31-DERFUL Goals!

Day 21: somehow this is cheap!

2012-01-21T22:21:00.001-08:00

Day 20: Here's to Health

2012-01-20T19:50:00.001-08:00

I love my supplements!

Day 19: I Love Diet Cherry Coke!

2012-01-20T19:49:00.001-08:00

Amazing soda machine!

Day 18: Beautiful End To The Day!

2012-01-20T19:48:00.001-08:00

Day 17: Oops I Forgot!

2012-01-20T19:47:00.001-08:00

Day 16: Winter I'm Over You!

2012-01-16T20:56:00.001-08:00

I'm getting anxious for Spring!

Day 15: Craving

2012-01-16T20:55:00.001-08:00

Wanting a diet lemonade from Chick Fil'a

Day 14: Night Out with Roomates

2012-01-16T20:52:00.001-08:00

BYU Young Ambassadors concert.

Day 13: I'm Headed Home

2012-01-13T19:16:00.001-08:00

So happy to be flying home today!

Day 12: Missing My Bed

2012-01-12T20:33:00.001-08:00

I'm ready to go home and sleep in my own bed.

Day 11: Shopping Online

2012-01-11T19:11:00.001-08:00

What do you do when you are staying in a hotel room by yourself? Shop!

Day 10: Georgia on My Mind

2012-01-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

Training in Georgia this week.

Day 9:My Bags Are Packed...

2012-01-10T19:46:00.001-08:00

I hate packing...

Day 8: Tired Feet

2012-01-08T20:03:00.001-08:00

Cute shoes are worth tired feet!

Day 7: Temptation

2012-01-07T19:46:00.001-08:00

I really want to eat one of these....to eat or not eat....

Day 6: Breakfast of Champions

2012-01-06T21:23:00.001-08:00

Favorite protein shake:
Almond milk
Vanilla protein powder
Spinach
Blueberries
Banana

Day 5: Afternoon Craving

2012-01-05T19:36:00.001-08:00

When I'm limiting my sugar intake, Luna bars save me in the afternoon.

Day 4: A Night of NOTHING!!!

2012-01-04T18:24:00.001-08:00

I'm so happy to have a night with nothing planned!

Day 3: Working on my Fitness!

2012-01-03T06:11:00.001-08:00

Headed to the gym for a workout...wishing I could go back to bed....

Day 2: A Day Off

2012-01-02T14:11:00.001-08:00

Taking down Christmas, cleaning and organizing...

Day 1: Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T18:34:00.001-08:00

Celebrated New Year's Day with my family.

A Sunday Quote....

2011-01-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

I just came across the following quote today that goes along with my theme so I thought I would share.

"A helpful habit is to lift our vision daily in order to maintain an eternal perspective of the things we plan and do, especially if we detect a tendency to wait until a future tomorrow to do what we know we should pursue while we have our present today."

-Elder Per G. Malm

Be Where Your Feet Are!!!

Be Where Your Feet Are...2011!

2011-01-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! How in the world has another year come and gone??? I can't believe it is 2011! I think I freak out every year about how the previous year flew by. A new year usually means New Year's Resolutions and goals that will be forgotten by next week. This year I've decided that rather than have a bunch of goals that I will break I am going to have a theme. Doesn't a theme sound so much more fun than a resolution??

I recently came across a painting by Cassandra Barney called "Be Where Your Feet Are". I immediately fell in love with this painting. Here is what the artist wrote about the painting:

"I remind myself to be where my feet are often. My mind tends to drift toward the future, sometimes planning or worrying about what lies ahead, missing the present. Being present is where life is the most rich and colorful. I've even found myself consciously feeling the soles of my feet on the ground to get myself there. I really like the way the images on the vintage wallpaper enriched the idea. The hunters in the background could be a distraction but the figure stands with her feet on the ground, amongst the most beautiful flowers."

I am very guilty of always looking past the present to the future. I even did this during Christmas. Instead of enjoying the holidays I found myself planning and thinking about what I had coming up in January. I don't think looking toward the future is necessarily a bad thing but I think I often miss out on enjoying the present because I focus too much on the future.

I am really excited to focus on "being where my feet are" in 2011. This year my blog will be dedicated to documenting how I am enjoying the present.

So how am I enjoying the present on this very cold Sunday evening you ask? By sitting on my couch eating chocolate covered pretzels wrapped up in a blanket...it's going to be a great year!

A Very Rainy Triathlon...

2010-11-24T23:10:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was very excited to do the Women of Steel Triathlon last May. I really wanted to do well in this triathlon. It was my second year doing this triathlon so I set goals for each leg of the race. I really wanted to do well in the swim since it is my strength. To help me train, I joined a swim team in March. Practice started at 5:30AM which meant I had to get up at 4:50AM!!!!! It was SO hard to get up that early but the work outs were awesome! I loved being in the pool again being pushed to swim harder and faster than I would if I was training myself. I was looking forward to seeing how much I could improve my swim time from last years race. I also put a lot of focus on the run. The run portion of a triathlon is my WEAKNESS!! I did hill intervals, speed intervals and distance runs to prepare. I didn't worry too much about the bike portion of the race because I knew I would do well without much training. For the first time, I felt very prepared to do this triathlon.

The morning of the triathlon I woke up to POURING rain. I was so sad! I was really worried they would cancel the race. I was also worried about the cold. Being wet and on a bike is not fun. Right before the race they cancelled the swim and altered the race to be a run-bike-run...DOUBLE RUN!!! I was not very happy. Remember how the run is my weakness and least favorite part of the triathlon??? All that hard work on my swim for nothing. It also didn't help that it was freezing cold, very wet and rainy.

Even though I was disappointed, I actually had a good race. I improved my run time and my overall time was actually faster than the last year. The double run was hard but I did it! I proved to myself that I really can do hard things and that is why I do triathlons. I am going to try again next year to hit my swim goal. Women of Steel registration will open in a few weeks. Anyone want to join me next May?

Time to Play Catch Up...

2010-11-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of catching up to do so here I go! I need to catch up by the end of the year because I have some fun ideas for 2011 but I won't start them until I finish this project. Let the posting begin!!!

2010-07-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I was bored out of my mind (girls camp is over!). I got a text from my cute friend Jamie inviting me to go to the driving range with her. I realized that I had not completed my "learn to golf" goal and I needed out of the house so I quickly responded YES!

It was so fun to get out of the house on a nice summer night. Jamie gave me a quick lesson and then we shared a bucket of balls. I had many horrible shots including some that took off some chunks of grass but I think I had a few good shots too. I'm hoping some day to take a few lessons because I think I could be decent at golf.

Memorial Day 10K

2010-06-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

When I decided I wanted to put a 10K on my list, my goal was to train really well for it so it would be a very comfortable 6.2 miles. The training I wanted to do didn't really happen. We had a very rainy Spring and I learned I really hate the treadmill. I decided to do the 10k anyway since my birthday was quickly approaching. I signed up for the Orem City Memorial Day 10k. I really didn't want to do this race by myself but most of my friends were going to be out of town because of the holiday. The day before the race, my roommate Camille agreed to run the race with me. I was so excited!!! Having Camille to run with made doing this race so much easier. The days leading up to the 10k were very rainy and cold. I was a little bit worried about having to run in the cold. The morning turned out to be perfect!!!! There was a little chill in the air but that was all. No rain, no wind, it was wonderful!!

The first 2 miles were actually really hard for me. My legs were really tired from the triathlon I did the week before (I will blog about my tri soon!). It was a mental battle to convince myself to keep going. After 2 miles, I think my muscles warmed up so miles 2-5 were comfortable. I know it was a tender mercy because I was praying a lot during the first two miles. At mile 5 I started to feel tired but figured I couldn't walk with only 1 mile to go. By mile 5.5 though, I was ready to give up. My legs were officially dead at that point. Every step was HARD!!! I could see the finish line but it seemed so very far away. I kept setting mini goals in my head. Every part of my being wanted to stop and walk and give up. I knew that I would be very disappointed though if I stopped that close to the end. Can you imagine finishing just a few blocks away from the finish line?? Finishing was such an accomplishment for me. It gave me confidence to know that I can keep going when things are hard.

It took me a little over an hour to finish (1 hour 9 minutes I think?). Considering how little I trained for this event, I am happy with how I did. When I got home from the race, I bought myself a chocolate milk and took a hot bath. It was a great way to start my Memorial Day weekend!

Don't Give Up On Me...

2010-06-24T20:28:00.001-07:00

I have been extremely busy for the past few months. I have so many goals to blog about especially since I just celebrated my birthday. I was recently called to go to girls camp so that is taking over all my free time. Stay tuned for some updates!!!

Making My Bed...31 Days Later!!!

2010-05-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

I have the most amazing Mom ever! Growing up she made me breakfast every day, packed me a lunch for school every day, did my laundry and of course she made my bed. Don't start thinking that I had a pampered life. I definitely did my fair share of chores. My Mom loves a clean home. She is awesome!

The only time I was ever required to make my bed was on Christmas morning. We weren't allowed to open presents until all the beds were made. I definitely have developed the habit of making my bed on Christmas morning but the rest of the year is usually hit or miss with my bed getting made.

So somehow 31 days has come and gone. I did it. I made my bed every day. I LOVED it! I loved feeling like I accomplished something first thing each morning. I can now understand why my Mom needs to have all the beds in the house made everyday. It makes the house feel complete and organized even if there are other areas of the house that are messy. I love this new habit!

Day 1: Making my bed

2010-04-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I started my 31 days of making my bed....I've made it 4 days in a row....

Reasons to Love Baseball

2010-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I went with my parents, Kimmy and our family friends the Hemming's to Arizona to watch Spring Training baseball (and go to Sprinkles!). It was such a fun trip and it reminded me of why I love baseball. I have so many happy memories of going to A's baseball games. The Oakland Coliseum was my second home growing up.

Here's why I love baseball...

1.Warm Summer night games, sunny afternoon games, green grass, blue sky, stadium lights....

2. Polish dogs, garlic fries, 7th inning malts, peanuts...

3. Chatting with friends and hanging out with family

4. Dot racing, Cap Caper, Singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame....

5. The game of baseball...

Our trip was so much fun! I can't wait to go to more baseball games this summer.

I'm in LOVE....

2010-03-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in LOVE.....with....

I fell in love with Sprinkles Cupcakes two summers ago while on vacation at Newport Beach. My sister-in-law Ann introduced them to me. The funny thing is I don't really like cupcakes. They usually don't tempt me at all. I would much rather eat ice cream or chocolate chip cookies or peanut M&M's or.... Maybe it was the fact that I was on vacation..at the beach..with my family...whatever it was, it made me obsessed with Sprinkles cupcakes. I LOVE SPRINKLES CUPCAKES!!!!!

Last week I went on a little vacation to Scottsdale, Arizona. Coincidentally, there was a Sprinkles Cupcake store just down the road from our hotel. I'll admit that the cupcakes were part of my motivation for making the trip. The cupcakes were just as wonderful as I remembered them being. The frosting is what I love the most. My overall favorite is the black & white cupcake. Just imagine a Belgian dark chocolate cake with creamy vanilla frosting...YUM! The chocolate marshmallow became a new favorite on this visit. It's possible I had it for breakfast one day...maybe. I miss Sprinkles already. Anybody want to road trip to Newport Beach, Palo Alto or Scottsdale?

Chinese Chefs (Learn to Cook Something New)

2010-03-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school, I really wanted to take the foods class as one of my electives. All the popular kids took foods so of course it was the class I wanted to be in. My Mom wouldn't let me take the class because she felt I already knew how to cook and I needed to learn to sew. Those of you who know me well, know that arts and crafts is not my thing. Anything crafty I try to make rarely turns out. I could write an entire post about the amazing clothing I made that semester including a drop waist floral print dress that was at least 4 sizes too big but this post is dedicated to cooking not sewing.

So not only did I not master sewing but I also didn't learn how to cook. I consider myself an average cook. Basically I can follow a recipe fairly well but if a recipe has ingredients that are not "normal" I usually avoid it. I have a few "go to" recipes that I make anytime I want to eat a real meal but I wouldn't call myself an expert. Overall, if I have people to help me eat the food, I enjoy cooking.

Recently I attended a cooking class at Sur La Table in Salt Lake with my friends Michelle and Clayton. The theme of the night was Asian food. Here is what we learned to make:

Gyoza (Japanese Steamed Dumplings)

Tom Kah Gai (Thai Lemongrass and Coconut Soup with Chicken)

Murgh Masala (North Indian Chicken Curry)

Sweet and Sour Pork

Pho (Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Soup)

Vietnamese Crepes

Fresh Spring Rolls

Peanut Sauce

It makes my mouth water just thinking about all the delicious food we made. There was definitely a lot of weird ingredients in these recipes but it was really fun to experiment with them. I think my favorite new ingredient was Lemongrass. It smells and tastes so good! The main thing I took away from the cooking class was the motivation and the confidence to experiment with new recipes and new ingredients. I'm excited to experiment with some more recipes soon. Who's hungry?

A Clean Closet....aahh!

2010-01-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about my condo is my closet. It's huge! It's an L-shaped walk-in closet. I love it! I promise I organized it when I first moved in, but time went by and life got crazy. My closet got a little unorganized and messy...honestly...it was beyond messy! Here are some pictures of what my closet looked like...please don't judge me...

The week after Christmas I spent a few hours after work each night working on my closet. After 4 D.I bags, at least 5 bags of garbage and multiple items being posted on Craigslist, here is what my closet looks like now....

My favorite part is how I organized my jewelry. My friend Jamie gave me the idea to hang my necklaces and bracelets on my wall. Check it out:

It feels so good to have my closet organized again. I know where everything is and when I put something away I know exactly where it goes. It is amazing to be able to see the floor and walk around in my closet without stepping all over things. I love my new closet!

Why I TRI....

2010-01-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I signed up for my favorite triathlon called the Women of Steel. I am very excited to start training for this event. I technically have already done a triathlon to complete my triathlon goal but I didn't want to blog about it until after I did the Women of Steel. This post doesn't really complete my triathlon goal. Check back in May for details on my TRI's.

I recently saw a video clip about Matt Hoover and his experience doing an Iron-man triathlon in Hawaii. He put into words exactly why I do TRI's. Here's what he said:

"It changed me. It made me realize it's not about how much you weigh and it's not what you've done in your past. It's about what you are doing. Our bodies, they are amazing. I shouldn't have been able to do what I did that day but my body kept going. There is something about pushing yourself beyond your limits that people need to do once in their life. They need to take the chance one time to see what they can really do and once you do it you are never the same."

Training and doing triathlons is not easy for me. I don't love running. Getting up early in the morning to go to the gym is a battle every day. getting into a bathing suit in the middle of winter is very unappealing. But I love the challenge of pushing myself. I love having a hard goal to motivate me to work harder. So why do I TRI...I love proving to myself that I can do hard things.

Here is the full clip about Matt. I promise he'll leave you feeling inspired...

I'm Dreaming of a....(fill in the blank)

2009-11-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

If you guessed white Christmas you are totally WRONG! Summer has quickly come and gone. We've already had a few small snow storms. The temperature is getting more cold every day (look at the lows on our forecast...so cold!!!).

As I lay on my couch wrapped up in a blanket, I am definitely dreaming of laying by the pool on a HOT summer afternoon. This past summer I spent many Saturday afternoons by the pool eating a popsicle and reading a book. It was wonderful! I miss it. You are probably thinking laying by the pool is a random goal. I'll admit that it is kind of random, but I put it on my list because the last few summers were super busy and I didn't take time to play at the pool. Summer isn't really summer for me unless I spend some time at the pool.

During the summer when I was younger, I would wake up and go to swim practice. After practice I would go home and do my chores as fast as I could so I could go swimming in our backyard. My brothers and sisters and I would spend all day in the pool. We would take a few breaks when we heard the ice cream man coming or when my Mom made us get out of the pool to eat lunch. My hair would turn a different shade of green every day from all the chlorine. Summer was wonderful.

Laying by the pool is such a little thing to do but it made my summer complete this year. There is something so therapeutic about relaxing by the pool. I have a long cold winter ahead of me, so I'll keep dreaming of laying by the pool on a hot summer day.

Much Needed Massage!

2009-11-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

After riding 111 miles my neck was killing me and my legs were very sore. I desperately needed a massage. So I called Alisa. She has the most amazing hands. It felt so wonderful! I will be calling Alisa again soon....

Flowers Have Been Sent...

2009-11-05T20:03:00.001-08:00

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."-Luther Burbank

Giving flowers has been one of my favorite goals so far. I have given out flowers a few times because I have enjoyed it so much. I think it makes me more happy than the people I have given them to. I was once told that if I was having a bad day, I needed to stop what I was doing, and do something nice for someone else. This is definitely a remedy for feeling bad about yourself or having a bad day. I double dog dare you to try it next time you are having a hard day...

A Windy 111 Miles

2009-10-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

I did it! I rode my bike 111 miles!!! It was as hard and as crazy as it sounds. It took me over 8 hours to complete the entire ride which started and ended at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. I officially hate the wind. In fact, I REALLY REALLY hate it. We had the presence of a head wind for over 95% of the ride. Every time we turned a corner I hoped that the wind would go away but it did not. It just kept on blowing and blowing.

Even though this experience was hard it was well worth it. I learned so much about myself. I learned I couldn't have done it on my own. Luckily I had a great group of friends enduring the wind with me. I knew I couldn't give up because they wouldn't let me. I am so grateful for my biking friends. They are my heroes. They are the reason I love biking.

I also learned that when I didn't think I could pedal anymore because my toes were numb and my legs were tired that I had to keep trying and keep going. I learned that when you spend a day on your bike grapes taste really good and peanut butter taste really gross.

Finally, I was reminded that I can do hard things.

Sweet Summer Time!

2009-09-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

2 for 1...Stewart Falls and a Date!

2009-09-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

Meet Joe...
Joe called me after work on a random Thursday and invited me hiking and to have a bon fire. We headed up Provo Canyon with a few other friends. I was very excited when I found out where we would be hiking....

I LOVE HIKING STEWART FALLS!!! It is the perfect hike. The terrain isn't too hard but it is more than a walk in the park. The scenery is breath taking! It's only 2 miles so it isn't painfully long. The best part is the beautiful waterfall at the end. It's been a few years since I've taken the time to do this hike which is why it made my list for this year.

We got a little bit of a late start on the hike so we had to hurry because we had limited daylight. It's hard to describe the beautiful scenary. I'm really sad because none of my pictures turned out except for the Stewart Falls sign. When we got to the waterfall we could only stay for a few minutes because it was getting really dark. A waterfall at sundown is very beautiful. We finished our hike out in the dark. It made for some extra fun adventure. I think the boys planned it this way so we had to hold on to them on the hike out....convenient!

After our hike at sundown we headed back to the house we met at to have a bonfire in the fire pit in the backyard. Bon fire treats are the best. I love a good gooey s'more. Summer is not summer without lots of s'mores.

A combination of hiking Stewart Falls and a date with Joe made for a great night.

Fireworks on the 4th of July!

2009-07-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked me why I put watching fireworks on my list. Somehow last summer I went the whole summer without watching fireworks at all....shocking right? I LOVE FIREWORKS!!! Summer isn't summer without watching fireworks. I was so sad at the end of last summer so I wanted to make sure that I watched fireworks this summer. I got to see some amazing fireworks this year. I went to the Stadium of Fire on the 4th of July. Carrie and Vicki had two extra tickets from their work so I invited my friend Mark. It was such a perfect night....great weather, fun people, patriotic music, the Jonas Brothers...well, I didn't care much for the Jonas Brothers actually but it was fun to watch and listen to all the young girls freak out. There is something so magical about fireworks and a warm summer night. I left feeling so grateful to live in this wonderful country. I'm hoping to see fireworks one more time before the summer ends....fingers crossed!

Here's What Else I've Been Doing...

2009-07-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

June Book Club!

2009-07-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

My first book for this year was The Alchemist. The Alchemist is a story about a shepherd who sells his sheep to go in search of his personal legend. This is a story that will motivate you to be better and try harder to accomplish your goals.

Quotes I Loved:

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

"When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision."

"People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want. We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." "...when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too."

"No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it."

Next Book: The PeaceGiver

Lovely Lashes

2009-06-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

One random fact you may not know about me, I hate not wearing mascara. I really, really, really hate it. I can go all day without wearing any other make up as long as I have mascara on. About a month ago I was getting a pedicure with some friends and found out it is possible to get your eye lashes tinted. I was so excited to try it. Monday was my big day at the spa. Here in Provo we have a spa school called Acaydia. You are treated as if you are at a real spa but all of the services are super cheap because they are done by students. I figured for $7 it was worth a try. It took me less than 1/2 hour. I love it! It is so nice to not have to worry about wearing mascara to the pool or when I'm working out. If you have light eyelashes and hate not wearing mascara, you need to try getting your lashes tinted. Here's to lovely lashes....!

Happy Birthday!

2009-06-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today I turned 31 years old. Many people have asked me how I feel about turning 31. So, in case you are wondering, I FEEL GREAT!!!! Seriously! I am so excited about this year! I am determined to make this the best year of my life so far. With some inspiration from my good friend Marianne (she ran 31 miles to celebrate her birthday. she is amazing!), I have decided to set 31 goals for the year. As I accomplish each of the goals, I am going blog about them. Below is my list of 31. It is not in any special order. Some of them are just fun things I like to do but never take the time to do them. Some of them are going to be very challenging. Some of them are just for fun because I deserve to have some fun this year. Here is my list:

Do a triathlon
Run a 5K
Run a 10K
Play Tennis
Hike Stewart Falls
Do a Century Bike Ride (100 Miles)
Go to an Oakland A’s game
Go to the beach
Make my bed for 31 days in a row
Play Whiffle ball
Learn to cook something (I haven't decided what yet. Any ideas?)
Eat a Sprinkles cupcake
Organize my closet
Get an Eye Lash Tint
Lay by a pool
Watch Fireworks
Go on a date (Yep, just hoping for at least one this year)
Learn a new song on the piano
Learn to use my expensive out of date camera
Buy flowers for someone
Do a session at the SLC temple
Keep a gratitude journal for 31 days
Send thank you cards to 31 people
Get a Massage
Read 1 book a month
Be on-time every where I go for 1 week
Learn to golf
Create and stick to a budget for a month
Do 31 random acts of kindness
Have a dinner party
Send birthday cards to all family members

I would love help accomplishing these goals so let me know if you want to join me on any of them.

Here's to a 31-derful year!

PS...Happy Flag Day!