10 Things

I am doing an 8 week challenge to improve all over physical, mental, and spiritual health. Each day we get points for eating healthy foods, exercising, praying, etc. we also have a daily challenge. Today's challenge is to write down 10 things I am grateful for. I thought the blog would be a great way of completing this challenge. I have put this off all day for some reason. I guess I just didn't want to think, after all, it is summer break! As I sat in a nail salon with my mom and sister-in-law and sweet niece camryn, I couldn't help but feel extremely blessed. How will I narrow my blessings down to a mere ten to write down. Well, I will do my best!

1. I have a fantastic, patient husband. As I have been trying to eat healthy and avoiding dr. Pepper and sweets, let's just say I haven't been a delight 24/7, but he has been very understanding. Thanks dear.
2. I have an excellent family! Immediate family, in-law family, nieces, nephews, you name it, I have it! (Oh, except for the nephews part, I don't have those yet) I get along with all of my family and love them so much! Although I noted them in immediate family, I have to throw a shout out to my amazing parents. They have done so much for Chris and I and we love having them so close to us!
3. My home. Chris and I have now owned a home for over 2 years. It has brought us so much happiness as we have worked to make improvements. Yes, it has been stressful at times (seriously, why can't I keep flowers alive?) but it is so nice to know that it is ours!
4. I have a career. I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do in college, but I am so happy I finally decided on teaching. I love my job! I have a separate Facebook page for my students and it is so fun to go through and get the status updates of current and former students. It is fun to see their "normal" (non-student) personalites, though "normal" is kind of a stretch for most kids of that age. I love them though and look forward to meeting my new class in a little over a month.
5. I am LDS. I am so grateful to have been raised in the church. I am so thankful for the standards I was raised with. I was once asked if we got to the other side and found out that there was no one true religion, would I regret how I lived? Would I wish I had "lived it up" a little more? My answer: Absolutely not. I love that I was taught not to sleep around, smoke, and that I was taught to use good language.
6. I have amazing friends. Friends from Texas. Friends from Elementary, Middle, and High School. Friends from college. Friends from Singles Wards. Friends from my current ward and neighborhood. I have so many friends, and I'm not even talking Facebook friends. I am talking real, live, text and even talk on the phone occasionally friends! I love my friends!
7. I am thankful to live in the USA. What can I say more? It is a fantastic country to live in. Of course, my experience with other countries is limited. I do know that even though Spain was fun to visit, their lack of Dr. Pepper and Root Beer made me all the more happy that I live in the USA!
8. I am SOOO thankful for technology. Whether it is emails, Facebook, Pinterest, Google, Pinterest, games on my phone, text messages, phone calls, or that awesome new app that tells me how fast I-15 is moving on my way into work, I LOVE technology!
9. Jack. How did he not make it earlier on my list? Not sure. I guess I feel like he fit into the family section. But maybe he needs his own list item. I am so thankful for my dog. He is the best pet anyone could ask for. He is lazy when we are lazy, but also ready to go out for a run when I am.
10. Summer. I am always grateful when summer comes around. I can deal with heat. I struggle with cold. I love walking outside at night and not needing 19 layers of clothing.

Ok, there are my 10, but here are some more: My health, Our cars, Running, Dr. Pepper, a comfortable bed, air conditioning, heat, the fact that my husband is training to be a physical therapist, my coworkers, my students, Pinterest (that deserved another comment), my Snuggie (sorry Chris, but thanks Glen and Jayme), the Bachelor/Bachelorette, Raising Hope, SYTYCD, my sunbeams, Utah football, HGTV, DrawSomething, Music, my heating pad, pedicures, and, of course, the chance I have to do this challenge. There is lots more, I'm sure, but my computer battery is dying fast and I don't have my charger. So, until next time I find something exciting enough to blog about, ciao!

Day 4 of cutting back on sweets

I did pretty well today. I did give in this afternoon and have a Dr. Pepper. I was exhausted before my conferences had even begun and our principal opened the pop machine for us. I had a weak moment and took it. I'm not beating myself up about it too much. I think I earned it this week! Today I will be good though. All this talk of food and sweets is getting me hungry. I guess I should go eat breakfast. (I love days off! It is 11:15 and I am just getting breakfast!)

Day 3 of no sweets

I made it! No sweets yesterday! It wasn't easy. I had a tin of Hershey kisses in front of me all night but I held my ground! And to top it off I snuck in a weigh in this morning and let's just say
I liked what I saw! Hopefully I don't blow it all today. :) wish me luck!

Day 2 of cutting back on sweets

Now I remember why I can't cut something completely out of my diet. I have already planned at least three meals for Sunday, and I'm pretty sure they all fit in the top triangle of the food pyramid! I had to pass on an Oreo this morning - on Oreo's birthday! I passed on some delicious looking Dr. Pepper at dinner and then I passed on a yummy-looking chocolate tonight. I did eat a bag of the "right bite" cookies before hitting the gym so I had some energy.
I wasn't planning on completely avoiding sweets this week but I have a tough time stopping once I start eating them. For the past two days I have decided it is better to be safe than sorry. We will see how I feel tomorrow after my 13th parent-teacher conference.

Day 1 of cutting back on sweets

Status: success! It was not an easy feat, but I did not have any sweets. I thought I was going to fail this morning as I filled the class "candy jar" (yes, it's exactly what it sounds like, a jar full of candy). This month's candy jar was more tempting than normal, with Kit Kats, Reese's, and Starbursts. I made it through that and the rest of the day. One day down, six to go!

My 2nd Blog

I have started a second blog. This one is about my efforts to shed the 20 pounds I have gained since I got married. The address is weloveskinny.blogspot.com. I am excited about it now, let's see how it works!

Panty Cookies

I got a great idea from Pinterest for a bridal shower treat.  I was looking for some decoration ideas and instead came upon these "tushy cookies." It looked like a pretty easy craft.  All you needed was a heart cookie cutter, then once you cut the heart, you chop the pointy point off and turn it upside down to create a tush shape. I had been talking to my sister-in-law all day and mentioned these to her.  She admitted she wasn't 100% loving the idea at first but she came around and said she would help out.  Friday night we went out to dinner with my family and as soon as we got home we got started on baking and decorating.  It was a whole family affair.  Carrie and I baked and decorated, then got Katie to help out with the decorating.  It looked like so much fun that Brett decided to try it out, and then Chris gave in to temptation and created his own masterpiece.  Although you can't see it really well in the picture, due to Dad's request, I did do one modest pair (right, middle, completely white)They turned out pretty cute and were a hit at the party! Thanks to everyone who helped!