Moving Forward.

We are all searching for happiness. We think we can find it if we lose weight, if we get a better job, when the house is paid off, you get the idea. I realize that too much of my happiness has been based off of "things" this past year. Things that I haven't done, things I regret doing, etc. Truth is, we first have to love and accept who we are. If we don't like who we are, we need to take a hard look at ourselves and find some things that we can do differently and also look at the things that we may not be able to change and learn to love them.
This has been such a hard process for me because when I look at all the things I am not doing, I get discouraged and start feeling inadequate and depressed. But without looking for things to do differently, I will continue living like I always have. I think happiness really comes when we make an effort and we accept it as an effort that is good enough for now. Improvement comes with time.

Last year I didn't make any real resolutions. I tried to say my resolution was just to be better, which is very very vague. I think I was just lazy and also thought to myself that I usually forget what my resolutions are a month into the new year anyway, so why do it? I think I also felt discouraged about the economy and the future, and I think i just really had a hard time.

Well, not that I hated 2012 or anything... but it just wasn't the greatest year ever. So, this time I WILL do some resolutions and this time I WILL have the greatest year ever.
I want my life to be happy and its not going to happen if I sit on the couch watching netflix. Maybe I let myself give up a little last year, but I haven't really given up, and I refuse to. So, I'm back.There are so many things I want to do!!

Therefore, here are some things I am looking forward to doing in 2013!
1. Use my gym pass. I bought it and I have only gone a handful of times.. not anymore!! Working out feels so good, and is such a great way to take a load off my shoulders.
2. Go on a hike/bike ride/something outside away from home once a month!
3. Go visit Brooke and the family in Washington for spring break!
4. Spend more time with family playing games, making crafts, whatever.
5. Have more quality time with my husband, doing things he loves. Watching movies, playing video games and regular games, etc
6. Go to the temple once a month. I need this sacred time more than ever!
7. Become more involved in our ward. I love it so much already and I barely know anyone!
8. Cook healthier meals. I love food, too much. But I need to learn to cook healthier in order to lose weight like I want.
9. Lose 65 lbs. Yes. This year. Must.
10. Volunteer somewhere. I will need to research what is out there, but I feel like I need to reach out to others somehow.
11. Journal. I will write in my journal about my progress as a constant reminder of my goals.
12. Picture a day. My friend Laura started this and I think it is a brilliant idea. Take a picture a day! It will be a great motivator for me to do more and also a great way to paint a picture of the year.
13. Paint/draw/anything artsy! My visually creative mind has not had an outlet for a couple of years, and its time to get it back out again! Possibly even sell some of the things I make? That would be cool!
14. Start trying to have kids. (This will be more toward the end of the year since my goal is to have healthier habits before I decide to take care of a mini me!) I will also need to talk to cody about this one.
15. More sex. Yeah, I am putting it out there! Plus it will increase the odds of the above happening. Plus cody will like it. :) hehe
16. Grow a garden! I am not sure where yet, but I LOVE homegrown veggies and fruit. Plus it will save us some money.
17. Spend less money on random things, especially eating out. I am not sure how to do this yet, because I like shopping. so much. but, its not good for our bank account. And on top of this, do more to get out of debt.
18. Make some things from piterest. I have so many pins, and haven't done any of them.

Some of these are pretty general, and I will need to break it down a little, especially losing 65 lbs.. haha. I love doing things like this, even if I don't fully reach every single one because it makes me feel good about the future and what I can accomplish if I just set my mind to it.

More to come. :)

Choose your hard

So, I don't always exercise, but when I do something good usually comes of it. Well to be honest, as of late I hardly EVER exercise... haha. I'm trying to change that though. I decided to go for a walk today, and it was so beautiful outside! It probably turned into more of a photo shoot than a workout, but hey! I love the fall sooooo much, I wish the weather and the colors could just stay forever. I just took it from an ipod touch, so the quality isn't the greatest.. I think I need a nicer camera. Anywho, here are some pics!

I really do love the outdoors! I don't spend nearly enough time out there, and I don't even know why. It is definitely something I want to change.
Today I was looking for some motivational quotes to get me going again, and I found one that hit home for me. "Eating healthy is hard, exercising is hard, and staying healthy is hard. But being unhealthy and overweight is also hard. Choose your hard." Uhm, wow! I hadn't ever really thought of it that way before. I often complain about trying to lose weight and get healthy, and how I hate how long it takes, how sucky it is to limit sugar, etc. But I also complain about how crappy I feel in my skin right now. Either way I go, its going to be hard! So I may as well choose the healthier road, so that at least my body is being taken care of!

I think getting healthy and fit is more than making a plan, or scheduling out your month's workouts and limiting yourself to kale and lemon water. (although it is important to eat right and exercise, and it does help to have a plan!) I think it is just making better choices each day and doing simple things like going for walks or playing ball with your kids in the park. It's getting enough sleep, going for bike rides, finding healthier substitutes in your meals.

We can't expect ourselves to withdraw completely from life, and the good things that come with it and become obsessive about what you eat and how many hours you spend at the gym everyday. (Maybe for some of you it works, I guess, but definitely not for me!) It is a mental thing too! You have to find joy in what you are doing or the motivation is not going to last. So, it is a hard road. There are frustrations, let downs, splurge days, and laziness that get in the way of success and make things hard. But if we can't find joy in the journey, we need to change our efforts and attitude. And by we, I mostly mean I! 

Color Me Rad

I am sooo excited! I just signed up for my second race that I have ever done in my life. The first one was a 4.01k race for my bank several years ago. It was fun, but THIS one will be even better! 
Have you seen the pictures where all these people have explosions of colored powder all over themselves and wondered what sort of event this is? Well, this is one of them! It is a race where you get to throw colored corn starch all over each other! So fun! I will be doing it with my sister and her husband as well as my aunt Julie and whoever else decided to sign up for it. 

It is only a 5k, so I don't think it will kill me or anything! ;) 

November 10, 2012

10 am @ the old St George Airport.