Brenna version 3.0

I LOVE my job! Each and every day I get to work with some of the most amazing people I've ever known. People that come in to work each day and give their all. People that do work that most people can't even talk about - think about - or even acknowledge exits. People that will NEVER be paid what they are worth and never be truly valued by society. When I became a supervisor at DCFS, I wondered if I would be able to come close to being like some of the amazing supervisors that I've had. I wondered if I could help them cope in a job that demands so much. I wondered if I could inspire excellence, or even just make them feel cared for. I still hope and pray for all of these things...

What I do know - is that they have helped ME cope. They have inspired excellence in my life, and they definitely make me feel cared for. My office knew that I would be at a conference all day on my birthday - and so the day before my birthday - they gave me this!

Left to right: Debbie, Rachel, Ruben, (me), Ben, and Beth = My amazing team! It's hard to see, but they covered my office in black balloons, gave me a sash and tiara to wear - declaring to all the world that I was 30! (note the over the hill banner in the background. 30 is the new 40? They even brought in two cakes!
They made me feel like I truly was "Brenna: Queen of the 30's!" (that's what my sash says)
On a side note: Debbie was even able to take out some of her rage on my husband. She's not exactly "pleased" with the fact that Jaren will be taking me away to Alabama some time soon - and she'll be losing me as her supervisor. Please note that she's about to kill him with a plastic butter knife! Love it!

On top of all of this - they even got me a $50.00 gift certificate to REI (they know me well) and took me out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

I have to admit that I was so touched (and humbled) that they would do all of this for me. It gave me hope that I just might be helping them after all. And yes... of course I cried.

It's good to be Brenna, and 30!

Love

Love is God's answer. It is the way by which we heal. It has radically changed my perspective, my purpose, and my very being. And when things don't work out the way that you plan - well... it's good to remember that you are loved, and that you are carried in the arms of a loving Father in Heaven.

I am grateful for all of the support that has been shown to Jaren and I. We are moving forward in faith.

I truly feel that my friends and family have given me the strength to wake up another morning, and to go outside, and to find hope and happiness in darker times. I am grateful for each prayer, phone call, email, flower, cookie, or visit. I am grateful for those that could talk for me when I just couldn't make another call. I am grateful to those that weren't hurt by me not calling... and still showed compassion and love.

I don't claim to understand this life, but I do know that those eleven weeks were a gift. More than anything, I am grateful that Jaren could help me to understand this. And yes, one more time - I feel humbled to have such an amazing person as my soul mate.

Triathlons and my life

You know, there are things in this world that make no sense to me - and there are things that make the world seem to make sense... even if just for a brief moment.

I hear the following all of the time: "You have to be crazy to want to swim, and then bike, and then run." or "Who is stupid enough to do that?"

Well triathlons are a part of my life, and I hope that they always will be. I love them. They bring joy into my heart and soul - and they help me to explore the wonderful gift of my body! They help me to have a good self image, and remind me that deep down - I love being tough (even if it hurts a lot!)

Here's a pic of Lena being tough! (There's nothing tougher than Duct tape.)

So doing another relay was just another way for me to love doing this sport with my best buds. Lena and Em are such a part of my life - and a triathlon with them is just a blessing! Who cares if I don't actually get to swim in that triathlon! I got to go and watch them push themselves, and have a great day.

It was also a blast to watch Jaren, Donny, and Russ - the three non-trainers that they are - still finish in good form! If Donny would ever train - I swear to you - he'd have to thank me someday in his sponsorships!

Here are some classic pics from Spudman this year. Lena got my favorite pose from last year - and put her own spin on it. I like the purse!

You have to have a standby pose when you're wearing a wetsuit! The money shot.
Our boys... gotta love em.
He sweeps me off my feet, and makes everything wonderful! Love you Jaren!

Team Sprinkles

Go big or go home. That's my motto in life. If your gonna do something - do it right. When I hurt my knee this year it was a bit hard for me to come to terms with the fact that my racing season was over. So when the opportunity came around for me to change my Olympic distance race at the Echo tri to a Relay - I knew it would be awesome. You see, it feels a bit funny to do a relay of a distance that you do all the time on your own. So I had to spice it up a bit - and brought out all the ribbons and bows (literally). I even kept my bows in for the swim. They are just under my cap - making it all skeewampus. Gotta love swimming in lakes when the sun just comes up!
This girl was not prepared for my powerful exit out of the water. Just cuz I'm wearing bows - doesn't mean I won't kill you.
Laura "Big Gun's" - seriously - check out her arms. I love how her shirt matches her bows.
Jenny's just out for another stroll. Good thing there were no nuns around to make her cry this time. Also the only picture I have of her without her eating a shot block - who eats on a relay run?
My partners in crime were Jenny and Laura. They were not quite prepared for the girl fest that was Team Sprinkles. But when you have to wake up at 4:00 am to get somewhere - I say put your hair up in pigtail buns. It's always a timeless look.

Our relay took second, and for a while there - it was out of two teams! Ha! But then, lo and behold - there was a third team that we were able to destroy with our cuteness.

All in all, it was a fun race. No pressure - tons of cheering - and lots of bows. Might just have to do this again sometime.

Reel them in Jaren!

Wasatch Back this year.... well I guess for me it was easier. Sort of. Physically - Yup. Mentally - I would put it as harder. Sitting in the van driving... wowsers. If I could have ripped off my knee and just run with a peg leg I would have.

I did get the pleasure of pacing Jenny, Chan, King, and my husband every once in a while. I also got to be the water delivery mechanism.


And I was the team morale booster. As you can see!!

I will say that it was really cool to support Jaren, and just have this race be about him. He did a great job, and I'm truly amazed at what he can put his body through without training. Honestly, it's crazy. But I'm even more humbled by his positive attitude. There he was - dying on the road (so to speak), and yet he was laughing it up, and pretending to reel in his next kill.

Van 2 was awesome. Eric Beins broke out with some Dr. Phil that honestly puts the Crocodile hunter in check. Eric was also King of the Ragnar this year. He never stopped running, and he looked like a machine - kind of like terminator - only his one eye that was staring at us was when he bent over and showed us the "Red Eye" or "pink moonbeam" as he called it.

Chan was hilarious. She is one ball of determination. I thought she was going to kill us all after mile 1 on her first run. She didn't look like she really loved the idea of finishing the race - but she just kept going, and going, and going. Through tears, through pain, and through a 200 pound woman in sweats!

Eric King and Greg performed well. They spoke little. Eric found the true meaning of pain on the Pre-Ragnar. His quote of "words don't even describe this..." shall be remembered. As well as creating a tradition to have the team cripple (this year it was me) pace him up the run.

Jenny - oh Jenny. She cried at a fake Nun for goodness sake. She was so tired, and a wee bit emotional in the morning (took over for me) - and when she saw a fake nun - she started bawling. When we asked if she knew it was a fake nun, she said yes. And she kept crying. Then when we asked why she was crying she said, "Cuz she serves the Lord." Which has to be one of the cutest (and most confusing) statements I've ever heard during a race.

Then just today, I read Lena's blog, and was curious at how I would fare in an animal attack. Apparently I am built for it. Which I find interesting, I can take every attack and survive except for a Gorilla? How does this relate to Wasatch Back you ask?

I find it funny that I can supposedly take all these attacks - and yet it's my knee that ends up killing me every time. So maybe, the human attacks ratio isn't quite accurate. Because I seem to be killing myself. Great. Knee suicide.

In the end I was grateful to be a part of the race, even though I wasn't officially able to run it this year. I will say that it was a privilege and honor to see so many people pushing themselves physically and mentally. It's a hard race - and those that are able to run it - hopefully they appreciate the gift that is. As for Jaren - maybe someday he'll actually train for a race.

Nah, that's probably crazy talk!