Favorite Places with my Favorite Girl!

Finally reunited.

It has been too long since I've seen this girl! We met when I was in Cali for PA school and it was instant love! She is probably the most inspirational person I've ever met. If you haven't read her blog, please read it now. Daily laughs, touching stories, and running motivation. And you can't forget the pictures of her adorable daughter! 

Our day started off bright and early with a much needed run through the beautiful canyons. Cool fall breeze, beautiful sunrise, and great friends. Her adorable friend Rachelle joined us and it made me want to move to Utah so I could run with these two every day. 

Cutest running friends ever. 

After the run Brooke and I had some quality time reading Elmo. I miss this little girl so much! 

Our adventure continued at the park where Brooke showed off her skills:

1.) Walking like a pro

2.) Swinging all on her own! 

A day doesn't start off any better than that. And that was only 10 am.  Janae then took me to two of her favorite places in Utah: Slurp and Cafe Rio.   She explained to that Slurp is the place to go for a drink in Utah.  They have all sorts of different sodas, ice cones, and coffee/tea that you get to add delicious flavors to.  That plus homemade bakery treats and ice cream = I can see how this place would get addicting.

Since I didn't get my fill of Cafe Rio on Saturday with my family... we went again!  It's probably a good thing we don't have one in Alaska, because this food is just too good.  Way. Too. Good.

With full bellies, we drove to Salt Lake City for a little sightseeing and shopping.  I had never been to Temple Square, so Janae gave me the royal tour!  It is one of the most magnificent places ever.  

We shopped for a while after our sightseeing, but baby told me I had to eat froyo, so Janae reluctantly gave in and we went to Yogurtland for an afternoon snack.  Don't judge my pumpkin spice/red velvet cake/macadamia nut/fudge brownie combo. You can't explain the tastebuds sometimes.  They want what they want.

The best way to end a perfect day?  Another trip to Trader Joes.

My sister is a saint and is letting me borrow a duffel bag to bring back to Alaska, so I had to fill it with things like this.

Cookie butter?  Don't mind if I do.

It was hard to say goodbye to Janae, but hopefully we'll get to see each other some time soon!  

Yogurtland Bliss.

Today I did one of the most gratifying things I have ever done.

I placed a trash bag full of notes, binders, and flashcards in the recycling bin.

I was reluctant to get rid of so many painstakingly written notes that have been my world for so long, but it was time. Don't get me wrong, I'm still keeping 4 boxes of PA school notes that I'll probably never look at again... but you have to start somewhere.  :) In a few months when I am in Alaska and ready to get rid of more notes, you are all welcome to a huge bonfire at our house!

After saying goodbye to a few trees worth of notes (P.S. Mother Nature... I'm really sorry!), I met up with my favorite girls, Janae and Brooke.  We got some sun and let Brooke splash us in the pool.  It was amazing!

Watching Brooke worked up our appetite, so we did what Janae and I do best.  Froyo.

Yogurtland deliciousness.

Janae and I have big plans next week which will include the beach, Fish'n'chips, and running together. Cannot wait!

PANCE, Froyo with HRG, and Boston...

Let's have a little chat about how scared I am for my national board exam aka the PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam).   

300 questions

13 organ systems (Cardiovascular, Pulmonology, Infectious Disease, etc.)

5 hours of torture 

All for the affordable cost of $500.  

No pressure, right?  The general consensus from everyone I talk to is that I will walk away from the test feeling like I've failed, but will likely pass.  Eek!  Keep me in your thoughts as I keep cramming my brain full of information!

This is my favorite tip from the board review course I took:

"C it is!"

During my mid-day break from studying yesterday, I met up with my fave girls, Janae and Brooke (her adorable daughter).  She is probably the nicest and most fun girl ever and I am devastated that I only have one month to hang out with her and talk for hours.

We went on a nice long walk in the beautiful Cali sunshine... just what I needed to give my brain a break.  

She is also slightly addicted to running, and shares the same passion for Froyo toppings that I do, so we went to a magical place called Yogurtland.  It took us each around 8-9 samples to determine the ideal yogurt flavor combination, after which I think we were both a little full...  but that didn't stop me from enjoying every bite of my oreo-boba-cheesecake bites-capn' crunch-mochi-fruity pebble masterpiece (tastes way better than that sounds...haha).  

Janae is getting over an injury, and since my injury is still being a pain in my butt (literally...it's glute pain! :( ), we have a date on Friday to run in her pool!  I've missed my pool running adventures, so it should be fun to do it with someone.  My injury was about 100% healed, then I ran the 17 miler 2 weeks ago and flared up my right sciatic nerve which sends pain into my glute.  I can run 8-9 miles without pain, but after that the pain starts to come back just enough that I don't want to push it.   The problem stems from irritation when I'm sitting and as much as I'd love to not sit for 10 hours/day, I have this silly little test to study for.  

Boston Marathon is two weeks from yesterday, and I'm on the fence as to whether I will run it or not.  I've realized that the most important thing to me at the moment is being injury-free and somehow I don't think running 26.2 miles is the appropriate therapy for an injury.  In the ideal world, I would just run the 8 or 9 miles and walk the rest, but I don't think I'd be able to cut myself off when I see all of the other runners around me!  (Actually, I take that back.  In an ideal world I wouldn't be injured, haha!).  There are many races in Alaska that I'd like to run this summer and I don't want to ruin that either.  Any advice?  Wisdom?  

Either way, I will be going to Boston to see JAKE (finally, it's been four months now!), my parents, my cousins/aunts/uncles, and Grandpa. 

This is how excited I am to see my hubby!

And the good news is that I already qualified for Boston Marathon again next year at St. George Marathon last fall!  So either way, I hope Boston will be happening in the near future... :)