Conquer Thyself

My friend, Karina, and I ran a marathon last month. I started a blog post about it that day, but never finished writing it. Tonight I pulled it out of my virtual desk, blew the digital dust off of it, and have posted it here for your viewing pleasure:

Items Learned and Re-learned at the Top of Utah Marathon:

Items Learned:
1. The next time I run a marathon, I'm going to wear a shirt with an inspirational message on the back of it. While running the TOU marathon, a guy that was in front of my friend and I had a shirt on that said "Conquer Thyself." It was a great reminder of why people choose to do epic things like running marathons.
2. Icy Hot is my new best friend.
3. Do not put Icy Hot on sunburned skin. Double the hotness, double the sizzle, double the fun.
4. When I grow up, I want to volunteer at marathons. Or, if my house is ever on a marathon route, I want to sit in my yard with a sprayer and spray people with water as they run by.

Items Re-learned:
1. My parents rock. They met me at the finish line. I hope I get to see them at all of the finish lines in my life.
2. My mother is an angel. She rubbed my swollen, sweaty feet after the race. At that point, I definitely had feet that only a mother could love.
3. Even un-athletic people like myself can successfully train for and run marathons. Regular training and good nutrition are key, and they help to establish good habits in general. Score!

The Bazillionth Time is the Charm

Today I promised myself not to find a new blog template again for at least six months because, seriously, I feel like I change this crazy html more often than I do my socks. Umm, yeah, I wear sandals a lot.

Tommy-toe Goodness

A few of the results of my tomato harvest this year as captured by my cell-phone camera:



My tomato plants survived and bore delicious fruits, or veggies, or whichever definition you decide works best for you. I'm ecstatic and have become hooked on this whole gardening thing.

End of Blog Post Note: There is actually a variety of cherry tomato that is known as the "Tommy Toe." That's not the kind I grew, but they're all "Tommy Toes" to me.

I'm a Professional Your Great Aunt Maude

I'm a professional genealogist. I don't blog about it much, but that's what I do for a living, and I like my job. Professional genealogists have certain stigmas attached to them. (Hmmm, I wonder what they could possibly be? Hee hee.) Hence the conversation I had with my friend, Sherry, at work today. It went something like this:

Me: Which sounds better, Professional Genealogist, or Professional Family Historian?
Sherry: Professional Your Great Aunt Maude.

She's right, neither one sounds terribly thrilling...no offense to anyone's great-aunt Maude. :)

Never Alone

Some time last night, or rather, early this morning, I awoke to the sounds of sobs outside of my bedroom door. My little niece had woken up and headed to her mom's room, (I'm guessing she wanted to climb into bed with her and snuggle), but for some reason, she didn't find her in her bed. Next, she came upstairs to see if her mom was asleep on the couch, but to no avail. The couch was empty. That was when she started to sob outside of my door that she didn't know where her mom was.

I quickly got up to help my niece look for my sister. Was she on the couch in the living room? No. Was her car outside? Yes. We made our way to the stairs, and I asked if maybe she was sleeping in my nephew's room. My niece went back downstairs and checked, but she wasn't there. Then, she looked in her mom's room again, but this time she must have looked more carefully, because she found her there, sleeping soundly. Once her mom was found, my niece went right back to bed and slept peacefully for the rest of the night, confident in the knowledge that her mom was close by.

I can relate with that experience, and not just because I used to walk in my sleep. Sometimes life gets so busy that priorities get mixed up, and the things I absolutely should be doing fall from the top of my list of daily habits. I become distracted by situations and decisions that seem clear-cut at one point, but then become clouded with confusion and doubt. I gradually find myself metaphorically 'sleepy,' sleepy and stumbling around in the dark for some semblance of the light, wanting to draw closer to my Heavenly Father.

Thankfully, the source of all light and truth never changes. Just like my sister, sleeping soundly in the same bed and in the same room that she's slept in for years, our Father in Heaven and our Savior can always be found in the same places. Sometimes I just have to remember where to look.

Here are some of my favorite scriptures that relate to this topic:

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Revelations 3:20
3 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

1 Nephi 20:13-16
13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.
15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:63
63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Oh the stories I COULD tell.....

One day I might write a book. It might be called something like The Dating Memoirs of the self-proclaimed Queen of Awkwardness. (I am, of course, the Queen of Awkwardness. It's written on the white board at work, so it must be true.) This volume might include stories with plots that could be similar to these:

1. Girl goes on "friend" date with guy who likes girl's best friend (girl's best friend is currently dating guy's roommate, but guy hasn't noticed it yet...silly guy). In middle of said date, guy tells girl he likes her best friend.

2. First date after girl returns home from mission, girl is set up on blind date. Nice, clean-cut RM. Half-way through date, as girl and guy walk up to the door of a friend's house where they are going to play games, guy asks if girl wants to pretend like they're doing a missionary-style door approach. No thanks, but girl is excited to play Phase 10 once they get inside!

3. Girl registers for dating site. One week, girl gets plethora of matches, many more than usual. Girl already knows one match. Girl quickly closes said match to avoid further awkwardness, but gets a good chuckle out of it at the same time.

4. TBA

I freely admit that the top two scenarios make the guys seem like the awkward parties, but I also freely admit that I create my fair share of awkwardness. I think that, subconsciously, I must feed on it. The awkwardness does make for some great stories, though. :) Once I've stopped cringing, I can't help but laugh at the stories, and at myself!

Have you any awkward dating snippets that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear!

Triple A

I think it would be fun to marry someone whose last name is Ashton. Then I would be Allison Aston Ashton. I would be endlessly entertained by having people repeat my name. Also, lots of folks naturally add an 'h' to my last name, so why not help them out by making the 'shh' legit? Really, though, who could go wrong with initials that inspire thoughts of towed cars, fixed flat tires, and successfully jimmied car door locks? Anybody know any eligible Ashton men? :D