The Debster

In Loving Memory of Kimberly Mendel Beck

2011-03-09T07:42:00.003-05:00

My heart is aching for the Mendel family right now. Kim, their oldest daughter passed away on Sunday, leaving a loving husband and 5 beautiful children. Heather, my sister-in-law and Kim's younger sister has asked us to spread the word and post this pledge account.

http://pledgie.com/campaigns/14852

While I didn't know Kim that well, every time I was with her I just felt happy. She was SO positive, fun, energetic, loving, compassionate, spiritual, and much more. She wrote the most beautiful poem for my niece Olivia's funeral last year and she was always doing such kind and thoughtful things for others. It is such a tragedy when such an amazing person is taken way too quickly. If you want more details about Kim and her life, there is a short bio posted on the Pledgie site.

Things like this always make me so incredibly grateful for the Gospel and the perspective it gives. Words almost can't describe how grateful I am for every single member of my family. I am also so grateful for my friends and all of the blessings I have been given. Lots of love from me to all of you!

My Roots Continued

2010-12-14T14:16:00.007-05:00

Here's another wonderful piece of media coverage about my roots, it is hilarious! This is where I spent 5.5 years of my life getting my higher education. I could put the video up here, but I think my roommates would make too much fun of me. haha.

My Roots

2010-12-06T20:49:00.002-05:00

My co-worker refered me to this article, he said it gave him a laugh. Does this make me want to stop telling people I'm from Merced, CA? Never!!

World Series Baby!!

2010-10-26T16:01:00.003-04:00

The Giants are going to the World Series!! This makes me smile (and cheer). Go Giros!

Summer Recap

2010-09-05T18:35:00.015-04:00

I can't believe it is September 5th!! Where is time going? Honestly, I feel like 2010 has gone by so fast. Here are some summer highlights I haven't blogged about:
NYC with Doug and Heather
Duck Beach 2010Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer run with Kim (I miss her...)Moving into a new house in Arlington World Cup Action (somehow I found myself watching the USA vs. Ghana game in a bar by myself in Salt Lake...funny story)
House projects - painted a dresser and bookshelf
Outdoor concerts with my amazing co-workersBridal showers
Weddings (Ceclie and Alyssa Meik's....I love those girls so much)Visit back to P-town
BBQs
4th of July in DC...might possibly be the best place to spend this holiday
3 trips to Shannon's lake house...fell in love with wake boardingLots of tennis
Lots of soccer
Summer SoireeA week at the cabinDemolition DerbyKayaking on the Potomac
Julie's mission call/going through the temple for the first time
Road bikingDan's visit
Glen Beck rallyKennedy party at JFK and Jackie's former house in Georgetown (SO awesome)Redskins game in box seatsBring on the fall - beautiful leaves, visit from M&J, lots of work travels. I am really blessed!

Peach Goodness

2010-08-23T22:53:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite things about Virginia is picking fresh fruit by the bag! Last Saturday, Laney and I went peach picking and got some super delicious peaches.
We also thought taking jumping pictures while picking fruit was kinda funny.
Anyways, Laney's Grandma Hall has a fresh fruit pie recipe that knocks your socks off! We made them with orchard fresh peaches, and I'm proud to report that I've had 3 pieces today. Thought I'd share the goodness:

Step 1: Bake Pie Crust (you can make your own, or just buy the Pilsbury pie crust and then bake it)

Step 2: Jello Mixture
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
5 TBL corn starch
Bring to boil and cook on stove top until thick
Add 6 TBL peach jello (1 pkg)
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBL butter
Let this mixture cool

Step 3: Cream Cheese Filling
Mix 8 oz. softened package of cream cheese 1 cup of cool whip
1 cup of powdered sugar
Smooth in bottom of pie crust

Step 4: peel and slice 10-12 peaches

Line pie crust with cream cheese filling, sliced peaches, and top with jello mixture and chill.

Pincheroo

2010-06-29T14:08:00.028-04:00

Friends, I don't know what has happened to me! Down at Duck Beach a mixture of lots of sun, no sleep, LOTS of sugar, and being around some of my favorite people in the world got me starting to do this to boys!Let me explain...I'm not actually pinching their bum, I'm just pseudo pinching it and a few of my friends and I think this is the funniest thing in the world. And now, 5 weeks later we keep taking pictures

after pictures

after pictures of us mysteriously pretending to pinch their bum! Sometimes they know and sometimes they don't.

Oh my gosh, I am laughing writing this right now. I know this seems really weird but trust me, do it and you won't be able to stop laughing. Lauren and I have worked on techniques...forehand pinch, backhand, the squeeze, the tap, the double squeeze. Ha, maybe I need a bf!?!? If my mother saw this she would probably kill me :)

Memories :)

2010-06-29T14:02:00.009-04:00

Last weekend I went back to Utah for my friend Cecilie's wedding and I had SO much fun!! I loved hanging out with JuJu Bear, going back on the BYU campus, eating some delicious Utah favorites (Cafe Rio, Maglebys Fresh, BYU mint brownies), and everything else. Highlights include:

Hanging out with one of my best friends Ceci and meeting her adorable little boy Jacob

Seeing mission friends - the Houstons, Nanette Hoxsie, and chatting with President Watson

Seeing college friends - Shawna, Torrey, and others

And maybe one of the best parts was going to the new cannon center with my cousin Dan for breakfast! I realized that I am SO grateful for every chapter of my life!
This is my "you're getting married tomorrow" face!

Backstreets Back!

2010-06-13T15:26:00.007-04:00

Last week I racked up a personal first...my first Backstreet Boys concert! I've done N Sync, done 98 degrees, but never the Backstreet Boys so I was pretty excited. My friend MJ wanted to welcome her 26th year of life with a blast from the past (at the concert she may have informed us that this was her 6th BSB concert!) But let me tell you - going to a boy band concert a decade after they were really cool was a hilarious experience. Here are my thoughts on the evening.

My first clue that going to the concert of a "has been" just wasn't what it used to be was when Brian's 6 year old son introduced them. Hm...kinda weird. The next funny thing was their dancing, it was TERRIBLE! Very cheesy, and actually kind of gross. I guess they feel the need to dance really seductively to still make a buck?? Their outfits were timeless...jeans, wife beater, and gray hoodies with their initials in red sequence. But don't worry, they are still making music (I didn't know this. I thought the concert was going to be all the old classics, like Shape of my Heart, Larger than Life, I want it That Way, Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely, etc.). My personal fav's from their new album are the songs entitled: "PDA" and "I still wanna be single"...are you kidding me? And of course, we all felt really special when they said they would be nothing without their fans these past SEVENTEEN years!! I was 10 when they started! So funny. Nonetheless, we had a really fun time and the outdoor amphitheater was really cool. Funny to think that we lived during the whole "Boy Band" phenomena! We can someday tell our kids how cool they were.

I'm madly in love with Europe

2010-05-12T19:07:00.007-04:00

Ever since I got on the plane to fly home from my study abroad in Europe 6 years ago (yikes!), I've been DYING to go back. I am so in love with the museums and food and cultural activities of Europe that I MUST go back, and soon. DC is so fun because there are always so many cool things to do. Last Saturday Lauren, Kim, and I went to the embassies of 13 of the EU countries, it was awesome! They were such troopers, I wanted to get a stamp from every embassy because I like dorky things like that. We saw some cool dancing in the Greece Embassy, had a polish sausage in the Embassy of Poland, heard some singers in the Embassy of Latvia, took pictures with the gals in costume at the Embassy of Finland, avoided the free bear at the Czech Republic's Embassy, and much more. It was so fun, probably one of the coolest things I've done out here! And it only fueled the fire inside to go back to Europe and visit! Here's some photos:Apparently I like to take dorky photos, or so I'm told. Whatever, I have a good time!

What are the chances??

2010-05-11T16:18:00.011-04:00

A few weekends ago I went up to NYC because Doug and Heather were there for a conference and who doesn't love a good weekend trip to New York? It was a lot of fun, but had a hilarious twist due to the car bomb scare.

Doug's conference was right in Time's Square at the Marriott Marquis, so after seeing "Billy Elliot" Saturday night, we started to walk back to the hotel and all of Times Square was barricated off. Finally a few hours later they started letting hotel guests back into the area but we had to show our hotel key. They wouldn't let us into the hotel until 2am and when we got inside, they handed us a pillow and blanket and said we could sleep anywhere on the 4th or 5th floor (which only consists of conference rooms!) It was hilarious seeing all of these dermatologists laying on the floor sleeping with all of their colleagues, that's just not something you see every day! Here's the room full of "sleeping" dermatologists - the same room that earlier that day they were listening to lectures in.I'm still not sure how being on the 4th or 5th floor was safer than being in our rooms if there was a bomb on the street in front of the hotel. Aren't they equally dangerous?? Finally at 4am everyone was allowed to go back to their rooms for the night and we totally crashed, it was crazy.

Nonetheless, we survived our night and drownded our tiredness in some delicious food and amazing cupcakes the next day. The irony of this all is that 6 years ago, during the big Blackout of 2003 my parents, Julie and I were in New York picking Dan up from his mission and we stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. When the huge power outage happend, we couldn't go inside the hotel for 24 hours so they brought out pillows and blankets and we slept on the sidewalk!!! No joke. So the two times in my whole life that I've stayed at the Marriott Marquis hotel, I've had to sleep on the ground for one reason or the other. Heather and I just could not stop laughing....what are the chances?? So funny. I tried to take a picture where my face would say it all. I was honestly just thinking..."you've GOT to be kidding me. I've done this before...not again!?"

Birthday Festivities!

2010-04-24T16:30:00.008-04:00

This was quite the birthday for me - I've now entered my late 20's! Wow, weird. Am I really this old? For whatever reason, the onset of the term "late 20's" makes me feel all this new responsibility of things I now need to be thinking about...I should now be starting to climb the ladder professionally, I should be investing, starting to save for a house, etc. I just don't feel old enough for this stuff!

The best part about last weekend was the fact that I spent my birthday with my parents for the first time since high school, 9 years ago! They were on their way up to Toronto for a medical conference and came to DC for a few days. We packed it in - took a tour of the White House gardens, went to Ford's theater, went to the Newseum, went to Mt. Vernon, saw a concert at the Kennedy Center, visited my office, went to a Nats game, went to some monuments they hadn't seen, and had some great laughs and delicious food. I loved having them here - it was fun to have my two worlds collide!My roommates put on an amazing birthday party! We had a bbq and outdoor movie in our backyard and my roommate Emily made the most adorable cake. Life is great, here's to another amazing year on the East Coast!

Green Thumb

2010-04-13T20:52:00.005-04:00

Green has been my favorite color lately...it changes every so often. I was trying to think of how I can fit the word 'green' into all of my posts, so I'll post about my newly discovered green thumb! Tulips are my absolute favorite flower, so last fall I bought some bulbs and planted them. I think they turned out pretty good for my first time! Here are some pics:Also, there are so amazing tulip gardens around DC. Here's one along the Potomac by a Navy Memorial.

Going Green

2010-04-04T00:37:00.004-04:00

With the warmer weather I've been wanting to ride my bike the 16 miles to work. I finally took the plunge last Thursday and LOVED it! Luckily, DC has amazing trails all along the Potomac so I got to ride into Georgetown and then along the river for most of the ride. My boss always says that since we're a wellness company, we should practice what we preach, so here's to you JR. I love Washington DC! Here are some before and after pics.

I'm in love!

2010-03-28T22:21:00.002-04:00

Ingrid Michaelson and PB Chocolate Cake!

2010-03-22T20:09:00.012-04:00

Last weekend was Laney's 26th birthday and we just packed it in all weekend. Saturday night we went to see Ingrid Michaelson at this really cool venue in Baltimore. She is SUCH a good performer, it was so dang fun. It was a smaller club so anywhere you were it felt like you were close to the front - Ingrid put on an AMAZING show. She and her band switched instruments in the middle of one song, she took someone's flip camera from the audience and sang to it, and at the end they played a Brittany Spears song and did a dance to it, it was hilarious. Matt Kearny opened for her...also a great performer. Can you please look at Laney's face in this picture...oh my word, are you kidding!? Thanks to Laney a few of us were rockin the "smokey eyes." And whats a birthday without some nice shake face/blow face pics?2nd only to Ingrid was the peanut butter and chocolate cake I made for her party. Oh my gosh, how do I put it in words...sinfully good, literally.

Delicious Food

2010-03-01T22:07:00.002-05:00

Since moving out to DC I have fallen in love with cooking. I LOVE IT, its so fun. Right after Labor day, 2009 my roommates and I decided to do a cleanse where we would only eat natural foods, pretty much entirely raw with no processed foods or added sugar - with a big emphasis on vegetables. We each take a night to cook dinner and we double everything so we all have lunch the next day. We've pretty much kept it up these past 6 months and its seriously been amazing! We've all felt better, slept better, etc. One of my roommates lost 30 pounds, another one 11 pounds. Honestly, I've never been this healthy (eating-wise) and have never felt so great physically. Tonight I made herbed chicken with broccoli and this amazing couscous dish that I thought I'd share the recipe for. It was absolutely delicious, here it is:

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (may substitute water)
2 TBL plus 1 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup quick-cooking whole-wheat couscous
1 medium onion
2 small zucchini
2 medium cloves garlic
15 ounces canned chickpeas
About 15 grape tomatoes
Leaves from 1 small bunch mint, plus leaves from 4-6 stems flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine 1 1/2 cups of the broth, 1 tsp of the oil and 1/4 tsp of the salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then add the couscous and stir to moisten. Cover and remove from the heat; let stand for 7 minutes (or longer) while you prepare the vegetables.
Finely chop the onion, trim the zucchini and cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into thin slices to yield about 2 3/4 cups. Mince the garlic to yield about 2 teaspoons. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Cut the grape tomatoes in half to yield 1 cup. Finely chop the mint and flat-leaf parsley to yield about 3/4 cup.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring. Add the garlic and oregano; cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened.
Add the chickpeas, succhini, the remaining 1/4 cup broth, the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper to taste; mix well. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low; cook for 5-7 minutes or until the zuddhini is tender. Remove from the heat, then add the tomatoes, mint and parsley, tossing to incorporate. Add to couscous and enjoy!

We're keeping a cookbook of all the super healthy, loaded with vegetable meals that we make so let me know if you need good recipes. Yay for health!

Olivia Fife

2010-01-30T13:51:00.005-05:00

Last week was a very difficult week for my family, especially my brother Doug and his wife Heather. Sadly, one week before her due date, they lost their baby girl due to a knot in the umbilical chord. They hurt, but are doing ok. Please include them in your prayers.

What I've Been Up To

2010-01-04T18:31:00.011-05:00

My good friend Randi was thoroughly disappointed with my last post, so this one is for you Ran-dog.

Here are highlights of the past few weeks. Christmas in DC is AMAZING!

1. Enjoyed Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with most of my siblings. Made my Grandma Callister's orange rolls and ate 9 of them!2. Enjoyed Handel's Messiah at the National Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous.
3. Saw Jersey Boys with some good friends. The music was sooo good.4. Saw 'A Christmas Carol' at Fords theater.5. Saw the New York City Ballet Company perform.6. Survived the east coast blizzard right before Christmas.7. Had an amazing time in Merced for Christmas. The highlights include In & Out twice, La Morenitas, snowboarding on Christmas day, the Callister cousin party, and meeting some significant others of two of my best friends.8. Went to Vegas for 4 days and hung with the fam. We saw a magic show down on the strip and also got to spend a lot of time with my grandma, who I love and admire so much.9. Went to San Diego for new years! It was so fun hanging with my cousins and meeting my brother Dan's LA crew.10. Came back to 22 degree weather! Awesome.

Happy 2010!

SYTYCD Finale!

2009-12-10T14:01:00.001-05:00

I am SO excited for the finale, its been a great season! And my Mormon claim to fame is that I know Ashleigh Di Lello, who is in the top 6. Boo ya.

One Year In Retrospect!

2009-10-09T07:17:00.021-04:00

I can't believe its already been a year since I moved out to the East Coast, time absolutely flies! I've been doing a lot of thinking about where I am in my life and what the past year has meant to me, lessons learned, good experiences, etc. so I'll share my thoughts with you.

Laney and I decided to celebrate our one year out with food. If you haven't eaten at the Melting Pot, a super fun fondue restaurant, you must do it.

These are the highlights/happenings of the past year, in no particular order:
Lived, (love my roommates)

Laughed

Loved
Learned, a TON
Cried
1 year of full time employment!
Heard Obama sworn in, went to an innaugural ball!

Visited new places (North Carolina, Philadelphia, Chicago, West Virginia, Portland, Palmyra, Seattle, Disney world)

NYC 3 times!

Visitors (Julie, Doug and family)

Saw Duke University and Wake Forest

Reminisced with mission friends, President Watson visit
Experienced the Mormon phenomena of Duck Beach...and all that entails

Played LOTS of sports
Attended LOTS of sports games

Saw some amazing concerts
Became exremely patriotic, experienced 4th of July in our nation's capital!

Made lots of great friends
Fell in love with cooking
Fell in love with reading (love my book clubs)
Took a photography class, fell in love with that too (this is one of my favorite pics I took)

Did 2 ragnars

New church callings
Went to British Columbia

Enjoyed my parents' mission letters

Went to tons of embassies

Had amazing missionary experiences
Attended the temple regularly

Learned to live on a budget
Perfected my Wii skills
Attended many art festivals
Outdoor movies, outdoor concerts
White House tour
Midnight movies :)

Bought my first car!

In retrospect, its been an absolutely amazing year. I've learned a ton, strengthened my testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, spent time with family and friends, set and reached goals, developed talents, and much more. Life is so dang fun! I'm excited for another year out in DC. I love you all, really, if you're the ones reading my blog, I love you!

Theme Party!!

2009-09-08T20:11:00.006-04:00

Last weekend some friends and I went to a lake house in Central Virginia and had way too much fun. Here's the palace:

Swimming, slip n' slide, movies, card games, and badminton were among the activities, along with a 1930's gangster party. If you don't know this about me, if you get me in a costume I, for whatever reason, completely let loose (gals...Lady Marmalade...need I say more). Here's some pictures from the swingin' party, it really was so much fun.

The crew:

The dames:Some of the most common phrases used were: "The paper boy seems to be delivering a little more than the news....if you know what I mean," "Do I ever," "Hey tuts" "That debt I owe Big Fish Johnny." "Mary Jane heard some rumors about you...and they ain't good, if you know what I mean." I think the highlight may have been Laney's wig!!

Bottom line is, Mary McMullen knows how to do it right.

Newest addition to my life

2009-08-24T17:35:00.002-04:00

I'm finally a real adult! College grad, working woman, car owner. Boo ya.

Seattle, here I come!

2009-08-03T11:25:00.004-04:00

I'm going to visit this place for the first time:
I'm SO excited to see my parents, Doug and fam, and Julie. Bring on the good times...and good food!

Mormon Mania!!

2009-07-16T07:50:00.003-04:00

A few friends and I went up to Plamyra last weekend for the pageant and had such a fun time. I fell in love with outdoor pageants when I served in Mesa so I was super duper excited for this one (I may have been running around before the show like a child taking pictures with all of the characters...I just think its so fun! ha...notice the extremely excited look on my face)
I hadn't been to Plamyra or Niagara Falls for about 6 years so I was excited to see all of the church history sites. As we visited each of the famous sites there, I was overwhelmed at how sacred each of those places are. Events that changed the world happened in the sacred grove, the Whitmer farm, the Grandin printing building, the Hill Cumorah, etc. I am so grateful for the sacrifice of Joseph Smith, the whole Smith family, and the early members of the church for enduring the difficult challenges so that we can enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ today.
Whats a road trip without a few things going wrong, right? On the way up, one of the cars had trouble so they ended up renting a car in Harrisburg, PA. It poured rain during the day Saturday and completely soaked all of our camping stuff (I was against camping from the beginning...), and the kicker...2/3rds of the way through the pageant it started pouring rain so they cancelled the rest of the show! I was super bummed, but considering we saw most of it and had some great experiences at the other sites, it turned out ok. The pageant was so cool, I loved the Book of Mormon stories they portrayed. Here's some documentation of the trip:
We found some absolute gems up in Palmyra though. If you haven't been to the Chill and Grill, you haven't lived. Spicy waffle fries, giant ice cream sanwhich cookies, and huge ice cream cones are among the menu favorites. A small cone, complete with 4 scoops was $3; I felt like I robbed them, but hey, it was 4 scoops! (There's a fine line between quality, quanitity and price, kind of like Little Ceasar's versus Papa Johns...you can pay more for better quality, or less for more not-as-good pizza).And now to the title of my post: Mormon Mania. I think this pictures just says it all!Guys, you can purchase this at a local bookstore up there or for the ladies you can get the "I'm an 8 cow wife" shirt. I think 'peculiar' is the perfect way to describe us Mormons!

Ragnar # 2, will I ever stop!?

2009-06-25T08:55:00.000-04:00

So I decided life is more fun when you take last minute, spur of the moment, verging on crazy trips...and thats just what I did last weekend! My brother Dave and his wife were scheduled to do the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay with Becky's cousins, the Armstrongs, and one of their teammates had to drop out, so they gave me a proposal 4 days before the race...they would fly me out for the race and a quick trip up to my parents cabin in Idaho if I could maneuver to get work off. I had SUCH a good time and am so glad I did it. Here's some pictures from the race:

I was kind of worried about the elevation and dry air, which turned out okay, but the biggest thing I was worried about was my first leg of the race. This beastly 800 ft., very hard difficulty climb had me worried, but thanks to an ipod and good music, I made it up (nevermind that right in the middle of it I vowed never to do one of these again). I'm glad I got it over first. I don't think this picture does it justice, but maybe the map does.

Yes, I know I'm a runner and I've played sports all my life, but I don't run straight up hills regularly, so it was dang hard. Ironically, I was runner 12 so the outlier (unrelated person) got to finish the race for the family! Notice I do not have the family t-shirt. The person I was covering for was a guy so it just didn't work.
Highlights of the trip:
1. Cafe Rio - this was my first order of business when Julie picked me up from the airport. I had it Thursday and Saturday...yummy!
2. Hanging out with Dave. My brother is SO funny, I laughed the entire race!

3. The sight of a good Honey Bucket. All you runners know exactly what I'm talking about.
4. Finishing the race right before the 3 hour downpour in Utah. I do not envy any of the teams behind us.
5. Seeing some cousins. I decided that I have the best family ever and I am so grateful for them.
6. Going up to the cabin in Idaho. We did some fishing, canoeing, and we saw a Grizzly bear and moose right by our cabin! I missed my mom and dad so much up there. It just isn't the same without the crack of dawn fishing wake up call from my dad.

So this makes the 2nd ragnar race in two months for me, the 3rd one of the year. I'm thinking about the DC one in September and the Vegas one in October. I am crazy!

Run, Drive, Sleep...Repeat. RAGNAR RELAY!

2009-05-18T08:40:00.000-04:00

Last weekend some friends and I drove up to New York to do the ragnar relay Friday and Saturday. It was so much fun and totally exhausting. My sister in law Heather has a great quote that totally applies in this situation: "The more miserable, the more memorable!" Totally memorable in my book: running in the middle of the night, no sleep, horrible BO smell in the car, etc. Love it!

We left early Friday morning to drive up for our 1:00 start time in Woodstock, NY. Then we proceeded to run 181 miles for 25:08 and ended the race in the Bronx (upper NYC). We had an awesome team and everyone was great runners. My van (#1) ran from 1-5ish, 11:00 pm-2:30am, and then 6:30-10:30am Saturday. Here's some action shots:

I am so sore and totally exhausted, but so glad I did it.

Here are some highlights: 1. KA getting "punked"...they changed the race course last minute and instead of running 2.9 miles, moderate difficultly for her first leg, (the categories were easy, moderate, hard, very hard) it got switched to 7.4 very hard! 2. A few of us getting lost because some genious thought the sign to turn left was the wrong way, so he switched it around. 3. Absolutely no shame about the potty business...literally. Our legs were not the only thing running, if you know what I mean. 4. KA and Ryan talking the front desk lady into letting us have a hotel room for 2 hours to take showers...and the best part of all was that it was FREE!

5. Courtney Gartz's beautiful display of the race Bible (the rules, exchange info, etc.) and Ben Harwood's excel spreadsheet predicting each runners start and finish time. This guy is amazing! He created this formula to calculate in the degree of difficulty and stuff, it was really cool. 6. Beating our predicted time by over an hour! 7. IRONMAN. So some "ultra" teams only had 6 runners instead of 12. Each person would do 2 legs. This one guy was absolutely incredible...I think he was the best athlete I've ever seen in real life. He was running at a 5:50 mile pace for like 15 miles each time!

I'm so glad I did it and I think the Fife Family is shooting for the Ragnar in Las Vegas in October! We've definitely got a whole team, thanks to in-laws. http://www.ragnarrelay.com/lasvegas/index.php . The race goes from the Valley of Fire to Lake Mead. That means no more pregnancies and stuff, ok gals? Priorities are priorities. Totally kidding, of course. Bronx or Bust!

Viva Orlando

2009-05-05T07:13:00.000-04:00

Last week I had a little gettaway to Orlando to spend some time with my family. Dave and Dan had endodontics meetings down in Orlando and Dave took his kids a few days early to go to Disneyworld. Because Becky is pregnant with her 6th and is still in the sick stage, they gave me this proposal: I come down and help with the kids while Dave is at meetings and they'll pay for all the park tickets and food and everything. DEAL! It was a pretty easy decision and I'm so glad I did it. Before I got there they went to 2 Disney parks and then when I got there we went to a waterslide park and to Sea World. The kids were adorable and the weather was perfect: 85 degrees and sunny, I loved it. Another thing that made it great was that I accidentally forgot my cell phone! I realized it when I got to the airport but it was actually nice to not be able to get ahold of, it was a true vacation! I've decided I need to wean myself off my phone a little bit: yes its not quite as convenient but things still work. Dave picked me up curbside at the airport (it was great, I only had to wait a few minutes) and we were laughing about what it was like in the pre-cell phone days, you just kept driving around the loop at the airport until you saw your person on the curb...sometimes it was 5 minutes, sometimes like 30. Or you could also send someone in to the baggage claim area to find who you're waiting for, then go out to the curb. Anyways, here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Julie's Visit, Cherry Blossoms, and Birthday Fun

2009-04-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

It's almost been a month since I posted last...yowsers! I've basically been basking in the joy of visitors (esp. family), reading great books, the beautiful spring weather, and being one year older. Here's what I've been up to lately:

Julie came to visit for her spring break and it was so much fun. I love my sister so much. Don't get me wrong, I love my brothers and all, but there is nothing like a sister and best friend. We did all kinds of things here in DC: The Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Capitol Visitors' Center, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Washington monuments, Georgetown, etc. We also took a weekend trip up to New York City to see Mary Poppins, which we loved. It's adorable. We also attempted to win "Wicked" tickets but didn't win the raffle. We ate some amazing food (thanks to Ben's incredible recommendations), saw the Manhattan temple, went to the MET, did some shopping, and reminisced about the night we slept in Times Square 6 years ago during that big blackout. It was so much fun and I can't even express how much I love Julie. As my brothers say, Julie's "one solid chick," and I would have to whole-heartedly agree.

Two weeks after Jules left Doug, Heather, Evan, and Audrey came into town. They came during the peak blooming of the Cherry Blossoms which we loved! We did the whole touristy thing: saw monuments, went to the Air and Space Museum (Evan was literally in heaven, I've never seen him so happy!), saw planes take off and land at Gravely Point near the Regan Airport, went swimming, and much more. It was so fun to have them here, I've still having Evan and Audrey withdrawls!

Last Friday I turned 26! I had a really fun day thanks to my amazing friends. Ben and Laney planned the evening; a bunch of friends and I went to a Nationals game and then had cake and ice cream after. Laney made a delicious cake from scratch that was a huge hit. I also had a lot of fun blowing out the candles...haha, as evidenced in this picture. What a great action shot, huh!?

The detective in me...

2009-03-25T11:44:00.000-04:00

I've recently re-discovered the detective in me and the yearning to become as cool as Sydney Bristow from Alias, here's why: we've discovered there is a high profile diplomat or maybe someone on Obama's cabinet on my street that gets 24 hour secret service type surveillance! A few months ago (we think around January 20th sometime, interestingly enough) Laney, Mandy (roommates), and I noticed a black SUV with two guys in suits with earpieces parked on our street quite often. Laney noticed them at 5 am when she goes to the gym, I noticed them getting home late at night, etc. We thought...hm...who are they and who are they watching? They always park at different spots and sides of the street so we didn't really know specifically which house(s) they were watching, but our curiousity kept us watching them. I visited the secret service website to find out who is entitled to 24-hour surveillance. Here's what I found out:

Today, the Secret Service is authorized by law to protect:

The president, the vice president, (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President), the president-elect and vice president-elect

The immediate families of the above individuals

Former presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes, except when the spouse remarries. In 1997, Congressional legislation became effective limiting Secret Service protection to former presidents for a period of not more than 10 years from the date the former president leaves office
Children of former presidents until age 16

Visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States, and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad
Major presidential and vice presidential candidates, and their spouses within 120 days of a general presidential election

Other individuals as designated per Executive Order of the President
National Special Security Events, when designated as such by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

Kind of exciting wondering if any of those people lived on my street, huh!? So one night last week Julie (sister), Kim (cousin), Ben (significant other), and I were playing tennis at the park right by my house and I noticed the SUV parked in the parking lot (it was about 9pm). I'm freaking out, wondering if its someone in the park or something and in the meantime Ben decides we should just go up to them and ask them who they are and what they're doing. Here are the answers we got: 1. They are not secret service, but are "of the like" 2. They do 24 hour surveillance of someone on my street 3. The person they are watching is in neither House nor Senate 4. We "shouldn't be alarmed."

The next development: last Monday for FHE we went door to door on behalf of the "Save the Aurora Hills Library" campaign to get petition signatures. The county is doing budget cuts and wants to cut our library hours in half so some members of the church organized this campaign. We were encouraged to go on our streets to get to know our neighbors and I thought, PERFECT! Laney and I had narrowed it down to a few houses on this one side of the street and so I realized this would be the perfect opportunity to go up to those doors, find out who lives there, and get their name and signature on our petition! We had considered taking around cookies, casually playing the "we're new in the neighborhood" card, pretending to be JW's, selling girl scout cookies, etc. to try to go find out who it is, but never did anything until now. So as we (Jane, Ashley, and I) go up the the first of the suspected houses, I see the black SUV parked down the street start to pull out. As we were at the door they drove by really slowly and were totally watching us. The circled around and went back to their parking spot as we left the house and went on to the next houses. BAM...knew what house they're watching. A nice lady answered the door and we explained what we were doing. She said her husband wasn't home and that they were from out of town and that the owners of the house wouldn't be back until later that evening...a little fishy if you ask me. Why would it matter if her husband is home if they are from out of town? There were to cars from Pennsylvania parked in the driveway that I had noticed in the past...also fishy. So we continued down the street getting signatures and we had the urge to ask people about who lived in that house, but didn't do it. So needless to say, we now know what house they're watching, but still don't know who it is. We'll get to the bottom of this! Actually, maybe we shouldn't because we might end up dead. Kidding. Go US Secret Service (and anyone "of the like")!

Stacey and Clinton wannabes

2009-03-10T13:37:00.001-04:00

So last weekend Laney and I had a fun little adventure. One of the many advantages of living in a big city is endless shopping. Growing up in Merced, CA we were seriously shopping deprived. The best that Merced Mall had to offer was JCPenny and Mervyns, literally. I think now its moving up a bit, but still no Gap, unbelievable. No longer do I have to drive 40 minutes to Modesto for a Gap and an hour for a Nordstrom or Banana. So one of our roommates said she wanted to dedicate $1,000 to her wardrobe and she wanted Laney and my help, so we for sure jumped on the challenge. Laney knows all the staples you need in your closet and she's got way better fasion sense, I was mostly there for the practical opinion (I definitely have Karen Fife and Beth Callister genes in me). We spent almost 3 hours at H&M and had her try on pretty much everything in the store. We talked Em into some skinny jeans (both denim and grey, I was really proud of her, they looked amazing on her), a few cute cardigans, and some other shirts. Needless to say, it was a very successful trip and thanks to the cheap prices at H&M, she still has about 700 bucks to go! Em had a hot date that night and man did she look good. I see many more good times in the future. Thanks Stacey and Clinton. I really want to be on that show and get $5,000 for shopping. Yowsers!

Church Basketball and the Boot Scootin' Boogie

2009-02-24T08:25:00.000-05:00

So I've played sports all of my life and have never gotten a serious injury. I've never had any major surgeries or anything thats kept me down...until church basketball last Saturday. So to take this injury back a little further, over Christmas I was playing indoor soccer with my cousins and totally rolled my ankle really bad. I did the whole RICE stuff (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and it was pretty much almost better, and in the past couple of weeks I've played tennis and soccer on it, so I "thought" it was fine - first mistake. Then Saturday at our church basketball game I was trying SO hard to guard this girl (our team is pretty intense and since basketball is NOT my forte, I have to try really hard) she kind of pushed me and I heard a POP and rolled the same ankle the exact same way, and this time its much worse. It swelled so bad it was seriously as big as a golf ball! The team kept playing but we lost the game because we had almost no subs...bummer. Now I'm sporting a huge cankle (calf-ankle, or where there's no distinction between your calf and ankle). Here's some photos for your enjoyment:

Sick huh? What happened to the innocent days of church basketball in Merced 1st ward when the scores were something like 16-12? I liked those church bball days! So anyways, on with the story (I iced it and elevated it and got the swelling to go down a little bit). Saturday night we had a ward V-day activity at the church and after the games we had a dance and sometimes I just can't resist - second mistake. So, despite my hurt ankle, I decided to jam hard with Kim to some footloose, dancing queen, and some other singing group hits, do the limbo competition, and shake it to some Beyonce. Then the Boot Scootin' Boogie starts and I mean come on, who can't resist a little line dancing? So I proceed to get my cowgirl on and jump around doing the whole thing and all of a sudden my ankle is killing and it had swelled up even more! My dad informed me that I shouldn't have done the Boot Scootin' Boogie, because it gets you every time...definitely words of wisdom. I've got one word for me and my decisions: GENIOUS! So as a result, I'm sitting here at work with my ankle wrapped and my leg elevated. I'm a total gimp and everyone is having a heyday with it! But it actually is really funny so I'm laughing to!

I've entered the blogging world...finally!

2009-02-05T08:16:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! So after debating the pros and cons of blogging, considering what I'd write on here, thinking of a name, etc., etc., I've takent he plunge and finally started a blog. I moved to Washington DC about 5 months ago and have had non stop adventures and fun and figure some of you may want to hear about them. Here's been some of the highlights since I moved here:

1. Driving accross the country with my best friend in all the world, Laney Zundel. We packed her little Honda Civic to the BRIM...literally, turned on the GPS and put in our address in Arlington, and headed out. We knew we packed too much stuff when the car struggled up Parley's Canyon on the 1-80 right outside of Salt Lake...which isn't even that much of a climb. Luckily Nebraska is the flattest state in the entire world so we were okay then. We stopped in Chicago to visit my brother Doug and his family, at the Amish colonies in Intercourse, PA, and the church history sites in Kirtland, Ohio so it was a lot of fun.

2. Moving into a beautiful house with amazing roommates. I feel SO lucky to live where I do with the gals that I do. Nevermind that the rent is twice as much as I ever payed in Provo, but it's all part of living in a metropolitan area, right? "It's all part of the experience." We even have a back yard and fish pond, so I guess what more could you ask for?

3. Finding a job! I searched hard for a few weeks and found a job doing worksite health promotion with the US Marshals service. I'll admit...I had no idea what the US Marshals did when I first got hired here, I just recall Tommy Lee Jones and his US Marshal team chasing after Harrison Ford in the movie "The Fugitive," so its been fun learning about how the US Department of Justice works. I'm the health and fitness program manager here, so basically I keep these US Marshal deputies in shape so they can catch fugitives and keep our nation safe. Cool job huh!? The best part is that I work about 1.2 miles from my house, so I can ride my bike which makes my commute about 5 minutes.

4. Experiencing East Coast beaches. Laney and I took a weekend trip to Rehobeth Beach, Delaware before we got jobs and let me tell you, West Coast beaches and just downright better. No offense to east coasters, but California beaches are where its at...and I'll just leave it at that. We were too poor to get a hotel so we slept in the car!! Talk about beach bums...haha...but it was a lot of fun. Here's some photos...ps, don't you love the metal detector guy in the background...whats a good beach without people with metal detectors trying to find stuff...I guess they look for rings or money or whatever...I guess that's a universal trait of beaches!

5. Visiting Lindsay Lansing's lake house in North Carolina. It was gorgeous and so much fun. The water was SO freezing but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go boating, even if it was 50 degrees outside! Luckily afterwards we got in her parent's sauna shower...quite possibly one of the most amazing experiences ever. I want one of those in my house. We got to know Tim Whiting on this trip and I think he is one of the funnest people I know.
6. Experiencing an East Coast fall. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. The leaves were gorgeous! I was literally in heaven for the few weeks that the leaves were changing. Someone at church in a prayer thanked God for "nature's fireworks"...we think he was refering to the leaves and I would have to second that, they are one of the most beautiful creations.

7. Going to Chicago for Thanksgiving to see Doug, Heather, Evan, and Audrey. It was a ton of fun, we just packed it in: the Turkey Trot, Chicago History Museum, chicago style pizza, laser hair removal (my bro is a dermatologist, love it!) shopping, Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin's house (Brent and Melissa Callister), and the highlight...winning $25 front row tickets to Wicked. I loved every minute of this trip! and I'm in love with Chicago.

8. Christmas in DC! Laney and I packed almost every night and weekend with fun Christmas stuff like the tree lighting at the whitehouse, the tree at the capitol, a Scottish christmas festival, the botanical gardens, etc. We hosted a Christmas sugar cookie party and lots more. It was great.

9. New York City! I went there the weekend before Christmas with some friends to experience NYC at Christmas time and just about froze. I don't know how people can live there, its ridiculously cold. Nonetheless, had a lot of fun seeing Rockefeller Plaza, Phantom of the Opera, Macys, Times Square, etc. I also revisited the place where my family and I slept on the sidewalk during the blackout of 2003. We were picking Dan up from his mission when that blackout happened so we had to sleep on the sidewalk in Times Square...hilarious.

10. The Inauguration! It was absolutely nuts out here, but really fun. I went to the swearing in ceremony, didn't have tickets, but watched it on a big screen by the Washington Monument. Everyone was really excited and it was fun to experience this piece of history. The highlight that night was going to the Michigan Ball with some friends, and a really cute boy! The food was amazing, the dancing was so fun, it was definitely a night to remember!

11. Going to Portland, Oregon last week for my friend Ceci's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and she was glowing, it was great. It was also fun to see my parents who are serving as the medical directors for the missions in Oregon, Washington, Parts of Canada, and Alaska. They're doing such a good job and I'm so proud of their missionary efforts. I have the best parents in the world!

Ok well thats the end of this marathon post! Life is great. Sorry for the amateurishness of this post...I'll hopefully get more blogging-savy.