26.2 miles later

Ran St. George yesterday - 3rd marathon, but first time doing St George.

Great news is I PR'd and finally broke four hours!

Here is the sad news. I signed up for this race with every intention to train better than the last two, to break 4 hours, and maybe even qualify for Boston (qualifying time is 3:40 for someone my age).

But training got hard, and my body felt off this last month, so I had been dreading the day and was just trying not to die on this race (that seriously was scotts goodbye when I left on Friday - a big hug and "...just don't die").

I was one of the last to cross the start line (I hate starting in a huge pack and getting caught behind so many people). So I knew my chip time would be faster than the clock time, but I didn't know how much faster. I don't run with a watch, and they didn't have a clock until mile 13.

I passed the pacer for 4:15 at mile 7. I passed the pacer for 4 hours at mile 14 and I finally caught up to the pacer for 3:50 at mile 25. So I knew I had broken 3:50. And when the ClockTime read 3:51:31 when I crossed the finish line, I figured I had run about a 3:45 marathon. And I was really happy about that.

And then I got my official time ...

ChipTime 3:41:32

To qualify for Boston you need a time of 3:40:59. I missed it by 33 seconds.

I may ask santa for a GPS watch for Christmas.

He's home

Kent got home today!

He's been serving his mission in Argentina, and he came home to a new sister-in-law.

Scott's been so excited for the day. And it was sweet to see the reunion.

For all my nephews (and some of my neices) out there who follow the blog, I thought it was touching to see his shoes, all worn and dusty from two years of serving. I hope your shoes look like that too. (except I hope my neices shoes are cuter!)

Pocatello Weekend

We took a quick weekend trip to pocatello two weeks ago with the McNabb's, friends from our ward.

It was so nice to get away!

We watched football, ate yummy food, watched more football, went on a run, more football, rode horses, football, food, clay pigeon shooting, and football.

Shopping Carts #3

For those who follow my blog, you know shopping carts has been a major posting piece.

In case you thought this was a new problem - google maps has it documented on their street view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Follow the above link, paste this into the space: 555 S 800 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84102, and click on the "street view" photo that pops up.

Good News: Our neighbors just told us you can call Smiths and they will pick up the carts.

100 years or 1000 years. We'll be gone either way.

We live in one of the oldest wards in SLC - the Tenth Ward. The meeting house was built in 1873, and later a chapel was built in 1909. We still meet in that chapel; a really neat place if you are ever in town on Sunday. Pipe organ, balcony, stained glass. Not even a basketball court.

Our ward celebrated the 100 year aniversary of the building and opened the cornerstone and never before opened 100 year-old time capsule on Saturday evening. Part of the celebration included writing letters which will be included in the next time capsule.

Sunday's testimony meeting was full of stories from many of the visitors who had come to town for the celebration. I especially loved the woman who, as she was talking about how neat it was to open the time capsule, and how neat it is that we can contribute to the next time capsule, said "And we won't be around when the next time capsule is opened in a hundred years in 3009."

Nope, and we probably wont be around in 2109 either. The math can be a little tricky when you're standing in front of a crowd.

Football Part II

Scotts is a Cougar. A Utah Cougar. Ever since moving to SLC I've learned that there are Cougars and there are Utah Cougars; ones who grew up among Utah fans and have had to defend the blue and white. And they dont just rise and shout for the Cougars, but for anyone playing against the red and white.

I'm a cougar. But an Oregon Cougar. And so when the guy 2 doors down starts for Utah. And when the couple that got married and moved into the ward the same day we did is a walk-on for the Utes, its like I've friends wearing red and white.

Scott said he would leave me if I ever cheered for the Utes. Scott calls it the unforgivable sin.

I guess we'll have to see how the season shapes up.

"I like football more than you"

Those were Scott's exact words about a year ago when we were still dating.

Now he meant to say 'I like football more than you do' ... and it took him a second to figure out why I threw a pillow at him. But we still laugh about that comment.

And tonight Scott asked me 'do you know what tomorrow is?' He was giddy as he talked about how sweet college football is, and how tomorrow is the start of the season

I'm heading to St George for a race tomorrow night. So he can enjoy the 2nd love of his life without his 1st love getting in the way.

Scott Isaacson, almost CPA

This is what I live with everyday -
+ scott.

He has been living on the couch/lovesac, in front of his computer and books since the day we got home from the cruise over 10 weeks ago.

Its like re-living the worst 6 months of my life - 4 yrs ago when I was studying for the CPA.

Remember, no cable, no internet. Just his review material and food to keep him entertained.

But the results just came in, and his hard work has paid off. He scored a 94% on Financial, a 99% on Audit.

I'm thrilled. But from an effeciency perspective - HE STUDIED WAY TOO MUCH! I consider a 76% a perfect score. 75% is passing, anything above that is just extra work.

From the way he acted when he came home from taking financial, you would have thought he failed. He re-took the test in front of me, scouring his books, looking up answers to all the questions he was unsure about, and groaned with each one.

He takes his 3rd test on Thursday. He's still put in a 12 hours today. His new goal - to get 100%.

Sometimes I force him to take breaks so we can dream up ways to celebrate. Any suggestions?

Still living on a college budget

Our small apartment is starting to feel like a home.

The piano was moved from my house to the apt, our wedding photos got printed and put in frames, we've got a couch, and a washer and dryer. I think we're set. (Scott thinks we still need to find a TV). And all without opening our wallets.

A big thanks to Mark (and his brother) (call Emily if you dont know who Mark is) for his truck, his time, his muscles (he and scott moved the piano, washer, and dryer), and convincing his brother to let us borrow his couch. (pictured in the next post).

The washer and dryer appear to be real vintage gems. A friend from my singles ward called and said his neighbor was giving away his old washer and dryer. As long as we beat the company that picks up old appliances, they were ours. For Free. Seemed like a good idea till we saw them...

... but Scott tells me they seem to work just fine. (Its nice to have someone help with the laundry while I'm at work).

missed pics from last week

scott and his hot legs.


scott snacking on spinach.

Another Downtown Quirk

When we moved in, there were 4 shopping carts in our back parking lot. After 6 weeks, I woke up last Sunday and decided it was time to take them home. Smiths is 2 1/2 blocks away, I'm sure it was a funny thing to see on a Sunday morning, but I'm glad to report that they are home safe, as well as another cart I picked up along the way. Later that evening, we even found another one while we were out walking and returned it as well.

Scott said I should be careful, living downtown, you never know if you're moving someone's home.

All he could do was laugh this morning when we left for church and this was out front.

It's still there.

Urban Roosters

I never thought I would live downtown and wake up to a rooster every morning. But we do. (I wish I could record it). Its like we're living in some sort of rural-urban community.

Scott - isms

We're coming up on 6 weeks now. There haven't been any big suprises, but just a few things that make me laugh.

1. Scott sitting in church.
He gets hot. All the time. Sundays are the hardest because of the dress pants and shirt. He really sits in sacrament, with his pant legs pulled up to his knees.

2. Scott eating vegetables.

People think I'm healthy, but nothing compared to the way scott will eat handfuls of raw vegetables - mostly spincah and broccoli.

3. Scott making the bed.

On weekdays, he makes the bed - just for me - about 5 min before i come in the door from work (I caught him one time).

4. And a few others, but scott wont let me say. So I'll just say he makes me laugh.

(I'm trying to use the internet outside the library. And its struggling. The pictures won't upload - Sad. Maybe I'll add them next week.)

The Simple Life

We are getting slowly getting settled in. But until then, we are enjoying a simple life.

No Table. No Couch. And plastic utensils (we got 2 sets from the wedding, and it took me a bit to decide which to keep. We're using real ones now).

Sunday Dinner with our Make-Shift Table

Just bought a can opener, new bedding, and a garbage can. I think after 10 years of using the same quilt, I deserved some nice bedding.

Messy Move-In. I acquired a lot in the three years in my home

*Anyone need a crock pot. We got 3 from the wedding, I already had one. I was able to return one, can't find where the other two go.

Cruising - Ports of Call

Haiti -
Royal Caribbean owns a small beach/island in Haiti. So we spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach and a little bit of snorkeling.

Jamaica - Dunns River Water Falls.
Its a national park in Ocho Rio Jamaica. You pay to get there, pay the entrance fee, they charge you to rent shoes if you didn't bring any for getting wet, and charge you for a locker. Guides lead you up the falls, taking video of you along the way. Then they ask you to buy the DVD. They say Jamaicans are the most agressive sales people. We agree.

We brought shoes, kept our bag and camera with us, and hung back from the group - we would have been boring climbers and ruined the DVD.

But we were able to capture our own cools shots.

Grand Cayman - Swimming with the Sting Rays

Our FAVORITE excursion. It was a little scary at first - all these sting rays swimming past your legs. But Scott got into it, chasing, feeding, catching and kissing (or trying to). They say kissing a Sting Ray in Grand Cayman will bring you 7 years of good luck. We'll have to make our own luck.

Cozumel -

A great way to end the trip. We rented a scooter and cruised around the island. Stopping to snorkel and get drinks at a local market.

Cruising - the boat

We spent a fantastic 7 days on Royal Carribeans "Freedom of the Seas". The boat was huge! Over 4000 guests onboard.

Food all Day & Pizza all Night

Our Dinner Friends - all honeymooners - 2 SLC couples, and an Irish couple

Breakfast with a view

Rock Climbing Wall

Ice Skating Rink

Casino - they made a lot of money off us

(just joking - we avoided the casino as much as we could)

And we didn't get pictures - but they also had mini golf, a 'wave rider' (body boarding & surfing on the boat), and lots of relaxing in the sun!

It was a much needed vacation!

Wedding * Wedding * Wedding

Couldn't have asked for it to turn out better.

- Portland was fantastic. Great to see my home, my city, my family, and old friends. And fun to share it with Scott and his family. Who would have thought Portland would have more sunshine than UT during June???

Portland Rose Garden

- Wedding Day we had sunshine - for most of the day

Pics at Wheelter Farm before the wedding

- Almost the entire family was there on both sides (minus the London Dougalls, and a few of the newphews)

10 of the 11 Dougall's

- All the girls had awesome hair-do's

- All the sisters had cute toes

- The cake was perfect (thanks Katherine). I heard it tasted good - wish I'd gotten a piece.

There has been so much thinking and planning during the last month. And there were so many people who helped and supported along the way. THANK YOU!

I'm just so happy it all worked out and even happeir that its all over. Now its time for real life ...

*** Disclaimer ***

I have at least 3 "Followers" of my blog, I'm not sure how many others are reading this but here's my disclaimer for not posting in over 5 weeks - when so much has happened.

*** We don't have internet at our new apartment. And blogspot is blocked at work (so is Craiglist ... when can i shop for a kitchen table and a couch???) Makes blogging hard to do. ***

The Details (a boring post)

Hi Everyone –

I am sorry that I haven’t been in touch more these last few weeks – here are details on what is happening Friday and Saturday, where to be, what to wear, and what you should plan on doing.

Thursday June 4th – 8 pm (if you are around and available)
Transporting Chairs and Tables from Church to Reception Site
8 Round – Eating
1 Round – Drinks
2 Banquet – Food
1 Banquet - Gifts
70 chairs – Eating
1 card – Cake
6 Tall – (Diamond Rental) Pick up from Diamond Rental
9 Boy Scout Flag Things

Friday:

1 pm Set-up Tables & Chairs at Egberts (only if you have time)

4 pm. US Nails - 2274 S 1300 E, Salt Lake City - (801) 466-2022
Pedicure - Sandy, Katherine, Saralyn, Heather, Kathryn ,Emily, Sheri, Danielle
Manicure - Lisa, Julie, Alison

6 or 6:30 – 8 or 8:30 pm. BBQ at Isaacson’s, 2054 E Glacier View, Sandy 84092
Steak, Chicken, Fruit, Salad, Ice Cream
Games and Get to know the Family

Saturday
8 am or 8:30
Neices Hair Appts –
Sherman Kendal Academy -7353 South 900 East, Midvale, UT 84047 – 801.561.5610
Hailey, Kaitlyn, Jessica, Sarah, Zabe, Madison, Christa, Jenna, Riley

Nephews – Sorry, didn’t plan much for them. Maybe swimming at one of the hotels.

11.00 – 1.00 – Scott and Julie – Pics Off-site

1.15 – 1.30
Please arrive at Draper temple.

We will have the following for babysitters:
Julie & Lisa – Scott’s sisters, 23, 17
Becca & Steph, Andrea – Scott’s Cousins 19, 15, 16
3 Miamaids from the Isaacson’s ward
Also – Brandon, Troy, John (scott’s cousin) will probably be there.

I think they can spend time walking around the grounds of the temple. We can have some coloring books, reading books for them to sit quietly.
And my photographer will be at the temple to begin taking some pictures of the nieces and nephews, so I think the time will go pretty quickly.

Wearing:
Neices – White Dresses. White Sandals or Flip flops. We will provide a ribbon to go around their waist. I will be making necklaces or bracelets for each of the girls, and they will have flowers to hold at the temple for pictures (these flowers will then be used on the table. So please don’t let them get their heart set on holding the flowers all night long!)

Nephews– Black or Khaki Pants, white shirt. (again, sorry, I didn’t get any ties or flowers for them to wear).

Moms & Sisters – Black Dresses, we will have corsages for you. Some Ribbon if you want We will be going to look at more ribbon today. But for now the main color I have is a bright pink/Fuscia colored ribbon.

Dads and Brothers – Black Pant, White Shirt. We have a yellow tie for you (Dad D, Dad I, Grandpa I, Scott, John, Rich, Geoff, David, Matt, Matt, Derrick) we’ll give it to you Friday evening. They were $10. We will have a Boutonniere for you at the temple

Sheri, Emily, Julie, Lisa – White Wrap Dresses. We will have small bouquet for pics at the temple. But will use as table decorations at the reception.

2 pm – Sealing
3 pm – Family pics, If there is time, please start taking family pics outside of the temple before scott and I exit the temple. If no time, then there will be time at the reception.

3:00 – 4:30 More pics

4:30 – Arrive at Egberts, we will have some finger food snacks and can start taking more family pics at 5:00.

6.00 – 8.00 – Reception
Could the older nieces and nephews alternate helping with the following:
Pass out Lemonade at front Gate
Collect Presents from Guests
Clear Tables

Who: Hailey, Christa, Kaitlyn, Nate, Cason, Madison, Jessica, Sarah – Brandon and Troy if they wanted to?

Maybe one of the moms or dads could be supervisor of the kids for 20 or 30 min shifts. We will assign time-slots on Friday night at the BBQ

6:45 – cut the cake? Scott and I aren’t too traditional, so I’m not sure if we’re going to do a cake cutting.
7:15 – Croquet – it’ll be set up all night, but I thought it would be fun for pcis if scott and I took 5 min to hit a few balls through the wickets
7:50 – Throw the bouquet – again, maybe we wont do this. Or Maybe I’ll let the nieces throw it. I feel sort of silly throwing it.
8:00 – Scott and I leave.
8:00 – 9:30 – CLEAN-UP HELP
Tables and Chairs and Pole things back to the Church
Tables back to Diamond Rental (Monday)
Gather pictures, and vases, and dishes – into Meg’s car.

THANK YOU ALL!

I hope the answers most of your questions. But please let me know if I missed anything!

Lemonade Stand??

Does anyone have a lemonade stand? Or want to help me build one?

I know him...

Can you tell which one scott is?

(Explanation - I sort of used to have an ankle fetish)

I was 4 for 4 at the bridal shower on Saturday!

Thanks for the fun game Emily

Answers: Mouth: 3rd one down, Nose: bottom left, Eyes: 2nd one down, Ankles: top left

I <3 Craigslist ! ! !

Me + Craigslist = BFFE

My piano. A free freezer (its out in the garage). And now my wedding dress. (the dress from china was a little too ornate for me, so I looked a few other options. I think this one is AWESOME!).



WANRING: Craigslis is addicting, so don't get started. I've wasted as much time looking around on craigslist this last month (mostly for housing) as I have spent planning other details of my wedding.

They are going to block it at work, so that might curb the addiction.

(i <3 scott too!)

Races, Records, and my #1 Fan

(after the Laughlin Half in March 2008)

Scott might not love running ... but at least he supports my habits.

January 18, 2008 - 12 mile training run. My house to Scott's home in Sandy. Scott and I had just met at work on Monday, and we (me and shalece) needed a place to run that Friday, so of course his house seems like a good destination.

April 19, 2008 - SLC Marathon & and our 2nd date. I wasn't hobbling too bad yet, but I was moving pretty slowly in and out of the car.

June 21-22, 2008 - Ragnar Relay. He was one of our team's volunteers. We were a little late signing up, so he was stuck with the midnight to 6 am shift, on a road out in the middle of no where. Thanks.

June 23, 2008 - my birthday. All I wanted was for him to run 5 miles with me. He did. And I'm pretty sure he hated most of it.

August 30, 2008 - Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon & Relay (East & Immigration Canyon) Bright and early, Scott was there at the finish line.

September 27, 2008 - U of U Alumni Run (we're not utes, just cheap - we had a free entrance). Our 1st 5K! We were flying ...9 min mile pace :)

December 31, 2008 - my annual beat the New Year run. I made it just in time for a new years kiss.

March 28, 2009 - Laughlin Half Marathon. Scott and I drove to Vegas and I ran with Katherine in her very first race. Scott woke up at 5 am to drive with us to the start line. And was there at the end with water and my camera. What a cheerleader!

April 18, 2009 - Emily and I went out for the SLC 1/2 this past weekend. Scott was busy with finals and couldn't make it. But I dedicated a mile to him. But it was the first race Em and I have done together. And we both set PR's, running 1.43.36, 7:54 mile splits. We were excited!

Thanks for being there Scott. (maybe next time you'll be there through the whole race - running with me)