Just... Hangin Around

I haven't posted in a while because I have nothing to post! How sad is that?? I haven't taken any pictures, done any travelling, met any boys, or had any exciting experiences - unless you count me getting high-centered on a snowbank, caused by yesterday's monstrous storm, before I even made it out of my neighborhood. I am BORING. I don't need stress, like trying to find a place to live (like I am right now); I don't need anxiety (like I have, trying to figure out how I'm going to afford to live on my own). I need EXCITEMENT. I need a fun guy to ask me out, or $50,000 to magically appear in my checking account for me to use, or a trip to the beach in California, or even a road trip to St. George to eat at Poncho & Lefty's! I guess I better watch what I wish for, though; before I know it, tons of exciting things will come along, and I will be drowning in excitement! Then I'll come back to this post and wonder why I wasn't enjoying the boredom that is my life.
In the meantime, I'll be spending time on my sister Kate's new blog:

http://www.gardenstatement.vox.com/

Check it out. I am blown away by the talent! If I had a halfway decent camera, and even a pinch of the talent Kate has, I could take good pictures too! So browse the site - it's awesome!

I AM...

It's been a while... hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season!

The highlights so far have been the return of my sister and brother from their missions - Kate came home from the New Jersey Morristown mission on December11, and Shawn came home from the Baltic States (Estonia) mission on December 19. We had a fun Christmas season - a full house, almost! Mar and Jesse spent Christmas in California. We missed them! But it's been fun to have Kate and Shawn home. Never a dull moment! (Translation: I no longer have my own bathroom, office, or exercise room. But Kate is the BEST to chat with, and Shawn is a giant, hyper ray of sunshine.)

Since the new year has started, and resolutions are being made all over the world, I have one resolution: NO resolutions. To me, resolutions are made to be broken; they fade out after about March (sometimes earlier, rarely later). They usually start with "I will..." and to me, that leaves too much room for failure. You're giving yourself ALL year to start and finish them. From what I've learned this past year, if you put things in the future, that's usually where they stay; for example, "I will be smarter with money this year." That gives me all year to succeed... but it also gives me all year to fail. Something comes up in March that I really want, so I say, "I have all year to be financially smart, so I'm just going to buy this one thing." I end up thinking that all year until the year is gone, and I'm even poorer than I was when I made the resolution.
THIS year, it's out with the "I will" and in with the "I AM." So this year, here's what I am:

• I am healthier and have a stronger body because I exercise 3-5 times a week and have given up ALL soda for at least 6 months, and I make smart choices when I eat, cutting out bad sugars and fats whenever I can. When June rolls around, I'm at a healthier weight for my frame, and am in good race-running condition.
• I am smarter with my money because I consciously make decisions about what I spend my money on, and do not spend more than necessary on that which is of no value. That means eating out less and fewer trips to Old Navy. I am closer to being out of debt and saving money to purchase a home.
• I am more positive to those around me, and strive to avoid making negative observations, I am uplifting to those around me. I have more patience and less of a 'martyr' attitude. I listen more and talk less.

Of course, there's more for me to work on, but those are just examples of what I AM this year. I've already gone a week without any soda, and have cut back drastically on sugar. I still eat it every now and then, but not as much as I did before. Payday is this week, and I still have a teensy bit of money in my account - I haven't spent it all, like I did in the past.

I know we're only 8 days in to the year, but that's 8 days this year that I haven't wasted, trying my hardest to reach my potential. So, that being said...

What ARE you, this year?

A Shout Out

Today, I had a meltdown. Not just a minor "I'm really busy" moment, but a major 'run-to-the-bathroom-and-bawl' meltdown. A 'don't-look-me-in-the-eyes-or-I'll-cry-again' meltdown. The words "I'm giving my notice" were actually on the tip of my tongue when I was talking to my supervisor today. I still feel like walking down to the office manager's office and throwing my water in her face and screaming at her. I've been in tears off and on since about 2:00 this afternoon; I've managed to make three people feel guilty, and a fourth feel bad for me. The fifth person, who gave me some much-needed advice, is who I need to give a shout out to.
Emily "The Mug" (http://emilythemug.blogspot.com/) came to my rescue. After taking a quick look at my red eyes and hearing my quavering voice, she said, "Get your coat on, we're going to Starbucks."
So she listened and I talked... and talked... and whined... and complained. And she just listened and offered some excellent advice. She gave me a hug and just let me cry. She pointed out that stuff at work seems like a big deal because I have so much other crap going on in my life right now. DUH, how come I didn't see it that way? She's right! I feel like I've lost control over my social life, my health, my home life, and my spiritual life. So naturally I lost control over my work life. She helped me understand that I don't need to do everything, and do it alone - it's okay to ask for help and involve other people. She also bought me a vanilla bean frappuccino, which makes EVERYTHING better. (No lie - if you've never had one, go get one. No coffee in it, just pure sugary goodness.)
Anyway, thank you Mug, for being there when I needed you. You are the GREATEST. :)

Welcome December!

I woke up this morning to an appropriate December 1st:

I wanted to crawl back in bed, but I had a gut feeling that I'd be the one shoveling the walks. Score - since I was obviously not going to go running in this crud, I'd shovel the walks and let THAT be my exercise for the day. But no sooner had I shoveled two rows of snow, than a neighbor came over with his snow blower, and two of the neighbor kids brought their shovels over... needless to say, I was done in 10 minutes. Well, I have awesome neighbors, but I didn't get much exercise! So, that left me with two alternatives: I could go back up to my room and do Pilates, or...

Yeah, these guys won. They wanted to go out and play in the snow so bad, that I didn't have the heart to keep them in. The backyard isn't that big, and they can only run up and down the yard so many times before it gets boring, so I put their leashes on them, and off we went! Just a mile or so was all we walked because it was snowing pretty hard. But man, I got some exercise! It's tough to walk in the snow! Most people hadn't been out to plow or shovel, so we didn't have a lot of clear spots to walk. Indy and Bo didn't care - they jumped in the big piles of snow anyway. So we trudged through a lot of snow. It's like walking in sand! I was as winded after one mile of walking in the snow as I was after having jogged at the gym last night! It's pretty, though... I like it when I can just LOOK at it, not have to haul it around or drive in it, hehe.

August Rush

So Mar was nice enough to humor me last night, and go see a movie with my new favorite celebrity-crush, Jonathan Rhys Meyers. It's called August Rush - it's rated PG, totally clean. No swearing (that I can remember) and even in the "love scene" they're wearing clothes. But it was honestly one of the best "feel-good" movies I've ever seen. It's about a musical prodigy who's searching for his parents, and his parents aren't even aware he exists - his mother thought she lost her baby in an accident, and she hadn't even told the father, because they were only together one night. It's cheesy and sappy, of course, but it really tugs at your heart strings - I cried at the end.

Keri Russell does a great job as Lyla, who(as Mar put it) wanders around looking tragic. Very well-put, Mar, I totally agree!

And of course, Jonathan Rhys Meyers does a fantastic job as Lewis the rock star - I can't get enough of the Irish accent.

Freddie Highmore does an excellent job as August Rush, a tender-hearted musical prodigy who's searching for his parents.

The cutest part of the movie - August and Lewis in the park, jamming on their guitars together, not knowing who each other are. THIS is the scene to see the movie for, if not for the music, which is AWESOME.

This would be a great family film, or even a girl's night out flick to go see, and cry over. I loved it.

Really, this crush I have on JRM is so unhealthy. Time for me to meet a REAL guy! :)