Today is a good day. Not only is it Friday, but it is the day before Saturday. And Saturday for me means college football ALL DAY LONG. When I was in France last fall (gasp! has it really been a year?!) the college football season was honestly one of the things I missed the most. Pathetic? Probably. Do I care? Nope! Not one bit. I'm also playing intramural flag football and we won our game last night 56-0. Go. Team.

The leaves are starting to change which I love, but it's been too dang hot lately. Bring it down 10 degrees and I'll be happy. I need a reason to make soup! But peaches have been coming out of our ears and hopefully the apples will be on soon do we can bust out the apple press and make cider. I LOVE FALL. Cinnamon Roll Sunday (a.k.a. General Conference) is next week, my birthday is a week from tomorrow and I just bought a ticket to spend Thanksgiving in Indiana with my schwestis. Life. Is. Good.

Anyway... there's an update. Now back to reading Le Chevalier de la Charrette by Chretien de Troyes. Hooray for 12th century Arthurian romances.

The "F" Word

Here's an interesting article from the Salt Lake Tribune about the relationship between mormonism and feminism.

I hesitate to discuss my feelings about the "f" word here. (And by "f" word I of course mean "feminism.") I fear that I might offend/ostracize some of my readers (I do have readers, right?). To be brief, I certainly believe there is a place for feminism within the LDS church. And no, that does not mean I think women should recieve the Priesthood, nor should they refuse marriage and child-bearing. Women can be strong, knowledgeable, indpendent, resourceful, and work while still adhering to the counsel laid out by the leaders of the Church. I think this is a generally held belief (or hope so anyway). I have more of a problem with the connotation the word "feminism" has within the Church. A feminist seems to equal a 1. Democrat 2. Supporter of the ERA 3. A woman who is shirking her duties of motherhood. One could argue Sarah Palin, the most conservative of conservative (scarily so), to also be a feminist. Not only was she a candidate for Vice President, but she was also a mother. I think I could go out on limb and safely say that Sarah Palin is not a supporter of the ERA. In summary, I think that the connotation of "feminism" must change with the current culture of the country, both inside and outside the LDS Church. Long gone should be the days where women deferred to their husbands for decision making, where women acquired knowledge strictly for the purpose of teaching their children, and working outside the home received an unfavorable reaction from others. But perhaps those days aren't as far in the past as they should be.

Check!

So I finally achieved one of my New Year's Resolutions with perfection. I ran my first half marathon today. A friend got injured (sorry Julie) and so I ran the Hobble Creek Half Marathon in her place. It. Was. Awesome. Since this is my first half, I didn't really know what kind of time to shoot for, so my goal was under 1:57 which is about a 9 min/mile pace. My end time was...

1:44.47
(I'm choosing not to include the 3 or so minute bathroom break at mile 6.5)

It definitely helped that the first 8 miles were almost all downhill, but I'm happy with the time just the same.

I can't wait to do another one.

...

my little sister is pretty cool. read about her here.

Weeding and things

"No matter how mundane some action might appear, keep at it long enough and it becomes a contemplative, even meditative act."

-Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

As I get older, (as if I have learned anything in my 22 years and 10 months of being), I find the above statement to be more and more true. Activities that I used to consider boring are quickly becoming some of my most treasured times of the day. Take weeding, for example. I hated weeding when I was growing up. Absolutely loathed it. Those hot summer days bent over pulling the unwanted plants used to leave me with sweat running down my brow, an achy back, and a terrible attitude. Up until about 2 years ago, I would've mowed every lawn in the county, pruned every tree in the city, and watched the wretched movie "Willow" 200 times if it meant I didn't have to weed another row of beans. I hated it that much.

Thankfully, my parents continued to assign me weeding as a summer chore because weeding has become... dare I say it... enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, if I had my choosing of what to do with my day, weeding probably wouldn't be at the top of the list. Or even in the first 50 slots. But when weeding becomes necessary, I no longer despise it. I find that this simple, mundane task gives me a chance to withdraw from the world and just BE. Because weeding isn't rocket science, I don't really have to think too hard about it, which means I can fill my mind of things I choose. Or I don't have to think at all if I don't want to. Pretty soon 1 hour of weeding feels like 10 minutes and my mind is at least somewhat re-energized to take on the life that is faced when I step out of the garden.

If you were to replace the word "weeding" with "running" in the previous two paragraphs, you would have another accurate portrayal of my childhood. Running was #902, 376 on my list of favorite things to do between the ages of 5 and 20. However, after going to college and not being able to swim all the time, I turned to running when I was 17. You'll notice that running continued to occupy #902, 376 on my favorite things to do list even after I was running for a good 3 years. I ran because I need to stay in shape for rugby and that was it. Come summer, when I wasn't in rugby season anymore, I stopped running. However, as the quote suggests, if you keep at something long enough, it becomes a meditative experience. I am living truth of that. Over the past 2.5 years, my hate for running has morphed into a great love. These days, I look forward to almost every run I go on. As my life becomes more complicated with all sorts of different things, I find that the simplest of activities, such as running, provide a solace that can be found no where else.

meenie weenie want it.

There is a magnet on my parent's fridge that states "The best things in life are not things." While I agree whole-heartedly with with this statement, "things" (which may be replaced with the word "toys") sure do make this life much more enjoyable. I've narrowed my list of desired toys down to two-- with a combined cost of around $1500. With my birthday, Christmas, and graduation coming up, maybe I'll be able to get them. Here's the list:

1. A pair of these (definitely in the silver and green)

2. One of these (with accessories, and hopefully in a better color)

I think both of these toys would be a worthwhile investment and even better: they both promote a healthy lifestyle. Best start saving my pennies... although I am ALWAYS open to donations. *Hint Hint*

In other news...

One of the greatest joys in this life is reading a good book-- one that entertains, inspires, and all around changes your view on life. About 2 weeks ago I finished Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and it changed my life. You may wonder how a book about running can change your life, but read it and find out. And for all of you who may think you're not runners-- you are. In fact, your body evolved to be able to run incredible distances. We're not talking marathons... we're talking hundreds of miles. Don't believe me? Read the book. And then go for a run.