My BFF Nicholle

Tomorrow is My BFF Nicholle DeNiros 30th Birthday. And so this post is a tribute to her and as to why I love her so much!

Nicholle and I met 3 years ago through my boyfriend at the time. Our friendship came so easily that it has always felt like we have known each other for a lifetime. Fortunately, me and that boyfriend didn't last. But Nicholle and I wanted to remain friends. It was not easy...I was a WRECK and devastated. But she helped me get through it. I know it wasn't easy for her and I was a pain in the ass, but she was there for me!And I hope someday I can return the favor.

TOP 10 REASONS YOU'RE JEALOUS NICHOLLE ISN'T YOUR BFF

1. She is beautiful both inside and out

2. She is an amazing mother, wife and friend

3. Tomorrow she is 30 and is rockin it like she is 21

4. We both hate the same stupid people

5. We finished our first half marathon hand in hand

6. I laugh the hardest when I am with her

7. She is stubborn, and proud of it:)

8. We know exactly what the other one is thinking

9. We know people are jealous of our friendship

10. HAVING HER IN MY LIFE MAKES ME A BETTER PERSON

Nicholle,

I love you so much and I am so proud of you for sticking to your training and completing the half. Our friendship has truly been put to the test and once again we have come shining through and better friends because of it!

I hope you know there is nothing I wouldn't do for you and want to thank you for helping me get through some of the toughest things in my life.

Your sis said it right..."best friends are like sisters!" Thank you for telling it to me straight, and not sugar coating anything.Happy birthday and I hope your day is amazing! You deserve it!

Melissa

I DID IT!!!!

A week ago I ran my first half marathon. It was in Moab and was absolutely beautiful. I finished in 2:34 min. A lot slower than I would have liked to, but hey....I finished. I had started training in January and when I moved in February I hurt my back:( I was down for 2 weeks and missed a lot of training. And the week before the race I had mid-terms and well...let's just say that I totally felt under trained. I went down with my friends and got a a waiting list. I had to go back the night before and find out if I was in or not. I got in!! And the reality of the situation sunk in...in the morning I was running 13.1 miles!! AHHH! But I have amazing friends that I run with, and they made me feel better about it. I didn't sleep the night before and my body would not let me eat in the morning. Well the race started out great...I fell getting out of the bus! And yes even I laughed:) Well miles 1-11 were pretty easy. At mile 10 I took an energy gel that had caffeine in it and it kicked in about mile 11. Needless to say, I felt funny at mile 11, my heart was racing! I couldn't figure out why. But I had been running for a little over 2 hours and I hadn't eaten anything for about 5. It scared me and I had to walk for about 20 seconds...and again about a half mile later. But then I realized I had only 1.5 miles left and I just wanted to get it over with. I had ran the whole race with my BFF Nicholle and when we were about to cross the finish line she grabbed my hand...I cried. Mostly because I knew I was done, but also because I felt so glad I was able to do this!! And yes I will do it again!

Burn Camp Auction

Almost 11 years ago my nephew Alex was burned. He was 8 years old and him and a couple of his friends decided to play with fire. Alex was burned over 70% of his body and was life flighted to the University of Utah Burn Trauma Center. He stayed there for over 2 months and had several surgeries including skin grafts. I was very involved in his treatment and recovery, I got to know several people in the Burn Unit. When Alex was recovered he was told about a camp here in Utah that was for kids that have been burned. He has received a lot of support through this camp and made several life long friends.

7 years ago I decided I wanted to be a part of this camp. I interviewed and was accepted as a counselor at camp Nah nah mah (it means togetherness and friendship in Ute). My first camper was a little girl named April from Idaho. She has similar burn to my nephew and was just a joy to have! After that I was hooked, and this August it will be my 8Th year as a counselor. I love it. I get so much from the camp and have made so many friends! BCR! ( that's what we say to each other, it means BURN CAMP RULES!)

These camps provide and environment where no one stares or asks questions about their burns. They can talk about them only if they want to. We go from sun up to sun down with activities for these kids. My favorite is the pool because some kids have never taken off their shirt before, but feel completely comfortable in front of other kids who truly understand what it means to be a burn survivor!

3 years ago an auction was started to raise money for the river trip (kids 6-12 go to nah nah mah and 13-18 go on a river trip) so there is no cost involved to the kids or their families. This past Saturday was the 3rd one and it amazes me to see how generous people are. And I would like to thank everyone that donated and everyone that continues to volunteer to make this camp possible for these kids! They have sure made a difference for my nephew!

So I thought I would post a few pics from the auction. If anyone would like to donate or get involved...let me know!

Pancakes..... And Mommy of the year

So today I decided we would have breakfast for dinner....(my absolute fav) I was thinking bacon, eggs and toast...MMMM BACON;) So I picked my kids up and told them of my plan. They were not thrilled at all!!! I even said I would make happy faces out of them... I thought I would hear cheers of excitement.... nope not even close. Cam said, "Mom how come you never make pancakes like Grandma does for us?" I said, "I don't know why?" Then Jaycee said, "It's because you don't love us like Grandma does!!!" I was stunned! Actually, no I wasn't because my Mom does spoil my kids! I said, "Fine.... pancakes it is!" So then Bryn wanted them how I make them on valentines day. That consists of red food coloring and heart shaped cookie cutters. On Valentines everything we eat is either pink, red or white. This past valentines I had the flu... the kind they suck the boogers out of your nose and test.... the actually flu! I prayed for death that day and I don't ever remember what we did because I was soooo drugged. I didn't want to find the cookie cutters so I suggested we would just color them. Well we had to do 2 colors because my girls decided on purple and Cam thought that they were girl pancakes.... so he wanted green. So I made green and purple pancakes! And they looked sick and the gel food coloring I used made the consistency weird! But my kids were so excited! Camden said to me, "I think you just won bestest mom of the whole day!" And Bryn said, "Nuh uh like the whole year!" I had no idea that such an award could be won by a little food coloring!;) I took some pics and no I didn't eat them. I ate raw cookie dough and a peach fresca!......... (dinner of champions)

Blah Blah Blah

Well it has been a while since I last blogged! So here is the low down.... I recently was laid off from my job, and I was really nervous. But then shortly later realized that this is one of those blessings that comes looking a lot like a trial! Um yeah I seem to get a lot of those.... but it reminds me that Heavenly Father hasn't forgotten about me! So anyways, I have decided to go back to school and finish my RN. Well the way my luck goes I might have to start over.... which I am totally ok with because I have been out of school for sooooo long!!! The downer part to that is that I have to wait till January to start:( so I have a crap load of free time!!!! I have the Vegas Half Marathon coming up in about 8 weeks and I am no where near being ready ahhhhhh! But the free time is helping me get some miles in..... I am worried about my endurance more than anything. I would like to finish in 2 hours. Which would mean I need to run a 9.16 min. My last race I was a minute faster than that but it was only 5 miles not 13.1. I think my goal is attainable, but it will be my first half. But I am seriously scared. And I would like to thank my team for keeping me motivated and for being such good friends to me. I love running but sometimes I feel like it consumes me. I want to be faster, but I only have so much time. If anyone can help me find balance or give me advice..... my ears are open.

Downhill Dash

I just got done running the 8k Downhill Dash..... put on by the "fabulous Alta Peruvian" lodge! Ha ha that's what it's really called. Well an 8k is almost 5 miles and was down Little Cottonwood Canyon. I had a lot of fun!!!!! Tons of fun! But I ran it with 3 people from my running group.... James, Lisa and Daren! Shout out to team "Running on MT!" Well we all started together for about the first 30seconds then James and Daren took off. Well Lisa and I were together till about 1/2 way done and then I had to tie my damn shoe! Ugh! But I finished 40 min and 38 seconds..... and averaged an 8.14 min mile! That for me is awesome!!!!! Well all 4 of us got prizes to our GREAT surprise!!!! Lisa took 1st in our division.... I place 2nd. James took 2nd in his and Daren 3rd in his! We all laughed, but are really glad we did it... we joke that we are and "award winning" team now! Well all the winning does is motivate me to keep racing! I know I am not very fast but I am not doing this at all to compete! But it was really a fun and fast race!!!! GO TEAM!!!!

Stand Up To Cancer

Well I just got done watching the stand up for cancer special and I am late for a date I have tonight, but I just had to quickly blog. As you know I am in my own battle with cervical cancer. I will find out on September 11th if the surgery's have left me cancer free again. I hope on that day I can remember the fallen and not be looking into the next treatment. I have been very lucky in the fact that mine is not to the point I need chemo or that my life is a factor. But I made a donation to this awesome organization and would like to challenge all of you to do the same. The website is standup2cancer.org. Please lets get a cure for this disease that affects all of us! I will do whatever these doctors want so that I can make sure I raise my beautiful children. Not everyone is so lucky..... 1 person dies every minute to this horrible disease. Pledge now and be generous.... pledge enough to make it so you have to sacrifice a little for the rest of the month. You'll enjoy the blessings more than you will the money!

On a lighter note.... Jennifer Aniston was one of the speakers and Brynlee and Camden both said why is Rachel talking about cancer? Ha ha I laughed so hard! I may be too much of a friends fan!