Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Friends who DO stuff

Life changes. When that happens, you have to change with it. Sitting back and complaining about it really doesn't do anything but make you more upset about the situation. When I saw friendships in my life changing, it was sad. I definitely moped about it for longer than needed, but then I thought to myself "Cathy, you have loads of friends. Your problem is that you don't DO anything with them". That's one thing I really want out of friendships in life. I want to actually DO stuff. Not just say hi when I see you at church. (I do have other friends, with whom I do things, as seen in Cowboy month with Denae, Camille and Sarah. Thank goodness for mission friends.) ANYWAY instead of just waiting for some friend to decide they wanted to do something with me, I took some initiative, looked at all my friends and decided to ask them to DO something.
You may remember my post Cowboy Month begins. That was my first attempt to consciously initiate DOing something with a friend. Deb is a girl in my ward who I just adore. She is incredible. I invited her to be my "date" to see Juanito Bandito with Denae and David. We had a lovely time.
And guess what!? Deb invited me to go rafting this last weekend!
My one step out of my comfort zone has turned into "Friends who DO things" and I love it. We really had a great time. Made a few more friends and strengthened my testimony of acting instead of waiting to be acted upon. I may not have succeeded in my marathon training or my ride a horse for cowboy month goal, but I had a great time with great people and that is worth the 8 or so other things I had to forgo for the weekend. It was awesome!
Getting ready to hit the river


That's right. We're friends who do things.

Who knew that Wyoming could actually be beautiful?
So the July challenge (which we have established wasn't really a challenge at all) wasn't quite up to par since I missed riding the horse, but it was still fun. Kevin took me out shooting and that was really fun.



I shot four different guns and it wasn't as awful as I imagined it was going to be. I don't know why I thought it would be super awful . . . but now I don't. 
August will be a real challenge. I'll probably post on here a bit more since facebook is off limits and I'll be bored out of my mind. It will be good for me I suppose, but I'm already dreading it.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Friends

I love my friends. I really just love them. I've always been the listener and I love it! I don't know why, but I really do. I love to listen and I love to be there. I hope they know how much I love them and that it's a blessing to me to be there for them when they need to "unload" or need a shoulder to cry on. I love you!

July is just great

Cowboy month continues. I found some new things to add to the festivities in the most unlikely place. Yesterday I ran a half marathon in Mona, Utah. It was Lavender Days and they do a run through the lavender fields. It was a tough course, mostly flat with a few gradual inclines, but I finished.
After the race they had lots of things to go and see. I wish that I had people there with me, but I went and did stuff by myself and asked random people to take pictures for me (except at the very end when I ran into my friend Erin).
So what kind of "cowboy" things are there at Lavender Days?
Of course you need to ride a moose


And what Cowboy is anything without an Indian?

Do a little Indian dance.

cute little baby miniature pony

Bison, a staple of any good cowboys life . . .  maybe?

and ride a bull. I was actually going to get on this and ride it, but I was tired and there were lots of people around.
I also went on a wagon ride, but I didn't get a picture. It was a good day at Lavender Days and then an excellent afternoon filled with a 4 hour nap. I did manage to be a bit social and went to Battle of the Bands with some people from the ward. It was super fun, even if I was ridiculously tired. I also saw the man I'm going to marry. . .  maybe I should work on actually talking to him next time. Camille where's that book? ;)

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Sometimes

You get hit in the face by something you weren't expecting at all. I go back and forth with how I feel about change. I'm usually on the dislike side of things.
I've known for a while that I'd need to find a new job sometime in the near-ish future. I didn't know exactly when, but I knew it was coming. I felt ready for change. A new job would be great. And now here it is. Time to change. Have to find a new job. You know what? I don't like it. Finding a job is hard. Then you start thinking, why? Why can't I find a job? Should I be looking somewhere else? Should I move? Where should I move? I don't want to move. And it's frustrating and makes me anxious and sad and  . . . and . . . scared. Terrified even. Where the heck am I going?! Where should I go!?
Good thing I know it'll all work out. I've just got to have some faith, keep at it, work for it, even though it's hard. Things will be okay. God has a plan. He's given me a way to get a little glimpse of the plan so I can take the steps I need to, but DEAR ME it's really not any fun at all.

So in the meantime I checked out pinterest to get some inspiration and cheer me up a little. Here is what I found. 









Sunday, July 8, 2012

Cowboy month begins

June was a crazy month with all the running around and just running in general for my June goal. I'm excited for this July "Challenge" which is really no challenge at all. It's just a fun month of all things Cowboy. I started off the month with a rodeo on the 4th of July. I had never been to a real rodeo before so it was a bucket list thing to do as well as an activity for Cowboy month. My friend Sarah went with me and we had a lovely time. There were a few times during those bull rides when I was sure someone was going to die and I'd never go to another rodeo again. But no one died and it was so much fun! The fireworks afterward were awesome as well and it was an overall great day.
The 4th also provided the annual Provo Freedom Run which I did alone this year. It was a good run and it's always fun to get out and run with so many people. In the afternoon there was a huge BBQ at the park by my house which was fun and that was followed by a nap. Then the above mentioned rodeo. 
Provo has some great summer activities. One of them is the Provo Rooftop Concert Series the first Friday night of every month. This month I went with my roommate Stephanie and a friend from the ward, Lauren. We had a great time dancing and people watching. I just love the great girls I get to associate with!
Saturday morning I headed up to West Valley to go to breakfast with my friend Camille. Her birthday was on the 27th of June and for her birthday her husband gave her lunch dates with her friends every day of the week. I live a bit farther than is convenient for lunch, so we did breakfast on Saturday. I just love that girl and it was fun to see her and catch up. Happy Birthday Camille!
After breakfast with Camille I headed up to Logan. For my birthday back in February, my friends Denae and David gave me tickets to the Pickleville Playhouse in Bear Lake, The Hanging of Juanito Bandito. They got me two tickets so I could bring a friend and they came as well. I asked my friend Deb to come with me. It worked out that she was going home that weekend for a wedding and would be in Logan, so I stopped and hung out with her and her family for a while and then we headed to Bear Lake. We had a delicious dinner and then went and played at a park for a while. We grabbed some "famous" raspberry milkshakes real quick before heading to the play. The play itself was worth the trip. The company, dinner, and general lounging was awesome, but the play was FANTASTIC!
Of course I had to get my picture taken with cowboy, Sheriff Jackson.
 
We just loved it! We laughed so hard, and as Deb and I were driving back to Logan, we decided we would definitely see it again. It was just SO good. I recommend it to EVERYONE! You may have to wait til next year, but you should definitely check out Pickleville Playhouse. They do a fantastic job. Best birthday present EVER!
And the night would not have been complete without a picture with Juanito Bandito!