2013 in review

 This was an exciting year.
 My bi monthly goals kind of died, but I still did lots of new and fun things.
-In April I discovered what Ragnar means. At least Ragnar trail. And it was awesome. So awesome that I did another one in August.
-This summer was the summer of ice cream, water, camping and concerts. I made the goal to go camping once a month starting in April and going through September. Totally did it.
-I decided to go on a Mediterranean cruise, which is on a different bucket list I have somewhere in the back of some journal. It was awesome. I love discovering the world and seeing all the diversity there is and how creative God is with his creations.
- Go on a cruise '11 '13
- Go skydiving '11
- Learn Italian
- Visit Italy '13
- Learn to play the guitar
- Go to the festival of colors '11
- Run a 1/2 marathon '11
- Ride in a hot air balloon/ go to the hot air balloon festival in New Mexico
- Shoot a gun '12
- Write a children's book
- See Josh Groban in concert '11
- See Wicked '12
- Go to all the temples in Utah
- See a firefly
- Watch a meteor shower '13
- Hike the Y '12
- Be in a flash mob
- Visit Prince Edward Island
- Swim with dolphins
- Visit all 50 of the United States
- Be the voice of an animated character
- Be complaint free for 30 days
- Ride a tandum bike
- Run a Marathon '12
- Run a Ragnar'13
- Go to a Brad Paisley concert '13
- Visit Europe. A lot of it.
- Go on a spur of the moment trip. on a plane. to somewhere random.
- Be a volunteer at a telethon'13
- Do a triathlon
- Get a Master's degree

One time I was a ninja

So one time I was a ninja, but actually  not a very good one. Friday at work I got a text from my friend Noreen and she was so excited and had something awesome to tell me. So I went home, dropped my purse on the table and went to her house. I left my keys because I didn't want to carry them around and we have a garage so I can just get in with the garage code. So we went and got dinner after her exciting news and then she took me to my house so I could get my pjs and then we could watch a Hallmark movie. I put the code in and it WOULDN'T work. It was pretty cold out and I'm pretty sure the battery in there is ancient so I just went to her house and text my roommates to see when they would be home. Both of them were in Salt Lake. Boo. After the movie I went back to my house and tried again, but alas, no dice. Still wouldn't open. So I thought to myself, I think the kitchen window is not locked. I went to the back of the house and there is a hole in the screen so I pulled the screen down and sure enough I could just slide the window open. BUT the window is kind of high. I thought about calling the home teachers at this point, but I figured they'd be out on dates because it was Friday night and only like 10:30. Luckily there was a water faucet right there that I could step on and so I used it and jumped up into the window. I nailed my elbow pretty hard on the side of the window frame AND the blinds were down so my head was just pushing them into the house while I pulled myself in. I'm sure there was one point where it would have been awesome to see me from either side. Inside with my head poking in and the blinds on my shoulders as I walk on my hands and try to get my whole self in, and from the outside, my feet sticking out the window probably flailing while I wiggled in. It was ridiculous. I have a large bruise on my thigh, also from my jump into the house.

All in all it was quite the night. Next time I'll just call the home teachers. Or maybe I'll just replace the battery.

You are not extra

Last week in Relief Society a sister got up at the end to bare her testimony. I know different people got different things out of it, but the message I got out of it was one of self worth. She talked about how the guy/girl ratio in our ward is very lopsided and how it was easy to feel like an extra. But no matter how it looks, YOU ARE NOT EXTRA! God did not accidentally make more girls than guys. You were made on purpose and YOU ARE IMPORTANT. To me the point was not about dating, although that is a big deal for us at this phase of life. There are so many times we get down on ourselves for innumerable reasons. But I am not extra! I matter!
I read this blog this week titled You are Intentional. It was right on with this thinking. We have a purpose! We were made intentionally and God has a plan for us.

About a month ago, my Relief Society was doing an activity and the week prior to the activity they gave us different challenges. I couldn't actually go to the activity but I decided to participate in the daily activities anyway. One of them had you ask others about your qualities. I recommend you do this, but be prepared to be overwhelmed and probably cry.

This is the message I sent to my friends. 
Our Relief Society is doing a Be-You-tiful challenge this week and I need your help for today's challenge.

Challenge: Read your Patriarchal Blessing and pay special attention to any mention of your strengths, gifts and talents. You might ask your parents or closest friends what gifts they see in you. Make a list of these in your journal.

If you have a minute if you could write down a few gifts you see in me I'd appreciate it. Love you girls.

This is how they responded. (I'm NOT posting this so you can see how awesome I am. I'm posting this so I can always remember what others see in me when I can't see it in myself). 

Patience, open mindedness, pure love of Christ, service oriented, quilting and sewing skills, you share lots with others, listener, faithful in whatever you put your mind to.     ~K.D. 

Thoughtful, creatively crafty, and giving. And sometimes all at once. You are a good listener and a great friend.     ~S.H. 

Cathy, you are one of the most service-oriented and selfless people I know. You always look for ways to help other people. You are a fabulous gift-giver and a very loyal friend. You are also very diligent. You work hard, always at a steady pace. You are never extreme in anything, which means you are very dependable. Love you!       ~D.L.

Dear, dear Cathy. You are one of the most thoughtful people I know. There is no one else in my life that EVER sends me random cards in the mail, just because they were thinking of me. You have the ability to make everyone around you feel important and special. You notice the little things. Your quilting skills are AMAZING. If long term memory is a talent, you're pretty good at that too. You have an amazing gift for serving people out of pure love and kindness. You are always thinking of others. Thanks for being such an awesome friend.      ~D.C. 

Dear Cathy, You are self-motivated, determined, intelligent, brave, strong, and inspirational. I still have the jean quilt you made me, and whenever we need to go somewhere that requires a blanket, the hubby always asks, "Where is that blanket?" You are crafty, talented, thoughtful, y muy hermosa! You have endured trials in your life that you have persevered through, and those experiences allow you to reach out and bless the lives of others. You are fierce and wear your emotions on your sleeve. You are a no-nonsense, getter-dun, kick-butt and take names warrior.You have brought excitement to my life and lasting friendship. You are a character. I am writing an action/adventure/fantasy/romance novel, and one day when it is finished, you will find that one of the characters is inspired by you. (P.S. we should still make that music video and use Sean Faris cardboard cutouts. I am also down with Gerard Butler and Hugh Jackman.) You are a beacon of light and an angel of hope. Querida amiga mia.    ~D.H.

Hey sweet friend!! I love you and I always talk to the hubby about your strengths. so I'd love to brag about you..... You are sensitive to the spirit, have ability to see people's needs and meet them quietly, unwavering faith, charity encompasses everything you do and how you treat others. You are the most loyal friend. You remember the little things. You love people for who they are. You are emotional (I see it as a talent ) you are so humble... Willing to do all the work even if you don't get recognition. Dedicated- you say you're going to do it then you will. Willing to learn new things. Awesome back massage giver. best homemaker, basically ms. Cathy.... I love you and hope to be like you one day.  
~C.S.
  
To all of you who may be doubting your own self worth and purpose, come talk to me. Better yet, go talk to God. He will let you know how important you really are (you can still come talk to me or email me or call me). You are loved. You have purpose. YOU ARE NOT EXTRA.  

You know you've made it

Last night I was hanging out with some guys from my ward. We watched the football game and somehow ended up talking about marriage. At my unmarried age, I guess that's just what we do. :) Anyhow, they wanted to hear our "lists". We all shared our 3-5 things that we're looking for in someone and then 3 of us started our own little conversation. It was more about relationships in general and not just a dating relationship.

One thing that came up was being yourself. I feel like this is something that sometimes I really struggle with. I wouldn't say that I'm a fake person, but like most people (I would say), I have a couple levels of me and most people only see the first level. Maybe you'll make it to the second once I get to know you a bit. I should label these levels and determine how many I actually have, but I haven't sat down and thought about it that much. We talked about being with people who you feel comfortable showing your weaknesses. Everyone wants to show their best self, that's natural and there is nothing wrong with that. But we are human and we are not always our best self. We have bad days and life happens. I have determined that you know you've made it as one of my good friends, one of the people I trust and feel comfortable, when I let you see those levels of me that I find to be embarrassing. The moments when I am weak and vulnerable. It takes a lot to get there. For me to have confidence in you that you love me enough, that when the moment is gone, you won't think any less of me.

I know most people wouldn't think less of me for my moments of weakness, but what I know and what I feel don't always line up. I am grateful for the people in my life who fit into this category. They love me, for me. The good, the bad and the ugly. They see my weaknesses and accept them, but don't stick me in a box. They allow me to grow and help me to do so. They listen with love and then grab me by the hand and help me along until I can do it myself.

I can think of so many people in my life who have actual made it to this point. Now that I think of it, maybe it's not that hard after all. For those of you who have seen me in my not so pretty moments and have continued to love me, I thank you. Especially those I sought out. I KNEW I would be safe. I knew I could depend on you to love me and help me through.

Interesting enough, one of the people I was talking with is one of these people. I think I may have blogged about this a couple months ago. I'm pretty sure I did. I don't know if he really understands how much I value his friendship and look to his example in loving others. He is an example of Christ like love and I feel very blessed to have people like him in my life.

Rome 2013

Thursday morning I woke up. Nervous, a bit apprehensive and excited. Laura came and picked me up to take me to the airport. I love getting to the airport hours before your flight so you can make it through security and everything and then it takes 20 minutes and you sit in the terminal for an hour and 40 minutes.
The flight to New York was uneventful. The layover in New York equally uneventful. The flight to Italy was long, but I did manage to sleep for about 6 hours.
Ashley had gotten instructions from their hotel on how to get there from the airport. They looked simple enough and really I only got lost one time. But waiting for the train at the airport and then finding the right metro line and getting my ticket took longer than I think any of us were planning on. I knew they had tickets for the Colosseum for 12:00 and I just watched the time tick by. I had no way to tell them I was almost there. I finally found the place and as I was headed to my room, the lady at the desk asked me if I had seen my friends. I was so shocked and said no. She said, "Oh they just left 5 minutes ago". There was a note on the door for me, that they had waited as long as they could and that I should stay there and rest up. NOT HAPPENING! I didn't just fly to Rome to rest up!
I knew they were headed to the Colosseum so I asked for directions and RAN to the metro station. I figured catching them at the metro stations was my only shot. Once they were actually there I'd be out of luck. I got on the first metro and didn't see them. I started praying right then that some how I'd be able to find them. I ran from the A line metro to the B and was just standing there on the escalator praying when what do I hear but "Cathy?" I looked up and two steps away was my group!!! I almost burst into tears right there on the spot.
That was the topic of the day. "We found Cathy!" "I can't believe we found Cathy!" "Remember that one time we found Cathy!?" Basically God loves me, knows where I am, he hears my prayers and answers them.
The Colosseum was really cool. SO BIG. I was glad that I listened to the people who told me to download the Rick Steves walking tour. Hearing the history of it made it much more interesting. After the Colosseum we headed over to the Forum and Palantine hill. They were also very interesting. After the touring we had some delightful Italian pizza where we had a dream Italian man as our waiter. On our way home we made a stop to see the Spanish steps and then it was time to head back to the hotel. I was glad to have a place to lay my head.

Preparing for Italy

Travel trips from my roommate Kari
 I have some travel tips for you:

These are all based on personal experience:

1-Don't take a sleeping pill if you aren't used to them. Like be to drowsy and half asleep when you get off the long flight and leave your passport on it.
2-If you leave your passport on a plane, try and realize it before you go through security and get stuck between security and immigration and can't leave anywhere.
3-Ask nice people for help. They will get your passport for you off the plane. 
4-have your address written down on paper (a few pieces off paper) Then you can just give it to your taxi driver. The French ones try and SCREW you and pretend you told them wrong.
5-just don't blow dry your hair (unless it is a hairdryer provided by the boat or hotel). I literally blew circuits for an entire left wing of a hotel once. I also burnt three blow dryers on Europe trips. 2011 was a rough year on my hair.
6-pretend you know what you are doing.
7-In Europe men are going to tell you how pretty you are. Even if you haven't showered and have BO. They still will.
8-Enjoy people telling you how lovely you are because you come back to Provo and the men don't  9-don't be a sucker on exchange rates. I once bought a purse for $300 in Germany that I thought I was getting for $50. It is real nice but really! I had confused to different continents rates. It was a really crazy month for me.
10-Go into every H&aM you see. They are just better in DC and Europe.
11- Buy Kari Chocolate
12-Buy Kari Chocolate
13-Buy Kari Chocolate'
14-If you have a CC take it and use that.
15-Always have enough cash on hand to take taxi home.
16-Beware that they will charge for plain old simple water. They have some real European hospitality, NOT.
17-Europeans stink quite often, Don't let your face indicate that they do. Keep calm and don't breath in.
 I wish you were going to Asia. I would have EVEN better tips. Like no matter what they say...don't eat the Ox Tongue! OR never use a public restroom in Malaysia. EVER. You will never recover from that smell.
hahaha here is a great guide from nomadic Matt on girls traveling in Italy.  This line below makes me soooooo jealous of you:
"Let’s cut right to the chase: Italian men are beautiful. The phrase, ‘Tall, dark, and handsome’ was probably coined in Italy. I think most women find Italian men to be easy on the eyes, so if people watching is your thing, then consider heading to Italy. The men here are very suave and make it easy to fall in love with them, which isn’t a bad thing".
To which I replied: I have been asked multiple times if I'm going to kiss an Italian man
And then Kari replied: do it. I will give you $$
me: we'll see if I meet any worth kissing
Kari: just base it off looks. that is all I ask.
99-Pack a carry on that has underwear and a change of clothes.  I traveled with an Exec that failed to do that once and had to be in meetings in windbreaker athletic pants for three days before he retrieved his lost luggage.  Not a great first impression.

Other preparations have including:
-asking my cousin for great places to see and eat since he lived there for 2 years and has been back a few times. His enthusiasm was contagious.
-Having the home teachers give me a blessing to help my anxiety ridden self.
-Using google maps to determine how far apart hotels are so I'm not completely cut off from other people in my group.
-Pre-trip check in.
-Finding a ride to the airport. It pays to have people who love you and who don't work during the day.

Thanks for all your help and excitement. It's gonna be great.

Summer of concerts

I'm not sure how it happened, but this was the summer of concerts. I started in June with the Josh Turner concert at the Scera Shell. I went with Noreen and we had a lovely time! That man can sing and he is easy on the eyes.

August was my half birthday present to myself by going to Brad Paisley. I went with Sarah, Lisa and Brenda. Josh and Kim were there as well and it was a surprise to see my favorite Liz. Brad is a favorite, but we were kind of far away and couldn't see super well, but it was still fun. His concert has been on my bucket list so I can check that off now.

The end of August was Sara Bareilles and One Republic. I went for Sara Bareilles, but I LOVED the concert for One Republic. I knew I liked their music before, that's one reason I decided to go. Sara Bareilles and another band I knew was okay. Guess I missed the memo that I know all their songs and all the words and that I LOVE THEM! It was really fun. I went with my roommate Chelsea and met up with Kyna, Jessica and Jen from the ward. They had gotten there early and had awesome seats. Sadly they also got caught in the pouring rain. Kyna called me as we were leaving to go to the concert and told us to buy some tarps since it was an outdoor concert and the grass was now soaking wet. It was a good plan. The concert was SO fun.

I was going to finish the summer out with Backstreet Boys, but I couldn't find anyone who would go with me. My friend Jonathan was going with his sisters and he actually offered to sell me his ticket. I didn't get my hopes up too much though, I didn't figure his sister would let him bail. I wish she had. I'll have to catch them next time they tour.

Ragnar Snowbasin

So in April my friend Brenda got me to join her Ragnar Trail team down in Zion National Park. I wrote about it here. I loved it so much, when I got an email promoting Ragnar Trail Snowbasin I jumped at it. I knew a couple girls in my ward had wanted to do it so I figured finding a team wouldn't be too difficult, so I signed myself up. I was completely wrong about finding a team. It was SO hard. Emma was going to be out of town, Sam broke his thumb, Steph's family was going to be in town, Dave didn't have the money, Jeremy would be out of the country, Randy couldn't get work off, blah blah blah. So with four weeks to go I had four people: Leslie, Jerika, Jarom and me.
During my training I fell pretty hard and was out for about a week. That didn't help my confidence in the whole experience.

Slowly, but surely I added people to my team. Jentrie, who just finished a marathon and Russ, who did Ragnar Zion in April. But with just two weeks left I still needed two people, so I did what we do. I put it up on facebook. I was surprised when my friend Tim from college commented and said he'd do it. I hadn't seen him in 9 years! And my final team member was solidified the Saturday before. Luckily Aubrey had been training for a half marathon she has in September. Sadly I missed the deadline to change our team name so we were Name in Progress. Luckily we weren't the only ones with a name like that.

Friday afternoon I left work and picked up Aubrey and then we headed to pick up Tim. I got to meet his wife, (since we've been facebook friends for years but had never actually met) and then we headed up to Snowbasin. We got there around 1 and got checked in. Then we were off to set-up camp. The side of a mountain.

Aubrey, Tim and I got the tents set up and not long after Jerika, Jentrie, and Jarom got there. 

Then it was time to get ready to run. Our start time was 2:30 so we didn't have long to wait. It was pretty warm, so staying hydrated was a big priority. Lucky for us (or so I thought) we were close to the bathrooms. They were pretty nice bathrooms, but at 2 a.m. the slamming doors was NOT very convenient.
Jerika was our first runner and it was cool to actually be there for her to run under the arch, since I missed that part at the Zion race.

 I was the fourth runner so I had a while to wait. I was grateful Jarom had brought a canopy for us to sit under while we waited. It was fun to chat with everyone and get to know people a little bit better. Tim was our resident relationship expert (since he was the only married person and the only guy who was really around all the time).
My first leg was the green. That first mile hike up the hill was a killer. Then the trail split and there was another hill to climb. After that second hill it was a great trail. Lots of shade and very pretty. I was glad I had taken water with me since it was still pretty warm and there was a lot of dust which was scratchy on my throat.

 My second leg of the race was at about 3 in the morning. I tried to sleep, but it just wasn't working so I sat in a camp chair and watched the moon for a while. My second leg was the red trail. It had a 1200 foot elevation gain in two miles. I felt like I was climbing that mountain forever. I couldn't really see where I was, but I was pretty sure if I went much farther I'd be able to see Ogden on the other side. I finally got to the downhill, only to discover it was pretty steep. With not too much light, it was hard to run down. Gravity wanted to help me out, but since I couldn't see I was fighting gravity the whole way down. When I finished my back hurt pretty bad. Luckily they had left a foam roller out on the grass, so I took advantage of that to try and help ease the ache. I lost a toenail Monday night. I blame the beating my feet got from the red trail.

I got about 3 hours of sleep from 4 a.m. to 7, but then the sun was up and people were out and about so trying to sleep anymore wasn't really going to happen.

Tim coming in from his first leg, the yellow trail.

Russ finishing his first leg.

Jentrie finishing her last leg of the race.

 The trails were much steeper and rockier than the Zion run and it took us longer than I anticipated. My last run was the yellow trail at about 11. It was already really hot and it was the longest trail. It of course started out with the mile hike and continued gaining for a while, but then it was just rolling hills. I did manage to fall on this trail. Two of the other girls also fell on this one. I fell just after the water station where they had sprayed me down so I got pretty dirty, but only came out with a small scratch and a bruise. I really enjoyed the yellow trail and am still debating whether I liked it, or the green better.

 We didn't get too much sleep so Aubrey found a cool spot to wait for our last runners to finish. These are the benches in the girls bathroom in the lodge.

Tim watching the screens for our runner to come in.

Waiting for Leslie to come in to switch for the last leg.

Leslie finishing strong.

Our sad little running bib. It got ripped on the second leg. By the 9th leg it was hanging in there just barely. I'm not sure when they taped it. Obviously the tape didn't last on the one side. And the buckle broke around leg 12ish so we were tying it around us. We recycled the poor thing when we were done.

The drive home was long. We dropped Tim off and then headed to Draper. We stopped and got some dinner and I could hardly focus on what Aubrey was saying. I dropped her off and then headed for Provo. I just got more and more tired and when I hit construction at Lehi, I wanted to cry. I had been debating whether or not I would stay up and work on my lesson, but there was no way I'd be able to do anything productive. I got home just before 8 p.m. and was asleep by 8:15.
Sunday morning I was up at 5:30 to shower and work on my lesson. Church started at 8:30 and I had a hard time focusing on things. The nice thing about 8:30 church is that you have a long time to nap afterward and nap I did. Monday was still a challenge to try and focus, but by Tuesday I think I had mostly recovered on sleep.

This was definitely a more challenging course, but I'm glad I did it. I don't plan on ever being team captain again, but I'm up for being on someone else's team anytime. I'm really grateful for the support of my team and the good time we had.

Anxiety much?

This last week stressed me out a little bit.
Sunday I was called to be a Relief Society teacher. I've had that calling before and I actually really enjoy it. One catch, my first lesson was for the next Sunday. The day after Ragnar. The first week of 8:30 church. Awesome. I read the lesson and started to ponder what the girls needed to hear and what might be the best approach.
Monday I found out my coworker was quitting. The coworker who saved my sanity in February when she got hired and learned so quickly and made everything great at work. Now she will be gone and we will be splitting up her responsibilities. I also started to look at online classes and that gave me MORE anxiety, so I stopped. I decided it could wait until other things were off my anxiety plate.
Ragnar was always on my mind. I got my final runner on Saturday. The rest of the week was sending emails, making sure everyone had what they needed and coordinating when to be there and who was going with whom. I took my team captain from last Ragnar's advice and delegated. That helped ease my anxiety a bit.
Thursday night I was back to the temple after a 6 week break while the temple was closed for cleaning and some minor remodeling. When we got our schedules I saw that I was a floater every week. That does not usually happen. After our meeting, our shift coordinator came to talk to me and asked that I be at the veil all night to shadow the veil coordinators. So I was there ALL night. It was fun and I liked learning it, but I was tired and needed to get some sleep before Ragnar.
I prayed for no nightmares, since all week I had slept poorly because I would dream of Ragnar and that I needed to stay awake to make sure everyone made it to their leg of the race. I slept really well and got up excited for Friday.
Actual Ragnar deserves it's own post so I won't go into much of it. Let's just say I took my lesson manual with the intention of working on my lesson, but it never left my bag.
On the drive home I discussed whether I should work on the lesson that night or go to bed and work on it early in the morning. As I got closer to home, morning was the only answer that was going to work. I was SO tired. I went to bed at 8:15 p.m. and slept through the night. I got up at 5:30 and went over things, but I still didn't know what to do. I created a powerpoint and just put up quotes from the manual that I had highlighted.
I wasn't nervous at all during any of the meetings. Just really tired. The lesson went REALLY well. I knew it would. The girls in my Relief Society are SOOO amazing and I knew I could count on them to participate and share their thoughts and experiences. The lesson was on the priesthood. There were so many amazing comments.
Two of my favorites were about the priesthood being an umbrella. It's held by the father, but it covers the whole family and the family can use that priesthood and pray for the priesthood holder and by their faith great things can come about.
Also applying it directly to our situation in life, we can be examples to the elders around us and expect good things from them.
A thought that I shared that I had while I was studying was this:
The brothers we are around now will be the bishops, husbands, young men leaders, Sunday School teacher and most importantly, fathers, in the church. They may not be our bishops or husbands, but they will be someone's. We need to support and encourage them and help them become who God needs them to be for the future of the church, just as we hope there are women elsewhere doing the same for our future.

I am so grateful for the priesthood in my life and for the worth men in my life who are willing to bless my life with it.
In the end the week was just fine. My lesson turned out fine, Ragnar was fun, work will go on and I will figure things out. With the Lord all things are possible and everything always works out.

It's coming

I'm trying REALLY hard not to wish away my summer and to just enjoy the season I'm in and the time I've been given. But really summer has never been my favorite and I'm really excited for

Seriously though. My roommate and I talked about how much we love the month of October for 10  minutes last night. It's just so great and I wish Fall lasted longer in the west.

Be obvious

Last night at our ward FHE, bishop shared a message about cairns.
What is a cairn you may ask? It's a trail marker made of stacked rocks.

He shared a story of when he was hiking and got separated from his group and realized he didn't know where the trail was. He started hiking and soon found two rocks stacked and a third rock kind of leaning on the other two. He wasn't sure it was a cairn, but didn't have anything else to go on, so he followed it and sure enough it lead to other cairns and he found the rest of his group. He compared that with another time when he came across a cairn that was very clearly stacked and ENORMOUS. It was obviously a cairn. No doubt or hesitation, he knew he was on the right path and could carry on with confidence.

He challenged us to be obvious cairns. When people look at us, they should be able to tell right away what we stand for and know that it's okay to follow our example. We need to be obvious in what we believe, by what we do.

Don’t you just love that? BE OBVIOUS. People shouldn’t question if we are different or not. It should be obvious that we are different. They should see us as the Christ loving, good people that we are taught to be. Hopefully by seeing that it will invite them to ask questions, follow, listen and accept the principles that make us that way. Hopefully we can live in a way that people can follow us with confidence and know that they are on the right path.

Step by step

It's the last day of July and I'm barely posting something for the month. I'd say it's because my life is boring, but that's not exactly true. Maybe busy? I don't think that's it either. Lazy is probably the better word. Whatever.

After my run last night I ran into my visiting teacher Deb. (Can I just say I love her? She's pretty much the best ever.) We had a nice little chat. The visiting teaching message this month was on teaching and learning the gospel. One part at the very end talks about asking meaningful questions. In my reading of the lesson I thought of a couple questions about that: What questions should I be asking? and How do you ask good questions? In my own visits to the girls I visit teach we discussed this, but didn't come up with any conclusions. In talking with Deb about the same thing I gained some insight.
First of all I need to prepare better for prayer. I just kneel down and go for it instead of thinking it out. There's nothing wrong with just going for it, but I don't feel like it's very effective for me. Deb also suggested that maybe our every day questions (maybe not necessarily spiritual) could be directed towards God instead of just thought of and discarded.
Next, to go with the first: think about the different areas of your life. Physical, emotional, spiritual, social, etc. In each of these areas ask these questions:
What do I want to change?
Who do I want to become?
What are my goals?
Who can I help along the way?
What worries me?
What talents do I want to develop?
Look at these questions (and others you think of) for each area. Now make and plan and think of questions to ask God to develop this plan and put it into action. Maybe I won't even know the answers to those questions and that will give me a place to start in my question asking.
Really ponder and find the questions of my soul. I think I should definitely write them down. I forget what I've asked for or what I'm working on so who knows what answers I've received and didn't even connect.
What opportunities have I passed by? What progress did I miss?
Lots to work on.

Time

Life is a funny thing. You have days that just drag on and on and you think they'll never be over and yet, when you stop and look back, you can't believe how fast the time has gone. I read this quote by Robert Frost the other day and it really hit home.

Life goes on. No matter the heartache and disappointment, life continues moving forward. Hopefully we continue to move with it. It doesn't discount our pain and trials, but time continues on and it does heal. It softens the pain. You don't forget, you don't fill the void, you learn to live with it and keep going.
14 years ago today we lost my brother Brad. Last year his birthday was really rough for me. It comes and goes, but it's always there. Some days are harder than others. I am so grateful for my family and our testimony of the Plan of Salvation. I'm grateful we stuck together and have become closer as the years have passed. I am grateful for the memories we have with Brad and the memories we have made since.
I am grateful for the friends God has given me who have helped me through trials and continue to lift and support me. I got a text from one of my best friends today just letting me know she was thinking of me today and another friend who probably didn't even think about it when she sent me a text of her kids that started my day out right. God knows and He puts people in our lives to make it a little easier.
God is aware of us. We don't always understand His plan or His timing, but I know He is always taking care of us and wants the very best for us. I am grateful for His constant hand in my life, even though I mostly don't understand and get very frustrated. I know He loves me and things will always work out the best way as long as I do my best to follow him.
Brad, I love you. I miss you. We all miss you.
Heavenly Father, keep taking care of him please. :)

Happy People

 A couple weeks ago I was at a birthday party. A friend of mine came up to me and said "Cathy, you smile more than you use to. You look much happier." It was a surprise, but welcome comment and I've thought about it a lot since then. Why do I smile more? Why am I happier? Could I be doing even better? My answer to the third question was "of course!" I can always do better. This morning a friend posted a link to an article or blog or whatever you want to call it "22 Things Happy People Do Differently." This might be a bit much to disclose about myself, but these are the ones I picked out that I really want to focus and work on.
2. Treat everyone with kindness.
Did you know that it has been scientifically proven that being kind makes you happier? Every time you perform a selfless act, your brain produces serotonin, a hormone that eases tension and lifts your spirits. Not only that, but treating people with love, dignity, and respect also allows you to build stronger relationships.
4. Express gratitude for what they already have.
There’s a popular saying that goes something like this: “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.” You will have a deeper sense of contentment if you count your blessings instead of yearning for what you don’t have.
6. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Happy people ask themselves, “Will this problem matter a year from now?” They understand that life’s too short to get worked up over trivial situations. Letting things roll off your back will definitely put you at ease to enjoy the more important things in life.
7. Speak well of others.
Being nice feels better than being mean. As fun as gossiping is, it usually leaves you feeling guilty and resentful. Saying nice things about other people encourages you to think positive, non-judgmental thoughts.
11. Avoid social comparison.
Everyone works at his own pace, so why compare yourself to others? If you think you’re better than someone else, you gain an unhealthy sense of superiority. If you think someone else is better than you, you end up feeling bad about yourself. You’ll be happier if you focus on your own progress and praise others on theirs.
13. Never seek approval from others.
Happy people don’t care what others think of them. They follow their own hearts without letting naysayers discourage them. They understand that it’s impossible to please everyone. Listen to what people have to say, but never seek anyone’s approval but your own.
14. Take the time to listen.
Talk less; listen more. Listening keeps your mind open to others’ wisdoms and outlooks on the world. The more intensely you listen, the quieter your mind gets, and the more content you feel.
15. Nurture social relationships.
A lonely person is a miserable person. Happy people understand how important it is to have strong, healthy relationships. Always take the time to see and talk to your family, friends, or significant other.
16. Meditate.
Meditating silences your mind and helps you find inner peace. You don’t have to be a zen master to pull it off. Happy people know how to silence their minds anywhere and anytime they need to calm their nerves.
17. Eat well.
Junk food makes you sluggish, and it’s difficult to be happy when you’re in that kind of state. Everything you eat directly affects your body’s ability to produce hormones, which will dictate your moods, energy, and mental focus. Be sure to eat foods that will keep your mind and body in good shape.
22. Accept what cannot be changed.
Once you accept the fact that life is not fair, you’ll be more at peace with yourself. Instead of obsessing over how unfair life is, just focus on what you can control and change it for the better.

A lift from the Philippines

I should probably keep my drama to myself and only write my sister about uplifting happy things, but I don't. I write her about my life and I may complain about dating and marriage sometimes. It happens. This reply I got from her made me smile. She's so great. My perfect man is just lost in transit and will arrive at the perfect time. 

This is her letter:

I like to think of you like Elaine S. Dalton..... She's a babe!!! But.... she was like 36 before she was married.... I don't know if she was a weirdy or anything..... but I don't feel like people that are weird make it to where she has. I got a package in the mail from Cache the other day.... If I had gotten it any sooner I wouldn't have appreciated it, but seeing as how my week was crap, my companionship was crap, I felt like crap and then at the exact right timing I got a package from him, even though he sent it to me FOREVER ago!!!! Heavenly Father has already sent you the perfect man..... he's just waiting for the right time for him to arrive so that everything else can fall into place..... like me being back in time to attend your wedding:)

I love your guts sister!!!

I looked into this and it's not actually true. Elaine S. Dalton got married when she was 22, but really that's not even the point. My sister is great, she thinks I'm great, and really do believe God has already sent me the perfect man, he's just taking a long time. 

Where is my will?

This week was a little rough. I might have had a breakdown on Wednesday. I was overdue for one. Cried it out, got a hug, had a good laugh, went running, life was good. But as I got to pondering why I had the breakdown in the first place I realized that I need to change something. First thing, don't get too invested too quickly, but after that, I realized I need to figure out where my will is. Friday night at the temple the scripture minute was Doctrine and Covenants 6:36. This was one of my themes on the mission. I sometimes struggle to look to the Lord in all things. I doubt. I fear.

This morning I read Elder Bednar's talk "That We Might "Not Shrink", because maybe my problem isn't that I don't have the faith to "be healed" or that the Lord can do something, but my problem is that I don't have the faith for him to NOT do it. Just because he can, doesn't mean that it's part of his plan and for me that's harder to accept.

"But as John and Heather and I counseled together and wrestled with these questions, we increasingly understood that if God’s will were for this good young man to be healed, then that blessing could only be received if this valiant couple first had the faith not to be healed. In other words, John and Heather needed to overcome, through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, the “natural man” (Mosiah 3:19) tendency in all of us to demand impatiently and insist incessantly on the blessings we want and believe we deserve."

I am fighting this battle with the natural man. I demand impatiently the blessings I want, think I deserve and know the Lord could grant. But that is not how it works. I have to allow my will to be swallowed up in the Lord's will. I have to accept what he gives me and sometimes that includes what he chooses not to give me. I may think I know best, and I know what the possibilities are, but I have to come to grips with the fact that sometimes, the test is to accept what doesn't happen.

So I'm working on aligning my will with the Lord's. I'm sure it will be a long trip filled with relapse and relearning the same lesson again and again. Good thing the Lord is endlessly patient with me.

Something to remember

D&C 6:36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
Deuteronomy 1:21 Fear not, neither be discouraged.
Mark 5:36 Be not afraid, only believe.

Note to self: Remember these. 

Lord, I believe

I'm sure this will be a jumble of thoughts.

Wednesday in Institute we studied Elder Hollands talk from this past April Conference titled Lord, I Believe. You can read or listen to it here.
The teacher had us think about the mountains in our lives that we have to climb or "move", the faith it takes to do so, and the things that get in our way. Elder Holland talks about not leading with our unbelief. Don't focus on what you don't have or what you can't do. Look at what you have and start there.
The application I took out of this was attitude. My attitude. How do I see my situation? How do I see the people around me? Where is my focus?
At Institute I was thinking I didn't really even have mountains. Duh we all have mountains. God will humble you and help give you clarity. He's very considerate that way. As I have thought about my attitude and how it can lift me up or bring me down, I've been trying to be more positive, both about my situations and about the people around me. This has proven to be very difficult and I'm definitely being put to the test and sad to say, I've found myself trying to justify it.

My friend posted this video on facebook last night. Just when I was beating myself up a little for having failed in loving a certain person and it really helped me recommit. It's up to me. I choose how to react and although it's difficult and can feel like my situation controls my emotions, it's really me and I can pray for help. I can take where I am and move forward.
There are always at least two ways to see people and situations. It's up to me what I choose. I can let them bug me and hate them and be miserable, or I can remember that they are a child of God and I have no control over how they act or what they do and that's okay.I can see my situation acting on me or I can see it as an opportunity to trust God and act and see what I can learn and how I can grow.
I just have to keep smiling, keep praying, and keep using the faith I do have to move forward.
Lord, I believe. 

Ragnar 2013

Ragnar. It was hard. Trail running is not for sissies. Pretty sure my training was far far far from what it should have been. They should have told us we needed to find a beach, that's also a hill a mile high and just run up it a million times. Anyway, we planned to leave Friday morning at 8. We may have left not on time and then we stopped for lunch longer than we should have.

We were suppose to be there at 12:30 to check in and our start time was 2:30. We pulled in to park the truck at about 1:30 and then we had to wait for a tram to pick us up and ALL OF OUR CRAP and take us to the campground.

Charlie was our first runner, so we finally got all our stuff sent Charlie to the start line and he barely had time to ask for a wrist band when they started our heat. Off he went on the green trail. 3.5 miles. I was up next so I grabbed my running gear and headed for the bathroom while everyone else transported our stuff to our camp site. Darn! I wasn't there to help carry it all. I wasn't ready very long before I had to get to the start/finish line and wait for Charlie to come in for my leg of the race. He made good time and handed the timing chip off to me and then I was off to the yellow trail. 3 p.m.  4 miles. 83 degrees. gained 400 feet in a mile. That's about the same incline that stairs have. And I didn't drink much water before I got there and didn't take any with me. FAIL. Needless to say the yellow trail was my least favorite. I pretty much hated it a whole bunch. Didn't make awful time, all things considered, handed off to Kyna for the red trail and then went to camp to find some fluid. After I got some Gatorade and water I felt pretty darn good.
Camp was an interesting site. Just lots and lots and lots of tents everywhere.

We had three tents tucked in with a whole bunch of other people. We'd wait a round for a while until we got to the estimated time we thought the runner would be coming in and then we'd walk over to cheer them on as they came to the finish. I didn't run my next leg of the race until 11:00 p.m. I had the green trail. 3.5 miles in the nice cool darkness. I had a head lamp, but I didn't love it. There was a full moon and for most of it, that was enough. I had a couple stumbles, but didn't actually go down until around mile 2.5 on a very flat road of soft sand, I didn't see a little rock, tripped and ended up on my back staring up at the moon. After laying there for a few seconds, I got up and continued on. I kind of wish someone on my team had been there to witness it. I thought it was hilarious and I'm sure they would have enjoyed it as well. Ran the last half mile, up those lame sauce switch backs that every trail ended in, like a boss and finished in pretty good time. LOVED the green trail. Went to camp, changed my clothes, ate a granola bar and went to bed. Probably not my greatest plan, but I was tired.
Woke up around 6-ish and got ready for my last leg of the race. The long red trail, 7.5 miles. Cheered Charlie in as he finished his last leg and then left on mine with the sun just starting to peak over the horizon. The temps were awesome and the trail was beautiful. Our team volunteer was at the water station and it was great to have someone I knew cheering for me AND give me some food since I failed to eat anything and was super hungry. Came in somewhat strong and got some food first thing. Took it right out of my teammates hand. It felt so good to be done! Back to camp to eat and sit around, getting up occasionally to go cheer a teammate on as they came in. Poor Brenda and Jarom. They had the worst times for running. They both had to run their first two in the dark and their last one in the heat. :/ They ran it like champs though. I had it pretty good, all things considered.
I started getting pretty sore after that and headed to get a massage. That helped a bit, but it wasn't too good. We all put on our awesome shirts we made and went to wait for Jarom to come in for the team finish. We all ran in together and were just so happy to be finished.

Dinner that night was entertaining. We were all so tired we were saying all kinds of crazy things. Brenda was really struggling to put a sentence together and we all laughed pretty hard. The burgers were also ENORMOUS and it was quite the sight to watch us try and eat them.

I slept really good Saturday night. The only hitch was my 1:30 wake up for the bathroom and then when I got back to the tent I found out that the guy in the tent next to us snores. REALLY LOUD. Puts my dad's snoring to shame. I had to dig around in my stuff to find some ear plugs so I could actually go back to sleep.
My legs felt better Sunday morning. I got up and got ready and then we packed up camp and headed out.

We made it to church just outside of Zion National Park and then we went and hiked around a bit in the park.

It was a great trip and a fun race and I'd definitely do it again.I had a great team and we made some fun memories. Our inside jokes give me a good laugh at random times throughout the day and I'm grateful for the new friends I made.

Happy in the temple

Tonight was a great night in the temple. With summer coming Friday nights in the temple are getting harder, with people out playing and me feeling out of the loop, but tonight was great.

I'm just so grateful for the opportunity to serve in the house of the Lord. In the session I was in tonight, there was a girl receiving her own endowment and I was seated at the front so I got to watch everyone instead of watch the movie. I liked to watch this girl who was there for the first time. She had a pretty expressive face and you could see the joy on her face, the confusion sometimes, the worry she wouldn't remember or do something right, and the peace. I love to sit and see all these people and just think about how much God loves them. It's a great experience.

I waited around for the last round a veils even though they said they had enough people and I could go home. I only helped one lady at the veil, but she smiled at me and said thank you and as she started to go through she said "You are very pretty". Sometimes it's great to have a perfect stranger tell you something nice. You know they don't feel like they "have" to tell you that. It's not likely they will see you again, they just genuinely want you to know. Then as I was going to the locker room to change on of the temple workers started to chat and asked if my husband worked in the temple as well. I told her I was single as could be and she said "I find that hard to believe". Again, not really a person who would feel like she "has to" say something nice. Maybe they were just being nice, but it still made my night.

AND LAST NIGHT! We had ward temple night which is always fun, but as I was waiting at name issue for some girls from the ward, I saw Ashley, our beautiful Relief Society President and one of the girls I visit teach and she was so happy to see me! Made me feel like a valued person. I know I have friends and that they care about me, but her excitement to see me caught me off guard and warmed my heart.

Life is good. God is good. Happy as can be.

How do we say goodbye?

How do we say goodbye when we never want it to end?
Why can't we just pretend there'll never be a goodbye or farewell my friend, why must this be the end?
One day we'll meet again, till then we say goodbye.
These are the words to a song our Swing Choir always sang at the end of their shows. When I was a Senior I cried my eyes out while they sang it.
I don't like goodbyes. They are sad. I just don't like them. I discovered this weekend that I don't even like to watch other people say goodbye.
Now I'm not talking, I'm saying goodbye to my family when I leave after I've been visiting. Sometimes it can be a little sad and depending on the circumstances I might shed a tear, but in general I'm okay after a weekend with the family.
I'm talking goodbye's to people you have a good chance of never seeing again. It happened a lot on the mission. You're in an area you build relationships with members and investigators and then you get transferred. It's a part of the mission, a part of life, but that doesn't really make it easier.
I was in my first area for 5 transfers. 5 transfers! That's a long time. Especially for a sister (although not as long as some sisters I know). We got transfer calls on Saturday night and I didn't tell anyone at church I was being transferred. Then on Monday night I found out we wouldn't be having FHE with my favorite members and recent converts Fabian and Jacqueline because they had gone out of town. I had to tell them goodbye over the phone. I think that was an even worse goodbye.

Noche de Hogar (FHE) with Fabian and Jacqueline 2007

Now, five and a half years later, they are here in the United States for a visit. If I thought that goodbye in the Canary Islands was tough, it was nothing compared to the goodbye I had Friday night. Basically I was a walking puddle of emotions. To see them here, to go to the temple with them and to be able to interact with them now that I can actually speak their language was a blessing I never could have imagined and then to have to say goodbye, well, you might as well just rip out my heart and stomp on it a little.

I was not "their" missionary, but they have a special place in my heart. What a blessing it was for me to serve a mission and to get to know so many wonderful people; members, investigators, and missionaries alike. They are some of the best friends I have.

Noche de Hogar (FHE) with Fabian and Jacqueline 2013

Until we meet again, I love you Fabian and Jacqueline!

Emotions

I get so frustrated with myself and the way I'm feeling. I understand that feelings are a part of life and that sometimes they can't be helped, but lately I feel like the ones I'm experiencing actually could be helped and I'm just failing and changing my attitude or outlook or whatever it is that would make me feel better, but I'm just not doing it.
Jealousy, inadequacy, loneliness, resentment. Not exactly at the top of the "How I want to feel" list.

I tell people I'm fine. Because really I am. Life is good and I don't have anything to complain about, but then I come home and even though I know it's true and I am "okay" I don't feel it.
I know the answer. I know what I need to do, but sometimes it's just easier said than done and the results don't come as quickly as I would like them to. But I know they work, so I guess I'll just have some patience and some perseverance and know that God knows what's going on and He knows what He is doing.
We all have Jonah days. But they teach us, make us stronger and they pass.

Life as of late

I am unsure what happened to February. I'm pretty sure it happened, since it's now March, but I really don't remember much of it. I had a birthday in there, made a trip home, and moved. But I guess the move really happened in March, so that doesn't count.
We hired another girl at work and that has significantly made my life less stressful. I leave by 5:30 and don't have nightmares about things I might have done wrong or not done at all at work. It's very good for my energy levels. Who knew actually sleeping instead of working in your sleep could make you feel so much better. Let's add to that the nicer weather and longer days, thus allowing time for a good run after work and really life is great.
I did have to move and that was kind of crummy, but I'm all moved now and I think it will be a good change. Don't go thinking I got adventurous or anything. I moved one street north. Big jump. I just couldn't stand the thought of moving out of my ward.
My bi monthly goals seem to be doing not so well. I did okay in January with family history, I got pictures from my mom and some stuff she had started, asked my family for written stuff on each member of the family, got a response from my sister, and did indexing. February, as mentioned, didn't actually happen, so I'm not going to count it against me.
March and April are suppose to be missionary months. Last year I did "March Madness" Deb style. Which means I read the entire Book of Mormon in the month of March. I'm doing it again this year and I'm almost caught up. Moving put a big dent in things, but luckily it available to listen to online. Hurray for technology.
I plan to continue on the family history kick and maybe that will just be my goal for the whole year. It'll take me that long to get my family to get me the info I requested!

And now you know I'm still alive. Nothing too exciting. Life is good.

I should be sleeping

It's Wednesday night. 11:45. I've been tired since 7. Work is kicking my butt. I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but I've been laying here not being able to go to sleep and I took some NyQuil so maybe that will kick in soon and knock me out. In the meantime I thought I'd jot down some thoughts I had while I was laying here, not sleeping.
Sometimes I think I'm afraid of relationships because I don't feel like I have a lot to offer. It's always in a worldly way though. When I think about supporting a husband while he finishes school, I think "How would I do that?" Sure I have a degree, but it's not something I want to do anything with. Then I think of conversations I would have with this potential suitor and what I would say about working and why I don't want to do anything with my degree and why I studied what I did and blah blah blah. These are the thoughts I came up with in this imaginary conversation.
"Why did you study broadcasting?"
"To tell you the truth, it was because I didn't know what else to study. I liked working with the cameras when I would go to work with my dad and thought it would be fun. I enjoyed my job working with video productions, but never really loved broadcasting. It's such a competitive field, both broadcasting and video production and I just didn't have the passion I would need for it."
"So what are you passionate about?"
"Well there is one thing I can think of. When I was a kid and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I'd say, 'A nurse or a mom' or 'A teacher or a mom'. 'An air traffic controller or a mom'. The first one changed frequently, but the second one never did. That is what I am passionate about. I want to be a mom. I want to have a family of my own and teach them the gospel and how to love people and encourage them to make a difference in the world. I think the only thing I might be more passionate about is watching my husband be a dad."

And then I don't know what he would say or what I would say, but it's a good passion. I had someone tell me I should have a backup plan, and maybe they're right, but it's still the best plan even if it doesn't happen in this life.

Life is really good. God really REALLY loves me. I have seen that over and over and over again. He has a plan for me and things will work out the best way possible. I may never get to live out my passion in this life, but that doesn't mean I have to give up hope. There are never wasted experiences in life. God knows what he's doing and I'm going to trust in that.

I may not have things totally figured out, but I know what I ultimately want and I'm not going to compromise. I may have to do other things in the meantime, but I'm going to enjoy the journey, learn from the pain, and be the best Cathy I can.

And sometimes the power gets shut off

Here it is February and my blog has definitely taken a backseat in my life. I work at least 9 hour days with no lunch break and come home to either veg out because I'm so tired or run to the 15 things I've got going on.
My job has added new stress to my life that I've never known before. It actually gives me nightmares. The lady that I work with is now on maternity leave for 2 months and I've been training to take over her responsibilities while training another girl to take over mine. I don't know if I'm the world's worst trainer or if she's just the slowest learner, but it's taken a long time and we've still got a ways to go. Wednesday was the first day with Becky gone and it went okay, but not great. Thursday though, man Thursday made Wednesday look like a piece of cake. Today was inventory so we were trying to get everything in the computer. I'm working away only to get a phone call from my roommate telling me the power had been shut off. Two of my roommates are moving and we had to switch the utilities from their names to mine and I tried to call, but I had been given the wrong number and I thought it went until today, but alas, no. Shut off. So I am forced to take a break from work to call to get our power turned back on. Lots of dinero and tears later, power is back on, BUT me, being the crier I am, continued crying for the rest of the day. The stress of the day had been tipped by the power being shut off. WORST. DAY. EVER.
I text my old home teacher and asked if he'd come give me a blessing, he said sure.  I then worked until 6:20 trying to get everything in the computer and would have stayed later, but I had a dinner date with my cousin for my birthday. Dinner was lovely and then we headed back to my house to pick up her dresses she had been storing at my house. I walk into the house and what happens, but the lights pop on and people jump out yelling "SURPRISE!!" And what a surprise it was. It was great to have everyone come over to surprise me and celebrate my birthday.
Old home teacher stayed the entire time so he could give me a blessing after everyone left. It was really great. God really does know me. He knows each of us and is blessing us so much more than we recognize.
Sometimes the power gets shut off, but maybe that's just so God can show you the bright spirits of His children that He has placed in your life.
To all those people who shine so brightly in my life, thank you. I love you. You are one of my greatest blessings.

Still alive

January is half over. What the heck!? I still haven't pounded out all the new years resolutions so that'll have to wait. I'm working overtime everyday just to try and stay caught up. I may die when Becky has her baby, if you don't hear from me after next week, you'll know what happened.
I start at the temple tomorrow as an ordinance worker. I'm pretty stoked about that. "Friday night!" you exclaim, "but Cathy, Friday nights are for dating and partying and such." Right. Let's look at the last 2 Friday nights of Cathy's life. 2 weeks ago: asleep at 8 p.m. Last Friday: pjs by 5:30. I really don't think it's going to hurt my social life any more than it's already hurting. It may just be the best thing to happen to my Friday nights since, . . . . ever. It'll be great!