February 29

Since we get a whole extra day this year why does mine seem to be filled with the same tasks that all the other days hold? Shouldn't leap day be exclusively reserved for doing all the things that you never have time for on regular days...

This link to a NYTimes essay had some interesting leap day tidbits...I for one would have liked to have been one of the Roman priests who could add or delay days for personal gain. Muaahaahaa.

It takes a front loader

I know you're saying "MORE snow pictures?!?" But you almost have to see it to believe it. The road in front of our house has been classified by the city as an "Limited Use Driveway" which is a fancy way of saying...we won't plow it. So SunCrest has a contractor that is supposed to come and plow the road for us. Let's just say that I have been stuck a lot this winter. I stay in until my neighbor clears the road with his snowblower. After one of our last big storms we had a front loader show up at 9:00 pm and he spent the next hour and a half clearing the road. This is what it looks like when you turn into our lane. I have to admit since we have four wheel drive it's kind of fun! And I've been saved from the February doldrums when everything is so dirty and dreary that you can't wait for the sludge to melt and the sun to come out. Up here the snow is still deep and white and it's so pristine I don't mind being snowed in so much!

Our friends brought some snowmobiles over yesterday. They said it was so the kids could have some fun...

Make up your Mind! or not...

There's just one problem with my blog...and it's the same problem I have with my life and my time. IT'S ALL OVER THE PLACE! I just can't decide...do I blog about my passion for food, cooking and baking, or do I write about my new running hobby, how about the latest great book I read, or should it be Christensen family news where you keep up to date on the latest happenings in our household...
For now my blog, like my life, is all of those things, I run, I read, I eat, I bake and I Mom (yes, I'm using that as a verb)...hey...maybe that last one is inclusive of all the others. One day when I finally determine my internet name-you know the one that I can use for my e-mail and for all the sites I visit, the one that sums up in one word who I am-then my blog entries will be more consistent.
Until that time, my blogs run like my life...a little of this, a little of that and a lot of in between.

An Inspiration

"The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds..." This was one of my favorite Pres. Hinckley quotes. Not only was it inspiring, but everytime I read or remembered it I could remember his smile, his laugh, his exuberance and energy. When someone of his age and with his responsibilities reminds you so gently to consider all that you could do or be, how could you walk away?

I think that many things will be written in the coming days of his wonderful life and example, and I don't have anything particularly eloquent or unique to add. What I do want to write is that Pres. Hinckley embodied for me the principle of perfection. The idea that we come to this earth to gain experience and knowledge and that the course of our life should be spent in bettering ourselves and becoming more like the Savior. He did that, and he lived that.

I will miss this living hero in my life, for it was truly a pleasure and a blessing to have followed this prophet.

I think I can...I think I can

A goal unwritten is just a wish.

I'm a little late on the blog, but the goals have been written now for a couple weeks. I picked five categories, physical, social, family, spiritual and financial and wrote down my goals for the year in each category. It's now official, they are written down, and now I just get to pick my rewards....well and do all the work. Some of my physical goals include the SLC 1/2 marathon in April, the Woman of Steel Triathlon in May and running with my friends in the Wasatch Back Relay in June. It was a good workout week. I ran 13.5 miles total, biked 10 and swam 1600 meters. I did the 10 mile bike ride this afternoon, after a short 2 mile run (I know backwards for a triathlon), but I haven't ridden a bike seriously for a long time. I have to include the goals in my blog, because now they aren't just official in my book, you all know about them too! I expect lots of training support (encouraging words), and for some of you to join me...

I think it's going to be a fun spring!

Snow Day

Finally- a day where the temperature was above 20. I realize that if you're under 15 you are impervious to cold, but if I'm needed to help build a snowman it has to be at least 35 degrees!Right before I was knocked unconcious by an enormous snowball to the top of my head...ok not really, but it was a whitewash! The final product...

"I knew I'd been good this year..."

What Sadie said to Brian on Christmas morning. One of those ahhh moments that you get to have as a parent.