Running in Circles

Here's a salad recipe I always fall for. It screams summer to me but tastes good anytime and it's what I've eaten for lunch everyday this week. I even crave it. Make it a healthy dinner and grill some chicken to put on it! 

Sherman Salad:

Romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce

shredded mozzarella cheese

cucumbers

grape tomatoes

bacon 

Dressing

Dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil (Do Not use olive oil)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp garlic

Juice from 1 lemon

grated parm. cheese

Mix oil, pepper, salt, garlic, and lemon juice together. I usually make it in a small tupperware container. Then sprinkle parmesean cheese over the top until all liquid is covered. Shake before serving. 

Finally, just spoon a few tablespoons of dressing until lettuce is covered

Enjoy!

2013 

For me this year i hope to have less whine and more cheese.

let me explain...

Less Whining

Less whining about schoolwork, being tired, not running enough, and missing my family. Less whining about the money we don't have, the bills we do. Less whining about the furniture I wish we could afford and the tightness of our budget. Less whining about how our car barely has room for a carseat and how uncomfortable it is to sit in the backseat.

More Cheese

I want to enjoy more cheese. Not the orange cheese or the type with holes- my resolve for this new year is to enjoy the details of our lives more fully. Cheese is yummy and so are cookies and my sweet baby. I have a wonderful husband that provides for our needs, a job teaching pilates which I love. I have a body capable of running and movement and I am so thankful for that. I have a sweet, healthy babe- who  smiles and coos with us now. We have a cozy apartment where are needs and some wants are met. I have a handyman husband who has saved us a lot of money by not being afraid to get his hands dirty. We have family close by that are always inviting us over.

Most importantly- we have the gospel in our lives and feel the love of our Savior each day. This year I am going to find joy in the journey, enjoy the little things every day, slow down, be less judgmental and more kind.

Well, at least for January!

(This post makes me it sound like I complain about everything- and I don't, but for how blessed we are I need to be a lot more grateful!)

January

  Started my wellness internship at ScenicView Academy, ran the St. George half marathon with Martin Wright and PR'd, went to the Jazz game, felt different, took a pregnancy test..or two or three.

   Went to basketball games, worked on the Jetta, kept running to ease morning sickness, had to wait and see if insurance would cover my pregnancy, and survived morning classes (barely).

March

 Told our families we were pregnant, baby had her first picture taken, celebrated my 22nd birthday

April

 Finished a semester of classes, found out our baby was a GIRL, Melanie and kris got hitched, Brice started his internship in Iowa, we missed each other, started Spring classes, and taught Pilates four hours a week

May

  Lots of Skyping and missing one another, my stomach grew bigger, obviously forgot to take any pictures

June

  Reunited and it felt so good, had a lot of free time while Brice worked, enjoyed the days with family, watched Brice play on a softball team

July

 John Deere party of all parties, baby kicked a lot, sweaty in Midwest humidity, still running 40+ miles a week

August

 Road trip back home, 18 hours in the car, celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in Bear Lake with our friends Matt, Emily, and Eli, spent three long days welcoming freshmen to BYU via New Student Orientation

September

  Started Fall semester, wondering if we would both survive with a newborn, kept running along, cut my hair..couldn't decide if I liked it, belly grew even bigger!

October

   Due date comes and goes, spent hours bouncing on stability ball, got induced, had a baby, welcomed Hazel Rae Johnson into the world and into our family. The best day ever!

November

 Learning how to be a parent, fell so in love with our sweet babe, enjoyed Thanksgiving, started running again after taking 3 weeks off, Hazel is mostly sleeping through the night.

December

  Survived finals, made lots of chocolate chex mix, visited Temple Square, spent a week in California, got spoiled rotten from Santa, enjoyed a few days with Doug & Lucinda and Hannah & Andrew

2012 
... a year of ups and downs, learning and growing, small trials and incredible blessings. 

Tonight we say Adios 2012 and hola to 2013!

On Wednesday night Hazel got to join us at her first BYU Basketball game. She slept through most of it, except when we started scoring a lot- she would wake up looking very concerned. It was really fun to get out and do something fun together.

Thursday morning we woke up and hiked the Y. 

For the first half I carried Hazel in the baby Bijou. It felt like I was pregnant all over again and traded Brice for the backpack. Hazel was wonderful and fell asleep for most of the hike. I couldn't believe how exhausting the hike was for me...and I was quick to tell Brice..probably too often too! I've been running more and more each week but oh boy!! It felt really good to be sore the next few days!

I didn't get any pictures but we really enjoyed spending our Saturday night with Hannah and Andrew and the Wright Family. They made our favorites for dinner and spent the evening playing games with us. We played a few fun paper games and then played a few rounds of Murder in the Dark in the basement. Playing that game brought back a lot of fun memories for Brice and I. 

(Thanks Davo and Whitney for the weekend at the cabin.)

We were really grateful for the few days off from school. Two more weeks and then its Christmas Break! 

 I've been on the wait-list at the library for this book since early July! Finally this week it was all mine. I finished it in hours. 

I  couldn't put it down. 

It made me so grateful for life.

So grateful for family. 

So grateful for my sweet babe who looks at me with such innocent eyes. 

So grateful for my body. It may not be what I want it to look like, but it is so capable of so many things- especially the everyday things that I take for granted. 

So grateful for my husband-for loving me and promising to spend eternity with me. 

So grateful for the gospel. For a loving Father in Heaven who loves and protects his children.

Read this book and you will walk a little taller and have a smile on your face all day- it just makes you feel good and want to be better.

I cannot believe how fast the last few weeks have gone by. Hazel is already a month old and we are a week away from Thanksgiving break. I just finished my application for April graduation from BYU and will only have 8.0 credits next semester to graduate. I will also be teaching Pilates again for BYU. Brice continues to work hard at his job, in his classes, and on his motorcycle! 

It is so fun for me to watch Brice with our babe. As I type this he is giving her a bath and telling her how beautiful she is. He is a wonderful husband and father. Life seems to be keeping us busy and on our toes! 

 The timing belt on the jetta broke so we were forced into using most of our savings to pay for it.  I guess those "rainy days" come and we'll start saving and preparing for the next one that is sure to come!

Hazel at ONE month

- Goes to bed between 9:00 and 9:30 and sleeps until 3:00. Eats and goes back to sleep until 6:30-8:00. We are so grateful she is a good sleeper! 

- Comes to classes with me on Weds and is so good!

- Smiles a lot now, but mostly at Brice :)

- Recognizes our voices

- Outgrew newborn diapers last week

- Is eating well and takes a bottle easily when we need her to

- Can hold her head up for quite a long time

- Loves being outside and falls asleep in her stroller as soon as I start jogging

- Has a pretty sad case of baby acne

Looking back I realize the last few posts have only been about Hazel, but what can I say... she is my best buddy and the most important (and time consuming) thing in our lives!