Ok, I'm doing it...

I'm really doing it.  I'm taking a leap.  I'm making the plunge.  I'm jumping.

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Remember When...

Remember the time when being a grown up was a bit harder than we thought, but nobody ever told us?  I do.  What a rip!  I am having a really hard time making some important decisions right now.  Par exemple...I'm still a wee bit torn about the big New York move.  I thought I was all decided and ready to go in September, but then something else came up and now I'm staying here for a few more months.  The thing is...it would be SO easy to go if I was miserable here, but I'm not.  I'm totally content.  I'm just 100% sure that something in my life needs to change.  I've reached insanity.  I'm pretty sure, anyway.  So the question is, change things up here or change my scenery entirely?  Honestly, the thought of being single here and in my 30's makes me want to throw up a little because it just looks like a big black pit.  However, I'm not convinced that it's entirely different anywhere else?

So...that all being said...I'm identifying with this song a lot right now.  Especially the line that says "But in the end, the only steps that matter are the ones you take all by yourself."

30 for 30

Can you believe that 30 years ago this little bundle of joy entered the world and it's never been the same since?  But seriously.  So, today I'm 30 and it's kind of been all about me.  I have the absolute greatest friends and family and my life is good...really good!  (please catch the Nacho Libre reference)  So, here's a little list of 30 things about me from the last 30 years

1. I've lived with 28 (maybe 29) different girls, which is crazy because I don't have sisters.
2. I've lived in 3 different countries, and 5 different cities
3. I was the first one in my family to graduate from college
4. I have 4 amazing brothers that I look up to so much and who are awesome examples for me
5. When I was really young, I tried drinking a slurpee through my nose because Matt said he could.  It didn't end well.
6. I ran into a door when I was 5 and lost my big toenail.  I still have the scar.  Also Matt's fault.
7. I've only had stitches once - when I jumped a fence in college after ultimate frisbee, cut my hand, and had to get a tetanus shot, which I actually think hurt worse than my hand did.
8. I've traveled to 6 different countries and several cities, but I think Paris will always have my heart.
9. I hope to someday visit every continent...maybe not Antarctica, unless I get to see something cool.  Norwol maybe??
10. I'm extremely uncoordinated when it comes to sports...so I run.  I ran more than 600 miles last year.
11. I love the beach, but am a little nervous in the ocean.  I don't like the critters and the currents
12. When I was little I always said I wanted to be a model or an actress when I grew up.  ha!
13. I love having painted nails, but I don't like to do it myself.  I don't have the patience...just ask Megan H.
14. I really believed my mom was in the army when we were little, because she would always say "let me show you a trick I learned in the army"
15. I really wish my life was a musical
16. I once drove all over Rexburg with "boy panties" taped to the back of my car bc my roommates put them there.
17. I'm a wee bit obsessed with Harry Potter, which is ironic because I told Michael when the books were first coming out that I would never read them.  HA!  As if.
18. I love the smell of books and will have a big, beautiful library in my dream home someday
19. I wish I could actually dance because I love it so much
20. I found who I was when I was 19 living in Paris, but I love how the older you get the more comfortable you become in your skin.
21. New York City is my second heart.  I love everything about that city and I love who I am there. (I'll dedicate a whole post to this later)
22. I like the smell of skunks.  It reminds me of home :)  I'm not going to bottle it up in a perfume or anything though.  Don't worry.
23. I try to hide it and be tough, but I get teary-eyed over a lot of things.  Don't tell anyone, but I'm a real girl inside with feelings and everything.
24. I love art and painting, but I wish I was better at it.  Practice, practice!
25. I love food.  It makes me soooo happy!
26. I like cars, and have been surrounded by them my whole life...but I know virtually nothing about them.
27. I still have a hard time knowing my right from my left when I give directions (or any time, really).  It just takes a minute!
28. I'm afraid of man-made heights, BUT I've bungee jumped, even though I never thought I wanted to  AND, I've always wanted to sky dive, but never have.
29. If I could be or do anything, I would be a famous Interior Designer who traveled the world!  OR I would have a family and be a mom, and settle for doing interior design like a normal person.  Potato potato.
30. My life is absolutely nothing like I thought it would be when I turned 30, but I love every bit of it!

10...Err...5 on Tuesday

First of all - stalkers...keep stalking.  I looove the encouragement!  And Lindsay - thanks for calling me out on being a wuss bc Jillian is "easy" and Insanity is...well...insane!  haha...jk.  I may get bored and work myself up to that though.  We shall see.

1.  I decided to shelf the marathon for now.  My joints are rebelling and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.  If I could find a good one in like January or February, I might consider it.  I just cannot train through the summers here.  It's too brutal!

2.  I have set my alarm a few times this week and tried to do the morning workout, but to no avail.  The only time I actually dragged myself out of bed at 6:30 on a Saturday morning was to do the Race for the Cure on Saturday with my friend and her family, for her mom.  It was awesome!  I was jazzed that morning too - singing and dancing in the car and everything!  Whatever got into me, I wish it would come more often!

3.  Speaking of Saturday - I had the greatest day!  Started it off with the Race for the Cure, then headed to the Lake for a few hours and it was gorgeous!  I got just enough sun to take the glare off my alabaster skin, AND I sported a new retro one piece (first one I've owned since I was like 5!) with my floppy hat and big sunglasses.  I loved it!  I love Lake.  Then, my friend, Janeen, and I headed to the ballet at the new Smith Performing Arts Center here and it was incredible!  I swoon.  I often daydream about being a dancer, and sometimes practice standing with my toes turned out, ready for a plie.  Someday I will have little girls and force them to be dancers.  What??  Needless to say, I was in heaven.

4.  Apparently I leave for New York on Saturday.  It kind of snuck up on me and I haven't really had a chance to get excited, until yesterday.  Michael sent me a link for a new fashion expo at the MET and it got me pumped to get out there!  I can't wait!

5.  Wanna know my latest go-to jams?  Some are old, some are new.

• Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John
• We are Young by FUN
• Call me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen
• Cmon Talk by Jarle Bernhoft
• The Motto by Drake
• Lonely Boy by The Black Keys
• Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye
• Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars
• Stronger by Kelly Clarkson
• Songbird (Glee version - even though I quit watching the show after season 1)
• I Dreamed a Dream (Glee version)
• Wild Ones by Flo Rida and Sia
• Boyfriend by Justin Bieber
• Kingdom Come by The Civil Wars

I think I made the list long enough by adding music, so I'm copping out and hitting the showers.  I may or may not have just worked out and now I need to get ready for bed.  Ps - all you suckers up in Canada - I hope you enjoyed your little snow storm last weekend whilst I was sunbathing at the lake ;)

10 on Tuesday

I haven't done one of these in a minute!

1.  I am currently obsessed with/distracted by the moon.

2.  I'm seriously considering a marathon this year.  More specifically...the St George marathon.  It's a lottery, so I may not even get picked, and if I did I'd have to train through the summer here, which is completely insane/grotesque.  Would it be worth it?  Hmmmm....

3.  I have completed 5 weeks of the Jillian Michaels "experiment" of sorts I started and have noticed huge differences in my body.  I feel way stronger and way more energetic.  I'm eating healthier foods and absolutely loving how I feel!  I've lost 4 lbs so far, 3 inches off my waist, and 1.5 inches off my hips.  I still have more to go, but I'm off to a good start!  I love/hate Jillian Michaels, but the "B" works!

4.  I've decided I'm intrigued by/drawn to the nerdy types lately.  Don't ask me why

5.  I absolutely love my brothers and had a super fun time with the family in Midway this past weekend for Michael and Laci's graduations.  Seriously, how did I get so lucky to get 4??

6.  My uncle gave a really great talk in church a week ago and it's impacted me in a really thought-provoking way.  Just a little self-eval going on!  nbd.  He basically asked if you were being put on trial as being a Mormon, would there be enough evidence, outside of your 3 hour Sunday block, to convict you as such?  Really great talk!

7.  I have no idea what I'm doing with my life, where I'm going, or why I am where I am right now.  BUT...I know that there's always a reason for it and even if I can't see it now, I will someday and I'll understand why everything goes down the way it does.  All the waiting will be worth it, and at least I always get to be happy!  I've decided to not stress about making plans, and just to make good choices as they come.  I know I can do whatever I set my mind to.

8.  Joni had her beautiful little Lyla Adele this weekend, and I finally got to see her tonight.  She is a dream!  I'm so happy for Joni and her little family!

9.  Kids are a lot more insightful than I give them credit for.  They remember a lot too!

10.  How does one become a morning worker-outer?  There was once a time when I saw the inside of a gym at 5:30am, but that was eons ago!  I have such a hard time getting out of bed and being a morning person, but it really is so much better time-wise to work out in the mornings.

Updaterrific

Ok, I figured you might want a little update on how this Jillian Michaels' stuff is going so far and this is kind of my theme song right now.  Let's just pretend that it's not talking about relationships and just focus on the "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" part.  First of all...who doesn't love Kelly?  Second of all...if these work outs don't kill me, I'll definitely be stronger!

Third...I'm kind of loving this Jillian Michaels stuff right now.  I'm almost finished my 3rd week, which is my first week of Level 2.  I love/hate level 2.  I find myself yelling, pulling faces, and wanting to cry because it burns so badly at times.  That, of course, means I love it.  I was loving level 1, but definitely feeling ready to start level 2 when I did...even if I was a little nervous about it.  I've been kind of, but not totally, following the free meal plan that was set up for me on the website, and it's been pretty good.  I'm learning a lot.

I kind of thought that I knew what was healthy and what wasn't, but honestly...I had no idea what to eat, so I'm loving the meal plans, and I'm loving being able to budget my calories.  I don't follow the meals to the T, and I've probably only made a few of her dinners, but they all look delish!  I'm keeping to the calorie budget though.  I eat most of the breakfasts and lunches, because they're quick, easy, and super yummy.  I'm mostly learning that fresh fruits and veggies are actually really good, and you can eat a lot more of them for less calories.  Who knew??  I did have a rough couple of days during my "girly time" (too much information??)  because I really just wanted to eat junk!  And then when I finally gave in and did eat a little junk, I felt super guilty.  Oy!

I'm learning that it's ok to have a treats here and there.  I'm seriously just learning a lot about making healthy choices, and that's really what I wanted.  I feel like I maybe should have known these things before 30?  Good thing I still have a few more months until then!  I love that Jillian describes losing weight as math, not "magic".  If you consume more than you burn, you will gain.  If you consume less than you burn, you will lose.  If you consume as much as you burn, you will maintain.  I love that it's not dieting, because I don't believe in that.  My goal is mostly to lose inches and tone up.  I love that I'm already noticing little differences in my body, and I'm excited to see what happens in the next few weeks.  I love that I'm noticing a difference in how I feel.  Drinking more water, and eating more fresh foods really makes a difference!  I'm nearly halfway done my little experiment, of sorts, and I'll tell you right now...I'm definitely not going to stop.

A Lot to Take In

Woops!  Just found this post from January that I started and never posted.  Please enjoy whilst I finish typing another one :)

I've actually been meaning to do this post for a while, but now I think it's going to be a combo with another one I've been thinking about.

I love my brothers!  I am the luckiest girl in the world to have gotten FOUR brothers to look up to.  I mean, technically I'm older than 3 of them, but I still look up to all of them.  Not just because they're all taller than me either.  Yes, even Mark is taller ;)  But seriously, my brothers are the greatest examples to me.  They're not afraid to work hard and go for their dreams.  They're all very talented in their own ways.  They're patient, compassionate; they have strong testimonies, and they're all great priesthood holders.  I could go on...but I'll just say that I have been super blessed!

Next:  We had Stake Conference this weekend and it was amazing.  I loved every second of it!  It kind of reiterated a lot of things I've been trying to work on lately.  No, these are not New Year's Resolutions, just things I've been working on for a while and still need to be better at.  So...I decided that rather than keeping them to myself, maybe I'll put them out here so that y'all can keep me accountable for them too!

1. Work on saying my morning prayers - I've never been great at that.  I rarely miss evenings, but I always struggle in the morning.

2.  Not to be so critical of others.  I need to look for the good in others first.  If I catch myself being critical, I'm going to find something good about that person instead.

3.  Get back to the temple weekly, as I used to.

4.  Be more active in the YSA/Mid-Singles activities

5.  Get back into a regular running/work out routine.

6.  Get back on track in my eating habits.  Less sugar/soda/junk and more of the good stuff!

7.  Start my family history.

Ok, I think that's all for now.  Whew!