I'm on a kick right now...

I, like other members of my family, get really excited about something for a while and then I lose interest. Right now I'm on a fitness kick. This might be one of those short-lived obsessions, but I'm going to ride it for all it's worth while it lasts! (That's always what my sister, Jane, says about things like this...I know what she means for sure!)

So while I'm interested in being as healthy as I can be and losing weight, that's what I'm going to write about today!

Embarrassing story:

Once upon a time I decided that I wanted to lose some weight--fast. A very appealing diet was brought to my attention. Maybe you've heard of it. It's Bob Harper's Jumpstart to Skinny diet. His is a three-week very low calorie diet designed to help you lose up to twenty pounds for a big event such as a wedding. So I was like, "Yeah, I need to lose like 40 pounds, so this will be fabulous! Maybe I'll even do it twice!"

I read the book and got all excited about how planned out it was and how much I had heard about people losing. Some red flags popped up as I read the questionable research he mentioned in the book, but I was reassured by the fact that Bob Harper is a professional and knows what he's doing. Gung-ho, I bought all the groceries for the first week costing a total of over $100. (Just for me!)

The diet began and I was pleased with the results and even pleased with the food! But as time went by, I started to feel sick and tired--literally. It was a struggle to choke down my salads and chug all the required water. I was still losing weight, but I felt awful. So I quit the diet. The embarrassing part of all that is that I even fell for the dumb diet in the first place! Of course I was going to feel terrible on 800 calories a day!

The End.

Now I feel way better. The miracle is that I still want to be healthy after that crap-o diet. I'm still losing weight and exercising! I'm just being a lot better with my food (as in eating enough food and trying to eat healthy food).

Etsy Finds!

One of my favorite things to do at work when I don't have video priveleges is to browse Etsy for cool or beautiful things. Here are some of the things I found. The links to the listings are found below each picture. I guess I'm really into plants right now...

Golden Spring Greetings

Succulent terranium

Clover

No. 9899

ROLLING DOWN A HILL

Camellia Flower

 



I like this stuff

Here's some neat stuff I like that I found on Etsy! I don't own any of these pictures, so just calm down.

Too Hip To Hop Blue 14x11 Rabbit Art

 

Ernst Haeckel Print - Art Poster - Jellyfish Print

 

5 vintage natural beeswax candles, russian soviet union

Ceramic flowers Candle holders

 

Hand Blown Glass Vase

 

Gold Turquoise Square Stud Earrings

 



Merry Spring!

 

 Merry Spring! Here are some pictures for you!

 

 

Koey the elegant lady

 

The following are taken at Eagle Island State Park:

(Can you spot the frisby and the frisby golf thingy?)

 

Below are pictures taken at the farm:

 



 "Sweet violets! Sweeter than all the roses!"

 I like this picture because I think it's a great representation of Caralee and Pooch

 

My momma :)

This is my gramma. She just got her neck brace off in this picture! But unfortunately, she is now in a nursing home for rehab because she broke her hip and had surgery on it. Poor sweet lady!

A Poem

I have the ocean
Ebbing and flowing
In the cavity of my frame
The waves crash against my bones
As a storm rages
The only visible evidence
Are two small streams that have leaked
Through the holes in the dyke

Getting you up to speed

It's been quite a while since I've made a post. I suppose I should tell you what's going on in my life.

Honestly, things have been kind of crazy lately! Word to the wise: get identity theft protection. It doesn't matter if you think you are careful. Identity theft can happen to anyone! That's all I will say on the subject for now. Just be warned.

I am officially going to BYU-Idaho starting this fall! I've been accepted and received my track assignment: Spring/Fall. I can apply to get into the nursing program next Spring and then hopefully start in Fall 2015.

You may wonder, why nursing? Well, I'll tell you. The human body is incredible! Life is very complex (in every way, but specifically in the biological sense). One could spend a lifetime learning and studying the most simple unit in our body, the cell. The more I learn about the body, the more in awe I am about our design--the more in awe I am with the greatness of God. I'm also excited to be a nurse because I really do love caring for people. Especially in a physical way. For example, once my dad fell in our driveway and hit his head on the car and then the gravel. He had a pretty big bump and was really scraped up on his head. It made me feel good that I knew how to clean his wound and knew that I needed to find out if he had a concussion. It also made me feel good that I could respond in a level-headed way. Now I know this wasn't a huge medical emergency by any means, but I think this combined with my interest in the human body shows that I am the right kind of person for a nursing career.

Back to things being crazy: Handling money is a tough thing to do! That is one thing I really don't enjoy about being an adult. Paying bills stinks! Working all the time and then using your money for non-fun things stinks! Budgeting stinks! Debt stinks! But I think debt stinks more than the other things, so that's why I continue to do the other things. Money gets scary when you think about all the things you need to pay for and how much money you actually have. But Matt and I are working through all of this. It takes a lot of faith and my LDS readers will understand what I mean when I say paying tithing really helps! It seems like it would be counterproductive, but it actually isn't. So if you're worried about money, pay your tithing! (learn more about tithing here)

Also, I am excited to go to Pendleton this week to visit my family! I love my hometown and state.

Stuff in My Life...

So I'm still at school at CWI this semester and I'm taking Anatomy & Physiology and Precalculus (should have signed up for dual credit in high school...).

I have a huge secret to tell you: I actually like math. I never thought I would say that. But you know what? It's really pretty cool. Now does that mean I'm going to study it extensively? Probably not.

I also really love Anatomy & Physiology! What a cool class! I've learned so many things already. I guess I just thought I would be memorizing a bunch of bones and muscles, but that's definitely not the only thing. Here are some interesting tidbits I picked up:

• Your body needs calcium in order to make your muscles go. If you are calcium deficient in your diet, your body will pull the calcium it needs from your bones to keep your heart pumping and your lungs working.
• Losing weight too quickly (more than 1-2 pounds/week) causes you to have an excess of acid in your body which may cause you to pee too frequently and hyperventilate in an effort to keep your pH levels in normal range (slightly basic). If your body fails to keep your pH in the normal range, you will die.
• Ever noticed that women are more prone to cellulite than men? That's because of the way our collagen fibers are arranged. In men, collagen fibers look like this: XXX In women, they look more like this: | | |  Basically, the arrangement of collagen in female connective tissues allows for fat to bubble out, causing cellulite in even thin women. But in male connective tissues, the fat is constricted by the X arrangement, making it less likely for cellulite to be present.
• Your armpits stink because you have sweat glands called apochrine glands secrete the regular sweat contents (urea, HCl, and water) as well as proteins. The bacteria on your skin feed on the proteins and then produce an unpleasant smell. These apochrine sweat glands are also located in your groinal region. It is thought that these glands are homologous to scent glands in some animals used to attract mates.

Anways, I really like the class so far. And I seem to be doing well! I just have to keep up with everything. The older I get, the more I enjoy learning.