Salt Lake Get Fit May Kill Us Yet!!!

So, the saga continues in The Wanna'bes quest to beat the "Dairy Men" but, I never thought our lives would be in jeopardy over our competitive spirits. Michelle (Thelma to my Louise) and I decided to walk at Memory Grove/ City Creek Canyon today. Yes, it was raining like crazy and Michelle's husband made some reference to tornadoes before she left the house, but we would not be swayed! When we got to Memory Grove it had stopped raining and the wind had stopped blowing. It was actually a nice temperature for walking. Michelle and I were happily enjoying the sites and I was filling her in on the notorious reputation of Memory Grove when we heard a loud C-R-A-C-K! Michelle screamed "Stephanie!" I looked up in time to see a gigantic tree falling right on us! Michelle sprinted to safety and I guess I was slower than her because she was terrified the tree had landed on me. Really I was just making sure I didn't end up like a cartoon character (Wile E Coyote comes to mind) who runs directly into the path of the falling tree and is smashed into a pancake! When I say we NARROWLY escaped, I am not exaggerating! Michelle and I hugged each other and laughed hysterically (because we were hysterical!) There was a lady behind us and another tree had fallen and nearly hit her. She ran because she heard us scream. We decided that was enough exercise for one evening and also paranoia had set in, it seemed as though all of the trees there were about to fall. On a humorous note, the lady behind us thought Michelle and I were a couple! I think it might have had to do with it being Memory Grove and the fact that we were hugging each other. That is the closest I have ever come to a terrifying accident like that. It was surreal! Even Michelle's night driving wasn't as harrowing! Sorry Michelle, but when you keep saying you can't see a thing, it's a little unnerving! Whoever said that exercise was good for you, hasn't had a tree nearly fall on them! Michelle and I continue to press on as Salt Lake Get Fit comes to an end. Perhaps we are tempting fate to try and walk one more dangerous path, but "We are women, here us roar (or run!)"

Larry is my Home Boy!!!!

I was looking through the pictures I have taken recently and came across this picture of Larry. It just inspired me (along with Aunt Sherlene and John's 50th wedding anniversary yesterday) to take a few minutes to talk about my wonderfully funny life companion. We women may grumble now and again about men! After all, they are foreign to us of the female persuasion. I shake my head when I come into a room and see Larry intensely watching two men pummel each other during Ultimate Fighting. Of course, Jordan and Kyle are right there too if they happen to be aware it is on. (Dylan is off on the computer.)My comment is always, Oh no, not more man TV! Of course, Larry keeps reminding me that I have "Television for Women." I know he is referring to Lifetime and O. Seriously, I like a good boxing match as well, but the extreme fighting, extreme eating, extreme gross stuff, and general extreme stupidity is sometimes too much to watch. But, men love this!!! I digress. Despite this love of the extreme, Larry is definitely a Man for All Seasons. Don't let his gruff exterior fool you. Underneath is a loving, caring, truly funny man that loves to laugh hard, play hard, and work out hard! He is a dedicated and committed father. He is sentimental at times which may surprise some. He writes love messages and hides them under paint, in furniture he has constructed, and throughout various places in the house for people to find many years down the road. Then they will discover his proclamation of love for me. Pretty sweet, huh? He has planted me a surprise rose garden for mother's day, carved me a jewelery box for our Anniversary (complete with hearts and the date on it), and made me jewelery. I could go on, but you get the picture. I am shameless in my quickness to volunteer him for projects for school. He has made the appreciation banners for our librarian for years just to mention one of the many projects. He doesn't ever complain. In my defense, he is such a gifted artist, I can't help but want to put his talents to good use. I also think he is "hot." He makes fun of me because I think he is sexy when he bowls, roller blades (he is soooo smooth), plays soccer, and says the word "cooler." Actually, I feel that way most all of the time when he is around. No one else could put up with my Type A personality and embrace it like he does. It is good he is pretty low key because otherwise our house would be an asylum! He is the yin to my yang. (How mushy can I get?) And yes, it drives me crazy that he can sleep through ANYTHING!!!! But, he is my very best friend who loves me unconditionally, supports me through everything, laughs genuinely at my humor and sarcasm, thinks I am beautiful even when I have food on my face, and will happily spend the day with me doing anything I have a whim to do. I just really think I don't say it enough how much I love and appreciate my Geo Dude! "Larry, you is my man!"

Super Soccer Week!!!!

So, if you know the Garahana family at all, you know we are all about sports and especially SOCCER!!! That could be because Jordan plays and Larry coaches. Anyway, we had a tournament this week and I must say, it was full of drama, intensity, and a little sleepiness (8:00 game yesterday). We played a total of 5 games and even when we weren't playing our best, we didn't seem to have too much trouble UNTIL the finals! We played Razzia, a team with a couple of extremely fast forwards. We had our work cut out for us. We only had 1 sub and the game was at 1:00 in the afternoon, not exactly the coolest time of day to play. I sat next to my friend Lia and that always provides some extra entertainment. We were both so tense though, all we could do was try not to have an accident in our chairs! The game apparently caused overactive bladder syndrome!!! Lia didn't yell at the refs once which is good for her, although she really does make it more exciting when she does. There was so much drama in this game. Parents on the other team had to be warned for getting out of control. Half time hit at just the right time because Jordan was having issues with a very large blond boy he was battling with. He came off the field ready to explode but, luckily cooled off at the half and didn't do anything he would regret later. What can I say, he has his mother's temper. After a tie in regular game play, we had two 5 minute overtimes where we were still tied! Oh No!!! It went to a shoot out! Talk about a nail biter!!! Luckily, we didn't have to go to all five players and won it with the fourth shot. We came away with the win and the championship medal. Let me just say, our boys do really know how to celebrate! Girls have nothing on them in the final moments of a celebratory situation! Talk about drama, theatrics, and emotion, not to mention a little Brandi Chastain shirt peeling! This group of boys really are just terrific to be around and I am so glad Jordan is a part of this team. They are like a family. USA Norris is "da bomb diggity!"

Toonces Video- Pause Music at bottom of screen to hear

via videosift.com

The Creepy Cat Lady!

Sorry, I have been too busy to blog lately and I have quite a lot to write about, but I have to share this story first because it was so bizarre! All I could think when it was happening was, no one will believe this! As I have shared in the past, I am on Team Wanna'bes for Salt Lake Get Fit. In our undying quest to beat the dairy men of the valley, Michelle and I decided to walk at the Old Salt Lake Cemetery to get extra points. Let me first say that this is a great place to go and very distracting if you are trying to just focus and get your heart rate up! There are way too many interesting headstones to read. While Michelle and I were looking for her relative's headstone (like I said, we were easily distracted), this lady appeared from behind a headstone. That wasn't so bizarre in and of itself except she was walking a cat on a leash AND the cat came up to us like it was a dog! She asked us if we were looking for someone in particular because she comes there all the time to walk her cat and she knows where everyone is! We said we were just looking (I felt like I was shopping and didn't want the sales person to bother me). Michelle was now completely creeped out and started backing away. I was more curious and thought she was just a lonely "cat lady." I didn't really have much time to find out more about her because Michelle kept saying "Let's get out of here. She is freaking me out!" I think Michelle was worried that the lady was a ghost or something. We continued our walk and now we had plenty to speculate about. When we were near the end of our trek, we watched a car drive by and the crazy cat lady had the cat on her lap looking out the window while she was driving. It did look like the cat was driving at first! Hence, the video I have attached, Toonces the Cat That Could Drive A Car. This cat looked exactly like the cat from Saturday Night Live. Any how, enjoy the video and if you have a chance, visit the Historic Salt Lake City Cemetery. You too could have an encounter with a crazy cat lady! Maybe the cat will even come up to you and wag its tail!