Steven's Birthday, Resolutions, and Rita the Rat

Thursday, 1/22, was Steven's 28th birthday. He got to sleep in while our seminary students made him birthday cards, went to school with a pre-packed lunch (I never have time to do this, he's lucky it was his birthday), and picked me up after work to go to a nice dinner at Palm's Thai. This is a nice little Thai restaurant on Hollywood Blvd that has a Thai Elvis impersonator as entertainment (I'm not joking!). Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, but it was amazing!

Since Steve has gotten into photography lately, I thought a digital frame would be a nice gift. This way, we can display ALL our favorite photos!

In other news, I have completed Resolution #1. 2 weeks ago (1/10) Maureen and I ran a half marathon. I finished in 1:45. Since it was my first "official" half marathon, this technically counts as a PR. I should have gone under 1:30 (I did that in the first half of the St. George Marathon), but since I haven't run over 7 miles since I got pregnant and decided to run it less than a week before the race, I was satisfied with the results.

Our most exciting news however, is the newest addition to our family, Rita the Rat. We got her name from the Beatles' song "Lovely Rita, Meter Maid". Isn't she sweet? She has already grown several inches since this photo taken 2 weeks ago and is threatening to eat us out of stale bread.Ever since we lost the baby, I have needed some sort of distraction to help me get back to a normal life and get over the death of our first child (if you ever really can get over something like that). I thought a cute and cuddly pet rat would be perfect because they require minimal effort on my part, she's small enough to not cause problems (but will get big enough to handle the dogs), they only live about 2 years (long enough for us to get pregnant again, but not so long that I'll be in the market for a new dog as well) and she is smart and interactive. Steve didn't really want to get a new pet because of the extra stress it could add, but he loves me so much that he let me have Rita anyway, because he knew that's what I needed. I love you, Baby!

Beating the New Year

I love New Year's Eve. It is probably my favorite day of the entire year. 4 years ago yesterday, Steven and I met at our friend Kristi Green's New Year's Eve party and the rest is history. I also love calendars. Every year I buy 2: Page-a-Day (dogs) and a wall calendar (usually dog-related as well). I love planning out the new year in hopes of making the year to come the best one yet.

Last night, in celebration of the new year, I ran the SLC track club's annual resolution run, "Beat the New Year." The race was a 5k that started at 11:30 with the goal to finish before midnight. If you finished in time, you got a cool plaque (I finished in 22:10).My favorite part of the new year (besides my loving husband), is the opportunity to make resolutions. I love the opportunity to try to reach a little harder and become more of the person I would like to one day become. I love starting over with a clean slate.

In honor of the new year I have made 10 resolutions:
1. Set a PR (any race will do)
2. Get my personal training certification
3. Organize the closet and desk
4. Learn a new skill
5. Save enough money for a down payment
6. Make Christmas stockings for Steven and I
7. Grow my hair to the middle of my back
8. Crochet a blanket
9. Learn a new song on the violin
10. Finally lose those 5 pounds

Steve's resolutions are much simpler:
1. Graduate from law school
2. Pass the bar
3. Get a job

Here's to a fantastic 2009!