Goals for 2011

I'm jumping on the bandwagon and making my New Year's Resolutions. I've decided to post them just so that they don't get lost on my computer or in my desk (again).


Here's a short list of things I will accomplish this year:
1. Score at least a 650 on the GMAT. (and... completed! One down, fourteen to go)
2. Get accepted to grad school at either UCD or DU.
3. Land a fine job in marketing.
4. Make the Dean's List this semester.
5. Graduate in the Spring!!
6. Move to Denver.
7. Plan activities to do with my darling daughter more often.
8. Increase savings for our future home purchase.
9. Buy a road bike and use it.
10. Play my guitar at least once a month.
11. Tone up my mid section.
12. Read at least 20 books recreationally.
13. Be more affectionate.
14. Make a new friend.
15. Eat more fruits.

A Look Back at 2010

I didn't get around to writing a Christmas letter this year. I was too busy. I have a bit of time now that I'd like to use to reminisce about the past year.

Jared

Jared found a new passion this year - running. He competed in two half marathons and was able to achieve his goal of finishing under 2:30. Jared started working for Velocity Webworks in June. He does sales for websites (mostly for quilting companies) and holds the title of CEO. He enjoys his job and works from home 3 days a week. Due to our switch in work situations, Jared has transferred to Western Governor's University to complete his degree in Information Systems. All of his classes are online, allowing for much more flexibility. The system the school runs on is very non-traditional, but Jared is well on his way to graduation.
Jared and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary in October. Thanks to the kindness of my mom, the two of us were able to escape to Southern California for a few days. We had a blast and can't wait until the day that we will be able to afford to go on more trips.

Cambria

Due to budget cuts, I was laid off from my position at SUU at the end of March. I quickly received multiple job offers and was only without work for three days, though. With the change of circumstances, I chose to work part-time and pursue my education full time, so that I can escape being a secretary for the rest of my life. I now have only 5 classes left to complete, looking forward to graduating May 2011 with my Bachelor's of Science in Marketing. This last semester I took 18 credits and earned a 4.0. I'm now in the process of applying to two graduate programs in Denver, Colorado. 
I currently work at the Volunteer Center of Iron County, which has been interesting. I work to recruit, retain and recognize our volunteer base of about 700 people. One the funnest things I did over the summer was to recruit, lineup, and coordinate the Iron County Parade. It was a lot of work, but I utilized a lot of my marketing education.

Being inspired by Jared, I tried my hand at running as well. I ran in a 5k in September and placed 2nd in my age division, lost 10 pounds, and then promptly quit. The only time I could find to run was at 5:30 in the morning and it became impossible to maintain since I had to stay up late to study. Maybe since I'm taking one less class in the Spring I'll be able to start running again...

MJ

MJ has grown and changed in the last year beyond belief. At the beginning of the year, MJ wasn't even walking or talking much. She was still our baby girl! In April, we celebrated her first birthday with a bug-themed party. Soon afterward she began to walk in earnest and now she's unstoppable. MJ can now read very simple books to me, point out about 200 items and name them, count (though not in much of an order), and say a few sentences. She loves to run, jump, splash in the tub and in puddles, color, wrap up her baby dolls, and play in the snow. She's become very opinionated and insists on making all her own decisions.She loves monsters, dinosaurs and anything "scary". She is an absolute joy and we delight in spending every minute with her (even though she's recently started to throw a lot of temper-tantrums). 
A look ahead
We have some exciting changes to look forward to in 2011. We're planning on moving to Denver after I graduate in May. We'll miss being near my family, but there is a serious lack of good jobs in this area. I'm hoping to start my career in marketing while completing my Master's degree. But if things don't work out, then I'll be going to school full-time and be finished in 15 months. 
We just took a quick trip to Denver to tour grad schools, and we're really ecstatic about moving! It's a lovely place with many parks, beautiful scenery, ski resorts, breweries, museums, family activities, and things to keep us busy. Once we're settled into our new place, we invite anyone to come stay with us.
Jared will turn 30 this year (and MJ will be 2)! Family and friends should plan on coming for a visit in April, as I will be planning a big party. I'm open to suggestions about some big, fun thing that Jared and I could do to celebrate as well. I'm thinking something like skydiving...

Christmas Pictures

Our humble Christmas tree. I had fun making snow ornaments for it. MJ had fun dumping all the beads out that I was using to make snow ornaments.

Opening some puzzles. MJ needed a little help, but was way more into opening presents this year than last.

A new monster friend. Yes, my daughter loves monsters, dinosaurs and skeletons.

Hi

The feast of crown roast, wild rice dressing, honey glazed carrots and biscuits that I made. Only took me about 3 hours, but it was delicious.

Our Little Monster

It took a lot of coaxing and bribery to get MJ to put on the hat, but she was the cutest monster for Halloween. She was a bit apprehensive about going door-to-door, until she discovered that people were giving her candy... Once she figured that out we were running to keep up with her.

Distracted her with a book and was finally successful getting the hat on.

All ready to go!

Getting really sticky, but thoroughly enjoying a sucker.

We also recently had family portraits taken. They turned out spectacular. When I get some time, I'll post some of the pictures.

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Proof that we have the cutest girl in the world

As a prelude to this story, whenever Jared puts MJ up on his shoulders, he tells her to hold on to his ears. He'll pop her up there and say "Hold on tight."

So yesterday MJ and I went for a quick trip to the park. There is a fantastic park here with tons of slides, swings, things to climb on, tunnel and so forth. MJ really enjoys it. We went down every slide at the park several times (there are 4 or 5 of them). She enjoyed sliding on her belly backwards through the tunnel. She got very dirty in the wood chips and sand.

MJ's favorite attraction at the park are the swings though. Once she saw the swings she ran over to them, eager to go for a ride. I put her in and told her to "Hold on tight." She immediately grabbed on to her ears. Needless to say, she was a little confused when I had to explain to her, through fits of laughter, that she was supposed to hold on to the swing.

Five Year Celebration!

October 1st marked Jared and my fifth anniversary. And, what a journey it has been! 

I decided years ago that for our fifth anniversary we were going to do something special, so we did. We took a four day trip to Southern California.

We left on Thursday and drove to Long Beach then hopped on a ferry to Catalina. We arrived just as the sun was setting. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. After having colds for a week, it was just so nice to be able to breathe the oxygen saturated air. We didn't have much time to do anything that night. We just ate dinner, took a walk on the beach and checked into the hotel. 

On Friday (our anniversary) morning, we rented kayaks and went for a paddle down the shore. The water was unbelievably clear and we were able to see many bright orange fish. Jared and I have both lost a lot of upper body strength since training for running events. So, we weren't able to handle kayaking for too long before our arms gave out.

Intrigued by all the fish we had seen, we then rented snorkeling equipment and walked down to the nature preserve. We should have rented wetsuits! The water was a crisp 66 degrees. We thought that once we got in and accustomed to the temperature, it wouldn't be so bad. Needless to say, we lasted about a 1/2 hour before we were both shivering and ready to go. 

After showering and warming up, we wandered around the quaint town of Avalon. We checked out all the little shops and played some mini golf. We had some particularly good food and beer, too. We got on the ferry back to Long Beach in the late afternoon, then traveled to our hotel in Costa Mesa.

That night we ate at Marrakesh, just blocks from our hotel. We had 7 course Moroccan feast and it was beyond delicious! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water again.

On Saturday, we went down to San Clemente for a surf lesson in the morning. We were hoping to learn on some baby waves, but the swell was huge. The average waves were 4 to 5 feet. We got extremely beat up in the surf, but had a ton of fun. Jared and I both were able to stand up and ride in after the second try. My problem was dismounting the board at the shore. I was afraid of planting the nose of the board in the sand, so I'd try to jump off before I got too far on the beach. So, I'd jump and crash and burn in the shallow water. I have some spectacular bruises on my butt, elbows, knees and I think I pulled a groin muscle. At one point the leash got wrapped around my foot while I was being tossed around under water and it felt like my foot was going to be sliced in half. Another time, I came up right under my board and hit my head on the skag. Fun stuff! 

It really was a blast. We both enjoyed it thoroughly. We were just exhausted and really sore afterward.

That night we ate at the Yard House, a restaurant we stumbled upon near our hotel. It had like 100 different kinds of beer on tap. Jared was in heaven and was really bummed he was only able to try two. 

Sunday we hopped in the car for the long drive home. After all the fun we had, we are so tired, sore and ready to relax at home. My mom was kind enough to watch MJ the whole time we were gone. Each time we saw little kids on our trip, I experienced painful MJ withdrawals. By Sunday I was so anxious to get home to her that I didn't even complain when Jared drove like a maniac.
After all that we have been through in our five years as husband and wife, we hope the next five will be a filled with many more good memories, love and happiness. Happy anniversary to us!

Half Marathon Complete... Now What?

After months of training, Jared competed in his first half marathon - the Cedar Canyon Half. And, he did fantastically! He finished in 2:07.


However, his little brother, whose entire training was done in about a week and altogether was about 13 miles, ran the half in 1:35. He placed third in his age division and 36th in the Men's overall.

The Course

Andy Zooming By

Jared Close to the Finish Line

Good job to both of them! Jared is now looking for something else to keep him motivated. Anyone care to run the Snow Canyon half marathon with him in November?