The runner's mind during hill repeats

Bottom of hill- ok. You got this. Just three of these

Halfway up- this totally sucks. Hills are stupid. You are stupid. 

3/4 way up- you might die. You're probably going to die. If you make it to the top you can be done! I won't make you do the other two

Top of hill - your such a BA. That wasn't so bad. Beautiful view! Fist pump 

Down hill- you're such a great runner. Your body is pretty great. This is easy! Go  you. 

Bottom of hill- ok I can totally go up that hill again! Let's do this thang. 

Half way up- oh ya, this totally sucks still! 

3/4 way up- I think my legs are going to fall off. Yep...I'm going to just sit over there and die 

Top of hill- yay! You did it! Not that bad... Let's go again! 

(Repeat) 

A look back of 2014

Warning: If you're sick of my baby- skip this post since 90% of my year review will be about her. you're welcome.

2014! Another awesome year under our belt. I'm happy it's over. It felt like most of the year was spent in anticipation and being pregnant and then in a weird limbo of having a newborn. These last few months have been the best months of the year and I look forward to continuing that awesomeness into 2015

The first pictures I have (that aren't belly pics) are from my graduation in May. Oops! Graduating college 6 months pregnant was pretty awesome. The whole day I just thought of my baby girl and how empowering it is to have an education and a chosen career. I must say I LOVE being a college graduate!

It wouldn't be a year in review without Football! Bart was the Sophomore Head Coach this year for Kearns. I was so proud of him! He really came out of his shell and was a great leader.

And then of course this happened! I've documented those first few months pretty regularly. Since the baby and I both sleep through the night now I don't have nightly updates. Bottom line? She changed our world and it's the best world to be in!

My baby sister got married! It was a beautiful weekend

And this is how our year ended: 

Like I said: not too eventful and yet the most life changing year yet! In my defense I wasn't super interested in documenting my preggo self for posterity. You're welcome.

Happy New Year everyone!

Goals for 2015

I really really love a new year. There is something about January 1 that makes me so exited. I love fresh starts and a chance to make a few new goals 

Fun fact about me? I totally suck at accomplishing goals. I think I usually decide on something way too intense and if I mess up once I throw it all out the window. 

For 2015 I thought it might be fun to break up the year a little bit and have a monthly (or so) goal. Then other general goals that I can work on all year. 

A few years ago Bart and I made it a goal to throw out less food and we rocked it! I like those kind of goals that you can always improve on. We are already working on not swearing and sticking to our clean eating and building a food storage 

January- complete our 72 hour kits

Feb- run Dog Days Half Marathon 

March- spend every Sunday completely unplugged 

April- finish Book of Mormon 

May- no spend! Don't buy anything extra 

June- run Utah Valley Half Marathon

July- hike 3 new trails

August- go on a "date" with each of my siblings 

September- run Big Cottonwood Half Marathon 

October- read a classic book that seems to be "over my head" 

November- spend every Sunday completely unplugged (again!) 

December- sponsor a family for Christmas 

I'm looking forward to a great new year and will write a 2014 recap later this week (hopefully) 

The baby gadgets I use every. Single. Day.

My baby was and still is an angel wrapped in pink squishy skin. She is the easiest baby. I know this. That being said, the things I use daily are going to be different if you have a baby that needs a little more stuff to be happy. These are also things we spent money on that we actually used (unlike these)

Soothie binki

For some stupid reason I tried avoiding the binki when she was first born. Then my all knowing and genius mom gave me the mommy- OK and we have never looked back. I've tried giving her other binkis but she knows what she likes

Diaper Genie

I've read people say this is a stupid product and totally pointless. LIES! Do you realize how many diapers a baby goes through in a day? Are you really going to wrap each one up in an individual grocery sack and take sit out to the garbage can? Or would you rather stick it down a magic hole never to be seen or smelled again? (Until it's time to empty which takes like 2 minutes and is MESS FREE). This is my favorite thing in the nursery besides my own child. 

Muslin blankets

They are big, thin and can be used for drool, spit up and to keep your baby warm or on the floor for tummy time. I'm all about multitasking items. 

Changing table

Do you need one? No. But I use mine every morning and night. The floor works just fine when we are downstairs, but a pad on top of her dresser is great. We always play, talk and blow belly bubbles when she is up a little higher 

Fan or space heater 

Of course the nursery is the room with the worst temperature control! The vaulted ceilings make winters COLD and the big east facing windows make the summers HOT. So we have a fan to cool it off and a space heater to warm it up. Annoying but needed.

Baby rolls!

Mckenzie rolled over today!!!

I know all you mamas out there can imagine just how excited I was as she was trying and finally succeeded. It wasn't an accident either. She was consciously trying to do it and after several failed attempts she finally figured it out!! I squealed and clapped and kissed her chubby cheeks. I seriously got so happy. 

I freaking love motherhood. The things we get excited about? The things that make us so happy? It's the little things and I love my life being filled with those little moments. 

I love seeing her learn how to smack her lips together and listen as she makes the cutest noises. I love her soft skin on my cheek and her big smile she saves just for me. Love isn't a big enough word anymore. Love doesn't fully explain the feeling and emotion I have for my baby girl. It's truly a god-like experience and emotion we get to have here on Earth.

Hi Baby: Christmas List

Hi baby,

Your daddy shared this LINK with me a few weeks ago. A list of things a 25 year old single girl wants for Christmas.

Reading this list makes me really happy that my life has more meaning than the objects and desires this girl lists off. It also makes me hope that one day you have bigger dreams than having a big butt or 'likes' on Instagram.

Don't you know your life is meant for so much more? It's meant for big things baby girl. Big things. You can do whatever you dream of doing. You can have a Christmas list filled with travel plans and life goals worth accomplishing. You can dare to have better things than Beyonce's thighs or a week where calories don't matter. Your thighs (chubby now and perfect forever) aren't worth wasting a wish over and if you're going to eat the calories you might as well enjoy them.

I hope your Christmas list involves other people and has more substance than losing weight and getting a tan. I hope you want to come see your mom for your favorite meal or call your grandma without it feeling like a chore. I hope by 25 you can see what really matters in life. I'm not saying you have to be all grown up with a white picket fence and toddlers, but by 25 I hope your self centered days are over, and you realize just how fortunate you are for the life you are living.

I want you to have wishes and dreams and goals that are pages long: I just really hope it doesn't include sex fantasies, wants for a different body and dreams of being lazy and getting everything while doing nothing.

xoxo
Mom

Do babies have nightmares?

Mckenzie randomly woke up 40 minutes after going to sleep the other night totally screaming like she was hurting. Her eyes never opened and after a few minutes of just holding and rocking her she was fine and slept the rest of the night. 

Naturally I googled "do babies have nightmares"

Dear all new moms: NEVER GOOGLE ANYTHING

People on the Internet are CRAZY. Check out this response to a poor new mama asking if babies have nightmares 

Your baby is having nightmares because you decided to take a shower and she woke up and you weren't there and YOU DID THIS TO HER!!!!!

 Also, ya know that thing called birth where they grabbed her by her little feet and yanked her into this world (c section) or she came head first through a way too small hole and was caught by some weird guy in gloves? That moment? Well she is remembering that as we speak and YOU DID THIS TO HER!! 

Moral of the story? Your child should never cry, never wake up without you and if you let her experience anything other than your boob in her mouth she will be damaged for the rest of her days. 

People be cray cray. Seriously- just don't google anything. Ask your mom, your bff or your pediatrician, not the insane lady with an Internet connection. 

Baby cuddles, baby daddy, WATCH YO MOUTH

Well folks my thumbs are at it again. I'm currently laying horizontal on my bed with my baby cuddled up next to me dong her best to take a nap. I could be doing laundry, cleaning house or 3947 other things- but I'm spending the afternoon cuddling with my baby. Sorrynotsorry. 

I've been loving  every second with her these days. If she is awake I usually drop everything and get RIGHT UP IN HER FACE and she totes loves it. ( or so I tell myself) 

Bart has the next two weeks off and yours truly has zero. (Ok ok I have Christmas and New Year's Day- it could be worse) so he will be Mr Mom and I'll be bringing home the bacon. I am SO blessed to have such a supportive husband and daddy to our baby girl. He fully accepts halvsies (halfsies?) responsibility when it comes to baby duty and never makes me feel like one of our jobs is more important than the other. He's pretty great and I'm excited for these two to bond a little bit 

work has been super stressful the last two weeks. I don't know why, but I definely wasn't gellin this week. Thank goodness for weekends to reset, take a deep breath and GET OVER IT amiright? I love weekends. 

So Bart came home one day and said he wanted to stop swearing so for every swear word we decided 10 push ups would be the punishment. You would drop down right then and there if possible, if not you have to do them ASAP. I was so proud of this random new goal of his I decided to join! Turns out I probably swear more than he does (oops!) so we are both getting our push-ups in. It's definitely working though and now we catch ourselves before the word gets out 80% of the time. This life is all about improvement and progression right??? (Plus Bart's upper body is toning up quite nicely so it's a win win). 

Speaking of toning up and being awesome- we are training for a half marathon in Feb. Today was a cold 6 miles, but I really do love it. 

This month has been a lot of fun. We have been pretty social and life is just so much better when you have good people in it, Ya know? For so long my life was filled with crappy crappy people who were not good for me and I realize what difference it makes when you have good friends and good people surrounding you. It's da bomb.com. 

On the twelfth day of Christmas

*Get the tune in your head* 

This year during Christmas life has given me: 

12 loads of laundry

Eleven neighbor gifts 

Ten sugar cookies 

Nine toys for wrapping 

Eight hour work days 

Seven Christmas movies 

Six miles running 

Five pans of fudge

Four sweater parties 

Three shopping trips 

Two hours of traffic

And a baby wearing reindeer jammies 

Thank you thank you...I'll be here all night 

The baby gadgets I never used

Life is funny. First few months of life with baby is even more amusing. And by amusing I mean straight up h-e-double hockey sticks with a big fat slice of heaven with a piece of candy on top. 

That being said, there are lots of things to buy for your first child. If you followed this blog you would recall that Meggy didn't buy much of anything until the last possible second. Then I would buy it and BAM we wouldn't need it anymore. *cue emoji with straight line face* 

For example:

THE breastfeeding pillow. Breastfeeding was a big hot mess for me. A week in and I visited with a lactation consultant who used this magic pillow and.... ITS WORKING!! SHE IS LATCHED AND IM NOT IN PAIN HALLELUJIA. I had to buy the pillow since it was the only missing factor. Obvi. 

3 days later that $50 pillow found its permanent home in the corner of her nursery 

Speaking of pillows, we bought a $75 double sided pregnancy pillow that made my bed feel like a prison and that thing spent most of its days on the floor. Thank you and amen. 

Moving right along...

Breast milk storage bags. One day I'm successfully pumping lots of milk like a mama cow. I had been able to freeze extra milk daily and I was down to the last 5 bags. Naturally I bought a box with 100 more. I never used those last 5 bags ($17 bucks sitting in my pantry unopened) 

Baby shoes. I never bought a pair, but we got several from friends and I'm sorry to say my daughter's feet have never known the restrictive feeling of shoes. We be hippies like that

So there are a few things we bought and never used. There's more but I can't think of them at the moment. Next time around I'll post the baby things I use daily that are just oh so handy! 

The blog post only VIB ( very important bloggers) write

I read pretty popular blogs and it's only a matter of time before they post about taking a break from blogging because:

I just have so much to say 

I don't have enough to say

I feel too much pressure 

I don't know what direction I want to take with my life *cough* I mean my blog 

I just don't even know what's real anymore 

I really want to be IN the moment, Ya know? 

Blah blah blah blah blaaaaah. 

Either write a blog post- or don't!! Your 578426 "friends" will still be there when you decide to come back to your über stressful cyber life. 

(You could be like me and pretty much only write when you are holding your baby at night putting her to sleep. Left thumb writing people. Multitasking simplifies everything!!!)

Books review: Lost December, Walking on Water, The Mistletoe Promise

As we have discussed, I am a binge reader. I read 4 books over the course of one week earlier this month. 3 of them were by Richard Paul Evans. Usually when I binge read I read multiple books from the same author. This time was no exception. I love finding a new author! He has been on my show before, and this year his newest book came in the mail. Two of his other books were on my coworker's desk and she let me borrow them. I really liked 2.5 of them. They were all easy reads and I finished them within a day or two.

Lost December was the first one I read. It's a twist on the bible story of the prodigal son. A hard working, well raised young man is the son of a multimillionaire. He goes off to college, becomes friends with the wrong people and ends up blowing his 1 million dollar trust fund. Under the impression that his father wants nothing to do with him, he doesn't reach out when he hits rock bottom and ends up on the streets. The story continues to play out and I won't tell you the rest. I loved this book! It was a realistic story that really could happen to anyone. (anyone with a million dollars anyway). The underlying message was there the whole time and it of course has a happy ending. The love the father has for his son got me choked up a little bit. Even though it was an easy read, it wasn't superficial. There were a few parts I skimmed over- the dialog between friends was just boring to me. (I'm not into random dialog in stories) but other than that I really enjoyed it.

Since I loved Lost December so much I immediately picked up the other book from my coworker's desk Walking on Water. I didn't realize this was the last book in a 5 book series until a few chapters in, but I wasn't really lost either. I will say this was my least favorite book out of the three, but I'm assuming it's because I haven't read any of the others. The first half of the book was good, the last half was very boring. It was several chapters of what this character ate on his long walk across America. Full paragraphs naming off his meals. snooooooze. I skipped a lot and just wanted to be done. I don't know if I could read the first 4 books now that I know how everything ends, but maybe I will try!

The Mistletoe Promise was the book that landed on my desk and had me reading Richard Paul Evans in the first place. I haven't read a love story for quite some time, so I really like this. I have always loved a good love story as long as it's not too sappy- this one isn't. The characters are great and the sad past of the main character really struck me as a mother. This is also a really quick read and if you're looking for something fun to read this Christmas- this is it!



Lost December was my favorite of the three, followed closely by The Mistletoe Promise. I am now interested in reading his other holiday stories and will definitely be watching out for more books from Richard Paul Evans.

Throwback Thursday: 6 cups of flour

6 Cups of Flour
12-21-11

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate cooking? How bad I am at it? I know a lot of people say that but seriously, I am and it's getting really annoying.

I tried to make Lemon Bars today and they taste horrible. I then decided to make Snickerdoodles because I remember those being pretty tasty and I have never made them before. Fun idea right?!?!? WRONG.

First of all, they should have a warning label put on recipes that say in nice bold letters IF YOU MAKE THIS WITH THE AMOUNTS INDICATED BELOW, YOU WILL BE MAKING FOUR THOUSAND COOKIES.

Seriously?!?! Who needs this many cookies? This recipe could feed the whole city of Murray and lets be honest, not that many people like these cookies anyway. This was an entry in a work recipe book I got from my mom and I want to hunt this lady down and shove snickerdoodles down her throat.  I didn't realize until I looked at the instructions and it is telling me to put in 6 CUPS of flour that this was a large recipe. Now I realize that was my bad for not noticing before I was midway through my little project from hell but I'm not good at this remember?

Also, I freaking hate cold butter. HATE it.Hate hate hate, double hate, LOATHE ENTIRELY.  I had to use my hands pioneer style to mix the butter and sugar because my big fancy KitchenAid couldn't do it so of course I got butter and sugar all over my freshly cleaned floor. (That's another reason why I hate cooking, I make such a big mess) So as I am mixing in those 6 pounds of flour I am kicking myself and looking over at the clock to see if I am even going to have time to finish all of this before I have to be to work at 3.

Let's just say it will be pushing it, and there may or may not be some cookie dough in my freezer by the end of this. Luckily each batch just cooks for 10 minutes but still, there are like a thousand batches to cook soo.....time adds up. This is really making me hate snickerdoodles, I will probably never want to eat them again. Did you know you have to scoop up the extremely sticky dough into a ball and then roll it around in cinnamon sugar? Yeah, not as easy as it sounds, I finally got my system down but the whole time I was doing it all I was thinking about was this blog post and how much I hate cooking. As we speak I am waiting for cookies to finish and apparently 10 minutes is not long enough.

Dear Bart,

I apologize that the laundry is laid out all over our bed not folded and the towels are chillin in the dryer. I was too busy attempting to entertain myself and doing the worst thing I probably could do with my morning off. I wrote this blog post for you because lets be honest, I wasn't about to text you all of this and by the time I get home from work tonight I will probably be over it. Also, will you please eat about 40 cookies tonight so we have some space in our fridge for oh, i don't know, milk? Thanks pookie bear.

Love, Megan.

Bean Salad

If I'm asked to bring something to a party I try to keep it simple. This has become my go-to. The best part? I'm happy if there are leftovers! It's so yummy and something I can eat without guilt. 

Share share share you ask??? OK fine. 

1 can of the following: 

Black beans

Red beans

Pinto beans

Garbanzo beans 

2 cans of fresh corn

8oz chunky medium salsa 

1TB vegetable oil 

1tsp lemon juice

Chili powder to taste 

Dump beans in colander and rinse. 

Add beans, corn and salsa to large bowl.

 Mix

Add vegetable oil, lemon juice and seasoning 

Cover and chill

Eat with tortilla chips or anything else to get this yummy goodness in your mouth! 

How easy is that? Take to your next holiday party. It's different than typical dip and oh so tasty! 

4 months

Baby Mac! We made it 4 months. It has been pretty great.

I can't believe it's already been a month. I feel like I just wrote her 3 month blog post so I will keep this one short and sweet

LOVES the TV. The day she rolls over is going to be because mommy adjusted her little body away from the television

Sleeps through the night every night now 10-11 hours and has a clear routine for her day.

Pushes her bum up in the air and gets on her knees during tummy time (which means she face plants into the floor)

Cubby! Her little jeggings are getting too tight.

Starting to notice real people food, but doesn't seem interested if I let her lick something

Her goo-goo-ga-ga has turned into more of a yelling baby-talk. It's adorable

Still doesn't relate to the baby books. Apparently she is supposed to be in a month long "leap" but she never gets grouchy, so I have just stopped reading that book.

Favorite thing is still to look around at everything and chat.

These past few months have been so much fun!! I told my friend the other day that if babies just popped out at this stage, I would have another one right now. She is my favorite and I'm so excited to watch her grow.

Book Review: Leaving Time

If you know me or have read this blog long enough, you know I LOVE Jodi Picoult. I discovered her when I was probably 13 and have read every single one of her books. Every year when she releases a new one it's on my birthday wish list. This year was no exception.

I was so excited for Leaving Time because a few months before it was released Jodi released a FREE digital short story. It was the book about elephants that I was telling all my nurses about when I was in labor. I loved the short story and was really excited.

It starts with a teenage girl looking for her mother who seems to have vanished into thin air after a dramatic night. She teams up with an old retired and alcoholic cop and a washed up psychic to find the answers. As in all of her books, Picoult uses different chapters to go back and forth between the different characters. One of those points of view is the mother who is missing. Her story reads as a flash back history lesson, while the other characters are speaking of present time. 

It's clear Picoult did extensive research (just like all of her books) and the topic of research for this story was Elephants. I learned more about elephants than I thought I wanted to know (just like the topic of wolves in "Lone Wolf"). One of my favorite things about her books is learning about something in the process of reading and this was no different. 

I read almost the entire book waiting for the other shoe to drop. While it was entertaining, it didn't make me question things like her past books. It didn't change my view or look at a topic with a new set of eyes. Toward the middle of the book I was actually getting bored thinking the plot was moving pretty slow. It wasn't until nearly the end of the book that a huge PLOT TWIST leaves you with your head spinning and your mouth wide open. Once the dots start to connect you look back on everything you just read with a totally different perspective.

If you had asked me if I liked the book as I was reading it, before the twist, I would have said EH. It's OK. But by the time I closed the book my mind was blown and I was entertained for a few days afterward just thinking about it.

Leaving Time is different from a lot of her other books, but I am a true blue fan and really enjoy anything Jodi Picoult writes. If you found her past books to be a little too intense or deep for you- this one would be a little more up your alley.

As with all of her books I was finished within a few days. Not her best book*, but not her worst either.

*In case you were wondering: my favorites are "The Storyteller", "House Rules" and "Nineteen Minutes". I really didn't like "Sing You Home"

Trash bin thoughts

My awesome father in law (hi Larry!) mentioned yesterday that I haven't been blogging much. I told him its because sometimes I just have nothing to say. 

I still have nothing to say but I will write anyway. I read somewhere that a writer should make a point to write everyday, even if it ends up being garbage and thrown away. Lucky for you..this blog is my trash bin and you my friends get to sometimes read my daily musings. 

Speaking of reading- I downloaded a free ebook called "Lost in Shangri-La". Did you know there was an entire civilization living in New Guinea that was completely cut off from the outside world and was just living like "savages and headhunters" during World War II ** they were just chillin in the middle of the rainforest with their own crops and civil wars. Mind blown. The book is about a plane crash and lots of other things, I just haven't gotten past the crash part yet. 

*side note: I had to ask Bart what war World War II was and he is currently giving me a history lesson. I embarrass him with my complete lack of history knowledge (and geography knowledge) 

I'm also reading a few of Richard Paul Evans' novels because his latest one ended up on my desk at work. I liked the first one I read (Lost December) but am bored as I try to finish Walking on Water. Full reviews are on their way. I also read Jodi Picoult's newest book Leaving Time. PLOT TWIST!! Not my fav, but again a book review is coming. 

I am going to take a few seconds and just mention how much I love having Bart home at 3pm every day. I know that's not normal for a lot of families out there, but it has always been our normal and I'm happy we have it back. I don't mind the 4 months of intense football season, but man do I absolutely love the 8 months of non football season. 

Mackado is just getting cuter and cuter everyday. I will have a more detailed report for her 4 month old blog post on Friday (you're welcome) so for now I will say those squishy squishy cheeks light up my world

Well I'm starting to see why they say to just write and write- I have a few ideas for future posts! Good night everybody