Friday, July 29, 2011

I love Young Women!




Well, it's been almost two months now since being called to Young Women and I love it!  We have a small group of girls but they're so lovable!  I jumped in helping them with "pre-camp" stuff:  making "mess-kit" bags (sewing them together), tie-dying t-shirts and ironing on the camp theme logo:  "Reach for the Stars!".  We went to the camp-site and  cleaned it up and built a HUGE firepit right in the middle!  Then, the girls and leaders could arrange their tents around it in a circle!  I enjoy teaching the Sunday lessons too.  We don't have our adviser yet, or secretary . . . I'm sure that will come along soon.  I had a wonderful opportunity to go with the girls and guys to a Tri-Stake Youth Conference in Missoula.  Really well organized.  It lasted three days - lots of workshops, testimony meetings, activities and a huge opportunity to serve.  We had our yellow "Mormon Helping Hands" vests on and had amazing opportunities to talk about the Church.  The food was fantastic!  Our presidency is wonderful!  Tristan Abbott (so sweet) is our President; I'm first Coun. and Merril Lee Rasmussen is 2nd Coun.  We just cleaned out the YW closet - yikes!  But now it is sparkling clean and SO organized!  I just ordered online cute YW things - bookmarks, etc.  Of course I still am the Choir pianist, Ward and Stake organist, but I must admit, this calling (YW) is my absolute favorite!  I thank my lucky stars for having this opportunity again after all these years!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Personal Best

This year I've been running shorter races - 10ks to be exact.  I've been trying to do a personal best for each one.  I ran for the first time in the Whitefish Lake 10k Run.  I was hoping to come in under 1 hour . . . I ran it in 55 minutes!  My average mile was 8:50 minute/mile!  I was so happy.  I stayed for awards and came in 1st for my age group.  I came in 10th for over-all womens.  So, I was a happy runner that day.  The run was beautiful!  Up pretty early so we could be bussed to the starting location.  The port-a-potties didn't arrive before we boarded the bus, so I was a little worried about that.  The race didn't start until 8 am and we were at the top of the mountain by 7am!  I decided to warm up a little by walking along the road.  I was secretly hoping to find a large bush I could hide behind to do "my thing."  Fortunately, I ran into some construction on a road and found a port-a-pottie!  Whew!  NOW I was ready to begin the race!  It was fun.  The volunteers were great and the t-shirt was actually a good one!  I'll wear it over and over again as I do my daily runs.  Thanks Whitefish Lake 10k Run for the memories!  ps.  my next 10k race is August 27th (Sat.) - Whitefish Friends/Family 10k Run.  Again, I'll try to best my 55 minutes.  Maybe try and cut another 2 minutes off?

Monday, May 30, 2011

New Calling

I have absolutely loved working in Primary (almost 3 years) .  But, I was just released from that calling and asked to be 1st Counselor in the YW - I'm excited.  But, I AM a little worried . . . the handbook has changed and so has YW Personal Progress.  So, I'll have alot to learn.  We have a small YW group and so I'll look forward to getting to know each and every one of them!  Also, I feel a great responsibility to find those "lost" girls - almost 15 of them are less-active.  I have my work cut out for me.  I am definitely the "Mom" of the group!  Maybe even "Grandma" . . . keep you posted!  PS - this week I'm providing a yummy snack for after our outdoor activity - "Deluxe Rice Krispy Squares" - amazing recipe!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Done!

I did it!  I finished all my spring cleaning before spring is actually over!  I worked really hard during the days and sometimes at night.  But it paid off . . . a nice "deep-cleaned" home.  Of course, there are a couple of "little things" left to do.  I want to put up new tile back-splash in the kitchen.  So when I pull out the fridge and oven to clean under, that's when I'll chip off the old tile and put up the new.  So excited.  The other project is to renovate my existing fireplace.  I may even put up a new mantle . . .   Another project, I want to install slate flooring on our little deck.  Whew!  My goal is to hopefully get that done over the summer.  Oh yes!  I want to refinish an existing gold mirror that I have.  Sarah, my daughter inspired me.  She refinished an oval mirror - beautiful job!  My mirror has been around for quite a few years but is still beautiful.  Gold is dated now, but this mirror  has a lot of design and crevices, so I think I'll spray it ivory and glaze it black or gray in the crevices.  When my 3 daughters come for a short visit next month, I'm going to ask what they think . . . Now I just need to get my husband to HELP me with all of this!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Spring Cleaning

Every year the bug hits me . . . I start realizing that there's dust on the walls, dust under the furniture, icky stuff under the fridge and stove, closets a mess.  Does anyone out there get the same bite?  So, here I am, into the second week trying to get spring cleaning done during the actual months of spring.  Last year it didn't happen until early fall.  It's hard to get motivated.  So, I find myself cleaning out a random closet or drawer.  Today will be different.  Right after this blog I'm determined to get to the bathroom and finish the job!  Last night just before bed I cleaned out all the cupboards in the bathroom, soooo, now it's just the fan, walls, tile, etc.  Of course, I feel hungry now, so first I'll get a little snack and then tackle the job BEFORE lunch!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Getting Started!

Today I'm starting my own blog!  Some of my children have blogs that I adore following.  Because of their encouragement, I've decided to do the same.  So here goes!  I'm 63 years old and I love to run.  I've been running now for over forty years.  Distance running is my thing, definitely no sprinting!  I think if I hadn't been running all these years I would have most likely been one of those crazy ladies that you see in big cities, like NYC.  You know the ones  I'm talking about . . . scraggily hair, dressed in a moo-moo, barefoot and sitting on a stoop under a canopy waving a newspaper and ranting:  "The world's coming to an end!"  So, in a way, running saved my life.  When I run, I feel exhilarated.  I feel motivated to do better.  I feel I have more energy.  I feel happier and stronger.  As each year passes I grow more in love with running.  I set new goals for myself.  I've run in alot of races - some big ones and some small ones.  My favorite race is definitely the marathons that I've run.  You see me here in the latest I just ran in September - Whitefish Two-Bear Marathon.  Believe me, it was the toughest one yet.  Mostly uphill on narrow trails and river beds - almost 17 miles worth of uphill trails.  That seemed like the longest 26.2 miles I've ever run.  So glad to see the finish line!  I've run alot of half marathons and many, many 10k races.  So far the only marathons I have run are:  Big Sur (California, along the Pacific Coast highway - amazing!); Missoula (Montana) and as I mentioned earlier, Whitefish Two-Bear (Montana - Big Mountain).  Of course I have many other things that make me happy, but I'll blog about those another time.  Anyone else out there love to run?