meet tess

it finally happened... josh gave into my begging and i finally got a little doggie of my very own!

she's a 14 month old purebread shih tzu that we adopted from an animal shelter.

and she really couldn't be a better dog.

she's potty trained

and friendly

and cuddly

and energetic

likes her belly scratched

and even josh says she's absolutely adorable.

i don't have any idea how a dog like this ends up at a shelter, but i'm sure glad she did, she's perfect for us.

odds are, you'll be reading a lot about about this little ewok look-alike in the future.

2 years ago

it was exactly 2 years ago that our lives were flipped upside down.  in retrospect, it seems like the whole experience was just a dream.  but when i stop and think about everything, the memories come flooding back to me.  and for some reason, i have been thinking a lot about it lately.

2 years ago, a newly engaged couple hops off an airplane arriving from costa rica.  they were so excited to share the excitement of their engagement with their family and friends.

but later that night, they were side-swipped with some news that they weren't expecting.

remember that mole that josh had removed just days before they left for costa rica?  that rather large, gnarly looking mole that the dermatologist said wasn't anything to worry about, but josh's mom insisted that it be removed anyway?  oh yeah, the test results came back while you were on vacation.  that mole is cancerous.  melanoma to be exact.

the events for the following week included multiple visits to multiple hospitals, a short-stay surgery gone wrong, anaphylactic shock, over-night hospital visits, trips to the er, a diagnosis of stage 3 melanoma, numerous prayers, and lots and lots of tears.

at the time, i thought my world had ended.  what 22 year old couple should be dealing with this real life stuff?  instead of being able to focus on wedding cakes, flowers, and the perfect dress, we were worried about mri's, ct scans, insurance companies, and josh's interferon treatment.  we spent a lot of time hanging out at home because josh's treatment made him so so sick.  like constant headaches, nausea, fever, chills, etc.  if it was a flu-like symptom, josh experienced it.  it was a lot for us to deal with, but we had an amazing support group between our two families and our friends.

and look where we are now.  josh finished his year long treatment last december and was amazing throughout the whole process.  josh is healthy and active and all those doctor's appointments and needles sometimes feel like a figment of my imagination.  even though it was a rough, miserable year, he rarely complained.  he would even make comments to me like, "liz, i can't do the dishes... i have cancer" or "i have to eat ice cream for dinner, i have cancer" or "the mountain dew is what killed the cancer, not the interferon".  this type of comic relief is what got us through the hard days.

i have thought a lot lately about how this experience has changed our lives.  i feel like it happened at the time it did for a reason.  it reconfirmed why we were getting married in the temple and strengthened my testimony on eternal families.  it makes me appreciate my husband, for his hard work and his positive attitude.  it makes me cherish the moments we have together, even if it's just sitting on the couch watching the latest svu.  it brought us closer, even though we had been best friends since we were 15.  throughout this experience, i learned how to focus on our blessings, rather than dwell on our undesirable circumstances.

like i said, i've been thinking a lot about this experience and thought i'd share it because i know a lot of people didn't even know that it all happened.  and i'm going to attach a picture, because what good is a post without a picture?  this is josh right after having his surgery and going into anaphylactic shock as they moved him to the recovery room.  when the doctor came out to the waiting room, this is what he told us... "josh turned as red as a lobster and blew up like a marshmallow."  and he was exactly right (this picture really doesn't do it any justice).

enough of my rambling... thanks for reading.

the big 2-5

josh's big quarter-century birthday was on the 10th.  i kept bugging him to see what he wanted to do and he told me he just wanted to stay here in logan and keep it low-key.  so that's what we did.

i let josh sleep in (till almost noon!)  and then he opened up some presents.

the cute birthday boy opening up cards from family

bob dylan tickets.  he is so excited to go!  thank goodness his friend dan likes dylan as much as josh does so i don't have to go.

the wrenches he has been waiting a long time to get

waders from his parents.  this boy loves to go fishing.

he thought he was done, but alas, there was one last present in the closet

a float tube and flippers.  now he has everything he needs to catch us some fish

what a spoiled boy

we then headed out to run some errands.  josh isn't a fan of spoon me, but he was gracious enough to give me his free birthday spoon me.  what a sweetheart.

we spent the next few hours with him watching football and me baking some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  my fav.

then it was on to his birthday dinner.  prime rib was all he wanted, so to texas roadhouse we went.  the moss's came with us because mike has also been craving a big steak since the restaurant opened.

the food was fabulous (as usual) and we left with our bellies way too full.

josh and i then headed to the movie theater to watch surrogates.

it was a fun day and exactly what josh wanted.

happy birthday josh!  i love you!

Birthday boy

Josh and his many faces.

Happy birthday to my hubby! I love you because you make me happy!

typical Friday night

Josh and I are cool enough to dress up in scary costumes and carry
chainsaws and run through a cornmaze in the dark scaring people of all
ages. We even made 2 teenage girls cry. That's how cool we are.

fabulous saturday

last weekend we were able to go home to visit our families.  and it sure was one awesome weekend.   our saturday consisted of:

shopping with mom and sister

(not quite the same shopping bags i brought home, but you get the point)

+

the greek festival

(i love love love greek food)

+

utah state fair prca rodeo

(love me some cowboys, too!)

+

spending the night at the fair

(lights, animals, games, people watching... fabulous)

+

caramel apples

(my favorite fair food.  de.li.cious.)

+

fabulous company

(emily, josh, lindsay, ryan, reagan, michelle, and spencer.  you know who you are and we were thrilled to spend some quality time with you)

=

awesomeness

it really was a fantastic day and the day after was spent lazying around with the family.  seriously, i don't think it could have been any better.

tou 1/2 marathon

ok, i am finally getting around to blogging about my 1/2 marathon experience.  and what an experience it was!  

so, let's start off with the week leading up to the race.  as i mentioned in my previous posts, i spent a whole week at lake powell.  that meant no running.  and then the few days before the race that i was going to run a few miles (monday and tuesday) i was sick with food poisoning.  i started getting really worried that the lack of running the week and a half before the race would make so that i would struggle during the actual race.  i didn't want to see an entire 3 months worth of training go down the train.  so, i went against what everyone told me and i ran 7 miles on wednesday and then the last 10 miles of the actual course on thursday.  yeah, not the smartest thing ever. but i really wanted to make sure that mentally i knew that i could run that far.  and those runs weren't too bad.  only problem, i didn't give my body enough time to recover before saturday's run and i know that i didn't run as well as i should have because of it.   

so, friday night i got off work and wanted to take it easy.  i went and got my registration packet and then josh and i ate at wingers (there were a million people at the olive garden and at chili's and all i really wanted was a pasta!).  we then met up with the moss's and got some cold stone.  again, probably not the smartest thing ever but it was yummy and hanging out with them took my mind off of running.  

i tried so hard to get to bed early that night but my mind was racing and i couldn't get to sleep.  here's a play by play as to how the rest of the day went.  

1:30 am:  finally fell asleep

2:30 am: woke up

3:00 am: woke up

3:30 am: woke up

4:00 am: woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.  my mind was racing and i was getting so nervous.  

4:45 am:  finally got up and started getting ready.  woke poor josh up.

5:15 am: picked up hilary (my neighbor across the street) and headed to the park. 

5:30 am:  hopped on the bus

6:00 am:  finally made it to the starting line.  it was still dark outside and freezing cold because we were up in the canyon.

6:15 am:  met up with collie and her friend ashley

6:50 am:  put our jackets and sweats in the "clothing" bus.... brrrr

7:00 am:  the race is supposed to start but doesn't

7:15 am:  still standing in line with 2200 other people wondering why the race hadn't started yet

7:25 am:  the race starts.  i can see the people ahead of us start to move but it took a whole 3 minutes for us start moving

7:28 am:  cross the starting line.  i was so cold that i took off in hopes that i would warm up.  there were so many people, i spent the entire first mile weaving in and out of everyone.

mile 3:  feeling good.  finally warming up

mile 5:  run into (haha, literally) my friend liz.  she's amazing and has run this half marathon before.  we ran together for a few miles

mile 7: (coming out of the canyon)  the downhill part was over.  my legs were cramping up, but i kept pushing along

mile 7.5: saw a kid with a sign that said "you can do it lilly!"  in my mind, my name was lilly and this little kid was cheering me on

mile 9: feeling tired.  i knew my family would be there somewhere along the way and i didn't want them to see me walking.  so, i kept running.

mile 11: the steady incline portion.  ugh.  my least favorite part of this run.  keep running!

mile 12:  phew!  past the worst part, and finally made it to the road where the finish line was.  people were everywhere and i kept telling myself that they were there to cheer me on.

mile 12.7:  see josh and spencer on the sidelines.  hallelujah!  what a boost that gave me!

mile 13: the finish line is in sight, but there is no way that i can run any faster.  my previous goal of sprinting to the end was not going to happen.

mile 13.1:  see my parents.  cross the finish line.  see josh's family cheering me on.  holy moly.  i finished?!  i can stop running now?!  thank goodness!

i finished the entire race in 2 hours and 6 minutes (without stopping and walking once) and i felt good about doing so well on my very first race (way better than my goal of 2 hours and 30 minutes!)  the only thing i regret is running so many miles the few days before.  usually, i am able to put myself on "auto-pilot" after running about 3 miles, but this time my body was so sore that i wasn't able to tune out.  i ended up feeling every mile that i ran, and it was exhausting!  

also, initially, i didn't think i wanted many people to come and watch me cross the finish line.  i didn't think it was that big of a deal.  but knowing that i had family and friends waiting for me at the finish line was one of the only things that kept me going!

this is hilary... she's amazing and ran the race in 2 hours flat!

it really was so awesome to have my family and josh's family waiting for me at the end of the race.  i am so lucky to have such an amazing support system!

and here is my cute husband.  there is no way on earth that i would have been able to finish this race the way i did without him.  he encouraged me to push myself in all of my runs and was there to help me when i was achy and sore.  josh is amazing and i am so grateful that he was with me throughout my whole training process!

after the race, we all headed over to angie's for some yummy breakfast food (i was starrrrving) and then josh and i headed back to the house so we could both get some sleep.

so, now what?  that's the question that everyone asks.  am i still going to run everyday?  is it time for a full marathon?  the answer is, i don't know.  i know that right now, i am in the best shape i've probably ever been.  i started this whole process thinking that i was going to lose a bunch of weight and my stomach and legs were going to be super toned and i was going to look amazing.  because most people who run often look amazing.  and the reality of it all?  that didn't happen.  i'm no size 2 and my legs still jiggle in my short shorts and i definitely don't have a toned stomach.
but... i feel good.  i feel like i accomplished something i never thought possible. when i first started this whole process, i could barely run 2 miles without feeling like i was going to pass out.  and now i know i can do 13 miles without stopping. i feel like this was not only a physical goal, but an emotional and mental one as well.  i feel like if i gave up running, it'd be like throwing away all that hard work.

so, i'll probably continue running often.  i don't have time to run 7 and 8 miles everyday, but a healthy 3-4 miles sounds good to me.  and maybe next summer i'll run a few more races.  like some 5k's or 10k's or the wasatch back relay.  or even the half marathon again.  so i can beat my time.

i guess we'll just have to wait and see!