One day in January I went to go to the field house on campus to go for a run; I'm a woose and running outside at that time of the year is NOT an option. As I was about to walk into the gym I noticed a sign on the door, "The Filedhouse will be closed on January 11 for a Track and Field meet." As a friend of mine always says, "Dangit Jim!"
As I headed home I started to try to think of other things I could do for a workout. I hadn't had a chance to work out for the entire week and really wanted to. I then remember a few weeks earlier a roommate of mine just looked up a workout on YouTube and she really liked it; so I decided to jump on there and see what I could find. WOW! So many choices! I feel kind of dumb I didn't think of this before... you can find ANYTHING on youtube.
Anyways, I thought I would share with you the awesome 30 minute workout that I did but also the "Aw ha!" moment of knowing you can simply jump on to your computer to find a quick workout for the day and still feel good about getting some physical activity in.
The movie, Just Like Heaven, came out in theaters when I was in high school. My friends and I went to go see it for one of our friend's birthday... our lives have never been the same since that day.
*Spoiler Alert* (You can get over it, if you haven't seen the movie now, do you really think you care that much NOT to know what happens) Near the end of movie, Reese Witherspoon's character is about to die and Mark Ruffalo jumps to save her and what he did next was a huge debate with my friends. Did he give her one last kiss or did he try to give her CPR? Whichever side we were on we didn't even think the other side existed until someone mentioned the last kiss and the debate began. First it was a small discussion after the movie and then it turned into heated debates during lunch at school. Both sides were presented with reasonable defenses but at the end of the day neither side won; we all kept to our side of the opinion and no one was swayed to the opposite side of their opinion. Eventually we called it what it was and the discussion died off.
Fast forward 9 years and we still have this debate on the "once-in-awhile" occasion; though it doesn't get as heated as it used to, it's more a funny memory that we enjoy reminiscing about. I love this memory; makes me think of these great girls who are a part of my life, who cared and who stuck to their guns and opinions BUT still love and care about each other at the end of the day. Looking back on this fun memory I almost look at each side being labeled as romantic or practical thinkers (not that I'm saying the romantic thinkers aren't practical people and vice versa). Of course a romantic thinker would see a last kiss as the perfect send off and a practical thinker would do the step-by-step procedure in an emergency situation. The funny thing is, it seems to be that the girls who had the "romantic view" are all married and those with the, "IT WAS CPR!" argument are still kickin' it in the single lane.
Well, I'm still single, not even just dating but not married, nope, 100% single. Can you guess where I fall? That's right, I'm on the CPR side of the debate. It only makes sense to me that if someone, who I loved, was dying I would probably do all that I could to save them.
Where do you fall? CPR or Last Kiss? Practical or Romantic?
"You may think that today is just another day in your life. It's not just another day. It's the one day that is given to you... today."
I watched this TedTalk that a cousin sent out in a work newsletter and I just wanted to share it. Just another reminder to put life back into perspective. (Only 10 minutes long)
In honor of the Olympics I decided to write about my own experiences as a snowboarder. My favorite Winter Olympic events to watch are the Snowboard Cross and the Halfpipe. I watch these events in awe at their ability to do these amazing things; the speed, the precision, the tricks, the DARINGness, etc. and I always get a small, very small, thought of, "They make that look so easy. Maybe I should try to go snowboarding a little more and then I will be able to do the McTwist." and then I chuckle as reality cruelly comes back into focus. I am but a humble snowboarder who is happy doing the "falling leaf" down the mountain and excited when I can carve. (No worries, every year I'm improving a little)
So here is just a little fun as I list some of the realities, experiences and "must do's" of the snowboarding world.
A snowboarder must wear at least one item of ridiculous clothing (if not the entire outfit)
OR! At least something that STANDS OUT! This is one area where I fall short as a snowboarder. My coat, pants, boots, bindings, board, goggles, gloves, etc all coordinate and in subtile ways. Oops.
Getting-off-the-lift Anxiety
Oooooh yeah, it's a thing! It is a right of passage to be able to get off the lift without falling. It takes concentration, balance, and a little prayer in your heart saying, "PLEASE don't make me fall in front of everyone again! I promise to be a better person!" When I first started snowboarding I would stop in the middle of conversations to prepare myself to get off the lift; everyone on the chair would become invisible to me yet I would be panicked I would be knocking them over in a few seconds as well.
Just watch:
The celebration of getting off the lift without falling
Yup... this is a thing too! It is as if you try to play it cool until you know, without a doubt, you will not topple over and then... you celebrate. Whether it be a loud cheer or whoop! Or a silent put your hand in a fist pulling your arm down, while whispering, "yes!"
I have a friend, Spencer, that I love to go snowboarding with because we are at the same level but we also push each other to get better. Spencer is about 6'2" and I... am not. I was with him his very first time ever trying out snowboarding when a group of our college friends went snowboarding. The first time he and I rode the lift together I assured him he could get off the lift without falling (clearly I was lying but I was trying to give him a little confidence). Well it came time to get off the lift and we started to smoothly slide down the small slope when *WACK* he completely took me out. Ahahahaha! The best part were these two punk teenage snowboarders who saw this happen and one said to the other, "Dude! That guy took that little girl OUT!" You can bet Spencer was celebrating the day when he could consistently get off the lift without falling over.
The celebration of reaching each stage of snowboarding
Stopping
Getting off the lift without falling*
The Falling Leaf
Riding Toe Side
C-Turns
S-Turns
Carving
Speed
Jumps
Tricks in The Park
The Olympics
*This really could fall anywhere on the list... if you are lucky it happens at the beginning of learning how to snowboard.
A Consistent Hatred of Cat-tracks
Ugh! Nothing is worse than getting stuck on a flat area of the mountain. These situations tend to lead to scootching your body in a weird fashion which leads to exhaustion, hopping about in a side to side and slightly forward motion which also leads to exhaustion, getting on your hands and knees and hopping forward or undoing your bindings and walking to a snowboard friendly area. Good thing none of these actions are humiliating... oh wait... they are.
My thanks go out to any skier who's ever helped me out in these situations and held out their pole for me to hold on to while they pulled me along.
Yeah... this is a good interpretation of my feeling of ending up on a cat-track; especially when it is a complete surprise.
The Sore Bum, Wrists and/or Neck at the end of the day
It's inevitable. The sore bum and wrists seem to come from falling over; especially when trying to get better at certain things. And the neck comes from those knock-the-air-out-of-you tumbles. I'm too old for those things.
The snowboard itch on a powdery day
It's a lot more fun to fall over into powder; I am much more brave and willing to try new things when there is a think layer of powdery/fresh snow. When it is snowing a lot and I know the mountains are filling up with new snow I ache at the idea that I have to wait for the weekend to go (Stupid grown-up jobs). Who wouldn't want to go snowboarding in this:
Other Fun Things About Snowboarding
Talks with Friends on the lifts.
Meeting new people and hearing their stories while on the lifts.
That peaceful/quite feel on a snowy night for night boarding.
Fresh air.
Being out in nature.
Doing something you love and enjoy.
Recently I blogged about some missionary moments and I had a few more thoughts I wanted to share but I thought that post was getting a bit too long. Mostly these are just other examples of people in my life and how they are sharing the gosepel through their everyday actions. I'm really grateful for their example to me.
I had a friend in college (We're going to call him Kevin... because that is his name) tell me about a neat missionary experience he and his family had growing up. His family moved in next door to a non-member family. The two families, just being courteous and kind to each other eventually became friends. Simple hellos expanded into "how was your day" conversations which lead to dinner invitations that later on extended to game nights and more. Kevin's family simply became friends with their next door neighbors. There was no agenda or goal; they were just friendly and created a relationship with a really good family. As the non-member family grew closer to Kevin's family they would ask questions about the church; just simple "I'm curious" or "Could you clarify" questions but they were close enough that they knew they could just ask. Kevin's family did invite their neighbors to church activities and dinners where they could get to know other people in the neighborhood (which is funny because here Kevin's family was the newer family in the neighborhood). It wasn't until about 8 years of the two families being close that Kevin's neighbors joined the church; the entire family joined and they are still extremely strong members today. I thought that this was such a neat story because something as small as being openly kind and friendly and letting it grow into a natural friendship, led to a strong family joining the church.
I was talking to another close friend who recently finished reading, "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" by Clayton M. Christensen and she was telling me about a blurb from the book and I loved it. (I need to read this book!) In his book he tells a story about when he and his wife have moved out of state for school and since they were around more non-members they were excited to share the gospel with as many people as possible. He and his wife invited one of his classmates and his wife over for dinner and games and then invited them to come to church with them the next day. The classmate and his wife politely declined. Not to get discouraged the Christensens moved on to another couple in the program and asked them over for the same activities and the invited them to church. This couple politely declined going to church as well. They continued this routine. Later on Clayton found out that one of his classmates, who he had invited over at one point, had told another classmate that he did NOT like the Christensens. Turns out this classmate was annoyed that the Christensens didn't want to be friends with he and his wife if they were not interested in their church. The Christensens had no idea and had not realized this was the impression they had left. (I have no doubt the story is written much more smoothly and eloquently in the book) I think this example happens to SO many of us; in a completely innocent way. As members of the church we are incredibly busy with work, family, church callings, service, etc. So when it comes to everyday missionary work it can be so easy to jump to invitations and when we're turned down then just move on to the next person when instead, like Kevin's family, taking the time to build a real relationship. Who knows, that relationship could never lead to the other party joining the church but at least they will have a good opinion of members of the church.
This friend, who talked to me about reading The Power of Everyday Missionaries, has been such an incredible missionary in her everyday actions a lot lately. She always has been a good example, loving and inviting to everyone but she moved out of state almost two years ago now and has been a missionary in many ways. It has been fun to talk to her about her many missionary moments while living in a very non-member populated area and state. She hasn't gone out of her way to be a missionary but has been an example through her everyday actions and letting it be known (in a courteous and even fun way) what her standards are. She has had many casual conversations where her roommates may ask a question here or there and she'll answer them without a hint of defense in her answers. She has been open about things too (which I find so inspiring); when she gets home from institute or church and her roommates ask her how it was she doesn't just say, "It was good!" and leave it at that, nope, she says, "It was good we learned about (insert subject)." And then if her roommates ask what she learned about she'd give them a simple answer. In return, when her roommates get home from their churches she always asks them what they learned. She also has been having a lot of fun showing her roommates and classmates that members of the church are "normal," like to have fun, are motivated and interested in education, etc. Again, it sounds like my friend's roommates probably will never join the church, though you never know, but at least they have a better and more accurate understanding about our church.
Elder Perry came and spoke at my Regional Conference in November and he talked about missionary work. These are a few notes I took from his talk:
"We should be grounded in the gospel"
"We need to do more when we have been given so much"
"Be a missionary in your everyday actions" (examples given were: blogs, Facebook, conversation, etc.)
Just to wrap up, I thought this quote by President Benson gave a great light of hope... not discouragement... with this big task of missionary work for all of us to tackle:
"Our work will be light and easy to bear if we will depend on the Lord and work. Don't worry about being successful. We are going to be successful - there is no doubt about it. The Lord has sent us to earth at the time of harvest. He does not expect us to fail. He has called no one to this work to fail. He expects us to succeed." - President Ezra Taft Benson, "Keys to Successful Member - Missionary Work." Ensign, September 1990.
The new year is here and I'm posting my 2014 books I hope to read! As always I over estimate my ability to read lots of books in the year (ahem, 2013 Reading List), and so there is overlap from last year (again... as always) but that's ok... I'm going to continue to plug along and think glass half full! Every year I post my reading list I read more books than I did the year before, so I'll continue to over-stretch my goal BUT increase my number by doing so! Huzzah!
As always, feel free to read along with me!
Books I have started but have not finished: (Is it weird that I start books and then put them down and come back to them later?! Sometimes it's because I want to say I've read them but just can't get into them but other times it's just because I'm not in the mood for that book until later on.)
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Mediation and the Atonement of Christ by John Taylor
Books to Read this year
Deception Point by Dan Brown
Utopia by Sir Thomas More
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Servant by James C. Hunter
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
Twenty Years After by Alexander Dumas
Any recommendations for:
A light fun book; possibly on the chick flick side or young adult.
A church book; also on the light side. I really liked reading I Sit All Amazed this year. It was an easy read, inspiring, motivating and enjoyable. I would like to find something similar.
Review
Another great year has come and gone and I feel like I completed my "Year of Mistakes" (blog post link below) theme almost to a T (with a few responsible things sneaking in). I quit my job with several ideas of what path to take next and then throwing all of those paths out to the wind (aka: Caution to the Wind) and traveled... I traveled like nobody's business. Even though it was a year of highs and lows (for myself and for others around me) I would not change it one bit (well, if I could take away the heart ache of those that I care about I would in an instance). After traveling, my next plan was to sign up to go to Africa for 6 months to do some humanitarian work but a job opportunity snuck its way into my path and I decided to be daring and jump back on the employment path. Africa will have to wait... it is not off the table.
Travels
As traveling is something I love to do, I started a travel blog to share and journal my experiences as well as share things and tricks I've learned.
As I said up above, this year was no exception to traveling!
Pocatello
Oceanside
Boston/DC/NYC Roadtrip
Peru
Hwy1
Connecticut
My Top Favorite Things of the Year (In no particular order)
The Traveling with Friends and Family
Monthly Get-Togethers with my Group of Friends from High School
My Brother's Wedding
One of Many Lessons Learned Timing, by Elder Oaks was shared with me by a friend and it brought me a lot of comfort. I get pretty stressed when trying to make a life decision, especially when so many options seem right, and I probably still will get stressed but this talk was a good reminder to have faith and do the small things that I have been asked to do and then other things will fall into place when and if they are supposed to.
Things to look forward to
I don't really have any big plans for travel or for life for 2014. Knowing me I'm sure I'll change that pretty quick but until then, I'm looking forward to enjoying the simplicity of life and doing little things like: playing with my nieces and nephews, reading books, hanging out with my family, laughing with friends, finishing little projects that always seem to get set aside, etc. No matter what, I'm excited to keep life interesting, even in the smallest of ways, and just continue to enjoy the ride.
