+ MANTRA lululemon's manifesto

This is the lululemon athletica mantra.  How fun is this?  Every time I go in the store, all the girls that work there are so fun, happy & positive.  I can't wait to start working.  It's been too long!

IRONMAN ROBBIE

REWIND my life a year ago.  Rob & I were sitting in his old beach shack bachelor pad.  The one across from the Laie Chevron Station.  We were engaged with high hopes for the future.  That's what being engaged is like.  Everything in your future is positive.  There is no anticipation for the negative.  It's called hope and if you live off of that kind of energy...the kind of energy that little in love people radiate, the idea that "anything is possible/ all you need is love" and maybe a little support we'd probably be accomplishing much in our lifetimes.  Believing in each other and all that jazz is so sweet.  Thats what we were doing when we decided that Rob would do the St. George Ironman.  No gear, no training, no intent to do any other triathlon besides this one.  It sounded like a good idea.  $600.00 we had it.  We spent it.  He was signed up.  He'd be an Ironman in a year wether he liked it or not.

It was from this crazy day that we began our journey of finding out what this truly meant.  We set ourselves up to be creative, daring, and to think outside of the box...but in that crazy moment we had no fear of being wrong and we had to justify this or maybe just I had to justify this until race day.

Friends & family called us crazy.  Some even jokingly told us that we'd get in a divorce because of it being our first year of marriage with the added training regimen and stress etc.  When we went to get Rob running shoes, the local running shop owner counseled me to be patient, supportive, & understanding because this type of training was going to take up so much time.

Well, after I came back from summer, my last semester that was supposed to be "less work than the last semester" had me overwhelmed.  I began to have high anxiety and a racing heart.  All the hype of being newly married, on our own, finishing college, and the anticipation of the ironman was killing me.  Everything that was happening in my life was a whirlwind of opportunity, growth, and a sense of moving forward.  It was all positive, yet it was all so much.

Rob was doing his best to read up on his nutrition, go on runs with the cross country team every so often, and surf his brains out (in the attempt to train for the swim).  Was it all enough?  Would he be able to do it without any injuries?  Would buying all the gear and the admission fee, and all the time spent worth it?  We both lost sleep over this wether we admitted it to each other or not.

Halloween night of last year, Rob got so sick.  He had meningitis.  It had been a mini epidemic in Laie.  He spent the night in the ER & had a spinal tap.  It was a slow recovery and training was out of the question.  Slowly he recovered and started to train again over Christmas break when a knee injury started up.  Therapy, physical training; that was the end of it.  I was honestly a little relieved.  There was this horrible fear of Rob pushing himself through an injury in the race and injuring himself for life.  That was so not worth it to me.  I was sure he'd cut his losses.

A week before the race, Rob all of a sudden was talking about the Ironman again.  "...Okay," I thought to myself.  I remembered that chat I had with the running shop owner.  "I'm going to be supportive.  I'm not going to be the one to say no.  I'll let that be Rob's decision"

So I met Robbie in St. George with the faith as big as a freckle.  I didn't know what to expect knowing that he had an injured knee and figuring that he didn't have much endurance because after all, he had never swam, biked, or ran any of the race distances before the event.  How could he possibly do each event one after the other?  I guess he was giving it a fair try.  He could pull out whenever--there was no shame in doing a little bit of the race.  He was injured for crying out loud.

Well.  As you all know, he didn't pull out.  He finished the race!  His knee was warmed up from the combination of the swim bike and the St. George heat.  He felt no pain in his injured knee.  I was shocked at how well he did and how he wasn't dying the next day.  My husband is fit.  Thats all there is to it.  He's a dreamer, a goal setter, and a fighter.  I am so grateful for such a tenacious spouse.  I'm in for a wild ride and a creative life.  One who inspires me not to fear that I may be wrong.

SLC

LIFE OH LIFE.  IT IS GOOD TO BE ALIVE.- KPH

I've been thinking of making the voyage to Salt Lake for a while.  The last time I was here, it was a hectic weekend saying goodbye before I put in my time at the MTC & ultimately in Russia.  Can I just tell you how beyond beautiful it is here?  There is still gorgeous white snow on the mountains and even still, the weather was warm enough.
Why did I go to SLC?  That is a great question.  Russia calls to me.  Ever since I left, I have dreamed of going back.  I don't even understand this obsession I have to it's fullest extent but it calls me.  If I think about it too much I could even become tearful over it.  What does this have to do with SLC?  It's my ticket to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Saratov, Izhevsk & Penza.  I went through the interview process to become a SkyWest Flight Attendant.  Who knows what will come of it.  Either way it was a good experience.  I will be hearing back in a week.  Cross your fingers & pray I get based somewhere awesome!
My trip was glorious.  I somehow managed to finally see my mission president and his wife!  I've missed them so much.  The experiences we were able to share as a mission are paramount and continually bless my life.  Most of this great experience is due to their leadership.  Not a day goes by that I am not affected by my mission.  I constantly think about it.
Being back I was able to see others who served with me.  I was astounded by how long it had been since we had seen each other, yet how much we were the same and to hear what everyone does to keep their language up.  I found that we do some of the same things.  I talk to myself in the car and I was surprised to hear that others do as well.
The reason why my visit with the Bennetts was so special was because of what I gained from it.  We went back together sharing insights into what we were going through at the time.
Bearing my testimony on Sunday put me over the edge for this trip.  I was filled with love and gratitude ... it was overwelming.  I was able to walk to the temple and sit in the visitors center...chitchat with the temple square sisters and bathe in the beautiful LDS culture.  I felt a sense of home and warmth... there was so much peace in that holy place.  It was palpable.
I guess something you might be able to say for any returned missionary...their mission is their mecca.  It is a place that is symbolic and a holy ground for them personally because the streets of their areas are paved with their hard earned testimony.  The refiners fire takes place in every apartment building that they knocked.  It's where you brutally learn the simple pleasures and comfort you once enjoyed in your cushy home. You discover how you can live and what you can actually get by on... how many steps you can walk in a day, how many times you can be rejected and told no before you want to crawl into a fetal position and guess what... each day you are stronger and stronger and more and more in tune with what the Lord's wants and wishes are rather than going by what you know.
How eternally grateful I am for my life, all of it's experiences and the people I have met on the way.  That's what it's all about!