NEW CAR

I bought a newish car at the beginning of the year. I love the new car, but still miss the old car, and the first car I ever had. Here is a little of my car history.

Name: Kevin (Kevy for short)
Type: 1969 VW Beetle.
Pros: I loved driving along knowing that most of the kids in the cars next to me were getting slugged by one of their siblings. People always waved, honked, and gave me the peace sign. It was a great car for short distances (aka. to High school and back). It was small and could be parked almost anywhere.
Cons: It had no air conditioning and black vinyl seats. I swear the heating came from the exhaust. There were no defrosters, as a result, I have a clear memory driving to school one morning while Sarah scraped the front windshield from the inside of the car. It also had rear wheel drive which may or may not have caused us to do a 180 on a snowy day.

Name: Tex
Type: 1999 Mazda 626
Pros: Tex had really low mileage, face it there's not a ton of places to go in Provo. My cousin Stephanie and I took a roadtrip down to New Mexico to visit Rachelle. We had a lot of fun on that roadtrip. I also took Tex to Moab, Bear Lake, and many places in between.
Cons: Towards the end Tex's transmission started to go out, He thought he was a bronco and I was the rider he was trying to throw me off.

Name: ?
Type: 2008 Subaru Impreza
Pros: Equipped with all wheel drive which came in very handy the week after I bought it and Utah got dumped on. A 6 CD changer and an I POD connection. The cruise control is really easy to use and I use it almost everyday on my way to work. The car tells me what my average mpg is. The gas tank is on the passenger side of the car, and I swear there are always pumps open on that side at Costco. Last but not least KEY LESS ENTRY, what did I ever do without it.
Cons: A monthly car payment is not so fun. I'm so worried about getting my car bumped that I park as far away from other cars as I can, which in reality may be good for me.


If you have any suggestions for a name, let me know. I have always given my car boy names but this car seems a little more feminine.

I've got a button

I was cleaning out one of my dresser drawers recently and came across packets full of buttons. For the past 4 1/2 years I have been throwing extra buttons from new clothes in this drawer. I was surprised by the number of buttons there were. It is sad that most of these buttons will not be used, at least not for the purpose they were intended. I thought about how sometimes I feel like a button forgotten in the bottom of a drawer, but then that was depressing. I would rather think about how each button is unique.

BIRTHDAY BANANA

My birthday was yesterday. I got a little sentimental over the weekend thinking of past birthdays. This year, I spent my birthday giving speech therapy in the dark, in my coat. The power was out for over 4 hours at work. Last year I spent the day skiing with Darren, Jeff, and Jarilyn. It was an awesome powder day and I officially became a member of the bent ski pole club. In 2006 I watched the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics with friends at the Skybox. Back in Elementary school I went to Aladdin at the old Villa theater one year. I remember another birthday with everything pink and heart shaped.

My family has had the same home teacher for as long as I can remember. When I was really young I remember him bringing frozen ding dongs. They were wrapped in tin foil and I loved them. At some point he stopped bringing ding dongs and started bringing bananas. For years now he has delivered a single banana on which he has written "Happy Birthday Suzanne." He hasn't delivered one yet this year. Sometimes he forgets the exact day, but I'm expecting a banana to be delivered any day.

I was born on my Dad's birthday. He used to say I was the best present he has ever received. He told my sister the other day that the gym membership we gave him for Christmas was the best present ever. I'm hoping he forgot about me for a short moment and that I'm still at the top.

SEE SUZ RUN CONTINUED...

I think people look funny while they are doing two things. What are those two things you ask...running and singing. I have to admit that Jeff looks way better than me when he is running. For some reason I look like I'm about to pass out, probably because I was about to pass out. Honestly I only put the best pictures up, there were pictures that were worse, much worse.

I was watching the Biggest Loser a couple of weeks ago and Bob the trainer suggested that people sing at the top of their lungs while running. No joke, he honestly recommended it. It is apparently supposed to increase your lung capacity. I can't even imagine how much worse I would have looked had a been singing. I choose to do only one funny looking thing at a time.

SEE SUZ RUN

Let me just preface this blog by saying that prior to this last weekend I would not have considered myself to be a "runner." I finished my first half marathon, the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix Arizona this past weekend. My official time was 2:04:15. I can now say, I AM A RUNNER.

The road to my first half marathon has been long. Back in August I could barely run a mile. Whenever I did run, I had pain on the lateral side of my knees. After visiting a sports medicine doctor and a physical therapist I was able to strengthen the muscles around my knees and gradually increased my running distance. Just when I thought I was getting to a comfortable running routine a new injury would emerge. But I kept on going.

My brother Jeff has run in three half marathons, two previous PF Chang's and the Salt Lake last April. He lives down in Phoenix. In November I decided to sign up for the PF Chang with him and take a trip to sunny Arizona. I had the best time running with Jeff. He has not run since the Salt Lake Half Marathon last April, and I was afraid that he would beat me. The first 3 miles were tough, but Jeff really motivated me. We stuck together for the first 9 miles of the race and Jeff ended up finishing about 10 minutes after me.

Running is physical but mostly psychological. When I am running I have to consistently remind myself that I can keep going when by body screams to stop. The sense of accomplishment I felt when I crossed the finish line is impossible to express. I realized that I need to push myself to set goals in other areas of my life just as I set the goal to run a half marathon. I can't wait to see what the rest of 2009 brings. My next half marathon is in March in Moab. My sister is apparently quite motivated by my time and is hoping to beat me. Bring it on Sis, bring it on!

Congratulations Amy and Dallin!

My best friend Amy got married on January 16th . I am ecstatic that Dallin is now a permanent addition to my life too. I wish you two all the happiness in the world!

2009 Financial Plan

I was watching Oprah last week and Suze Orman was on talking about finances. She is offering a free download of her latest book on Oprah's website. The book has some great advice for the tough financial times that we are facing. So go to click on this link and download the book for free until midnight on January 15th.