5k

What's It's Name 5K

That is what I'm choosing to call it because I can't remember its name

It had something to do with abuse...I think

In my head Saturday, April 16th was supposed to be a sunny, warm day.

A day perfect for running

I should have known better

It was overcast

rainy

cold

Welcome to Utah!

I put on my best face

Ate a banana

Shimmied into a pair of super sexy running tights

And headed out the door

Thank Heavens I had good (yet crazy) friends, a supportive-foot-injury-nursing-picture-taking husband, and a "barely able to open my eyes and comb my mullet" brother to hang out with at the starting line. 

And...they didn't care if I did the pee-pee dance because I was so cold.

That is love.

Pam, Tracie, Steph, Me, Kizna, and Whit

The Indians REPRESENT

meet Savage and Little Running Deer.

Savage has got the pre-race meditation down

Pretty sure he is imagining the wind gently caressing his mullet as he crossed the finish line.

Ready-Set-Go

Almost there

Stupid boy totally smoked me at the end.

Cort coming crossing the finish line

Yes these pictures are in order...this means that at 20:28 I beat his 21 minutes

So what that I run 4-5 days a week and his only running is from the couch to the bathroom or refrigerator.

That being said if he did run more I wouldn't have stood a chance!

Kizna and Tracie coming in

Probably my favorite picture from the race.

Click on the picture to enlarge so that you too can enjoy the look of pain on Tracie's face.

Classic Tracie!

The group

Cort, me, Steph, Diane, Kizna (in front), Whit, Jayson, Alex

Picture taken by Clayton the Soccer Mom

I really missed running with Clayton in this race.

Stupid Plantar Fasciitis!

 

AN EARLY EASTER

The Easter Bunny came early this year

He (or is it a she?) had too.  I gave him/her no choice.

The Bunny always brings a basket for the two of us to share.  Growing up my mom would hide our Easter baskets around the house for use to find.  Since our day of wedded bliss I have played the same "hide and seek" Easter basket game my mom did.  Sometimes I do variations in the seeking portion of the game.  I believe that the "hot and cold" game, scavenger hunt, and last years rope thingamajigger are a few of the ways we seek at the McMurdie household.  A month or so I got a "brilliant" idea for this years hunt.

Step 1: Take a picture of me with the basket, bunny ears, and a carrot (cuz bunnies eat carrots) in the place where the basket will be hidden (in this case it was our mini gym).

If I could do this picture all over again I would go somewhere with better lighting, but I was in a hurry and so it is what it is. 

Step 2: Upload the picture to snapfish.com and turn it into a puzzle

Step 3: Divide the puzzle pieces up and put them into plastic eggs

Step 4: Hide the eggs around the house

So obviously he has to find the eggs and put the puzzle together in order to find the basket.  clever?  I think so.  I never mentioned my basket finding method to him because I wanted it to be part of the surprise.

We had planned on celebrating Easter on Friday (for reasons to be blogged about at a later date).  When I got home there was Clayton sitting on the couch smiling.  It was then I noticed plastic eggs laying around the house.  What!?!  No!?!  We had an understanding that I am the one who does the basket...a basket for both of us.  If he did something it meant that it was for me.  Always a one upper.  I went around the house and found 16 plastic eggs.  It was then he told me that I had to open up the eggs.  I opened them up to find slips of paper that had been cut up to be a PUZZLE!  What!?!  Seriously!?! No that was MY idea!!!  He totally STOLE my thunder.    

The slips of paper told me I where I could locate my gift.  GIFT!?!  Oh geez...  Christmas is for gifts.  Birthdays are for gifts.  Anniversary's are for gifts.  Easter is for candy and small treasures and I knew that if Clayton said a "gift" then it was something big. 

The paper said I could locate my gift in a closet.  And of course it was in the last closet that I found the gift.

Contemplating the box contents

Genuine reaction of disbelief

ps. have you noticed the size of my hands lately?  They are H-U-G-E!

A NEW CAMERA!

So not only did he copy my Easter basket finding idea without knowing, but he totally one upped my basket too.  All in the name of love I guess.

oh and P.S. I LOVE it and him (but he could have not spent a dime and I would have still loved him) 

Now it was my turn.

Find eggs - check

Put puzzle together - check

continue putting puzzle together - check

 

Spend more time on puzzle - check

(this puzzle thing was taking longer than I thought)

puzzle, puzzle, puzzle - check

Put last piece in puzzle - check

Discover basket location - check

Basket ingredients

chocolate treats (for me)

salty treats (for him)

picture books

two new games

Chuck (as in Norris) got Jimmered t-shirts

dvd

Happy Easter to All!

Amongst overloading our blood streams with Mini Cadbury Eggs may we all remember the real reason we celebrate this time of year... the fact that Our Savior Jesus Christ has risen.  Because of his great and infinite atonement our lives are forever changed.

EL BURRITO IS MUY GRANDE

Ever have one of those days when you say,

"I can't believe I ate the WHOLE thing"

Well I have

Except I didn't eat the whole thing
(not even close...I didn't even eat a 1/4 of it)

But if I would have eaten the "WHOLE thing" I would have said it.

Make sense?

Remember a few years ago when Clayton and I drove to Pocatello and ate the 2 foot burrito

Well we did it again.

Only this time at the Cancun Cafe in SLC

This picture does not do the size of this bad boy justice.

Cancun Cafe claims that it is the "BIGGEST BURRITO YOU'VE EVER SEEN!!"

It wasn't two feet long like the one at Senor Iguana's, but it was 2-3 times as fat!

It was $15 and fed all 4 of us.

oh and it was good!

as were their chips/salsa

and service

(the waiter ran our boxed food out to our car because we forgot it.  How awesome it that!!!)

Kami and Erik accompied us in our quest to down that burrito.

Mucho's gracias guys.

afterwards Clayton and Erik "jammed" to work off the burrito

Erik on the drums

(not pictured obviously...I was trying to be quick before I got "the look" from mr. bass man)

and Clayton on the Bass

Kami and I played Deal

I lost...like 5 out of 7 times

Yep I'm just THAT awesome.

Thanks for the fun night Kamerik!

TIE GAME

RED TIE, BLUE TIE

Have you ever watched General Conference and noticed that the General Authorities usually only wear simple blue and red ties?

No?

Neither had I...until it was brought to my attention last conference.

Interesting.

Wonder why this is...

While watching conference at the McMurdies we talked about this and how Harry needs more red and blue ties.

Lucky for him his birthday was just around the corner.

One of each

Next up: Watching conference live while sitting in a big cushy chair next to the Chosen 12.

Being in the company of the Lord's chosen would be pretty cool

but...

sitting in one of those big comfy chairs in the conference center wouldn't be so bad either.

Am I right or am I right?

He was also lucky to score some...

food storage

(if you know Harry you know this is the Best. Gift. Ever. Period)

Boots

Cookies

Pumpkin Bread

Happy Birthday Poppy!

We Love You!

I WALK

I WALK

(this picture was taken when we were engaged...man I have gotten old)

Almost Every Day I walk

In the rain I take an umbrella

In the snow I wear a beanie and gloves

In the summer heat I thrive wearing my flip flops

For example last week it snowed behemoth flakes that were bigger than your head. 

Still I walked

My pants were soaking wet mid calf down
My shoes made a squeaking sound from absorbing all that water

My arm was tired from holding an umbrella

The fur on the hood of my coat looked like a wet dog

But still...

I walked

I often get asked by coworkers why I walk almost everyday

Most think that I am obsessed with the calorie burning

Do I fear the secretary butt?

Not so much

My calorie burning gets done in the wee morning hours

So why do I do it?

I walk to ...

+ Destress from all the office related stuff that makes me want to scream

+ Clear my head

+ Feel and see the sun (Vitamin D really does cheer me up)

+ Conversate via telephone with the madre, sister or brother regarding his latest girl drama

+ Ponder life

+ Plan weekend activities

+ Communicate with my Heavenly Father

+ Count my many blessings

+ Get fresh air

+ Figure out how to deal with current situations/trials/complications

+ Write a talk of lesson (in my head) that I have to give in Church

+ step back and look at the bigger picture
+ think about things I have seen or heard lately at church, on tv, etc.
+ get to know myself better
+ sing to myself (let's be honest in my head is the only place my singing should be heard)

+ realize that life Really. Is. Good.

Sometimes I do detest the elements outside and walk indoors on the treadmill

with lovely ladies such as her and her

these times I walk to...

+ laugh

+ and to hear stories

I like stories
and I like to laugh
and these ladies tell good stories that make me laugh


Thank you to...
+ my Heavenly Father for always having an open ear and listening to me even when I am being prideful, stubborn and a complete pain in the butt.
+ my husband for talking walks with me in the summer even though it isn't his favorite thing to do but he does it anyway because he knows how much I enjoy it
+ my mom for taking time out of her day (and her sudoku playing) to talk to me
+ my pops for giving up some of his lunch time with mom to let her talk to me (I really do try to plan my calls around your sudoku games)
+ the occasional coworker for entertaining me
+ the snakes (i hate you) for staying out of my way...please continue to do just that
+ again to the occasional coworker for pretending not to see or hear me when I jump and scream like a sissy girl when i do see a snake.
+ the voices in my head when they stop arguing with each other enough to let me actually enjoy my walk


Have YOU walked lately?

LOVELY

it was a lovely weekend

not an exciting weekend

but lovely nonetheless

The road to lovely took a few stops.

STOP # 1: The Dentist

 For most people this would not be considered a "lovely" stop.  But I have never had a bad dental experience and am again happy to report this mouth is still cavity free.  Clayton also fared well, but does need to have a chipped tooth fixed from when he bit a fork.  Yes.  He broke a tooth biting down on his fork.  How does that happen???  Once when I was a kid I lost a tooth biting into a banana.  A BANANA.  The softest of all the fruit family.  Maybe we have bad tooth karma.

STOP # 2: Hasting's and Ogden LDS Temple

Ogden needs a good bookstore.  Maybe people don't read in Ogden.  Yeah that is probably it.  Too busy cooking meth to waste their time reading.  We stopped by Hasting's out in no man's land and purchased a few books.  We took our newly purchased books to the Ogden Temple, pitched a blanket, read our books, basked in the sun, and dreamed of days when spring would stop being bipolor and just. be. sunny.   

STOP # 3: Bombay Grill

Not knowing much about the local cuisine in Ogden, we turned to trusty urbanspoon.com and decided to give the Indian food at Bombay Grill a try.  The duct tape covering a hole in the floor was not too impressive, but at least there were no mouse/rat sightings.  The dishes seemed a little dirty, but we didn't get sick.  I can't say that I have had Indian food enough to know when it is bad, good, or really good.  As far as the food and service went... I liked it.  Clayton liked it.  We were satisfied.  Would we go back?  Probably not.  Indian Oven or Tandoori Oven in Logan are much better. 

TANDOORI COMBO: lamb and I don't remember what else (sausage I think...) 

CHICKEN SHAHI KORMA CURRY: chicken cooked in cream sauce with nuts & raisins.

STOP # 4: Waterfall at the mouth of Ogden Canyon
Please note that this waterfall is not natural.  Purely man made.  Still lovely though.

STOP # 5: Wiseguys Comedy Club
This was not lovely.  I know that most comedy shows can be a bit on the vulgar and crude side, but was I so wrong in thinking that since Wiseguys is owned by a LDS guy that maybe, just maybe it would be a bit cleaner.  Not so much.  This particular night Marcus from NBC's Last Comic Standing a few years ago preformed.  Back then we thought that he was hilarious.  For obvious reasons they keep things cleaner for the tube.  lesson learned.

STOP # 6: Painting Nate's "shed"

I say "shed" because it is more of a Fortress than a shed.  I can't claim to doing much painting either.  I did paint enough to claim a few pieces of pizza.  Oh and I did paint Kace.

To Kace,

Sorry I got painted a skunk line on your head and got you in trouble with your parents.  Sorry it came out so easy in the shower and we didn't get a picture of it before it was washed out.  This picture is for you.  Say the word and I will come paint your head again, and maybe your ears, nose, tonenails, elbows, sweats, etc. 

Love Heidi

STOP # 7: Milkshakes, Monopoly Deal, Frisbee, watching Youtube videos

While Clayton went to Priesthood session with his dad, I headed over to hang out with Rachel and the boys.  Thanks to Kace i now know how many teeth a shark has, what a Megalodon is, have seen the worlds largest zit popped, and know what Kace's preferred superpower is.  I also know that I am officially awful at Monopoly deal and that Mac's needs to put more chunks in their shakes.

Stop # 8: General Conference

What a great conference.  I was very uplifted and inspired.  I learned so much about service, faith, inspiration, temples, how I need to just "let it go", how my brothers need to get married (hahaha...calm down boys), etc. 

Stop # 9: Lunch at McMurdies and gift for Chloe

As always dinner was superb and the birthday gift for Chloe benefits me as well.  We got her Tangled which I have been wanting to see for some time now.  I even asked Clayton if we could open and watch it before we gave it to her.  he said "no".  Dang.  So we have a date set to watch it with the girls next Sunday.  Sure do love this cutie-pie! 

Here's to many more LOVELY weekends to come

and hopefully exciting weekends if the sun would stay out!

HOLI

HOLI FESTIVAL OF COLORS 2011

Yes we did.

By "we" I mean Clayton, myself and 8 billion college kids from BYU and USU.

Insane.

But before I get down and dirty into the goods of the festival I must talk about the car ride down.

Since it was going to be a quick trip (see 2.5 hour drive down, throw colors, eat Indian food, drive 2.5 hours home) Clayton prepared some conversation topics for us.

I may or may not have told him that this drive needs to have less thinking about work in his head and more conversating with his wife in the next seat.

So bright and early Saturday morning he told me to stay in bed so he could wrap up "conversation topics"

quite clever that husband of mine.

So whenever there was a lull in the conversation he reached in the back seat and pulled out a present.

CONVERSATION TOPIC #1

I know, right? 

Nothing more exciting than discussing IRA's, Mutual Funds, Stocks, and all other forms of investing.

This conversation lasted about 4.6 seconds until Clayton realized that my mind had wandered into a far distant land of palm trees, sun, and calorie free ice cream.

kidding.

I did humor him and we did talk about our money and its future.

CONVERSATION TOPIC #2

Now this is more like it.

From how to save our money to how to spend our money

Swell magazine.

Clayton told me to pick out things I liked.

I was hoping this meant that I would see UPS packages on our doorstep.

But nothing...so far.

Pretty sure he was just trying to humor me.

*sigh*

CONVERSATION TOPIC #3

This had two purposes 1) to discuss eating establishments we want to try and 2) to talk about things we want to do in Utah this summer.

- bike around Antelope Island

- 4 wheel and camp on top of Mt. Logan

- float the Provo River

- climp Mt. Olympus or Mt. Timp

- kayak and paddle board on every. river. in. the. state.

-etc.

CONVERSATION TOPIC #4

Kauai

We are going.

Can. not. wait. for. this. trip.

Looks like it will be in the fall.

We discussed what adventures we would like to have on this beautiful island.

So the drive flew by with all the talking and before we knew it we were in the land of magic carpets and funny looking pants (ok so the Hindu temple reminded me of Aladdin).

BEFORE the paint

AFTER the paint

Paint is thrown every 2 hours.  It was pure craziness.  I loved it.  There was so much chalk/paint in the air that you could hardly see the person next to you let alone the sky above (seeing was made even more difficult when someone who may or may not have been my husband, threw paint in my eye)

After the first throwing we explored the grounds a bit. 

In order to go inside the temple you had to be blown by a leaf blower to get as much chalk/paint off of you as possible.

This is inside the temple where people were line dancing Hindu style.

Next up was food.

Pretty sure this was NOT authentic Indian food. 

Basically it was a roll with spaghetti stuffed inside.

Waste of calories and money.

Finally we had real deal Indian food.

Temple animals...

Elephant.

One day I will visit India and will ride one of those bad boys!

The Temple cows...had humps

The Llama's

Good times

One of the best parts was the shower afterwards.

watching the color go down the drain was exciting.

pure bliss.

On the way home we stopped at Sammy's in Provo.

They make whole pie shakes people!

And shakes made from Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes.

Does it get any better than that?

I think not.