is the best thing ever. I have time for everything. Even if all that includes is going on long runs, watching Netflix, rereading Harry Potter, and making elaborate meals. How can I sign on to do this full time? (Okay, I know the answer to that but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to discuss it...)

Am I justified in turning down a job interview because the person who emailed me said "would u" instead of "would you?" Where is the humanity? The job requires a bachelor's degree for heaven's sake! They can't even spell out "you???" So...justifiable or not?

Real people! To chat and hang out with! Love it!

Turns out I really like colors. Bright colors. And when I have a house that has a really big kitchen, I will also have a bedroom that is not depressingly red and black.

Ben is my best friend ever. Gosh I love him.The Lord knew what He was doing.

Driving around BYU-I campus makes me want to kill myself as well as the nearest 10 students. They are like the worst zoobies ever. Times 30. Ugh.

Should I spend thousands of dollars on graduate school??

Planning weddings is stressful business. Makes me even more glad I have passed that stage of life.

Okay, people. Those were my random thoughts of life. I hope you enjoyed!

Unfortunately...

I have quite fallen in love with this little puppy:

And let's be honest. I never wanted to be that person.
The person who is actually posting a picture of her dog.

I don't even like animals. Not really. We had one dog while I was growing up. My mom gave him away while we were at school and none of us even noticed.

See what I mean?

I only agreed to this dog because Ben had him before he and I even met.

But I think I would have died by now--what with Ben going to school and me being jobless. But this dog keeps me sane. He's naughty lots of the time...but I still love him.

I hate that I love him.

But I do.

So sue me.