Camping

I am not a very big fan of camping... at least for several days. But all last week, we were up in the mountains with Jeff's family and a lot of his extended family. We were up there for exactly one week, but I was ready to come home after 5 days. I just hate feeling dirty, but I'm grateful for Jeff's parents letting me use their little shower in their 5th wheel camper. I also hate the bugs, especially those big pine beetles that are very harmless except for the heart attacks they give me. One day, there was one on my shoe and I let out a girly scream. The good things about going camping was that I had a whole week off work (and only used 32 vacation hours because we had Friday off for Pioneer Day, which was technically on Saturday), we were up in the mountains away from the rat race of where we live and work, and I got to catch up a little bit on my sleep, which was way nice. I think I got about 9-10 hours of sleep most nights.

One of Jeff's cousins bought a motorhome for really cheap and we've been talking about maybe looking for one. It would be super nice for when we went camping. But would we use it any other time? We'll have to decide.

It was hard going back to work on Monday. But we're now back in the grind. Maybe I'll take work off on my birthday in a couple weeks, which is on Friday the 13th this year. I'll have to decide if I want to work a shorter day or just take the whole day off.

I also got back on the treadmill today after a couple weeks of not using it. I need to keep at it. I might sign up for one or two 5k's coming up next month and in October and run them with my sister Rebecca, but I haven't decided for sure yet.

No More Leg Pain

It's about 2:30 a.m. and I'm not too tired. I fell asleep in the early afternoon and didn't wake up till evening and had about a 6-hour nap, I think one of the longest naps I've had in a long time. I was just THAT tired! Anyway, as of my last post, I am now into running/walking on the treadmill, probably even more than before. I took a break from the treadmill for about a week to rest my legs and since then, they really haven't hurt at all. I'm guessing they were hurting because I hadn't used those muscles and then I sort of pushed myself too hard and they got hurt. I'm sometimes doing more than I was before and they don't hurt now. :-) Soon after I woke up from my nap, I ran/walked 4 miles and I jogged half of it (in intervals, of course). I love the feeling of stretching my hamstrings and calf muscles before and after exercising on the treadmill. It feels SO good!

In one week, we'll be going camping for about a week up in the mountains. I'm not the biggest fan of camping (maybe 'cause I hate feeling dirty), but this year I'm looking forward to it more than usual, maybe because I really need a break from work and I need to catch up on my sleep. Just one more week of work left before we get out of this "Happy Valley" rat race!

Leg Pain

At my work for the past few years they have what's called Backstage 100 (like the Wasatch 100 here in Utah) where we add up miles if we run or walk, ride a bike, swim, or lose weight. Running/walking we count 1 mile for each mile, biking we count 1 mile for every 3 miles, swimming we count 3 miles for every 1 mile, and losing weight we count 5 miles for every pound lost. In the past, it started on the 4th of July and lasted until Labor Day, but this year it started earlier on Memorial Day and ends on Labor Day. I was doing really good on the walking/running part (on our treadmill) for the first couple weeks, but then about 1 1/2 weeks ago, I guess I pushed myself a little too hard and my inner legs a couple inches below my knee cap started hurting. I figured I just got sore from running too much, so the few days after, I just did some speed walking. But my legs continued to hurt, so I decided to take a break and just lose some pounds to count miles. I've lost about 5 pounds so far this month, but I'm slacking a little bit now (I'm just glad I haven't gained those 5 pounds back). My legs still hurt and have been taking Advil every once in a while and I bought some Icy Hot yesterday which helps ease the pain a little bit. Basically, my left leg hurts the worst and it hurts when I lift it or lower it while it's bent (like going up and down the stairs). It doesn't really hurt when I lift my leg when it's straight. I THINK my legs might be starting to feel better (I hope!), but I just need to give it time. I want to start running (even speed walking!) again, but don't want to until I don't hurt anymore. Then I'll start out really slow and work my way up. I was even starting to like running!

I am done with Farmers Market (selling my jewelry). I went this past Saturday with my dad and brother and only sold $9. I just don't make enough there to make it worth spending over half my Saturday away from home. I am going to try the Pleasant Grove Promenade starting in July on Thursday evenings with Jeff's mom and sister (his sister was saying the least she made there last year was $40... I'd take $40!). Then there's some craft thing at Thanksgiving Point that my dad and brother might do in August and September that I might do with them. I'll be going to those ones just to try to get rid of my stuff because I think I'm done making jewelry. There's just too many people who make jewelry and I can't compete with them all. It was fun while it lasted, though. I might even be able to make something for myself that I would actually wear.

In other news, my sister Rebecca and I applied for a couple temporary scanning technician positions that would be in London, from mid-July till about Labor Day. We thought it would be really fun to go there, and since Rebecca works in the scanning department and has been on a couple on-site trips before (in the states), we thought we might have a really good chance to go. We had our interviews last Thursday and I was incredibly nervous (like I always am in job interviews). There were almost a dozen applicants and a couple other people were chosen to go. I wanted to go, but another part of me didn't want to leave Jeff for over a month. So I would have been fine with the outcome either way. So I get to stay in Utah, and near the end of next month is Jeff's family (and some extended family) camping trip. Even though camping isn't on top of my list of things to do, it'll still be nice to get away from this mad house rat race we live in to go up into the mountains for a week. I can't wait!

Discouraging ....

So I've been to the Farmers Market in Provo with my dad and brother twice so far (the past 2 Saturdays). I've been able to sell a little bit ($19 the first Saturday and $15 this past Saturday), but the discouraging part is that all I sell are pendants (with leather or ribbon cord necklaces I bought to go with them)... no necklaces, bracelets, or earrings. So I've been a little bit discouraged and feel like quitting making jewelry. At least I don't have very much material (not like my mother-in-law, who has tons and tons of stuff!) so that I don't feel like I'm too far in the hole. But my mother-in-law wanted to see if jewelry watch bands would sell because she sells those pretty well, so she gave me a little bit of stuff to make a few. If they do sell, I'll probably just sell watch bands and pendants (and other stuff only if people wanted it). If the watch bands don't sell, I think I will definitely quit because I don't want to sell just pendants. From the couple times going to the Farmers Market, there are just so many people that make jewelry that I can't compete with them all. I wouldn't have been able to sell my stuff there if it wasn't for my dad who makes and chip-carves jewelry and earring boxes. :-) Another reason I wouldn't mind quitting is I want my Saturdays back! Anyway, enough venting ....

Stars on Ice - May 26 in Salt Lake City, UT

Jeff and I went to the Smucker's Stars on Ice last night. I got the tickets a couple months ago and decided to click on best available for seating and get the most expensive tickets. We were on the floor in the front row! I was excited about that! Okay, let's get this picture out of the way, but here I am before it started ....



See the folded up chairs along the right side of the picture? We were in these seats, like 5 feet away from the ice!



A couple more pictures of the ice before the show started ....




I tried taking pictures (with no flash, of course) of some of the skaters. I tried taking a picture of one of the pairs skaters and another of another skater, but they both ended up really blurry, so I decided, "Ah forget it, I just want to enjoy the show rather than trying to get good pictures."

Jeff and I also went to a Stars on Ice in Salt Lake I'm guessing about 4 years ago. One of my favorites there was Michelle Kwan, but she's not in Stars on Ice anymore. We got tickets this year because we wanted to see our favorite skater, Evan Lysacek, who won Olympic gold earlier this year. Yesterday morning I checked online and he wasn't going to be at the Salt Lake City stop. Jeff and I were very disappointed, but I tried to keep my chin up and kept saying that we'll still have fun because there were other good skaters that were going to be there. And we did have fun! Even Jeff, who's not as big into figure skating as I am, had a lot of fun and thought it was really cool and awesome that we were so close! :-) We bought a couple autographed photos they were selling (along with a program and a T-shirt). So instead of pictures I could have taken, I have these, and I scanned them and they're posted below. The first one is of the whole cast. I was able to see them all except Evan Lysacek in person, although he was in Stars on Ice 4 years ago, but we didn't know him as well. Several of these skaters were in the Olympics as early as 1992. Some of them have won Olympics medals.



Then I wanted one of Evan, so here it is .... :-)



The reason Evan wasn't at the Salt Lake City stop is because he was among the top 3 finalists in the show Dancing with the Stars that he got invited to before the Olympics, I believe. I've never seen Dancing with the Stars before, so when I heard Evan was going to be on it, I wanted to watch it, and it definitely was exciting to watch, especially the last few weeks! Over the last couple months, he was in California for Dancing with the Stars Sundays-Tuesdays and then toured with Stars on Ice Wednesdays-Saturdays. So I was sure he was going to be in Salt Lake, but the top 3 finalists had to be in New York Wednesday morning (after the winner was announced Tuesday night) for interviews on Good Morning America and Regis & Kelly. I guess if he wasn't one of the 3 finalists, he would have been in Salt Lake, but I'm happy he made it as far as he did. I was rooting for him and I voted for him and he ended up 2nd. Jeff and I really like him because of the attitude and class he has. After the winners were announced, Evan said, "They deserved it, they worked so hard and inspired all the other couples in the competition." The Russian skater who came in 2nd behind Evan at the Olympics should learn from him. :-) So if Evan is in Stars on Ice next year, we're definitely going again, hopefully front row seats again!

Here are a few pictures I got online of Evan and of Evan and his professional dance partner Anna Trebunskaya ....



A couple cute pictures of Evan & Anna ....




A picture of them dancing one of their dances ....



I have 3 favorite dances of theirs that were posted on YouTube. I will even rate them .... :-) Enjoy!

3. Viennese Waltz - the 'redemption' dance during the last week

2. Argentine Tango - the first perfect score of the season :-)

1. Paso Doble

4.0 GPA

I checked online and my grades for this past semester are posted... all A's and 4.0 GPA! :-) I am very happy about that. I never knew I was that smart! I didn't apply myself like I should have in high school and in college when I got my associate's... I think my college GPA from before was around 3.2 something. So I'm starting my second round of college well. :-)

In jewelry news, there's this blog that somehow found my blog. That blog is called Blog Giveaways. Suddenly I was getting all these entries for my giveaway from people I didn't know and I looked on my feed of where people were coming from and a lot of them were coming from that website, so I went there and I was among several blog websites having giveaways (I'm among the several on their first post on May 4). I have no idea how they found my site, but I'm glad they did. I like lots of entries! :-) I'm excited for my first giveaway to end and find out who won. I will use the "True Random Number Generator" on the main page of RANDOM.ORG, which my sister Melissa told me about. Whatever number comes up out of however many numbers of entries I receive, that will be the winner.

I got off work a little earlier than usual today to go with my mother-in-law up to Salt Lake City to a display store, which has different things to display stuff... I think there are things to display other things besides jewelry. I was looking forward to this little trip this week and I'm excited with what I got, which is all very nice-looking and will display my jewelry very nicely! I got a bracelet stand (with 3 levels to put my bracelets on), an earring rack that you can turn, a tray to lay all my pendants in, and 3 little stands to display a few of my necklaces. I also got a few other little things.

In other news, I am super excited to go to Stars on Ice in Salt Lake this month on the 26th. I decided to pay good money for our tickets, so we should have pretty good seats. :-) So I've been on a little bit of a happy high with some good things happening. Now if only I can get more sleep so I'm not so tired ....

May Giveaway for My Jewelry

I am going to start doing giveaways for my jewelry for at least a few months to see if I can get more people to look at my jewelry website and buy from me. The link is on the right. Feel free to enter and let your family/friends know so they can enter as well! I changed a setting for that website that allows anyone to post a comment. Who doesn't like getting something for free? :-) We'll see how these giveaways do, but if they aren't working very well after a few months, I will probably stop doing them.

DONE!!!

I just took my last final this evening! I can't believe I made it through my first semester back to school in over 10 years!! And I think I'll do it with a 4.0 GPA, too! The only class I'm worried about is Business Communications because the final was a little hard for me, but after figuring out what I needed on the final to still get an A, I think I will get an A. If I figured it out correctly, I need about 50% (maybe even a little less) on the final to still have an A. :-) I will know my grades for sure next week on Thursday. I am really happy how well I did, even though sometimes it was hard. I think one of the hardest things was my 8-page research paper in Business Communications. But I just did the best I could and I got it back this evening and and got full credit! :-) The research paper is 10% of the final grade (and the final is only 8%). The teacher even wants me to email my paper to her so she can use in future classes. I'm surprised I did that well on it. :-) Jeff says I'm smarter than I give myself credit for... and maybe I am (in some things).

Jeff is all done with his Intro to Education class and thinks he'll get an A in that. After slacking a little bit in his online meteorology class the beginning of this semester, he's been working hard at catching up and he has assignments in one more chapter to do before Thursday, then a final test he'll take on Thursday, then he has till Monday to do as much extra credit assignments as he can.

Jeff and I decided not to take any classes this summer to save up money. We'll be working very hard this summer to clean and organize our place... it needs it super bad! We really need to de-junk, too (DI, here we come!). I can't wait to get more organized! Then Jeff will start taking more credit hours starting this fall (and I'll take one or two classes, depending on how much we can afford).

This Saturday, I will post my first of my monthly giveaways for my jewelry blog (link to it is on the right). When I post it, be sure to enter and be sure to tell all your friends and family, so they can enter and you can get more entries. :-) It'll be fun!

Home Stretch!

I am now down to my last week of my first semester back to school in over 10 years, and I think I'm gonna survive it. :-) My lecture series class (my Friday class) has been over for a couple weeks now... I just need to type up a couple really short papers (like one page... really easy!) and email them to my teacher by Friday evening. Tomorrow is my math class, which will be a review for the final. That final will be next Monday. Then tonight in my Business Communications class, we had a review for that final, which will be next Tuesday. Then I'll be done! Home stretch!!! I know I'll get A's in my lecture series class and my math class. My lowest math test so far has been a 95 and our lowest test score gets dropped. :) My Business Communications grade will depend on how well I do on the 8-page research paper I turned in tonight and the big final. I will know my final grades on May 6, so be prepared for a post about it that day. :-)

3 classes was a little bit of a challenge while working fulltime. So next fall, I'll probably only take 1 or 2 classes depending on how much tuition is for Jeff. I decided not to do anymore loans for me and just pay as we go (for both of us). Re-applying for loans each year is a pain, so I don't want to deal with that anymore. My work has a tuition reimbursement program, so that should help some. We're going to focus on getting Jeff done with school as quick as we can (as quick as we can with him working fulltime as well).

I'm taking this summer off to hopefully save up some money by getting my little jewelry hobby/business going... doing the Promenade in Pleasant Grove with Jeff's mom and sister on Thursday evenings this summer, then hopefully my dad can get into the Provo Farmer's Market which will be on Saturdays. He'll sell his hobby and he said I could sell my stuff with him (if he gets in). Then I'll also start doing monthly giveaways on my jewelry blog (see post below). I am very excited about that!

Monthly Jewelry Giveaways

I have been excited lately to start having monthly giveaways for my jewelry. My classes will end near the end of this month and so I will have more time to make jewelry. I want to get into it more, and I hope these giveaways will help a little. To check out my jewelry blog, click here or click the link on the right side of this page.