Ramblings

- What is up with the "please prove you are not a robot" word verification thing on Blogger? I don't think even a robot would be smart enough to read the silly letters and numbers twisted and faded out. It took me multiple tries recently to leave a comment on a friend's blog because I couldn't read the jibberish. C'mon, folks! Just have the words easier to see. One sure way to keep people from commenting on your blog is to have word verification!

- So things have gotten busier with Marshall being gone three nights a week with non-bishop stuff and then having his normal bishop stuff on top of that. I want to tell people that they are not allowed to have any drama between certain hours and days of the week. Nope! I need to have my hubby to myself sometimes. Ha! Sometimes I feel like Mr. Incredible and want to tell the world to stay together for just a few minutes, please.

- My knee problems are not stress fracture related. Yippee! They doctor took an x-ray and my bone is whole and looking great. It is from weak hips, which cause misalignment while running. That ended up pulling on my femur and causing pain at the end of it. To treat it I need to so more quad intense exercises, like biking and squats, to build up that thigh muscle. I am so glad it is not bone related and that I can still exercise. I ran 2.5 miles the day after my appointment and it was wonderful. Wonderful in that it was great to run again, not in that my endurance or time was amazing. But now I can get back into it! And what is up with the weak hip thing in women? You'd think after giving birth a few times those hips would be tough.

- Sometimes I can understand why kids randomly smack each other out of nowhere. I know we are adults and know better, but sometimes there are people in this world who are just annoying enough that you really just want to smack them. It's a good thing we don't, but sometimes . . . 

I just can't help myself!

Um, so I am pretty much banned from going to PetSmart anymore. Not because I have misbehaved and been kicked out, but rather because I have the strong urge to save every homeless cat. (I really would if I could. I just need a much bigger home.)

See, this past week I rewarded Jacob by taking him to PetSmart to see all the fish, gerbils, and cats. Big mistake. I saw one cat, Riley, who I just fell in love with. Like our cat Bella, he was an underdog. Riley is almost 6 years old and has been returned to PAWS 3 times. Once because his owners lost their home, once because of allergies, and once because he was "too affectionate". (I have no idea what that means.) I felt so bad for Riley and was so intrigued by his loving nature. When we got our first two cats, I thought there would be lots of snuggling and lap time. But Penelope is young and independent and loves to run around outside. Bella is shy and can be loving, but only when she wants to. So I was excited about an affectionate cat. Plus I have read that having a male to the dynamics can be a very good thing.

As the week wore on, I couldn't get Riley off of my mind. I didn't want anything to happen to this sweet cat who has had such bad luck. Well, you know me and by Friday I found myself adopting another cat and bringing him home. Let's just say I have a very kind husband. and I promised him this would be our last cat. 3 is enough! I will no longer go into PetSmart to see any other homeless loveable cats.

But I am so glad he got Riley. He is very mellow and very affectionate. He loves to be around us and will come rub up against us. He'll jump into our laps and meow to us. He is so very sweet. The kids love him and his tender nature. And I do too. I am so glad we could give him a good home.

My knee revisited

Grrrrrrr. I am annoyed because I am not invincible. Shoot! I am not even whole. It's not that I am THAT old, but my body thinks I should still be having issues with my knee. And I do not agree with this agenda.

I behaved myself really well while recovering from my stress fracture and followed what my doctor told me I could and could not do. Then when we felt the time was right, I very slowly and cautiously began running. In time I decided to train for a half marathon. Why I curse myself with such lofty plans is beyond me because every time I say I am going to do a big race, something goes wrong. And it did again.

I took my time and worked up my mileage slowly. I didn't even get past 3 miles and then I started to experience some pain and discomfort in my knee. It would go away, but it became more frequent so I decided to lay off running for a bit and stick to speed walking and biking. Still, I had pain. Grrrr.

Now I am doing nothing and nervously awaiting seeing me doctor next week, wondering what we will find. Did my fracture not heal all the way? Has it been aggravated? What? All I know is that my knee hurts, even when I walk. Not as bad as it did with the fracture, but more than it should be at all. And I am going nuts trying to be good and let it rest. I am so bummed because I really truly did behave myself and eased back into running when I had the "go" from my doctor. So not cool!

First day of school

Today was the first day of school. My kids were so excited. Anna has been preparing for a few weeks now, brushing up on her multiplication tables and reading. Rachel and Jimmy were also anxious, but spent every final minute of summer playing Wii. And Jacob just wanted to have Mom to himself again. This morning came and everyone did a wonderful job of going to their classes. I have a little job this year at school as a playground monitor so I had the chance to see all my kids half way through the day. It was fun to check in with them and see how they were doing. So far so good.

Anna really is excited for her year with Mrs. Patton, who also likes Broadway plays. She is looking forward to her last year in elementary school and being the "top dog". She can't wait to learn about different countries and the Civil War.  I cannot believe she is in 5th grade. I remember that grade!

Rachel is happy because she has Anna's 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Hatch. Two of her good friends are in her class. She is looking forward to learning how to do cursive writing. I think this will be a good year for her.

My 1st grader! When did that happen? He had a great first day of school and did well being gone all day. It helps that his best pal Spencer is in his class. He is doing the dual-immersion program, learning Mandarin. Half the day he spends with his English teacher Mrs. Thorton and the other half is all in Mandarin with Mrs. Chen. He told me he didn't learn anything today, but then started to tell us the Mandarin words for different colors at dinner. Go Jimmy!

Jacob gets Mom all to himself. He is excited about this and kept me running all day playing games with him. But he did periodically tell me that he missed "his" kids and that school takes too long. Hopefully things will be better for him once he starts preschool in a few weeks. It's hard to be the one left behind!

Sad to say "good bye" for another 4 years

I don't know what we are going to do in the evenings now that the Olympics are ending. We have  cheered, laughed, yelled, and gotten chills as we have watched these amazing athletes over the past two weeks. Sometimes it hasn't even mattered if the person we wanted to win was from our own country because we were cheering for the first timer, the underdog, or the retiring athlete. Remember the high bar performance by the gymnastic from the Netherlands? Crazy amazing!

We've learned about the perserverance and sacrifice of many participants, and a little too much information about others. Good times! I've learned that at even my best sprint, I would by easily lapped by the Olympic distance runners in a matter of one second. If I blinked at the wrong time, I missed the 100 meter races. Just turn on the tv and watch the Olympics if you want to see what a six pack on a woman looks like. Also, there is no way I would be able to do a handstand on the edge of a three story high diving board. You couldn't even get me halfway up the thing in the first place. Walking in a straight line is hard enough, let alone doing flips frontwards and backwards on a two inch wide piece of wood. Male gymnasts have arms that are bigger than my thighs. They could harm someone just by flexing their muscles. Swimming means something very different to me and Michael Phelps and we'll just keep it that way. And when you have 0% body fat and 100% muscle, you could care less about appearing on world wide television in skimpy lycra uniforms.

I have loved every minute of the games. How cool to be right there to celebrate the triumphs and feel the losses of these amazing athletes. I am left in awe with their skills and die-hard endurance to be their best. What a great example they are all to us of dedication. Goodbye Summer Olympics for another four years! I will miss you!

Locthe Revisited

Okay, so Ryan Locthe has clarified that his mom's comment about the "one night stands" was misquoted. Ryan told USA Today that, “[Ike Lochte is] new to the whole media [experience], so she didn’t really understand that they were going to twist it and make it bad. She definitely was like, ‘Why would they do that?’ She is so oblivious to everything.” She did say "one night stands", but that wasn't what she meant. I am not sure how she didn't know what a one night stand was or how that would impact her son's public image, but whatever. She's new to the whole media thing and as her son so bluntly put it, "she is so oblivious to everything". Ouch.

Perhaps Locthe is not a male slut after all. But he is still a pretty nasty man and he only has himself to blame for leaking (hee hee) that information out. In a recent interview with Ryan Seacrest, Locthe admitted to peeing in the warm-up pool. “ I think there’s just something about getting into chlorine water that you just automatically go. [I didn't] during the races, but I sure did in warm-up.” Um, thanks. TMI again, buddy! Did we really need to know that?

Michael Phelps backed up Locthe and said that he had gone in the warm-up pool as well. His defense was that when you are in the pool for two hours, sometimes you just have to go and can't get out. He said with all the chlorine, the germs get killed. Okay, still gross, but I can see where Phelps is coming from.

However, we wouldn't know any "secrets" of the trade if Mr. Locthe hadn't just kept his mouth shut. And if Ryan Seacrest hadn't asked him the question in the first place. I still think Locthe is nasty, but I am also annoyed at Seacrest. Really? You are interviewing an amazing athlete and you take the time to ask if he pees in the pool? Why is that important? Why do we need to know that and how will knowing that bit of information benefit the rest of us? Ask him a question that I actually care about, okay? Do you really get paid the big bucks to ask people about their peeing habits?

Go USA! Thanks for making us look really good, guys, by taking something as incredible as the Olympics and turning it into a discussion about bodily functions. Nice.

My promise from years past

I remember when I came back to the LDS Church, really truly was converted, and decided that I wanted a life with the Gospel in it. I was willing to do whatever was needed to make that possible and took some big lonely steps to do it. I knew I couldn't change my past and my childhood. I couldn't take away the heartache and pain in my life, but I could make a better world for my own children who would come one day. And I knew that a big key to having that happen would be the integrity of the man I married. Over months of praying, fasting, and changing, I made a promise, a deal, with the Lord that if He would find me a righteous husband who had a solid foundation in the Gospel and would never waiver, I would spend the rest of my life serving the Lord. What mattered most was having a husband who was as committed to the Gospel as I was and would sacrifice everything, as I was willing to do and did, to live it.

Well, the Lord took my promise to heart and brought an amazing valiant young man into my life. Someone I would never have imagined being blessed enough to have. Someone who took me to the temple twelve years ago today and made me his wife for time and all eternity. Has the Lord required much service and sacrifice on my behalf since then? You better believe it! There have been times where I have been so emotionally and physically exhausted. Times when my husband would leave for church meetings while I was lying in bed with pregnancy sickness with three little kids running around. Times when I didn't think I could give anymore. But somehow, through the Lord, I have always made it. That is the cool thing about the Lord. Not only did He bless me with a good husband, but also He has helped me keep that promise I made to Him years ago.

Has the sacrifice been worth it? You better believe that too! I wouldn't change it for anything. Bring on a lifetime of service and work for the Lord if that means having the privilege of eternity to be with my husband. I couldn't have asked for a better man to be married to. The Lord took my promise seriosuly and blessed me with an amazing righteous strong husband. I am constantly amazed at his goodness, example, willingness to serve, and passion for the Gospel. He is a good good man, an incredible father, and tender sweet husband. I often look at him and wonder how on earth I got so lucky to have him in my life.

The past twelve years have been wonderful. I cannot imgaine a life without Marshall. I love being at his side, together serving the Lord and being blessed as we move throughout the years. What better joy in marriage can there be?

Ryan Lochte- TMI

I normally don't pay attention to the moral side to most Olympic athletes because we really don't hear about their lifestyles outside the arena. But sometimes the press likes to dig out information or the athlete is open about his choices and the public learns more than they bargained for.

This year I was excited to see Ryan Lochte have a chance at getting some medals. Last Olympics he was overshadowed by Michael Phelps and his amazing success. This year I was excited to see Locthe bring home his own gold.

Um, that was until I learned about his relationships, or lack thereof. Now I just want to puke. For some reason his mother has shared with the press that, "He goes out on one-night stands. He's not able to give fully to a relationship because he's always on the go." Gross. Why couldn't she have just said the latter, that he is too busy, than the former, that he has one night stands? Does she not care for his public image? Does she think telling us about his one nighters will make him look more manly and studly? Is she trying to scare off potential girlfriends? And how or why does she know that he has all these one night stands? What's the deal here? One thing she has shown is that she herself isn't a very classy lady or takes much thought about morals.

Lotche has already told us plenty useful things about himself, in a recent Women's Health interview. He likes his women with fit bodies and has a crush on Carmen Electra. Whoa! Right there is reason to question the man's sanity. Has anyone seen her? That right there tells us a lot about the depth of his character. Lotche also states he likes sex with the lights on, sleeps in the nude, and if he is interested in a lady, he'll "give a wink and come back later because it keeps her thinking." Wow. Um, no lack of confidence there.

I'm sorry, but I REALLY didn't need to know about Ryan Lochte's sexual escapades or how he prefers to sleep and have sex. TMI! I was more interested in his athletic performance as he is representing my country at the Olympics. But now he has made it public and seems to not be ashamed. Talk about EGO. What a horrid job he is doing of being a spokeperson for the USA. Sure, he is a great athlete, but he is showing he has no morals and doesn't care who knows about it. Not only that, but what about all the young fans and children cheering him on? Not the kind of role model I want for my children, thank you.

Mr. Lotche, I am not impressed. I am digusted. We didn't have to know those details about your life. Why couldn't you and your mom find some morals or at least have the sense to keep what happens in the bedroom in the bedroom? I don't think you are a stud, I think you are a slut and am ashamed you have decided to represent my country in such a way. Call me harsh, but you should know better Mr. Lotche.