April 28, 2011

much needed reminder ..

President Uchtdorf shared this in General Conference, April 2009, The Way of the Disciple ..

"Our beloved friend Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught us this principle with clarity when he said:


“Oh, it is wonderful to know that 
our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such 
that even should we give up on 
ourselves, He never will.


“We [might] see ourselves in terms 
of yesterday and today. Our 
Heavenly Father sees us in terms of 
forever.…


“The gospel of Jesus Christ is a 
gospel of transformation. It takes 
us as men and women of the earth 
and refines us into men and women for the eternities.” 

April 27, 2011

july 15th needs to come soon ..

please.

white gurl can rap ..

skills.


i heart sara haskell!

there are multiple reasons why i love this brown eyed girl.

this is just one .. fb.
she not only leaves the BEST messages but surely the longest in fb history.
also i just love that the pluiminator and i were tagged in it!






















April 25, 2011

america, america!


i really like that wisconsin is "people who make cheese"
it is delicious cheese too.

and obvi california is the life of the party!

April 22, 2011

love is fun!

6 months ago, on this day, mr. barlow & i went on our first date.

we also held hands for the first time.
it was pretty amazing.


because i love you so much i dedicate this song by the bieb just for you.

April 21, 2011

Ragnar to Riches!

let me tell you a little story ..

about how i ran to San Diego. along with 11 other wonderful people.

also about how i am officially a Ragnar Convert!


the Ragnar Relay Series motto.
it is true that the sleep gets a ? mark!

200 miles.
36 hours straight.
12 runners.

we ran from Huntington Beach to Coronado Island!

we were team #98
RAGNAR TO RICHES!

[thank you james astle for the sweet screen printing job!]

van #1 started us out at 6:30am friday april 15th!
they were all stars.
love to alisha, christine, esther, danica, adler & ryan!


van #2 started out in Anaheim around 10:30am!
captain brandt, cat, grant, kevin, bre and me!

we were EXTRA BLESSED to have MAX as our driver!
she deserves props x1,000 for a great dj playlist, keeping us pumped and energized and even running some of the course!


brandt started us out and he is stellar!

BUT seriously did it have to be close to 90 degrees last friday?!
just the heat made me want to die let alone RUNNING in it.


yes, you get free beer at the finish line. 
no partaking from Ragnar to Riches.

our vans line up was brandt, kevin, grant, MELANIE, cat, bree!

so after the boys finished i started off us girls.

i ran through Corona at 1:30p in 90 degrees.
i hate you Corona.

but i love my team.
they stopped. cheered me on. brandt threw water on me. it WAS appreciated!


my first leg was 5.5 miles. 
it felt like an eternity.
but i did it.

after i felt sick for awhile from the heat.
i had to walk a lot of it but i finished!

cat did stellar on her 1st 6 mile leg!
we both had the heat heat heat of the day and that was hard to push through but WE DID IT!


the fun part is stopping along the way to cheer on your runners!
also finding spare hubcabs is brandts fav part!

after all our runners finished their 1st legs we headed out to our 1st major exchange ..
Fallbrook .. aka .. MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!

it was close to 8p when we got there.
we were gonna start running around 2am.

also my sweet mr. barlow met us all out there as well!
he had to work friday so he wasnt able to run on the team BUT he did come to support.
he is the best.

before our 2nd legs most of the team got anywhere from .5 hour - 2 hours of sleep!
then we were up again and ready to run!


i started my 2nd leg around 3am and i was IN LOVE!
3.8 miles. pretty level elevation. cool air. full moon. 
AMAZING.

i ran my entire 2nd leg and felt SO accomplished.
when i handed off to cat i told her it was so good!

i love you San Marcos.
i still hate you Corona.

after all of us finished our night legs we went to the next major exchange in La Jolla!
we got the bulk of our sleep there.
i slept in jacobs car with him and we both got a solid 4 hours of sleep.
it was wonderful!

we woke up to get some breakfast before our 3rd legs and we just happened to be right next to the SD Temple! it was beautiful!


our vans 3rd legs were mostly along the coast.
when i say mostly i will get to that ..

i started off my 3rd leg in the San Diego Harbor with an AMAZING exchange from grant.
skills grant. skills.
also skills to mr. barlow for capturing this moment!


i said to cat prior to this week how excited i was for my 3rd leg along the harbor ..
as i started out running it was beautiful ..
and then it took a turn into the arm pit of SD. 
seriously.

my view went from the harbor to the freeway.
kinda sad.
at least it was 10 degrees cooler than friday!

the 3rd leg is DEF the hardest.
mine was 6.4 miles
exhaustion from already running and add no sleep to the mix.

i was doing pretty good but getting tired.
my team stopped about the 4 mile marker.

as i run up to the van i see my sweet boyfriend changed into shorts ..
i looked at him and he said lets go!

he asked grant to drive his car so that he could run with me and support me the last 2 miles!
can i just say mr. barlow is pretty much the bomb?! he is.


off we went.
after i borrowed some body glide.
thanks again brandt!

jacob kept me going those last 2 miles!
the boy even ran in his converse for me!
this is love. let me tell you.

passing that slap bracelet baton off to my dear cat was so refreshing!
i did it!
i ran a total of 15.7 miles!

best feeling ever!

bre finished us off and we all crossed the finish line together in Coronado!
we ended on saturday 16th @ 6:30pm!
36 hours baby!


now that is a feeling i will NEVER forget!

such team work, encouragement and love from all of us!



thank you hill family for starting the Ragnar.
thank you brandt for being the best captain!


thank you mr. barlow for supporting AND running with me.


thank you cat for finishing strong with me!
also for making me peanut butter bagels for 2 days!

remember how we thought we were gonna die?
i am really glad we are both alive yet.

i am now a Ragnar Convert.
i seriously want to do more now.

such a feeling of accomplishment!
and fun.
so many laughs and good stories.
who needs sleep?

not a Ragnar!

April 14, 2011

brb ..

imma go run to san diego.

April 08, 2011

my peanut!

the peanut will be born in approximately 4 months!

he may look a little whiter than this i think ..


i cant wait to snuggle him.

April 06, 2011

RAGNAR!

in approximately 10 days i will be participating in the .. 


also known as the relay series of death!

cat and i have been asking each other everyday how did we get roped into this?!

let me tell you ..

our dear friend brandt is all about running.
and he is good. let me tell you.

he lives for Ragnar.
his family are the ones who kinda started this whole event ..
wasatch back anyone?!

so you want to know what this relay of death is??? >>> RAGNAR

it really will be fun.
if we dont die.

12 runners.
2 vans.
200 miles.
24 hours.
huntington beach to san diego.

i really am excited.
we decided to do this back in eh .. november/december ..
plenty, i repeat PLENTY of time to train correct?!

well i started running for the first time in about 7 months in february.
i did good for about 1.5 weeks.

then i stopped.

oh hey! then i realized there was only 3 weeks before the big race! 
lets start training! again.
oh ya thats me.

but to be honest i havent ran in 5 days.
brandt please dont hate me!

i am runner #10.

my legs are as follows ..

leg #1 = 5.5 miles
leg #2 = 3.8 miles
leg #3 = 6.4 miles

total amount of running = 15.7 miles

WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?!

i hear its all about the experience!
im really hoping death is NOT a part of it.

ill go run tomorrow ..
hopefully!

April 05, 2011

i love LA!

i love being from LA.
i love the 110 freeway.
i love the staples center.
i love the LA Lakers.
i love Kobe but really i love Fisher more.
i love purple & gold.
i love LA Live.
i love crazy los angelites.
i love mr. barlow being in LA.

I LOVE LA!

April 04, 2011

General Conference ..

Latter-Day Saints around the world spend the first weekend in April and October listening and watching 8+ hours of talks by the Prophet and Apostles of our day!

what a wonderful weekend filled with the Spirit and guidance from the Lord!

i loved it. i feel renewed. i feel motivated. i feel blessed.

these links explain why this last weekend and october are so meaningful for us Latter-Day Saints.

check them out.

watch this >>> Why Conference Matters?

why general conference means so much to us >>> Conference Brings Blessings!

and now see for yourself!

you can watch, listen or dowload >>> General Conference Sessions

the windows of heaven are open and the Lord speaks to us today through our Prophets and Apostles!

what a blessing.

April 01, 2011

oh april fools!

who invented april fools?!

in case you ask WHY? to everything like i do here is wikipedias answer >>> aprils fools day

this was prob my favorite by far today.
ryan muirhead photography posted it on fb and i loved it.

kinda really wish it was real ..

i already had a photo of MelCat ready to go!




thank you kodak!