10K: One Race Down, One to Go

My 10K went really well and I was very pleased with the results.  My goal was to finish in under 1 hour, and I finished in 55:20.  I felt good and it was a great run overall.  Yesterday was just a good day overall with a good mix of family, friends and work.  

Next race: Mud run in June.  Super-stoked!

Plans are also coming together for my trek across Zion and Grand Canyons.  I really need more vacation time to be able to do all of these fun things!

Update on Goals

Oh my gosh I just can not believe how quickly this year is just flying by. There a many fun things happening and I am excited to report that all of my goals are coming along very nicely.

1. PhD program I have found the one that I am interested in doing. However, since I have started teaching a class down at Dixie I know I don't have the time to start it right now. I have committed to teaching fall semester at Dixie and in the mean time I will save up so I can afford to go to school.

2. TV time is much reduced, I think that happened naturally because I got a lot more busy picking up extra employment. I still watch some, but it is less than 3 hours a week.

3. Run 2 races - I will be running my first race of the year next weekend. I will be running a 10K which is going to be the first time I have ever run a 10K race before. It is a race that is being organized through my work so I am going to be a volunteer and run for free! As of now I don't have any specific plans for the 2nd race. I would like to do another 5K and see if I can get a PR.

4. My racquetball dreams have been put to a halt. My partner I had been playing with decided to get married in February so I we haven't played since then. Who gets married these days anyway? I have been actively trying to find someone else to play with, but so far no luck.

5. I have read 1 full book so far this year. I read The Peace Giver. I quite enjoyed it and it was nice that it was a quick read. It really helped give me a little different perspective on forgive

ness of others. I have started another book called The Willpower Instinct. It talks about the science behind willpower and it is completely fascinating. I also finally finished a book that I started about a year ago. The Omnivore's Dilemma. I also enjoyed it, but I think the first part of the book was more interesting to me than the last part. I have also started reading The China Study, it is another heavily science based book and will probably take me awhile to get through.

6. I am afraid that finding a man with marriage potential is going to have to be left to a higher power, because I sure am not having much success. I have not given up however, I still fight the fight and will continue to do so.

7. Making budgeting a monthly habit has proved to be harder than I thought it would be. My work purchased Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and I listed to that, so I have been trying to follow his baby steps. So far I have baby step 1 accomplished!! I have been trying harder to budget and keep track of my money, but it has been a challenge.

8. Okay so the pull-up is one of the goals that actually makes me really excited. I am getting so close to being able to do a pull-up from a dead hang. Right now I can do one starting with a partial bend in my arm. When I did it for the first time it made me so excited. It is slowly coming along, but it is much more of a reality than when I started the year.

9. The downstairs bed and bath are coming along nicely. I hired some people to work on it and I am sooo glad I did. It had some major problems that I could have never been capable of dealing with. Last Saturday I painted both the bathroom and the bedroom and I am obsessed with it! My aunt had given me some green paint she didn't use and it makes me ridiculously happy when I look at it.

10. My little garden is growing so well. I have a whole set up in my kitchen where they grow. It has been such a mild winter that I am so tempted to go plant them in the ground now, but I know I can't. I am pretty sure it is supposed to snow tonight so that probably wouldn't help them much.

10. Erica and I are in the middle of planning out trip. Right now we are looking at going to Seattle. I have been really craving a roadtrip and I am really excited for this.

11. My birthday is shaping up to be awesome. It is not going to be with friends like I originally planned. But, I will be with my family which is going to be a lot of fun. My family planned a vacation down to Coronado California. So I will be spending my birthday on the beach, it is going to be perfect.

12. I have planned a weekend to hike Pine Valley and I think it is going to be awesome.

13. My roommate and I are going to be hiking trans-Zion in June. I am really excited she wants to do it. Also my dad and I are going to be hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim. Pretty much my hiking season is gearing up to be epic.

14. I have not made any progress on compiling recipes, however I have started collecting more of them!

15. Desk is now in my room and making me happy.

New Year Goals

I came up with a list of things that I want to accomplish this next year. I am so excited because I think that everything on my list is very doable and they all make me excited for the future. I also think that these goals are going to provide for some good blog posts!

The List (in no particular order, just how they came out of my brain)

• Find and start a PhD program - hopefully online style
• Reduce T.V. time to 3 hours per week (can be stockpiled to be used towards t.v. marathons, one of life's greatest pleasures)
• Run at least 2 races - any distance will do
• Find a Racquetball tournament to participate in - most likely the summer games
• Read at least 5 books (seeing how I only finished 1 last year this is a pretty lofty goal for me, but I figured since I won't be watching as much t.v. and will need something to do).
• Find a man that has marriage potential and date him
• Make budgeting monthly a habit
• Be able to do at least 1 full blown real life pull-up
• Get the downstairs bathroom and bedroom finished so it will be usable
• Grow garden starts from seed my own self instead of buying them at the nursery
• Have an amazing garden and share the abundance with others
• Plan at least 1 adventure with friends (namely Erica)
• Have a sweet birthday party
• Hike Pine Valley Mountain
• Plan at least 1 other major hiking adventure (trans-Zion anyone?)
• Start to compile and organize recipes
• Get desk for room to study at
• Attend temple ordinance at least 12 times this year

The plan is to breakdown each goal so that I get started on them right away and keep track of where I am at with everything. I am pretty sure Excel will be able to help me with this. I will be sure to post updates as I start making steps towards accomplishing each goal.

Having so many fun and exciting goals is going to lead to a super great 2012! Anyone who wants to get in on any of the fun let me know and I will make sure that I let you know when I am planning on doing that particular goal.

Yipee for a New Year and a brand spanking new start...bring it on!

Abba Mania

I went to an ABBA Mania concert last Saturday. It was amazing!! Here is a little video of the fun times had.

Thoughtiness

It is strange how I go through writing droughts. I went on a walk today and I was thinking in prose and I thought to myself, "I guess my writing drought is over". So here I am writing on my blog because I don't know anywhere else to write these thoughts down.

My brain has been moving at the speed of light for the past couple of weeks. I think I may have finally found the source and the reason why. It all started about a month ago. I was on my way to work just like most mornings in my week. This morning however, I had a thought. This thought is the type of thought that I am afraid to say just might be one of those life changing moments. The thought was tentative, but assured. Just three little letters P....H.....D. I didn't want them to come, but they did. I can't make them go back, and I can't get my mind to change itself.

Like I said ever since those three innocent looking letters entered my brain it has been going crazy. I practically have a dissertation topic picked out and the introduction already started. My brain is so inconsiderate, never once did it stop and ask me what I wanted, or even give me the time to catch up and get used to the idea.

The one defense I did have was not to say those three letters out loud. I thought to myself (when my brain wasn't listening) if I don't verbalize what my brain is thinking there is no way that it will happen. My one little defense however was useless because it seemed that my brain was talking with other brains when I wasn't paying attention and he (why is my brain male? It makes no sense to me) leaked the secret, and before I knew it everyone I talked to was bring up the subject.

I couldn't say no, I couldn't get away. I am moving full force in the forward direction being driven by a force beyond myself. I don't even know who Cambree Johnson is anymore. Another being has taken control of my body and is reeking havoc without my permission. This is what happens to me in the spring time when I think that my life is going to settle down for awhile. Bam! Something intense hits me and my life is all awhirl again and I don't know which way is up and which is down.

Brain's are funny creatures and I wish I knew how to train them better. It sure would make life a whole lot easier.

Vaycay!

So I figured I should blog again before a whole year has passed me by. I went to California last week and had a blast so I thought I would post about it. I recently had a friend move to California near San Francisco, so some friends and I decided to go visit his new home. We did lots of touristy things and hung out.

The Golden Gate Bridge. One of the Highlights of the trip was skipping across part of the bridge. I got some really funny looks, it made me really happy!



I will Squish you.



It took me a really long time to get this shop just right. It didn't turn out quite as cool as I was hoping, but it was fun trying to get it.



This was up in a building on Stanford's campus.



This was a random doll we found on the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, kind of freaky.



There are a lot more pictures I just don't have them. Other things that we did that were a lot of fun included: checking out lake Tahoe, a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory, a visit to the famous Mystery Spot, a drive through Yosemite, and a flying car hood. Good times were had! Now I am looking forward to a Christmas Trip!

Isn't Mail Great?

Two weeks ago I came home to a nice looking envelope sitting on the front porch. I opened it up and a nice surprise was inside. A cute little DIPLOMA! Of course I had to take some pictures with the long awaited piece of paper that I had worked so hard for. So for your viewing pleasure a small photo gallery of my diploma and I.

You better watch out Cedar City...because here I come

Fun things have been happening and also some big moves and changes. I got a new job down in Cedar City and am now living there. A few grand adventures took place before the big move.

My last activity in my ward was going to the State Fair. Good times were had.

A Jake Billy Goat


An Evan Billy Goat


Hungry Fair Sheep


Hungry Fair Piggys




Erica had a birthday so we celebrated. Good friends, good location, and huge cupcakes. What more can one ask for?

Good ol' wardie friends past and present.


Birthday girl at her best.


The people.



Jake threw me a fabulous going away party with delicious food provided by the Mike and fabulous company provided by everyone who showed up. Unfortunately we were too busy having fun to think about documenting the event.



Here in Cedar I am staying with my brother and his family and I think it is great.

They graciously provided me with my own room.

With a comfty bed.




My new job is great. I am really excited to be working out in the community and being around fantastic people

My new office...with a nice window, but in need of decoration.


It is in a nice quiet area that not many people pass by, so I just keep the door open.


And last but, not least, my new haircut compliments of my sister.

Summer Funness

This summer has been so full of random fun. I have decided just to do a quick picture recap. So for your viewing pleasure here is Cambree's Summer of fun! (Now if I can just remember where it all started).

I guess the best place to start is my birthday party in May. Erica was the mastermind and we decided to get a group together to go camping out near Grantsville. It was the first major camping trip of the season, and good times were had. Saturday morning we got up went shooting and then five of us decided to go geode hunting. Thanks to a four-wheel drive vehicle we had some awesome off-roading adventures. It has been awhile since I have had such fun times off-roading.

Me on the morning of my birthday, lookin good.


Off-roading.


Watch out fellas


After a long time off-roading, we finally made it to the geode pits.



For the next little while most of my adventures were just going on random hikes.
It was a very wet May and June so the first few hikes of the season ended with wet saggy clothing.


This hike was one of the first of the season. This is a picture of a little waterfall. This hike Jake and I got pretty wet, as it was raining and the underbrush was full of water that clung to us as we passed.


This was a hike Erica and I did on a Saturday morning. We got really wet on this one due to the same pesky water laden underbrush. This hike was also an adventure because the trail was not well marked, so we ended up in some really interesting places.


This hike is called the living room. It is up in the foothills and contains multiple living room type furniture made out of rocks...not very comfortable to sit on for very long.


This picture was taken on a hike up to lake Solitude, we may have made our own trail on this one, but at least we came across this cool photo op.


This is Jake on the shore of lake Solitude trying to look serene.


The next adventure is of the Spiral Jetty. This adventure turned out to be more of an adventure than we bargained for. We may have broken down while out at the Jetty and had to hitch hike back into civilization. Luckily people took pity on us and helped us get back to a place with public transportation so we could make it home. It was a really long day, but freakishly fun, despite the extra added stress.


I had this great idea that we should take a picture of us doing a cartwheel while out on the jetty. This was the result. It may be one of my favorite pictures ever.



Here is a picture of the Jetty that Jake took.



The inspiration of the spiral jetty trip was to do a little geocashing. Here is a picture of all of us with the geocash.



Here is a picture of a stream of oil from Erica's car, not a good thing.



Erica trying to assess the situation.


Riding in the back of a nice mans truck. He was kind enough to take us back to Promontory point. Apparently this guys dad collects things that resemble faces, which is what Robert is holding up.



Promontory point fun! It just so happened that it was free fee day at Promontory point, so we were able to see the trains leave for the day, entertaining, but not worth the $7 that they charge normally.


Somewhere someone has pictures of the train ride home on the Front Runner. It was my first time on it and it was quite enjoyable. From trax we took a bus the rest of the way, it was also my first time on a bus. I enjoyed the whole adventure, but not necessarily one I would repeat any time soon.

Moving on to the next big adventure. Over 24th of July weekend I went camping in Colorado. Pretty much the best camping trip I have been on. This was the borrowing adventure because we borrowed most of the things that made the trip fun. Here is a list of everything that was borrowed.
Tent, sleeping pad, bike rack, 2 inflatable kayaks, lanterns, sleeping bag, and maybe a few other things that I was unaware of. Here is a brief picture overview of the fun.

Relaxing at camp after a bike ride around the lake and a nice kayaking experience on the lake before the masses started to come and take over the lake.


Highland lake, we camped just a few hundred feet off the shore, it was amazing.



Hiking in some mountains near by.


Me climbing my first fire pole at a park near by our campsite.


Floating down the Colorado.



At goblin valley on the way back home. It was the first time I had done much hiking in Goblin Valley, and I had a blast. I was running all over climbing up everything, I would love to go back and spend some more time exploring.


Like I said best camping trip ever. The inspiration for the trip was due to a Christmas present I received last Christmas. I was given two free movie passes, but unfortunately it was for a movie theater not located in Utah. Grand Junction Colorado was the nearest one, so while in Colorado we enjoyed a free movie.


The most recent adventure happened Saturday. My company had a party up at Snowbird. Jake and I went and we enjoyed all the fun things that they had to offer up there. I also won some water noodles at the raffle, they are pretty neat because they are soft and flexible, unlike the foam kind.

Video of me riding the mechanical bull, I think the operator was nice to me because I am a girl, but it was still fun.


Rock climbing, in Jake's shoes. They wouldn't allow me to climb in my Chacos, so I borrowed his.


Feet, on the Peruvian lift up to mineral basin. The view at the top was gorgeous.


Awe Cute!



Okay not the brief picture recap I was hoping for, but I hope it was enjoyable!

Birds

Yesterday I went to the local Aviary, and I thought it was fantastic. My roommate is always raving about how cool it is and I finally got to see for myself. Birds are so entertaining to watch and listen to. It was also really cool to see so many different types of birds and where they all come from. It was a great time and I was just so excited about it that I thought I would mention it in my blog.

Biking is for me

While I was in St. George last weekend I finally remembered to pick up a bike my brother was trying to get rid of. I have been wanting a bike, but am too cheap to buy one. On Tuesday I put it together and was so excited that I decided to ride it to work. It really made my day! I was so happy while at work that my co-workers thought I was even more crazy than they previously thought.
I have been riding my bike around everywhere I can think of ever since. I am pretty sure that this new addition to my life is going to really improve my life in all aspects.

The Stars Beyond

I was up in the mountains this evening tubing with some friends. I looked up at the stars and realized that you actually could see the stars. It was amazing and I just had to take a minute and gaze up at them. I got to thinking about just how much I love taking the time to look up at the stars and to contemplate things of a deeper nature. I think such rituals are what my life has been lacking lately. I should seek the fresh air of the mountains and clear skies more often.

No Complaints

This week was a really good week. I was able to accomplish a lot of things, yet I had a blast at the same time. Yesterday was a really good Sunday for me. I felt like I was able to talk to a lot of people that I might not normally. I am slowly discovering that I am really good at being around people and getting things done and organized. I like to think that I am a good leader and am able to make people feel comfortable about things they might not normally be comfortable with.

This week has been a very assuring week for me. I feel like I am where I am supposed to be in life, pursuing the things that I am supposed to be pursuing. I am happy with where I am at and what I am doing. I am happy. Truly and honestly, and I just need to stop letting myself think that I shouldn't be or that it would be wrong to be happy.

Last night I thought it would be fun to see if I would be able to find my blog. The inspiration for the search being that I have told people about my blog, but have not given them the address, so I wanted to see if it would be possible to find via a google search. The results being that it was very hard to find. Most people know me by my real name, but my blogger name is my nickname so when people try to find it using my name they have no luck. I was eventually able to find it, but only because I know the contents of my blog. So if anyone who reads my blog has found it by seeking it out, I say "congratulations," you are better than I.