New Business Cards

I just thought you all might want to see my new business cards. It's one card, with printing on the front and back. I sent them to the printer last night and I can't wait to get them back. I'm so excited!

Threats Mean NOTHING to Them...

A man named Charles Caleb Colton once said "Those that are the loudest in their threats are the weakest in their actions." I think he might have been talking about me in regards to spiders. I threatened to get spider spray... if you remember from the post of the spider eating the dragonfly... yes... I threatened. I gave many verbal threats as well as the solid proof on the blog... spider spray was coming! We've run into a few in the house since then, but I've handled it rather well, and Joseph has been there to kill them for me, so I felt safe. Unfortunately when we made our trip to Walmart this week I forgot about the spider spray until after we got back home. In an attempt to save on gas, I decided it could wait until I go to Walmart again next week. Besides, yesterday we had new windows installed that I feel confident will keep the spiders out! Well, I ran into one the other day, but killed it pretty quickly and without too much freaking out. I was actually kind of proud of how well I handled it. Unfortunately, today had a new turn of events:

Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce the challenger: Big Creepy-- it's short for Big Creepy Spider. He lives up to the name (although it is hard to tell in this picture because it is out of focus and he's kind of scrunched up for the moment... and he's in his web of defense)!

Location: My kitchen sink!Weapons: Hairspray (Rave 4x Mega -- that should work, right?) and eventually some super strong, may burn mouth, throat, skin and eyes cleaner. If it can hurt humans that much, it really should kill spiders too... shouldn't it?Victm: Poor, frightened me without my husband there to rescue me! (I'm biting my nails as I tremble in terror!)
I found Big Creepy in my sink while I was washing my hands. He didn't seem that big, as he was kind of scrunched, probably sleeping, in his web. I told myself to buck up and kill the thing, so of course, I attacked him with hairspray... since I don't have spider spray. This seemed to stun him, and as I sprayed his web began to reveal itself as the hairspray stuck to it. It was much bigger than I thought was necessary for a kitchen sink. Well, Big Creepy got a second wind and began moving around again, so, since the Hairspray was failing me, I moved on to the super strong cleanser. This apparently gives him super spider strength and he tried to climb out of the sink. I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed. Finally I thought he was dead. I spread about 25 more times for good measure, to make sure he was really really dead... and low and behold he suddenly popped back to life and tried climbing again. So, more cleaner was sprayed and lots of hot water run... and finally he looked dead. He fell down into the sink of hot water, and I think he would have drowned at that point if he wasn't dead yet. But, he was stuck to his web somehow and wouldn't go down the drain. Finally I turned on the garbage disposal, sprayed him hard with water, and he finally went down the drain. What a horrifying experience! I'm surprised I was brave enough to take pictures because I'm kind of shaky now just writing about it. At least I won the fight, but I've decided no more empty threats. Spider spray is on the shopping list!

Once Upon a Marathon

Once upon a time there was a boy named Joseph. After he was married, his wife asked if he wanted to run with her. He replied that running was not his thing, and it actually gave him shin splints, so even though he loved her very, very much, he would encourage her to run, but not join her. Somehow, through a miracle, the gift of an awesome new GPS device, and some new running shoes, he began to run. He'd run with her, and without her. He was dedicated and he actually enjoyed it. They went to lunch with some friends in December, where Joseph and Ryan decided they should run a marathon. Since saying you'll do it "someday" doesn't make things happen, they decided they would run it in 9 months. The St. George Marathon.


Joseph started training and ran a half marathon with his wife in June (see above photo). They then continued training in the hot Phoenix sun, which proved to be too much for Laura, so he was forced to train alone. He stuck to his schedule and persevered. Eventually they moved back to UT where he could train in cooler weather but with many hills.

Finally the day of the Marathon came. Family and friends were there to run. It rained, and rained, and rained; and they ran, and ran, and ran. These are some pictures from the big race.

Randy ran way too fast for the camera to keep him in focus. He ran so fast that he qualified for the Boston Marathon. Congrats Randy!


Stacy completed her 12th Marathon (and if I remember right, this is the only one it has rained for). Way to go Stacy!

Joseph ran with his friends Ryan and Ben. He kept them running through the whole thing, and they made it to the finish together. (Joseph is the only blury one in the picture, I think that's because he's moving so much faster than his friends. Ü )

Here they are running to the finish line. It's just a few feet beyond this picture. Look at how dark and rainy it was! They are such troopers!


Finished at last! 26.2 miles of running in the rain was celebrated with complementary treats of fruit, bread, and ice cream!

Then we went to Outback to celebrate their victory. Joseph's mom and sister came to watch the marathon and so did Ryan's brother. It was a fun trip, and the guys finished in 4 hours and 28 minutes. Congratulations boys!

The End.