Already, from the title, you may be thinking that this post may fall into the category of too much information. If you are thinking that, you are correct. But Josh passed a very big milestone a couple of weeks ago, and has shared this story with quite a few people. After he told his entire family yesterday, they all requested that we post it on the blog. So I'm just doing as I'm told. However, if you are thinking you want to skip this post because it may be graphic, you would be right in assuming that, and you are more than welcome to go ahead and skip it.
A couple weeks ago, Josh started feeling a little sick. He had the exact same symptoms as his brother and sister-in-law, who went to the doctor and were told that they had a sinus infection. In addition, Josh comes from a family of nurses, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, and soon-to-be pharmacists, so he decided to go to the doctor-not to find out what was wrong with him, but to get a prescription for an anti-biotic. Needless to say, he got a little more than he bargained for.
According to Josh, his doctor's visit went a little like this. Josh went to the doctor and told him that he was congested, and he had been coughing etc. Then the doctor asked him for a little more background information, and Josh told him that he has a herniated disc in his back that he had had some work done on. Before the words were even out of his mouth, Josh had a FULL BODY examination, including testing for hernias, blood work, and yes, a prostate exam. To make matters worse, (not that being taken advantage of, and being violated wasn't bad enough,) the doctor told him that his sickness was a virus, and, therefore, he couldn't use any drugs for it. But to look on the bright side, most people have to wait until they are 40 or 50 before they get to experience this, and Josh just got an early start.
The next week, Josh went back into the same doctor, and was given a prescription for the anti-biotic he wanted in the first place, and a prescription for a "lingering" sinus infection. (Lingering only because it wasn't treated right the first time.)
So it was an experience that, I'm sure as hard as he tries, Josh will never forget.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Halfway There!
Okay, so as many of you know, I have been training for a marathon. But before we get to that, you have to understand a couple of things... (Again, apparently, I'm a talker-therefore, blogger, and so if this is boring for you skim down to the pictures-which are not that exciting either.) When I was in like elementary school and Jr. High, my sister told me that she heard that a really good exercise for average people is to walk for 15 minutes, run for 15 minutes, walk for 15 minutes three times a week. So she worked with me for a LONG time to even get to the point that I could run for 15 minutes straight. (I think at the beginning, I could run for like 3 minutes before I felt like I was going to be sick.) The point of the story is to show how far I've come since then.
Since high school, I thought that it would be really cool to run a marathon, and at times have tried to get to the point that I could, but something always got in the way. Last year, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon, and now was as good a time as any. So I started an eighteen week training program at the end of May and the marathon is on September 20th. On Saturday the 9th I ran the Provo River Run which is a 1/2 marathon. But now there's more to the story again.
During the month of July it was hard to keep up with my training schedule because of the holidays, going to South Dakota and New York and other things, so when I wasn't able to run as often as I should, I would just do my long mile runs. Also my plan was to get new shoes at the beginning of July, and I kept putting it off, until I think it was too late. So the moral of the story is exactly two weeks before the half marathon I got tendonitis in my IT band, and two days later it was so bad that I was limping when I walked. My dreams were pretty much crushed. I knew I could still run the marathon with some physical therapy, but I didn't think there was any way I could run the half marathon. For one week, I just took a break and didn't run at all. Then the Monday before the race, I ran less than half a mile, and my knee started hurting. So after another week of intense icing, stretching, and very slow training, I got to the point that my knee didn't hurt, and I figured that I could probably finish the race even if it meant walking the second half.
So I ran the race, and absolutely LOVED it! The most amazing part is that I didn't have any knee pain during or after. (I had a lot of pain after, pretty much in every muscle of my legs for the next three days, but never knee pain.) I can't explain why I didn't have any knee pain, because it absolutely doesn't make sense to me, but I didn't. And I really enjoyed all but the last three miles. (The last three miles were weaving in and out of a business park, which was BORING, so I walked a lot because by that time, I was so bored that I decided that I didn't care if I walked across the finish line, I knew I would finish either way.)
This is me right before the finish line. Right as I turned the last corner, I suddenly had TONS of energy.
This is important, because I've been training to average 10 minute miles. So at the beginning I was hoping to finish the race in 2 hours and 10 minutes, but because of my "injury" I had to walk a couple times to be cautious, and then I walked a lot in the last 3 miles, that I figured it probably would have taken my like 2 1/2 hours. So when I came around the corner and the clock said 2 hours and 10 minutes, I sprinted and I was so happy with myself, because when I was running I must have been going faster than 10 minute miles to be able to still get 2:10.
This is Josh's sister who also ran the race and is running the marathon. My parent's also came to see me finish and I was bummed I didn't get a picture with them, but grateful for all their support even though they think I'm crazy.
And of course, I had to have a picture of Josh and I, because there is absolutely no way that i would have been able to do any of this without him. He is the one that said that if I kept talking about running a marathon he would sign me up for one (which he did.) He's been there with me to buy two pairs of shoes and all my clothes, (which doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it has been quite a process-and an expensive process). He's been there with me through all the icing (which is MUCH more enjoyable for him than me) the shin splints, the blisters, the middle of the night muscle cramps (which are pain like I have never experienced.) He's been with me through the constant whining, (which most of you know, whining from me is quite a bit to handle), through analyzing every part of my training, and he even went on one run with me. (Granted it was three miles, and he RODE HIS BIKE, but he was still there for it.) I love him forever, and when I cross that final finish line, it will be a victory for him, just as much as for me.
Since high school, I thought that it would be really cool to run a marathon, and at times have tried to get to the point that I could, but something always got in the way. Last year, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon, and now was as good a time as any. So I started an eighteen week training program at the end of May and the marathon is on September 20th. On Saturday the 9th I ran the Provo River Run which is a 1/2 marathon. But now there's more to the story again.
During the month of July it was hard to keep up with my training schedule because of the holidays, going to South Dakota and New York and other things, so when I wasn't able to run as often as I should, I would just do my long mile runs. Also my plan was to get new shoes at the beginning of July, and I kept putting it off, until I think it was too late. So the moral of the story is exactly two weeks before the half marathon I got tendonitis in my IT band, and two days later it was so bad that I was limping when I walked. My dreams were pretty much crushed. I knew I could still run the marathon with some physical therapy, but I didn't think there was any way I could run the half marathon. For one week, I just took a break and didn't run at all. Then the Monday before the race, I ran less than half a mile, and my knee started hurting. So after another week of intense icing, stretching, and very slow training, I got to the point that my knee didn't hurt, and I figured that I could probably finish the race even if it meant walking the second half.
So I ran the race, and absolutely LOVED it! The most amazing part is that I didn't have any knee pain during or after. (I had a lot of pain after, pretty much in every muscle of my legs for the next three days, but never knee pain.) I can't explain why I didn't have any knee pain, because it absolutely doesn't make sense to me, but I didn't. And I really enjoyed all but the last three miles. (The last three miles were weaving in and out of a business park, which was BORING, so I walked a lot because by that time, I was so bored that I decided that I didn't care if I walked across the finish line, I knew I would finish either way.)
This is me right before the finish line. Right as I turned the last corner, I suddenly had TONS of energy.
This is important, because I've been training to average 10 minute miles. So at the beginning I was hoping to finish the race in 2 hours and 10 minutes, but because of my "injury" I had to walk a couple times to be cautious, and then I walked a lot in the last 3 miles, that I figured it probably would have taken my like 2 1/2 hours. So when I came around the corner and the clock said 2 hours and 10 minutes, I sprinted and I was so happy with myself, because when I was running I must have been going faster than 10 minute miles to be able to still get 2:10.
This is Josh's sister who also ran the race and is running the marathon. My parent's also came to see me finish and I was bummed I didn't get a picture with them, but grateful for all their support even though they think I'm crazy.
And of course, I had to have a picture of Josh and I, because there is absolutely no way that i would have been able to do any of this without him. He is the one that said that if I kept talking about running a marathon he would sign me up for one (which he did.) He's been there with me to buy two pairs of shoes and all my clothes, (which doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it has been quite a process-and an expensive process). He's been there with me through all the icing (which is MUCH more enjoyable for him than me) the shin splints, the blisters, the middle of the night muscle cramps (which are pain like I have never experienced.) He's been with me through the constant whining, (which most of you know, whining from me is quite a bit to handle), through analyzing every part of my training, and he even went on one run with me. (Granted it was three miles, and he RODE HIS BIKE, but he was still there for it.) I love him forever, and when I cross that final finish line, it will be a victory for him, just as much as for me.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
New York, New York!
It finally happened!!! I've waited for this for most of my life. (Before I say any more, I have to tell you that this may go down in the Guiness Book of World Records as the longest blog in the history of the world. So if you just want to skim through the pictures, or take a break in the middle, fall asleep, or even just stop looking at it, I will completely understand. Since I haven't scrapbooked in almost a year, and our wedding album isn't even done, this is basically the only thing I am doing to keep memories. So this blog is more for me than anyone else.) Back to the story... One day, Josh was talking to me and (I thought) hypothetically asked me if I would rather go to Hawaii or New York. You may think I'm crazy, but I've always wanted to go to New York, so that was my pick. Then one thing led to another, and Josh and I and my parents decided to go to New York, the biggest reason being that this is the last year in Yankee Stadium. Josh said it was also as a graduation present for himself.
These first few pictures are of us on the tour bus, which was actually one of my favorite parts of the trip, just because we got to see most of the city, and it was one of the only times on the trip that we were actually sitting down. (I think we walked an average of 5 miles a day (or it seemed like it.) in 90 degree weather with 1000 percent humidity.
Also, one of my favorite parts was Central Park, and we actually spent a good amount of time there even though I only have a couple pictures. For anyone who hasn't been there, it is AMAZING!!!! It's huge, and inside the park, there is a lake (which is not the picture below, the lake was much bigger) a water park, several playgrounds, tons and tons of trees. And the best part is there are no cars, so the whole thing is bike and running paths. I was so jealous!
This was called Shakespearan Garden, and was also inside Central Park. This picture does not even come close to doing it justice. It was completely covered in tons of flowers and was so pretty!
The first day we were there, after going to Central Park, we went to the Empire State Building, which was cool, but honestly if you've been to the top of any tall building, it was pretty much the same. The pictures make it look very hazy, and it was a little, but I didn't think it was this bad.
Then we went to FAO Schwarz, which for those who don't know is a giant toy store, and was in the movie Big with Tom Hanks.
This is Josh wearing some kind of Harry Potter hat. (I don't know the movies that well, so I don't know the significance.)
If you've ever seen Big, this is the piano that they play in the movie, and basically the biggest reason we wanted to go to the store in the first place. My mom and I tried to play Chopsticks, but there were too many dang kids around.
If you can't tell, these Harry Potter people are made entirely of Legos (again, I couldn't tell you who they are.)
Just so you know, when you go to New York, you feel like you're right in the middle of a movie, because SO much is filmed there. So this bull, you may recognize this bull from a scene in Hitch. Josh told me that the point of the bull is to signify the many years of the bull market economy that America has endured. When you see it, you know you're on Wall Street. I just know movies!
The second day we were there, we went to the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. Again, it was cool, but basically exactly how you think it would be. All I could think about was how blasted hot I was.
This is the New York skyline from the ferry.
This is the Ellis Island building from the front. One of the things that I liked the most about New York, is that they don't just build buildings...everything is like an architectural masterpiece, and you'll see that more in later pictures. 
This is me saying YEA!!!! I finally arrived!!
For anyone who has traveled with me before, you may know that I love the store Brookstone, and have spent many hours there testing the massage chairs. Sadly, these ones were monitored by the employees pretty well, so we only got about 15 minutes.
On Saturday we went to see the musical Grease on broadway, which, of course, I loved! And Josh was happy because we got to see Taylor Hicks (who was the American Idol a couple years ago.) Josh doesn't like him or anything, but I think it just made it a little more entertaining for him.
And on Monday, Josh got his wish. He waited patiently all week, and was so nervous that the game was going to get rained out, but we finally got there. And Yankee Stadium didn't disappoint. The Yankees won 12 to 3 against the Twins. A Rod, Derek Jeter, and Robinson Canoe all hit homeruns, and the weather was perfect. The only bad thing was that we didn't get to see Monument Park (which is basically a memorial of all the legends in Yankee Stadium, like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig etc.) But I guess that just means that we'll have to go again when the new stadium is built, which is perfectly fine with me!
The All-Star was the week before we left, so throughout the city, they had Statue of Liberties dressed up in all the different teams colors. So this is the Yankee one.
Okay, this picture looks like basically nothing, I know, but it's the Brooklyn Bridge. The significance is that when I was in 8th grade, I went to Las Vegas with a couple of my friends. By then, my fetish with New York City had already begun, and when we were walking down the strip, I had to take several pictures of the hotel New York, New York. Specifically, I took a picture of me standing on the Brooklyn Bridge, and I remember thinking that someday I would be at the real one. I never actually stood on the Brooklyn Bridge, but this was close enough.
After a series of misfortunate events on Friday, we ended up in Little Italy, which was a lot of fun, so we were happy about the way things ended up. 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We spared Josh the agony of ever going inside a museum of modern art while we were there.
The Guggenheim, built by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Madison Square Garden where the Knicks play.
The Flatiron building.
Rockefeller Center where they ice skate in all the movies.
Radio City Music Hall
Ground Zero
Ground Zero again
Warning: The next pictures illustrate what too many hours on mass transit may do to you. We stayed in Newark, New Jersey because it was cheaper than staying in New York, and only about 6 miles from the city. However, what we didn't know was that it is very expensive to go from Newark to the city, so we had to be very creative. If you can believe it, this is what our daily routine ended up being... Take the shuttle from the hotel to the airport, get on the air train at the airport to get to the right terminal, from the terminal we took a New Jersey bus to the New Jersey transit station. At the station we got on a train to a New York station, from there we could get on the subway and go to our final destination. That process ended up taking anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on the day, but it saved us money.
These first few pictures are of us on the tour bus, which was actually one of my favorite parts of the trip, just because we got to see most of the city, and it was one of the only times on the trip that we were actually sitting down. (I think we walked an average of 5 miles a day (or it seemed like it.) in 90 degree weather with 1000 percent humidity.
Also, one of my favorite parts was Central Park, and we actually spent a good amount of time there even though I only have a couple pictures. For anyone who hasn't been there, it is AMAZING!!!! It's huge, and inside the park, there is a lake (which is not the picture below, the lake was much bigger) a water park, several playgrounds, tons and tons of trees. And the best part is there are no cars, so the whole thing is bike and running paths. I was so jealous!
This was called Shakespearan Garden, and was also inside Central Park. This picture does not even come close to doing it justice. It was completely covered in tons of flowers and was so pretty!
The first day we were there, after going to Central Park, we went to the Empire State Building, which was cool, but honestly if you've been to the top of any tall building, it was pretty much the same. The pictures make it look very hazy, and it was a little, but I didn't think it was this bad.
Then we went to FAO Schwarz, which for those who don't know is a giant toy store, and was in the movie Big with Tom Hanks.
This is Josh wearing some kind of Harry Potter hat. (I don't know the movies that well, so I don't know the significance.)
If you've ever seen Big, this is the piano that they play in the movie, and basically the biggest reason we wanted to go to the store in the first place. My mom and I tried to play Chopsticks, but there were too many dang kids around.
If you can't tell, these Harry Potter people are made entirely of Legos (again, I couldn't tell you who they are.)
Just so you know, when you go to New York, you feel like you're right in the middle of a movie, because SO much is filmed there. So this bull, you may recognize this bull from a scene in Hitch. Josh told me that the point of the bull is to signify the many years of the bull market economy that America has endured. When you see it, you know you're on Wall Street. I just know movies!
The second day we were there, we went to the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. Again, it was cool, but basically exactly how you think it would be. All I could think about was how blasted hot I was.
This is the New York skyline from the ferry.
This is the Ellis Island building from the front. One of the things that I liked the most about New York, is that they don't just build buildings...everything is like an architectural masterpiece, and you'll see that more in later pictures. Finally, on Friday, after years of waiting, I got to see Times Square!!!! Then again on Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday, and Tuesday. But I loved it! There were so many people, and it was so hot, and I thought my legs might not work by the end of the day, but I loved it. One thing that stuck out to me about Times Square is that you always hear about New Yorkers having a specific attitude and you can kind of see it in the movies, but literally in New York, no one cares about what anyone else is doing. Pedestrians cross the street whenever they dang well please whether it's in the middle of traffic or not, and drivers could care less whether they hit a pedestrian. If the light is green they go full speed ahead. And forget traffic lanes, cars move wherever they want to get where they're going. It's a very fast-paced lifestyle.
This is me saying YEA!!!! I finally arrived!!
For anyone who has traveled with me before, you may know that I love the store Brookstone, and have spent many hours there testing the massage chairs. Sadly, these ones were monitored by the employees pretty well, so we only got about 15 minutes.
On Saturday we went to see the musical Grease on broadway, which, of course, I loved! And Josh was happy because we got to see Taylor Hicks (who was the American Idol a couple years ago.) Josh doesn't like him or anything, but I think it just made it a little more entertaining for him.
And on Monday, Josh got his wish. He waited patiently all week, and was so nervous that the game was going to get rained out, but we finally got there. And Yankee Stadium didn't disappoint. The Yankees won 12 to 3 against the Twins. A Rod, Derek Jeter, and Robinson Canoe all hit homeruns, and the weather was perfect. The only bad thing was that we didn't get to see Monument Park (which is basically a memorial of all the legends in Yankee Stadium, like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig etc.) But I guess that just means that we'll have to go again when the new stadium is built, which is perfectly fine with me!
The All-Star was the week before we left, so throughout the city, they had Statue of Liberties dressed up in all the different teams colors. So this is the Yankee one.
Okay, this picture looks like basically nothing, I know, but it's the Brooklyn Bridge. The significance is that when I was in 8th grade, I went to Las Vegas with a couple of my friends. By then, my fetish with New York City had already begun, and when we were walking down the strip, I had to take several pictures of the hotel New York, New York. Specifically, I took a picture of me standing on the Brooklyn Bridge, and I remember thinking that someday I would be at the real one. I never actually stood on the Brooklyn Bridge, but this was close enough.
After a series of misfortunate events on Friday, we ended up in Little Italy, which was a lot of fun, so we were happy about the way things ended up.These next pictures are just things that we saw as we went around the city. Again, the architecture is amazing.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We spared Josh the agony of ever going inside a museum of modern art while we were there.
The Guggenheim, built by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Madison Square Garden where the Knicks play.
The Flatiron building.
Rockefeller Center where they ice skate in all the movies.
Radio City Music Hall
Ground ZeroGround Zero againWarning: The next pictures illustrate what too many hours on mass transit may do to you. We stayed in Newark, New Jersey because it was cheaper than staying in New York, and only about 6 miles from the city. However, what we didn't know was that it is very expensive to go from Newark to the city, so we had to be very creative. If you can believe it, this is what our daily routine ended up being... Take the shuttle from the hotel to the airport, get on the air train at the airport to get to the right terminal, from the terminal we took a New Jersey bus to the New Jersey transit station. At the station we got on a train to a New York station, from there we could get on the subway and go to our final destination. That process ended up taking anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on the day, but it saved us money.
These last two, are more pictures of really cool architecture.
And that completes the longest blog ever! You should just be happy that I limited it only to the pictures that Josh and I took, and not the ones on my mom's camera like I thought about doing. The moral of this blog is that I absolutely loved New York City! It was even better than I thought it was going to be, even though it was so hot, we spent too many hours on mass transit with strangers, I've never been crowded by so many people in my life, and heard so many different languages spoken at the same time. But I loved it! I can't wait to go back, and I'm trying to talk Josh into moving there (not forever, just for a couple years), but at the time, it doesn't seem that he can be convinced. (But I can be pretty persistant when I want to be.)
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