Flu

Believe it or not, I actually feel way worse than I look.  At least Courtney's happy.


**Update, 2/9/13.
I had the flu for a few days. It was a doosey. Full body chills, feverish sweating, violent coughing, dizziness..... really not fun at all (except for the 6 lb weight loss. Loving that).
I've never had the flu before... and this was the first year I didn't get the flu shot... coincidence?!  Lesson learned. I shall no longer listen to my hippy friends and silly internet telling me hoopla about the dangers of the flu shot.  Ya know what's worse than all the nasty chemicals in that flu shot?  GETTING THE FLU. So miserable.
 I'm supposed to be a Master of Public Health. I failed. Next year I'll redeem myself and hopefully never go through this again.
Super grateful that somehow Brian and Bennett and Courtney haven't been sick AT ALL! Doesn't make sense, but I'll take it!

Road trip storm

We're going  30 mph on an 80mph road. This picture doesn't show it well, but we're in a terrible snow storm. Wind, snow, ice, and already we've passed 5 cars that slid off the road. We've still got 150 miles til home. But I know we'll make it, cuz Brian's behind the wheel. He's good. Way good at this. I'm terrible. I complimented him on it, and he said, "I spent 7 years seeing the consequences of people not be careful on the roads. It's big business, and I don't want anyone making money off me." So there you have it! Brian's motivation for excellent winter driving.

Update:  We got home at 1am.  So it took 15 hours to get from Chandler AZ home to Bountiful, when it should've been 11 hrs.  I'm superduper grateful we made it safely - unlike the dozen or so cars/trucks/semis we saw stranded or being towed out of ditches on the side of the road. Insane out there.  Those Snowbirders know where they're doing.... shoulda stayed in AZ til Spring!!

Me like.

Lindsay is treating me to a mani/pedi right now!  A little embarrassing  considering the shape my toes are in right now. But I don't care... enjoying every moment of pampering.

Movie time

Les Mis is about to start, and we're the only ones in the theater! (Becky sis taking pic) That means feet UP on the seats in front!
Post-movie update:  Ohmyword. So moving. And disturbing. 

Snuggly

Presenting at the IRMR

Saturday was a total high for me. Despite going to bed at 1am and waking up at 3am, driving nearly 5 hrs to St. George, I amazingly still functioned well enough to have an awesome networking experience at the Intermountain Race Management Roundtable. About 40-50 Race Directors from around the state were there. I met some really great people. Learned so much about the innerworkings of race management. And taught others a little of what Ive learned about growing an event through social media marketing! I did a 20 min presentation to the group. Spent so many hours preparing for it- researching, creating a PowerPoint, deciding what in the world to wear.... But it was worth it! Brian was so awesome to take the kids all day (minus visiting at lunch time, so I could hook them up with our yummy catered gourmet goodies). I'm stoked for the future of Utah Running Guide.com. Lots of amazingness in the works.  

When life hands you a lemon tree...

So great to teach my kids where lemons really come from! This is my bro's front yard in Gilbert AZ. Love it here- best January weather on the planet! Definitely considering the snowbird lifestyle.    

Road trippin

We're about 2.5 hrs from our Chandler AZ destination. So far, so good! I loved all the travel advice I got from (50+!) friend responses on FB.  We've got loads of books from the library, audio books, fun kid-music CDs, stickers, bags full of healthy snacks (enough that we've done zero food stops!), new cute pillows for naps, and these little activity packs I picked up from Michaels. I was there to buy a square hole punch for my new business cards I designed (and am totally in love with) and I found these
$1 themed activity packs. Crayons, stickers, and coloring book. I brought them out at the first signs of boredom, and it kept them occupied for half a hour! Never thought that would sound like a really long time :) 

Banana Swirl

Brianna's favorite treat. She got the idea from watching Sid the Science Kid.  This is probably the only good thing that comes from that intensely annoying show.

It's just frozen bananas, pureed up in the Vitamix! Better than icecream, seriously.

Dumpster rescue

I guess I'm not above dumpster diving.....  I found this gem next to ours, heading for death at the landfill. After 30 minutes of negotiating the icy parking lots with a dolly it's safely in my garage, waiting to be sold on craigslist! Score! Bonus: taught Brianna the value of resourcefulness. And post-dumpster hand sanitizing. 

Cool.

URG 6-month Stats

I snapped this screen shot of my Facebook Page stats for my Utah Running Guide Page, to commemorate 6 months of being in biz:

I love that over 5,000 people per week are seeing something I post  (without PAYING for Facebook ads!)  And that the Page Likes grow by an average of 13 per day.    I like to "sell" the fact that our fans have an average of over 300 friends each, so if we host a giveaway, and 100 people enter (by Liking and Sharing a particular race's Page), then there's a potential reach of over 30,000.  That's a pretty significant advertising tool!  Gotta love the power of social media marketing.

I'm really enjoying this URG gig. Some days more than others.  When I land a big deal and have a race (or especially race SERIES!) that wants to advertise with us, I literally do a happy dance around the house. The kids love that (but look a little confused..."why did mommy just hang up the phone/get off the computer and start jumping around?!")   And some days I feel super bummed cuz I didn't get the response I wanted from a particular Race Director.  And I do feel bad for all the people to enter the giveaways and don't win. But overall I'm enjoying this, and it's amazing how everything is working out. It's not so busy that I can't keep up, but just keeping at a perfectly steady pace.   I love steady paces.  :)

Job perks.

Most jobs have some sort of "personal perk" (for lack of better term). For example, if your husband is an accountant, you don't have to pay for CPA services like most people do. Or if your hub is a medical professional of some sort, you have access to that care free. When my Dad worked for Cellular One/Cingular/AT&T while I was growing up, we were one of the first families to all have cell phones. And he traveled a lot so we earned reward miles. When I worked for United Way, I got to go to lots of business parties - free catered meals, and I often won door prizes (once, a diamond pendant!) When Brian worked for Enterprise, we got to be a one-car family, since he got a company car for his daily commute. And there was that lovely office Lost & Found box... ;) But since he's started at Cintas, I've been kinda bummed. No personal perks. Just a job. He manages the guys/gals that sell First Aid products to businesses and keep them code-compliant with OSHA.  Travels only occasionally and doesn't even get to collect the miles!  No no perks.... until NOW!

Check this out - free expired First Aid products! BOOM! He brings home the stuff they have to discard. And expiration dates are just a formality to cover the manufacturer's backs, right? Things like burn pads don't suddenly lose all effectiveness the day after those printed numbers tell you it's old. It came in handy today - I burned my hand on a pan (go figure - they're hot out of the oven). And right there on the table was a stack of these little hydrogel soothie pads. I stuck one on, and POOF - no more ouchie. So hooray for Cintas employment! Free first aid for life (though hopefully we won't need it often!)

13.1 of bbrrrrrrrrr