ER Take 3.....

This time it wasn't for one of the dogs....it was for me. Before heading to Pineview to take the dogs for a swim I had asked my mom for some Ibuprofen, I had some cramps going on and was in need of pain meds asap. Asked me how many I wanted, I always take 4 so she gave me 4...no biggie. After taking the dogs to the dam we headed back to Ogden for dinner at Austin's parents house. When we got there I realized that my hands and face were numb and I could barley stay awake. For some reason I had the realization to ask my mom if she was sure she had given me Ibuprofen, it then clicked in her head that she had Elavil (Generic Name: amitriptyline) in her pill bottle as well and had given me 4 pills of it instead. Mind you that my step father and her take a quarter of a pill to help them sleep at night. The Elavil and Ibuprofen look exactly the same, except the Elavil is a little smaller so it was an easy mistake. Anyhow, we called poison control and they said I need to go to the hospital to have my heart monitored due to the risk of cardiac problems that could arise. By the time we made it to the hospital I was so out of it I don't remember much. I remember having to drink this nasty charcoal crap, getting an IV, cold sticker things being placed on me to monitor my heart and the heart monitor on my finger falling off every time I moved while I was sleeping and someone putting it back on my finger every few minutes. Other then that it is all a blur, I don't even remember getting home. So after a long night in the ER and a day of sleeping/recovery I am as good as new! :)

Hopelessly In Love

I am utterly and hopelessly in Love....with my New Skis....I got a new pair of Phat Luvs on Saturday!!! I heart my new skis! Let the snow fly!

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday afternoon after church (yes I have been two weeks in a row!!) my mom, Mike, Austin and I decided to take all our dogs up to Pineview for a swim. The dogs had a blast! And since everyone always posts video of their kids, I thought I would post some of my "kid" :) Syd was so concerned about the other dogs being so far out in the water and not playing with her, so she would stand on the shore and bark at them -- it's so funny that she thinks she can boss them around.

And a few pictures for you viewing enjoyment....

Syd is annoyed because I woke her up...

Again she is annoyed because I am trying to make her pose for the picture

Bossing the the Goldens around...this is as deep in the water as she dared get...

Good News ---

The trainer may have kicked my butt last night -- but I can still walk to day!!!

A Goodwood Lunch

I heart my friends -- they are the best. Becky, Doug, Ryker, Mindy, Phatty and I went to Goodwood for lunch today...and just take a wild guess who our server was....that's right Austin!

Mindy and I

Becky and Ryker

Austin and ME!

The many faces of Phatty, he didn't want me to take his picture, but I did anyway multiple times! And how nice is he to carry Ryker out? Doug had to jet off to work in a rush...but is was nice to have him join our weekly lunch group!

Traitor....

Saturday I went to the BYU game with the new boy in my life...Austin. I met Austin at Goodwood BBQ while at lunch with my boss...little did I know that my boss had totally set me up and had me there to show me off to the waiter (Austin). Anyhow, I put aside the guilt and agreed to go to the game and had a fabulous time...

I'm Not Dead Yet

So I am not dead yet, although part of me kind of wishes I couldn't feel the lower part of my body. I started the ski class last night and I have a few observations:

1. The trainer guy is really hot

2. He is determined to kill me or make me cry

3. How am I supposed to concentrate with his beautiful brown eyes laughing at me the whole time?

4. I could barely walk last night -- this could be a very long 8 weeks

5. I better be in dang good shape after this voluntary torture...

6. Sitting all day is not good for the muscle soreness factor

So pretty much I hate and love that I am so sore. It means that I got my butt kicked which is excellent, but it also means my run today may be more of a limp shuffle...lol. Good thing I run where no one can see me. I am hoping it helps with the soreness. If not it is a good thing I am headed to Logan this weekend and can make someone rub my poor legs.

Training Update

So far I am proud of myself -- yes I know it has only been two days but I have run both of those days. Yesterday I ran/walked 2 3/4 in under 30 minutes...and hopefully it will just go up from there. Tonight is ski training class....wish me luck!

Monumental

This is monumental! She is actually sleeping in my bed tonight! And yes she sleeps in the covers with her head poking out on a pillow -- silly dog.

Training

So I started training (again) last night. Okay can I call it training when I only ran a mile and a half? I know it isn't far, but I am on a training schedule that I run every day for 30 days to build up endurance. Yesterday was the first time running that I didn't get frustrated -- so I think I must be doing something right. I finished feeling like I could do more...it is very encouraging and actually makes me excited to go out tonight. My one regret...that I can't carry a camera while I run! While I was out last night I saw a whole bunch of deer! Weird thing they weren't afraid of me, they just sat there looking at me run. They must have got a kick out of me because they actually even turned around to watch me keep going. So Strange. But way cool. Anyhow I will head out again tonight -- wish me luck!

On another note -- so they can't back out!!!!! Steph, Becky and Mindy have all agreed to do the half marathon with me!!!! I am way stoked! Now if I can just convince Nic to come out....hint hint! Also, Aunt Holly.....you are invited too! At this point we are still looking into which one we will do, more then likely it will be spring though.

Warning

Be prepared to hear me complain....I start "boot camp" for skiing tonight. This is what the email said as an intro to the class:

"This is a great clinic; Joel Hatch will be working on Balance, Agility, Speed, Injury prevention, Coordination and Strength (BASICS). For those of you who think you are in great condition, this guy will change your mind in a hurry!!! He will work muscle groups you didn’t know you had."

I did say I wanted to get my fat butt in shape...guess he's going to help me out with that. Also, figure I should post this so I can't back out. I am going to do a half marathon. I have too many commitment issues to commit to a full at this point. But once I do that half we will see how I feel about it. So let the training begin. And be prepared to hear my complain about not being able to sit, walk, lay or move....

xoxo -- the to be reformed couch potato

I miss Logan :(

Sunday night I hung out with some old friends. Mergs and I had planned on getting together Sunday afternoon after my family stuff (my cousin's farewell). We ended up going to one of their friends grandma's property for a fire. It makes me miss living in Logan and being able to hang out with my friends every night :( The only draw back...late night made me late for work, not so bad, but now I have to work later tonight. Boo.

Mergs and I sitting by the fire

Mergs and Justin in their matching shirts purchased at Flying J

The Group sitting by the fire

Random things for a Friday

-- I have been eating yougart for breakfast every morning this week....with a fork because I am too lazy to go to the breakroom to get a spoon.

-- I heart my new red shoes! Thank you Beck for opening my eyes to BOGO!

-- I am a looser and went to bed at 8:45 last night...who does that unless they are 82? (sorry no picture of this one)

-- I was able to hang out with one of my favorite Summit Park boys this week, and eat my new favorite obsession...brats. Who would have thought?? Such a beautiful view...and can you believe the leaves are starting to change?? It's about time to start praying for snow!


-- I was able to hang out with my dear friend Phatty this week, and we made the best Muddy Buddies ever!!! So delicious!!

A Virgin What?

Ordering a virgin drink in Europe...not as easy as it sounds. I wanted a virgin strawberry daiquiri to sip while laying on the beach...not an easy thing to explain to the waitress. At first she said I don't think we can do that. We tried to say to just make it normal leaving out the alcohol, to which she responded -- "maybe we could just put a little" -- Oh my so after some debate this is what I ended up with...mind you it wasn't the best, but it was virgin and it was cold.

Greece Wrap up...

I wanted to document my trip and my feelings before, during and after. Maybe I should have started doing this before I left...but I was so busy scrambling to get things together. I think before I left I was really just in shock, I booked my ticket 7 days prior to my departure, so I had a lot to take care of in a short amount of time between work briefings, getting extra hours in at the office, packing, packing and packing. By the time I actually made it on the plane I don't think I had come to a full realization that in a day I would be half way across the world. I have never been too far away from home, the furthest being Florida...so this was a new and slightly terrifying experience for me. I am a creature of habit, I like to have a schedule and familiar things. But with that being said I am also very random and spontaneous. Really who just buys a ticket and leaves the country in a week? (If I would have had my way I would have left 2 days later, but couldn't swing it with work) I think for the first few days of the trip I was in shock, trying to absorb as much of the experience as I could. At some points it felt like a fire hose. I would take time to just walk the streets in Santorini wandering in and out of little shop or sit on the beach with my iPod trying to process all my thoughts and experiences.

It is hard to put into words the things that I felt and realized. But one thing really sticks out, I am so blessed. I am blessed to have a great job that allows me to just take off when I feel like it. I am blessed to live in the US, we truly do not realized what we have. And I more then anything I am blessed to have such a great support system. Between my family and friends (Beck, Steph, Min) I seriously would be lost in my life. It was so hard to go a week with limited to no contact with them. It left me feeling completly exposed. Being in a forgien country with nothing familar or "safe" is a strange feeling. It was very trying for me to not be able to pick up the phone and call my mom.

I have found myself saying so many times in the past year I can't believe how much I have grown into myself, but this experience has changed me. I look at things just a bit differently. I can't really put it into words, but it would be safe to say that I feel like all the "parts" of me are finally coming together. And for the first time in my life I can see what I want more clearly then I ever have.

Greece in two words....Life Changing

Santorini

The island is beautiful. That is really the only way to put it. Breath taking. The above picture is the Red Sand beach on Santorini. Santorini is a volcanic island so all the beaches but two are black volcanic sand. There was a little hike/walk into this beach and well worth it!

This is the light house on one of the tips of the island, there were some amazing views from this point.


This is the road from the port at Santorini...the drivers there are crazy, passing on curves. I may have found it more amusing had I not felt like I was going to puke.

A view from the light house. All the white on the other side of the island is houses!

Click HERE to link to more pictures of Santorini

Acropolis

Okay I figured it was time for a catch up! I feel like I blogged about the first day pretty well already, but the pictures would not post. So attached are a few pictures.

The city of Athens, they build all of their churches on hill/mountains

My friend Tyler and I at the Parthenon, it was so stinking hot! After traveling for 24 hours and not sleeping, I was hot sweaty and tired. But it was so amazing! It is almost surreal to stand looking up at these amazing structures, very humbling.

Over looking Athens and Zeus's Temple. I just sat there for awhile trying to soak in the magnitude of it all. In one day I went from my comfort zone in Utah, to seeing things I never thought I would get the opportunity to see. It is a very terrifying yet liberating experience being so far away from friends and family.

Better view of Zeus's Temple

For all the fabulous pictures of the Acropolis link here

Lazy day...

Today was a very lazy day, I just wanted to hang out on the beach for the whole day. No touring or rushing around, just lay. It was fabulous! After the beach I picked up too many desserts from a local bakery...no I didn't eat them all...but I will by tomorrow :) So YUMMY! PS. Photo and post to come about my virgin drink...lol