Heckedy Peg

I don't know how many of you are familiar with this children's story, but it was one of my favorites growing up. In this story, an old woman named Heckedy Peg comes to a house full of children whose mother has left for the day to go into town for groceries. Heckedy Peg is a mean, scary old woman. She knocks on the door saying, "I'm Heckedy Peg, I've lost my leg, please let me in." The children let her in and she kidnaps them. When the mother comes home she must set out to rescue her children but... I'll let you go read the ending. Like I said, it's one of my favorites.

Heckedy Peg is really an atrocious character, but lately I've felt that I can sympathize or relate to her. Not because I want to kidnap children...seriously, I really don't...but because she didn't have a leg. Now, I have both of my legs so you still might be wondering why I feel a sort of affiliation with Heckedy Peg. Let me see if I can explain.

Yesterday I accomplished another one of my summer goals. I ran in a half marathon. (check) And I honestly had fun doing it. It was in a canyon in Springville, Utah, and was one of the prettiest settings I could have asked for. It was early in the morning (I woke up and 4:30) and the canyon was shaded and green and cool. Like I said, I was honestly having a fun time for those first 9 miles. I was also surprised to see my dad along the road. I hadn't thought that my family would be able to come down, but as I rounded one of the bends there he was, cheering me on. I was confused at first but then started laughing and ran over to say hello. Yeah I lost a few seconds on my time but seeing him there was worth it.

The last few miles were tougher (blisters starting popping up at mile 9) but fortunately people who run are pretty nice. I got some extra energy from strangers cheering me on, fellow runners setting a good pace, an old man in the neighborhood who had a mist sprayer out for us to run under, and always my dad off in the distance taking super attractive pictures and what I'm sure are pretty funny videos as well.

I couldn't tell if Dad was taking a picture or a video. Plus a bug probably just  flew up my nose. That tended to happen quite frequently.

I came up on that last 0.1 miles and saw the finish line with tons of people around when I heard my name being yelled. Rebecca and Wes were there along with my dad and Rebecca was yelling my name. "Rachel! Rachel! Run faster! Push it! Push it!" I attempted to run a little bit faster but really just started laughing. Laughing because it had been a good run, the finish line was right there, I knew I looked hilarious trying to push my body to go faster, and because I was happy to see familiar faces cheering me on. Yes, I crossed the finish line smiling. (Ok, that was cheesy)

Yep...me trying to go faster. Rebecca yelling at me to push it. A shirtless man finding amusement at the whole situation.

Check out that knee brace. What up?

I told you I was laughing. Again, shirtless man finds amusement.

Thanks to Wes for taking pictures

This experience and the recovery that came along with it have made me extremely glad for the things I can do.  Yeah, I can run 13.1 miles in about 2 hours. I can walk up and down stairs (something that's been a little bit harder to do as I try to recover) I can use my sweet medal to open beer bottles...err...soda bottles. I can do a lot of things because of my biped status.

So Heckedy Peg, I'm sorry that you lost your leg. I really, truly am. But I am so grateful for my legs, my feet, knee braces, water, Gatorade, bags of frozen vegetables to ice my legs with, socks, shoes, hair elastics, the absence of blisters, alarm clocks, cold baths, encouragement, family, and...my legs.

Let's Have Some Fun

That's right. I got a library card yesterday. I'm excited to use it. Now I can turn heads like Arthur as I swagger into the Provo City Library.


I'm grateful for summer reading.

Who cares if it's not November?

This past Sunday in Relief Society we had a lesson on gratitude. It was good to be reminded of all the great things I have going for me each day. Sometimes I feel like we forget to be grateful unless the day has been specifically set apart and given a special name like, "thanksgiving." I know that I often do. 

As we talked about the benefits of recognizing our blessings everyday, it was pointed out that it's usually the little things that you find you are grateful for. Sometimes they're hard to notice because they are so often overshadowed by the huge and dramatic challenges of each day. 

The teacher had provided us all with little notebooks and invited us to use them to write down the things we were grateful for every day. I've been doing my best to keep up with it, and I've noticed that once you start counting the daily blessings, it's hard to stop. Once you start counting the blessings your attitude changes. I love my gratitude journal. I'm grateful for it.

So, what things happened today that you're grateful for?

Summer 2011

This summer I want to do things that will help me enjoy being in Provo working all day everyday. These things include activities that might not be as extravagant or foreign as previous summers or my friends summers, but they're still going to make this summer.

I want to finally get up on a wakeboard. You'd think after all the boating I've done I'd be able to do this but alas, tis not the case.
I want to go skydiving.
I want to run in a half marathon.
I want to hike Mt. Timpanogos again.
I want to survive getting my wisdom teeth out.
I want to bike to Utah Lake.
I want to have a fire up the canyon.
I want to go to the pool as often as possible.
I want to hike up to the next level up Bridal Veil Falls.
I want to take a road trip to St. George.
I want to take my friends to Logan.
I want to go road biking at least once.
I want to light one of those big fireworks that are usually illegal.
I want to go to Lagoon.
I want to get a henna tattoo.
I want to get razor scooters and scooter all around campus.
I want to go to the park to study as often as possible.
I want to sleep outside a few times.
I want to watch every episode of the Bachelorette.
I want to get a tan from my sandals.
I want to actually sleep on the dock at Hebgen.
I want to go to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (my first midnight premiere)
I want to go to outdoor movies.
I want to get outside of my comfort zone.

These are just a few. Given I've already done some of these, but that just means that I can be sure to check them off my list come August 29th.

Ugh...let's not think about that day.

check

As I drove back up to Salt Lake Friday night, I was listening to the radio and thinking about what the weekend held for me. I was driving back home for several reasons. Sunday I had the farewells of two of my oldest friends. We grew up on the same street and have known each other since preschool so there was no chance I was missing those talks. My little cousin was baptized on Sunday and being there and spending time with my family is always a blessing. Saturday was what was most prevalent in my mind however and as I contemplated the next 24 hours of my life, this song started to play on good ol' 99.5.

Please don't think that I am dying. I feel quite healthy. But what struck me as ironic about this song playing is that I was going skydiving the very next morning.

Yep. I did it. And it was a blast.

I wasn't quite as nervous as I thought I was going to be. Given that ascending to the proper altitude of 13,000 ft was a little bit of an anxious time, when they opened up the door of the plane and I got to look down over the landscape below, I didn't feel very scared. Just excited. The ground was so far away that it didn't seem like crashing into it would even be a problem. Plus I trusted the nice stranger strapped to my back.

We free fell for about 60 seconds and then parachuted down the rest of the way which was about another 2 minutes. We did some swirls/loops while coming down and then came in for a perfectly smooth landing. Annie also scored a 10 on her landing but my dad and Spencer didn't do so hot.

As I look back on the experience I've made quite a few correlations to doctrinal teachings and lessons, but I'll save those for another time. Right now I'm just going to revel in the fact that I have one more thing checked off my "To Do in Summer" list.

That list should be making an appearance next blog post.


...."I went skydiving, I went Rocky Mountain climbing..."


Hope that's stuck in your head for the rest of the day and that you think of me every time you sing it.

please don't judge

So about a month ago I found a new guilty pleasure and I'm finally ready to admit it to whoever reads this. Are you ready? Let's see if you can guess what it is. I'll give you some hints.

• It's a T.V. show
• It airs every Monday
• The main character is in the pursuit of love
• This love can only be attained while vacationing in Thailand
• Extravagant dates include:

• Dinner in the middle of the Belagio fountains
• Sea kayaking off the coast of Thailand
• Personal concert with Colbie Caillat
• Flying to Vegas for the evening
• Riding elephants through the jungle

• 1 girl, 26 guys

Have you guessed?

The beginning of the week can't come soon enough.

June 20th is a great day

Dear Mom,

You do so much for me and our family that making this list has been easy. But, in honor of tradition, I was limited to the number I could put up. Here are 51 things that I love about you:

1. You brought me and my siblings into this world
2. You are active in the community
3. You took me to the naturescape at Canyon Rim to weed many times throughout my childhood
4. You tease me but I always know you do it out of love (you do, right?)
5. You are an example of humility
6. You are known throughout the neighborhood
7. You've given me someone to brag about (I'm still working on the humility thing)
8. You put Art Festivals on every year at school which benefit hundreds of people
9. You are a teacher that the kids love (I've seen some of the notes)
10. You are up for adventure when most moms would choose to sit out
11. You can't jump on the tramp but sometimes you would anyway
12. You let me experience a little bit of danger (babysitters would never let me)
13. You always made sure I was safe though
14. You made me lunches everyday throughout my elementary school
15. You would occasionally surprise me with a gourmet lunch in junior/high school. I was always much more excited for lunch when I had an extra heavy lunch sack
16. You have taught me to not judge others and always try to see things from a different perspective
17. You brought me dinner when I would be babysitting late
18. You have helped me write quite a few papers (I specifically remember one about a submarine that I was very proud of)
19. You have a sort of obsession with submarine movies (Das Boot and Hunt for Red October)
20. You beat me in ping-pong on a regular basis (I don't love getting beat but I love that you can do that)
21. You like to prank people and have an excellent sense of timing and humor. The pranks are also very clever
22. You know how to teach Relief Society lessons with the Spirit and are consistently finding new and interesting ways of presenting material
23. You'll often hide behind a wall to jump out and scare Dad
24. You hide candy bars around the house so that we won't eat them. It's always fun to find them in odd places
25. You have your specific TV shows that you must watch (Project Runway and Hoarders)
26. You decorate our house so that it looks like something that could be featured in a magazine
27. You know exactly what flowers will look good where in the yard
28. You have pretty, big, blue eyes (Don't listen to your students)
29. You always make delicious dinners and have cool table settings to boot
30. You always make our home a welcoming place to both frequent faces and new visitors
31. You know how to come up with awesome baby/wedding shower games
32. You helped me realize at a young age the blessing that living in this country is by giving me extra lessons outside of school on the Revolutionary War  
33. You've been lovingly realistic with me and helped me get through hard times at school
34. You used to braid Rebecca's, Caroline's and my hair every summer. But not a normal braid. The little braids that covered our head like the kind we got in Mexico
35. You always accepted the ugly bouquets I would pick for you out in the sagebrush at Hebgen
36. You laughed so hard with me when we were hiking back down Halfdome and realized we were barely moving while hiking through the sand at a slight incline (Remember?)
37. You've always wanted a house in the country and have been diligent in making that desire a reality (Now we get to benefit from fun weekends spent there)
38. You would take us on drives in the country on Sunday afternoons
39. You helped me realize that reading a good book was sometimes more enjoyable than watching hours of TV
40. You took me on a walk about 5 years ago in St. George and we just talked
41. You're always up for talking and continue to answer the phone when I call, even though it's probably rough to listen to me complain about work
42. You urged me to practice playing the piano, a talent I'm very grateful to have
43. You'll sometimes just want to watch movie after movie (usually on the holidays)
44. You sometimes choose movies that we can laugh about later (Legend of the Gaurdians: Owls of Ga'hoole anyone?)
45. You often surprise me with articles of clothing when I come home for a weekend
46. You have excellent style and good taste in your purchases. You take the time to get something that you really think someone will like, and they more often than not do like it
47. You've put up with kids that don't know anything but think they know everything
48. You love your parents and are close with your siblings
49. You love Spencer, Rebecca, Caroline and me and show it every day through the sacrifices you make. Most of which we don't even see or realize
50. You married Dad
51. You are my mom

I love you very much and couldn't have been placed in a better family with a more loving and caring mother. Happy birthday. Thanks for being my mom.