Red Rock Relay

The Red Rock Relay has been my favorite relay to date. At first, I didn't think it could shake a stick at the Ragnars, but it's better...WAY WAY BETTER! Reasons why I liked it:

-Capped at 200 teams. It never felt crowded(well on the dirt trail but it lasted for 1 leg).

-The Finish. FREE SNO CONES! The finish was really relaxed, and it was easy to find the other van of people. 

-The scenery. I've never spent lots of time down in red rock country, but it was pretty.

-The temperature. Perhaps due to location, or time of year, or some other reason, but it never got really cold. Usually with a jacket I was fine, and for sure didn't need one to run in at 4am.

-The people. My van was AWESOME! I had so much fun. We all supported each other through the entire race. 

-Housing. It was so nice to have a house to 'camp' out at. I got the most sleep, a whole 3 hours this year. I don't sleep well outside, and the house was nice to stop at.

-Nimbus Gray. We had a Honda van this year and wowie. It never felt cramped. The back windows roll down which made cheering way fun. 

I didn't enjoy the port-a-potties. Maybe it'd be better with more, also some of the legs weren't well marked..and since there aren't lots of teams(some runs people didn't see any other runners), it'd be nice to have more marks on where to go.

Fiber

I am enjoying my job at DB. I don't mind cleaning bathrooms. I'm good at it.


There are lots of health problems that people get sick with. I'd like to tell you about one that I am becoming all to familiar with(by cleaning potties), but is for the most part treatable. Some common names may include: the hershey squirts, the rocky mountain quick step, montezuma's revenge, firing the naplam, or the trots. Diarrhea. I'm not talking about the life threatening kind. I'm talking about the runny kind that splashes everywhere. This kind is preventable! Here's how:

• Wash your hands after using the potty and before eating foods.

-Not just running your hands under water, but actually use soap.
-20 seconds is a minimum.

• Take care of foods.

-Wash all veggies, make sure meat is cooked good.
-Keep things clean while cooking, be aware of cross contamination.

• Eat/Drink right!

- Fiber, fiber and more fiber: Men (50>) 38 grams. Men (50<) 30 grams, Women (50>) 25 grams, Women (50<) 21 grams. Fruits and Veggies are a great source. Whole grains, beans are also full of it.
-Minimum of 8 glasses of water. If you are active, you'll need more.
-Probiotics. These guys help your guts stay healthy. You can find these in yogurt.

On behalf of potty cleaners everywhere...PLEASE, do all you can to keep your insides healthy, and poop is never appropriate on the walls.

Siwa? Friend.

It's Siwa BIRFDAY! I'm glad she was born because:

• She is not only a sister, but my friend too(bonus).
• She likes to run.
• She laughs with me about my 'troubles with English'.
• She likes to eat snocones with icecream, like me!
• She goes to the YSA ward so I have someone to laugh with.
• She can sing, SATB.
• She lives her budget.
• She likes superhero movies.
• She talks Spanish.
• She shares her clothes with me.
• She is just plain fun.
• She understands my language.
• She likes music.
• She is my partner in crimes.

Thanks Partner!

Siwa and her new 'place'...

I am so excited for THIS-

The Avengers! Ironman, Thor, Captain America were all fun movies to watch- so 'with all their powers combined' I hope the Avengers will be the best of them all. It is 2012 yet......

7.4% of people in Utah are unemployed, I am no longer one of them.

I landed a job!

Before grels camp, which I apparently needed to go to because nothing was going my way before, I applied for a job at Deseret Book. The lady who was doing the interviewing was out of town till the week of grels camp. After camp was over, I got a call for an interview! I went to the interview, which went really well, but I refused to get my hopes up(I've had WAY to much disappointment as of late). I interviewed in the morning, and the lady said she would call in the afternoon to let me know either way. So at 12:01, I kept my phone close by. By 3, I wasn't feeling confident that I'd got it. Around 3:30 I got the call. I was braced for the worst news....but I got the job! It works perfect with my up and coming school schedule. I clean house for the DB. Hours are morning which will allow me to work an internship for school, and attend the night class.

99 bottles of Jam on the wall...

I love to have homemade strawberry freezer jam with my toast in the mornings. A few months ago, Poobie made some and it was delicious! We've been out for a couple weeks. I have been waiting for the berries to go on sale. The mothership and I were at the Reams, and I noticed EVERYONE had cases of strawberries in their carts. After scoping it out, I found the pallet of strawberries. I couldn't remember how much a case made, neither could my mom. We figured a case would make 8. I pick up 2 cases thinking I'd get 16 total bottles. That afternoon I started. The first batch, I wasn't really paying attention to the directions and added the sugar before the pectin and lemon juice...after successfully getting out most the sugar and actually reading the directions(who knew you couldn't just add everything at once?) I finished up 4 batches(1 case) and had 16 bottles of jam!! I still had another case!  I spent another morning/afternoon making the other case. I now have 30 bottles of strawberry freezer jam!

"99 bottles of jam on the wall, 99 bottles of jam. If ones of those bottles should happen to break, I have a extra you're welcome to take. 99 bottles of jam on the wall....."

All the jam.

Survival.

This past week, I was up at the Heber Valley Camp attending Grels Camp. Here is a run down of what we did on the different days:
Tuesday: Up at 7, to meet up and travel by bus to the camp ground. It takes about an hour and 15 to make it up there. Once everyone got settled in, we met with the missionaries who are serving up there for an orientation about how to treat the camp. They were so sweet. Also that day, we had ward night(where members of the ward come up) and presentation of skits.

What the cabins looks like, some are round to.

Wednesday: We went on the lake. The adult leaders get to use the paddle boats, while the girls get to use canoes. I got to be in a boat with my mom. It was fun. We ate mint mentos, laughed, and I discovered I was doing most of the paddling. One funny experience- The steering for the boat was down on the seat, so just passing by, you couldn't tell how we were moving the boat. One group of girls in a canoe asked my mom and I how we were steering, we replied 'with our minds' and promptly turned the boat and paddled away. The commitment hike was in the evening. It's a hike that is planned to help the girls feel the spirit. This year we walked around the lake, stopping every so often to hear inspirational stories. I was the fireside speaker that evening. It went well.

The value colors greet you at the entrance to camp.

Thursday: The confidence course(ropes course) was today. The main challenge was getting up a 40 foot cargo net which lead to a suspension bridge that we had to cross, then jumping off a platform to enjoy a zip line. It was fun!  They had other activities where the girls were able to work on teamwork and trust. Testimony meeting was that evening. It rained so hard for about 30 minutes and some of the grels were soaked by the time they got to the pavilion. The testimonies were nice.

Friday: We packed up, ate breakie and headed for home! My group had potty patrol, so along with cleaning out our cabin, we cleaned those too.

Conclusions: They have hot water, flushing toilets, and warm showers.  I didn't use any bug spray and only got bit once on my hand. I didn't sleep. The birds are loud at 5 am. I showered morning and night. I didn't eat any candy, but I ate lots of beef jerky. It's nice to have an ice machine while camping. I forgot my camera. Sunscreen prevents sunburns. My hat rocked. I didn't do any pranks. I missed eating lots of greens. I didn't see any ticks or snakes. Groomed trails are the way to hike. Always carry a water bottle. Be nice to the cooks and missionaries. While camping isn't my favorite thing, I did survive. I enjoyed being the young women. Would I go again? Um, not sure. I'd prefer not to, but if God needs me to camp, I'd do it.