Two Words....

Two words:

Wedding Week.




My little sister is getting married tomorrow. I love her like crazy and wish her all the best!

I plan on being back to blogging after a long recovery from the craziness of this week. Aren't weddings AWESOME!!!?? :-) Love you all. Especially you, Miss Jazzepha!

Thoughts on "Heaven is Here"

So I read Nie Nie's book this weekend.

When I heard it was coming out I was really reluctant to want to read it. Why? I have no idea. I really can't pin it on anything. Whatever it was, I'm glad I overcame it and borrowed the book.

I'm not sure I would say her book was life-changing for me, but it struck a chord with my soul and shifted my perspective on life.

Since I'm not very skilled at being concise, especially without a list, here's a list, that may not be concise, of things I particularly enjoyed:

-Her love and zeal for motherhood and wifehood.  What a great example of how to cherish your children and relish in even the mundane, everyday, tasks of being a wife and mother!

-Her fairy tale life before the accident. It made me reflect on my own life and had me wondering if I was living it as a fairy tale. I'm sure her life was not perfect, and full of challenges, but through her writing I could feel that she truly loved life and was living her fairy tale dream with her Prince Charming. I realized that I, too, am living my fairy tale dream with my Prince Charming, but that I need to recognize and appreciate it more every day.

-Her deep, resonating, love for her husband, children, family and the Gospel.
-Her exemplary example of service, compassion, love, and recognizing what true inner beauty is.

But most of all, my favorite thing about her book was:

-Her profound message of faith and hope, even during the darkest, most difficult times of life. Two of my favorite quotes from the book were:

"I had to be willing to fail and try again. And keep trying and failing until I got strong enough to succeed." 

(Nie)

"I testify that bad days will come to an end, that faith always triumphs, and that heavenly promises are always kept."

(Elder Holland)

Reading her book gave me a renewed sense of hope, faith, motivation, and inspiration to keep truckin' along during this difficult time in my own life.

This too shall pass.


The challenge, and blessing, is finding the beauty along the way.

source

New Happenings in our House...er, apartment!

I'm finally back.

Perhaps you may not feel that way, but I sure do! If I go a week without blogging I feel like it's been forever.

Would you like a sneak peek into my past week?
I'm a really good rhymer...

Friday-
I can't remember what happened this day. It was far too long ago. I'm quite sure I ate some chocolate.
Ooh! Wait! It's all coming back to me!
I spent the morning teaching my choreography to a group of youth in the Chesterfield ward who are performing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat next weekend.
I spent the afternoon birthday window-shopping with my dear husband.
I also tried on skinny jeans.
That's monumental.
And a story in and of itself.
I also spilled water on our laptop. Somehow.
It ended up frying the keyboard, which we had to replace, which meant no blogging for a week.

Saturday-
More birthday window shopping plus we finally bought a fun, new, addition for our home!
After 3.5 years of this...

(focus on the card table in the center)

We finally graduated to this!:

TA-DA!!!!!!

A real, grown-up table! (thank you tax refund)

Sunday (Easter)-
Actually went to church at the same time as Mr. Man. Oh, how I wish every Sunday could be like that!
We also enjoyed an Easter dinner with our wonderful family, and I made these killer, amazing, Cupcake Wars worthy, cupcakes.

Monday-
Vet appointment for sweet Kaiya. We got her at 2.8 lbs, she is now 6.8 lbs.
Loads of laundry.
Loads of grocery shopping (25 lbs of flour worth!)
Loads of cleaning.
Got my hair did. It looks killer good. I'll take a picture later.

Tuesday-
Babysat all day.
I made the horrific, gut-wrenching, frustration-invoking, mistake of loading two toddlers in the car and driving 15 minutes to our first of three destinations before realizing I had no wallet. 
On the way home from my last appointment of the day, Bubs and I were rear-ended in our Highlander. It has been a very interesting learning experience.
Thankfully, we did not sustain any major injuries, though my back and neck got pretty sore and tight, so I will be headed to a Chiropractor asap to be worked on. (Mr. Man is fabulous, but I prefer a pro to do the job for something like this!)
Went to YW.

Wednesday-
Helped sort garage sale items.
Doctor's appointment for Bubs. He did great! It's still pretty little, but growing. He surprised the doc by giving her loves and cuddles, then running back to mom, then back to doc, back to mom, several times.
She said he's a "high-velocity" kid, as far as activity level is concerned. She's pretty accurate.
Helped teach more choreography for Joseph.


Thursday-
Babysat all day again.
Went to the Magic House for the first time. It was pretty cool, but I think my baby is still too young to make purchasing a membership worth it. Maybe in 4 years from now? Oh wait, we won't be here anymore! :-)
Started the learning process of working with Insurance.
First night at home this week.

Today (friday)-
Discovered more about Insurance and car accidents. They've been super nice to me, which has been fabulous.
Went walking for the first time in over a week. Stress makes me too overwhelmed to want to do anything but sit around and eat chocolate.
Went to Costco and overfilled our sparse cabinet space with food. I'm not complaining. Anyone need some flour, sugar, cereal, or snacks? I also have some strawberries...
Now I'm home for the 2nd night this week, and I'm procrastinating cleaning the kitchen while listening to Bubs whine on and off while trying to fall asleep.

Was your week as crazy as mine? I hope it was. Please share. It'll make me feel better about my life.

Now I'm off to find more chocolate before hunkering down and cleaning up.

One of those "learning" days...

I had a really, sweet, humbling experience today.

However, the details are a little too personal to share much.

Just know that I will be the first person to tell you that I'm not always the most humble person. Sometimes I think I have it all figured out, I feel all put together, or feel like my life is relatively perfect (newsflash: it's really not. at all.) When I was a teenager, I used to think I was really hot stuff. I would strut my stuff and think all the boys wanted me because I was so cute.

I was pretty cute.
And just a little bit cocky.

Senior picture, 2006

Now that I've grown up a little bit, had a baby, and moved halfway across the country into unfamiliar territory, I have come to the realization that:

1. My life is so not perfect, but I have been blessed tremendously
2. I am not the cutest thing that ever walked the earth
3. There are plenty of other people who are just as smart, just as capable, and just as good as I am. If not tons better.
4. I still have an awful lot to learn about life, relationships, friendships, and being a mom.

So now I'm working toward change. Isn't this life about constantly growing, changing, and improving? Oftentimes along the way we need a little kick in the pants to humble us and remind us of what's really important. I got that today.

While you let those words simmer and stew, check out some pictures:

Conference cinnamon rolls about to be baked.
Sorry, I am not at liberty to share this recipe. Currently.
You should know that when these are made right, there is no better Cinnamon Roll on Earth.
My sister makes them right.
I need some practice.

This was in effort to capture the "delicious" concoction Bubs brewed in his cup.
There was water, strawberries, and bits of pasta.
He drank the water.
And ate the food.
It reminds me of someone else we all know very well....

This was in effort to capture the array of crusty faces he has recently discovered how to make. 

Another.
Notice he is acting like a big boy, too?

I promise I'm not bad at taking pictures.

Actually, I don't promise that.

He's just really wiggly.

And he really, really, loves sitting at the table.

One good, semi-clear, shot is all ya really need, right?

Can someone please come be my personal photographer for my life?

for free.
Thank you.

I have no other funny or wise words to say now. 

Except I saw this picture on facebook last night, and I about died laughing. 

What is "s-t-r-e-s-s-e-d" for you?

I have a confession to make.

Actually, it's not really a confession, mostly that's just a really cool, attention-grabbing word.

My non-confession confession: 
When I get really stressed out, I turn to desserts. Namely, chocolate.


D-e-s-s-e-r-t-s is s-t-r-e-s-s-e-d backwards, so it's okay, right?

My weekend started off marvelously. I learned a valuable lesson too.
For months, actually over a year, I have told my sweet Mr. Man that I absolutely cannot run outside because:
a. I don't want to run alone.
b. It's too cold or too hot.
c. There are too many hills in our 'hood and I don't like hills

On Saturday morning something changed. Maybe it was the fact that our 12 week old puppy barked her brains out at 6:00 am sharp until we got up. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't fall back asleep. Maybe it was the fact that I knew I was making cinnamon rolls the next day so I should at least have a walk. Whatever it was, I  got out of bed, put on my shoes and headed out the door.

No, it was not easy.
I promised myself I would run (and by run I mean walk/jog) for at least 30 minutes before coming home. I started out and it felt good.
Then it hurt.
Then I came to a hill.
Luckily at the same time as the hill popped up in front of me, LMFAO popped on in my headphones.
Somehow, I miraculously made it all the way up the hill. Jogging. Without stopping.
About halfway up, I saw the sun peaking through the trees: rays of hope urging me forward.
I was overwhelmed with emotion.
I almost cried.
Then I reached the top.
I had accomplished something. Something very difficult. Something I thought was impossible.
I finished my run jubilantly with an incredulous amount of self-satisfaction.
There are no adequate words to describe my feelings.
Other than the thought that popped in my mind: "If this is how I feel reaching the top of that hill, I wonder what it feels like to see the finish line of a half-marathon. I have to do it."


The lesson I learned: running outside, in the morning, as the sun is coming up, is ridiculously invigorating, and SO much better than a treadmill!

Then I made cinnamon rolls the next day. Buttery, sugary, drenched in icing, cinnamon rolls.
I also finished off those blasted cadbury eggs, a bag of robin eggs, ate some trail mix with m&m's, some peanut butter cookies, and opened a bag of crunch eggs.
I had a stressful day over the weekend. So I turned to chocolate.
My great demise.
My huge flaw. Aside from that I'm perfect, didn't you know? *winky wink*

And now that it's Monday, I'm in a sugar coma, and I feel slightly discouraged, plus still stressed, and I'm wondering: what is a better way to de-stress my stress without turning to chocolate?


Help me out: how do you de-stress your stress without turning to food?
Please share.
Otherwise I may need therapy and a personal trainer someday...

For now, I will just have to consider whether buying a kitchen table will help de-stress me or not.
Peace, love, and Go Jayhawks!!!!

Eat what you want and still lose weight!

Unintentional Preface

Yesterday morning I had a fantastic walk full of hills, a stroller, and a dog. I guzzled some water and headed for the grocery store. Every intention I had of being (and feeling) healthy flew out the window the instant I saw the Easter Candy display.

If you know anything about me, you know my favorite holiday candy is from Easter. The ratio of peanut butter to chocolate in a Reese's egg is far more perfect than a cup. The smooth, creamy, chocolate inside a Cadbury mini egg is divine. The richness of a Snickers egg is more satisfying than a bar. I could go on...

One might think after searching for 5 minutes and not finding the Cadbury mini eggs that I would take it as a sign to run fast from the display and get the heck out of dodge. Not I, my friends, not I. After spending my life savings on pure chocolatey goodness, I pretended nobody was watching while I gobbled a Cadbury creme egg, drove home, ate a healthy lunch, and resumed my day.

My world was rocked later that night after Mr. Man and I finished a movie: I held up the Cadbury mini eggs bag, and to my great alarm, it was very nearly almost more than half gone.

This was after I had already eaten a Cadbury creme egg in the morning.
And a Snickers egg in the afternoon.
And half a bowl of popcorn.
And all my calories for the day.
Oops.

Moral of the story is: I feel totally hypocritical about what I'm about to write. 
Please just know that I am a real person, a real mom, and a real woman who is completely, utterly, and blissfully, addicted to chocolate.

Real Intentions

Eat what you want and still lose weight!

Do I sound like an infomercial?

I have found this week that the magic "secret" in weight loss is the ratio of calories consumed to calories burned during any given day. As long as your calories burned is higher than your calories consumed, you are guaranteed to lose weight. It's so ridiculously simple.

This means that it is very possible to continue eating food that you enjoy while still losing weight.

Disclaimer: this does not mean that you can continue eating fast food or junk food for every meal and still lose weight. That is extremely unhealthy and can pose many serious health risks later in life.

So how do you do it? What's the trick?

First, Portion Control.

If you want to have french toast and bacon for breakfast, great! Just have one or two slices of toast with one or two slice of bacon, accompanied by a large serving of scrambled egg whites or fresh fruit.
If you want to have cheesy, gooey, lasagna for dinner, do it! Just make sure to take a small square, and accompany it with a large side of green salad (light dressing!) or fresh veggies.

Make your portions smaller.

Next, Couple a rich main dish with lots of fruits and veggies.

When you couple a small serving of a rich main dish with a large serving of fruit and/or vegetables, you still satisfy your want for good food while satisfying your need for lower calories and high nutrients. There are tons of vegetables that are super low in calories so you can have a large serving, that fills ya up, without sacrificing the calories for the day! Fruit is higher in natural sugar so it has more calories, but it is still far better to eat fresh fruit than candy or processed sweets.

The best part about eating fruits and veggies with meals is that they fill you up quickly and they are so good for you!

Want a peak of what my diet has been like this week?

For breakfast I keep it simple with a fried or scrambled egg, a piece of toast and a piece of fruit. Or oatmeal with blueberries. High in protein, high in fiber, high in energy, around 200 calories.

For lunch, I usually have leftovers with a fruit or veggie, or a salad. I started measuring my salad dressing and realized I don't need as much as I think! Also, I found a delicious light italian dressing that is far more satisfying to me than Ranch, and it clocks in around 45 calories for 2 Tablespoons.

For dinner, I made pastrami and havarti cheese cresents one night, mexican quinoa one night, bbq chicken salad one night, and pasta with salad another night. Heavy right? Only if you take too large of a portion.

Lastly, measure, measure, measure.

Measuring out my food has cut back on lots of extra calories, and has taught me that I don't actually need as much as I think I need. It has also taught me how much a serving size really is. Sometimes it's surprisingly small, sometimes it's surprisingly large. Measuring takes only about 2 extra seconds and it is a very useful and effective tool when calorie counting!

By the end of every day this week (except last night), I actually had extra calories I still needed to consume, around 200-300. This meant I could have a couple Joe Joe's cookies or another small, sweet treat.

Recap:
-Portion control
-Couple rich main dishes with fresh fruits and veggies
-Measure everything
-Still have a treat, but only one serving.

If you can stick to these tips, count your calories, and exercise at least 30 minutes per day (it really does make a difference!), you can easily start losing weight and feeling great, while still eating the food you enjoy!

*The opinions and information expressed above are completely my own, based upon my meager knowledge and studies, as well as my somewhat ample personal experience. I am not a certified nutritionist nor health guru.

Fitness and Who I am

The past couple weeks of my life have been dedicated to figuring out Who I Am.
It's so easy to get stuck in a rut, caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, and lose sight of who you are and what is most important.

When that happens, the best place to look is up.
Especially with the particular circumstances in my life right now, I have felt an incredibly strong desire and urgency to identify who I am, and to be ready, worthy, and able to be accompanied by the Spirit every moment of every day.
Once I put God first, things started to fall into place.

What the heck does this have to do with fitness?
Well, you see, I was on a really fantastic fitness kick back during the holidays. After Christmas break I kind of capsized and abandoned ship. I fell back into old habits.
For me, "stressed" literally became "desserts."
When the kids cried, whined, or barked, I turned to whatever form of chocolate or sugar I could find.
Please don't follow my example!

Now that I've refocused my attention with important priorities, and with the added incentive of my dear, sweet, little sister getting married in the very near future, I have come to the realization that something has to change. And fast.

About this same time a friend of mine invited me on morning walks with her and her kids.
Then I decided I wanted to run a half marathon (where did that come from!?)
Then she told me about her new lifestyle change diet.
Then I joined www.myfitnesspal.com. (which she recommended)

Today I am happy, healthy, and 10 pounds lighter!!

JUST KIDDING.
gotcha.

I am happy and healthy, but certainly not 10 pounds lighter.

The Website
In all seriousness, this website is actually quite amazing! You enter your stats like height, weight, activity level, and then enter your fitness goal. It pops out a formula of how many calories you should eat per day to lose x amount of pounds in a given time frame. As you go through the day, you add meals, snacks (huge database of pre-entered food you can search!), exercise, and water intake. It does some cool calculations of calories consumed, calories left for the day, and gives a: "If every day is like today, you would lose____ pounds in __ weeks!" at the end of the day.

The best part?

When you add exercise you've done, it gives you more calories you can eat for the day!

This is great for me because I like food.
When I say like, I really mean Love. Capital L, Love, love, love food.
Especially dessert. And not the light, healthy, fruity, low-on-sugar-and-fat-dessert. I like dessert that is rich, chocolately, and deliciously deadly (please don't tell me the ingredients or calorie information).

Because I like food so much I have to exercise. I have to be active. I can't sit around and be sedentary!
I have also recently come to the realization that with my family and genetic background I am at risk for some really nasty health issues later in life. Particularly diabetes. I Do. Not. Want. That.
Thus, it is really important to me to have a healthy lifestyle.

Please don't think I'm some crazy, healthy, nut. Or that I'm trying to act like one. I will be the first to tell you that I'm not. I have, however, discovered the beauty in baby steps.

Baby Steps
For awhile I was really overwhelmed about eating healthy, buying organic, not eating meat, etc. I felt the  need to change everything all at once. It didn't take long for me to realize that was not going to happen. In the meantime, I figured out that I could change or add one, new, healthy choice once a week or month.

For example, add green smoothies into our diet at least three times a week. More veggies, more fruit, more energy. Another example? Start replacing rice with Quinoa. Easy, simple, healthier and still tastes good. A third example? Cook eggs, steel cut oatmeal, or blend a smoothie for breakfasts instead of cereal. Super easy, super simple, relatively inexpensive and only takes a couple minutes longer.

With each baby step it brings us closer to being more healthy.

Why?
Other reasons this is so important to me? Well, Chiropractic is alternative medicine. It focuses solely on the body and the bio-mechanics of the body. Many Chiropractors prefer to let the body heal itself, use natural remedies, and not use prescriptions. It's a very natural way of living and healing.

Would you want to go to a Chiropractor who was unhealthy, smoking, popping pills, and eating Mcdonald's for lunch everyday? I wouldn't. We have to practice what we preach (though many doctors don't) and even though I'm not actually the doctor, I feed the doctor and greatly influence his nutritional health.

I could go on forever about health, fitness, and food. But this wraps it up for today.
If you're feeling stuck in a rut, check out myfitnesspal.com! It may be just the motivation you need to get up and going.

Best of luck and more to come!