Derald's IronMan in Mexico

Happy Thanksgiving 2011! 

At dinner, the night after the race

So this year, we spent my first Thanksgiving back in Cozumel, Mexico. My super hard-core hermano Derald, had been training for an IronMan for the past year, and it was conveniently located in a beautifully tropical location! My parents, Derald's girlfriend and I went down to support him down in this incredible accomplishment! It was a liiiiiitle bit sad that we weren't able to have a traditional Thanksgiving feast, but I somehow got over it really quick after basking on the hot sand for a few days 

Anyways, in case you aren't aware of what an IronMan consists of, and how intense it actually is, let me give you a quick re-cap: Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles. My brother is indeed an IRONMAN! He finished just under 13 hours, which is AWESOME for his first one. I was totally blown-away by watching all these incredible athletes of all ages and sizes, accomplish this unbelievable feat. We saw people with prosthetic legs doing it, 75 year olds, and people who were in cancer recovery doing it. It was super inspirational! It has officially been added to my bucket list.  

We lucked out and had amazing weather!! We also had some fabulous All-you-can-eat food at the resort, and so I didn't even have to miss out on the whole Thanksgiving "stuffing my face" thing...

My voice is still hoarse from the cheering we did...

 Stacy Jo and I had these "Team Derald' shirts made....definitely the most awesome cheer-squad !

#hottcouplealert

Snow Canyon 1/2 Marathon with Rebecca!

Call me crazy, but YES, I did two 1/2 marathons in 2 weeks. My sister Rebecca called me and told me she was doing a 1/2 down in St. George, and that I should join her! I was hesitant since I was still sore from the one I did the weekend of Halloween, but it was totally worth it! I was able to run this one in 1 hour and 38 minutes, which was 5 minutes faster than my last one! I also placed 4th in my age group! Not bad eh? The course was gorgeous, and it was so fun running it with my sis! She helped keep me going the last 2 miles or so when I felt like I couldn't go on! It was a great run, and I felt so happy to have accomplished my goal when I pushed across the finish line in under 1:40!!

Halloween Half Marathon!!

This weekend I was able to accomplish a goal!  I ran a half Marathon! I have always been a really active person, and I have gone through phases where I run a lot, but usually I'm doing some sort of team sport that keeps me busy and in shape...Lately though, I have been running a lot, mainly because I knew that I was going to do this 1/2 marathon, but the more I have been running, the more I have grown to love it! 

Here is the conclusion I have come to: Before you get in shape, running isn't typically enjoyable. I would not have enjoyed that one BIT, wereI not in shape. But as soon as running becomes fun because you I was totally inspired to see people my parent's age, running over 13 miles! All I can say is good for them!! I hope that's me one day. There were 7 other girls, and 7 guys from our ward that also did it, even though most of us ended up splitting up. I finished with a time of 1 hr and 42 minutes. I just wanted to do it under 2 hours....in training for it I never really pushed myself too hard, but when I was actually doing it, it was another story. I think it's just part of my competitive nature that wouldn't allow me to do anything but my best, and I'm happy with how it turned out! Overall it was a great race just because I feel like the time went so fast! The costumes and the course made this race great :) 

We had the best costumes, because we were cavewomen with legit SPEARS (we hid them in the trees before the start of the race after concluding it would be pretty dangerous to run with them in hand for 13.1 miles...) 

This is waiting in line for the bus to take us up to Sundance at 6 am! 

The best part of the race was the course! The miles went quick because you were able to enjoy such gorgeous scenery! 

Getting ready to get on the bus with everyone, bright and early! 

A few of us posing by the lovely hearse display after we finished

Yay! I did it, and I loved it!!!! 

A Time to Prepare

This was a talk in Conference that really inspired me to try harder to make better use of my time. It was given by Ian S. Arden. It is called "A Time to Prepare." It really is incredible! Here are some bits and pieces... But you can read the whole talk HERE. 

Time is never for sale; time is a commodity that cannot, try as you may, be bought at any store for any price. Yet when time is wisely used, its value is immeasurable. On any given day we are all allocated, without cost, the same number of minutes and hours to use, and we soon learn, as the familiar hymn so carefully teaches, “Time flies on wings of lightning; we cannot call it back” (“Improve the Shining Moments,” Hymns,no. 226). What time we have we must use wisely. President Brigham Young said, “We are all indebted to God for the ability to use time to advantage, and he will require of us a strict account of [its] disposition” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 286).

With the demands made of us, we must learn to prioritize our choices to match our goals or risk being exposed to the winds of procrastination and being blown from one time-wasting activity to another. We are well taught about priorities by the Master Teacher when He declared in His Sermon on the Mount, “Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33, footnote a; from Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 6:38). (See also Dallin H. Oaks, “Focus and Priorities,” Liahona,July 2001, 99–102; Ensign, May 2001, 82–84.)

The poor use of time is a close cousin of idleness. As we follow the command to “cease to be idle” (D&C 88:124), we must be sure that being busy also equates to being productive. For example, it is wonderful to have the means of instant communication quite literally at our fingertips, but let us be sure that we do not become compulsive fingertip communicators. I sense that some are trapped in a new time-consuming addiction—one that enslaves us to be constantly checking and sending social messages and thus giving the false impression of being busy and productive.

There is much that is good with our easy access to communication and information. I have found it helpful to access research articles, conference talks, and ancestral records, and to receive e-mails, Facebook reminders, tweets, and texts. As good as these things are, we cannot allow them to push to one side those things of greatest importance. How sad it would be if the phone and computer, with all their sophistication, drowned out the simplicity of sincere prayer to a loving Father in Heaven. Let us be as quick to kneel as we are to text.

Electronic games and cyber acquaintances are no lasting substitute for real friends who can give an encouraging hug, who can pray for us and seek after our best interest. How grateful I have been to see quorum, class, and Relief Society members rally to the support of one another. On such occasions I have better understood what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints” (Ephesians 2:19).

I know our greatest happiness comes as we tune in to the Lord (see Alma 37:37) and to those things which bring a lasting reward, rather than mindlessly tuning in to countless hours of status updates, Internet farming, and catapulting angry birds at concrete walls. I urge each of us to take those things which rob us of precious time and determine to be their master, rather than allowing them through their addictive nature to be the master of us. 

A lesson on Mormons: What is General Conference?

Many of you know that I'm a Mormon. In the Mormon church, we believe in the Bible. We read another book that is called The Book of Mormon, similar to the Bible. Together, we believe that these two books can answer soooooo many questions about life. The Book of Mormon was written by prophets. Most people don't realize that something that distinguishes the Mormon church from others, is that we believe in on-going revelation. We believe there is a prophet today! God still speaks to all of us not only individually when we pray to Him, but also through the prophet. The prophet's name is Thomas S. Monson, and he has 12 Apostles (just like in Christ's original church). Twice a year, we have the chance to listen to the Prophet speak. Topics range from how to raise a happy family, to how to attain lasting happiness...

This only happens twice a year and it's called General Conference. It is a great chance to re-focus and gain perspective on the things in life that are most important. I need to be reminded every once in a while! I have been able to get through so many hard times thanks to the perspective on life, that the Book of Mormon has also helped me to gain.  If you are reading this and have Mormon friends, check out the website to understand better why Mormons are the way they are.  http://mormon.org
I'm writing this post not because I want you all to convert to Mormonism, only to understand a little more clearly! My life isn't by any means perfect, but it is rich with meaning and purpose.

The Prophet  todays' name is Thomas S. Monson
(click to watch a snippet of the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson) 

Oreo Truffles (warning: this is not a diet friendly recipe)

Alright Alright people, I know I have been totally MIA in the world of blogging! School has once again taken over my life, but I am absolutely loving my classes, and trying to savor every moment of my education at BYU. I HAD to find a minute to post this incredible recipe for Oreo Truffles that I made the other day! A friend of mine introduced me to these, and all I can say is luckily they remained in HIS fridge and not mine! I have to say that if you are a calorie counter you should leave the blog immediately before you hate yourself for a very long time. If you DO make them, just enjoy them for what they are :) 

• 
  
• Ingredients: 
• 
  
• 1 packet of Oreo cookies
• 200g of Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 100g of good dark chocolate
• 
  
• 1. Smash up entire packet of Oreos (this a great stress relieving activity!!! aka Moms, B.F's/G.F's,  students etc.) 
• 2. Mix cream cheese with Oreos until it reaches a smooth consistency
• 3. Make into desired size and them put in freezer for about 10 minutes. In the mean time, melt 
• chocolate either on stove or in the microwave 
• 4. Drizzle chocolate onto Oreo balls, then refrigerate for about 20 minutes until chocolate hardens. 
• 5. Enjoy every single calorie!!! 

Swiss Days!

I have been wanting to go to Swiss Days, for the past four years, and today....I'M GOING :) I will be sure to post pics a.s.a.p. because it's going to be an epic occasion.

{quick update...}  life has been soooooo crazy lately having started the Fall semester on Monday. I know that when it gets busy, it can be easy to let the most important little things, slip out of our routines...Honestly I've been trying to make an effort to be consistent, and I feel like because of that, I'm able to make it through all the stresses of life!

trip to Portlandia!

For my birthday this year, my parents bought me a ticket to go to Portland to see my big brother Brock, and his growing, beautiful family of four! Amy, his top-model wife, their little rambunctious 2 1/2 yr old Daegen, and now sweet, sweet baby Pierce Miller! What a beautiful family!!! It was so fun to be able to go and hang out with them for a few days! 

"MONKAAAAA" --he got really good at my name by the end of the trip ;) 

 We spent Saturday morning at the Portland Saturday market. I couldn't agree more with the T-shirt... You can't really see it, but it says "Keep Portland Weird" haha

 FAMILIES ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!

Portland Waterfront

Me and Daegy Buns (D.B.) enjoying our pitas

Brock, Amy and Daegy lookin' like celebs with their "All-Portland child award" son (diaper, hat, converse, and nothing else) 

Me and baby Pierce having a little snuggle time

They have an amazing place with a gorgeous yard, perfect for afternoon chill sesh's

The most important things in life are very simple

We went to where they shot a bunch of scenes from Twilight (thus, the poses) Amy laughed for about 20 minutes at the pic of me on the top right. 

me, Portland Saturday Market

Amy, me, and Amy's sister Beth (who also happened to be in town!) having fun at the Portland Saturday Market!

P.S. (more pics to come from when we went to the Portland Street of Dreams...)

Thanks again Brock, Amy, Daegen and Pierce, for an amazing weekend!!! 

I keep doing posts about sleep...

So this is kinda funny. For the last few months I have of course, slept in a bed. I am going to try to think of 10 POSITIVE things about this bed. My mom always made us say 10 nice things about people when we would criticize someone else or say something mean....So here is my attempt to not hate too much on my bed. It's not like it TRIED to be obnoxious or anything....

1.  It has made me more tolerable to hard surfaces and loud noises

2. It  had great drawers underneath for storage 

3. It had a great hide-out for hide and seek

4. It was a great color of wood 

5. It inspired me to own a nice bed one day

6. OK, this is getting very difficult now.....

7. It was kinda soft

8. It was not as noisy as landing a horrible landing

9. It had a shelf I could keep my books on when I read at night

10. It had a hole in the shelf to put plugs through (that was a really good one actually!) 

I will forever be grateful for beds. Whether they be hard, soft, big, small, loud or quiet as a mouse. They are one of the worlds' greatest creations!

surveys remind me of high school...

A.  age : : 22 

B. bed size ::  twin (I miss having a bed to sprawl out in)

C. chore you hate :: cleaning the oven

D. dogs :: miniature schnauzer (brim/brimmy/brimmer)
 When i settle down, Iwant a big dog that will go on runs with me

E. essential start to your day :: egg white veggie omlet

F. favorite color :: peach/teal

G. gold or silver :: GOLD!!! It looks way better with my skin tone

H. height ::  five-seven

I. instruments you play :: cello, very basic piano skills

J. job title :: student

K. kids :: zip

L. live :: Utah

M. maiden name ::  I'm still a Miller

N. nicknames :: Mo, Mon, Mon Mon, Mo Milla, Monny

O. overnight hospital stays :: nope.

P. pet peeve :: un-productiveness
Q. quote :: no good deed goes un-punished

R. righty or lefty :: righty 

S. siblings :: 4. I'm the baby

T. time you wake up :: 7:30 

U. university attended :: BYU-Idaho & BYU-Provo 

V. vegetables you dislike:  none, I love them ALLLlllll

W. what makes you run late :: losing my keys 

X. x-rays you’ve had :: ankle,and teeth, no cool stories :( 

Y. yummy food :: sushi, sweet potatoe french fries, all kinds of popcorn, strawberry rhubarb crumble, pumpkin pie 

Z. zoo animal favorite :: I used to like the monkeys, until I saw planet of the apes :( 

instead of counting sheep...

Sooo, my newest most favorite app is called "Nature Sounds." Basically I'm obsessed, and don't think I will ever be able to fall asleep with out it ever again. So it's like this mixer...where you can custom design your own "lullabies," to put you to sleep. All the sounds are suuuuuuuuper subtle, and tootally relaxing. Last night I fell asleep to "night"/"waves"/"crickets" all at the same time! All I can say is it's FANTASTIC!!!!! I've never had problems sleeping, but I think like 2 minutes after I turn it on I'm out! I feel like I'm camping on the beach, or laying next to a supple waterfall! BUT--with the comfyness of my own bed (and minus the back-ache the next day!!!)

The worst part is when you wake up and you seriously THINK you are going to open your eyes to something beautiful, and it's once again the disappointing college apartment complex outside. Lame.  Eventhough you go through a brief bit of heartache in the moments after opening your eyes,  I still recommend this app to all!

And THIS, is one of my favorite sleeping videos of all time. The highlights are my chubby cheeks, and Caleb's greasy mustache close-up! The best sleeps happen on study abroad bus rides, and on the mission. You are constantly exhausted and you wound up sleeping in very strange positions and places. Please don't hate on how chubby I was haha.... I had probably eaten like 5 plates of paella that same day. Mmm, that just got me thinking about how good Spanish food is. Why not show you a pic of paella? Wow, this has turned into a very random blog post. 

funniest sleepytime embarassing moment: Freshman year. Art history class. I had issues staying awake in that class for some reason... (oh wait I know why.) One morning (mind you the class was at 8 am!!) I just couldnt seem to keep my head up straight and eyes open. I had one of those dreams where you feel like you are awake and that you are paralyzed. After what seemed like minutes of trying to move my arms and legs and not succeeding, I suddenly awoke quite startled and let out a small scream/gasp. Maybe there was some flailing involved? I can't remember. Luckily I was towards the back of class...

boots n' shafts it's cowboy hats...

 The Miller rodeo reunion took place this weekend.  My parents hired legit cowboys to do a bunch of legit cowboy stuff. It's always pretty funny to see us city kids out there  tryin to do that country work. 

me n' my sista

Derald playing the part. 

c'mere cow!

this is one of the cowboys. We'll call him Garth.

 I have an Aunt who is an all-star quilter, and so we do a raffle for a quilt she makes every year. Great story as to how I ended up with this quilt. Sooo, they were doing the last call for people to put their names in the hat. Of course when I realized that I hadn't put mine in, I had to take care of that asap. So literally like 2 seconds after I put my name in and she shook it up, they drew my name....Everyone was giving me a hard-time for being so last-minute too. Don't mind the lack of color coordination in my college bedroom. One day.

check da' cowboy 

Here are some words from Garth, my all-time favorite country music man.

Three thirty in the morning
Not a soul in sight
The city's lookin' like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night
Raindrops on the windshield
There's a storm moving in
He's headin' back from somewhere
That he never should have been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

Every light is burnin'
In a house across town
She's pacin' by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown
Askin' for miracle
Hopin' she's not right
Prayin' it's the weather
That's kept him out all night
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls

She's waitin' by the window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he's alive
But on the wind and rain
A strange new perfume blows
And the lightnin' flashes in her eyes
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls 

She runs back down the hallway
To the bedroom door
She reaches for the pistol
Kept in the dresser drawer
Tells the lady in the mirror
He won't do this again
Cause tonight will be the last time
She'll wonder where he's bee

Happy Birthday Deyo

This week was my big brother Derald's 28th Birdthday. It is tradition that I pay homage to Derald, since he is my closest sib. I am grateful for Derald in my life for many reasons, but I think the main one is that I always am confident that he would have my back in ANY situation. He would do anything for me if I really needed him. I would be so happy if I ended up with a man HALF as amazing as he.

We started the day off right, getting some breakfast at Magelby's. For some reason he didn't want me capturing him putting away two plates of French Toast!? (jk, they brought us two plate since they were shutting off breakfast, but don't worry he only ate one plate of it) 

Later that evening we went to dinner at Malaui's. THEN, Chase and I took it upon ourselves to throw a little surprise party for Derald. We had a group of about 20 people who weren't at dinner, waiting at a friend's house. This was what he drove up to at the end of the street. He had no idea and was completely surprised! Mission complete. 

Of course, being the best (and only) little sister out there, I made him the annual delicious Strawberry cake, and another chocolate fudge one. Mmm.. I will say they turned out great! 

People say we look alike...He's much more better looking than I. 

Happy Birthday brudder! I love you! 

We indeed are the party starters. 

the quest for boots...

So here's the thing. This weekend we have an annual western themed family reunion, and I am COWBOY BOOT-LESS!!!!! So my goal this week is to find some killer boots for this party. Anyone have any suggestions on where you can find sweet cowboy boots in Utah??? Please help!! PS. speaking of cowboys, I also have heard really good things about the new Cowboys and Aliens movie, and I'm thinking about seeing it, has anyone any insight?? Although I hear Harrison Ford isn't nearly as ruggedly believable as he one was...

note: spurrs are not NECESSARY, but highly preferred ;) 

good flic

I really liked this flic I saw the other day. It's called Midnight in Paris, an independent film made by Woody Allen. It was really cute, and entertaining. I would definitely recommend it! Check out the Trailer!

BBQin' "Bessie"

My parents took it upon themselves to buy a COW while I was on my mission. I didn't quite know how to react to that at first. My mom is very health conscious and didn't like the thought of eating beef that had been injected with steroids etc. The cow's name was Bessie. Creative right? We also had a parakeet growing up named Birdy. We never ate that parakeet, but it just shows our style in naming animals I guess. Anyways, they tried to keep their distance from Bessie, and not treat it as if it was going to eventually be slaughtered, and end up on their plates. A few weeks ago, Bessie was slaughtered, and now they have months supply of their own fresh meat. The cow was treated with tender loving care, and fed only the best grains. Trust me, my parents spoiled that thing more than their youngest child! (oh wait...that's me...) Since there was a special occasion of Pioneer day on Monday, I felt it was appropriate to "indulge" with some nice steaks. Eric and I headed up Provo canyon and had ourselves a nice little BBQ. Let me just say that the steak was phenomenal! Mamma mia. I don't even remember the last time I ate steak, but I never remember it tasting that good. I would eat it every day if it tasted like that.

The man who knows all the tricks of the trade. A real man. 

 Although it appears I ate some sort of "mad cow"beef by my googly eyes, I assure you it was free of disease! 

 chilling our Ginger Beer in the river

 Way to go Bessie!

Protecting Bessie from the rain (don't you love how I still refer to the steaks as Bessie? yea, me too. You can just hardly ever do that!!!)  

As far as my knowledge of meat, here are my ratings.
Tenderness: 10
Flavor: 10

There are probably other categories that I should included here...sorry I'm not more carniverous than I actually am...

I love BBQ's in the summertime. There is nothing better.Eventhough it rained on us, it was still fantastic!

Of course we had to do mallows upon my request :)

I'm no meat expert, but it made me want to "have a cow" of my own (ps I said that the other night as I was eating my steak, and I got made fun of haha). Just to have that gaurunteed freshness would be worth having to go through the detatchment of a beloved pet! Nothing else tasted good that night. The couscous was average after a bite fo Bessie. All of my thoughts I had a few months ago about taking steps towards vegetarianism went out the window. It was the perfect BBQ! Happy Pioneer day!