January 3rd, 2012: Day 3

Well this year feels like is could really be something special. Something different-- there is change, good change. But it won't be easy either. But life wasn't made to be easy, or how would we learn and grow?

I feel a little bit better since starting my journey but I still have a very long way to go. This year is going to be different. I am going to be different. I have had some weak moments but they pass and thankfully I haven't broken my oath. I am still officially off sugar and carbonated drinks, junk food and everything else I had promised to say "no" to. Honestly, it really does help to write things down, it is like signing your very own contract!

Life is quite the complicated, rough, stressful, worrisome, amazing ride! And my life is about a double dose of stressful tomorrow morning because I start my 7 credits of online classes! So, now I will be juggling workouts, classes, work, family time, friend time and everything that come in my life!

WOW! i will definitely need to really straighten out my priorities and make sure I keep on top of things!

But, what I really wanted to talk out was the fact that I am writing this at 1:10am because I can't see to sleep. Sleep is so important in a healthy lifestyle and yet it is so hard for me to fall asleep. I feel my insomnia gets worse as the weeks go by. And what I don't get is the fact that I hit my wall at like 8 or 9 at night and so I go down and get ready for bed and I climb into bed and I can't go to bed! So I sit there waiting for the sleepiness to come but it doesn't! I wish I knew a solution but I have none. And Sleep is a huge part of how my day goes and how I feel at the end of the day which is usually not good!

I hope everyone who is out there reading this, has much better luck going to sleep than I do!

January 1st, 2012: Day 1

It is so weird to think we have made it to 2012. I wrote 2011 at first when I titled this post and had to quickly change it!

But anyway, so today was the very first day of my journey. It felt too easy. Because I had stayed out so late last night because of New Year's Eve I didn't wake up until 11:30 am and got ready for church before going up for lunch. So I had wasted my entire morning sleeping :( then after lunch I went to church which is now held at 1:00 pm. By the time I got home from church, it was time to change into my "comfies", set the table and eat dinner. Everyone had dessert but me, that was about the only thing that was tempting but just kept telling myself no. Because it is Sunday-- a rest day-- I didn't do any exercise. So really tomorrow is when it really starts because then I can really start testing myself and disciplining myself.

I am really excited to be doing this and I will try to post daily updates on my days throughout the year. Telling you what is happening, how it is effecting my life in all five aspects: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social. And either putting up pictures of me to see the changes, or inspiring, helpful pictures/quotes to help me stay strong and positive!

I have never attempted anything like this in anyway, it is something that will build my self-esteem, my confidence, my heart, my endurance, my mind, and ultimately my body and soul!

Please stay tuned for daily updates!! And check out my food blog in a couple of days, I am trying to start posting lots more stuff on there too!

Thanks again for all your support, it means so much to me really you are the best! And if you will please, share this blog and my food blog with others, I hope that this could inspire others that are like myself and were in the same position that I was in days, months, years ago! Love you all and so thankful for you, Be safe, and happy Reading and Living!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's make this year the best one yet!!

My One Year Journey...

This is not a New Year's Resolution but a Promise for myself:

This is my One Year Journey Promise, an oath. I have dreamed of being super healthy, strong, and beautiful. But, have not done much about it. Therefore, they are only dreams, only wishes that will never be. Until now. Because it is the season of the new year I thought that I should put forth a true and honest effort of planning, doing, becoming and achieving. I pledge to 365 days of strict discipline and devotion to bettering myself in wellness not in weight. To start a clean year, a new slate that will change what will define who I am.

So many people think that others are on strict diets and exercise plans to lose weight. But I don't want to be put it that stereotype. I AM DOING THIS FOR MY HAPPINESS AND MY HEALTH, and if I lose weight in the process, that's great. But it is not my train of thought at all.

Many may say that this is a lofty goal and that I won't reach it or I will give up a few weeks into this but I want everyone to know that I am sick and tired of being sick and tired and I need support and faith that I can do this instead of negative thoughts. And even then, I am here to prove to myself, more or less that I am determined and can do hard things.

I feel very passionate about this decision and I have thought about it for a pretty long time now and I thought it was about time I get myself in order.

When people ask you how you are doing, the proper answer is that say that you are well. But what exactly is wellness? I have learned that it comes down to 5 subjects that encompass our whole life. They are: Social, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Spiritual-- you have to balance all five to have truly gained wellness. And I am seeking in this year long journey most of all- WELLNESS.

I want to live the life that God gave me to my best ability, and know that when I die, that I did everything I could possibly do to take care of my body and mind to the greatest of my strength and ultimately my inner determination. I want a

great self-esteem and a powerful confidence which honestly I feel I have never had. I want to be happy-- even in the hardest of hard times. I hope you will follow my journey. I will be writing as much as possible about the life aspect on my Dreaming Fantasies Blog and all about the food and exercise on my Food Scientist Blog. I hope you like what you read and keep reading through the 365 days. It would make my year if you did! Here is to a year of No's:

No Sugar

No Carbonated Drinks

No Red Meat

No Really Salty Things

No Really Sweet Things

No Really Fake Foods

No Junk/ Processed Food Whatsoever

No Wishing or Dreaming (but doing, striving)

NO REGRETS IN ALL I DO!!!

And this all starts TODAY, January First, Two-thousand and Twelve and I will post a finds and conclusion blog post on how things went and how I feel over all on December Thirty-first, Two-thousand and Twelve, so stick around! And I appreciate the support and love!!

Hello Friends!

It has been awhile since my last post and I couldn't keep you waiting another minute! I have been enjoying my time here at BYU-Idaho, what a lovely school it truly is! I honestly couldn't see myself anywhere else right now. But, it is hard work, college is! And I can't believe my first semester is coming to a close so soon. I am very grateful to have met some really great people up here and it is slowly coming to the time of goodbyes. I will be moving back home for a few months while I wait until I can come back for the spring semester. It is so very cold up here right now that I don't mind leaving until the spring. But that means that I won't be able to laugh, talk, make inside jokes, sing, cook, walk, grocery shop, eat, watch Once Upon a Time or Grimm, clean, make crafts, take pictures, and just goof around with my newest best friend and room mate Kaitlin Rose! It is sad, but we are planned to live together in off campus housing durning the spring! It will be so fun to come back and see her as well as make more new friends! Also the friends I have make in some of my classes have been amazing and I couldn't have asked for better people to be surrounded by!! The people up here are amazing, I can't wait to see what spring has in store.

But I can't get ahead of myself! I still have the winter season to enjoy! I am so excited to go home and be with my family for a few months!! I will hopefully be working at Xango and I will be doing 7 credits of online classes as well as helping around the house!

But right now I am in a bit of a hard time as of right now but last night I had a grand revelation and I posted it on facebook nd now on here:

"One day we will look back and say, "See that wasn't so hard!" One day we will see the wisdom, strength, and comfort that came out of our battles and hardship. Stay positive now and forever, life's rewards are sweet for those who practice patience until the end."

Love all of you!!

The Time of Thanksgiving is Here...

Well, it seems that another Thanksgiving is upon us---but let us not forget the reason why we celebrate this most gracious holiday. Though the food and company are more than delightful. It is more than that. It is where our hearts are. It is about the smiles we share and the laughter that rings through the comfort and joy of family and friends. It is the prayers and kind words that are given. It is about being humble, and most important: Grateful.

I am most grateful for an abundant list of things that could go on for millions and billions of years about. But, instead of listing them all, I will simply share a few:

I absolutely love my family and there is no doubt whatsoever about it. It is wonderful knowing that no matter how old I get, I am still my parents baby girl. That there could ever be so much love in this imperfect world that I am worthy of. My parents are so dear and precious to my heart. They are my ultimate best friends and they will be forever and ever. And my sisters are the sweetest angels anyone could ever encounter. Oh, how their voices, their smiles, their laughs, make me feel like I have died and gone to heaven! They too, are my ultimate best friends and I am so blessed to know that with my family, I will never be alone.

My faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is tied for first place alongside my family. No one can even begin to imagine the pain, and suffering that My Heavenly Father, Mother, Brother (Jesus Christ), Prophets and many others went through so that I would be able to be a part of this gospel, and have it in my life as a guide and be able to know exactly why I am here and where I am going. It is an incredible feeling to know this, that is so sweet that it is hard for me to even begin to describe in mortal words. My whole heart and soul is embodied in these most marvelous of marvels.

Everyone I meet and come into contact with, is important to me. They mean the world to me. They teach me things I would have never thought of before. I feel what they feel and they trust me. I am so grateful that there is trust, and love, and friendship in this world. It is what I thrive on and what makes me the most happy. Especially when all three are active at the same time. I love everyone, no matter where they came from, who they are, or what they have done. I forgive because hate and grudges are ugly, and destructive, and that is not my nature. I am very grateful for the friendships I have made and how my friends love and trust and care for me and I know that no matter what I am going through, they understand me and they support me.

Now, I hope I haven't bored you out of your mind. I just have been seriously thinking the last few days about life and meaning, and it got me thinking about the season that we are in and I wanted to share this message and my thoughts before I let it slip by. I am so grateful to my followers and readers and fans and random strangers that mistakenly wander onto this page. Thank you so much for your love and support. Without you guys I wouldn't be doing this and expressing what I love to do which is write! I cannot even express how much each one of you mean to me. So in the most simplest of words....I am grateful to you!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

xoxoxoxoxo

Inspiring Quote Day:

"The only way to get positive feelings about yourself is to
take positive actions. Man does not live as he thinks, he
thinks as he lives."

-- Vaughan Quinn

Letters!!

In the last 2 days I have received 5 letters!! Thank you so much Makenna and Brynlee and Mom!! You guys are the greatest! I love my family, and my wonderful friends too! I am so grateful to my support team! And I can't wait to come down to Utah next week and spend some time with everyone I love!! Soooo, in honor of thanksgiving next thursday I will be posting one thing a day on what I am thankful for until Thanksgiving! And then after Thanksgiving I am going to start Grateful Friday Posts because for some reason those are my worst days, so to keep smiling I will think of things I am thankful for! I feel that music is huge in my life, I can not live without music playing constantly (even when i am sleeping) so Mondays i will post the song of the week. Also I am starting Quote Wednesdays where i will post a quote, scripture, song lyrics, any short little bite of inspiration to get us through the other half of the week :)

So here is my Posting Schedule:

Monday: Song Of the Week Day

Tuesday: Regular Posts

Wednesday: Inspiring Quote Day

Thursday: Regular Posts

Friday: Grateful Post Day

Saturday: Regular Posts

Sunday: Spiritual Insight Day

A New Addition!

Hey guys! If you love me, will you go check out this blogs sidekick, The Food Scientist? It is a blog I just created to show case my love of healthy food. It is going to be great! It will have recipes and pictures and you can email or comment on the posts with questions or requests for me and I promise I will answer them all! I would love to hear from you!

ALSO, Please, if you haven't already, become a follower of this blog as well as my food blog and you will make this girl very happy. As well as share these blogs with people you know and would be interested in reading my stuff, that would be great! Thank you so much! Hope to hear from you guys on your input, suggestions, and comments! Love you all!

P.S. The sidekick blog is linked on the right side of the screen!!!

Thinking of Someone Very Special...

(Me and My Missionary)

(Saying One Last Goodbye)

Lately the thought of Eric keeps coming to me and I feel like the image of his smile, his eyes, and the sound of his laugh won't go away. I fall asleep wondering how he is and hope he is well and working hard! A few nights ago I finally felt like I couldn't take it any more and I wrote my missionary for the first time. I couldn't sleep because I wanted it perfect, so i didn't go to bed until about 2:30am and when i climbed into bed that late night, I felt that what I had written was silly so after church the next day I rewrote it. Then, I stuck it in the mail, and ever since i have been really nervous for his response, if it will be a good one or something other. I am so anxious and now he really isn't leaving my mind, I don't know why i can't let him go. So this song is for him because when I hear this it reminds me of him.