My Ankle and the 4th

It's been so long since I posted last that I just had to get a quickie in tonight before I went to bed. I'm trying to be good and go to bed so I can get up early and go to the gym again. It has been so long and I have lost my habit entirely. The last time I went to the gym was June 17th and today was the first time back!! Woo hoo!

So here is the update and the one of the causes of the lost habit of going to the gym: I sprained my ankle .... B...A...D. I went mountain biking with the Mad Dog's "Ride Like a Girl" Clinic for women. It's actually a really neat clinic -- best part: it's free. This was my 3rd time going and this was the first time my roommate (who is on the Mad Dog's Mountain Biking Racing Team with the normal instructor), Jen, led the group. We went up to Big Springs Trail in South Fork Canyon off of Provo Canyon. It was absolutely beautiful!! There were flowers everywhere! The trees were green and lush... the up-hill was brutal. I just kept telling myself, "You're gonna get better at these up-hills. And when we get to the top and start downhill, it will so be worth all the work of coming up." So I kept talking myself into keep going. And I made it - to the top. Then we started downhill and it was every bit as fun as I had been telling myself it would be. We circled around trees and through meadows of tall grass and then ... we hit the spot where Jen told us there was some loose gravel that had caused her to crash earlier that week...

Honestly, I'm not sure exactly how it all happened. But this is my theory: I think I was going too fast and so I tried to brake to slow down, but then my bike began to slip out from underneath me. So I tried to jump off the bike. And it would have worked out so beautifully, because if I had landed right then I would have landed in this soft, lush, grassy spot right next to the trail - well I did still land there. But I didn't land right on my feet. I landed on the side of my left foot instead of the bottom of it like you are suppose to. Oh my gosh! The pain. It was intense for a few minutes. The other girls were just down the trail a bit and started calling to me, but I couldn't call back because I knew my voice would crack and I would lose it (meaning, I would cry). But I started to cry anyway, especially when they all started running back up the trail to me. Ugh. I felt like a weanie. Well, the pain subsided like I knew it would (because I am not new to sprained ankles). I got back on my bike and insisted that I go down the trail and ENJOY it like I needed to since I had biked UP all that up-hill!! And it was still worth it. :o)

Well, the bruising and swelling came and stayed and stayed. By the next Saturday (June 28th), the swelling had finally gone down to where it looked normal - even though I had been able to walk normally on it since the Saturday before. And so guess what I did on the 28th? Aggravated it by tripping on the side-walk and falling into the gutter. Not only did I have my sprained ankle now, but I also had two bruised shins and two bruised tops of my feet, and bruises on my arm and shoulder. Don't ask me how I fell or what I hit on my way down..... I don't really remember. I swear, I think my body blacks out my vision or something as a defense mechanism - I've done it when I've taken a bad fall skiing too. So Lindsey and I watched the swelling in my ankle puff right back up to where it was when I originally sprained it. I cried. Again. Out of frustration! Because that ankle had caused me to miss going to the gym and miss out on some fun bike rides and other cool activities and now to lose all that ground I had gained??!! Oh I cried.

So this last week, I've been good and kept my foot propped up on my desk at work - the same as I did the week before - much to the entertainment of my coworkers. And some coworkers were even impressed that I was flexible enough to put my leg up on my desk... which baffles me - wouldn't they be able to do the same? Maybe not.

To this day - nearly 3 weeks after the fact - I still have some swelling in my foot, but it is manageable. And the best part? My foot fits into my road biking shoe again. Heh. That means I can ride my road bike!! And that is what I have been doing. Part of my therapy has been going to the theater to see two movies last week: Wall-E and Hancock. Wall-E was darling and Hancock was alright.

On the morning of the 4th of July, my other roommate, Jana, and I rode our road bikes out toward Utah Lake. We got a good 20 miles in on that day. Then we came back and toodled around the house some, took a nap, ran a few errands, hosted a BBQ for some of our friends here in the neighborhood, and then we went up to Rock Canyon Park to watch the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire event at Edwards Stadium on campus. That's it. Don't you love it? And then the best part? Waking up to my real Saturday and toodling around the house some more. I love 3-day weekends.

Strawberry Days Rodeo

Oh how I loooove Strawberry Days in Pleasant Grove! Especially the rodeo. The food is so cheap! I had a cheeseburger, a root beer (A&W of course!), two Strawberries & Cream cups and a water. The Strawberries & Cream cups are only $1.25. You do not get cheap concessions food like that anywhere else!

The cowboys were having a tough time this year. The first several calf-ropers could not catch their calf. It was really too bad. And have you ever noticed just how many members there are of the Rodeo Royalty?! There are a ton! I guess I've never noticed it until this year that there seems to be just way too many of them.

This year, the entertainment before the bull-riding were a couple of Motocross Dirt Bikers... is that what they are called? So wild! They were zooming up a ramp to do tricks in the air. One of them, by the end of their act, started doing flips in the air. Check out the video!

The Strawberries & Cream, Mutton Bustin', and the Wild Cow Milking are my favorites of the rodeo! And of course, so is the chance to where my hat! :o)

Quickie Camping

A bunch of us got together last Friday and went camping! We camped near Jordanelle Reservoir where the Provo River dumps into it. It was beautiful! I slept out under the stars and even saw a shooting star!

I had a salmon tin foil dinner with strawberries, mandarin oranges, onions, red peppers and a honey-dill-garlic sauce on it. It is my sister's recipe for Summer Grilled Salmon. So good!

Then of course the must-have fire and the even better guitar serenade by John!

Then we had a very fancy breakfast of pancakes, bacon and pineapple. I used some of the bacon to wake up Jon! It was a fun, relaxing time.

2nd Niece Married & 2nd Bouquet Caught

So if the first bride's bouquet I've ever caught was a "throw" bouquet, does that mean it was jinxed since that was 6 years ago and I'm still not married? And then does that mean that if I catch the bride's real bouquet, then will the old saying actually hold true? I hope that is the case considering the crowd I had to beat down to catch my niece's bouquet. The "crowd" consisted of one other single female from the wedding guests: my 17-year-old niece. Good thing I caught it! I would hope that I would be the next to marry if my competition is my 17-year-old niece that is still in high school! :o)

My niece that is closest to my age (6 months younger than me to be exact), Traci, got married this weekend. She was married in her parent's backyard - which is beautiful. My sister and her mom, Teri, does a phenomenal job with her yard and garden. Some day I aspire to have a yard and garden like hers - or maybe close to being like hers. I digress.

We were soooo lucky that the rain held for the ceremony. And then for most of dinner. Most of the guests were able to eat their main course before the rain started! After that we went inside for dessert - which, get this, was the actual wedding cake. I love it! That's what the dessert should be right?

And then I must say I am most impressed with my sister and her husband's ability to outfit every cold wedding guest with fleece vests and jackets! It was almost akin to the miracle of the loaves and fishes! After all, the high for Saturday in Logan was 63 or so. We were cold!

I loooove the photo of their kiss. Her veil was blowing in the wind! Is that not romantic for your first kiss as husband and wife?

Can I just tell you how much I love my family? I looooooove my family. Adore them. So glad to be part of them. Looooove it when we can get together.

Mundane Monday - Culture Lunches

One of my favorite things about working for Brigham Young University is my access to so many cool things, like the Museum of Art, exhibits at the Library, lunch time lectures by visiting dignitaries, and even the cool hands-on science stations in the Eyring Science Center! About a year ago, my co-workers and I were talking about all of these cool exhibits and how we don't take advantage of them! So I've started doing just that on my lunch hours. A couple weeks ago I went to the Museum of Art on campus and toured the Minerva Teichert: Pageants in Paint exhibition. It was amazing. I wish she had more of her work on-line so I could show you my favorite pieces but this one will have to suffice.

Then just today, I visited the exhibition on Masterworks of Victorian Art from the Collection of John H. Schaeffer - again at the Museum of Art. I think I now understand why my fellow London study abroaders loved Victorian Art! I loved how wistful each piece was and how I felt like the paintings brought my fantastical dreams to real life! Although the most famous piece they had in the collection probably is not my dreamiest piece - Mariamne by John William Waterhouse.

The piece that was the epitome of my dreams was Chivalry by Sir Frank Francis Bernard Dicksee. What girl has not dreamed of her knight in shining armor coming to save her life and virtue? I am no exception. Look how fair she is. Does that not symbolize her virtue? And look at the sun setting behind her knight as he stands over her captor. It's like a vision of courage, honor, and selflessness. True love - right there. You can see it in her eyes.

But I must say, my all-time favorite Victorian piece is The Lady of Shallot by John William Waterhouse. I just have to mention it even thought it is not in the collection at the MOA.

This piece is immortalized in my memory forever... because of the movie Anne of Green Gables. And then I saw the original painting in London. Sigh. Remember when Anne acts out the scene of the poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson? Reciting the poem?

There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay. She has heard a whisper say A curse is on her if she stay To look down on Camelot. And at the closing of the day The broad stream bore her far away, And as the boat-head wound along They heard her singing her last song, The Lady of Shalott.

Dating Advice - Hilarious!!

So my friend, Linda, put a link to a YouTube video on her blog for a Harry Enfield video which was hilarious and then I found this one:

My Favorite Prank Played on Me

A couple of years ago my friend, Paul, pulled off one of the most extensive pranks on me and my roommates and therefore my most favorite prank - in response to our comparatively pathetic Pilates flyer.

He put together an entire website about the 3 of us! www.celestialdating.com
Here are some screen shots from the website:

The welcome pageThe homepage
When you click on my face from the homepage you get my page
And then when you click on the images at the right of my page you get some of the following pictures and captions! Paul actually contacted our parents to get some of these photos!! And obviously some of the photos have been doctored.And then there is the dating application - if you click on the image you should be able to see some of the hilarious entry fields!
And then there is the Mr. Right quiz (again, click on it to see a larger image).
And then the following Mr. Right Quiz results reveal which of three girls you are most compatible with (again, click on it to see a larger image):
And then last but not least is the Instant Proposal feature where you could propose any one of us.
This website is a prank that just keeps on giving! We've had a reporter from the Washington Post propose to us as a way to get in contact with the creator of the website - he wanted to do an article on it!! And then the worst of all: one of my roommates had a actual polygamist use the instant proposal feature to invite her to join his family as one of his wives!! After that last one, Paul took the site down for a while. But then put it back up. Those were good memories - all the pranking we had going on between us during those years (2003 - 2005?).