Just an update!

I've been pretty chill about blogging lately. I do a lot of writing for work and sometimes I just don't feel like writing any more when I get home! And I just don't force myself to write if I don't want to. I'm lazy like that.

I am starting a new job as a legal assistant. Although I will miss my old job, this new job is a big blessing for me, and I'm really excited for this next step in my career.

We love where we live. Sam loves his classes and is making excellent progress on his degree. I am so proud of him! I just love our little life together. We get so stressed out about life, but we have each other, and that gets us through life's crazy times.

Hope you all have a great day!

It's not candy.

When I was in elementary school, we had a lot of motivational speakers and activists speak at my elementary school and do assemblies. They were supposed to be life changing. And most of them were, in one way or another. There was one that was particularly life changing.

The speaker starts the speech asking “Who’s a fan of M & M?”

And my hand shoots up into the hair because who isn’t a fan of the brightly colored candy that doesn’t melt in your hand and comes in several varieties, including peanut, almond, and pretzel? Not to mention those are my initials, which makes them especially important in my life.

But then the speaker starts going on about how M & M is a misogynist who raps about killing his wife and doing terrible things to women. How dare we worship this awful person who is morally corrupting our society!

I was pretty confused. I thought she was talking about yummy candy. I don’t even think I knew what rapping was or what it sounded like.

My life was great and I was pretty innocent and untainted before I learned that Eminem is not a candy. I don’t know why that lady had to come in and ruin all of that for me.

I guess adults really like to lecture kids they don’t know because it’s easier to do that then talk to congress, or marketers, or whatever. And maybe there were some kids in that gym who really needed to hear about evil Eminem, I don’t know.

Looking back, I would have appreciated learning how to identify sexism in elementary school. But one assembly by one random person (who was making pop culture references way over my head) probably wasn’t the way to do it.

the first of many posts on our wedding

I love our wedding pictures. There are just so many of them! Going through them is hard because I kind of love them all. But considering it has almost been a year since the big day, I probably should post a few photos or two!

These are from the reception.

There will be more. Many, many more. Photography by Lindsey Hale.

Ragnar at Last!

Have you ever watched that show “I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant?”

Well I kind of feel like that was my life last week (minus the baby part). It was an unexpected journey.

On Monday, one of my friends on Facebook said that she needed another runner for their Ragnar teams that weekend. They had some of their team members drop out because of injury and other conflicts and they needed someone ASAP.

I’d always wanted to do a Ragnar Relay Series, but I’d never had the chance. Getting a team together takes a lot of time, money, and organization, and that’s just if you get in! The race usually sells out very quickly.

I jumped at the chance to run in the relay. I was nervous because although I had been running and exercising, I hadn’t been training for this race specifically. But I trusted in my body and the adrenaline therein and decided to take the plunge.

Before I knew it, I was in a van with five other people I didn’t know on my way to the starting line in Logan.

I was runner 6. My first leg was 6.9 miles and rated “hard.” But I was fresh and most of it was downhill, so it was manageable. It became hotter and hotter as I ran down into Liberty, but the view was amazing.

My second leg was 8 miles and I started around 8:30 at night. I was already a little stiff and tired, but I tried not to think about the journey that lay ahead of me. I knew it was going to be long and dark.

I wasn’t used to running with a headlamp, but I knew it was necessary so I wouldn’t get killed, or worse, disqualified.

The road stretched on and on...but it was one I’d travelled before on my way to Girls Camp. But as night fell, the road became less and less familiar and all I could do was follow the headlamps of the other runners ahead of me. My running playlist was starting to get boring. I tried not to walk too much, but the road was became so steep at times that walking was my only option!

My support van stopped about every mile to offer me water and food. (Those random ginger snap cookies were the best!)

By the last mile, it was all I could do from saying the worst possible swear words. This was harder than my half marathon! Just when I thought the exchange would be around the corner, it wasn’t, and a huge hill would be there instead.

It was during that second leg that I took a moment to close my eyes and thank my Heavenly Father for my body. I think C. Jane Kendrick said it best: “I exercise to thank my body, not change it.” I was moving for an hour and a half -- forward and upward, into darkness. Although I was heaving and my legs hurt, I was going. My body knew what to do. It knew how to run. I wasn’t the fastest runner, but it didn’t matter. I was moving.

One thing that kept me moving was knowing that Sam would probably be there at the finish line. I didn’t have great cell service, so I hadn’t talked to him in a while. But I knew he was going to try and be there to see me come in. Oh how I couldn’t wait to see my husband at the finish line!

My pants are really high up on my waist because I had to wear a little butt light. Don't give me crap about this.

I look like I'm drunk. I'm not, but you can give me crap about this part if you want. I also kind of look like a Native American. (Braids plus headband, anyone?)

The whole route is absolutely gorgeous. My camera’s battery died, so I just had to take in the views as memories. Rolling green hills, yellow and green fields, small towns of small cottages, towering rocky mountains... a dead deer or two...

My last leg was through Heber, and it was only 2.1 miles. Nice and easy.

Most of the time is actually spent in the van, supporting whomever was currently running. This is excellent bonding time. We were all Ragnar Newbies, so we didn’t have any crazy costumes or crazy sayings written on our van windows. I loved my team!

Some of the highlights from the van:

• Popping the “orange candy” (ibuprofen).
• Sharing water bottles willy nilly. We did not care about hygiene. All that mattered is that we were drinking water.
• Our dorky little cheer.
• That moan that comes out after you step out of the van for the first time after running.
• Getting really excited to see the “portas.”
• Noticing the same vans over and over and giving them nicknames. (Jesus van, dirty van, running buddy van etc.)
• Trying to find food with the most calories and carbs possible. (You need all the energy you can get during Ragnar)
• The enthusiastic, helpful volunteers all along the way.

Crossing the finish line felt so good!

Sam was so amazing at supporting me in this! I love him so much! (He took all the pictures in this post. Except the one his in in.)

-Meg

Things that make me happy right now

There is much rejoicing in the land!

My cousin Kyle got his mission call to Lyon, France. He leaves in September.

These penguins named after the Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby penguin. Yes.

Also, Will, Kate, and Harry wave wands in Harry Potter world.

This really expensive, but effective shaving cream from Lush. Sometimes my skin is very sensitive when I shave, which is why I need to go all out sometimes.

The Salt Lake Community Co-op. (Yay for awesome veggies!)

A million and a half weddings this summer. Love is in the air.

Everyone is getting jobs! One of note is my husband: Sam has a new job at America First. (I guess that makes us DINKs now?) My mom also got a job as a kindergarten teacher.

This video by Mr. Hill and Mr. Hoye.

Yoga. Especially hot yoga.

Namaste.

The Big Apple

New York City couldn’t be more iconic. I feel like I know exactly what to expect when I get there because I have heard so much about it and seen so many movies and TV shows that take place there.

At the same time, I know it’s going unexpected because that’s what New York makes New York. You can’t understand it until you’ve been there.

I leave for NYC Saturday. Since I’m going for work, I won’t have a lot of time to explore. But I’ll be taking the subway, eating local food, and talking with hair stylists who live and work in New York. I’ll also probably be battling my people claustrophobia.

Wish me luck!

Trust in the Invisable

I loving learning by antecdotes. That's why I love blogs so much. Stories are one of my favorite parts of church. Stories are what make the scriptures come alive for me.

I love sharing my own stories. I'm my favorite person to write about. And while I get pretty personal, there are many things that I don't tell the whole world. There are myriad reasons that I don't share, and I can't even tell you those reasons.

You're just going to have to trust that there are good reasons. Some of these invisable, untold stories are the most moving and important stories of my life, but they must remain untold.

Thinking about my own invisable stories can be frustrating, but it has also helped me have more compassion for others. Everyone has untold stories. We have to be OK with not knowing everything about everyone and still being kind to them even though we don't understand their whole story. My mom always said that the people who are hardest to love need it the most.

I've also realized that other people don't think about invisable stories. So they're judgemental and rude. And that's OK. They just haven't learned that lesson in life yet. They will get there.

This weekend has been so wonderful. LDS General Conference concluded today and it warmed my soul and strengthened my spirit. I just wanted to share some of my thoughts with you. I want to start writing more on this blog. Because I have plenty of very visable stories.

-Meg