Do you have the time?

I was walking home from work today when a passerby tapped his wrist to ask if I knew the time.

I was about to say No, because I knew I had no watch upon my wrist.

Then I remembered my cell phone was very easily accessible in the pocket of my hoodie!

I grabbed it and told him the time, but I was amazed at my reaction to this universally recognized symbol.

That tap to the wrist barely even registered as a valid question until AFTER I'd verbally heard the request as well.

With the ubiquity of the cell phone, has this simple gesture lost its meaning?

Or am I just old and losing my mind?

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Can sitting at your desk be harmful?

I never realized how dangerous working in an office could be. I mean I rarely even leave my desk.

Yesterday, I did explore the tunnels between the Grain Exchange and City Hall during lunch. I was hungry and wanted to avoid the rain. A few trips to the bathroom in the afternoon, but other than that, I was pretty much sitting the entire day.

And the day dragged and dragged and dragged.

Finally it was 4:30! Time to go home!!

OUCH!!

@#$%@#$!!

I didn't trip or twist or slip. Just all of a sudden my right ankle was in pain (at least that's how I recall it).

It started out as just a slow throb. I mean it HURT, but I was still able to maintain my regular pace (a little on the brisk side) as I walked to the shuttle.

The shuttle ride was a nice little respite, but the pain increased as I walked across campus back to my apartment. I even hobbled my way over to the auditorium on campus to listen to Roxana Saberi, the American journalist who was imprisoned in Iran in 2009.

I thought my right ankle even looked slightly swollen compared to my left, but my sweet husband assured me that my ankles are just naturally big. Nice.

So, I tried to sleep it off.

No go.

And naturally, I was in a rush this morning and left about 2 min late (which can make a huge difference), so I was forced to maintain a pretty healthy clip walking to the shuttle this A.M. I even made it with time to spare. In fact, I had to wait for the shuttle to arrive.

Guess I hadn't needed to walk that fast after all.

From the shuttle to work, I tried to take a slow, easy pace, but it was COLD and WINDY, so I walked slower, yet still a little briskly.

Now I'll try to take it easy throughout the day.

Hopefully it will just be a 24-hour thing (like a stomach bug) and will spontaneously stop hurting at 4:30 this afternoon.

Let's hope because I have a ward volleyball game in the morning, and I WANT TO PLAY!

You Again!

Since we had no YW going to mutual last night, my first counselor and I went to see a special preview of You Again.

I didn't really know what it was about, so I made sure to watch the trailer before heading to the movie. It looked like it would be pretty funny, so I was excited to go.

These special previews for movies are always so CRAZY! We arrived at the theater 45 minutes early only to be place in a huge queue that seemed to wrap and wrap and wrap...

Good thing we'd grabbed some drinks and popcorn before getting in line! :-"

Once we'd got to the front of the line, we had to "check" our phones. NO RECORDING OF THE PREVIEW was going to be allowed. What phone doesn't have a camera nowadays?!

Naturally, by this time, we'd been waiting in line for awhile sipping our sodas (well I had an Icee). By the time we were ready to find our seats, we both had to pee. We took turns and were comfortably seated in the crowded theater by the time the movie began. Phew!

The movie started out hilarious! =))

The interactions between Marni (Kristen Bell) and Joanna (Odette Yustman) were terrifically funny. I thought they played off each other really well. They were arch-enemies during high school. Joanna was a big-time bully. Now, she was about to marry Marni's brother!

Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Mona (Sigourney Weaver)? Not so much! I didn't really care for their storyline. They were supposedly BFFs throughout grade school and high school. I guess I was expecting a little more pent-up drama from their characters. Something a little more similar to the Marni/Joanna dynamic.

About mid-way through the movie, I got a little bored. The funny was kind of wearing off, and I didn't particularly like where the writing was going.

I was definitely disappointed by the end.

Don't get me wrong. I'd watch it again, if Jeff wants to see it. It was funny. There were just also a lot of things about it that I didn't enjoy.

I'd even recommend it to others - provided they go into with low expectations. It's definitely not the funniest movie of the year!

Felt like Phoebe!

I hope I didn't look like her, too.

Remember this episode of Friends?



Well, last night I went for a run. Usually, what I do would only be considered jogging. I'm not that fast nor do I push myself too hard. Slow and steady wins (or at least finishes) the race is more my mindset.

But I'm doing the Reach Your Better Body workout from Fitness magazine. The cardio portion of the plan is running intervals. After a warm-up, last night I ran (really pushing myself) for 1 min, jogged for 2 min and repeated that 5 times.

In order to run faster and harder for that one minute, I really lengthened my stride and picked up the pace. I was running much faster than my usual pace, and I really felt like I looked a little like Phoebe Buffay.

Hopefully my arms didn't flail quite as much as hers.

Hopefully I looked ridiculous only in my head. :D

On another note, I usually run during the morning, when there are few cars and fewer people outside. Lately it's even still been dark. I found last night that I much prefer this. Hopefully it won't be raining in the morning, so I can run before work!!

Back to Blogging: Why I Blog

Today is the final day of the SITS Back to Blogging event.

Today's challenge was to write about why we blog.

This should be an easy topic, right?!

Why do I blog??

As I thought about this today, I thought about how I really started this blog when I was living in NY. I was away from family and friends, and I thought blogging would be a good way to share my thoughts and stories with those I didn't get to see very often.

As I've continued to pursue this blogging venture, I've discovered how much I like to be open and share my thoughts. Blogging allows me to escape the bounds of my debilitating introversion. In the blogosphere, I can be an extrovert. Well, to an extent, of course.

I think this is the reason why I continue blogging. I love sharing with the world my thoughts and stories!

Another main reason I blog is for validation. Not sure this exactly a noble reason to blog, but honesty is important, right?! So, I admit, I feel much better about blogging when I receive feedback or gain new followers. There is no better blogging feeling than when I receive an email notification that I've received a comment.

Comment love is definitely a cherry on top of my blogging journey!

So...bring 'em on.

/please

Back To Blogging: Women Who Inspire

At first, I was a little stumped by this topic (It's Day 4 of the Back to Blogging event over at SITS). I guess I don't really think about who inspires me in my life. I was going to do a google search for "inspiring women." Lame, I know.

Then, I stumbled upon Holly's blog at 504 Main who wrote:

I am more inspired and impressed by ordinary people

who have regular lives and jobs, and families,

and obligations but still find time to contribute to the world,

their community, their friends on a daily basis.

While I'd never visited her blog before, I was inspired by Holly, and my thoughts were immediately turned to my friend, Laura. Laura is totally awesome in nearly every way.

She is funny, down-to-earth, caring.

I haven't known Laura very long (I think I just met her back in April or May of this year), but she is definitely one fabulous lady.

An engineer by trade, she is now a SAHM with two beautiful girls--a 7th grader and a 3rd grader. The 7th grader is autistic and definitely keeps Laura busy. This is inspiring to me because while I do not have any children of my own, I know that I am very impatient and not very compassionate. Having a special needs child actually frightens me quite a bit. Anyone who can handle that must be absolutely full of love and compassion. I stand slightly in awe of such women.

On top of a busy, hectic home life, Laura also volunteers to work with the youth in our church. I do this same calling (YW President, for the Mormons who might read this blog), but Laura does it with much more enthusiasm and spunk. (Well, maybe that's also because she consistently has around 10 YW while I have consistently 1-2. I think it makes a difference.) Anyone who frequently deals with teenage girls knows it's not without a whole lot of drama. I'm inspired by Laura's honesty. When we talk callings, she doesn't sugar-coat it. She gets frustrated...(we all do)...but that doesn't stop her from smiling and doing THE best job.

I really got to know Laura when our two wards combined for YW Camp in August (and a few mutual nights in June and July). Camp was FUN. Relaxing. Full of laughter. Well, except those pesky raccoons...or perhaps despite them.

Laura is also very active (or trying to be). She bikes; she kayaks; she cross-country skiis. Soon, she'll be taking swim lessons, too. I think that's pretty awesome! It inspires me whenever I see her FB status with her biking results.

I almost forgot about how stunningly organized Laura is. You should see her closets and garage. Everything has it's place - even properly labeled. I have a hard enough time keeping my dishes washed, let alone putting things away!

Also, today I just discovered that she has a blog. Women who blog ROCK!

Thanks for all your kindness and inspiration, Laura! You are definitely worthy of some celebration, and I hope you realize just how inspiring you can be with your honest approach to life, your logically organized mind, your kindness. And so on. And so on.

Back to Blogging: A Title I Am Particularly Proud Of - "Temptations are like Tornadoes"

NOTE: It's Day 3 of Back to Blogging. This one was difficult. I've discovered I'm not at all very creative with my blog titles. I definitely need to work on that! :-) So...this title is pretty lame, but still one of the better ones. This was originally posted on July 2, 2008.

Because...


We can often feel them approaching

Sometimes they are so fascinating that we don't seek shelter or make proper preparations

Lots of conditions need to be in place for a tornado (humidity, wind, other meteorological conditions)--this is also true with temptations (i.e. not praying or reading our scriptures)

I thought it was a great analogy when I heard it in a Sacrament talk a few weeks back.

May we all be prepared for the spiritual (and physical) tornadoes that may blow through our lives!!

Back to Blogging: A Post I Wish More People Had Read - "Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls..."

NOTE: This was originially posted on December 3, 2009. SITS Back to Blogging event challenge today is to re-upload a post you wish more people had read and explain why it was important to you. Visit the link for a better view of the original posting. I included all the original photos, but I didn't re-create the formatting or the links. It's definitely one of my favorite posts! The original is WAY better. :-)
 
But I just can't help it!


It's no secret that both Jeff and I LOVE waterfalls, as described here and here.

For me, it's almost even stronger than love. Is that possible? Is anything stronger than love? It is what binds us, after all.

For me, it's almost like a drug. If I'm out for a walk or in a park, and I hear the sound of rushing water, I can't help but go. chase. that. waterfall!! I keep listening and walking...and listening and walking...until I finally find it!

This past summer, I even convinced Jeff to make a pitstop on our road trip to check out the waterfalls in Sioux Falls, SD. You can read about that here.

A few weeks back, I took Sallie for a walk. I heard the unmistakably, wonderful sound of a waterfall, but I couldn't find it. anywhere.

Today, we went out again but this time hiked even closer to the river.

There it was again. An ever-so-slight, but deliciously exhilarating, sound of rushing water. It didn't take me too long to gasp at the beauty as I turned my head.

There it was!! Complete with icicles. Wow.

Now I didn't happen to have my camera with me - just my phone.

If you look real close, in the back center, you can see two streams of water going over the small cliff.

The camera on my phone doesn't have a zoom, so I knew that I needed to get closer.

Down we hiked. Sallie and I.

Closer. But still not good enough to satisfy my need.

Down. Down. Down.

Finally I could get a shot from the front.

This shot was difficult to get because Sallie, does not get my fascination with waterfalls. She was trying her darnedest to get back up the hill. Guess it reminds her too much of getting a bath. Something she does. not. enjoy.

Back at the top of the hill, I tried to capture one last shot of some icicles. Gorgeous!

I realize they are a little difficult to discern (darn no-zooming-camera-phone), but trust me. They are there. Kind of dead center, hanging from the blob of greenery.

Back to Blogging: The First Post I Ever Wrote "Chop, Chop, Chop"

As part of SITS Back to Blogging event, I am re-posting my very first blog entry! This was originally posted on July 2, 2006. As for opening blog posts, I think this was kind of lame. No welcome, no introduction. I just jumped right in. Guess that's good in some ways. :-)

So, without further adieu...here's a little glimpse back to the summer of 2006 in Brooklyn, NY! ENJOY!

It has been SO hot here lately!!!

My hair was so hot and heavy on my neck that I decided I'd had enough. I was tired of having to putting it up in a ponytail each and every day. I thought, hey, we'll be moving soon...why not go for something a little more drastic? So, I decided I'd cut my hair.

Friday night, I did a little research online, looked through a few hair style photos, grabbed a mirror and some scissors and went off to the bathroom.

Snip, snip, snip...

And voila...a cute little bob.

Here are some before and after shots.

Front:

Back:

This was the 2nd time that I cut my own hair. Both experiences turned out to be quite satisfying! :-)