St. George Marathon

(I realized this was in drafts and I had never published it! Since I am feeling pretty out of shape and pregnant right now I want to relive this....so I am finishing it now!)

Dear blog friends, it has been SO LONG since I wrote! Since starting teaching I have been both busy, and slightly terrified that a student or one of their parents would Google my name and find this blog, and why that terrifies me I am not quite sure (at a new teacher meeting they kind of warned us against having a life on the internet because "parents will look you up!!!"). Anyway, I have realized that I need to make time for record keeping, and reading other people's race re-caps has made me want to write about my marathon before I forget details from the whole thing.

The week leading up to the race I was a nervous wreck for two main reasons:

1. I felt horribly under-trained, as starting school had totally overtaken my energies and time in the last month and a half,

2. and, I had a failed attempt at a 20-miler like two weeks before the race, and I was convinced that this was foreshadowing for the event itself.

The 20-miler was a big disappointment, but I foolishly attempted it on a Friday night, which I have learned is definitely not my time to run. I am way, way better in the morning. I only made it 14 miles into it and had to call Dave to pick me up. He found me slumped on the ground, fighting back tears. The week before I had done 18 miles and it had gone fine, on a Saturday morning when my legs were fresh, so I just kept trying to tell myself that the race would follow this pattern, rather than the failed Friday night run.


I got permission to leave school right when the bell rang on Friday, so we hit the road as soon as we could. Even so, it wasn't optimal to spend all evening in the car before the race, but there was nothing else we could really do. We rolled in to St. George around 7:30, and grabbed my race number and shirt, bumping into some friends from Provo (and one of my students, who pretended he didn't see me :) at the Expo. We got to my in-laws and ate some pasta that Dave's mom had kindly left for us.

The funny part about that night was that while we were at Dave's parents' house, they were up in Provo at our apartment. There was a BYU game that night and so they were going to stay, but they ended up driving through the night back to St. George to see the race! It was so sweet of them to do that--and then they had to turn around right after the race and drive back up to Liberty (which is up by Logan) to meet up with some friends that they had plans with. When I woke up at 4:30 to catch the race buses, they were just rollin' in. I have such supportive in-laws!

I had previously made plans to meet up with Dr. Dudley, Dave's Dad's partner who I worked for this summer, and Bethany, who is one of their surgical assistants, who I had gotten to know and trained with a little bit when we were in St. George back in the summer months. We hadn't really planned on running the race together, since we all run at different paces (Bethany is way faster than me!) but it was really nice to have people to hang out with at the start and to ride the hour-long bus ride with. The bus ride was by far the most intimidating part of the marathon! Sitting there in the dark for and hour makes you realize that every minute that you drive is like five minutes that you are  going to have to run  back to civilization! 

The hour of wait time at the start was kind of miserable. I was shaking the whole time, partly from the cold and partly from nerves. It was such a relief when it was time to go and I could finally start running, actually moving towards my goal. The beginning was, for me, actually a little anti-climactic. For one thing, I guess there was a mix-up and they forgot the National Anthem! I thought it was a little weird that they didn't play it, since they usually do at large races, but they sent out an email later apologizing for the oversight. It was also still really dark, and it took so long to get all the runners over the start line that I didn't actually start running for like 9 minutes after the gun went off. I took off on my own, letting Bethany run ahead. Dr. Dudley was right behind me (he actually finished right after me at the finish. I had no idea we were so close the whole time or I would have run with him!) and I saw a few other people that I know along the way. As it got lighter, it was really, really fun to look at the beautiful scenery. You can't really beat St. George for awesome views, and the October weather was perfect. 

I will skip a play-by-play of the middle of the marathon, because no one really wants to read 5 hours worth of commentary. I will say this, though: 

1. If I run it again (which I hope to!) I will walk up the hills. People were walking up the hills and I was running by like "suckers!" but then my legs KILLED on the downhill parts!

2. I surprised myself by not running with music for the last half of the race. I thought that was when I would need it the most, but actually I really enjoyed listening to the people around me and hearing the encouragement of the race support at all of the aid stations.

3. People who volunteer to man an aid station are angels! This race had TONS of aid stations. One every mile, with Powerade, water, bananas and oranges, Otter Pops, you name it. I see why the St. George Marathon has a great reputation nation-wide now.

4. I think I would run my next marathon with a friend. I usually am fine running alone, but 26.2 miles is a long time....it gets a little boring! And I was worried about holding someone back, but over that length of time there are lots of water breaks, stretch-your-calves-breaks, etc., so for me at least it would be worth the sacrifice of waiting for someone else to have the company. Just a thought.

I remember hitting mile 18 and thinking, "Wow, this is the farthest I have ever run. Whatever happens next is a total crap shoot." I seriously didn't know what to expect. By this time my legs were killing. But I also knew I could keep going. I never had the feeling that I couldn't go on, or that I just wanted to sit down and not run anymore. I definitely knew I would finish, but I wanted to run to the finish, not walk! At this point in the race there were a lot of people just walking, but I am proud to say I never got to that point. I walked through the aid stations but I kept a very slow little shuffle going even at the end.

*One funny side note: This race happens on the first weekend in October every year, aka General Conference weekend. So the Saturday morning session is going on during the race, which I actually felt kinda guilty about even though I watched it later. Some people had set up their car with huge speakers and had Conference blaring through one of the aid stations, which was funny. But at around mile 16 or so I heard this girl tell the guy next to her, "They changed the missionary age for girls!" and when I finished, that was all anyone was talking about at the finish line! I WOULD miss the most exciting announcement of our time the one time I don't watch conference!

Anyway, around mile 23 you dip down into the actual town of St. George, and aren't just on the highway anymore. This was exciting because there were finally spectators! You will notice a lack of pictures on this post up until now, which is due to the fact that the entire race course is blocked off for the runners, but since it's kind of in the middle of nowhere, no one can access it to watch except the farm families that live wayyyyy out there. So it's really fun to finally run along a portion with people cheering! It also motivated me not to stop because I knew a lot of people with family watching and I didn't want anyone I knew to see me walk (my ego is showing, I know. Hey, it worked for me!).

The last mile or two are quite honestly a blur. I will say that I just wanted to finish SO BADLY! I was kind of near tears I think. But I knew Dave would be somewhere close, since we had talked about where he would stake me out and so that kept me distracted looking for him. I turned a corner around mile 26, and all of a sudden I hear a bunch of people calling my name: Dave, and our friends Taylor and Heather (Heather's dad was running the race too) were sitting on the curb and all started waving frantically for me to see them. I later had to apologize to Heather for not being friendlier at the time, because I really loved seeing them but I think I just kind of groaned in their general direction. Taylor has run the race before, though, so she was understanding :)

Dave was so cute because he hopped up (with his parents' snazzy camera) and started running with me in the St. George heat! (wearing jeans and Sperry's and a button-up I might add). He couldn't really run on the course because they were monitoring it, but we was right along the side. He was snapping pics the whole way. I kind of wish I had pictures from the first mile instead of the last, but it's good to remember how thrashed I looked I guess, in case I ever get it in my system to sign up for another marathon:

 Rounding the corner about half a mile from the finish

Trying to look happy and kind of failing. Not sure why the double-peace pose was all I could pull out for these pictures. I think my brain was malfunctioning.

 After crossing the finish line! My official time was 4:56 but the clock is always longer. Not a fast time at all but at least it's under 5:00!

With Bethany and Dr. Dudley, who inspired me to sign up for the race during the summer! Bethany had an awesome finishing time and Dr. D. finished with me. It was the first full marathon for all of us and I must say we rocked it!

*Warning for future runners: Towards the finish, the race has these cool, damp wash clothes they hand out for you to wipe off the trails of salt that dry onto your face while you run (yes, that actually happens when you are sweating for five hours straight), which feel AMAZING! BUT, they will make you look like a drowned rat in all of your post-race pictures if you get your hair wet with them too. Just something I wish I would have known....

All in all, this was a FANTASTIC experience! I would totally do it again. When I finished I just kind of wanted to cry, I am not sure if it was because I was so tired and hungry or grateful for all of the people that came to support me or what, but I think I was also just so amazed to have a physical body that can do such hard things! Training for and completing the race totally strengthened my testimony of bodies and of the creation: the world we live in has so much beauty!

 I think it is funny that our baby girl is due the same weekend as the race this year (well, she's due before but she will probably be late). I will be doing something else very hard and challenging, and I think there are probably a lot of similarities, actually: preparation, endurance, focus, etc. But I definitely didn't get such a sweet reward at the end of the race as I will labor! (Although Dave's parents did give me the sweetest gift bag with a 26.2 car sticker and a Kneader's gift card....so that's pretty much as awesome as a baby, right?). 

Sorry this post was a nightmarish length....I never want to forget this race, though!

What's in a Name?

The big question now is always, "do you have a name picked out?" I totally admit that I used to ask my pregnant friends this all the time. I know this question is well-meaning and innocent but honestly I HATE it! Here is why:

1) If I say no, we sound like losers who didn't realize we are having a baby. Like the royal baby, people are like, "Seriously? You've had 9 months to think about this and you really just haven't bothered?"

2) If I say no, I am also lying. Which I don't love.

3) If I say, "yeah, we have a few options but we are going to wait until she is born to choose," I am also pretty much lying, and people wait expectantly to hear what the options are, and sometimes weigh in. Which, last time I checked, I didn't ask for, and also it gets awkward when the ones they like are my decoys.

4) If I say, "we have a name, but we aren't announcing it until she is born," I sound smug and obnoxious. Like "you aren't in my inner circle so you don't get to know." Bleh, no thank you.

5) If I just wimp out and tell them, they never react right! I really don't care what people think of the name we have picked, because, quite frankly, it isn't what they named their kids so we obviously have slightly different tastes. That is expected, and fine. But when I tell them the name and they just stare blankly with no reaction, I DO get a little uncomfortable. Like, "really, it's that bad?" So maybe I care a teensy bit. I am in a fragile state right now.

 For the record, we DO have a name picked out, and we have just chosen to keep it a secret until she is born, mostly because I think it kind of takes the fun out of it if everyone knows before she makes her big appearance. I am breeding a future drama queen here, I have to start early. And I also want a town crier at her birth like Princess Kate got.

There are so few things in life (especially in this day and age) that are a surprise or big news, I think it's just more exciting this way! It's like saving your wedding dress for your wedding day instead of posting your bridals to Facebook two weeks before. For the record we don't even refer to her as her name yet. I mostly call her "little one" or "little girl" or, most creatively, "the baby." I feel kind of superstitious about calling her anything else. I recognize that I am sounding high-maintenance about this, whatever.

I will say that she won't have a middle name. Before we even knew the gender we knew that, should she be a girl, we would not be giving her a middle name. Dave was really understanding about this, which I appreciate, because it is a family tradition in my family that females don't have middle names, and it is a family tradition in his family that kids have Japanese middle names.

As a kid, I actually always wanted a middle name (something really fancy like "Anastasia" just to jazz up "Claire" a little) but when I got closer to marriage I realized that I actually LOVE my maiden name and didn't want to lose it totally! It's a part of who I am, my history and heritage, and it's quite sentimental to me now, actually: Claire Hopkin Mizukawa. Not quite as flashy as "Claire Isabella" or something, but it means a lot to me, especially since the other girls in my family have the same naming pattern for the most part. So this little girl will just be _____________ Mizukawa, and when she gets married, and she gets to keep her awesome maiden name. I figure she still gets a Japanese middle name, it's just a surname, and hopefully it will help her feel connected to both sides of her family, since we are trying to incorporate naming traditions from both sides.

Again, sorry for the super long post! I am journaling today, I guess. And if you ask me if we have a name picked out, sorry if you get an awkward pause and a lack of eye-contact when I make some excuse. You have been warned.

Finding out Baby Miz was a GIRL

Warning: super long, text-heavy post ahead. This one is really more of a journal entry. But read if you would like!

I felt like for little one's sake I should write down what it was like and my feelings surrounding finding out she was a she. Now, I will start by saying that age-old-smug-pregnant adage, "all we cared about was that the baby was healthy, we would have loved a girl or a boy equally." It's really true, though, we obviously would love either gender! Going into it though, I kept saying that I thought and hoped it was a boy, and Dave kept saying that he thought and hoped it was a girl, but we later revealed that we were doing that because we thought that was what the other person really wanted, haha. Your classic Gift of the Magi type thing (don't think about that too hard, it's really not that much like the Gift of the Magi...).

In all seriousness, I was a little scared of the thought of having a boy, just because obviously with all sisters I am more used to girls. I totally would have loved a boy, but it just seemed natural to me to have a little girl. I kind of thought of the baby as a girl and had to remind myself that it could be a boy. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was hoping for a girl, but I just felt like a girl would help ease me into this whole motherhood thing.

Like I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I am participating in the NuMom2B study at UVRMC (they obviously didn't consult me when picking the terrible cutesy name because I would have advised them not to) which is AWESOME and if any of you reading this are getting pregnant with your first baby in the next few months, you should totally check it out! They do it at the major hospitals all up and down the valley. You get three extra ultrasounds with the study, way more than the typically-insurance-covered ONE you get at an OB's office. So we knew we would have a few shots and finding out the gender since we would get one from the study and then another ultrasound a few weeks later at my doctor's office. So off we went one April evening to the hospital hoping that the first shot would be fruitful.

Sure enough, the little punk had the cord between (at that point) his/her legs. She was moving around but not in the way that would move that cord! Because she was so active the tech couldn't get a good shot even when she kind of got her to move the cord a little. This is where faith came in because I was seriously PRAYING so hard that we could find out because I wanted to know so bad! Later I found out Dave was too, haha. Heavenly Father heard our prayers because the technician finally got a good shot and was like "I wouldn't paint anything yet, but I think that's a girl." I was stunned! I really thought it was going to be a boy just because I had jinxed it or something by kind of secretly hoping it might be a girl :)

I looked back at Dave and he just looked stunned, haha. He later revealed that his first thought was just "I have no idea about teenage girls or what to do with them. (remember, I have all sisters, he has four older brothers and just one sister, and she was out of the house when he was pretty little)" I reassured him that he still has like 13 years before he has to really worry about that. Little girls are easy, they love their dads no matter what!

We were so excited, but we decided not to tell anyone besides family until the official gender ultrasound at my doctor's office a few weeks later, just to be safe. We wanted to tell my sister Anne, who was in the MTC at the time, in a fun way though, so our first stop was to the grocery store to buy some pink candy to send her in a package. We made a little card that said "it's a girl!" and sent it off the next day (I was glad it was pink candy, it would be way harder to find enough blue stuff and I am very particular about candy). Oh, and I forgot, I actually told my students right away too because somehow they found out that I would know the next day and they freaked out. I had them all vote on what they thought it would be and I bought candy for the winners (although I am a pushover and ended up giving some to everyone). Our families were way excited, although they all thought it would be a boy, too!

Since then, we have had two more ultrasounds and both (with different technicians) have said it is definitely a little lady in there. I feel like, since I am a girl (obviously), I have had a really easy time sort of "bonding" with her because she's just my little friend in there. But maybe it would be the same with a boy? I have no idea. I really hope we do get a boy someday so I can experience what that is like, and if it is any different. And we want at least two of each gender so they can have little playmates--like it's in our control, ha! I will admit that shopping for a little girl is pretty fun :)


Sorry this post was so long and boring. I just wanted to remember what it was like finding out. We love our little one already and can't wait to see HER!

Ugh....Long Overdue Baby Update!!!

When I got pregnant, I thought it would magically turn me into a picture taking, journaling, great-at-documenting-every-little-thing kind of person. But alas, there have been no cute, Pinteresty-like pictures with fruit or in front of chalkboard and heck to the no have there been any black and white bare belly pics on a sumptuous-looking down comforter.

 I tried taking belly pics right from the get-go, but I didn't really look pregnant, I just felt chubby (which made me less motivated to take more) and then no one tells you how awkward it is to just stand sideways and have someone take a picture of just you! For those of you who have yet to do it, it's really super uncomfortable, even for a camera lover like me!

And with the blogging. Ugh. I really have no excuse for that one. But I really want to have some small semblance of a record of my pregnancy, so I am just going to start from where I am, which is awesomely quite further along than the last time I blogged! So here we go:


How far along? 31 weeks tomorrow

How big is baby? The size of head of lettuce, and somewhere around 3.5 pounds I think...

Total weight gain/loss: Uhhhh, at 31 weeks pregnant I have gained weight. Let's leave it at that. (But for prideful purposes I mention that for the last few weeks I have hovered just right under Dave's weight. Little babe is trying to help a mama out I think.) I joke, honestly I am grateful I have been growing because that means the baby is thriving!

Maternity clothes? Oh for sure. I don't understand how people can wear their normal clothes the entire pregnancy, mine would not even begin to suffice. I am SO SICK of the stuff that fits me now, though! My awesome friend Kait lent me some of her maternity clothes to add to my little selection which has been a lifesaver!

Sleep: Not great....I usually take a nap to supplement my so-so night's sleep. I LOVE waking up to the baby kicking though. That doesn't bother me at all :)

Best moment this week: The little one woke me up around five in the morning on Tuesday morning and my stomach looked like it was made from Silly Putty it was being shoved around so much! I just started laughing out loud because she was going so crazy! 

Movement: Yes. Lots. Sometimes it makes me a little queasy honestly because it feels like a spastic alien is trying to get out.

Food cravings: Not really. This has actually been disappointing to both Dave and me because it's like the "fun" part of pregnancy. But if something does sound good you can bet I'm getting it :)

Food Aversions: Not anything consistently. Unfortunately it will just kind of be the whole "nothing sounds good, I am hungry but can't think of anything I want," etc.

Gender: GIRL! Finding that out was really fun. I will do a post about that too.

Labor Signs: I had a few weeks around like 21-23 weeks where I was feeling a lot of Braxton Hicks which freaked me out since it was kind of early for those. I took a week off of exercise and they just kind of stopped. I get one a week maybe now? But no actual labor-like contractions yet (which I am fine with!). 

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Lately the new, shiny symptom is rib cage pain. There's not too much I can do for it except I heat up this rice bag thingy my mom made me (thanks Mom!) and laying on that helps. But it makes car trips very unpleasant! But again, I am thankful the baby is getting bigger and that is why she is pushing everything up into my "poor broken floaters" as Dave calls them, haha. 

Belly Button in or out? Poking out, bleh. Duck Tape couldn't cover that thing at this point.

What I miss: Running and being able to bend over easily. Dave said he will miss when I am not pregnant anymore and he can't tell where I am in the house based on the little involuntary grunts I give every time I get up or bend over. I reminded him that this is just one of many blissful pregnancies he gets to go through with me :) I also miss eating raw cookie dough, embarrassingly enough.

What I am looking forward to: Getting our car seat and stroller in the mail and setting those up. They should come next week. 

Milestones: Passing my gestational diabetes test (thank you Pancreas!) and hitting the 7-month mark was fun. On Saturday it is officially only two months until my due date! Oh and we started our prenatal classes which made this all feel very real, too.

Bump Picture: 

What I look like now, at almost 31 weeks

Back at 24 weeks

Back when I thought I look really pregnant (ha!) at twenty weeks. The awkwardness of this picture is why I only will do selfies now.

Pregnancy + Teaching Jr. High = Awkward

Obviously, I did not tell my students about my pregnancy right away. Partially, it was for the same reason that you don't tell most people right away, just to make sure there weren't any early complications, but I also didn't want it to be a distraction. 7th and 8th graders already will look for any excuse to get you off track.

Finally, I decided my baggy shirts could hide it no longer, and I figured it was time to break the news to my crazy kiddos. They were SO cute and excited about it, and in the week since I let them in on my little secret they have been quite inquisitive and funny about the whole situation. I will say that their responses (so far) can be divided into three main categories:


Unsolicited advice:

1. Student: "Are you going to teach next year or are you going to stay at home with your baby?"

Me: "I am going to teach part-time. So I will be here on A-days and on B-days I will be home with my baby."

Student: "Oh. I think you should probably stay home and take care of your baby every day"

(Thank you for your input)

2. (I sip from my soda during class sometimes to keep nausea at bay)

Student: "GASP! Does that have CALORIES???"

Me: "So what if it does?" (it was diet. I was just being a punk)

Students: "You really shouldn't drink your calories"

Me: "I do what I want"

3. Student: "You run, right? You really should run while you're pregnant"

Me: "Oh...what makes you say that?"

Student: "My young women's leader runs and she's six months pregnant. And she is really skinny"


Ponderings on my child's ethnic ambiguity:

1. Student: (Whom I called on thinking she had a legitimate question in relation to what we were discussing in class) "Ok, don't take this the wrong way, but will your baby be, like, Japanese?"

Me: (hoping I am not breaking any laws on what we are allowed to talk about with regards to reproduction in Utah schools) "Well, my baby will be half of me and half of my husband. So it will be half Japanese and half white."

Student: "That is so cool."

Me: "Why would I take that the wrong way?"

Student: "You would be surprised" (I still don't know what that meant)

2. Student: "WAIT, will your baby be American?"

Me: "Well it will be born in America, so...."

Student: "NO, I've got it, it will be JAMERICAN!!! That is SO funny!"

Surprisingly accurate and wise words:

1. Student: "Pregnant women eat double dessert" (sounds about right)


2. Student: "You will probably have a hard time sleeping. My mom said it was hard at the end because she was really uncomfortable."


3. Student: "What are you craving? Like, that we have in the vending machines here? I want to buy you a snack"


4. Student: "I am going to be really nice to you. We watched "Into the Womb" in health and pregnancy looks hard." (This, coming from one of my most rowdy 8th graders, was actually quite appreciated. And so far I have to say that he has followed through. He came in and organized my bookshelves for me last week just because.)


5. Student: "I will do whatever you want from now on. In my experience, pregnant women can get pretty ornery.... (this kid has like 8 siblings. So I think he knows) 


Oh, and I have to throw in this grammatically accurate honorable mention. My 7th graders have been studying some commonly-confused words the last week in order to get ready for the vocab portion of the state testing we are having in a few weeks. We were talking about the difference between "you're" and "your." I asked the class if anyone could come up with a sentence using "you're" correctly.

Student: "You're fat"

Me: "You're rude. But you're also right. Who can use "your" correctly?"

Student #2: "Your belly is fat."

Me: Again....correct.

*I should mention that these are both students that I have a pretty good relationship with, and we joke around a lot. So I was not offended! I asked for it by walking around pregnant in the cesspool of hormones that is jr. high!

Returning to the blogging world.....with a baby update!

I have been such a loser about blogging! It has kind of become overwhelming, because I feel like there is soooo much to catch up on. BUT since we are having a BABY in September, I decided to get back to journaling. I really want to have a record of this little period of our lives, and there are certainly a lot of changes going on in our lives that are worth remembering!

This post is sort of boring; it's mostly just for me to remember this time. I promise to blog about more random and entertaining topics in the future!

We found out I was pregnant on January 26th. At the time I was about five weeks along. We were both very surprised and excited to hear the news. Well, scratch that, I was excited, Dave seemed to be in a state of shock for a while (happy shock I think). Later on, he confessed that he sort of didn't believe it. I understand that, because I could feel that I was pregnant (or that I had a severe case of mono and a tropical parasite of some sort taking over my life), but didn't look it yet, and since we hadn't been to the doctor I think he was apprehensive about getting too excited. 


However, when we went to the doctor and heard the little heartbeat, it was kind of like a switch flipped with Dave. He has been SUPER excited ever since. We had an early ultrasound because I am participating in a medical study for new moms, so it was also really fun to get some early pics of the little bean, which made it a lot more real. 

At about eleven weeks, he/she is a little bigger now

Once eight weeks hit, so did lovely nausea! Thankfully I was able to keep food down, but not much sounded good, and I needed to snack constantly to keep from feeling yucky. So I counted on a few standby foods that usually sounded edible:

Weirdly, I craved pop when I was feeling nauseous, and I don't really drink a lot of pop usually. I at least tried to drink pop with no caffeine or sugar (just lots of wonderful artificial sweeteners and additives...yay! :) Bagels, protein bars, and dried fruits were usually things I liked to snack on during the day while I was teaching. There was also a lot of pizza consumed but I don't have pictures of that.....shameful foods best left undocumented! Unfortunately vegetables sort of went by the wayside and haven't returned since. I LOVE green smoothies, though, and so I have been trying to make those often so I can at least get some greens in. On Easter I tried eating some salad and gagged on it hardcore. Dave just patted my hand and said "just keep taking your vitamins..." It is hard not to feel guilty for having a less-than-perfect diet, but I just keep telling myself that the baby's nutritional needs are small at this point, and I really am doing my best.

I have seen these questionnaires on blogs, and I thought it would be fun to do one every few weeks to keep track of everything. I am so thankful to be out of the first trimester: suffice it to say, the only documentation that stage needed was extreme fatigue, nausea, and a general aversion to acting like a productive and social human being.

The following questions are as of today:



How far along? 15 weeks and 2 days 

How big is baby? My baby app says the size of an avocado.

Total weight gain/loss: suffice it to say I have gained! Not a huge amount yet but definitely some poundage.

Maternity clothes? Not yet. I have bought a few things, but I am trying to wear my old clothes for as long as possible! I have employed the rubber-band trick on the pants button and I have used the Be Band I bought once (it's a stretchy thing that goes over your pants so they can be unbuttoned. Very classy :)  

Sleep: Not great, but not terrible! I just wake up a lot to use the bathroom, and sometimes wake up feeling nauseous, or coughing up acid. Again, lovely :) 

Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat at our doctor's appointment this week!

Movement: Not yet! Hopefully in the next few weeks.

Food cravings: This week, I have kind of been liking sweets more than I did before. So I don't know if that is good that I am returning to normal, or bad....

Food Aversions: just veggies still :(

Gender: We find out in two weeks! But I am betting it is a boy, and Dave is betting that it is a girl.

Labor Signs: Uh, thankfully no!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Still really tired, and the occasional bout of nausea. But the most annoying by far is almost daily headaches! And heartburn. I could go on.....

Belly Button in or out? In (please let this stay this way)

What I miss: Just energy, and motivation. I feel like I rely on Dave a lot more than before. But every discomfort is worth it!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender!!! 

Milestones: Starting to actually look pregnant. I catch people staring at me and I think they are trying to decide. Also, telling my students was tons of fun! I will have to do a whole post on that one.

Bump Picture: 

                                                 

I Did a Scary Thing

I assisted at work! Well, kind of. Let me explain. Dave and I are working at my father-in-laws oral surgery practice this summer. His brother Matt is also a doctor there so it's been really fun. Everyone that works there is super nice and I probably don't have to mention how fun it is to work with Dave, but that's awesome too. When else will I ever get to work with my husband? I tried to convince him to be a middle school teacher with me but he said no for some reason.

Anyway, I was really grateful for the opportunity this summer to work there, but also really nervous. I HATE GROSS BODILY THINGS. I didn't want to admit that to Dave's family because I thought they would think I was a wimp and I was grateful for the job so I accepted but Dave will tell you I was so worried about this summer going into it.

I have discovered, though, that I can handle blood and...mouth smells....and...gums better than I thought I could. I spend most of my time scrubbing the instruments, cleaning the rooms after surgery and exams and putting the tools and things away after they get sterilized and other jobs like that. So I have seen more than my fair share of bloody stuff and the other day, while digging through a trash bag trying to find the four baby teeth that I was not supposed to throw away (we give baby teeth back to the patients with a letter from the tooth fairy) I realized that though this should freak me out, it wasn't. I even have started to learn how to do things like draw drugs for patients and monitor heart rates and IVs during surgery. It's been really fun and I've learned a lot.

However, I still had one hurdle left to jump. I get really freaked out when I look in someone's mouth during surgery. I can handle blood but the idea of open wounds scares the heck out of me. I've been getting better though. On Friday, I was working in the Cedar City office and one of the assistants comes and asks me if I want to try assisting on the next surgery. I looked at her like she was crazy. The assistants do a LOT. They are really skilled and know exactly what took the doctor is going to need and have it ready for him. Dave knows how to do it but I never even considered learning because it takes a lot of knowledge and I just...hate needles and scalpels!

But I figured, what the heck, if I never tried I'll never know if I can even do this, and I like trying something just to say I did it. Sherrie, the assistant that suggested it, asked Dave's dad if he was ok with it and apparently he said "oh, she won't do it, she hates bloody stuff" but when I said I could handle it he agreed to it. Sherrie and Wendy, another Cedar assistant were in the room gloved up and everything and they coached me through the entire thing. I did have to sit down once though, which was embarrassing and unfortunate but once the room stopped spinning I got back up and kept going. I definitely didn't do that great of a job and without the other assistants there it would have been a disaster but I can say that I did it! I really never thought I would be able to something like that. I felt so empowered! Sherrie texted Dave the above picture (he was working in St. George, where we usually work--I was just filling in that day) and he couldn't believe it. When I got back to St. George everyone thought it was staged because they know I'm a wussy teacher and not a brave surgical assistant by nature!

Roller Derby Is Not In My Future

First of all....I am the WORST at blogging! I am resolved to be better, though, and if anyone is out there, I hope you will please forgive me and keep reading. And if no one is out there, then this is just my journal. Cool. Either way is fine.


I have a lot to write about, but instead of doing one massive catch-up post which will be overwhelming a boring, I decided to just start with this week and then move backwards. So for today, I will share this little gem: The Time that Claire Crashed on Her Rollerblades. But Actually Not Her Rollerblades, Someone's She Found in the Garage of Her In-Laws.


Once upon a time, Dave and I were in the mood to do something fun one hot St. George summer evening and so we decided to go and play tennis. But then we realized that Dave's brother had the rackets and they weren't home. And we didn't have a car this week (another story. I will talk about my adventures on foot later) so our options were dwindling. In the process of searching for the rackets (is this even the proper spelling of that word? Racquet? I find no definitive answer on the interwebs) I found these sweet rollerblades in a cupboard and I wanted to use them instantly. They were a little big on me, so I am guessing that once upon a time they were some brother-in-laws when they were like in middle school or something. Or who knows. But I used to love rollerblading when I was a kid so it seemed like a grand, retro sort of idea.


There were only blades in my size so I forced Dave to don a Razor Scooter and we headed for the park. As I soared down the driveway and through the cul-de-sac, a terrible feeling befell me: I most definitely did not remember how to control myself or my speed on rollerblades. And, unlike when I was a kid I was not wearing pads. Dave started yelling "bend your knees, bend your knees!" as soon as he could realize from my flailing arms and ever-gaining speed that I was in a state of utter distress. I was headed straight for a parked Chevy Tahoe. Tan. There was nowhere to go but down, and down I went, quite hard. I don't actually know if I hit the car or not. We may never know.


Luckily, I actually came out pretty unscathed considering. Just some scrapes on my hand and a bruised hip. I think that fact that half of the ward saw the whole thing happen out of their front windows is the most painful part of all. 

See that black dot on my left hand? Battle wound. I'll never skate again....

Staying Afloat...

....Is basically what I'm about right now! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....Four finals down, one to go, and then I will be done with classes forever! Well, kind of....I have a seminar class once a week that goes with my internship in the fall but I'm just going to ignore that for the sake of my sanity and self-esteem. Then, it is off to St. Geezy for the summer (Dave doesn't call it that. I do. I think it might be like Boston and Beantown and how no one from there actually calls it that--according to my friend Lauren who is from there. I should ask this friend about that). I am going to be working in the office with Dave now....I might see blood and vomit and things....I will try not to talk too much about that on this blog but suffice it to say I have had more than a few sweaty palms episodes over my fears about that.

Anyway, I wanted to share a really cute blog I just found. Now, there are a lot of blogs out there about provident living and stuff for the LDS set, which are awesome. But, I will say that a lot of them are aimed more at large families and more established people who have a whole garage to fill with food storage and like 8 mouths to feed. Someday, I hope that I will be blessed enough to have 8 mouths to feed but right now I only have two (albeit rather hungry) mouths in our house and very little spare storage and so the coupon blogs and food storage blogs that are like "can 1,000 bottles of peaches!" don't really apply to me.

However, this cutest new blog is the answer to my frugal living for two people problems! All of my young marrieds out there should go check it out. They had a lot of cute cheap projects and just really good inspiration and motivation about living on a student's and young family's budget. And they are so nice, I emailed them to tell them that I really enjoyed their blog and that they should keep writing (they have only been up and running for like two months) and they actually wrote back which I really appreciated. They even invited me to do a guest post sometime...ha! Maybe if I get my act together I will. But right now my version of frugality has been "just don't buy new clothes" and that's not really that creative or insightful. 

I just appreciate seeing that other people in my same situation are trying to be frugal and recognize its importance but also acknowledge that sometimes it can be rather frustrating and hard. I mean, I love being married SO much and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, but sometimes it just seems like we have an incomprehensible amount of time before we will be totally done with the starving student lifestyle! So sometimes a little inspiration or an idea for how to get something frivolous on the cheap or a reminder that it is worth it to be a saver and not a spender is much appreciated over here. At least by me....I really think Dave could live off of like 20 bucks a month and not think a thing of it. Like, he spends his birthday money on new socks and even debates about whether or not that is a necessity. HA! I love him for it though....it keeps my wanton stares at the H&M website in check :)

Things I Did This Weekend

Dave's mission reunion

Turned in draft of my capstone paper

Went for  a run in the marvelous sun

Manned the XTerra through the drive-through at Taco Bell while Dave went to the registers inside so that we could get double free breakfast burritos. And no I did not eat one of those things, both were for him. Oh to have the metabolism of a 24-year-old Asian boy.

Watched General Conference. Felt refreshed, renewed, and recommitted to truth.

Made coffee cake.

Walked to Provo Library. Found out they had released my reserved book onto the circulation shelves to be snatched by someone else. Boo. But found other books to get instead.

Read said books until the next session of Conference started.

Finished sewing project....didn't turn out so great....Dave asked if it has been long enough to start making jokes about it or if he needed to still be sensitive but I said he could go for it. Offensive yet funny joke ensued.

Talked to my mom on the phone while Dave was at Priesthood. Found new show called Clean Freaks. Promised myself to never take organization that far.

Ate Little Caesars that Dave brought home. Promptly fell asleep at 10pm.

Had weird dream about a little girl named Katniss that I didn't want to be friends with?

Watched more wonderful conference.

Made some freezer meals.

Had sisters over for Homemade Cafe Rio.

Lost to them at charades.

Did not do homework.

Everybody Loves an Air Show

At least, everybody in Southern Utah that is. This past weekend we went down to visit Dave's family because his sister and brother and their families were going to be in town for Spring Break, so we wanted to see them even just for the two short days. While we were there the Blue Angels were going to be rolling through town, so Dave's parents thought that would be a fun activity for everyone to go to. It was really fun to see the awesome planes and the displays and stuff (just watching their tricks made me want to barf), but I think my favorite part may have been the people-watching. Southern Utah's finest all came out for this event, let me tell ya. The place was packed to the gills. We also ran into our friends Sam and Ronnie which didn't surprise me because Ronnie is a plane expert :)

The Blue Angels, strutting their stuff. We actually got up and walked out to our cars for their performance because we were afraid that it would take so long to get out of there with everyone else. As it turned out, that worked out great because we got front-row seats out in the parking lot.

Not the most flattering picture but you can see the masses of humanity in the background. And part of a plane. Oh and it was St. Patty's Day so we were wearing green! 

I also had my first experience with corned beef and cabbage which was funny because Dave's family has it every St. Patrick's Day and I never have. Who is the one who did Irish Dance for like 6 years and claims to be Irish? Moi. I guess my irrational fear of foreign meats kept me from trying it but it was pretty good!

Good News!

So I am for sure interning at AFJH next year! I will be signing a contract next month. It is scary to think about having an adult job with consequences and real responsibilities and all that but also really exciting to think about proving to myself that I can be a real teacher. And I feel kind of cool having a salary and stuff, also; I didn't know if I would ever have that experience. So this blog may turn into the teacher chronicles starting August 22nd....sorry for those of you who hated middle school the first time around and will not enjoy reliving it through this blog.

Love That Honey Nut Taste

 

I had a little accident on my way to school today. Not a car accident, but an accident that happened in my car. I was doing the usual of trying to do like eight things at once and in my not-so-smartest move I decided to eat my beloved Honey Nut Cheerios in the car while I was driving. Now, I know it is stupid to eat and drive period, never mind to eat spill-able cereal but oh well I have done it like every day for the past four years so what's once more?

Well I pulled out from our street onto 500 North a little too fast and all of a sudden my just-poured bowl of Honey Nuts shot off the cup holder where they were balanced and were in between my seat and the console. And the spoon too. But momentum is pretty cool because they mostly all shot down in the Crack of Mordor, never to return again, pretty quick there. So I am pretty excited to go get in the car in like an hour and smell rotten milk and soggy Cherrios! I soaked up what I could with the Wendy's napkin in the glove compartment but I was late to class and alas, now breakfastless. I think if they dry up I could vacuum them out of the crack of doom? The good news is that there was also a Starburst and a toothpick that I spied while I was trying to pry the spoon back out so at least those will get taken care of.

Since the bloggy-blog has been a little negative lately (sorry about that!) I will say that the positive of this little snafu is that Dave proved once again that I can pretty much do anything stupid and he won't get mad. He even offered to clean them up for me later. And at least it was just Cheerios, and not like cheesy eggs or something. And at least it was not a real car accident or something. There is a silver lining to every mistake, I guess :)

This is So Boring

I had a funny experience today in one of my classes. This class is a Postmodern literature class. This class is a little out there and I won't go into the professor but let's just say she is definitely the "deep" type, and no matter what the book we are reading is about (usually war, death, rape, racism, or mental illness) she will find a way to make it as abstract as possible. Like if you write papers with words like "presence," "binaries," and "fragmentation" than it will be like the dream the Ralphie on "A Christmas Story" has when he writes his composition about the Red Ryder (not the one where the teacher is a witch, the A++++++ one). So we all try to make our papers as cerebral and full of Postmoderny terminology as possible.

So anyway, we were reading our papers out loud to each other in small groups which I have to say might be the most boring thing in the whole world. My eyes were glazed totally over and I was weighing the pros and cons of asking the girl across from me for a chug of her Diet Coke when I notice that the guy that is reading his paper aloud is smiling to himself, and then he keeps kind of giggling, and then all of a sudden he laughs out loud while he is reading his paper and he goes "I'm really sorry--but this is just SO boring!" Haha about his own paper! Maybe if you aren't an English person than that sounds stupid to you. But then my whole group started laughing and for just a moment we had this awesome brotherhood of understanding about the deep crap that we keep making up to appease our teacher week after week. So he finished his paper about finding wholeness in the fragmentation of the Talmud and we moved on. But for just a moment I was glad that I was not alone in this most obtuse of classes. I think knowing that makes it so I can last until April 20th.

My most hated chore

There are three things you can count on in life: death, taxes, and packing lunches. The nightly chore of getting my food ready for the next day might be my most dreaded thing each night...I don't really know why I hate it so much except it just comes every day! And I have been doing it for, oh, like ten years now and I think it will only get worse when I have kids. This doesn't really make sense because things like laundry and bathroom cleaning seem much more tedious, but I can't explain it....I just hate this job the worst. It's like reinventing the wheel every day and nothing ever sounds good and in order to bring my breakfast, lunch, and snacks (I am like a small child and will die without an afternoon snack and I often eat breakfast on campus too) I have to bring enough food to feed a small army:

Yes that little baggy is my "treat." Purple Skittles and a few dark chocolate Cadburry eggs...that is one element of my food stash that never gets left at home :)

I don't really know why I am whining about this except perhaps someday when my kids don't think I love them, they can read this and look at the lunch I packed them and know of the deep sacrifices I have made for their well-being. 

Oh, and I have learned that if I pack myself more food than I pack Dave (which has happened...I'm not proud) he will find out even if I try to disguise it. So giving him a few stale carrots and giving myself pretzels and peanut butter won't fly. Just a word to the wise if any of you wives try that. 

St. George Memories....

So, exciting news. Dave and I decided on Monday that we are going to be spending all summer in St. George!!! I am SO excited. Since we are going to AK too that means that it is going to be a great summer. Dave will be working for his dad, but I may just be working on my tan...actually I need to find a job but we are leaving a few times during the summer for trips and things and so I don't really know how that will work out. We shall see. If anyone needs someone with not many skills but a lot of heart for like 4 months down in St. George I am your girl. I'll let you know how that works out for me.


So, now that we will be spending plenty of time in St. Geezy this post doesn't make much sense, but last week I was really sad because we were supposed to go to St. George the week after President's Day, but we didn't end up going for a few reasons. Mostly, school, gas money, and since Julie was sick and wasn't going to run the half marathon anymore we figured it didn't really make much sense to go down, even though we wanted to. So I was looking through my camera and found these pics from New Year's, and thought I would post them to satiate my longing for the sun during this dreary Provo winter (does anyone else hate February as much as I do? It is the worst month of the year by far. No contest).


When we were down for New Year's this past December we went out to Snow Canyon to do some caving and little bouldering with Matt and Julie and their kids. Now, caves and small dark spaces make me nervous enough as it is, but with four kids all under the age of 7? I was a little panicked.

 But I was vastly outnumbered by cool, calm, and collected people so we took all of the kids down into this cave. When we got down there we found out that I had a friend in Jake, though (he's 6) because he kept saying "It's time to panic, everybody PANIC!" It was so funny. And Matt was like, "nobody panics in this family Jake" and in my head I was like "actually yes I know for a fact that at least one of us might" but I didn't say it.

Once I got over my claustrophobia issues it was pretty cool down there, though! And kind of cold, as you can tell by my stupid pink nose. I had never been somewhere that dark before.

Then we went over the the sand dunes and did a little bit of bouldering. It was plenty hard for me, since I have never rock climbed outside of a gym, but I think they just made it easy so that I could do it!

These pictures would look cooler if you couldn't see Dave standing on the ground next to me and gauge how (not) far off the ground I was. I made it onto the top of that rock, though!

I can't wait for more fun this summer! The prospects of another Provo summer were a little dismal--not that summer here isn't fun, but that is what I have done for the last two years so we needed a little change. What will grown-up life be like when you can't bounce back and forth from your parents' houses during school breaks?

Scotchies

Do you have a go-to treat? Something quick and simple that you can make in like 5 minutes when you just need a little...something....to get you through the evening? My fallback indulgence has definitely been Scotcheroos lately. I love them! My grandma made them all the time when I was little and they just make me happy. And they take roughly five minutes and like four ingredients....they're the best! But you know you make them too often when Dave will just call "Scotchies?" from the other room because he recognizes the smell of the peanut butter and corn syrup on the stove! Oops...maybe I need to cut down a little...I only make them in 1/3 batches as a time. And sometimes I put them in a bread pan when my little Pyrex is dirty, so sue me:

They're not fancy, but they get the job done let me tell you.

For those of you who were not blessed to grow up with this simple-yet-delightful treat, here is the recipe (this is for a full 9x13 pan, I usually do a third of this for my little tiny dish):

1 cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Karo Syrup (I always get the fat free or whatever...it makes Corn Syrup feel less guilty)

3 Cups of Rice Krispies (of Crispy Rice if you are like us and buy Malt o Meal)

1 Cup or so each of chocolate and butterscotch chips

Cook the peanut butter, sugar, and Karo syrup over the stove on low until the sugar crystals have dissolved. The only hard part of this recipe is making sure it doesn't burn! Try to make sure it doesn't bubble at all. But even if it does, it's pretty hard to screw these up.

Take of the heat and then add the Rice Krispies.

Spread into a greased pan and sprinkle the chocolate and butter scotch chips over it. Leave them for like 5 minutes and then come back and the heat from the krispy mixture will make them get melty. Spread over the top with a spatula.

10 reasons that Mondays off are the best!

I LOVEEEEEEEE having a Monday off!!! It is seriously the best to not get the Sunday Saddies like I always get around 8pm on Sunday night. Now they're just the Monday Saddies. Even if we don't do anything that exciting, here are 10 simple reasons that having a day off during the week is the best:

1. Waking up without an alarm. Or, if you're weird like me, waking up with an alarm a respectable hour and then laying in bed for like another hour. I never get to do that on any other day....so I definitely love doing it when I can.

2. Taking as long as you want at the gym. And then as long as you want to get ready. Usually I give myself like 30 minutes to shower and get ready...not really long enough to look that cute.

3. Unlimited foam-rolling time. Have I talked about my foam roller yet? Dave got it for me for Christmas and it is one of my favorite possessions. Here is what it looks like:

You basically just lay on it and roll your muscles over it and your body weight rolls out knots and junk in your quads and other tight muscles. It is AWESOME! But I never have much time to use it on a normal morning after I run.

4. Eating meals at home. This is dorky but I hate always having "cold lunch" at school. So I love having whatever I want at home with the help of the microwave, fridge, or toaster. Today it was Captain Crunch.

5. Unlimited access to my Valentine's Day candy. Mike and Ikes and Hot Tamales are better at a constant volume.

6. Obviously hanging out with Davey.

7. Daytime TV....can you say Giuliana and Bill marathons???

8. Knowing that when you have to go back to life tomorrow, it is only 4 days until the next weekend.

9. Using Outback giftcards at some random time like 4:30pm

10. Having an extra day to catch up on all of the stuff you put off on Saturday and Sunday...

I adore days off!!!

It's Not What You Get

So I am taking a Women's Literature class this semester, and I am really enjoying it. I like hearing all of the varied opinions that come up in our class--I have a hard time when people say things about BYU students being closed-minded lemmings because I totally disagree. There are lots of very liberal and interesting girls in my class, not just the stereotypes that people try to pin on BYU. I love this quote from Aristotle that says:

"The mark of an educated mind is to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it"

I definitely think that I can hear things that maybe go against what I believe without it like destroying my testimony or worldview or whatever. But something happened on Friday that kind of bothered me. There is a girl in that class that loves to talk about how much she hates Relief Society and how all the girls in her ward just care about getting married, and how we should use the church to enact social change. I thought the social change thing was interesting--maybe something that sounds potentially problematic to me, but I was willing to hear her out. But then she said "I hate Relief Society. I sit in the back with my ipad and it entertains me and I feel like it is a waste of time for us while the men are in priesthood."

Well DUH it is going to be a waste of time for you with an attitude like that! For one thing, newsflash, we learn the same things as the men. Ask your home teacher what they talked about last week--yep, the teachings of George Albert Smith, just like we did. And for another thing, if you feel like RS is not as enriching as you would like it to be, what are you doing to change that? Sit in the back? Mmmhmm, way to blame the organization of Relief Society for your lack of involvement. Did you read the lesson the week before and come prepared to contribute meaningful insights? (If she did, kudos to her...I always forget, admittedly). What about thinking about how you could make this meeting better for the other sisters in your ward? Hmm? I bet your ipad will be there after the third hour.

So I commented. Did she care? Probably not. But I just don't like people blaming the church for issues that they are doing nothing to improve. Other girls have complained that RS is lame because all their ward does for activities is fix hair (which I kind of highly doubt). Well then volunteer to organize an activity that is more meaningful to you! I am sure that your activities leader would be overjoyed for the help. 

And then someone mentioned that youtube has a whole Relief Society channel with interviews and question and answer sessions with Sister Beck! How cool is that? And so the teacher pulled it up and we watched this video and I felt a teensy bit vindicated because it was exactly what I was trying to say (and the girl next to me was even like "hey, that's what you were saying! I think my pride just cancelled out my good intentions with the previous comments though).

What about you all? What have your experiences with Relief Society been? You can disagree with me, and I promise I won't write a whole blog post about you :)