Grateful

I am grateful that my dad works out everyday for 2 reasons.

1.  He is is remarkable shape and therefore does really fun things like us and is more fit than most 30 year old American men.

2.  He runs every morning .  This morning when we passed each other he was able to warn me of a shady looking man in a blue care parked in the parking lot of the riverbottoms where I run often.  So I took a different route.  Could there have been danger?  Possibly.  Could he just be sleeping or hanging out or meeting someone for a run?  Possibly.  But I sided with the more cautious version and just ran somewhere else.

Thanks dad.  You are the best.

Spoiled Rotten

Well...not too rotten.

But seriously, I got spoiled this year.  Who knew turning 24 was so momentous.

Anyway, I wanted a bike trainer for my birthday, so Derek did some research and got me one online early. So I didn't think I was getting anything from him for my birthday.  We went to dinner, he made me breakfast and that was enough.

The weekend of President's Day we went to my good friend, Brenna's, family cabin.  While we were there my good friend, Ali, gave me some slippers that she made from a wool blanket that shrunk.  She is so great.

Then, on President's Day we celebrated my bday with my family by going to dinner at Sawadee Thai (I highly suggest it).  Delicious.

I got art made by my two nieces (ages 7 and 2) and a card made by my 7 year old niece as well.

My sisters got me a way nice pressure cooker (I am excited to start saving money and nutrition by just buying bags of beans instead of cans).

And drumroll please...........

(This was supposed to be an all family gift but that didn't happen)
My parents got me the Wacom Create Bamboo Tablet so I can make my doodling into a reality.  My entire family wants me to start making stationary and as soon as I can draw again (tendonitis) and figure the thing out I'll get started.  I am really excited.

Then Derek and I went climbing and he bought me bike shoes (as if it wasn't all enough) for my road bike.  However, I did have a $50 REI card.  So we only had to pay for the clips.

Nice.

Annual Cabin Trip

Every President's Day Weekend we go to my good friend Brenna's family cabin.  It is always great.  However, there is always some sort of hitch and it always involves transportation and water.

4 years back.  Everything worked but the snowcat broke on the way down....
3 years back.  No snowcat.  We scrounged up 2 snowmobiles on the way up and oh yeah, the water didn't work...
2 years back.  No snowcat, but we scrounged up 2 snowmobiles, but we had water.
This year.
Snowcat was a go and so was water and we had 3 snowmobiles.  Until we showed up and 2 of the snowmobiles were broken and the snowcat decided that it didn't want to work.  So we set off.  Brenna, her little brother, Parker, and I on a 1 man snowmobile pulling a sled with bags on it and Derek on his skis.  We got there to find....no water.  Pipes frozen....well, good thing we have a lot of extra snow laying around.

Yes, we had a great weekend.  Snowshoeing, lots of sledding, eating, hanging out with friends, skiing, and melting/boiling snow, and filtering it for our drinking water.  Or just melting it so we could flush the toilets.

It was a great time and it always is, but next year, maybe we should just bite the bullet and rent a snowmobile.

Happy Birthday To Katie

Happy Birthday to me is right.

Yes, I am a whopping 24 years old now.  (Even though many people at work were like, "So how old are you now?  19?"  And I just laugh and say, "I wish.  I'm 24."  I guess they don't realize you have to have a bachelor's degree in order to be a recreation therapist.  Oh well.  My mom keeps telling me that when I am in my 50's I will appreciate looking younger than I do.

Anyway.

So I woke up and Derek was attempting to make me breakfast in bed.  Unfortunately, he did not wake up early enough to accomplish that goal.  (I even slept until 6:09.  Amazing).  But he made me my favorite breakfast Baked Oatmeal.  (It is delicious and you can find the recipe by clicking on the word baked oatmeal.)

Anyway, work was good.  All my residents sang me Happy Birthday after Bingo.  I went to Curry in a Hurry with my Rec Team and my manager bought me lunch.  Yum Yum Spinach and Potatoes.  We went on a van ride to Park City and one of my Residents was dancing in the bus and another was just hilarious, "OH my gosh.  THey've got a grocery store too."  She was amazed at everything she saw.  And another resident told me that February was, "A horrible time to have a birthday.  YOu're birthday should be in the beginning of June."  I swear, old people say the funniest things.

Got home, went running.  Felt sick.  Felt better and I am glad because I found this delightful place online.  Sage's Cafe.  Holy Toldeo it was amazing.  All vegan.  All organic (I don't care so much about the organic part.  But I do the vegan).  Amazing.  SO GOOD!  Derek and I spilt the Valentine's week special.  Tomato basil soup and a house salad (consisting on mixed greens, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, long strips of carrots, and beets cut in thin, long spirals.  YUM!), then bread with really thick balsamic and each bread had something different on it.  (Pesto (which i am not a pesto fan so I gave it to Derek.  One with carmelized onion and mushroom (derek got my shroom), and one with butternut squash puree).  Then we got these potatoes in this really good roasted tomato sauce with tofu (and they had purple potatoes like in hawaii).  Then for dessert....

DRUMROLL PLEASE...............................

Because I ate it!  That is right.  I ate dessert.  It was a quinoa apple (something else) crisp with ice cream and holy crap.  It wasn't very sugary.  Derek ate the ice cream (which he loved.  And then I told him it was vegan and probably made from soy and he was like wow.)  But I almost ate the entire apple thing.  Definitely going to be playing with that recipe.

It was so good.

Then we went climbing.  And I can climb.  For those who don't know (who are all of you), I hurt my wrist.  But I can still climb and that is what matters.  Yay.

Good birthday.

Never Dies

So when I got home from work/dance these were on the table for me.

At first I thought.  Oh...lilies.  But then I looked closer...

That's right.  Origami.  My husband is awesome.  Because these flowers will never die.  And it took him a long time.  And time means way more to me then $15 spent on flowers.

Interviews

So, there are still lots of things Derek and I don't know about each other.  How to discover these things?  Ask the right questions.  So we interviewed each other one night.  (I saw this on another blog.  Some are their ?s and some I made up).  How many of these things did you know?

Derek John Storrs

1.  What is your life plan?  "Work, family and adventures along the way"

2. What keeps you up at night?  "Katie"  

3. If you could have one superhero power, what would it be?  "Flight"

4. If you could take a trip around the world in 80 days, what would be your preferred mode of transportation?  "The "Up" house, cuz then I'd have my TV and clocks n's stuff"

5. What was your favorite TV show as a kid?  "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

6. If someone paid you 1,000 dollhairs to pet a snake, would you do it?  "Yes, and then donate the dollhairs to locks of love"

7. If you could give people one piece of advice, what would it be?  "Marry the right person"

8. What about being a parent are you most looking forward to?  "Playing with my kids and teaching moments"

9. What is your favorite article of clothing?  "Running shoes"

10. Where do you want to go on our next adventure?  "New Zealand"

BONUS ?  What is the last song you listened to on your ipod?  "Martin Sexton"

This is Kathryn Paxton Storrs (she goes by Katie)

1. What is the most recent dream you remember?  "I was one of my residents.  She is German"

2.  What's your favorite beverage this week?  "Honey/cider tea"

3. What skill do you hope to one day master?  "To control the minds of those around me.  And to deliver a curling stone straight."

4. If you had a free round trip ticket in the U.S. where would you go and what would you do?  "I would fly to Georgia and hike the Appalachian Trail."

5. What are three things that give you life?  "The gospel of Jesus Christ, being crazy in love with my best friend and adventure and knowing it is out there"

6. What makes you cry?  "Nothing.  Seeing families torn apart"

7. What is one adventure you'd like us to experience before we die?  "Other than parenthood, Kilimanjaro"

8. If you could be friends with anyone famous, who would it be?  "Lady Gaga or Michelle Obama"

9. What is the best book you've read this year?  "The Help"

10. What's your LEAST favorite chore?  "All of them (as of late).  But if I must choose...floors.  Vacuuming/sweeping/mopping.  All of those"

BONUS ?  What are you favorite pair of kicks?  My wool moccasins and my chacos and my barefeet.

My Yoga

I believe yoga to be a personal practice.  

So I personalized my yoga mat to help my yoga practice become mine.

I started with this.

After 30ish minutes, I had this.

All I used was a fabric marker.