All Smiles

This week has been an "I LOVE EVERYTHING!" week.  I keep wanting to hug people and tell them how freaking awesome they are.  Including people I don't know, so I mostly just save that for Sam.

Reasons that everything is awesome:

• We got the work/travel visa
• The weather has been pretty nice
• I saw Sam TWICE on campus (when it's usually zero)
• It's the rugby game/colour festival/anniversary weekend of when Sam and I started dating
• One of my lectures is over so now I just get to SEW in lab (and no more samples!) 
• I ate one and a half Cadbury eggs and it was fantabulous (Sam and I split 3 different kinds. Gotta try them all)
• I'll be in CANADA in one month's time!
• I got 2lb closer to my goal- woo hoo!
• It's almost fresh fruit season- hello massive flats of raspberries, strawberries, nectarines, and peas-in-the-pod
• I got sick- but it went away after like 5 days. Yesh.
• I totally bombed my test. Oh wait, that's bad... Well, I bombed my test but felt so good about everything else that I didn't beat myself up about it too bad.  I'll just have to work my butt off!
• My final that was scheduled for the LAST day of finals (suck!) got moved, so now I have only two scheduled on the FIRST day of finals, then two testing center ones, and the rest are projects that are in the next week or so.  So great! I can be done WAY early!
• I can just taste summer.
• And so much more!

So, most of those things are super small things.  Find joy in the little things and you're set!

It's official!

My work/travel authorization came!!! I am so, so, so happy!  I was getting worried about it being approved in time for the planned Easter visit to Canada- but here it is!  For anyone interested, we're having a reception-ish get together on Friday, April 22nd.  We won't have a cake or that sort of thing, but we'll have food, pictures, visiting, and fun!

I haven't been home for Easter in ages!  I'm so stinkin' excited.  If you were to be in Alberta with a family of Utahns, what would you show them?  I'm definitely thinking Waterton and Writing-on-Stone. And poutine from Red Dog Diner.  Maybe things in Calgary? The zoo? The science center (it's cool, ok?)? Some random canola field?

I can't even wait!

What the wise runner fears

check out these babies! she made them out of tire and rope, then ran 12 miles in them for our relay team!

I've been using dailymile to track my exercise lately.  It's a really nifty little site! You make a profile (or just link it to your facebook, which is what I did) and then you can track all of your workouts on it.  It calculates paces, distance, how you're feeling, how much gas you've saved, how many donuts you've burned... You can also add friends or post in the forums.  One feature I really like is the challenges.  You can make your own or join someone else's.  They have ones like run 1000 miles in a year, awareness groups (like "in memory of" runs), monthly goals... Very neat! So if anyone else is using it, or starts using it, add me as a friend!

Anyway, I was just procrastinating homework and came across a post a guy made asking what three things you as a runner fear.  There were some great ones! Here are some favourites, as well as a few of my own:

1. A porta-potty with no line.  There's probably a reason.

2. The words "gently rolling hills" in the course description.  Yeah, no, that usually means mountainous certain death.

3. "Battery low"

4. An intersection during a race that has no signs or volunteers saying which way to go

5. Your socks starting to fall down within the first mile

6. One of your shins randomly getting insanely itchy, so you either have to try to ignore it or start doing weird little dances while you simultaneously run/scratch.

7. Thinking "I probably shouldn't have eaten that!" part way through your run

8. A dog with no leash and no owner in sight

9. Feeling a blister forming when you've barely even started

Anyone else have a fear to add?

Happy running! Or biking, walking, playing, swimming, or channel surfing :)

Boo urns!

So I have a bunch of really cool and awesome pictures, but they're on the camera that has a fnuny SD card (so it won't load onto my laptop) and I can't find the USB cord.  So thus the lack of event coverage.

We're still trying to figure out what is going on this summer, both living-wise and visit-to-Canada-wise.  It's only a month until we want to come but I haven't heard back from immigration yet.  I'm getting antsy!

This weekend wasn't too eventful.  Friday I started getting sick, so all weekend I sewed and watched the Harry Potter marathon that was on ABC.  I'm almost done an awesome dress though!  It's very 80s and I love it.  It's floral and has puffy sleeves.  Seriously.

So anyway, this sickness... Since I have asthma, when I get sick it often ends up stuck in my chest and won't go away for a long time.  I can't breath very well and it hurts like a motha to cough, so I can't clear it out.  Gross, I know.  Thankfully a coworker was able to take over for me this morning.  Now I'm sitting in English- except for nobody else showed up! I missed last class, so I think they are at the library or something this period.  I feel like they threw a party and didn't invite me! Sad day.

Well, I guess I'll make use of the next hour and study for my exam that I have to do this week.  I probably should have done more studying and less sewing.  But hey, I'll have my ugly floral old lady dress soon and that just joys my heart.

Grandma Buns

These buns are legendary.  You don't even know.  It's a staple at all Frache family holidays and Sunday get-togethers.  The other day, I tried making them for the first time and I nearly fell over because they turned out so well.  They were totally perfect at first- but then they got a little dry the next day, so not quite there, but stinkin' close.  Anyway, I want to share the love with you.  This is the recipe that my grandma Rayma Frache has been using for years.  She got the recipe from my adopted grandma/birthday buddy Doris Erickson.

Grandma Buns:
  
Combine the yeast and flour:

• 2 Tbsp Fermipan inst. yeast (only available in Canada, I think.  Use this type if possible)
• 4 cups flour (I used half bread/half all-purpose.  My grandma swears by Ellison's)

Whip together the following ingredients:

• 8 Tbsp white sugar
• 6 Tbsp oil (Canola)
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups warm water

Add flour/yeast mixture and blend well.

Combine the following:

• 1 tsp salt
• 3-4 cups flour

Add the salt/flour to the mixture and blend well until smooth.

Pour out onto floured surface and knead.  Place in a large greased bowl, turning once so dough is coated.  Cover with cloth and let rise 15 min in warm over. Punch down. Let rise again about 30 min.  Punch down.
Pour out onto floured surface.  Form into buns (If you roll out and then use a glass to cut them they will be more uniform). Place on a greased pan.  Cover and let rise in a warm place.

Bake 15-18 min @350F
Makes about 4 doz.

If you try making them, please let me know how it goes!

Working my butt off (literally)

At BYU they have this machine to measure your body composition, volume, density, etc.  I had it done last year in November, and then again today.  Verdict: the hard work I've been putting into my fitness both physically and mentally has been paying off!  I'm down by 4.8 pounds and 4.2% body fat. It also tells you your metabolic rates for various degrees of physical activity throughout the day, which is very handy in deciding how much I need to eat to lose weight but still have the energy I need!  Not only are the numbers improved, but I feel a lot better.  I'm halfway to my goal, and it's fantastic! Maybe I'll put up some before/after shots once I get there ;)

Anyway, on that note, I had to fast to do the body comp test and I'm starving, so I'm going to go find me some lunch!

Holy smokes.

Ok, so Saturday: First off, I figured I'd go run 13.1miles just to make sure I could.  Success.

Then we went to the Wasatch Cup rugby game, BYU vs Utah, and it was an AWESOME game.  We won, and it was so legit. Awesome hits.  Total skill.  But hey, rugby is always like that.

Then I tried my very first Krispy Kreme donut right off the belt.  Oh man, it melts!

Then my proudest cooking moment by far: I just replicated my Grandma Frache's buns.  My first try.  BIG deal. You don't even know.  I am SO stinking happy over this.

Oh wait... I was supposed to do homework too, wasn't I? My bad. Later.