Why Do I Diet? and Other Hard Questions

Recently, I've been trying to eat better & exercise more.. all to drop a few pounds. I drink lots and lots of water everyday, eat lots of salads, not a TON of carbs or sugar.I'm spending all my free time with fruits and veggies and let me tell you, the chocolate is getting pretty jealous.  I've even been running a few times lately, and heaven knows I sweat off a pound a day in this 104 degree weather, so what's the deal!? I lose like a pound every 6 weeks.

I tell myself, maybe if I did this, or this, or even this it would work. False. Don't dare to dream, those dreams will just be shattered and crushed by the powers that be.

All kidding aside though, I feel like there are things to be learned from the dieting and healthy eating experience.  Let's make a list, shall we?

1. You can't just eat healthy, you have to live a healthy, active lifestyle. Ah ha moment anyone? No? Just me? Alright.

2. Even though dreams may be crushed, goals don't have to be. SET REALISTIC GOALS! Instead of saying.. I want to lose 50 lbs by Christmas, say I want to lose 8 lbs this month.

3. To reach goals you have to be dedicated. As "they" say, it takes 30 days to make a habit and only 1 to break it. So, use sticky notes, a chalkboard, an actual paper calendar (Yes, they still exist!), or maybe try a paper chain to build and keep your healthy habits.

4. Have a good attitude! When you are happy it is easier to get things done. Try it, I dare you!

5. Eating healthy makes you feel great! Maybe this one applies to me more than anyone, but healthy eating has literally helped to heal my body. I won't go into the whole Lupus thing cause you've heard it a million times, but there is healing in eating natural foods put on the earth literally by God.

So, now that I've taken a flying leap off of my soapbox, let's get down to business.

I'm running the Color Me Rad 5k in September, it will be my second "race" ever, and also my second one this year, both "fun runs", yipee! Also, on semi-related side note, I may or may not have gotten new shoes that I love!  Okay, so I went a little crazy during shoe sales actually. I'm sorry. Three pay checks in a month is a happy thing. I should be paying my car off, I know, I know!

You guys have to remember that heels are a big step for me, no pun intended! I have so much more to tell my readership of 2, but I guess it will have to wait for now, because I'm too busy playing that stupid Candy Crush game to finish this post.. but really. Ok, so not entirely true, I'm also drifting to sleep. Signing off...

Heidi

10 Things I've Learned from Living with Girls

I feel like I should explain myself a little bit in this post, but I don't entirely know what to say, that would offer a significant meaning or worth to you. Instead I'll just jump right in. As a side note, this post is meant to be serious, but if you know me, you can be sure it will turn into something a little more on the humorous side. 

Without further ado:

1. People say things they don't mean. Get over it! We are all human.

2. Hairballs are inevitable. They will appear in the shower, vacuum, broom, laundry, and sometimes food. Yes, it is gross, but, there is just as good of a chance that it is yours, as there is that it is mine.

3. Everybody, and I do mean everyone, WILL, at one point or another smell-up the bathroom.  Have some mercy! (Crack a window,  spray some air freshener or light a candle)

4.  Nobody has perfect morning hair or good smelling breath. Sorry guys, it's true!

5. Regardless of how good you are at singing in the shower, NO one wants to hear it at 4 a.m.

6. Guys, you're not the only ones who have to answer the dreaded, "Does this make me look fat?"question, nor are you the only ones that will be wrong regardless of what you say. 

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7. Learn the girl's "monthly" schedules. It will make life much easier for everyone. Trust me!

8. Diets mean nothing when someone in the house makes cookies.

9. Everyone cries either during the Titanic, P.S. I Love You, or every single Nicholas Sparks book/movie.

  

10. If one of you gets a boyfriend, everyone else is suddenly more attractive! What is this about? 

Okay, so not that funny, but valid.

 

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

This is a shout out to all of my Mormon (LDS) friends who have sat through an odd testimony meeting and felt super uncomfortable, or just plain unable to keep up with what was going on because of the odd stories, references and just strange overall experiences.  That happened to me today.

I'm not trying to bash on someone who has the gumption to get up and share what he or she believes in a meeting with 100 other young adults, but I do feel kind of frustrated when that person takes up 20 minutes telling a story that leads in circles only to finally come to the exact same conclusion as the girl before. 

All of this being said, I was a little worried that the awkwardness felt during Sacrament meeting would cause me to not be able to focus during the rest of church, but the opposite was true. We had an amazing lesson during Sunday School on the House,Scattering, and Gathering of Israel followed by Relief Society on Our Savior.

We were each given a copy of the Living Christ, published by the 12 apostles in the latter days and the first presidency and prophet of our church. If you'd like to know more about a living prophet and the true beliefs of the Mormon church, learn more at Mormon.org or click on the following link to read a copy of The Living Christ. Anyways, we were asked to read through and circle all of the names of Christ mentioned in this one page testimony of Jesus Christ, here is what I found, in no particular order:

• Jesus Christ
• Creator
• Advocate
• Only begotten Son
• Risen Lord
• First and the Last (i.e. Alpha and Omega)
• King of Kings
• Lord of Lords
• King Imanuel
• Divine Son
• The Way
• Light, life and hope of the world
• Savior
• Living Savior
• I Am
• Great Jehovah
• Messiah
• Redeemer
• Firstborn of the Father

Wow, amazing right? All in a testimony of the man who was Jesus Christ, there are however many more names used in scripture that describe his works.  Maybe because of this lesson, I've decided to read Jesus the Christ, I'll let you know how it goes!

Dating Horror Stories

This blog post is for all of you out there who have gone on that one, or maybe even two miserable, awful, horrible dates that will forever live in your mind. This is the period of time that comprised the worst of the worst, most awkward and possibly even most embarrassing moments of your life.

You all know what I'm talking about. There was the boy who picked you up on his bicycle or tried to woo you over a burger and milkshake. Or maybe you experienced the girl who took you to meet her parents on your first date or went through your apartment talking about what has to go when you get married before you even know her middle name. It has happened to us all, so here are the best of the best that I've heard, or experienced for myself.

Scenario 1: The blind blind date. Take for instance those awkward blind dates. Some call them blind because you don't know the person before you go on the date, others because you don't see the person before the date.  In the case of others, the date is blind because you didn't see him before, on, or after your date. No this is definitely not because you are actually blind, I would never stoop that low. Instead, this is a result of a face painted mask that he didn't bother to wash off after his previous activity.

Ya, talk about lazy. You know your date is a winner when he gets done with his Halloween party, stage make-up class or band practice and skips the shower. face wash and change of clothes and heads straight to spend some quality time with you.  Really makes a girl feel special.  Better yet, you will walk away and not be able to identify him in a police station line-up. Smooth, very smooth.

On the plus side, you never have to have that awkward moment if you run into him at the mall a week later, because you can literally say that you have no idea who he is.

Scenario 2: The attached at your hip blind date.  Blind dates are awkward enough so, to make them worse, throw them in a pot with valentine's day, a formal dance and a very clingy date and you're in for quite a treat.     You could even add a dash of shorter than you, follows you to the bathroom and believes he lives in a 90s comic strip as some extra flavoring. Hey, don't get me wrong I don't have anything against the 90s,cause I've been there, done that.

If that wasn't awkward enough he could perhaps ask to take a video of you dancing within the first few minutes of meeting you. Take this as a warning ladies, when the shoes come off, so do the inhibitions and sometimes it isn't pretty.

Scenario 3: The First Kiss, Sweet or Sassy?  Ok, regardless of whether it is your actual first kiss or just a first kiss with a new guy, everyone needs to learn to take it easy! That's right friends, it is not okay in any situation to just throw your mouth open and swallow your kissing partner's face on the first attempt. There are a few things that no one I know of enjoy in a kiss.

Number one, slobber. When you attempt to slobber on her she may think of you like she thinks of her puppy and never want to kiss you again.

Number two, don't open wide. Only the dentist wants to see that, enough said.

Number three, take it easy buckaroo. A nice little peck on the lips is perfectly fine for the first kiss. Swallowing someone's chin is not only weird but very unattractive and will make most people feel quite uncomfortable.

Last, but definitely not least, try to refrain from throwing firecrackers, hand grenades, knives or anything else that may potentially cause death or dismemberment at the person you'd like to date or are interested in. Unattractive? Yes.  Weird? Most Definitely. Chance at a relationship? Over!

All in all, boys, men, guys, whatever you'd like to call yourselves, you don't have to look like Brad Pit, talk like Chris Hemsworth or sing like John Mayer to get the girls. You just need to be sweet without being overbearing, weird without being psycho, and fun without being immature and for goodness sake work those dimples God gave you.

Moving on...

Guess what? No really guess....Ok you give up? NO I'm not getting married, going to grad school or re-inventing the wheel, at least not yet... I have officially made a decision that will determine where my life is headed from here.  That's right. I have moved out of the wonderful world of Provo, also known as "the bubble" into the great unknown, also known as "The Wild".

As Dr. Suess mentions in his famous "moving on" book,                   

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Before anyone makes any snide remarks, I know the brain part is debatable and I do like to run around without shoes the majority of the time...   but I am finally moving and growing up, maybe for real this time. That last part is still to be determined.

Of course that big step was partially determined with some help from my good friends and my trusty side-kick prayer, but I don't regret it one bit. Although making friends has come more slowly here in Salt Lake, partly due to the awkwardness of the ward and partly to the awkwardness of well.... me. I used to be an outgoing, fun kinda girl, but that part of me partially dies when I'm around people I don't know very well.

I did have my first major friend making experience tonight, which is kind of a big deal.  A girl in my ward, who is pretty dang awesome, named Maquel came with my brother and I to see Train, Andy Grammer and Mat Kearney in concert. It was a pretty rockin'  party even though the majority of the crowd was drinking. it made me want to raise my hand and ask who the designated driver was supposed to be, but I doubt anyone would have listened eh?

It's hard to trust musicians performing live, thanks in part due to the likes of "the audiotuners" made famous by the do-rag wearin' gangsta Antoine Dodson who gave us a little magic after an "incident" involving a family member; however, all three of these performers wow-ed, shocked and amazed me, in that order, with their actual voices. Yeah that's right friends, Andy, Mat and Pat can all rock out, for real.

Well, I feel that my jokes are running on short supply here and I've about used up my wisecrack quota for the day so it's time to call it quits to my many adoring fans and "I'm no good at goodbyes."

Heidi

Living With a Porch Swing

So, I've heard of waiting as described as an action and I've decided it's true.  Even if you aren't actually doing anything, you are simply... waiting. However, just because waiting is an action word, doesn't mean that it is something worth doing frequently.  I learned that anything worth having is worth waiting for. So, I get that there were a lot of repeated words in those last two sentences and to most people it was a heck of a lot of mumbo jumbo, so in English, what I'm really trying to say is, waiting sucks while you're doing it, but in the end it all comes out ok.

I will not tell lies (throw back to Harry Potter there), I am one of those people who posts ooh so cute things on Pinterest only to go blah when they are actually handed to me.  For instance, I've wanted a porch swing ever since I was little and we got rid of our windowed in porch swing.  My mom or dad and I used to sit on the swing during thunderstorms and look out over the cornfields (yes I live in backwoods Indiana), and spot the lightning and watch the rain pour down.  That is something I've learned that I miss greatly.

Yeah, well nostalgia can only do so much apparently because I now have a porch swing, right on my front porch at the house I moved in to in Salt Lake City, but do I use it? Nope, I haven't sat on it one single time, and there have been two kinda gnarly thunderstorms! So, why you ask do I let my dreams pass me by? Well, I could claim its because the swing doesn't look like it's been cleaned for years, or I could say that spiders might come and get me, but everyone who knows me knows those are both just excuses and that I need to just woman up and get the cleaner out, clean that mess and spend some quality time with my porch swing.

So, this is for anyone who wants something. Just get it. Reach out and make it happen, even if it is as little as having a porch swing. Once your dream becomes a reality cherish it.

Cowboy Boots and 10 Gallon Hats

WARNING: This post may contain addictive content. Read at your own risk.

Lately, I've realized that even though I haven't been technically diagnosed I am quite A.D.D. when it comes to music. For instance, one day I will love country music and the next, when other people decide to like country too, I switch to something else. Its silly, I know, but sometimes everyone goes a little crazy right?



Ok, so lately, I've been on a country kick  and as my roommate once pointed out in her own blog, it isn't just songs about beer and cows and fishing... even though there are of course those songs, nor is it a bunch of pre-marital nonsense that we tend to hear about in every other genre of music.

To me, country music is about emotions, love, death, illness, happiness, and learning to deal with these issues. It's about understanding people's stories before judging their character or background.  It's about treating everyone like they are someone special, because believe it or not, they are.Its about recognizing the heroes in this world and learning that family is what matters.  Its about your life journey and what you choose to do with it.  Don't believe me, do you?  That's okay I suppose.  Maybe it would be easier to convince you by showing you these songs...




Are you from Indiana, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, Kansas, New Mexico? You might understand why God made those flyover states.. one of my favorite songs right now from Jason Aldean, along with Tattoos on this Town.



or Keith Urban's "For You" which features the troops and all they have done for us through the years.



Josh Turner's "Time is Love" 

If you'd actually listen to the words you might understand why I love this music so much.. just saying...

I also love... "Like My Mother Does" - Lauren Alaina , Hunter Hayes - "Wanted", Gloriana - "Kissed you Goodnight" , Rascal Flatts - "Banjo", I know.. that is a lot...only two more and I think I'll have you convinced...

"Cowboys and Angels" - Dustin Lynch,   "You" - Chris Young,

Ok.. I've given you most of my favorites.. and if you'll give them a chance I promise you won't be disappointed... :)

If none of these has affected you in the least... pull out your hankies... this is the one... or you may have indeed been born without a heart. "Don't Miss Your Life" - Phil Vassar



Normal people sing country music... not crazed, drugged up homies... just sayin'.