Resolutions

 So, resolutions are typically the bane of my existence.  I would always set great ones, do well for about two months, and then totally bomb it!  The problem was, when one seemed to start to go downhill, all of them seemed to do the same.  As soon as I messed up once, I felt like I had failed already because I wrote in my goal "everyday," or "every month," ect.  This was pretty discouraging for me because I tend to consider myself a fairly driven person.  I'm not one who gives up easily, but these dang New Years resolutions were kicking my rear!  So, I stopped making them all together.  Instead of resolutions I made "commitments" to myself.  These were not written, they were just things I told myself I was going to do, and I always did pretty well.  It was definitely a much less stressful way for me to go.  But now, about 5 years later, I'm giving this resolution thing another go!  This year it's going to be different.  

Now, before you all start laughing, let me tell you what I've decided to do.  So I was talking to my mom on the phone on Sunday and she was telling me about her Relief Society lesson.  She said that the teacher talked about a new kind of resolution.  Here's what you do: Pick a word that you want to describe you in the coming year.  Some that I've thought of are kind, listener, service, happy, optimistic, friendly, outgoing, and charity.  I've narrowed it down to one.  By the end of the year, I hope that this word is part of the definition of who I am.  Each morning when I wake up, I'm going to think of this word.  I'm going to try to pattern my life after what this word means by my thoughts and actions each day.  If I don't do so well one day, guess what, it's not over!  I just need to wake up and do better the next day.  I'm excited to try this new way of making a "resolution."  Instead of feeling like I have to schedule all of my new resolutions in, I'm just going to try to incorporate it into the everyday tasks of my life.  So, for any of you who struggle with resolutions, maybe this is the solution for you as well :)  

I thought this was pretty good:

Oh, and:

Happy New Years Everybody!!

A New Adventure!!

No, I'm not leaving the country (yet), but I am a ski instructor for Sundance!  

You guys, I LOVE it!  A lot of you already know, but I figured since I picked up my second pay check today it's getting pretty official.  I've been super busy doing trainings and everything for it, but now I'm going to start getting busy teaching lessons! I'm so excited!  I've taught 5 lessons so far, and they were all so fun!  Yes, some of them were challenging, both mentally and physically, but fun nonetheless.  The people I work for and with are great!  It's just so refreshing to be around them.  My favorite part about the job though is probably being outside.  I don't care if it's cold as long as I'm up on the mountain.  I love it so much!  So, if you're ever down in the Provo area, come hit up Sundance :)

Holly G. ("G" now stands for girl)

So, one of my best friends of my entire life got married today!!  She got married in the San Diego,  CA temple.  I mean, look at this place:

Who wouldn't want to get married there?!?!

The only downer is that I couldn't make it.  I'm in the midst of finals…

Even though I couldn't make it, I was thinking about her and Ryan ALL day!  So, for those of you who don't know what a great person Holly is, I figured I'd enlighten you.  

Holly is the most loyal friend.  I know I can always count on her. 

Holly is a super hard worker.  We have worked together the past 2 summers at the cemetery and it has been SO great!!

Holly is so easy to get along with.  We have spent tons of time together and she just has this great personality that makes it so easy to be around her.  

Holly is so happy!  She knows how to see the bright side of every situation.

Holly is so much fun! Every time we are together we laugh our heads off!  Seriously though, those Grandy's are funny people!

Holly is so thoughtful.  She always texts me at just the right time and it always brightens my day.

Holly has a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have had so many good talks about the church and gospel topics, and I always come away feeling refreshed from her insights.  

Holly is so beautiful, inside and out!  I mean, just look at her!?  She is one of the most gorgeous people I know, and from the list above, it's obvious that her beauty isn't just on the outside.  

Thanks for being such a great friend Holly!!  Ryan is a lucky guy!!  I can't wait to see you and hug the now Mrs. Ryan Voges.  Love ya girl!!

Oh, and here is a screen shot of the text she sent me moments after she met Ryan for the first time.  It's a precious story.  Love at first sight :)

(I know, my response is super shallow, but I thought she was kidding?! haha)

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

This morning Mary and I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert.  It was so great!  First we were able to watch the Christmas special of Music and the Spoken Word.  Then we were treated with the concert.  We got tickets because our roommate Eden was a dancer for the concert.  She did so great!  The Choir invited two guests to join them, Deborah Voigt (opera performer) and John Rhys-Davies (Gimli from Lord of the Rings).  They were both phenomenal!  My favorite part of the whole concert was probably the telling of the dream of A Christmas Carol.  John Rhys-Davies narrated, and they had special effects, and it was just so great!  Isn't the Conference Center breathtaking?!

Since it was the last showing of the concert, they had a special ending.  The choir sang God Be With You 'til We Meet Again to the guests and they were both really emotional.  I think that it's so great to bring these renowned performers into our Latter-Day Saint family for a few days.  I have no doubt they felt the spirit.  This was a great way to get me in the Christmas spirit, and the drive down with Mary was so fun!  We could talk for days!

 If you're interested in watching it, PBS shows the concert a year from now.  So, the Christmas Concert that is airing this month is from 2012, which I'm sure was fabulous as well!  I think I'll be trying to swing tickets for this in the future.  Merry Christmas everybody!! 

Una Broma

I just finished my Spanish final and so I thought I'd post a video in celebration :)  It's all in spanish and there's no subtitles, but even if you don't know spanish, I think the video and the kids faces are pretty explanatory.  I hope you like it as much as I did!

First Class--Last Class

We went to our first class this semester together

And our last class this semester together

Having a sister here is the best!!!  Happy studying all :)

Calm

Looking back at the past week and a half I have been so blessed to feel calm.  When I step back, I really don't have that crazy of a life.  It's busy, but busy is good, and I know most of you would LOVE to be in my shoes as a college student.  It's a great life!  Anyways, I've had a couple of situations the past week that I've been able to feel calm about when it seems I should have been nervous. 

First, when I returned to school on Monday night I had to face the realization that I hadn't looked at anything that was going on the coming week.  When I finally sat down and took a peek at how the week was going to be I found out I had a LOT to accomplish.  All week I was able to be calm and just do one thing at a time.  I know the Lord was helping me remain calm so that I could get everything done.  

Then, I was driving home from skiing at Sundance on Saturday.  It had been snowing ALL day and I didn't get out of there until about 3:45.  I have a front wheel drive car and I was driving down a steep, windy, snowy canyon road.  I was fishtailing everywhere!  No matter what I did, I could not get my car to go slow enough.  This whole time I felt so calm.  I thought my hands would be gripping the steering wheel, my body leaned forward, and that I would be freaking out!  Even when I ended up stopping completely sideways across the road stopping traffic in both directions I was able to remain calm, get back in my lane and keep on.  I know that I was being watched over that day not only in safety, but in sanity.  

Finally, there's finals.  I feel like so many people around me are stressing out over finals.  I can not tell you how glad I am that I'm not?!  It's not cause I feel super prepared either, cause I'm definitely not.  Right now I'm just thankful that finals are one of the biggest worries on my mind.  There are so many people out there who have so much on their plate and so many matters that have much greater effects on their lives than final exams.  Now, I'll definitely be relieved when they're over, but for now I'm just glad I get to take them!

I know stress is a real thing and so many people deal with some bad anxiety.  I count being able to be calm as a blessing.  It's just another way the Lord lets me know He loves me. :) 

Some Comic Relief

So my friend Rachel posted this on her Facebook and I just have to share!  This is totally me!!  I was laughing out loud, and I don't even know Seinfeld!?  

21 Signs You've Given Up on the Semester

Livi's Logic #2

I need to keep this in mind.  Instead of always thinking about myself, I need to think about others.  God sent me here to help others.

My Thankful Post

I've had a lot of thoughts in my head the past few weeks, and a lot of things I should have written down, but I haven't.  November went so fast and I found myself so uplifted and inspired by all of the everyday Thankful posts.  I didn't tackle that 30-day feat, but I was planning on doing at least one!  There are so many things I am thankful for, and even though it's late--today I am going to focus on one: my body.

While I hope you gain something from this post, it's mainly for me.  I'm not starving for compliments.  I'm not promising a change.  What I am doing is telling how I feel.Maybe I'm a loner in feeling this way, but I feel like most women are too worried about how they look. How we look is superficial, but no matter how many times I try to convince myself it doesn't matter, it just does!  How I look matters to me.  The problem is that I feel like I don't have a ton of control over what my face looks like or how much money I have to spend on clothes and accessories--which all makes a big difference on our overall appearance.  One thing I do feel like I have some control over is my body.  I know I don't have total control over it, God does.  I'm just so thankful he's blessed me with a good one.  I rarely get sick, and I can do any physical activity that I want to do. What more could I want, right?!  Well, let me let you in on my secrets…

I love to exercise.  I'm so thankful for a strong, able body that is able to go as hard as I push it.  I know that exercising makes me happy, and it makes me feel good about myself.  My hang-up is my motivation to work out.  As much as I try to convince myself differently, the main reason I work-out is so I can look better.  I know it's for the wrong reasons, and I tell myself that it's to be healthy, but this reality just keeps surfacing.  In the mean time, I'll keep on working out and hopefully someday I'll be able to convince myself that it's just to be healthy and happy.  For now, they're just nice bonuses :)

I love to eat.  I'm so thankful that I am not a picky eater and that I have plenty of food to eat.  Once again, there's a slight problem: the amount of food I eat.  I want to eat just about everything in my sight!  Now, if I had the metabolism of a super-model this wouldn't be that big of a problem, but it seems that for every ounce I eat I gain a pound!  So, maybe that's an exaggeration, but seriously, I'm pretty sure I have the worst metabolism.  If any of you have metabolism boosting advice, feel free to enlighten me!

Finally, I love my body.  Now that you've heard my personal-image "woes" you're probably thinking I'm a liar.  While I have these conceptions about myself, I am thankful for them.  Because I feel the way I do about my body, I set good goals for myself, I know how to push myself, and I'm working on a little self-control.  Hopefully someday I'll just be able to be happy with my body, but for now I'm thankful for it.

This post is pretty scatter-brained (which is how my life has felt that past few weeks), but I just needed to document how I've been feeling lately about my body.  I hope that this will help at least one person not be so hard on herself.  If you feel this way, you're not alone.  If not, maybe it will help one of my future daughters to be able to know they're not the only person who's felt this way.  Oh, and Happy December Everybody!!