Phase One

I decided that in order to achieve my fitness goals, I would need to break it up into phases;I need to make it easier to see results, and hold my self accountable.
So today marks the first day of phase one.
One this day, April 13th 2012, I am committing myself to a work out plan of 6 days a week. I already try for 5, and sometimes fail, so this will be pushing myself. I will not work out on Sunday, but every other day is fair game.
I have already started implementing this, but for every time I work out, I put 1$ into a jar. When I get to my goal, I am going to spend it!
Today is also the first day I will be cutting out refined sugar.
NO MORE!
I am tired of the way it makes me feel, and the five minutes of pleasure are not worth the gross feeling I get after.
I am cutting out all juice, pop, candy, sweet treats, EVERYTHING.
If it has refined sugar in it, I won't eat it.
This is going to teach me how to say no even when I really want it.
This will be one of the harder phases, but I will succeed. I will keep this phase up until I have lost 10lbs.
Phase one will go for this long, and I am hoping that cutting the sugar, along with my lower calorie count, and then working out everyday will help me reach my goals.
During this phase I will not worry too much about the other kinds of processed food, that is for another phase.
Baby steps, baby steps.
I will succeed and it will be a GLORIOUS feeling.

"You cannot climb to the top unless you start at the bottom."

H.

That is IT!

Last week I made a list. 

I made a list of 50+ reasons why I was going to lose weight and get healthy. 

It took a lot of thought and time to sit and think of that many reasons. I wanted to have that many so that on days when cake sounded good  I would have a reason that sounded even better. I knew that the easy "i want to look good in my clothes" wasn't going to cut it on days when the junk food started calling. I know that my goals are going to take a LOT of hard work, but I am going to do them. 

NO EXCUSES. 

I am tired of feeling sluggish, lazy, fat, and less than my best self.  I know that I am a great person and that my body does not define who I am, but I also know that I am not being my best self. 

I know that I could be better. 

The road ahead is going to be long, hot, sweaty, and sometimes not so fun, but I WILL get to my destination. I am not weak and I am going to start this journey to prove it to myself.

 I am a POWERFUL woman who can do HARD things.

 I have determination and 50 reasons to get me there. 

I love running, and I am starting to love weight training. Exercising isn't the hard part. Food is. BUT, it is summer time and there is no better time to buy fresh produce and good food. 

I am not going to eat any more junk food. Processed food is a no. 

I will succeed. 

The next 14 weeks are going to be filled with pain and sweat, but I will make it through. I have made it through hard things before, and this time my biggest enemy is myself. Telling myself 'no' is harder than telling other people 'no'. 

I will: 

drink more water

eat less crap

eat whole foods

run harder

lift more

take the stairs

sweat more

weigh less

That is it! I am going to do it and no one, not even myself, will be able to stop me.

Friday Night: Endless Possibilities

The week drags on, the days passing like a monotonous parade and then BAM! Its FRIDAY!!! (yes I know Rebecca Black probably just flashed through your mind...my apologies...)

ANYWAY...

I haven't quite decided what it is about Friday that sparks that level of enthusiasm. But the 24 hours that make up Friday, always seem to bring a smile to my face. 

First of all, Friday, though we still have work and class, holds the promise of a brighter tomorrow...Saturday. Of course, once it gets here its rather anti-climatic, but Friday never fails to hold that promise right in front of my face. 

Then there is the idea that I don't have work in the morning....the night could go on for as long as I want, and I can sleep it off the next day...maybe this is why Saturday isn't quite as exciting...I'm usually asleep.

never the less Fridays are THE BEST.

have a good one!

H.

This One's For The Girls

I bet this song popped into your head huh? Although the song is catchy, her clothes in the video are fun (my favorite is the pair of purple pants), and the message is important, that is not the point of this post.

The point of this post is to inform you of a little project I am about to begin. A project I want YOU to be a part of.

I was speaking to a certain young man this morning at work...*cough* Dave *cough*...and he made a pretty bold claim. He said that if there were more educated girls, when it comes to dating, there would be fewer jerks.  He claimed that it was all the girl's fault when it comes to jerkish guys. I quickly and quite forcefully disagreed. Nevertheless, he stuck to his claim. As the idea sat in my mind, and I went home after work to take a shower (where I get all my best ideas) that seed he planted bloomed, into a wonderfully fantastic idea.

Dave claims that girls are the ones that ruin things, but what about all the boys who never do anything with girls? Whether it be because they are scared, emotionally scarred,  under-knowledge-able, or just plain stupid, they too ruin things for a lot of girls. So, Dave decided that he wants to start educating girls about dating, from his perspective. MY idea, which of course is far superior, is to have a panel of women-from all ages- answer questions about dating, relationships, and what they expect from men; thus giving me the fodder to write blog posts about the results and educate the MEN about what women want.

Now, I don't like making sweeping comments or categorizing individuals into groups, but I feel as though there are some pretty basic ideas that would make the dating game a whole lot more simpler.

To get to the point of this post, it's to ask your help. I need girls who would be willing to be a part of the panel. This would involve answering questions through email, a few times a month. The answers will be completely anonymous and only for the educational benefit of the men in our lives :)

I want this to be a fun upbeat project, without man bashing. Although everyone can get frustrated with relationships, this is only supposed to be a fun and hopefully witty way to get information about what each gender expects from relationships and dating.

***Disclaimer for the men: This is in NO WAY comprehensive of every girl you will ever meet. We are not our gender, and we are individuals who are defined by personal likes and dislikes. SO if you have a question, ask  and we will do the best we can to answer it. But really, the best way to go about things is to ask the girl you are wondering about. She will know better than anyone what she wants.

If the thought of asking her a direct question makes you feel like hurling and your palms get so wet, they drip, use these blogs as a conversation starter to hear her opinions about things. Be Classy and tactful, but straight-forward.

Oh, and ladies, if you are interested in being a part of the panel go ahead and shoot me an email (which you can find on Facebook, or by leaving a comment here!) let me know what you are thinking and let's get this started.

Until next time,

H.

Back with a Bang

This new term has started out marvelously. I had my classes this past week and also started work again. Classes are great, I have wonderful teachers and excellent subject matter. I couldn't be more blessed with my schedule. Friends are great, as usual, and I am blessed there too.

My English classes are going to be a lot of work, but they will be rewarding and enjoyable. I have been working on my resolutions, and I already feel like a better person.

I am currently trying to get caught up on some cleaning as well as sending thank-you's to all my friends and family for their wonderful Christmas gifts.

Love my life.

This past weekend was wonderful. I was able to spend time with my roommates...though we are very sad to say that Becca had to leave us. She is back in Las Vegas.

Other than that tragedy though the weekend turned out great. I was able to get some homework done, spend time with friends, have a date on Saturday and then spend my Sunday resting and being thankful for everything I have been blessed with. We had a CES fireside tonight with Elder J. E. Jensen, about the Holy Ghost. It was SO good!

Until Next time,

H.

Resolutions

I noticed something about the word "Resolutions"...it is a combination of the word, or rather a prefix re-, meaning to do again, and "solutions" meaning to solve. This time of year gives us a chance to look at our lives and try to re-solve problems we have been working on. It truly is a wonderful thing. As I have began this year, as well as a new term at school, I have decided that I am going to work on some new solutions to different problems I face.

I am going to record them here and do monthly updates on on each one, to hold myself accountable.

1. Complete my new year's resolutions..all of them.

2. Get A's in my classes this term.

3. Save religiously for London.

4. Read a non-academic book every night before bed.

5. Write in my journal daily

6. Be more consistent in my scripture study

7. Practice guitar weekly

8. Set aside one day a moth to write for non-school purposes.

9. Make a new meals from my cookbooks for someone else at least once a month.

10. Go to the gym at least 5 days a week, when available, run by myself other times.
11. Be on time to work everyday.
12. Be in bed by 8:30 on school nights.
13. Make a new friend on a regular basis.
14. Treat myself.
15. Smile everyday and be classy.

So there you have it. Those are my New Year's resolutions. These are things I want to do this year and I will do them. I want to be a better person and what better way than to set goals to achieve.
'Till next time.
H.

Ready, Set, BREAK!

My winter break is coming to a close. it was fabulous. it was real. it was really fabulous!

I don't have words for how great it was to spend time with my family, be done with school for a while, sleep in, party with my friends, and have practically no responsibility. 

My mother made me food...good food, my siblings spent time with me, and my friends were so fun to be with!

Provo is great, don't get me wrong, but every once in a while there comes a time where a break from everything in your routine is necessary. 

After my visit with my family in the Seattle area, I traveled home to Battle Ground to spend an entire week with my loved ones. 

My first order of business was to have Christmas. Last Sunday my family got up went to church (which was WONDERFUL) and then came home to do the regular Christmas stuff...presents and such. 

I had a great Christmas! 

Next, after Christmas was time to spend some time with friends. I was able to continue a great tradition with two of my great friends here in Battle Ground. When we get together we go to Taco Bell and talk for what sometimes ends up being hours. Then we went to the three dollar theater and watched Footloose (which is way good BTW) and then ended the night with ice cream :)

The next day was a day that I had set aside to spend with my 15 year old sister. We went shopping :) She loves it and I needed to go, so it was a win-win. I got some new clothes for school, and she found a cute outfit for the dance she was going to go  to. 

Wednesday was a low day, I just hung out at home and read some of my book, and then went to a sleepover with some of my best friends! we sat and talked for hours, catching up on life and dreaming of the future, as we usually do.

Thursday was not too crazy, I came home from the sleepover and slept  until about 4 in the afternoon. I was then woken up and I got to go on a daddy-daughter date :) He took me to Sherlock Holmes...another FABULOUS movie by the way! 

By Friday, I was almost to my birthday, but had no big plans until the evening. I stayed at home, did my hair, and played games with my brother. Then one of my friends came and picked me up and we went to join the rest of our friends at Applebee's for my birthday dinner, which was so good and so fun! 

after dinner a few of us decided we wanted to go to the movies...again. So we decided on Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I had already seen it, but no one else had and it was good enough that I would pay 3 dollars to see it. Me and another one of my friends ran to the grocery store first to buy some snacks, and then met the rest of the group at the theater. We enjoyed the movie, and then headed home.

The next day was my birthday. The Facebook notifications started early early  and my family came in singing to wake me and get me up for breakfast. Biscuits and smoothies (yum)

after breakfast, I hung out at home for a while, got ready for the day and then went to the store with the parental units. We bought some snacks for later that night and I finally got some Christmas gifts for them..I know I suck haha

Later that evening my GREAT roommate, Julie, came over and we watched North & South, ate food, exchanged gifts, and talked about boys :) We've missed each other, but will soon be re-united!

After Julie left, I rang in the new year with my sister watching old Star Trek episodes and drinking slushies..it was great. 

the next day was Sunday. My mom had asked if I could sing in church, and was given permission. I sang in church and then enjoyed the rest of the meetings. 

Today is my last day in the Vancouver area and I have spent the day packing. Which is a battle in and of its self. My bag had to be under 50 pounds or it was another 30 dollars to check it. what a pain. But with the help of my parents and heavy carry-on bags, I was able to get my bag under the weight limit. 

Happy travels, I am off to the airport.