My Professor. My Mentor. My Friend.

I just learned today that a dear friend of mine passed away. It hurts. Matt Bradley influenced my life more than he probably ever knew. I met Matt during my very first semester at the University of Utah. Matt taught my honors writing class - my favorite that semester and I don't even like writing! Matt encouraged me, stretched my abilities, and changed the way I viewed the world. I went on to take two more classes from Matt while at the U.

Matt always went above and beyond. He was a big influence in helping me choose my honors thesis topic and helped me with the research (even though he wasn't my adviser).

Perhaps it was because of his young age, his vitality, or just common interests, but Matt became more than just a professor. He was a true friend. Matt introduced me to my ex-husband, came to our wedding, double-dated with us, invited us into his home, came to my birthday dinner, taught me about cycling, and convinced me to get a bike.

Matt helped me realize my potential. He kept in touch and cheered me on through law school. One time he wrote a Facebook message to me that said "I hope you are well, because in truth, you were always one of my favorite students." Silly that this meant so much to me but it did. It came at a time when when my confidence was wavering and I truly needed that boost.

In the divorce aftermath, Matt was sympathetic but his sympathy is not what helped me. It was his example. About the same time, Matt lost his leg due to a rapidly spreading cancer. I'm sure this was extra-devastating to Matt as he was an avid and competitive cyclist. Matt didn't let it get him down though. The second he was able to be fitted for a prosthetic leg, he was back on a bike and went on to race for the U.S. Paralympic team. Seeing Matt's example helped me to realize that going through hard things doesn't have to be the end of the world. Matt taught me how to live. He inspired me.

More on Matt can be found in today's Salt Lake Tribune.

Karaoke Fail

A week ago I was at an impromptu karaoke party with some friends from the singles ward. Inside my head I was thinking about how much I love to sing Heart...

Me (after viewing the lists of songs): Hey! I want to sing "Alone."

(awkward silence)

Friends: Well, hey, MaryAnn if you want to sing alone you go right on ahead.

(friends probably thinking I'm totally full of myself...)

Me: Sweet! Who wants to sing with me??

Friends: I thought you wanted to sing alone?

Me (realization finally dawning on me): Oh! I meant I wanted to sing the song "Alone" by Heart!

Now everytime there is an awkward pause, one of these friends says "Hey, I want to sing alone..." haha.

This Is Eternal Love

Who has the best brother and sister-in-law ever??? Me! It's me!

Not only do they put a roof over my head, give me the clothes off of their backs (seriously McCall shares her cute clothes with me), and are the light of my life..... yesterday I came home to find this:

A beautiful rose with a sweet Valentine note. See, I told you they are awesome! I love you Launce and McCall! You made my day! :)

My New Trial? Opportunity? Blessing?

I've had to do and experience some hard things in my life, but apparently I still have some room to grow.

This week, I learned that I am being laid off my job, effective immediately. Yikes. I didn't see it coming and now I'm not sure what I will do.

One thing that I have been grateful for is a good network. As I've told my friends and colleagues about what happened, I've been so impressed with how many people have been willing to help by sharing information, putting me in touch with others who might be able to help, and sending job postings. There are a lot of really great people out there! I may have something big brewing, which is why I am calling this my new trial? Opportunity? Blessing? Nothing is set in stone yet, so stay tuned for details.

Richard G. Scott, (my favorite apostle), said:

"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain." "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, November 1995.

I'm doing some stretching!

Casey's Wedding

My brother and BFF got married earlier this month. I felt torn because I felt like I was losing my best friend, yet I was really happy for my brother.

When I moved back to Utah, it was really hard because of all the relationship drama. I think I was genuinely depressed. My brother, Casey, had a big influence on helping me to pull out of it. When he got home from his mission, he hung out with me all the time. He got me to go to the singles ward with him, took me on dates, opened the door for me, made me feel special, listened to all my problems, ran with me, and just was super awesome! I'm so grateful for his love, kindness, and friendship. I really don't know where I'd be without him.

Here he is with his beautiful bride Becca:
And here's a few others:

My three bros (Launce, Casey, Jason) and me.

Immediate family.

This is what most pictures looked like. It was so hard to get everyone to look at the camera!

All the siblings.

CONGRATS CASEY AND BECCA! LOVE YOU BOTH!

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! This post is for me. I made some goals for myself this year and somehow I feel like by putting them out there in Blogland, I will be more accountable. Here they are:

1. Blog more! In 2011, I wrote a total of 5 blog posts. This means that I will only have to write 6 in 2012 to meet my goal. I'm already 1/6th of the way there! ;)

2. Train for a race and beat my previous time. I'm still toying with whether I want my goal to be another marathon or a half-marathon. I'll probably be running another half with my dad in March when I head to Las Vegas for his retirement ceremony. There is a part of me that wants to run another marathon, even though the day after the first one I decided that I never wanted to run again! It was so painful! Now that some time has passed, I look back and feel like I truly accomplished something amazing. I kind of want another round. We'll see. Maybe I'll just set my sights on the half for now. (Do you get the theme yet?? I need goals that are totally achievable!) Half-marathons are my favorite distance to run because they are hard enough that I have to train for them, but I don't need lots of recovery time after.

3. Attend the Temple 24 times. I think this is yet another easy one for me. I'm really loving having the opportunity to go to the temple and having so many temples so close. This is one thing that I love about living in Utah. My life feels more complete and more peaceful when I make time for the temple. When I walk inside, I feel like I am at the House of the Lord and doing His work. While I am there, I more easily feel his love, comfort, and direction and I feel like a better, nicer, sweeter person. If you are unfamiliar with temples, you can learn more at: http://lds.org/church/temples?lang=eng.

4. Learn how to do my own taxes. Yes, it's true. I have never had the joy of completing this task on my own. The weird thing is that I actually did take tax law in law school, but I never learned how to use the forms. I'm kind of excited to figure this one out. And, I guess this is the first year that I really care, because last year was the first year that I worked full time for an entire year.

5. Memorize five hymns on the piano. Last year I had the goal to memorize ten. I failed. This year, I decided to downsize to make it a little more attainable. I want to accomplish this one because if I ever attend church in a small, foreign town where absolutely no one can play the piano, I'll save the day!

The Year in Review

So, I'm a bad blog writer. It seems like when I was in the married world there was lots to say, and now that I'm in the singles scene, there's still lots to say... I just don't know if I want to say it! :)

I just thought I would share a few of my most memorable moments from this year.

On July 25th, I ran my first marathon. That's 26.2 miles people! Sometimes I can barely believe that I did it. This was an incredibly hard, scary, yet rewarding experience. I didn't think I could do it.

I also ran my first Ragnar Race with these gals:
Ragnar was awesome!!! Ragnar is hard to explain for those who have never done it. (See this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL1hLU_LBvs). I loved it because it was a fun challenge, I got to hang out in Las Vegas, and best of all, I got to do it with some of my favorite friends from Philadelphia.

This year has kind of been the year of running. I also ran two half marathons (one in 110 degree weather!) and two 5ks with my brothers.

Aside from running, I gained a new appreciation for my family, especially my brothers and my sister-in-law. I guess being in Philly and in law school the three years prior to 2011, I was so busy that I didn't think I was missing my family. Now that I'm back, I have a strong sense of what I missed out on during those three years that I lived away. Family is EVERYTHING. I'm so grateful for the family I have and that our bond is eternal. We've been having so much fun together shooting the breeze, running races, watching movies and The Next Iron Chef, playing games, getting yogurt, snowboarding, traveling to Las Vegas, and doing who knows what else.

I am especially grateful to my brother, Casey, who pulled me out of a slump and helped me to be normal again. Thanks to Casey, I started going to the singles ward again (where I have been serving as the Relief Society Secretary) and I also met my goal for 2011 of running 8 miles in less than 80 minutes! Our latest 8 mile time was 67 minutes. Woot!

I switched firms this year (yep, that was quick) and switched from practicing civil litigation to bankruptcy. A year ago, I never would have guessed that I would be specializing in bankruptcy. I didn't even take bankruptcy in law school! I feel like the Lord has a way of making life work out like it's supposed to though. The days go by so fast and I don't want to be doing anything else. In sum: love the firm, love the practice area. Win win.

Thanks to the firm, I met and had dinner with Olene Walker, mother of SEVEN and the first and only woman governer of Utah. This lady was one of the most inspiring people I have ever met in my life! When I asked her how I can be a successful female professional in Utah (aka the Old Boys Club), she said "Be educated about the issues you face, speak up, and volunteer (but make sure that whatever you volunteer to do, you do well.)" This advice has stayed with me and I have tried to implement it this year.

Of all the things that happened this year, I think this year will really be remembered as the year that I truly gained a testimony of the Atonement and healing power of Jesus Christ. I have never had a stronger testimony of His saving grace, His sacrifice for us, and His potential influence in all of our lives. Likewise I have never before had a stronger sense of gratitude.

He has changed my life.

I am grateful to be celebrating His birth this holiday season by doing His work and testifying of Him. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season! Wise men still seek Him!