James and I made a goal to work out and lose weight. We both need to get healthy. If I am going to ever get pregnant and have a baby, I need to start getting ready now. There are several reasons why I need to make a change... 1. I have very high blood pressure. My Father in law was an RN and said I am at risk for heart disease. 2. My Dr. said no way should I be having a baby right now. Being pregnant could cause me to have a stroke and other complications. 3. I feel uncomfortable and fat all the time. I was always a thin person, but have sat on my butt for 4 years writing papers and studying and not doing much else. Feeling fat is uncomfortable. 4. I have lots of beautiful clothes I'd love to wear again. 5. I'd love to feel comfortable in a bathing suit again. 6. Losing weight will help my carpal tunnel improve.
I posted in my personal blog that I made a goal to get healthy. Well now I've recruited James to work out with me also. We have free access to PSU's gym and we should be using it. So, check out my exercise diary to check on our progress or be part of our cheering section. I may not post as often here as I'm going to be working my little buns out there. The time is now to start making a change in our nutrition, health, and weight loss. So join me on my journey.
With a yummy birthday cake... (I know you're getting cheesecake, yum... my favorite, eat a piece for me)...
We hope you get some pretty flowers... and lots of singing. You'll be surrounded by those who love you today. If we are unable to come, know we love you too. Take some time to enjoy your day... do things that you want to do and think of yourself. Have a lovely day!!!
Tuesdays are turning out to be quite a killer. I am in school all day Monday and Wednesday... 12 hours to be exact 9am to 9:20pm. Although I'm not in school on Tuesday, I find I'm so busy that I don't get more than 2 hours of sleep or none at all because of all the homework assigned on Monday that is due Wednesday and when you're taking 16 credits, that's a lot of homework. So since I didn't do anything green today, I did buy this last week in my attempt to spring clean the house. I've done a few rooms, but the rest of the house needs more attention. This cleanser is the best all purpose cleanser I've ever used, it smells heavenly, and it is eco friendly. So, happy Earth DAY... now I'm back to finishing my five page paper which is a critique about this painting....FUN FUN FUN!!!!! (I also have to read and critique 3 papers in my writing group, find and draw a sketch, and read/answer questions for my education class, I'm not going to get any sleep tonight. Last week I feel asleep during my Art History class, I hope I wasn't snoring or breathing too hard!)
James and I went to the Portland Art Museum yesterday. I had to go to check out some paintings for my Art class so I could write a 5 page critique. We enjoyed our time there and were amazed at some of the paintings. The building is so big, that we sat and rested a couple of times and just looked. Someday we hope to go to the Louvre. They are featuring The Dancers at the museum and we went and saw the dancer exhibits even though we were really there for the Rembrandt paintings. I love Degas' art work. Some of my favorite paintings are these.
I love, love, love this song, Hang On Little Tomato by Pink Martini, it always makes me feel better when I feel sad and blue. Sometimes I hum it to myself when I'm at school and I didn't have time to sleep the previous night because I was writing a paper or finishing a piece of art or reading an assignment and all I really want to do is go home and take a nap. Sometimes I sing it at home when I feel tired and have to keep plugging away at homework or I have to clean the house or do a mountain of dishes that I've let pile up and all I'd rather do is sleep for the next 10 years. Music has always helped me feel better and I hope it makes you feel better too. Always remember that there are people who love you and know how wonderful you are. The sun has left and forgotten me It's dark, I cannot see Why does this rain pour down I'm gonna drown In a sea Of deep confusion
Somebody told me, I don't know who Whenever you are sad and blue And you're feelin' all alone and left behind Just take a look inside you and you'll find
You gotta hold on, hold on through the night Hang on, things will be all right Even when it's dark And not a bit of sparkling Sing-song sunshine from above Spreading rays of sunny love
Just hang on, hang on to the vine Stay on, soon you'll be divine If you start to cry, look up to the sky Something's coming up ahead To turn your tears to dew instead
And so I hold on to this advice When change is hard and not so nice If you listen to your heart the whole night through Your sunny someday will come one day soon to you
Sad and unfortunate events occur in people's lives daily. It is sometimes hard to find the beauty and joy in life when undergoing trials and tribulation. I think these things are events in life and not life itself and although they may take a long time to get through, there is still joy to be had and beauty to discover.
How many times this week have you stopped to look at a sunset? Have you taken a walk in nature to look at all the beauty that is poking up out of the ground? Have you sat outside for a few minutes to look at the stars and the heavens at night? How many times have you allowed yourself to sit, meditate, and think of God?
Many times when faced with trials, we forget that in God's eye, these things are so short that they pass in a blink of an eye. To us, it seems like years. In the eternal perspective, God allows us to endure trials to become stronger, better people. It is easy to complain and ask, WHY WHY WHY??? Yeah, I've done some of that myself, but complaining only adds to the misery we feel. I meet people all the time at school who have had it a lot worse then I have or could ever imagine.
There is this lady in my writing class who was incarcerated in the federal detention center. I can't imagine being in a place like that, she said it felt unreal to her that she was sent there. She talked in class of how her and a couple of people she befriended found joy in their little strip of grass between the buildings. They'd lay on the grass and dream of a place they'd been on vacation to and that would help them through the hard days of abusive behavior they endured from guards and prison officials. I think of things like that and realize, you know... life could be much more difficult for me and my family than it is, and I am grateful for the life I have been given. I am also grateful for those people who, like this lady can find joy in life wherever she can, grateful for those who share these moments with others so they can find joy in their own lives, and grateful for my own life where hopefully I can inspire and help others where I can. Also I am grateful that I have people in my life who desire for me to do well and inspire me to reach for greater things.
I found a woman several months ago who has cancer and is undergoing cancer treatments and her outlook on life is remarkable. I am inspired by her blog(Deena)and find joy in my life through hers.
I have a couple of brothers who have found joy in their lives even though at times it hasn't been easy for them. My brother Craig is a real inspiration to me. Even though he has undergone some very difficult things, he remains happy. Why? He has made a conscience decision to be a happy person. He finds joy where ever he can. Another brother, Gary is funny. He likes to laugh and tries to make others laugh as well. He is the hardest worker I have ever known and his sheer desire to make himself a better person inspires me. Both have great big hearts and have qualities that are admirable.
James has a great quality of remaining positive in his outlook on life as well. Even though he's been through some of the darkest and most trying days beyond what I could ever imagine, he's still upbeat and looks at the many possibilities of life to be explored and imagined.
The beauty, joy, and happiness that God intends for us to find is there within our grasp, but the choice is ours whether we will reach for it or not. There will be rough days ahead, but God can walk with you and be your guiding light in the dark. He wants you to find the joy and the beauty in your life.
So, in response to terrible and difficult things that many people in my life are challenged with right now... go do this exercise every day and see that the Lord loves you very much.
GO get yourself a notebook...(yes right now), and remember you'll need something to write with. List 5 things you are grateful for today. Keep your notebook open and then today, go find things you are grateful for. Go on a walk, look at the sunset, gaze at the stars, think of how much I love you...(think of things you'd like to do or see or experience and go do them) Put them on your list tomorrow. Do this for a week, then a month, then look back over your experiences.... You'll be happier.
Remember that I love you and give you kisses and hugs, but more importantly....Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you.
My list: I am grateful that I am getting my bachelor's degree, it has been hard but so worth it and I have truly loved gaining more knowledge and meeting great people.
I have truly enjoyed gardening. I used to do some for my mom when I lived at home, but there is a certain joy you can only get when planning and planting your own.
I love living in Portland. I have always wanted to live here and now I am, YAY! It is lovely here and I greatly enjoy the gorgeous summers in Portland.
I love living so close to the temple. I enjoyed the last session we went to and am grateful for a place to go where I can have total peace and comfort.
I am grateful for music that makes me happy. Music has always been a source of great joy for me.... So now go listen to this song and feel how AMAZING you are!!!
It's been a trying week. Not a bad week, but trying and I've really been looking forward to today. I feel worn out and tired and desperately need a break from all this school work, stress, and challenges. I can't really complain since after 4 seemingly LONG years, I finally graduate this June with a bachelor's degree. The trying thing is that now I need to look for a school to get my certification and master's degree. It's hard to find time to look at schools when I'm so buried in homework. I think today is going to be a good day to take a long nap and read for several hours in my scriptures. I need to rest and gear up for this coming week as it will be long, difficult, and full of anxiety. Have a good Sabbath.
I made olive bread last night for dinner and it was awesome. I got the recipe from Pioneer woman's website. She makes great fattening food that I don't normally make. (Some people must be born with anti-fat genes, because if I ate the way she does... not only would I get hugely fat, but I'd have a heart attack and die on the spot.) Anyway, I altered her recipe a bit so I could cut down on fat. I used a quarter cup butter and a quarter cup of low fat mayonnaise. (The topping mixed up and spread great even though I used much less fat than she did.) Anyway, it is a recipe I wanted to try because when I lived in Southern Oregon, I was at a family friend's house helping her find and catalog names in an old cemetary. She went downstairs and made me olive bread. I've tried to recreate the recipe since then, but never got it to taste like hers. Well, thanks to Pioneer woman, I think this is the recipe. It is fabulous. Go make yourself some, you'll be glad you did! I even ate some for breakfast this morning because it was so good. (I've been reading the Pioneer woman for quite awhile. She's so talented and funny... she also has quite the following. Go check out her site for a laugh out loud good time.)
I think it is strange that people stretch the truth and then think it is no big deal and have no remorse for their actions. There are consequences to every action we choose. Certainly we all have to learn the consequences of our actions and everyone has the freedom to choose what they will. James likes to say... when you make your own bed, you get to lie in it, no matter how crappy it is. (Off topic, he also says, you never take a dump in your own back yard, because then you have to constantly step in it. Referring to the way people sometimes treat their own family members. He has other funny sayings, but we'll leave it to these two for now.) I know someone who constantly stretches the truth, even twisting stories around to make themself look good; when in truth how this person tells the stories are outright lies. (Sometimes the only truth of the story is what the weather was like that day.) When this person gets caught in their lies, they have the audacity to think they're in the right. Perhaps they've convinced themself they are in the right... who knows. I surely don't know what goes on inside some people's heads... Take for instance Hillary Clinton. (Or as James like to call her... Hill-Billary.) She makes all these claims about all the good things she's done, but when people investigate these claims, they find out she's lied. She should know by now that lies will always bite us in the butt and that people are going to investigate her claims. Are you daft woman? If she doesn't get hurt by her lies right now, then sometime in the future she will be responsible for them. Aren't we all responsible for our actions? Maybe some people think they can get away with lying and that the truth can be hidden, but lies will always come to light and sometimes in the most unflattering way. If you'd like to learn about more lies of Hill-Billary, click on the links below... or not. Whatever... Hillary's Irish Peace Fantasy Hillary's other fabrication Hillary's list of lies Hillary's soccer fantasy Wouldn't it be nice if the democrats were able to have a decent person run for a change? To be fair, I'll try to find some dirt on John McCain in a future post. I don't care for any of the candidates that are running. Any chance we can push them all off a bridge and start over?Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - 2006)
Most people I know that are PSU students are voting for Barack Hussein Obama. I think people should read his book before voting for him, or at least read an article about his book if you don't want to read his book. You can look hereto see that his own words tell he always went to church every sunday morning at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. He DOES have similar feelings to what his preacher said in church, even if he is trying now to say he doesn't... it's in his book. Obama is a crazy lunatic.
