Time to Ride

I realize there’s been a lot of sap on the blog lately. I’m not such a sap person, but it’s just that time of year I guess. Back to none sap for a little while, I promise.

Tyler is almost a graduate (again)! And for his graduation, I thought it would be cool if he got a legit road bike. We bought him a hand-me-down last year on the cheap, but it’s a bit too small and doesn’t have a lot of torque or whatever it is. With road bikes, lightness is a big factor and his is too dense.

So yes, this was my idea. Buy him a totally amazing bike that would be the talk of the neighborhood. But Tyler wasn’t having any of it. We went to the bike shop. I almost had him convinced. And then, somehow he devised a plan to get two bikes for less than the one I had chosen for him. “That way,” he said. “We can both get a new bike! I like that better. It’s fair.”

I fought this. I didn’t really need a new bike. Mine is the same as his, a hand-me-down, on the cheap sort of thing. But, I don’t need to go fast. I don’t even like to go fast. And this is him graduating, not me. And…

I lost the debate. Two new bikes. They are totally sweet and awesome, as promised. I hide it, but the truth is I’m really excited. The coolest part is, because we have friends in high places (i.e. the manager of the bike shop), I sold my old bike for just $30 less than the new one. New bike. $30. Matching bikes. Cool husband. So cute.

Any ideas on a new graduation gift? I’m fresh out. 

Just Like Yesterday

I had all the intent to go for a run this morning like I do. But the alarm went off. I stood up, walked across the room … and I just couldn’t do it. I reset the clock and went back to bed for an hour. How embarrassing. That kind of thing is rare for me. But once in a while I just rebel against myself.

I won’t blame the daylight savings, because I got plenty of sleep (and who would blame daylight savings for anything? It’s so lovely!). I will blame the totally amazing, super dang cool long weekend we had. You see, on Saturday we celebrated one year as Mr. and Mrs. Gibb! How great is that?! (Really great!)

Tyler planned such an incredible few days. First stop, The Cheesecake Factory. Never been there and I’ll be going back as often as I can. It was a really cool atmosphere and really good food. And the Reese’s cheesecake was a definite plus. Then we continued north to a little bed and breakfast in Ogden Canyon called the Alaskan Inn. It was dang cool. Tyler chose one of the individual cabins, which I really loved. It was such a great feel, a great night and an amazing breakfast in the morning. Served right to our door. Awesome.

But, that’s not all; we checked out after breakfast and ended up in Park City. I thought we might get a quick bite before heading to Sundance for a few hours on the snowboards, but that was not the plan. I never realized that Tyler had grown to know me so well until he pulled into the Park City shopping outlets and said, “You have $50 you can spend on whatever you want.” Did he know that I’d fantasized about this very thing happening to me since the 10^th grade? No. He just knows me.

After shopping we ate at one of those totally upscale restaurants on Main Street. It was pretty good and better because the gift card made things do-able. I’m going to miss this gift card stage of life.

Our first year of marriage has been the best year of my life times 10. Of course, ups and downs happened. Of course we had to learn a lot of things about each other and about ourselves. But I loved every minute. When we were dating, my family would always ask if I was sick of him yet. That happened a lot with me and guys. I knew I loved him because I knew that would never happen with him. Being with him will never get old. He really is my best friend. He is so cool. And so was the weekend. 

Today's His Day

Today’s a big day for Tyler. He turns 25. I would like to say he’s old, but I’ve got a year on him so we won’t go there.

I’ve been planning for weeks on how to make his birthday something incredible. I won’t tell you what’s in the works, because he might read this, but I’m crossing my fingers this one’s a good one. He deserves it.

Tyler Gibb is an incredible guy – the best person in every way for me.

He is talented. And he’s not just talented at your average guy things – although he is at those too. He’s one of the best at snowboarding, soccer playing, triathlons, slacklining, you name the sport or game and he will beat me and probably you too. He can also crochet. He made me a pearl necklace and earrings for Christmas. He gives a mean backrub. And he can cook like a champ. He’s got skills.

He is smart, but more than that. For example, in his last year of his undergrad in marketing we started to date. A few months in, he decided to try and go on for a master’s degree in finance. At that point, I honestly didn’t believe that a year later he’d be in his last semester of grad school. I obviously didn’t know Tyler well enough then. He is not the most book smart in his class. He’s smart, but more than anything he works so dang hard. I would hire him any day. Anybody hiring?

He is good. I know that sounds odd, of course he is good. But you don’t understand. He is genuinely good inside and is always trying to be better. Perhaps even more than the fact that he tries to live a good life and he has a very strong testimony in God and in an eternal plan, is the fact that he but encourages the same attributes in me. I love that.

Ok, Ok, this is a long post and I don’t want to embarrass him too bad. I just love him and I hope his 25^th is one of the best.

Oh, and did I mention he’s got dang nice abs and a killer smile?

Happy Birthday, Ty!

This Time Last Year

I went to a bridal shower a few days ago at work. It took me back. One year ago on that same day, it was my shower they were throwing. I was embarrassed with all the attention on me. They had cupcakes because I love them, and they decorated the table with sweet wrapping paper, which I’ve decided is an incredible idea. They wrote to me all the advice they had, and I tried to remember it.

I looked at the soon-to-be bride, and I thought about what she might be feeling, both excited and super nervous and really just not knowing what to expect as far as the marriage thing goes…

If it were last year, that night I would have been making an offer on our first condo – Tyler by my side. Later on, my family would have arrived in town from all over the state; they’d have pizza and talk to me about the wedding plans and all. I won’t sleep. Because the next day, I am doing something I’ve been working towards and praying about for a really long time. The next day is the day I go through the temple for the first time. Going to the temple is a very big step in life as a Mormon and a very big deal for me.


The day was incredible. It was that day that I realized more than ever that God loves me and that I am in love with someone who is in love with me. And he held my hand and looked at me and smiled at exactly the right moments.

This time last year was the most incredible, overwhelming, terrifying, happy time of my life. I wonder if the bride-to-be is feeling the same way? I bet she is. I would tell her that after all of the extravaganza is over, life is still good. Better than she could ever think. Even though she will soon have the title of “wife” and he “husband,” they will still laugh together. They will still play cards and go to dinner and hold hands. It’s better than she could ever imagine. 

Why Running Funny?

Some people have asked me why I named my blog what I did. Running Funny. I can explain. It’s got a little bit to do with the fact that I like to run, and I talk about it sometimes. But mostly it’s because, well, you see – I run funny.  I really do. One time I went to a physical therapist, and he stood behind me to watch me run. And he just kept saying, “hmmmm, whoa, hmmmm, whoa.” Then he called some other trainers over and they all hmmmed and whoa’d together. This was not a “hey, honey” hmmmm whoa either. It was a “well, what the heck, I didn’t think legs could do that.” Just call me a modern miracle, gentlemen.

But I have a really good dad who’s a really good runner, and I wanted to run with him. In high school I started running in the dark in the backyard so no one could see. Then it was a few blocks in the early morning before my dad went for his long run. Then it turned into more blocks, and more great conversations and “exploration” runs than my dad or I can count. We’ve done two half marathons together, (along with my hardcore sister, Janna) and when my knees started hurting (I DO run funny…) - I took up triathlons.

I stopped hiding in the backyard. I stopped caring (let’s be honest, I stopped caring MOSTLY) what people said or how they looked at me when I ran. I just started running. I love it: I would even say I need it. There’s no better way to clear your head.

As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized a few things. One is that you should do what you love, no matter how you look. I do a lot of things differently from most people. What is normal anyway? But no matter how many times I second guess myself or how many times I think I’ve looked stupid or said something embarrassing, I always try to remember that life is for loving, yourself included. And I keep on running.

Soccer Wife

You should know that Tyler is a dynamite soccer player. Second-team, all-state and all. His handling with the ball is something I’ve admired since we started dating. He’s a leading scorer and quick as lightning. It’s so fun to watch. 

But, did you also know that I play soccer? Oh, you didn’t? That’s because I do not. Not even a little. So, when Tyler told me about his dream of having a Gibb family soccer team, I got that ball in the back of my throat that makes it hard to breath. I didn’t want him to see it. But I was panicked.

In the end I knew what I needed to do. He wanted this. And I wanted him to have it.

I cannot tell you how much fear I had to get over. It was a lot. You would think with a 6-5 basketball star for a father, I would have inherited some amount of skill and grace. Not the case. I played softball quite well, I can do other things just fine. But my feet. Ugh. They’ve given me grief. At times in my life (particularly the awkward stages between 11-16), my feet struggled to keep me upright. It was a rough time and left a few scars and fears of public humiliation that I’m not quite over apparently.

So, this next part might come as a shocker. I kind of like soccer. Oh, I’m still not very good. But I’ve learned to stand in front of the man (or woman) with the ball and try not to let them pass. I’ve also learned that I really love my husband (and not just because he’s a stellar athlete). I’ll do anything for him, because he’d never ask me to do something that’s going to hurt me. Soccer’s fun. It’s something new. I’ve broadened my horizons and taken on my fears and a couple men twice my size. All’s fair and the memory of the Gibbie soccer team is a good one.

Winter Not So Blues

December was lovely. But after the holidays... After all the family has gone away, the alarm clock has been reinstated, the running has been resurrected. After the head/chest cold combo that had me leveled and still has me coughing. What then?

A winter girl I am not. It gets me down. Too dark. Too cold. Too icy to run free in the road. But I really do try to fight it, because I’d rather not be down (not really a good color on me). So I have gone into high action mode in the brain. I am thinking and re-thinking all the totally sweet and awesome things I can do to make it until the 80s (in Fahrenheit, not fashion sense to be sure).

Now, the trick of tricks is working around a schedule where I see that man of mine only one night during the week before 10 p.m. That will just have to mean that the weekends will be phenomenal. Another task to overcome might be our cash flow diet. If you know of free, you just chime in. We won’t let anything (cheap) stop us though. We have a winter to conquer and a lot more fun to have. I don’t want to waste a minute.

My plans are not all fun and games. Maybe it’s the New Year that’s got me feeling the need to purge and purify. Whatever it is, I’m feeling it. Like last night, I spent two hours with rag and bucket. Baseboards. Need I say more? We’re going deep. It’s a bit cold, but I’m thinking of tidying up in the garage and storage shed in the next two weeks. On the inside, we’re going to sift through clothing and donate the remnants to the local D.I. 



Not all, but most, will be fun. And games. We are going to a free art exhibit. Experience something new. I have fun doing anything with Tyler, so we might as well throw some culture in. We are going snowboarding. Tyler will snowboard backwards so at least there’s some sort of a challenge. I will try not to snowboard on my face. We will throw some exercise in at home or in the club house. V-day weekend we are hitting the road to St. George with our good friends Beth and Ryan. I can hardly wait.



And the list continues. We are going to take my nephews to the dinosaur museum. We are going to do a 500 piece puzzle. We are going to play every game in the closet – and I have high hopes of winning one. We are going to get 2-for-1 massages. We are going to celebrate our Anniversary – Tyler’s on top of that. We are going to watch Despicable Me – I’ve heard good things. We are going to make personal pizzas. (Ummmm … Tyler doesn’t know most of these things – excited yet, babe?!)

Anyway, there's a lot more, but, you don’t need all the details. It’s just going to be great. Until May. When life and the weather get a little brighter. Thank goodness.