weekend, date, work, and a love letter?

this weekend was another great weekend. mo, es, and i went to cortez to see ma & pa. brooke, chris, and chan came from albuquerque and raylynne came from vegas. it was so good to see everyone and pig out on the wonderful bbq and grilled veggies. chandler is seriously my most favorite nephew ever. i know, he is my only nephew so far, but hey...i still love that kid! he was excited to see me and of course i am a complete sucker for that little guy. only him though and chan totally knows it. i think he was slightly confused when we were up at the place chris used to live before ma & pa moved them to cortez because i let chan pee outside. actually i think he was really thrilled. he and i were walking around waiting for raylynne to get some things when he told me he had to pee. what else was i supposed to do.... so i took him up over a little hill and told him to stand behind a tree. chan's eyes got a little big and he said, "beanie, i am going to pee outside!" it was funny. i can't believe how fast he is growing. he is so smart too. that kid is going to go places for sure. i just hope i stay his favorite aunt... ha ha ha, i know i'm not really. i am his sucker, his beanie.
the drive back to logan from cortez actually went quite fast. we ran into some crazy ish rain through sardine canyon, but other than that it was a smooth ride. much better than the drive there....i got a little car sick. not sure why cause i usually don't get motion sick. raylynne was kind enough to let us borrow a book on cd. i can't recall the name, but it was a bit odd. i didn't get to finish the story however because once we got things unloaded i took off to ryan's apartment.
ryan lives in an apartment complex that has an outdoor pool and hot tub. we went swimming. josh and his friend also had come to see ryan. the four of us did a few laps and were going to chicken fight, but josh's friend said she didn't really want to get her hair wet. so instead, josh dunked me and ryan came to my rescue. i should explain who josh is. josh used to live with ryan at jonathon's house. that's how i know all of them. ryan didn't ever dunk me. instead he tickled me. i am highly ticklish. you don't even necessarily have to touch me to get me jumping. unfortunately, i flail when i am tickled... and i managed to bruise my knee a bit when i was trying to escape. oh well. i will live. after we got out of the pool, ryan set to making dinner.
he made chicken alfredo from scratch. it was way too good and i ate way too much. i had to laugh a bit when he was cutting the chicken. he cuts chicken like i do.... put a disgusted look on your face and chop away, not caring if it is pretty or not. my mom could cut chicken so fast and so pretty. brooke and esther know how to, but i never could get it figured out. when ryan asked what i was laughing at, i told him. he answered just like a boy would...it's chicken and you just cube it. i didn't tell him he was pulling a face. i was a good helper and stayed out of his way. that is my best position in a kitchen i think, stay out of the way. actually i did stir some butter to help it melt. and after dinner, i washed the pots that i could before ryan tried to take the scrubber out of my hands. when he wasn't looking, i quickly finished the rest of the dishes. hee hee hee.
josh's friend had to leave after swimming to go play tennis. so josh, ryan, and i fat dogged a bit. then josh started playing a video game so ryan and i went and watched a few episodes of "the office" time flies too quickly and when i was told what time it was, i almost didn't believe it. didn't i just get there? ryan walked me out to my jeep and kissed me goodnight. no plans were made for hanging out or another date. he told me to text him when i got in so he knew i made it back safely. ok i am not going to lie, i really like him and would like this to be something more. somehow though my gut is telling me that if it is going to be more, it is not the time right now. so that is where i leave that.
work; work came way too soon tuesday morning and also this morning. i have on average only gotten 4 hrs of sleep in the last 3 days. i haven't ever slept an entire night through in a while. i usually wake up at very odd times throughout the night. not too much of a problem, but it does take it's toll. anyway whatever... so tuesday morning i go into work and have waiting on my desk a red folder with my name on it. love letter? what is this? i pick it up and read that as an employee at macey's the dress code is; white polo macey's shirt, tan pants or skirt. skirts to be knee length. only certain departments are allowed to wear skirts. front end, managers, and baggers between memorial day and labor day. i turn to the next page...(this was all highlighted by the way, copied from the macey's manual and hole punched to be stuck in a three ring folder) scanning personnel are to wear macey's shirt and tan pants.
ok i need to explain; i wore a skirt on friday. i wear skirts to work on occasion. i did it last year, and i have done it a few times this year. none of the managers have ever said anything to me except that i look really nice when i do. this folder had no one else's name on it but mine. and was highlighted in pink. who would do this? my first reaction was "whatever" and i tossed it to the side and continued on with my work. then i got thinking about it... was i in trouble? am i really not supposed to wear skirts to work? my skirt is tan, and to my knees. my department is a part of the front end. skirts look more professional. my office gets really hot. skirts are cooler.
then i really started thinking.... if i were really in trouble, a manager, my manager, the store manager would have said something to me on friday....they would have told me to my face not left me some folder on my desk like a child's game. so then i asked my boss about it. she said she saw it there monday, but didn't know what it was because it had my name written on it. so she read it and got mad. she didn't get mad at me. she was mad because someone would leave me a 'love letter' like that and not say something. she told me to go talk to the store manager and ask him what the policy truly is. and he saw me in my skirt on friday.
he said that he thought i looked really nice and was slightly surprised that i actually made more of an effort to look nice. he also said that he would have pulled me aside right then and there if he thought my skirt was too short. he also said that scanning is a part of the front end and that i am free to wear skirts. then he went on to say that someone had approached him asking if my skirt was too short. he told this person that i was just fine and to leave it alone. no action was necessary, esp from her. if any action was to be done, he would handle it. but no action was needed and that is where he left it and told her to leave it.
i think that it was this person who left me that folder. i know i shouldn't think anymore on it, but today i wore a skirt to work again. my store manager told me i looked very nice and that he would keep his ears open to see if anyone would say anything today. well, this person who came to him on friday wasn't there today. i almost really want to wear a skirt to work tomorrow too. and quite possibly on friday as well. i do have three more i can wear that are macey's approved....but apparently not karen approved. in all honesty, i feel as if i have been singled out and harrassed, but not by someone who has enough guts to approach me in person. why would someone go out of their way to copy two pages of a manual, highlight it, and then, what looks to be an 8yr-old's writting, put my name on it "amber t." then put it right on my desk. not even when anyone else was in the scanning office. it was put there either friday after i had left or saturday. we lock our office when we are not there. and only certain people have keys. so i am not quite sure what i should do. right now i am really kinda mad. i guess that is why i made sure i wore a skirt again today. to see if the culprit would say something else or leave another folder. i am not sure if i should wear another skirt tomorrow or not. i almost want to. i am not afraid to wear something nice to work! if you have a problem with it, go talk to the store manager! he said it was just fine and i looked very nice!
tomorrow is major price change day though, and i hang tags for a few hours of the day. i know how to stay proper in a skirt, but i will admit it is a little faster in pants to bend and stretch to hang the low and high tags. i know i can do it in a skirt, afterall, i have ridden my bike to work in a skirt before. if i wasn't decent riding my bike in a skirt, then i can see where the problem is... and the weather has been a lot nicer so i want to start biking to work again. i have been way too lazy as of late. and yes, it is easier to ride a bike in pants. such is life, so WHATEVER!!!
in other news, rather slightly more depressing..... i got off work a bit earlier than i was planning, but that's ok. anyway, my roommate called me and said that there was a blood drive at the walmart neighborhood market. i didn't hear my phone ringing so she had to leave a message. she donated for the first time! i was quite proud of her. i decided that i was going to go donate. well....my iron is even lower than what it was last week. i couldn't donate. it makes me sad. i want to help save a life. and b+ blood is always needed. blood is always needed. i am healthy and love doing it, so why not?! i guess i am not really as healthy as i think...with my iron dropping and all. last week it was a 12.4 and today it was 11.8 and 'normal' females iron usually ranges from 12.1 to 15.1 so really i am actually below the normal. i just don't get it. this has never been a problem for me before. and i have seriously been a fat lazy pig. i feel just fine. i haven't been exercising and the heat hasn't bothered me. in fact, i kinda like it since i am usually on the colder end. so what is wrong with me? i hate hospitals and doctor's offices. and really i don't think i need them since i feel in good health. am i turning anemic? i guess i will just try and eat more iron rich foods and in a few months try again. it sucks, but what else can i do, right. so whatever.
i guess i will grow up now and stop venting and complaining. this blog is good for me though. i can put down my thoughts and feelings and it doesn't matter. i just type and get on with life. sorry for those of you reading if this is a boring blog or if i complain too much. you know you don't really have to read it. it won't hurt me either way. i will just keep on going. on to the next!!!...what that exactly is, i can't for sure say. but life is for living and live it i will. even if i have the most weird, random, whatevers happen to me. and in truth, i don't feel like i am complaining because i don't mind. i just don't get it. i can't wrap my head around it. and that is what drives me the most crazy. i should stop trying to understand the workings of life and just go on with it i suppose. oh well. such is life. i guess it is a blessing and a curse.

wow i have been lazy since...

so i have been really lazy this week. apart from monday night. i went hiking with mary and sarah to waterfall canyon. it was beautiful and i have never done it before. i don't really suggest doing it 2 days after a marathon, but it did help stretch my sore muscles so i actually walked more normal on tuesday. other than that, i have been super lazy. today i actually took my bike out for a ride around the neighborhood. it was fun. i just did the route that i usually run. coming back to my place, i saw a sign from red cross for a blood drive today. i thought, "well they called me last week and i didn't want to go before my marathon, so i should go today since i don't plan on running a marathon anytime too soon." i rode my bike back and walked to the seminary building up the street, where the blood drive was. well as it turns out.... my iron count was too low so i couldn't donate. blast! i love donating blood. it makes me feel good doing something good. and i have B+ blood so they really like getting my blood. the lady explained that exercise and the heat make people's iron count drop, esp women. stupid marathon! i can go try again on tuesday, but i don't know if they will be in the area. maybe i will go look for blood drive signs.... ha ha ha. i am not that crazy. i am just bummed that i couldn't help save a life today. anyway, i am totally excited for this weekend. es, mo, and i are going to cortez!!! and then on monday i have a date with ryan. he is cooking me dinner! it should be a glorious weekend. now only if today were friday. oh well, life goes on. and that is me this week. i know, i know...boring. oh but i did get my official time from the marathon..... 5hrs 2 min 53.8 sec and i placed overall 1424, and 603/760 women, and 49/62 in my age group (19-24). so really not too shabby. next time i just have to beat 5 hrs and i am totally good. anyone want to run with me? i plan on actually really training, so if i can do it, so can you! come on lis..... i know you want the whole thing...26.2 baby 26.2 you can do it!

26.2

i did it! i ran ogden's marathon and finished! i have to thank my dear new friend, adam, whom i met on the bus ride to the starting line. i really think i couldn't have kept going if you hadn't kept me talking and distracted from how far i was running. adam, i hope to see you at other races in the future.
my day yesterday started at 4am. i got dressed in layers and ran out the door so i wouldn't be late and miss the buses since they start loading at 430am and the last bus leaves at 5am. i parked my jeep at the weber county building and walked to where all the people were. as i was passing a bus, the loading lady said she needed one more person. i was alone...so i jumped on. the open seat was next to a nice looking man. i sat down and was thinking about trying to sleep for the ride up, but my nerves were getting the better of me. i decided to strike up a conversation with my seat partner. we chatted back and forth for the ride up there. he asked me a lot of questions about my family and why i decided to run the marathon.
when we pulled off the road to unload in a meadow at the start, my stomach dropped and i knew this day was here and i wasn't ready. adam kept me talking as we made our way to one of the many campfires. the elevation at the starting line is approximately 5400 and the finish is approximately 4350. this makes the temperature quite chilly at 530 in the morning. we waited and watched as more and more and more people were dropped off by the buses. my adrenaline started to kick in. it is quite an amazing sight to see so many people crazy enough like me to be running a marathon. of course you have some that are there to win, some that are just trying to qualify for boston, some that have run many marathons before, some who are just there to run, and then those who have never run a marathon before.
adam and i laughed back and forth about different things and sometimes poked fun at those who were trying so hard to just get a game face focus on. i think that life in general should be an adventure and fun, not so uptight and serious. adam was amazed at how many people were loosing sight at the excitement and fun of the marathon. he was just there to enjoy it especially since he hadn't ever run ogden's marathon before. adam has run st. george's marathon twice. time didn't quite go fast enough as we waited for the officials to tell us to find our pace flags to get in line to start. i almost think they need to start the race at 6 or 630am instead of 7am. my nerves were just wanting me to be done. still, time flew quite quickly and the officials announced 5 minutes to throw your bags in the trailer and 10 minutes to start. adam parted ways with me there. i quickly shed out of one layer and stuffed it in my bag to put on the trailer. then nature hit and i made my way to the port-o-johns. i made my way to my pace flag, and found adam waiting at the same one. i thought for sure he would be nearer the front.
we chatted a bit more then before we knew it, we heard the shot to officially start the time clock. because there are so many people running, everyone can't be at the starting line when the race starts. each runner is given an electric time chip that doesn't start your time until you cross the starting line. so basically, those people who run before they get to the actual starting line are wasting energy. adam didn't want to run with music, and i had brought my mp3. i just put one earphone in and adam and i continued to talk. before i knew it, half the race was over. i shed another layer at the aid station at mile 13.1 and there is where the real challenge began. i was stupid and had only run every now and then and the farthest i have gone in this training was 9 miles. adam kept me distracted as we continued talking about life and family and religion. i apologize to you adam that i couldn't answer more of your questions about the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. i am a horrible missionary.
the miles flew past as we hit 17, 18, 20, 22, and then at mile 23 all of the water and powerade i had been drinking at each aid station caught up to me. i fully expected adam to just continue on so he could make his time of at most 5 hours. he waited for me. adam said that our time was looking really good and we hadn't even stopped a whole lot to walk, so he was going to see me through to the end of my first marathon. mile 24, 25, and then finally i could see the finish line.... about a half mile away. adam and i were just running along at the steady pace he kept when i saw lisa standing by the side of the race trail. she hollered at me to pick it up, and i tried, but then i realized adam wasn't keeping pace. i turned around and he waved me on. i yelled back at him that he got me this far, so i wasn't going to leave him. adam closed the distance and we finished the race with the crowd cheering and me very close to tears. i did it. i just ran a marathon. i just ran 26.2 miles. i finished with time to spare before they tell people they are done. i finished with a new friend who kept me going when i had no idea if i was even going to be able to start let alone finish. we high fived and hugged and had huge smiles on our faces. adam finished with the time he was hoping for, and i just plain finished. i didn't care about time this marathon. i heard my name called and turned to see my roommate erin standing just past the finish line. i walked over to her and then the tears came. i turned around to introduce adam to erin and thank him again for helping me finish, but he was gone.
adam, where ever life takes you, i wish you the absolute best. good luck with school. i am sure you will finish in less than 6 years. best of luck with the other 8 st. george marathons you plan on running. i hope to see you there if i can recover and convince myself to run another marathon. thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with me, a complete stranger, to the finish. i really don't think i could have done it or done it as well if you hadn't kept me going. have fun when you go back east to visit your family. and don't forget to add spelunking to your bucket list. :) thank you again! 26.2 another check off the bucket list!

fabulous weekend

this past weekend was one of the greatest i've had for a while. it was slightly random, but so amazing and grand. It was really the high of the week. let me start with the beginning of the week...
monday- just another day at work. my boss didn't feel really well, but she stuck it out. no big deal.
tuesday- work. i think i ran. i don't really remember... and my boss really didn't feel well, but still had made it into work.
wednesday- ad day. i was up early and was working along when my boss said she wasn't going to make it into work. not too much of a worry. everything was basically easy enough to handle alone.
thursday- my boss was still sick, and not feeling any better at all. swine flu? she was going to see a doctor. when my boss is gone, i am the boss. well, my workers are retarded. ok, ok, not all of them are retarded, but when the boss is away, they really start annoying me because they think they can get away with anything. it sucks. and we were a little more short handed because one of my workers called in with a broken car so he wasn't coming to work. the two major idiots didn't want to work, and i was getting stressed. hopefully my boss would make it to the doctor and be back tomorrow.
friday- wishful thinking to think that i would be out of work on time without overtime. my boss was still gone, and i was the only one in the office until 10am. there were a lot of sign orders and other tags that needed to be made. i did my best, and then left work with maybe a half hour of OT. hopefully i don't get in trouble....

well, i needed a break from total insanity so i went to logan to see my sisters. they are great and we have good times. as it turns out, they had to work so i was by myself for a bit. i did my laundry and watched the first disc of the extended version of the lord of the rings: fellowship of the ring. then i went to pick mona up from work. she got a job on the usu campus. i got there a little early since i wasn't entirely sure exactly where i was going. luckily i knew my way around more than i realized. i parked my jeep and started to head into the building. three black helicopters flew overhead. i think it was the usu rotc. anyway, that made me think of my dear friend ryan who is in pilot school at usu. (i haven't really talked to ryan in about 2 yrs.) we kinda dated for a bit before he moved to logan, but didn't make anything more official on a relationship. i may also mention that ryan is in the rotc as well. i thought perhaps he was flying or in one of the helicopters. i didn't call or text him to find out (as i should have.)

mona got off and we headed out to my jeep to go shopping. my phone went off for a text message. out of who knows what sheer randomness, it was ryan. (i think he has espn or something and knew i was thinking of him.) or maybe he was in one of the helicopters and recognized me because they were pretty close to the ground. or maybe it is fate. well for whatever reason it really was, he asked how i was and what i was up to. i answered that i was up in logan hanging out with my sisters. we texted for a bit and then i told him i thought it was ironic that i saw the black helicopters and was thinking of him, and not even an hour later he starts a conversation. ryan said he felt honored that i would think of him when i see airplanes and helicopters. he also said he isn't flying helicopters yet. then he asked if i was just going to hang out with my sisters or if maybe i would like to go on a date with him on saturday.

DUH i would like to go out with you! i did have a hard time deciding though because i did come up to see my sisters. they lovingly said that it was ok if i wanted to go out with ryan. i can't go into specifics right now about what we did on our date, but it was seriously one of the greatest things ever in my life at this point. i have major plans to go again and wish i were rich so i could just buy him his own so he doesn't have to borrow one. i feel as if i should sort of explain why i can't go into specifics, but i can't really technically say because technically i wasn't there. and ryan isn't at the point where he can look back and laugh at the difficulties that arose.

on a broad note, i am a total klutz and really have the worst luck with equipment. i totally broke something that shouldn't be broken. ryan won't let me take credit or blame, but says that it was his fault so i need not worry. on the bright side of things, we are both still alive, and i got to spend the day with him....even if things didn't go exactly as planned. i still had the time of my life.
and on an even brighter note, he took my hand and held it for almost the whole way back. he had to continuously make adjustments, but then his hand was right back in mine. it felt so natural to be with him like that. it feels natural to be around him, almost as if everything suddenly just clicked and has always just been like that.

anyway, i sort of stole his hat and told him i was going to keep it because i look good in it. he laughed, but still got his hat back on sunday... when he came over for dinner :) he has early church so he was still able to go home after and see his mom for mother's day and have dinner with the family before coming over for dinner with me. (thank you mona for the wonderful dinner! you make excellent curry) mona had invited willie, and erin for dinner as well. so willie was mona's date, ryan was mine, and es and erin were each others ish. for those of you who know me, i don't really bring guys around to meet the family. i love my family so don't think that i am ashamed of having them meet potential or actual boyfriends. i just don't really bring guys around. so it was and wasn't a big deal that ryan came for dinner with my sisters. but it was interesting because he took my hand in front of them and it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable.

i also thought it was interesting that ryan ate a lot more than anyone else did. he had already eaten a steak dinner with his family, and here he was just going to town with the curry. it was really good, and i am shocked i didn't eat more. i am not sure anyone else picked up on that, but i noticed and thought it was cute. after dinner we all just fat dogged in the party room and enjoyed the fun company. ryan and i cuddled. willie was kind enough to point it out. it was just a fun night. and time flies too quickly. ryan had to be up early monday morning, and i still had to drive back to ogden so i could work monday morning. i walked him out to his truck (a sweet dodge ram sport) and we talked a bit more and had a wonderful goodnight kiss. again, it felt as if this was always as it has been. and here i thank willie, who asked me when i came back inside how ryan's temperature was. i may or may not have turned a little bit red. ask mona for sure as i can't really see my own face.

anyway, it was just a much needed incredible weekend. and i have talked a bit more with ryan yesterday. we aren't an official couple or anything, but we both would still like to date and see where things will go. it is harder because he lives in logan, for now, and i live in ogden. neither of us are really looking for anything serious, but we definitely have potential to be more. we have plans for memorial weekend since he is out of town this week, and saturday is my marathon. i am super excited, but also calm because it is or feels natural to be around him. if things just stay how they are now, as us being good good friends, that's ok. i would rather have him in my life as a friend then not in my life at all.

and on to this week.... it started out pretty good. my boss was back at work yesterday. one of the stupid people got herself fired for being caught in lies that shouldn't even have been thought of. and i got to watch bride wars with lis, lisa, and sarah at lis' last night. i also got to go to body combat at the gym, and i ran 3 miles. i am super sore, and will be soaking in epsom salt before going to bed tonight. tomorrow is ad day and i am not really looking forward to it, but can't change it so i will just get it done. thursday i am not sure yet what my plans are, but i know friday i will be out of work super early which is a good thing because i have to be up a 4am saturday morning to get to the marathon. the race doesn't start until 7am, but in order to get everyone bussed to the different starting lines, and traffic stopped, it all starts way early. also on friday, lis and i are going to have a huge pasta dinner. we probably will go out somewhere, or maybe we will just make spaghetti or something. whatever the plan is, i am still nervous and excited to be doing the full marathon (26.2 miles) on saturday. AAAHHH!!! i am not even worried about the first half. i am pretty sure i can do the first 13, but i am not so sure about the second 13. hopefully my legs will just be jello and i won't feel it so i will just run/walk the rest of the race. i am looking forward to the massages for free at the end for the full marathon runners, and full marathon runners only.... :) well, i have to get going now, and i am not sure if i will post again before saturday. i will let you all know how the race goes. wish me luck!

first friday in may

yesterday was a long day. a very long day. work was actually not that bad, until it was time for me to leave. then everything came crashing down. everyone needed signs and prices changed and it just got a little chaotic. i still got out on time ish...maybe 5 minutes late. and i still made it to lisa's graduation. she graduated from weber state yesterday afternoon. (CONGRATS LIS!) and after the graduation, she invited me to come celebrate with her family and eat. we went to prairie schooners. it was delicious! (thank you daddy arrington!) i ate so much food that i had a food baby. the chicken and au gratin potatoes were amazing. and the cheesecake was fabulous. i will definitely be going back there someday.
after dinner, i went to lis' house and picked up my jewelry i had ordered at a lia sophia party mary hosted. i love my new ring and necklace. then i raced back to my place to change into more comfortable clothes to go out to the movies with lis and sarah. we went to "the soloist" it is really an amazing movie. i highly recommend it. the story is beautiful and the music is unbelievable. i probably would have cried if i wasn't in the theatre with tons of other people. i finally got to bed just after midnight. it was a long day, but a good day.
today is going to be another busy long day. i couldn't sleep past 7. it is raining outside. i need to go get my laundry done as soon as i get off the internet. then i am headed to body jam...which is totally awesome cause it is a new release so all the dances moves are new, meaning everybody is on equal ground to learn it. so you don't feel like you stick out so much if you can't dance, like me. after jam, lis asked if i would help her with bridal pictures. i don't know what i have going on after that, but i am hoping for a great day despite the rain. i love rain, just not cold rain. anyway....i am taking off now. enjoy may!