"I know I can't dance".....but I'm happy others can

Back in my "glory days" I had no trouble putting on a short skirt and dancing for the entire student body at Orem High. These days I wouldn't dream of dancing in public on any level, let alone on a stage in front of people. I can't even bring myself to go to the hip hop aerobics class at the gym (mostly because I feel twice the age of the teeny boppers in that class). Let's face it I should have played sports, but instead I chose cheerleading....oh the lame choices I made.

Even though I have lost all dancing skill I once claimed to have, I still LOVE watching other people dance so I jumped at the chance to attend the "So You Think you can Dance?" tour. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, it is a reality show with judges where real dancers showcase all different types of dance (ballroom, hip hop, contemporary, broadway, jazz, etc.). Once the show is over the Top 10 dancers go on tour and you can see your favorite dancers from the show perform live.

I went with Jenna and her friend Jennie from California. Our first stop was the Cheesecake Factory which I haven't been to since in opened in Murray. Dinner was of course delicious. Then we headed to the show. We had great seats (phew! I was nervous since I was the ticket coordinator). The show was awesome and lasted 3 hours. I couldn't believe they performed that many dances with pretty much no more than 1 minute breaks in between dances. I was pleased to see everyone of my favorite dances and many times I was flat out in shock with the sheer ability of these dancers. I can not believe what they can do with their bodies. Amazing. I can't dream of doing the splits anymore, but one of the dancers had no trouble leaping and being caught in mid-air in the splits. Seriously??? These dancers are amazing. It was a great evening and I can't wait to go again next year!

Me and Jenna at the show. Yep we took our picture in front of the sign along with all the teeny boppers.

My streak is over.....

This weekend marked a sad day in my life. My streak of 18 straight years of never missing a BYU home football game came to a screeching halt thanks to Monavie's convention. I had to sell my tickets and work at convention instead of going to the game (So SAD!!). Thankfully the Cougs didn't seem to miss my prescence and still won 44-0! Here are some of my favorite games or moments (in order) that I have witnessed at Cougar (I mean Lavell Edwards) Stadium.

1. BYU's win over #1 Miami in 1990 - This was the year that my dad got 6 tickets instead of 3 because we were all fighting over who got to go to this game (I "called" it in 1989 because I saw the next years schedule in the program). I have probably watched this game over 100 times in my life. (I'm retarded I know)
2. BYU vs. Utah 2001 - It was cold, but BYU won the game with a Luke Staley option play & an interception to seal the deal. It is always fun to beat the Utes but especially to remain undefeated.
3. BYU beating Utah 2007 - 4th & 18.....The best way to beat the Utes is to make them think they have won and then rip their hearts out!!
4. Going to Cougar Club luncheons with my Dad in the stadium (even now that I'm older)
5. Lavell's last game when President Hinckley renamed the stadium. I was near tears.
6. Finally becoming a student so I could sit in the "super fun student section" that I had long to sit in for years (now I'm back to not wanting to sit in the student section).
7. Winning - that is what the Cougs do at home. Any win is always fun!

There are many, many more, but I can't document them all. I just love football in the fall (even if it is roasting hot or freezing cold, rain or snow)....even if I have to sit by myself.

I will start a my new streak on Oct 11th....

The Pinky Update

I finally got in to see the hand surgeon today and there is good news and bad news.

Good news = No surgery (for now) and my splint is not up to my elbow!!!

Bad news = I have to wear this splint (or keep the top knuckle of my completely finger straight 100% of the time for 8 weeks (sorry about the picture, not the greatest I know).


I am allowed to shower with this splint on & I have to take the splint off 2 times a day so my skin doesn't get "gross," but when I take it off I absolutely can not let my finger "droop" or else I have to restart my 8 weeks all over again (boy did they drill that into my head!) If I follow their plan then my severed ligament (it is completely severed) will just re-attach itself to the bone (95% of the time). The fact that it can just re-attach itself to my bone is pretty amazing if you ask me.

Apparently surgery is only necessary 5% of the time & usually only when a person doesn't wear their splint 100% of the time & the ligament can't repair itself so the finger permanently droops. I plan to not have surgery.

I can do anything I want as long as I don't let my finger droop, which isn't too bad, but does mean no more softball and I will have significant trouble typing the letters A, Z, & Q, although "A" is the only "real" letter used. Also, I should be fixed prior to snowboarding season (unless I have another iPhone accident....LOL!)

And for those of you keeping score, so far it is
Internet 1 (8 weeks in splint)
Instacare 0 (surgery)
......When looking for treatment plans for hand injuries. Also....I'm still not sure why Instacare felt I needed a cast up to my elbow.....that should be worth negative points for the them :)

Warning!!! iPhones can be hazardous to your health!!

Thanks to my new employer, Monavie I have a new iPhone 3G. I am amazed at how helpful it is to have & how addicting it is. I have loved checking the traffic, playing games, getting my email, etc. However, I never thought it would lead to this.....

NOT Normal bending of the pinky finger.....



or THIS......


Yesterday at the BYU football game I was sitting near the portal and didn't want my new iPhone to fall out of my pocket and over the railing, so naturally I went to transfer it from my left pocket to my right pocket. While doing this I lost a grip on my phone and subsequently dropped it (it is okay), but my pinky finger ended up bent oddly. I thought it was jammed or dislocated & even had my co-workers try to pop it back into place. This happened prior to kick off and I did stay for the entire game (can't pass up the Legacy seats!!!). I decided to take a visit to the Instacare as my finger just didn't look right.

I became "that weird injury" at the Instacare....mostly for how I busted my finger up. Seriously the doctor laughed out loud and then brought in all the other doctors & nurses, a video camera and 2 other patients to laugh at me (ok, with me as I was laughing really hard).

Verdict = "Mallet Finger" or baseball finger, a ruptured tendon in my finger = possible SURGERY to repair the ruptured tendon. I will find out for sure on Tuesday as I was told to "immediately" see a hand surgeon ASAP. Surgery? Seriously? How embarrassing. Although on the internet it seems surgery is not the first option, but the doctor at the Instacare said surgery so we shall see (i sure hope the internet is right...it is like gospel right???).

I now have this lovely bandage and splint on until Tuesday which makes showering really fun and lets me get to tell my retarded story to everyone that sees me. Luckily it is my left pinky finger, which is probably my least important finger, but I have found in the last day that Heavenly Father created all fingers for a reason.

Until Tuesday when I get the real verdict......

GO COUGS!!

Yesterday I was privileged enough to sit in the Legacy seats at the BYU football game (Thanks MonaVie). These seats are like sitting courtside at a Jazz game. They feed you before (ribs, meat, everything possible), give you great seats and then feed you again at halftime & bring you ice cream in the 3rd quarter. Needless to say I ate alot!! My favorite was the fudge....they a whole table full of it and I LOVE fudge!!! Plus here is where my seats were....





It was great except for the finger (next entry) and BYU started their "quest for perfection" to go undefeated and a BCS bowl game.

The Half Marathon

The BIG half marathon was this past weekend. All of my months of training had come down to this day. I felt prepared and most of all ready for it to be over. Nicole & I woke up much, much too early to get on a bus & go running (4am!). Seriously, there must be something wrong with us. After boarding the bus we then waited for an hour in the freezing cold canyon for the race to start. Again, craziness.

Once the race started I was feeling good. I was doing well & was on track to beat my time from last year's half marathon.....by a good 10 minutes. Then came the last 3 miles where the following happened:

1. We exited the canyon and still had 3 miles to run.....so we ran around the Riverwoods for 3 miles. We kept running near the finish line and then turning around and running away from teh finish line. Not fun when you just want to be done.
2. There was no water station between mile 7.5 and mile 12. I needed water around mile 11 and literally had to stop because I couldn't breathe my mouth was so dry. This had never been a problem and I think mentally I really started freaking out that there was no water. It was a scary moment, but I'm glad I didn't pass out.

I crossed the finish line in 2:11 which is 3 minutes faster than last year (2:11), but I still felt I was doing much better than that before the last 3 miles.

I wouldn't really recommend the Provo River Trail Half Marathon. It was poorly organized and the course was not fun. Hobble Creek was much better (and much more downhill). This one was flat (except the first 2.5 miles) which is very boring!

Anyways, it is over and I may be retired from running (at least any distance over 6 miles). I am definitely retired for the next week....LOL!! Here is a picture of me & Nicole (post race, not our best photo!). Nicole is SPEEDY fast. She ran it 20 minutes faster than me (1:50). I can only dream of going that fast.

I was also happy that my parents came again to cheer me on. It was great to have someone cheering for you at the finish line!

One More 10K

A new tradition began this year....Jenna, Amanda & I ran the 24th of July 10K. I was happy Amanda was able to do the run....seeing it was her idea. Amanda's mom is dying of cancer so she spent most of the evening with her, but was able to join us later at the hotel & run the 10K. Jenna and I spent the evening eating most of the Olive Garden (at least it sure felt like it) as well as PB M&M's, Tootsie Rolls, and Sour Patch Watermelons. Needless to say I was happy when I got to run off all of those calories in the morning.

We woke up at 4:53.....WAY too early to be running. As you can see it is still kind of dark outside and we are about to start running. Are we crazy? We may just be.....

The race went really, really well for me....in fact I sent a PR (personal record). It probably helped that the first 2 miles were downhill. I had my own timer and thus I know that the "official" time was not correct (even though we had a chip on our shoe). I think the chip only recorded when we crossed the finish line. Anyways, my watch said I ran it in 56:31.....5 min faster than my 4th of July 10K (61 min) and a 9:05 min mile. My "official" time was 57:10.....I'm going with my watch! Needless to say, I was shocked myself at my time. I was hoping for "under 60 min."

It was a fun race and I felt good pretty much the entire time (including my knee). I was a little sore this morning when I woke up and then I ran 10 more miles (still training for my half marathon in 2 weeks).....needless to say I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk tomorrow....I'm already feeling it!

Here we are post run.....looking beautiful as always (thanks Jenna for the pictures).

Jenna, Me, Amanda