tinker bell 1/2 marathon

this past weekend i flew down from cold, gray utah, to sunny, warm california for my very first half marathon! i was nervous for this day to come. to be honest, i trained very, very, very little, and had been somewhat sick most of january, but the day came and it was fun.. in a semi miserable way. kelly, kristen, & shannon also ran in it!
the half was at disneyland, which definitely made it really fun. we started off by running towards disneyland & throughout the whole park! they had characters out in their costumes, music playing, & people taking your picture throughout the race (i tried my best to get into as many pictures possible), after we left disneland it was near mile 5, and we then ran around anaheim, there were so many people lined up & watching us, it was pretty neat. there were high school cheer teams, dance teams, high school bands, an army band, all lined up in different places to keep us hyped up & motivated. the last stretch was running through california adventure, and once that happened i was thrilled because i knew that it was just a matter of minutes before i could sit down & be done!
there were also a lot of people dressed up which was really fun. it was cool to see all the different costumes they came up with. kelly was captain hook & her costume was awesome. kris was snow-white, & shannon & i were tweedle dee & tweedle dum. there were a lot of tinker bells, i saw a queen of hearts, the 3 fairies from sleeping beauty, caution cones from toy story, & many many more. kelly & kris were in higher level corrals, but luckily shannon and i were able to run in the same one. there was so much hype going on, everyone was very supportive, & it was really nice to have one of my bff's in the some corral as me to run with. she helped to make it more fun cause we could talk to each other, and when mile 12 came & i was 100% over running, she kept me going.
i was in such terrible pain once i crossed that finish line. the last thing i wanted to do was walk, my legs were achy, my knees didn't want to bend, & i'm positive i got the biggest blister i have ever had in my entire life, right on the tip top of my big toe (it was the shoes, at least thats what everyone says). now thats it's done with, i'm really happy i did it. a half marathon was never something i thought i would do, i'm not a runner by any means, but looking back i actually enjoyed it.. despite the pain. i'm so proud of shan for running it too! & for sticking by me the whole time. & really proud & impressed by kelly & kris. they both did so well! it was also fun to see my sister in her "element" she's all about running & i can see why.. the hype is so energizing, plus, she runs a lot so she's fast & doesn't feel a lot of pain anymore. she's awesome. i'm planning & hoping for this to inspire me to keep running & get in better shape, maybe even sign up for another one!
tweedle dee & tweedle dum waiting to start the race

mid race picture shot

courtesy of my brother

this is how she ran the entire way.. no joke
 right after crossing the finish line
 snow white & tweedles 
 shan & her tink medal

resting, not wanting to ever move
captain hook & tweedle dee
representing team sparkle who made the skirt & socks i wore

run, run, run

this weekend is the half disney marathon i signed up for in august.
i'm a little excited & pretty nervous.
tomorrow is the last day i'll be able to run in utah before heading home for the big race.
& maybe the last day at all unless i find some time in the few days before while i'm home
i'm excited to see everyones costumes they come up with.
as for me & my running partner we'll be going as tweedle dee & tweedle dum!
i think our costumes are going to be pretty fun & i'm anxious to see them
all put together!

color me mine

last saturday all i wanted to do was go to color me mine. i wanted a new mug & i wanted to paint. after some convincing we went & spent about 3 hours of our afternoon painting away. we were both really into it. we picked up our cups on thursday & i loved mine! p.s. please excuse the language in any following pictures.



i want to ride my bicycle

this christmas one of my favorite gifts i got was a new bicycle (my last one got stolen). it was exactly what i wanted. i wanted to put it together right then & there, but had to wait until i got back to utah.
i anxiously awaited my bikes arrival & once it came i was so excited.
& lucky for me, it was extremely warm for january, so i got to ride it around once or twice before it got freezing cold again. 



tubalr

today i happened on this awesome website called tubalr
it's basically a better youtube. 
i've been typing in bands all day long. 
it's simple, nicely designed & once you've typed & searched something, 
it gives you more options on the side bar. i'm really into this website.
you can pick to only search for what you type or anything related to it
so you can find cool new bands or what not too!
check it out!

grateful dead

today i was searching for a picture of the grateful dead's dancing skeleton. as some of you may know, i'm really into skeletons, skulls, bones.. that kind of thing (not in a creepy way) & i like the grateful dead. plus they have a cool symbol of a dancing skeleton. while on my search i came across this sticker 
you may wonder why this sticker caught my attention. well, when i was really young my dad gave me this exact sticker, except it didn't say grateful dead on top. i stuck it on my closet wall, as a little kid would, & ever since i'd look at it & think it was such a strange sticker that my dad gave me. i always wondered where on earth he got it & why he even had it. come to find out.. 14 or 15 years later.. it's a sticker from one of his favorite bands. i think it's kind of cool to now know where it came from. 

california dreaming

winter break was so nice. it was great to get away from the cold and go home to the warmth & sunshine. it was perfect. i was old friends, the sibs, went to the zoo, disneyland, venice & the beach as many times as i could. it was warm enough for me to put my boots & sweaters on the shelves and break out an old pair of shorts & any other spring/summer weather clothes. it was great. i love christmas in california. 



most of my major disappointments have turned out to be blessings in disguise. so when anything bad does happen to me, i kind of sit back & feel, well, if i give this enough time, it'll turn out that this was good, so i shouldn't worry about it too much.
-william gaines

life surprises you. sometimes you expect things to go one way & they don't, sometimes they do.
sometimes you get held back when all you want to do is push forward.
it gets tough, but you just got to know that it's not the end of the world.
even if it feels like it is right now.
everything works out & it all happens for a reason.
just need to sit back & relax. 
that's what i've decided.

ugly sweater party on film

finally got the camera developed, here's another little glimpse at the party! 
 trevor & seth
 rus & stu
 melinda, traci & me
 johnny & spencer
 my white elephant prize: 3 gold fish
traci & katie 

the longest way


The Longest Way 1.0 - one year walk/beard grow time lapse from Christoph Rehage on Vimeo.

new year

goodbye 2011, hi 2012! 
2011 was a good year & a lot has happened in it
here's the run down:
started 2011 in hawaii
8 friends got married
3 of my closest friends announced pregnancies 
traveled between 5 different states
& around 5 different countries.
all in all, i'd say its been a pretty good year to me.
but i have higher expectations for 2012