Montana Trip (part dos)

Settle yourself down and be ready for a doozy of a post, full of pictures (yes, me! I put pictures in a post!) and too many words.

We finally made it to Belt, MT. It's a tiny town of about 800 people, and there's no stop light, just a couple stop signs. I honestly could say it is my dream town. It is nestled in a small valley and is therefore protected from all the worst weather. It is surrounded by green hills on all sides. The Urick's house is just amazing and so adorable. It is tucked underneath a grove of trees at the end of a dirt road just outside of town. I fell in love immediately. The house, the trees, the meadows, the creek nearby; it is my idea of paradise.

Something about small towns just make me happy. Making money is not a huge goal for most people. Houses are small, stress is low, people are just generally happier. My iPhone didn't work in some parts of the house, and I found that I didn't care! Technology isn't a huge deal in small town Montana like it is in Gilbert. I felt like I didn't have a care in the world. I love that everybody knows each other in that town. Some people say they wouldn't be able to handle living in a small town because it's so far from everyone else, Target is too far away, they would get bored, they wouldn't be able to handle the isolation. I don't know about all of you, but I know I would love living in a small town for all those reasons!! It's hard to put into words exactly what it is about small town life that I love. I think I just envy how much simpler, stress-free, and slowed down life is. Not that my life is all that crazy (because it isn't), but I just felt so renewed after my short time in Belt. I want to go back!

Sydnee, her brother Clint, Chic, and I headed to Glacier National Park the day after we arrived to Belt. I was so excited! The drive there wasn't too crazy exciting, just miles and miles of green wheat fields blowing in the breeze. Can we talk about why they call Montana "Big Sky Country"? Guys. They are not kidding. It is physically impossible to take in all of the horizon in that place. It blows my mind how much sky there actually is! I had the misconception that Montana is mostly mountains, in fact it is the complete opposite! The area that we were in was very flat, and the majority of those flat areas are turned into agriculture. Good thing the wheat fields are beautiful! (To me, anyway.) That's why GNP is so shocking to the eye, the mountains rise up out of the flat land very suddenly. The peaks cut into the sky like knives. The landscape in GNP is so breathtakingly beautiful that pictures cannot even begin to capture the epicness of such a place. I'm still going to post my favorites though :)

Our first real view of Glacier National Park. I almost cried.

Sisters!! 

Sydnee and Clint. The best two people in Montana!

The most photographed place in the whole park. Goose Island.

The first day we went for a hike along St Mary Lake.

Sigh.

This bighorn's name is Big Nasty, as named by the park ranger.

The air coming out from under this snow pack was freezing!

My friend, Big Nasty.

It was a 4-mile round trip hike to Avalanche Lake. All of those waterfalls were loud!

This glacier water was freezing cold. It felt like knives!

The round shape of the valley is carved out by long-gone glaciers.

Just chillin.

The stripe in the middle of the mountain is The Going-To-The-Sun Road. Built in the 1950's, it stretches from the east to the west side of the park and is 52 miles long. Not for the faint of heart!

Big Sky Country sunset.

Wheat fields for miles. I loved it!

On Sunday, we went to church in Whitefish, which is a town 30 miles west of the park. Fun fact, my Grandpa had gone to church at this same building only a couple weeks before, a couple days after he started his Canada-to-Mexico biking trip. Whitefish is a beautiful town! I loved the West side of Glacier NP, it was much more mountainous than the East side. 

After two glorious days in Glacier, we headed back to Belt. I had to return the rental car on Wednesday, so we headed back to Idaho on Tuesday. I almost cried when we left Montana. I honestly wanted to stay forever. During those four days there, that was the happiest I had felt in a long time. We made it back to Idaho that night, and waited around all the next day at the Mattsen's for our car to be finished. The mechanic called me around 8 p.m., informing me that it was finally done! Chic and I were shortly on our way back to Utah in my faithful Roadrunner. We arrived in Orem late that night. Once again, we had another fun day the next day hanging out with Heather and Kayla. Little girl was crawling so much better than she was even a week previously! Too much cute for me to handle!!

The next day, after 12 exhausting days of stress and bliss, we headed back to Arizona. It felt really good to be headed home finally, although I did feel like I left my heart back in Montana. I cannot wait until that wonderful state and I are reunited. Hopefully sooner than later.

I could only find two drawbacks to Montana. One, the winters. The winters there are hard, snowy, cold, and LONG. Two, everything is super spread apart, so gas a big expenditure there. Belt was 30 miles outside of Great Falls, so to go to the movies, big grocery stores, or basically anything else, you were looking at a 60-mile round trip. However, the driving time passes quickly because their speed limits are a bit higher there. Can you say 70 mph on country highways?? The race car driver in me loved it. 

Needless to say, I will be back in Montana eventually, maybe and hopefully for a longer term thing. If I could find a PTA job there, I would be there already! That's how fast and hard I fell in love. Now if only I could make that happen between me and a man. :)

Montana Trip (Part 1)

Ever since I saw a friend's pictures of Glacier National Park several years ago, I have wanted to go. When I moved up to Utah and had a roommate from Montana, I knew I definitely needed to go. Sydnee and her family were nice enough to let us come up and stay with them in tiny Belt, MT (20 miles outside Great Falls). That place is amazing! But, before I can get into the awesomeness that is Montana, I have to talk about the 5 days it took us to get there.

Day 1- Monday, July 1st. The little sister and I leave hot and sweaty AZ for slightly less hot Utah. We make it with no problems and arrive in Orem at our brother's house that night.

Day 2- Tues, July 2nd. We hang out with Dustin, Heather, and little Kayla who is just learning to crawl. I think I may be biased, but she is the cutest thing ever. We have a relaxing day of eating out, Netflix, and teaching Kayla to climb on the love sack.

Day 3- Wed, July 3rd. We accidentally sleep in, but are the road by 10 a.m. I planned on filling up again in Idaho Falls before jumping off into the great expanse that is Montana. We pass Pocatello, then a small-ish town called Blackfoot. Two minutes north of Blackfoot, I hear a thunk noise, the engine light comes on, and the car begins to decelerate. I'm surprised I didn't panic, because honestly I had no idea what was happening. I pulled the car over to the side of the interstate, and immediately called AAA, which I had never used before. All I know is that I had the card in my wallet and my mom said to use it in case of emergency.

Well this sure felt like an emergency to me! They called me a tow truck, which arrived about 20 minutes later. Not bad! The driver was a super nice guy who felt bad for us two girls stuck in rural Idaho. He was LDS and really helpful, probably not the same experience we would get in AZ :) He took us Danny's auto repair in Blackfoot, and we waited while they looked at the car to figure out what was wrong. Silly me, I thought it was just a simple battery problem. Turns out it was really complicated!! Something about the timing belt, water pump, pistons, all this car stuff that I knew nothing about. Long story short, the car took A WEEK to fix!!

So of course when we find out that it was a long repair, we had to find somewhere to stay until we could figure something out! My parents, bless their hearts, were working on finding us somewhere to stay from 900 miles away. My mom found a Bishop Mattsen (the Church is true, y'all!) and him and his family took us in! There's not much I can say about them because they were honestly nice beyond words. Treated us like their own! So luckily we had a place to stay that night.

Day 4- Thurs, July 4th. Oh, the blessed Independence Day! Here me and Chic thought we would be spending it in Belt, instead we spent it with complete strangers in a small town in Blackfoot. My mom had reserved a rental car for us the night before, and I had to use my credit card in order to get it. However, I hadn't used my card in forever (or made a payment on it) and so there wasn't enough on it to rent the car. I was so sad! I was hoping to get to Belt that night. I debated getting a hotel room for the day until the payment went through on the credit card the next day (dang you holiday!) and me and Chic were just gonna kick it in Pocatello since the Mattsen's were on their way out of town for the day.

However, the Mattsen's said "nope, you're coming with us!"So we ended up spending the day with most of their entire extended family at a lake in eastern Idaho! You would think it would be awkward but we were just grateful to be doing something fun on the 4^th. Their family took us in and treated us like one of their own. It was a super fun day!

Day 5- Friday, July 5^th. The credit card has to work this time. It just has to! I called the credit card company early in the morning and specifically asked them if I made a charge for x amount of dollars, would it go through? They said yes and so we were once again on our way to Pocatello to get our rental car. Luckily my mom was able to find us a cheaper one than the one before, and I was excited to finally be on our way again! I was on edge when the guy ran my card, and when his face fell as he said, “I’m sorry, it declined” I thought I was in nightmare. WHAT. Hands shaking, I quickly called the credit card company again and asked them why my card wasn’t going through. I could barely keep my voice calm because I honestly was about to lose it! Well they fixed the problem in a couple minutes, the card worked, and we GOT THE RENTAL CAR finally! And that takes us to part 2. Also if anyone can think of a good spiritual application for this story, please let me know. I know that breaking down and going through all that stress was supposed to teach me a lesson, I'm just not sure what it is!

I miss running.

You guys. I have not ran a single mile since February 23rd. Do you know how messed up that is? I managed to finish Ragnar, but after that race I couldn't run at all. My feet hurt way too much at the end of the day and it was so disheartening! And since I got my first of two foot surgeries on May 16th, I have missed running like I never thought I would. Watching friends train for and run races just brings this aching into my heart. As of right now, it looks like I won't be able to run until the end of September. I try not to think about it, but at the same time it makes me so excited. I feel like I have a new lease on life. With these new feet (I know, I talk about my feet way more than a person should) I should be faster and more efficient. I will run without pain. I get to run without bulky orthotics in my shoes. 

I have dreams about training for races. I just spent the last hour reading some of my race recaps from last year and it made me so freaking excited for this fall, and basically the rest of my life. I already have grand plans to run two full marathons next year. Phoenix and Big Cottonwood. Also I want to run as many Ragnars as I can. I'm thinking Del Sol, Wasatch, Vegas, and the Zion Trail and McDowell Mountain Trail Ragnars. Also Top of Zion relay. Also Red Rock relays. Guys, there are just too many races that I want to do! I expect most of my spending next year to be from races. I have to make up for 2013, right? Just writing this makes my heart full with joy! AH!!! October could just hurry up, please.

Although I may not be able to run, I can still do some easy hiking (aka nature walks, haha). Which is why next week, I am travelling to MONTANA for the 4th of July!! I have an old roommate from Montana and because that state has been on my dream vacation list for as long as I can remember, I figured it was now or never. Chic (the 15 year old clone of myself) and I will be driving to Utah on Monday, and heading to Montana on Wednesday. Thursday we will celebrate the 4th in the style of Montana (think small town parades and rodeos) and then the next two days we will spend in Glacier National Park. Be prepared for pictures galore because there are no words to describe how excited I am for this trip. I am my best self when I am in the mountains, and I am definitely at my happiest as well. 

Oh and guess what is happening on July 19th? My better half, my Mexican, my beaner, my BFFAEAEAE is coming home from her mission!!! Hannah Banana Mae Mecham Garcia (one of those may not be her actual middle name) is coming back into my life. You guys. YOU GUYS. My life has been incomplete since she left. I want to cry just thinking about her coming home. Oh gosh. 

Surgery #1 Life Lessons

Well it's officially been 6 days since I've gotten surgery on my right foot. Here are some things I've learned:

You can't rely on people to come visit you when you go through an elective surgery. If it was an accident, I probably would have gotten more sympathy. I wish I would have known this! Haha

Taking a bath is a thousand times worse than taking a shower, and I remember why I never take them in the first place. Stupid foot can't get wet, so a bath it is!

It takes me twice as long to get ready. Before surgery it was 1.5 hours (shower included). Now? I haven't timed it but just know it takes forever.

I'm pretty creative when it comes to getting around. I have crutches, but sometimes they're more trouble than they're worth. I am not above crawling across the room to get my phone. 

Sleeping is hard. So hard. Besides the throbbing, my foot is wrapped tightly enough that it is bordering on uncomfortable. My doctor said it's better that way. Whatever. Haha

I am a complete nightmare on pain meds. Just ask my family or anyone who came to visit the first couple days. You guys, I get so mean. So I stopped taking them on Sunday after barely making it through sacrament meeting, and I feel great without them!

Never underestimate the freedom to drive. I chose to do my right foot first because it meant I couldn't drive (safely) and I wanted to get that out of the way. I love driving and being able to leave the house when I want so this is a little rough!

Some friends follow through when it comes to visiting and taking me places, others totally suck but I forgive them. Would I do the same to them if they were in this situation? Probably. 

My house is boring when everyone is at school and work.

When Netflix doesn't work, life is basically over. 

I have no patience for reading books anymore, which is sad. I think I need to break up with my iPhone.

Strangers hold the door open for me! Yay!

Apparently if you sit around all day and eat junk food, you will get fat. Whoops. I think I've gained at least 5 pounds in a week! Good thing when I get out of the boot (June 2nd!) I can resume swimming and biking. 

Not being able to run is the worst ever. Looking forward to September! 

Anyway, this post may sound like it's all complaining but in reality it's been okay. The days I get out of the house are the best! Ha ha. 

This summer...

Guys, great news! I PASSED MY NATIONAL PTA EXAM!! Okay now that is out of the way...

This means I will shortly be a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant and can begin working as soon as that license is active! Woo! I'm a grown up!

Of course life is never perfect and so here is my dilemma...

I have flat feet. Like, feet so flat that my entire arch touches the ground. The inside of my ankles are almost touching the ground. I have worn custom orthotics in my shoes since I was 17. They have worked fine for me since then; I have ran 2 marathons, 5 half marathons and 3 relay races in the 4 years since I have began running. Sure, my feet hurt after all of those races, but I figured it was normal.

Well, since clinicals started in January, I have been on my feet for 9+ hours a day, every week day. And slowly but surely, my feet have become worse and worse. At first my feet were just uncomfortable. I could still run after work but often I would get shin splints less than a mile in. So then I decided I would only run on my short work days and on Saturdays. That worked for a while. No pain, and I was able to kind of train for Ragnar in February. It was during that relay that I knew my feet were quickly becoming a serious problem. Each of my running legs was torture, especially the last one. I had to fight back tears in those last miles, my feet hurt so bad. Ragnar was a fun experience, minus the running part! The front of my shins would burn and burn as each mile went on. My back would hurt from misalignment. My arches, oh my arches! They felt like they were being overly stretched and yet rock hard at the same time.

Following Ragnar, I began my longer hours at the hospital. I was on my feet for even more time each day. And sure enough, I no longer could run on my off days. No more Saturday long runs. No more evening runs in the gorgeous Arizona spring weather. The pain was too much. At one point I came home so frustrated after a short, hobbling 2 mile run that I tried to do some intense self-massage on my shins with the straight side of a butter knife. All it left me was more pain and some gnarly bruising. Note to all: do not try to perform ASTYM on yourself.

Basically, for the last two months I haven't been able to run. I was/am devastated. The pain is just too much. It effects everything from my ankles to my back. Then in a moment of inspiration I remembered my podiatrist mentioned something to me about surgery the last time I was in to see him (when I got my newest pair of orthotics in 2011). I researched it, decided it was the right thing for me and something I really wanted. After an appointment with my podiatrist last week I am now 99% certain that I am getting surgery on my feet this summer. The first one will be late May, the second 6 weeks later in early July.

I mostly made this decision because I want to be a good PTA but I also want to be a good runner. I've realized, with my feet in this condition, that I cannot have both. Being a part of the physical therapy field brings me great joy and is truly my passion in life. However, having throbbing, awful foot pain before lunch time even rolls around tends to take away some of that happiness. I've been a runner since 2009. I've had my ups and downs, mostly ups. I've always been training for one race or another. I've had people ask me lately "What's your next race?" and it's heart breaking and totally strange to have to say that I don't have a race planned because I will be having surgery.

So anyway, that will be my life for the next three months or so. My last two days of clinicals are this week, and then I officially graduate on May 11th. I will get my license but I most likely will not get a job until July, when I can work pain-free. I think these surgeries will be a huge blessing in my life and although I don't look forward to the actual surgery and recovery very much, I know the outcome will be worth it.

If you're wondering what the surgery actually entails, visit this website. Also, besides the HyProCure procedure I will also have my bunions removed.....I know, it's nasty but my doctor thinks it's a good idea to have them both done at the same time! Recovery will be two weeks in a walking boot, then regular shoes! I can't run until two months after my second foot is done, so about mid-August. Perfect time to start training for my comeback race, the Phoenix Marathon! March 2014 :)

ps: I plan on writing a post about the awful things that happened at the Boston Marathon. I'm still trying to process all my feelings about it...

pss: Little brother comes home TUESDAY!!!

Penny boards are of the devil

Scene: the other night. My kitchen. Me and Chic (the 15 year old sister who is basically my clone) are talking and I had the genius idea to try her penny board.

The penny board. It's basically a smaller version of a skateboard. My sister rides it all over the neighborhood and throughout the house with perfect ease. So I think, how hard could it be?

I step on the board, placed in the kitchen hallway, as Chic is trying to tell me the correct way to ride it. I'm not really listening to her though. I step on the board, thinking that it'll be similar to a longboard, which I can kind of ride without any difficulty.

IT IS NOT LIKE A LONGBOARD.

I didn't even make it three feet. The board slid out from under me so fast that I was flat on my back in about 0.00005 seconds. I fell down so fast, I didn't have time to put out my hands behind me or anything! I landed kind of on my left side and mostly my head. My only reaction was to laugh hysterically. I'm on my back, not entirely sure of how I got there, and I roll over and see Chic snorting because she's laughing so hard.

I ended up getting a bruise on my head, hand, elbow and knee and somehow I got severe whiplash in my neck. Yesterday wasn't so bad, today was a whole different story. I can't turn my head to the left or tip my head back. Ouch!!! Even turning corners while I'm driving is painful! I expect it won't last very long, hopefully! Sleeping last night was not fun! Haha.

Anyway, moral of the story is that if I've never ridden a skateboard, I really shouldn't just jump on one, especially on a slick wood floor! Chic was laughing for probably 20 minutes after it happened.

I now have to glare at that stupid penny board every time I see it laying there so innocently. It is evil.

I hate coming up with titles

So I won't. Haha. Well today I took my first of two big tests and passed beyond all expectations! I needed a 102/150 to pass and I ended up getting a 123. It probably helps that I crammed for a good six hours the night before. Cramming may not work for some but it is how I have passed all my tests in the last two years. I am the master procrastinator. It actually works better for me than studying over weeks and weeks. I have been studying a couple hours a week since January but this week I really nailed it down and it paid off huge! Now all I have to do is keep studying well until a week from Monday, when I take the national exam! And then I will be a licensed PTA once all the paperwork goes through. So excited!!!

Now I keep getting questions about where I'm going to work once I graduate. And honestly, I have no idea! I love outpatient and inpatient equally. There's so many pros and cons to each. So as of now I think I'll just take whatever comes first. I'll do part-time over the summer and then either get another part time or beg wherever I work to move me to full time :) haha.

I am so excited to finally be graduated and to finally be a working adult! Hooray!! But you want to know something I am more excited for?? ELDER CLOUSE COMES HOME APRIL 23RD!!!!! That is three weeks from Tuesday. I seriously cannot wait, and I hope these next three weeks go by really fast. I'm ready for summer to be here! I have a lot of adventures planned so stay tuned :)

Well here's a picture if my gorgeous pup Maggie, just to make your day!