Life of a 9-5er in Utah in December

Winter is hard for a 9-5er. When I leave for work, the sun is barely rising. When I get in my car after a long day in the office, the sun is saying her goodbyes. My restless body retreats to the gym for stimulation.
I look around the gym for an open treadmill and race another office rat for the open spot. I spend only a second thinking about all of the germs living on the buttons as I start the machine up and try to ignore the sweat drops staring at me from the control panel. I slowly increase the speed on the treadmill and start to take a good look around. After a moment of people watching I look down….only 2 minutes. This is going to be a long work out. I aimlessly flip through the channels on my monitor and settle for a Friends rerun. A few moments later I resume my people watching. I wonder if she would wear those shorts if she knew how much of her cellulite was showing? Does he realize that every time he walks past that mirror he pauses and stares for a minute? Do they ever workout when they come here, or do they really only come to talk? Aww, I hope when I’m that old I’m still that physically fit. Man I’m so tired, how long have I been on here? Do they still make neon biker shorts, or has he really kept those since the 80's? I can’t believe how much I pay to run on this treadmill like some kind of a lab rat. Only a few more months of frigid temperatures and icy side walks and I’ll be free again!

CP costumes

Pirates and power rangers and skunks....Oh MY!!!!!

Falling and falling and falling....

Life has been really great lately. Not to be cliché, but I really do feel like I fall more and more in love every day with Kevin. I had no idea I could love someone so much. I miss him while we’re at work and it feels like Christmas each night when we both get home. We feel so lucky that our passions in life are the same. We love to be outside, we love to be in the mountains, and we love animals! Kevin has gotten to know Dollar and now agrees that Dollar has the most personality of any horse he’s ever been around. We bought a horse trailer and plan to make horses a major part of our life- something we can do together.
After the reception in SC, I was really sad to leave “home” and my family. Kevin had a 4 day hunting trip to WY scheduled the week we returned to Utah and I didn’t know how I was going to manage. Things always seem to work out the way they are meant to and I learned that Kevin leaving was a great blessing. I suddenly realized…as much as I missed my family….I missed Kevin even more! Him leaving for a few days helped me know that I was where I was meant to be and with who I am meant to be with. I feel so lucky to have Kevin in my life.

Hunting

I posted some pictures of me with a dead deer on mine and Kevin’s blog, so I figure a rundown of what went through my head that day is in order. I’ve gone hunting with Kevin numerous times, but nobody ever shot anything. I was getting pretty comfortable riding Dollar up to some peak in the wee hours of the morning and then looking for deer and elk through binoculars and a spotting scope. I love to see the animals! After a long day on a really rough trail, Brock, Kevin, and I began our long ride down Maple Mountain. All of a sudden, Brock jumped off of his horse, grabbed his gun from his scabbard, and he took a shot. I barely had time to jump off Dollar and grab his lead rope before the beautiful and graceful buck standing on the knoll ahead, looking over the beautiful valley below, hit the snow with a mighty thud. At first adrenaline surged through my body as I calmed Dollar down from the shot. Then the realization hit me; the deer was dead. Kevin told me to stay back as they went to make sure that the poor animal wasn’t struggling. The buck wasn’t, Brock shot him straight through the heart. Over the next thirty minutes or so, Brock skinned and quartered up the deer. It was very solemn for me. I had an intense realization of how fragile life is. With a pull of a trigger life can be lost. In one instance, the world can be changed forever. As I saw the inside of the deer’s body, I realized how amazing our bodies are, yet how fragile. I wasn’t so much sad for the end of the deer’s life, as I was amazed at God’s creations and God’s plan. Every living thing born in this world will return to the earth. So I know you're probably wondering...I have NO desire to shoot anything living but I love being in the mountains with Kevin. Seeing Brock shoot that deer didn't upset me as much as I thought it would. It was almost spiritual in some weird way.

PG-13 for brief nudity.....butt very funny!

Pics from Myrtle Beach Summer 07

Take me to the beach momma!!!



My 3 favorite Power Rangers



Nothing worse than sand in the crack!



Baby Yoga on the Beach



Beach Boys

A new season

We’re right on the cusp of winter. As my body adjusts to the cold, I spend every day sitting at my desk, wrapped in a fleece blanket. I’m freezing. Even at midday, there is a chill in the air. This has been a hard couple of days for me. I just flew back from SC on Sunday. I’m always a little sad when I leave “home” and fly west, but I’m over it before the plane flies over the Rockies. This time was different. The realization finally hit me. “Home” is now Utah. SC is just where I grew up. As happy as I am being married and as much as I love Utah, I feel as if part of me is lost. The cultures are just so different. Whenever we make decisions, no matter how wonderful they are, there are always sacrifices attached.

Bridezilla!!!!

So I never turned into Bridezilla for real....our wedding was just perfect! Low stress and only family and a few local friends. The second picture is for my dad; it is of him and his favorite Catawaba indian. : )

Locked out

Today started out like a normal day. Kevin left for work and I set out for a run. I grabbed Kevin’s keys instead of mine, and when I got back from running I had 10 minutes to get ready and get out the door. The house key on Kevin’s key ring wouldn’t fit. I started to freak out a little bit. Here I was in running shorts and a soaking wet t-shirt locked out of the house. What were my options? I’m pretty good at breaking in if I have a credit card or library card so I thought I’d start there. I searched Kevin’s truck for anything thin and plastic. Nothing. Blast. Next option…..I could drive to Kevin’s parents house, and see if they have a spare key, or spare change of clothes I could work in; then I looked at the clock 8am- they were surely already at work. Think Jessica- THINK! Kevin said he was working for an hour or so in Springville and I thought I knew the neighborhood they have been working in, so I jumped in his truck, wiped the sweat off of my forehead and started searching for his work van. It didn’t take long before I found him. Thank goodness he was outside. I would have died if I would have met his co-workers for the first time wearing running shorts, a shirt with sweaty pits and a nice sweat mark running down my back. Sweet Kevin met me at the house, and after a few minutes of battling with the 1950’s lock and key….we were in! Whew! I was so relieved I didn’t have to show up to work in my sweaty running clothes and nappy bed head.

Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11th

While visiting Pearl Harbor, I realized this tragedy in our country's history was so emotionally traumatic to the people who lived through it, whether they were there when it happened, or not. Anyone alive on December 7th 1941 will never forget where they were when they learned of the devastation. I have to admit, every December 7th passes and I never associate the day with Pearl Harbor- I didn't experience it first hand, but I bet my Grandma makes the connection each year. She would have been in high school.
Now for the rest of my life....I will always think of the terrorist attacks when I hear "September 11th." Six years later and the date is just as, if not more, engraven on my mind. I don't know why I did, but I pulled up some footage of the planes crashing into the towers on YouTube today. I guess I wanted to stir the emotions within me, I wanted to feel some of the sorrow I felt six years ago. History will always provide us with stories of tragedy and devastation; the scary part is that history will be made in our lifetimes and our children's. What dates will be burnt into the minds of our children?

Adventures of the Mom and Dad

My parents just got back from Mexico/Guatemala. They toured around all of the historical sites and archaeological digs that support the stories in the Book of Mormon. John Lund, a prominent LDS church historian was their personal tour guide. The fact my parents went on this trip is not the least bit surprising to me, but I was shocked when they reported the 9 zip line rides they took through the jungle. My mom said, "I was standing in the top of this tree, well more like hugging this tree and I look over and there are monkeys swinging from tree to tree. That's when you know you are not where you are suppose to be." Mom is scared....no petrified of heights, so I was proud of her for facing her fear and allowing some adventure in. They seemed to enjoy their time there and are planning a trip with John Lund to Israel next year.

Run Forrest Run!

I have definitely regressed in my running abilities since high school cross country, but I hit a mile mark today. I've had knee trouble since 05' and it got a lot worse in the last year so my runs are always cut short with knee pain and I end up walking a lot. I've been running/walking a 2.5 mile loop everyday but could never run after this long downhill slope that killed my knees. So I came up with a plan......knee braces. I look and feel like Forrest Gump, but a miracle happened! My knees didn't hurt until the last little bit. I finished the loop for the first time without walking. I feel like a cripple now and can barely walk down stairs, but I did it! I never thought I'd be excited to run 2.5 miles, but then again I never thought I'd have bad knees at 24. : )

We're alive.....

It’s been over a month since my last post. Kevin and I got married, spent a week cruising around the Hawaiian Islands and are slowly but surely adjusting to married life.

Kevin and I have had fun making his bachelor pad into a “home”. We’ve had quite the adventure trying to find a mattress that we both like, that doesn’t kill our backs. Kevin brought the latest one home yesterday. I feel like Goldilocks. This one is too hard….this one is too soft…..and hopefully this new one will be just right!

Next weekend Kevin and I are heading up Nebo. We’re going to take Dollar and camp in luxury. We’ll load Dollar down with all of our gear/food and the three of us will make a weekend of it.

I'll try to post pictures soon. You can find our wedding proofs at www.haleyannwarner.com. Just go to online proofing.

Final Count Down......

With three days until my wedding, I feel surprisingly calm. Kevin makes it easy though. Mom, Grandma, Heather, and Aimee fly in tomorrow, and I am looking forward to spending some time with them. I love you all! I’ll post pictures as soon as we’re back from Hawaii!
Here are some pictures from Myrtle Beach: