busy, busy, busy

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I was out of town this weekend. It was my niece’s baby blessing. She looked just like an angel. I was very busy helping out. It was fabulous.

Being with them down in Arizona actually made me miss it (just a little). I had so much fun with little Madeline and my other nieces and nephew who live down there (and the last nephew who was also in town) but then I tried (tried being the operative word) to do my 10 mile run. In Arizona. In August. After not running all week. I don’t miss it so much. Utah really is an ideal place to train.

I have much to share, but no time to share it. I will be so happy when this week is over. And, in case you’re wondering, my run turned into a run/walk and went from 10 miles to 6.5. It was a bad day. I didn’t make it to WW’s at all because I went to a birthday party with my sister-in-law and her kids in AZ, which was very fun because I got to see lots of friends whom I haven’t seen in a while and I happened to meet Rachelle’s sister, Laurie (it’s a small, small world when you blog)…and I got to play with my nieces and nephew and their little friends on these huge blow up contraptions. I felt like I was 6 all over again.

So…there’s the little update. I do have some commentaries coming that prove to be entertaining, but for now, this will have to do.

I’ve been tagged…twice

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Lucy tagged me. Here are the questions she asked.

1. If you could change one part of your body, what would it be?
My mid-section. I hate it. I have these skinny little legs. I’m fine with my arms. I like my hair. My dad paid a small fortune for my smile. My mom gave me her fabulous green eyes. Lots of good stuff, but I hate the middle of me.

2. How much money do you think you need to make to be “really comfortable?” (Think annual salary).
First, it totally depends on where I’m living. And for me to be “really comfortable” that would mean living in a town of my choosing…today, that would be San Francisco. So, that said, I’m thinking around $300,000 a year. I know. I can hear the gasps. The thing is, this is dream land and I want to live in a normal sized home/apartment. Thus, $300,000 it is. Don’t you judge me!

3. What is your greatest God-given talent?
Talent…hmm. The truth is that I don’t think I have been exceptionally blessed in any area. I do feel that I have been relatively blessed in many areas. I am pretty smart, I can carry a tune well enough to have been able to get into a couple of choirs, I can bake, etc. Maybe my greatest talent is my ability to do most things I try well enough for me to really enjoy them.

4. Winter Olympics or Summer Olympics?
Summer. We are a family of summer people. I do love a good figure skating competition, but really, we were all about swimming, diving and gymnastics growing up.

5. My twist on the #5 question above – If you could have any career, and you were GUARANTEED success (no tests to get in, no auditions, no worrying about daycare, or money or time) what would you do?
This is a great question. A question I can’t limit to one thing. I would be a singing chef…pastry chef that is. That would be my dream. To bake and sing for a living.

Terri B. tagged me with this set of questions. This one is a bit more difficult because, while I love to read, I have not read a lot of classics and I do not retain a lot of information.

1. If you could host a party with 7 literary characters, who would they be and why?
Fanny Price – Because I think she is fabulous. The picture of propriety, with a head on her shoulders.
Edmund Bertram – Ask him why it took him so long to realize he was in love with Fanny Price.
Elizabeth Bennet – I think we would be great friends.
Mr. Darcy – Really, does this one need an explanation.
Jane Eyre – Same as above.
Edward Rochester – I want to see the appeal.
Harry Potter – Once again, I don’t know that this one needs an explanation.

2. Who is your literary role model?
Elizabeth Bennett. If I could have her wit, without my sharp tongue, that would be fantastic.

3. Which literary house would you like most to live in?
Pemberly.

4. Which literary couple would you like most for parents?
Interestingly, there are very few mothers that I really like in books. I think I would want Mr. Bennett and Margaret March (of Little Women). Hey, I can combine parents, right? Don’t you think they’d make a great couple.

5. Pick 3 literary characters you would like to have as siblings.
Jane Bennett
Hermione Granger
Jasper Hale

6. Who is your favorite literary villain?
I don’t generally like villains. At all. But as far as who I think is a great villain, I would have to say…well, I just can’t. That’s the truth. Generally, I have very little respect for villains, as they are often backhanded and conniving.

7. Name a character that most people dislike, but that you do not. Why do you like them?
I think I’m just that classic romantic. I generally dislike the same characters as everyone else. I can think of a character that most people like that I don’t. I don’t like Fritz Bhaer of Little Women. I just think it’s wrong that he and Jo end up together. But, maybe if I read it again now (not being 16 anymore) I would feel differently.

8. Which minor character deserves a book all to themselves, in your opinion?
Abbe Faria – the imprisoned Italian priest in the Count of Monte Cristo

9. Which character do you identify most with in literature?
Eleanor Dashwood…I’m the one who never thinks she will find love and pretends that nothing hurts her in the romance department.

10. If you could go into a novel, which one would it be and why?
Pride and Prejudice…so I could slap some sense into that Mrs. Bennett. Seriously…she drives me bonkers.

11. Name 3-7 books that you rarely see on people’s favorite book lists, that are high on your own.
The Road from Coorain – Jill Ker Conway
Enchantment – Orson Scott Card
Jemima J – Jane Green (not literature at all…in fact it’s a total beach read with just a bit of trash, but a personal favorite)

12. Which is your least favorite book of those that are considered “classics”?
Wuthering Heights. I hate it. I think it is a miserable little story. Horrible. Well, I guess I see a little value in it, but really, I think it’s lame.

Rather than tag anyone, I’d love it if, should you want to participate, you leave a comment and let me (and anyone else out there) know that you have done one of these. And, with Lucy’s, I’m supposed to come up with new questions, but I LOVED her questions…so, I’m leaving them as they are!

weight watchers weekly – week nine

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The sad truth is that I may not make it to a meeting this week. Not for lack of desire…I mean, who doesn’t want to have someone tell them that they gained 1.5 lbs (which is what my scale basically said this morning…it’s been a rough week). My week has just been out of whack. My schedule is off due to a number of things going on in my life, so I couldn’t make it to any meetings here and tomorrow I leave for Arizona. If I can figure out a way to get to a meeting there on Saturday, I will do it. Otherwise, just know that I had a rough week. I got to the point of that out of control feeling and, while it isn’t fun, I think I’ve got things handled and all should be back to normal this week. Wish me luck!

Oh, and there was no salad this week. Well, there was, but I’ve been so busy it was just a compilation of purchased, ready-to-eat items. Spinach, cheese crumbles, bacon bits, mushrooms and toasted almonds with Annie’s Fat-Free Poppy-Seed dressing. Good stuff, but nothing to post a recipe about.

dear you…the diet coke withdrawal letters

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Dear Diet Coke,

You are so good. Absolutely delicious. I never imagined that I would need to leave you. But this week, something weird happened. I got home Monday night and my legs were all swollen. To the point of causing me pain. My ankles, which are normally abnormally thin and delicate, had become kankles. I didn’t understand what was happening. Then I thought about the many, many ounces of you I had consumed that day. I didn’t want to believe it, but on Tuesday, after not drinking you all morning, I decided to see if you were the cause. I went to Sonic and purchased 44 ounces of your delicious goodness. I drank. I swelled. I cried. I knew our relationship had to end. Why do you have to cause me such problems? When will I be able to taste your sweet nectar again? Why’d you have to do me like that? And why, oh why, do I have to suffer such horrible headaches in your absence?

With mixed emotions,

Chloe

Dear GMAT,

I am actually starting to get excited to take you. I think it will be fun to see just how well I can do. Please don’t let me down. I really want a higher score than my instructor and I’m going to need your help to do it. I changed my plans for you. I rescheduled my trip for California to a few weeks later. I will be taking you on the Saturday of my Labor Day weekend, meaning that I will spend Labor Day morning running 18 miles so I can keep on my running schedule. Oh, dearest GMAT, please don’t let me down. Give me reading comprehension that I understand already and geometry problems that center on triangles. I love triangles. I hate circles. Please leave the circles home. Oh, and I’d prefer to not deal with negative exponents, but if negative exponents mean that I’m doing extremely well, then I will survive. And cube roots, I don’t need those so much either. Is all of this too much to ask? Is there something I can do for you? Just let me know.

With high hopes,

A future business leader of America

Dear Sweet Tooth,

I have to tell you that I am less than happy about your recent need to vocalize your desires. You have been so very kind and helpful these last eight weeks. You have kept your mouth shut and left me alone. Even through PMS, you were too awful. So what the hell happened. Why now? Why this week? What did I do to you? I try to give you treats now and then to keep you quiet. I go to Cold Stone and order the Sinless Sweet Cream, so that you aren’t totally deprived of ice cream. Why now? Why, when things have been going so well? Why must you whisper tales of ice cream and donuts and orange rolls into my ear? Why can’t you just shut up? Is it really that difficult?

With much disdain,

A girl who wishes you were mute and she was deaf

Dear Costco,

Why do you have to be so fun to walk around? Why can’t you be less tempting? After dinner with Amanda last night, I could have just gone home. But then she said she was going to Costco and I couldn’t help myself. I had to go. While it was worth it for the gas, I did not need to purchase Harry Potter. My goal was to make it through the GMAT without owning that darn book. I don’t have time to read it. But there it was, sitting at the end of the book aisle, with a super low price and I just couldn’t resist. I purchased it. I couldn’t afford it, in terms of time or money, but I did it. Something about your lovely warehouse prices lulls me into a false sense of security. I think to myself, “It’s Costco. Of course it’s a good purchase.” Why must you be so tempting?

Sincerely,

A way too busy girl who will now be getting even less sleep

Dear clean clothes,

Why can’t you just fold yourselves? I’m sick of you and your stupid pile on my makeshift daybed/couch. I wish you would just go away (you know, away, into the closet, hung up and all).

With much frustration,

An anti-laundry folder

Dear Wrinkle Releaser,

Thank you. I know my mom would die…again (and I hope that doesn’t offend any of you out there, but this is what really comes out of my head), if she saw the state of my clothes sometimes when I walk out the door. But without you, it would be so much worse. Thank you for enabling my bad laundry folding/hanging habits. You are my hero.

Happily,

A girl who hasn’t ironed in over three months

Dear body,

You’ve enjoyed a break this last week. You haven’t been deprived of any of your favorite treats (well, not until you decided to let the Diet Coke make you retain inordinate amounts of water). I haven’t made you run since Saturday. You have gotten more sleep this week than you have in months. I hope you have enjoyed it because things are about to change. It all ends today. After I have a little movie popcorn at the theater tonight. But once I go to bed tonight, consider yourself back in training. I know. I know. You think I’m horribly mean. But trust me, as much as you hate me for this training and deprivation, you would hate me more without it because we are running that marathon whether we like it or not. You will have a small taste of what laziness does on Saturday when we are running 10 miles, in Arizona.

With much love,

Your owner who really doesn’t want you to die while running 26.2 miles in October

if the hsu fits

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Jennifer and I have been friends for almost 12 years. We met our freshman year of college and became fast friends. We quickly discovered that our birthdays were exactly 1 day apart (although Jen is a year older), so for exactly one day each year, we are the same age. We lived in the same hall, on the same floor. We shared the same dress size and love of music. We shared a birthday party that first fall. And then, halfway through our freshman year, we found ourselves sharing a room. There have been periods when we have not kept in touch as well as others. We have made different friends and have had different experiences. I moved to Arizona while she stayed here. But through it all, Jennifer has been one of those friends who I knew I could always count on. Even when months went by with little or no contact, I always knew that the second I needed her, she would be there for me.Last year, Jennifer met Sungti Hsu and married him about a month after I moved back to Utah. It was fun to reconnect and be able to spend time with Jen and get to know her wonderful new husband. He really is amazing. We have spent lots of nights together since I moved back, eating and laughing and playing and tonight was another one of those nights. However, tonight was different. Tonight was the last night I will spend with the Hsu’s for a while. On Saturday they are leaving for graduate school in Kansas. I didn’t realize just how terribly I would miss them until tonight, as we were hugging goodbye (you know I like someone if I hug them) and I began to get a little teary eyed.

Don’t get me wrong. I know I’m a crier, but I was not expecting such waterworks…especially since there is a good chance I will see them one last time. But, as I watched them leave, I realized what an integral part Jen has played in my life. She has been a part of so many of my major life experiences and has been what only Jen could be. She was the one there with me when I got the phone call that my mom had died. She was the one who told me that I turned into a total brat when I spent time with a certain boy. She was the one who listened to my cry when my heart broke for the first time. She was there with me as I entered the MTC to leave on my my mission. She was the one friend that was at my college graduation. She was with me as I made the move to Arizona…literally driving that long drive. She helped me paint the walls in my first house. She was there, on the other end of the phone, when I fell in and out of like numerous times. She was here when I moved back to Utah with a broken heart and no clue how to pick up the pieces of my life.

Through these last 12 years, she has been this little beacon through the storms, always there, always shining, always pointing in the right direction, making sure that somehow, through the pain and grief and trials of life, I kept laughing. Of course, Jen’s leaving is not the end of our friendship or her role in my life. This has happened before, but I was the one who left last time. It’s much harder being the one left behind. It just hit me tonight, as the group of us were sitting at dinner and later on playing games, how much I will miss her as a regular, physical presence in my life.

Jen has taught me so many things and I’m sure she is unaware of most of them as they were lessons of example rather than theory. And while this is definitely not the end of anything, it is a good opportunity for me to reflect on our years as friends and realize just how blessed I am to have such a wonderful friend. My wish for anyone would be that they could have their own beautiful, kind, compassionate, optimistic, hilarious and extremely photogenic Hsu! A Hsu that always fits, no matter how much life changes.
Here are some songs that will forever make me think of my darling friend Jen and our freshman year…I am a huge Shawn Colvin fan and she was my artist of choice at the time, so we spent lots of time listening to her…along with Alanis’ “Head Over Feet” on repeat down in the laundry room for hours at a time. We have enjoyed/shared lots of music likes and dislikes since then, but this was the soundtrack that started it all. Enjoy!

climb on – shawn colvin
polaroids – shawn colvin
round of blues – shawn colvin
object of my affection – shawn colvin
steady on – shawn colvin
another long one – shawn colvin
the dead of the night – shawn colvin
tenderness on the block – shawn colvin
head over feet – alanis morissette