Just Keep Going

When I was in high school, I asked my friend Alex, who is one of the best runners I know, what his best tips were if I wanted to improve my endurance. I was expecting some kind of secret food he eats or a program he used, but he just said "Just start running, and don't stop". It seemed simple enough in theory, but sometimes when you are trying to do it, it kind of stinks. You want someone to tell you that the secret to improving in life is to stop and to walk up hills or to sit down when your legs hurt. But one morning last week, when I was repeating Alex's advice to myself, I thought about this quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley:

"Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain."

And then one of my favorite quotes of all time by President David O. McKay:

“I hope that some day you will … meet a wall that seems insurmountable, impregnable; but if duty lies beyond that wall, do not stand back and say, ‘I cannot do it.’ You may aspire to do it, but that is not sufficient. Do what James … says: Ask God for power, but add to that faith, an acknowledgment of your own ability to do what you are able to do.

“You can walk from where you stand, up to the wall. When you get there, and you have gone as far as you can, you will find in answer to your prayer that there is a hidden ladder by which you can scale it, or there is a door which you could not see from where you were first standing. God’s hand is shown”

These wise words from these great men always remind me that in life, like in running, what we are trying to do might seem impossible. It might hurt and we might really, really want to give up and crawl back into bed and forget that we ever tried to do anything hard or uncomfortable. But where is the good in that? When do we see the Lord's hand but when we put our trust in Him and keep moving forward. That is faith at its simplest...and eventually it will get easier, and you wonder why you even whined in the first place because you grew so much. I promise, it happens.

Hoarders

No, I am not talking about the hit cable television show, (although I could since my mom and I had nice conversation about it last night...apparently they have Animal Hoarders now. Think thousands of mice. ugh) but rather about me and Dave when it comes to free J-Dawgs.

Let me back up. This weekend started with us going to the BYU/SDSU Men's Volleyball game on Friday. We hadn't been to a sporting event together since like last April, so it was really fun. One of our first dates was to a BYU basketball game where it was boiling hot. Dave was so cute and made a fan out of the program and fanned me like the whole time. I knew then that I loved him. Well maybe not that soon since it had only been three dates, but I knew that there was potential there.

Anyway, it was fun and we met up with some friends who were kind enough to take this lovely pic:

I promise I had makeup on. Oops.

Then we made a pit stop for milk...our neighbor saw us walking in with the bag from Macey's and he was like "yep, that's what married Friday nights are like!" True, but not a bad thing! I personally love milk and the grocery store.

Viva la Leche

I can't really remember what happened after that. Probably 30 Rock and early bed time if I was lucky.

Saturday we got up early and went to pick up the our Bountiful Basket. I HIGHLY recommend trying this program. I have talked about it before, I know, but if you like produce it is totally worth it. I feel like it is worth the 15 bucks because I replace food I would normally eat with produce and it is a wicked cheap deal. We got some funny things this time...a coconut and these funny little tiny and kind of fancy-looking pears. I can't wait till they are ripe! And also, does anyone have any ideas of what to do with a coconut besides enjoying the novelty of drinking the milk?

I went on a run and arranged for Dave to pick me up and then take me with him to the church for this stake preparedness activity. Enter the hoarding. As Dave put it, we were looking ahead and preparing for the worst...a pork shortage. You see, this activity advertised J-Dawgs. Yes, please. So we showed up, talked to some people, learned to make a 72 hour kit, and then got our delish hunk of meat in a bun. Then, we noticed the hoarders...people were like loading 10 on their plates as the activity was ending. One lady seriously had plates of six each. So, naturally, we couldn't let them go to waste...we each got another. Ooops. I want another one just sitting here now.

Bless stake activities and their free handouts. Considering the hoarding that we observed, I didn't feel the least bit bad.

After that we went to the temple. It was a little crowded since it was Saturday, but that's ok. I think that going to the temple with Dave is the happiest feeling I ever feel :)

There was a really cute Chinese lady there who was, once again, very confused about my last name...She double-took and then asked me if it was, in fact, my name since she thought it was Japanese. I wanted to say "yes. I am Japanese" but I figured it wouldn't be nice and she was so cute. I like that this is becoming a theme in my life.

My cute little hubsie. There was no one to take a cute temple pic for us so you get this car picture of him instead.

And a cold one of me:

The evening ended with Brookies, which I would rate as a waste of prime cookie/brownie material. The recipe says to combine the two, but the result it a crusty cookie top on a brownie. The only perk was that I got to lick both kinds of spoons. However, I hope that the girls that I visit teach didn't notice....

Happy Half-way through the semester!!!!

Reading and Recipes

So as I mentioned before, Davito and I have been reading "The Hunger Games" this past week. WE LOVE IT. I know it's a kids book, but whatever. In fact, I observe a high school teacher twice a week at Provo High and his kids are reading it. But so what. I love a good distopia, future society gone wrong sort of thing.

Anyway, I won't give anything away, but suffice it to say that there are some scary parts, and some sad parts, and maybe I get really upset if we read it right before bed. Just the other night, after a three-night stretch of bad dreams, I told Dave that he had to tell me a happy story before I could fall asleep, preferably a story about him when he was little. He proceeded to provide the following two anecdotes:

1. The time he left his goldfish in the car in Michigan when he was four, and it froze into a fishy ice cube. He couldn't remember if it froze upside down or right side up, which intrigued me. This reminded me of the time my fish Charlotte died on the second day I had her, and therefore, was far from a happy enough story.

2. Slightly less morbid but still hardly happy was the next one about the time he jumped off the playground, accidentally landed on a kid (this incited a laugh at least) and got a rock lodged in his hand. Gross, and hardly happy. Story fail.

Tonight, though, he did let me sob on his shoulder for a whole, very sad chapter. Also, last night he was reading and I fell asleep but he kept going aloud just in case I woke up and wanted to still be included. He is a dear, that David.

For the recipes portion of this post, I will share two insights:

This is the easiest recipe ever. I got it from my dance teacher and it lasted us three very hungry nights this week, and I still wanted it:

4 chicken breasts
Jar of mango salsa (Costco's is good, you don't have to use the whole huge thing if you feel like it will be too much)
1/2 cup of brown sugar

put it in the crockpot on low all day, or high for the afternoon (like 4-ish hours). Shred it in the crockpot, and eat it in tortillas with lettuce, cheese, and a little bit of sour cream. We are currently obsessed with the tortillas from Costco, the ones that you cook in the pan, and I have never been so excited for leftovers than I was last night!

Also, I tried the trend that is going around the baking blog circuit (I know, that sounds both wicked snotty and wicked lame. I do spend a lot of time looking at recipes and fantasizing about having and endless supply of butter, eggs, and baking chocolate) of putting some vanilla pudding mix in my chocolate chip cookies: my opinion is that it didn't take away, but it didn't really add. They were maybe a little sweeter than normal but other than that I wouldn't say they were any different. I wouldn't buy pudding mix just to make them. I stand by my Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe from like 1970.

Well...The Hunger Games is calling. Hopefully I don't have to have Dave try to conjure up a happy story tonight.

Sometimes I Zone Out in Class

Today I had pie. Of the humble variety. Mmmm, my favorite flavor.

Just yesterday, I was bragging to Dave about how I rocked my presentation in my New Deal Literature class (yes there is such a thing, and it might be my favorite class. Nerd alert)

"I totally ruled it. I was the best one in my group and everyone else totally was boring but I saved it and I made a brilliant connection between FDR and the Wizard of Oz, I was so good at improvising up there blah, blah, blah" was basically how it went. Yes, I figured that it's ok to brag to your spouse, right? Dave always brags to me when he is the cutest boy at church. (no, I just brag about that to the little Claire in my head who validates me)

Anyway, I was sitting in my Teaching Students with Disabilities class tonight, totally zoned out. In my defense, I had just run 7 miles, it was 6pm and I was starving, and we had a sub but our normal teacher usually brings candy to perk everyone up but there was NO candy tonight (my first thought upon seeing the sub was hoping that Professor Lackock had told her to bring some but no dice) so my blood sugar was horribly lacking.

Anyway, our sub, a very nice yet Stepford-ish woman asked a question and in my subconscious yet always teacher's petish way, I nodded. I was actually nodding to myself about how excited I was to watch Glee when I got home that night, but she said "Oh, Claire (she knew my name because she made us make name tags. ONLY in an education class, I tell you) can you explain what that means?

She actually asked me or my friend Anne to explain it, and Anne made me do it. I would have been mad but she is prego and no one can be mad at a pregnant lady.

I had no idea what she had even said. It was horrible. Then when I figured it out, I made something up that had absolutely nothing at all to do with the real answer (bummer, because usually "give individual attention", or "accommodate for cultural differences" works in these classes) but alas, it was incorrect. She was a champ teacher though, and did not highlight my incorrectness, but moved on kindly. Boo.

In other news, here is a pic of my fancy nameplate at work. Melissa Smith if you are reading this you can laugh at how dorky I am:

I think it is cool because this is the only place that I am officially Claire Mizukawa. Even on Facebook they won't let me change my name for some reason. At BYU I am still officially Claire Hopkin but I love my Teaching Composition teacher because she is super nice and changed it on the roster ever-so-subtly probably just to feed my newly-married girl infatuation with my new name. Shout out to Dr. Dean for being my favorite professor this semester.

Funniest moment with that name tag: Some guy comes in to talk to one of the ladies I work with and I keep catching him stare at me out of the corner of his eye. Finally he whispers to her in the loudest whisper ever, "She doesn't look Japanese".

You don't say.

Why I love Our Founding Fathers

Ahhhh, the last day off that Brigham Young allows us until April, almost over. It was the best weekend ever. I am so depressed.

This weekend we were lucky enough to be able to go down to St. George and stay at Dave's house. His parents were only going to be there on Friday night because they were flying to Ohio to attend his niece's baptism so we had their amazingly gorgeous house all to ourselves. We kept wondering when we will ever have a house like this with no one else in it, and the answer was definitely never. It was weird because whenever we stay at his house it is for a family event or something and so the place is bursting at the seams. We would have slept in a different bed every night, and showered in a different shower every day, but there were too many beds, and I didn't want to wash all of those sheets, and there were too many showers for us to even achieve that. Yep, it was that awesome.

Anyway, I will stop bragging about how cool my in-laws house is, and brag about the sweet food we made. Dave's words when he opened the fridge: "someday, I dream that our fridge will look like this". Parents have the best food.

Lovely pic of Davito. He made some delish and sausage-laden breakfast burritos. Awesome.


My mother-in-law left the batter for this amazing cake (I know, that was so nice) and it was the best cake I think I have ever eaten.


Dave made this too. I know what you are thinking: "Does that Claire girl know how to cook?" Answer--just cookies.

We love food. It was so fun just hanging out, and that was most of what we did, since the weather stunk and our plans for adventure were thwarted. We did run, since Dave was a sweet pea and set up their treadmill for me without being asked. What a peach. We did however, roll out of our own filth to emerge from the house at 6 pm, showers lacking, and enjoy a short bike ride. It was short because it got dark, and we were ill-prepared for the cold.

I was actually well-prepared thanks to my double-hoodie action. It doubled as a helmet, since I asked for one and Dave laughed like it was a joke. I was confused...Barney taught me safety first, I don't know how you were raised David. Probably not by the T.V. apparently.


cruisin


This is a rock that Dave placed in this mosaic in 1997. I thought it was dear.

I failed at taking any pictures on Sunday, even though it was a way super fun day. We got up at the crack of 6:30 to drive down to Vegas for the baby blessing of Dave's cousin's little girl Miya. It was really fun, partly because I had never been to Vegas, and even though I really only saw billboards, I was excited. And I know that I should call Edward Steinberg if I need an injury attorney in Vegas. Miya is adorable and I had the luck to be at the end of the pew in church, so I got to hold her longer than anyone else since she got passed down and then I captured her for the rest of the time. Our cousin-in-law Tyler told Dave to get me a puppy so that I don't want a baby. Too late. I was in baby heaven and I think a rumor is started in the family that we are trying to get pregnant now, since Dave's aunt asked me after church if it was true that I wanted a baby....

Dave made a funny joke in church about "Three White Ponchos" (like that cheesy white dresses poem). You kind of had to be there to get it...but I embarrassed myself in Henderson, NV with my immaturity in church because of laughter.

We then went over to his Uncle's house for food and several rounds of pool, where I found out that all of my new family stinks at pool almost as much as I do.

Today we woke up and took our sweet time leaving the house. While we were packing up, I realized that this was what I married...check out the ankles. He had apparently been wearing them for hours, waiting for me to notice and toning his already hot calves, obviously.

We are now the proud owners of two pilfered ankle weights. In Dave's words "these will provide hours of entertainment"

Please ignore Dave's unfixed hair and my double lazy eye...it's a condition people

We also finally started The Hunger Games...woot woot! We were needing to get another book since finishing The Deathly Hallows before our wedding. It was a simple weekend, but seriously it was so fun! I loved being with Davey-poo 24/7 and I kept asking him if he was sick of me yet. I also re-discovered what a sweet and loving husband he is...he never made me drive, cooked for me, vacuumed the house before we left, and set up the treadmill so I could run as much as I wanted, washed and vacuumed our car, and didn't get mad when I was super grouchy in the morning on Sunday. He basically let me call the shots all weekend. I just love him.

So...onward to the last half of the semester! Thanks Abe for the day of rest! In honor of your day we discussed how popular opinion held you as an ugly man but we defended your looks I promise!

Shakespeare

ummmm...this is really scary for me to share, but I have a blog about Shakespeare. I wish I could say it is because I am just so dang smart and literary and whatnot and I do stuff like this for fun, but it is actually required for my class. We are trying to share what we learn in a meaningful way, so here we go:

wiseishfool.blogspot.com

*I am really just kind of rambling about whatever here...don't expect groundbreaking applications of Jungian theory or anything...

Blogging, Running, Food Obsessions

So, lately I have been really excited about three things: blogs, running, and food.

Now, back in my crazy high school days, I definitely worked out solely to be skinny. I still care about how I look, what girl doesn't, but what I really, truly love about feeling fit is the confidence and balance that I feel from it. I love feeling like I am taking good care of my body, and I love the rush of endorphins that I always get from exercise. I just feel so GOOD! And I think I work harder and do better in every aspect of my life when I do it. Which is every day....ask Dave, I am slightly neurotic.

Like I mentioned before, I am so excited to run my first half marathon this year! I figured it was time to actually set some goals, and let me tell you, it has made exercise even more rewarding. When I push myself harder than I even have and see myself improve, I could care less about my weight...I just love seeing what my body can do. Not that I am good by any means, people would balk at how long it takes me to run 7 miles. My grandma could probably walk that fast, but I do have a pretty nimble grandma.

As I have started blogging more, I have looked at a lot of fitness and health blogs, and I have to say they really bum me out sometimes. Some of them are SO uptight: they're like "oh, I wanted to eat something sweet so i ate a banana and some splenda and some skim milk all blended up and I haven't craved sugar in a month!" It makes me so disheartened. Aren't we supposed to enjoy our bodies? What is the point of pushing yourself all the time if you can't relax too? I don't know, I just really like enjoying a brownie after I have run my bum off for an hour, is that such a crime? Is nothing right in the world?!

That being said, there are some really good blogs out there that talk about a joint obsession with food and fitness, and I have become an avid stalker. It is great to have a new time-wasting activity to start the new year off right. One of my favorites is hungryrunnergirl. She is so stinking fast and hardcore, but she is really honest about the fact that she loves ice cream, candy, and Cafe Rio. She is realistic though, and admits that she tries to be really healthy at the same time (she pounds veggies) so it isn't like her amazing abilities just come naturally. She is also really honest about her concerns about feeling kind of addicted to working out, and her past struggles with weight obsession. I really like how down-to-earth she is, and she lives in Provo! I check in at least 5 times daily.

I love baking so much lately. I keep wanting to get invited to things so I have an excuse to make something to bring...hint, hint people. Or, maybe I could try inviting people over, what a thought. Lately I have made a lot of banana bread and of course, cookies, and last weekend I made cream cheese brownies. I am mediocre though, at best. Does anyone else feel like they stink at everything they like to do? I wish I liked touching my toes and flossing every night and remembering to pack a lunch every day as much as I like baking because those are three things I have down.

Valentine's though=so much candy! You already read Dave's cute post about our awesome first married Valentine's but I will say that I have been basking in an excess of chocolate ever since. I am in a heaven of Dove.

We are going to my friend Camrie's wedding reception tonight...I hear there will be a waffle bar. Am I excited? Yes.

P.S. does anyone else get freaked/grossed out when you have to use a bathroom faucet to fill up your water bottle? I always try to avoid it but sometimes you have no other option and then I feel like I am drinking dirty water. I mean, I know they don't channel the toilet water through there but still...and if someone catches you doing it, it is awkward for some reason.

Men are not meant to blog

I am fully aware that the grand majority if not all of the people who are currently blog-stalking this blog are big fans of my wife, but I figured, "Hey, it's my life too" so here we are. Just as a general disclaimer so as not to scare away any of Claire's fans I probably won't be on here all that much so you can rest easy. So yesterday was Valentine's Day and as a newlywed husband I was feeling all sorts of nervous from the expectations that come on this the day of love. I had never been married to anyone on this day of days before and I just didn't even know where to begin. Claire and I had already been "dating" this time last year so it obviously had to be better than last year, but I didn't want to be one of those really annoying (sorry if anyone reading is like this or knows somebody like this...I mean no real harm) guys that goes all out to spend tons of money on chocolates, oversized stuffed bears, balloons, flowers and whatever kind of singing valentine card Hallmark has invented. I'm a pretty down to earth guy and, don't get me wrong I LOOOVE that Claire girl, but I don't feel like we need all that stuff to show we love each other. And neither does Claire. I woke up in the morning to find several paper hearts taped on various objects around the house with cute little notes on them like "I love you for marrying me in the temple!" and "I love how you make me laugh everyday!" Isn't she the best? So since she knows I'm your average, run of the mill, clueless male she was so kind as to give me a list of Valentine's demands that goes as follows:

1) A most sincere and heartfelt card written by yours truly

2) A tasty cupcake

3) A box of chocolates (size and quality not specified)

4) An idea of what I want for Valentine's Day

So like a typical boy I over thought things...a lot. I spent a good part of the day thinking and rethinking about what I could do/how I could do it/how cute I could make it/etc. The next thing

I know the day has flown by and I now only had a few more hours left. Busted. In my near 23 years of life I should have learned by now that I usually do better just flying by the seat of my pants. I made a little plan in my head and proceeded to run my various errands to hopefully make my wife fall madly in love with me again. I ran to the grocery store to buy some food for the dinner I was going to cook, grabbed a box of good looking chocolates (I didn't have a lot of experience in the field of chocolates so I was hoping it was a good one) and then made my way over to the "Sweet Tooth Fairy" for the much desired cupcake. I whizzed on home to make sure the apartment looked clean and cute so she wouldn't have to lift a finger when she got back. Before I knew it it was time to go pick up Claire so I made sure to hide some of the surprises and brought her home. She was so kind as to go along with my request to stay out of the kitchen while I prepared dinner (which unfortunately took a little longer than anticipated). When I was just about done I politely asked her to go into our room for a little bit. I tidied things up a little bit more and brought her out to our romantic dinner.

It's not much, but I tried my best. I cooked some tilapia with a recipe I found online, some mixed veggies and garlic mashed potatoes. In the center of the table I lined some candles around the box of chocolates with her beloved cupcake and cake bites on top.

Needless to say she was a big fan of the sweets. (P.S. Claire hates this picture. I happen to think it's very cute)

She then presented me with some orange juice (love it) and a bag of jerky which under any other circumstance would've been way out of our budget.

We spent the rest of the evening cleaning up and enjoying each others' company. What more could a guy ask for? So I guess that the moral of this whole story is...Valentine's Day is a billion times better with a wife/husband than it ever could be with nobody/just a friend/more than a friend/GF or BF/fiancee. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day as well!

Weekend, Heavenly Weekend

As I mentioned before, Dave and I whole-heartedly adore the weekend. It's Sunday night and I am already plotting next weekend. That may be because it is a three-dayer and this week is going to be beastly, but whatever the circumstances I always just love them. Here are some highlights from this weekend's adventures:

I placed these flowers I got for free at work in a lovely pitcher that we got as a late wedding gift Friday.



We went to Costco and ate every sample we could find. Highlights include trailmix cookies, tortellini, and the sausage tent. When I am rich I will go to Costco and buy everything I want. I can't wait.



We hit up the Hot&Ready. We LOVE $5 pizzas. And $1 Crazy Bread with student ID. I minimized this image so that you can't see my fat face as well...I told Dave that I think I have lost weight on my body and gained it to my face because for some reason it has been obese lately but I haven't gained any net pounds. Maybe my cheeks were swelling in anticipation of shoving them full of pizza.

Friday night we had about an hour and a half apart as I went and hung out with some girlfriends from folk dance, and he went over to his old apartment while I was gone. I think it is fun to be apart for a little while but I was glad to get him back after not too long :)

Saturday dawned with a start as we had to wake up and be at the Orem Habitat for Humanity center at 7 am. We signed up to try Bountiful Baskets, this produce co-op, and we had to be there by 7:20 or they give your stuff away. Dave was such a gem for going along with my scheme to get cheap produce. It's only $15 dollars and we got a basket of fruits and veggies: apples, bananas, mineolas (like oranges but better! I love them), strawberries (in February? I was so excited), a canteloupe, lettuce, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots. Definitely a steal, and I got to feel all green and cool for participating in a co-op which supports small farms. And really I just love produce and cheap things. Here is me being excited about that:



I also loved having something that made me get up at 7 am because I was awake and ready to do stuff when I got home. I felt on the ball without actually having to be too on the ball.

Dave's friend James called and told him that they had an extra ticket to the BYU/Utah B-ball game that afternoon if he wanted to come. We tried to find another one, but of course those are hard to come by, so I told Dave to go since I had a lot of homework. I thought I deserved good wife points for that one....and it was kind of fun since I had the apartment to myself and I watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians for two hours while I did other stuff. No 24 when I am in charge! I was also able to do a little Valentine's Day shopping while he was gone, but I had to come up with a way to hide it in the fridge:



Sadly, I think he noticed it the second he opened the refrigerator.

We then made a delicious dinner and went over to our friends the Thompson's house to chat and have treats. I was so proud of Davey-Poo and I this weekend because we were social every night!

When we returned home, I was reminded of the fact that I married a stubborn mule. If you met Dave, you would be shocked to find out that he is the most stubborn boy alive. He is pretty quiet and soft-spoken at first, and he always puts others needs in front of his own. He rarely is super opinionated about things, but when he chooses to be, he will not bend. I first learned this when we were dating and he got a bad cold. It got worse and worse until he lost his voice completely. He REFUSED to go to the Health Center, even though one night we had to leave the library because he couldn't stop coughing, and it was so bad he couldn't even talk to say goodnight when we got home. He had insisted that it was nothing, and that he didn't want to waste the $20 dollars that a trip to the doctor would cost, so it wasn't until he lost the ability to taste ( and enjoy his precious food) that he let his dad write him a prescription for an antibiotic. So I guess in the end he won, because he didn't actually go to the doctor, he just reaped the benefits of his father's MD.

Anyways, I have taken up trying to out-stubborn Dave. I almost always lose, because backbone is apparently not one of my strengths, and I usually get bored because it is more fun to agree than to be in a stand-off. It is always over really dumb things, like when Dave told me I looked like a guy with my hair parted down the middle and I got mad and pretended to not be speaking to him but then he wouldn't talk to me and I got bored so I said never mind. Last night though, I decided that it was my time for victory. As we were walking in to our apartment, Dave said something about taking AP tests and I said some sassy comment about doing better than he. He ran inside and locked me out (just jokingly...Dave is nothing if not a nice boy) so I decided to scare him by hiding around the corner. This was so dumb. About 5 second later I heard him open the door, and call for me, but I wouldn't respond because I wanted him to come around the corner so I could freak him out, but he DID NOT COME! I was so offended that I could be kidnapped or something and my husband would just be inside enjoying the warmth and security of our home! He just said "fine, have it your way", and closed the door. About a minute later he opened it again and just whistled for me (I respond like a dog), but I refused. I was going to win this time, and what had started as me trying to startle him had turned into a test of his true love for me. I then started to ponder what our neighbors would think if they walked be and just saw me chilling in the bushes, but luckily no one came by. I started to think that maybe I would have to spend the night there when finally I heard Dave come down the stairs and I popped out but my victory was shadowed by the disheartening fact that he waited so long to come search for me:


mad face

He insisted that he wouldn't have let me get taken away, but I still hold a grudge. I think I am better at holding grudges than he is so at least I win at that vice.

We also took pics of each other sleeping:


Girl feet?





Overall it was a lovely weekend! Ugh, I guess it's Monday now...my first married Valentine's is officially under way.

Myself Included

Thanks to Grace Hopkin and despair.com. It's kind of true though.

A Lovely Convo Indeed

I never really considered myself the type of person who like obsessed over the weekend all week long; in fact, I thought it was a little silly seeing as we should enjoy all 7 days of the week, but since this semester started I find myself fantasizing about the weekend all week long! I think it is partly because Friday is the only day of the week that I get home in the afternoon (instead of the evening), and I love having two whole days that we can just be together and hole up in our apartment. Exciting life, I know!

Yesterday the department that I work for on campus had a huge event going on, and I spent most of the day helping with that, and didn't get done until 9. I want to write more about my new job, since I am really starting to love it and the ladies that I work with, but that is a post in and of itself. Suffice it to say, I didn't get to bed until pretty late, and I had kind of a hard time sleeping, which is quite rare. I woke up at 5 am, and I decided at about 5:30 that I should just get up and go run before school, since I couldn't sleep anyway. After a spoonful of peanut butter I drove to the Fieldhouse and ran 3 miles, where I witnessed maybe the grossest thing ever: a kid running on the track ahead of me stopped projected a huge snot rocket into the trash can. In broad view of everyone on the track. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It was so gross, I almost lost my peanut butter. They have bathroom stalls and tissue for that sort of thing, guy.

After I recovered from that disgusting display I went up to the weight room to do the Elliptical for the rest of the time since I figured my joint could use a rest. There, the following two embarrassing things happened:

1. I got on a broken elliptical, complete with giant "out of order". I didn't notice until the girl next to me had a very loud conversation with the guy next to her about whether or not to tell me that it was broken (and I still didn't clue in that she was talking about me). I mumbled something about feeling dumb, and got on the one next to it.
2. There, my stride got too long and I started bonking into this giant metal fan that was behind my machine. I was too involved in my Black Eyed Peas to notice, but once everyone in the gym was craning around wondering where the giant metallic racket was coming from, I finally noticed the huge fan flailing behind me. Needless to say, they were glad to see me go.

Work was busy again this morning (I got second breakfast there, it was awesome. Of all second meals, second breakfast is the best), and school pretty uneventful. I have a break from 12-1 and I decided to call home and talk to mi madre. Much to my surprise, this little Eskimo girl answered:



Except, she is not this little anymore. It used to be that when I called home and Tess answered, it would be a five minute conversation where I talked in my little kid voice and asked her about which friends she was playing with. Lately though, it has been so fun to talk to her and I have been astonished at how she is not a tiny little girl anymore. It's like talking to a grown up. We talked about Young Womens, babysitting (she babysits?!), Dickens' Great Expectations (which she told me was written serially for British newspapers. I didn't know this until college), the lack of good story writers nowadays, and our sister Anne's love life. I hung up 40 minutes later, missing my little baby sis but excited for all of the fun years that lay ahead with her! And also, now I have someone else to entertain me on the phone! Anne and Grace stink at this, by the way.



l-r: good on the phone, bad on the phone, bad on the phone, good on the phone.

Why yes, I did just run a 10k and then go to class without a shower

Ok, confession time. Ever since I came to college, I have had a dirty little secret called....I am often sweaty and ungroomed at school. It's true. For the first three years of my BYU experience, I was on the folk dance team and therefore I was dancing all day on MWF and sometimes on TTH too. That meant running up the death stairs from the RB to main campus in between dance classes, often wearing my dance clothes still (I would often change my shirt, and swab on a fresh coat of deo though...), hair in a damp ponytail and arrive in class panting and tired. I would pray that I did not smell too horrible. I probably did, who are we kidding. Then I would dash back to the RB, dance dance dance, and run off to another class. There would also usually be a squashed PB&J wolfing in there somewhere. It was tiring, to say the least.

You would think that now that I am not dancing anymore, my habits would have improved. NOT true, sadly. You see, I used to be really good about getting up at the crack of dawn (like 5-6 am) and getting my workout and shower in before class on days when I didn't dance (so, basically like once a week). I would feel so great on "cute days" when I could wear non-dance clothes to school. However, now that I am married and I have a boy to cuddle with, waking up has become the hardest thing in the world. I CANNOT GET OUT OF BED. This morning was an all time low. Dave kept muttering that I better get up, and I kept justifying one more snooze button, until I had left myself 20 minutes to get ready. Hah! So, needless to say the hair did not get washed this morning.

That was bad enough. The slightly greasy pony/headband combo works for about 2 hours until it gets really disgusting (all of you who can go a few days without a wash...I loathe you). I still needed to get my workout in since I refused to wake up this morning, and I am slightly obsessed with exercise. One, I really like food, and since I stopped dancing I really need to have a physical outlet. I have gotten more into running, and I really want to run a half marathon this summer. I started a goal this year to run 1,000 miles by December 31st. I have to run 20 miles a week to do it, and so far I have done really well. It is great to have a number I am going for because it pushes me to work harder. I usually let myself have a day or two of just cross-training (like stair-climbing or the elliptical) but that means I have to kick it up a notch on my running days. I sound hard-core here...I'm not. Ask me about my time, you will laugh.

Anyway, I wanted to run today, but I didn't want to go after school because that is homework/Dave time. And I like our cozy apartment and Parks and Rec re-runs at night. So that meant in-between classes was my only option.....and I took it. I ran a 10k on the treadmill at the BYU gym, changed back into my work clothes, put my even nastier hair in a sweaty messy bun (praying that people thought it was gel...) and hauled my buns back up to the Museum of Art where my class was meeting today. I sat next to a preggo girl and prayed that I didn't stink because I have heard that pregnant women have a lower threshold for any odor whatsoever.

WHO HAVE I BECOME?

*I did shower when I got home. I feel fresh and clean now, and look what I found on the table when I asked Dave to slice me an apple with my lunch:



haha he hadn't even seen my post from yesterday, he just did it again. And yes, that is a Starburst in the middle...don't you love Starbursts and Peanut Butter? jk, they are just my latest candy obsession, and he knows that no meal is complete for me without a sweet treat after. I ate two more of those and some chocolate as well...but I just ran 6.2 miles. Lay off.

Class Canceled

I am pretty sure that having class canceled is the best thing in the world. Not that I don't feel very sorry for my teacher who has a sinus infection....moment of silence out of guilt...but for some reason it just makes my week!

My logic is: one 50 minute class canceled=3 hours of more time in my day to do whatever I want before I have to show up in public for work. I know my logic is flawed. I should probably have used that time to read or do laundry. I did put away Dave's social security card, in my defense. And his TUMS. And I called my Grandma Hopkin.

Yet here I sit on my couch, eating the sack lunch I made for myself last night (because I thought I would be on campus earlier, booyah!) feeling good about the 590 calories that I burned during my run this morning because it means I can eat cookies tonight, and feeling grateful that Dave is at work and not here wondering why his wife is half dressed at 11:00 am.

P.S. I asked him to cut me up an Apple before school last week, and this is what I found:



Yes, that is a chocolate chip in the center. I saved it till the last slice, which I shoved in my face while accidentally spewing bread crumbs from the sandwich that I was also shoving in my face as I ran into the RB for class. I did notice a sweet distinction though. Sometimes I wonder why Dave stays with such a haggard woman.

A Hairy Situation

Hello world! We figured (we=Claire) that we are now eligible for a couples blog! How very exciting. I figured it would be best to just jump right in, seeing as I have been awful at journal writing since I got engaged (which seems weird since it is rather an important phase, no?), and this will be a great journaling alternative.

So, Dave and I understandably love saving money. We have been known to do awkward and extreme things to get free stuff. This includes but is not limited to excessive five-dollar pizzas (Pizza Pie Cafe Express is our new favorite. The Hot and Ready is always good though), pretending to be someone else at Tucanos because we get their free birthday meal cards in the mail after they move, and signing up for every free thing online that we can (space your "birthday" throughout the year. Then you aren't inundated with free frozen yogurts and burgers in your true birthday month).

I decided after we got married that paying $30 for a haircut for me every two months, and six bucks for Dave every two or three weeks (the boy is a hair machine. I'm not complaining though.) was money that we could save if we put our vanity aside and learned to cut each other's hair! Cute bonding experience, right? I can just think of better things to spend that money on...like $5 pizzas, for example!

My first try on Dave did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. The only experience I had cutting boy hair was my dad, but he just puts the clippers on the lowest setting and we just buzz away. He let Tess do it when she was like 7. So no pressure there. Dave's hair, however, is super thick, wiry, and dark and shiny, so it shows everything. He is also a perfectionist, and though very forgiving of his wifey, I knew he would be particular about his haircuts. So, about an hour and a half later, a few breakdowns from me for ruining my hubsie, and Dave having to convince me that he still loved me, the kind of lopsided haircut was complete. After I recovered I rose like a phoenix from the ashes, though, ready to try again, notes from last time filed in my mind.

The second time went WAY better! I still have improvements to make, but I did NOT cry this time, and Dave said he could just feel the confidence exuding from my flying fingertips. We put 30 rock on his laptop while I cut, which I think helped too. We also devised a great outfit for him to wear to make clean-up smoother. I thought he looked foxy:



Here he is almost done...the mushroom effect is the hardest part to battle:




notice the hair all over...haha it's so hard to contain

Then, Dave did mine! I just needed the ends trimmed so it wouldn't be all disgusting and tangly when I blowdry it every morning. He did very well, thanks to my coaching based on the youtube video "how to cut women's hair." Taught me everything I need to know in 4 minutes and 15 seconds. And my white girl hair is significantly easier to cut than his--about half as thick and much finer. The only mistake was mine, when I accidentally cut a hunk out of the front when I was trying to layer. I always think I know what I am doing in dyi situations. Here is the aftermath:



not the best pic. And my bangs are struggling a little. Give them a day to adjust, and they'll be great, I promise.