A Quote a Day.... Keeps the Snow Away... (Hopefully)

I love the sun.  I've recently discovered that I'm one of those people who is significantly happier when the sun is shining.  When it snowed on my way to work yesterday I didn't even mind because an hour later it was bright and sunny again!  (oh Utah....)

Well here are a few quotes that have saved me throughout this crazy work week.  All via Pinterest.

AND then some of these....

So we started our SF outdoor soccer Women's league a few weeks ago and it has felt so good to be playing outside!  Actually, physically it felt terrible because I am SO out of shape (see quote above re: turtles and peanut butter), but it was good to get out and play.  I mean I even got sun burnt last week! HALLELUJAH!   Ah man I love me some summer.  P.S. Danica, our team name "Keepin' it REAL" will always make me think of you.  We thought of you when Kay and I picked it!

Okay, I'm obsessed.  I LOVE Yogurtland.  Plus it's yogurt so it's so much healthier than ice cream! Yes, I happily live in a state of denial, why do you ask? See those strawberries and kiwis?  #Instahealthpoints. Never mind the fact that the cheesecake bites are overpowering the strawberries.... ;)

Rounding up the gang once more

Guess what's going down tonight?!

Yup, that's right, we're braving another season of bowling league :)  Am I excited?  Acca-believe it! I've been practicing all weekend so I'm hoping I won't embarrass myself tonight. Plus, they now have CHAMPION t-shirts and what's cooler than a bowling league champion t-shirt.... alright probably a lot of things haha. It's been a few years since I've been in a bowling league so we'll have to see if I've still got what it takes to hold the name DOMINATION.

Let's hope yesterday's game wasn't just a fluke...

Blind date wanted to go bowling.....little did he know....

Oh Thursdays....

Life's Lovelies just got a face lift.  Thursdays will still be filled with a weekly thankful post, but just under a different name!  Dominating life is no easy task, and it's good to remember all the things that keep this lucky life o' mine in tact. 

• Lazy holidays with family
• Scoring sweet gifts from Santa!
• Being single so that I can still score sweet gifts from Santa
• Visits from the Cali Conant Cousins
• Endless Christmas movies
• Snowmen
• Snow to make snowmen
• Snow to make it a White Christmas
• Free nap ride to work
• Timp Indoor CHAMPIONS t-shirt
• 80's Hits Pandora Radio Station (after Christmas of course....)
• Technology --> Skype --> Christmas mornin' chat with Jordan!!

Whew, what a good week. :)

I'd Like to Retire Now, Thank You.

Yesterday we started the tournament for our coed softball team!  Our first game..... not so great.   Well the ending wasn't.  We played really well throughout the game, just couldn't pull it out in the end.  I happened to catch a pop fly in left center. NBD, just a nice little personal victory for me!  Okay, maybe it wasn't such a personal victory, I did do a little dance and threw my hands in the air in excitement.   Todd just shook his head and laughed.  :)

Second game the score went back and forth and everyone was hitting so well!   7th inning came around, the time was up and we were last at bat.  Score: 10-15 them.  We had a lot of ground to make up, and to be honest.... I was doubtful.  So we cheered everyone on and finally things started dropping for us!  By that, I mean that we couldn't get a strike pitched to save our lives.   Normally we all have a little too much pride to walk, but at a time like this all of us decided if we can walk everyone to get some runs, we'll have a fighting chance.   So it continued.  Jeff was walked (even though you could tell it pained him to do so) with a girl walking behind him, then Matt walked (barely, you could tell he wanted to hit it so badly), then another girl, then Kurt hit a few people in. Now I was up.  Two strikes on the board, so I knew I couldn't get out.  So, I walked up there - super cool strut, and got in my "I'll-pretend-I-know-what-I'm-doing-stance."  Well..... Strike.  Apparently I wasn't ready for that one.  Next pitch.... perfect.   It was one of my best hits, right between 2nd and short stop and just over their heads in the gap!  I hurried my legs to first base and was beaming just to know I didn't let my team down this time, I made it on base!  Little did I know, it was a bit more than just making it on base.  Everyone started walking back to the dug outs and my team was flooding the field.  I couldn't figure out what was going on, and I was quite confused.... Wait! ....but I made it on base! They didn't call me out!   Everyone was giving me high fives and I finally asked, "wait is it over?  Did we win?"  Everyone screamed, "Yeah!! We were tied at 15's and your hit sent Camie home to finish the game!!! You won the game for us!!!!"     Wow.

After the game all the little nieces and nephews were calling me to come out.   Once I did, they told me to lay on the grass.  They are too cute to resist, so I did, and they performed a proper victory doggy pile.   Corbin said, "Hailey! You won the game for us! Now we can come back and watch again, and play with our friends!  Thanks." haha best. fans. ever.  If I'm being honest with myself, it's probably a good thing I didn't read the score board, and didn't realize the pressure I had to get on base.  Thank you blonde hair.  I think I'll keep you. :)

Oh and you know I did a celebration dance all the way back to the dug out.  And maybe one in the parking lot.  Domination. 

The Dirty Dozen

RAGNAR.

I have no idea what it stands for, but I did it.  BOOM!  June 15th through the 16th, 3 legs a piece, 6 sweaty runners per van and probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. Though I haven't tackled child birth and I've heard that's a winner. I personally ran a total of 14.6 miles over the two days, and I couldn't be more surprised that I'm sitting here today.  It is quite amazing to see what your body really can accomplish.  It makes me feel a little guilty that I don't always use it to it's maximum potential, but unfortunately that feeling doesn't last too long. :)

Our team, The Dirty Dozen, killed this relay like it was no one's business.  We finished in 65th place out of the 805 teams among our division, and 123rd place out of all 1092 total teams.  Not bad!  Not bad at all.   We finished in 30:07:27 when our estimated time was 32:14:43.  Yeah you could say I'm bragging.  Actually, I am bragging, I'll admit it.  I am so proud of everyone and for how hard they pushed themselves!  Embarrassingly enough this race was really emotional for me.   Karlie used to always talk about her experience and how she had to hold back the tears when people finished their legs.  I always thought it was a little funny, especially since I'm not a crying type of a person.  "Like a vault baby locked down."  Todd that quote was for you... haha Well I was right back then to say that I'm not that type of a person.   However after seeing how hard everyone was pushing themselves, knowing how hard it was for me to do the same, then to finally see the relief on their face after they finished - sheesh I had no chance.  I was constantly looking away to conceal the overflowing tear ducts.

On a lighter note, there were a lot of teams that were so clever in their name choice as well in their team decorations.  Example:

There were a lot off potty jokes, some not so nice, but overall I just couldn't stop laughing at every van that we saw.  I took note of a few team names that were my favorite: 
-RMFAO (Running My Fat A Off),
-Holy Cramp,
-You Better Wasatch Your Back,
-Lettuce Turnip the Beet (took me a second... had to say it out loud to get it...), and
-Just Another Manic Run-Day.

We saw a suburban that had tusks and was decorated like a Mammoth, a team that each took a sport and ran in the gear (ie: one with a mountain goat tied to back pack with hiking poles, one in a wet suit and carrying a surf board, one running in snow shoes, etc), saw a man running in a gas mask, a woman running in a viking costume and this:

This race was also very educational as well as contained a lot of firsts!  I compiled a list for you, because you know how much I like organized lists :)

   1] Honey buckets are the greatest things on the planet.  I had more fear of not having a honey bucket within 1 minute of me at all times, than I did of getting eaten by a bear on my night run. (which was a logical fear for some - ask Natalie)
   2] 3 hours of sleep is a beautiful thing
   3] Sleeping in a hotel, even if it is on the floor, will always be counted twice in my prayers
   4] Matt has a special spot in his heart for cottonelle wipes
   5] I love killing people, and I killed 38 people in two days*
   6] Having the right music can be the difference between life or death.
   7] Words/Actions like poop, wedgie, fart, sweat, pee and WATER were probably used more in those two days than ever will be in my lifetime.
   8]  It is possible for the Oakey boys to sweat.  It only takes running Avon pass, but it's possible!
   9]  Kendall's name is not Wendall. But it happens to be his new favorite nickname.
  10] No one can do the running man like Natalie can.
  11] Chocolate Outrage Gu is the best thing I've ever tasted.
  12] Road Rage is expected, Volunteers we had to pay for are idiots but Jeff is one that will always get you where you need to be -even if it takes playing chicken with the other lane aka Mexican driving.
  13] Camie makes the best chicken salad, thank heavens.
  14] I have never loved sleep more than Sunday evening after my 14 hour nap.
  15] And finally, the most important lesson I learned is this: 
                SPANDEX IS A PRIVILEDGE, NOT A RIGHT.

Now for some pictures!

*A kill is someone that you passed on your run.   No injury or violence took place in order to get any of these kills.  And yes, I can use runner terminology because after this, I am a runner!

Champs!

It only took almost 4 years of BYU Intramurals to finally get this shirt.

But hey! No matter what it took, I will forever have a CHAMPION shirt, and I feel quite alright with that :)

Plus, it's good to have a shirt with the word Intramural on it so I know exactly how it is spelled.  I now know it's not supposed to be spelled "Innermural," like we make it sound.  Note to self: Maybe I should make a shirt with all the Utah pronouncings of words.  You know like: Moun-in (the one you climb) , Crans (Crayola) , Ages (that come from Chickens) .... Yup, I think Innermurals will fit in just fine.

St. Geezy

A weekend or so ago Todd and I followed the sun to St. George for his nephews' baseball tournaments.  Was I happy to have a nice vacation and miss a little work? You betcha!  Was I even more happy that I'd be able to spend it with this guy and his fantastic family?

Overjoyed :] 

*Todd only looks a little stoned because he was the responsible one this time and was trying to keep his eyes on the road.... my bad *

Well, when the Oakey's say they are going to watch baseball, they stick true to their word.  That's what we did, watch baseball non-stop for 3 days.  Before I left for the weekend, I heard a lot of jokes about how torturous it would be to watch that much baseball, but I didn't experience that feeling once.  I loved every second of it!  I have to say, I've always had a strange hidden love for watching these games, even back when Karlie used to play softball.  I used to go to every one of her games by myself just to watch her play. 

It's only strange because none of us ever played baseball or softball,

and my brothers barely made it through t-ball. 

I just love being out in the sun, cheering for a team, and hangin out with the fans/family.  Most of those watching the games are well seasoned ball game fans and know how to watch a game.  They come prepared with as many bags of seeds as the closest Maverick had in stock, camping chairs, blankets, snacks, and plenty of cheering.  They remind me of my parents when they used to come to my soccer games, and I think that's why they pull at that special spot in my memory bank. 

Watching baseball this time was a truly interesting experience because for the longest time I've listened to Todd talk about how baseball is really more complicated than most people realize.  He would try to rant with me about how most people don't know the complexities of the game, but these rants ended quickly when all I had to contribute was my "wow this is all going over my head, but I'll smile and nod anyways" face.  Todd coaches one of his nephews and was there coaching the whole time.  I had tagged a long to a few of his practices and was really excited to see how they played in a game, and to see how Coach Todd was.  For most of the games, I got to sit right behind Todd by the team box (still working on the lingo....) and have him coach me probably just as much as he coached his team.  He would walk me through all the scenarios, tell me why they did certain things, and maybe most importantly how to chew/spit seeds like a pro.  I even spit enough seeds to know that cracked pepper remind me of chicken ramen and to be able to declare that the barbecue ones are my favorite!  with dill pickle following so close behind    I got to joke around with the team and cheer them on all weekend and I have to say, there is something about team sports.  I LOVE the atmosphere of them and how everyone is working together to take home the win.  It's so easy to get hooked in, and I don't even have any blood relation to any of these 12 year olds.

It's a good thing I enjoy watching baseball, especially if I want to keep hanging around the Oakeys and Averetts.  So far I've passed, and it wasn't even painful! I can't wait until summer.

P.S. Epic fail on my part for forgetting I had my camera the whole time. Maybe I'll draw us some nice pictures instead.... na, we're just going to have to make another trip soon!

Unclear Stick Figures

These people gave me a little trouble over the weekend. 

Side Note: I think having this blog has jinxed me. 

Now more often than not extremely embarrassing

things are happening to me whereas before it was

just on occasion. 

So once upon a time Real Salt Lake played a soccer game against FC Dallas, and these cool people attended.

Todd, Me, Anisa and Spencer

Forgive the poor picture quality.  The tickets came with free food throughout the game and we definitely took advantage of that.  Picking up Todd's 4th cheeseburger during half time (they were really small burgers) I suddenly felt the bathroom urge so we raced for the loo.  One side showed the man stick figure so I turned and headed opposite for the Women's.   Walking in I saw the closed stalls then shifted my glance to the left.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  Either a greater part of women are balding these days or there was a row of men up against that left wall.... which meant.... oh shoot, I'm in the men's bathroom!! I instantly turned and ran out of there, dodged a guy coming in to the bathroom, received a puzzled look from Todd and ran to the next set of doors, both with women stick figures on them. Don't worry, I checked this time.  I was greeted by women tousling their hair, putting on make up, lots of chatter and the closed stall I was hoping to hide behind forever.  Behind closed doors I could feel my face on fire with embarrassment.  I couldn't hold it in anymore and the laughter eeked out.  I don't think any of the men really saw me, but it didn't matter.  I guess I should have known what happens when you assume you're going to the right bathroom.  Bathrooms are never a place for assumptions. Then over the loud speaker you could hear, "GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!"  Instant panic set in (for the second time in the past 30 seconds) and I hurried to finish my business and race out of there.  Todd was waiting anxiously and said, "We missed a goal!!!"  Shoot.  Goals in soccer games are a dime a dozen few and far between (definition: rare, scarce) and we missed it because I couldn't control my bladder.  We rushed back to our seats, I sat down and proceeded to explain what happened in my bathroom fiasco.  Once I was done, dying from laughter, Anisa leaned over to tell me a secret.  "Your zipper is undone."  Strike 3. Bathroom scenarios were not my friend that day and I'm considering getting rid of them all together. Catheterization?  Kaylyn, wanna help me out with this?  I'll never miss a thing ever again.

Other than that the game was great ending in a 2-0 win for RSL!  We did get to see the second goal so that helped make up a little for the first.  Who knows why they have two men bathrooms right next to each other when history has proved that my assumption of a man and a women bathroom next to each other is reasonable and legit.  All I know is that I will never forget to fully evaluate my options when choosing a bathroom next time.  That's a mistake I hope to only make once in my life. :)

Champions

Well... I'm here to report good news!!  Introducing......

Red Devils - SF Women's League Champions 2011

We did it!!   Not only did we pull of the big 'W,'  we did it in style, 8-2 style!  This team was comprised of most of our high school soccer team members just re-living the glory days.  It felt so good to be able to play with 'my team' again.  We still had the same connection we did in high school, even after 3 years of all being apart.   Sad thing is that this is probably the last time we will all get to play together.  Something bogus about school being a higher priority.... weird.  ;) So, after 3 years, where are all of us at and where are we going?  I'll start left top and work my way to the right bottom.

RAE:  Just dominated Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer and has recovered so well!!  If she's not considered a fighter I don't know who is.

KAYLIE:  Has been married to Bryce for about a year now (most adorable married couple I've ever seen) and works as a dental assistant!

KAYLYN:  Just finished her 1st year of the Nursing program at BYU and is officially 33% of a nurse.  She'll be saving lives in no time, nbd.

BRANDI:  This girl is bound to put a smile on your face within the first 30 seconds of meeting here, guaranteed.  Home for the summer, but soon will be returning to living the dream in the SUU scene. 

ME:  Paralegal of 2 years and graduating with Paralegal Degree from UVU after this fall semester! Oh, and recently won the award for most "Dominating" person of 2011. ;) 

KATIE:  Happily married to her Dave and quickly approaching their 1 year anniversary!  She's a high rollin' nurse for a home, health and hospice agency, and a dang good one at that!

KARLIE: Finished school (yay!) and looking to teach teens all about eating disorders, nutrition, diseases and other heath matters.  Mrs. Mitchell is tearin' up the marriage scene with her hubby Jake of 1 year!

ANISA:  Taking over Idaho in one fell swoop.  Just finished her first year of Pharmacy School at ISU and soon will be treating all your prescription needs with that pretty smile!

BETSY:  Just turned in her papers to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! With her easy going personality and beautiful face how could anyone turn down her invitation to get a little wet?!

And that my friends is what I call a great group of girls. We weren't able to get everyone together for the team, but I'm so glad we were able to get this bunch together.  These ladies will always hold a special spot in my heart, and I wish the best of luck to each of them as they conquer life with such great style.  Who knows how I got so lucky, but nevertheless, I'm grateful.

Champions inside and out.

Insert Rocky Theme Music Here

Today is the day that our soccer team rises above the competition and sets the stage for our championship trophy.  Finals start today against our arch nemesis Orange Crush at 9:00 pm.  Am I nervous?  Well... does a navy seal get nervous when faced with a plastic kiddie pool? I think not, and thus it is, I am not nervous.  For I know we are well equipt with the skills to DOMINATE! Currently we are tied with Orange Crush for 1st place and so the battle will be fierce.  We have potentially 3 games in the next two days to prove our worthiness

-good thing we went to the temple yesterday ;) -

but hopefully we can put the trophy in the bag after the first two games.  Orange Crush is a good team and always gives us a good game, but they won't be ready for our phenomenal trick plays and deep bonds of friendship.  We will be victorious!

Okay, okay I've stepped from my drama platform to normal ground now.  Sorry, once that ball gets rolling I have a hard time aborting. Courtesy of Papa Francis :)   I really am so excited / nervous for our game tonight!  I know we can pull out a win but it'll be challenge that's for sure.  I wouldn't want it any other way.  It's amazing how intense and determined I can be when the end reward is a soccer t shirt. nbd it's just a t shirt you say?  Wrong, that t shirt will have one word on it that will bring short term bragging rights. 

CHAMPIONS.

Weekend Warriors

Sun. Friends. Volleyball. Soccer. Softball. Free time.

I'd like to make a shout out to a fantastic weekend. Jam packed with Domination as well as the fun things listed above, it was a great way to kick off the summer! Since my apt complex has a sand volleyball court we have played every night this weekend and I'm slowly getting better! Volleyball and Softball are the two sports (that I am currently aware of) that rip up my previously claimed title of the "Athletic Type" and smash it in the trash can. To say the least, I struggle. However, practice and a lot of pity cheers have definitely proved to be helping! Thankfully I have the best friends in the entire world who like to compliment each other even when we fail miserably. Some might find it embarrassing that you are being told "good job!" every time you touch the ball, even when you project it into the parking lot repeatedly, nearly missing the tight rope walkers; but not me. I love it.

Now to touch base on the last two words in my list above.

Free time.

Personally I didn't know this even existed in real life. Wanna know a secret? It does, and I was apart of it this Saturday! I woke up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy then grabbed my cleats, brushed my teeth with a bottle of water... and headed to my soccer game. (Yup, I just made a Kesha reference) Guess what, we killed it! I won't lie, we are a little rusty due to aging, and the lack of Virginia here to whip us into shape. Pulling out the "W" with 6-1 felt pretty great, and even better to be doing it with some of my best friends! After soccer, we went to the pool to soak up some rays. Utah weather finally pulled through for the weekend and I received a little more rays than I probably should have. Feeling pretty warm and toasty we headed back inside to just hang out. I even watched tv. I watched 20 minutes worth of an infomercial on the Genie Bra, just because I could. Life at my new apartment seems to be working out quite well, and I'm loving every second of it. Coming up this week: Bowling League, Soccer Practice, Softball Game, Soccer Game and some volleyball thrown in there somewhere. Bring it on!