Everyday Inspirations

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Have you ever come across a quote that just says it all? I had to share this one.

"I'm concentrating on staying healthy, having peace, being happy, remembering what is important, taking in nature and animals, spending time reading, trying to understand the universe, where science and the spiritual meet."
- Joan Jett

Say it, girl.

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I don't want to spend too much time analyzing a big event that is happening in London tomorrow.

You know what I mean. ;)

However, I do want to take a quick moment to send good thoughts to England's future king and queen. I've been fascinated these past few months as I've watched the overwhelming amount of coverage around this event. While I know it will be a beautiful ceremony and that the bride will look beyond amazing (anyone else dying to see that dress?), I still know that this is just the beginning for this lovely couple. It can be so easy to focus on one day, but this is the start of something big in their lives.

I always get nervous when fairy tale fascination pushes aside real life. It's easy to look at the excitement surrounding the wedding and wish it were you walking up the aisle at that Abbey (come on, ladies, don't act like you haven't imagined that!). However, we don't think about the issues the couple will be dealing with--not to mention the serious heart-to-heart talks they must have had before deciding to wed. This isn't a soap opera drama for us to watch unfold. Royal or not, this couple is in love, and I believe this is our chance to send support and good thoughts for a long, happy life together. It's not about a wedding. It's about a marriage--one that has the power to do great things for this world.

So here's to Kate and Will, and to all the other couples around the world whose love has inspired them to spend their lives together. After all, love is really what makes this life so crazy beautiful.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,  all of which have the potential to turn a life around. 
  -  Leo Buscaglia

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To our readers who are celebrating Easter today, we hope you are having a fabulous, enjoyable day with those who inspire you. Sending love from our homes to yours.

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Dan and I took today off. Originally it was because we wanted to go camping, but since it's Easter weekend, we decided to stay in town. Turned out to be a perfect plan. We had a delicious brunch, went shopping at the outlet mall for some desperately needed work pants for yours truly, and even cleaned up the house a bit.

At the mall, I stumbled upon this darling elephant necklace and had to bring it home (only $12 -- steal!). I think he is beyond sweet. I just adore elephants (and hippos... probably because I've loved two big gray animals most of my life).

Today was a good day and it has made me reflect on blessings. I'm so thankful for my life and all the moments that make it, both big and small -- so thankful for for the love I share with others, for budding spring days, for quiet homecooked meals with my sweetie

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On race day, I never listen to my music the whole time. I get a lot of energy from my surroundings--the cheering crowds, the sound of thousands of runners, the music blaring from someone else's speakers. However, a half marathon is a long distance, and by about mile 10, I'm ready to give myself a boost. That's how I came up with my "last 30" plan. I used it last year and loved it, so I brought it back for last Saturday's race.

Here's how the "last 30" plan works: As described, I spend the first 10 miles of my race enjoying the excitement you can only get on race day. Once I know I only have three miles left, I plug in my earphones and start my playlist. This playlist is a special one because it is made up of all the songs I couldn't get enough of during this year's training--the songs that I blasted at the gym again and again and again. Hearing them play me through the last minutes of my race is pretty awesome. I especially needed the music this year. After my long, emotional night, I was dragging. My playlist was like my training buddy, pushing me through just one more song... just one more song....

Best of all, a "last 30" playlist is super short (as implied, just about 30 minutes, or the last three miles), which is MUCH easier to set up the night before a race than a playlist of two hours. Actually, now that I look at it, my list is about an hour long because there were too many good songs I wanted to include. ;)

Without further ado (in case you're interested):

{ash's 2011 salt lake half marathon playlist}
Dark Fantasy - Kanye West
Even Flow - Pearl Jam
Kids - MGMT
Uprising -  Muse
Pardon Me - Incubus
Show Me the Way - Peter  Frampton
Have a Cigar - Pink Floyd
Tight - INXS
Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim Remix) - Beastie Boys
Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds to Mars

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He was the kind of animal that changed your life, one we'll remember forever because he was our first family dog and we waited several years to get him. I can still clearly recall the day my parents drove us to a little farm in northern Utah to bring home our puppy. He was a bit of a chubby pup, a sweet, playful little guy that ran and tumbled with his brothers and sisters. My brother picked him out of the pile of fuzzy gray- and silver-coated babies. He wanted to name him Tyrannosaurus Rex. That was a bit long, so we finally decided on the short, simple Buddy. Bud for short.

I was still in elementary school when we got Bud, so it is hard to imagine my parents' home without him. My life is filled with memories of him. Devoted beyond belief to my father, he was the definition of man's best friend, and he protected our little family his entire life.

He was the calmest, most gentle dog I've ever known. I remember when my parents brought home our second puppy, Beth, from the local shelter, he immediately took to his big brother role. The aggressive, nervous Beth would pounce on him, pull his ears and nip his neck, drawing blood with her sharp, tiny teeth. His patience amazed us. Never once did he growl or show his teeth. Never once was he jealous of his new sister.

Bud loved to wrestle and play ball in the backyard. (He never played catch fairly, though. Even though he'd bring the ball back to you, he never wanted to immediately give it up.) His favorite toy was a pillow my mother had given him.

He hated being left out of any situation. Sometimes in the summer we would eat on the patio and leave the dogs in the house; Bud would lick the window over and over to show his displeasure.

Bud loved the cat, Sammy, even though Sammy couldn't stand him. He would corner Sam, inch ever closer to him, and lean his face forward until the cat would bat him on the nose. Then he would turn jubilantly, smiling his doggy smile as if to say, "I got him! I got him again." (It reminded me of how my brother and I used to irritate one another as kids.)

Bud definitely had a big old grin. He was the dog who taught me the strength of animal personalities. He would sink into sadness only when my dad was gone for an extended period. Ninety-five percent of the time, Bud was happy. Four percent of the remaining time, he was out-of-his-mind happy (car rides, in particular, made him so giddy we'd often have to ask him to calm down).

He could read us like books. I've spoken before of situations in which my mom or I was upset and how our sweet puppy would rest his head on our shoulders and let us sob into his neck. He was a snuggler. He loved to lovingly nip at my mom and dad's faces to show his affection. He would play jealous whenever someone was giving a hug that didn't include him.

He was nothing short of the word my mom used to describe him his entire life: awesome.

After work on Friday, Dan and I arrived at my parents' house so that we could all travel to the race together on Saturday morning. We walked in and knew Bud was having a rough afternoon. Over the past few weeks, he had been walking the line between a normal and happy, albeit extremely tired, geriatric dog and a dog we knew would be leaving us soon. Unfortunately, Friday was another bad day for our Bud. He was standing the foyer in a way that told us putting weight on his hind legs fatigued him. He was breathing heavily through his open mouth, often dropping dots of drool on our clothes as we held him. His eyes were at half mast, and he only wagged his tail halfheartedly, as if to say, "Hi guys, I love you and I'm so glad to see you, but boy, I'm tired, so please excuse me if I don't run around with you today."

We took pictures with our boy, whispered in his ears that it was okay, that we would be fine if he needed to leave us, that we understood he was tired. We hugged him and held him, rubbed his soft ears, kissed his forehead. We pulled him close to fill his coat on our cheeks, let him drool all over our sleeves. We let him know he was the best puppy a family could ask for, that he made our lives beautiful.

That night, I climbed into bed around nine to get some sleep for the race. My head racing, my heart tight, I tossed and turned for hours. I was too hot, so I cracked a window. I was too uncomfortable, so I moved to the floor so the cool air could touch my face. Around 1:00 a.m., distracted by outside noises, I made my way downstairs to make a bed on the couch. Frustrated by my racing mind, I read. When that didn't work, I finally broke down, cried into my pillow, prayed for the ability to sleep.

When I finally gave up on the basement around 1:30 and made my way upstairs, I realized my parents' light was on and the car was gone. "Shit," I mumbled. I called my mom, who said, yes, they were at the vet and that she would let me know what was happening. She was crying. I offered to come take my dad's place so he could sleep. They, of course, refused. "I know you can't sleep," she said, "but please try to rest."

I tiptoed into the spare room and patted Dan, told him the news, broke down. He held me tight, let me cry against him. I settled next to him and closed my eyes. Somewhere after 2 a.m., I slipped into a deep sleep. I didn't know it at the time, but a few miles away, around the same time my heavy heart and racing mind let me fall into the sleep I had been praying for, our Bud took his last breath.

Losing our dog the morning of our race (including my dad's first marathon) was beyond exhausting, and I want to say thank you to my family and friends for the kind words and love that got us through the day. I will definitely be writing about the race on Monday, but I knew today had to be about Bud. He was beyond inspiring and we will miss him more than words can describe.

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Is it clear to anyone that the title of this post is from the Dixie Chicks song? I hope so, because otherwise that's just an obnoxious amount of "ready"s.

I stayed busy tonight picking up my race packet, gathering my gear, and adding healthy groceries to the fridge for tomorrow's carb load menu (the good kind, not the Michael Scott kind).

I cannot believe I'm less than two days away from my third half marathon. I'm definitely in pre-race mode... excited and a little bit sick to my stomach. ;) This year is going to be extra fun, though, because it's my brother and Dan's first half and my dad's first FULL MARATHON (rock staaaaar).

I can't wait to get back on here Saturday and let you all know how it went. Lots of love to my friends racing this weekend, and if you're a Salt Lake reader and will be running, let us know!

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A few of you may remember my post about my favorite earrings. I am so very sad to report that I now have only one favorite earring.

It really was a bummer, that moment when I realized I was wearing only one beloved earring. I had dropped the other in some dressing room after a night of shopping. I mourned a bit in the car (really, I did), then decided I'd have to just turn the earring into something else...

One lonely earring plus one unused chain equals a new piece of jewelry!

Since I'm in no way a jewelry making expert, I just used stuff hanging around my house to twist the earring post into a loop to thread through the chain.

I formed the earring post into a kind of cursive S-shaped loop:

I then easily slid the earring-turned-charm onto the chain. Voila!

Three reasons why this project rocked:
- I saved my favorite earring from a life of sitting alone in my jewelry box.
- I found a job for an unused chain.
- I spent no money and have a new necklace. Woohoo!