Goodbyes?

Something I have never been good at

Goodbyes
Is anyone good at them? They are emotional and consist of awkward hugs where you do your best to keep a composed face that slowly turns into a trembling chin until you lose it and just let the tears come. I had to say goodbye to WAY too many people in the last 30 days.
How did I handle it? I joked around with Racheal that I was FINE! There are 5 stages of grief and I spend most of my time in the best of the 5. Denial. Is that terrible? Having 2 parents for therapists I have learned over the years that I hold things in rather than talking through them, but that is what I have running for! Bad thing is, when I am in denial and you add sadness into the equation I feel the need to comfort myself with FOOD! Yay For FOOD.

Bad thing about food? When you are full of it, you don't feel like running. See where that equation doesn't play out well? So it has been an interesting 30 days.

Who left you might ask?
Lets start with my Zumba Family. I have been attending Zumba 4 times a week for the past year. Yes, my mother was successful and won the fight. Well, Allison, my instructor left to California at the beginning of August to support her husband through school. I am picky with my instructors. A good instructor is rare. Just ask my poor friend Brooke (next to me in white) who got married and moved to Athens Ohio. I hated these

goodbyes. I saw these people practically everyday for a year. Now we have fallen apart. Skyler, my cousin in the back, has become zumba certified and we attend his class every Thursday at 7pm. Thank goodness, It is nice to have it back.

Kate Darowski! She and I have been friends for about 12 years now... right Kate? Anyway, since she moved back to Utah in October of 2010 we have spent on average 7 hours a day together. (Really, I wish we could calculate that, I think I would be pretty close with that guess)

This past year we have had sleepovers, shared dinners, veronica mars nights, multiple road trips/adventures, etc. Saying goodbye to this one was so hard! We (Rach and I) went to her house before she left to the airport and said goodbye. We don't like to drag things out and make them overly dramatic, so we gave each other a hug and as I began to feel any tears I said, "Ok, bye Kate." Turned around and walked out. Racheal and I drove home and found out later that we both sat in our cars and cried.... ok, sobbed.

We talk on the phone twice a week and email almost daily ha ha. I love my Durski friend and I love that when I tell her I love her, she gets a little awkward and doesn't know what to say. Ha ha ha we have so much fun!

This beautiful woman below is my Grandmother, Monica Sanchez. Also known as Mamina, by those who love her most. She is my mother's mother and she has always shown her family so much love through all of her service. I will always remember the happiness I felt when she cared for me and my siblings. She always had delicious sopa (soup) and Jell-0 for us after school! I wont forget her beautiful singing voice and how she would sing Catalina and I to sleep. She recently passed away from a long illness of Parkinsons disease. She is now with my Grandfather Aldo Sanchez (Papillo), and I know they are so happy to be reunited.

Finally, on to Racheal. We have known each other through friends, but have become so close this past year working everyday together. She has moved to London for her masters program. I have always admired how intelligent Racheal is. I could write an email or message for work and know that having Racheal (and Kate) proof read it, they would express exactly what I meant to in a much more professional manner. Also Racheal can turn anything into a party, and she does! I love it! Who else do you know that can move Halloween up a month ahead?

We did well with our goodbye knowing that we would see each other again in just 2 and a half months.

My everyday routine for a year is now completely different and has been a little hard to adjust to. No, I don't like change. Who does?

More fun and optimistic posts to come. I am so excited for General Conference! Can't wait!

Best Summer Ever . . .

. . . and slowly it has become cold and lonely!

Wow what a depressing way to start my blog post! Really though, this summer came so slow and ended so soon! It Snowed on Timp Mt. this morning! I am in denial. It can't get cold just yet!
Anyway, I have had a very busy and eventful summer. Honestly, this is what I blame my lack of blogging on. There is no time for blogging with so many fun things to do.
Also, my friend Kate is a much better writer/blogger than I am, so I will be including some links to her blog posts. Read them. You will quickly find yourself falling in love with her witty remarks. Also, big thanks to Kate and Racheal for being the photographers of this summer. I am including a ton of pictures with just a little summary on this post. Read what you want. I know! It is long.

Here is a brief rundown, Ready?! This summer was full of . . .

Hikes!
Getting bored at work, talking to grumpy people can get old really fast. "Thank you for calling Ancestry, this is Olivia. How can I help you?" Customer: "Yes, you charged my card without my authorization . . ." VTO! Forget this, let's go for a hike!

For more pictures and Kate's post click here.

Weddings!
Angela Got Married! June 3rd Angela and Davey were sealed.
ZUMBA!
I really wanted to stay focused for my marathon training this summer. I kind of put that aside to Zumba 4 times a week. Allison has the best choreography and knows how to have a fun time dancing to great music. My love for zumba and latin dancing really grew this summer. I have a Zumba family that I will never forget! Allison, Brooke, Leslie, Jen, Noelia, Karen, Maria, Skyler, and my mom, Nina! I love you all!


Road Trips!
We planned a trip to California! We, again, needed some kind of escape from our monotonous work. We loved taking pictures at the beach! Need Proof? Kate's Post has unlimited pictures!


Kate Darowski has never been to Disneyland! 23 years of seeing all the magical commercials and advertisements and only imagining what it could be.

Yes, she loved it. How could you not? We some how went on the perfect day. I know you wont believe me, but we waited probably 18 minutes in a line, MAX. Kate's post!Meeting Celebrities!
While in California we were of course starving and stopped by Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Who did we walk by on our way to our table? Melanie! The Winner of SYTYCD! After a pep talk in the bathroom ( ha ha ha), we got the courage to go and ask for a picture!


Lucky little Kate won tickets to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It was really fun!Running!
I love to run! (Not sure why, but I just typed that with the Marry Popins tune in mind. You know? The song, I Love to Laugh?) Anyway! June 11th I ran the Utah Valley Marathon and am so happy to say, I did it! Third Marathon is the Charm? I qualified for Boston! It is all a fun story, maybe I will tell it someday. Kate ran the half marathon and did GREAT! Want to see?



Chelsea Hansen called me on Thursday night June 16th, 5 days after the Marathon, and told me her company had 2 open spots for the Ragnar. PSH! Of Course Joseph and I will run it! We packed up and were running the next day!
The Ragnar is just a bunch of crazy runners who, on very little sleep, run as a team of 12, 197-200 miles in about a day and a half (36 hours). If you're fast like the BYU cross country team it could take about 17 hours. Ridiculous right?! If anyone ever needs a runner, please call me!
Movies!
Harry Potter was my favorite for the summer. Yes, Harry Potter is more than a story or a movie to me. I grew up with Harry Potter. I was sent the first 2 books from my aunt Velia when I was 10 years old. 5th grade? I remember always having something to look forward to. A new book, a new movie. It all ended July 2011. I have to thank Kate for her talented writing. She has expressed exactly how i feel about Harry Potter and the last movie. If you love Harry Potter, please read.

Yes, we had tickets to the midnight showing of HP, thanks to Racheal! I do enjoy the movies, but they don't even compare to the books. Yes, I cried during this movie, a lot. It is okay if you don't understand and laugh at me. Joseph does. I have enough people who understand and can relate. I love Harry Potter. Thank you, JK Rowling, for bringing Magic to my life :)
Canyon Adventures!
An undocumented event was the drive in Joseph's 1994 toyota camry on the back of Cascade mountain with Craig and Kate. I will never forget the scary nerve raking event full of scary stories and scary driving. Let's just say Joseph believes his car is a Jeep made for off roading. We had no idea it would last about 4 hours ha ha ha ha! I wish we had some form of pictures!

Scootering down the canyon with Racheal, Jack, Sandro, and Joseph. I don't know if I will ever get tired of this activity.


It was dark and Joseph was sneaking into the picture. I believe Sandro somehow punched Joseph in the throat. It was funny hearing everything happen and then getting a picture of the after math. I am still unsure as to what exactly happened.
The moonlight lift up in Sundance was a first for me. I was a little scared at times with Joseph seeing how far he could lean forward ha ha.
I can't remember why we were all laughing so hard in this picture, but it makes it a great picture.

This summer was short and sweet and will be extremely hard to beat. (I didn't mean to rhyme there) . Thank you Friends and Family for making it what it was. Summer 2011!