Day 1 . . . no water . . . little food . . .

Debbie is gone visiting Alycia for her birthday. You would think that everyone was going to die. I came home from work at midnight, and Jameson whined saying there was no food in the house. Cricket, of course, might die at any moment from lack of Debbie.

I however, am excited for the day. I was going to go to the Greek Festival, but I think that might be a bust since it doesn't start until 11. However, I will be running in just a few moments through the cool autumn air listening to some great tunes. Also, I am in charge of our WIG (Wildly Important Goals) session at our next staff meeting and I am thinking I will read a little kids book. So I will go to Borders and get one . . . any excuse to go to Borders :)

Anyway, time for me to get ready!!

Great music: She and Him with Zooey Deschanel. If I only had her coloring . . .

Busy Bees

I am a very busy bee. So is Jameson. It seems sometimes like school starts, and then life picks up. I went to work today at one and should be on my way to my second job. I'm not too worried about it, though to be honest. I don't have to be there until 9:00. I have been thinking a lot about motivation today and how we gain and lose it. I don't know how it works that every Monday I think the week will go a certain way, and I am determined to make that way work. I occasionally even have the motivation to get out of bed early -- don't fall over dead. Then by the end of the week, it is simply gone, and I run into survival/I don't care mode.

I understand that there are various ways that people are motivated, including habits, punishments,and rewards. I think that the greatest motivation is love. In it's many forms. That is why I run, I love it. That is why I work on my marriage, I love it. That is why I read books, I love to. I think that when we are motivated by loving something, it becomes a joy to do it, and not work, thereby enabling us to be continuously motivated. It's why I go to church. I love the gospel.

This may seem silly, but I need to find a way to love both my jobs. It is just kinda hard sometimes, and it sometimes just doesn't seem like enough of a reward with the getting paid thing (not that I am going to quit anytime soon). Just emotionally I can sometimes come up kinda short.

Also, I still have California Gurls in my head. I love Katy Perry. Sigh.

Love Running!

This is very true. I went running late in the evening last night, and was reminded of how much I love to run in the evenings. It was about 9:00 and I was listening to my music. It was a little bit scary, but that made me run a bit faster. I was running on the canal road, which for those of you who don't live in Taylorsville, is a small road with trees and a canal on one side that looks just like Houston. It was so exhilarating and at the same time relaxing. Nothing but exercise can do that for me!

Jameson sent me an interesting article about training for ultramarathons. It highlighted focusing on cross training and avoiding injury. I really enjoyed it. Probably because it made me feel self satisfied that that is what I am doing. I don't plan on running any ultramarathons any time soon, but I will be training for a marathon VERY soon. So it was good to note that the cross training I do is good for me to prevent injuries.

Good Music: California Gurls by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg -- seriously gets me running! I know, I know, it's all hip hoppy. I love it.

I ran into a tree with my head today

I did, and it ruined my hair. I also helped staff the Zions Bank mini bank at the Willow Creek Country Club for the PGA tour. I am sure I met some very famous people, but I didn't really know it because I don't know anything about golf. Sad. It was so slow that I read two books (Dark is Rising Series -- still so in love with it) by 3:00.

So it is back to life, back to reality. And I have laundry to do, so this is what you get.

P.S. I still need a good vest for work -- and ideas would be appreciated.

Paul Warren Kistemann is Blessed!

Jameson and I drove down to Arizona with my mother for my sister Cami's youngest baby's blessing. We left on Friday night and went to the Golden Hills motel. I loved it! Mainly because the owner was so excited that he could offer wireless internet and long distance to his clients. He was doing his best to provide the best customer service skills he could in his corner of the world. It made it my #1 place for Mt. Carmel junction for sure!

When we woke up in the morning, we drove into Kanab to visit with my grandparents for a few minutes and eat breakfast. It is always such a pleasure to see them. And so hard to say goodbye.

We also got to see my Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Ali and their daughter Terra because they stopped by as well. It was a very exciting to see them . . . passing as ships in the night. :)

Then we went all the way to Cami's. Her second oldest son Timmy, had his birthday on Monday, but we decided to celebrate on Saturday while all his family was there. There was lots of family (both Cristian's and Cami's) there to celebrate. We also celebrated his cousin Isaiah's birthday.

Then the next day we went to church to see Paul Warren Kistemann be blessed by his father. It was a very special and a little bit of an emotional experience for all of us.
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As a little side note -- Jameson is Mary's new favorite person. For some reason unknown to the rest of society, Mary (my sister's second youngest) attached herself to Jameson. Calling him 'her boy' and stopped just short of gluing herself to him. Probably because no one would help her with the glue. When we left, she asked if she could come with us. Her parents said that they wouldn't come with, and she said that she would come back later for them. Turns out Jameson does have a way with the ladies . . . who knew? :) Just kidding :) I knew :)

Overall, it was a great trip, with a ton of great moments and stories that have already become a regular part of our vocabulary and joke scheme. It was quite the worthwhile road trip.

The Dark Is Rising

I am reading a series by Susan Cooper called the Dark Is Rising Series. I absolutely love it. Mainly because it is about the eternal struggle between light and dark. In the end of one of the books it states that one side can never win because we each have a little of both in us. For those of us who are members of the church, we are constantly fighting this battle in ourselves and in the world.

Yesterday, Jameson and I planned to go to the temple. I thought that it was PERFECT timing because I ended up leaving work early. We went to get some pre-temple ice cream at Leatherby's, and then drove to the temple. We pulled up in the parking lot and guess who forgot her temple recommend. By the time that we drove back to get it, it was too late to go back.

I felt so bad that my silly small mistake robbed us of the pleasure of attending the temple (this isn't the first time this has happened). It just reminded me that there are good forces in the world, and not so good ones. The dark forces are powerful and easy to succumb to, but the lighter ones are always there and represent every good part of the human character, including forgiveness and trust.

So there may be times when I forget my temple recommend, or don't get everything done in the day that I deem necessary, but it is a small battle in the war that I think we are winning (you'll just have to guess which side I'm on :))

Good Book: Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper, book 2 in the Dark Is Rising Sequence

My Life . . . In a Nutshell

So life has pretty much gone how you think it might lately. I work, clean, eat, run . . . and that is about it. My mother is coming down to Salt Lake today, but I won't see her. She has a class she has to attend before her knee surgery in October and then she is off to visit Kerry -- her good friend who could use a little support. We will be going to visit Cami and Cristian . . . and Micah and Timmy and Sammy and Ellie and Mary and Paul . . . as we go down to visit them for Paul's baby blessing.

I have grown less than fond of my wardrobe lately, partly because I can't seem to lose the weight to fit into half of my clothes and also because I have to wear professional clothes everyday and seem to wear the same things over and over. I will be buying a skirt, cardigan and vest soon . . . but am not sure where to go. Any suggestions?

Good Music: Hey Soul Sister by Train