mmmmm

Please tell me I am not the only one in the world addicted to these eggs. I bought a bag today and told myself this is the last time this Easter season.....now we will see if I stick to it!!!!

Busy

I now go to Physical Therapy 2x a week. I have some pretty crazy exercises I do everyday for my shoulder and my hamstrings. The first week I was so sore I could not really do anything else. My hamstrings initially hurt more than they ever have. Now that I have gotten used to the different activities my body has adjusted and I am not sore. They do seem to be working so I will continue to spend $25 a session and see if it continues to make a difference. These super bands were introduced to me at physical therapy and they are awesome.

So awesome that I bought 6 to use for track (yes I am coaching track again, call me sucker of the year). There might have been a slingshot incident where a student slammed into a wall but now that I understand how powerful they are I think we are good.

These are my boots. Aren't they cute. I love wearing them with dresses and skirts but I may need to get some pants to wear them with as well.

Dan got me an Amazon gift card thinking I would buy books for my Kindle but instead I was able to use the money to help pay for the boots:)

Last night was the basketball banquet.

It is completely over. That is a relief. Only one parent would not talk to me or look at me. Kind of awkward but that's how it goes sometimes. High school sports are hard and it is hard when your kid does not play as much as you think they should.

And can I say one thing I actually hate doing: giving constructive criticism to adults. It is just hard and awkward. And I hate doing it. But I am in a multiple positions that force me to do it on a regular basis. LAME!

On another good note the PG womens basketball team I play on won the championship. Yo-yeah! They give out sweatshirts so it is extra exciting. I still love to play basketball.

Presidents Weekend

I was fortunate enough to be able to head home for Presidents weekend. Sam and Amanda were headed out and since basketball is over I was able to take two days off of work and have a mini vacation. SO NICE! Sam drove the entire way which was super nice. I slept and read in the car, oh and ate way too much but that is what you do when you are in the car for 10 hours. Dan was able to come home as well so the whole family was together. That means lots of craziness, laughing, teasing, games, and some inappropriate comments.

Olivia is growing up way too fast. I got this hat for her. My neighbor makes them and I think they are adorable. I don't know that Olivia loves hats and the weather in California is not that cold but it is super cute on her.

We really just hung out all weekend. Either at Ben and Katie's or my parents. It was also Katie's bday while we were home so that was fun to celebrate.

All my pictures seem to have Olivia in them. I didn't get my camera out enough but it is so fun to capture pictures or her in all her craziness.

Sunday night we played games until midnight. Mikila joined us and my stomach was seriously sore from laughing, well my face also hurt from smiling so much. Good times.

The trip bonus was that so many friends from high school were in town. I love these girls!

Birthday Overload!

Truth be told sometimes I am not great at taking pictures or drawing them.

(I didn't draw this Katie did but it was one of my favorites from the night it went from construction worker to fire escape. I can't get enough of this game. I laugh constantly)
My birthday weekend extravaganza. I felt very spoiled this year. Friday night Ben and Jana took me out to some delicious Thai food. Somehow Dan got to benefit from my birthday dinner as well. Not quite sure how that happened (although it happened once before), but the food was great as was the company. Unfortunately it did not send Jana into labor. I was really hoping the baby could come on my birthday.

Saturday I had to coach basketball. It is our end of season tournament. My team surprised me with gifts on the bus. Not just one gift but multiple gifts. Hot tomales, a book, and a curling iron. They love it when I curl my hair but I haven't curled it recently because the handle has a huge crack and I had a dream that it electrocuted me. Silly dream but quite frightening and not worth the risk. Well they got wind of this and took action. Now I have new very nice curling iron. They are expecting curls for the game tomorrow. But the best part was they won their game. I told them that was all I wanted for my birthday and they gave me that!

After the victory we went to Pizza Pie Cafe where coaches and bus drivers eat free, yo yeah! They did dessert there for me also. And sang again, the third time they sang happy birthday. So that was all a little overwhelming but very nice of them. I don't need anyone to sing me happy birthday for a very long time.

Saturday night was girls night with my aunts and cousins. We had some yummy dinner and played games. So fun. I have been fighting a nasty cold for a few days but it was still super fun.

This morning I woke up to snow. It snowed all day. I decided to take my Sunday walk anyways. I really enjoy walking in the mornings before 1 o'clock church. It was a little wet but not too cold.

I got home from my walk and Katie had made some yummy breakfast. Church was great. I wore a new dress that I bought with the money my parents sent me. Thanks Mom and Dad! A Costco special that I love.

Dan made some delicious steak for dinner and Katie made a great salad. Overall I felt very loved and had a great weekend. I can't believe that I am 32 but I am determined to make the best of it.

I was a little sad Friday thinking about how my life is just different than what I wished for and expected and then you realize that everyone's life is that way to a point. And then I started thinking that it is more important to focus on whether or not I am where the Lord needs me to be and am I doing the things he needs LaNell Brown to do. And you know I think I am on the right track. I am not perfect but I really try to follow the spirit and make the right choices. More than anything I have seen and felt so many weaknesses exposed this year at work. Both from teaching and coaching. It has been really eye opening and difficult but I think I am becoming a better teacher, coach and ultimately person because of it.

I am really looking forward to this coming weekend. I am headed home for the weekend. I am way excited. Nothing like a few days off! That is my birthday present to myself.

Blah

I feel blah because it was fast Sunday and then I totally ate an entire days worth of calories in a 2 hour time period. You would think by now I would be smart enough not to do that. YUCK!

Last week was LONG, LONG, LONG! There were incidents with parents, with students, with players. It goes on and on and on. I was so happy when Friday night finally rolled around. And to start the weekend off my basketball team won Friday night. We have not won a lot of games this year so I was super happy for them.

Yesterday I attended an 18 stake girls camp meeting. Seriously how crazy is that. There were so many people there. Everyone involved with girls camp was invited. It was seriously amazing. Sister Dalton the young women general president came to speak...amazing. And then there were 4 hours of classes. It was training for camp. I am so excited and overwhelmed. I walked away having felt the spirit so strong. I always knew girls camp was important but my testimony of that was definitely strengthened. It was so great to hear the values and be reminded of the sweet spirit that is present as you talk about the young women's standards. The spirit was so powerful and it reminded me of my days as a young women and how I remember feeling the spirit so strong during different lessons and activities. I know my testimony really began to blossom in young women's. And now I have the responsibility to help other young women have that same experience. That is a lot of pressure but I am excited. You should listen to a song written for the young women theme this year. The song is Guardians of Virtue. I love this song. It is amazing.

My Dad is in the hospital again. Total bummer. I just hate that he is in the hospital and that he is so far away. I hate it a lot. He was admitted on Thursday. We are hoping that he is cleared to head home tomorrow. His body was retaining way too much water. He has lost 8lbs in there now that they were able to get the water out.

I applied for grad school at USU. The school counseling program. I am not 100% I will do it even if I do get in but I think it could be really interesting. I think the psychology classes could really help me as a teacher but even more so as a coach. We will see what happens there. No thesis involved so that has got to be a good sign.

Superbowl Sunday. I think I am one of the only people in the world that could care less about the Superbowl. I don't think I have followed professional football since I lived at home like way back in high school. Crazy.

I am expecting great things for this week. It is the last week of basketball. My dad should get out of the hospital. I have a physical tomorrow and can hopefully get referred to a physical therapist. My student teacher should be teaching more classes. Yup all things point to a great week!

Life Can Be Sweet . . . .

Especially when you eat lots of them.

Since I posted last I have been busy but not really doing anything significant. My hamstring has finally started to feel better. I took some more time off and also tried using a rub recommended to me by one of my basketball players. The deep blue oil and lotion by doterra. Not cheap but they did a decent job. The combination with a little rest has relieved some of the pain. I am still going to follow through and go to my doctor appointment on February 4th. But at least I am back to playing basketball and soccer.

I started practicing basketball with my team everyday. I even try to do all the drills and occasionally I will condition with them. I am attempting to motivate them. Practices are definitely more intense when I play with them. However, I am not in good enough shape to condition with them everyday. We still are not winning many games but I do love the girls and they are getting better!

Last weekend I helped Amber lay her hard wood floor. It was similar to when I layed my own. I was super sore the next day. Manual labor is so not for me. It was a reminder that I actually do enjoy doing those kinds of things. It is so rewarding to do something with your hands and to do it on your own.

I have a student teacher. She is just getting ready to take over most of my classes. Friday was so nice because I actually had time to clean my office while she taught.

Attempted to snow shoe. It was more of a hike but it still felt great to get out in the fresh air.

I have been making it to the gym most mornings. I think that is because of the mild weather. It is so much easier to leave the house when it is dark when the temperatures are not in the teens.

I have been reading lots!

I have to give a talk tomorrow. I have read and thought about it all week but inspiration was non-existent. This morning I cleaned, napped, washed my car, did basically everything but write my talk. Finally I went to the temple and my thoughts finally seemed to make sense. THANKFULLY! We will see how it goes tomorrow.

I got the best sugar cookie recipe ever from one of my players. Her mom made me these cookies and they are delicious. Not healthy, at all, but seriously so yummy! So I made a bunch for lots of different people now I just need to deliver them.

Went to this movie with Dan and Katie:

It was really really good.

Have enjoyed trying a new Thai restaurant: The Spicey Thai and dinner at the Cracker Barrel (with Shaanta and Emily).

Life has been busy but sweet.

My Life Right Now

Wake-up
Eat
Work
Eat
Work
Basketball
Eat
Workout
Bed
Repeat

I am not complaining ............ just saying!