A Blog for All Reasons

I just have all these great blog posts that I want to create, but instead of sitting down and creating them, I go out and have more adventures about which to blog! Fair trade, I figure. But here's the latest summation of all the joys squeezed into one blog:

1. Happy Mother's Day! I had an awesome poem thought up in my mind but figured, eh, insincere, so I put forth the real effort and called Mom instead. Also, I spent the day with the Carters and saw Momness in real action!

(These pictures are actually from the last two times the Carters have come up)

CJ and Eric found this sweet awesome wagon at Costco while they were here hahaha but we went to the MOA and there were just all these artsy people just dressed nicely and looking good and I was in public wearing my cow pants! Of all things! And CJ was just toting these three sleepy children around in a wagon! hahaha we were the sight, but it was joy joy joy!
CharlyAnn hahah looks frightened and I felt endeared to her for taking after me :)
Brooke! So cute! Cutest little pirate there ever was!
And the whole motley crew. I love when the Carters come!

2. Working full time is long and good
3. When I'm not working, it is nothing but play, play, play.

(So the pic for 2+3 is a picture of my office from the top of the Y. It's the brown building nestled in the middle of all those trees. Quaintness defined!)

4. I'M REALLY GOING TO TONGA! Check us out at 2ftprosthetics.org or 2ftprosthetics.blogspot.com.

5. I have this wonderful, joyous, freebird new roommmate named Becky Phelan and nothing less than the power of God's hand itself has placed us together in the same room. She is wonderful! She sings like a larken and plays the guitar and makes me laugh so hard but also helps me learn lessons about pure charity and courage. I'm tellin you people, God's Hand. Nothing less.

(This is a favorite, by the way)(Especially since she woke up that morning and said, "I know I should shower, but I'm having such a great hair day!" So i handed her those flowers and took a picture because I love her!)

6. THIS IS A GREAT STORY!!

You all remember Claire, crazy Claire, Charina's roommate Claire, bald Claire? (As if you could forget.) Well, she is getting married, and she invited me to her bridal shower. It was a movie-themed shower, and she assigned each of us a specific movie and encouraged us to use it as ideas for gifts if we needed them.


My movie was Home Alone (what does that imply, that I'm some hooligan kid running around by herself but scaring people off regardless? I don't know.) Anyway, this was my gift to Claire:

Are you curious?

I was trying to think what to get her and I obviously first thought of aftershave and then i thought of a toothbrush and then I thought of just giving up and writing her a poem, but then I was talking with my wild roommate Kim and funnily threw out that I should get Claire a tarantula. Hahah, like, wouldn't that be wild if I actually did!? But i forgot it was Kim and we are both such wildheads that we were like, "Hey, wait a second... that would be awesome if I actually did!!!"

You would not believe how accessible tarantulas are in Provo. Call up Jays Jungle- yep, they've got 'em. 14.99. Call up Petco- yep, they've got em. 8.99!!! But, they were out of tarantulas (weird. Being out implies they are an item in demand. Who buys tarantulas?) So we headed to Jay's Jungle (Shout out to Orion, who used to work there) and there they were!! Rose Haired Tarantulas for $14.99!! I went in on the fence thinking maybe I would buy one if I just did, but once my brain caught hold of the gloriousness of not only buying a tarantula, but buying it to give, and not only to give, but to give to claire, and not only to give to Claire, but to give it to her as a bridal shower gift, I knew I would not come out less empty handed than I went in (which was with my tupperware and lid with air holes poked in with a key haha).

And i did not come out empty handed!

I BOUGHT A TARANTULA!!!!!

Just go ahead and zoom in on that guy, OH MY WORD. It was a real live tarantula. The guy at the store told us to just tap its butt to get it to move (of course) and to just put a sponge in there and feed it crickets every two weeks or so and not to worry if its butt started to go bald, becuase if it gets stressed it starts to flick hair off its butt. ("So what makes it stressed?" "Oh, anything really. It's probably stressed right now")

Anyway, I bought it. And i wrapped it up. And i took it the shower. And I placed it precariously among the other gifts. ("Just.. be careful." "Oh, what, is it fragile?" "Well.. no.. just.. probably be careful...") and we played all the normal games you play at bridal showers (who knew?) and I just kept nervously eyeing the gift just in case, then finally, the moment of opening the presents arrived!

For some reason, my present was gloriously last! I just had to contain all my squealiness so as to not adulterate the glorious amount of potential surprise contained within that tupperware. I had whipped up an introductory poem about Home Alone and then she just let the newspaper fall away and then.... hahahaha she jumped back and was liek.. "Where did you get a TARANTULA!!!"

hahaha The room was instant havoc becuase it's a roomful of girls and they instantly demanded that it be taken to the next room. I was just laughing uncontrollably. A tarantual! But it was worth every bit of the anticipation and joy. And I could have done it for no one else but Claire.
Hahaha what a pure, pure soul who I love. Congratulations, Claire!

Ok, that's all. Actually, I have a whole great ream of stories coming up becuase I am in Virginia, and it has been glorious,but that is all for now becuase I know people only ever remember and comment on the last thing in a blog, and I want you guys to remember that. Thanks for reading!

Words?

There are none.

Ok, so there's a few. Here's what happened.

I work in the Grounds Office all day, which means I see the same people every day, which means I never bring my oft seen and always carried lil white purse with me because the chances that someone famous comes into a building that normal, everyday campus people can't even find is pretty slim. Not bringing the purse to work has not been a problem in the last 2 weeks. Today, however, I decided to take a short 30 minute break to watch my friend run the mile at the track meet. So I left work and rode my bike to the track. I parked at Helaman Halls and was walking to the gate when I suddenly saw a protruding jaw and rounded head to my left and nearly lost my breath when I realized I was 5 feet away from the idol of BYU campus and god of the basketball world, JIMMER FREDETTE HIMSELF! Brief eye contact was made and quickly broken ("Let's not stare, let's not stare!") and I rushed into the track to grab brother of said mile running friend. He and I could not act normal. There was no normal walking or breathing or living becuase Jimmer was at the track meet and we were at the track meet and we and Jimmer were at the same track meet at the same time!!! And i was TICKED, because all semester I schemed and prayed and shniked and religiously carried my purse to ensure that if the heavens opened up and I ever ran into Jimmer on campus, I would be prepared. But NO! The moment arrived and i was without!

We followed him to the bleachers, where he nestled himself in a far away hidden corner. I tried to think how i could possibly ride my bike home, get my purse, drive to the meet, not miss the mile, get the picture, and then get back to work in the small time frame I had, but I eventually just decided to call my ever faithful and Jimmer-worshipping roommate Kelcey, who was providencially home and so graciously broke into my house (we don't live together anymore) got the purse, drove to the track, and was there just in time for the mile! We cheered like banshees and one of our friends even won (it was a good omen) and then we spent the next 12 minutes building up courage. (Ok, that's an exaggeration, but I'm a pro at this weird purse thing! It usually does not mean anything to me to approach an essential stranger and ask them to hold a random purse. This was definitely the one I had to muster the most courage for hahaha)

We finally just went right up, and I stuck the purse out. Like so:

Me: "Will you hold this for me?"
Jimmer: (Took it) (contact!!!!) "Ok..."
Me: "Don't worry, there's a great story, but it isn't important, just, the point is, just... .( i was just so amazed and so worried about bombarding him like everyone else there really were no words)
Kelc: (also breathless with excitement) It involves a grandma!"
Me: (Completely tactless, but still just brainless) "She's dead!" (i'm sorry, i'm sorry! Disrespectful, but I wasn't thinking right!)
Jimmer: "Oh, I'm so sorry!" (such a nice guy...)
Krista: "No, it's ok... just... hold...ok.. good... I'll sit here, Kelc.. good, oh friend, you can be in it too!" (That explains the weird beard in the background)

It was a moment of flustered goodness and I ran away like a little freak because I didn't want to be bombarding him too much. hahhaha Turns out I was so hurried I didn't even notice Chris Collingsworth got into our picture too! Golden!

That's all. I finally did it. What an adventure!

(I can almost die--Boston Marathon? Check! Purse Picture with Jimmer? Check! Now I just need to get married in the temple!)

Boston with Ebullience

Remember when I ran the Boston Marathon!!!!!? Remember that it was more than just the 3:40 minutes of running that made it such a joyous experience!? This will be a long and detailed blog, so just read what you want and enjoy the pictures otherwise.

Boston is an amazing little old city and it was packed with people! I don't think that is different from how it usually is, but because everyone was a crazy runner and wearing boston attire, it made it seem all the more thrilling and fast-paced.

Here are some highlights of the adventure:

The expo the day before was AMAZING! I have never seen so many runners and so many runner companies and so many free things all in one place, and i have definitely never partaken so liberally of so many free things. But Dad, Bum, Mom, and I basically got free lunch (and what a protein, energy-providing lunch it was!) We also got a mini-massage, a sweet poster with everyone's name on it, rings, stickers, tattoos, power bars, slushies, yogurt, etc, etc, etc. I even won a t-shirt!

And I got my bib number, of course. It was really REAL then. I was really going to run the Boston Marathon.

We went and toured the finish line and there were a billion people milling around and taking pictures.
We toured around Boston for a little bit-what a fascinating little city! There were old churches and old cemeteries and we even rode the subway! I see now why Jame loved it and wished that we had more and time less miles to run the next to day so we could've walked around more.

The grave of Mother Goose

We also drove that night to the start line in Hopkinton. Both the start and finish lines are painted permanently on the road. It was a surreal and sacred experience to be at the start line the night before when no one else was, just thinking that in a few short hours thousands of anxious little runners would be completely packed into an area that just simply can't accommodate them all. And I would be one of them! I think it was almost like seeing an ultrasound of a baby you've been carrying for months the day before you give birth haha.

THEN THE DAY ARRIVED! I thought it was weird in St. George when I woke up and thought, "today i will run a marathon"--imagine waking up and thinking, "Today i will run the Boston Marathon!"

You would feel like this:

The athlete's village was INCREDIBLE! It was a colony of carb-loading runners just waiting around, avoiding the wind, applying ointment to every surface imaginable, and stretching all possible muscles. Can you believe that among that 27,000 people, I somehow still managed to run into Cheryl, who was a sports camp counselor with me!? This was her 9th marathon, and she is a stud. It was nice to have a friend to hang with before the race, something that doesn't usually happen to me.
Also, I was waiting in line at the port-o-potty before (by the way, no less than 5000 port-o-potties encircled the entire village, but you better believe there were still lines at every single one of them), I associated with this nice old man, who happened to be running his 33rd Boston and 135th marathon!!!! And he was from Utah and ksl did a story on him and here we are!

And highlights of the race:
The start was incredible. Everyone was broken up in corrals within a wave. I was wave 2, corral 5, which meant i was just about smack dab in the middle. Good place to be.

About 50 steps in someone said, "Go Krista!" And i was all excited becuase i thought someone i knew was there cheering for me! But when I looked, i didn't recognize them! How amazed I was when someone else cheered for me by name again! It wasn't until 10 steps later when I remembered that my name was written across the front of my shirt. Oh, wonderful that shirt was!!! People cheered for ME like crazy! It was amazing!

HOLY SPECTATORSHIP! Everyone that ever said anything about the crowds being the best part of Boston was 100% right, because i have never experienced anything like it. All of Massachusetts had to be out there on the road, because there was never a non-spectator moment. And they weren't just spectators. They were little kids with hands held up for high fives, dads just yelling, "Tasha! Go Tasha! If you are out there, Go, Tasha!", sisters holding lifesize dummies of their runner, senior missionaries (I high-fived them!), mexicans ("Krrista! Go, Krrrista!") shop owners ("If you want a good view of what you look like right now, just take a look to your left at my shop window!") (I looked great. His business looked mediocre haha) and every neighbor in the world with water, oranges, power bar bits, and cheers at every turn. I never had to mentally make myself wait for the next water stop 2 miles away because anything I wanted was right there. It was amazing.


When I passed the camera at the 15k, I thought of Charina's good picture taking skills:

Other race highlights:
Peeing runners. Haha an absolute border of them lined up alongside the course for the first 2 miles.

Water stops. HOLY CUPS. The road was completely sticky for about 200 yards every mile becuase of the gatorade.

People. People. People. Look up the road. Look down the road. Look side to side on the road. You will see nothing but bobbing little running heads packed for MILES.

Dad and Mom and Bum. I saw Dad twice and Mom and Bum once and they were great cheerers!

At about mile 10 the crowds stopped cheering for Krista and just started cheering in disbelief and I couldn't figure out what was so amazing until from up behind came this little leathery tan brown man wearing a black mangy wig--and nothing else. He was naked except for his bib number and little loin cloth!!!! It was hilarious to see people's reactions, and I only wish my shirt said Jane. But I ran behind his bare little bum for 2 miles hahah!

Wellseley. I can't remember what the nickname for this portion of the race is, but at the halfway point i started noticing tons of these "Kiss Me" signs. Like, "Kiss me, I'm graduating!" or "Kiss me, I'm an English Major" or "Kiss me, I'm a red sox fan!" and in my moment of living life up in the Boston Marathon, I thought, "Next sign I see that i appreciate, I'm going to kiss the boy holding it!" hahaha but then it dawned on me that this was the famous point of the Wellsely Girls College and there would be no boys there! And there weren't- it was straight packed with girls for about a half mile, and they were all holding kissing signs and they were all screaming their heads off and it was AMAZING.

Heartbreak what? I mentally prepped myself through this whole journey for the supposed 5 miles of hills from 17-21 and as I approached 17 I got all anxious and went up one little hill but was just mentally getting focused for much harder to come. You can imagine my surprise when I finished 21 and still hadn't noticed anything and still convinced that mile 22 was the start of the infamous Heartbreak Hill--but nay! I went around a slight bend in the road only to find a ginormous inflatable arch that said "The Heartbreak is Over!" I still couldn't let myself believe that that was it, so it wasn't until like a mile later when I knew that really was it and I could thank my hilly childhood neighborhoods for the normal runs which to everyone there would've been death on earth.

Boston College. Apparently Wellesley Girls College and Boston College have a cheering competition every year. Boston College is at mile 22, right when i was really starting to get tired. They had given their student body matching sunglasses and they were the best cheerers ever! One big group even started chanting my name and I felt so endeared to them becuase they were college kids and i was a college kid and they were cheering for me, Krista! It was just the encouragement I needed!

At St. George CJ told me that Cameo said you had to be careful to remember at the last 3 miles that you still had 3 whole miles left and not let the people get you too excited, and I definitely felt it. Those were completely packed with people and all of them seemed to be saying my name, but I could not give the enthusiastic fist pump acknowledgement the rest of my kind cheerers got before. They got more of the eye-shift the Lindes got at St. George. I have never been so happy to see a finish line before. It was amazing!


But it was dead annoying becuase you can't fulfill your one and only desire and just sprawl on the ground right afterward because you are in a city and thousands of people would trample you if you did. So you just keep walking. And they wrap you in a heat sheet. And keep walking. And they put a sticker on it so you don't have to hold it. Or more like so you can grab the water. Then keep walking. And grab the gatorade. And keep walking. And get your picture taken. And keep walking. And get your carb bag. And keep walking. And want to strangle everyone who ever designed this keep walking thing. Gall of bitterness defined in the movement towards the buses to get our bags and then to find our families, but I bet we all looked hilarious staggering around. It was a moment of pure bliss when Dad finally called out and Mom waved my purse and I was done!

I RAN THE BOSTON MARATHON! It seems like nothing but a dream! It was amazing! It simply exceeded every expectation i ever even dreamed in my far fetched imaginings and I would do it again in a heart beat.

Mom and Dad and Summer were the best ever! We had so much fun and I can't thank them enough for coming.

After the race:
Summer--"Krista, krista, we gotta do this together. We gotta" hahah, Ok LaDon.....


It was simply perfect and absolutely amazing. There are no words sufficient to describe it all.


And it wore us plumb out.
But didn't stop us from visiting Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and of course, Massachusetts.
What a grand adventure. Thank you, family!


And speaking of you, family, I've a proposition.

LET'S RUN THIS HALF MARATHON TOGETHER!!!

Ok, ok, so it's sold out. But what do you think? A not Disney half-marathon would be cheaper, more realistic, and the perfect family reunion!!! I KNOW all of you could do it, and for those of you who couldn't/didn't want to, you could just wait in the big van with the chilluns for 2 hours while the rest of us do (you owe me and Sum, you know haha) CHARINA DID IT, and we all could too!

Just think about it. I will gladly make and distribute training schedules for all who desire.

One last thought to embody the greatness of this experience. I went for a haircut two days after Boston and it somehow slipped out in conversation with my hairdresser what I had done and she was pretty amazed. I paid and was walking out of the store, only to hear her say to her co-worker, "That girl ran the Boston Marathon!"

Ebullience :)

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(Sorry for that image, remember it's the sound, not the image)

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past tense of being told what to do + adjective describing the positively in-use status of a power source + biblical/old english declaration of permanent union (i.e.- "Tomorrow, I marrieth thee," or shorter, "Tomorrow, I mar'ath thee!") + opposite of off

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BOSTON MARATHON!
Sooner than it was 6 months, 5 days, or 4 minutes ago. Now THAT'S SOON.

AAAAA!!!!!

Thank You

(No pressure to read this whole thing, but I think you will like it)

Friends, family, and fellow aspire-ers, in less than 7 days I will participate in an event which represents a culmination of a lot of stamina-building, sweat-producing, soul-defining work.

When I toe the line in Hopkinton, I'll just be getting ready to take another step in a stream of literal hundreds of miles over the course of many years. One stride through an intersection in Ashland is just another red light I've run. Though admittedly I've never had crowds like I'll see (and hear) in Wellesley, it won't be the first time I've run in front of people. My jaunt up "Heartbreak Hill" will be like scrambling over a little speed bump compared to the granite I've scaled, and my noodle leg sprint towards the finish line will only be reminiscent of the hundreds of times I've done it before.

There's no denying it is the Boston Marathon. But there's also no denying I've done my part.

So will you be surprised to hear me say that in contemplation of this moment, I've realized my part is to the other elements which have brought me here as Heartbreak Hill is to Pikes Peak? Let me explain.

A month ago I stood nervously by a hospital bed, video camera in hand. What the tape actually captured may be shaky and unfocused, because I was too busy looking over the top at real life before me to focus on filming. My sister C.J. was giving birth, and I was witnessing it. SHE GAVE BIRTH! She brought a human being into this world, and before that, she grew it in her own body!!! Through my tears of amazement and near disbelief, one thing was surer than the day CharlyAnn was born-- my sister is a BEAST HOG. You don't just give birth every day. (I recently read on a comment elsewhere that she was planning on running in two weeks. What?! May I repeat- BEAST HOG)

A week ago I received a text from my sister Jamie. Jamie is faster than a speeding bullet and can run like a gazelle, but she suffered some pretty serious back complications in her younger years, and subsequent pregnancies and momhood have prevented her from running for quite some time. However, in the text, Jamie told me with great elation that she had just run a mile for the first time since her junior year in high school-- in 7 minutes and 15 seconds! I don't even run miles that fast, and I've been having no children or degenerative discs! I was listening to the prophets of the Lord speak when I received that news, but her words of accomplishment were easily the most inspiring things I heard that day.

Yesterday I spoke on the phone with my sister Charina. Charina is probably the most feistily athletic of us all, but she tore her ACL, MCL, and miniscus in high school. Devestating, you might say. (I could go on about the amazing example Charina has been because of her optimistic endurance through that experience, but perhaps another time). In our conversation, Charina told me that she ran 8 and a half miles that day! Some people never go that much in their entire lives, and they have perfectly healthy knees! I nearly cried tears of joy when she said she was planning on running a half marathon soon, especially thinking back on the short runs she and I barely used to do around Topaz--now here she is, training to endure 13 times that far!

Today I called my sister Summer and she told me that the day before she had run a 5k. This is not an unusual occurence, as she runs them all the time, but if you told anyone 3 years ago that she would be running a 5k, few would believe you. Beyond that, if you said she would p.r. by TWO MINUTES in said 3 mile race, we would have busted a gut. BUT THAT IS TRUE! Summer is a runner, and she has been working on a training schedule to run her first 10k in 2 months, a feat not many people would have expected from lil Bum. Last year she ran 500 miles! She is dedicated and I have experienced few moments of pride greater than the one I had for Summer with a 2 min pr.

Speaking of prs, my parents ran that same 5k with Summer. (Another crazy moment. My parents are fit and athletic people, but running 5ks? Something they haven't done for some time or ever) My mom sped through the whole thing nearly 4 minutes faster than her last 5k, and her 2 mile split was a personal best. Such improvement! This is all without Doug! CJ may have created a human in herself, but she definitely got that Beast Hogness from Mom.

And Dad! Dad ran a 5k with me about 3 years ago and he did pretty good--but his performance then does not even hold a candle to the race he ran yesterday. He pr'ed by 4 minutes (i think? impressive, whatever it was). He runs almost everyday now, and is rapidly approaching his form from his marathon days. :) Dad called and left me a message that went like this (after the standard, "Hello Kristamo, this is your fath-er, how are you doing, hope you're doing Great!). "I'm just calling to say hello and to tell you to not start out too fast for the Boston Marathon, like take it easy the first 6 or 7 miles even." Dad always has good and inspiring treasures of pure running advise because he is a runner himself!

You see?

Yes, I've pounded the pavement in Provo incessantly. I've climbed the hills and perspired the pools and mended the blisters and devoured the carbs and stretched the IT's and beat the dawn. But I think lots of people probably have. It takes a lot more than moleskin and miles to run marathons. Lucky for me I've got the beast hog, inspiring, enduring, dedicated, improving, and advising examples of those running Roys.

So family, family, and family, thank you for doing your part.

There's no denying it is the Boston Marathon we are running.

Life at the Speed

I apologize for the neglect....even Charina blogged before I did! It is the busy time of year, and the last three weeks have been no exception and the next two will fall in that same category.

Here are some things I have done:

Canyoneering! I wasn't going to publicize this because of the death potential involved, but then Mom already knew (of course haha) so instead just be amazed that this picture was taken at a place where I was feeling comfortable and roomy. Definitely not a sport for the claustrophoic. AWESOME.

My roommates. So soon we will part :( (Elise made the shirt she is wearing!)

We went snow camping!
Holy cow, talk about freezing. We hiked up past the Y and into the canyon and spent the night and it was cold except for the sleeping part, which was wonderful. It was so FUN!
The fire burned and burned and burned and it still did not ever reach the ground, which tells you how much snow there was. The trees surrounding our site will be quiet the sight to see in the spring because they will have all their branches hacked off where we could reach--right in the middle with the extra 5 feet of snow.


Kim and I teamed up for the Splash n Dash on campus- we got third, coming in behind a team with BYU swim team members. Kim swam a smoking mile (25 minutes!) and I did a 10k in 45, so we made a good standing for two hooligans from the Springs.

I went and visited Karalee at Logan. (Her and Ally should have the modesty lesson from Jamie again haha). She lives in the quaintest little house and is thriving. Endearment.


At first I was pretty happy about the Toy Story 3 calendar Lise hung up in our room, until we got to April and now I have this guy staring at me as I go to bed every night! Yikes!

THE EASTER BUNNY CAME TO OUR HOUSE! Early, of course, because he knew none of us would be here together when the real date came. (It was so fun to stay up late and make baskets and hide eggs for our roommates. Lise and I were in our elements!)

Lise is dear. She sews. and sews. PROJECT!

This is her nearly completed dress! I was so proud of her. (I just warned her not to make matching ones for her sons!)

I just completed my first 50 page project/paper thing with these lovely girls. The furthest on the left grew up with Jimmy and is the daughter of the only people outside of the Roy/Willis bounds who attended the Roy/Willis sealing haha. She said she used to write in her journal about her desires to marry Jimmy hahah!

And I almost forgot this great adventure! Hare Krishna was on steroids this year (I think many people in attendance also were) but it was still fun. Lost some of its luster with all the desecration of the temple and thousands of druggies there, but it was still great.



Those are the adventures. life is great and in the very near future (as noted above) is BOSTON!!!!!!!!!